Page 125 - China

US-Japan talks focus on bolstering cooperation amid rising China threat

Japanese and US defence chiefs and top diplomats will meet in Tokyo on Sunday for talks aimed at further bolstering their military cooperation, including by upgrading the command and control of US forces and strengthening American-licensed missile production in Japan, amid a rising threat from China. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will join their Japanese counterparts, Yoko Kamikawa and Minoru Kihara, at the Japan-US Security Consultative Committee, known as 2+2 security talks, to reaffirm their alliance following President Joe Biden 's withdrawal from the November presidential race. For the first time, the ministers will hold separate talks to reaffirm the US commitment to extended deterrence, which includes atomic weapons a shift from Japan's earlier reluctance to openly discuss the sensitive issue in the world's only country to have suffered nuclear attacks amid growing nuclear threats from Russia and China. The ministers are expected to ..

Cipla to commence supplies to US from China plant later this year

Drug major Cipla expects to commence supplies to the US market from its China facility in the second half of the current fiscal after getting approval from the American health regulator, according to its MD and global CEO Umag Vohra. Addressing shareholders in the company's Annual Report for 2023-24, he noted that the company is working with the USFDA to resolve issues with its various domestic plants. "Although we saw challenging phases with USFDA audits, I am glad to report that our China facility cleared the USFDA audit and is expected to supply to the US by the second half of FY 2024- 25," Vohra said. Sharing updates about other plants, he noted that the facilities of Patalganga and Kurkumbh in India were also cleared with a VAI (voluntary action indicated). "Our Goa site was issued observations and our Indore plant is currently being remediated. Finding resolution for these regulatory issues continues to be our top priority," Vohra said. The company has worked extensively to

Mudslide in China kills 11 as rains from tropical storm Gaemi drench region

Eleven people were killed after a mudslide hit a house in southeastern China on Sunday as heavy rains from a tropical storm drenched the region, state media said. Elsewhere in China, a delivery person on a scooter was killed on Saturday after being hit by a falling tree in Shanghai, apparently because of strong winds related to the storm, according to The Paper, a digital news outlet. The deaths were the first in China that appear linked to Typhoon Gaemi, which weakened to a tropical storm after making landfall on Thursday. Before reaching China, the typhoon intensified monsoon rains in the Philippines, leaving at least 34 dead, and swept across the island of Taiwan, where the death toll has risen to 10, authorities said late Saturday. The mudslide struck the house about 8 a.m. in Yuelin village, which falls under the jurisdiction of Hengyang city in Hunan province, state broadcaster CCTV said in a series of online reports. An earlier report said that 18 people were trapped by the

US-based organisation urges IOC to let Taiwan compete under its own name

The advocacy group, in a statement issued on Friday, said that the name was a discriminatory misnomer

Olympics: Zhang hopes Chinese swimmers will be seen as clean after tests

Zhang Yufei hopes her international rivals will believe she is competing clean after the Chinese swimming star estimates she took between 20 and 30 drug tests monthly in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics. I don't think there's a single athlete, Chinese or foreign, who would test positive for doping. They would not want to destroy all the hard work they've put in over the years on doping, Zhang told reporters in the mixed zone Saturday when she was the top qualifier for the 100-meter butterfly final. She won her preliminary race in 56.50 seconds during the first day of the swimming competition at Paris La Defense Arena. She said afterwards she is anxious about what her friends and competitors in the swimming world are thinking about Zhang and others from the Chinese team. Zhang said she and her teammates have tested three to four days a week in the past couple of months leading up to the Paris Games and in the wake of a doping scandal involving 23 Chinese swimmers including Zhang .

Amid deepening rivalry, US State Secy Blinken meets China's Wang Yi in Laos

US State Secretary met China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Laos

At least eight individuals dead as Typhoon Gaemi intensifies, hits Taiwan

A 75-year-old scooter rider collided with a fallen tree and fell to the ground before being rushed to a hospital in Yulin County, where doctors were unable to resuscitate him

Southeast Asian diplomats meet China's Wang Yi over maritime dispute

Top diplomats from Southeast Asia met Friday morning in Vientiane with China's Foreign Minister for talks that come as friction continues to escalate over Beijing's growing effort to press its sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea. Several members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation have disputes with China, which has led to direct confrontations that many worry could lead to broader conflict. One wrong step in the South China Sea will turn a small fire into a terrible firestorm, said Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi ahead of the talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei all have conflicts with China over its claims of sovereignty over virtually all of the South China Sea, one of the world's most crucial waterways for shipping. Indonesia has also expressed concern about what it sees as Beijing's encroachment on its exclusive economic zone. The United States and its allies, meanwhile, have bee

Under pressure in China, Mercedes-Benz trims 2024 car profit outlook

The company said it now expected an adjusted return on sales in the range of 10-11 per cent this year, down from its previous target range of 10-12 per cent

Eyeing strategic advantages near China sea, US builds Australia's bases

Tender documents show that intelligence briefing rooms, upgraded runways for bombers, warehouses, data centres and maintenance hangars are in the works

Clear guidelines needed for approving China's FDI plans: NITI Aayog VC

India needs a 'clearer set' of guidelines for approving Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) from China expeditiously as the system of case-by-case review is slow, NITI Aayog vice chairman Suman Bery has said. Bery further said at the moment India scrutinises FDI proposals from China for security purposes similar to what the United States is doing. "I think what is needed, on the basis of experience, is a clearer set of guidelines because case-by-case review is slow and we do have an interest in getting investment from China because China is surplus in savings, it has got good technology," he told PTI. Earlier this week, the pre-budget Economic Survey has also made a strong case for seeking FDI from Beijing to boost local manufacturing and tap the export market. "But the fact of the matter is that we have diplomatic difficulties with them and so we have to be cautious," the NITI Aayog vice chairman observed. At present, the bulk of the FDI coming into India falls under the automatic .

Katie Ledecky hopes clean races at Olympics after Chinese doping scandal

Katie Ledecky hopes for clean races at the Olympics. Hope was just about as far as she was willing to go on Wednesday. The US swimming star is looking to add to her six individual gold medals when she races in the 400, 800 and 1,500 meters at the Paris Games. Her schedule begins with the loaded 400 on Saturday, including Ariarne Titmus and Summer McIntosh. The 27-year-old Ledecky is competing in her fourth Summer Olympics. But, it's the first one since a doping scandal involving nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance ahead of the Tokyo Games and were allowed to compete with no ramifications. The controversy has raised major concerns about the seriousness of anti-doping efforts. I hope everyone here is going to be competing clean this week, Ledecky said. But, what really matters also is: Were they training clean? Hopefully, that's been the case. Hopefully, there's been even testing around the world. There is an ongoing US investigation of the

China keeps lending rate unchanged as housing market still struggling

China's central bank kept a key lending rate unchanged on Monday, choosing not to loosen credit as data for May showed signs of persisting weakness in the world's No. 2 economy's manufacturing and real estate sectors. The central bank kept its rate for 1-year medium-term lending facility loans, used as a benchmark for other lending rates, at 2.5%. The decision aligned with expectations: instead of cutting already low interest rates Beijing has focused on channeling spending to areas considered to be high priorities such as high-tech industries. The government reported Monday that factory output fell 5.6% in May from the year before, slowing from 6.7% in April, though analysts noted some impact due to more work days in this year compared with the year before. Property investments fell 10% year-on-year and home sales sank 30.5%, suggesting a raft of measures to try to turn around a real estate slump have yet to take hold. Home prices in major, so-called Tier 1 cities like Beijing and

Chinese officials warn US business delegation of higher tariffs risks

Chinese officials warned a delegation of top US executives visiting Beijing this week that higher tariffs on imports from China will harm their businesses inside the country. The delegation of influential business people belonging to the US China Business Council, including the CEOs of FedEx and Micron, followed a top-level meeting last week where ruling Communist Party leaders endorsed a blueprint for policies that included numerous pledges to improve the business environment for foreign investors. But they also vowed greater vigilance in protecting state secrets, a potential minefield for foreign businesses that face intense scrutiny of their China operations by authorities. Both the US and China have cited national security concerns in imposing restrictions on trade and investment, and American businesses have at times been caught in the middle. Beijing has objected strenuously to Washington's moves to hike tariffs on Chinese-made products and limit Chinese access to advanced ...

Ukraine minister seeks 'common ground' with China in talks on ending war

Ukraine's foreign minister said Wednesday that he is seeking common ground in talks with his Chinese counterpart on ending his country's war with Russia. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, now in its third year, has strained relations between the two countries. Video released by Ukraine's Foreign Ministry showed Dmytro Kuleba arriving at the meeting venue in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou and exchanging remarks with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi. It is the first visit by a Ukrainian foreign minister since the war started in 2022. Wang said that China attaches great importance to its relations with Ukraine. Noting the growth in trade between the two countries, he said that their relations have continued to develop normally despite complex and ever-changing international and regional situations. China has close ties with Russia and has pushed for an end to the war that would take into account the interests of both sides. That position has put it at odds not only with Ukraine

Budget 2024: FinMin announces Critical Mineral Mission; what we know so far

Union Budget 2024: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the government will soon conduct the first round of offshore mineral auction round under the Critical Mineral Mission

Don't break law and you have nothing to fear, China tells Taiwan staff

Speaking at a regular news briefing, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, reiterated there was no cause for alarm for most Taiwanese

China threat catalyses some air forces to defend freedoms in Indo-Pacific

This is being demonstrated in an air force exercise currently ongoing in Australia. Exercise Pitch Black 2024, held from July 12 to August 2, is the largest-ever exercise.

More investments required in Arctic to keep up with Russia, China: Pentagon

The US Defense Department must invest more to upgrade sensors, communications and space-based technologies in the Arctic to keep pace with China and Russia who are increasingly operating there, including in joint military exercises, a new Pentagon strategy says. Saying that now is a critical time for the Arctic, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks told reporters Monday that climate change, increased activity by adversaries and degrading US infrastructure are forcing the department to rethink how to keep the Arctic secure and ensure troops are well-equipped and protected. The Arctic strategy is short on specifics, but broadly pushes for greater spending on high-tech sensor and radar systems, a range of military equipment, and continued investment in Pituffik Space Base, the US Space Force base in the northwest corner of Greenland. And it relies on growing partnerships with Canada and a number of NATO allies in the north. Defense Department leaders have, for more than the past ...

Changing ties: Eco Survey bats for more FDI from China to tap export market

Cites Apple, Foxconn success stories on China Plus One; Calls to strike a balance between importing goods and FDI from China