Beijing — Zheng Qinwen’s parents sold the family home to fund her tennis dreams and now she is an Olympic champion and China’s biggest current sports star. The 21-year-old is playing at home for the first time since becoming the first Chinese player to win an Olympic singles tennis gold when she triumphed in Paris….
Beijing — China’s central bank said Sunday it would tell banks to lower mortgage rates for existing home loans before Oct. 31, as part of sweeping policies to support the country’s beleaguered property market as the economy slows. Commercial banks should, in batches, reduce interest rates on existing mortgages to no less than 30 basis…
Taipei, Taiwan — Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Sunday it was on alert after detecting “multiple waves” of missile firing deep in inland China, days after Beijing said it had carried out a successful test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Democratically governed Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, keeps a close watch on…
Some inventions have remained virtually flawless since their inception, requiring only the most subtle adjustments throughout history. Chopsticks exemplify this beautifully. An excavation in southwest China’s Sichuan province in mid-September unearthed a pair of metal chopsticks from the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) that appear as though they could have been cleaned and set for the…
China is aggressively advancing its artificial intelligence (AI) research and production, aiming to achieve greater autonomy in the China-U.S. tech competition through local AI chip design. This ambition makes Chinese AI chip firms prime targets for U.S. technology sanctions. However, China faces a significant challenge: its leading wafer manufacturer, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), can…
TAIPEI, TAIWAN — China has urged Japan to maintain a “healthy and stable” relationship with Beijing after former Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba won the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership race Friday. Ishiba is set to become Japan’s next prime minister when Japanese lawmakers convene on October 1. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told…
BEIJING — Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Friday welcomed Chinese efforts to stimulate its slowing economy, noting that its recent weakness has hurt Australia. Chalmers was wrapping up a two-day visit to Beijing, the first to China by an Australian treasurer in seven years, as strained bilateral relations mend. He told reporters that Australia’s economy…
New York — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. This meeting between the countries’ top diplomats comes amid growing U.S. concerns over Chinese firms supplying chips and drones to Moscow, which…
HONG KONG — A Hong Kong court is due to sentence two former editors on Thursday who have been found guilty of sedition after publishing articles about the national security crackdown in the city under China — a ruling that has prompted an international outcry. In a landmark case about media freedom, Chung Pui-kuen and…
Taipei, Taiwan — China’s central bank has released a series of economic stimulus plans, including cuts to mortgage interest rates and the required cash reserve ratio — the latter of which will allow commercial banks to inject $140 billion into the market — among other monetary policies aimed at reviving the housing market and stimulating…