North China Plain

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met on Wednesday with a delegation of China's Hebei province, headed by Hebei Chinese Communist Party Provincial Committee Secretary Ni Yuefeng, to discuss strengthening the Sino-Serbian strategic partnership and advancement of cooperation in development of green/low-carbon steel and the economy, commerce, logistics and technology.

Temperatures in Beijing increased above 40 degrees Celsius on Thursday for the first time since 2014, breaking the record for the hottest day in June and the Chinese capital warned of extremely hot weather over the weekend, Reuters reported.

Beijing fined a Chinese comedy studio around $2 million Wednesday for a joke that compared China's military to stray dogs, a reminder of the ever-narrowing confines of expression under the country's leader, Xi Jinping.

An investigation was launched today after a fire engulfed a hospital in the Chinese capital, Beijing, killing 21 people, state media said.

Travellers from China now face restrictions when entering more than a dozen countries as concern grows over its surge in Covid-19 cases, with Australia the latest to demand a negative test before arrival.

Beijing on Wednesday closed around 10% of the stations in its vast subway system as an additional measure against the spread of coronavirus.

The subway authority in a brief message said only that the measure to shut 40 mostly downtown stations was being taken as part of epidemic control measures. No date for resumption of service was given.

Beijing shifted more classes online Thursday in a further tightening of COVID-19 restrictions, as China's capital seeks to prevent a wider outbreak.

The city of 21 million has already ordered three rounds of mass testing this week for the virus, with the third due to take place on Friday, and closed down some communities where cases were found.

Beijing was cloaked in thick yellow smog on Monday with pollution levels surging off the charts as the worst sandstorm in a decade descended on China's capital.

A city in northern China is building a 3,000-unit quarantine facility to deal with an anticipated overflow of patients as COVID-19 cases rise ahead of the Lunar New Year travel rush.

The Chinese authorities have announced the lockdown of the cities of Shijiazhuang, Xingtai and Langfang with a total population of over 23 mln due to a new coronavirus outbreak, according to the Hebei province's health committee.