BEIJING -- The National Bureau of Statistics of China has revised its figures for past 10 years to note that the country's population surpassed 1.4 billion in 2017, two years earlier than previously thought.

The recalculations were made based on the 2020 census, which found there was an "an error in the sampling for 2011 through 2019" and resulted in upward revisions for the population each year. China's leadership under President Xi Jinping has

BEIJING/DUBAI -- China is on a diplomatic offensive in the Middle East as the U.S. presence diminishes, and has been expanding ties with the United Arab Emirates -- one of Washington's traditional allies in the region.

Beijing has agreed to supply a COVID-19 vaccine developed in China as well as Chinese technology for fifth-generation (5G) wireless technology to the Gulf state, which is made up of seven emirates in eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula.

UAE public health authorities

YANGON/BANGKOK -- Myanmar's military on Feb. 1 detained State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint in the country's first coup since 1988, bringing an end to a decade of civilian rule.

The Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy had won a landslide in a general election in November . But the military has claimed the election was marred by fraud.

For all our coverage, visit our Myanmar Coup page.

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-- Myanmar

PALO ALTO, U.S./TAIPEI -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has broken ground on a chipmaking facility in Arizona, just over year after announcing the $12 billion project.

The announcement came as a brief comment by CEO C.C. Wei at an online forum on Wednesday, but it marked an important moment for the world's biggest contract chipmaker -- it is the company's first U.S. factory in two decades, and will be one of just a handful of

BANGKOK-- Thai e-commerce logistics startup Flash Group has raised $150 million, strengthening its financial muscle to compete in the fierce Southeast Asian market that is home to more than 350 million online consumers.

The fresh funds are expected to increase its capacity by around 10 times to handle 2 million products per day, putting the company on a par with competitors, Nikkei Asia has learned. Flash Group, one of Thailand's top five e-commerce logistics companies, was launched in 2

TOKYO -- Japanese private equity fund Unison Capital is entering the Indian market, establishing a new investment fund in the fast-growing South Asian nation.

Unison plans to raise about $500 million, mainly from Japanese institutional investors, becoming the first independent Japanese fund to enter India.

Major U.S. private equity funds such as Blackstone Group and KKR already operate in India. While the Indian economy, like most others, has been clobbered by the COVID-19 pandemic, analysts pointed out a stream

TOKYO -- It is a market where Suzuki Motor once reigned as the undisputed champion. Forty years ago, nearly every passenger car sold in India was made by the Japanese automaker. Now this share is under 50%, and the competition only looks to increase.

Suzuki still makes half its car sales in the country, and the automaker's stock price has foundered as business in India essentially ground to a halt last month when the company closed all three auto plants. Beyond the immediate hit, however, investors

YANGON/BANGKOK -- Myanmar's military on Feb. 1 detained State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint in the country's first coup since 1988, bringing an end to a decade of civilian rule.

The Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy had won a landslide in a general election in November . But the military has claimed the election was marred by fraud.

For all our coverage, visit our Myanmar Coup page.

Read our in-depth coverage:

-- Myanmar

JAKARTA -- Months after the inauguration of President Joe Biden, the U.S. is finally turning its diplomatic focus to Southeast Asia to counter rising Chinese clout there.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman became the first senior State Department official in the Biden administration to visit members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this week.

Sherman met with Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha in Bangkok on Wednesday, where she announced $30 million in coronavirus assistance to Thailand.

But even as the U