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China’s vice foreign minister hopes new U.S. administration will ‘meet China halfway’

China’s Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said Thursday he hoped the U.S. presidential election would proceed stably and smoothly.
He was speaking at an unrelated press conference, according to state media.
Chinese-language state media have been relatively muted on the U.S. presidential election, amid rapt attention from many social media users and privately run media outlets.

China’s economic recovery from the coronavirus will lift its neighbors in Asia, says Invesco

Economies in Asia are set to benefit as China’s shows a strong rebound from the coronavirus pandemic, says Invesco’s David Chao.
In particular, the focus is on “whether the Chinese consumer can quickly return back to normalized activity,” Chao said.
Chao’s comments came after recent data showed China’s manufacturing activity expanded in September, pointing to a continued recovery for the world’s second-largest economy.

Irish pubs get the nod to re-open after enduring one of the longest shutdowns in Europe

Under the original lockdown easing schedule, pubs were due to re-open in August but that had been pushed back repeatedly.
Pubs that serve food, as well as restaurants and hotels, re-opened in late June under restrictions.
The new rules will put all pubs on a relatively similar footing, requiring table service and limiting group sizes.
In cases where two-meter distancing isn’t possible, customers can only stay for 105 minutes and all customers must be off the premises by 11:30 p.m.

Who is Kim Yo Jong? The North Korean leader’s little sister could be moving to bigger things, analysts say

“By letting his sister Kim Yo-jong lead the highly visible charge against the South, he is likely laying the groundwork for her elevation to a more senior position within the regime,” said Miha Hribernik, Head of Asia, Risk Insight at Verisk Maplecroft.
The younger Kim first came into the global limelight when she attended the opening ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. This made her the first from the Kim family set foot in South Korea.