China Archives - Page 55 of 63

China sanctions 11 US officials in response to Hong Kong sanctions

30Aug

By Walter ParezNo Comments

China

China sanctions 11 US officials in response to Hong Kong sanctions

China imposed sanctions on 11 Americans in retaliation for similar restrictions imposed by Washington over an alleged effort to undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy.China’s sanctions targeted Senators Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton and Pat Toomey; Congressman Chris Smith; Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth; National Endowment for Democracy President Carl Gershman; and Michael Abramowitz, the president of Freedom House.“In response to the U.S.’s wrong behaviors, China has decided to impose sanctions on those individuals who behaved badly on Hong Kong-related issues,” the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Zhao Lijian, said.On August 7, The U.S. said that it was placing sanctions on 11 Chinese officials and their allies in Hong Kong.The sanctions target Hong Kong Specia...

China denounces statement of ‘five eyes’ on Hong Kong as meddling

30Aug

By Mike TrudellNo Comments

China, USA, World

China denounces statement of ‘five eyes’ on Hong Kong as meddling

The Chinese embassy in Canada has denounced the five eyes alliance for their statement on Hong Kong government's disqualification of candidates and postponement of Legislative Council elections.On July 9, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States (the five eyes) had said that the disqualification of candidates and postponement of elections have undermined the democratic process that has been fundamental to Hong Kong's stability and prosperity.In a sharp response, the Chinese embassy in Canada, in a statement said, “…the foreign ministers of Canada and other countries made a statement which once again contained irresponsible comments on the Hong Kong affairs and amounted to gross interference in China's domestic affairs. China expresses its strong dissatisfac...

In China, fears of financial Iron Curtain as US tensions rise

29Aug

By Desk TeamNo Comments

China, Market, Singapore, World

In China, fears of financial Iron Curtain as US tensions rise

SHANGHAI: A sharp escalation in tensions with the United States has stoked fears in China of a deepening financial war that could result in it being shut out of the global dollar system: A devastating prospect once considered far-fetched but now not impossible. Chinese officials and economists have in recent months been unusually public in discussing worst-case scenarios under which China is blocked from dollar settlements, or Washington freezes or confiscates a portion of China's huge US debt holdings. Those concerns have galvanised some in Beijing to revive calls to bolster the yuan's global clout as it looks to decrease reliance on the greenback. Some economists even float the idea of settling exports of China-made COVID-19 vaccines in yuan, and are looking to bypass dollar settl...

Vietnam condemns new Chinese military drills in South China Sea

28Aug

By Desk TeamNo Comments

China, World

Vietnam condemns new Chinese military drills in South China Sea

HANOI: Vietnam on Wednesday (Aug 26) accused China of violating its sovereignty by conducting military drills in a disputed part of the South China Sea and said Beijing's actions were "complicating" negotiations on establishing a code of conduct in the region. China this week began six days of exercises in waters near the Paracel Islands, where Vietnam has competing claims, according to the Maritime Safety Administration of Hainan, an island off China's southern coast. It was the second set of drills in the area by Beijing in two months. "China's repeated military exercises in (the Paracel Islands) violate Vietnam's sovereignty, complicating negotiations for a Code of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea between China and ASEAN," foreign ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said...

Serbia chooses links with China to develop economy, telecoms despite US warning campaign

27Aug

By Desk TeamNo Comments

China, Market, World

Serbia chooses links with China to develop economy, telecoms despite US warning campaign

BELGRE: As US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rallied Central European nations this week to stem Chinese influence by snubbing its advanced digital technology, Chinese surveillance cameras were recording faces and cars in the Serbian capital Belgrade. While Serbia aspires to join the European Union, it has made a big swing towards China, the top economic and geo-political competitor of the EU and United States, to help develop its infrastructure, energy and tech sectors and to buy weaponry. China has provided billions of euros in soft loans for infrastructure and energy development in Serbia. It is also pursuing its plan for a "digital silk road" - telecommunications connectivity - in which Serbia would be a key cog in Europe. On a visit to Slovenia on Thursday, Pompeo said that by r...

China’s factory activity beats expectations in July and expands for the fifth month, official PMI shows

26Aug

By Desk TeamNo Comments

China, World

China’s factory activity beats expectations in July and expands for the fifth month, official PMI shows

This photo taken on May 3, 2018 shows a worker cutting steel at a factory in Huaibei in China's eastern Anhui province. China's factory activity expanded in July for the fifth month in a row and at a faster pace, beating analyst expectations despite disruptions from floods and a resurgence in coronavirus cases around the world. The official manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) rose to 51.1 in July from June's 50.9, official data showed on Friday, marking the highest reading since March. Analysts had expected it to slow to 50.7. The 50-point mark separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. China has largely managed to recover from strict lockdowns that had led to weeks of economic paralysis, although it is now battling the most aggressive return of the novel coronavi...

After border clash with China, India to continue strengthening ties with U.S., others, experts say

24Aug

By Desk TeamNo Comments

China, World

After border clash with China, India to continue strengthening ties with U.S., others, experts say

An Indian army convoy drives towards Leh, on a highway bordering China, on June 19, 2020 in Gagangir, India. As many as 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a "violent face-off" with Chinese troops on Tuesday in the Galwan Valley along the Himalayas. Yawar Nazir | Getty Images India's border clash with China in June is likely to accelerate a trend where New Delhi continues to build and strengthen strategic partnerships with the United States and others to protect its national interests, experts told CNBC. The stand-off in the Himalayas began in May and a violent June face-off killed 20 Indian soldiers, putting pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to respond. China did not disclose if there were casualties on its side. Former diplomats and political commentators have said the...

Eyeing big China box office, Hollywood bows to censorship: Report

24Aug

By Desk TeamNo Comments

China, World

Eyeing big China box office, Hollywood bows to censorship: Report

WASHINGTON: The lure of the massive Chinese market has led Hollywood to readily self-censor its films to please Beijing, according to a new report by Pen America, an anti-censorship group. Screenwriters, producers and directors in the huge US film industry are changing scripts, deleting scenes and altering other content, afraid of offending Chinese censors who control the gateway to the country's 1.4 billion consumers, according to the report released Wednesday. The actions include everything from deleting the Taiwanese flag from Tom Cruise's bomber jacket in the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick, to removing China as the source of a zombie virus in 2013's World War Z. But it also means completely avoiding sensitive issues including Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong politics, Xinjiang and the portr...

Endless first wave: How Indonesia failed to control COVID-19

24Aug

By Desk TeamNo Comments

China, World

Endless first wave: How Indonesia failed to control COVID-19

JAKARTA: Only last week Luhut Pandjaitan, Indonesia’s maritime minister and close confidant of the country’s president, touted herbal mangosteen juice as a coronavirus remedy. His suggestion was the latest in a string of unorthodox treatments put forward by the president’s Cabinet over the past six months, ranging from prayer to rice wrapped in banana-leaf to eucalyptus necklaces. The remedies reflect the unscientific approach to battling the coronavirus in the world’s fourth-most populous country, where the rate of testing is among the world’s lowest, contact tracing is minimal, and authorities have resisted lockdowns even as infections spiked. Indonesia has officially reported 6,346 deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, the highest overall toll in Southe...

Hong Kong will suspend some legal cooperation with US, China says

23Aug

By Desk TeamNo Comments

China, World

Hong Kong will suspend some legal cooperation with US, China says

BEIJING: Hong Kong will suspend an agreement on mutual legal assistance with the United States, China's foreign ministry said on Thursday (Aug 20), in a tit-for-tat response to Washington ending some agreements with Hong Kong. The US State Department notified Hong Kong on Wednesday that Washington had suspended or terminated three bilateral agreements with the semi-autonomous city following China's imposition of a sweeping national security law. "China urges the US to immediately correct its mistakes," foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a news briefing on Thursday as he announced the suspension of the agreement on legal assistance. The agreement, signed in 1997 before Britain returned Hong Kong to China, specified that the United States and Hong Kong governments would help ...