Microsoft (MSFT) and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad have jointly announced in Beijing that Microsoft China will be a software supplier for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

China will stage a "Beijing Week" in Moscow from June 27 to 30 amid a series of regional cooperation programs marking the "Year of China" in Russia.

Part of a 20-year-old stage, a spotlight dating from 1955, and costumes from the Chinese version of 'Death of a Salesman', thespians are going to be captivated by some of the exhibits in Beijing's latest museum.

The organizing committee of next year's Olympics in Beijing says it is investigating allegations that some official merchandise for the games was made abusing workers and using child labor. An official of the committee said in Hong Kong that companies found to be violating labor rules would lose their contracts.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill is heading back to Washington after a day of meetings with Chinese officials. As he left he reported no progress on resolving a transfer of North Korean accounts from a Macau bank. As Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing, North Korea has refused to move forward on a nuclear deal until it has the money.

The chief U.S. negotiator on North Korea's nuclear programs has been meeting with Chinese officials in Beijing to try to resolve problems in transferring money from a Macau bank to North Korea. Pyongyang has refused to resume six-nation talks on its nuclear weapons program until it has possession of the $25 million in the previously frozen accounts, and the U.S. official stays it still might take some time.

The Chinese government will maintain its friendship with Thailand despite changes in the international situation and the two countries' domestic situations.

To discuss the stalled negotiations with China the U.S. envoy to talks on dismantling North Korea's nuclear programs will visit Beijing this week, Foreign Ministry of China announced Tuesday.

Beijing has issued a strong protest to the U.S. following the publication of an annual report on China's military power, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Monday.

Net foreign assets of China grew 57 percent last year to US$662 billion, the Government said Friday, amid pressure on Beijing to let more money flow out of the country.

Hong Kong shares surged to a record high Monday, boosted by Chinese-related shares after Beijing said it will allow approved mainland banks to invest in foreign stocks for the first time. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 511.03 points, or 2.5 percent, to 20,979.24.

Infant mortality rates have dropped in China during the past two decades, but international health experts say that, despite the economic boom, general health conditions remain extremely poor - especially in rural areas where 70 percent of the population lives.