Year after year, the number of yoga practitioners participating in the official and unofficial events on International Yoga Day in different cities is growing, especially the young people, officials say.

"The two sides note that the relationship between Russia and China has progressed to a more advanced interstate cooperation compared to the military-political unions of the Cold War era as it is not bloc or confrontational in nature, nor does it target any third countries," Russia's new agency Tass quoted the document as saying.

On a surprise visit to Beijing amid speculation that he may unveil Tesla's autonomous driving technology in the burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) market in China, billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday met Chinese Premier Li Qiang and discussed future expansion plans for his automobile.

The Chinese military on Thursday said the situation along the India-China border 'at present' is 'generally stable' and both sides have maintained 'effective' communication to resolve the military standoff in eastern Ladakh.

China and India have made 'positive progress' to resolve the border standoff, with both sides maintaining close communication through diplomatic and military channels, a senior foreign ministry official said in Beijing on Friday.

China said that "sound and stable ties" serve the common interests of China and India.

India has been rejecting China renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state is an integral part of the country and assigning "invented" names does not alter this reality.

China, which is building numerous villages in Tibet close to its borders with India and Bhutan, has held several celebratory events to mark its takeover of Tibet in the new border villages with a mix of border troops and the local population, the official media in Beijing reported.

China on Thursday said it 'firmly opposes' the United States recognition of Arunachal Pradesh as part of Indian territory and affirmed that Washington, DC has nothing to do with the India-China border dispute.

China said on Tuesday that it supports the Maldives in safeguarding its sovereignty, as the first batch of Indian military personnel operating a helicopter left the island nation and was replaced by a civilian crew.

Prime Minister Modi on Saturday dedicated to the nation the Sela Tunnel built at an altitude of 13,000 feet in Arunachal Pradesh that will provide all-weather connectivity to strategically located Tawang and is expected to ensure better movement of troops along the frontier region.

In a surprise development, a top Chinese military general has cast aspersions on the People's Liberation Army (PLA)'s much-publicised 'real combat-oriented exercises' as 'fake combat capabilities' at a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered it to prepare for 'maritime military struggles' to win wars.

China, which is the second highest spender on defence after the United States, has allocated 1.67 trillion yuan (about USD 232 billion) for defence spending.

India has emerged as a 'major power' by achieving outstanding results in economic development and social governance and its transformation as a stronger, assertive country has made it a 'new geopolitical factor', according to a commentary by a Chinese scholar in a state-run newspaper in Beijing.

Over a million officials are said to have been punished in Xi's anti-corruption campaign according to the official media accounts. The intensity of the campaign also attracted criticism that Xi made effective use of it to silence his critics and rivals within the party.

With Beijing remaining intransigent on the withdrawal of additional troops deployed by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) since the deadly border clash in 2020 in eastern Ladakh, India's bilateral ties with China remained frozen in 2023 with no forward movement on the horizon despite several rounds of diplomatic and military talks.

The earthquake damaged houses, roads, as well as other infrastructures, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted eyewitnesses from the area as saying.

The Kashmir issue should be resolved through dialogue and consultation between India and Pakistan, China said on Tuesday while reacting to the Supreme Court judgment on Article 370 upholding the central government's decision on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Even when China's widely-publicised exchange with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in response to the queries over the reports of surging cases of mycoplasma pneumonia and influenza flu triggered the worldwide alert, including in India, China said the spike in respiratory diseases was due to an 'immunity gap'.

China on Monday said cooperation between countries should not undermine regional peace and stability and target any third party, as it reacted to a host of defence and commercial pacts recently signed between India and the US including joint production of jet engines in India to power military aircraft and a deal on armed drones.