Page 8 - China

US defence budget speeds toward $1 trillion, keeping China in mind

The Pentagon intends to load up on advanced missiles, space defence and modern jets in its largest defence request in decades in order to meet the threat it perceives from China. The spending path would put military's annual budget over the USD 1 trillion threshold in just a matter of years, its chief financial officer said Monday. The administration is asking Congress for USD 842 billion for the Pentagon in the 2024 budget year. It's the largest request since the peak of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in the mid-2000s, when the weight of hundreds of thousands of troops deployed in those overseas conflicts ballooned overseas war spending. Now, the budget could surge again. That's in part to meet the higher cost of weapons and parts, but also to answer the vulnerabilities that the Ukraine war has exposed in the U.S. defense industrial base, and the strategic threat the U.S. sees from China's rapidly growing nuclear arsenal, its hypersonic capabilities and its gains in space. Even if i

UK boosts defense spending by $6 bn in response to Russia and China

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged Monday to increase military funding by 5 billion pounds (USD 6 billion) over the next two years in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the epoch-defining challenge posed by China. The increase, part of a major update to U.K. foreign and defense policy, is less than military officials wanted. Sunak said the U.K. would increase military spending to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product in the longer term, but didn't set a date. Britain currently spends just over 2 per cent of GDP on defense, and military chiefs want it to rise to 3 per cent. The extra money will be used, in part, to replenish Britain's ammunition stocks, depleted from supplying Ukraine in its defense against Russia. Some will also go towards a U.K.-U.S.-Australia deal to build nuclear-powered submarines. The world has become more volatile, the threats to our security have increased, Sunak told the BBC during a visit to the U.S. It's important that we protect ourselves ..

'Great wall of steel': Xi Jinping to protect China economy, security

He pledged that he would 'faithfully perform the duties entrusted by the Constitution' and would 'never let down the great trust' of all Chinese people

India's engagement with China 'complex', says MEA's annual report

India's engagement with China is "complex" and Chinese attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh starting from April-May 2020 seriously disturbed the peace and tranquility in border areas, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a report on Monday. It said these attempts were invariably met with an "appropriate response" from Indian armed forces. "India's engagement with China is complex. The two sides have agreed that pending the final settlement of the boundary question, maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas is an essential basis for the overall development of the bilateral relationship," the MEA's annual report for 2022 said. "However, starting from April-May 2020, the Chinese side undertook several attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo along the LAC in the Western sector, which seriously disturbed the peace and tranquility along the LAC in the Western sector and impacted the developmen

Centre likely to discourage foreign trade settlement in Chinese yuan

India has asked banks and traders to avoid using Chinese yuan to pay for Russian imports, three govt officials involved in policy making and two banking sources said, because of political differences

China's zero Covid response 'completely right', highly effective: Li Qiang

China's new Premier Li Qiang on Monday strongly defended the much-hated 'zero COVID' strategy followed by the country for over three years which hurt its economic growth also led to public protests, saying the policy was completely right and delivered highly effective outcomes. Addressing his first press conference, Li said it took less than two months for China, a highly populous country, to achieve a smooth transition in COVID-19 response and resume normal economic and social order, which is indeed remarkable. "For over three years, under the leadership of the Communist Party, the Chinese people have united in fighting COVID-19, and now we have achieved a major and decisive victory against the disease, Li said and avoided using the term zero COVID. "China is a country with a large population and unbalanced development. It took less than two months for it to achieve a smooth transition in its response to the disease and to restore normal socioeconomic order. It is indeed a remarkab

China's new Premier Li says achieving 5% GDP target this year not easy

China's new Premier Li Qiang on Monday said achieving the five per cent GDP target for the slowing down economy is not an easy task and requires redoubled efforts but assured the country's tattered private sector better environment, broader space for development. Li Qiang, the long-term aide of Chinese President Xi Jinping who succeeded Li Keqiang, in his first press conference, drew on Chinese folklore to demonstrate the country's resilience in the face of difficulties but concedes the economy faces challenges. He acknowledged that achieving the 2023 gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of around five per cent for this year on the current high base of China's economic output is not an easy task and requires redoubled efforts. Playing down the importance of GDP, he said most people do not keep their eyes on GDP growth all the time. China, the world's second-largest economy, last year reported a three per cent GDP, the lowest in decades and the target of about five per cent se

Xi calls to uphold Chinese Communist Party leadership as session ends

As he began his unprecedented 3rd five-year term as President and head of the military, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called for upholding the leadership of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) headed by him. Speaking at the closure of the annual session of the Chinese legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), Xi stressed upholding the leadership of the CPC and the centralised, unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, the main policy body of the party. Xi, 69, is regarded as the core leader of the party very much like the party founder Mao Zedong was endorsed by the rubber-stamp Parliament last week as the President and head of the Central Military Commission (CMC) the high command of the Chinese military. He was elected as the head of the CPC for an unprecedented third term in October last year, the only leader to have more than two five-year terms after Mao. He was the only leader to have a third five-year term while all his predecessors retired aft

China could control a third of the world's Lithium supply by 2025: UBS AG

The bank expects Chinese-controlled mines, including projects in Africa, to raise output to 705,000 tons by 2025, from 194,000 tons in 2022

Xi urges lawmakers to focus on China's stability at start of third term

He vowed to oppose foreign interference on Taiwan, a veiled reference to increasing American support for the democratically elected government in Taipei

UK PM Rishi Sunak takes nuanced approach to China threat in defence plan

It's a regime that is increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad and has a desire to reshape the world order," Sunak told reporters on his way to the US Sunday

Terms of engagement

India-US economic partnership needs more energy

From Shanghai to Mumbai, tech chiefs race to contain SVB fallout

And while the direct impact to Asia is limited because of SVB's focus on Silicon Valley, the collapse is set to affect the banking industry's credibility

China appoints US-sanctioned general Li Shangfu as new defence minister

The appointment of Li Shangfu as defence minister comes at a time of increasingly strained relations between Beijing and Washington

Does China's intransigence remind you of the actions of 1930s Germany?

China will probably also adopt an old tactic. "I will keep what I have taken. You accept that. And we will all calm down then"

US CDC lifts Covid-19 test requirements for travellers from China

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has lifted mandatory Covid-19 test requirements for travellers from China

President Xi's close aide Li Qiang confirmed as China's new Premier

China's Parliament on Saturday confirmed President Xi Jinping's close aide Li Qiang as the country's new Premier, succeeding Li Keqiang who held the post for the last 10 years overseeing the second largest economy. The annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), a ceremonial body that routinely passes the proposals of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), approved Li Qiang's candidature after his name was proposed by Xi himself. Li Qiang, 63, stated to be a pro-business politician in Xi's inner circle, will be the number two ranked official of the CPC and the government after Xi, who was Friday confirmed for an unprecedented third five-year term. Xi, 69, is the only leader after the party founder Mao Zedong to have more than two five-year tenures and he is widely expected to be in power for life. Li Qiang, who worked with Xi during his provincial stints before shifting to the central government as Vice President, was head of the party in Shanghai, China's largest .

China might arm up Russia's war in Ukraine to reshape global politics

Russian success in Ukraine would align with China's goals of reshaping global politics and power and could help facilitate China's own rise as an economic and military leader, reported Asia Times

With third presidential term, Xi Jinping seals political supremacy

Xi has taken China on a more authoritarian path since assuming control a decade ago, and he extends his tenure for another five-year term amid increasingly adversarial relations with the US

Iran, Saudi Arabia agree to reestablish diplomatic ties with China's help

Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on Friday to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions between the Mideast rivals. The major diplomatic breakthrough negotiated with China lowers the chance of armed conflict between the nations both directly and in proxy conflicts around the region. The deal, struck in Beijing this week amid its ceremonial National People's Congress, represents a major diplomatic victory for the Chinese as Gulf Arab states perceive the United States slowly withdrawing from the wider Middle East. It also comes as diplomats have been trying to end a years long war in Yemen, a conflict in which both Iran and Saudi Arabia are deeply entrenched. The two countries released a joint communique on the deal with China, which brokered the agreement. Chinese state media did not immediately report the agreement. Iranian state media posted images and video it described as being taken in China of the meeting. It showed Ali Shamkhani, the .