Page 158 - China

'No Indian troops after May 10': Is the Maldives getting closer to China?

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has affirmed that no Indian military personnel, not even those in civilian clothing, would be present inside his country after May 10.

China to work on quantum computing, AI in tech self-sufficiency drive

"We will fully leverage the strengths of the new system for mobilizing resources nationwide to raise China's capacity for innovation across the board." it said

China retains 5% growth target as economy struggles to shake off slowdown

The country expects to create over 12 million jobs in urban areas and keep the surveyed urban unemployment rate at around 5.5 per cent this year, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said

BYD plans to cover 90% of India's EV market in 2024, to target major towns

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD plans to cover 90 per cent of the EV market in India by the end of the year as it strengthens leadership position in EVs priced above Rs 30 lakh category, a senior company official said on Tuesday. BYD India, which launched its electric sedan SEAL priced between Rs 41 lakh and Rs 53 lakh, is working to achieve homologation certification from ARAI for its electric SUV Atto 3 which will lift the restriction on import volume of 2,500 units. Homologation is the process of certifying vehicles for roadworthiness under rules specified by the government for all vehicles made or imported into the country. "Our target is that we cover 90 per cent of the EV market in India. That is what we are planning to do by this year, which means we will be present in major towns, and tier I cities. "Wherever we see the electric vehicle penetration is high, wherever the electric vehicle sales are, where it is growing," BYD India, Senior Vice President of Electric Passeng

Chinese coast guard blocks vessels off South China Sea shoal: Philippines

Chinese coast guard ships blocked Philippine vessels from a disputed South China Sea shoal on Tuesday, causing a minor collision, Philippine officials said. The Chinese vessels executed dangerous maneuvers against two Philippine ships that resulted in the collision between a Philippine coast guard vessel and a Chinese coast guard ship, Philippine coast guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said. The Philippine boat had minor structural damage, though no more details were available. Tarriela did not say where the confrontation took place but the military earlier said navy personnel would deliver supplies and fresh troops to the Philippine-occupied Second Thomas Shoal, the site of several skirmishes between the rival claimant nations last year. The territorial disputes in the South China Sea were expected to be high on the agenda of a summit of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their Australian counterpart this week. Ahead of Wednesday's summit, Philippin

Amid diplomatic row with India, Maldives sign new military pact with China

The new military pact between China and the Maldives comes just weeks after Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu requested the withdrawal of a contingent of Indian military personnel stationed there

China to provide military assistance to Maldives, inks pact to bolster ties

China on Monday signed a defence cooperation agreement with the Maldives to provide free military assistance to foster "stronger" bilateral ties with Male, weeks after President Mohamed Muizzu set a deadline for the withdrawal of the first group of Indian military personnel from his island nation. The Defence Minister of the Maldives Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon met with Major General Zhang Baoqun, Deputy Director of the Office for International Military Cooperation of China, to discuss enhancing defence cooperation between the two countries. Maumoon and Major General Baoqun "signed an agreement on China's provision of military assistance gratis to the Republic of Maldives, fostering stronger bilateral ties," the Maldivian defence ministry posted on its X handle. The details of the defence cooperation agreement were not provided. The visit of the Chinese military delegation took place days after Male allowed Xiang Yang Hong 03, a hi-tech Chinese research ship to make a port call for the

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

Untimely rainfall, hailstorms batter wheat, chickpeas, other winter crops

Adverse weather could limit growth in wheat production and complicate the government's efforts to build stocks

China wants to deepen strategic ties with Pak during Sharif's new tenure

As Shehbaz Sharif took the oath as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for a second time on Monday, China said it hopes to deepen its "all-weather" strategic ties and upgrade the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. China warmly congratulates Shehbaz Sharif on being elected as Pakistan's Prime Minister, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing here. On Sunday, President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang sent congratulatory messages to Sharif soon after his election. China highly appreciates Prime Minister Sharif's positive statements on China-Pakistan relations and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Mao said. We stand ready to work with Pakistan to carry forward our traditional friendship, advance exchanges and cooperation across the board, upgrade the CPEC, and deepen China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, she said. In his victory speech yesterday, Shehbaz Sharif vowed to further promote the CPEC projects

China downplays rising frictions with neighbours, says BRI gaining momentum

China on Monday sought to play down increasing tensions with its Asian neighbours over the simmering South China Sea dispute and the eastern Ladakh border issue with India, saying its initiatives like BRI are gaining momentum and trade is booming with regional countries. China has given high priority to its neighbouring countries in its overall diplomatic work, Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for China's parliament - the National People's Congress (NPC) - said while answering a question on China's tensions with Asian neighbours including criticism that Beijing is turning the South China Sea dispute into dangerous flashpoint and the unresolved issues in the region. Lou said, all the countries in the Indo-China peninsula, Central Asia have committed to build a community with a shared future with China, a preferred phrase of Chinese President Xi Jinping to highlight the future of China and the rest of the world is interlinked. You mentioned the South China Sea. Let me stress that China will

In surprise announcement, China eliminates annual conference by premier

The Chinese government said Monday it is eliminating an annual news conference by the premier that was one of the only times a top Chinese leader took questions from the news media. Lou Qinlan, the spokesperson for the National People's Congress, said on the eve of the opening of the annual session of the legislature that Premier Li Qiang would not hold a news conference at the conclusion of the meeting, as has been customary. Lou said that the congress would increase opportunities for journalists to ask questions of government ministers and other officials, as well as with the nearly 3,000 delegates to the congress. If there are no special circumstances, the premier's press conference will not be held in the next few years, he said, without further explanation. The weeklong meeting of the largely ceremonial congress, which opens on Tuesday, is being closely watched for any indications of what steps the government will take to boost the struggling economy. Qiang, the premier, will

Philippine minister urges neighbours to stand together in South China Sea

Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo urged regional neighbours on Monday to stand together more strongly in upholding the rule of law in the South China Sea, where China is forcefully pursuing territorial claims in conflict with other nations. Manalo spoke at a forum on maritime cooperation on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian leaders' summit in the Australian city of Melbourne at which increasingly assertive moves by China is high on the agenda. Manalo referred to the Philippines' victory over China in a 2016 arbitration ruling in The Hague, Netherlands, that invalidated Beijing's vast territorial claims in the South China Sea. China did not accept the ruling. Manalo said the Philippines pursued the case to uphold the rule of law and to promote the peaceful settlement of such disputes. The shared stewardship of the seas and oceans in the region behooves us to unite in preserving the primacy of international law so we can ensure equitable and sustainable outcomes for all, he

China, Myanmar likely to be on agenda at Asean-Australia Special Summit

An increasingly assertive China and a humanitarian crisis in Myanmar are likely to be high on the agenda when Southeast Asian leaders meet in Australia for a rare summit this week. The ASEAN-Australia Special Summit that starts in Melbourne on Monday marks 50 years since Australia became the first official partner of the Asian bloc. Leaders of nine of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations are expected to attend the three-day summit, with Myanmar excluded from political representation over its failure to stem violence in that country since a military junta seized control in 2021. East Timor's leader has been invited as an official ASEAN observer and Australian Prime Anthony Albanese invited his New Zealand counterpart to Melbourne to meet regional leaders. "Australia sees ASEAN at the center of a stable, peaceful and prosperous region," Albanese said in a statement on Friday. "Strengthening our relationship ensures our shared future prosperity and security," he added. Austr

Surveillance: High tech and narcs

Two new books about state surveillance in the 21st century, one focused on China and the other on the United States, make it clear that Foucault was right

Here's what to watch for as China's major political meeting gets underway

One burning issue dominates as the 2024 session of China's legislature gets underway this week: the economy. The National People's Congress annual meeting, which opens Tuesday, is being closely watched for any signals on what the ruling Communist Party might do to reenergise an economy that is sagging under the weight of expanded government controls and the bursting of a real-estate bubble. That is not to say that other issues won't come up. Proposals to raise the retirement age are expected to be a hot topic, the state-owned Global Times newspaper said last week. And China watchers will parse the annual defense budget and the possible introduction of a new foreign minister. But the economy is what is on most people's minds in a country that may be at a major turning point after four decades of growth that propelled China into a position of economic and geopolitical power. For many Chinese, the failure of the post-COVID economy to rally strongly last year is shaking a long-held ...

Peace, tranquillity at border must for improvement of ties with China: EAM

China must adhere to border management pacts and there has to be peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) for improvement in Sino-India ties, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asserted on Saturday amid the lingering military face-off in eastern Ladakh. In an interactive session at a think-tank, he highlighted how the Modi government has been focusing on boosting the border infrastructure and that there has to be an equilibrium eventually in the relations between India and China. In an oblique reference to governments in the past, Jaishankar, replying to a broad question on dealing with China, said India did not use international relationships as effectively as it could have in the past. In this context, Jaishankar identified development of national power as very crucial. "Powers rise, powers stand their ground, powers build equilibrium; not by fancy statements and clever debates. They have to do hard work of governance, putting the resources, push the syst

Three out of five large economies recorded slow growth, shows data

Some larger economies are doing better than others. The United States (US) and China in particular have shown a stronger growth rate in the fourth quarter of the calendar year 2023

CCP Politburo vows to meet growth targets amid China's slow recovery

The Politburo also pledged to speed up development of 'new productive forces,' a vague new slogan favored by Xi that refers to fresh engines of economic growth

US to investigate national security risks posed by Chinese-made smart cars

Citing potential national security risks, the Biden administration says it will investigate Chinese-made smart cars that can gather sensitive information about Americans driving them. The probe could lead to new regulations aimed at preventing China from using sophisticated technology in electric cars and other so-called connected vehicles to track drivers and their personal information. Officials are concerned that features such as driver assistance technology could be used to effectively spy on Americans. While the action stops short of a ban on Chinese imports, President Joe Biden said he is taking unprecedented steps to safeguard Americans' data. "China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by using unfair practices," Biden said in a statement Thursday. "China's policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security. I'm not going to let that happen on my watch." Biden and other officials noted that China has impose