Posts published in “Day: October 14, 2016”

BEIJING — A typical big company is chock-full of bosses, from the basement mail room all the way up to the executive suite. Even at the top, those in charge sometimes have to answer to big investors pushing for change. China has said it wants to make its bloated state-owned companies more like that: Hungry, results-oriented and responsive to shareholders. But this week, China’s top leader made clear to the chiefs of the country’s biggest…

The writer is a retired diplomat, a freelance columnist and a member of the visiting faculty of the Riphah Institute of Media Sciences, Islamabad The relations between Pakistan and China are beyond the realm of normal diplomatic ties, and no terminology in the diplomatic parlance can really explain the nature of these bonds. China is not only a true friend but also a benefactor of Pakistan. The diplomatic relations established in 1951 have developed into…

Ahead of the upcoming Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit, Pakistan will be paying particularly keen attention to exchanges between its two neighbours, China and India. The two countries have always shared an uneasy relationship as they vie for regional supremacy – something Pakistan has tried to take advantage of by developing a close alliance with China – but they are also dependent on each other for trade and investment. China is…

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. Data from China’s General Administration of Customs showed Thursday that India in September exported goods worth $922 million to China, while importing goods worth $5.4 billion from China. The huge trade deficit with China has become an increasingly unharmonious factor in bilateral ties between the two countries, requiring China and India to take practical measures to narrow the trade imbalance when leaders of the two nations…

‘China has committed to provide necessary assistance for modernisation of Nepal Army’s military hardware and for disaster management. The Chinese army officials made such assurance to Defence Minister Bal Krishna Khand during his recent China visit. Minister Khand had held a meeting with China’s Defence Minister and State Councilor of the People’s Republic of China Chang Wanquan, who is also the general of People’s Liberation Army, on October 11. “The Chinese authorities have assured of…

The writer is a graduate student at New York University (NYU). The current banter over the Indus Water Treaty, stressing Indo-Pak relations has presented itself as a major reality check. It has been renowned as a largely successful treaty in the international arena, even at times of war. Yet, current threats emanating from the Indian side to review the treaty or reconsider India’s position should not come as a surprise. This was bound to happen…

The writer is Executive Director, BIGD, BRAC University. China’s rising prosperity and the shift to a strategy of economic rebalancing, for the better part of a decade now, presents a unique opportunity for much stronger trade and economic relations with the country, not only for developed countries but also for developing countries, including South Asia, as it shifts resources to grow its domestic market. The two-way trade of these countries with China is already large…

Pakistan’s respected Dawn newspaper broke the news last week that civilian authorities are preparing a crackdown on jihadist groups, and the military, which previously supported these groups, has acquiesced. If true, this is a long-overdue policy change that would promote peace in South Asia. But the reaction to the article suggests the debate within the Pakistani government is hardly settled. On Oct. 3, according to Dawn, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry briefed the head of the…

In a resolution unanimously endorsed by the joint sitting of parliament, political parties across the board expressed undivided and unequivocal support for their Kashmiri brethren suffering Indian atrocities. Although the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf’s (PTI) absence – it boycotted the session arguing it was only meant to divert attention from the Panama Papers – was the highlight of the sitting, it was the ruling party’s jaded performance that really hurt the purpose of the joint session. On…

NEW DELHI: Can Afghanistan offer India the ‘other Indus’ in its strategic offensive against Pakistan? Both countries are actively exploring this via possible Chenab-like run-of-the river projects on Afghanistan’s eastern rivers. Of particular interest is river Kabul, senior officials, speaking off record, told ET. This river has some features identical to River Chenab in Jammu & Kashmir, including similar recorded average flow of around 23 million acre feet. Afghanistan desperately wants to tap irrigation and…