Tag: US

US welcomes steps to return J&K to full economic, political normalcy
World

US welcomes steps to return J&K to full economic, political normalcy

The United States State Department spokesperson Ned Price has welcomed and appreciated India’s actions to return the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to full economic and political normalcy consistent with the country’s democratic values.“We welcome steps to return the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to full economic and political normalcy consistent with India’s democratic values,” he said. “We continue to follow developments in Jammu and Kashmir closely.”Stressing upon the strategic partnership with India, Price asserted, “We have a comprehensive global strategic partnership with India.”“When it comes to Pakistan, we have an important shared interest in the region and we’ll continue to work closely with Pakistani authorities on those,” he added.In February, the United States wel...
US has obligation to address genocide in Xinjiang by China: Nancy Pelosi
World

US has obligation to address genocide in Xinjiang by China: Nancy Pelosi

The United States Speaker Nancy Pelosi has expressed solidarity with the Uyghur community amid the ongoing human rights abuse in China and affirmed her view that the United States has an “obligation to address the genocide”.“If we don’t speak out clearly for human rights in China because of commercial interests, we lose all moral authority to speak out for human rights any place in the world,” she said after a meeting through video conference with the representatives of Campaign for Uyghurs.During the meeting, held on March 1, the Campaign for Uyghurs informed the Speaker about the updates and legislative priorities relating to stopping the Uyghur genocide, according to an official statement.Dr Rishat Abbas, Senior Advisor to CFU and the World Uyghur Congress, said, “Uyghurs are facing unp...
New York Stock Exchange to delist major Chinese oil company on March 9
World

New York Stock Exchange to delist major Chinese oil company on March 9

In compliance with an executive order by former US President Donald Trump, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) will move to delist CNOOC Ltd., the Chinese oil major“Trading in American depository shares of CNOOC will be suspended at 4 am ET on March 9,” the NYSE said in a statement.It’s the fourth Chinese company to be slapped with such a punishment.The exchange said in January that it would end trading of shares in China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom to comply with Trump’s order targeting companies that the previous administration said had links to the Chinese military.CNOOC’s Hong Kong-listed shares dropped 1.1 per cent on Monday.The Big Board’s regulatory arm determined that CNOOC was ‘no longer suitable for listing’ in light of the executive order, which Trump signed in Novembe...
US-China tensions over South China Sea to continue under Biden administration: Report
China, World

US-China tensions over South China Sea to continue under Biden administration: Report

With Chinese military conducting a live-fire drill to test its response to repeated missile attacks in a “far sea” and US stepping up reconnaissance activities, it seems that tensions between Beijing and Washington over the South China Sea will continue under the new Joe Biden administration.There are fresh signs from the Chinese and the American armed forces that tensions over the South China Sea will continue, according to media reports.The Chinese military’s Southern Theatre Command conducted a live-fire drill to test its response to repeated missile attacks in a “far sea”, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Saturday without saying when or where the exercise took place.The drill involved the guided-missile destroyer Yinchuan, guided-missile frigate Hengyang, the amphibious dock landing ...
US moves bill to ban 10-year multiple-entry visa to China to curb “espionage”
China, World

US moves bill to ban 10-year multiple-entry visa to China to curb “espionage”

A group of US Republican senators have introduced a legislation to end China's access to 10-year multi-entry visas until it is certified that Beijing has ceased its campaign of "economic and industrial espionage" against Washington.The legislation, Visa Security Act, was introduced by Senators Marsha Blackburn, Tom Cotton, Rick Scott, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio on Friday.If passed, it would prohibit Chinese nationals from receiving 10-year B-1/B-2 visas until the Secretary of State certifies that China has "ceased its campaign of economic and industrial espionage against the United States and ended its provocative and coercive behaviour towards Taiwan."The B-1/B-2 visas are issued to those who come to the US for business, visit or tourism purposes.Under this legislation, Chinese citizens wo...
US House reintroduces bill to ban goods from China’s Xinjiang
China, World

US House reintroduces bill to ban goods from China’s Xinjiang

In a step which will lead to increased tensions between the US and China, the US House of Representatives have reintroduced a bill that would ban imports from the Xinjiang region in China unless it is certified they are not produced with forced labour.“We have watched in horror as the Chinese government first created, and then expanded a system of extrajudicial mass internment camps targeting Uyghurs and Muslim minorities. We now know the entire XUAR economy is built upon a foundation of forced labour and repression,” said Representative Jim McGovern.According to McGovern, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act would create a “rebuttable presumption” that any goods made in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) are made with forced labour and prohibited from entering the United State...
US calls India important partner in Indo-Pacific, welcomes emergence as leading global power
China, World

US calls India important partner in Indo-Pacific, welcomes emergence as leading global power

India is one of the most important partners in the Indo-Pacific region to us. We welcome India’s emergence as a leading global power and its role as a net security provider in the region, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Tuesday.He also welcomed India’s tenure at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a non-permanent member, adding that the US remains India’s largest trading partner, with total bilateral trade increasing to USD 146 billion in 2019.“We cooperate on a wide range of diplomatic and security issues, including defense, non-proliferation, regional cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, counter-terrorism, peacekeeping, environment, health, education, technology, agriculture, space and oceans and that list is not exhaustive,” he added.The State Department spokesp...
‘Let’s each manage our own business’: Top Chinese diplomat on US’ remarks on human rights abuses
China, World

‘Let’s each manage our own business’: Top Chinese diplomat on US’ remarks on human rights abuses

In a sharp response to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling out Beijing for its gross human rights violations in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, the top foreign policy aide to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Yang Jiechi has said “let’s each manage our own business.”Yang told Blinken during their Friday call that the US should “correct recent mistakes, and work with China to promote the healthy and stable development of China-US relations by upholding the spirit of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation,” according to a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.Yang said that both sides should respect the other’s core interests, as well as political systems and developmental paths of their own choosing, according to the statement.“Each side should focus ...
Quad countries working to arrange first meeting amid China’s growing influence
Asia, China, World

Quad countries working to arrange first meeting amid China’s growing influence

Amid China’s growing influence, members of the Quad countries - the US, India, Japan and Australia - are working to arrange the first meeting of their leaders, according to media reports.This comes as the US President Joe Biden’s new administration has expressed its eagerness to build on renewed attention to the grouping of the four major Indo-Pacific democracies. National security adviser Jake Sullivan even called it “a foundation upon which to build substantial American policy in the Indo-Pacific”.According to a source, the US has already proposed to other countries the idea of holding an online meeting of the Quad leaders.During the envisioned meeting, the Quad members are expected to discuss cooperation for the realisation of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” amid concerns over China’s ma...
US may re-impose sanctions on Myanmar following coup: Biden
World

US may re-impose sanctions on Myanmar following coup: Biden

The United States might re-impose sanctions on Myanmar following the military coup there in which Counsellor Aung Suu Kyi along with other top politicians were detained and a state emergency of one-year was imposed.In a statement dated Monday, US President Joe Biden said that Washington will “stand up for democracy wherever it is under attack.”“The military’s seizure of power in Burma, the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian officials, and the declaration of a national state of emergency are a direct assault on the country’s transition to democracy and the rule of law,” Biden said in a statement.“The United States removed sanctions on Burma over the past decade based on progress toward democracy. The reversal of that progress will necessitate an immediate review of our sanctio...