Page 6 - Beijing

Arunachal Pradesh 'inherent part of China's territory': Chinese military

The Chinese military has reiterated its claim over Arunachal Pradesh, calling the area an inherent part of China's territory", days after India rejected Beijing's objection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state. The Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang said that the southern part of Xizang (the Chinese name for Tibet) is an inherent part of China's territory, and Beijing "never acknowledges and firmly opposes" the so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established by India, official media here reported. Zhang made the remarks in response to India's enhancement of its military readiness through the Sela Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh, according to a report posted on the Chinese Defence Ministry's website on Friday. China, which claims Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet, routinely objects to Indian leaders' visits to the state to highlight its claims. Beijing has also named the area as Zangnan. India has repeatedly rejected China's territorial cla

China says it will improve real estate sales in 'forceful', 'orderly' way

Some developers should be allowed to go bankrupt or restructured according to legal and market-based rules, Ni said told press conference on sidelines of the annual meeting of parliament in Beijing

China vows to 'safeguard' national security with new laws at conclave

China last month broadened its state secrets law to include 'work secrets' in the scope of restricted sensitive information, and enacted a controversial counter-espionage law last year

Global South believes in India; China does not care about them: Jaishankar

Highlighting India's leadership among the Global South, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said the 125 countries of the platform placed their trust in India and that China skipped the two meetings convened by India last year to listen to their concerns. Addressing the Nikkei Forum on the India-Japan partnership here, India's top diplomat said that countries of the Global South feel for each other on a number of issues. "On a lot of issues, these countries feel for each other. The feeling has been intensified by COVID because many countries of the Global South felt that they were the last in the line to get the vaccine. They even felt at the time when India became G20 President that their concerns were not even on the agenda of the G20. "So we did last year two meetings of the voice of the Global South because we wanted to listen to these 125 countries and then put before the G20 a set of issues which were the collective views of these 125 countries. Within Asia and .

Hong Kong court affirms sedition conviction for pro-democracy activist

Criticizing laws or chanting anti-government slogans can be enough to jail someone for sedition in Hong Kong, an appeal court ruled Thursday in a landmark case brought under a colonial-era law increasingly used to crush dissent. Hong Kong's Court of Appeal upheld a 40-month sentence for pro-democracy activist Tam Tak-chi, the first person tried under the city's sedition law since Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Tam's lawyers had argued that his conviction should be overturned because the prosecution did not show he meant to incite violence. The prosecution is widely seen as part of Beijing's clampdown on dissent in the former British colony, following widespread anti-government protests in 2019. Tam was convicted on 11 charges in 2022, including seven counts of uttering seditious words." A judge at the lower court took issue with him chanting the popular protest slogan Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times words the government says imply separatism and criticisin

China scraps Premier Li Qiang's briefing, breaking years of convention

This year's annual legislative session will run from Tuesday to March 11, making it one of the shortest meetings of China's parliament, outside pandemic years

Nepal, China to sign implementation plan of BRI projects: Nepal's Deputy PM

Nepal and China will sign the implementation plan of the Belt and Road Initiative very soon, Deputy Prime Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha said on Saturday, nearly seven years after the two neighbours inked an agreement to undertake ambitious Beijing-backed infrastructure projects in the Himalayan nation. Once we sign the implementation plan, we will move into the implementation phase, Shrestha, also the Minister for Home Affairs said while addressing an event here that is part of the Silk Road Youth Forum and South Asian Cooperation Conference. He said the two countries will sign the implementation plan of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) very soon without specifying any date. His statement came as Sun Haiyan, a senior leader of China's ruling Communist Party, was visiting Nepal and meeting the country's top leaders. The signing of the BRI implementation plan is the key to negotiate and execute the projects under the initiative. Nepal and China signed a Memorandum of Understandin

China establishes diplomatic ties with Nauru after it cuts ties with Taiwan

China's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that Beijing has formally restored diplomatic relations with Nauru after the tiny Pacific island nation cut its ties with Taiwan earlier this month. Nauru's announcement on Jan. 15 came just two days after Taiwan elected a new president and left the self-governing island republic with just 12 remaining diplomatic allies, although it enjoys strong unofficial relations with the United States, Japan and other nations. China claims Taiwan as its territory and doesn't recognize its government or its right to diplomatic recognition, participation in global bodies such as the United Nations or any official contact with foreign political entities. This policy change is a significant first step in moving forward with Nauru's development, Nauru's government said in a news release announcing the severing of relations with Taiwan. China has been gradually poaching Taiwan's diplomatic allies, partly to punish the ruling Democratic Progressive Party that .

Taiwan's new envoy to US offers assurances to Washington, Beijing

Taiwan's top diplomat in Washington has a message for both the island's Chinese adversaries and its American friends: Don't worry that Taiwan's new president-elect will worsen relations with Beijing and possibly draw the U.S. into a conflict. President-elect Lai Ching-te plans to keep the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, Alexander Tah-Ray Yui told The Associated Press on Thursday in his first interview with an international news organization since he arrived in the U.S. in December. The Chinese government has called Lai a troublemaker who will push Taiwan toward independence. But Yui said Lai is willing to engage with Beijing, even as the island seeks to strengthen its unofficial ties with Washington for stability in the region. We want the status quo. We want the way it is neither unification, neither independence. The way it is is the way we want to live right now, said Yui, Taiwan's de-facto ambassador to the U.S., noting the stance is largely supported at home and will guide th

US plans delegation to Taiwan to meet new leader amid China tensions

The Biden administration will send an unofficial delegation comprised of former senior officials to Taiwan shortly after the self-governed island holds an election for a new president this weekend, a move that could upset Beijing in an already-fragile bilateral relationship. A senior administration official confirmed the plan on Wednesday without offering more details but said such a face-to-face meeting was the most effective way to engage the new Taiwanese government and convey U.S. policy in the region. The official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive plans, said the administration believed the move would contribute to peace and stability in the region. Beijing claims Taiwan to be part of Chinese territory and vows to unify with it eventually. The Chinese have repeatedly warned Washington to stay out of Taiwan and oppose any official contact between the US and Taiwanese governments. In August 2022, Beijing reacted angrily by firing missiles and ...

China's invasion of Taiwan to cost around $10 trn, nearly 10% of global GDP

China's rising economic and military heft, Taiwan's burgeoning sense of national identity, and fractious relations between Beijing and Washington mean the conditions for a crisis are in place

Beijing lodges protest to Myanmar as its artillery fire injures five

China has lodged protests to Myanmar after five people were injured by artillery shells fired during battles between its ruling junta and rebel groups that landed in its small town near their border

China 2024 crude oil import quota up 60%; factory activity expands

The latest move marks a shift by Beijing, which has been releasing quotas in batches every few months since it opened up crude imports to independent refiners in late 2015

China aims to build more than half of world's cleaner-fuel ships by 2025

It did not give any estimates of the number of ships involved but said China would build more vessels powered by lower-carbon fuels as part of Beijing's push to become carbon neutral by 2060

Beijing sees most hours of sub-freezing temperatures in December since 1951

Beijing recorded the most hours of sub-freezing temperatures in December in more than seven decades as a cold wave has enveloped northern and central swathes of China, bringing snowstorms and record-breaking temperatures. A weather observatory in the Chinese capital as of Sunday had recorded more than 300 hours of sub-freezing temperatures since December 11 the most since records began, in 1951, according to the official newspaper Beijing Daily. The city saw nine consecutive days with temperatures below minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit), the paper added. Parts of northern and central China have shivered under frigid cold snaps this month, with authorities closing schools and highways several times due to snowstorms. Temperatures at 78 weather stations across the country hit record lows for the month of December, while average temperatures this month in northern and some central parts of China hit record lows set in 1961, according to the National Meteorological Cent

Strong quake in China that killed at least 148 cause losses worth millions

The strong earthquake that hit northwest China this week, killing at least 148 people, caused economic losses estimated to be worth tens of millions in the agricultural and fisheries industries, state media said Saturday. Officials in Gansu conducted preliminary assessments that showed the province's agricultural and fisheries industries have lost 532 million yuan (about USD 74.6 million), state broadcaster CCTV reported. Authorities were considering the best use of the relief fund, set up days before, for the agricultural sector to resume production as soon as possible, the report said. The magnitude 6.2 quake struck in a mountainous region Monday night between Gansu and Qinghai provinces and about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) southwest of Beijing, the Chinese capital. CCTV said 117 people were killed in Gansu and 31 others died in neighboring Qinghai, while three people remained missing. Nearly 1,000 were injured and more than 14,000 homes were destroyed. During a visit Saturday

Beijing will reunify Taiwan with mainland China: Xi Jinping warns Biden

In a group meeting attended by a dozen American and Chinese officials, Xi told Biden that China's preference is to take Taiwan peacefully, not by force, the officials said

China quake toll climbs to 127, over 700 injured; Gansu province most-hit

At least 118 people were killed and over 500 others injured when a powerful 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck a remote mountainous region in northwest China just before midnight, the local earthquake relief headquarters said on Tuesday. According to the China Earthquake Networks Centre, the shallow quake jolted Gansu and Qinghai provinces at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, with a focal depth of 10 kilometres. The epicentre of the earthquake Liugou township is about 8 kilometres from the county seat of Jishishan Bao'an, Dongxiang, Sala autonomous county in Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture in Gansu. Experts say shallow quakes cause heavy damage to infrastructure. Qinghai province is adjacent to the Tibet Himalayan region which is prone to frequent earthquakes due to shifting of continental plates. A second quake struck the neighbouring Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region hours later on Tuesday. The Atux City of Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Re

Taiwan reports Chinese balloons near its territory amid pressure from China

Two Chinese balloons flew north of Taiwan, the island's Defense Ministry said Monday, as China increases pressure on the self-ruled territory it claims as its own ahead of a presidential election in January. The balloons crossed the sensitive Taiwan Strait separating the island from China and were detected about 110 nautical miles (204 kilometres) northwest of the northern port city of Keelung on Sunday, the ministry said. It was the second time this month Taiwan reported a Chinese balloon near its territory, after one crossed southwest of Keelung on December 7. China's potential for using weather balloons to spy on other governments came into focus earlier this year, when the United States shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean, drawing China's ire. Taiwan's Defense Ministry did not say whether it suspected the balloon could have been used for spying. China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately comment. Beijing has increased pressure on Taiwan by send

Hong Kong leader praises election turnout as voter numbers hit record low

Hong Kong leader John Lee on Tuesday praised the 27.5 per cent voter turnout in the city's weekend election, a record low since the territory returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Sunday's district council election was the first held under new rules introduced under Beijing's direction that effectively shut out all pro-democracy candidates. The turnout of 1.2 million voters has indicated that they supported the election, they supported the principles, Lee said at a news conference. It is important that we focus our attention on the outcome of the election, and the outcome will mean a constructive district council, rather than what used to be a destructive one, he said. Sunday's turnout was significantly less than the record 71.2 per cent of Hong Kong's 4.3 million registered voters who participated in the last election, held at the height of anti-government protests in 2019, which the pro-democracy camp won by a landslide. Lee said there was resistance to Sunday's election from ...