Category: Pl

Women protesters in Guinea-Bissau on Sunday attacked a Chinese-run site in the northwest of the country mining zircon, setting fire to equipment, the interior minister and witnesses said. Advertisement One protester said they had acted after the authorities failed to respond to their complaints that the activity was damaging their farms and ruining the local environment. Several women and a village leader were arrested following the protest at Nhiquin, near the resort town of Valera not far from the border with Senegal, witnesses said. They said several hundred women were…

China has warned that it will firmly oppose and retaliate against any attempts by other countries to trade away its interests, following reports that the US is pressuring its trading partners to limit trade with Beijing in exchange for tariff exemptions. Advertisement In a statement published on Monday, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce said Washington was using reciprocity as a pretext to impose unilateral economic pressure, calling it “unilateral bullying” that violates international norms and “economic hegemony under the cloak of fairness”. “Trying to trade away others’ interests…

In its race to attract visitors and fuel spending, China’s gateway city of Shanghai welcomed a record-high 220,000 spectators for the rip-roaring Formula One Chinese Grand Prix last month. Advertisement Projected to have brought more than 5 billion yuan (US$685 million) in direct and indirect economic benefits to the city, according to the organiser, the prestigious motor race is among the more than 170 international and national sports events that are scheduled to take place in Shanghai this year. And Shanghai’s fervour for holding large-scale sporting events is being shared…

Relying on brute strength has never been the Chinese way of fighting. A smaller fighter with superior inner balance and core strength can overcome a larger opponent. As China faces an escalating economic war with the United States, this ancient wisdom also applies. Advertisement Beijing is not eager to negotiate and is not under any illusion that the tariff war with Donald Trump’s America will end soon. The Chinese leadership now recognises that unlike the trade disputes of Trump’s first term, America’s strategic goal now is not merely trade rebalancing…

The ITTF Men’s and Women’s World Cup concluded on Sunday night after attracting thousands of Chinese table tennis fans to splash their cash in Macau, all for the love of superstars such as Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha. Advertisement Olympic mixed doubles champions Wang and Sun have amassed a feverish following, particularly among young female spectators, who are willing spend large sums to watch their idols at a time when the country’s central government looks to capitalise on consumer spending on sport. Last week, Beijing rolled out supportive measures for…

Professor Yan Anlin is one of mainland China’s most highly regarded Taiwan studies experts. A former close aide to Wang Daohan, the mainland representative at the historic talks with Taiwan in 1993, Yan is frequently consulted by Beijing on cross-strait policymaking and sits in on official meetings. Advertisement He currently serves as president of the Shanghai Association of Taiwan Studies as well as the Shanghai Institute for International Strategic Studies. He is also a former vice-president of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies think tank. This interview first appeared in…

Video of a Chinese army unit training with helicopter crews at sea suggested the kinds of cross-unit coordination and front line coastal support exercises that would be required during a conflict around Taiwan, according to experts. Advertisement Earlier this week, state broadcaster CCTV aired videos and interviews featuring pilots from the 81st Group Army’s aviation brigade, a division under the Central Theatre Command that is tasked with defending the capital Beijing and central regions. The reports on Monday and Wednesday were intended to spotlight the growing capabilities of the first…