China

Despite its extravagance, Chinese aid not always...
This international convention center in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, was built with Chinese aid. The photo was taken March 25. (Atsushi Okudera)
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania--There's a towering presence in the foreign aid landscape in Africa, once the domain of Western donor nations and Japan: It is China.
China battery plant protest gives voice to rising...
More than 1,000 people gathered to voice their opposition to the construction of a petrochemical plant by China National Petroleum Corp. during a rally in Kunming, Yunnan province, on May 4. (AP Photo)
SHANGHAI--Hundreds of protesters gathered in the Chinese financial hub of Shanghai on May 11 to oppose plans for a lithium battery factory, highlighting growing social tension...
Chinese rehabilitate fathers in forgotten war
In this photo taken April 2, Yang Yankang, a son of Chinese Nationalist army war veteran and curator, speaks about the importance of the lost images he and his team brought to light of the U.S. and Chinese joint efforts in fighting off the Japanese during World War II in an exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan. (AP Photo)
TAIPEI, Taiwan--Yang Jingtao did what many young, brave Chinese did--he left his home as a teenager to fight the invading Japanese in World War II.
Japan-Taiwan fishing pact takes effect, but rough...
A Taiwanese fishing boat operates in waters near the Senkaku Islands in the area designated under the Japan-Taiwan fishing rights pact on May 10. (Shiro Nishihata)
There's a certain irony to the fishing pact that Japan signed with Taiwan last month on the joint management of fishing operations in waters near the disputed Senkaku Islands.
Celebrity panda at center of Thai-China deal
In this photo taken May 2, Lin Ping, a four-year-old Panda chews bamboo at Chiang Mai zoo in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand. A breakthrough was announced May 10 when the Chinese Embassy informed Thai authorities that Lin Ping can stay in Thailand until October, said Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul. (AP Photo)
BANGKOK--Thailand's celebrity baby panda Lin Ping is almost 4 years old now. It's time to move to China, find a mate and have cubs.
Sharp to slash 5,000 jobs, shift production focus
Sharp Corp.'s headquarters in Osaka's Abeno Ward  (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Sharp Corp. will cut 5,000 jobs, slash the number of directors and advisory positions and shift its production focus under a three-year plan to fully recover from the 2008...
SYMPOSIUM IN SEOUL/ Cooler heads, private-sector...
SEOUL—Calm responses and increased private-sector exchanges are needed to avoid conflict and repair Japan’s worsening relations with China and South Korea, participants at...
N. Korea asks China to hire idled Kaesong workers
South Korean vehicles laden with goods return from the North Korean city of Kaesong on April 17. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
SHENYANG, China--North Korean authorities asked their Chinese counterparts to hire North Korean workers withdrawn from the symbolic inter-Korean joint venture in the Kaesong...
Chinese academics question Japan’s rights to...
Hua Chunying, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman (Provided by Chinese Foreign Ministry)
BEIJING--As if the dispute between Beijing and Tokyo over sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands was not enough controversy, the Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper has...
EU agrees on China solar panel duties; Beijing...
A Chinese factory worker checks solar power panels to be exported to Europe in a factory in Ganyu, Jiangsu province, China, on May 9. (AP Photo)
BRUSSELS--The European Commission agreed to impose punitive import duties on solar panels from China in a move to guard against what it sees as dumping of cheap goods in Europe,...
China's April auto sales rise 13 percent
Visitors look at JAC cars during an auto show in Haikou city, Hainan province, China, on March 31. (AP file photo)
BEIJING--An industry group says China's auto sales rose 13 percent in April despite concern about a weak economic recovery while Japanese brands suffered less severe declines.
VOX POPULI: 'Cloth diary' reveals China’s darkness
A diary written by Liu Hua on a cloth describes the hideous situation of a labor education camp in China. (Nozomu Hayashi)
Three years ago, The Asahi Shimbun ran a story about the discovery of a letter written in "needle characters." A needle was used to make tiny holes on a piece of white...
SYMPOSIUM IN SEOUL/ Exploring ways to advance...
With Japan's relations with China and South Korea highly strained by their respective territorial disputes and history issues, experts and researchers from the private sectors...
Cyberattacks a growing irritant in U.S.-China ties
Signs are growing that the sustained surge in cyberattacks emanating from China is imperiling its relations with the U.S. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
BEIJING--Signs are growing that the sustained surge in cyberattacks emanating from China is imperiling its relations with the U.S., lending urgency to fledgling efforts by both ...
Poll: Japanese choose South Korea over China, but...
Many Japanese women visit Tokyo's popular Shin-Okubo district, known as a "Korean town," to enjoy "Han-ryu" South Korean goods and foods. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Japanese overwhelmingly prefer South Korea to China, but South Koreans favor China by an almost equally wide margin over Japan, according to a joint poll by private Japanese...
Pentagon calls China's baseline claims around...
The Asahi Shimbun
WASHINGTON—Beijing’s “improperly” drawn baselines aimed at strengthening its sovereignty claims over waters around the disputed Senkaku Islands are part of a series of...
EDITORIAL: Environmental cooperation a first step...
Representatives from South Korea, Japan and China at the Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting in Kita-Kyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, on May 6 (The Asahi Shimbun)
Japan, China and South Korea agreed to beef up cooperation and establish a forum for strategic dialogue to combat air pollution plaguing China during the Tripartite Environment ...
BIZ BRIEF: Epson opens surface processing site in...
Seiko Epson Corp. said on May 8 that its group company, Singapore Epson Industrial Pte. Ltd., has opened a new production and sales site in Zhenjiang, a city in Jiangsu...
BIZ BRIEF: Mitsubishi Electric system begins...
Mitsubishi Electric Corp. announced May 8 that the digital instrumentation and control system for nuclear power plants that it developed jointly with China Techenergy Corp....
China’s struggling automakers jump on SUV boom
Beijing Automobile Works Co. shows off the B40 SUV at the Shanghai motor show in April. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
SHANGHAI--BYD is known for electric cars but this year’s flagship model is the S7, a gasoline-powered SUV. It comes with an air purifier, radar to help with backing and...