China is expected to secure a bumper grain harvest this year after record summer grain production, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Zhang Zhu said Tuesday.
The country's summer grain output reached 150.7 billion kilograms this year, up 0.7 percent from a year earlier, marking the first time the figure has topped 150 billion kilograms by July, according to official data released that month. The country is on track to meet its annual grain output target of around 700 billion kilograms.
"Grain production remained stable and increased. The summer grain output surpassed 150 billion kilograms for the first time, and the early-season rice output held steady at over 28 billion kilograms for the sixth consecutive year. With large-scale harvesting of autumn grain currently underway, a bumper harvest for the whole year is within reach," Zhang said.
Targeted assistance measures have been put in place for all 2.5 million people nationwide identified as being at risk of returning to or falling into poverty, according to the minister.
China expects bumper grain harvest for 2026
Both the Israeli and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) sides confirmed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the UAE and met with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
In a post on social media platform X, the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel said on Monday that Netanyahu and his wife visited the United Arab Emirates on Sunday at the invitation of the UAE president.
"The visit focused on strengthening relations between the two countries and on regional challenges. The Prime Minister was accompanied by the head of the National Security Council, the head of the Mossad, the military secretary and the foreign policy adviser," said the post.
The UAE's state-run Emirates News Agency said on Monday that the two leaders discussed bilateral relations and ways to strengthen ties, without providing further details.
Citing officials familiar with the meeting, Israeli state-owned Kan TV News reported that Netanyahu had asked the UAE president to publicly deny reports that he had warned the Israeli prime minister before Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack that the group was planning a major operation.
Netanyahu has previously denied receiving such a warning.
In a separate statement, his office denied the report as "fake news," claiming that the visit "focused exclusively on strengthening relations between the two countries and on regional challenges."
Netanyahu traveled to the UAE on a private plane and spent the day there, Kan TV News said.
Israeli PM's visit to UAE confirmed by both sides
