This is People's Daily Tonight, your news source from China. 

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New round of China-US trade talks starts in Beijing 

China and the US began a new round of high-level economic and trade consultations in Beijing on Thursday.

The talks will be chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

The US launched an investigation into Chinese trade policies in 2017.

It imposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese products last year, and Beijing retaliated.

After months of hostilities, a breakthrough came in December.

That’s when both countries agreed to halt new trade tariffs for 90 days to allow for talks.

They imposed an early March deadline to resolve their differences. (Xinhua)

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China and India making Earth greener, NASA study shows

A study by NASA has revealed China and India, the world's two most populous countries, are primarily responsible for making the Earth greener over the past two decades.

The study, published on Feb 11 in the journal Natural Sustainability, has found that since 2000 the Earth's green leaf area has increased by 5 percent, or over 5 million square kilometers. That's an area equivalent to the total of the Amazon rainforests.

The effect mainly stems from ambitious tree-planting programs in China and intensive agriculture in both countries, NASA said in a statement.

China is the source of a quarter of the planet's increase in forest area, despite having only 6.6 percent of the world's vegetated area, according to the study. Forest conservation and expansion programs account for 42 percent of the increase, and another 32 percent come from intensive agriculture of food crops, NASA said. (China Daily)

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US Treasury imposes fresh sanctions against Iranian entities, individuals 

The US has announced sanctions against two Iran-based entities and individuals.

In a statement, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the New Horizon organization supported the efforts of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard in gathering intelligence, while New Peygard Samavat Company attempted to install malware to compromise the computers of US personnel.

The statement said all property and interests in property of those sanctioned targets would be blocked, and US citizens were generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.
Washington has intensified its sanctions against Iran after President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. (Xinhua)

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Airbus pulls plug on costly A380 superjumbo: statement 

European aerospace giant Airbus said Thursday it would end production of the A380 superjumbo, the double-decker jet which earned plaudits from passengers but failed to win over enough airlines to justify its massive costs.

The firm said in a statement it would stop deliveries of the A380 in 2021 after Dubai-based airline Emirates reduced its order of the model by 39 planes.

"Following a review of its operations, and in light of developments in aircraft and engine technologies, Emirates is reducing its A380 orderbook from 162 to 123 aircraft... as a consequence and given the lack of order backlog with other airlines, Airbus will cease deliveries of the A380 in 2021," the statement said. (AFP)

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China, UK should handle differences properly, enhance strategic mutual trust: Ambassador 

China and the UK should keep long-term interests and larger picture in mind, look at each other's development as opportunities, respect each other's sovereignty, security and right to develop, handle differences properly and enhance strategic mutual trust.

That’s according to Chinese Ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming.

He said the world economy is under downward pressure, with surging protectionism and unilateralism making things more difficult.

Against this backdrop, Liu said it is all the more important that China and the UK advocate free trade, oppose protectionism and promote open cooperation. (Xinhua)

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China steps up environmental protection efforts

Chinese prosecution organs filed 9,470 public interest litigation cases involving ecological protection from January to December 2018, according to the State Council Information Office (SCIO) at a press conference on Thursday.

15,095 people suspected of damaging the protection of environmental resources were arrested, and 26,287 cases were prosecuted, Zhang Xueqiao, deputy procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), said in a press release in Beijing.

Since 2018, the Supreme People's Procuratorate has released notices and implemented measures to improve ecological environment management. (People’s Daily app)

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Moscow unfazed by possible new Western sanction 

And Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, Moscow has no fear of possible new Western sanctions, which are likely forced by Washington.

On Tuesday, the Financial Times quoted diplomatic sources as saying that the US and the European Union are close to agreeing on new sanctions against Russia over the seizure of Ukrainian warships in the Black Sea in November.

The measures are expected to be discussed at a meeting of EU foreign ministers and could be levied over the next two months. (Xinhua)

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And that’s People’s Daily Tonight. Thanks for joining us.

(Produced by David Nye, Qu Qiuyan and Bai Yuanqi)