Asia News

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  Vietnam Oil Firm Protests Chinese Plans

  A spat between China and Vietnam over energy rights in the South China Sea intensified as Vietnam's biggest company called on China to scrap its plans to develop areas near the Vietnamese shore.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  China Forced-Abortion Couple Under Pressure

  A woman at the center of a firestorm over China's one-child policy said she was being kept in the hospital against her will and that her husband has disappeared.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  China Province Backtracks on Housing

  China's central Henan province appears to have beaten a hasty retreat on a proposal to ease housing-market curbs, illustrating continued tensions between Beijing and local governments over property policies.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  Chinese Banks Told to Discount Rates

  The government of China's central province of Henan has told banks to offer steep mortgage discounts to buyers of a first home in a move to boost the sagging property market.

• 

  To Improve Kids' Chinese, Families Move to Asia

  With China's rising global influence, a growing group of Westerners are going to great lengths to give their kids a leg up in Mandarin.

  • Video: The Extra Mandarin Mile

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  China to Aid Yuan Flow to and From Hong Kong

  China plans to unveil new measures aimed at boosting the flow of its currency between Hong Kong and the mainland.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  High-Yield Push in China Sparks Worry

  Chinese savers increasingly are turning funds away from traditional deposits toward higher-return wealth-management products, a trend that is posing new risks for the country's banking system.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  Beijing Gives Market Forces a Bigger Role

  China has responded to a deep economic slowdown with a slew of policy initiatives in recent months that together underline a strategy to spur a recovery, while allowing market forces to play a bigger role in reforming an economy still dominated by the state.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  Hong Kong's Leung Faces New Questions

  Hong Kong's next leader, already fighting political opponents over his plans to restructure the government, now faces new questions from lawmakers after his luxury home recently was found to contain illegal structures.

  • Video: Controversy Puts Shadow on Hong Kong's Next Leader
  • Earlier: Tsang's Exit Marred by Scandal
• 

  Hong Kong Celebrates Dragon Boat Festival

  Hong Kong held races and a water parade to mark the annual Dragon Boat Festival on Saturday.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  Chinese Spacecraft Docks With Orbiting Module

  A Chinese spacecraft carrying three astronauts docked manually with an orbiting module Sunday, a first for the country as it strives to match American and Russian exploits in space.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  Quake Kills Two in China

  A moderate earthquake Sunday toppled houses in a mountainous part of southwestern China, killing two people and injuring at least 100, state media said.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  China's Bo Xilai Scandal Fells a Tycoon

  Xu Ming's fortunes rose as Bo Xilai's did. Now, with Mr. Bo under investigation, his billionaire industrialist associate is missing and also believed to be undergoing scrutiny.

  • Players in China's Leadership Purge
  • Video: Scandal Ensnares Tycoon
  • Cambodia: Will Not Extradite Frenchman

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  Cambodia Will Not Extradite Frenchman Linked to Bo

  Cambodia said it will not extradite a Frenchman it detained for possible involvement in a murder linked to one of China's biggest political scandals in years.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  Brazil, China in $30 Billion Swap Deal

  Brazil and China signed a preliminary agreement on local currency swaps that will allow each to tap the other's central bank for up to $30 billion, part of a wide-ranging bilateral trade deal.

• 

  Courting the Chinese Buyer

  Buyers from China are pouring billions into U.S. residential property—and developers are courting them with everything from feng shui to lucky numbers.

  • Video | Photos
• 

  Untraditional Chinese in Shanghai

  This four-bedroom townhouse in Shanghai infuses Chinese and Western styles in everything from the décor to the kitchen appliances.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  Beijing's Oil Imports From Iran Rebound

  China's oil imports from Iran continued to sharply rebound in May to nearly match 2011 levels following a steep drop-off earlier this year.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  China Manufacturing Slows

  A preliminary gauge of Chinese manufacturing activity fell in June, HSBC said. The reading could stoke market concerns of a sharp slowdown.

  • Asia's Local Growth Dilemma

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  Asia's Local Growth Dilemma

  Asia's economic resilience is once again being tested by the West's financial woes. But this time, Asian countries face their own challenges and are less well-placed than in the last downturn to get their economies humming again.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  China Renews Vow to Revamp Rare-Earth Sector

  China's State Council renewed a government pledge to restructure the industry that produces rare-earth minerals, but it gave no sign it will lift export quotas that are the subject of a challenge by the U.S. and other big economies.

• Subscriber Content Read Preview

  

  China Makes Plea for Extradition

  The Chinese government has asked Cambodia to extradite to China a French architect with close ties to the wife of the ousted Communist Party official Bo Xilai, said Cambodia's deputy national police chief.