China

TOKYO (AP) — The foreign and defense ministers of Japan and France held talks on Thursday as the two countries seek to deepen security ties in the Indo-Pacific region, where tensions have been rising amid China’s military buildup and North Korea’s nuclear and missile development. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, accompanied by Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, described France as an indispensable partner in achieving the goal of a “free and open Indo-Pacific.” Japan, the United States, Australia and India are promoting the goal as a counter to China’s growing influence and assertiveness in pushing its territorial claims in the region, which has some of the world’s busiest sea lanes. The talks among the four ministers, including French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Defe

Pall hangs over China's Games The Beijing Winter Olympics begin on Feb 4 -- and not without controversy given they are taking place as Beijing wrestles with human rights issues. Despite sending their athletes to compete in Beijing, Western countries including the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and most recently Denmark are simultaneously conducting diplomatic boycotts in protest of China's human rights record in Xinjiang. Beijing has been rebuked by Western countries and the United Nations for its assimilation policy and treatment of Uyghurs, ethnic Muslims, in the autonomous region. UN rights experts voiced concerns regarding one million Uyghurs having been sent to "concentration camps". The Chinese regime disputes the allegation, saying the camps are "re-education centr...

China will continue to 'modernise' nuclear arsenal: foreign ministry Beijing said it would continue to 'modernise' its nuclear arsenal, a day after joining the four other major nuclear powers in pledging to prevent such weapons spreading. BEIJING: China Tuesday said it will continue to "modernise" its nuclear arsenal and called on the United States and Russia to reduce their stockpiles a day after global powers pledged to prevent such weapons spreading. In a rare joint statement setting aside rising West-East tensions, the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France reaffirmed their goal of creating a world free of atomic weapons and avoiding a nuclear conflict. The five nuclear powers also committed to full future disarmament from atomic weapons, which have only been used in conf...

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — China’s foreign minister says his country will appoint a special envoy to the Horn of Africa region, where Ethiopia and Eritrea have been fighting forces from Ethiopia’s Tigray region and Somalia is in the grip of a political crisis caused by a long-delayed election. Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in comments to reporters during his Thursday visit to Kenya, didn’t say when the appointment would be made. He urged countries in the Horn of Africa, a strategic but at times turbulent region, to hold a peace conference and said China’s envoy could provide “necessary support” for that process. China’s interests in the region include a military base in the tiny nation of Djibouti, tucked between Somalia and Eritrea. China also is the largest foreign direct investor in Ethiopia,

Athletes will need to be vaccinated — or face a long quarantine — take tests daily and wear masks when not competing or training. Clapping is OK to cheer on teammates, not chanting. Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 will be sent into isolation and unable to compete until cleared for discharge. Welcome to the Beijing Olympics, where strict containment measures will aim to create a virus-proof “bubble” for thousands of international visitors at a time when omicron is fueling infections globally. The prevention protocols will be similar to those at the Tokyo Games this summer, but much tighter. That won’t be a stretch in Beijing, with China having maintained a “Zero COVID" policy since early in the pandemic. Still, China’s ability to stick to its zero-tolerance approach nationally is