China: A loan shark or the good Samaritan?

US Vice President Kamala Harris accuses Beijing of coercion and intimidation in the disputed South China Sea during a speech in Singapore. Harris' comments come as she seeks to rally Asian allies against China and shore up US credibility in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Beijing has said it want to foster small and medium-sized businesses by setting up third stock exchange in Beijing. The move comes despite an ongoing regulatory crackdown on China's biggest tech companies.

The property company's financial plight comes as the Communist Party cracks down on business and tightens its control of the economy. Evergrande's fate and that of its founder, hang in the balance.

People in Beijing share their views after a decision announced by the International Olympic Committee that next year's Winter Olympics in the city will be held without fans from overseas. "I think this measure is for the safety concerns and is acceptable," says a pedestrian at Beijing Olympic Park.

Chinese and foreign figure skaters train ahead of the 2021 CS Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy, which will be held in Beijing this week as a test event for the 2022 Winter Olympics. All journalists and Winter Olympics staff are required to wear masks inside the stadium as Covid-19 prevention measures.

The ceremony to light the Olympic flame was disrupted as Tibetan and Hong Kong activists held banners protesting human rights abuses in China.

Human rights activists on Monday (October 19) urged governments and athletes world-wide to boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in China as Athens prepared to hand over the Olympic flame to Beijing in a ceremony in the capital, saying that anything less would make the world complicit in what they called 'genocide' by Beijing. China's treatment of minorities has come under increased scrutiny in the run-up to the games, scheduled from Feb. 4-20. Activists protested at Ancient Olympia on Monday, where the flame lighting ceremony was held.

Beijing said the use of spy agencies, not scientists, was "iron-clad proof" of Washington's attempts to politicize the origins of COVID-19. A new report published Friday shed little fresh light on how the virus emerged.

An official Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic venue held a test ice hockey match on Monday (November 8), with the Games just months away. The match, which was held without spectators and featured local teams Beijing Arcfox and Beijing Shougang, comes amid uncertainty over the participation status of China's men's national hockey team in next year's Games. China is guaranteed a spot in the ice hockey tournament due to its status as host nation, but International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) president Luc Tardif said in September that the men's team could be prevented from playing due to its "insufficient sporting standard".

A video distributed by the International Olympic Committee is not enough to reassure the tennis world. The Women's Tennis Association is suspending all tournaments in China until it is sure that doubles star Peng Shuai is safe and sound, following the 35-year-old Peng's quickly deleted post on Chinese social media last month denouncing sexual assault by a former vice premier. How far will the ripple effects go?

A new report by Tsinghua University in Beijing has revealed that the Chinese Communist Party used cloud seeding to artificially bring down pollution levels for its centenary celebrations on July 1. The peer-reviewed study shows just how far China has come with this technology. FRANCE 24's Technology Editor Peter O'Brien breaks down how cloud seeding works, and the scale of China's ambitions to change the weather.

IOC senior member Dick Pound told German radio that China would allow athletes to speak freely during news conferences. He said politics does not factor into decision-making on events.