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

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Discussions underway for next China-US trade talks

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He held a telephone conversation with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday at the request of the US side.

A Chinese official said discussions on issues related to the next-step communication between the trade teams of China and the US are underway to implement the consensus the top leaders of the two countries reached in a recent telephone conversation.

But he said a possible deal to end ongoing trade friction must come under the World Trade Organization framework. (Xinhua & China Daily)

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Chinese draft law tightens penalties for faulty vaccines

China's top legislature is considering imposing heavier penalties on the production and sale of fake or substandard vaccines.

The draft vaccine administration law was submitted for a third review to the bi-monthly legislative session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, which opened Tuesday.

The draft stipulates that people whose violations constitute a crime shall bear heavier criminal responsibility.

It also imposes heavier fines on producers and sellers of defective vaccines. (Xinhua)

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Iran says talks with US impossible

Iran’s UN ambassador warned that the situation in the Persian Gulf is “very dangerous” and called talks with the US impossible in the face of escalating sanctions and intimidation.

This comes, after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior Iranian military figures with financial sanctions.

Iranian Ambassador Majid Ravanchi called the new sanctions another indication of “US hostility” toward the Iranian people. 

He said the Trump administration should de-escalate tensions by stopping “its military adventurism” in the region, withdrawing its “naval armada” and moving away from “economic warfare against the Iranian people.” (AP)

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Chinese drone maker DJI denies hacking accusation, invests more in US

Chinese drone maker DJI submitted a letter to the US Senate, denying hacking accusation.

In May, the US Department of Homeland Security issued an alert warning that commercial drones manufactured by Chinese suppliers may be collecting and transmitting information back to China.

DJI drones "do not share flight logs, photos or videos" and "do not automatically send flight data to China or anywhere else," said the letter.

The Chinese company also said it would repurpose a warehouse in California to a drone assembly factory, revealing its plan to increase investment in the United States. (Xinhua)

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Lawyers for Huawei CFO urge Canada to quash extradition proceedings

Lawyers for Huawei’s chief financial officer urged Canada’s justice minister to quash its extradition proceedings against Meng Wanzhou and release her.

In a statement, Meng’s lawyers said they sent a letter to Justice Minister David Lametti asking him to withdraw the extradition proceedings.

Under Canadian law, the justice minister can intervene in extradition cases.

Meng has been detained in Vancouver since last December after she was arrested at the extradition request of Washington. (CGTN)

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Singapore probes drones at airport that disrupted 63 flights

Drones buzzing around Singapore’s Changi Airport have caused 63 flights to be delayed or diverted in the past week, triggering an investigation and raising questions about the motives of the offenders.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said Tuesday that 18 flights at the airport were delayed and seven were diverted the night before “due to bad weather and unauthorized drone activities.”

It had earlier confirmed drones were seen flying near the airport last Tuesday and Wednesday. That caused the intermittent closure of a runway, delaying 37 flights and diverting one arriving plane to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

Investigations are ongoing. No details on the number of drones involved and the perpetrators have been provided by the authorities. (AP)

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Searing heat across Europe sparks scramble for shade

And fans flew off store shelves and water fountains offered relief from the heat as temperatures soared in Europe on Monday, with officials urging vigilance ahead of even hotter conditions forecast later in the week.

Weathermen blamed a blast of torrid air from the Sahara for the unusually early summer heatwave, which could send thermometers up to 40 degrees Celsius across large portions of the continent.

Forecasters say temperatures will be most intense starting Thursday, and high humidity is likely to make conditions even more difficult, especially at night. (AFP)

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

(Produced by David Nye, Chen Lidan & Liang Peiyu)