U.K. PM begins official visit to China, first one since 2018

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrives in Beijing for a four-day official visit to China, the first trip to the country by a British head of government in eight years (04:28). The U.S. president says another armada is on its way to the Middle East following the arrival of the Abraham Lincoln carrier group (15:04). The Chinese mainland reiterates that relying on external forces to seek secessionism in Taiwan is a dead end (20:24).

Meeting with visiting Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for bilateral cooperation in energy transition, agriculture, forestry, and innovation (01:03). Iran says it has extraordinary capability to defend itself after a U.S. aircraft carrier and supporting warships arrived in the Middle East (11:41). Official data shows profits for China's major industrial firms rose in 2025, marking the first annual increase since 2021 (18:34).

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo says his visit to China aims to explore business opportunities and further promote Finnish exports to Asian markets (01:06). More than a dozen people are confirmed dead after a passenger vessel sank off the southern coast of the Philippines (24:23). Global leaders from the public and private sectors have gathered in Hong Kong for the Asian Financial Forum (39:45).

Chinese President Xi Jinping has spoken by phone with his Brazilian counterpart, urging both nations to better defend their shared interests and those of the Global South (01:12). The lower house of Japan's National Diet has formally dissolved ahead of a general election (05:30). U.S. President Donald Trump says the White House is negotiating a deal to secure Washington's total access to Greenland with no time limit (18:14).

Chinese officials say the country has hit all major annual and five-year targets for agricultural and rural development (01:02). U.S. President Donald Trump has ruled out the option of seizing Greenland by force, but he still wants to take over the island (08:31). The U.S. has officially withdrawn from the World Health Organization, but the WHO says Washington still owes money (18:26).

Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng has urged all countries to secure the world's future through cooperation (01:08). U.S. President Donald Trump says NATO would not be very strong without the U.S. (10:20). China has sharply criticized the EU's new cybersecurity measures which could target Chinese telecom suppliers (20:14).

Chinese officials have laid out a strategy to address economic imbalances and promote stable growth (01:05). China's UN envoy has called on the international community to jointly prevent Japan from reverting to the path of militarism (07:11). Investigators at the site of a high-speed rail crash in Spain say they have found a vital clue that could reveal the cause of the accident (18:30).

Officials say China's GDP in 2025 grew five percent, meeting the annual target (01:09). Relations between the U.S. and Europe continue to sour over the Greenland issue, with both sides considering tariffs (14:08). The Syrian interim authority and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces sign a new ceasefire and integration agreement (24:54).

The leaders of China and Canada have called for a new type of bilateral strategic partnership (01:20). Iran's deputy U.N. ambassador has warned the U.S. at a Security Council meeting that it will respond to any act of aggression (13:30). Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has been sentenced to five years in prison (19:14).

China and Canada are looking to strengthen bilateral ties as foreign ministers of the two countries meet in Beijing (03:24). Iran has reopened its airspace after closing it for nearly five hours (14:27). Danish Foreign Minister Lars Rasmussen says fundamental disagreements remain with the U.S. following their talks over the status of Greenland (20:39).