President Donald Trump’s looming meeting with China's Xi Jinping will face new tensions after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed its China-friendly supreme leader.

HONG KONG/TAIPEI, March 5 (Reuters) - China will boost defence spending by 7% in 2026, ⁠it ⁠said on Thursday, the lowest rate in five years but still ⁠outpacing wider economic growth targets and the rest of Asia at a time of growing regional tension, including over Taiwan.

By Che Pan and Laurie Chen BEIJING, March 5 (Reuters) - Top Chinese semiconductor executives have called for a coordinated national effort to develop operational lithography systems during the 2026-2030 period,

China announced a 7 percent increase in military spending and a five-year plan to try to reduce its military and industry’s reliance on Western technology.

BEIJING, March 5 (Reuters) - China said on Thursday it would build a "childbirth-friendly ⁠society" ⁠in the next five years, pledging to ⁠address concerns over employment, education, medical care, health and income, according to an official government ​report.

China imports roughly half of its oil from the Middle East.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi pledged to send a special envoy to the Middle East to mediate the conflict, potentially marking a more active diplomatic role for Beijing. Wang made the pledge on a call with Abdullah Bin Zayed,

Speaking exclusively with Fortune, Wilbur Ross said the Iran war “is going at least as well as anyone could have hoped,” and that he is “intrigued” that China and Russia have not intervened.