China

BEIJING, March 23 (Reuters) - China has never deliberately pursued a trade surplus with the United States, Shu Jueting, a commerce ministry spokesperson, said on Thursday, despite signs that China is continuing to reduce its reliance on American exports.

22 Mar 2023; MEMO: China, on Wednesday, slammed Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich's denial of the existence of the Palestinian people, calling it "irresponsible", Anadolu News Agency reports.

BEIJING, March 23 (Reuters) - China's military said on Thursday it had monitored and driven away a U.S. destroyer that illegally entered waters around the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.

In a statement, the military said that the guided-missile destroyer USS Milius intruded into China's territorial waters, undermining peace and stability in the busy waterway.

BEIJING (AP) — China on Wednesday said President Xi Jinping’s just-concluded visit to Russia was a “journey of friendship, cooperation and peace,” and again criticized Washington for providing military support to Ukraine.

The trip that ended Wednesday signaled no new progress in ending the bloody conflict between Russia and Ukraine while shoring up President Vladimir Putin’s standing amid growing efforts to isolate him and his government internationally.

BEIJING (AP) — When China suddenly scrapped onerous zero-COVID measures in December, the country wasn’t ready for a massive onslaught of cases. Hospitals turned away ambulances, crematoriums burned bodies around the clock, and relatives hauled dead loved ones to warehouses for lack of storage space.

BEIJING, March 17 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Russia next week to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin, the two countries said on Friday, as Beijing touts a plan to end the grinding Ukraine war that has received a lukewarm welcome on both sides.

Xi's March 20-22 trip comes after China last month published a 12-point plan for "a political resolution of the Ukraine crisis" and after a senior Chinese diplomat called on Thursday for negotiations in a call with Ukraine's foreign minister.

BEIJING (AP) — In a rare phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Thursday, China’s foreign minister says Beijing is concerned about the year-old grinding conflict with Russia spinning out of control and urged talks on a political solution with Moscow.

Qin Gang told Dmytro Kuleba that China has “always upheld an objective and fair stance on the Ukraine issue, has committed itself to promoting peace and advancing negotiations and calls on the international community to create conditions for peace talks,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Russia from Monday to Wednesday, in an apparent show of support for Russian President Vladimir Putin amid sharpening East-West tensions over the conflict in Ukraine.

Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine is expected to dominate discussions. China has sought to project itself as neutral in the conflict even while in 2022 Beijing declared it had a “no-limits” friendship with Russia and has refused to condemn Moscow’s invasion.

The meeting between the leaders was announced by both countries on Friday.

BEIJING, Mar 16 (APP): Argentina is considering procuring the JF-17 aircraft, with Chinese analysts saying that the fighter jet jointly developed by China and Pakistan is the best choice for South American country in terms of performance and availability.

Argentine Ambassador to China Sabino Vaca Narvaja recently held a work meeting with Argentine Defense Minister Jorge Taiana and his team in Buenos Aires to promote cooperation with China in the field of national defense, the Argentine embassy in China said in a social media post on Weibo.

BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- A 7.0-magnitude earthquake jolted the Kermadec Islands of New Zealand at 8:56 a.m. Thursday (Beijing Time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

The epicenter, with a depth of 10 km, was monitored at 30.2 degrees south latitude and 176.05 degrees west longitude, said the CENC.