Page 183 - China

Oil sputters to three-month lows as demand concerns mount in US, China

Brent crude futures fell $1.68, or 2%, to $79.93 a barrel by 11:00 am EST (1600 GMT). US crude lost $1.78, or 2.3%, to $75.59. Both benchmarks hit their lowest since late July

Putin calls for closer Russia-China cooperation on military satellites

Russian President Vladimir Putin told a senior Chinese military official Wednesday that Moscow and Beijing should expand their cooperation on military satellites and other prospective defence technologies a statement that signalled increasingly close defence links between the allies. Putin spoke in televised remarks at the start of his meeting with Gen Zhang Youxia, who is China's second-ranking military official and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. The Russian leader emphasised the importance of developing closer military links, noting that cooperation in high-tech spheres now takes priority. I mean space, including high-orbit assets, and new prospective types of weapons that will ensure strategic security of both Russia and the People's Republic of China, Putin said without elaboration. He emphasised that while Russia and China aren't building any military alliances based on Cold War patterns, their cooperation is a serious factor in stabilizing the international

Process for streamlining visa approvals for Chinese professionals framed

The government has formulated a standard operating procedure for streamlining visa approvals for Chinese professionals whose expertise is required by vendors under the PLI scheme, an official said on Wednesday. Some players had flagged the visa issue in a stakeholder consultation meeting on the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme in August. The government at that time stated that it was trying to sort out visa-related matters where vendors require Chinese professionals' expertise. "We have resolved the visa issue in the sense that we have created an SOP (standard operating procedure) for PLI units. For their visas, we have a system under which their visa approvals will be streamlined," the official said. The PLI scheme was announced in 2021 for 14 sectors such as telecommunication, white goods, textiles, manufacturing of medical devices, automobiles, speciality steel, food products, high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemistry cell battery, drones and pharma with an ..

China's FDI deficit may be a sign for increased global investment in India

India ranked among the top three in greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) announcements by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

CEO of Tencent-backed Chinese live-streaming service DouYu goes missing

The 39-year-old CEO Chen Shaojie made his last public appearance in August when he spoke on the company's quarterly earnings conference call with financial analysts, the report said.

Suriname bauxite project may attract interest from Indian, Chinese firms

The South American country hopes to have awarded a concession for bauxite - the world's main source of aluminum - by this time next year, after decades of attempts to develop the ore

China's gasoline exports tumble; IMF upgrades GDP growth forecasts

Beijing is owed more than $1 trillion in BRI project debt, says report

98% of China's aid to Pak is in form of less-than-generous loans: Report

As much as 98 per cent of China's development funding for its all-weather ally Pakistan came in the form of less-than-generous loans, with only two per cent coming in the form of grants between 2000 and 2021, according to a research report. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a global infrastructure and investment initiative by Beijing, was launched in 2013. It is thought to be the largest partnership of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It increased to over USD 62 billion over time, and at least USD 25 billion was invested in cash-strapped Pakistan. Out of the total Chinese development finance portfolio of USD 70.3 billion, committed between 2000 and 2021 in Pakistan, eight per cent was official development assistance (grants and highly concessional loans) and 89 per cent was other official sector loans, said a report in The News International, quoting AidData, a US-based research lab. With USD 14.0 billion in finance commitments, 2017 was the top year for Pakistan;

Australia's Albanese calls for free trade with China on visit to Beijing

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is calling for the full resumption of free and unimpeded trade with China in a meeting with his counterpart Li Qiang on the first first visit by an Australian leader to China in seven years. Climate change, food security and transnational crime are areas in which the two nations can cooperate, Albanese said Tuesday. The sides should discuss ways to shape a regional and global order that is peaceful, stable and prosperous, where countries respect sovereignty and meet their obligations under international law and conventions, Albanese said. Geostrategic competition must be handled through dialogue and through understanding, he said, in apparent reference to heightened tensions between China and the United States, a key Australian ally. "We can grow the relationship while advancing our respective interests, if we wisely navigate when there are differences," Albanese said. Li was quoted by the Australian foreign office as acknowledging that ..

Japan, UK look to boost security ties under new pact on sidelines of G7

Japanese and British foreign and defense ministers are to talk on Tuesday about deepening their military cooperation under a new security pact that allows their militaries to enter each other's turf for joint exercises. Japan and Britain have expanded their cooperation in recent years amid concern about China's growing influence. Japan, whose only treaty ally is the United States, has signed the Reciprocal Access Agreement with Australia and the UK so far, making them semi-allies. The talks in Tokyo among Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Britain's Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Defense Secretary Grant Shapps are the first since the RAA took effect in mid-October. They are meeting on the sidelines of the meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven advanced nations on Tuesday and Wednesday that are expected to focus on the Israel-Hamas war, the Russia-Ukraine war and tension in the Indo-Pacific region. The four ministers' .

Albanese calls for cooperation ahead of meeting with China's Xi Jinping

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese struck an optimistic tone ahead of his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday, calling for cooperation while emphasising that the two countries will continue to have differences. Albanese is the first Australian prime minister in seven years to visit China as the two countries have recently begun to repair a relationship that had crashed over trade and security differences. What I've said is that we need to co-operate with China where we can, disagree where we must and engage in our national interest," Albanese said in Beijing. "I think there are promising signs we've already seen, a number of the impediments to trade between our two nations removed and an uplift already, substantial uplift in the trade between our two nations. His visit is largely symbolic, and comes near the 50th anniversary of the first trip by an Australian prime minister to the People's Republic of China. He is planned to meet with Xi later Monday. China and

North Korean art sells in China despite UN sanctions over nuclear programme

For sale at a recent Beijing art exposition was a painting with an asking price of $2,460 that depicted the snow-capped Mount Paektu, the mythical birthplace of the Korean people. A portrait of a prim young lady in bright brushstrokes was being sold for $5,190. For buyers on a budget, there were colourful landscapes being offered for less than $100. The dealer hawking the art made no effort to disguise who produced the pieces, despite stiff UN sanctions prohibiting the sale of such goods: They were painted over there," the dealer said, in North Korea. The dealer, who had salt-and-pepper hair and refused to divulge his name, was a representative of an art gallery that trumpets itself as China's premier seller of North Korean art. The gallery, The Paintings Say Arirang, also operates a studio for North Korean artists in the outskirts of Beijing. Housed in a fenced and heavily surveilled compound, the North Koreans paint glorified, idyllic visions of life back home. For the right pric

Anthony Albanese soon will be first Australian PM in 7 years to visit China

Anthony Albanese will become the first Australian prime minister in seven years to visit China in recognition that bilateral relations have improved after crashing to unprecedented depths over trade and security differences that remain largely unresolved. The election of Albanese's center-left government last year after nine years of conservative rule created an opportunity for a reset. His three-day visit that starts Saturday will take him to Shanghai then Beijing, though details about his itinerary are limited. Since 2016, when Chinese leader Xi Jinping met an Australian prime minister twice in six months, China severed top-level ministerial contacts. Official and unofficial trade sanctions stacked up since 2020 to cost Australian exporters up to 20 billion Australian dollars ($13 billion) a year for commodities including coal, wine, beef, barley and lobsters as business and politics entwined in the relationship as never before. But many say the trade boycott was hurting an ...

China's services activity picks up slightly in October, sales grow: Data

An official survey showed on Tuesday that services PMI dropped to 50.1 from 50.9 in September

US importing from key partners like India, less dependent on China: Yellen

"US is committed to an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient," she added

Apple Inc warns of sluggish holiday quarter after sales in China slow down

Though iPhone revenue is expected to increase in the December quarter, overall sales will be similar to the year-earlier period, Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said on a conference call Thursday

China's male leaders signal to women that their place is at home

In a departure from a two-decade tradition, Xi's deputy, Ding Xuexiang, failed to mention in an opening address at the congress a standard phrase: That gender equality is a basic national policy

India's emerging challenge in Bhutan

The new phase of cordial diplomatic relations between Bhutan and China call for the establishment of fresh redlines between India and its Himalayan neighbour

Messi's trip to China for a pair of Inter Miami exhibition games called off

Lionel Messi evidently won't be playing in China this month after all. Inter Miami announced Wednesday that its planned trip to China for a pair of exhibition matches has been called off. The team announced the trip last month, with a pair of games originally scheduled for Nov. 5 and Nov. 8. It would have been at least the eighth time that Messi the World Cup champion for Argentina and now an eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, after receiving the annual award yet again earlier this week played in China, and the total attendance for the two planned matches could have exceeded 100,000. Inter Miami said the reason was unforeseen circumstances. The tour promoter, NSN, said the decision to cancel was out of respect to Chinese officials following the death last week of the country's former second-ranking leader, Li Keqiang. He was China's top economic official for a decade. TyC Sports, a network in Argentina, reported Monday that the trip was called off. The team did not confirm that decis

China keeps up military pressure on Taiwan, sends 43 planes and 7 ships

Taiwan said on Wednesday that China sent 43 military aircraft and seven ships near the self-ruled island, the latest sign that Beijing plans no let-up in its campaign of harassment, threats and intimidation. Taiwan's Defence Ministry said the figure was current for the 24 hours up to 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday and that 37 of the aircraft had crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait, which China no longer recognises as an informal divider between the sides. It said Taiwan had monitored the situation, scrambled jet fighters, dispatched ships and activated land-based missile systems, all standard responses to Chinese military activities, which include crossing into Taiwan's air defense identification zone but not into its actual airspace. Such Chinese maneuvers have become frequent and aggressive since then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022. China suspended military communication with the US to show its displeasure over her trip to Taiwan, which Beijing ...