Beijing, China | AFP | Trade tensions between the United States and China heated up on Tuesday as Beijing warned that it “will not sit idle” if a US probe into its intellectual property practices leads to sanctions. President Donald Trump’s decision to order the investigation comes on top of strains …
Read More »Chinese teen internet addict dies after rehab
Beijing, China | AFP | A Chinese teen has died after spending less than 48 hours at a centre that treats internet addicts, shining a spotlight on the controversial facilities that seek to unlatch people from their screens. The first country to declare internet addiction a clinical disorder, China is estimated …
Read More »China’s Xi urges Trump to avoid exacerbating N. Korea tensions
Beijing, China | AFP | Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged US President Donald Trump on Saturday to avoid rhetoric that could inflame tensions with North Korea as an escalating war of words raised global alarm. Xi made the plea in a phone call hours after Trump ramped up his warnings to …
Read More »China still building South China Sea islands: think-tank
Manila, Philippines | AFP | China is expanding artificial islands in disputed South China Sea areas despite saying it stopped two years ago, according to a security think tank that released satellite images it said showed the land reclamation. Beijing claims most of the sea and has been turning reefs in …
Read More »Is China being left behind in US-N.Korea sparring?
Beijing, China | AFP | As the United States and North Korea exchange fiery words over the regime’s growing weapons programme, China — the North’s biggest ally and trade partner — has receded into the background. Donald Trump had been publicly prodding China for months to use its influence on Pyongyang, …
Read More »US Navy sails close to artificial island in S. China Sea
Washington, United States | AFP | A US warship on Thursday sailed close to an artificial island China has built up in the South China Sea, as part of a “freedom of navigation” operation, a US official said. The USS John S. McCain destroyer sailed within six nautical miles of Mischief …
Read More »China warns against stoking Korea tensions after Trump ‘fury’
Beijing, China | AFP | China responded to US President Donald Trump’s apocalyptic “fire and fury” threat against North Korea by pointedly warning on Wednesday against any rhetoric that could inflame tensions over Pyongyang’s weapons programmes. Calling the situation on the Korean Peninsula “complicated and sensitive”, China’s foreign ministry issued a …
Read More »McDonald’s to nearly double outlets in China
Beijing, China | AFP | Fast food giant McDonald’s said Tuesday it would almost double the number of restaurants in China over the next five years as it refocuses on international markets amid slowing US sales. The Illinois-based burger chain will add 2,000 stores to its current 2,500 in China and …
Read More »China holds wargames as North Korea tensions spike
Shanghai, China | AFP | The Chinese navy and air force flexed their muscles in live-fire drills in seas adjacent to the Korean Peninsula, the defence ministry said, amid regional tensions over North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weaponry. The “large-scale” exercises were being conducted in the seas and skies off China’s …
Read More »Slap on the wrist for Chinese caught with brother’s arms
Shanghai, China | AFP | A Chinese man was detained after a bus station security scanner revealed that he had his brother’s severed arms in his luggage, state media reported, but police said he was unlikely to face criminal charges. The 50-year-old was stopped in the city of Duyun in the …
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