Page 10 - Beijing

China's foreign minister warns of conflict unless US changes course

China's foreign minister has warned Washington of conflict and confrontation if it fails to change course in relations with Beijing, striking a combative tone amid conflicts over Taiwan, COVID-19 and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Qin Gang's language appeared to defy hopes China's might abandon confrontational wolf warrior rhetoric. It followed an accusation by Chinese leader Xi Jinping that Western governments led by the United States were trying to encircle and suppress China. Washington's China policy has entirely deviated from the rational and sound track, Qin said at a news conference Tuesday during annual meeting of China's ceremonial legislature. China's relations with Washington and Japan, India and other Asian neighbours have soured as Xi's government has pursued assertive policies abroad. If the United States does not hit the brake, but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing and there surely will be conflict and confrontation,

China sets economic growth target at 5% for 2023, lowest in over 25 years

China unveiled its lowest growth target in more than a quarter-century as Beijing faces challenges in the domestic and global economy

Communist party members in EY China asked to wear party badges in office

The demand was made by the party's branch committee at the company ahead of China's annual parliamentary meeting

Moving beyond Beijing

Economic revival may not sustain

Beijing blasts US over response to suspected Chinese spy balloon incursion

China's ceremonial parliament has accused American lawmakers of trampling on the sovereignty of other nations after the U.S. passed a measure condemning a suspected Chinese spy balloon's intrusion into U.S. airspace. The statement issued Thursday by the National People's Congress's Foreign Affairs Committee repeated Beijing's insistence that the balloon was an unmanned civilian weather research airship, a claim the U.S. has dismissed citing its flight route and payload of surveillance equipment. While China at first expressed regret over the Feb. 4 incident, it has toughened its rhetoric in a further sign of how badly relations between the sides have deteriorated in recent years. On Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry said it will take measures against U.S. entities somehow related to the downing of the balloon, without giving details. The resolution earlier passed unanimously by the U.S. House of Representatives deliberately exaggerated the China threat,'" the Foreign Relations Commit

China's world-beating drop in Covid-19 deaths revives data concerns

After meticulously tracking cases for most of the pandemic, China abruptly abandoned its signature zero-tolerance policy at the end of 2022, halting mass testing, quarantines and lockdowns

More than 10 US high-altitude balloons flew in our airspace: China

China on Monday said more than 10 US high-altitude balloons have flown in its airspace during the past year without its permission, following Washington's accusation that Beijing operates a fleet of surveillance balloons around the world. The Chinese allegation comes after the US shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that had crossed from Alaska to South Carolina, sparking a new crisis in bilateral relations that have spiralled to their lowest level in decades. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin gave no details about the alleged US balloons, how they had been dealt with or whether they had government or military links. It is also common for US balloons to illegally enter the airspace of other countries," Wang said at a daily briefing. Since last year, US high-altitude balloons have illegally flown over China's airspace more than 10 times without the approval of Chinese authorities." Wang said the US should first reflect on itself and change course, rather than smear and

Was the Chinese balloon indeed a spy at work or was it just hot air?

Balloons are 18th century tech; Chinese satellites allow for surveillance with far higher levels of efficiency

US moves to recover Chinese balloon as pressure mounts on President Biden

The balloon, said to be the size of at least two school buses, and its sensors are lying in 50 feet (15 meters) of water and scattered over a seven-mile (11-kilometer) area off Myrtle Beach

Xi Jinping the 'most unpleasant' among leaders I met as secretary: Pompeo

Mike Pompeo has said that among the dozens of world leaders he met as the US Secretary of State he found the "most unpleasant" was Chinese President Xi Jinping, who threatened to stop sending PPF kits to America if it kept asking for accountability from Beijing on Covid-19. In his book titled 'Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love,' former US Secretary of State Pompeo, 59, writes that he held multiple interactions with the Chinese leader and found him "dour" and a "quintessential Communist apparatchik". He writes that Xi told stories about Chinese victimhood and talked about his "demands to avenge grievances from long before any of us were born. "Personally, I thought Xi was dour. While Putin can be funny and mirthful, even while being evil, Xi was not so serious as dead-eyed. I never once saw an unforced smile, Pompeo writes in the book that hit the bookstores on Tuesday. I also found Xi a quintessential Communist apparatchik: heavy in the abstract, light on the issu

Despite Chinese aggression, India's trade with Beijing up by 50%: Kejriwal

Despite Chinese aggression, India's trade with Beijing has increased and that is not right, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in an apparent swipe at the BJP-led Centre. "We are purchasing items like slippers, figurines and mattresses from China. Why can not we manufacture these in India?" he posed while addressing a Republic Day celebration event at Chhatrasal Stadium here. Stressing that all these items can be manufactured in the country, Kejriwal said it will create jobs for youths and give a strong message to China. He claimed that according to reports China has "occupied" some of India's territory which is a cause of worry for every citizen. "Despite Chinese aggression, we have been increasing our trade with them. It increased by 50 per cent. We are making China richer. This is not right," he said. Kejriwal alleges that various state governments are being "harassed". In many states, university vice-chancellors were appointed by elected governments of the states but th

Nearly all of Beijing's 22 mn population to get Covid by January-end: Study

About 92% of the people in China's capital will have contracted Covid by the end of January, while 76% had already been infected by December 22, according to the study

Chinese government entities to take golden shares in Alibaba, Tencent

The discussions are emerging as Beijing prepares to loosen its grip on the sector and move past a bruising crackdown that's enveloped most every internet sphere for well over a year

China's estimated GDP growth rate out of reach for Beijing: WB report

Amid multiple domestic and international reverses due to its zero-Covid policy and assertiveness, China is unlikely to meet its estimated GDP growth rate, according to World Bank

China's open borders mark an end to covid zero, spark homecoming rush

While the Covid zero policy managed to keep the virus at bay for much of the pandemic as it killed millions elsewhere, they became increasingly irrelevant with emergence of more infectious variants

Beds run out at Beijing hospital as Covid-19 brings in more patients

Patients, most of them elderly, are lying on stretchers in hallways and taking oxygen while sitting in wheelchairs as COVID-19 surges in China's capital Beijing. The Chuiyangliu hospital in the city's east was packed with newly arrived patients on Thursday. By midmorning beds had run out, even as ambulances continued to bring those in need. Hard-pressed nurses and doctors rushed to take information and triage the most urgent cases. The surge in severely ill people needing hospital care follows China abandonment of its most severe pandemic restrictions last month after nearly three years of lockdowns, travels bans and school closures that weighed heavily on the economy and prompted street protests not seen since the late 1980s. It also comes as the the European Union on Wednesday strongly encouraged its member states to impose pre-departure COVID-19 testing of passengers from China. Over the past week, EU nations have reacted with a variety of restrictions toward travelers from Chi

No reason China should retaliate over Covid travel restrictions: US

China has said it would hit back at nations that impose new rules on its travelers, dismissing the measures as "political goals

China's economy ends year in major slump as Covid infections surge

Official data over the weekend showed the decline in manufacturing worsened last month, while activity in the services sector plunged the most since February 2020

China regime crippled as sons burn bodies of fathers outside flats

The Chinese regime is so crippled by Covid that sons must burn the bodies of their fathers outside blocks of flats in its leading cities

Is India really serious about a bid to host the Olympic Games in 2036?

The country would do well to think several times before committing to such gigantic expenditure in the uncertain future