Tesla Inc's aggressive price cuts have ignited demand for its electric vehicles, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Wednesday, playing down concerns that a weak economy would throttle buyers' interest.

China's population fell last year for the first time in six decades, a historic turn that is expected to mark the start of a long period of decline in its citizen numbers with profound implications for its economy and the world.

Microsoft is likely to receive an EU antitrust warning about its $69 billion bid for "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard , people familiar with the matter said, that could pose another challenge to completing the deal.

Cases were exploding in China well before the government's decision to abandon its strict "zero-COVID" policy, the director said, quashing suggestions that the sudden reversal caused a spike.

A week after China began dismantling its tough 'zero-COVID' controls, the World Health Organization warned of "very tough" times ahead and state media reported some seriously ill patients at hospitals in Beijing, raising fears of a wave of infections.

China should change its official name for COVID-19 to reflect the virus' mutation, and patients with light symptoms should be allowed to quarantine at home, a leading authority on traditional Chinese medicine was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday touted the need for greater cooperation between China and Germany amid "times of change and turmoil" in a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the first G7 leader to visit China since the pandemic began.

China's financial hub Shanghai said on Sunday it would reopen all schools including kindergartens, primary and middle schools on Sept. 1 after months of COVID-19 closures.

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Alibaba Group is cutting over a third of staff in its in-house deals team, four people with knowledge of the matter said, after Beijing's sweeping regulatory crackdown sharply slowed the Chinese e-commerce behemoth's dealmaking pace.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday signed agreements in Tonga for police equipment and fisheries cooperation on a tour through the Pacific islands region where Beijing's ambitions for wider security ties has caused concern among U.S. allies.