Mercedes-Benz and its Chinese joint venture with BAIC Motor will recall a total of 523,094 imported and domestically manufactured vehicles in China over potential safety hazards, China's market regulator said on Friday.

Mercedes-Benz Group AG cut its financial forecast due to a rapid deterioration of its business in China, marking the latest blow to Germany’s struggling industrial sector.

In a call with China’s vice-foreign minister Sun Weidong on Thursday, Japan’s ambassador Kenji Kanasugi “strongly urged” Beijing to share detailed information about the incident, which was the second targeted attack on Japanese schoolchildren in China in recent months.

Japan's ambassador to Beijing has asked for more security for Japanese nationals in China after a 10-year-old Japanese boy was killed this week in a knife attack that was the second to target school students.

The killing of a Japanese schoolboy in the Chinese city of Shenzhen has sparked worry among Japanese expats living in China, with top firms warning their workers to be vigilant. Toshiba and Toyota have told their staff to take precautions against any possible violence,