BEIJING, China (AFP) — President Xi Jinping on Wednesday assured Vladimir Putin of China’s support on Russian “sovereignty and security” — leading Washington to warn Beijing it risked ending up “on the wrong side of history”. China has refused to condemn Moscow’s massive military assault on Ukraine and has been accused of providing diplomatic cover for Russia by blasting Western sanctions and arms sales to Kyiv. China is “willing to continue to offer mutual support […]
Tag: china
China factory output, retail sales weak as Covid shadow persists
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s factory output and retail sales remained weak in May, official data showed Wednesday, with tepid demand and lingering Covid restrictions putting a damper on growth in the world’s second-largest economy. The government is persisting with a zero-Covid strategy to stamp out clusters as they emerge, but this has placed companies and consumers at the mercy of snap, economically damaging lockdowns. Retail sales sank 6.7 percent on-year in May, the National […]
Top US, Chinese national security figures hold ‘candid’ talks
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The top Chinese and US security advisers have held lengthy talks, with both sides describing them as “candid” following days of acrimonious exchanges over Taiwan and other flashpoint issues. Readouts of the meeting in Luxembourg on Monday were toned down compared with last week, when China’s defence minister warned his country would not “hesitate to start a war” over Taiwan, while the US defense secretary blasted Beijing’s “provocative, destabilising” military […]
Keeping China fed as inflation surges brings risk for commodity prices
by Beiyi Seow Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Bedevilled by high fuel and fertilizer costs, along with a labor crisis driven by Covid-19 restrictions, China risks a smaller autumn harvest that could supercharge demand for commodities just as the world can afford it least. Global food prices have spiked since Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, a major world producer of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, driving costs to record highs. Moscow stands accused of […]
Pres. Duterte stresses PHL sovereignty over territorial waters at commissioning of BRP Melchora Aquino
Highlights importance of Coast Guard visibility in West Philippine Sea at event marking 124th PHL independence Day (Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte said that the country has to “assert” its sovereignty even in disputed waters as he led the commissioning Sunday, June 12, of the Barko ng Pangulo ng Pilipinas (BRP) Melchora Aquino of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) which is expected to improve its capability to monitor the country’s coastlines. “You know […]
Australia, China defense ministers meet for first time in 3 years
Australia and China’s defence ministers met for the first time in three years on Sunday, with the talks described as “an important first step” following a period of strained ties. “It was an opportunity to have a very frank and full exchange in which I raised a number of issues of concern to Australia,” Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said, confirming the meeting to journalists in Singapore. The meeting between Marles and Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe […]
China vows ‘fight to the end’ to stop Taiwan independence
by Catherine Lai China will “fight to the very end” to stop Taiwanese independence, the country’s defence minister vowed Sunday, stoking already soaring tensions with the United States over the island. The superpowers are locked in a growing war of words over the self-ruled, democratic island, which Beijing views as part of its territory awaiting reunification. Frequent Chinese aerial incursions near Taiwan have raised the diplomatic temperature, and on Saturday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin […]
PHL lodges protest over China’s “illegal fishing” in Ayungin Shoal
DFA says China has “no right to fish, monitor or interfere with PH’s legitimate avtivities therein” (Eagle News) – The Philippines again lodged a protest over China’s “illegal fishing” in the Ayungin Shoal on Friday, June 10, as the Department of Foreign Affairs stressed that China had “no right to fish, monitor or interfere” with the country’s “legitimate activities” there. The DFA said it lodged a protest “over recent incidents” in the Ayungin Shoal, […]
PHL protests swarming anew of over 100 Chinese fishing vessels around Julian Felipe Reef
(Eagle News) – The Philippine government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, again filed a protest over Chinese incursion around Julian Felipe Reef after it noted “the return of over 100 Chinese vessels illegally operating in the waters in and around” the reef recently. The DFA observed the incident which happened on April 4, 2022, “barely a year after the same swarming incident was protested by the Philippine Government.” “The lingering unauthorized presence of […]
US blasts China’s ‘destabilising’ military activity near Taiwan
by Martin Abbugao Agence France Presse US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin Saturday blasted China’s “provocative, destabilising” military activity near Taiwan, a day after his Chinese counterpart warned him that Beijing was prepared to go to war over the island. Tensions between Washington and Beijing are soaring over democratic, self-ruled Taiwan, which China views as its territory and has vowed to seize one day, by force if necessary. Beijing has flown growing numbers of its […]
Russia, China unveil first road bridge
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia and China on Friday unveiled the first road bridge between the two countries as Moscow pivots to Asia amid its confrontation with the West over Ukraine. The kilometre-long bridge over the Amur River links the far eastern Russian city of Blagoveshchensk with Heihe in northern China. The construction of the bridge was completed two years ago but its inauguration was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. During a ceremony […]
Hong Kong shares kick off day with big losses
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong stocks opened sharply lower Friday morning, extending a global sell-off after the European Central Bank painted a dim outlook for the region’s economy, while traders are awaiting a key reading on US consumer prices. The Hang Seng Index fell 1.58 percent, or 346.55 points, to 21,522.50. The Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.76 percent, or 24.77 points, to 3,214.18, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange slipped […]





