According to documents, hundreds of Uzbek farmers have handed over their property “voluntarily”, but many claim that this happened “under pressure from the internal affairs and prosecution authorities”. There are currently over 3,500 Chinese companies operating throughout the country.

The funeral of the PIME missionary, a pioneer of dialogue with the Church in China after Mao’s persecution, was held today. In his last book, he told the story of one of his first trips to the Chinese capital where he met with some elderly people forced to quit the religious life. They understood that he was a priest, and asked him to bless some sacred images. He was moved when he bid them goodbye.

The incident took place on 23 March in the Diocese of Lüliang, but the authorities tried to hush it up. The intervention of special forces attracted other Catholics from the nearby village of Xinli, home to an old Catholic community. An officer was also wounded in the incident. The parish priest and some parishioners were arrested. The community was forced to engage in "self-criticism", but the increasingly inflexible rules on religions are the real problem.

The PIME missionary died just before his 100th birthday. He was a pioneer in establishing contact with Catholics in China after the Cultural Revolution and founder of the Holy Spirit Study Centre in Hong Kong, for decades the most documented study centre on the Catholic Church in China. Like Matteo Ricci, he followed the path of friendship and dialogue to share the Gospel of peace with the Chinese people.

This is the Chinese president’s second trip to Vietnam in less than 18 months to reboot strategic cooperation with the communist country to deal with US tariffs. The visit is part of a regional tour that includes Malaysia and Cambodia. Meanwhile, Cambodia sent Taiwanese citizens to China accused of working in online scam centres.

For the first time, humanoids will also run in an event that will assess the droids' capabilities in real-world and complex situations. China has been working hard on developing its robotics sector to overtake the United States in the technological race and address demographic challenges.