Page 236 - China

China's consumer-driven growth gives boost to economy worldwide

Gross domestic product expanded 4.5% last quarter from a year earlier, official data showed Tuesday, beating economists' expectations

India, China snap up Russian oil in April above 'price cap': Report

The advocates of the cap say it reduces revenues for Russia while allowing oil to flow, but its opponents say it is too soft to force Russia to backtrack on its activities in Ukraine

China's RMB project making steady progress

As China steps up efforts to graduate to a leading role in global currency markets, India faces a choice between aligning with the Western-dominated financial system and the Chinese one

China as a creditor

Sovereign debt restructuring has become tricky

China's uncertain reopening prompts Malaysia Air to target Indian market

Malaysia Airlines will operate 60 flights a week to South Asia this year, compared with just 27 services to China

China's GDP grew by 4.5% in quarter, boosted by consumption

China's gross domestic product grew 4.5% in the first quarter of the year, boosted by increased consumption and retail sales, after authorities abruptly abandoned the stringent zero-COVID strategy. The growth in the world's No. 2 economy from January to March compared to the same period in 2022 was the fastest in the past year, and outpaced the 2.9% growth in the previous quarter, according to government data released Tuesday. The growth in GDP comes amid a rebound in consumption, as people flocked to shopping malls and restaurants after harsh COVID-19 restrictions were removed. In March, total retail sales of consumer goods went up by 10.6% year on year, and grew 7.1 percentage points compared to the first two months of the year. Industrial production output, which measures activity in the manufacturing, mining and utilities sectors, grew by 3.9% in March compared to the same time last year. Fixed-asset investment in which China invests in infrastructure and other projects to dr

Secret Chinese police outpost revealed in New York; 2 men arrested

Two men have been arrested on charges that they helped establish a secret police outpost in New York City on behalf of the Chinese government, and more than three dozen officers with China's national police force have been charged with using social media to harass dissidents inside the United States, the Justice Department said Monday. The cases, taken together, are part of a series of Justice Department prosecutions in recent years aimed at disrupting Chinese government efforts to locate in America pro-democracy activists and others who are openly critical of Beijing's policies. One of the cases concerns a local branch of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, which operated inside an office building in Manhattan's Chinatown neighbourhood before closing last fall amid an FBI investigation. The two men charged with establishing the outpost were acting under the direction and control of a Chinese government official, and deleted communication with that official from their phones ..

Chinese national arrested on blasphemy charges by Pakistani police

Pakistani police arrested a Chinese national on blasphemy charges after he allegedly insulted Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, authorities said on Monday. Under Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws, the offense carries the death penalty. Police identified the man only as Mr. Tian from China and said he was arrested on Sunday night, hours after hundreds of residents and laborers working on a dam project blocked a key highway and rallied to demand his arrest. The rally took place in the town of Komela in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan, according to local police chief Naseer Khan. Khan said officers quickly responded to the protests by rescuing and arresting the Chinese national. We are still investigating, Khan said. The blocked highway later reopened to traffic and work resumed at the Dasu Dam, which has scores of Chinese and hundreds of Pakistanis working on the project, Khan said. Mob attacks on people accused of blasphemy and even lynching attacks are

US Navy warship sails through Taiwan Strait after China's exercises

The US Navy has sailed a warship through the Taiwan Strait in its first known transit since China carried out a large encirclement exercise around self-ruled Taiwan. The US 7th Fleet said the transit through the strait by the USS Milius on Sunday was routine. The cruisers transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal State, the statement said. China conducted many military drills in the strait in retaliation for Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on a visit to the US earlier this month. China said Wednesday that the air and sea drills simulating an encirclement of Taiwan were intended as a serious warning to pro-independence politicians on the self-governing island and their foreign supporters. China also sanctioned the organisations involved with Tsai's visit in the US, including the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where her meeting with McCarthy and other members of Congress were held.

G-7 envoys urge tough stance on Chinese, North Korean aggression

Top diplomats from the Group of Seven wealthy democracies are tackling two major worries in Northeast Asia, vowing a tough stance on China's increasing threats to Taiwan and North Korea's unchecked tests of long-range missiles. Another major crisis, Russia's war in Ukraine, will also consume the agenda Monday as the diplomats gather in this Japanese hot spring resort town for Day Two of talks meant to pave the way for action by G-7 leaders when they meet next month in Hiroshima. For the American delegation, the meeting comes at a crucial moment in the world's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and efforts to deal with China, two issues that G-7 ministers from Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Italy and the European Union regard as potent challenges to the post-World War II rules-based international order. A senior U.S. official travelling with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that the Biden administration's goal for the

Low diesel demand in China, US, Europe triggers global recession fears

Diesel demand can act as a leading indicator for broader growth as an early sign that spending by households is waning," said Ben Ayers, a senior economist in the US with Nationwide Economics

India-US trade rose by 8% to $128.55 bn in 2022-23, fell 1.5% with China

Exports to the US rose by 2.81 per cent to $78.31 billion in 2022-23 as against $76.18 billion in 2021-22, while imports grew by about 16 per cent to $50.24 billion

China says it successfully conducted mid-course missile interception test

China says it carried out a successful ground-based mid-course missile interception test in an apparent sign of progress in its ability to bring down weapons incoming from space. The Defence Ministry says the operation was carried out late Friday night within Chinese territory and achieved the desired test objective. The test was defensive in nature and not targeted against any country, the ministry said, giving no other details such as whether it actually struck an object, how many interceptors were fired and where they landed. Such systems, which consist of ground-based interceptor missiles and a huge array of radars and fire control systems, aim to bring down ballistic missiles, including ICBMs carrying nuclear or other warheads, while they are flying in space midcourse on the way to their targets. Referred to by the U.S. as ground-based mid-course defense, or GMD, such systems are hugely complex and expensive to build, test and maintain, and China's capabilities in the field ar

Like Lanka and Pak, Bhutan to face huge losses if it sides with China: Rpt

While owing to its hegemonic desires, China claims the entirety of the plateau, India maintains the dignity of historical treaties

In the old tale of Kabuliwala, there is a South Asia trade mystery

India's business with its neighbourhood is stagnant though it offers better terms than China

Congress calls for JPC probe after industrialist Chang says he's Taiwanese

The Congress pointed to Adani Group's alleged China links on Friday and asserted that the only way forward is a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe to investigate all the relevant aspects of the matter. The Opposition party's assertion came after a director in PMC Projects (India) Pvt Ltd Morris Chang, whose nationality triggered a row over the Adani group's alleged links with Chinese entities, said, "I am a Taiwanese citizen." Chang was being called a Chinese national because of his passport, linking the ports-to-energy conglomerate run by Gautam Adani to China. PMC Projects (India) Pvt Ltd constructs ports, terminals, rail lines, power lines and other infrastructure assets for Adani Group. In a statement, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that in the 'Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun (HAHK)' series under which the Congress posed questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party had asked him about his "favourite business group's links with the Chinese

No weapons exports to parties in Ukraine conflict: China Foreign Minister

China's foreign minister on Friday said the country would not sell weapons to parties involved in the conflict in Ukraine and would regulate the export of items with dual civilian and military use. Qin Gang was responding to concerns from the US and others that China was considering providing military assistance to Russia, which Beijing has backed politically and rhetorically in the conflict while formally saying it remains neutral. Qin reiterated China's willingness to help facilitate negotiations to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict and said all parties should remain objective and calm. Speaking at a news conference with his visiting German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, Qin also blamed Taiwan's government for heightened regional tensions after Beijing held large-scale military drills in an attempt to intimidate the island it claims as its own territory. On both Ukraine and Taiwan, Qin articulated well-worn defences of Chinese policies that underscore Beijing's rejection

China's semiconductor imports drop 23% as US, India bolster manufacturing

As the US and India bolster local semiconductor manufacturing, China's chip imports nosedived 23 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, the media reported on Friday.

China left out of Sri Lanka debt restructure talks amid angst over delays

Both Sri Lanka and its creditors have said they would like China to participate but people familiar with the talks said they are also eager not to let Beijing hold up negotiations any further

China's arms exports declined by 23% in 10 yrs, signaling stockpiling

"Chinese companies may be already sending Russia electronic parts for anti-aircraft missile radars," Geopolitica wrote citing the US-based Centre for Advanced Defense Studies.