China said it was a “necessary steps” to protect its national interests.

Zhao Lijian, a foreign ministry spokesperson made the remarks at a daily press briefing when responding to a related query.

The U.S. companies concerned include Lockheed Martin, Boeing Defence and Raytheon.

Zhao said, as pointed out by China on many occasions, the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan seriously violate the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. Joint Communiques, as well as undermine China’s sovereignty and security interests.

“We stand firmly opposed to and deplore such practice,’’ the spokesperson said.

China once again urges the U.S. side to abide by its commitment to the one-China principle and provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communique as well as cease arms sales to Taiwan and any military contact with the island, Zhao said.

“We will continue to take necessary measures to safeguard our national sovereignty and security interests,’’ the spokesperson added.

Earlier, the Chinese Foreign Ministry vowed an appropriate and necessary response in accordance with the developments of the situation, after the U.S. had approved planned arms sales to Taiwan worth about $1.8 billion.

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With the rapid increase in 5G users, the number of connected devices on the network has exceeded 150 million, data from the ministry showed.

“In the next three years, China will be at the introduction stage of 5G development, so it is necessary to make proactive moves in construction,” said Wen Ku, an official with the MIIT.

The COVID-19 epidemic has accelerated the implementation of digital applications, aided by the development of 5G.

These include various digital products, services and solutions.

As the number of 5G users continues to increase, innovative services related to 5G will grow substantially, according to Liu Duo, head of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

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Lijian made this remarks at a news conference in response to certain Western countries’ false accusations against China of not fully participating in the Group of 20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative.

Also, it was added that China had failed to help African countries to reduce their debt burdens.

Lijian said that China had attached great importance to debt suspension and alleviation in Africa and is committed to fully implementing the G20 debt relief initiative.

China has announced important measures to alleviate African debt at the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19.

“We are following the consensus reached by the leaders of China and Africa and the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative and are actively responding to the concerns of the African side,’’ said Lijian.

He added that the Export-Import Bank of China, as an official bilateral creditor, had signed debt suspension agreements with 11 African countries.

Lijian also said that non-official creditors had also reached consensus on debt relief with some African countries.

Lijian said China would exempt 15 African countries from interest-free loans by the end of 2020 and continue to promote the international community, especially the G20, to further extend the duration of debt suspension.

The debts held by multilateral financial institutions and commercial creditors account for more than three-quarters of the total foreign debt of African countries, he said.

He added that those institutions and creditors should bear a greater responsibility for debt relief.

“China’s cooperation with Africa never interferes in the internal affairs of African countries and political conditions are never attached.

“Those are the principles we hold when dealing with Africa’s debt problems.

“The label “debt trap” cannot be handed to China,’’ he said.

China has always supported Africa.

The country stands ready to strengthen communication and coordination with African countries and resolve the debt problem through friendly consultations, Lijian said.

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Harris, the Democratic Party’s vice presidential candidate, made the claim during Wednesday’s debate with her Republican rival, Mike Pence.

She was answering the moderator’s question on how she would describe the U.S. relationship with China; whether competitors, adversaries or enemies.

Harris said Trump had a “weird obsession” with getting rid of the accomplishments of the administration of former President Barack Obama in which a Biden served as Vice President.

“For example, they (Obama and Biden) created within the White House an office that basically was responsible for monitoring pandemics, they (Trump) got rid of it.

“There was a team of disease experts that President Obama and Vice President Biden dispatched to China to monitor what is now predictable and what might happen.

“They pulled them out,” Harris stated amid interjections by Pence, who said the claims were not true.

She said no fewer than 210,000 Americans have lost their lives as result of the Trump administration’s decisions.

On the job situation, the Democratic nominee said Trump’s renegotiated trade deal with China resulted in the loss of no fewer than 300,000 manufacturing jobs.

She said American consumers were paying thousands of dollars more for goods because of “that failed war, that they called it”.

According to her, an analysis by a reputable research firm shows that leaders of former U.S. allied countries now respect President Xi Jinping of China than Trump.

“This is where we are today because of a failure of leadership y this administration,” she said.

Answering the same question earlier, Pence reiterated the Trump administration’s position that China is to blame for the pandemic.

“The president is not happy about it, and he has made that very clear and made it very clear today again.

“China and the World Health Organisation are not playing straight with the American people.

“They did not let our personnel into China to gain information on the coronavirus until the middle of February,” he said.

Pence said stood up to China from the outset of the pandemic by suspending all travels from the Asian country where the outbreak started.

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), confirmed the development in a statement on its website on Tuesday.

It said the virus had been diagnosed in a traveler, who arrived in Washington on Jan. 15 from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where it broke out in December.

So far, no fewer than six people are reported to have died from the virus, and almost 300 others infected in China.

“The patient sought care at a medical facility in the state of Washington, where the patient was treated for the illness.

“Based on the patient’s travel history and symptoms, healthcare professionals suspected this new coronavirus.

“A clinical specimen was collected and sent to CDC overnight, where laboratory testing yesterday confirmed the diagnosis via CDC’s Real time Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (rRT-PCR) test,’’ it said.

Originally thought to be spreading from animals to humans, there are growing indications that limited person-to-person spread is happening, according to the CDC.

“How easily the virus spreads between humans is unclear at the moment,” the statement said.

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Djibouti’s position on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fuelled worry in India that it would become another of China’s “string of pearls” military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

China began construction of a logistics base in Djibouti in 2016.

It will be used to resupply navy ships taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia, in particular.

It is China’s first overseas naval base, though Beijing officially describes it as a logistics facility.

State radio said more than 300 people attended the ceremony, including deputy Chinese naval commander Tian Zhong and Djibouti’s defence minister.

State radio also reported that the base will enable China to better support its patrols in waters off Somalia and Yemen and carried out its international humanitarian obligations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is overseeing an ambitious military modernisation programme, including developing capabilities for China’s forces to operate far from home.

Djibouti, which is about the size of Wales, is at the southern entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal.

The tiny, barren nation sandwiched between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia also hosts U.S., Japanese and French bases.

Ships carrying personnel for the Djibouti base left China in July.

There has been persistent speculation in diplomatic circles that China would build other such bases, in Pakistan for example, but the government has dismissed this.

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Lin Ming, chief engineer of the island and tunnel section of the bridge, said the wedge, 12-metre-long and weighing over 25 Airbus A380 jets, was lowered to connect the immersed tubes of the underground tunnel of the bridge.

The 55-kilometre bridge connects Zhuhai in Guangdong Province with Hong Kong and Macao.

It includes a 22.9-kilometre bridge and 6.7-kilometre underground tunnel.

Before the wedge was installed on Tuesday, 33 immersed tubes, each 180 metres long and weighing 80,000 tons had been installed.

According to Chen Yue, director of the engineers’ office of the bridge’s island and tunnel section, there is only one wedge for a tunnel, and they cannot afford to fail in its installation.

“It took two years to prepare for today, the installation procedure took about six hours.

“The margin of error for the wedge is 1.5 centimetres. We have to measure precisely the influence of wind, current and buoyancy force.

“It is like putting a needle through a hole – a truly unprecedented event in the history of transportation,’’ Lin said.

A gigantic crane, which was transformed from a tanker, was used to hoist the wedge, lowering it to the desired destination between the underwater tubes.

“The wedge will be welded and finished by June,’’ Lin said.

Zhu Yongling, director of the bridge management bureau added that by the end of the year, the bridge would be open to traffic.

Report says construction began in December, 2009 at Zhuhai. The Y-shaped Bridge starts from Lantau Island in Hong Kong with branches to Zhuhai and Macao.

Zhu said the bridge would cut travel time from Hong Kong to both Zhuhai and Macao from three hours on the road to a 30-minute drive.

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