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.
On his maiden visit to Beijing, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during which the two leaders agreed to strengthen the all-weather friendship and the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Besides controlling the spread of the virus, a major task of the WHO team along with their Chinese counterparts was to come up with a standard medicine to cure the disease.
'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.
'There are reports of political dissent mounting on Xi Jinping's handling of the Wuhan fallout.'
It will be interesting to see whether India-China border tensions figure during the deliberations of PLA deputies to the NPC and CPPCC, notes Jayadeva Ranade, the distinguished China expert and retired RA&W officer.
Chinese leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping on Wednesday met visiting US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, in the first public meeting with a visiting foreign dignitary since his mysterious disappearance early this month that sparked rumours about his health.
Sino-Indian strategic relations are expected to get further fillip during the second innings of Chinese Communist Party chief Hu Jintao, who is all set to offer a red carpet welcome to Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Beijing this week.
'Is it because they perceive India as a soft state?'
The executive order, which was signed by Trump on Thursday, prohibits certain purchases involving publicly traded securities or any securities that are derivative of or are designed to provide investment exposure to such securities of any Communist Chinese military company.
'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.
Addressing a symposium on the international situation and China's foreign relations in 2022, Wang said both countries have maintained communication through diplomatic and military-to-military channels.
'The Congress party hated him because he had not gone to jail, he was not lathi charged, he had not gone on hunger strike.' 'They felt he had lived in London all his life and then he came to India and became an MP and a minister.'
India's stiff labour laws were one key issue that Apple CEO Tim Cook discussed with Prime Minister Modi on his recent visit.
Xi, the most powerful leader in recent decades heading the ruling Communist Party and the military, will now be the first Chinese leader after the founder chairman Mao Zedong to remain in power lifelong.
Chinese observers believe the Sino-US relationship will be impacted by issues in North Korea, Japan, India, Ukraine and Iran and that conflicts with these 'third parties' will without exception ultimately become conflicts between China and the US, points out former RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade.
'Under General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Xi Jinping, Beijing has stepped up its aggressive foreign policy toward New Delhi. Since 2013, China has engaged in five major altercations with India along the Line of Actual Control (LAC),' said a brief issued by US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
One Chinese source informed ANI that 10 million new infections are probably occurring daily in China.
The "opaque" electoral bonds scheme for funding political parties will "destroy democracy" as it promotes corruption and does not allow a level playing field between the ruling and opposition parties, the petitioners challenging the validity of the scheme told the Supreme Court, which on Tuesday observed election funding was a "complicated issue".
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti who is visiting Karnataka, on Sunday appreciated the people for voting out a 'fascist' Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state, but also cautioned people about the recent developments in Delhi, saying it was a wake-up call for everyone as it can happen anywhere in the country.
At a time when Donald Trump is making belligerent noises, Chinese President Xi Jinping responds by overhauling the People's Liberation Army and restructuring the command of the PLA Navy to emphasise Beijing's resolve to dominate the South China Sea.
'The world is finally recognising that China is pushing a form of government that many only now are beginning to recognise as problematic'
'He still has to deal with party norms and traditions and has been careful to follow the order of seniority,' points out Claude Arpi.
The death toll climbed to 2,592 with 150 new fatalities while the total number of confirmed cases increased to over 77,000, health officials said on Monday.
'Doklam was almost like a trailer to what is happening in Ladakh today.' 'Modi failed to take note and failed to act,' observes Harishchandra Dighe.
Hu Jintao is keen to have the proceedings against Bo Xilai, the party boss of the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing, completed before handing over as the general secretary of the Communist Party of China to his expected successor Xi Jinping, notes B Raman.
As Germany took note of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday accused the Congress of 'inviting foreign powers' for interference in India's internal matters and the Opposition party hit back, alleging that its rival was attempting to divert attention from the Adani issue.
'Unlike the Chinese army that has been largely a peace time force, the Indian Army is a battle hardened force,' explains Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Why did your generals try to grab a few square kilometres of Indian territory in Ladakh?' 'And what happened to the hard work that you and Prime Minister Modi put into the Wuhan and Mamallapuram meets?' Claude Arpi writes a letter to Xi Jinping, China's self-styled supreme leader, who turns 68 today, June 15.
'The first time that China alleged the Dalai Lama was 'anti-national' and 'unpatriotic' was after he affirmed that Arunachal Pradesh and Tawang are part of India,' points out former RA&W official Jayadeva Ranade.
The Chinese military on Thursday said it has conducted precision strikes over the Taiwan Strait and 'expected results' were achieved, in apparent retaliation to the United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei disregarding Beijing's vociferous warnings.
Referencing to a decline in manufacturing in democratic countries such as India and the US in recent years as production shifted to China, Gandhi said the shift had produced mass inequality and anger which needed urgent attention and dialogue.
China's top legislature on Saturday sacked Wang Lijun, former vice mayor of Chongqing Municipality, who sought shelter in the United States Consulate in Chengdue to escape a reported manhunt by disgraced Chinese Communist Party leader Bo Xilai.The National People's Congress, China's top legislature, approved on Saturday the termination of Wang Lijun, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
To rise quickly in the PLA's hierarchy, you need to be close to Xi Jinping. Retired RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade on the changes in China's military leadership.
China on Tuesday hoped that Congress president Sonia Gandhi's upcoming visit to the Communist nation would promote mutual understanding between the two countries and enhance bilateral ties as well as cooperation in various fields.
After the Ladakh fiasco where Xi Jinping did not expect the Indian Army to resist his land-grabbing tactics, he has to save face before his colleagues in the Communist party.' To bring the threat of a mega-dam to the northern Indian border is a clever move, observes Claude Arpi.
China on Friday hiked its defence budget to $209 billion, maintaining a single-digit growth for the sixth consecutive year with a 6.8 per cent increase in 2021.
'The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.' Former RA&W official Jayadeva Ranade explains what China's military reforms mean for the world.
The military preparations underway show that the PLA may undertake operations this summer to achieve whatever objectives they could not achieve last May, asserts Jayadeva Ranade, the distinguished China expert and retired RA&W officer.
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