China

BEIJING (AP) — A week after China dramatically eased some of the world’s strictest COVID-19 containment measures, uncertainty remained Thursday over the direction of the pandemic in the world’s most populous nation.

BEIJING, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- "Do you know who the greatest propagator of disinformation in the history of the world is? The U.S. government," U.S. Senator Rand Paul spoke bluntly at a Senate hearing in May.

Paul cited a series of examples for his assertion, one of which was the United States invaded Iraq in 2003 on a pretext of "weapons of mass destruction."

BEIJING (AP) — China said Wednesday it would stop reporting asymptomatic COVID-19 cases since they’ve become “impossible” to track with mass testing no longer required, another step in the country’s uncertain exit from some of the world’s strictest antivirus policies.

China last week announced its most significant easing yet of antivirus measures and has begun to see what appears to be a rapid increase in new infections, raising concerns that its health system could become overwhelmed as those in other countries did during early COVID waves.

BEIJING, December 13. /TASS/: China and India have withdrawn troops from a border area where clashes took place recently, PLA (Chinese People’s Liberation Army) Western Theater Command Spokesperson Long Shaohua said on Tuesday.

"As of now, China and India have withdrawn their troops," he said in a statement posted on the WeChat social network.

HONG KONG, Dec 13 (Reuters) - China is working on a more than 1 trillion yuan ($143 billion) support package for its semiconductor industry, three sources said, in a major step towards self sufficiency in chips and to counter U.S. moves aimed at slowing its technological advances.

Beijing plans to roll out what will be one of its biggest fiscal incentive packages over five years, mainly as subsidies and tax credits to bolster semiconductor production and research activities at home, said the sources.

BEIJING (AP) — Some Chinese universities say they will allow students to finish the semester from home in hopes of reducing the potential of a bigger COVID-19 outbreak during the January Lunar New Year travel rush.

It wasn’t clear how many schools were taking part, but universities in Shanghai and nearby cities said students would be given the option of either returning home early or staying on campus and undergoing testing every 48 hours. The Lunar New Year, which falls on Jan. 22 this year, is traditionally China’s busiest travel season.

BEIJING, Dec 12 (Reuters) - U.S. sanctions on two senior Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses in Tibet were illegal and seriously harmed Sino-U.S. ties, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday.

China rejects accusations that it has used harsh policies to quell ethnic dissent and control religious activities in the rugged Himalayan region of Tibet.

BEIJING (AP) — China planned to stop tracking some travel on Monday, potentially reducing the likelihood people will be forced into quarantine for visiting COVID-19 hot spots, as part of an uncertain exit from the strict pandemic policies that helped fuel widespread protests.

BEIJING, Dec 11 (APP): Pakistan participated in the International Forum for Energy Transition 2022 which was held in the Chinese capital, with wide participation from across the world.

Federal Minister for Energy, Khurram Dastgir Khan represented Pakistan at the forum while the Chinese government was represented by Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng who delivered remarks at the event, according to a press release issued here.

BEIJING, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Beijing's COVID-19 gloom deepened on Sunday with many shops and other businesses closed, and an expert warned of many thousands of new coronavirus cases as anger over China's previous COVID policies gave way to worry about coping with infection.

China dropped most of its strict COVID curbs on Wednesday after unprecedented protests against them last month, but cities that were already battling with their most severe outbreaks, like Beijing, saw a sharp decrease in economic activity after rules such as regular testing were scrapped.