Footage published by the Philippines Coast Guard appears to show a collision between one of its ships and a Chinese Coast Guard vessel on Tuesday morning. The Philippines Coast Guard said it was carrying out a resupply mission in the South China Sea when it ‘faced dangerous manoeuvres and blocking’ from Chinese vessels that resulted in ‘minor structural damage’ to one of its vessels The Guardian
Day: March 4, 2024
China’s ‘two sessions’ 2024: Premier Li Qiang encourages Hong Kong to ‘play to its strengths’ as part of Greater Bay Area
Chinese Premier Li Qiang has urged Hong Kong to “play to its strengths” as it takes an active role in the Greater Bay Area scheme to better integrate with national development, pledging Beijing’s support towards the upkeep of the city’s long-term prosperity and stability. The country’s No 2 leader devoted part of his work report on Tuesday to underscoring the importance of “fully, accurately and firmly” implementing the “one country, two systems” governing policy, as well as “Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong” and the city’s “high degree of autonomy”.…
‘Secret’ decision to stop issuing visas to Afghans fleeing Taliban potentially unlawful
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. A “secret” and potentially unlawful policy in effect blocked Afghans fleeing the Taliban from relocating to the UK in the wake of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s pledge to clamp down on migration, according to an independent Home Office watchdog. The findings in a report by David Neal, the chief inspector of borders at the time, relate to a decision taken in November 2022 to stop issuing visas under two resettlement…
China Emerging as One of the Key Foreign Investors in Indonesia’s New Capital City
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, is overcrowded, polluted, prone to earthquakes and often described as the world’s fastest sinking city, due to groundwater extraction and climate change. All that, plus the government’s interest in distributing opportunity and wealth more equitably among the nation’s 1,700 islands, contributed to President Joko Widodo’s announcement in August 2019 of plans to move the capital from the island of Java to the island of Borneo and create a smart, “sustainable forest city” — Nusantara. In this NASA Earth Observatory satellite image taken in April 2022,…
China’s ‘two sessions’ 2024: as GDP gap with US widens, will the ‘East wind’ prevail?
Such a tilt in world power would indicate major historical changes in China’s and the party’s favour, but it is far from a settled matter. As the first major economy to see a much-desired “V-shaped” recovery following the sharp drop precipitated by the coronavirus pandemic, China had begun that year by pushing its economic strength relative to the US to a new high of 76 per cent, beating the apogees reached by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and Japan in the 1980s. But subsequent prophecies of an inevitable overtaking…
China sets modest GDP target as it faces regional tensions and an ageing population
China has set its target for GDP growth at 5%, in line with analysts’ expectations for another year of modest ambitions for the economy, amid regional tensions and its demographic crisis. China’s premier, Li Qiang, spoke of the “challenges” facing China’s leaders as he delivered his annual government work report on Tuesday. He cited the global economy and regional tensions as hurdles for China’s recovery, as well as domestic issues such as low consumer demand in a challenging labour market. Li was speaking at the opening session of the National…
China’s services activity growth momentum softens in February, but still expands for 14th consecutive month
China’s services activity grew at a slower pace in February, with business confidence moderating for the second month and firms trimming staff numbers for the first time since November, a private-sector survey showed on Tuesday. The Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) edged down to 52.5 from 52.7 in January, but was still above the 50-mark that separates expansion from contraction for the 14th consecutive month. The outcome is in contrast to an official survey last week, which showed services activity expanded at a faster pace, providing a mixed…
China and North Korea’s ‘friendship year’ need not be bad news for US allies
The Korean Workers’ Party plenum last December discussed the “dangerous security environment” on the peninsula with leader Kim Jong-un denouncing the US-led anti-communist conflict and advocating for closer relations with “anti-imperialist independent countries”. In this regard, growing ties with China are indicative of North Korean attempts to challenge the position of the US and its partners in the region. Although China has reached out to South Korea about the tense situation on the peninsula, concerns are rising in Seoul about what the Beijing-Pyongyang partnership – which is expected to have…
China Sets Economic Growth Target of About 5%
China’s top leaders on Tuesday set an ambitious target for growth as its economy is laboring under a steep slide in the housing market, consumer malaise and investor wariness. Premier Li Qiang, the country’s No. 2 official after Xi Jinping, said in his report to the annual session of the legislature that the government would seek economic growth of around 5 percent. That is the same target that China’s leadership set for last year, when official statistics ended up showing that the country’s gross domestic product grew 5.2 percent. Some…
Sony and Nintendo left to battle in console wars as Microsoft signals exit
Microsoft’s decision to ease off its 23-year competition with Sony and Nintendo over supremacy in games hardware has opened a path for Japan’s return as the world’s undisputed home of the console. The prospect of a new, less internationalised era of console wars has raised hopes of happier times for the Japanese survivors, but has also caused analysts and investors to revisit the question of how much longer the whole genre of dedicated games machines will continue to exist. Microsoft head of gaming Phil Spencer last month revealed plans to…