CNBC Asia

Several U.S. officials and Congress members criticized Beijing's move to impose a national security law in Hong Kong, with some — such as Republican Senator Marco Rubio — threatening sanctions on China.

Stocks in Asia Pacific were mixed on Wednesday as investors weighed the potential impact of rising tensions between Washington and Beijing against economies reopening, as coronavirus containment measures are eased.

Barings' Head of Greater China Investments, Khiem Do, tells CNBC why the firm sees value in the Chinese yuan as well as the country's 10-year government bond at present.

Prominent pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong called Beijing's proposed national security legislation "more evil" than the scrapped extradition bill that triggered mass protests in Hong Kong last year.

The coronavirus has shown "that it does not respect borders," spreading to both high- and low-income countries, Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier tells CNBC.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday that he would ease the state's restrictions on barbershops and hair salons for some counties in the state that meet certain health criteria.

"Our target for next year is quite ambitious, but we think doable, which is to produce over a billion doses of vaccine," Novavax CEO Stanley Erck said.

"We've lost thousands of small businesses that are just not going to reopen their doors," Cuomo says.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is holding his daily press conference on the Covid-19 outbreak.

Every state has now reopened nonessential businesses and eased at least some restrictions meant to curb the spread of the virus.

Covid-19 has infected more than 5.5 million people worldwide and killed more than 346,000 people

Relations between the U.S. and China — the world's top two economies — look set to worsen, said Graham Allison, Harvard University's Douglas Dillon Professor of Government.

China's central government is introducing a national security law in Hong Kong because the territory's authorities have not been able to do it locally for over 20 years, a Hong Kong official said on Tuesday.

Singapore will in total spend nearly 100 billion Singapore dollars ($70.4 billion), or around 20% of GDP, to help businesses and households manage the economic impact of the coronavirus.

American biotech firm Novavax said Monday it started the first human study of its experimental coronavirus vaccine.

While China's new proposed security law for Hong Kong is terrible news for pro-democracy activists, it's unlikely to have a significant impact on foreign companies and investors, according to an U.S.-based risk consultancy.

In Hangzhou, the government's proposals involve giving a person a health score via a smartphone app. This will be based on various factors including electronic medical records, results of physical examinations and lifestyle choices.

The Singapore economy is expected to shrink by between 4.0% and 7.0% this year, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Covid-19 has infected more than 5.4 million people worldwide and killed more than 345,059.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said Sunday evening that the self-ruled democratic island "stands with the people of Hong Kong" as she pledged "necessary assistance" to Hong Kongers who need help.