Asia, Wen Jiabao | featured news

In his final address in power, outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao told China's congress Tuesday that China has seen "truly extraordinary" development in recent years and must bolster national security to defend it.

With three humble bows to the audience, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao exited the public stage in an anticlimactic end to his ten-year reign. In his final work report at the opening of the National People's Congress, nary a word was spoken about political reform, which Wen had championed in earlier speeches. Instead, he read a 100-minute statement that was dull even by the standards of the country’s soporific political theater.

The New York Times says access to its website is being blocked inside China after it published an investigation into wealth accumulated by relatives of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

China's economy is still facing big downward pressure and the foundation of a recovery is not yet solid, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said during a trip to the country's coastal Zhejiang province, state radio said on Wednesday.

Premier Wen Jiabao of China on Sunday called for the government to become more aggressive in using fiscal and monetary tools to respond to a slowing economy.

Chen Guangcheng, the blind, self-taught lawyer known for his outspoken opposition to China’s forced abortion and sterilization policies, has escaped from house arrest and posted a dramatic YouTube video calling on Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to investigate his case and protect his family.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao cut his nation's 2012 growth target to an eight-year low of 7.5 percent and made boosting consumer demand the year's first priority as Beijing looks to wean the economy off its reliance on external demand and foreign capital.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao chastised President Barack Obama for raising the issue during an Asia-Pacific leaders summit, hours after Obama told Wen the United States wants the sea lanes kept open and peaceful, capping two weeks of Sino-U.S. tensions.

European stock futures declined Wednesday as Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Societe Generale SA and Credit Agricole SA and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said developed nations should not rely on China to bail them out. U.S. futures and Asian shares dropped.

China is on course for another five years of robust growth, but inflation threatens social stability and must be tamed, Premier Wen Jiabao said on Saturday. In China's version of a "State of the Union" address to the annual parliamentary session, Wen said the top priority this year was to curb price rises that are hurting ordinary people in the world's second-largest economy.