BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese leaders celebrated the Year of the Rabbit with visits to the drought-stricken north while ordinary citizens rocked city streets with cacophonous fireworks.

Worry about inflation and over-valued property markets did not dampen Beijing residents’ enthusiasm for the ultimate in conspicuous consumption — fireworks that light up the sky and are gone in a puff.

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – Retired professor Chen Chongyu and his wife Liu Zhenjuan dreamed of coming back to China from their daughter’s home in France, but until last year the couple had nowhere to go.

That changed when they found Cherish-Yearn, an upscale retirement community on the fringes of Shanghai and a pioneer in catering to China’s prosperous elderly.

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – Western nations hailed the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo as a reminder of the importance of human rights, while Beijing and some of its allies said the prize had been politicised.

Democracy campaigner Liu, who was jailed late last year for 11 years for subversion, was represented at the award ceremony in the Norwegian capital Oslo by an empty chair after China prevented friends and family from attending.

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – Western nations hailed the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo as a reminder of the importance of human rights, while Beijing and some of its allies said the prize had been politicised.

Democracy campaigner Liu, who was jailed late last year for 11 years for subversion, was represented at the award ceremony in the Norwegian capital Oslo by an empty chair after China prevented friends and family from attending.

DONGYANG, China, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Doctor Liu Youhong made
do for decades with two years of rudimentary medical training,
enough to meet villagers’ basic needs in his untidy rural
corner of the eastern province of Jiangsu.

But now, the dearth of skilled medical doctors in areas
such as Dongyang is proving a major stumbling block to
ambitious plans to offer basic health care to hundreds of
millions in rural China.

BEIJING/HONG KONG, Nov 23 (Reuters) – Energy deals took
centre stage during a southern African tour by China’s
leader-in-waiting, but the growing ties between China and Africa
are quickly moving beyond the traditional sectors of energy and
infrastructure.

Vice President Xi Jinping this week wrapped up a visit to
South Africa, Angola and Botswana. Xi, who is expected to succeed
Hu Jintao as head of the ruling Communist Party in 2012,
witnessed the signing of deals worth millions of dollars to build
a power plant and solar panel factory and to increase South
African exports to China. [ID:nLDE6AG1IO] [ID:nLDE6AK07D].

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – Long derided as little more than copycats, Chinese Internet firms are coming of age with innovative business models, showcasing how companies need to have different strategies in emerging Internet markets.

Companies such as Baidu, Alibaba.com and Sohu Inc have all been decried at various times as rip-offs of Yahoo, Google and eBay, taking a page from such global leaders to make big bucks in the relatively protected confines of their home market.

SHANGHAI/BEIJING, Nov 16 (Reuters) – Long derided as little
more than copycats, Chinese Internet firms are coming of age with
innovative business models, showcasing how companies need to have
different strategies in emerging Internet markets.

Companies such as Baidu (BIDU.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Alibaba.com (1688.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and
Sohu Inc (SOHU.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) have all been decried at various times as
rip-offs of Yahoo (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Google (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and eBay (EBAY.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz),
taking a page from such global leaders to make big bucks in the
relatively protected confines of their home market.

TIANJIN, China, Nov 16 (Reuters) – Chinese companies eying
African mineral resources must stop making closed-door deals and
become more transparent in their investments, a senior World Bank
executive said on Tuesday.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the World Bank’s managing director, told
Reuters on the sidelines of one of China’s biggest mining
conferences that investors in Africa needed to work more with
local communities in order to avoid conflicts and eventually even
reduce costs.

BEIJING (Reuters) – Business Secretary Vince Cable sought to reassure businesses on Wednesday during a trip to China that new immigration curbs will be flexible and the country will continue to welcome entrepreneurs.

The government is working on plans to introduce a cap on immigration, in line with a pre-election pledge from the Conservative party.