Beijing - China on Thursday accused the United States of displaying a "Cold War mentality" in a new Pentagon military report and said it had lodged a formal protest with US officials.

"The report issued by the United States continues to play out the theory of China's military threat, severely distorts facts and interferes with China's internal affairs," Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said of the document, which pointed to "much uncertainty" raised by China's military build-up.

Beijing - Officials in south-western China's Sichuan province have persuaded Tibetans to end a boycott of spring farming in support of the exiled Dalai Lama, Chinese state media and US-funded Radio Free Asia reported on Thursday.

The officials in Sichuan's Kardze (Ganzi) prefecture visited Tibetan families in farming villages after a boycott began in early March, the Chinese government's Xinhua news agency said.

Beijing, Mar. 26 : The Chinese Foreign Ministry has categorically rejected the Obama administration's charge that it is altering the military balance in Asia.

Commenting on the Pentagon report, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said here that the report was a "gross" misrepresentation of facts" and urged Washington to halt the annual publication.

Beijing  - Two major US financial firms are considering selling some of their shares in China's biggest commercial bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), according to reports seen on Thursday.

A joint agreement on Wednesday leaves Goldman Sachs free to sell up to 20 per cent of its stake in ICBC, the Chinese bank said in a statement.

Goldman Sachs holds 4.93 per cent of ICBC's shares, with an estimated value of 7.5 billion dollars.

Beijing, Mar 26 : Professor Lin Zhe, an anti-corruption expert at the Central School of the Communist Party of China has said that the online community is becoming a major force in curbing corruption in China.

The China Daily quoted Zhe as saying that corrupt officials should be wary of the eyes behind the Internet.

London, Mar 26 : A US Defence Department report has said that China is developing “disruptive” technologies for nuclear, space and cyber warfare, resulting in the shifting of military balance in Asia which would have implications beyond the region.

The Pentagon report criticises Beijing again for showing no transparency in reporting on its military spending and security policy, but welcomed the rise of a peaceful, stable and prosperous China.

The report comes after a confrontation between US and Chinese ships in South China Sea, during which China accused the US of spying.