Hong Lei

Spying on the US is a service to China, state-run media said on March 24, singing the praises of a man who confessed to hacking American defence contractors on Beijing's behalf.

Chinese national Su Bin, 50, pleaded guilty to stealing trade secrets from the companies, including plans for transport planes and fighter jets.

China on Feb. 16 slammed the US Senate for moving to rename a stretch of road after a jailed dissident and Nobel laureate -- potentially changing its Washington embassy's address to 1 Liu Xiaobo Plaza.

A top U.N. official says Geneva will host new diplomatic talks in January aimed at resolving the Syrian conflict.

Michael Moller, the head of the United Nations in Geneva, told reporters Dec. 22 that the talks are to take place in the U.N. office in the Swiss city, though he says no date has been set under the guidance of United Nations' Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura. 

China has summoned the U.S. envoy to protest Washington's sale of warships to Taiwan, as part of a massive $1.8 billion arms package, Beijing said on Dec. 17.

China called for more coordination in the fight against terrorism on Nov. 25 after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border, one of the most serious clashes between a NATO member country and Russia for half a century.

Serbian PM begins visit to China on Monday

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic will on Monday begin his official visit to China, at the invitation of Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang.

During the visit Vucic will take part in the fourth China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) summit.

China vowed on Nov. 19 to bring to justice those responsible for killing one of its citizens after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) said it had executed a Chinese captive, the only known Chinese hostage to have been held by the group.

Beijing said on Nov. 18 US President Barack Obama should not get involved in disputes in the South China Sea, after he demanded an end to artificial island building in the hotly contested region.

An American woman suspected of spying is being investigated, China's Foreign Ministry said on Sept.22, as President Xi Jinping left for the United States on an official visit. 

Sandy Phan-Gillis, of Texas, has been held by Chinese authorities for about six months and is suspected of spying and stealing state secrets, according to a statement from her family released this week. 

China has surpassed Germany to become the world's third largest arms exporter, a Stockholm-based think tank said in a report on March 16.