China

26 September 2019; AFP: Hong Kong's embattled leader arrived for a town hall meeting on Thursday evening, part of a bid to reach out to residents after more than three months of huge, sometimes violent pro-democracy protests.

The public "dialogue session" is the pro-Beijing government's first attempt to sit down with her critics following 16 consecutive weeks of unrest.

BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday deplored and strongly opposed the passing of the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 by U.S. congressional committees, urging the United States to stop interference in Hong Kong affairs.

The Act confuses right and wrong in total disregard of the facts, brazenly bolsters up violent radicals in Hong Kong and grossly interferes in China's internal affairs, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said in a statement released Thursday morning.

BEIJING (AP) — Major Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher Thursday after President Donald Trump suggested a costly tariff war with China could be resolved soon.

Benchmarks in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul advanced.

Stocks gained after Trump, speaking to reporters Wednesday at the United Nations, said China wants “to make a deal very badly” and it “could happen sooner than you think.”

“Investors have been ‘trade war’ bearish for so long that any sliver of optimism is cheered,” said Stephen Innes of AxiTrader in a report.

25 September 2019; AFP: A futuristic airport that resembles a giant starfish opened in Beijing Wednesday, as China unveils another massive infrastructure project just days before it celebrates 70 years of Communist Party rule.

Located 46 kilometres (29 miles) south of Tiananmen Square, Beijing Daxing International Airport will operate at full capacity in 2040, with eight runways and the potential to receive 100 million passengers per year.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Dozens of Hong Kong anti-government protesters appeared in court on Wednesday, charged with rioting and other offences over violent clashes two months ago near China’s main representative office.

The case was adjourned until Nov. 19 after prosecutors said they needed more time to study 35 hours of video, including police, online and CCTV footage. The 44 defendants were to be released on bail, lawyers said.

JIUQUAN, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- China sent a new satellite into planned orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert on Wednesday.

The Yunhai-1 02 satellite, launched on a Long March-2D carrier rocket at 8:54 a.m. (Beijing Time), will be mainly used for detecting the atmospheric and marine environment and space environment, as well as disaster control and other scientific experiments.

BEIJING, September 23. /TASS/: Beijing will boost strategic cooperation with Moscow in all fields, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in an article on the upcoming 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.

According to him, China-Russia cooperation has reached unprecedented reached unprecedented highs.

The Chinese top diplomat also emphasized that Beijing intended to develop ties with neighboring countries, particularly building mutual trust.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Disputes in the Gulf should be resolved peacefully via talks and all sides should remain calm and exercise restraint, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Iraq’s visiting prime minister on Monday.

Riyadh is preparing to provide evidence to the U.N. General Assembly which it says will prove Iran was behind a Sept. 14 drone and missile assault on Saudi oil facilities, a view shared by Washington. The assault initially had a drastic impact on Saudi oil output.

XICHANG, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- China successfully sent two satellites of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) into space from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province at 5:10 a.m. Monday.

Launched on a Long March-3B carrier rocket, the two satellites entered orbit. They are the 47th and 48th satellites of the BDS satellite family.

The new satellites and the carrier rocket were developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong police fired tear gas on Sunday to break up pro-democracy protesters who trashed fittings at a station and shopping mall, the latest in more than three months of often violent unrest.

Hundreds of protesters, young and old, had gathered in the New Town Plaza in the New Territories town of Sha Tin, chanting: “Fight for freedom” and “Liberate Hong Kong.”

Protesters called for a boycott of businesses in the Chinese-ruled city seen as pro-Beijing and made a paper chain of receipts from those stores, which were then hung across the mall.