BEIJING, Aug 18 (Reuters) - China consigned the body of former Premier Zhu Rongji to the flames on Tuesday and lowered the national flag to mourn the no-nonsense reformer who died last week aged 97, as citizens recalled a bygone era and reflected on his ‌complicated legacy.
Security was tight across the city, particularly around Tiananmen Square and the leaders' enclave of Zhongnanhai, the centre of political power, which lie ‌on the route to the Babaoshan crematorium.
President Xi Jinping and the other six members of the Politburo standing committee stood in silence and made three bows before Zhu was cremated at the Beijing cemetery for top officials and national heroes, the official news agency Xinhua said.
Former President Hu Jintao, 83, who has missed a string of recent public events, sent a wreath of condolence for the former second-ranking official, it added.
A COMPLEX LEGACY

#former #China #premier #rongji

In Hangzhou city, a city off the east coast of China and a major AI hub, a worker only identified by his surname Zhou, was laid off at a tech firm. Zhou's job, verifying the accuracy of large language models, was taken over by AI. His contract was terminated after he declined a lower-level reassignment with a 40% pay cut, 25,000 yuan ($3,640 USD) monthly to 15,000 yuan ($2,224 USD), according to Xinhua, a state news agency.
An arbitration panel ruled the dismissal was illegal and awarded Zhou with additional severance. The tech firm filed a lawsuit with a Hangzhou district court in August 2025, which they lost. They lost an appeal in April 2026.
Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one
Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake. Here's what it is and 3 simple steps to fix it ASAP
The tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028. Here are 4 moves to make before the window closes

#hangzhou #lost #xinhua #august

China has set out a five-year strategy to overhaul its retail sector as part of broader efforts to strengthen domestic demand and generate employment.
Under the new guideline, authorities aim to build a modern retail system and develop several globally competitive retail enterprises by 2030.
The envisaged system is expected to combine quality goods, better services and greater use of intelligent, convenient technology.
State news agency Xinhua reported that physical shops are meant to double as ***** es for leisure, immersive experiences, entertainment and socialising, while online platforms are to evolve into standardised outlets for premium products.
The plan's core priorities include structuring the industry's overall layout, encouraging fresh supply and generating new consumer demand.

BEIJING/SYDNEY, July 6 (Reuters) - China's military test-fired a missile from a nuclear-powered submarine into the Pacific on Monday, state media reported, drawing criticism and concern from U.S., ***** an, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan.
A People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy submarine launched the missile, carrying a dummy ‌warhead, toward international waters in the Pacific at 12:01 p.m. (0401 GMT), the official Xinhua news agency said.
Xinhua described the launch as a "routine arrangement" of ‌China's annual military training and not directed against any specific country or target. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the launch was conducted "safely, in a standardised and professional manner throughout."
"We hope relevant countries will not over-interpret the matter," she said at a briefing in Beijing.
The U.S. monitored China's test launch from a submarine of an unarmed intercontinental-range ballistic missile that landed in the southern Pacific Ocean, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

BANGKOK (AP) — Vietnam is increasingly using broadly written laws to arrest activists, dissidents and others that authorities consider a threat to the Communist Party's rule, according to a new ***** ysis released Monday by a human rights group.
The 88 Project, which focuses on rights issues in Vietnam, documented 56 such arrests in 2025, the third consecutive year of increases and double the number in 2022. The report includes only arrests where the defendant could be identified by name and the case tracked, and the actual numbers are believed to be much higher, said Ben Swanton, co-director of the group.
The report says the country under leader To Lam "routinely weaponizes criminal law" to quash dissent. To Lam, the country's former top security official who has served as general secretary of the Communist Party since 2024, was also elected president earlier this year.
The arrests are largely driven by fears of an uprising against the leadership in a so-called "color revolution," like the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine, or the 1986 Yellow Revolution in the Philippines, according to the report.
It is a fear shared by the Communist Party in neighboring China, which has been accused of using similar tactics to stifle critics. Though competing maritime claims have led to confrontations between the two countries and a tense diplomatic relationship at times, China and Vietnam were able to agree earlier this year to together "prioritize political security and enhance efforts to prevent and resist color revolutions," the Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

BEIJING, June 26 (Reuters) - China is willing to establish a security partnership with Cambodia, President ‌Xi Jinping said on Friday as he ‌met with Hun Sen, president of Cambodia's Senate, in Beijing.
Xi said the international and regional situation was undergoing "complex and profound changes" and that China and Cambodia should work together to inject more stability into regional ‌peace and development, ⁠China's state news agency Xinhua reported.
Here are more details of their meeting:
• China ⁠has always regarded Cambodia as a priority in its neighbourhood diplomacy and Beijing firmly supports Cambodia in safeguarding national sovereignty and security, Xi said.
• He called ‌on the two sides to raise the foundation of strategic mutual trust "to a new height".