China

HONG KONG (AP) — World markets mostly advanced Friday after Wall Street recouped most of the week’s earlier losses and Japan reported slowing inflation, which may keep its ultra-low interest rates steady.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% higher and the S&P 500 was up 0.2%.

France’s CAC 40 added 0.5% to 7,434.81 in early trading. Germany’s DAX went up 0.4% to 16,635.19. Britain’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.7% to 7,510.86.

BEIJING (AP) — Rescuers evacuated tourists on Tuesday from a remote skiing area in northwestern China where dozens of avalanches triggered by heavy snow have trapped more than 1,000 people for a week, state media said.

The avalanches have blocked roads, stranding both tourists and residents in a village in Altay prefecture in the Xinjiang region, close to China’s border with Mongolia, Russia and Kazakhstan.

Those injured were being airlifted out on a military helicopter while supplies such as food and fuel were being flown in.

HONG KONG (AP) — European markets opened lower while Asian markets were mostly higher on Monday as the week got off to a mixed start.

U.S. markets will be closed for Martin Luther King Day, a holiday.

France’s CAC 40 lost 0.1% to 7,454.74. Germany’s DAX slipped 0.1% to 16,688.90, and Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 0.2% to 7,619.80.

The future for the S&P 500 gained 0.1%, and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually unchanged.

BEIJING, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The Chinese embassy in Japan said on Sunday that it "resolutely opposed" Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa's statement congratulating Taiwan's new president-elect Lai Ching-te.

In a statement published on the Japanese foreign ministry's website on Saturday, after the results of the Taiwan presidential election were announced, Kamikawa congratulated Lai on his victory, calling the self-ruled island claimed by Beijing "an extremely crucial partner and an important friend."

BEIJING, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday the most urgent task for Sino-U.S. relations is to establish a correct understanding and cooperation between the two sides, stressing it is "no longer an option ... but an imperative" for the world.

Cooperation is the "most correct choice for China and the United States to get along", Wang said in a keynote speech at an event to mark the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the U.S.

BEIJING, Jan 3 (Reuters) - China's military will conduct routine patrols with its naval and air forces in the South China Sea from Wednesday to Thursday, the military's Southern Theater Command said, as ongoing tensions simmer in the region over disputed territories.

China's military did not say where exactly the patrols would be held but they were announced as the Philippines and the United States were carrying out a two-day joint patrol in the highly strategic waterway, a move that likely irked Beijing.

BEIJING, Jan 1 (APP): The BRICS memberships of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Ethiopia officially took effect on Monday.
The countries were invited to join the group in August 2023 after the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, CGTN reported.

Originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, BRICS, an important platform for cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries, has received numerous membership requests in recent years.

BEIJING, Jan 1 (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulations with U.S. President Joe Biden on the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday.

Xi, in his message, said both countries have "weathered the storms and moved forward in general", which has enhanced the well-being of their peoples and contributed to world peace, stability and prosperity, according to the ministry statement.

BEIJING, Dec 30 (Reuters) - China will simplify visa applications for tourists from the United States from Jan. 1, cutting the documents required, according to a notice on Friday on the website of the Chinese embassy in Washington.

The move is the latest by China to revive tourism and boost the world's second-largest economy following a slump during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tourist visa applicants in the U.S. will no longer need to submit air ticket bookings, hotel reservations or an invitation letter, the embassy's notice said. 

BEIJING, Dec 30 (Reuters) - A sweeping purge of Chinese generals has weakened the People's Liberation Army, exposing deep-rooted corruption that could take more time to fix and slow Chinese leader Xi Jinping's military modernization drive amid geopolitical tensions, analysts say.

China's top lawmakers ousted nine senior military officers from the national legislative body on Friday, state media reported, a step that typically precedes further punishment for wayward cadres. Many of these were from the Rocket Force - a key arm of the PLA overseeing tactical and nuclear missiles.