The United States (US) on Tuesday promised enforcement as a landmark ban took effect on most imports from Xinjiang, the Chinese region where rights groups say the Uyghur people are being forced into slave labour.The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which will be felt especially in the textile industry, took effect six months after it was signed into law by President Joe Biden following bipartisan support in Congress."We are rallying our allies and partners to make global supply chains

The Chinese navy, under instruction from President Xi Jinping, has undergone a modernisation and expansion programme that is nothing short of spectacular. Friday’s launch of its third and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, for sea trials underscores just how far it has come, and how fast.The first two carriers, the Liaoning and Shandong, were ex-Soviet designs; the Liaoning initially bought for scrap from Ukraine and refitted.

China on Friday launched its biggest and most modern aircraft carrier, marking a major military advance for the Asian superpower.The announcement comes at a time of heightened tensions between China and the United States (US) over Beijing's sabre-rattling towards Taiwan, which it views as a breakaway province to be seized by force if necessary.China's carrier development programme is part of a massive overhaul of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) under President Xi Jinping, wh

As Xi Jinping's China increasingly flexes its muscles on the global stage, concerns it may take military action against Taiwan have risen.Beijing claims all of the self-governed island as its own territory, and says it is determined to retake it by force if necessary.But a full-scale invasion is by no means the only option China has to coerce Taiwan into submission.Here are some of the options Beijing could deploy:Annexation Of Outlying Islands China could choose to invade some,

Chinese President Xi Jinping assured his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of Beijing's support for Moscow on "sovereignty and security" during a call Wednesday, according to state media.China is "willing to continue to offer mutual support (to Russia) on issues concerning core interests and major concerns such as sovereignty and security," Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported Xi as saying.It was the second reported call between the two leaders since Putin launche

Weeks after the United States (US) president warned China over Taiwan, Beijing has delivered its sternest rebuttal yet, saying it would "resolutely crush any attempt" at Taiwan's independence.On Sunday, China's Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe essentially accused the US of supporting the island's independence, saying it was "violating its promise on Taiwan" and "interfering" in China's affairs."Let me make this clear: if anyone dares t

Global equities, oil prices and bitcoin plunged Monday on heightened recession fears triggered by runaway inflation.The dollar, however, gained versus major rivals, benefiting from its status as a haven investment and expectations of aggressive interest-rate hiking from the Federal Reserve (Fed).Bond yields also rose, with 10-year United States (US) Treasuries above 3.3 percent and Italy's 10-year debt breaking four percent for the first time in more than eight years.The US currency stru

The restaurant that launched McDonald's in Russia in 1990, heralding Moscow's opening after decades of Soviet rule, reopened Sunday with a new name and logo in a potent reminder of the upheaval sparked by the conflict in Ukraine.The United States (US) fast-food giant announced on 16 May that it would exit Russia in the wake of its Ukraine offensive.In Moscow's Pushkin Square on Sunday, dozens of people gathered outside the Russian incarnation of the fast-food restaurant, "

The World Trade Organization (WTO) chief voiced cautious optimism Sunday as global trade ministers gathered to tackle food security threatened by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, overfishing and equitable access to COVID vaccines.Speaking ahead of the WTO's first ministerial meeting in nearly five years, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala acknowledged that "the road will be bumpy and rocky."But she told journalists she was "cautiously optimistic" that the more than 100 attending m

China will "fight to the very end" to stop Taiwanese independence, the country's defence minister vowed Sunday, stoking already soaring tensions with the United States (US) over the island.The superpowers are locked in a growing war of words over the self-ruled, democratic island, which Beijing views as part of its territory awaiting reunification.Frequent Chinese aircraft incursions near Taiwan have raised the diplomatic temperature, and on Saturday US Defense Secretary Lloyd