China Replaces Key Ministers

The cabinet reshuffling foreshadows bigger changes as the Communist Party prepares for a gathering in October.

After Stumbling, Mattel Cracks Down in China

Mattel appears to have become overconfident about its ability to operate in China without major problems.

Wages Rise in China as Businesses Court the Young

Higher wages in China are likely to lead to higher prices in the United States.

Beijing Seeks New Scrutiny of Investments by Outsiders

Chinese lawmakers are set to pass legislation this week that would limit foreign acquisitions in China on national security grounds.

As China Roars, Pollution Reaches Deadly Extremes

China’s pollution problem, like the speed and scale of its rise as an economic power, has shattered all precedents.

Beijing Air Raises Questions for Olympics

Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, said some Beijing Olympic events might be postponed if the pollution would put the athletes at risk.

Yahoo, MSN admit to inking PRC deal to control bloggers

Yahoo China and MSN China confirmed on Friday that they had signed a code of conduct for their blogging operations that committed them to protecting the interests of the Chinese state.

Beijing drafting tougher laws on abortion of girls

Fearing the approach of a ticking "bachelor bomb," China is drafting tougher legislation against sex-selective abortions that have boosted the number of boys so dramatically, that newborn boys now outnumber girls eight to five in one city.

Chinese Seek to Buy a U.S. Maker of Disk Drives

The overture for Seagate Technology has raised concerns among American officials about risks to national security.

Bishop Arrested

Bishop Jia Zhiguo, the underground Roman Catholic bishop of the Zheng Ding Diocese in Hebei Province, was arrested.

The Art of Control in a Manchu Box

The consummate ambition that Chinese artists brought to diminutive scale is a striking feature of the Metropolitan Museum’s small late-summer show.

Taiwan independent, Chen tells BBC

Dismissing claims he would declare independence, Chen Shui-bian said the real `status quo' is that Taiwan has been a country for more than half a century.

Scandal and Suicide in China: A Dark Side of Toys

The suicide of a Chinese businessman may have resulted in part from the pressures and contradictions of China’s loosely regulated brand of capitalism.

For 2008 Olympics Campaigns, the Starter’s Gun Went Off This Month

Olympic sponsors celebrated the start of the one-year countdown to the opening ceremonies with marketing initiatives intended to break through the hype.

Beggars and homeless to get a welfare benefit

The Chinese government is extending its welfare benefits to beggars and homeless people.

In Beijing, Orwell Goes to the Olympics

The penalty for “Chinglish” is usually humiliation. Still, Chinese citizens are asked to snitch, Mao-era style, on those who shame China with their shaky English.

China Raises Interest Rates to Cool Its Heated Economy

The People’s Bank of China said it was raising the one-year yuan lending rate 18 basis points to 7.02 percent from 6.84 percent, effective Wednesday, to curb inflation.

U.S. Group Accuses Chinese Toy Factories of Labor Abuses

A workers’ rights group in the United States released a report Tuesday detailing what it called brutal conditions and illegal practices in Chinese toy factories.

U.S. Commander Given Tour by Chinese Military

A visiting senior United States naval commander praised his Chinese counterpart here today for allowing a revealing tour of defense facilities and exercises.

China’s Trade in Africa Carries a Price Tag

Manufacturing has suffered in Africa as cheap Chinese goods flood the market, eliminating needed jobs.

Policy Will Let More Chinese Invest in Hong Kong Market

By making it easier for Chinese investment to leave the mainland, the government hopes to offset some of the money pouring into the mainland through corporate investments.

As Japan and India Forge Economic Ties, a Counterweight to China Is Seen

As Beijing’s influence around the world has grown, common interests have forced Tokyo and New Delhi to begin warming their historically chilly relationship.

A Chinese Century? Maybe It’s the Next One

China’s official analysts say that their nation will catch up with the United States long before the 22nd century arrives. Don’t believe it.

World View Podcast

Greg Winter speaks with Lydia Polgreen, West Africa bureau chief, about the new power in Africa: China.

Cars Banned in Olympics Test

Beijing city officials began four days of driving restrictions to determine the impact on air quality and traffic flow.

Entrepreneurs From China Flourish in Africa

Hundreds of thousands of Chinese migrants are doing business on a continent that until five years or so ago had been terra incognita.

China Seeks to Regain Confidence on Food Safety

The government said it appointed Vice Prime Minister Wu Yi to head a cabinet-level panel to oversee product quality and food safety.

NY Times Editorial: More Fears About China

Beijing urgently needs to grasp that when it comes to public safety, secrecy is never the right policy and there is no benefit in trying to go it alone.

Iran Arrests 2 Chinese on Charges of Spying

A judiciary spokesman said the two were detained while photographing a military complex in Arak, a city where Iran is building a nuclear reactor.

Tibetans Turn Festival Into Mute Protest Against China

Tibetan festival season in China has acquired a political subtext: the continuing struggle of the Tibetan minority community for cultural identity and religious freedom.

China Cracks Down on News Media as Party Congress Nears

Beijing officials are discouraging the country’s news media from being too aggressive, two months before the Chinese Communist Party Congress.

Toy Makers Brace for a Chill in Sales

Analysts are beginning to worry that a recent series of recalls of Chinese-made toys could hurt holiday season sales.

Virus Spreading Alarm and Pig Disease in China

Virus experts say Chinese authorities are playing down the impact of the highly infectious virus — believed to be an unusually deadly form of an infection known as blue-ear pig disease.

China Plans Greater Scrutiny of Food Exports

Chinese authorities said Wednesday that starting in September, all food shipments to the U.S. and other countries would be checked in the chain of production.

NY Times Editorial: China, Unregulated

American businesses and the Bush administration must send a clear message to Beijing that it has to clean up its act or its export-led boom will falter.

Mattel Recalls 19 Million Toys Sent From China

Amid a wave of increasing safety concerns about products made in China, Tuesday’s recall threatened to set the toy industry on its heels.

Trouble in China Is Good News for American Toy Manufacturers

Several manufacturers of American-made toys said that in recent weeks they have been inundated with calls inquiring about their products.

Surge in Consumer Prices Stirs China’s Concern About Overheated Economy

Steeply rising food prices pushed inflation in China to 5.6 percent last month, the fastest pace in a decade, government figures showed.

Owner of Chinese Toy Factory Commits Suicide

Zhang Shuhong’s company was behind the recall earlier this month of more than a million Mattel toys.

Taiwan Presidential Candidate Acquitted

A court acquitted Ma Ying-jeou, the Nationalist Party candidate for president, on Tuesday.

Head of lead-paint toy outlet commits suicide

The leader of a Hong Kong manufacturer whose lead-tainted Sesame Street toys were the center of a massive United States recall has killed himself.

China, Filling a Void, Drills for Riches in Chad

Chinese companies are investing heavily in impoverished African countries like Chad, raising Western concerns.

NY Times Editorial: Irresponsible Threats

It is stupefying that some Chinese officials have been talking of using China’s enormous cache of American Treasury bonds as an economic weapon.

Beijing ’08: Let the Politics Begin

Look for protests and China-bashing to be medal sports next summer.

China Enacting a High-Tech Plan to Track People

Security experts describe China’s plans as the world’s largest effort to meld the latest computer technology with police work.

A Chinese Tycoon, Inspired to Create Police Technology

Behind Shenzhen’s aggressive introduction of new police technologies is an unusual computer software company that has won some of the initial government contracts.

Memo to the Dept. of Magical Copyright Enforcement

Here are excerpts from the various “Harry Potter” counterfeits that have been circulating in China in the last few years, translated by The Times from Chinese.

Former law maker gets death for mistress murder

A former Chinese law maker in eastern China was sentenced to death today for taking bribes and asking others to kill his mistress.

Little Building Defies Beijing’s Olympic Ambitions

A woman is refusing to leave her family home in Beijing, which Chinese officials want to raze because it lies on the planned route for the Olympic marathon.

Abuses Belie China Pledge on Rights, Critics Say

Human rights groups accused China of failing to improve its record on civil liberties, despite official promises to make rights a centerpiece of the 2008 Olympics.

China Praises Its Progress Toward Olympics

Beijing officials gave an upbeat progress report, even as critics warn that China may fall short on commitments on the environment, human rights and press freedom.

Politically Neutral, in a Blurry Sense

Wikipedia devotees meet in Taiwan, while the Web site continues to be blocked in mainland China.

Taipei Wikipedia conference draws 500 enthusiasts

The Wikimedia Foundation, operator of the popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia, opened its annual international conference in Taipei yesterday with more than 500 Wikipedia enthusiasts from 43 countries attending to learn more about the open-source community.

Pro-Tibet Protesters Arrested

The authorities detained as many as 200 ethnic Tibetans this week after a protest in the town of Lithang, in Sichuan Province, an area populated by Tibetans, Radio Free Asia reported.

DPP lawmakers call for boycott of 2008 Olympics

A group of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday called for a boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympics to protest against a Chinese government policy that would bar 43 categories of "unwanted" people from attending the games.

Chen vows to continue bid for UN

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday vowed to persist with Taiwan's UN bid and said he would not stop until the nation becomes a full member.

Feeling the Heat, Not Breathing Fire

China’s high-profile investment in the Blackstone Group has produced an unusual backlash within China as shares in the equity firm have dropped steeply since it went public in June.

Chinese copycat "spiderman" detained after climbing tallest building in China

A Chinese man was detained by Shanghai police in the early hours of Wednesday after he climbed the tallest building in China, just two months after a French "spiderman" pulled the same stunt.

China "prudent" in using death penalty to punish economic crimes, says official

China is very prudent in its use of the death penalty to punish economic criminals, the Communist Party of China's disciplinary watchdog said on Thursday.

Irritated US State Department delaying advanced arms sale to Taiwan: report

A month after the Legislative Yuan broke a four-year deadlock over the purchase of a package of advanced US weapons, the US State Department is actively blocking the sale from going through to warn President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) against holding a referendum on Taiwan's entry into the UN.

`Normal country' draft unveiled

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) unveiled its draft "normal country resolution" yesterday, in which it highlights the need for the nation to change its name to "Taiwan" to differentiate it from China.

Beijing displays `peace' troops on 80th anniversary

China called its growing military strength a force for peace and Communist Party rule on the 80th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) yesterday as a senior commander warned Taiwan against risking war.

1,790 corrupt officials surrender before deadline

1,790 corrupted officials have turned themselves in during the Party's 30-day grace period and their cases involved a total graft of 77.89 million yuan (US$10.3 million).

Third movie about Nanjing massacre starts shooting

"Con Air" director Simon West has started shooting a movie about the World War II-era massacre of thousands of Chinese by Japanese troops, the third feature film to coincide with the event's 70th anniversary.

Lead Paint Prompts Mattel to Recall 967,000 Toys

The maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars is recalling the toys because of lead paint.

Chinese Market Awash in Fake Potter Books

Harry Potter knockoffs abound on the Chinese market, with titles like “Harry Potter and Leopard Walk Up to Dragon,” and “Harry Potter and the Big Funnel.”