From Foreign Waters

  As China's Belt and Road Initiative gains traction in the Middle East , many are wondering if the United States can compete. However, a new plan has emerged that aims to do just that: revamp America's rail system and create a more efficient transportation network across the country. Can this audacious move entice Middle Eastern states away from China's influence? Join us as we investigate whether the US rail plan has any chance of succeeding in the high-stakes game of global infrastructure dominance. Introduction to US Rail Plan The United States has unveiled a new strategy to boost its presence in the global rail market, as part of an effort to counter China ’s expanding influence. The US rail plan, announced by the Trump administration on Thursday, calls for investments in infrastructure and technology to make American railways more competitive. It also seeks to reduce barriers to private investment in the sector. The plan is part of a wider push by the US government t...

Dubai hosted the UAE-China Economic Forum, which brought together delegates from the two countries to talk about their mutual relations and potential cooperative investment prospects in a range of economic areas. The purpose of the gathering was to fortify the strategic alliance between the two countries, which has fostered remarkable advancement over the last 40 years.  With FDI of US$9.3 billion, China is the third-largest foreign investor in the UAE. China received information on the UAE's economic policies and how to improve the competitiveness of the investment environment and growth during the UAE-China Economic Forum. The UAE highlighted its strategic connection with China, which has resulted in considerable growth and cooperation in many fields.  The summit underscored the significance of the UAE's economic relationship with China as both countries look to increase potential for bilateral investment in a range of industries, including infrastructure, energy, technolog...

  Increasing restrictions on the export of chipmaking equipment to China is a deliberate effort by the U.S. Consequently, domestic chipmaking equipment suppliers are replacing export companies as a result of the U.S. seeking corporations with nations like Japan and the Netherlands. Japan and the Netherlands seek assistance from the United States Although the U.S. has not gained the absolute support of other countries to hinder the tech sector of China through severe export restrictions, Washington is firm enough to make unilateral efforts to sabotage China's tech ambitions. On January 27, 2023, the U.S. made a deal with Japan and the Netherlands to gain their support in tightening restrictions on semiconductor manufacturing equipment exports. ASML and Nikon, Dutch and Japanese firms, provided immersion lithography machines. A report indicates that the Biden administration is considering suspending Huawei from all U.S.-developed technology and exports. Washington has also halted t...

  According to officials, the number of daily Covid-19 deaths in China has decreased by over 80% since the beginning of the month, which is a hint that the unheard-of infection surge may be beginning to slow down. Since Beijing abruptly abandoned its zero-Covid policy last month, a wave of virus outbreaks has swept across the country with the largest population in the world. Given China's strict definition of a Covid death and official estimations that large segments of the population have been infected, Beijing's figures are thought to only be a small portion of the total toll. The CDC had reported that over 60,000 people had passed away from the virus in hospitals, but last week they added an additional almost 13,000 deaths from Covid-related infections between January 13 and January 19. Although the wave peaked in late December and early January, when hospitals and crematoriums were full, recent local government pronouncements and media reports suggest that the wave may hav...

  China has started a push to purge the internet of "vulgar" and "unhealthy" material. According to South China Morning Post, the month-long campaign was started just before the Lunar New Year, which started on January 22. (SCMP). The outlet added that the nation's internet watchdog is specifically focusing on footage that features scantily clad women posing in various locales and past offenders submitting material about their time in prison. The Chinese cyberspace authority issued a directive in this regard on January 18. According to the SCMP article, the crackdown intends to "control the development of bad culture, defend the benefits and rights of online users, clean up the online ecosystem, and establish a favourable, civilised, and healthy climate in public opinion." In order to limit the transmission of information throughout the New Year holiday period, the nation's internet censors are examining the home pages of important websites, ...

  A recent Covid variant, initially discovered last year, has quickly risen to prominence in the US and acquired a spooky name in the process. It spread quickly across the country and has now been found in at least 28 other nations, according to the World Health Organization, earning the moniker "kraken variety" from some. Is it riskier now? Is it more likely to spread? And how will it impact the Covid outbreak in China? The omicron XBB subvariant, which itself is a cross between the strains BA.2.75 and BA.2.10.1, is the ancestor of XBB.1.5. Since the WHO initially expressed worry about the original XBB version last October, it has already resulted in outbreaks of illness in nations like Singapore and India. Despite only making up 1% of all Covid cases at the beginning of December, figures from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that it quickly spread to overtake all other strains and account for 41% of infections by the end of the month. This number...

  Prior to a Tuesday briefing by its scientists to the World Health Organization , which is looking for a "deep debate" on the evolution of the virus, state media in China downplayed the severity of an increase in COVID-19 infections. The reliability of China's case and mortality data has come under increased scrutiny both domestically and internationally in the wake of the country's dramatic U-turn on COVID regulations on December 7. China's foreign ministry referred to some nations' restrictions on travel admission as "simply illogical" and claimed they "lacked scientific basis." Speaking to reporters in Beijing, spokeswoman for the foreign ministry Mao Ning said, "We are prepared to improve dialogue with the globe. "However, we will take equivalent steps in various circumstances in accordance with the concept of reciprocity and are vehemently opposed to attempts to manipulate the epidemic preventive and control measures...

  Four new cases of BF.7, a variant of Covid-19 leading to the surge in infections in the People’s Republic of China, have been detected in India. Two cases have been found in Gujarat. Reportedly, a 61-year-old NRI (Non-resident Indian) woman living in Vadodara has tested positive for the BF.7 variant. She came from the United States to Vadodara in November. Later on, she tested positive for the virus. She was in isolation and took three doses of the vaccine. A man living in the Gota area of Ahmedabad was also tested positive for the virus. He came from abroad in September and contracted the BF.7 variant of Covid-19. It was found that he was infected with the BF.7 variant through genome sequencing. Another case was also reported in Odisha. Reportedly, another case was also detected in India. BF.7, a sub-lineage of the Omicron variant BA.5, can cause reinfection or infect even those vaccinated. Indian Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also held a meeting with senior officials ...

  The abrupt conclusion of China 's Covid Zero programme is making it difficult for the managers of the Xiangfu Nursing Home, a luxurious home for the elderly in Shanghai's Changning neighbourhood. Shutting the doors was their quick fix for the time being. In order to buy time while the virus spreads quickly throughout the nation, Xiangfu prohibited admission to family members and other guests in late November. After finishing their duties, employees are unable to leave and must instead stay on-site to sleep. As China's elderly, who are under-vaccinated, find themselves suddenly surrounded by infection after three years of low threat, the same hunkering down is occurring throughout the country. Local governments are requiring care facilities to use the same closed-loop system that companies did during prior outbreaks in areas like Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing. Time is of the essence. Evidence from around the world demonstrates that senior living facilities frequentl...

  The IMF (International Monetary Fund) has praised the People’s Republic of China’s decision to move away from the Zero-Covid policy . On Friday, the IMF chief hailed China's move and said that the "decisive actions" would help revive growth in China and the world. Other global economic leaders also hailed China’s decision. The head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said that China’s decision would help to shore up the world economy. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the WTO, hailed China for retreating from the zero-Covid policy. Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the IMF, attended a press briefing with the heads of other major economic institutions in the eastern city of Huangshan. Georgieva reportedly said, “We welcome very much the decisive actions taken by the Chinese authorities to recalibrate the Covid policies.” The conference was hosted by outgoing Premier Li Keqiang. On Wednesday, China announced the lifting of its most severe Cov...

  According to a recent study, air pollution in China kills up to 64,000 unborn newborns annually. This is despite Beijing, the nation's capital, trying to reduce pollution over the past ten years and longer, according to a South China Morning Post story (SCMP). According to a study of 137 countries, exposure to PM 2.5, which is primarily produced by the burning of fossil fuels, was responsible for 40% of stillbirths in Asia, Africa, and Latin America in 2015. China ranks fourth among the studied countries in terms of the number of foetal deaths brought on by PM 2.5, which is responsible for 98% of stillbirths worldwide, according to a study published in Nature Communications. "The decrease in the global burden of stillbirths may be attributed to improved air quality in some of the 137 nations (such as China). So, achieving the World Health Organization's air quality goals could reduce the number of stillbirths "researchers from Peking University stated. They were qu...

  Chinese President Xi Jinping praised the BRICS mechanism for displaying resiliency and vitality during the current global crisis in a virtual speech at the 14th BRICS Summit in Beijing on Thursday. He urged the mechanism to remain open and inclusive in order to welcome like-minded partners to join the large BRICS family, while vehemently opposing the misuse of unilateral sanctions and rejecting "small circles" centered on hegemony. Chinese analysts said the summit sent a strong message to the world that multilateral institutions formed by major non-Western economies, like BRICS, can effectively represent the majority of the international community in making joint efforts in addition to Western-dominated organizations that have hurt the global economy through bloc-to-bloc conflict and misuse of sanctions. A laborious global economic recovery, the continuous spread of COVID-19, and more pressing challenges with peace and security have plagued the world in recent months, ...

  The Communist Party of China (CCP) puts its own political interests ahead of the country. As a result, Chinese national pride is now inextricably linked to the Communist Party of China. Premier Zhao Ziyang, for example, was dismissed just before the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and spent the next 16 years isolated at the party's headquarters, during which time he was not allowed to meet people or sympathisers. Different discourses and narratives of memories and counter-memories come from the ideology of crushing different voices. Despite the fact that the CCP has tried to prohibit the celebration of the violent suppression of the Tiananmen democracy rallies, the recollections of punishment and jail are widely documented in foreign history. Until recently, the only areas where the murder could be recalled were Hong Kong and neighbouring Macao, but limitations have been placed there as well. People and various social groups, like as the 'Tiananmen Mothers,' have held ...

When word of a draught security pact granting Chinese military and police substantial access to the Solomon Islands surfaced in March, it reignited interest in China 's Pacific ambitions. Australia and NewZealand , the Solomon Islands' traditional security partners, as well as other Pacific states and the United States, were taken aback by the news. This week, while Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was on a 10-day trip to the Pacific, word leaked that Beijing was attempting to secure a broad economic security agreement with ten countries, which would result in a substantial extension of its regional dominance. What concerns Australia, New Zealand, and the United States? All three countries have expressed fears that a stronger Chinese security presence in the Pacific might destabilise the region, with the Solomons pact posing the greatest risk of China establishing a military facility on the islands, which are only 2,000 kilometres from Australia's east coast. Beijing ...

In a surprisingly balancing equation, while the whole world has denounced the Winter Olympics, Mohamed bin Zayed of UAE has arrived in Beijing to attend the event. His Highness, Crown Prince of AbuDhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces came in response to an invite he received from Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping. The reasons are simply trade related. While Europe and many other nations have decided to show no diplomatic presence at the Olympics, UAE is showing its friendship with His Highness making a personal appearance.   Nearly two-thirds of Chinese exports to Europe, the Middle East and Africa pass through Emirati ports. In recent years, Chinese state-owned companies have played a significant role as builders, owners, and operators of terminals and other port infrastructure in the Gulf.   The flame was held by a soldier from the Chinese Army and the games kicked-off in great spirit of sportsmanship. This is after a span of 1...

India-China-Russia may not be on the same page but to understand their relations are somewhere linked with each other is important especially given the geopolitical situation at all the three borders. Even though we know that China and India are at the worst stage of their diplomatic relations. Be it their business related talks or the defense deals, nothing is working in favour of the two Asian natina. But as far as Russia and China go, their relations are witnessing a change in a positive way, which is a first for the two nations. Interestingly, China and Russia are two major communist nations and also have a common rivalry with the United States but the two do not go hand in hand with their internal mattress. But last year saw that their relations have gotten better over time as their respective leaders came in terms of a different kind of leadership. The leaders of all the three countries talked during a virtual meeting and post the dialogue, the group concluded that it is im...