President Xi Jinping on Monday vowed to build China's military into a "Great Wall of steel" to protect its sovereignty and developmental interests as he sought a bigger role for Beijing in global affairs, days after brokering a Saudi Arabia-Iran detente, regarded as a diplomatic coup.
China's President for a decade Hu Jintao on Wednesday stepped down from power, leaving a stamp of his own on the ruling Communist Party, which incorporated his theory of Scientific Outlook in its constitution to figure along with the theories of top leaders like Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.
A visit to Tibet appears to have become the new touchstone for expressing fealty to Xi Jinping, observes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and distinguished China expert.
Doggedly persisting with its much-criticised zero-Covid policy, China has slipped deeper into the coronavirus quagmire as it reported a record 31,444 infections on Thursday with many of its cities, including Beijing, resorting to community lockdowns to stem the virus amid worsening wintery weather.
Nepal witnessed political turbulence in 2022 that dramatically turned rivals into allies and throned former guerrilla leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' as the prime minister for a third time, as Kathmandu made efforts to balance ties with immediate neighbours India and China with high-profile talks and visits.
His attack on the government came days after Indian Army personnel clashed with Chinese soldiers in the Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh.
In the first high-level Sino-India contact since the once-in-a-decade leadership change in the ruling Communist Party of China, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon arrived in Beijing on Sunday for wide-ranging talks on bilateral ties, including the vexed border issue.
China would have become another India "where around 20% of the world's poorest live" if it adopted democracy
How China's all powerful Communist party bungled the response to the coronavirus crisis.
'How Xi Jinping will withdraw the aggression and justify it to his Communist party in case of a negotiated settlement might be his biggest headache.' 'Unless he is ready to gamble on an armed conflict, whose outcome given India's battle-readiness and determination is always uncertain,' observes Virendra Kapoor.
Singhvi said for this government it seems national security is not important.
China claims Taiwan as part of the mainland and vows to integrate what it calls the rebel province even by force.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was taking action against an unspecified number of Chinese officials, including from the ruling Communist Party, under a US law that calls on China to let Americans visit Tibet.
'That the two sides allowed such a situation to arise exposed the level of inaction and inefficiency in China-India border management.' 'The Modi-Xi meeting in Xiamen initiated a process to to avert such contingencies in the future.'
Samdong Rimpoche's visit to China materialised against the backdrop of strained India-China relations consequent to the face-off between Indian and Chinese troops at Doklam, says former RAW officer Jayadeva Ranade.
Taiwan considers itself a sovereign state -- but China views the self-ruled island as a breakaway province. Beijing has not ruled out the possible use of force to achieve unification.
Xi does not want to risk any political or economic crisis complicating his bid to remain in office, observes Ambassador Shyam Saran, the former foreign secretary.
Speculation about the missing Chinese Defence Minister General Li Shangfu may have been removed and detained became rife after he was conspicuously absent at the meeting of the Central Military Commission (CMC) in Beijing on Friday.
China on Friday announced sanctions on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her immediate family members for her visit to Taiwan this week, disregarding the strident warnings from Beijing, asserting that it violated China's sovereignty and the "One China policy".
Xi said the entire military should devote all its energy to carry out all its work for combat readiness, enhance its capability to fight and win, and effectively fulfill its missions and tasks
China on Monday said Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's three-day visit from Tuesday is of great importance for deepening strategic partnership amid expectations that the two sides would sign some key pacts, including one to prevent incursions along the LAC.
Former Nepalese foreign minister Ramesh Nath Pandey observed that the current situation is not encouraging for India-Nepal ties, saying the "present leaders" created irritants in the relationship in the past.
BJP alleged that it was an attempt by a "grand alliance of most corrupt parties" to ensure that its "corruption" was not exposed.
Republican Kevin McCarthy was elected as the new speaker of the United States House of Representatives in a dramatic post-midnight ballot on Saturday, after days of intense negotiations and a series of humiliating defeats to finally capture the gavel on a historic 15th attempt.
Dr. Kotnis, who hailed from Solapur in Maharashtra, came to China in 1938 as part of a five-member team of doctors sent by the Indian National Congress to help the Chinese during the World War II.
Jaishankar maintained that New Delhi is engaged with Beijing in defusing tension through diplomatic channels.
Speculation is rife that Xi is likely to make an attempt to initiate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine to end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
'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.
Senior Chinese Communist Party leader Zhang Dejiang, who replaced disgraced Bo Xilai as the party chief of Chongqing, was on Thursday elected as chairman of the country's Parliament.
It's time India re-visited its Western alliances for the attitude and approach that the West reserves for the nation when it comes to security cooperation of the kind that they might not have visualised outside of China, India's bug-bear, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
China on Wednesday said it will take "strong and effective" countermeasures against the US and Taiwan for violating the "One-China policy", as the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi successfully completed her visit to Taipei disregarding Beijing's vociferous threats.
With an aim of expanding the party's base, Congress on Monday launched an online and application-based membership drive.
India needs to be alert on how the Doklam standoff plays into the factional infighting in China's Communist Party, says Ambassador Shyam Saran, the former foreign secretary.
China hiked its annual defence budget by 7.1 per cent.
'The mood in Beijing is already nervous and feverously watchful.' 'Developments in China will be scrutinised as intensely and nervously as the ones in Washington,' says Claude Smadja.
If the prime minister can say all kinds of things against India, why is it a crime if Rahul Gandhi does so, Kharge said.
China's National Health Commission on Thursday said the country reported only four new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the total number to 82,862, while no death due to the disease was registered. The virus has claimed 4,633 lives in the country.
Donald Trump is believed to be the first US President or President-elect to have spoken to a Taiwanese leader since 1979, when the US severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan after its recognition of the People's Republic of China, points out former RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade.
There is no official word either from China or from India on who will represent Beijing at the upcoming G20 summit.
'China's latest defence White Paper has been issued against the backdrop of the upgraded Sino-Pakistan strategic relationship which has impinged on India's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Beijing's continuing intransigence on tackling the issue of the disputed border or intrusion by PLA troops,' says Jayadeva Ranade.
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