Page 5 - Chinese Government

PM Sharif calls Sino-Pak relations 'unshakable' during China visit

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday emphasised that Pakistan's all-weather relationship with China was "unshakable" as he embarked on a five-day official visit to Beijing to further bolster bilateral ties and to launch the second phase of the multi-billion dollar CPEC projects in his country. Sharif will be in China from June 4 to 8 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. The 72-year-old leader embarked on his first visit to China after he took over as prime minister for the second term after his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party-led coalition government assumed power in March. During his visit, Sharif will hold talks with Chinese President Xi and jointly draw a blueprint for the growth of China-Pakistan relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in Beijing last week. During Sharif's visit, the two countries are expected to launch the second phase of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The CPEC, which connects Gw

Zelenskyy accuses China of pressuring countries to skip Ukraine peace talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused China of helping Russia to disrupt a Swiss-organised peace conference on the war in Ukraine, speaking at Asia's premier security conference on Sunday. In a news conference at the Shangri-La defense forum in Singapore, Zelenskyy said that China is pressuring other countries and their leaders not to attend the upcoming talks. Russia, using Chinese influence in the region, using Chinese diplomats also, does everything to disrupt the peace summit, he said, according to a simultaneous translation of his remarks. Regrettably this is unfortunate that such a big independent powerful country as China is an instrument in hands of Putin. In a speech earlier in the day, Zelenskyy urged top defence officials to attend the upcoming summit, saying he was disappointed at the failure of some countries to commit to joining. Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun spoke earlier in the day at the Shangri-La conference but he did not appear to be in the room wh

Considering action against China firms, banks over Russian war support: US

Encounters between the Philippines and China in Asia's most contested waters have grown more tense and frequent in the past year as Beijing presses its claims

China to reinstate tariffs on 134 items under Taiwan trade deal next month

The suspension of the tariff concessions are due to take place from June 15 and would apply to products imported from Taiwan including base oils, the ministry said

China declines invitation to Swiss peace conference on Ukraine next month

Beijing declined the invitation because the conditions for them to participate were not met, including the participation of both Russia and Ukraine

China considers record penalty for PwC over Evergrande auditing work

PwC has been under the spotlight after China launched one of the biggest investigations of financial fraud in history involving developer Evergrande

China hosts Arab leaders at summit focused on trade, Israel-Hamas war

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an international peace conference focused on the Israel-Hamas war and promised more humanitarian aid as he opened a summit with leaders of Arab states Thursday in Beijing. As war is raging causing tremendous suffering, justice can't be absent and the two-state solution can't be shaken, Xi said in a speech opening the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. He called on Arab states to deepen cooperation in areas such as trade, clean energy, space exploration and health care. The summit attended by heads of state from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Tunisia among others was set to focus on China's expanding trade ties and on security concerns related to the Israel-Hamas war. Beijing and the Arab states back the Palestinians in the conflict, where Israel is facing growing international condemnation after the strike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in which at least 45 were killed over the weekend. The overall Palestinian death toll

Hong Kong court convicts 14 pro-democracy activists under China imposed law

A Hong Kong court on Thursday convicted 14 pro-democracy activists in the city's biggest national security case under a law imposed by Beijing that has all but wiped out public dissent. Those who were found guilty included former lawmakers Leung Kwok-hung, Lam Cheuk-ting, Helena Wong and Raymond Chan. But the three judges approved by the government to oversee the case acquitted two former district councilors Lee Yue-shun and Lawrence Lau. They were among 47 democracy advocates who were prosecuted in 2021 for their involvement in an unofficial primary election. Prosecutors had accused them of attempting to paralyse Hong Kong's government and topple the city's leader by securing the legislative majority necessary to indiscriminately veto budgets. Some of Hong Kong's best-known pro-democracy activists charged in the city's biggest national security case will begin to hear their verdicts as early as Thursday, facing up to life in prison if convicted under a law imposed by Beijing that h

China's industrial profits swung back to positive in April: NBS data

For April alone, profits were up 4.0 per cent, versus a 3.5 per cent slide in March

President Biden to end tariff exclusions on hundreds of Chinese products

Some of the products receiving continued exclusions through next May include types of motors and medical equipment, but the products are as varied as child safety seats

Pak to pay $2.58 mn to families of 5 Chinese killed in suicide bombing

Pakistan has decided to pay USD 2.58 million to the families of five Chinese nationals killed in March when a suicide bomber targeted their vehicle in the troubled northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, according to a media report on Friday. The five Chinese and their Pakistani driver were killed when a suicide attacker rammed his explosive-laden car into a vehicle in the Bisham area of the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on March 26 when they were being driven to a construction site of Dasu Hydroelectric power station in Kohistan district of the same province. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of Pakistan's Cabinet on Thursday decided to pay USD 2.58 million to the families of Chinese workers slain in the attack, the Dawn newspaper said. The approval of compensation for five Chinese workers of China Gezhouba Group (contractor) was approved at the rate of USD 5,16,000 per head, as a goodwill gesture, the report said. The amount would be transferred immediately to

China's 2nd day of war games around Taiwan tests ability to 'seize power'

The two days of drills in the Taiwan Strait and around groups of Taiwan-controlled islands near the Chinese coast started just three days after Lai took office

What is China doing to support its property market? All you need to know

China had 391 million square meters (4.2 billion square feet) of completed and unsold homes at the end of April, equivalent to 6.6 Manhattans, official data show

Hong Kong will keep a watch for non-compliance with ban on protest song

Hong Kong's leader said Tuesday his administration would keep monitoring for any non-compliance with a court order that bans a popular protest song, days after YouTube blocked access to dozens of videos of the tune in the city. The ban targets anyone who broadcasts or distributes Glory to Hong Kong popularly sung during huge anti-government protests in 2019 to advocate for the separation of the city from China. It also prohibits any actions that misrepresent the song as the national anthem with the intent to insult the anthem. In his weekly news briefing, Chief Executive John Lee said if the government found any instances of non-compliance, it would then notify the relevant internet platforms about the content of the injunction. I believe that operators in general operate within the law, so we will continue to monitor the situation, Lee said. The court ban sought by the government has raised concerns over a further decline in the city's freedom of expression and internet freedom.

New Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te calls on China to stop its threats

China repeatedly called Lai a separatist who risked war in the run-up to his election in January

Taiwan detects 18 Chinese aircraft, four naval vessels near island

Since September 2020, China has increased its use of grey zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships operating around Taiwan

China's housing market crash could hurt millions of promising careers

The value of new-home sales from the 100 biggest real estate companies was down about 45% in April from a year earlier

Pakistan's newly appointed Dy Prime Minister Dar to visit China next week

Pakistan's newly-appointed Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar will embark on a three-day official visit to China on May 13, during which he will meet top Chinese leaders and comprehensively review bilateral relations, including the upgradation of the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. Dar, who is also the foreign minister, will co-chair the 5th Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Saturday. "The two sides will comprehensively review Pakistan-China bilateral relations including economic and trade cooperation; high-level exchanges and visits; upgradation of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and future connectivity initiatives," the statement said. The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan's Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is opposed by India as it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Dar and Wang will

Xi Jinping arrives in Hungary for talks on expanding Chinese investments

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Hungary late Wednesday, the final stop on his five-day European tour, where he's expected to finalize a number of agreements with Prime Minister Viktor Orbn that will deepen China's economic footprint in the region. Xi is set to spend two nights in the Hungarian capital Budapest where he will meet with Orbn and Hungarian President Tams Sulyok. Talks will center on future Chinese investments in the Central European country, which has courted deep economic ties with Beijing even as mainstream European leaders have pursued more protectionist policies to limit its reach on the continent. Orbn, a nationalist populist whose illiberal policies have pushed him to the fringes of the European Union, made his country the first in the 27-member bloc to participate in Xi's signature Belt and Road Initiative. Hungary has straddled a middle ground between its membership in the EU and NATO and a willingness to establish diplomatic and trade relationships with

Ex-Chinese defence minister resurfaces in public after prolonged absence

China's former Defence Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe whose prolonged absence from the public has sparked speculation about his fate after he paid tribute to a senior Chinese legislator who passed away early this week suggesting that he was politically safe, a media report said on Wednesday. A floral tribute at the funeral of a senior official on Monday suggests Wei, 70, could be politically safe, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported. However, there is no word about the fate of Wei's successor Gen. Li Shangfu who disappeared from the public and was later sacked. Former Foreign Minister Qin Gang too suffered a similar fate. Both were not seen in public yet. Wei's name was spotted on a wreath at the funeral of Oyunqemag, 81, who served as vice-chairwoman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee from 2008-2013. In a prime-time news bulletin on state broadcaster CCTV, Wei's tribute was visible among those from other former state councillors at the side of the ..