Page 186 - China

Apple supplier Foxconn subjected to tax inspections by Chinese authorities

Foxconn, a Fortune 500 company known globally for making Apple iPhones, was recently subjected to searches by Chinese tax authorities, state media reported Sunday. Foxconn, a Taiwanese -headquartered company officially registered as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd, had its offices in Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces searched by tax officials, according to a report in the Chinese state-run Global Times newspaper. The Ministry of Natural Resources also inspected Foxconn offices in Henan and Hubei provinces, where the company has major factories. Foxconn employs hundreds of thousands of workers across China. The report did not provide more details about the searches, including when they occurred or what was found. However, the report quotes an expert who said that while Taiwan-funded enterprises, including Foxconn, are sharing in dividends from development and making remarkable progress in the mainland, they should also assume corresponding social responsibilities and play a positi

Australia PM announces China visit hours before leaving for US to meet prez

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will visit China in early November, his office said Sunday hours before he was set to fly to the United States to meet President Joe Biden. Albanese's office also said China agreed to review the crippling tariffs it placed on Australian wine that have effectively blocked trade with the winemakers' biggest export market since 2020. Albanese will become the first Australian prime minister to visit China in seven years when he travels to Beijing and Shanghai from November 4-7. He will meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing and then attend the China International Import Expo in Shanghai. The visit to China and a potential breakthrough in the wine dispute mark a further repair in bilateral relations since Albanese's centre-left Labor Party won elections last year after nine years of conservative rule in Australia. I look forward to visiting China, an important step towards ensuring a stable and productive relationship, Alban

US sanctions Chinese cos for providing ballistic missile components to Pak

The US has imposed sanctions on three China-based companies for supplying missile-applicable items for Pakistan's ballistic missile programme, the State Department said. In the designation, the US State Department said on Friday that the sanctions were being imposed as part of the global nonproliferation regime. "Today, we are designating three entities pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. These three entities, based in the People's Republic of China (PRC), have worked to supply missile- applicable items to Pakistan's ballistic missile programme," the State Department said in a statement. China, an all-weather ally of Pakistan, has been the main supplier of arms and defence equipment to Islamabad's military modernisation programme. The three companies include General Technology Limited, Beijing Luo Luo Technology Development Co Ltd., and Changzhou Utek Composite Company Ltd. They were sanctioned

Israel-Hamas war: China, Russia plan to work together for 2-state solution

China and Russia share the same position on the Palestinian issue and plan to try to work together to cool the situation and help establish a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, a top Chinese envoy said Friday. Zhai Jun, China's special envoy to the Middle East, spoke after a meeting Thursday in Qatar with Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian president's special representative for the Middle East and Africa. The fundamental reason for the current situation of the Palestine-Israel conflict is that the Palestinian people's lawful national rights have not been guaranteed, Zhai said, according to a statement released on Friday by the Chinese foreign ministry. China and Russia have the same position on the Palestine question, and China is ready to maintain communication and coordination with Russia to promote de-escalation of the situation, Zhai said. The two countries want to play a positive role in resuming talks for peace between Palestine and Israel, truly implementing the

Australia decides against cancelling Chinese firm's lease of important port

The Australian government announced Friday it has decided not to cancel a Chinese company's 99-year lease on strategically important Darwin Port despite U.S. concerns that the foreign control could be used to spy on its military forces. The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet said it decided after an investigation of the eight-year-old lease that current monitoring and regulation measures are sufficient to manage security risks for critical infrastructure such as the port in the northern garrison city of Darwin. Australians can have confidence that their safety will not be compromised while ensuring that Australia remains a competitive destination for foreign investment, it said in a statement. Landbridge Industry Australia, a subsidiary of Rizhao-based Shandong Landbridge Group, signed the lease with the debt-laden Northern Territory government in 2015. That was three years after U.S. Marines began annual rotations through Darwin as part of the U.S. pivot to Asia. The United

China's Communist Party warns against inappropriate interference in pvt biz

As the Chinese economy struggled to recover from the post-COVID blues and anti-monopoly campaigns, the ruling Communist Party in an attempt to bolster sagging business confidence has warned its cadre against inappropriate interference in microeconomic activities. The officials of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which is headed by President Xi Jinping, were at the forefront of the anti-monopoly campaign in the last few years to rein the country's multi-billion businesses like Alibaba and corporate leaders like Jack Ma, who suddenly announced his retirement in 2019 and spent following years mostly abroad. Ma returned home in March this year following assurances of friendly policies for the private sector to revive the struggling economy, especially by Premier Li Qiang, regarded as a friend of Ma. Ma's return followed assurances from Xi, under whose watch the CPC in the few two years carried out a massive anti-monopoly campaign against top business houses including Alibaba which ..

India to become world's third largest economy by 2027, says JP Morgan MD

JPMorgan's managing director of Asia Pacific equity research, James Sullivan, said that India's GDP will double to $7 trillion by 2030

Putin, Xi gather for family photo at "One Belt, One Road" forum in China

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping posed for a family photograph ceremony at the 3rd International Forum "One Belt, One Road" on Wednesday

Xi promises more market openness, investments for Belt and Road projects

Chinese President Xi Jinping promised greater access to China's market for international firms and new financing exceeding USD 100 billion for other developing economies as he opened a forum Wednesday on his signature Belt and Road infrastructure policy. The initiative has built power plants, roads, railroads and ports around the world and deepened China's relations with Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Mideast. But the massive loans that funded the projects have burdened poorer countries with heavy debts, in some cases leading to China taking control of those assets. At the forum's opening ceremony at the cavernous Great Hall of the People, Xi promised two Chinese-backed development banks the China Development Bank and the ExportImport Bank of China will each set 350 billion yuan (USD 47.9 billion) financing windows, while an additional 80 billion yuan (USD 11 billion) will be injected into the Silk Road Fund to support BRI projects. We will comprehensively remove restrictions

Pentagon releases footage of 180 aircraft intercepts by Chinese planes

The Pentagon has released footage of some of the more than 180 intercepts of US warplanes by Chinese aircraft that have occurred in the last two years more than the total amount over the previous decade and part of a trend US military officials called concerning. The photos and video were released in advance of a soon-to-be issued annual report by the Pentagon on the China's military power and the security threats it may pose to partners in the Indo-Pacific. The Pentagon has tried for years to posture itself to be ready for a potential conflict with China over Taiwan even as it now finds itself supporting allies in two hot wars, Ukraine in Europe and Israel in the Middle East. Admiral John Acquilino, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said at a Pentagon press briefing Tuesday that despite the US surging carrier strike groups and amphibious ships to support Israel, and now almost 20 months of war in Ukraine, I haven't had one piece of equipment or force structure depart" his command

China, Russia criticise Israel as disagreements with the West sharpen

Xi invited Putin to attend the third Belt and Road forum in Beijing, an international cooperation forum championed by the Chinese leader

China tells banks to roll over local government debts as risks mount

Local government debt reached 92 trillion yuan ($12.58 trillion), or 76% of the country's economic output in 2022, up from 62.2% in 2019

US updates policies to stop China from getting advanced computer chips

The US Commerce Department on Tuesday updated and broadened its export controls to stop China from acquiring advanced computer chips and the equipment to manufacture them. The revisions come roughly a year after the export controls were first launched to counter the use of the chips for military applications that include the development of hypersonic missiles and artificial intelligence. These export controls are intended to protect technologies that have clear national security or human rights implications, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on a call with reporters. The vast majority of semiconductors will remain unrestricted. But when we identify national security or human rights threats, we will act decisively and in concert with our allies. The updates stemmed from consulting with industry and conducting technological analyses. There will now be a gray zone that will be monitored for chips that could still be used for military aims even if they might not meet the thresholds

Putin visits 'dear friend Xi Jinping' in show of no-limits partnership

It is also the Kremlin chief's first official trip outside of the former Soviet Union this year, after visiting Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, earlier this month

Will Xi Jinping's gamble on Russian President Vladimir Putin pay off?

The Russian leader's attendance at Xi's Belt and Road Initiative Forum, which opens on Tuesday, will be his first trip abroad - aside from visiting former Soviet states

How China's BRI is changing after a decade of big projects and big debts

China's Belt and Road Initiative looks to become smaller and greener after a decade of big projects that boosted trade but left big debts and raised environmental concerns. The shift comes as leaders from across the developing world descend on Beijing this week for a government-organized forum on what is known as BRI for short. The initiative has built power plants, roads, railroads and ports around the world and deepened China's relations with Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Mideast. It is a major part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's push for China to play a larger role in global affairs. What is the BRI? Called One Belt, One Road in Chinese, the Belt and Road Initiative started as a program for Chinese companies to build transportation, energy and other infrastructure overseas funded by Chinese development bank loans. The stated goal was to grow trade and the economy by improving China's connections with the rest of the world in a 21st-century version of the Silk Road trad

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US tackles loopholes in curbs on AI chip exports to China: Official

The new rules will block some AI chips that fall just under current technical parameters while demanding companies report shipments of others, said an official

Putin's visit to Beijing underscores China's economic support for Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet this week with Chinese leaders in Beijing on a visit that underscores China's economic and diplomatic support for Moscow during its war in Ukraine. The two countries have forged an informal alliance against the United States and other democratic nations that's now complicated by the Israel-Hamas war. China has sought to balance its ties with Israel with its economic relations with Iran and Syria, which are strongly backed by Russia. Putin's visit is also a show of support for Chinese leader Xi Jinping's signature Belt and Road drive to build infrastructure and expand China's overseas influence. The Russian leader will be among the highest profile guests at a gathering marking the 10th anniversary of Xi's announcement of the policy, which has laden countries such as Zambia and Sri Lanka with heavy debt after they signed contracts with Chinese companies to build roads, airports and other public works they could not otherwise ...

China ignores the guardrails as it pursues its own form of coercion

Despite rising tensions and the risk of miscalculation, Chairman Xi Jinping refuses to allow the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to have contact with its US counterpart