Tag: china

ASEAN seeks conclusion of China-led trade deal this year: Thai PM

  BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Southeast Asian leaders are eager to sign a sweeping China-led trade pact by the end of this year, Thailand’s prime minister said Friday, with further talks expected at a Bangkok summit on the world’s biggest commercial deal. Beijing is seeking to shape the rules of free trade across the Asia-Pacific, as America retreats from multilateral deals under US President Donald Trump. The China-crafted Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) includes all […]

Hundreds converge anew on Hong Kong parliament to demand resignation of Chief Executive Lam

  (Eagle News) — After the Hong Kong government had refused to completely withdraw the unpopular extradition bill, hundreds of protesters again poured into Hong Kong’s main government complex early Friday to demand the resignation of Hong Kong leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, who is seen as pro-Beijing. The people started converging around 7 a.m., many of them dressed in black. The government had refused to accede to the demands of the protesters who have […]

Beijing proposes joint PHL-China probe into Recto Bank incident; Duterte “welcomes” it, Panelo says

(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte welcomes a China-Philippines investigation into the Recto Bank incident that saw a Chinese vessel hitting a Filipino fishing boat and abandoning it. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the revelation on Thursday, June 20, after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang suggested the same on the same day in Beijing. “To find a proper solution, we suggest a joint investigation at an early date so the two sides can exchange […]

Trade disputes to dominate as ASEAN meets in Bangkok

  by Jenny Vaughan Agence France Presse BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Southeast Asian leaders will dissect the impact of the US-China tariff war this weekend at a Bangkok summit, with Beijing determined to drive forward a trade pact sweeping in 40 percent of global commerce — but excluding America. Disputes in the flashpoint South China Sea and Myanmar’s treatment of Rohingya Muslims are also likely to make the agenda at the two-day Association of Southeast […]

Xi arrives in North Korea to meet Kim ahead of Trump talks

by Sebastien Berger with Poornima Weerasekara in Beijing PYONGYANG, North Korea (AFP) — President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang on Thursday on a historic trip to reboot a troubled alliance, as he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un face their own challenges with US President Donald Trump. Xi is the first Chinese president to visit North Korea in 14 years after relations between the Cold War era allies deteriorated over Pyongyang’s nuclear provocations and […]

Xi heads to North Korea to meet Kim ahead of Trump talks

by Sebastien Berger with Poornima Weerasekara in Beijing BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping makes a historic trip to Pyongyang on Thursday, rebooting a troubled alliance as he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un face their own challenges with US President Donald Trump. Xi will be the first Chinese president to visit North Korea in 14 years after relations between the Cold War era allies deteriorated over Pyongyang’s nuclear provocations and Beijing’s […]

Vietnamese crew who rescued 22 Filipino fishermen at sea recount rescue, corroborate PHL fishermen’s account

  (Eagle News) – The crew of a Vietnamese fishing vessel that rescued 11 Filipino fishermen adrift at sea said that the Filipinos they rescued were “clinging to plastic barrels and pieces of wood from the shipwreck” when they found them at Recto Bank. The account, as reported by VN Express, a Vietnamese online newspaper, of the Vietnamese crew who rescued the Filipino fishermen matched the account of the Filipino victims left drifting at sea […]

China’s Xi to visit North Korea this week ahead of G20

by Eva Xiao with Sebastien Berger in Pyongyang BEIJING, China (AFP) — Xi Jinping will make the first trip to North Korea by a Chinese president in 14 years this week, state media said Monday, as Beijing tightens relations with Pyongyang amid tensions with the United States. Xi will visit Pyongyang on Thursday and Friday at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said Chinese official news agency Xinhua. The timing is likely […]

UPDATED: China earthquake kills 12, injures 134

  BEIJING, China (AFP) –The toll from a strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake in southwest China rose to 12 dead and 134 injured on Tuesday as rescuers pulled bodies and survivors from wrecked buildings. More than 4,000 people were relocated as dozens of structures were damaged or collapsed following late Monday’s earthquake outside Yibin in Sichuan province, according to the city government. State broadcaster CCTV showed footage of rescuers bringing a survivor out of the rubble of […]

At least six dead, 75 hurt in China quake

BEIJING, China (AFP) — A strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck China’s southwestern Sichuan province on Monday, leaving at least six people dead and 75 others hurt, officials and state media said. Rescuers were rushing to affected areas in heavy rain near the epicenter, which was located outside the city of Yibin, the Xinhua news agency reported. The quake occurred at about 10:55 pm (1455 GMT) at a depth of 16 kilometers (10 miles), according to the […]

Huawei phone sales plunge, cutbacks planned as US pressure bites

  SHENZHEN, China (AFP) — Huawei’s founder said Monday the Chinese telecom giant’s overseas smartphone sales have tumbled since the US last month threatened to blacklist the company, and he warned the embattled firm would slash production to weather the US drive to isolate it. The announcements by Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei marked the first clear indication from the company of the impact of the US pressure, which is being applied over concerns […]

Beijing says it will ‘firmly support’ Hong Kong leader Lam

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — Beijing reiterated its backing of Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam on Monday after a massive demonstration demanding her resignation over a controversial extradition bill. Protest organisers said some 2 million people choked Hong Kong’s streets on Sunday — despite Lam’s decision to indefinitely suspend passage of the bill a day earlier. Critics fear the Beijing-backed law will entangle people in China’s notoriously opaque and politicised courts and damage the […]