WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Justice Department on Monday unveiled sweeping charges against Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei in two cases likely to ratchet up tensions between the two superpowers — including that of a top executive arrested in Canada on a US warrant. The department unveiled 13 charges against Huawei Technologies, its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou — the daughter of the company’s founder who is currently out on bail in Canada — […]
Tag: china
Trump to meet Chinese vice premier in trade talks: Treasury Secretary
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump will meet with China’s trade envoy this week during talks aimed at resolving the trade dispute with Beijing, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is leading a delegation of 30 officials to Washington as the United States and China work to reach an agreement ahead of a March 1 deadline, when US tariffs are due to increase sharply. Mnuchin told […]
Abe vows Kim meeting to ‘break shell of mutual distrust’
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s prime minister vowed Monday to “break the shell of mutual distrust” with North Korea by meeting leader Kim Jong Un face-to-face and restoring diplomatic relations between the two historic foes. In a major policy speech to mark the opening of parliament, Shinzo Abe also vowed to push Sino-Japan ties “to a new stage” and pledged a record budget to improve crumbling infrastructure in the world’s third-biggest economy. “I will act […]
Most Asian markets climb at start of crunch week
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets mostly rose Monday as investors look ahead to a week chock-full of crucial events including the high-level trade talks between China and the United States. Hopes that a deal can be struck between the world’s top two economies have helped fuel a rally this month in global equities, which had been hammered in December. While there have been conflicting reports on the likelihood of an agreement to solve […]
S. Korea’s first airborne fight against ‘Chinese’ pollution fails
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — An attempt by South Korea to create artificial rain to tackle air pollution many blame on neighboring China has failed, the government said Monday, as it struggles to address what has become an urgent public concern. Many South Koreans blamed China when pollution surged for three days earlier this month, and on Friday the Korea Meterological Administration (KMA) sent an aircraft to seed clouds with silver iodide in the hope […]
Microsoft’s Bing search engine inaccessible in China
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Microsoft’s Bing search engine was inaccessible in China on Thursday, with social media users fearing it could be the latest foreign website to be blocked by censors. Attempts to open cn.bing.com has resulted in an error message for users since Wednesday. “We’ve confirmed that Bing is currently inaccessible in China and are engaged to determine next steps,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a brief statement, hours after saying the company was […]
Senate blocks payment for P20-billion Chinese CCTV project
(Eagle News) — The Senate has moved to block payment for the Chinese-offered “Safe Philippines Project” in its version of the 2019 national budget. In a statement, Senator Ralph Recto said the Senate has included two provisions which have this effect on the CCTV-based emergency response system that was supposed to pilot in Metro Manila and Davao City. The first provision, under the Unprogrammed Fund section of the national budget, specifies that no amount appropriated “shall be […]
China promises Cambodia $600m aid at PM visit
by Poornima WEERASEKARA Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — China has promised four billion yuan ($588 million) in aid to Cambodia, the Southeast Asian country’s Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday on a visit to Beijing. The largest investor in Cambodia, China has pumped billions of yuan into the economy and has written off debt while sweeping aside questions over Phnom Penh’s abysmal rights record. The four billion yuan grant will run from 2019 […]
White House denies reports of canceled trade meeting
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The White House on Tuesday said high-level trade talks with Beijing were proceeding uninterrupted, quickly rebutting media reports that progress toward resolving their trade war had faltered. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is to meet his US counterparts in Washington next week as the two sides work to resolve their trade disagreements by March 1, when a 90-day truce is due to expire, allowing US import duties on Chinese goods […]
Tourist killed by falling window from Hong Kong hotel
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — A hotel employee arrested after a window she was cleaning fell onto a busy Hong Kong street and killed a tourist was released on bail Tuesday as investigators try to work out what caused the fatal tragedy. Police said a 24-year-old female tourist from the Chinese mainland was struck by the window which fell from the 16th floor of the Mira Hotel in the busy Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district […]
China’s ageing elite live golden years in style
by Eva XIAO Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — At a gated community for Chinese senior citizens, retired military personnel, film-makers, and top university professors settle into a new routine: ballet lessons, weightlifting and catered dining. As China’s population ages rapidly and the one-child policy left parents with only a single child to help them in their old age, the upper crust of Chinese society are spending the last years of their lives in […]
Ex-diplomats, scholars urge China to release Canadians
by Elizabeth LAW Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — A group of more than 100 former diplomats and academics have signed an open letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping calling for the release of two Canadians who have been detained on allegations of espionage. Former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor were on December 10 arrested for activities that “endanger China’s security” — a phrase often used by Beijing when alleging espionage. Their […]





