China on Friday raised its additional tariffs on imports from the United States to 125 per cent in retaliation to the Trump administration's 145 per cent levies on Chinese exports.
'Xi is an individual led by a harder calculus and would scoff at melting over gestures.' 'That we did not know this was our failure,' asserts Aakar Patel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said it is important for India and China to work together to bring stability to the world economic order as he asserted that New Delhi is ready to advance bilateral ties from a strategic and long-term perspective based on mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity.
In his fresh directive, Xi said that more targeted patriotic health campaigns should be conducted as the country's COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control faces new situations and new tasks.
China welcomes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned visit to the Tianjin Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), expressing hope that the event will be a 'gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results'.
Indian and Japanese ships engaged in advanced level exercises in all three domains of maritime warfare -- surface, sub surface and air.
'While the President has been critical of India, he has gone out of his way to compliment PM Modi. They have an incredible relationship.'
'Does it mean that we are witnessing the end of an era?' 'Probably not, but the post-Trump trade war has certainly brought a lot of instability in China,' notes Claude Arpi.
According to sources, India would be invited to the new proposed forum, while countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Afghanistan are expected to be part of the grouping.
'Is Xi's China stable?'
'No one can say whether the regime will fall all at once or if its leaders are devising a new solid and competitive -- anything but democratic -- model.' A fascinating excerpt from Francois Bougon's Inside The Mind of Xi Jinping.
India and China reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and prepared for the next Special Representatives' dialogue on the boundary question.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is scheduled to visit China for an SCO conclave, marking a significant step in easing tensions after the 2020 border standoff. Discussions on the boundary dispute are also anticipated.
President Xi is also skipping the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and East Asia summits in Jakarta this week.
'We should watch -- in the near term -- for signs that the two have totally fallen out at a personal, political level.' 'Trump and Modi know how to be dealmakers, but they also know how to hold a grudge.'
China is set to build a rail link connecting Xinjiang province with Tibet, part of which will run near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India.
A US lawmaker and former officials warn that President Trump's policies are damaging the strategic partnership between the United States and India, potentially driving India closer to China and Russia.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to India focuses on border talks with NSA Ajit Doval, amidst efforts to rebuild relations after the Galwan Valley clashes and rising India-US tensions.
On his arrival, Xi will be welcomed by traditional peformances including 'tappu' folk drum art display at the airport by about 500 artistes.
The formulations in the declaration in reference to terrorism is going to be to our "satisfaction", Dammu Ravi, secretary (economic relations) in the external affairs ministry said on Monday.
'No respite from economic pain is worth the loss of dignity and self-respect,' asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
'However, we must implement a tit-for-tat approach -- reciprocating their conduct with precision.' 'If they demonstrate respect, we respond accordingly. If they adopt hostile positions, we mirror that hostility with equal intensity.'
The Central Committee members on Sunday elected a 25-member Political Bureau which picked the Standing Committee members to govern the country.
'If one puts the context of what Xi Jinping said at the UN about not wanting a 'hot or cold war with any country', one realises that his speech was quite bizarre.' 'The world does not expect such statements from China, a nation aspiring to be a superpower.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is on a four-day visit to China.
China has objected to Indian Minister Kiren Rijiju's remarks on the Dalai Lama's reincarnation, urging India to be cautious on Tibet-related issues to avoid impacting bilateral relations. China insists any future Dalai Lama must receive its approval.
During the meeting, President Xi addressed the ministers and discussed the bilateral issues among the countries and the issues affecting the South-Asian regions.
'The title of 'core' of the leadership gives Xi Jinping greater political authority at a time when China is beset by various problems as well as a slowdown in economic growth,' points out former RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade.
'Just as we cannot surrender the interests of our farmers and dairy industry, Trump is also looking for markets for the produce of the farmers in the Midwest, which are his support base.'
Praising the Indian students awarded at the function, he said the young generation is the hope of the two countries.
'...it should not delude itself into thinking that India's security or its great-power ambitions will be advanced by those partnerships.'
'Instead, what India should focus on is on riding out the next three-and-a-half years of Trump's presidency with minimal damage to itself.'
In the last 11 years, India and the world witnessed what he stood for, what he promised and did not deliver, and what he actually stood for and practised without fearing how history would judge him. Modi's tenure has been punctuated with headline-grabbing decisions, symbolic gestures, and stage-managed moments that continue to define his leadership and India's politics, points out Ramesh Menon.
And while delegates from all over China attended the National People's Congress, all eyes were on one man, the anointed-by-personal-diktat ruler for life, Xi Jinping.
After the outbreak of the pandemic in the country he has ruled with an iron hand in recent years, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist party of China, has mostly stayed put in Beijing.
Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has called upon China to expand its economic influence in Bangladesh, controversially mentioning that India's northeastern states being landlocked could present an opportunity. Yunus, who recently visited China and met with President Xi Jinping, highlighted Bangladesh's role as the "only guardian of the ocean " in the region, suggesting it could be a pathway for Chinese economic expansion. This statement has sparked debate, with Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic advisory council, questioning the relevance of India's landlocked states in Yunus' appeal to China. Yunus, however, emphasized the importance of a strong friendship with China, viewing it as a counterbalance to India. During his visit, Yunus signed nine agreements with Beijing and secured USD 2.1 billion in investments, loans, and grants from the Chinese government and companies.
The Chinese Communist Party's all important 19th Party Congress is just months away, and President Xi Jinping finds himself confronting unlikely challenges to his pre-eminent position, says former RA&W officer and China watcher Jayadeva Ranade.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine starting from midnight of May 7-8 to mark the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II. Putin urged the Kiev regime to follow suit, stating that the ceasefire will be in effect until midnight of May 10-11. Russia also reiterated its readiness for peace talks without preconditions and called for constructive interaction with international partners. The announcement comes as Russia prepares for its Victory Day celebrations on May 9, commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
'America holds about 16% of IMF voting rights, giving it crucial influence over Pakistan's desperately needed bailout loans.'
The call lasted approximately one and a half hours, and resulted in a very positive conclusion for both countries.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has conveyed to his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun that India and China should maintain the positive momentum in the bilateral ties and avoid adding new complexities.
Chinese President Xi Jinping received a guard of honour on Thursday in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan on Thursday.