Tag: Donald Trump

US President Trump amends order to address threat from securities investment in Chinese military companies
China, World

US President Trump amends order to address threat from securities investment in Chinese military companies

United States President Donald Trump amended an executive order on Wednesday to address the threat from securities investments that finance Chinese military companies.“Effective at 11:59 pm eastern standard time on November 11, 2021 [04:59 GMT on November 12], possession of any such securities by a United States person is prohibited,” stated the executive order, published on Thursday, according to a White House release.According to the order, investors are permitted to conduct any transaction that will allow them to divest of securities in firms that Washington believes have links to the Chinese military.The new order amends a preceding directive published in November last year that merely prohibited investors from purchasing securities in these firms after November 11, 2021.Earlier, an ex
Xi Jinping writes to former Starbucks chairman for help amid strained US ties
China, World

Xi Jinping writes to former Starbucks chairman for help amid strained US ties

In a letter to former Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz China’s President Xi Jinping has asked for help to promote trade between Washington and Beijing, according to state media on Thursday.Xi, responding to an earlier message from Schultz, urged the multi-billionaire to "continue to play an active role in promoting China-US economic and trade cooperation", the official Xinhua news agency said.China will "provide a broader space for companies from all over the world, including Starbucks and other American companies, to develop in China", Xi wrote in his letter.This comes as relations between US and China have reached a nadir with bitter disputes over trade, tech, security and rights.Schultz, who stepped down as chairman of Starbucks in 2018 but retains an honorary title at the company, had
“Beautiful Sight”: China mocks US as protestors break into US Capitol
China, World

“Beautiful Sight”: China mocks US as protestors break into US Capitol

After supporters of US President Donald Trump broke into the US Capitol, Beijing took to social media on Thursday to criticise the "sharp contrast" between Washington's response to the chaos and the 2019 Hong Kong anti-government protests.China’s mouthpiece Global Times tweeted side-by-side photo comparisons of Hong Kong protesters occupying the city's Legislative Council Complex in July 2019 with Wednesday's Washington riots.The latter saw Trump fans invade the US Capitol to protest the election defeat, taking selfies, scuffling with security and ransacking parts of the building."@SpeakerPelosi once referred to the Hong Kong riots as 'a beautiful sight to behold'," the Global Times said in the tweet, referring to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's June 2019 comment about Hong Kong's mass
US House presents bill to terminate Pak designation as major non-NATO ally
World

US House presents bill to terminate Pak designation as major non-NATO ally

On the first day of the 117th Congress, Republican Congressman Andy Biggs introduced a bill in the US House of Representatives to terminate the designation of Pakistan as a Major non-NATO Ally.The bill will strip away Pakistan’s designation as a major non-NATO ally, which allows various benefits such as access to excess US defense supplies and participation in cooperative defense research and development projects.The bill also notes that the US President cannot issue a separate designation of Pakistan as a Major NATO ally, unless a presidential certification that Pakistan continues to conduct military operations that are contributing to significantly disrupting the safe haven and freedom of movement of the Haqqani Network in Pakistan.It also seeks a presidential certification that Pakistan
‘Great discoveries’ made during my watch: US President Trump on Moderna vaccine
China, World

‘Great discoveries’ made during my watch: US President Trump on Moderna vaccine

Within minutes of US pharma giant announcing that its vaccine has shown nearly 95 per cent effectiveness to protect against COVID-19, US President Donald Trump said historians must remember that it was under his leadership such “great discoveries” were made.“Another Vaccine just announced. This time by Moderna, 95 per cent effective. For those great “historians”, please remember that these great discoveries, which will end the China Plague, all took place on my watch!” Trump tweeted.After Moderna made the announcement the White House credited US President Trump for the progress of the vaccine which has been shown effective for the treatment of coronavirus.While thanking Trump, White House Press Secretary McEnany lauded his administration’s Operation Warp Speed, under which the advancement
India-US ties will grow stronger irrespective of who emerges victorious in US Presidential Election: Gautam Bambawale
Politics

India-US ties will grow stronger irrespective of who emerges victorious in US Presidential Election: Gautam Bambawale

Former Indian ambassador to China, Gautam Bambawale said the bilateral ties between India and the US are not going to be affected and will only continue to grow stronger irrespective of who emerges victorious in the US presidential polls.Republican President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden are seeking the minimum 270 out of the 538 electoral votes needed to win the White House.While Biden is leading marginally in overall Electoral College vote tally, Trump has already claimed victory and has said he will move the Supreme Court to dispute the process of counting."The elections results are neck to neck so far. There are a few states left still and they are important as either of the two candidates can win. It really is for American people to decide who their president wi...
Democratic Party platform drops ‘One China’ language on Taiwan
Politics

Democratic Party platform drops ‘One China’ language on Taiwan

The Democratic Party platform of the United States dropped any reference to the U.S. policy of recognizing a single China in reference to unofficial American ally Taiwan.The Democratic Party is committed to supporting the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act that states that the US would protect Taiwan from attacks by the Chinese, stated the party platform.The platform then states that Democrats “will continue to support a peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues consistent with the wishes and best interests of the people of Taiwan.”However, the 2016 platform explicitly supported the “One China” policy hammered out in the 1970s, when the U.S. dropped formal diplomatic recognition of Taiwan and shifted recognition to Beijing. The 2016 document said Democrats were “committed to a ‘One China’ policy.”
Dealing with increasingly assertive China a common challenge for India, US: Biden’s advisor
China

Dealing with increasingly assertive China a common challenge for India, US: Biden’s advisor

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's advisor Antony Blinken, a former deputy secretary of the state said that India and US have a common challenge which has to deal with an increasingly assertive China across the board, including using aggression toward New Delhi at the Line of Actual Control (LAC)."We have a common challenge which has to deal with an increasingly assertive China across the board, including its aggression toward India at the Line of Actual Control but also using its economic might to coerce others and reap unfair advantage. Ignoring international rules to advance its own interests asserting unfounded maritime and territorial claims that threaten freedom of navigation in some of the most important seas in the world," Blinken said during a panel discussion moderated...
Chinese Communist Party more assertive, demanding: Report
Politics, World

Chinese Communist Party more assertive, demanding: Report

Top US and European think tanks has cautioned that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has emerged more “assertive, demanding, unyielding, confrontational, and punitive” in its international posture.A report titled ‘Dealing with the Dragon: China as a Transatlantic Challenge’, has summarized changing U.S. and European views of, and relations with, China.The contents of report is based on a symposium convened in Berlin, Germany in February 2020, which brought together 43 strategists and China specialists from the United States and 11 European countries for intensive discussions over three days.The first half of the Symposium was structured to probe the debates on both sides of the Atlantic, while the second half was dedicated to “deep dives” into seven specific dimensions of China’s behavior
Pentagon must ‘prioritize’ China in national defense strategy: US think tank
World

Pentagon must ‘prioritize’ China in national defense strategy: US think tank

Referring to China's territorial expansionism policies, a US-based think tank has suggested that Pentagon should kick off the year-long effort this winter and prepare a new National Defense Strategy (NDS) to shift Washington's attention to the operational challenges posed by Beijing.“China's malevolent actions during the past three years have only increased the recognition that the United States is in a strategic competition and a new NDS will only continue to put a focus on China first”, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) said in a report.Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery (Retd.), an Executive Director at the US Cyberspace Solarium Commission and a former Director for Operations (J3) at US Indo-Pacific Command, as well as Eric Sayers, an Adjunct Senior Fellow at CNAS, said in the re