Li Yan, Chinese Ambassador to the Republic of the Congo, passed away in Beijing on February 27, 2025, at the age of 52, Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Li Yan was born on December 16, 1972, in Luoyang, Central China's Henan Province. She joined the Communist Party of China in June 1994 and began working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in August 1996. In June 2023, she was appointed as the Chinese Ambassador to the Republic of the Congo, Xinhua reported.

During her working at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she had successively worked in Department of Western European Affair, Chinese Embassy in Belgium, Chinese Embassy in Poland, China's Permanent Mission to UN, according to Xinhua.

A China-Russia-Iran meeting on the Iranian nuclear issue started in Beijing on Friday morning, CCTV News reported.

China's Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu chairs the meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov Sergey Alexeevich and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, according to China's Foreign Ministry.

A day before the trilateral meeting, Ma met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Gharibabadi, and said that China attaches great importance to the development of China-Iran relations and is willing to work with Iran to implement the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries.

Ma also reaffirmed China's commitment to firmly supporting each other's core interests, deepening cooperation in various fields, and advancing the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Iran.

Gharibabadi emphasized that Iran views its relationship with China from a strategic perspective and looks forward to continued mutual support and the safeguarding of shared interests.

The two sides held in-depth discussions on the Iranian nuclear issue. Ma said that China will uphold an objective and fair stance, actively promote dialogue and negotiations, and continue to play a constructive role in the political resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue.

The Iranian diplomat highly appreciated China's efforts in facilitating dialogue on the issue and expressed Iran's willingness to strengthen communication and coordination with China to advance the political resolution process.

In response to a media question about China's expectations for the meeting, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated on Thursday that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a party to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), China calls for an appropriate resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue through political and diplomatic means, and efforts of safeguarding the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and promoting peace and stability in the Middle East.

The Beijing meeting will be China's latest diplomatic effort with the aim of enhancing communication and coordination on the issue and creating conditions for resuming dialogue and negotiation at an early date, Mao said.

The Tianqiao People's Hospital, a second-class hospital in Jinan, East China's Shandong Province, has been ordered to stop unauthorized use of cell therapy in tumor treatment. Further actions will be taken based on the investigation results in accordance with laws and regulations, local medical authorities said on Sunday.

Both immune cell and stem cell therapies are key areas in global medicine, with increasingly abundant research results. However, their effectiveness or safety is still largely in the verification stage. The high incidence of cancer and the growing population of cancer patients have created a huge clinical demand and commercial market, leading to profit-driven irregularities, according to The Paper.

The immune cell therapy involves extracting immune cells from a patient's body, culturing and expanding them in vitro, and then reinfusing them back into the patient, according to the report by The Paper. This process is akin to increasing the number of "soldiers" attacking tumor cells, thereby enhancing the patient's ability to fight cancer.

However, driven by interests, these cell technologies, which are still at the research stage, are used by some institutions for profit, advertised as miracle drugs or technologies, with patients being treated as experimental targets.

In response to media reports of Tianqiao People's Hospital unapproved implementation of immune cell clinical treatment, Jinan immediately assembled a joint investigation team under the municipal health commission and including multiple departments such as the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau, to investigate the hospital, according to a statement released by the team on Sunday.

After preliminary investigation, the Tianqiao People's Hospital was confirmed to have used unapproved cell therapy. The hospital has been ordered to halt such treatment immediately, and further actions will be taken following legal review, according to the statement.

In response to a media inquiry regarding Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent remarks on India-China ties in a podcast interview, in which he emphasized dialogue over discord, and also noted that differences two neighboring countries are also natural, but our focus is to ensure that these differences don't turn into disputes. That's what we actively work toward, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday that Prime Minister Modi's recent positive remarks on China-India relations are appreciated. 

In October last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Modi held a successful meeting in Kazan, providing strategic guidance for improving and developing China-India relations. In recent months, both sides have earnestly implemented the important consensus reached by leaders of the two countries, strengthened exchanges and practical cooperation at various levels, and achieved a series of positive outcomes, said Mao.

Mao said that in the 2,000-year history of China-India interactions, friendly exchanges and mutual learning have been the mainstream, contributing significantly to world civilization and human progress. 

As the two largest developing countries, China and India share the common task of national development and revitalization. They should foster mutual understanding, mutual support, and mutual achievement, which aligns with the fundamental interests of their combined 2.8 billion people, meets the shared aspirations of regional countries, and follows the historical trend of the rising Global South. This approach also benefits global peace, stability, and prosperity, said Mao. 

Mao also noted that being partners in mutual achievement and realizing "a cooperative pas de deux of the dragon and the elephant is the only right choice for China and India." China is willing to work with India to fully implement the consensus reached by their leaders, take the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to advance exchanges and cooperation across various fields and levels, and promote the healthy and stable development of China-India relations.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the need to strengthen ties with China despite past tensions, advocating dialogue over discord and cooperation over conflict during an interview with MIT research scientist and podcaster Lex Fridman, which was released on Sunday. Modi also underscored that India and China should engage in healthy and natural competition rather than confrontation,according to Indian media reports. 

Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Thursday that China is willing to collaborate with Britain to consolidate the positive momentum towards stabilizing and improving bilateral relations.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said this during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Wang first conveyed the cordial greetings from Chinese President Xi Jinping to Starmer, saying the successful meeting between Xi and Starmer at the end of last year has launched the process of improving and developing China-Britain relations.

Under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, the recent China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue has produced fruitful results and exchanges at all levels have been resumed, Wang said.

This demonstrates the huge potential of practical cooperation between the two countries, and also fully proves that the Labour government's rational and pragmatic policy towards China is in line with the interests of the country and people and conforms to the trend of the times, he said.

He said China stands ready to work with Britain to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, deepen and expand cooperation in infrastructure, trade and investment, clean energy and other fields, bringing more benefits to the people of both countries.

Wang noted that the world is becoming volatile and changes unseen in a century are unfolding at a faster pace. As permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China and Britain should strengthen strategic communication, enhance mutual understanding and trust, demonstrate their responsibilities as major countries, and deepen cooperation in key areas concerning the future of humanity, including climate change, artificial intelligence, and green development, thus to contribute greater certainty and stability to the world, he said.

Starmer asked Wang to convey his sincere greetings to Xi, noting that the current cooperation between Britain and China in various fields has made positive progress. He added that he looks forward to candid and constructive dialogues between the two countries to promote the sustained and stable development of Britain-China relations.

During his visit to Britain, Wang also met with Jonathan Powell, British prime minister's national security adviser, and co-chaired the 10th China-UK Strategic Dialogue with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.