Page 2 - Beijing

China's fading hunger for food grain spells trouble for world farmers

Beijing has already taken steps to try to protect farmers, asking traders to limit overseas purchases of corn, barley and sorghum

China's economy softens in August as Beijing struggles with weak demand

China's economy softened in August, extending a slowdown in industrial activity and real estate prices as Beijing faces pressure to ramp up spending to stimulate demand. Data published by the National Bureau of Statistics Saturday showed weakening activity across industrial production, retail sales and real estate this month compared to July. We should be aware that the adverse impacts arising from the changes in the external environment are increasing, said Liu Aihua, the bureau's chief economist in a news conference. Liu said that demand remained insufficient at home, and the sustained economic recovery still confronts multiple difficulties and challenges. China has been grappling with a lagging economy post-COVID, with weak consumer demand, persistent deflationary pressures and a contraction in factory activity. Chinese leaders have ramped up investment in manufacturing to rev up an economy that stalled during the pandemic and is still growing slower than hoped. Beijing also h

Pope makes new overture to China, calls Beijing promise, hope for church

Pope Francis declared Friday that China was a promise and a hope for the Catholic Church, offering extensive praise for Beijing at the end of a four-nation tour through Asia and again expressed hope to one day visit. Francis' comments, during an in-flight press conference en route home from Singapore, came as the Vatican enters into the final weeks of negotiations to renew a 2018 agreement over the contentious issue of bishop nominations. Francis declared himself happy with the process, saying both sides were engaging in negotiations in a spirit of good will. I'm happy with the dialogue with China, he said. The result is good. China for me is an illusion, in the sense that I want to visit China, he said. A great country. I admire China. I respect China. It's a country with a millennial culture, with a capacity for dialogue and understanding that goes beyond other systems of democracy. The Vatican has been working for years to try to improve relations with China that were officially

China's carrot-and-stick tactics on EU nations starting to pay off

China-made EVs exported to Europe rose 38% in 2023 to 656,000 units, including shipments non-EU countries

China asks its carmakers to keep advanced EV technology within country

The instructions come as companies from BYD Co. to Chery Automobile Co. firm up plans to build factories in Spain to Thailand and Hungary as their innovative EVs make inroads in foreign markets

India not closed to doing business with China, says Jaishankar in Berlin

India subsequently tightened its scrutiny of investments from Chinese companies and halted major projects

China's exports beat forecasts, but imports weak amid slow domestic demand

Outbound shipments from the world's second-largest economy grew 8.7 per cent year-on-year in value last month, customs data showed on Tuesday

Taiwan reports 21 PLA aircraft, 7 naval vessels near its territory

In response to Chinese incursions, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor PLA activity

China lacks ability to fully invade, but has other options: Taiwan military

China's aim with the drills was to practice cutting off communication with the outside world and blockade Taiwan, and boarding foreign cargo ships is an option China could take

Top Chinese officer tells US to stop colluding with Taiwan in NSA meeting

A top Chinese military officer, in a rare meeting with a visiting American official, demanded Thursday that the United States stop collusion with Taiwan, the self-governing island that China says must come under its rule. Gen. Zhang Youxia, one of two vice chairs of the Central Military Commission, told White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan that promoting what China calls the reunification of Taiwan with the mainland is the mission and responsibility of the military, according to a statement from China's Defence Ministry. Sullivan was wrapping up a three-day trip to China, his first as national security adviser and one aimed at maintaining communication to avoid differences over Taiwan and other issues from spiralling into conflict. Both governments are eager to keep relations on an even keel ahead of a change in the US presidency in January. Your request to meet with me shows the value you attach to military security and the relationship between our militaries, Zhang

China calls US sanctions over Ukraine war 'illegal, unilateral, baseless'

China has been striving to present itself as a party that is actively looking for a solution to the conflict, despite skipping a Swiss peace conference in June

Philippines says 'excessive force' of Chinese ships blocked food delivery

China deployed an excessive force of 40 ships that blocked two Philippine vessels from delivering food and other supplies to Manila's largest coast guard ship in a disputed shoal in the latest flare-up of their territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Philippine officials said Tuesday. China and the Philippines blamed each other for the confrontation on Monday in Sabina Shoal, an uninhabited atoll both countries claim that has become the latest flashpoint in the Spratlys, the most hotly disputed region of the sea passage that is a key global trade and security route. China and the Philippines have separately deployed coast guard ships to Sabina in recent months on suspicion the other may act to take control of and build structures in the fishing atoll. The hostilities have particularly intensified between China and the Philippines since last year and Monday's confrontation was the sixth the two sides have reported in the high seas and in the air. The confrontations have sparked

China conducting military patrols near Myanmar border as civil war rages

China's military is carrying out armed patrols near the Myanmar border this week, where the government is concerned about potential fallout from fierce fighting in a civil war on the other side. Troops were deployed to Yunnan province in southwestern China on Monday to test their ability to maintain security in border areas, the military's Southern Theater Command said. An alliance of ethnic militias has dealt a series of setbacks to Myanmar's military in the country's northeast, which is near China. Five people were injured on the Chinese side in January by a stray artillery shell. Live-fire drills will be held from Tuesday to Thursday in four locations including two in Ruili city, the Yunnan government said. The units will carry out armed patrols and joint air-ground patrols to test their ability to mobilize quickly, block and control and strike together, the southern command said in a statement. The military previously held live-fire drills near the Myanmar border in ...

China to raise Taiwan, tariffs issue during US NSA Jake Sullivan's visit

Beijing has long complained about US measures to cut off China from high tech, including semiconductors, and about the White House's efforts to work with allies on security and economic issues

China, Vietnam sign 14 deals from rail to crocodiles after leaders meet

The meeting signals the close ties between the two communist-run neighbours

China's faltering growth revives cash vouchers talk to fulfill targets

Rising inflation was attributed to bad weather rather than stronger domestic demand, a jump in imports reflected frontloaded chip purchases before expected U.S. technology curbs

7 Hong Kong activists fail to overturn convictions over 2019 protest

Seven of Hong Kong's most prominent pro-democracy activists lost their final bid to overturn their convictions at the city's top court on Monday over their roles in one of the biggest anti-government protests in 2019. Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper; Martin Lee, the founding chairman of the city's Democratic Party; and five former pro-democracy lawmakers were found guilty in 2021 of organising and participating in an unauthorised assembly. Their convictions dealt a blow to the city's flagging pro-democracy movement during a political crackdown on dissidents following the protests. Last year, the activists partially won their appeal at a lower court, with their convictions quashed over the charge of organising an unauthorised assembly. But their convictions over taking part in the assembly were upheld and they continued their legal battle at the city's top court. On Monday, judges at the Court of Final Appeal ruled against their appeal over the remaining

Xiaomi purchases $116 million site in Beijing to expand EV production

Xiaomi's successful foray into EVs stands in contrast to competitors who are struggling for market share in a crowded industry

Beijing pressures lawmakers from 6 countries to not attend summit in Taiwan

Chinese diplomats are pressuring lawmakers from at least six countries not to attend a China-focused summit in Taiwan, participants told The Associated Press. Politicians in Bolivia, Colombia, Slovakia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and one other Asian country that declined to be named, say they are getting texts, calls and urgent requests for meetings that would conflict with their plans to travel to Taiwan, in what they describe as efforts to isolate the self-governed island. The summit begins Monday and is being held by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a group of hundreds of lawmakers from 35 countries concerned about how democracies approach Beijing. The Associated Press spoke to the organizers and three lawmakers, and reviewed texts and emails sent by Chinese diplomats to the lawmakers asking whether they were planning to participate in the summit. I'm Wu, from Chinese Embassy, read a message sent to Antonio Miloshoski, a member of parliament in North ...

China keeps lending rate unchanged as housing market still struggling

China's central bank kept a key lending rate unchanged on Monday, choosing not to loosen credit as data for May showed signs of persisting weakness in the world's No. 2 economy's manufacturing and real estate sectors. The central bank kept its rate for 1-year medium-term lending facility loans, used as a benchmark for other lending rates, at 2.5%. The decision aligned with expectations: instead of cutting already low interest rates Beijing has focused on channeling spending to areas considered to be high priorities such as high-tech industries. The government reported Monday that factory output fell 5.6% in May from the year before, slowing from 6.7% in April, though analysts noted some impact due to more work days in this year compared with the year before. Property investments fell 10% year-on-year and home sales sank 30.5%, suggesting a raft of measures to try to turn around a real estate slump have yet to take hold. Home prices in major, so-called Tier 1 cities like Beijing and