Xinhua News Agency

People wait to cross a road near a construction site in Beijing on July 9, 2024.

China said Friday it would gradually raise its statutory retirement age, as the country grapples with a looming demographic crisis and an older population.

Hundreds of millions of people in China are set to enter old age in the coming decades while the birth rate dwindles dramatically.

The Chinese Embassy in Athens hosted on Friday the launching event of the Sino-Hellenic Information Post (S.H.I.P.), a new platform designed to promote Greek-Chinese business and cultural relations and facilitate the mutual understanding of the two cultures, while offering information and insight in Greek and Mandarin.

BELGRADE - In the presence of the presidents of Serbia and China, Aleksandar Vucic and Xi Jinping, Serbia's Tanjug News Agency and the Chinese news agency Xinhua exchanged an agreement on cooperation in Belgrade on Wednesday.

Under the agreement, signed last week, the agencies will be exchanging video, photo and text materials.

The death toll from a highway collapse in southern China's Guangdong province has risen to 48, state media said Thursday, as rescue work continued.

Heavy rains caused a stretch of road running from Meizhou city towards Dabu county to cave in at around 2:10 am on Wednesday (1810 GMT Tuesday), according to state news agency Xinhua.

The Chinese ambassador to Greece on Friday called for further cooperation between China and Europe, noting that trade restrictions would ultimately harm European consumers. 

China's ambassador to Greece stressed the importance of enhanced economic cooperation between Europe and China and emphasized collaboration over competition in a recent interview with Xinhua in Athens.

MUNICH - Chinese FM Wang Yi says China will continue to firmly support Serbia in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.

Wang said this after a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference (MSC).

The first Sino-Hellenic International Theater Festival kicked off on Saturday, with Chinese dramas bringing an audio-visual feast to the audiences.

"The festival is an amazing initiative. It is something that of course we fully support from the side of the Greek government," Christos Dimas, Greek Deputy Minister of Culture, told Xinhua at the opening ceremony.

BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's attendance at the Third Belt and Road Forum and PM Ana Brnabic's attendance at the Sixth China International Import Expo demonstrated Serbia's "sincere friendship with the Chinese people and firm belief in developing relations with China."

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will visit China on November 2-3, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

The visit follows an invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.

[Reuters]