Regarded as the world's leading futurist, Naisbitt shed light on his upcoming book Megatrends China during a recent visit to Beijing. He gained an extensive following in China back in the 1980s with Megatrends, which sold 14 million copies around the world and topped the New York Times best-seller list for the best part of two years. Back then, I was a postgraduate student at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and read his book word by word. Although I didn't fully understand it, I found it very encouraging for China in the early years of its opening-up and reform.

Eligible couples in the city are for the first time being encouraged to have a second child, as authorities make an effort to tackle the burden of an aging population.

Archaeologists will begin a third phase of excavation at the famous terracotta army site on Saturday, hoping to find more clay figures and unravel some of the mysteries left behind by the "First Emperor".

Nine Chinese nationals were among the 228 people on board an Air France passenger plane which is presumed to have crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, the airline company said Monday.