China has warned the United States (US) “not to play with fire” on Taiwan issues after the Department of State updated its guidelines easing restrictions on meetings between US officials and their counterparts from the island, which Beijing claims as its own.Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian urged the US to “immediately stop any form of US-Taiwan official contacts, cautiously and appropriately handle the matter, and not send wrong signals to Taiw

They've been dubbed China's "Little Blue Men," an allegedly Beijing-controlled maritime militia that analysts say could be hundreds of boats and thousands of crew members strong.China doesn't acknowledge their existence and when questioned, refers to them as a "so-called maritime militia."But Western experts say the alleged militia is an integral part of Beijing's efforts to exert its territorial claims in the South China Sea and beyond.

China’s top disease control official has said the country is formally considering mixing COVID-19 vaccines as a way of further boosting vaccine efficacy.Available data shows Chinese vaccines lag behind others including Pfizer and Moderna in terms of efficacy, but require less stringent temperature controls during storage.Giving people doses of different vaccines is one way to improve vaccines that “don’t have very high rates of protection”, said Gao Fu, the Director of the Chinese Ce

The Philippine defence department said Thursday it was keeping "all our options open" as a diplomatic row with Beijing grows over hundreds of Chinese vessels in the contested South China Sea.Tensions over the resource-rich waters have spiked in recent weeks after more than 200 Chinese boats were detected at Whitsun Reef, in the Spratly Islands, where China and the Philippines have rival claims. China, which claims almost the entirety of the sea, has refused repeated appeals

A group of international scientists called for a new investigation into the origins of COVID-19 on Wednesday after China and the World Health Organisation (WHO) released a scrutinised report last week concluding that the virus most likely came from wildlife instead of a laboratory.24 scientists from Europe, the United States (US), Australia and Japan issued an open letter, which was obtained by The New York Times, that analysed steps to complete a more comprehensive investigation.&qu

Beijing is now home to more billionaires than any other city in the world, according to the latest Forbes' annual rich list.The Chinese capital added 33 billionaires last year and now hosts 100, said the business magazine.This narrowly beats New York City, which hosts 99 and has held the top ranking for the last seven years.China's quick containment of COVID-19, the rise of its technology firms and stock markets helped it gain top spot.Although Beijing now has more billionaires than

A study in Chile, which has one of the furthest-advanced vaccination campaigns in South America - mainly with China's Coronavac, has found that a first dose alone does not protect against coronavirus infection.The study by the University of Chile found inoculation to be 56.5 percent effective in protecting recipients two weeks after the second dose, and 27.7 percent effective within the first two weeks.But for a single dose, efficacy in the 28 days between the first and second dose was o

The presence of Chinese vessels at a disputed reef off the Philippines could ignite “unwanted hostilities”, a top aide to President Rodrigo Duterte has warned, intensifying a diplomatic spat over the ships that Manila has described as “maritime militia”.More than 200 Chinese boats were first spotted on 7 March at Whitsun Reef, approximately 320 kilometres (175 nautical miles) west of Palawan Island within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).Most of them have since scattered across

China's "wolf warrior" diplomats are back after a brief lull, firing insults over Twitter, smearing critics and suggesting conspiracies.The hyperactivity of these envoys follows renewed global pressure over Beijing's treatment of the Muslim Uyghur minority in China's Xinjiang region.Here are five things to know about wolf warriors:The term "wolf warrior diplomacy" became common parlance in 2019, when Chinese envoys – most prominently, spokesman Zhao Lijian –

“Our father brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal”. This is a famous quote from President Abraham Lincoln more than 150 years ago delivered in the now immortal Gettysburg Address. Lincoln was an American statesman and lawyer who served as the 16th president of the United States (US) from 1861 until his assassination in 1865.