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

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US launches anti-dumping probe of Chinese-made steel wheel hubs

The US launches an anti-dumping and countervailing investigation against steel wheel hubs from China.

The investigations follow complaints by Accuride Corporation and Maxion Wheel Akron.

The alleged dumping margins range from 12.1 percent to 231.7 percent, and US imports of the products from China in 2017 were estimated to be worth $388 million.

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Live-fire drill underway in the Taiwan Straits

China holds a live-fire drill in the Taiwan Straits, the first of its kind since 2016.

The Fujian Province maritime safety administration says the drill will take place from 8 a.m. local time to midnight.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office Director says the drill aims to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

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Central bank moves to cut lenders' funding costs

 

China's central bank announces a cut in some financial institutions' reserve cash by 1 percentage point.

This, to support small and micro companies and stabilize liquidity in the banking system.

The move is expected to free about $207 billion.

Some of that will be used to pay back the funds borrowed by commercial banks through the Medium-term Lending Facility.

That’s an open market tool to maintain liquidity using securities as collateral.

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China Q1 fiscal revenue and spending tops 5 trillion yuan

China's Finance Ministry says government fiscal revenue and expenditure for the first quarter reached slightly over 5 trillion yuan each, which means double-digit year-on-year growth for both.

China continues to implement positive fiscal policies. Tax revenues rose 17 percent year-on-year and contributed almost 88 percent to the total.

China spent 11 percent more on livelihood-related sectors such as education, culture and healthcare. 

They also accounted for nearly 74 percent of total spending.

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S.Korea reviewing way to turn armistice into peace treaty in inter-Korean summit

South Korea's presidential Blue House says it is reviewing ways to turn the armistice on the Korean Peninsula into a peace treaty during the forthcoming summit with North Korea.

The Korean Peninsula remains technically in a state of war because the Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. 

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21 dead as truck en route to Indian wedding crashes: police

At least 21 revelers were killed en route to a wedding in India when their truck flew off a bridge.

The truck was carrying more than 40 passengers.

It smashed through a protective railing in Madhya Pradesh state and plunged nearly 20 meters to a dry riverbed below.

Police say 21 people were injured, most of them critically.

The accident occurred 560 kilometers from the state capital Bhopal.

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Asian markets rise as Wall St, N.Korea provide positive lead

And Asian markets ride a rally on Wall Street.

Easing trade and Syria concerns allowed investors to concentrate on earnings and upbeat data.

Fresh news on US-North Korean talks also provided support.

Hong Kong rose 0.6 percent, Shanghai added 0.2 percent, Sydney advanced 0.3 percent and Tokyo was 1.3 percent higher.

Manila and Jakarta also climbed, though Shanghai was unable to maintain its early momentum and dipped 0.3 percent.

Seoul surged more than 1 percent. 

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

(Produced by David Nye, Wang Yi and Liang Peiyu)