Beijing

national capital, China
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Also known as: Beiping, Cambaluc, Chung-tu, Dadu, Khan-baliq, Khanbaliq, Pei Chih-li, Pei-ching, Pei-p’ing, Peking, Ta-tu, Yanjing, Yen-ching, Zhongdu

Recent News

Jun. 6, 2023, 11:46 PM ET (AP)
Senior US, Chinese diplomats hold 'candid' talks to avoid escalation of tensions
Senior diplomats from China and the United States held “candid and productive” talks in Beijing and agreed to keep open lines of communication to avoid tensions from spiraling into conflict, officials said Tuesday
Jun. 4, 2023, 8:42 PM ET (AP)
China tightens access to Tiananmen Square, 32 detained in Hong Kong on anniversary of 1989 protests
China has tightened access to Tiananmen Square in central Beijing on the anniversary of 1989 pro-democracy protests
Jun. 4, 2023, 11:32 AM ET (AP)
China defends buzzing American warship in Taiwan Strait, accuses US of provoking Beijing
China’s defense minister has defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, telling a gathering of some of the world’s top defense officials in Singapore that so-called “freedom of navigation” patrols are a provocation to China
Jun. 3, 2023, 9:26 PM ET (AP)
Hong Kong detains 8 people on eve of Tiananmen Square anniversary
Hong Kong police have detained eight people on the eve of the 34th anniversary of China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown
Jun. 3, 2023, 1:44 PM ET (AP)
US defense secretary says Washington won't stand for 'coercion and bullying' from China
American Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin says Washington would not stand for any “coercion and bullying” of its allies and partners by China, while assuring Beijing that the United States remains committed to maintaining the status quo on Taiwan and would prefer dialogue over conflict
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Beijing, Wade-Giles romanization Pei-ching, conventional Peking, city, province-level shi (municipality), and capital of the People’s Republic of China. Few cities in the world have served for so long as the political headquarters and cultural centre of an area as immense as China. The city has been an integral part of China’s history over the past eight centuries, and nearly every major building of any age in Beijing has at least some national historical significance. The importance of Beijing thus makes it impossible to understand China without a knowledge of this city. More than 2,000 years ago, a site north of ...(100 of 13841 words)