China

China ignored: Know why did Lego choose Vietnam for its first carbon neutral plant.
China

China ignored: Know why did Lego choose Vietnam for its first carbon neutral plant.

With businesses looking for other places for their factories to escape expensive tariffs, Vietnam has been considered as one of the key winners of the US-China trade war. Vietnamese Post correspondent Erika Na recently visited the nation, and her three-part series examines Vietnam's progress over the last four years. She explores the effects on China's status as the "world's factory" in this second section.  The first carbon-neutral factory for Lego, the largest toy manufacturer in the world by revenue, just broke ground in Asia. The US$1 billion project will cover 44 hectares (108 acres) when it opens the following year. Modern technology will be used in the vast project, which will be powered primarily by solar energy, to mould, process, and pack the plastic interconnectable ...
<strong>CHINA’S BRI PUSH IN 2023 TO FURTHER EXPAND ITS SOFT INFLUENCE</strong>
Business, China

CHINA’S BRI PUSH IN 2023 TO FURTHER EXPAND ITS SOFT INFLUENCE

While China hides the truth about the near-stoppage of its most prestigious BRI project related to the economic corridor between the two countries in Pakistan, the communist country is using the new year to tom tom its success elsewhere. China embarked on the BRI project with Pakistan a few years ago but Pakistan realised neither its citizens nor its infrastructure were in reality profiting from it, other than provide China a land and rail facility to move its goods to Europe through Pakistan. During the period Imran Khan was Prime Minister, he saw through the game. Many projects were suspended as local Pakistanis started protesting, angered at the easy prosperity of Chinese nationals living in their country working on the projects while local Pakistanis hardly got any jobs or other...
Becoming a Great “Maritime Power” : A Chinese Dream
Asia, China

Becoming a Great “Maritime Power” : A Chinese Dream

In November 2012, then president Hu Jintao's work report to the Chinese Communist Party's 18th Party Congress was a defining moment in China's maritime history. Hu declared that China's objective is to be a haiyang qiangguo— that is, a strong or great maritime power. China "should enhance our capacity for exploiting marine resources, develop the marine economy, protect the marine ecological environment, resolutely safeguard China's maritime rights and interests, and build China into a strong maritime power".[1] Hu's report also called for building a military (the PLA) that would be "commensurate with China's international standing." These two objectives were repeated in the 2012 PRC defense white paper, which was not released until April 2013, after Xi Jinping had assumed Party and nat
Discipline, compliance key routes to xi power in china
China

Discipline, compliance key routes to xi power in china

President Xi Jinping describes his tenure in power as the “new era” and embarks on a gigantic national exercise to “discipline” the communist party and the cadres for better governance. In the second week of January, he addressed the plenary session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China opened in Beijing that opened on January 9. The Chinese state media reported that Xi Jinping pointed out discipline is the “rule” for governing the party. It is also the standard and compliance for party members and cadres to restrain their behavior. The president proposed placing discipline in a more prominent position, and “strict requirements must be implemented in the entire process of party rule formulation, party discipline education, and di
UK’s hardening stance towards China
China

UK’s hardening stance towards China

During his first major foreign policy speech in London on November 28, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak outlined his government’s foreign policy orientation, where the highlight was China. He commented that the “golden era between Britain and China is now over” and added that “China poses a systematic challenge to our (UK’s) values and interests”.[1] Speaking further he said, “We are taking a long-term view on China strengthening our resilience and protecting our economic security”. He even outlined the malicious intentions of China which included all kind of state-led efforts to expand its global influence and warned that “short-termism” or “wishful thinking” will not suffice. According to Sunak, Britain can no longer depend on Cold War approaches of sentimentality and hence evolv
Beijing’s activity at Spratly islands leaves Philippines unhappy and disgusted
China

Beijing’s activity at Spratly islands leaves Philippines unhappy and disgusted

 Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s state visit to China from January 3 to 6 is likely to be marred by the threat from Chinese activities at Spratly islands. The Philippines government has ordered its military to boost presence in South China Sea, citing a "threat" from Chinese "activities" at Spratly Islands. The order came two days after media reports emerged about China claiming more land in the major archipelago in South China Sea. Philippines is irritated by China’s constant attempts to reclaim several unoccupied land features in the South China Sea after satellited images emerged in the media about China’s illegitimate attempts of expansion in the South China Sea. For Philippines, it has come as a major setback however, it has begun closely watching China’s growing
“Both Sides Willing…”: New China Foreign Minister On Ties With India
Asia, China

“Both Sides Willing…”: New China Foreign Minister On Ties With India

In an opinion piece for the American journal The National Interest, China's incoming foreign minister Qin Gang stated that Beijing wants to strengthen ties with New Delhi.  Days prior to Wang Yi's replacement, Qin addressed India-China border disputes in an article titled "How China Sees the World," stating that "both sides are eager to ameliorate the situation and mutually protect peace along their borders." The Galwan Valley and Pangong Lake in the west of the LAC, have hosted flashpoints in recent years. In the east in Tawang, the site of the latest scuffle, there are discussions about Buddhist holy sites whose control can have implications for China's authority over Tibet and its next spiritual leader according to a report in Newsweek. On December 20, India and China con...
Losing grip in Indo-Pacific, China resorts to falsehood to salvage image
China

Losing grip in Indo-Pacific, China resorts to falsehood to salvage image

Fast losing its grip on the Indian Ocean region, China is now resorting to blatant falsehood to shore up its image. Beijing had egg on its face when in late November 2022 Maldives and Australia denied in quick succession Beijing’s claim that they participated in a meeting of China – Indian Ocean Forum on Development Cooperation on November 21. Beijing claimed on November 26 that representatives of 19 countries attended in Kunming in the Yunnan province of China the meeting of the Forum, an organization connected with the Foreign Ministry of China. These countries, according to Beijing, included Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, Oman, South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, Djibouti and Australi
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE AUTHORITARIAN XI JINPING OF 2023
China, Politics

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE AUTHORITARIAN XI JINPING OF 2023

A third term of power as head of state usually means absolute power. In the case of President Xi Jinping, is it a case of overconcentration of power is the question plaguing China watchers as the new year rolls in. Xi is considered more powerful than previous Chinese leaders after the 20th Party Congress. He pervades every inch of Chinese society, politics and culture. Even Xi Thought is essential and only curriculum for the cadres of the Chinese Communist Party. Loyalty to Xi equals to loyalty to the party or even the Constitution. Political commentators and academics are currently researching whether Xi Jinping is taking China back to the years of personal dictatorship after an interlude of decades of collective leadership. After Mao Zedong died, Chinese leaders wanted a system...
China’s daydream of imperialism faces challenge in its backyards
Asia, China

China’s daydream of imperialism faces challenge in its backyards

Thanks to the attempts by the leaders of the Communist Party of China to exploit two neighbours of China of their resources, natural as well as financial, Chinese citizens are on the receiving end in Beijing’s all-weather ally Pakistan, as well as in Afghanistan which it has treated as its backyard since the exit of the United States from the scene. China’s “daydream of imperialism” seems to have received a jolt. A measure of the insecurity is that all Chinese nationals working in China Pakistan Economic Corridor in Pakistan have been asked to move in bullet-proof vehicles when outdoors; while on December 13, following a coordinated attack the previous day by Islamic State Khorasan Province militants on a Chinese-owned hotel in the heart of Kabul, Beijing advised Chinese citizens in Af