China

Dynamics in India-Maldives relations: The influence of China
China, World

Dynamics in India-Maldives relations: The influence of China

Mohamed Muizzu, the newly elected president of the Maldives, seems to be pivoting away from India and moving closer to other sources of support, such as the Arab countries and China. With a wary eye on China's ambitions in the Indian Ocean, India is expected to push back strongly. “We may be small, but that doesn’t give you the license to bully us.” This was the jibe taken at India by Mohamed Muizzu, the newly elected president of the Maldives, who has brought Male’s ties with New Delhi down to its lowest point. In a geopolitical landscape where the Maldives has traditionally acknowledged India as a longstanding ally and a development partner, the recent statement reflects strong ripples in bilateral ties. In the past, other smaller countries in India’s periphery, including Nepal
China, World

‘Unilateral’ China alters aircraft path in strait, which Taiwan attacks

TAIPEI – Taiwan's government has expressed anger after China "unilaterally" changed a flight path close to the sensitive "median line" in the Taiwan Strait, saying it appeared to be a deliberate attempt to change the status quo for possible military means.China's civil aviation administration said in a short statement late Tuesday that from Thursday it was cancelling an "offset measure" for the southbound operation of the M503 flight route, which is just west of the strait's median line. The median line had for years served as an unofficial barrier between Chinese-claimed Taiwan and China, but China says it does not recognize its existence and Chinese warplanes now regularly fly over it as Beijing seeks to pressure Taipei to accept its sovereignty claims. China also said it was open
<strong>Will the Filipino President’s Vietnam visit give sleepless nights to China?</strong>
Asia, China

Will the Filipino President’s Vietnam visit give sleepless nights to China?

More than four months after US President Joe Biden’s visit to Vietnam, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on January 29 landed in Hanoi on a two-day visit, giving Manila a much-needed opportunity to strengthen ties with the Southeast Asian nation which is also facing its claim over the South China Sea being challenged by China. In the strategic circle, the Philippines President’s visit to Vietnam is considered very important as it has led to Manila deepening its maritime cooperation and forging greater regional cooperation with Vietnam on South China Sea disputes. On January 24, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Beijing’s claim to the Paracel and Spratly Islands in the South China Sea is backed by history. China issued this statement to counter Vietnam’s claim that it has suf
What you should know about the demise of China’s Evergrande real estate company
China, World

What you should know about the demise of China’s Evergrande real estate company

A Hong Kong court has ordered the liquidation of the Evergrande Group, China's giant and massively indebted real estate developer, after the company was unable to restructure the $300 billion it owed investors. Just six years ago, Evergrande was riding high, preselling apartments to middle- and upper-income Chinese. In 2018, it was listed as the world's most valuable real estate company. But just three years later, it was on the financial ropes. Massively overleveraged and unable to complete some existing projects, Evergrande has become symbolic of a Chinese economy that faces some major near-term obstacles: slowing growth, increasing debt and a shrinking workforce. Evergrande had been seeking a $23 billion debt restructuring plan, but that fell apart last year when the company's bi...
In a rare show of cooperation, the United States and China begin talks to stop the flow of fentanyl.
China, World

In a rare show of cooperation, the United States and China begin talks to stop the flow of fentanyl.

BEIJING — American and Chinese officials met Tuesday to discuss joint efforts to stem the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., a sign of cooperation as the two global powers try to manage their contentious ties. The two-day meeting was the first for a new counternarcotics working group. One focus of the talks was fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that is ravaging America, and in particular ingredients for the drug that are made in China. Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to restart cooperation in a handful of areas, including drug trafficking, when he and U.S. President Joe Biden met outside San Francisco in November. The agreements were a small step forward in a relationship strained by major differences on issues ranging from trade and technology to Taiwan and human rights. The U.S.
China and the US discuss fentanyl trafficking.
China, World

China and the US discuss fentanyl trafficking.

The United States and China have launched a joint anti-narcotics group to curb the production and trade of the highly addictive opioid fentanyl in the first sign of cooperation between the superpowers since bilateral relations soured. The talks began on Tuesday after a US delegation led by Deputy Homeland Security Adviser Jen Daskal arrived in Beijing for the first joint meeting. At a summit in November Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden agreed to do more to cooperate on tackling companies that manufacture the precursor chemicals to make fentanyl and on cutting financing for the trade. Fentanyl is a highly addictive synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin. The US has said China is the primary source of the precursor chemicals synthesised into ...
Would a Trump presidency change China’s calculations on Taiwan?
China, World

Would a Trump presidency change China’s calculations on Taiwan?

WASHINGTON/TOKYO/TAIPEI -- As former President Donald Trump gains momentum in his bid for a return to the White House, observers are examining how a potential Trump presidency affects Taiwan policy and whether it changes Beijing's calculations, including the time line for China's publicly stated desire for unification. "During the majority of the Trump administration, one of the worst kept secrets in Washington was that Trump didn't care about Taiwan," Evan Medeiros, former National Security Council senior director for Asia under President Barack Obama, told Nikkei Asia. "There were some rumors that, in fact, he even said that during meetings with Chinese officials." Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton wrote in his 2020 memoir, "The Room Where It Happened," that one...
110,000 Communist Party officials in China, according to the anti-corruption body, were disciplined last year.
China, World

110,000 Communist Party officials in China, according to the anti-corruption body, were disciplined last year.

The 2023 disciplinary drive targeted tens of thousands of officials who did not perform their duties properly as well as those who received money and giftsThe Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party’s enforcement agency, warned officials to stick to the rules in the run-up to Lunar New Year About 110,000 Chinese Communist Party officials faced disciplinary action last year as part of the ongoing drive to clean up the party’s act, according to the country’s top anti-corruption body.The figures published by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) on Sunday represent a 13 per cent increase in the number of cases compared with the previous year.There is little sign of Beijing easing up on its latest crackdown more than a year after the party’s national congr
<strong>Xi Jinping’s bad governance and oppressive rule paradoxically creating possible future foes within the CCP</strong>
China

Xi Jinping’s bad governance and oppressive rule paradoxically creating possible future foes within the CCP

The CCP has been carrying out sweeping internal purges at the beginning and end of the year, while hiding its economic weaknesses and silencing negative opinions. The CCP’s unsuccessful meddling in Taiwan’s recent election has exposed the regime and Xi Jinping’s leadership problems amid internal and external challenges. Xi Jinping’s bad governance and oppressive rule are unintentionally creating enemies within Zhongnanhai, the CCP’s headquarters. Xi Jinping removed important figures he had promoted before, such as foreign minister Qin Gang and defence minister Li Shangfu, as well as many military leaders and defence industry heads. There are recent speculations about a plot against Xi led by Lu Yuan and other influential second-generation Red Elites, the offspring of revolutionary hero
China, World

Leading US and Chinese officials discuss Taiwan and Iran in Bangkok.

Top Chinese and U.S. officials held candid talks in Bangkok aimed at lowering tensions between the superpowers on Taiwan and other subjects, ahead of an expected springtime call between President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan pressed Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to use his country's diplomatic influence to convince Iran to curtail support for Houthis attacking Red Sea merchant vessels, according to a senior Biden administration official.The meetings, which spanned more than 12 hours over two days and wrapped on Saturday, are intended to deliver on Biden and Xi's agreement at a California summit in November to restore ruptured diplomatic talks on a range of global security and economic issues like defense and counter-narcotics desp...