A man walks past ice sculptures at a park before the opening ceremony of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, China’s northeastern Heilongjiang province, on January 4, 2016. The legendary Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival has kicked off in China where over a million people are expected to visit the gigantic ice structures displayed in ethereal lights. The... 

China unveiled three new units to its military: a force to oversee strategic missiles, an army general command and strategic support force, Chinese state media reported. President Xi Jinping described the modernization reform as “a major policy decision to realize the Chinese dream of a strong army.” The new units, along with the building of a second aircraft carrier, come at a time when... 

Trading was suspended on Chinese markets after stocks tumbled 7 percent in the first trading of the year, triggering the new “circuit breaker” system limiting volatility, which was introduced in December. The fall from Asia led to a slump in European stocks as well. The 15-minute suspension happened about 90 minutes before market’s regular closure and followed a brief 15-minute halt early in... 

Statistics from Australia’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection show that most immigrants from 2014-2015 came from India, with China coming in a close second. In total, around 50% to 60% of immigrants came from non-Western countries. Immigration statistics from just a few decades ago show that there has been a huge turn-around from when most immigrants came from Europe, and which has... 

The world’s biggest e-commerce firm Alibaba is interested in a suggestion from President Putin to create a platform that would help Russian companies export abroad. “We have seen the initiative of President Putin to create an electronic platform that would help Russian small and medium enterprises to enter export markets. And we hope very much that we can contribute to its implementation,”... 

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is starting 2016 with the goal of winning the trust of investors, sellers and buyers. The company plans to crack down on unauthorized merchandise sold on its platform. Alibaba is highly dependent on its home market which generates more than 80 percent of the company’s revenue. But with pressure from the slowing Chinese economy, the company set a strategy for international... 

China intends to beef up its maritime presence by building a second aircraft carrier. Beijing wants to exert its presence in the South China Sea, after complaining of “provocations” from the US, as well as defending its interests in the region. Little is known about China’s aircraft carrier program, however a spokesman for the Defense Ministry, Yang Yujun, said the ship had been designed in... 

In what a new Ministry of Defense (MoD) report circulating in the Kremlin today is describing as President Barack Obama’s “worst nightmare”, the Ministry of National Defense (MoND) of the People’s Republic of China has secured the permission of the Syria Arab Republic to begin “flooding” into the Levant War Zone up to 5,000 of its most elite military forces, and which will first include... 

China intents to impose sanctions against the American weapons suppliers to Taiwan. The statement was made by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry has already voiced a vigorous protest to the agreement worth $1.83 billion and delivered a note to the US Chargé d’Affaires. Mikhail Karpov, Associate Professor at the School of Asian Studies, Faculty of World Economy and International... 

The downing of the Russian Su-24 bomber over Syria while carrying out anti-terrorist operations is a great loss to the international efforts in the fight against terrorism, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said. “We have taken note that the downed Russian plane was fulfilling a mission… It was downed while destroying terrorist targets in Syrian territory,” Hong Lei said. Late... 

China says its economic growth is expected to slow slightly to 6.8 percent next year. China’s central bank announced on Wednesday that the country’s economic growth is expected to slow slightly to 6.8 percent next year. The figure by the People’s Bank of China is slightly lower than its forecast of 6.9-percent expansion for the current year, AFP has quoted the country’s official Xinhua... 

The Pentagon expressed concerns in connection with naval drills of the People’s Republic of China, in which a Chinese submarine “destroys” a US aircraft carrier. The drills took place in ​​the South China Sea – a disputed territory for China, Vietnam, the Philippines, as well as for the United States. Earlier, spokespeople for the Foreign Ministry of China stated that any... 

Australia’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday confirmed to UK broadcaster BBC that its warplane was conducting what it described as a routine patrol mission over disputed islands claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea. The confirmation was made after the BBC intercepted a message that Australia’s P-3 Orion maritime surveillance aircraft, flying over the contested land, transmitted to the Chinese... 

A gold-backed ruble and gold-backed yuan could start a ‘snowball exit’ from dollar Frederick William Engdahl notes, adding that it will diminish America’s ability to use the reserve dollar role to finance Washington’s perpetual overseas wars. The irony of the situation is that the central banks of China, Russia, Brazil and other countries “diametrically opposed”... 

Shareholders in Finnish telecom group Nokia approved the company’s acquisition of French-American rival Alcatel-Lucent. Shareholders in Finnish telecom group Nokia approved the company’s acquisition of French-American rival Alcatel-Lucent on Wednesday, paving the way for the creation of a mobile phone networks giant, AFP reported. They approved the transaction at an extraordinary general...