Over the next few days, Al Jazeera will be looking at the impact of rising food prices around the world. With increasing wealth in China, expensive culinary tastes have grown in popularity. And as Al Jazeera’s Melissa Chan now reports from Beijing, it is also impacting waistlines.  Read More »

China's economic success began in the 1980s. At the start of the decade the household responsibility system was changed to allow families to keep their surplus grain. In 1994, the pricing system was changed to allow freer price movements. These steps and others started opening up China's economy. China has overtaken Japan as the world’s second-biggest economy. Japan’s economy was... 

In 2010, China mined the record amount of gold in the world. The production volume of nonferrous metals in China amounted to 340.88 tons, which is 8.57% higher than a year earlier, and continues to grow. In recent years, China has consistently increased the amount of its gold reserves. Nevertheless, experts believe that China has a long way to go to reach the level of the world leading economies. According... 

A lone protester steps into the path of an oncoming tank near Tahrir Square as demonstrations continued for a sixth straight day, January 30, 2011, in Cairo, Egypt. Could the popular revolt against authoritarian regimes of the Middle East ever spread to China, the world’s most populous nation? And if so, does the United States have a policy to deal with it? The ticklish question has been hovering... 

China blocks "Egypt" searches. China blocked the word “Egypt” from micro-blog searches in a sign that the Chinese government is concerned that protests calling for political reform in the country could spill into China’s internet space. Skip related content Searches on Sunday for “Egypt” on micro-blog functions of Chinese web portals such as Sina.com and Sohu.com... 

In this March 28, 1999 file photo, Yugoslav army experts check the wreckage of a downed American F-117 aircraft, in the village of Budjanovci, 30 miles northwest of Belgrade. Chinese officials recently unveiled a new, high-tech stealth fighter that could pose a significant threat to American air superiority — and some of its technology, it turns out, may well have come from the U.S. itself. Balkan... 

The French government and the automaker Renault SA are trying to avert a standoff with Beijing over reports that a Chinese industrial espionage ring stole details of Renault’s electric vehicle technology. The carmaker suspended three executives Jan. 3 on suspicion of involvement in leaking information. It filed a criminal complaint on Thursday, alleging that it was the victim of “organized... 

Photographs on the internet appear to show China's stealth fighter. The US said at the weekend it would respond to the rapidly-increasing military capabilities of China by building up its own strength in the region. Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, was speaking as he arrived in Beijing on Sunday for four days of talks aimed at renewing ties between the US and Chinese armed forces. However... 

China will eventually have a military powerful enough to compete with the United States, state media said ahead of the visit of US Defence Secretary Robert Gates. The claim in a newspaper editorial on Friday followed reports that China had completed a prototype of a stealth fighter and after a top US military official said Beijing was stepping up efforts to deploy a “carrier-killer” missile... 

China is preparing for conflict ‘in every direction’, the defence minister said on Wednesday in remarks that threaten to overshadow a visit to Beijing by his US counterpart next month. “In the coming five years, our military will push forward preparations for military conflict in every strategic direction,” said Liang Guanglie in an interview published by several state-backed... 

China is shifting its space program into high gear, with recently announced goals to build a manned space station by 2020 and send a spacecraft to Mars by 2013 — all on the heels of its second robotic moon mission this year. Yet some space analysts worry that China’s ascendancy in space means the waning of American superiority in spaceflight. The United States is retiring its storied space... 

Police officer stands guard besides the picture of jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo outside the Chinese government liaison office in Hong Kong Sunday, Dec. 5, 2010. Protesters rallied in Hong Kong on Sunday for the release of the jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner. Enraged by Nobel Committee’s choice, China to award rival peace prize. Only three weeks after the idea was first publicly floated,... 

Protesters chant slogans during an anti-China protest rally in central Tokyo. About 4,000 anti-China protesters rallied in Tokyo on Saturday, with their anger fuelled by a video capturing a collision between Chinese and Japanese vessels which sparked a diplomatic spat. About 4,000 anti-China protesters rallied in Tokyo on Saturday, with their anger fuelled by a video capturing a collision between Chinese... 

You may remember an LA Times article from last year, titled Beijing Loves IKEA — But Not for Shopping. In summary, the article revealed why there’s a line to get in the front door of the Beijing IKEA, but not one to check out. The picture above tells part of the story — just as many locals visit IKEA to sleep — on chairs, sofas, and occasionally beds — as come for the $2 plates of lox and... 

Yuan banknotes are seen in this illustrative photograph taken in Beijing September 19, 2010. A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Bank of China may be found liable for supporting terrorism in a case brought by the family of a U.S. citizen killed in a 2006 suicide bombing in Israel. The unusual 118-page ruling came as Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia...