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

______

Xi calls for harmonious co-existence of various civilizations

Chinese President Xi Jinping asked countries to create conditions for other civilizations to develop while keeping their own vibrance.

Xi made the remarks at the opening of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations in Beijing.

He said there would be no clash of civilizations as long as people are able to appreciate all of their beauty.

He added that exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations should be conducted in a reciprocal and equal manner, and be diversified and multi-directional. (Xinhua)

______

China still favored by investors, tariffs not a concern: FM

China has become one of the most popular destinations for global investment for many consecutive years, said China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang at a regular press conference Tuesday.

Enormous achievements have been made in economic and social development in China over the past four decades of reform and opening up, Geng said.

The US claimed that China will be hurt very badly if it doesn't make a deal because companies will be forced to move to other countries.

The spokesperson listed many examples to refute the US claim.

“If you want to know whether China's business climate is good and whether it's profitable to do business here, just look at the American and other foreign enterprises in China. They have cast a vote of confidence with concrete actions,” said Geng. (People's Daily app)

______

British govt to put forward Brexit bill in June 

Prime Minister Theresa May's government will publish draft legislation in the first week of June that would allow Brexit to proceed if approved by parliament.

The statement came after talks between May and opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on a possible compromise that would end a deadlock on Brexit in par-liament.

For the past six weeks, ministers and their Labour counterparts have been discussing how parliament might accept the agreement May struck with the Euro-pean Union last year.

Progress has been painfully slow, and there are growing calls in May's Conservative party to abandon the process. (AFP)

______

Trump dismisses report about US considering sending 120,000 troops to combat Iran

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed a New York Times report about US top security officials reviewing a plan to send as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East to counter Iran.

The New York Times reported on Monday that acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan had presented an updated military plan to the Trump administration's senior security officials which envisions sending up to 120,000 troops to the Middle East should Iran attack American forces or accelerate work on nuclear weapons.

The updated plan, which does not call for a land invasion of Iran, was ordered by hardliners led by National Security Adviser John Bolton, reported the paper, citing anonymous sources. (Xinhua)

______

China’s overall economic activities in April stays in reasonable range: official data 

China’s overall economic activities in April stayed within a reasonable range and the trend of steady growth remained unchanged.

Official data shows China's value-added industrial output expanded 5.4 percent year on year in April.

The rate was down by 3.1 percentage points from March, but 0.1 percentage points faster than the first two months.

Meantime, China’s real estate investment increased 11.9 percent in the first four months of the year.

The growth was faster than the 11.8-percent expansion recorded from January to March. (People's Daily app)

______

China to formulate standards for green technology innovation enterprises

China will formulate standards for green technology innovation enterprises, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said Tuesday.

Placing more emphasis on green technology innovation, China has vowed to see the emergence of 10 leading enterprises in the field between 2019 and 2022, with each boasting an annual output of above 50 billion yuan (about 7.31 billion US dollars), according to a guideline issued by the NDRC and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Meanwhile, the country aims to support 100 enterprises to establish national green technology centers and authorize 1,000 green technology enterprises in the period.

To fulfill such targets, the guideline urged more efforts to enhance financial support and encourage enterprises to participate in government-backed and market-oriented projects in green technology innovation. (Xinhua)

______

Sudan military council, opposition agree on rule structures, transitional period duration 

And Sudan's military council announced that it has agreed with the major opposition forces on the main rule structures and duration of the transitional period.

A council member said the legislative council is to be composed of 300 members, 67 percent of which will be from the Freedom and Change Alliance.

He said a comprehensive deal that fulfills the aspirations of the people would be completed in less than 24 hours. (Xinhua)

______

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

(Produced by David Nye and Wang Zi)