THE government imposed a curfew last night in the capital city of western China after mobs of Han Chinese armed with cleavers roamed the streets looking for Muslim Uyghurs who had earlier attacked people in the country’s worst ethnic violence in decades.

President George Bush arrived in Beijing today amid an atmosphere of tension with China's leaders over his high-profile criticism of the country's human rights record.

A woman who survived by drinking rainwater was rescued alive today after being trapped in the rubble of China’s earthquake for more than 195 hours.

China said it was struggling to find shelter for many of the five million people whose homes were destroyed in last week’s earthquake, while the region remained jittery today over warnings of aftershocks.

China has said a British newspaper editorial comparing the Beijing Olympics to Hitler’s 1936 Games is an “insult to the Chinese people”.

China’s foreign ministry says it is concerned about a planned meeting between prime minister Gordon Brown and the Dalai Lama.

A NUMBER of Chinese herbal medicine products on sale in Ireland contain a dangerous, cancer-causing toxin.

The largest ever loan of artefacts from China’s famed terracotta army has started its journey to London today.

China is concerned about global warming but lacks the money and technology to significantly reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions that are worsening the problem, a top government scientist said today.

THE Chinese authorities angrily denied yesterday that the country turns a blind eye to human rights abuses in places like Sudan in its search for oil to help power its booming economy.

THE Chinese authorities angrily denied yesterday that the country turns a blind eye to human rights abuses in places like Sudan in its search for oil to help power its booming economy.

A Chinese government spokesman has rejected comparisons between the fatal police shooting of villagers last week and the 1989 crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests, saying no conclusion has been reached about the most recent violence.

Beijing tried to ease strains with Moscow over a river-borne toxic spill flowing toward Russia by today promising to send filtering materials, while five more Chinese cities prepared to stop drawing water from the river.

Officials and churchgoers from around the world expressed hope today that the new Pope will continue the work of his predecessor by building interfaith bridges. Even China said icy ties with the Vatican could improve – but only if the church breaks off relations with Taiwan.

China today congratulated newly-appointed Pope Benedict XVI and said it hoped Beijing’s strained relations with the Roman Catholic Church could improve during his tenure.

The Chinese government said today it won’t send an envoy to Pope John Paul II’s funeral due to the Vatican’s diplomatic relations with rival Taiwan.

China today rejected ties between the nation’s Catholics and the Vatican, indicating that Beijing has not budged on a key issue in their split despite expressing hope for better relations following the death of Pope John Paul.

China today expelled a US-based Chinese sociologist convicted of spying for Taiwan, a US official said.