Beijing

NYT, BEIJING—A fire that tore through a karaoke bar in southern China in the early hours of Tuesday killed 18 people, the police said, adding that arson was probably the cause.

A brief initial police account of the blaze in Qingyuan, a city in Guangdong province, said firefighters received an emergency call about 30 minutes past midnight.

China will launch its first real-time spot electricity markets in eight regions, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said on April 20, as Beijing accelerates efforts to liberalize power prices currently set by the government.

Shares in top Chinese manufacturing companies plunged on April 18 after Beijing announced its plans to phase out ownership limits for foreign automakers, shipbuilders and aircraft firms.

China will soon become one of Ankara's "most important" tourism partners, Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said on April 17 during an official visit to Beijing. 

The aim of this initiative is to promote dialogue on economic policies, accelerate international cooperation in the field of infrastructure, trade and finance, and attract significant resources from China and other sources, including private sector, with the aim of infrastructure development as the basis for a long-term sustainable growth, the Serbian government said.

Beijing has requested dispute consultations with the United States at the World Trade Organization over US tariffs slapped on imports of Chinese steel and aluminum products, according to a WTO document published on April 10.

US President Donald Trump barreled through warnings of a damaging trade war with China on April 5, vowing an additional $100 billion in tit-for-tat tariffs on Beijing.

China on Wednesday issued a $50 billion list of U.S. goods including soybeans and aircraft for possible tariff hikes in an escalating technology dispute with Washington that companies worry could set back the global economic recovery.

At least one man has died and three are injured after a fire broke out at the Perseus for Children's shopping center in Beijing, TASS reported. At least 300 people were evacuated from the mall. Among the victims are citizens and three firefighters who are gagging. The victim is an employee of the site.

A previous version of this interview, published April 2, contained several substantial phrasing errors, now corrected.