China News

Perth - A US Navy submersible will be taken past its recommended depth limit in hopes of locating missing flight MH370, Australian authorities said Thursday, after Prime Minister Tony Abbott set a one-week deadline to spot wreckage.

Beijing - A Chinese court jailed a blogger for three years on Thursday, state media reported, the first person to be sentenced in a government-led crackdown on so-called Internet rumours.

Perth - A mini-submarine hunting for wreckage of a missing Malaysian airliner has completed its first full mission at the third attempt, officials said Thursday, as seabed data it retrieved was being analysed.

Beijing - China's GDP grew at its weakest pace for 18 months in the March quarter, data showed on Wednesday, testing Beijing's resolve as its campaign to transform the world's number-two economy comes at the cost of a sharp slowdown.

Perth - The hunt for a missing Malaysian plane suffered another setback Wednesday when a second seabed search by a mini-submarine was cut short due to "technical" troubles after the first also aborted in very deep water.

Washington - The US Treasury said Tuesday that China cannot be ruled a manipulator of its currency despite the yuan's sharp slide since January.

Shanghai - Business jet maker Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. on Tuesday announced a deal to sell 60 aircraft to a Chinese leasing company, one of the largest orders in the US company's history.The agreement, signed with Minsheng Financial Leasing Co.

Beijing - Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday warned Kiev against using force to quell pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine, saying the "criminal" act would undermine talks planned in Geneva.

Shanghai - China's bank lending surged in March from the previous month, the central bank said Tuesday, but analysts dismissed the possibility of monetary easing.Domestic banks granted 1.05 trillion yuan ($168.7 billion) in new loans last month, down 12.

Beijing - China's economic expansion slowed in the first three months of this year, according to an AFP survey, and remains on track for its worst annual performance in nearly a quarter-century as reform priorities trump growth concerns.