China

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Seven Chinese health officials were due to arrive in Hong Kong on Sunday, the first members of a 60-person team that will carry out widespread testing for COVID-19 in the territory as the global financial hub races to halt a third wave of illness.

China’s National Health Commission on Saturday announced their scheduled arrival.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Friday postponed a Sept. 6 election for seats in the city legislature for a year because of a spike in novel coronavirus cases, dealing a blow to the pro-democracy opposition hoping to make gains in the vote.

The opposition was hoping to win a historic majority in the Legislative Council, where only half the seats are directly elected and the other half filled mostly by pro-Beijing appointees.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s manufacturing activity edged up in July and export orders strengthened despite weak U.S. and European demand, a survey showed Friday, in fresh signs the world’s second-largest economy is gradually recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.

The monthly purchasing managers’ index issued by the Chinese statistics bureau and an industry group rose to 51.1 from June’s 50.9 on a 100-point scale. Numbers above 50 show activity increasing.

BEIJING, Jul 30 (APP): China on Thursday expressed the hope that the Indian defence minister’s remarks delivered after arrival of first batch of fighter jets in his country would be conducive to the regional peace and stability.

SHENZHEN (Reuters) - China’s Huawei Technologies snatched the title of biggest smartphone seller from Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) in the second quarter, underscoring the resilience of the China market even as global demand for phones plunged amid the pandemic.

Huawei shipped 55.8 million devices in the April-June period, trumping Samsung’s 53.7 million, according to data from research firm Canalys.

The Chinese company has felt the heat of U.S. sanctions that have disrupted its business overseas, but the latest numbers show its rising dominance in its home market.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police have signaled their intent to enforce a new Chinese national security law strictly, arresting four youths Wednesday on suspicion of inciting secession through social media posts.

Three males and one female, aged 16 to 21, were detained, a police official said at an 11 p.m. news conference. All are believed to be students.

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stocks advanced Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve left interest rates near zero to support a struggling economy.

Benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul all gained.

Lower interest rates and investor optimism about a possible coronavirus vaccine have helped global markets recover most of this year’s losses. But analysts say the recovery might be too early to be supported by uncertain economic activity as infection numbers rise in the United States, Brazil and other countries.

BEIJING, July 29 (APP): The Chinese Embassy in India has urged the Indian government to correct wrongdoings of banning apps with Chinese background. In response to media query on the restriction on WeChat of sending and receiving messages in India, Ji Rong, counselor and spokesperson of the embassy, said the Chinese side has lodged solemn representation to the Indian side and asked the Indian side to correct its wrongdoings, according to China Global Television Network (CGTN) here on Wednesday.

Hong Kong, Jul 29 (AP/PTI) Hong Kong's economy shrank by 9% from a year earlier in the latest quarter, hurt by the coronavirus pandemic and facing more potential damage from the loss of US trade privileges due to a security law imposed by Beijing.

The performance reported Wednesday for the three months ending in June was an improvement over the previous quarter's 9.1% contraction, the biggest since the government began reporting such data in the 1970s.

BEIJING (Reuters) - A prominent Chinese legal scholar who was detained and then fired after criticising President Xi Jinping hopes to clear his name by overturning a prostitution charge brought against him by police, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

Xu Zhangrun, a former constitutional law professor at the prestigious Tsinghua University, was detained by police in Beijing in early July for nearly a week after being accused of soliciting prostitution while in the southwestern city of Chengdu last December.