Beijing - A European business group on Thursday said it was concerned that China's pre-Olympic toughening of its visa policy could bring "serious problems" to EU firms.

"The introduction of such restrictions without warning creates serious problems for companies operating in China," the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said in a statement.

Beijing - An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale hit Qingchuan county in south-western China's Sichuan province and nearby areas on Thursday afternoon, injuring at least five people.

The State Seismological Bureau said the quake at 3:09 pm (0709 GMT) mainly affected Qingchuan and the neighbouring county of Ningqiang in Shaanxi province.

At least five people were reported injured in the two counties after the quake, the official Xinhua news agency said without giving further details.

Qingchuan and Ningqiang were hit by the 8.0-magnitude quake in Sichuan on May 12, which killed at least 70,000 people and left nearly 20,000 missing.

Singapore - Asia's main security forum on Thursday urged the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China to expedite the formulation of guidelines governing the conduct in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.

The ministers attending the 27-country ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) encouraged all countries which stake claims on the area to exercise self-restraint.

New Delhi, July 23 : China’s economic growth is likely to be 9.9 per cent this year and 9.7 per cent in 2009 due to a global economic slowdown, volatile financial markets and a sharp rise in food and energy prices, according to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report.

According to the China Daily, the worse-than-expected US economy has fuelled global worries that the global economic slowdown may continue following revelations that government-sponsored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in serious trouble. This will have an impact on the Chinese economy.

London, July 23 : The Chinese Railway Ministry is starting the world’s fastest train service next Friday, linking Beijing with one of China''''s Olympic co-host cities, nearby Tianjin.

Zhang Shuguang, head of the Ministry''''s Transport Bureau, said that the new Chinese trains could ferry passengers at the speeds reaching 350 kilometres per hour.

He said that the trains, which will have aircraft-like cabins rather than traditional carriages, have reached 394kph in tests.

"Its operational speed is the fastest in the world. It''''s very comfortable and quiet. There''''s a French train that has gone 500kph in tests, but only in tests," New Scientist magazine quoted him as saying.

Tokyo - Japanese water-system company Wellthy was expected to start providing drinking water to Chinese earthquake victims as early as this week, becoming one of the few private Japanese companies to offer relief services in China.

Wellthy completed the set-up of the well-water filtering system on Tuesday for about 1,500 people living in a temporary shelter camp in Miyanyang, about 150 kilometres north-east of Chengdu, to provide drinking water to 60,000 people displaced in a magnitude-8 quake.

The May 12 quake killed 70,000 people, left nearly 17,000 missing and 15 million homeless in and around China's Sichuan province.