World

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party will propose parliament expand the range of duty-free items in a bid to attract more overseas tourists and stimulate domestic consumer demand, China News Service reported Tuesday, citing unidentified Japanese media....

China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) may introduce three separate platforms for supervision and management of state-owned capital, the China Securities Journal reported Wednesday. The state assets regulator may also establish up to a dozen...

Switzerland’s lower house, the National Council of the Federal Assembly, has ratified a free trade pact with China and rejected calls to put it to a referendum, Xinhua reported Tuesday. The pact will be put to...

Shanghai has overtaken Hong Kong to become the most competitive city in China, thanks to the establishment of its free trade zone, the official Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday, citing a report released by the China...

The government has unveiled an action plan to break up market monopoly, industrial monopoly and regional blockades as part of efforts to give the market a decisive role in allocating resources, Xinhua news agency reported late Tuesday,...

As the holiday season approaches, China’s leaders have sent a fresh reminder to government and Communist Party officials of the need to curb extravagance and wasteful expenditure on things such as receptions, banquets and travel.  Carrying...

The State Council has canceled or delegated 68 administrative approval rights, including those on the issuance of coal production and business operation permits, according to a statement on the government website Tuesday. A proposal to cancel...

The hunt is on. Western multinationals and Chinese firms are on a quest to recruit top-tier mainland executives to either cement their mainland presence or advance their global push, opening up a world of career choice for...

Tencent Holdings Ltd. (00700.HK), a Shenzhen-based internet giant, will invest at least 10 billion yuan (US$1.63 billion) to develop e-commerce and internet finance businesses in Qianhai, chief executive Pony Ma said. He did not mention a...

The fifth regular meeting of the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Committee (ECC) opened in Taipei on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported. Zheng Lizhong, convener of the ECC on the mainland and executive vice president of the mainland’s Association...

A senior judge in Hubei province has been sacked after a video emerged online showing him entering and leaving a hotel with his alleged mistress, the South China Morning Post reported Tuesday. Zhang Jun, who headed the...

Local governments are rushing to put the finishing touches to reform plans for state-owned enterprises (SOEs), Shanghai Securities News reported Tuesday. These include Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Wuxi, Guangdong province and Shandong province. The reform is part...

The Ministry of Land and Resources will ban the “borrowing” of farmland for non-agricultural uses, with reports of misuse on the rise in recent years, China News Service reported Monday. As of the end of 2011,...

Guangdong province aims to attract more than US$75 billion in foreign investment between 2013 and 2015, with that direct investment to account for over 45 percent of the province’s total by 2015, the China Securities Journal...

Japanese semiconductor manufacturer ROHM Co. Ltd. said it will lodge a petition in China and Japan against claims by the Chinese tax authorities that its Dalian unit failed to declare income tax on 12 billion yen...

China plans to invest between 800 billion yuan (US$131.73 billion) and 1.6 trillion yuan from now until 2020 to develop high-quality farmland that can ensure stable yields even amid drought or excessive rain, the official Xinhua...

Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said the country’s consumer market has a big room to grow amid robust demand, particularly in some service sectors such as elderly care, tourism and culture, the official Xinhua news agency reported Monday....

The debt crisis in certain European countries has led to increasing trade frictions between China and the European Union, Chinanews.com reported late Monday, citing Ma She, a senior official of the Department of European Affairs of...

China’s gross domestic product is likely to grow 7.8 percent in 2014, compared with the 7.7 percent rise forecast for this year, the China Securities Journal reported Monday, citing a macroeconomic report released by the National...

Local government debt will be used as an important performance indicator when evaluating local leadership, the official Xinhua news agency reported Monday, citing a notice sent out by the Organization Department of the Communist Party’s Central Committee....