Page 59 - China

US pauses exports of airplane and semiconductor technology to China

The new limits are pushing the world's largest economies a step closer toward supply chain warfare, as Washington and Beijing try to flex their power over essential economic components

China to resume seafood imports halted over Fukushima discharge, says Japan

China will resume Japanese seafood imports that it banned in 2023 over worries about Japan's discharge of wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, a Japanese official said Friday. The issue has been a significant political and diplomatic point of tension for the wary Asian powers. Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the two sides reached an agreement after Japanese and Chinese officials met in Beijing and the imports will resume once the necessary paperwork is done. China did not immediately comment. China blocked imports of Japanese seafood because it said the release would endanger the fishing industry and coastal communities in eastern China. Japanese officials have said the wastewater must be released to make room for the nuclear plant's decommissioning and to prevent accidental leaks. They say the treatment and dilution will make the wastewater safer than international standards and its environmental impact will be ...

Oil tankers going dark off Malaysia amid Iran-China trade scrutiny

Over recent months, more vessels have started switching off their transponders as they near waters off eastern Malaysia, a hotspot for the transfer of Iranian oil to China

The Political Thought of Xi Jinping: Party's history beyond question

The authors have successfully painted a picture of what China looks like under Xi and how it is different from earlier regimes

Japan expands military build-up against China with US stand in doubt

For the first time, Japan sent destroyers through the Taiwan Strait on two occasions in recent months

China's development lender AIIB plans to open Singapore, Hong Kong offices

The bank may announce the move at its annual meeting in June if it can finalise the host member agreements with their respective governments

European businesses report record-low optimism in China: Survey

EU Chamber of Commerce survey shows just 12 per cent of European firms in China optimistic about profitability, reflecting deepening concerns over trade tensions

Brazil sues China's BYD over worker trafficking, abuse at EV plant site

Brazilian prosecutors file lawsuit against Chinese EV giant BYD and two contractors, alleging human trafficking and slave-like conditions for 220 Chinese workers at Bahia factory site

As European economy slows, companies scale back investments in China

European companies are cutting costs and scaling back investment plans in China as its economy slows and fierce competition drives down prices, according to an annual survey released Wednesday. Their challenges reflect broader ones faced by a Chinese economy hobbled by a prolonged real estate crisis that has hurt consumer spending. Beijing also faces growing pushback from Europe and the United States over surging exports. "The picture has deteriorated across many key metrics," the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said in the introduction to its Business Confidence Survey 2025. The same forces that are driving up Chinese exports are depressing the business outlook in the Chinese market. Chinese companies, often enticed by government subsidies, have invested so much in targeted industries such as electric vehicles that factory capacity far outpaces demand. The overcapacity has resulted in fierce price wars that cut into profits and a parallel push by companies into oversea

Search continues as 6 remain missing after blast at Chinese chemical plant

Six people remained missing and search and rescue efforts continued on Wednesday morning after an explosion at a chemical plant in eastern China shook nearby buildings, killing at least five people and injuring 19. The blast on Tuesday, occurring in an industrial park in the city of Weifang, in Shandong province, knocked out windows at nearby buildings and spewed a thick plume of white smoke, according to videos shared on social media. It was not immediately clear what had caused the explosion, which occurred at a plant owned by Gaomi Youdao Chemical Co., a producer of pesticides and chemicals for medical use with more than 500 employees, according to corporate registration records. Local fire officials sent more than 230 personnel to the scene, according to state broadcaster CCTV. A student at a school about one kilometer away from the plant told state-run news site The Paper that he heard an explosion and saw dirt-yellow smoke, tainted with redness, rising from the plant. He sai

Brazilian prosecutors sue China's BYD over slave-like labour conditions

Brazilian prosecutors said Tuesday they are suing Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD and two of its contractors over allegations of using workers in slave-like labour conditions and engaging in international human trafficking. The labour prosecutors' office in Bahia state said in a statement that they are seeking 257 million Brazilian reais (USD 50 million) in damages from BYD, China JinJiang Construction Brazil and Tecmonta Equipamentos Inteligentes. The lawsuit stems from an investigation that last year led to the rescue of 220 Chinese workers from the construction site of BYD's new factory in the city of Camaari. Prosecutors said the workers were brought to Brazil under false pretenses and with visas that did not match their jobs. Working conditions were extremely degrading. Five settlements were kept by BYD, JinJiang and Tecmonta. Some workers slept on beds without mattresses and had their personal belongings alongside with their food, the prosecutors' office said. There were f

China to collect record $22 billion in BRI loan repayments in 2025

China will turn from a capital provider to a debt collector of 75 developing countries, including the world's poorest and most vulnerable, this year as they are due to pay back a record USD 22 billion loans owed to Beijing, according to data released by an Australian think tank. China has become the leading debt collector of developing countries, shifting from a net capital provider, "as bills coming due from its Belt and Road lending surge in the 2010s now far outstrip new loan disbursements", the latest research report of the Australian think tank, the Lowy Institute, said. In 2025, about 75 of the world's poorest and most vulnerable countries will make record high debt repayments totalling USD 22 billion to China as a result of peaks in new loan commitments made from 2012 to 2018, the report said. China faces a dilemma and growing diplomatic pressure to restructure unsustainable debt besides mounting domestic pressure, particularly from its quasi-commercial institutions, to recov

India may overtake major Asian peers in car sales growth by 2030: Moody's

India's car market is set to grow at 3.5% CAGR to 2030 with 5.1 mn units sold annually as firms plan $10 bn investments to expand EV and battery manufacturing base

India looks to revive '71 war airbase as China builds near 'chicken's neck'

The renewed interest in Kailashahar airfield comes amid growing unease in New Delhi over the potential strategic implications of the Chinese-backed upgrade of Lalmonirhat airbase in Bangladesh

Massive blast at Weifang chemical plant shakes city, no casualties reported

A massive chemical explosion rocked an industrial park in Weifang city, eastern China, sending smoke high into the sky and shattering windows kilometres away

Taiwan MND detects over 60 sorties of Chinese aircraft in its territory

From early morning until 8:15 am (UTC+8), a total of 61 PLA aircraft sorties and several naval vessels were detected, with many aircraft crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait

No cause of worry, infection severity mild: ICMR DG amid Covid cases uptick

Amid an uptick in Covid cases in some parts of the country, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr Rajiv Behl Monday said the severity of infections as of now is generally mild and there was no cause for worry. Speaking about new Covid variants being traced, he said genome sequencing of samples in the west and south have shown that the new variants are not severe and are Omicron sub-variants. These are LF.7, XFG, JN.1 and NB. 1.8.1. The first three are more prevalent, Dr Bhel said. "Samples from other places are being sequenced and we will know in a day or two if there are more variants." The ICMR DG said there has been an uptick in cases --first from the south, then west and now from northern India. All these cases are being monitored through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP). Besides that, ICMR's nationwide respiratory virus sentinel surveillance network is keeping a watch on emerging infections and pathogens, he said. "Whenever c

EU warns fashion brand Shein over consumer law breach, threatens penalty

Shein faces EU warning over consumer law violations and potential fines, while its return to India sees poor response as app downloads drop sharply. Regulators highlight concerns over unsafe products

'No buying of foreign wife': China warns of marriage scams in Bangladesh

Chinese Embassy in Dhaka warns citizens against illegal matchmaking, romance scams, and cross-border marriages; cites trafficking laws and prolonged legal proceedings in Bangladesh

China's Fujian carrier on sea trials, J-35 stealth fighters begin testing

China's most advanced aircraft carrier Fujian, equipped with electromagnetic catapults, has completed its eighth sea trial