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Hong Kong has officially entitled itself as most developed financial market in the world after it jumped from fourth position to first on the World Economic Forum index of financial market development. Beating out the established UK and US leaders, it has become the first Asian financial center ever to top the index. more ›

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Chinese premier Wen Jiabao visited the birthplace of Shakespeare in Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire for an informal visit one day before meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron. In comments made after the tour, the prime minister said, "I think it is fair to say that the Chinese people know the UK pretty well and I hope that more and more British people will know better about China. China has 5,000 years of history and it has over 2,000 years of recorded history. In this long history of this great nation, the literary figures of China have produced a myriad of literary works. And reading these works will help one better understand the course of development of this great nation. Politicians may get into a very heated debate at the negotiating table, but when you ask them, they may not necessarily truly understand each other's cultures and histories." more ›

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, better known as the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, is celebrating his 90th birthday soon. To mark the momentous occasion, The Independent published a list of 90 gaffes made by the prince, who's often been known to put his foot in his mouth. Here are the China-related ones: more ›

Sir James Dyson, inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, has warned that Chinese students are spying on British universities to steal technological secrets, and have even planted software bugs that continue relaying the information to China long after they have graduated. more ›

"The BBC Chinese Service has made its final radio broadcast in Mandarin after nearly 70 years. Shortwave programming in Mandarin is a casualty of spending cuts announced by the BBC World Service in January. From now on, Mandarin-speakers will be served only by the BBC's Chinese-language websites; a weekly radio broadcast in Cantonese will continue. BBC managers say they have had to make tough choices because of a 16% cut in UK government funding. BBC World Service Mandarin programming began back in 1941, pre-dating by eight years the proclamation of the People's Republic of China." [BBC] more ›

British import Tesco may soon face another competitor from its homeland as Sainsbury's seeks to expand abroad. Chief Executive Justin King said in The Daily Mail there is apparently a "team" in China getting to know the markets here. Hmm, undercover shoppers? No specifics yet on when or where the UK brand would start their operations, but the company is proceeding slowly after their less than stellar foray into the American market, where the acquisition of Shaw's left them struggling at home. We hope their research is done soon... need us some of their chicken nuggets and garlic bread ASAP. more ›

Kenny Huang backs out of potential deal to buy Liverpool FC due to 'lethargic' negotiations. more ›

Could China score a goal in English football? It certainly looks that way. Liverpool locals (fondly known as ‘scousers’) are having to ‘calm down, calm down’ after hearing the latest news in English football. China could soon be taking over Liverpool Football Club. more ›

Attention to all China-based Brits, your UK passport dealings will never be handled in the mainland again. Shanghai Eye has it that from now on all administrative matters regarding UK passports will be dealt with in and from Hong Kong as part of a new “streamlining process” within China. more ›

The pavilion that's got everyone talking is really. awesome. indeed.
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OK, we exaggerate, but she did start speaking in a Chinese accent -- that's according to a report by the UK's Daily Mail. Doctors believe that Sarah Colwill, who has long suffered from rare sporadic hemiplegic migraines, has Foreign Accent Syndrome, a condition which damages the part of the brain that controls linguistic ability, and is so rare, there are only 60 such cases documented in the world. Said the 35 year old from Plymouth more ›

So by now, everyone knows the gig is off, presumably because of Oasis' pro-Tibet leanings. But before we learned that the British brothers wouldn't be performing on our shores, the editrixes at managed to get an exclusive interview in with them - separately. If it really was because of the Tibet issue and not just finances, the Chinese government really ought to read the piece and change their minds. more ›

Forget coming to Shanghai to pick up a cheap knock-off handbag, the latest fashion is for middle-class Chinese to head to the UK to pick up the real thing at knock-down prices. more ›

Oops! It looks like somebody at Downing Street is about to get fired. At a trade agreement signing ceremony between Premier Wen Jiabao, U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown and U.K. Trade Secretary Lord Mandelson, the Union Jack was flown upside down. more ›

A human rights protestor, described as a Western-looking man with dark hair and in his early twenties, has been detained by UK police after he threw his shoe at Prime Minister Wen Jiabao while he was delivering a speech at Cambridge University. According to The Times, the young man blew a whistle as Premier Wen was about to wrap up his speech, shouting:

“How can the university prostitute itself with this dictator? How can you listen to these lies?”

“Stand up and protest, you're not challenging him.”

On Sept 26, in Tianjin at the World Economic Forum, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson drank a glass of milk (click to see video) in front of the media to show his support for the Chinese dairy industry and said:

The Europeans will continue to expect the highest standards, just as Chinese consumers are demanding the same…. But in the meantime I shall continue drinking my own favorite, er, milk, er, product, er, er, which I enjoy and which does not make me nervous.

Wen said he was very moved when he saw in television European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson drinking a cup of Chinese milk on Friday to show his trust in China-made products. “It's because he not only sees the present, but the future as well,” Wen said.

"Over the past few days, Peter Mandelson has been experiencing some kidney pain," a spokesman said. more ›

An international phenomenon that started in China has finally made it back, almost instantaneously across many Chinese media outlets yesterday. The story is that a netizen from the UK who goes by markm49uk found a picture of a factory worker from Foxcon in Guangdong on his brand-spanking-new-straight-out-of-the-box iPhone. The photo is probably the result of someone testing the phone or just mucking around with them in the factory but because the worker is a sweet looking young girl, she has become somewhat of a sensation. more ›

"A top aide to Gordon Brown has been a suspected victim of a “honeytrap” operation by Chinese intelligence agents. The aide, a senior Downing Street adviser who was with the prime minister on a trip to China earlier this year, had his BlackBerry phone stolen after being picked up by a Chinese woman who had approached him in a Shanghai hotel disco. The aide agreed to return to his hotel with the woman. He reported the BlackBerry missing the next morning. The aide, whose identity is known to The Sunday Times, immediately reported the theft to the prime minister’s Special Branch protection team and was informally reprimanded." [Source] more ›