2 h. ago China’s 2 largest food and drink chains officially step foot in the US

China’s 2 largest food and drink chains officially step foot in the US  The US Sun

Politics

5 h. ago China’s He Lifeng holds ‘constructive’ call with US officials Bessent, Greer

Top Chinese and US officials held a call on Friday to discuss trade, including ongoing efforts to implement an agreement to de-escalate their countries’ trade war. Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng had an “in-depth and constructive” video call with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported. Both sides agreed to promote the stable development of bilateral trade and economic ties, and “expand the list for cooperation...

Politics

5 h. ago China’s VP has ‘constructive’ call with Trump officials Bessent and Greer

Beijing and Washington held a call on Friday to discuss bilateral trade and economic ties, as a variety of practical issues – from soybean orders to computer chips – remain problematic despite the trade truce in October. Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng’s video call with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was part of a bilateral negotiation mechanism started this year to address issues between the world’s two largest economies. The two sides had...

Politics

7 h. ago China will work with US on global narcotics control, says official

China will work with US on global narcotics control, says official  Anadolu Ajansı

Politics

10 h. ago ‘If Jesus were born in America now’: church’s nativity challenges ICE policy

Mother Mary wearing a respirator mask to protect herself from tear gas. Baby Jesus with zip-tied hands, wrapped in a thin blanket that looks like aluminium foil. Masked centurions with sunglasses and green vests labelled “ICE”. This is how the Lake Street Church of Evanston in suburban Chicago chose to assemble its nativity scene for the Christmas season. The church and its leaders have been vocal critics of the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz and expressed a message with their...

Events

12 h. ago Hong Kong’s religious communities unite in prayer to mourn Tai Po fire victims

About 4,000 Muslims from Hong Kong gathered on Friday to pray for and offer condolences to the victims of the Tai Po fire, while other religious groups held prayer meetings to show spiritual support. The Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong held a special prayer session at 1.30pm at Kowloon Mosque in Tsim Sha Tsui to pay respect to the victims. The blaze at Wang Fuk Court killed at least 159 people. Among them were nine Indonesian domestic helpers and one Filipino...

Events

14 h. ago ‘Breasts will be larger’: China parenting app messages leave expectant dads uneasy

A leading parenting platform in China has sparked discomfort among expectant fathers with feeds such as “her body has become the shape of S” and “you can have some sex at this stage,” leading many to voice their complaints on social media. An internet user, whose wife is 22 weeks pregnant, shared that both he and his wife are registered members of Baby Tree, an app that caters to families with pregnant women and infants. According to the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald, the couple regularly receive...

Politics

15 h. ago Moore Threads aspires to become ‘leading global player’ in AI chips after IPO

Moore Threads, a five-year-old graphics processing unit (GPU) developer created by Nvidia’s former China chief, aspires to become one of the leading global players in artificial intelligence chip development, its founder and CEO Zhang Jianzhong said. Zhang, Nvidia’s China general manager from 2006 to 2020, was quoted as saying by the official Shanghai Securities Journal that the start-up would introduce a new-generation chip each year to provide key hardware for China’s AI development. “Our goal...

Politics

16 h. ago Filipinos slam official’s US$8.50 advice for Christmas feast

Marife Dhoctor, 43, a domestic helper in the Philippines, is looking forward to the traditional Christmas Eve dinner, when families gather to savour festive dishes and exchange gifts. However, rising prices of goods have forced her family of five to stretch their meagre budget as they plan for the annual feast known as Noche Buena or “the good night”. Dhoctor and her husband, who works as a construction worker, earn a combined daily wage of just over 1,000 pesos (US$17). As building projects are...

Politics

16 h. ago Anger boils in Philippines over official’s US$8.50 Christmas feast budget

Marife Dhoctor, 43, a domestic helper in the Philippines, is looking forward to the traditional Christmas Eve dinner, when families gather to savour festive dishes and exchange gifts. However, rising prices of goods have forced her family of five to stretch their meagre budget as they plan for the annual feast known as Noche Buena or “the good night”. Dhoctor and her husband, who works as a construction worker, earn a combined daily wage of just over 1,000 pesos (US$17). As building projects are...

Politics

17 h. ago China's HongShan eyes $2.9 billion Golden Goose deal by Christmas

China's HongShan eyes $2.9 billion Golden Goose deal by Christmas - paper  Reuters

Economics

23 h. ago Former Chongqing political official facing corruption investigation

Sun Zhengcai, the former secretary of Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, has been placed under investigation on suspicion of accepting bribes, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Monday.

Politics

23 h. ago Ex–New York State official accused of spying for China called Hochul 'more obedient' than Cuomo, trial reveals

Ex–New York State official accused of spying for China called Hochul 'more obedient' than Cuomo, trial reveals  Fox News

Politics

25 h. ago Officials warn about expansive, ongoing China espionage threat riding on Brickstorm malware

Officials warn about expansive, ongoing China espionage threat riding on Brickstorm malware  CyberScoop

Events

35 h. ago Give pupils, parents say on cancelling Christmas parties, Hong Kong schools told

Hong Kong education authorities have urged schools to seek a consensus with pupils and parents on whether to cancel Christmas celebrations following the Tai Po inferno, with some students expressing disappointment on social media about parties being called off. The Education Bureau’s clarification on Thursday followed a letter it sent last week asking schools to mourn the victims of the fire, which has now claimed 159 lives, and suspended festive celebratory activities from November 29 to...

Politics

35 h. ago Give pupils and parents say on axing Christmas parties, Hong Kong schools told

Hong Kong education authorities have urged schools to seek a consensus with pupils and parents on whether to cancel Christmas celebrations following the Tai Po inferno, with some students expressing disappointment on social media about parties being called off. The Education Bureau’s clarification on Thursday followed a letter it sent last week asking schools to mourn the victims of the fire, which has now claimed 159 lives, and suspended festive celebratory activities from November 29 to...

Politics

42 h. ago Beijing confident of Hong Kong’s ability to handle Legco election, fire aftermath

A Beijing official in Hong Kong has voiced confidence in the city’s ability to handle both the coming Legislative Council election and the aftermath of the deadly Tai Po fire, calling local authorities’ decision to proceed with the poll respectful of the constitutional order. Liu Guangyuan, deputy director of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong, said on Thursday that the local government had adopted the “most responsible attitude” by holding the election on Sunday as scheduled, even after last...

Politics

48 h. ago USMCA urged to form joint mechanism to address China’s national security threats

Witnesses at a US trade agency hearing are pushing officials to put economic security high on the agenda to counter China ahead of a high-stakes review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The hearing convened by the Office of the US Trade Representative on Wednesday – the first public session before next July’s joint review of the free trade deal – kicks off three days of testimony from more than 140 representatives from business, think tanks, academia and advocacy groups. “One...

Events

49 h. ago Nvidia CEO meets Trump, says he’s not sure if China would accept H200 chips

Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said he was unsure whether China would accept the company’s H200 artificial intelligence chips should the United States relax restrictions on sales of the processors, following a meeting Wednesday with US President Donald Trump. Addressing reporters at the US Capitol, Huang said he and Trump talked about export controls but declined to offer specifics. The Nvidia chief’s meeting with the president comes after Trump administration officials discussed...

Politics

59 h. ago Cuba starts restoring power to Havana, as millions suffer blackouts

Cuba has begun to restore power after a partial collapse of its electrical grid on Wednesday that left capital Havana and much of western Cuba in the dark, the latest incident in an energy crisis that has left millions suffering from prolonged blackouts for months. Top energy official Lazaro Guerra said a main transmission line connecting Havana with the country’s largest power plant in Matanzas failed around 5am, but that workers had begun restoring power by midmorning. “We already have a...

Politics