All stories by K J M Varma
With 2000 new infections, China's daily Covid cases hit 2-yr high
Rediff.com13 Mar 2022The former British colony also reported COVID-related 87 deaths taking the overall toll to 3,729, the report said.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to step down in sweeping leadership change
Rediff.com11 Mar 2022Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who is at the helm of managing the country's economy for a decade, said that he will be stepping down this year, setting in motion the once-in-a-decade sweeping leadership change in the Communist country.
China offers to restore peace in 'grave' Ukraine
Rediff.com11 Mar 2022Premier Li, replying to a question on China's refusal to criticise Russia's military action against Ukraine, said that utmost efforts should be made to support Russia and Ukraine in carrying forward ceasefire negotiations.
Ladakh standoff: China hopes for a solution in March 11 talks
Rediff.com10 Mar 2022'We hope this round of meeting, on the basis of previous meetings, can move forward, further enlarge consensus, narrow differences and work for a solution that is acceptable to both parties,' the spokesperson said in updated comments posted on the ministry's website.
China hikes defence budget to $230bn, three times that of India's
Rediff.com5 Mar 2022China hiked its annual defence budget by 7.1 per cent.
China lowers GDP target for 2022 to 5.5%
Rediff.com5 Mar 2022China on Saturday lowered its GDP target to 5.5 per cent for this year bringing it down from last year's 6.1 per cent. The new target for the second-largest economy was announced by Premier Li Keqiang in his work report presented to the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's Parliament which opened its annual session in Beijing on Saturday. In 2021, China's economy grew by 8.1 per cent 2021 to about $18 trillion stated to be the best in a decade.
China 'extremely concerned' over civilian casualties in Ukraine
Rediff.com2 Mar 2022Wang said that the situation in Ukraine has changed rapidly and that China laments the outbreak of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and is 'extremely concerned' with the harm to civilians, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
US will pay 'heavy price' for backing Taiwan's independence: China
Rediff.com1 Mar 2022China on Tuesday warned the United States that it will pay a 'heavy price' for its attempts to show support to Taiwan's independence as a delegation of ex-American defence officials dispatched by President Joe Biden landed in Taipei amid apprehensions that Beijing may attempt action against the self-ruled island akin to Russia's military assault in Ukraine.
China slams India's decision to ban 54 mobile apps
Rediff.com17 Feb 2022China on Thursday criticised India's latest decision to block access to 54 more Chinese mobile apps over security and privacy concerns, saying that the move has damaged the legitimate interests of companies from China. India on Monday blocked 54 more apps with Chinese links, including Tencent Xriver, Nice Video baidu, Viva Video Editor, and gaming app Garena Free Fire Illuminate. The Chinese apps allegedly obtain various critical permissions and collect sensitive user data. The collected real-time data are being misused and transmitted to servers located in a hostile country, sources in India said, adding that the IT ministry has issued interim directions for the blocking of 54 apps.
Sino-India talks must continue to resolve issues: Beijing
Rediff.com14 Feb 2022"On the border issue, China always maintains that we should follow through on treaties and agreements we signed and we jointly uphold peace and tranquility at the border region," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said while responding to Jaishankar's remarks.
Quad a tool to stoke confrontation: China
Rediff.com11 Feb 2022China, which has territorial disputes with many countries in the strategic Indo-Pacific region, has been opposing the Quad alliance since its formation.
China defends fielding Galwan soldier as Winter Olympics torchbearer
Rediff.com7 Feb 2022China in a provocative move fielded Qi Fabao, the regimental commander of the (PLA), who was injured during the June 2020 clash in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, as a torchbearer for the Olympics Games Torch Relay, which led India to diplomatically boycott the opening ceremony of the games on Friday.
Opposed to 'unilateral actions' on Kashmir: China after Xi-Imran meet
Rediff.com7 Feb 2022In the past, India strongly rejected references made to Jammu and Kashmir in a previous joint statement by Pakistan and China.
China says not aware of missing Arunachal youth
Rediff.com20 Jan 2022Asked for his reaction to the allegation of the PLA abducting Taron, the spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry in Beijing said, "I don't know the situation."
China's economy grows by 8.1% in 2021
Rediff.com17 Jan 2022China's economy grew by 8.1 per cent in 2021 to about $18 trillion despite challenges, including epidemic resurgences and a complicated external environment, the government said on Monday. According to the official figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), China's economy grew by four per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, slowing from the 4.9 per cent growth in the third quarter, rounding off the full year's growth rate to 8.1 per cent in 2021. The GDP increase is also above the six per cent target set by the government for the year.
Anyang 3rd Chinese city to go under lockdown as Covid cases spiral
Rediff.com11 Jan 2022As Covid-19 cases spiralled in China ahead of the next month's Beijing Winter Olympics, authorities effectively put Anyang under lockdown, the third city after Xian and Tianjin, confining over 20 million people to their homes to arrest the spread of the contagion.
China confirms Wednesday's border talks, says border 'stable'
Rediff.com11 Jan 2022China said on Tuesday that the current situation on the border areas with India was "stable" as it confirmed that the 14th round of Corps Commander-level talks to discuss the disengagement process in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh will be held on Wednesday.
We will press China for return of stranded Indians: Top diplomat
Rediff.com10 Jan 2022India will continue to take up with China the return of over 23,000 stranded Indian students, besides a large number of Indian workers and their families who are currently stranded back home for the last two years due travel restrictions imposed by Beijing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior diplomat has said.
China says Arunachal 'inherent part' of its territory
Rediff.com31 Dec 2021India on Thursday strongly rejected China renaming 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh and asserted that the state has 'always been' and will 'always be' an integral part of India and that assigning 'invented' names does not alter this fact.
China's 'zero case' policy under stress due to spike in Covid cases
Rediff.com30 Dec 2021China's Zero-COVID-19 case policy is increasingly coming under stress as the country is reporting a spike in the number of coronavirus infections from different provinces ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games with over 2,500 people undergoing treatment.