A confrontation involving axes, knives, at least one gun and ending with the burning down of a house left 21 people dead in China's troubled far-west region of Xinjiang, a government spokeswoman said on Wednesday, calling it a “terrorist attack.”

The Chinese administration of Xi Jinping has reiterated its intention to push ahead with a “strong army” policy. This policy centers on building China into a maritime power.

China will build a second, larger aircraft carrier capable of carrying more fighter jets, the official Xinhua News Service reported late Tuesday, quoting a senior officer with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy.

Japan's prime minister vowed Tuesday to “expel by force” any Chinese landing on islands at the center of a territorial row, after eight Chinese government vessels sailed into the disputed waters.

Manufacturing activity slowed in China in April as exports were hit by sluggish overseas demand, HSBC said Tuesday, fuelling concerns about the strength of the world's second-largest economy.

Liu Xia, under house arrest in China's capital since her imprisoned husband Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize, made a rare appearance Tuesday at a trial, yelling out a car window: “I'm not free.”

China dismissed as “speculation” on Monday complaints in New Delhi that its troops had crossed into Indian territory and set up a camp in a remote disputed area of the Himalayas.

Clogged roads, debris and landslides impeded rescuers Monday as they battled to find survivors of a powerful earthquake in mountainous southwest China that has left at least 192 dead.

A Chinese mother met with double tragedy when her daughter was killed in a strong earthquake that struck southwest China over the weekend, five years after another one left her son dead, a report said.

Three Chinese government ships moved into territorial waters off disputed Tokyo-controlled islands late Monday, Japan's coastguard said.