China Lifts Ban on Visitors Who Are H.I.V. Positive Days before travelers worldwide are to begin arriving for Shanghai’s world exposition, China  has lifted a two-decade ban on travel to the country by people who carry the virus that causes AIDS or who have other sexually transmitted diseases. The action also removed a longstanding ban on travel to China by people with leprosy. The government approved amendments to a 1986 law governing quarantines and a 1989 law regulating entry by foreigners, removing prohibitions ...

China's economic growth surges but inflation low China's economic growth surged to 11.9% in the first quarter, possibly giving Beijing room to allow its currency to rise, but analysts warned it faces growing pressure to cut back stimulus and keep the world's third-largest economy from overheating. The strong performance reported Thursday might allow a loosening of politically volatile currency controls by offsetting possible losses in export industries. Analysts expect Beijing to let the yuan rise sometime this year, though President Hu Jintao ...

Rio Tinto Trial in China Concludes Second Day For a second day, prosecutors here presented evidence Tuesday to show that four employees from the British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto had accepted millions of dollars in bribes and stolen commercial secrets from Chinese companies, according to an Australian official and lawyers involved in the case. The high-profile trial, which is largely closed to the public, has already resulted in guilty pleas by all four defendants, including Stern Hu, an Australian national who served ...

Lunch at the site of the future Ramu nickel and cobalt mine in the remote hills of Papua New Guinea is a hurried affair, food shoveled into eager mouths. But the menu is as divided as the two distinct groups of workers squatting in the heat, swatting away flies and filling their bellies before their nine-hour, seven-day-a-week shifts begin again. In one huddle are local laborers chewing chunks of sweet potato and the canned fish known in pidgin dialect ...

President Obama's trip to China yielded precious little Chinese cooperation on the Administration's key concerns, ranging from currency issues to Iran. That's a sign of the shifting balance of power between two countries that have been locked in an uneasy embrace for more than three decades. "I underlined to President Obama that given our differences in national conditions, it is only normal that our two sides may disagree on some issues," said China's President Hu Jintao. "What is important is to respect and accommodate each ...

President Obama's trip to China yielded precious little Chinese cooperation on the Administration's key concerns, ranging from currency issues to Iran. That's a sign of the shifting balance of power between two countries that have been locked in an uneasy embrace for more than three decades. "I underlined to President Obama that given our differences in national conditions, it is only normal that our two sides may disagree on some issues," said China's President Hu Jintao. "What is important is to respect and accommodate each ...

Hundreds of residents of the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou took to the streets on Monday to protest plans to build a trash incinerator in their neighborhood. In front of the municipal headquarters for one of China's largest cities, it was an unusually prominent place for a civic demonstration. And rarely has a local Chinese demonstration been so conspicuous online, where activists posted photos and comments about events as they unfolded. Those messages were then relayed to a broader audience on social networking sites like ...

China has invited reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to visit at his convenience, state media in both countries reported.

China and the US resolved several thorny trade disputes on Thursday even as Beijing confirmed it was investigating potential dumping of US-made cars in the Chinese market.

Even after his death, Michael Jackson is breaking records."It wasn't really like going to the movies, it was more of going to a V.I.P. behind the scenes Michael Jackson concert," Gross said in his review. "There really is nothing to compare this to!" The film will show in 99 countries, and early reports from overseas territories show strong late show and early matinee attendance, Elzer said. Another iReport reviewer, FabTab, watched the movie in Beijing, China, and also said the ...