BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s expected launch soon of its first aircraft carrier will add to a growing military clout just as other powers in Asia are becoming uneasy about Beijing’s more strident claims over disputed seas in the region.

In practical terms, though, it is likely to take the Chinese navy years to have a credible carrier operation in Asia’s seas, which have largely been the domain of the U.S. navy since World War Two.

BEIJING (Reuters) – Burly, bearded and blunt, Ai Weiwei, whose art spans porcelain sunflower seeds to names of earthquake victims scrolling on a computer screen, has been one of China’s loudest and most colorful challengers of Communist Party controls.

Ai, 54, was detained at Beijing airport in April, until his release on bail on Wednesday. He has kept an uncharacteristic silence since being let out, signal perhaps of the government’s success at getting such a fierce critic to shut up.

BEIJING (Reuters) – For a man who has made his name for bold, outspoken art and words, dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has been curiously silent since his unexpected release from more than two months of detention.

Speaking to foreign reporters gathered outside his studio in a northeastern Beijing suburb on Thursday, a slightly thinner and tired-looking Ai said simply his health was “very good.”

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) – The world economic recovery remains “slow and fragile” with the outlook uncertain, but China will promote its own rapid and stable growth, Chinese President Hu Jintao said on Friday.

Hu, addressing an economic forum in St Petersburg, also said it was vital to press ahead with reforms to the international financial system that would give emerging markets a greater say in global governance.

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) – Russia has failed to reach agreement on an elusive 30-year gas supply deal with China in time for signing on Friday, with the two sides unable to bridge differences on price.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Chinese President Hu Jintao had hoped to sign the deal, which could be worth up to $1 trillion, at an investment forum in St Petersburg. The agreement would help power Beijing’s booming economy and allow Moscow to diversify exports away from Europe.

ST PETERSBURG, Russia, June 17 (Reuters) – Russia has failed
to reach agreement on an elusive 30-year gas supply deal with
China in time for signing on Friday, with the two sides unable
to bridge differences on price.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Chinese President Hu
Jintao had hoped to sign deal, which could be worth up to $1
trillion, at an investment forum in St Petersburg. The agreement
would help power Beijing’s booming economy and allow Moscow to
diversify exports away from Europe.

MOSCOW, June 16 (Reuters) – Russia edged closer on Thursday
to a 30-year gas supply deal with China that could be worth up
to $1 trillion to help power Beijing’s booming economy and allow
Moscow to diversify its exports away from Europe.

An agreement on the gas project would be a big trophy for
Chinese President Hu Jintao, who has courted Russia as a way of
increasing energy security as robust economic growth
increasingly forces China to look abroad for oil and gas.

MOSCOW, June 16 (Reuters) – China and Russia are finalising
documents to put an end to a fractious dispute over a crucial
gas deal, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday
after meeting his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao.

Hu has made securing energy for the world’s second-biggest
economy a diplomatic priority, but relations with Russia in this
key area have not been smooth.

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Communist Party sees no reason why it cannot stay in power indefinitely, having made the nation into the envy of the world with its economic success, one of the Party’s top official historians said on Thursday.

Li Zhongjie, a deputy head of the Party’s History Research Center, made it clear that China will use the impending 90th anniversary of the Party’s founding as a time for rousing pride, rather than reflection on a history that has spanned war, revolution, mass famine and deadly purges.

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese sports fans were toasting Li Na on Saturday as she became the country’s first tennis player to win a grand slam singles title, a triumph described as “miracle” by state media.

Li, affectionately known as “Big Sister Na” and “Golden Flower” in China, overcame Italian Francesca Schiavone in the French Open final in Paris, a match watched by millions who stayed up late into the night.