The world's largest free-trade area (FTA) came into being on Friday, an initiative that analysts said gives a shot in the arm for global trade troubled by rising protectionism.

A top expert on work safety is calling for strict laws to protect laborers after the city reported a total of 63 deaths in 52 accidents on its construction sites so far this year, as a result of loose safety standards in some building companies.

As the first generation of parents affected by the one-child policy reach their 60s, they face great challenges in senior care, particularly for so-called "empty nest" parents.

China plans to launch Chang'e-2, the country's second lunar probe, at the end of 2010, space authorities announced yesterday.

Ten years ago, JD Power Asia Pacific fielded its first quality study for passenger vehicles built in China. Across a spectrum of vehicle criteria, the study measured the number of problems reported by Chinese new-vehicle owners in the first two to six months of ownership.