The rising might of China is causing it to act with increasing disregard towards its neighbours, a Japanese government-funded study said Friday. "China, against the backdrop of its rising national power and improvement in its military power, is increasingly taking actions that can cause frictions with neighbouring countries without fear," said the East Asian Strategic Review. The study, being published Friday by the National Institute for Defence Studies, is an annual venture commissioned by Japan's Defence Ministry, and influences national defence policy.

China President Xi says Beijing, Washington have 'enormous shared interests' kgo/slb/mtp

A journalist and his camera operator were detained in Tiananmen Square live on British television on Friday, in what he described as a surreal but telling episode about reporting in China. Viewers of the 24-hour British channel Sky News were treated to the bizarre sight of reporter Mark Stone being directed into a police van live from Beijing. He reported live from inside the van, admitting that the Chinese officials with him -- one them filming Stone herself -- probably did not realise he was speaking directly to London.

One of China's most celebrated journalists has left an outspoken newspaper, it confirmed on Thursday, after what two journalists said was official pressure over a series of investigative reports. Wang Keqin, whose decades of breaking stories have brought him nationwide fame, worked for the Economic Observer, a weekly known for its investigations, but left after a reporting team he led was shut down following government pressure.