BUSINESS
The Eastern Window: Chinese tech stocks available at bargain prices, should investors bite?
Investors in Chinese tech shares, including Indian investors tapping the US market, are worried about the fate of these companies as they face stiff regulatory action by both the governments in China and the United States. There is no sign of these companies emerging from the political crossfire, although there is little doubt about their technological and business capabilities
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window: Dear Leader Xi and his minions
China is now run by a new set of leaders who are personally loyal to Xi Jinping, ending the Communist opposition to the personality cult system. Though the sliding economy is China’s biggest challenge, Xi remains obsessed with security threats coming from outside the country’s borders. What Xi’s attitude would do for investments and markets is clear from the 7.3 percent fall in the Hang Seng Enterprises Index on Monday, in the worst sell-off in decades
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window: Xi Jinping looks opposed to requests for policy changes in his 3rd term
China watchers are confident Xi Jinping would get a third term. But whether he is able to fill the top slots in the government with his loyalists will indicate the extent of his power and the Communist Party’s ability to recruit talent outside the charmed circle
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window: Saudi royals join China, Russia in refusing to toe US line
The OPEC+ decision to cut production and raise oil prices shows the US no longer has the influence to determine international events and markets in the way it wants. Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries are now openly defying the White House and taking decisions that can influence the upcoming mid-term elections in the US
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window: US puts India’s independent foreign policy to test
The US is showing it can use the stick to demand compliance on Ukraine and other issues. This is what explains the US sale of F-16s to Pakistan, and the sanctions against a Mumbai firm. The US also wants India to increase the purchase of American arms
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window: Fresh concerns about Chinese economy as Hang Seng loses $1.3 trillion
Hong Kong’s stock market, which has suffered the worst slide in a decade, is unlikely to recover soon. It has wide-ranging implications, including the fate of 248 Chinese companies listed on the Wall Street.
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window | Key takeaways from the Samarkand summit
The SCO summit at Samarkand saw leaders of India, China and Russia pose for photo-ops together but their differences on key issues was only too evident
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window | ‘Modi doctrine’ gives India an independent diplomatic status
India’s foreign policy under PM Modi keeps it free from all camps and helps the government take decisions based purely on national self-interest at a given time. Thus, India is ready to hold military exercises with the US, Japan, and Russia, and enter into a military disengagement deal with China.
POLITICS
The Eastern Window | Can India gain from UN report against human rights abuses in China?
The UN report accusing China of human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region has strong political and business implications. But India can hardly use it to shame China and gain a political advantage. Muslim countries are silent about it. It is not clear if western companies would pull out of Xinjiang
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window: China stoops to save its companies from delisting in US
In a rare move, China has entered into a compromise agreement allowing American regulators to examine the books of Chinese companies listed in the US. But it is also taking steps to reduce its corporate dependence on Wall Street
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window: Xi Jinping set to get 3rd term, but will he get to pick his own team?
Xi Jinping is set to get a third term as China’s president at the upcoming Communist Party Congress. The recent visit by Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan has added to his appeal. But the question is whether the party will give him full freedom to choose his team at a time when the country is facing an economic crisis
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window: Spy ship latest Chinese gambit to tighten the noose around India
Sri Lanka’s decision to welcome a Chinese spy ship and engaging in a military exercise with a Pakistani naval vessel are signs that China is using the island nation to weave a noose around India
POLITICS
Nitish sets off 2024 poll campaign in Hindi heartland
Nitish Kumar has not just outfoxed the BJP in Bihar but injected fresh blood into the opposition. Whether or not he will emerge as the opposition’s prime ministerial candidate will depend on the survival of his ‘grand alliance’ and the attitude of the Congress towards the idea
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window: A semiconductor crisis in the offing?
Taiwan controls the production of semiconductors, particularly the advanced variety. This is an important reason why the world’s biggest and second-biggest economies are looking at options to control Taiwan and its chip supplies. In a sense, chips have replaced politics as the main reason for confrontation
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window: The geopolitical impact of Pelosi’s Taiwan visit
For world politicians, the fear of a Chinese backlash for dealing with Taiwan has reduced. But businessmen fear disruption in the supplies of semiconductors from Taiwan and hundreds of other goods from China if a conflict breaks out
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window: India blocking China's efforts to make SCO an anti-West front
The SCO is far from cohesive, with China trying to build a military base in Sri Lanka to target India while speaking of unity among member countries. Besides, India has refused to join the efforts of China and Russia to turn the SCO into an anti-West front
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window | Why Kissinger is upset over Biden's China policy
Kissinger lent his voice to many in American business who want the administration to roll back the tariff barriers against China. But the Biden administration is in two minds, as a section of officials and the military want to contain China
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window: Chinese real estate hits another hurdle as customers stop repayment
Majority buyers are angry that the market price of their houses has dropped 20-25 percent below the value of mortgages
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window | Anti-China legacy of Abe is shaping global politics
The Quad’s origins lie in the nationalist politics of Shinzo Abe and a speech he made to the Indian Parliament in 2007
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window | As NATO's anti-China tirade grows, will India join in?
In a first, NATO has formally declared China to be a challenge. Four non-NATO countries, including Japan, supported it. India is not part of the move, but it may be difficult to keep away from groups bent on cornering China. Above all, the question is whether the NATO move will succeed
WORLD
The Eastern Window | How India prevented BRICS from adopting an anti-West stance
India prevailed on BRICS countries to avoid taking an anti-West stance. It is significant that China and Russia went along.
POLITICS
Maharashtra revolt is about which brand of Hindutva is best
As political currency, there is no doubt that Hindutva is an election-winning formula that has worked repeatedly. The contest is now between its hard and soft variants
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window | Shangri-La Dialogue: A missed opportunity for India?
India had a difficult choice. It could make the best of an opportunity to counter China, which would mean running into a situation where it would be forced to criticise friendly Russia. India took the second choice: keep out of the meeting
BUSINESS
The Eastern Window | Can US stop Taiwan from becoming another Ukraine?
Joe Biden has set the ball rolling, speculating about whether China would invade Taiwan and saying that the US will protect the smaller nation in that case. The issue will figure at the upcoming Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The question is whether the US is trying to keep China and Taiwan apart or actually aiding the process of turning Taiwan into another Ukraine.
