China`s second largest life insurer Ping An may sue embattled European financial group Fortis for planning to sell most of its assets without shareholder approval, state media said Thursday.

A Hong Kong man has been jailed for eight years in China for running the nation`s biggest online gambling racket which hauled in more than 1.25 billion dollars in bets, state media said Thursday.

The Chinese government has announced a series of tax cuts aimed at helping the country`s textile industry through the global financial crisis.

`Textiles are a traditional and an important industry in China,` Prime Minister Wen Jiabao told a government meeting on Wednesday, according to a statement on the government`s website.

Japan and China on Wednesday pledged to work together on trade issues as Asia`s two largest economies fend off the impact of the global financial crisis.

Japan`s trade minister Toshihiro Nikai held talks with his Chinese counterpart Chen Deming on the sidelines of a two-day meeting of Asia-Pacific ministers in Lima.

Jack Ma, a Chinese web entrepreneur sometimes called his country`s `Bill Gates`, was Wednesday jeered by angry Peruvian textile workers who saw him as the negative personification of a China-Peru free trade agreement.

Chinese President Hu Jintao wrapped up talks on a free-trade deal with Peru Wednesday on his final stop of a three-nation swing through Latin America that has underscored the Asian giant`s growing clout.

Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Peru on Wednesday for the final stop in a three-nation swing through Latin America that has underscored the Asian giant`s growing clout in the region.

Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Lima on Wednesday for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, part of a three-nation swing aimed at building clout in Latin America.

Hu arrived from Cuba after earlier visiting Costa Rica. He was met with an honor guard before holding talks with Peruvian President Alan Garcia.

Chinese President Hu Jintao arrives in Peru on Wednesday for the final stop in a three-nation swing through Latin America that has underscored the Asian giant`s growing clout in the region.

A Nigerian satellite hailed at its launch last year as the vanguard of an African communications revolution has failed and cannot be recovered, officials said on Wednesday.

The satellite -- which was launched to provide phone, broadband Internet and broadcasting services to rural Africa -- was switched off last week due to a battery charging problem.

China is now officially the US government`s largest foreign creditor after overtaking Japan, in a development that signals Washington`s increasing reliance on Beijing to save its economy.

China became the largest foreign holder of US Treasuries, owning 585 billion dollars worth as of September, according to US Treasury Department figures.

China is now officially the US government`s largest foreign creditor after overtaking Japan, in a development that signals Washington`s increasing reliance on Beijing to save its economy.

China became the largest foreign holder of US Treasuries, owning 585 billion dollars worth as of September, according to US Treasury Department figures.

Security forces in northwest China used tear gas to quell two days of violent protests by thousands of people who used axes, chains and iron bars to attack police, witnesses and officials said Wednesday.

Security forces in northwest China used tear gas to quell two days of violent protests by thousands of people who used axes, chains and iron bars to attack police, witnesses and officials said Wednesday.

China`s President Hu Jintao on Wednesday was to wrap up a landmark visit to Cuba where he brought millions of dollars in aid and promises of closer trade ties.

The Chinese leader brought 4.5 tonnes of humanitarian aid for victims of three hurricanes that battered Cuba this year, which was handed over late Monday after Hu`s arrival at the Jose Marti International Airport.

China`s President Hu Jintao on Wednesday was to wrap up a landmark visit to Cuba where he brought millions of dollars in aid and promises of closer trade ties.

The Chinese leader brought 4.5 tonnes of humanitarian aid for victims of three hurricanes that battered Cuba this year, which was handed over late Monday after Hu`s arrival at the Jose Marti International Airport.

Australia and China have agreed to speed up work on a free trade agreement following discussions on the global financial crisis, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said.

Rudd, who met China`s President Hu Jintao in Washington following G20 talks on tackling the financial meltdown, said no deadline for an agreement had yet been set.

China and Costa Rica were to launch free trade talks here Monday in a historic visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao at the start of a Latin America tour including Cuba and Peru.

China has increased diplomacy and investment in the region in recent years, with an eye on natural resources and developing markets for manufactured goods and even arms.

The parents of China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines are expected to each get three billion yuan (440 million dollars) to tide them over hard times, state media reported Monday.

The two carriers will likely get the money to offset the adverse impact of weakening demand and high fuel costs, the Shanghai Securities News said, citing unnamed sources.

A top Chinese military official asserted his country`s right to build an aircraft carrier in a British newspaper interview Monday, without commenting directly on whether it had decided to do so.

Leading Tibetan exiles were set to meet in India on Monday for a week of discussions that could usher in a more radical approach to their long struggle against Chinese rule in Tibet.

The Dalai Lama, Tibet`s spiritual leader, called the meeting after admitting that his attempts to secure greater autonomy for the region through negotiation with the Chinese government had failed.

Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived Sunday in Costa Rica in the highest-level visit by a Chinese official to the country, just over a year after it gave up six decades of ties with Taiwan.

China has increased diplomacy and investment in Latin America in recent years, with an eye on its natural resources and developing markets for manufactured goods and even arms.

Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived Sunday in Costa Rica in the highest-level visit by a Chinese official to the country, just over a year after it gave up six decades of ties with Taiwan.

China has increased diplomacy and investment in Latin America in recent years, with an eye on its natural resources and developing markets for manufactured goods and even arms.

Chinese President Hu Jintao arrives Sunday in Costa Rica in the highest-level visit by a Chinese official to the country, just over a year after it gave up six decades of ties with Taiwan.

Envoys of the Dalai Lama, Tibet`s exiled spiritual leader, said on Sunday that their most recent talks with China had failed, as the Tibet movement gathered in north India to assess its future.

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Chellsie Memmel, the 2005 world all-around gymnastics champion, will compete at the Good Luck Beijing Invitational later this month with hopes of a return for the 2008 Olympics.

Memmel and fellow American Bridget Sloan, a member of this year's world championship team, will compete in individual and all-around events. Six US men will be in team and individual disciplines in the November 28-December 3 meet.

PARIS, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Germany has grown 'worried' over a diplomatic crisis with Beijing sparked by German Chancellor Angela Merkel's meeting with the Dalai Lama in September, the country's foreign minister said Saturday.

'We have had better relations with China, that is unfortunately true,' Frank-Walter Steinmeier told journalists during a visit to Paris.

BEIJING, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - China's double Olympic and eight-time world champion gymnast Li Xiaopeng has recovered from injury and will make his long-awaited comeback next April, state news agency Xinhua said Saturday.

Li, 27, has been out of international competition for two years after a series of injuries, the latest of which was a fractured toe, Xinhua reported.

His return means he should be fit to compete in the 2008 Olympics being held in Beijing.

DHARAMSALA, India, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - Chinese police used force to suppress Buddhist monks' celebrations in Tibet's capital of a hugely controversial US award for the Dalai Lama, exile groups in India said Monday.

They said police arrested scores of monks and Tibetan activists, over four days in Lhasa last week, who attempted to celebrate the awarding of the United States' highest civilian honour on the exiled spiritual leader.

Beijing said the award by President George W. Bush had 'gravely undermined' US-China relations.

SEOUL, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il Monday congratulated Hu Jintao on his re-election to China's top posts and said the friendship between the two countries would continue to grow.

'Your re-election... was an expression of the trust of your party, army and people in you,' Kim said in the message carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

Kim added that 'the traditional friendship between the DPRK (North Korea) and China will continue to grow stronger and develop thanks to the concerted efforts of the two parties and peoples...'

HONG KONG, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - Chinese business to business website Alibaba.com announced Monday it aims to raise 11.6 billion Hong Kong dollars (1.5 billion US) in what it called the largest Internet IPO since Google.

The company said the offer price would range between 12 and 13.5 Hong Kong dollars per share, which is higher than analysts had forecast. Trading in the shares in Hong Kong begins November 6.

DHARAMSHALA, India, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - Chinese police used force to suppress Buddhist monks' celebrations in Tibet's capital of a hugely controversial US award for the Dalai Lama, exile groups in India said Monday.

They said police arrested scores of monks and Tibetan activists, over four days in Lhasa last week, who attempted to celebrate the awarding of the United States' highest civilian honour on the exiled spiritual leader.

Beijing said the award by President George W. Bush had 'gravely undermined' US-China relations.

BEIJING, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - A fire erupted at a shoe factory in southeast China, killing 37 people in the latest industrial accident to hit the world's fourth-largest economy, officials and state media said Monday.

The blaze at the Feida workshop, located near the city of Putian in coastal Fujian province, broke out at 9:50 pm (1350 GMT) Sunday and was extinguished an hour later, the official Xinhua news agency said.

BEIJING, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - At least 16 people were killed and 15 injured in a massive explosion at a fireworks factory in southwestern China that also levelled nearby houses, state media reported on Monday.

One person was also missing after the blast which occurred Sunday morning in a remote county of Chongqing municipality, Xinhua news agency said, citing local government sources.

The force of the blast levelled several houses nearby and casualties could rise further as rescuers search through the rubble, the report said.

BRUSSELS, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) said Monday that, in conjunction with Austrian authorities, it has uncovered a a major fraud scheme involving imports of textiles and shoes from China.

BEIJING, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - Two younger officials emerged Monday as front-runners to become China's next leaders, but their fast track to the top could spark bitter communist infighting, analysts say.

Chinese President Hu Jintao named Xi Jinping, 54, and Li Keqiang, 52, to the powerful nine-member Politburo Standing Committee a day after the ruling party ended its five-yearly Congress.