China’s military budget -- the second-largest in the world after the United States -- is set to increase by 7.1 percent in 2022, Beijing announced yesterday.

China’s factory-gate inflation eased to its slowest pace in six months and consumer price growth also softened in January amid weakening property sector demand, new coronavirus curbs and government efforts to rein in surging materials costs.

China yesterday said it had given “conditional” approval for Pfizer’s Covid-19 drug Paxlovid to treat adults with mild to moderate illness and a high risk of developing severe disease.

Chinese scientists say they have developed a new coronavirus test that is accurate as a PCR lab test but gives results within four minutes. Polymerase chain

Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted a banquet yesterday for heads of state and international organisations attending the Winter Olympics, part of a diplomatic blitz following nearly two years without face-to-face meetings due to the pandemic.

China has agreed that the UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet can visit Xinjiang after the Beijing Olympics, the South China Morning Post said, citing unidentified sources.

China has returned an Indian citizen who “illegally” entered into Chinese territory at the disputed border between the two Asian giants, a military official said yesterday.

China yesterday condemned a French parliament resolution that accuses Beijing of carrying out a genocide against its Uyghur Muslim population, a move that has strained ties two weeks before the Winter Olympics. 

A Chinese couple who were trapped on a never-ending date thanks to a coronavirus lockdown have been relieved to find that love, not Covid-19, is in the air.

China’s birth rate plummeted to a record low last year, official data showed yesterday, as analysts warn that faster-than-expected ageing could deepen economic growth concerns.

Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday warned that confrontation between major powers could have “catastrophic consequences” in a speech to world leaders at an all-virtual Davos forum. 

The birth rate in China plummeted to a record low last year, official data showed Monday, as analysts warn that faster-than-expected ageing could deepen economic growth concerns.

An Omicron case has been detected in Beijing, officials in the Chinese capital said yesterday, as the country battles multiple outbreaks of the highly transmissible coronavirus variant ahead of the Winter Olympics.

China reaffirmed its opposition to unilateral sanctions by the United States against Iran as the Chinese and Iranian foreign ministers announced the launch of a 25-year cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening economic and political ties.

China has accelerated settlement-building along its disputed border with Bhutan, with more than 200 structures, including two-storey buildings,

Inflation in China eased in December thanks to falling food and commodity costs, with analysts saying Wednesday’s figures give policymakers room to unveil measures to kickstart the stuttering economy including interest rate cuts.

Afghanistan’s ambassador to China left a colourful resignation note for his post-Taliban takeover successor yesterday -- revealing that staff had not been paid for months and that a lone receptionist had been left to answer phones.

A building housing a canteen in Chongqing in China's southwest collapsed on Friday after an explosion suspected to have been caused by a gas leak, killing at least 16, state broadcaster CCTV said.

Hospital officials in the northern Chinese city of Xi’an have been punished after a pregnant woman miscarried after being refused entry, reportedly for not having current Covid-19 test results.

A landslide at a construction site in southwest China’s Guizhou province has killed at least 14 people, state media reported yesterday.