India and China agree to resume air travel after nearly five years

FILE PHOTO: Travellers push trolleys with their luggage at the departure area of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India, December 14, 2022. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis/File PhotoBEIJING/NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India and China have agreed to resume direct air services after nearly five years, India’s foreign ministry said on Monday, signalling a thaw in relations between the neighbours after a deadly 2020 military clash on their disputed Himalayan border.Both sides will negotiate a framework on the flights in a meeting that will be held at “early date”, the ministry said after a meeting between India’s top diplomat and his Chinese counterpart.Tensions soured between the two nations after the 2020 clash, following which India made it difficult for Chinese companies to invest in the country, banned hundreds of popular apps and severed passenger routes, although direct cargo flights continued to operate between the countries.Relations have improved over the past four months with several high-level meetings, including talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian...

Read More........ → February 10, 2025

China says ready to usher new era of development in Sri Lanka

Chinese President Xi Jinping expresses willingness to collaborate during historic meeting with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in BeijingTwo countries sign several Memoranda of Understanding covering economic, social, and industrial sectorsChina yesterday expressed readiness to collaborate with Sri Lanka towards a new era of development.This was conveyed by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his meeting with the visiting Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Beijing.Dissanayake, on a four-day State visit to China, received a warm welcome on arrival on Tuesday and held an official meeting with President Xi yesterday at the Great Hall of the People.Upon President Dissanayake’s arrival at the Great Hall, he was warmly received by President Xi. The welcoming ceremony was conducted with great honour, including a ceremonial gun salute. Dissanayake, for the first time since assuming office as President, was sporting a jacket and tie.Following initial cordial discussions between the two leaders, bilateral talks commenced.During the discussions, President Xi emphasised China’s...

Read More........ → January 22, 2025

Formula 1 extends Chinese Grand Prix contract until 2030

Shanghai, (IANS): Formula 1 has announced a five-year extension of the Chinese Grand Prix, ensuring the iconic Shanghai International Circuit will remain on the calendar through the 2030 season.The announcement follows Formula 1’s successful return to Shanghai in 2024 after a five-year hiatus. The event attracted a staggering 200,000 fans and witnessed Max Verstappen dominate the Sprint and the main Grand Prix, cementing the race as one of the season’s highlights.Since its inaugural race in 2004, won by Rubens Barrichello, the 5.45km Shanghai International Circuit has been celebrated for its unique layout and technical challenges, its distinct corners, such as the tightening sequence of Turns 1 and 2 and the high-speed, high-g Turns 7 and 8, are loved by drivers and deliver thrilling on-track action.The circuit has produced 10 different winners over the years, with Lewis Hamilton’s six victories and Fernando Alonso’s two being standout performances among current drivers.The contract extension comes as Formula 1 enjoys unprecedented growth in China. The fanbase has soared to over 150...

Read More........ → December 11, 2024

US-China trade war flares as both sides introduce new chip tech restrictions | Total Telecom

New US export controls on semiconductor technology this week have been met immediately by retaliatory measures from ChinaThis week has seen the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ramp up controls on its tech exports to China, particularly those related to the manufacture of semiconductors.The additional restrictions cover 24 types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and three types of software tools for developing or producing semiconductors. It also includes High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM), a computer memory interface at the heart of AI chip technology.In addition to these restrictions, the update added 140 companies to the US’s infamous Entity List, 136 of which were Chinese. US companies looking to sell restricted items to entities designated on this list are required to acquire a specialised export licence from BIS, which is seldom granted. Companies to the list in this most recent batch include semiconductor fabs, tool companies, and investment companies that the US claims have links to the Chinese government.These new measures, BIS says, are designed...

Read More........ → December 05, 2024

China hits tech firms with hefty fines as crackdown draws to close

BEIJING - Chinese regulators said they had fined fintech giant Ant Group almost $1-billion for "illegal acts" and handed an affiliate of rival Tencent a $415-million penalty, adding that a long-running crackdown on tech firms was drawing to a close.Ant operates Alipay, the world's largest digital payments platform, which boasts hundreds of millions of monthly users in China and beyond.It was one of the most prominent targets of a sweeping crackdown on the country's tech sector."In view of the illegal and irregular acts by Ant Group and its affiliates in previous years... (the companies) have been fined 7.123 billion yuan (US$984-million)," the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said in a statement.The penalty "included the confiscation of illegal income", added the statement, which was also carried by the country's central bank.In its statement, the CSRC said that "at present, most of the outstanding problems in the financial business of platform enterprises have been rectified"."The work focus of the financial management department has shifted from promoting the centralised...

Read More........ → October 14, 2024

EU seeks to take on China, US to reverse economic decline

BRUSSELS - The European Union's economy is falling further behind China and the United States, a major headache that will dominate leaders' talks on Thursday as they discuss how to stem the bloc's economic decline and bounce back.From supply chain disruptions following the coronavirus pandemic to an energy crisis after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Europe's economy has faced multiple challenges in recent years.But it may yet face its biggest: the clean energy and digital transitions that Brussels has made its priority in the coming years will require additional annual investment of nearly 620 billion euros ($660-billion).From artificial intelligence to solar panels, from computer chips to batteries, the EU is fast losing ground fast on innovation to other global powers.The EU has been put further on the back foot as China and the United States have ploughed billions of dollars of state aid to prop up their critical industries.What is needed is "radical change", former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said during a speech in Belgium on Tuesday, pointing to "other regions (that)...

Read More........ → October 06, 2024

'Smart mines' show coal deeply embedded in China's future

AFP/File | WANG ZhaoOne hundred metres underground inside a pit in northern China, miners extract lumps of coal with the flick of a finger on a smartphone, as the country tries to drag the traditionally dangerous and dirty work into the digital era.The Hongliulin "intelligent mine" in coal-belt Shaanxi province is a flagship facility in a drive to modernise China's thousands of coal mines, even as the nation pledges to peak greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.China is the world's biggest emitter of the pollutants driving climate change, and its promises to curb them are essential to keeping global temperature rises below two degrees Celsius.But mine digitalisation -- which aims to improve safety and productivity -- shows the continued importance of coal in a country that last year produced nearly 60 percent of its electricity from the fossil fuel.Smart mines are common in other coal-producing nations like Canada, but China has lagged and now the government is aiming to achieve basic digitalisation of all mines by 2035.On a tour organised by telecoms giant Huawei -- whose technology underpins...

Read More........ → September 30, 2024

India to surpass China to become world’s largest 2-wheeler market in 2024

New Delhi, (IANS) India is projected to surpass China this year to become the world’s largest two-wheeler (2W) market, a report said on Friday. The robust economic growth, consumer preference for 2Ws for short-distance commutes, and increasing 2W demand in the shared mobility space will help India overtake China, according to Counterpoint Research.The electric E2W market is growing at a rapid clip, with 2024 sales penetration expected to be 1.5 times that of four-wheeler passenger EVs.The two-wheeler sales grew by less than 1 per cent YoY in 2023. Going forward, it is the electric two-wheeler (E2W) segment of the market that will see more growth, with over a quarter of 2Ws sold in 2024 expected to be battery-powered.Senior analyst Soumen Mandal said that the 2W market is heading towards maturity, but the adoption of electrification is expected to rise significantly, particularly after 2025. “Especially, Southeast Asian countries and India will witness mainstream adoption of E2Ws with a faster transition to EVs in these markets,” he mentioned.Among the top 10, three E2W brands are from...

Read More........ → August 21, 2024

Former Chinese navy captain arrested in Taiwan after illegal approach

Taipei, (IANS/DPA) A Chinese man detained by Taiwan after illegally entering a harbour near Taipei on a speedboat has been identified as a former Chinese navy captain, senior officials said on Tuesday.On Sunday, the Chinese man drove a speedboat directly into the Tamsui River estuary, telling Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) officers of his intention to surrender. The intruder was arrested and transferred to prosecutors for questioning.The Chinese speedboat was detected about six nautical miles from the estuary of the Tamsui River, which leads into Taiwan's capital, Taipei.Kuan Bi-ling, Minister of Taiwan's Ocean Affairs Council, which supervises the Coast Guard, told reporters on the sidelines of a legislative meeting that the detained Chinese man had previously served as a navy captain.Kuan said that it remains uncertain whether the Chinese detainee truly wanted to seek freedom or if the approach was an attempt by China to test Taiwan's maritime defences."It cannot be ruled out that this is a kind of test," Kuan said, referring to about 18 similar cases in the past year.However,...

Read More........ → June 29, 2024

India emerging as promising alternative to China for chipmaking equipment firms

New Delhi, June 14 (IANS) The chipmaking equipment industry is looking to establish operations in India, as the country emerges as a promising alternative to China amid tensions between Beijing and the West.The international chip industry group SEMI is set to host its Semicon exhibition in India for the first time in September. This exhibition has previously been held in the US, Japan, Europe, Taiwan, South Korea, China, and Southeast Asia, reports Nikkei Asia.Several Japanese companies, including Tokyo Electron, Disco, Canon, Tokyo Seimitsu and Daifuku are scheduled to attend. Tokyo Electron will showcase equipment for wafer deposition, coating and other front-end steps in the chipmaking process.Additionally, US-based companies such as Applied Materials, Lam Research and KLA will also have large booths at the exhibition.In recent years, due to tensions with the US, there has been a shift in international supply chains away from China. Apple is relocating the production of iPhones and other products from China to India.In March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone...

Read More........ → June 18, 2024

China’s population shrinks again and is set to more than halve – here’s what that means

Xiujian Peng, Victoria University China’s population has shrunk for the second year in a row. The National Bureau of Statistics reports just 9.02 million births in 2023 – only half as many as in 2017. Set alongside China’s 11.1 million deaths in 2023, up 500,000 on 2022, it means China’s population shrank 2.08 million in 2023 after falling 850,000 in 2022. That’s a loss of about 3 million in two years. The two consecutive declines are the first since the great famine of 1959-1961, and the trend is accelerating. Updated projections from a research team at Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, one of the first to predict the 2022 turndown, have China’s population shrinking from its present 1.4 billion to just 525 million by 2100. China’s working-age population is projected to fall to just 210 million by 2100 – a mere one-fifth of its peak in 2014. Deaths climbing as births falling The death rate is climbing as an inevitable result of the population ageing, and also an upsurge of COVID in the first few months of 2023. The population is ageing mainly because the birth rate...

Read More........ → January 18, 2024

Belt and Road Initiative’s new approach and what it means for Chinese investments in Indonesia

The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train, the first in Southeast Asia, was funded by China as part of its decade-old Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project. ANTARA FOTO/Hreeloita Dharma Shanti/sgd/aww Ahmad Syarif, Johns Hopkins UniversityA shift in China’s international Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from focusing on massive projects such as roads, railways and ports to “small but beautiful” ones has been announced by President Xi Jinping. Launched in 2013, the initiative provides loans to build infrastructure in partner countries worldwide, with connectivity as its main focus. Indonesia is BRI’s biggest recipient in Southeast Asia. The initiative has helped the country finance Southeast Asia’s first high-speed train project and poured billions of dollars of investment into nickel processing, unlocking a critical mineral asset. As a scholar in political economy and a former government relations consultant working closely with the Indonesian business sector, I’ve been considering what the “small-but-beautiful” approach means for Chinese investment in Indonesia. What does “small-but-beautiful”...

Read More........ → December 14, 2023

China’s Xi fights fires at home and abroad

A Chinese official adjusts a Chinese flag before the start of a meeting between Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi, India, December 21, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File PhotoOn a host of fronts, China’s domineering leader seems to be fighting fires. Abroad, President Xi Jinping is confronted by a hardening consensus against Beijing in the West, as well as ever-present friction with regional powers and neighbors. At home, Xi presides over a hinge moment for the Chinese economy. Its meteoric growth has slowed, a brief post-pandemic surge petered out, and analysts point to profound structural issues undermining China’s future prospects.Xi and the ruling clique are struggling to address the new challenges posed by China’s maturing economy. The country’s population is both shrinking and aging, and questions loom over the potential productivity of a graying workforce. At the same time, youth unemployment has reached such striking levels that the government suspended publishing the relevant data this summer. China’s economy once seemed the new engine...

Read More........ → October 16, 2023

China’s youth unemployment problem has become a crisis we can no longer ignore

Shutterstock Christian Yao, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonYouth unemployment is a global problem, but in China the rate - 21.3% - is particularly alarming, not just because it’s high, but because it could affect other economies and geopolitical relations. The release of the rate, which more than doubled the pre-COVID rate of May 2018, coincided with China’s National Bureau of Statistics announcing it would no longer report age specific data because it needed to “improve and optimise labour force survey statistics”. Youth unemployment is a complex issue, but even more so in China as a result of government policy and society’s expectations. Under the Hukou system, households in China are required to register, and authorities then determine where they live and work and which public services they can access. The system often stops rural residents taking advantage of urban opportunities, which can limit their work prospects. The stress and uncertainty experienced by this demographic is only worsened by the expectations that come with being the only child...

Read More........ → October 13, 2023

Cheng Lei released by China and reunited with family in Melbourne

Michelle Grattan, University of CanberraCheng Lei, the Australian journalist incarcerated in China since August 2020, has been freed – arriving in Melbourne to be reunited with her family. She was met at the airport by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announcing her release at a Melbourne news conference on Wednesday. Albanese said he had spoken with Cheng, who has two young daughters, and she was “delighted” to be back in Melbourne. He said that in the call he had welcomed her home on behalf of all Australians. “Her return brings an end to a very difficult few years for Ms Cheng and her family,” Albanese said. He described her as “a very strong and resilient person”. Cheng, 48, who was born in China, was a business journalist with China’s state-run English language television station CGTN when she was detained. She was accused of “illegally supplying state secrets overseas”. Her trial took place in secret. Her release comes after continued representations by Australia, including by Albanese himself. It appears to be timed as a gesture ahead of Albanese’s...

Read More........ → October 11, 2023

At G-20, Biden announces ambitious corridor connecting India, Europe

President Biden with PM Modi at Raj Ghat Sept. 10, 2023. PHOTO: X @narendramodiNEW DELHI – President Biden and several other world leaders announced plans here Saturday afternoon for a new rail and shipping corridor that would connect India and Europe through the Middle East, an ambitious proposal aimed at further connecting a volatile region and countering China’s years-long backing of massive infrastructure projects around the world.The announcement solidified a preliminary agreement among a range of participants – including the United States, India, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union – and came as leaders of the world’s largest economies tried to work through divisions on a range of thorny issues.By midafternoon, the leaders here had reached consensus on a 37-page joint declaration on 83 points, several of which referred to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The debate over the war led some to predict that such a statement would prove elusive, particularly given that Russia is a member of the G-20. But they arrived at language that stated that “all...

Read More........ → September 11, 2023

Brics+ and the Tricky Business of Balancing Global Geopolitics

By Priyal Singh: Will an expanded BRICS precipitate a new international order, or collapse under the weight of its internal contradictions? The words of 13th century Persian poet Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī, 'As you start to walk the way, the way appears,' certainly found new resonance in Johannesburg last week at the 15th BRICS Summit. Apart from expanding the diplomatic club to include Iran, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the summit revealed the global south's growing disillusionment with the current structure of the international system. These frustrations have bolstered BRICS' appeal as a counterweight to leading Western countries, such as those composing the G7. More significantly, an expanded BRICS represents a resounding call for international reform by global south states, exclusive from, and in opposition to, traditional Western powers. This unprecedented moment reflects the shifting locus of global power, and has propelled an expanded BRICS to chart a way into unknown territory. Decisions over the nature and trajectory of global order...

Read More........ → August 31, 2023