China Accuses Japan of Provoking Tensions

China accused Japan on Thursday of provoking maritime tensions that have dogged their relations by harassing Chinese ships, continuing a succession of tit-for-tat allegations that reflect increasing distrust between the two countries.

A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, Geng Yansheng, made the accusations on the same day that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe likened recent intrusions by Chinese ships into Japanese-controlled waters near contested islands to Argentina’s 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands, which set off a brief war with Britain.

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Chris Buckley, New York Times via CHINA US Focus http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChinaUsFocus/~3/xPeEBivMgSs/

China says U.S. routinely hacks Defense Ministry websites

Two major Chinese military websites, including that of the Defense Ministry, were subject to about 144,000 hacking attacks a month last year, almost two-thirds of which came from the United States, the ministry said on Thursday.

This month a U.S. computer security company said that a secretive Chinese military unit was likely behind a series of hacking attacks mostly targeting the United States, setting off a war of words between Washington and Beijing.

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Ben Blanchard, Reuters via CHINA US Focus http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChinaUsFocus/~3/TcFbAYB2vaM/

Beijing Air Pollution Tops Hazardous Levels Days Before Congress

Beijing’s air pollution climbed to hazardous levels days before the national legislature opens its annual meeting, drawing new attention to environmental degradation that the government has promised to address.

Concentrations of PM2.5, fine particles that pose the greatest health risk, rose to 469 micrograms per cubic meter at 10 a.m. near Tiananmen Square, compared with an average of 275 in the previous 24 hours, the Beijing government reported. The World Health Organization recommends 24-hour exposure to PM2.5 of no higher than 25. The level dropped to 47 at 4:00 p.m.

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Henry Sanderson, Bloomberg News via CHINA US Focus http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChinaUsFocus/~3/eZ9M6DVqkGI/

China to Launch Next Manned Space Mission

China says it will launch its latest manned space mission later this year, as it moves forward with ambitious plans to build its own space station.

The official Xinhua news agency says the Shenzhou-10 spacecraft, carrying three astronauts, will be launched sometime between June and August.

The spacecraft will connect with an experimental space module known as Tiangong 1, which serves as a prototype for a full-fledged space station. The docking is considered an important initial step toward the building of a permanent space facility.

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Voice of America via CHINA US Focus http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChinaUsFocus/~3/Z30og386WEU/

Performance of US companies in China worsens

U.S. companies in China say revenue and profits fell last year as the economy slowed and they faced more difficult government regulation, a business group reported Thursday.

The report by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai added to complaints that Beijing might be trying to shield Chinese companies from foreign rivals in possible violation of market-opening pledges.

U.S. companies that responded to an annual survey said their performance declined for a second year, though many said they were profitable and expect to grow this year. The number that said they were profitable declined to 73 percent from 2011′s 78 percent.

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Associated Press via CHINA US Focus http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChinaUsFocus/~3/Jq8qtDW6nZs/

China likely to appoint expert on North Korea, Japan as foreign minister

China is likely to appoint an expert on Japan and North Korea as its next foreign minister, three independent sources said, in a measure of Beijing’s resolve to improve difficult relationships with two of its closest neighbors.

Barring last-minute changes, Wang Yi, 59, China’s ambassador to Japan from 2004 to 2007, was likely to be appointed foreign minister during the annual full session of parliament next month, the sources said.

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Benjamin Kang Lim, Reuters via CHINA US Focus http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChinaUsFocus/~3/Q32xIfZEtxo/