The Associated Press reports: "China summoned the American ambassador to protest the U.S. Navy's sailing of a warship close to one of China's artificial islands in the South China Sea, in an act that challenged Chinese sovereignty claims...While offering no details, Zhang said Tuesday's 'provocative' maneuver also placed personnel and infrastructure on the island in jeopardy...The sail-past fits a U.S. policy of pushing back against China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea. U.S. ally the Philippines welcomed the move as a way of helping maintain 'a balance of power.'"
The Wall Street Journal reports: "It isn't clear how much the Chinese companies might be willing to pay for Starwood, but people familiar with the discussions said any bid would come at a premium to Starwood's market value, which was nearly $12 billion at the start of Tuesday. Shares of Starwood rose 9.1% Tuesday to 74.81, the stock's largest single-day gain since 2009, after news of Chinese interest. A deal would represent the largest-ever acquisition of a U.S. company by a Chinese entity, according to data tracker Dealogic. In 2007, CIC paid $5.6 billion for a 9.9% stake in Morgan Stanley, currently the largest dollar investment from China in a U.S. company."
The New York Times discusses: "In the United States and Europe, people are wondering if they'll have to give up their favorite bacon, bratwurst or prosciutto after the World Health Organization reported on Monday that processed meats were 'carcinogenic to humans'...In China, where the food company Shuanghui International bought Smithfield Foods, the meat-producing giant, for nearly $5 billion in 2013, people are wondering: Will I have to give up Harbin red sausage, the salty cured meat from the country's northeast?...'Goodness, I can no longer happily eat sausages and ham,' one user wrote, affixing two weeping emoticons, part of the surge of social media commentary. The Chinese diet is not typically heavy in red meats, but that is changing as growing wealth and Western habits stoke demand."