USA Today writes, "President Obama turned up the heat again on China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea on Wednesday as world leaders gathered here for the start of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit meeting. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, Obama said they discussed how to address China's provocations in disputed areas of the sea, including its creation of new islands and construction of lighthouses, ports, military facilities and airstrips. 'We agree on the need for bold steps to lower tensions, including pledging to halt further reclamation, new construction, and militarization of disputed areas in the South China Sea,' Obama said"

NPR reports, "For years, the real estate market in China has been booming. Chinese laws allow city governments to cheaply grab nearby rural areas for development, and that's fueled the frenzy to build, build, build. Over the past 20 years, the country's urban areas have quintupled. Amid this real estate race, some developers misjudged demand and couldn't get people to move in to new housing...Baidu, a tech company that dominates the Web and mobile app market in China, realized after conducting some research that it could put to good use data collected from its products. Baidu used location data from smartphones and GPS receivers to map out where people were — and weren't — living."