China

BIZ BRIEF: Otsuka completes 3rd Chinese Pocari...
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. announced on July 19 that its subsidiary Otsuka Sims (Guangdong) Beverage Co. has completed construction of its second Pocari Sweat plant in Jiangmen, ...
China rapidly expanding its presence in Africa
Hatari Sekoko, second from right, talks with workers from a Chinese company at the construction site of a large hotel in Kigali, Rwanda, on July 6. (Provided by Tomoaki Nakano)
At a vast construction site, a Chinese national flag flutters above Chinese engineers and laborers who are busy working on the biggest project ever in the country.
Japan manufacturers eye Trans-Siberian Railway
A Russian cargo train carries containers along the Trans-Siberian Railway near Vladivostok on June 9. (Hitoki Nakagawa)
Hoping to cut costs, major Japanese electronics makers are shipping parts on Russia's Trans-Siberian Railway, which roughly halves the transit time from Japan and China to...
Frenchman goes to China from Cambodia as witness in ...
PHNOM PENH -- A Frenchman who was being held in Cambodia because of his alleged links to China's biggest political scandal in two decades has been flown to China, where he is...
China's worst rail disaster fading from memory
Debris of the front car of the Hexie D301 high-speed train, which rear-ended the D3115 train in July 2011, remains covered in mud and weeds in Wenzhou, China, on July 12, 2012. In the background, right, are cars of the D3115 train. (Atsushi Okudera)
WENZHOU, China--It's almost as if the rail disaster in this southeastern city that claimed 40 lives last July never happened.
Envoy: China aims to rewrite perceptions on Africa...
BEIJING -- Beijing is eager to rewrite negative perceptions of its growing ties with Africa at a summit this week, citing expanding private investment and a push to shift...
Indonesia seeks Southeast Asia unity after South...
Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa of Indonesia talks to the media during a hastily-called news conference following his brief visit and meeting with his Philippine counterpart Albert Del Rosario (unseen) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on July 18 in Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo)
MANILA -- Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa on July 18 began a Southeast Asian tour in a bid to restore the credibility of the ASEAN regional group, and to seek a...
‘ASEAN Way’ founders in South China Sea storm
ASEAN Secretary–General Surin Pitsuwan attends a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in Phnom Penh on July 11. (AP photo)
MANILA/ KUALA LUMPUR--As Philippine Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario began to raise the sensitive issue of the South China Sea at one of last week's Asian summit meetings,...
North Korea opens door ajar to rich Chinese tourists
Pamphlets targeting Chinese tourists published by North Korean agencies as well as maps of North Korea published in China (Koichiro Ishida)
SHENYANG, China--North Korea, ever eager to get foreign currency, is opening up more tourist routes for well-heeled Chinese visitors.
BIZ BRIEF: Panasonic opens lithium-ion battery...
Panasonic Corp. said on July 17 it has completed construction of a new consumer lithium-ion battery plant within the premises of its existing factory in Suzhou, China.
RISE AND FALL: Influenced by Mao, Bo declares, 'We...
Leaders of the Communist Party of China attend a ceremony to mark the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, held in the Tiananmen Square in October 1949. (Photo provided by CFP)
Editor's note: This is the second of a series on Bo Xilai. This series will appear on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
SMBC first major bank to accept deposits in yuan
A Chinese clerk counts yuan bills at a bank in Nantong city, Jiangsu province, on May 17. (AP file photo)
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. will become the first megabank in Japan to accept deposits in yuan from individual customers, recognizing the growing demand as it becomes a major ...
OLYMPICS/ China commentary says U.S. uniform row...
This product image released by Ralph Lauren shows U.S. Olympic athletes, from left, swimmer Ryan Lochte, decathlete Bryan Clay, rower Giuseppe Lanzone and soccer player Heather Mitts modeling the the official Team USA Opening Ceremony Parade Uniform. Republicans and Democrats railed on July 12 about the U.S. Olympic Committee's decision to dress the U.S. team in Chinese manufactured berets, blazers and pants while the American textile industry struggles economically with many U.S. workers desperate for jobs. (AP file photo)
BEIJING--An uproar over the U.S. Olympic team's made-in-China uniforms is a blasphemy on the Olympic spirit which is supposed to separate sports from politics and a show of...
Envoy ordered to 'accurately' convey Japan's...
Japan's ambassador to China, Uichiro Niwa, arrives at the Foreign Ministry for a dressing-down by Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba on July 15. (Jun Ueda)
The government instructed its ambassador to China to "accurately" convey to Beijing its stance that the disputed Senkaku Islands are Japanese territory and to protest repeated...
Chinese premier says economic woes to continue
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
BEIJING -- China's economic woes that have brought growth to a three-year low will continue for some time, but the slower expansion remains within expectations, Premier Wen...
Japan's China ambassador returns for consultations
Uichiro Niwa, Japan's ambassador to Beijing (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
BEIJING -- Japan's ambassador to Beijing is returning to Tokyo for talks amid new tensions with China over disputed islands in the East China Sea.
China frigate heads home, averts new Philippines row
A Chinese navy warship is seen near architectural structures built by China in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on Nov. 26, 2005. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
MANILA/BEIJING -- A Chinese frigate which ran aground in disputed waters close to the Philippines managed to extricate itself on July 15 and was heading home, averting a...
Philippines says China warship is in its territory
An aerial view shows Thitu (Pag-asa) Island, part of the disputed Spratly group of islands, in the South China Sea (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
MANILA, Philippines--The Philippines says a Chinese warship entered an area it claims in the South China Sea and ran aground on a shoal, as tensions continue between the two...
Japanese housing makers seek growth in China
Daiwa House Industry Co. developed these condominiums in Dalian, China, in this photo taken on July 8. A commercial complex to house 150-200 tenants is under construction in the foreground. (Tsuneo Sasai)
SHENYANG, China—A surprisingly elegant beige building rises amid a forest of industrial plants in China's northeast Shenyang Economic and Technological Development Area.
Made-in-China U.S. Olympic uniforms spark political ...
This product image released by Ralph Lauren shows U.S. Olympic athletes, from left, swimmer Ryan Lochte, decathlete Bryan Clay, rower Giuseppe Lanzone and soccer player Heather Mitts modeling the the official Team USA Opening Ceremony Parade Uniform. Republicans and Democrats railed on July 12 about the U.S. Olympic Committee's decision to dress the U.S. team in Chinese manufactured berets, blazers and pants while the American textile industry struggles economically with many U.S. workers desperate for jobs. (AP file photo)
NEW YORK--Ralph Lauren's stylish uniforms for the U.S. Olympic team, complete with a jaunty beret, have sparked a political row because the red, white and blue outfits were...