Category: BBC

Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin. The pair have met more than 40 times and look like the best of friends, but there’s a lot more to this relationship than meets the eye. The BBC’s China Correspondent Laura Bicker explains three things to look out for during the state visit. BBC

At least nine people have died and 70 have been hospitalised after strong winds caused four tourist boats to capsize in southwestern China. Sudden strong winds caused the boats to capsize in a river in Qianxi city in Guizhou on Sunday, leading 84 people to fall into the water, according to state media reports. More than a dozen people were missing, but all except one have now been rescued. The incident occurred as China celebrated the tail end of its week-long May Day holiday, a peak season for travel. Chinese…

Hong Kong has released four former opposition lawmakers who were among dozens of pro-democracy leaders jailed under the city’s controversial National Security Law (NSL). The four – Claudia Mo, Kwok Ka-ki, Jeremy Tam and Gary Fan – had pleaded guilty and were each sentenced to four years and two months behind bars in November. They were released on Tuesday because the fact they they had been in prison since their arrests in 2021 was taken into account when calculating their sentence. The four lawmakers were part of a group known…

The Chinese coastguard has seized a tiny sandbank in the South China Sea, state media has reported, in an escalation of a regional dispute with the Philippines. State broadcaster CCTV released images of four officers, wearing all black and holding the Chinese flag, stood on the disputed reef of Sandy Cay in the Spratly Islands. CCTV said China had “implemented maritime control and exercised sovereign jurisdiction” on the reef earlier in April. Both China and the Philippines have staked claims on various islands. The Philippines said later on Sunday that…

China has executed a man for fatally stabbing a 10-year-old Japanese boy last September, the Japanese embassy in China has told the BBC. Zhong Changchun was sentenced to death in January for attacking the boy, who had been walking to a Japanese school in south-eastern Chinese city of Shenzhen. The case had sent shockwaves through both countries and fuelled diplomatic tensions amid allegations of it being a xenophobic attack. “The Government of Japan considers the murder of a completely innocent child to be an unforgivable crime, and we take this…

China has warned countries against appeasing the US in trade talks over President Donald Trump’s tariffs. A Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson made the comments in response to reports that Washington plans to put pressure on governments to restrict trade with Beijing in exchange for exemptions to US import taxes. The Trump administration has started talks with trading partners over tariffs, with a Japanese delegation visiting Washington last week and South Korea is set to start negotiations this week. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has imposed hefty…

Instead, she now spends more time reading and weaving. She has also started selling her handmade products at a local market, which brings in extra cash. More importantly, Ms Wen says, this has helped her shift towards a minimalist lifestyle, which she appreciates more. BBC

Just hours before Mr Blinken stepped on the tarmac in Shanghai, the US Senate passed a bill package giving a further $8bn of military aid to Taiwan, which President Biden has said the US would defend if attacked by China. The self-governed island, which counts the US as its biggest ally, is claimed by China. BBC

Sutcliffe felt that not all of those in attendance were football fans. “Undoubtedly, international matches provided a platform for Hong Kong residents to voice their frustrations,” says Sutcliffe. “The booing of the national anthem provided great publicity for them. Attendances went up and many people came to matches who under normal circumstances would never have gone to a football match.” Sutcliffe cannot recall any complaints from Beijing. “We were certainly put under pressure by the Hong Kong SAR [Special Administrative Region] Government to do everything we could to stop it,”…