China

12 January 2020; AFP: Washington and Beijing may be ready to sign a preliminary trade agreement, but companies in China are not taking any chances, forging ahead with contingency plans in case the tariff war resumes.

As Chinese Vice Premier Liu He travels to Washington from Monday to Wednesday to seal the deal, manufacturers and suppliers told AFP that they fear the agreement could be upended even after it is signed.

BEIJING, Jan 11 (NNN-XINHUA) – Hu Huaibang, ex-chairman of China Development Bank (CDB), has been expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC), over serious violations of Party discipline and law, the top anti-graft body announced today (Saturday).

9 January 2020; AFP: China believes a mysterious pneumonia outbreak that struck 59 people is caused by a new strain of virus from the same family as SARS, which killed hundreds of people more than a decade ago.

Lead scientist Xu Jianguo told the official Xinhua news agency that experts had "preliminarily determined" a new type of coronavirus was behind the outbreak, first confirmed on December 31 in Wuhan, a central Chinese city with a population of over 11 million.

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets and oil prices rebounded Thursday as anxiety over potential U.S.-Iranian conflict eased.

London and Frankfurt opened higher and Tokyo gained more than 2%. Shanghai and Hong Kong also advanced.

Markets sank Wednesday after Tehran launched missiles at bases housing Americans in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of an Iranian general. Anxiety subsided after reports indicated no Americans were killed and President Donald Trump said Iran “appears to be standing down.”

BEIJING (AP) — China’s economy czar will visit Washington next week for the signing of an interim trade deal, the government said Thursday.

Vice Premier Liu He, Beijing’s chief envoy in talks with Washington over their tariff war, had been expected to attend the signing but the Commerce Ministry’s statement was the first official confirmation.

HONG KONG (AP) — Trump signs, Pepe the Frog graffiti and British and American flags have become a common sight at Hong Kong’s anti-government protests — and an unsettling one to longtime democracy activists on the left.

Beijing has seized on the images to portray the movement as a coddled, westernized middle class incited by foreign organizations and governments to rebel against the world’s largest communist country, China.

“Why does the American flag appear at every violent scene in Hong Kong?” state broadcaster CCTV asked.

XICHANG, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- China sent a new communication technology experiment satellite into space from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province at 11:20 p.m. (Beijing Time), Tuesday.

The satellite has entered the preset orbit. It will be used in communication, radio, television and data transmission, as well as high throughput technology test.

The satellite was launched on a Long March-3B carrier rocket. It was the 324th mission for the Long March series carrier rockets.

BEIJING (AP) — Oil prices rose and Asian stock markets fell Wednesday after Iran fired missiles at U.S. bases in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of an Iranian general.

Brent crude futures, the benchmark for international oils, spiked more than $3 per barrel in London before retreating.

Tokyo’s stock market benchmark fell nearly 2% before recovering some of its losses and Hong Kong’ was off 1%. Shanghai, Australia and Southeast Asian markets also retreated.

“Investors appear to be pricing for an all-out war,” Jingyi Pan of IG said in a report.

6 January 2020; AFP: Beijing's new top envoy to Hong Kong said he hoped the protest ravaged city would "return to the right path" as he took up his post on Monday.

Luo Huining replaced Wang Zhimin as head of Beijing's Liaison Office in Hong Kong -- the most significant personnel change by China since violent pro-democracy protests erupted in the city nearly seven months ago.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China criticized the United States for aggravating tension in the Middle East through its use of force in the standoff between Washington and Tehran and urged all parties to exercise restraint to ensure peace and stability.

A U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani has further escalated the conflict between the two countries already at odds over Tehran’s nuclear activities.