China Financial News

Taiwan elections 2024: Lai Ching-te, candidate of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP), won the Taiwan election held on Saturday, January 13. Both China and the United States reacted sharply to the latest polls as the DPP secured unprecedented third consecutive term in the nation. Taiwan's election took place at a time of growing geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington.

Jaishankar will meet Foreign Minister of Iran, HE Dr Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and hold discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues. "Political cooperation, connectivity initiatives and strong people-to-people ties will constitute important aspects of the agenda," the statement by the ministry added. Jaishankar and Amir-Abdollahian are also likely to discuss boosting regional connectivity through the Chabahar Port.

China said "reunification" with Taiwan remained "inevitable" after president-elect Lai Ching-te won Saturday's pivotal election on the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own. Lai, branded by China as a threat to peace, won an unprecedented third consecutive term for Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after he pitched himself as the defender of the island's democratic way of life.

state visit to China, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu on Saturday struck a defiant note saying that his country may be small but «doesn't give them the license to bully us». His comments came amid a diplomatic row with India over derogatory social media posts by three of his ministers against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. «We may be small but this doesn't give them the license to bully us,» Muizzu, who is regarded as a pro-China leader, said without naming any country.

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu said on Saturday that China, largest external creditor to the country, has agreed to consider restructuring the repayment of loans taken by his country and the governments will initiate negotiations soon. He told the media in Male after his return from a five-day high-profile state visit to China that he has directly appealed to Chinese President Xi Jinping to restructure the loans provided to the Maldives. He said that the loans were direct loans and that a technical team from China's Finance Ministry will travel to Maldives soon «to research and decide the way to offer a grace period in loan repayments over next five years, Maldives news portal Sun online reported.

India has also flagged its concerns about problems being faced by domestic businesses in getting timely visas for the US and has urged America to fast track the process, an official statement said on Saturday. These concerns were raised during the 14th India-US Trade Policy Forum held in New Delhi on Friday. It was co-chaired by the US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. “For H1B renewal visas, stamping has begun in the US on a pilot basis and we have asked them to make it permanent and for family members also,” an official told ET, adding that by April, tourist and business visa times to the US are expected to get normalised. The commerce ministry said that the two ministers noted that the movement of professional and skilled workers, students, investors and business visitors between the countries contributes immensely to enhancing bilateral economic and technological partnership.

Tesla Inc. had a blockbuster 2023, as its shares more than doubled in 12 months. But 2024 is starting on a different note, with Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker off to its worst start to any year — ever. The company has lost more than $94 billion in market valuation in just the first two weeks of 2024.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday. Diplomacy continues and sometimes solutions to difficult situations do not come in haste, he said while speaking on 'Bharat's Rise in Geopolitics' at an event here, during which he took questions from the audience.

Taiwan's ruling party, won an election on Saturday that China had framed as a choice between war and peace. The candidate for Taiwan's main opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT), Hou Yu-ih, conceded defeat in the election.

Modi government of adopting a «callous attitude» towards national security and viewing it from the lens of electoral advantage and for the prime minister's «self-aggrandisement». Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that Army Chief General Manoj Pande's recent remarks at his annual press conference are a timely reminder of the «serious deterioration» of India's national security environment under the Modi government.

By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard

HANOI — Vietnam is set to achieve a 6% growth in its gross domestic product (GDP) for the year 2024, a target that aligns with the projections made by HSBC and the expectations of the National Assembly. The Southeast Asian nation is experiencing an economic upswing, buoyed by substantial foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, which saw $36.6 billion registered and $23.2 billion implemented in the preceding year.

Indian workers to duty-free access on goods with India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi. While the import management system has minimized the impact on businesses, she “urged India to ensure that the end-to-end online system currently in operation and related policies do not restrict trade going forward," according to a joint statement. In October last year, India said it will allow imports of tech hardware without a mandatory license, softening curbs it had previously planned to impose.

China has reported that its exports grew slightly for a second consecutive month in December even as deflationary pressures continued

Russian tourists going on a ski trip will be the first international travelers to visit North Korea since the country’s borders closed in 2020 amid the global pandemic lockdown

Indonesia and Vietnam agreed to cooperate on fisheries on Friday as Indonesian President Joko Widodo met Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong on Friday

Taiwanese are preparing to elect a new president and legislature Saturday in what many see as a test of control with China which claims the self-governing island republic as its own

TAIPEI (Reuters) — The plight of Tibet has become less discussed internationally but repression continues and China is applying what it did there to other regions, a former head of the Tibetan government-in-exile said on Saturday.

A new Communist Party slogan was born on January 9th. The phrase, which appeared on the front page of the People’s Daily, a party mouthpiece, defies easy interpretation. A loose translation might read “nine issues that must be grasped".

CES, the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, thanks to wearable tech innovations. Here are some highlights:

European Union's competition czar Margrethe Vestager on Friday said US tech giants will have to strictly abide by the bloc's new rules on how they do business when they come into force in two months. EU competition commissioner Vestager was on a visit to Silicon Valley where she met with Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and other big tech executives.