Tag: china

Starbucks takes full control of China stores in $1.3 bn deal

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — United States coffee chain Starbucks has announced it will take full control of its mainland China outlets in a $1.3 billion deal, the largest single acquisition in the company’s history. It will buy the remaining 50 percent of its East China joint venture from Taiwan’s food and beverage giant Uni-President, according to a company statement issued Thursday. Starbucks will gain full control of 1,300 stores in 25 cities, including commercial hub […]

Rescue continues overnight across flood-hit county in northwest China

YULIN, China (CCTV) — Rescue operations are still underway across rainstorm-hit Suide County near Yulin City of Shaanxi province, northwest China, on Thursday. More than 400 people have been relocated to three shelters, while other residents have asked for help from their relatives. While power is still down at the three shelters and rain is still expected throughout Thursday, traffic has begun to return to roads. Light rain started to fall on Tuesday evening and […]

Philippines to consult ASEAN on joint China sea oil search

The Philippines on Wednesday  reassured Southeast Asian neighbors about its proposal to partner with Beijing in oil exploration in the disputed South China Sea, promising to consult them on any plans. President Rodrigo Duterte has softened his predecessor’s policy opposing China’s claims — which expand to nearly the entire sea — causing alarm among some neighboring Southeast Asian countries, which also hold partial claims. On Monday, Duterte said his government was in talks with China over joint drilling for […]

Paw power: China plans 100 panda-shaped solar plants on new Silk Road

SHANXI PROVINCE, China (Reuters) —  In a country where anything from chopsticks to slippers can be designed to look like pandas, one Chinese energy company is going a step further by building 100 solar farms shaped like the bears along the route of the ambitious Belt and Road initiative. Panda Green Energy Group has already connected one such 50-megawatt (MW) plant to the grid in the northern province of Shanxi, the first step in a […]

China urges ASEAN to reject outside interference

  Beijing urged Southeast Asian nations on Tuesday to unite and “say no” to outside forces seeking to interfere in the South China Sea dispute, in an apparent swipe at the United States ahead of a regional summit. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the statement in Manila where he hailed the “strong momentum” in improving ties with the Philippines, a longstanding American ally which has moved closer to China under President Rodrigo Duterte. Wang’s […]

Take a Look: Panda sisters wrestle, play basketball on new playground set

DUJIANGYAN CITY, China (CCTV) — Human children are not the only kids in town who love swing sets. A pair of panda sisters named Panyue and Yanhui who live at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) in Sichuan Province can be found sliding, swinging, wrestling and climbing on their new playset at all hours of the day, when they are not reclining and munching on bamboo shoots that is. The sisters […]

WATCH: Spectacular thunderstorm wows locals in east China

LIANCHENG COUNTY, China (CCTV) –A spectacular thunderstorm has wowed Chinese netizens and smart phone users with its vertical column of downpours in east China’s Fujian Province. The thunderstorm occurred Friday last week. Even amateur footage cannot hide the awesomeness of this half-hour awe-struck celestial phenomenon. Most viewers of the footage aspired for an explanation. “This spectacle occurred due to localized strong convection, judging by our radar returns. The wet microburst against sunshine made it all […]

South China province braces for Typhoon Sonca

HAINAN PROVINCE, China (CCTV) — Hainan Province in south China is bracing for Typhoon Sonca, which is expected to make landfall on the island province between Monday night and Tuesday morning. By Sunday noon 24,456 fishing boats have returned to port with all people working on the vessels also having returned to port. The last three boats are on their way back to port, according to the local marine fisheries department. Sea and air transportation […]

Fewer ‘good air’ days in China despite official efforts

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese cities had fewer “good air” days in the first half of 2017 compared to the same period last year despite government efforts to curb incessant smog, according to official data. China has vowed to target coal-burning and vehicle emissions, increase investment in clean energy and punish polluters in a bid to improve the air quality of the world’s second largest economy. But the measures had yet to bear fruit in […]

Bieber not welcome thanks to ‘bad behavior’: Beijing authorities

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Justin Bieber is not welcome to perform in China because of his “bad behavior”, Beijing authorities have said, after the pop idol angered many Chinese in 2014 by visiting a controversial Japanese war shrine The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture revealed it was not a “Belieber” when it said the 23-year-old Canadian, who last played in the country in 2013, had a lot of growing up to do if he wanted […]

US bans travel to North Korea after Warmbier death

  by Ben Dooley BEIJING, China (AFP) — The United States will bar Americans from traveling to North Korea in the coming weeks, two travel agencies said Friday, a month after a United States tourist, student Otto Warmbier, died following his imprisonment by Pyongyang. China-based Young Pioneer Tours, which had taken Warmbier to North Korea, and Koryo Tours said the ban will come into force on July 27 — the anniversary of the end of the Korean War […]

Gas blast kills 2, injures 55 in Hangzhou

  HANGZHOU CITY, China (CCTV) — Two people have been killed and 55 others injured in a gas blast in Hangzhou, capital of east China’s Zhejiang Province, on Friday morning, according to local police. The sudden blast occurred after 08:30 at a noodle restaurant in a residential community, resulting in a heavy fire and shattering windows of nearby vehicles. More than 20 passengers on a bus that was in range of the blast were injured. […]