China could have a new homegrown operating system by October to take on imported rivals such as Microsoft, Google, and Apple, Xinhua news agency said yesterday.

China has achieved a “soft landing” in its economic slowdown, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said today while cautioning that more sweeping reforms are needed to ensure healthy growth in the longer term.

CHINA denied it supports hacking activities and said it is part of global efforts to combat computer security threats yesterday, a day after Google disclosed some of its email users suffered hacking attacks that orginated within the country.

China has renewed Google's licence to operate after a months-long dispute over internet censorship, saying the company had pledged not to provide "lawbreaking content".

GOOGLE’S threat to pull out of China over censorship is a rare display of defiance in a system where foreign companies have long accepted intrusive controls to gain access to a huge and growing market.