The three countries had been leading the search for MH370, which disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board.
« Despite every effort using the best science available, cutting edge technology, as well as modeling and advice from highly skilled professionals who are the best in their field, unfortunately, the search has not been able to locate the aircraft, » the statement said.
« The decision to suspend the underwater search has not been taken lightly nor without sadness.  »
Voice370, a support group for family members of those aboard the flight, released a statement expressing their disappointment.
« Commercial planes cannot just be allowed to disappear without a trace, » the statement said.
« Stopping at this stage is nothing short of irresponsible, and betrays a shocking lack of faith in the data, tools and recommendations of an array of official experts assembled by the authorities themselves.  »
RELATED: Timeline of MH370 disappearances
Steve Wang, whose mother was on board the flight, told CNN he was disappointed the search had ended with few, if any, answers.
« They said they are quite sure that they are searching the right place, but it seems that they are wrong, » he said.
« I think it is their responsibility, not only for the 239 passengers on the plane, or for the next of kin like us, but also they have to give an answer to the whole world … what really happened to MH370.  »
Multiple family members of those who were on the plane told CNN they received a text message from Malaysia Airlines informing them about a briefing in Beijing at 9 a.m. local time.
In a statement, the airline said it « stands guided » by the decision to suspend the search, which it described as a « thorough and comprehensive effort.  »
The company shares « in the sorrow » that the search was not successful, the statement said.
RELATED: One man’s conversations with his missing wife
The plane’s disappearance remains one of the greatest aviation mysteries in modern history.
Searchers spent millions of dollars scouring tens of thousands of square miles, but so far have yielded little new information about the plane’s final moments.
In July last year, Australia, China and Malaysia agreed that if the aircraft was not located by the time 120,000 square kilometers (46,000 square miles) had been covered,  the search would be suspended.
« The decision came not lightly, » Darren Chester, Australia’s Transport Minister, said at the time. « But in the absence of new credible evidence it is not possible to continue searching. Every effort has been made. We have used the most high tech and the best people for this search.  »
The Tuesday statement said that vessel was not located in the 120,000 square kilometer search area.
What we do know
At 12:41 a.m. local time on March 8, 2014, MH370 departed Kuala Lumpur International Airport for Beijing. It was heading north but after its last message of « Good night Malaysian Three Seven Zero, » it changed course toward the west, according to military radar.
From there, investigators believe it turned south around the edge of Indonesia and across the vast Indian Ocean.
Investigators confirmed in July that MH370 captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah had tracked a route deep into the Indian Ocean on his home flight simulator, very similar to the one officials believe the missing plane took.
Grandparents, a newly graduated engineer, a young couple and a two-year-old boy were among the hundreds of people on board MH370 when it vanished.
Most of the passengers and crew were from China and Malaysia, but individuals and families from 14 different countries were also on board the missing flight.
Theories
Based on some of the wreckage that’s been found, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau determined the wing flaps had been stowed when MH370 crashed .
The report suggested the plane had been out of control, spiraling downward at a rate of almost 300 miles per hour at its last satellite transmission.
These findings suggested « two early hypotheses, » according to CNN aviation analyst Mary Schiavo; either that a fire on board the plane incapacitated everyone through smoke or fumes, or that a rapid decompression, perhaps because of a breach in a window, led to their deaths hours before the plane ran out of fuel and spiraled downward.
But investigators still haven’t been able to say for sure what caused the crash, and, unfortunately, according to O’Neill and Associates aviation expert Peter Goelz, the debris discovered has so far done little to enlighten us — or the victims’ families — as to what exactly happened that day.
« All it tells us is what we suspected, in that the plane crashed somewhere in the South Indian Ocean, » he told CNN in November. « At some time in the future there will be a quantum leap forward in the ability to look underneath the sea and someone will find it. But that’s not for decades, » Goelz said. « I think at some point, they’ll find it — it’s too big a mystery. But the technology we have now, we can’t do it easily or cheaply.  »
RELATED: What happened? MH370 and other aviation mysteries
There’s also the possibility that the search teams were looking in the wrong place , according to an Australian government released in December.
The report recommended that, based on new analysis, a new area to the northeast of the current search area should be searched, approximately 25,000 square kilometers.
However, Australian Transport Minister Chester said the search would not be extended without new evidence.
What’s been found
Multiple countries and companies have been involved in the extensive search, which has taken place along a defined arc in the Southern Indian Ocean, where the plane made its last satellite transmission.
Three pieces of the missing plane found off the coast of Africa have been confirmed as coming from MH370, using specific identification numbers.
The first piece found was a flaperon from the plane’s wing , which was discovered on Reunion Island in July 2015, after which came two wing flaps discovered in Mauritius and Tanzania in May and June 2016, respectively.
The ATSB said six other pieces of wreckage found off the African coast were likely to have come from the missing plane, but this wasn’t confirmed.
In total, 20 pieces of debris have been brought to the attention of the investigative team.
But those pieces of detritus have not given closure to those whose loved ones remain missing.
« The people who are living with you more than 20 years, and they leave suddenly, » Wang said. « We just want them to give us more information. I think there are still something, we don’t know. « 

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CNBC’s Jim Cramer said on Tuesday said he expects President-elect Donald Trump won’t shy away from fighting back against China on trade.
« I think (Trump) is not used to being — to have the country, our country, (rolling) over and playing dead, » Cramer said on  » Squawk on the Street , » adding previous U. S. administrations have been somewhat lax with China.
« You have a new president coming in and all he does is he thinks the currency is important in Mexico and Europe, important in China, » he said.
Cramer was responding to comments made by Chinese President Xi Jinping on globalization at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland.
Since his campaign, Trump has vowed to play hardball with China and has said he would name China a currency manipulator. Cramer said Trump’s rhetoric is the beginning of the U. S. finally fighting back.

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President Xi Jinping leads a Chinese delegation of over 100 officials and scores of business executives attending the World Economic Forum, embodying a tectonic shift at an event that started nearly a half-century ago among Europeans and Americans. Xi’s opening plenary address Tuesday to political and business leaders is shaping up as perhaps the highlight both of this year’s WEF and Xi’s one-country European visit to ultra-stable and chronically neutral Switzerland. It comes as mainstream Western democratic leaders have been grappling with populist movements at home, including the one that helped undergird Donald Trump’s U. S. presidential election victory. Trump’s clique plans to have only one top adviser, Anthony Scaramucci, attending the forum ahead of Friday’s presidential inauguration. Such transitions have given an opening for Xi, who arrived by train in the Alpine snows of Davos to a red carpet welcome Monday, to project political stability while drumming up business for China. The bumpy run-up to the Trump administration — Trump’s poll numbers are low for an incoming president — has given the Chinese leader a convenient opportunity to advance his goal of giving his country a more assertive leadership role on the world stage. China previously sought to capture the mantle as a supporter of world trade after Trump said he would pull the United States out of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal championed by President Barack Obama. Chinese media have trumpeted Xi’s moves in the global arena as a force for stability. But analysts say he isn’t likely to address Trump straight on. “People will be asking, ‘Will he say anything about Trump?’” Steve Tsang, director of SOAS China Institute in London, said. “He would want to play his cards close to his chest at this stage. It would not make sense for him to say anything about Trump at the moment.”

© Source: http://www.salon.com/2017/01/17/chinas-xi-takes-spotlight-at-davos-as-us-makes-transition/
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DUBAI: Iran’s foreign minister said on Tuesday Tehran opposed a U. S. presence at peace talks on Syria in the Kazakh capital next week, after a decision by Russia and Turkey to invite Washington.
« We have not invited them, and we are against their presence, » Iran’s Tasnim news agency quoted Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying.
The United States, which led failed efforts to launch peace talks last year, has not been involved in the latest diplomacy around the Syrian conflict.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, speaking separately on Tuesday at a news conference broadcast live on state television, said: « Iran, Russia and Turkey managed to bring a ceasefire to Syria … It shows these three powers have influence.
« The (Syrian) armed groups have accepted the invitation of these three countries and are going to Astana. « 
Asked why the United States and Saudi Arabia had no direct role in the talks, Rouhani said: « Some countries are not attending the talks, and their role was destructive. They were helping the terrorists. « 
Russia and Iran, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s most powerful allies, and Turkey, pushed for the talks in Astana after Syrian government forces won a major victory in capturing eastern Aleppo late last year.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday that Turkey and Russia had decided to invite the United States to the Astana discussions, which begin on Jan. 23.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday he thought it was right to invite the administration of Donald Trump, due to become U. S. president on Friday.

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Zuo Chunhe also mocked China for attempting to boycott Western values, Chinese media outlet Global Times reported. 
The incident happened in China’s northern Hebei province, and the official’s post was reportedly deleted, as well as his account on Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. However, images from the post still emerged online.
The Shijiazhuang Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film, TV, Press and Publication said that its deputy director, Zuo, had been fired for “posting wrong remarks” and for “serious violation of political discipline.” Zuo also needs “to reflect deeply” on his mistakes, the statement added, as cited by Reuters.
Mao, who is viewed as the founder of modern China by the government, died in 1976, but is still venerated by the leadership, to the point that any anti-Mao criticism comes under fire, and the ‘perpetrator’ is punished.
Zuo’s case isn’t the only one this month: a Chinese professor was recently dismissed after an online comment criticizing the leader posted in December.

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BEIJING/TAIPEI – A former premier will represent Taiwan at Donald Trump’s inauguration Friday, a visit likely to be closely scrutinized by China for signs the incoming president intends to make good on remarks suggesting a shake-up in relations between Taipei, Washington and Beijing.
Yu Shyi-kun will be joined by lawmakers and local government officials representing both the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the opposition Kuomintang, the Foreign Ministry announced. It said the delegation, which intends to “express the importance our government and people place on close friendly bilateral relations,” left Monday.
Along with attending the inauguration, the delegation will hold talks with politicians, academics and overseas Chinese community representatives, the ministry said in a statement on its website.
“Taiwan-U. S. relations have a lengthy history and have made significant progress in recent years,” the statement said. Congratulating Trump on his election, it said the government would “continue to strengthen Taiwan-U. S. relations in future on the basis of excellent mutual trust and interaction.”
The U. S. has no formal relations with Taipei in deference to China, which claims the island as its own. However, the two maintain robust informal ties, while Washington sells Taiwan arms and is legally bound to regard any threat to the island as a matter of grave concern.
Trump upset decades of diplomatic precedent by talking by phone with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen shortly after his victory in November’s presidential election. Last week, he said in a newspaper interview that Washington’s “one-China” policy under which it recognized Beijing in 1979 was open to negotiation, and had earlier questioned why the U. S. should be bound by such an approach without China offering incentives.
On Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry said the one-China principle regarding Taiwan is not negotiable and any attempt to reconsider the issue would be self-defeating.
“Not everything in the world can be bargained or traded off,” Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters.
China threatens to use force to assert control over Taiwan and tensions across the Taiwan Strait have risen since Tsai’s election last year. Beijing has cut off contacts with her government and is using its diplomatic clout to further isolate the island.
Yu served as premier under former President Chen Shui-bian, who was despised by Beijing for his defiantly pro-independence stance.
Also Tuesday, Taiwan began two days of military drills simulating an attack by China as the government sought to reassure the public in the face of the deteriorating ties with Beijing.
The island’s armed forces gathered in central Taiwan for annual drills that saw troops practice combat skills with tanks, attack helicopters and artillery.
“The military has active measures to deal with the situation in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea so the public can rest assured. We will enhance training 365 days a year,” defense spokesman Chen Chung-chi said.
China has stepped up drills in recent weeks after being angered by the unprecedented Tsai-Trump call.
Tuesday’s drill mimicked an attack by China in a scenario where its war vessels have crossed over the middle line of the Taiwan Strait.
Soldiers held positions next to a U. S.-made Avenger air-defense missile system during the drill in central Taichung as special forces moved in formation through woods and a tank set off smoke bombs and crushed a car.
It comes after Beijing’s only aircraft carrier sailed through the strait last week in what was seen as a show of strength.
The Liaoning did not enter Taiwanese waters but went into an area covered by its air defense zone.
Chinese military aircraft also passed near Taiwan on Dec. 10 for the second time in less than a month.
In addition to the drills, the air force confirmed Tuesday an upgrade of Taiwan’s 143 F-16s was underway, with materials supplied by U. S. aerospace company Lockheed Martin, which manufactured the jets.
“Taiwan is the first country in the world to upgrade the F-16 A/B fighters to F-16 V. We are enhancing our aerial capabilities to ensure national security,” an air force official said.
The government-funded project, code named “Phoenix Rising” has a budget of 110 billion New Taiwan dollars ($3.47 billion) and aims to be complete within the next six years.
Defense Minister Feng Shih-kuan has said the F-16 V could match China’s Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter, although Chinese media have dismissed this as an “illusion.”
The jets will be equipped with radar to detect stealth aircraft, as well as more advanced avionics and missiles, according to local media.
Feng recently warned of growing threats from China and called for increased vigilance, urging the island’s youth to join the military.

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CANBERRA, Australia—The nearly three-year search to resolve one of history’s biggest aviation mysteries ended on Tuesday the same way it began: with the barest of clues over what happened to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
The Australian government, which led the search with help from China and Malaysia, said the chances of finding the airliner have grown increasingly unlikely amid a lack of credible new evidence, and it declared a withdrawal of the last search vessel and a stop to the hunt.
“Despite every effort using the best science available, cutting edge technology, as well as modeling and advice from highly skilled professionals who are the best in their field, unfortunately, the search has not been able to locate the aircraft,” the three governments said. In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said the search had been “thorough and comprehensive” and expressed hope that “new and significant information will come to light and the aircraft would eventually be located.”
Flight 370 vanished from radar en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board from over a dozen countries, including 152 Chinese nationals. That was followed by an endlessly confounding search across thousands of square miles of remote ocean in what became the most expensive in aviation history—about $150 million. The search was impeded by storms and fierce ocean currents.
With the search complete, Australia also plans to release undersea mapping and sonar data to allow companies not involved to re-examine the evidence. No finders’ fee is offered, but the prestige of solving a mystery like Flight 370 appeals to armchair sonographers and companies that make a living salvaging wrecks.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com
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