By Yew Lun Tian BEIJING (Reuters) – President Xi Jinping wants to increase the talent pool of scientists and intellectuals in China who have the “correct political inclination” and are imbued with patriotic feelings to serve their nation, state news agency Xinhua said on Tuesday. China, the world’s second biggest economy, aims to greatly increase […]
Australia on Friday shrugged off Chinese anger over its decision to acquire US nuclear-powered submarines, while vowing to defend the rule of law in airspace and waters where Beijing has staked hotly contested claims. US President Joe Biden announced the new Australia-US-Britain defense alliance on Wednesday, extending US nuclear submarine technology to Australia as well […]
France on Friday recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia in a ferocious row over the scrapping of a submarine contract, an unprecedented step that revealed the extent of French anger against its allies. President Emmanuel Macron recalled the envoys after Canberra ditched a deal to buy French submarines in favor of US […]
By Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A senior Pentagon official held talks with the Chinese military for the first time since President Joe Biden took office in January to focus on managing risk between the two countries, a U.S. official told Reuters on Friday. The United States has put countering China at the heart of its […]
US Vice President Kamala Harris accused Beijing on Tuesday of intimidation in hotly disputed waters as she sought to rally Asian allies against China and shore up US credibility in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. Her comments in Singapore came as Washington seeks to reset relations in Asia after the turbulent Donald […]
By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican Senator Marco Rubio urged President Joe Biden on Tuesday to block short-form video app TikTok in the United States after China took an ownership stake in a key subsidiary of ByteDance, the Beijing-based parent company of TikTok. The Biden administration in June withdrew a series of Trump-era executive orders […]
China is ready to deepen “friendly and cooperative” relations with Afghanistan, a government spokeswoman said Monday, after the Taliban seized control of the country. Beijing has sought to maintain unofficial ties with the Taliban throughout the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, which spurred an advance by the Islamist hardliners across the country that saw them capture […]
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday accused his Russian counterpart of seeking to disrupt the 2022 congressional elections by spreading “misinformation.” “Look at what Russia is doing already about the 2022 elections and misinformation,” Biden said during a trip to the office of the director of national intelligence near Washington, referring to information he receives […]
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said Tuesday that Beijing’s expansive claims in the South China Sea have “no basis in international law”, taking aim at China’s growing assertiveness in the hotly contested waters. Austin’s broadside came at the start of his first trip to Southeast Asia as US defense secretary, as he seeks to rally allies […]
HONG KONG (Reuters) – The first person charged under Hong Kong’s national security law was found guilty on Tuesday of terrorism and inciting secession in a landmark case with long-term implications for how the legislation reshapes the city’s common law traditions. An alternative charge of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm was not considered. The […]
China on Tuesday said the US had “fabricated” allegations it carried out a massive Microsoft hack, countering that Washington was the “world champion” of cyber attacks while raging at American allies for signing up to a rare joint statement of condemnation. The United States on Monday accused Beijing of carrying out the March cyber attack […]
By Humeyra Pamuk and David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States is preparing to impose sanctions on Friday on a number of Chinese officials over Beijing’s crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong, as well as a warning to international businesses operating there about deteriorating conditions, two people with knowledge of the situation told Reuters. The […]
Former US vice president Mike Pence warned Wednesday that China was on its way to becoming an “evil empire” posing a greater threat to America than the Cold War-era Soviet Union. Former president Donald Trump’s deputy, believed to be mulling his own 2024 White House bid, also urged current occupant Joe Biden to confront China […]
China’s ruling Communist Party, which celebrates its 100th anniversary Thursday, is characterised by secrecy in leading the world’s second-biggest economic power from the shadows. Founded as an illegal Marxist underground movement in Shanghai a century ago, it has subsequently been defined by the strict control of information, surveillance and purges of dissenters. Here are five […]
By James Pomfret HONG KONG (Reuters) -China on Friday approved the promotion of Hong Kong’s security secretary John Lee to chief secretary, while police chief Chris Tang will take Lee’s position in what critics say will further tighten Beijing’s security squeeze on the global financial hub. The elevation of Lee, 63, a former police deputy […]
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper warned Monday it is unable to pay staff and is at imminent risk of closure after the government froze the company’s assets using a sweeping new national security law. Apple Daily has long been a thorn in Beijing’s side, with unapologetic support for the city’s pro-democracy movement and caustic […]
What a difference a year makes in international diplomacy. A year ago, then-US President Donald Trump was obliged to abandon his plans for a G7 summit at the presidential retreat of Camp David outside Washington. Various excuses were advanced by participants, including the inadvisability of travelling across the world in the midst of a pandemic. […]
US President Joe Biden said Monday he would lay down “red lines” to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at their upcoming meeting, after rallying NATO allies to face up to challenges from Moscow and Beijing. Speaking after his first NATO summit since being elected, Biden insisted: “I’m not looking for conflict with Russia, but that […]
BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s mission to the European Union urged NATO on Tuesday to stop exaggerating the “China threat theory” after the group’s leaders warned that the country presented “systemic challenges”. NATO leaders on Monday had taken a forceful stance towards Beijing in a communique at United States President Joe Biden’s first summit with the alliance. […]
Beijing on Wednesday accused Washington of “paranoid delusion” after the US Senate passed a sweeping industrial policy bill aimed at countering the surging economic threat from China. America’s political parties overcame partisan divisions to support pumping more than $170 billion into research and development, one of the most significant achievements in Congress since Joe Biden’s […]
China expressed fury over US Senators visiting Taiwan to donate coronavirus vaccines, saying it could embolden “separatist forces” on the island. Beijing sees democratic, self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory which is to be seized one day, by force if necessary, and rages at any diplomatic attempts to recognize it as an independent nation. […]
Searches for the famous Tiananmen Square “Tank Man” protest photo came up empty on Microsoft search engine Bing on Friday, raising censorship concerns on the anniversary of the deadly crackdown. The award-winning photo from 1989 was not served up in image or video searches using Bing even outside China, a country known for strictly controlling […]
Top US scientist Anthony Fauci has urged China to release the medical records of nine people who fell sick with a coronavirus-like illness prior to the outbreak, saying they could provide insights into whether the pandemic came from a lab. The “lab leak” theory has gained increasing traction, fueled by reports that six miners fell […]
Dozens of leading Hong Kong democracy activists could face up to life in prison for organizing an unofficial primary election, prosecutors confirmed Monday, in the most sweeping use yet of Beijing’s strict new security law. Police charged the 47 activists with “subversion” after they organized a non-binding vote last year to choose candidates for an […]
‘Fast & Furious 9’ star John Cena has apologised for calling Taiwan a ‘country’ after his comments sparked outrage in mainland China Beijing (AFP) – “Fast & Furious 9” star John Cena made a U-turn Tuesday, apologising to Chinese fans after he called Taiwan a “country” and sparked outrage in the world’s largest movie market. […]
By Lusha Zhang and Ryan Woo BEIJING (Reuters) -Twenty-one people were killed when extremely cold weather struck during an ultramarathon in rugged Gansu province in northwestern China, sparking public outrage on Sunday over the lack of contingency planning. The 100-km (62-mile) race began on Saturday from a scenic area at a bend in the Yellow […]
A remote-controlled Chinese motorised rover drove down the ramp of a landing capsule on Saturday and onto the surface of the Red Planet, making China the first nation to orbit, land and deploy a land vehicle on its inaugural mission to Mars. Zhurong, named after a mythical Chinese god of fire, drove down to the […]
China on Thursday branded the United States an “out-and-out security risk creator” in the South China Sea, after an American warship sailed through waters near the disputed Spratly Islands. Tensions in maritime waters claimed by both China and many of its neighbors have ratcheted up recently, with Beijing staging live-fire drills and sending hundreds of […]
BEIJING/TAIPEI (Reuters) – China accused the United States on Wednesday of threatening the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait after a U.S. warship again sailed through the sensitive waterway that separates Taiwan from its giant neighbour. The U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet said the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur conducted a “routine […]
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s population growth in the decade to 2020 slumped to the least since a one-child policy was introduced in the late 1970s, adding pressure on Beijing to boost incentives to couples to have more children and avert an irreversible decline. The population of mainland China increased 5.38% to 1.41 billion, according to […]