By , BEIJING (Reuters) - Three weeks ago, Beijing authorities swooped in on Shan Peng and her makeshift street stall, seizing her merchandise - yogurt and casual pants - and even her electric tricycle.She was used to police evictions.“Just raise your gun an inch, sir, and we peddlers would be able to get by,” she would say, begging them to let her off.In the same busy alley today, the 51-year-old was selling shrink-wrapped bacon out of a cardboard box - unharassed.Shan hoped to take home at least 100 yuan ($14) a day. She has mouths to feed - her elderly mother, a dog she rescued from a...…By , BEIJING (Reuters) - Three weeks ago, Beijing authorities swooped in on Shan Peng and her makeshift street stall, seizing her merchandise - yogurt and casual pants - and even her electric tricycle.She was used to police evictions.“Just raise your gun an inch, sir, and we peddlers would be able to get by,” she would say, begging them to let her off.In the same busy alley today, the 51-year-old was selling shrink-wrapped bacon out of a cardboard box - unharassed.Shan hoped to take home at least 100 yuan ($14) a day. She has mouths to feed - her elderly mother, a dog she rescued from a...WW…

By , BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s most populous cities saw a spike in outbound travellers, tourists and day-trippers on May 1, first day of a long holiday weekend, led by Wuhan, epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic that first struck the country late last year.The increase in outbound travel during the five-day holiday, one of China’s peak tourism periods each year, would help lift the travel and hospitality sectors that have been hit hard by disruption from the coronavirus pandemic.The spike in tourism was led by increases in travellers from Wuhan, Beijing, Dalian, Tianjin and Jinan, with...…By , BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s most populous cities saw a spike in outbound travellers, tourists and day-trippers on May 1, first day of a long holiday weekend, led by Wuhan, epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic that first struck the country late last year.The increase in outbound travel during the five-day holiday, one of China’s peak tourism periods each year, would help lift the travel and hospitality sectors that have been hit hard by disruption from the coronavirus pandemic.The spike in tourism was led by increases in travellers from Wuhan, Beijing, Dalian, Tianjin and Jinan, with...WW…

By , GENEVA/BEIJING (Reuters) - The coronavirus spread further on Friday, with cases reported for the first time in at least six countries across four continents, battering markets and leading the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise its impact risk alert to “very high.”Hopes that the epidemic that started in China late last year would be over in months, and that economic activity would quickly return to normal, have been shattered.World shares were on course for their largest weekly fall since the 2008 financial crisis, bringing the global wipeout to $5 trillion as supply chains were...…By , GENEVA/BEIJING (Reuters) - The coronavirus spread further on Friday, with cases reported for the first time in at least six countries across four continents, battering markets and leading the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise its impact risk alert to “very high.”Hopes that the epidemic that started in China late last year would be over in months, and that economic activity would quickly return to normal, have been shattered.World shares were on course for their largest weekly fall since the 2008 financial crisis, bringing the global wipeout to $5 trillion as supply chains were...WW…

By , ZHUOZHOU, China (Reuters) - In Zhuozhou, a small city in China’s north, Zhu has stopped making mortgage payments on her apartment after its developer did not build a promised rail line that would have allowed residents to commute to Beijing for work.The accountant is one of some 1,000 home owners in the housing project who ceased payments in anger last year, according to Zhu and two other buyers campaigning for compensation who spoke with Reuters.“I didn’t do anything wrong, so why do I have to bear all the consequences?” said Zhu.In the picturesque city of Dali in the southwest, Li, a...…By , ZHUOZHOU, China (Reuters) - In Zhuozhou, a small city in China’s north, Zhu has stopped making mortgage payments on her apartment after its developer did not build a promised rail line that would have allowed residents to commute to Beijing for work.The accountant is one of some 1,000 home owners in the housing project who ceased payments in anger last year, according to Zhu and two other buyers campaigning for compensation who spoke with Reuters.“I didn’t do anything wrong, so why do I have to bear all the consequences?” said Zhu.In the picturesque city of Dali in the southwest, Li, a...WW…

By , , BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s top ride-hailing app dropped Swedish fashion retailer H&M from its listings as Chinese celebrities stopped endorsing foreign labels in a growing uproar over Western accusations of forced labour in Xinjiang.H&M faced a public backlash in China when social media users in the country circulated a statement the company made last year announcing it would no longer source cotton from Xinjiang after reports of the use of forced labour by Uighur Muslims.Western governments and rights groups have accused authorities in the farwestern region of detaining and...…By , , BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s top ride-hailing app dropped Swedish fashion retailer H&M from its listings as Chinese celebrities stopped endorsing foreign labels in a growing uproar over Western accusations of forced labour in Xinjiang.H&M faced a public backlash in China when social media users in the country circulated a statement the company made last year announcing it would no longer source cotton from Xinjiang after reports of the use of forced labour by Uighur Muslims.Western governments and rights groups have accused authorities in the farwestern region of detaining and...WW…

By , , BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) - TikTok owner ByteDance has hired Xiaomi executive Shou Zi Chew for a newly created role as chief finance officer, in a sign that the tech company is moving towards a much-anticipated initial public offering of one or some of its businesses.Slideshow ByteDance has been considering whether to go for a standalone public listing for Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, or list some of its Chinese operations, including Douyin and news aggregator Jinri Toutiao, as a package in Hong Kong or Shanghai, Reuters has reported.ByteDance has also been looking at a...…By , , BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) - TikTok owner ByteDance has hired Xiaomi executive Shou Zi Chew for a newly created role as chief finance officer, in a sign that the tech company is moving towards a much-anticipated initial public offering of one or some of its businesses.Slideshow ByteDance has been considering whether to go for a standalone public listing for Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, or list some of its Chinese operations, including Douyin and news aggregator Jinri Toutiao, as a package in Hong Kong or Shanghai, Reuters has reported.ByteDance has also been looking at a...WW…

By BEIJING (Reuters) - China plans to launch an unmanned spacecraft to the moon this week to bring back lunar rocks in the first attempt by any nation to retrieve samples from Earth’s natural satellite since the 1970s.The Chang’e-5 probe, named after the ancient Chinese goddess of the moon, will seek to collect material that can help scientists understand more about the moon’s origins and formation. The mission will test China’s ability to remotely acquire samples from space, ahead of more complex missions.If successful, the mission will make China only the third country to have retrieved...…By BEIJING (Reuters) - China plans to launch an unmanned spacecraft to the moon this week to bring back lunar rocks in the first attempt by any nation to retrieve samples from Earth’s natural satellite since the 1970s.The Chang’e-5 probe, named after the ancient Chinese goddess of the moon, will seek to collect material that can help scientists understand more about the moon’s origins and formation. The mission will test China’s ability to remotely acquire samples from space, ahead of more complex missions.If successful, the mission will make China only the third country to have retrieved...WW…

By (This July 23 story was refiled to correct typo in paragraph 8)WENCHANG, China (Reuters) - China successfully launched an unmanned probe to Mars on Thursday in its first independent mission to another planet, in a display of its technological prowess and ambition to join an elite club of space-faring nations.China’s largest carrier rocket, the Long March 5 Y-4, blasted off with the probe at 12:41 p.m. (0441 GMT) from Wenchang Space Launch Centre on the southern island of Hainan.In 2020, Mars is at its closest to Earth, at a distance of about 55 million km (34 million miles), in a window...…By (This July 23 story was refiled to correct typo in paragraph 8)WENCHANG, China (Reuters) - China successfully launched an unmanned probe to Mars on Thursday in its first independent mission to another planet, in a display of its technological prowess and ambition to join an elite club of space-faring nations.China’s largest carrier rocket, the Long March 5 Y-4, blasted off with the probe at 12:41 p.m. (0441 GMT) from Wenchang Space Launch Centre on the southern island of Hainan.In 2020, Mars is at its closest to Earth, at a distance of about 55 million km (34 million miles), in a window...WW…