Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, also China's lead person for China-US economic and trade affairs, held a video call on Thursday with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

BEIJING, July 30 (Xinhua) -- At the invitation of the Indonesian Navy, a task group of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy will arrive in Surabaya, Indonesia, in early August for a goodwill visit, a Chinese defense spokesperson said on Thursday.The task group will comprise PLA Navy ships Qijiguang and Kunlunshan, Jiang Bin, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, said at a regular press conference.In recent years, the Chinese and Indonesian navies have expanded cooperation in joint exercises and mutual ship visits, which deepened bilateral military relations, he added.

BEIJING, July 30 (Xinhua) -- About 2 million elderly people with disabilities in China have received government subsidies to purchase caregiving services so far this year, the country's Ministry of Civil Affairs announced Thursday at a press conference.The subsidies are available to older individuals who have been assessed as having moderate or more severe disabilities, based on criteria that evaluate their ability to perform daily activities as well as their mental, sensory and cognitive functions.The Chinese government rolled out this nationwide subsidy program at the beginning of this year, after several months of pilot in limited regions. So far, elderly care service providers across the country have recorded more than 6.5 billion yuan (about 957 million U.S. dollars) in service payments covered by the subsidies, according to the ministry.The ministry estimated that the subsidy program has generated about 29 billion yuan in growth for the elderly care service sector.

HONG KONG, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government and the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government on Thursday signed an agreement in Hong Kong to give effect to the cooperation framework between Hong Kong and Shenzhen for implementing the colocation arrangement at the redeveloped Huanggang Port.On the same day, the Agreement on the Right to Use the Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area and Related Extended Areas was also signed by relevant agencies from the two sides.Pursuant to a decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the official reply issued by the State Council earlier this year, the Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area and Related Extended Areas, collectively referred to as the Hong Kong Port Area, is to be commissioned beginning at 00:00 local time of July 31, 2026, and is to be subject to the jurisdiction of the laws of the HKSAR. The official opening date will be determined by the governments of Guangdong and Hong Kong.The redeveloped Huanggang Port, positioned as the most important 24-hour passenger land boundary control point between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, will implement the colocation arrangement and the novel collaborative inspection and joint clearance mode. The overall clearance time at the redeveloped Huanggang Port will be significantly reduced from around 30 minutes at the existing Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang Port to approximately five minutes.