Former prime minister says Japan should oppose nuclear arms

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet his counterparts from Cambodia and Thailand in Yunnan. Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow will lead delegations to meet in the southwestern Chinese region from Sunday to Monday.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said the country should stand against nuclear proliferation. Ishiba reiterated Japan is the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings and it should not make statements supporting nuclear armament.

Chinese lawmakers have adopted a revision to the Foreign Trade Law, which will take effect on March 1st next year. It was one of the documents reviewed and adopted at a session of the NPC Standing Committee.

Health authorities say the number of deaths from an explosion that struck a mosque in the central Syrian city of Homs has risen to eight.

China has announced sweeping sanctions against 20 U.S. defense companies and 10 of their senior executives over recent arms sales to the Taiwan region.

China has condemned Japan's substantial increase in defense spending, saying the move exposes what Beijing calls the "sinister intention" of Japanese right-wing forces of advancing remilitarization.

Japan's Cabinet has approved a record defense budget of over nine trillion yen (58 billion U.S. dollars), aiming to double defense spending from its long-standing one percent of GDP by 2027.

A Chinese military spokesperson has condemned Japan's remilitarization, warning it threatens regional peace and calling on all nations to counter the rise of right-wing militarism.

China has expressed its readiness to work with other countries to advance global sustainable development. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson was commenting on a U.S. magazine's recent release of its list of ten major scientific breakthroughs in 2025.

China's offshore yuan strengthened further on Thursday, climbing past the psychological benchmark of seven per U.S. dollar for the first time since 2024.