China's CITIC Group has agreed to buy the Kazakhstan oil holdings of Canada's Nations Energy Company Ltd. for 1.91 billion U.S. dollars, said sources with CITIC on Friday.

On Nov. 4, 2002, then Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji and leaders of the 10 ASEAN nations signed at the sixth China-ASEAN summit the landmark Framework Agreement on ASEAN-China Comprehensive Economic Cooperation, marking the beginning of the process of setting up a China-ASEAN free trade zone.

In December this year, China and Australia will enter a new round of talks on the possibility of a free trade agreement (FTA) on both merchandise and services, but face difficulties due to different expectations.

The annual China International BPO Conference, one of the most professional international conference in the field of software service outsourcing opens its third session in Xi' an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi province on Oct. 26, 2006.

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz on Thursday said his organization would work with China to promote Africa's development, and hailed the upcoming Beijing Summit of China-Africa Cooperation Forum.

China's top legislature began to deliberate a draft law amendment Friday that would allow banking supervision bodies to investigate non-financial institutions and individuals.

Shares in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's biggest lender, opened 9 percent higher than its IPO price in its Shanghai trading debut, dealers said.

The H shares of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the largest commercial bank in China, started trading in the Hong Kong stock exchange Friday.

French nuclear group Areva is offering an all-round technology transfer in its new bid for China's third generation nuclear power generation units, said visiting Areva Group Chairperson Anne Lauvergeon on Thursday.

The Ford Motor Company, the world's second largest auto manufacturer, plans to purchase auto parts and system equipment worth 2.6 billion U.S. dollars from China this year.