Lawyers

• Japan's Abe says wants U.S., South Korea cooperation over South China Sea

  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told South Korea's president on Monday he wanted cooperation between the two countries and the United States in maintaining an open and peaceful South China Sea, a Japanese government spokesman said.

• China to allow all couples two children to counter aging population

  China will ease family planning restrictions to allow all couples to have two children after decades of a strict one-child policy, the ruling Communist Party said on Thursday, a move aimed at alleviating demographic strains on the economy.

• China, Japan, South Korea to hold first summit in three years

  China, Japan and South Korea will hold a summit in South Korea when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits, China and South Korea said on Monday, the first such meeting since they were discontinued in 2012 amid tension dating back to World War Two.

• China premier orders probe after 'left behind' children kill themselves

  Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has ordered an investigation into the case of four "left behind" children who apparently committed suicide by drinking pesticide in a poor part of southwestern China, as millions of workers leave loved ones to find work.

• Hundreds missing, many elderly tourists, after ship capsizes on China's Yangtze

  Rescuers fought bad weather on Tuesday as they searched for more than 400 people, many of them elderly Chinese tourists, missing after a cruise boat was buffeted by a freak tornado and capsized on the Yangtze River.

• Amended China law curbs tobacco ads in land of smokers

  China's parliament has passed legislation that restricts tobacco advertising in public, strengthening efforts to curb smoking in a country where more than a billion people are smokers or exposed to second-hand smoke.

• China's Li dismisses worries over Hong Kong policy tightening

  China's Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday dismissed worries that Beijing would tighten controls over Hong Kong, saying that the country's leaders would not "easily" change the policy toward the former British colony.

• China says Japan ties face test, opportunity this year

  China's relations with Japan face a "test" this year linked to whether Japan can properly atone for its wartime past, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Sunday.

• China threatens 'decisive' response after Myanmar bombing

  China's military will take "decisive" measures if there is a repeat attack by Myanmar forces on its territory, a senior military officer said after a bomb from a Myanmar aircraft killed four people.

• Chinese city shuts factories as environmental law bites

  An industrial city in eastern China has closed several factories, including many steel and nickel pig iron producers, in an apparent sign the government is stepping up enforcement of a new environmental law in the face of growing public discontent over pollution.

• China No. 3 leader says more attention needed for Hong Kong young

  China's third-ranked leader wants greater attention paid to young people in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, after they staged pro-democracy protests last year that shut down parts of the city for two and a half months.

• Chinese leadership offers support for Hong Kong leader

  China's central government fully approves of the leadership of Hong Kong's chief executive Leung Chun-ying and the work of the territory's government which has shown itself "unafraid of challenges", Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday.

• China's antitrust regulator says Qualcomm case to be settled soon

  The Chinese government said on Friday that it will soon settle its antitrust investigation of U.S. mobile chipmaker Qualcomm Inc.

• China says British complaints on ban on MPs' Hong Kong visit 'useless'

  China rebuffed as "useless" on Tuesday complaints from British Prime Minister David Cameron about a ban on a group of British lawmakers from visiting Hong Kong, saying the former colonial power would reap what it sowed.

• Hong Kong student leaders blocked from taking democracy fight to Beijing

  Three Hong Kong student leaders were stopped from boarding a flight to Beijing on Saturday to take their fight for greater democracy directly to the Chinese government after airline authorities said their travel permits were invalid.

• Hong Kong student protest leaders plan Beijing visit on Saturday

  Three Hong Kong student leaders plan to take their fight for greater democracy to Beijing on Saturday as frustration grows over the city government's inability to negotiate on electoral reforms in the former British colony.

• China, Vietnam pledge to 'address and control' maritime disputes

  China and Vietnam have agreed to "address and control" maritime disputes, state media said on Friday, as differences over the potentially energy-rich South China Sea have roiled relations between the two countries and other neighbors.

• EU, China agree to step up cooperation against terrorism: EU

  Leaders from China and the European Union agreed to step up cooperation to counter extremism and terrorism in the Middle East and Africa, the EU said on Thursday.

• Italy and China sign business deals worth $10 billion

  Italy and China signed business deals worth about 8 billion euros ($10 billion) on Tuesday in sectors ranging from energy to engineering, deepening Beijing's commercial ties with the euro zone's No. 3 economy.