Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed self-reliance in science and technology, hailing it as the "key" in building China into a great modern socialist country, during an inspection tour of an information technology innovation park in Beijing on Monday.
When visiting the national information technology innovation park in Beijing E-Town, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, viewed displays showcasing sci-tech achievements in fields such as artificial intelligence and robotics, and spoke with researchers and heads of technology enterprises. Xi said he was "even more confident" in the country's sci-tech innovation after seeing what was presented during the visit.
He stressed that sci-tech self-reliance and strength is the "key" in China's efforts to build a great modern socialist country and urged the Chinese capital to leverage its unique strengths to make greater contributions in this regard.
He also extended his Spring Festival wishes to the crowd at the park.
The Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, is the most important traditional festival for the Chinese. This year it falls on Feb 17.
Xi stresses sci-tech self-reliance in building great modern socialist country
The Iranian government on Wednesday released footage it says was of missile debris from the deadly school attack in Minab, Iran's southern province of Hormozgan, on Feb 28, providing fresh evidence that the United States military was behind the attack.
The video obtained by China Media Group (CMG) from the Iranian government shows that some of the fragments said to be from the missile are marked with detailed information, including the place of origin, manufacturer and serial number of the parts. Markings such as "Made in USA" and "Raytheon Company" can be clearly seen on the debris.
The United States has repeatedly denied carrying out the attack on the elementary school in Minab, where Iranian state media says at least 165 people were killed, most of them young girls.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei reiterated in an exclusive interview with CMG on Tuesday that the school was hit by missiles twice on Feb 28, with the second attack coming as rescuers gathered at the site, resulting in a large number of casualties.
Baghaei said the United States and Israel must be held responsible for such criminal acts.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that an ongoing military investigation has preliminarily determined that the deadly school attack was the result of a targeting error.
Officials briefed on the investigation told the newspaper that officers at the U.S. Central Command generated the strike coordinates using outdated intelligence provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency, leading to the targeting mistake.
The findings are preliminary, and key questions remain unresolved, including why the outdated information was not double-checked, officials quoted by the newspaper said.
Iran says new evidence proves U.S. behind deadly school attack
