China Financial News

‘Smart enough to have multiple options,’ Jaishankar hails India's diplomatic versatility, Antony Blinken smiles Sino-U.S. relations have shown signs of improvement in recent months as both sides took steps to re-establish channels of communication after ties between the two global superpowers sank to their lowest levels in decades. But many points of friction remain.

By Madhushri Verma

United Nations Security Council is likely to vote on Tuesday on an Algerian push for the 15-member body to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, said diplomats, a move the United States signaled it would veto. Algeria put forward an initial draft resolution more than two weeks ago. But U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield quickly said the text could jeopardize «sensitive negotiations» aimed at brokering a pause in the war.

Wang was walking down the podium and Jaishankar was walking up the podium for a panel discussion with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister. The two foreign ministers were seen engaging in an animated conversation. The impromptu interaction, after months of no communication, added intrigue to the diplomatic setting.

Joe Biden's campaign is embracing TikTok to court younger voters ahead of the presidential elections, but U.S. adults have mixed views about whether the video-sharing app should even operate in the country. A new poll by The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds a three-way split when it comes to banning the app, with 31% of U.S. adults saying they would favor a nationwide ban on TikTok use, while 35% say they would oppose that type of action. An additional 31% of adults say they neither favor nor oppose a ban on the social media platform, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance. Among those who use TikTok at least daily, a national ban would likely be highly unpopular: 73% say they oppose it.

China's central bank left a key policy rate unchanged as expected when rolling over maturing medium-term loans on Sunday. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said it was keeping the rate on 500 billion yuan ($69.51 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans to some financial institutions unchanged at 2.50% from the previous operation.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had a brief interaction with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of Munich Security Conference on Saturday which was their first meeting since last July. While the details of the meeting are not yet known, it is understood that the Indian Foreign Minister would have emphasised on early resolution of irritants along the Line of Actual Control that has plagued ties since 2020. The two last met in Indonesia on the sidelines of ASEAN meet in July 2023. Jaishankar had raised outstanding issues with Wang Yi in Indonesia meeting. In that meeting, Jaishankar had underlined the importance of peace on the LAC as a prerequisite for normalcy in the broader relationship, and called for China to take forward disengagement of troops in the two remaining friction points.

Nepal's Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha who has directed local authorities to crack down against illegal activities by citizens from the neighbouring country. Shrestha's directive came against recent activities by certain Chinese nationals who violated visa norms and Forex regulations, ET has learnt.

Also Read: Oil remains range-bound as rate cut hopes fade away: Here's how US Fed policy decision affects prices Back home, on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), crude oil futures due for a March 19 expiry, last settled 0.03 per cent higher at ₹6,484 per bbl, having swung between ₹6,381 and ₹6,518 per bbl during the session, against a previous close of ₹6,482 per barrel. On Thursday, Hezbollah said it fired dozens of rockets at a northern Israeli town in a "preliminary response" to the killing of 10 civilians in southern Lebanon, the deadliest day for Lebanese civilians in four months of cross-border hostilities. The oil market's reaction to news from the Middle East was moderate, according to analysts.

look similar to the websites of Indian brokers.'' ‘’Unwitting users who click on the app download links, etc., will be prompted to download the fake app. The goal is to get people to transfer money by taking advantage of their familiarity with these apps,'' added Kamath. According to reports, pig butchering scams have a global reach, with perpetrators often becoming victims themselves.

UNITED NATIONS: Underlining the need for comprehensive reform of the Security Council, India has questioned how much longer can the will of five permanent members of the powerful UN body continue to override the collective voice of the world organisation's 188 member states. India's Permanent Representative at the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, speaking at the Inter-Governmental Negotiations on Security Council Reform on Friday, stressed that “equity" must be the cornerstone of global efforts to reform the 15-nation UN body. “Equity demands that every nation, irrespective of its size or power, be afforded an equal opportunity…to shape global decision-making,” she said, adding that “Our question therefore is how much longer will the will of five members continue to override the collective voice of 188 member states?”.

BEIJING (Reuters) — Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi warned the West that it would be making a historical mistake if it sought to decouple from China in the interests of reducing risk.

World Table Tennis Team Championships campaign on a winning note here on Saturday. Star Indian paddler Sharath Kamal, ranked 95, started off the proceedings in dominant fashion, racing to a 11-5 11-8 11-6 win over world number 53 Nicholas Burgos. India's top-ranked paddler and reigning national champion Harmeet Desai continued the momentum, beating the lowly-ranked Gustavo Gomez for a facile 11-8 11-7 11-6 win. G Sathiyan was stretched in the first game by Olivares Felipe but the Indian paddler battled it out to seal the tie with a 12-10 11-8 11-8 victory.

Wang Yi said China will be a «force for stability» in the world during a speech on Saturday at a major security conference in Germany. «No matter the changes in the international situation, China as a responsible major country will always maintain the continuity and stability of its major policies and resolutely stay a force for stability in a turbulent world,» Wang said.

Anmol Kharb is a fearless and intelligent player and her emergence is refreshing for Indian badminton, gushed chief National coach Pullela Gopichand after the teenager's impressive show at the Asia Team Championships. The 17-year-old from Faridabad humbled world number 29 Natsuki Nidaira in the deciding fifth match against Japan, a win that carried India into first-ever final in the prestigious tournament. Anmol, who won the senior national champion in December 2023, had also notched up a thrilling three-game win over China's Wu Luo Yu on Wednesday in their group match. This is her first major international assignment.

President Joe Biden’s campaign is embracing TikTok to court younger voters ahead of the presidential elections, but U.S. adults have mixed views about whether the video-sharing app should even operate in the country

Hong Kong customs officials have arrested seven people linked to the territory's largest money laundering case on record, involving about $1.8 billion

Oppo, Vivo and Realme smartphones in partnership with Indian manufacturers Dixon Technologies and Karbonn Group, said people with knowledge of the matter. This is partly owing to pressure from the government to get local partners and benefit from the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for phone manufacturing, they said. The move comes despite Oppo and Vivo having a large smartphone plant each in India. These make the entire range of BBK Group brands, such as Oppo, Vivo, Realme, OnePlus and iQoo. Industry executives said Chinese smartphone companies are cautious about directly investing in their own plants for capacity expansion after increased scrutiny in the last few years, ranging from alleged customs duty and income tax evasion to money laundering. The ir bank accounts had also been frozen, forcing them to take legal recourse to ensure business continuity. Investigations are ongoing. Chinese companies came under pressure in India following the escalation in border tensions a few years ago.

Edited excerpts: So, first thing to say is we are at a historically high point and the bilateral relationship has never seen as much prospect and forward movement as we’ve right now. There are three underlying drivers that are driving this bilateral relationship. One, for the first time in our history, Australia and India have a very high level of strategic alignment.

Bhutan's Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay is keen on visiting India following New Delhi's invitation to discuss new areas of cooperation, including connectivity and business, ET has learnt. Tobgay is no stranger to India and he has been invited following his re-election as Bhutan's PM. India had started engaging with the new Bhutanese government as soon as it was elected, with foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra meeting Tobgay on the first day of his second term last month. Tobgay is also keen to host Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is learnt. Kwatra was on a three-day visit to Thimphu to engage with the new government to discuss new initiatives, including Bhutan's next five-year plan, fresh development support from the Indian government, and energy partnership and cross-border connectivity initiatives. New Delhi has stepped up engagements with Thimphu, a move seen as counterbalancing China's growing inroads in Bhutan, and has been observing the trajectory of ties, particularly the boundary talks. The territorial dispute between Bhutan and China covers an area of about 764 sq km--269 sq km in western and 495 sq km in north-central Bhutan. New Delhi is concerned over China's claim over areas in the vicinity of Doklam in western Bhutan. In return, Beijing wants to narrow or give up its territorial claims in the north-central region of Bhutan. Thimphu has assured New Delhi that it will not undermine India's interests while negotiating a boundary treaty with Beijing.

Ethiopia has inked a memorandum of understanding with Data Centre Service, a subsidiary of Hong Kong’s West Data, to build a $250 million data mining infrastructure project in the country.