People's Daily Tonight: Podcast News (4/5/2019 Fri.)

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

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Chinese vice premier says new consensus reached on important issues in fruitful trade consultations

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said on Thursday that the Chinese and US negotiation teams have over the past two days conducted fruitful consultations and reached new consensus on such important issues as the text of the economic and trade agreement.

Liu made the remarks while meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House.

During the meeting, Liu also said that the two sides, guided by the consensus reached by the two heads of state, will continue with the consultations to achieve more progress on issues of mutual concern so as to conclude the negotiations as soon as possible. (Xinhua)

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China shuts down industrial park after blast

An industrial park at Xiangshui County, where a deadly blast killed 78 people last month, will be closed for good, local authorities said.

About 187 people remain hospitalized due to the explosion on March 21 at the Xiangshui Chemical Industrial Park, home to a slew of chemical plants. Three employees of Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Co. have been put under criminal coercive measures for their roles in the accident.

The city government ordered staff to prevent the polluted water from flowing into rivers, and ensure that no secondary accidents will occur during the treatment of dangerous chemicals and solid wastes.

Damaged houses at the Chenjiagang Township, where the park is situated, will be repaired, authorities said. (Xinhua)

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S.Korea declares national disaster over massive blaze in coastal region

The South Korean government on Friday declared a state of national disaster over the massive blaze that engulfed five cities and counties along the northeastern coast.

The fire broke out at about 7:17 pm Thursday (1017 GMT) on a roadside in Goseong, a northeastern border town some 210 km northeast of the capital Seoul, according to local media reports citing the firefighting authorities.

As of 7:30 am local time Friday (2230 GMT Thursday), one has been confirmed dead and at least 11 were injured.

About 250 hectares of forest were gutted by the fire, and some 125 houses were destroyed. Thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate overnight. (Xinhua)

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Boeing CEO admits bad data plays role in 737 MAX air crashes, saying "sorry" for loss of lives

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg Thursday said the company was "sorry for the lives lost" in the two crashes involving its 737 MAX planes while acknowledging for the first time that bad data played a role in the accidents.

The ill-fated 737 MAX aircraft of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (ET 302), which crashed in Ethiopia and killed all 157 people aboard on March 10, was of the same model as the Indonesia Lion Air Flight 610 that crashed in October last year. The two crashes killed a total of 346 people.

With the release of a preliminary report on the ET 302 air crash, it's apparent that in both flights, the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System was activated in response to the erroneous "angle of attack" information, Muilenburg said. (Xinhua)

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Trump backs off border shutdown but threatens auto tariffs

US President Donald Trump is threatening to slap tariffs on cars coming to the US from Mexico unless the Mexicans do more to stop the flow of migrants trying to enter the US.

Trump had threatened to close down the border this week unless Mexico immediately halted “ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States,” but he backtracked Thursday. He told reporters he would try the “less drastic measure” before resorting to his standing border-closure threat.

He will visit the border Friday during a trip to California. (AP)

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Beijing tackles pollution in rural areas

Beijing authorities have rolled out new plans to fight contamination of pesticides and fertilizers and improve supervision of the rural environment.

An action plan has specified 20 tasks by 2020 in the protection of drinking water sources in rural areas including installing sewage and garbage processing facilities, scaling back the use of pesticides, fertilizers and agricultural use of water and promoting public awareness of environmental protection in the countryside.

The plan was jointly issued by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Beijing Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau. (Xinhua)

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More than 1,800 companies sign up for China's 2nd CIIE

More than 1,800 companies have signed up for the second China International Import Expo (CIIE), scheduled for early November this year, the Ministry of Commerce said.

Over 900 companies from 77 countries and regions have confirmed participation as exhibitors, including 180 Fortune Global 500 firms and leading enterprises in various industries, Gao Feng, a spokesperson for the ministry, said at a press conference Thursday.

The ministry will step up efforts to invite more private firms as well as small and medium-sized enterprises, Gao said.

A total of 172 countries, regions and international organizations and more than 3,600 enterprises participated in the first CIIE, held from Nov. 5-10 in Shanghai. It was the world's first import-themed national-level expo. (Xinhua)

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

(Produced by Zhan Huilan and Wang Zi)