Beijing  - Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung continued his first tour of China Tuesday, arriving in Beijing for several days of summits and signing ceremonies.

During his stay, Dung is scheduled to meet with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. The two are to sign documents about cooperative projects between the two countries, according to Nguyen Vinh Quang, Vietnam's minister to China.

Dung is also set to participate in the seventh summit of the Asia- Europe Meeting (ASEM), scheduled for October 24-25.

Beijing/Khartoum  - Nine Chinese oil workers have been kidnapped by an unknown group in Sudan, state media said on Monday.

The nine workers were seized at an oil field in Southern Kordofan State close to Sudan`s strife-torn Darfur region, the official Xinhua news agency quoted Chinese embassy officials as saying.

No group has claimed responsibility for kidnapping the workers, who were employees of the China National Petroleum Corporation, the agency reported from Khartoum.

Beijing - China's two stock market indices climbed sharply on Monday as analysts said they expected the government to introduce more measures to stimulate the economy.

The key Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks shares traded in local and foreign currencies, gained 43.35 points, or 2.25 per cent. to close at 1,971.01 points.

The smaller Shenzhen Component Index also climbed by 3.14 percent, or 15.86 points, ending the day's trading at 520.38 points

Beijing - China on Monday reported a 9-per-cent growth in its estimated gross domestic product for July to September, maintaining fast but marginally slower expansion despite global financial woes.

Estimated GDP growth was down from 10.6 per cent in the first quarter and 10.1 per cent in the second quarter of this year, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

Bureau spokesman Li Xiaochao said the global financial crisis and economic recession had begun to have a "negative impact" on China.

Beijing - China late Friday announced new regulations for foreign journalists that make permanent more liberal provisions introduced for the Beijing Olympics.

The main change from the pre-Olympic regulations was that foreign journalists no longer need permission from local governments before interviewing Chinese citizens and organizations, the foreign ministry said.

Beijing - Thousands of workers were made redundant in southern China after the global recession and rising costs forced more than 3,000 toy makers out of business, state media said on Friday.

More than 6,000 workers at two plants lost their jobs this week when Hong Kong-based company Smart Union closed two toy factories in Dongguan, Guangdong province, the official China Daily said.

"The main reason for the closure is that we are too dependent on the US market, which has become sluggish," the newspaper quoted Xu Xiaofang, a Smart Union personnel officer, as saying.