China

HONG KONG (AP) — Black-clad protesters calling for political reforms have started gathering in several Hong Kong districts.

The demonstrators congregated Sunday in shopping malls in Sha Tin and Tseun Wan holding umbrellas and wearing masks in defiance of a recently imposed ban on face coverings.

They called on people to assemble simultaneously in 18 different districts — an apparent effort to divide up police resources. Baton-wielding riot police stood on a foot bridge in Tai Po.

BEIJING, Oct 12 (APP): The second phase of construction of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will focus on industrial cooperation, agricultural cooperation, and construction of Gwadar port and socio-economic development, of which 27 new projects will be launched during the year.

TIANJIN, October 12. /TASS/: JSC Russian Helicopters and China's Avicopter company may sign a contract on designing heavy helicopter AC322 AHL by the end of 2019, a spokesperson for Russian Helicopters told TASS on Saturday at the China Helicopter Exposition in Tianjin.

"JSC Russian Helicopters and Avicopter have concluded talks and coordinated all contract documents on designing a heavy helicopter. The contract is currently undergoing an approval procedure in the state authorities of China," the spokesperson said. "We hope to sign the contract by the end of the year," he added.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Petrol bombs were thrown inside a Hong Kong metro station on Saturday but no one was injured, the government said, as pro-democracy protesters again took to the streets angry at what they believe is Beijing’s tightening grip on the city.

The Kowloon Tong station was seriously damaged in the attack, the government said in a statement. Riot police deployed in the streets of Kowloon and inside several metro stations after the petrol bomb attack.

BEIJING, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Friday warned Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority that confrontation would lead nowhere and seeking "Taiwan independence" is a dead end.

Commenting on Taiwan leader's remarks on relations across the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said: "The speech is full of confrontational thinking and hostile mentality."

BEIJING, Oct 10 (APP): While commenting on Indian government’s plan to spend US$ 130 on buying military equipment, a Chinese military observer has said that such a large military budget is very likely to trigger an arms race between India and Pakistan.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong protesters prepared for demonstrations around the city on Thursday as shopping malls said they would close early to avoid becoming targets and the city’s metro, which has borne the brunt of the violent unrest, will close three hours early.

Hong Kong is one of the world’s top shopping cities but four months of often violent protests have severely dented that reputation, with scores of shops vandalized and malls now becoming sites for sit-ins by protesters.

BEIJING, Oct 8 (APP): Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday reiterated China’s firm support to Pakistan in defending its sovereignty, territorial integrity and legitimate rights, saying his country had always regarded its relations with Pakistan as a priority in neighbouring diplomacy.

BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Tuesday said China firmly opposes the United States adding 28 Chinese entities to its "Entity List" and urges the U.S. side to remove them from the list as soon as possible.

The Chinese side has noticed that the U.S. Department of Commerce has added 28 Chinese entities to its "Entity List," and will continue to follow the developments, a spokesperson with the MOC said.

BEIJING (AP) — China demanded Washington lift sanctions on Chinese tech companies and warned Wednesday it will “resolutely safeguard” the country’s interests.

The Ministry of Commerce criticized curbs imposed on sales of U.S. technology to a group of Chinese companies as interference in the country’s affairs. American officials say those companies provide technology used to repress Muslim minorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.