&w=3840&q=100)
China foreign minister urges Pakistani Army Chief to protect nationals, Belt and Road projects
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called on Pakistan to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals and infrastructure projects during his meeting with Pakistan's army chief, Asim Munir who was visiting Beijing for the first time since recent clashes with India.
Over the years, China has invested billions in Pakistan's infrastructure through the Belt and Road Initiative. However, security concerns have grown amid repeated attacks targeting Chinese workers, which Beijing has labelled as 'terrorist attacks.'
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
During the Thursday meeting, Wang expressed China's support for Pakistan's efforts to fight all forms of terrorism and stressed the importance of protecting Chinese personnel, projects and institutions. He also emphasized the 'ironclad' friendship between the two countries and reaffirmed China's commitment to prioritizing Pakistan in its regional diplomacy.
'China supports Pakistan in resolutely combating all forms of terrorism and hopes that the Pakistani military will continue to make every effort to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, projects, and institutions,' Wang said during the meeting on Thursday with Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, according to a readout from the Chinese foreign ministry.
He reaffirmed China's 'ironclad' friendship with Pakistan, saying that Beijing would continue to prioritise the country in its neighbourhood diplomacy.
Munir also met with China's Central Military Commission vice chairman Zhang Youxia on Friday, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.
Beijing has pushed Pakistan to allow its own security staff to provide protection to Chinese citizens on the ground, after a car bombing in the southern port city of Karachi that killed two Chinese engineers in October last year, Reuters reported.
With inputs from agencies
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
12 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
A road map for the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative
At the Quad foreign ministers' meeting in Washington earlier this month, Australia, India, Japan and the US announced a Quad Critical Minerals Initiative (QCMI) — a signal of shared intent, but one still in search of substance. China has asserted its dominance in critical minerals — first through export controls on gallium and germanium, and more recently by curbing rare earth shipments. The US responded with executive orders to secure supply chains. Allies are moving to re-shore and diversify. The logic is clear: From electric vehicles (EVs) to jet engines and semiconductors, critical minerals will shape both economic competitiveness and strategic autonomy in the 21st century. Despite growing convergence, Quad members differ on which minerals are 'critical' to them. India lists 30 minerals, such as copper, cadmium and potash for agriculture and energy needs. The US list of 50 minerals emphasises aluminium, barite and graphite for the defence and tech industries. Australia focuses on 31 minerals, including lithium, rare earth elements (REEs) and zirconium. Japan's list of 35 minerals emphasises gallium, dysprosium and yttrium. Quad has 20 minerals in common — including cobalt, graphite, lithium and REEs — low-hanging fruit for alignment. Yet, 36 minerals are unique to just one member, opening opportunities for swaps and co-investment. Quad supply chains remain highly vulnerable, especially graphite, copper, REEs and lithium. For example, China dominates REE refining, accounting for more than 90% of global capacity. The US lacks heavy REE separation. India, despite significant reserves, produces just 1% of global output. Even Australia's only major non-Chinese producer, Lynas, depends on China for refining. Japan, targeted by China's 2010 export ban, still sources more than half of its REEs from China. This is illustrative of the larger vulnerabilities of the Quad supply chain. India is 100% import dependent for its lithium, cobalt and nickel needs. The US lacks refining capacity, while Japan compensates with export-grade refining expertise. Australia holds the upstream edge but relies on external processing. India faces dual challenges: import dependence and limited domestic processing. However, growing demand from EVs and solar energy creates incentives for integration. The government has introduced sweeping reforms, from a National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) to duty exemptions on critical minerals and scrap metal imports. With the right partnerships, India can emerge as a hub for minerals processing and manufacturing. India's critical minerals sector, especially downstream, is not yet globally competitive. But a nascent market is not a novel challenge. India built its IT services hub through telecoms investments, tax incentives and talent development. Japan spurred semiconductor growth via co-ordination and export credit, while Australia built lithium dominance through exploration incentives and export infrastructure. Even China, the global EV leader, invested ₹12 trillion ($230 billion) to build its ecosystem in battery R&D and manufacturing. Critical minerals policy is fragmented across nations and industries. Without a co-ordinating forum, exploration, ESG standards and procurements remain unaligned. The QMCI could serve as a government-industry platform to align policies, share analysis, harmonise standards and co-ordinate projects. Pooling expertise and negotiating power can dismantle barriers to diversified supply chains as shown by the US-led Minerals Security Partnership and G7 Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance. The QMCI should go beyond convening towards joint stockpiling, financing and standards harmonisation efforts to improve offtake. Access to patient capital is a major hurdle for critical minerals projects, which require high investments and long timelines. BloombergNEF estimates ₹179 trillion ($2.1 trillion) will be needed by 2050 to meet global demand for transition metals — about ₹5.9 trillion ($70 billion) annually. A supply-demand mismatch will threaten net-zero targets and clean energy scalability. To address this, the QMCI should establish a joint Critical Minerals Investment Platform to pool concessional finance, like the US-Qatar-backed TechMet sovereign fund, worth ₹24.3 billion ($285 million), or Australia's ₹222 billion ($2.6 billion) Critical Minerals Facility. These efforts underscore how strategically deploying public capital through joint vehicles can derisk frontier mineral ecosystems. Technological fragmentation and R&D underinvestment are slowing minerals sector growth. Of the ₹4.2 trillion ($49.7 billion) invested in global public R&D in 2023, only a small fraction went to critical minerals. Mining talent pipelines also lag demand. While the US and Australia face shortages, India's 110 mining engineering colleges produce an exponentially higher number of graduates annually, suggesting strong complementarity. Without co-ordinated R&D and talent investment, the Quad risks missing productivity gains needed for value-added mineral activities. In the coming decade, countries setting standards, financing infrastructure and training workforces for critical minerals will shape the next industrial era. The Quad can lead this transformation — or be compelled to follow others, at its cost. Kaira Rakheja is energy analyst, IEEFA South Asia, and Akshat Singh is an independent policy consultant and previously was an associate fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The views expressed are personal
Indian Express
12 minutes ago
- Indian Express
US, China officials to hold trade talks in Stockholm: What to expect?
Senior officials from the United States and China will meet in Stockholm today to discuss trade and economic issues, in what both sides describe as a step toward easing tensions. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will be meeting for the third time this year, nearly four months after President Donald Trump proposed sweeping tariffs, including an import tax of up to 145% on Chinese goods. The meeting is also expected to lay the groundwork for a potential meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year. The planned meeting in the Swedish capital is part of broader efforts by both countries to stabilise a relationship that has been strained by trade disputes, technology competition, and geopolitical rivalry. While officials have kept the agenda under wraps, it is expected, as per AP, that the discussions will cover: This could be the first real opportunity for the two governments to address structural reform issues including market access in China for US companies, said Sean Stein, president of the US-China Business Council, as per AP. The US imposed a 20% tariff on fentanyl-related products earlier this year. China responded with a 10% tariff on US goods. In July, China placed two fentanyl precursor chemicals under enhanced control. Gabriel Wildau, managing director at the consultancy Teneo, said major relief is unlikely. 'It's possible that Trump would cancel the 20% tariff that he has explicitly linked with fentanyl… but I would expect the final tariff level on China to be at least as high as the 15–20% rate contained in the recent deals with Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam.' A key concern for Washington is China's industrial overcapacity. 'Right now, many companies, especially in manufacturing, feel quite deeply that China's manufacturing capacity is so strong, and the Chinese people are incredibly diligent,' Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Thursday, as per Bloomberg News. 'Factories run 24 hours a day.' The US is expected to pressure China on reducing oil purchases from Russia and Iran. The Stockholm talks will be 'geared towards building a trade agreement based around Chinese purchase commitments and pledges of investment in the US in exchange for partial relief from US tariffs and export controls,' Wildau said, as per AP. (With inputs from AP)
New Indian Express
12 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
'Why do you assume that they came from Pakistan': Chidambaram's remark on Pahalgam attackers stirs row
A political row has erupted ahead of the high-stakes parliamentary debate on 'Operation Sindoor', India's military response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam. The controversy was sparked by remarks from former finance minister and senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram, who, in an interview with The Quint, questioned the narrative that the attackers came from Pakistan. 'There is no evidence so far that the killers were Pakistani,' Chidambaram said, suggesting that "homegrown terrorists" could have been involved. He also slammed the government's handling of the investigation, asking why the attackers had not yet been apprehended or identified. His comments triggered a sharp backlash from the BJP, with the party accusing Congress of undermining national security. 'Once again, the Congress rushes to give a clean chit to Pakistan, this time after the Pahalgam terror attack,' BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya posted on X, sharing a clip from the interview. He further added, 'When it comes to national security, there should be no ambiguity. But with the Congress, there never is – they always bend over backwards to protect the enemy.'
