Ruling Kuomintang Vice Chairman John Chiang met Thursday in the Chinese city of Xian with a Chinese elementary school girl who sent 20 Chinese yuan (NT$96) to help people in southern Taiwan who were affected by Typhoon Morakot in early August, a news agency in China reported that day.

China's health ministry said it will punish officials who underreport cases of swine flu after a doctor famous for exposing the extent of the 2003 SARS epidemic said he believes the true number of swine flu deaths is being covered up.

President Ma Ying-jeou said yesterday that the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) won't be put into practice if the contents of the pact fails to clear the legislative floor.

A scholar urged Taiwan yesterday to co-sponsor the Confucius Institutes with China in a bid to increase its cultural influence in the Chinese mainland and around the world.

A judicial aid agreement between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait has contributed greatly to Taiwan's fight against crime since it came into effect June 25, a senior official said yesterday.

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd.'s Chairman Ronald Arculli said asset bubbles may be looming in Asia amid burgeoning stock and property prices.

China, the world's second-biggest energy user, will increase the price of electricity for nonresidential users by 0.028 yuan (0.4 cent) per kilowatt-hour on average starting tomorrow, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the National Development and Reform Commission.

China Investment Corp. bought a HK$5.5 billion (US$710 million) stake in the nation's biggest producer of polysilicon as the sovereign wealth fund invests in energy and commodities companies to hedge against inflation.

Iron ore output in China, the largest consumer of the steelmaking ingredient, may jump to a record this year as government stimulus spending spurs demand.

Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China plans to build an assembly line for its homegrown C919 jetliners in Shanghai, the latest step in the country's ambitions to become a leader in world aviation.