CHENGDU, China, Jly 27 (Reuters): China took over the premises of the U.S. consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu on Monday, after ordering the facility to be vacated in retaliation for China's ouster last week from its consulate in Houston, Texas. The seizure capped a dramatic escalation in tensions between the world's two biggest economies that began when employees at China's Houston consulate were seen burning documents in a courtyard last Tuesday, hours b

MANILA, Jly 27 (Reuters): Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said he had no choice but to treat disputes in the South China Sea as diplomatic endeavours because the alternative was to go to war with China. Duterte was speaking in defence of his government's decision not to press a 2016 decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which went in favour of the Philippines in a case against China. During his annual address to the nation, Duterte said China was

WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters): U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took fresh aim at China on Thursday and said Washington and its allies must use "more creative and assertive ways" to press the Chinese Communist Party to change its ways, calling it the "mission of our time." Speaking at the Nixon Library in President Richard Nixon's birthplace in Yorba Linda, California, Pompeo said the former U.S. leader's worry about what he had done by opening th

Beijing, July 24 (IANS): The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday ordered the closure of the US Consulate General in the south-western city of Chengdu as a retaliatory move against Washington's decision to close the Asian giant's mission in Houston. In a statement, the Ministry also made specific requirements on the ceasing of all operations and events by the Consulate General, which was established in 1985 and currently has more than 200 staff, Xinhua news agency reported.

WENCHANG, China, July 23 (Reuters): China successfully launched an unmanned probe to Mars on Thursday in its first independent mission to another planet, a bid for global leadership in space and a display of its technological prowess and ambition. China's largest carrier rocket, the Long March 5 Y-4, blasted off with the probe at 12:41 p.m. (0441 GMT) from Wenchang Space Launch Centre on the southern island of Hainan. The probe is expected to reach Mars in February where

SHANGHAI, July 23 (Reuters): A new British policy allowing Hong Kong residents to claim British citizenship is a violation of international law and interferes with China's internal affairs, China's embassy in London said on Thursday. British Interior Minister Priti Patel said on Wednesday that Hong Kong people with British National Overseas or BN(O) status would be able to apply for special visas to live in Britain that could eventually lead towards citizenship, startin

BEIJING/WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters): The United States has told China to close its consulate in Houston in a dramatic worsening of ties between the world's two biggest economies, and a source said Beijing was considering shutting the U.S. consulate in Wuhan in retaliation. Washington "abruptly demanded" closure of the Houston consulate on Tuesday, China's foreign ministry said, calling the move an "unprecedented escalation." The editor of an offici

WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters): The U.S. Justice Department is indicting two Chinese nationals for hacking defense contractors, COVID researchers, and other companies worldwide. In a court filing published Tuesday, U.S. authorities say that the Chinese nationals, Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi, participated in a multiyear cyberespionage campaign that stole weapons designs, drug information, software source code, and more. The indictment alleges that hackers operated from 2014 to 2

LONDON, July 21 (Reuters): U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday the United States wants to build a global coalition to counter China as he accused Beijing of exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to further its own interests. U.S. President Donald Trump identifies China as the United States' main rival, and has accused President Xi Jinping of taking advantage over trade and not telling the truth over the novel coronavirus outbreak, which Trump calls the "C

BEIJING, July 21 (Reuters): China will strive to make up economic losses caused by the coronavirus epidemic and achieve good results for growth this year, President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday, according to state TV. The government will make fiscal policy more proactive, and prudent monetary policy more flexible, China Central Television cited Xi as saying in a meeting with corporate representatives from Hikvision, Goertek, Panasonic China and others. Xi said China will fully

BEIJING, July 21 (Reuters): China said on Tuesday it would respond strongly to Britain's suspension of its extradition treaty for Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, and called on the UK to immediately correct its mistakes. "China will make a forceful counter-attack to the UK's wrong actions," said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin, speaking at a daily news conference in Beijing. Wang added that Britain's moves violated international law and norms. "C

Reuters   Tensions between the United States and China over the South China Sea have erupted into a war of words on social media, in what analysts see as a change in U.S. strategy amid a burgeoning superpower rivalry in Southeast Asia.   After Washington last week hardened its position by explicitly rejecting Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea, U.S. embassies in the region produced an unprecedented flurry of op-eds and statements criticising Beijing

HONG KONG, July 20 (Reuters): China launched its military build-up in the mid-1990s with a top priority: keep the United States at bay in any conflict by making the waters off the Chinese coast a death trap. Now, China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) is preparing to challenge American power further afield.   China's shipyards have launched the PLA Navy's first two Type 075 amphibious assault ships, which will form the spearhead of an expeditionary force

SHANGHAI, July 20 (Reuters): Some cinemas in Chinese cities from Shanghai to Chengdu reopened on Monday after a six-month closure, raising hope that the world's second largest movie market can start to recover from painful losses during the coronavirus pandemic.   Chinese authorities last week said they would allow movie theatres in low-risk areas to resume operations in a restricted fashion, a long-awaited piece of news for a leisure industry that has seen many oth

HONG KONG, July 20 (Reuters): Prominent Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong applied on Monday to run for a seat in the Chinese-ruled city's legislature, raising the prospect of a battle with authorities after being barred from running in previous polls.   Wong is one of more than a dozen young, more confrontational politicians who outshone old guard democrats in unofficial opposition primaries this month in what many saw as a protest vote against a national sec

SHANGHAI, July 20 (Reuters): To protest censorship during the COVID-19 outbreak, a Chinese artist known as Brother Nut kept his mouth shut for 30 days, using metal clasps, gloves, duct tape and other items.   In the project - #shutupfor30days - he also sealed his mouth with packing tape with "404", the error code for a webpage not found, written across it, a nod to the blocking of online content that is common in China for sensitive issues.   "

HANOI, JULY 19 (REUTERS): China's embassy in Myanmar on Sunday accused the United States of “outrageously smearing” the country and driving a wedge with its Southeast Asian neighbors over the contested South China Sea and Hong Kong, as tensions mount between the superpowers. Responding to U.S. claims Beijing was undermining the sovereignty of its neighbors, the Chinese embassy said U.S. agencies abroad were doing "disgusting things" to contain China and h

TAIPEI, July 17 (Reuters): Taiwanese officials in Hong Kong have been told their visas will not be renewed unless they sign a document supporting Beijing's claim to Taiwan under its "one China" policy, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.   The move comes after Taipei criticised a new security law imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing, and opened an office in Taipei this month to help people who may want to leave the Asian financial centre.

Leh/New Delhi, July 17 (IANS): India wants peace but there is no guarantee of the final outcome of talks with China, said Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday in eastern Ladakh region as he reviewed the ground situation of troops in the hostile border areas.   India and China are engaged in military and diplomatic deliberations to de-escalate the tense situation at the border areas on the LAC. The two countries are locked in a 10-week-long standoff at multiple poin

WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters): The United States will support countries that believe China has violated their maritime claims in the South China Sea, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday but stressed doing so in multilateral and legal forums.   "We will then go use the tools that we have available and we will support countries all across the world who recognize that China has violated their legal territorial claims as well – or maritime claim