[Photo/VCG]
>Two sessions to be held in March
全国两会召开时间确定
The 13th National People’s Congress will hold its fourth annual session in Beijing on March 5, 2021, according to a decision made by the NPC Standing Committee on Saturday. 十三届全国人大常委会第二十四次会议12月26日表决通过了关于召开十三届全国人大四次会议的决定。根据决定，十三届全国人大四次会议将于2021年3月5日在北京召开。
The fourth session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s top political advisory body, is expected to start on March 4, 2021, according to a draft decision approved at a Chairperson’s Council meeting of the 13th CPPCC National Committee. 政协第十三届全国委员会第四十七次主席会议，日前审议通过了关于召开政协第十三届全国委员会第四次会议的决定(草案)，建议全国政协十三届四次会议于2021年3月4日召开。
Thousands of national lawmakers and political advisors will gather in Beijing for this important political meeting that covers every aspect of China’s development and the people’s well-being. 数千名全国人大代表和全国政协委员将齐聚北京，参加两会。两会是涉及中国发展和人民福祉方方面面的重要政治会议。
They are expected to discuss a series of policies and measures, including the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives through the Year 2035.代表和委员们将就一系列政策措施展开讨论，其中包括国民经济和社会发展第十四个五年规划和2035年远景目标纲要草案。
A front view of the Xiong’an Railway Station in the Xiong’an New Area, Hebei province, on Nov 23, 2020. ZHANG QUAN/FOR CHINA DAILY
>Beijing-Xiong’an intercity railway
京雄城际铁路全线开通
The Beijing-Xiong’an intercity railway opened to traffic on Sunday, connecting the Chinese capital with the Xiong’an New Area. The railway is 91 kilometers long and has a maximum design speed of 350 kilometers per hour. 北京至雄安新区城际铁路(京雄城际)于12月27日实现全线贯通，线路全长91公里，最高设计时速350公里。
The stretch between Beijing West Railway Station and Daxing airport opened in September 2019. 京雄城际铁路北京西至大兴机场段已于2019年9月开通运营。
Passengers can take high-speed trains from Beijing West directly to Xiong’an New Area, with the shortest commuting time at 50 minutes. The journey between Daxing airport and Xiong’an will be about 19 minutes. 北京西站至雄安新区间最快旅行时间50分钟，大兴机场至雄安新区间最快19分钟可达。
The construction of the Beijing-Xiong’an intercity high-speed railway started in February 2018. 京雄城际铁路2018年2月开工建设。
Xiong’an Railway Station has a construction area of 475,200 square meters, the size of 66 soccer fields, and is designed to resemble dew on a lotus leaf. 雄安站总建筑面积47.52万平方米，相当于66个足球场，形似荷叶上的一滴露珠。
Zhang Xiaoguang, an astronaut on the 2013 flight of Shenzhou X, unveiled the mission’s reentry capsule at a ceremony in Shaoshan, Hunan province, at which the capsule was given to the provincial government for permanent exhibition at the Mao Zedong Memorial Museum. [Photo/China News Service]
>Space station module to be lofted
空间站核心舱明春发射
China plans to launch the core module of its manned space station in the first half of 2021, a senior official said Friday. The core module will be sent by a Long March-5B Y2 rocket from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan province, said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China’s manned space program, at a handover ceremony for the return capsule of the Shenzhou-10 manned spacecraft in Shaoshan, Central China’s Hunan province. “Subsequent space missions include the launches of Tianzhou-2 cargo craft and Shenzhou-12 manned craft after the core module is sent into orbit,” Zhou said. 12月25日，神舟十号载人飞船返回舱交接仪式在湖南韶山举行。中国载人航天工程总设计师周建平在出席交接仪式时表示，我国将于明年上半年在海南文昌航天发射场用长征五号B遥二火箭发射空间站核心舱，而后接续发射天舟二号货运飞船和神舟十二号载人飞船。
Tests on the core module have been completed, and astronaut training is underway. 目前，核心舱已经基本完成测试的全部工作，航天员乘组正在开展任务训练。
China is scheduled to complete the construction of the space station around 2022. 中国计划于2022年前后建成空间站。
The construction project will be implemented in two phases.根据飞行任务规划，空间站建造将分两个阶段实施。
Six flight missions, including the launch of the core module, have been scheduled for the phase of key technology validation. 其中，关键技术验证阶段安排了核心舱发射等6次飞行任务。
A passenger is seen at the check-in area of the international flight terminal at Tokyo International Airport, commonly know as Haneda airport, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan Dec 28, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]
>Japan tightens entry ban
日本暂停外国人新入境
Japan on Saturday decided to ban the entry of most foreign nationals, except those from the Chinese mainland, Vietnam, Singapore and other regions that have managed to bring COVID-19 under control, from Dec 28 to the end of January, following the detection of a new variant of the novel coronavirus in arrivals from Britain. 鉴于近日有从英国出发、到访日本的人员被检测到了变异新冠病毒，日本政府12月26日决定，从12月28日起至明年1月底暂停批准外国人入境，来自中国大陆以及越南、新加坡等疫情控制较好的地区的人员除外。
Chinese visitors can enter Japan without a nucleic acid test certificate, and those with short-term non-business visas are required to complete a 14-day quarantine upon arrival, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare told CCTV, adding that visitors cannot take public transport after arriving in Japan.中央电视台记者致电日本厚生劳动省获悉，中国大陆访日人员入境前无需提交核酸检测证明，持短期商务以外签证的入境人员需要在抵达后自主隔离14天，抵达日本后不能乘公共交通工具。
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来源：chinadaily.com.cn