China has announced it will no longer seek special treatment as a developing country in World Trade Organization agreements.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seen sharing a candid moment with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have pledged to resolve their border differences and bolster cooperation ahead of the opening of a regional summit in Tianjin.

The global economy, which has proved surprisingly resilient this year, is expected to falter next year under the strain of wars, still-elevated inflation and continued high interest rates.

China has reported its exports tumbled 12.4% in June from a year earlier as demand weakened after central banks raised interest rates to curb inflation.

China’s exports fell 7.5% from a year earlier in May and imports were down 4.5%, adding to signs an economic recovery is slowing.

Customs data shows Chinese exports grew in April by 8.5% to $295.4 billion compared with a year earlier, despite weakening global demand.

As technicians in a distant control room watch on display screens, an automated crane at one of China’s busiest ports moves cargo containers from a Korean freighter to self-driving trucks in a scene tech giant Huawei sees as its future after American sanctions crushed its global smartphone brand.

Organizers of the Beijing Olympics say they will only offer event tickets to “selected" spectators because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Athletes will need to be vaccinated and tested daily at the Winter Olympics in Beijing next month.

China is tightening its anti-pandemic measures in Beijing and across the country as scattered outbreaks continue ahead of the opening of the Winter Olympics in a little over two weeks.

Most access to a major city adjacent to Beijing was suspended Thursday as China tried to contain an outbreak of a highly contagious coronavirus variant.

The northern Chinese city of Tianjin has ordered a second round of COVID-19 testing on all 14 million residents after multiple cases of the omicron strain were found during initial screenings that began Sunday.

A third Chinese city has locked down its residents because of a COVID-19 outbreak, raising the number confined to their homes in China to about 20 million people.

A major Chinese city near Beijing has placed its 14 million residents on partial lockdown after 40 children and adults tested positive for COVID-19, including at least two with the omicron variant.

China says it's willing to hold talks with the U.S. to promote a “soft landing” in Afghanistan, while heavily criticizing Washington and again demanding that the Biden administration halt its attacks on China.

China's foreign minister has met with a delegation of high-level Taliban officials as their ties warm ahead of the U.S. pullout from Afghanistan.

High-level face-to-face talks between U.S. and Chinese diplomats have highlighted sharp differences between the sides.

BEIJING – The coronavirus was found on ice cream produced in eastern China, prompting a recall of cartons from the same batch, according to the government. The Daqiaodao Food Co., Ltd. in Tianjin, adjacent to Beijing, was sealed and its employees were being tested for the coronavirus, a city government statement said. There was no indication anyone had contracted the virus from the ice cream. It said 390 sold in Tianjin were being tracked down and authorities elsewhere were notified of sales to their areas. The ingredients included New Zealand milk powder and whey powder from Ukraine, the government said.

(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)BEIJING – China on Tuesday reported two new coronavirus cases in the cities of Shanghai and Tianjin as it seeks to prevent small outbreaks from becoming larger ones. To date, the health commission has recorded 86,464 confirmed cases and 4,634 deaths. He said that one company based in the U.K., AstraZeneca, can commit to supply up to 20 million vaccines. The Philippines has had more than 420,000 confirmed cases, the second-most in Southeast Asia behind Indonesia, and 8,173 deaths. On Tuesday, the country reported 37,975 new confirmed cases and 480 more deaths.

(AP Photo/Oded Balilty)NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee’s governor says that once coronavirus vaccines become available, they will be optional in the state’s K-12 public schools. It’s just going nowhere,” Dr. Thomas Dobbs, Mississippi’s state health officer, said Monday during a meeting with members of the Mississippi Senate. State health officials said fatality updates on Tuesday are typically higher because of lag in reporting from the weekends. That includes more than 1,000 on intensive care units and more than 570 on ventilators, according to state Health Department data. —-MADRID — Spain is reporting a new daily record of 537 coronavirus deaths since the resurgence of the pandemic.

(Siphiwe Sibeko/Pool via AP)BEIJING — China has reported new coronavirus cases in the cities of Shanghai and Tianjin as it seeks to prevent small outbreaks from becoming larger ones. ___RENO, Nevada — The head of the Nevada agency promoting business growth has urged companies to embrace new restrictions as coronavirus cases soar. Kentucky continued setting records with 2,135 new confirmed coronavirus cases reported, the state’s highest daily number on a Monday since the pandemic again. Gary Herbert on Monday relaxed restrictions on social gatherings ahead of Thanksgiving weekend as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to surge. Also on Monday, Spain’s 14-day cumulative number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population — a key metric in measuring the pandemic’s spread — has continued to fall.

Airport workers wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus wait for COVID-19 testing at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. Chinese authorities are testing millions of people, imposing lockdowns and shutting down schools after multiple locally transmitted coronavirus cases were discovered in three cities across the country last week. (AP Photo)BEIJING – Chinese authorities are testing millions of people, imposing lockdowns and shutting down schools after multiple locally transmitted coronavirus cases were discovered in three cities across the country last week. Recent flare-ups have shown that there is still a risk of the virus returning, despite being largely controlled within China. On Monday, the National Health Commission reported two new locally transmitted cases in Shanghai over the last 24 hours, bringing the total to seven since Friday.

He said the toughened distancing guidelines in the Seoul area will be enforced for two weeks starting Tuesday. Under the rules, nightclubs and other high-risk entertainment facilities must shut down and late-night dining at restaurants will be banned. South Korea reported 330 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, raising its total to 30,733, including 505 deaths. In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region:— Japan's Health Ministry says the daily tally of confirmed coronavirus cases hit a record for the fourth straight day on Sunday, at 2,508. Mask-wearing outdoors, which until now has been mandatory, is no longer required where social distancing is possible.