China

BEIJING (AP) — A boat that capsized on a river in southwest China has left at least 10 people dead, with another five still missing, according to state media on Sunday.

CCTV said that the ship overturned shortly after it departed Saturday evening in Guizhou Province. Preliminary investigations suggest that the ship was blown over by strong winds.

The tragedy struck days before China’s annual Mid-Autumn Festival, when families traditionally gather to have dinner and mooncakes.

BEIJING (AP) — Taiwan’s foreign minister said Sunday that a new tropical fruit import ban by China was a “hostile move”, amid souring relations between the two states.

Chinese customs authorities announced earlier Saturday that they would stop the import of custard and wax apples from Taiwan, citing pest concerns.

BEIJING, September 18. /TASS/: China’s armed forces have conducted a military exercise in the Taiwan Strait area following the passage of a US missile destroyer, Spokesperson for Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Shi Yi said on Saturday.

According to the spokesperson, on September 17, the PLA Eastern Theater Command conducted a military exercise in the air and at sea in territory southwest of Taiwan. Combat ships, early warning aircraft and bombers were involved in the drills.

HONG KONG, Sept 17 (Reuters) - As Beijing seeks to tighten its grip over Hong Kong, it has a new mandate for the city's powerful property tycoons: pour resources and influence into backing Beijing's interests, and help solve a potentially destabilising housing shortage.

Chinese officials delivered the message in closed meetings this year amid broader efforts to bring the city to heel under a sweeping national security law and make it more "patriotic," according to three major developers and a Hong Kong government adviser familiar with the talks.

BEIJING, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday urged the United States and Australia to stop interfering in China's internal affairs and making waves in the Asia-Pacific region.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press briefing in response to a statement after Australia-U.S. ministerial consultations that expressed concern over the South China Sea, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

BEIJING, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday urged the United States and Australia to stop interfering in China's internal affairs and making waves in the Asia-Pacific region.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press briefing in response to a statement after Australia-U.S. ministerial consultations that expressed concern over the South China Sea, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Beijing, Sep 17 (AP-PTI) China has applied to join an 11-nation Asia-Pacific free trade group in an effort to increase its influence over international policies.

Commerce Minister Wang Wentao submitted an application to the trade minister of New Zealand as a representative of the Comprehensive and Progress Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Commerce Ministry announced Thursday.

BEIJING (AP) — A trio of Chinese astronauts returned to earth Friday after a 90-day stay aboard their nation’s first space station in China’s longest mission yet.

Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo landed in the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft Friday at just after 1:30 p.m. (0530 GMT) after having undocked from the space station Thursday morning.

State broadcaster CCTV showed footage of the spacecraft parachuting to land in the Gobi Desert where it was met by helicopters and off-road vehicles.

BEIJING, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- The spacecraft Shenzhou-12, which is carrying Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo, separated from the space station core module Tianhe at 8:56 a.m. Thursday (Beijing Time).

The three astronauts have lived and worked in Tianhe for 90 days, the longest stay in space by Chinese astronauts, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's economy maintained the trend of recovery in August despite disruptions from the COVID-19 epidemic and natural disasters, showing the resilience of the world's second largest economy.

The country's industrial output showed stable growth in August this year, with the value-added industrial output, a key indicator reflecting industrial activities and economic prosperity, expanding 5.3 percent year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).