~theguardian-world | Bookmarks (145)

Annual appearances were rare opportunity for foreign media to engage with high-ranking Chinese officialsChina’s leading economics official, premier Li Qiang, will not address the press at the country’s major annual political gathering in Beijing, in a break with tradition.The Two Sessions has started against a backdrop of major economic headwinds, decreasing transparency on government indicators, and growing concern among international business and investors. Continue...

Tourism industry disappointed but hopeful Chinese holidaymakers could return by year’s end – but economists predict a longer waitGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastIn the two weeks either side of lunar new year, Mandy Ho, who manages a hot air balloon company in Melbourne, has many balls in the air.Most mornings before dawn, when weather permits, her...

Exclusive: Duggan’s legal team continues to fight US request for extradition on charges of arms trafficking and money launderingPodcast: listen to the interview with Asio boss Mike BurgessFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesThe spy agency Asio says it has been cleared by the intelligence watchdog of allegations of impropriety raised by the Australian citizen Daniel Duggan as he fights extradition to...

Policy blueprint to be set out for year ahead and big personnel changes may be announcedThousands of delegates are due to arrive in Beijing this weekend for China’s most high-profile political gathering, a closely observed series of meetings that will lay out the government’s policy blueprint for the year ahead.The event, known as the “two sessions”, begins on Monday as China’s parliament, the National...

Company accused of violations including Chinese employees improperly downloading files relating to Pentagon programsBoeing said on Thursday it had reached a $51m settlement with the US state department for numerous export violations including Chinese employees in China improperly downloading documents related to US Pentagon programs.The state department said from 2013 through 2017 three Chinese employees at Boeing facilities in China downloaded technical data involving...

Report says Xiangguo Qiu secretly worked with Wuhan Institute for Virology and posed a ‘threat to Canada’s economic security’A leading research scientist at Canada’s highest-security laboratory provided confidential scientific information to Chinese institutions, met secretly with officials and posed “a realistic and credible threat to Canada’s economic security” according to newly released intelligence reports.The dismissal of Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, has...

Hilda Heine says US funding delays damage relationship with the Pacific nation as lawmakers say hold-up delivers a ‘gift’ to ChinaHilda Heine, the president of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, has warned relations with the US are “gradually being destroyed by party politics” as Congress delays approval of crucial funding for the Pacific nation.US lawmakers have not yet passed funding packages agreed in...

Early editions of the book of quotations will be sold at an auction of Cultural Revolution artefactsThe Little Red Book, a talisman of 20th-century Maoism, may have fallen out of favour in China after the Cultural Revolution, but its popularity with collectors shows no sign of abating.The book, officially entitled Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong, was given its popular name due to the bright...

Australian Chinese former fashion blogger, whose appointment in 2021 was met with controversy, announces she is leaving the magazineThree years after becoming the youngest person to hold an editor title at Vogue, Margaret Zhang is leaving her position as editorial director of Vogue China.The Australian Chinese creative director announced her exit on Instagram on Monday, writing: “As we kick off a transformative Year of...

Taiwan ambassador says ties remain ‘rock solid’ amid rumours island nation could switch allegiance to BeijingLawmakers in Tuvalu have selected Feleti Teo as the Pacific island nation’s new prime minister, weeks after an election that put ties with Taiwan in focus.Former attorney general Teo secured the support of lawmakers who were elected last month, government secretary Tufoua Panapa told Agence France-Presse on Monday. Continue...

The blaze started on the first floor where electric bikes had been placed, according to officials, but the cause is still unknownAt least 15 people were killed and 44 injured in a fire at a residential building in eastern China’s Nanjing city, local authorities said.The fire broke out early Friday morning, officials said at a press conference, with a preliminary investigation suggesting the blaze...

Xinjiang in north-west recorded minus 52.3C, while Badu in south recorded 38C – the largest temperature contrast recorded in a single countryChina’s Xinjiang region, in the far west of the country, experienced record-breaking low temperatures of -52.3C on 18 February, surpassing a 64-year-old record for the region. The figure was just shy of the lowest national temperature of -53C, which was recorded in the...

Leaked files shows range of services offered and bought, with data harvested from targets worldwideA big leak of data from a Chinese cybersecurity firm has revealed state security agents paying tens of thousands of pounds to harvest data on targets, including foreign governments, while hackers hoover up huge amounts of information on any person or institution who might be of interest to their prospective...

Beijing’s move comes at a time when Budapest’s relationship with its EU and Nato allies is at a low pointChina has offered to deepen security cooperation with Hungary, underscoring Budapest’s warming ties with Beijing just as Hungarian officials snubbed a visiting delegation from Washington.Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, met China’s minister of public security, Wang Xiaohong, on Friday. Continue reading...

British producers to back EU’s proposed regulations to stop trade in adulterated honeyBritain’s beekeepers are backing ­proposed new rules to combat fraud in the supply chain, ensuring a jar of honey can be traced on its journey of up to 5,000 miles from the beehive to the shop shelf.The European parliament has agreed new labelling rules and a project to establish a traceability system...

Case of Emily Chen, who did a few months’ work for US logistics firm, highlights ‘deteriorating’ climate for foreign firmsChina has detained one of its citizens on spying charges after she did some work for a US company, in a case that experts say highlights the potential risks of working for foreign businesses in the country.Emily Chen, 50, disappeared after flying into Nanjing Lukou...

The vessel capsized while being chased by Taiwan’s coastguard near the Kinmen islands, in what China called a ‘malignant incident’Beijing has condemned Taiwanese authorities after two Chinesefishers drowned while being chased by Taiwan’s coastguard off the coast of the Kinmen archipelago.The Kinmen islands lie within a few miles of China’s Fujian coast and are controlled by Taiwan. Continue reading...

Researchers used samples from populations deemed by experts and campaigners to be vulnerable to exploitation, including Uyghurs and TibetansA genetics journal from a leading scientific publisher has retracted 18 papers from China, in what is thought to be the biggest mass retraction of academic research due to concerns about human rights.The articles were published in Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine (MGGM), a genetics journal...

Remarks by head of trade authority come amid fears UK firms could be undercut ‘to extinction’The head of Britain’s post-Brexit trade watchdog has said it is ready to follow Brussels in launching an investigation into Chinese companies flooding the market for electric cars, but the government has not asked it to do so.Oliver Griffiths, the chief executive of the UK’s Trade Remedies Authority (TRA),...

Exclusive: Cameron urged to raise human rights and security concerns in first meeting with Wang Yi since Sunak made him foreign secretaryDavid Cameron is expected to meet his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, this weekend for the first time since becoming British foreign secretary.The Foreign Office has pencilled in a meeting between Cameron and Wang at the Munich security conference, according to two government sources....

China ‘threatens relatives in Tibet’ to exert control over activists in exile, with greater transnational repression at Tibetan new yearThousands of Tibetans around the world have been subjected to spying, blackmail and threats against family members still living in Tibet, according to a new report.The Chinese government’s repressive policies in Tibet continue to be documented, but the new report by the Tibetan Centre for...

Chemicals producer says audits revealed no wrongdoing but recent media reports crossed red lineThe German chemicals producer BASF has said it will withdraw from its two joint ventures in Xinjiang, after media reports about alleged human rights abuses relating to its partner company, which BASF’s CEO said crossed a red line.In a statement on Friday, BASF said that while “regular due diligence measures including...

Plunge in consumer prices has fuelled calls for a stimulus package – yet Beijing may stick to the new normal of lower growth• China consumer prices plunge at fastest rate for 15 yearsChina’s economy has gone from bad to worse – and it is only February.Figures released on Thursday showed consumer prices fell by 0.8% in January compared with a year earlier, outstripping economists’...

Plummeting food prices feed steep annual drop amid renewed calls to stimulate economy and offset weakening demandBusiness live – latest updatesChina’s consumer prices fell at their fastest pace in 15 years in January, as the world’s second-largest economy sank deeper into deflation amid weakening demand.Data released on Thursday showed that China’s consumer price index tumbled last month, falling by 0.8% compared with a year...