Her lawyer said she was ill with an ear problem and could not appear in court

Hua also said it is "irresponsible" to blame Beijing for regional tensions after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on China to use the "powerful tool" of oil to persuade Pyongyang to reconsider its "current path"

"We believe as a united Iowa agricultural delegation, we can find opportunities that are beneficial to both China and Iowa," Reynolds said

She has received a number of awards for her work, including the Meyenburg Foundation Award for Cancer Research and the Robert Koch Prize

The university was the first in the province to have such a course