Xi’s visit ended with Beijing and Moscow concluding more than a dozen agreements bolstering cooperation in areas from trade and technology to state propaganda..reports Asian Lite News
Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday departed Russia after pledging to deepen ties with President Vladimir Putin, however, the talks failed to achieve a breakthrough in the Ukraine conflict, reported CNN.
Both leaders did not discuss a Kyiv-proposed peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. He said that Kyiv’s proposal was a matter of Sino-Ukraine relations. The two leaders emphasized that peace talks should be used to solve the Ukraine crisis, but Kyiv and the West say any peace agreement must include the withdrawal of Russian troops, reported CNN.
The 10-point peace plan was first presented by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a video at a meeting of the Group of 20 nations in November.
The steps include a path to nuclear safety, food security, a special tribunal for alleged Russian war crimes, and a final peace treaty between Russia and Ukraine.
China released last month, a 12-point statement of broad principles on the war that called for respecting the sovereignty of all countries, abandoning the Cold War mentality, ceasing hostilities, resuming peace talks, resolving the humanitarian crisis, protecting civilians and prisoners of war (POWs), keeping nuclear power plants safe, reducing strategic risks, facilitating grain exports, stopping unilateral sanctions, keeping industrial and supply chains stable and promoting post-conflict reconstruction.
But Western leaders have expressed scepticism about China’s potential role as a peacemaker and its claimed neutrality. The United States and its allies have instead since last month warned that China is considering sending lethal aid to Russia for its war effort, which Beijing has denied.
Xi spent three days in Moscow this week. His visit ended with Beijing and Moscow concluding more than a dozen agreements bolstering cooperation in areas from trade and technology to state propaganda, according to a Kremlin list.
The leaders’ central statement focused on how the two countries would “deepen” their relationship.
However, the two sides failed to move the needle on bringing a resolution to the war, reported CNN.
Meanwhile, Peskov said that he is not surprised by what he called a “hostile” reaction from Western nations to the visit between Putin and Xi Jinping this week.
“As for the reaction of the countries of the collective West, the fact that on almost all issues this reaction is of an unfriendly, deeply hostile nature is no secret to anyone. The coverage of this important visit is no exception,” Peskov said.
“Of course, the most important thing is not the reaction of the West, but it’s the results of the negotiations that took place. The main thing is the results of the state visit itself,” he added.
Peskov’s comments came after John Kirby, the White House National Security Council spokesman, told that Beijing and Moscow are deepening their relationship in large part due to their mutual interest in challenging the US’ global influence, reported CNN.
Kirby also pushed back on China’s claim that it had staked out an impartial position regarding the war in Ukraine. (ANI)
Will China be the ultimate gainer of US sanctions against Russia?.(photo:IN)
Xi will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss “aspects of further ties…report Asian Lite News
Moscow, March 17 (IANS) Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to Russia next Monday, the Kremlin and the Chinese Foreign Ministry have revealed, media reported.
The trip will last until Wednesday. Xi will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss “aspects of further development of comprehensive partnership,” according to a statement from the Kremlin.
There will also be a discussion of the international agenda and cooperation between the two nations in world affairs, the Kremlin added. Russian and Chinese officials are expected to sign a number of bilateral agreements, RT reported.
Putin invited Xi to Russia during a phone call in late December, but the date of the trip was not previously announced. The two Presidents have been in frequent contact after Moscow launched its military operation in Ukraine in early 2022, both in person at international events and via video link.
Last month, Beijing revealed an initiative for a settlement to the conflict in Ukraine. Moscow said it would consider the proposal, but reiterated that Kiev’s refusal to acknowledge the new reality on the ground is a major obstacle to negotiations, RT reported.
The Ukrainian government has stated that its goal is military victory over Russia and the expulsion of Russian troops from all territories that Kiev claims to be under its sovereignty. It has also prohibited any negotiations with Moscow as long as Putin remains in office.
Chinese President Xi Jinping nominated Li Qiang for the post of premier during the ongoing first session of the 14th National People’s Congress.
China’s Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang became the new premier on Saturday after being nominated for the post during a session of the 14th National People’s Congress, Global Times reported.
Earlier today, Chinese President Xi Jinping nominated Li Qiang for the post of premier during the ongoing first session of the 14th National People’s Congress. Li Qiang will replace Li Keqiang, who became premier in 2013 with high hopes that he would usher in liberal reforms. But his power was curbed by Xi, who increasingly sidelined Li Keqiang and placed allies in key strategic positions over him.
Yesterday, Keqiang took his final bow as the country’s premier, marking a shift away from the skilled technocrats who have helped steer the world’s second-biggest economy in favour of officials known mainly for their unquestioned loyalty to China’s most powerful leader in recent history, the Voice of America (VOA) reported.
After exiting the ruling Communist Party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee in October, despite being below retirement age, Li’s last major task was delivering the state of the nation address to the rubber-stamp parliament on Monday. The report sought to reassure citizens of the resiliency of the Chinese economy but contained little that was new.
Xi Jinping was unanimously elected Chinese president on Friday at the ongoing session of China’s national legislature. (Photo: Xinhua)
Li Qiang, who joined the Communist Party’s powerful Politburo Standing Committee in October, is considered a novice in China’s complex central government administration encompassing 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, according to Nikkei Asia.
The 63-year-old politician served for four decades in his home province of Zhejiang and became a secretary to Xi when the latter was a top official in that industrial region in eastern China.
Li was later promoted to become party boss of Jiangsu and later Shanghai, where his reputation plunged during the financial centre’s gruelling two-month COVID lockdown last year.
Even so, Li is rising to become the second most powerful Chinese official after Xi in the country’s intricate system of governance.
As per Nikkei Asia, Li earned a degree in executive business administration from Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2005, decades after he graduated from Zhejiang Agricultural University in 1982.
Meanwhile, Zhang Youxia and He Weidong were nominated as candidates for vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), reported Global Times. (ANI)
Saudi Arabia and Iran also agreed to activate the security cooperation agreement signed in 2001 and the trade, economy and investment agreement signed in 1998.
Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties, reopen embassies and exchange ambassadors within a period of two months, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Friday.
The decision to re-establish relations, which were severed in 2016, came following talks that took place from March 6 through March 10 in Beijing, SPA reported citing a trilateral statement issued by the Kingdom, Iran and China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping with President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi in Beijing on Feb. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/IANS)
“Saudi Arabia and Iran agree to respect state sovereignty and not interfere in internal matters,” the statement said, adding that the two countries’ foreign ministers will meet soon to arrange for the exchange of envoys and discuss means to enhance ties, Al Arabiya reported.
Riyadh and Tehran also agreed to activate the security cooperation agreement signed in 2001 and the trade, economy and investment agreement signed in 1998.
According to the statement, China’s President Xi Jinping had made an initiative to host and sponsor talks between delegates from Iran and Saudi Arabia to resolve disputes via dialogue and diplomacy, Al Arabiya reported.
The Saudi delegation was headed by Minister of State and National Security Adviser Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, while the Iranian delegation was headed by Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.
During the talks, China was represented by Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi.
Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman
Saudi Arabia and Iran thanked China for hosting and sponsoring the recent talks and for the efforts exerted to help them succeed. They also thanked Iraq and Oman for hosting dialogue sessions between the two countries’ representatives in 2021 and 2022, Al Arabiya reported.
“Saudi Arabia, Iran and China are keen on making all [necessary] efforts to strengthen regional and international peace and security.”
Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran after two of its diplomatic posts were attacked in Tehran and Mashhad in 2016.
US intelligence shows that Chinese President Xi Jinping has instructed his nation’s military to “be ready by 2027” to invade Taiwan…reports Asian Lite News
In a startling revelation of intelligence input, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns claimed that Beijing is still determining whether its potential invasion of Taiwan would be successful.
He said that US intelligence shows that Chinese President Xi Jinping has instructed his nation’s military to “be ready by 2027” to invade Taiwan. However, he might be harbouring doubts about his ability to do so, given Russia’s experience in its invasion of Ukraine – it is likely to intensify doubts among Chinese leader Xi Jinping and top military officials about the success of the Chinese military invading Taiwan.
In a television interview that aired on February 26, Burns said, “we do know, as has been made public, that President Xi has instructed the PLA, the Chinese military leadership, to be ready by 2027 to invade Taiwan, but that does not mean that he has decided to invade in 2027 or any other year as well”.
“I think our judgement at least is that President Xi and his military leaders have doubts today about whether they could accomplish that invasion,” he said. However, the US must take “very seriously” Xi’s desire to ultimately control Taiwan, even if military conflict is not inevitable, he added.
Burns said the support from the US and European allies for Ukraine following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of that nation could be a potential deterrent to Chinese officials, but said the risks of a possible attack on Taiwan would only grow.
“I think, as they have looked at Putin’s experience in Ukraine, that has probably reinforced some of those doubts,” Burns said. “So, all I would say is that I think the risks of, you know, the potential use of force probably grow the further into this decade you get and beyond it, into the following decade as well. So that is something, obviously, that we watch very, very carefully.”
Burns believes that since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the aid of the United States and Europe to Ukraine shows the solidarity of the West, which the Chinese Communist Party may also consider. “I do not think there is a foreign leader who has watched Putin’s experience in Ukraine, the evolution of the war, more carefully than Xi Jinping. I think in many ways he was disturbed by what he saw,” Burns said. He (Xi Jinping) was surprised by Russia’s very poor military performance. I think he was also surprised by the level of solidarity and support for Ukraine in the West.”
Burns also said that not only the United States but also European allies are willing to bear a certain economic price in order to cause greater economic damage to Russia over time, “So I think all of this is to a certain extent. Xi Jinping is sober.”
The Taiwan issue is one of the factors causing tension in US-China relations. The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States is significantly increasing the number of troops deployed in Taiwan, more than quadrupling its current strength, to boost a training program for Taiwan’s military. According to US officials, the United States plans to deploy 100 to 200 troops to Taiwan in the coming months; a year ago, the number was about 30. The additional garrison will expand a training program the Pentagon has been reluctant to make public as the United States seeks to give Taiwan the capabilities it needs to defend itself.
The report also said that the expansion of training for Taiwan officers and soldiers by the United States and Taiwan shows that the United States is increasingly committed to helping Taiwan, a close partner, prepare for its defeat of the CCP’s potential invasion. US officials say plans to expand the troop presence in Taiwan have been in the works for months, even before this month’s balloon incident further soured USChina relations. In the balloon incident, a Chinese spy balloon was shot down by US warplanes over the coast of South Carolina after crossing US airspace. (ANI)
Xi Jinping delivers an important speech at a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC in Beijing, July 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Ju Peng/IANS)
Take the role of the premier, the person managing the world’s second-largest economy and, in theory, second only to Xi in the power structure.
The National People’s Congress, which starts this weekend, will be the symbolic culmination of Xi Jinping’s epic power grab, the media reported.
China’s leader has overhauled the Communist Party placing himself at the core and nobody else has even a remote chance of challenging him, BBC reported.
The starkest representation of this will be in the shift in personnel to be announced at the annual political meeting, a rubber-stamp session of nearly 3,000 delegates, BBC reported.
Take the role of the premier, the person managing the world’s second-largest economy and, in theory, second only to Xi in the power structure.
Outgoing premier Li Keqiang will take centre stage on day one. Then, at the end, a new premier, almost certainly Li Qiang, will occupy the limelight.
They’re two very different people, especially in terms of their loyalty to Xi, who started an upheaval a decade ago with his anti-corruption crackdown, cutting a swathe through the ranks of rival party factions, BBC reported.
Outgoing premier Li Keqiang
At last October’s Communist Party Congress, new appointments to the seven-man Politburo Standing Committee meant the most powerful group in the country now had only Xi loyalists.
At this gathering, it is the heads of various departments and ministerial positions which will be replaced. They are all expected to fall into the same camp.
“On the one hand this might mean Xi can really get things done with his new leadership but, on the other, there is a danger of him being stuck in an echo chamber,” an experienced business figure told the BBC.
If Li Qiang is indeed the new premier, sitting up there on the last day of the NPC, taking screened questions at the annual press event, it will have been a meteoric rise for him.
President Volodymyr Zelensky is also planning to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, reports Asian Lite News
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he plans to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to follow up on Beijing’s proposals on ending the ongoing war.
In a 12-point paper released by the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Friday as the war marked a year, China said that dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis,adding that it “will continue to play a constructive role in this regard”.
The paper called for a resumption of peace talks between the two warring sides, an end to unilateral sanctions, and stressed its opposition to the use of nuclear weapons.
“All parties should support Russia and Ukraine in working in the same direction and resuming direct dialogue as quickly as possible, so as to gradually de-escalate the situation and ultimately reach a comprehensive ceasefire,” it added.
In response, Zelenksy said that China’s proposal signalled that it was involved in the search for peace.
“I really want to believe that China will not supply weapons to Russia,” the BBC quoted the President as saying.
President Putin meets with Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Wang Yi. (Photo by Anton Novoderezhkin, TASS)
He liked the fact that China started talking about Ukraine, and considers this to be “very good”. But the question remained on what lies behind those words, what actions will follow them, reports Ukrayinska Pravda.
The President also positively reacted to the People’s Republic of China respecting the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
In general, according to the President, the fact that China’s so-called “peace plan” includes respect for international territorial law and “certain security things” already makes it possible to work with this country.
“Our task is to bring everyone together to isolate someone,” he added.
Meanwhile, Russia hailed the proposals, saying “we share Beijing’s views”.
Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Beijing was considering supplying weapons and ammunition to Russia – a claim strongly denied by Beijing. On Friday, American media again reported that the Chinese government was considering sending drones and artillery shells to Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits recaptured city of Izyum.(Photo: Instagram)
Asked about the Chinese plan, US President Joe Biden told ABC News on Friday: “(Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s applauding it, so how could it be any good?
“I’ve seen nothing in the plan that would indicate that there is something that would be beneficial to anyone other than Russia.”
The development comes following China’s Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi’s visit to Moscow, where he met President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday.
After the talks, Wang was quoted by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency as saying that Beijing was willing to “deepen political trust” and “strengthen strategic coordination” with Moscow.
Dr. Anand Parappadi Krishnan, recently joined the Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida, as a Fellow. Prior to joining Shiv Nadar Institute of eminence, Dr. Krishnan has served for 6 years as a full-time Researcher at the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi, and he continues his affiliation there as a visiting Associate Fellow. Recently, he was a Visiting Faculty at the National Law School of India University – Bengaluru.
Previously, he has held Fellowships at the India China Institute – The New School, New York City (under their China India Scholar Leaders Initiative) and at the Harvard-Yenching Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Krishnan holds a Ph.D. degree in Chinese Studies from Centre for East Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His research interests include Labour and Supply chains in the Global South, Political economy of China and India, State-society relations, and Labour-Urban interface.
Asian Lite’s Abhish K. Bose meets Dr Krishnan to discuss the Belt and Road initiative of China. Excerpts from the interview.
ABHISH K BOSE: The belt and road project is aimed at improving the position of China in the global economic system and to boost the scope for its emerging hegemony. In many cases a country will be unable to change its economy in a particular direction without altering the way the world economy is organised. Is the belt and road project guided by that intent? What does it tell us of the Chinese strategic thinking and policy framework?
Dr ANAND: While there has been much written, speculated and anticipated, the BRI to put it in simple terms, was conceived by the Chinese party-state to export its overcapacities in economic production and therefore, look for new markets. In fulfilling this endeavour, if the initiative helps in altering how the world economy is organized, so be it. However, it does not seem that the BRI presents a credible and viable alternative by the Chinese which is very different from the existing world order and how the world economy is organized. I believe the BRI represents what geographer David Harvey calls ‘spatial fix’.
Xi Jinping delivers a speech at a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC in Beijing. (Xinhua/Ju Peng/IANS)
ABHISH K. BOSE: The belt and road is mainly about economic cooperation, comprising building, factories, roads, bridges, ports, airports and other infrastructure as well as electric power grids, telecommunications networks, oil and natural resources pipelines and related projects. How will this project once executed can change the face of the regions where the project passes through? Is there any hidden Chinese agenda behind this project?
Dr ANAND: Lack of infrastructural development is a pertinent issue in the global south, and many of the countries do not have the requisite resources to fulfill that. The experiences of countries in Africa, Southeast Asia and South America to the efforts by the West have not been really satisfactory. Plus, the legacy of colonialism weighs largely in areas such as Africa. It is here that the Chinese with deep pockets and more resourceful fill the gap. Plus, the Chinese are palatable for governments of all persuasions and do not necessarily interfere with domestic politics in these countries. However, while this is largely the narrative put forth by China, over the years there are also issues that have cropped up like debt related concerns/anxieties, cultural tensions, and over the last couple of years, COVID-19 related delays. In committing and investing in the infrastructural development of these regions, the Chinese champion the ‘win-win’ discourse, and seek to showcase their economic development externally. Rather than any ‘hidden agenda’, the BRI seeks to provide more diplomatic muscle and great power status to China vis-a-vis the US-led West.
Aerial photo shows a view of the Lower Sesan II hydroelectric power station at Sesan District of Stung Treng Province, Cambodia. The Lower Sesan II hydroelectric power station, born of cooperation between Cambodia and China under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, was inaugurated in December 2018. (Photo by Chen Gang/Xinhua/IANS)
ABHISH K. BOSE: According to available estimates, this massive project comprises of the investment of 4 -8 trillion dollars. The terms of Chinese credit to countries party to the project vary widely, from interest free loans and even grants in the case of some projects in Pakistan up to commercial rate in the case of the Ethiopia – Djibouti railway. Revealingly, Djibouti’s public external debt has increased from 50 to 85 per cent of its GDP since 2015, the highest for any low income country. China has provided nearly 1.4 billion of funding for Djibouti’s major investment projects. The Chinese company operating the port of Gwadar in Pakistan reportedly receives 91 per cent of the ports profits. Is the project an expression of Chinese economic imperialism and to what extent is it likely to burden the stakeholders?
Dr ANAND: Concerns of debt burden are logical corollary of the infrastructural projects undertaken by Chinese companies in the BRI. There is no finality on this aspect, as there is also new scholarship which problematizes – and critiques – the narrative of debt-trap. Scholars like Deborah Brautigam have in fact summarily rejected the discourse on debt trap. However, while the real extent of debt burden may be debatable, it is a reality that some of these projects do take the shape of white elephants. The best example of that would be the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka. I would be careful not to use terms like imperialism loosely, since these are very loaded and have to be properly contexualized/ historisized.
ABHISH K. BOSE: Ports such as Gwadar and Kyaukpyu are intended to connect the Indian Ocean with China over land transport corridors. Pakistan and Myanmar may become China’s California, granting it access to a second Ocean and resolving the Malacca dilemma. Access to the offshore gas fields in the Bay of Bengal was always central to the Kyaukpyu project. These points to the strategic aims of China through the project. How, and to what extent, will these projects benefit China in the long run? How will it bear on its trade with India?
Dr ANAND: With China, a lot of things also fall under the ambit of dual use/dual purpose. So, it is quite logical or even rational to look at these ports as fulfilling strategic aims/objectives. These ports also help China to offset some of the chokepoints in the Malacca straits, along with providing some access to fulfilling China’s energy needs in the longer term. Further, it helps provide China additional maneuvering space in the south Asian region.
Soldiers attend the flag-raising ceremony in rain in Beijing, capital of China on National Day. (Xinhua/Zhang Yu) (mp)
However, these ports need not necessarily be seen in binary terms vis-a-vis India, even though India’s role in the region has to move out of its conventional ‘big brother’ attitude, or patronizing behaviour. India also needs to heighten its own infrastructural and diplomatic measures in the region for sustenance of its relationship with these countries and not necessarily to only ward off the China challenge.
ABHISH K. BOSE: Bypassing the Malacca strait by building a canal through the Kra Isthmus in Thailand – around 100 km long and 25 meters deep, would take ten years could be an even greater game changer. From a shipping perspective it would mean shorter and cheaper- and speedier by two or three days – route for all. But a number of countries including the US may resist the idea because it could mean the speedier deployment of the Chinese Navy to the Indian Ocean. Should this be a worry for the US or European powers?
Dr ANAND: It would not be wise to comment on something that is in the realm of speculation. Plus, this project would take some more time before it actually gets some proper shape. Hence, any possible opposition from US and others would also need to wait rather than do so now at the formative stage. Ultimately, it will depend on how effectively China is able to negotiate with the Thais in working on this project, especially given the delays on account of the pandemic and China only returning to normalcy now.
ABHISH K. BOSE: It is said that China hopes to build a ‘ Polar silk road’ along the Arctic shipping lanes, the third main sea route of the belt and road. Shipping through the northern sea route would shave almost twenty days off the regular passage time using the traditional route through the Suez canal. Among China’s main interests in the region is its major stake in Russia’s Yamal liquefied natural gas project which is expected to supply China with four million tons of LNG. How will this benefit China?
Dr ANAND: Again, a lot of these projects are more on paper and on the realm of ideas rather than being in actual flesh and blood. Post the propelling of BRI, there has been a lot of romanticizing/fantasizing about the various possibilities of China’s shipping lanes. The Polar Silk Route is in my view, a very premature project and there has not been much weight or financial resources dedicated in this regard.
China rail project aims to link Tibet to Kathmandu, may be extended to Indian border.
While undertaking analysis of the BRI, it is also important to not be overemphatic, and be aware of speculation-ridden narratives. Further, Arctic routes and building projects around those are also highly cost ridden and it remains to be seen how the Chinese economy now emerging out of Zero Covid policies, will be able to readily take up such projects.
ABHISH K. BOSE: The roads as part of the belt and road project passes through the China -. Indian Ocean – Africa – Mediterranean sea blue economic package linking the China – Indo China peninsula economic corridor, running westward from the south China sea to the Indian Ocean and connecting the China – Pakistan economic corridor and the Bangladesh – China- India – Myanmar economic corridor. Another road is the blue economic passage of China – Oceania – South Pacific, traveling south ward from the South China sea into the Pacific Ocean. Another passage is also envisioned leading up to Europe via the Arctic Ocean. What are the strategic importance of these roads?
Dr ANAND: Again, there is also a lot of fantasizing/romanticizing that is inadvertently associated with BRI. Hence, many of these roads are still on the realm of ideation, rather than actual presence. CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) is a credible example, while BCIM (Bangladesh China India Myanmar) economic corridor is yet to be termed a credible project given how India is still not a participant in BRI and in fact, is correctly reluctant in fitting this into BRI. Hence, despite many efforts by China, it is not accurate to bracket BCIM within BRI. China’s aim, through the roads, is to find new markets for its goods and distribute its overcapacity. Thus, rather than spreading wide and covering all areas, I believe the party-state would be more prudent and realistic in choosing those areas – especially post pandemic – which are not only commercially viable but also cost effective and have better returns to investment.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping inside a house boat, in Wuhan. (Photo IANS_PIB)
ABHISH K. BOSE: Another central driver of the Road concerns the growing trade connections between China and India. In turn this will have to be based on huge infrastructure projects along the Indian Ocean coast or by train through Myanmar and Bangladesh. It was not surprising therefore to find that the port of Kolkata featured prominently in the original plans for the Road with the Indian city appearing on the famous map of the initiative published by Xinhua. The port could be an important conduit in developing value chains connecting Chinese and Indian manufacturers, but more recently it has been dropped from all the official references, as India increasingly distanced itself from the belt and road project. To what extent, if any, can the project boost the trade between India and China?
Dr ANAND: I do not think that India will, at least in the foreseeable future, be ready to be part of BRI in any manner. While its trade relations with the People’s Republic of China will continue in the conventional bilateral manner, it would be reticent (and correctly so, in my opinion) to join this Initiative. There has been no development in the last few years for India to change its course and adopt a different stance on BRI, especially given the developments on the boundary and attempts by Chinese to change the status quo. Further, India is ridden with weak infrastructural capacity – I have written about this here in the beginning of the year 2020. Any hope for BRI through/including India is at best, wishful thinking than anything else.
A medical worker leads recovered COVID-19 patients leaving a makeshift hospital in Shanghai, east China, April 23, 2022. Huang Dongfang, who lives in a three-and-a-half-story old apartment in Guangfu residential area, recovered from COVID-19 infection and returned her home on Saturday evening. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang/IANS)
People are fearful about their livelihood as the government under the zero-COVID policy has continued with mass testing, quarantines and lockdowns…reports Asian Lite News
Nothing has rocked the Chinese society under President Xi Jinping’s leadership to date more than the “zero-COVID” policy which appears to have failed miserably as China is still struggling to cope with the daily rise in cases inside the country, according to Colombo Gazette.
The policy was introduced by the government in view of a resurge in coronavirus cases in China with 1,000 new cases being reported each day. The zero-COVID policy has, however, led to fear, anger, and confusion among Chinese citizens caused by repeated lockdowns in vast areas. As a result of the policy, 31 Chinese cities are currently under lockdown, impacting the lives of over 232 million people across the Asian nation.
People are fearful about their livelihood as the government under the zero-COVID policy has continued with mass testing, quarantines and lockdowns. Many people have lost their jobs while others have seen a drastic change in their incomes. The lockdowns have also dealt a blow to the country’s economy.
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, waves to journalists at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Oct. 23, 2022. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei/IANS)
According to recent monthly surveys, sentiment among manufacturing and services businesses in China fell to the lowest since 2020.
According to the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, nearly 60 per cent of European businesses in the country said that they are cutting 2022 revenue projections as a result of COVID controls. Youth unemployment has reached a record 20 per cent while heavily indebted local governments are forced to spend on mass COVID testing, reported Colombo Gazette.
People have been sitting on the streets of Guangzhou to show their resistance to the Chinese government’s anti-COVID policy.
Many people can be seen walking on streets, chanting slogans, in videos that went viral on social media platforms. People refused to go to quarantine centres.
People are also angry about the shortage of food, emergency medical care and other essential services in China’s mega-cities.
According to the report in Colombo Gazette, in China’s fight against Covid, one thing that Xi has so far been unwilling to do is to use foreign-made mRNA vaccines. Xi’s government has touted self-reliance in fighting COVID, promoting domestic vaccines based on inactivated versions of the virus and barring all foreign ones from the market.
The report also said that a lack of transparency over Chinese vaccines’ efficacy and waning durability has worried many Chinese as well. According to interviews and private social media chat groups seen by the Financial Times (report published on December 07, 2021), Chinese parents have over recent months quietly sought to resist giving consent for their children’s shots.
Reports have also suggested that provincial and municipal governments in China claimed adverse reactions to Chinese vaccines in China including deaths and severe disability of the recipients. (ANI)
President Xi will meet with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the visit….reports Asian Lite News
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday as part of a three-day visit to the Kingdom. Xi was invited by King Salman to attend the first China-Arab Summit in the Kingdom, which will run until December 9, state news agency SPA reported.
President Xi will meet with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the visit.
Upon arrival at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, President Xi has expressed his pleasure to visit the Kingdom again after 6 years, and to attend the first China-Arab Summit, and the first China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit, in response to the invitation of King Salman.
“On this occasion, I am pleased to extend, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, my sincere greetings and best wishes to the government and people of the friendly Kingdom,” Xi said in a statement.
He said China and Saudi Arabia have a close relationship of friendship, partnership and fraternity, over the past 32 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between them.
Upon the invitation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques @KingSalman, H.E the President of the People's Republic of China arrives in Riyadh on an official visit to the Kingdom. 🇸🇦🇨🇳
“The two sides have continued to exchange understanding and support, and the strategic mutual trust between them is constantly consolidated. The practical cooperation between them has achieved fruitful outcomes in all fields. The two sides maintain close communication and coordination with regard to international and regional affairs,” he added.
He also hailed the comprehensive strategic partnership relations between China and Saudi Arabia which was established in 2016. He said the bilateral relations between both countries have contributed strongly to promoting peace, stability, prosperity and development in the region”.
During his three-day visit, Xi will discuss with King Salman and Crow Prince MBS the bilateral relations as well as international and regional issues of common interest, and working together to plan the development of Chinese-Saudi relations, SPA reported.
“I look forward to attending the first China-Arab Summit and the first China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit, to work with the leaders of the Arab countries and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to advance the Chinese-Arab relations and Chinese-GCC relations to a new level,” Xi said.
