Tag: china

Shanghai swelters through hottest May day in 100 years

SHANGHAI, May 29, 2023 (AFP) – Shanghai recorded its hottest May day in more than 100 years on Monday, the city’s meteorological service announced, shattering the previous high by a full degree. Scientists say global warming is exacerbating adverse weather, with many countries experiencing deadly heatwaves and temperatures hitting records across Southeast and South Asia in recent weeks. “At 13:09, the temperature at Xujiahui station hit 36.1 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit), breaking a 100-year-old […]

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China to send first civilian into space on Tuesday

By Ludovic EHRET Agence France-Presse JIUQUAN, China, May 29, 2023 (AFP) — China will send its first civilian astronaut into space as part of a crewed mission to the Tiangong space station on Tuesday, its Manned Space Agency announced, as Beijing pushes ahead with its extra-terrestrial ambitions. The world’s second-largest economy has invested billions of dollars into its military-run space program, trying to catch up with the United States and Russia after years of belatedly […]

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China’s first homegrown passenger jet makes maiden commercial flight

BEIJING, May 28, 2023 (AFP) – China’s first domestically produced passenger jet made its maiden commercial flight on Sunday, a milestone event in the nation’s decades-long effort to compete with Western rivals in the air. Beijing hopes the C919 commercial jetliner will challenge foreign models like the Boeing 737 MAX and the Airbus A320, though many of its parts are sourced from abroad. Its first homegrown jetliner with mass commercial potential would also cut the […]

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US, Microsoft warn Chinese hackers attacking ‘critical’ infrastructure

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2023 (AFP) – State-sponsored Chinese hackers have infiltrated critical US infrastructure networks, the United States, its Western allies and Microsoft said Wednesday while warning that similar espionage attacks could be occurring globally. Microsoft highlighted Guam, a US territory in the Pacific Ocean with a vital military outpost, as one of the targets, but said “malicious” activity had also been detected elsewhere in the United States. The stealthy attack — carried out by […]

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China steps up response to US chip moves but economic reality limits how far

By Poornima WEERASEKARA, Luna LIN Agence France-Presse BEIJING, May 25, 2023 (AFP) — Beijing’s restrictions on American chipmaker Micron in retaliation to sweeping US chip curbs mark a major step up in its response to Washington’s pressure and could open the door for further measures in the geopolitical standoff, analysts say. But they warned President Xi Jinping’s ability to raise the stakes will be limited as he battles to re-energize the world’s number two economy […]

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Sri Lanka navy finds 14 bodies in capsized Chinese boat

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, May 24, 2023 (AFP) — Sri Lanka’s navy said Wednesday it had located 14 bodies inside a Chinese fishing boat that had capsized last week with 39 crew on board. The discovery came a day after a preliminary Chinese government probe concluded there were no survivors. The Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028 overturned on May 16, with 17 Chinese, 17 Indonesians and five Filipinos on board within Australia’s vast search-and-rescue region, 5,000 […]

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Chinese diaspora bears brunt of Canada-Beijing tensions

By Mathiew LEISER, Marion THIBAUT Agence France-Presse TORONTO, Canada, May 24, 2023 (AFP) – The Chinese diaspora has been caught in the crossfire of Ottawa’s row with Beijing over its alleged meddling in Canada’s affairs — facing both intimidation from Chinese operatives and rising stigmatization. And each new spat between their ancestral home and adoptive country — the latest being tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats in May — brings additional stress for the community. Many people […]

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Russian PM arrives in China for talks with Xi, business forum

SHANGHAI, China, May 23, 2023 (AFP) — Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has arrived in China, Moscow’s foreign ministry said, for a visit in which he will meet with President Xi Jinping and ink a series of deals on infrastructure and trade. Mishustin arrived late Monday in Shanghai, the ministry said, where he was greeted at the airport by Moscow’s ambassador to China Igor Morgulov and Beijing’s top diplomat to Russia Zhang Hanhui. He will […]

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TikTok sues to stop ban in US state of Montana

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — TikTok on Monday filed suit in US federal court to stop the state of Montana from implementing an overall ban on the video sharing app. The unprecedented ban, set to start in 2024, violates the constitutionally protected right to free speech, TikTok argued in the suit. “We believe our legal challenge will prevail based on an exceedingly strong set of precedents and facts,” a TikTok spokesperson told AFP. Montana […]

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G7 vows economic coercion will ‘face consequences’

HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 20, 2023 (AFP) – G7 leaders vowed Saturday that attempts to “weaponise” trade and supply chains would “fail and face consequences,” in a thinly veiled warning to China over its economic practices. Pushing back against Beijing’s willingness to wield trade measures in diplomatic disputes has been a key theme of the bloc’s meeting in Hiroshima though, in the end, its statement on economic security did not directly reference China. Still, the target […]

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Russian PM to visit China next week: Beijing

BEIJING, May 19, 2023 (AFP) – Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will visit China from May 23 to 24, Beijing’s foreign ministry and the Kremlin said on Friday. “At the invitation of Premier Li Qiang of the State Council, Russian Federation Prime Minister Mishustin will pay an official visit to China from May 23 to 24,” foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a statement. Confirming the visit, the Kremlin said: “Russian-Chinese cooperation in trade […]

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Montana TikTok ban unrealistic and misguided: experts

By Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — A total ban of TikTok in the US state of Montana is set up to face an epic battle in the courts, but many experts wonder whether the law is even technically possible. Montana is the first US state to ban TikTok, with the law set to take effect next year as debate escalates over the impact and security of the popular video app […]

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