Geng Shuang

China lashed out July 14 at international criticism after it denied Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo's dying wish to leave the country and faced pressure to set the democracy champion's widow free.

China on July 6 warned against "words and deeds" that could heighten tensions over North Korea, after Pyongyang tested an intercontinental ballistic missile that Kim Jong-Un dubbed a gift to "American bastards."

China's jailed Nobel peace prize laureate Liu Xiaobo has been granted medical parole after being diagnosed with terminal liver cancer last month, his lawyer told AFP on June 26.

Liu, who had about three years of his 11-year sentence to serve, was diagnosed on May 23 and was released days later, said lawyer Mo Shaoping.

Beijing has called for an immediate stop to the deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to South Korea and is ready to protect its interests, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang voiced the government's position against the move during a briefing on Tuesday.

The United States military started installing a controversial antimissile defense system in South Korea overnight Tuesday, triggering protests and sparking criticism that it was rushing to get the battery in place before the likely election of a president who opposes it.

Ignoring repeated warnings from Beijing not to aggravate tensions in Southeast Asia, the US Navy has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group for "routine" maritime patrols in the vicinity of the disputed South China Sea waters.

Beijing has warned Washington against actions which would challenge China's "sovereignty and security," following reports that the US is planning naval patrols in the disputed South China Sea.

China expressed "serious concern" on Dec. 12 after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said the United States did not necessarily have to stick to its long-held stance that Taiwan is part of "one China," calling it the basis for relations.

China is willing to consider any application from NATO-member Turkey to join a Russian and Chinese-led security bloc, the Shanghai Pact, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Nov. 21 after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said his country could join.