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China and the European Union have announced the completion of their negotiations over a bilateral investment agreement.
The announcement was made during a meeting between President Xi Jinping and European leaders via video link.
The Chinese president called the agreement "balanced and high-standard," expecting it to provide greater market access, a higher level business environment, and stronger institutional guarantees for mutual investment.
He says the treaty will greatly boost the global recovery in the post-pandemic era and enhance the confidence in economic globalization and free trade.
The European leaders called the completion of the negotiations a milestone in the development of EU-China relations, calling for closer cooperation between the two sides on issues such as sustainable development and WTO reform.
The purchasing managers' index for China's manufacturing sector came in at 51.9 in December.
The figure edged down 0.2 points from last month, but still remains in expansion territory.
Meanwhile, the index for the non-manufacturing sector stood at 55.7, down from 56.4 in November.
China's market regulator has fined JD.Com, Alibaba's Tmall and Tencent-backed Vipshop 500 thousand yuan each, roughly 77 thousand US dollars, for irregular pricing.
The retail giants have been blamed for pricing strategies related to the Double-11 shopping spree, such as increasing prices prior to offering discounts, false promotion and inducing transactions.
China is taking steps to prevent monopolistic behavior by internet firms.
Earlier this month, the State Administration of Market Regulation announced fines on Alibaba, China Literature, and Shenzhen Hive Box for not reporting deals subject to anti-trust reviews.
U.S. COVID-19 deaths have surpassed 340 thousand with the national case count topping 19.6 million.
The country saw the deadliest day since the pandemic began on Tuesday, with over 37 hundred deaths associated with the virus reported.
An updated forecast has projected close to 570 thousand COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. by April 1, based on current scenarios.
The British government says it will put huge swathes of England into strict COVID-19 restrictions to counter a highly infectious variant.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock says the National Health Service is under significant pressure and fast action is needed.
"There are over 21,000 people in hospital with coronavirus right now. And we can see the impact that this is having. The threat to life from this virus is real and the pressures on the NHS are real too."
Britain is the first country in the world to approve the Oxford-AstraZeneva COVID-19 vaccine.
The British regulator says one dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is around 70% effective after 21 days and before the second dose is given.
The effectiveness is up to 80% when there is a three-month interval between first and second doses.
The UK government has ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
It will start to be administered on Monday, starting with the most at risk groups.
Turkey is now testing samples from the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines from China's Sinovac.
The shipment of 3 million doses is part of a deal for a total of 50 million.
The Turkish Health Minister says authorities will begin inoculations after the testing process is completed.
First, Ankara plans doses for health workers and those older than 65, followed by those older than 50 and suffering at least one chronic illness.
Last week, Turkish researchers said interim analysis showed the Chinese vaccine was over 91 percent effective.
The last full moon of the year cast its glow over Greece on Wednesday.
This full moon is known as the "Cold Moon."
It has also been referred to as the "Long Night Moon" by the native American Mohican tribe, as it's closest to the winter solstice and will shine above the horizon for longer than most full moons.
