King Maha Vajiralongkorn is the first Thai monarch to visit China since the two countries established diplomatic relations half a century ago. His trip was the most high-profile signal yet that Thailand, which has long struck a careful balance between China and America, is leaning ever closer towards its northern neighbour.

While daily life remains largely intact, Chinese locals and Japanese expatriates in China tell CNA of a quiet unease as the bilateral row persists.

By comparison, the 7,300-ton Constellation -class frigate is larger than both the Type 054B vessel, which displaces 5,500 to 6,000 tons, and the 4,100-ton Oliver Hazard Perry -class frigate. The U.S. Arleigh Burke -class destroyer displaces 9,700 tons.

In medicine, meanwhile, China has turned itself from a copycat maker of generics into the world’s second-largest developer of new drugs, including those tackling cancer. Western rivals are licensing its firms’ wares.

Whether China can maintain its level of exports to the rest of the world – and expand back into the US market after the recent truce, is a consequential question for the world’s second-largest economy

China is rapidly replacing its aging diesel trucks with electric models, signaling a major shift in the world’s largest vehicle market

Chow Tai Fook, China’s biggest jewellery retailer by sales, has closed about 1,000 mainland stores this year, a reduction of 15 per cent. The company on Tuesday reported net profit of HK$2.5bn (US$320mn) in the half-year to the end of September, unchanged from a year earlier, on HK$39bn of revenue, its lowest in five years.

China is rapidly advancing in two frontier technologies—autonomous vehicles and new drug development—signalling another wave of global influence, according to a new report by The Economist. The publication says these sectors are emerging as fresh examples of China's capacity to scale innovation,

Brighton apologise for "any offence caused in China" caused by a post on social media that featured an image of a Japanese World War Two soldier.

Beijing also criticized Washington over its withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002, a now-defunct arms control agreement with Russia that prohibited the deployment of nationwide defenses against strategic nuclear-armed ballistic missiles.