Xi arrives in Astana for SCO summit, state visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Astana on Tuesday noon local time to attend the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and pay a state visit to Kazakhstan.

President Xi's special plane was escorted by Kazakh fighter jets after it entered Kazakhstan's airspace.

The SCO summit will be held in Astana on July 3-4, and China will take over the SCO rotating chair after the summit.

Xi is on the state visit to Kazakhstan at the invitation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

This is President Xi's fifth visit to Kazakhstan. During the visit, President Xi will have talks with President Tokayev and have an in-depth exchange of views with him on bilateral relations, cooperation in key areas, and the regional and international landscape.

Xi's state visit to Kazakhstan is the first leg of his tour from Tuesday to Saturday, and he will also pay a state visit to Tajikistan at the invitation of President Emomali Rahmon.

Xi arrives in Astana for SCO summit, state visit

Xi arrives in Astana for SCO summit, state visit

Xi arrives in Astana for SCO summit, state visit

Xi arrives in Astana for SCO summit, state visit

Xi arrives in Astana for SCO summit, state visit

Xi arrives in Astana for SCO summit, state visit

A large-scale disaster response exercise was held on Thursday in the waters off Jingtang Port in Tangshan City, north China's Hebei Province, according to the Maritime Safety Administration.

The drill simulated a scenario where a vessel operating in an oil field area was on fire with oil spillage, involving injuries.

The focus of the exercise was to test the coordination of search and rescue forces and oil spill emergency response, in order to improve the capacity to guarantee the safety for vessels operating in oil fields.

Massive emergency response drill staged in Bohai Sea region