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BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s exports rose in March for the first time in six months, customs data showed Thursday, as the world’s second-largest economy continued its recovery following the end of onerous coronavirus curbs late last year. The 14.8 percent surge in overseas shipments marked the first since September, according to the General Administration of Customs, and will provide a boost to hopes for a lasting rebound. Beijing long maintained some of the world’s […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Japanese tech investment titan SoftBank has decided to sell nearly all of its stake in Alibaba to limit exposure to China, the Financial Times reported Thursday. SoftBank was an early investor in the Chinese internet giant founded by Jack Ma but began to offload its shares last year. According to the report, SoftBank, which once owned 34 percent of Alibaba, has sold more than $7 billion of its shares since the […]
Taipei, Taiwan | AFP | Wednesday 4/12/2023 China will set up a brief no-fly zone north of Taiwan on Sunday due to what the island’s transport ministry described as “space activities”. The closure comes after Beijing completed three days of massive war games around self-ruled Taiwan last week, during which China simulated targeted strikes and practised a blockade of the island. The no-fly zone does not appear to be linked to the drills, with […]
Beijing, China | AFP | Wednesday 4/12/2023 Emmanuel Macron’s unexpected suggestion that Europe not “follow” US policy on Taiwan is being hailed as a “brilliant decision” this week in China, where state news outlets and social media users are lauding his independence. The French president sowed confusion across the international community — and left Western allies bristling — after calling for “strategic autonomy” on Taiwan following last week’s trip to China, where he met […]
Beijing, China | AFP | Wednesday 4/12/2023 by Jing Xuan TENG China’s President Xi Jinping called on the country’s armed forces to “strengthen military training oriented towards actual combat”, state media reported Wednesday, after Beijing conducted military drills intended to intimidate Taiwan. Xi’s comments, made on a naval inspection trip on Tuesday, come amid heightened tension in the region after the show of force by Beijing, which sees self-ruled Taiwan as its territory. China on […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan’s ruling party nominated Vice President William Lai as its candidate for next year’s presidential elections on Wednesday, choosing a contender who has been more outspoken on Taiwanese independence than incumbent Tsai Ing-wen. The announcement comes two days after China formally ended massive war games around democratic Taiwan that saw it simulate targeted strikes and practice a blockade of the island. The nomination is almost certain to anger China, which openly […]
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AFP) — A Chinese delegation met with officials in Honduras Tuesday to thrash out bilateral economic agreements to build on official diplomatic ties established last month, the foreign ministry said. Honduras cut ties with Taiwan to switch its diplomatic allegiance to China. China considers the self-ruled, democratic island a part of its territory to be retaken one day, and does not allow countries to recognize both Beijing and Taipei. A senior Chinese delegation […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Eight Chinese warships were still operating in waters around the island on Tuesday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said, a day after Beijing declared an end to its massive war games. China launched three days of military exercises around self-ruled Taiwan on Saturday that saw it simulate targeted strikes and practice a blockade of the island. The show of force was a response to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with US House Speaker […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The White House said Monday it remains “confident” in the US-French relationship after President Emmanuel Macron distanced himself from US policy on Taiwan and warned Europeans not to be American “followers.” Macron’s remarks to journalists from French business daily Les Echos and news site Politico came after he was hosted for a state visit by China’s Xi Jinping. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the Biden administration […]
Manila, Philippines | AFP | Monday 4/10/2023 The Philippines will not allow “any offensive actions” from the bases it has opened to US troops, President Ferdinand Marcos said Monday. Manila last week announced the locations of four more military bases it is allowing the US military to use on top of the five agreed on under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, known as EDCA. The deal allows US troops to rotate through and store […]
Taipei, Taiwan | AFP | Monday 4/10/2023 Taiwan’s defence ministry said it detected 12 Chinese warships and 91 aircraft around the island on Monday, after Beijing ended three-day military exercises. “Although (China’s) Eastern Theatre Command has announced the end of its exercise, the military will never relax its efforts to strengthen its combat readiness,” the defence ministry said in a statement, adding that its tally of ships and aircraft was as of 6 pm (1000 […]
Pingtan, China | AFP | Monday 4/10/2023 by Matthew Walsh, with Jack Moore in Matsu, Taiwan China declared it had “successfully completed” three days of war games around Taiwan on Monday, capping a show of force that saw it simulate targeted strikes and practise a blockade of the self-ruled island. Beijing’s exercises were a response to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week, an encounter it had warned would […]
