China, Asia | featured news

China's official news agency says the country has successfully landed a fighter jet on its first aircraft carrier.

China's "Beijing Blues" has won the best film award at Taiwan's Golden Horse Film Festival, an event considered the Chinese-language Oscars. Hong Kong's Johnnie To is taking home the best director's award. "Beijing Blues" portrays the lives of the ordinary urban dwellers through the work of a squad of plainclothes crime-hunters.
At Saturday's ceremony, To won the award for directing "Life Without Principle," a movie about ordinary citizens' struggles in hard economic times.

The Philippines and Vietnam condemned Chinese passports containing a map of China's disputed maritime claims on Thursday, branding the new design a violation of their sovereignty.

China's vast manufacturing sector saw expansion accelerate in November for the first time in 13 months, preliminary results from a factory survey showed, a sign that the pace of economic growth has revived after seven consecutive quarters of slowdown.

China's new leaders may be moving closer to resolving disputes over the South China Sea through a regional alliance rather than through separate negotiations with each of its territorial rivals.

President Barack Obama urged Asian leaders on Tuesday to rein in tensions in the South China Sea and other disputed territory, but stopped short of firmly backing allies Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam in their disputes with China.

...Just as Vice President Xi Jinping, 59, was named at the just-ended Communist Party Congress to replace President Hu Jintao, someone in the next generation of officials will likely replace Xi 10 years from now. And leading the pack, according to some party insiders and experts, is a man widely known as “Little Hu.”

For President Barack Obama, expanding U.S. influence in Asia is more than just countering China or opening up new markets to American businesses. It's also about building his legacy.

China’s new leader, Xi Jinping, impressed many people with a plain-spoken promise to address problems in the country’s ruling party on Thursday, but his new leadership team offered few clues as to a clear shift in direction.

President Hu Jintao gave his final speech as head of China’s Communist Party on Wednesday, paving the way for a new generation of leaders that will be unveiled Thursday morning.