MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan: A boat that capsized off the coast of Greece last week was carrying around 800 people, according to an initial investigation by police in Pakistan, which declared a national day of mourning on Monday. Pakistani authorities said they had arrested 14 suspects in connection with the alleged traffickingContinue Reading
JET ENGINES, DRONES, SEMICONDUCTORS Major announcements expected during Modi’s visit are US approval to General Electric to manufacture engines in India for its domestically produced fighter jets, India’s purchase of 31 armed MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones made by General Atomics worth US$3 billion, and the removal of US obstacles that preventContinue Reading
BEIJING: China and the United States must choose between “cooperation or conflict”, Beijing’s top diplomat told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday (Jun 19), his final day of a trip aimed at improving severely strained ties. Blinken and Wang Yi, China’s highest-ranking foreign policy official, spoke for three hoursContinue Reading
PUSH TO DIVERSIFY Export giant Germany, by virtue of its economic might, has always enjoyed special ties with China. Under former chancellor Angela Merkel, Berlin took a pragmatic approach of talking up economic opportunities while keeping less flattering opinions on rights and freedom behind closed doors. That made China aContinue Reading
BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet on Monday (Jun 19) with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, a sign that the two sides are working to smooth out severely strained ties. China has called on the US to choose between cooperation and conflict as Blinken paid the highest-level visitContinue Reading
Before the talks, US officials saw little chance of any breakthrough on the long list of disputes between the world’s two largest economies, which range from trade and US efforts to hold back China’s semiconductor industry to the status of self-governed Taiwan and Beijing’s human rights record. “The secretary emphasisedContinue Reading
Britain only has formal diplomatic relations with Beijing, but maintains a de facto embassy in Taipei. Although junior British ministers hold talks with their Taiwanese counterparts, the convention was that senior British ministers do not meet with Taiwanese officials. Tugendhat, who was sanctioned by China two years ago for speakingContinue Reading
WASHINGTON: For over 40 years, a landmark agreement between the United States and China has yielded cooperation across a range of scientific and technical fields, a powerful sign that the rivals could set aside their disputes and work together. Now with bilateral relations in their worst state in decades, aContinue Reading
BEIJING: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began meetings in Beijing on Sunday (Jun 18), the first top American diplomat to visit China in five years, amid frosty bilateral ties and dim prospects for any breakthrough on the long list of disputes between the world’s two largest economies. Having postponed aContinue Reading
BEIJING: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began meetings in Beijing on Sunday (Jun 18), the first top American diplomat to visit China in five years, amid frosty bilateral ties and dim prospects for any breakthrough on the long list of disputes between the world’s two largest economies. Having postponed aContinue Reading