Briefly

BEIJING

Premier talks with European businesses

Premier Li Keqiang took part in a high-level dialogue with European businesses via video link in Beijing on Friday. Li briefed the participants about China's economic performance and the country's growth prospects. He also held exchanges with about 30 European business leaders over topics including China-Europe trade and investment cooperation, China's business environment, fighting COVID-19 and coping with climate change. Despite fallout from the pandemic, the number of newly registered businesses quickly recovered in the second half of 2020, with total market players reaching 130 million, Li said. The dialogue was chaired by Peter Mandelson, former European Commissioner for Trade and the former first secretary of state of the United Kingdom.

Ministry warns against studying in Australia

The Ministry of Education issued an official warning against studying in Australia on Friday, citing multiple assaults against Chinese students recently. Such malicious incidents have caused serious safety threats to Chinese students in Australia, the ministry said, suggesting students and scholars assess the risks before deciding to study in the country. The ministry issued a similar warning against studying in Australia in July, citing the pandemic and incidents of discrimination against Asian people in the country. In June 2019, a warning was issued by the ministry against studying in the United States due to possible visa restrictions by the US side.

JIANGSU

Association official gets 15 years in prison

A court in Nanjing, Jiangsu province on Friday sentenced a former senior Party official of the China Association for Science and Technology, or CAST, to 15 years in prison for taking bribes of around 129 million yuan ($20 million). Chen Gang, 55, a former member of the leading Party members' group of the association, was also fined 5 million yuan by the Nanjing Intermediate People's Court and his illegal gains have been confiscated and put into the national treasury, the court said. The court found that Chen abused his former positions including chief of the urban planning authority of Beijing, vice-mayor of the capital and senior Party official of the CAST from 2003 to 2018 to take the bribes from construction projects. The court has given him a lenient sentence as he has turned himself in, offered evidence about other major cases and turned in all his illegal gains.