China’s ruling Communist Party has announced a new branch of President Xi Jinping’s political thought, which stresses governing the party with discipline and unified leadership. During a national conference on party building on Monday, the concept of “Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building” was hailed as “a milestone in the history of Marxist theory on party building and in the history of Chinese Communist Party building”, according to a report from state broadcaster CCTV. The new phrase was...

Aerodynamics expert Gu Songfen has died at 96. He was the chief designer of China’s J-8 fighter jet family – the first home-grown supersonic fighter jet to counter US high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. Gu was an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering as well as a researcher at the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). He died in Beijing on Sunday night, according to a statement from AVIC. A farewell ceremony is scheduled for Saturday in...