With Eye On China, India Plans Increasing Barriers On Asian Imports

The government is planning to raise quality standards of imports, impose quantity restrictions, mandate stringent disclosure norms and initiate more frequent checks at ports of entry for goods coming from many Asian countries, the NDTV Reported.

• India is considering measures to prevent trade partners mainly in Southeast Asia from re-routing Chinese goods to the country with little added value, two government sources told news agency Reuters, amid strained ties with Beijing and a push for self-reliance.
• The moves will mainly target imports of base metals, electronic components for laptops and mobile phones, furniture, leather goods, toys, rubber, textiles, air conditioners and televisions, among other items, the officials added.
• Last week, the trade ministry issued a notice to restrict inbound shipments of TVs by requiring importers to get a special license.
• The moves are expected to primarily hurt Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore – members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with which India has a free trade agreement (FTA).
• The government is also worried about heavy trade flows from South Korea. “Raising duties has a limited impact,” said one of the officials.

Avoid politicizing normal cooperation, says China on India’s Confucius Institutes move

“We hope Indian relevant parties can treat Confucius Institutes and China-India higher education cooperation in an objective and fair manner, avoid politicizing normal cooperation, and maintain healthy and stable development of China-India people-to-people and cultural exchanges,” the statement said.

• Ministry of Education recently put several higher education institutes that offer Chinese language training under the scanner.
  • China on Tue called upon India to “avoid politicizing normal cooperation,” following moves to review ongoing cooperation for language training between Indian universities and Chinese government-run programs.
  • Following the decision to drop Mandarin from its list of suggested languages under the National Education Policy, the Ministry of Education (Rename of Ministry of HRD) has also put several higher education institutes that offer Chinese language training under the scanner.
  • The Ministry is looking closely at universities that have in the past had links with the official Chinese language training department Hanban that runs hundreds of Confucius Institutes overseas.
  • “The Min. of HRD and University Grants Commission (UGC) are in the process of reviewing the work being done by higher education institutions as part of agreements/educational arrangements with foreign institutions.
  • As part of this process we would like to review the activities undertaken by the Confucius Centre in your university/institution affiliated to your university,” said a letter sent to the institutions on July 29.
  • On Tue, the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi issued a statement responding to reports that the “Ministry of Education of India has decided to review Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms jointly established by China’s Confucius Institute and 7 Indian universities and colleges, as well as 54 MoU on inter-school cooperation signed between Indian and Chinese higher education institutions”.
  • “China-India cooperation on Confucius Institute Project (Confucian describes an idea that’s similar to those teachings. Respecting your elders is a Confucian ideal) has been carried out for more than 10 years,” spokesperson Ji Rong.
  • India has only two functional claases at present — at Mumbai University and the Vellore Institute of Technology.
  • The Ministry has sent letters to at least five institutions that offer Chinese language training, asking them to send all details of collaboration since 2017, which will be reviewed by Education Secretary Amit Khare on August 5.
  • P. Jindal Global University in Haryana, among those on the Ministry’s review list, said the university has established partnerships with various universities in China, but runs its language center not with the Hanban in Beijing but in collaboration with the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan.

India strengthens troop presence in northern Ladakh, does heavy tank deployment to tackle Chinese threat

• New Delhi In response to China’s deployment of more than 17,000 troops and armored vehicles opposite Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) and Depsang plains in Ladakh, India has made heavy deployment of troops and tank regiments in the area to counter any misadventure by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) there.
• “We have done a very heavy deployment of troops and tanks in the DBO and Depsang plains area including the T-90 regiments which are part of an armored division,” government sources told ANI.
• The deployments have been made from the Patrolling Point 1 near the Karakoram Pass (PP-3) to the Depsang plains where the Chinese have amassed more than 17,000 troops since April-May time frame and have been blocking Indian patrols from PP-10 to PP-13, sources said.
• The armored deployment is such that the Chinese would find it difficult to operate there, in case, they try out any misadventure, they said.
• Before the Chinese started build-up opposite the DBO and Depsang, the entire area was looked after by a mountain brigade and an armored brigade but today more than 15,000 troops and several tank regiments have been moved there both by road and by air to tackle the threat from China, sources said.
• One of the major intentions of the Chinese in this area has been to build a road from its TWD battalion headquarters opposite the DBO sector to the Karakoram pass area and connect the battalion there.
• “We have done a very heavy deployment of troops and tanks in the DBO and Depsang plains area including the T-90 regiments which are part of an armored division,” government sources told ANI.
• The deployments have been made from the Patrolling Point 1 near the Karakoram Pass (PP-3) to the Depsang plains where the Chinese have amassed more than 17,000 troops since April-May time frame and have been blocking Indian patrols from PP-10 to PP-13, sources said.
• The armored deployment is such that the Chinese would find it difficult to operate there, in case, they try out any misadventure, they said.
• Before the Chinese started build-up opposite the DBO and Depsang, the entire area was looked after by a mountain brigade and an armored brigade but today more than 15,000 troops and several tank regiments have been moved there both by road and by air to tackle the threat from China, sources said.
• One of the major intentions of the Chinese in this area has been to build a road from its TWD battalion headquarters opposite the DBO sector to the Karakoram pass area and connect the battalion there.
• Welcome news that foreign universities may establish campuses in India and that Indian universities may do the same overseas.

Microsoft’s Talks to Buy TikTok’s U.S. Operations Raise Ire in China

Washington’s push for Chinese company to sell American operations hardens suspicions in China that the U.S. aims to sabotage its technology

• Washington’s ultimatum to the Chinese owner of TikTok—sell the app’s U.S. operations or leave the country—is hardening long-held suspicions in China that the U.S. aims to sabotage the country’s efforts to grow its technology, while raising concerns about the precedent it could set for Chinese companies with global ambitions as U.S.-China relations unravel.
• After months in which TikTok owner Bytedance Ltd. fought to appease the Trump administration, Washington’s push for Bytedance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations to Microsoft.
• President Trump on Mon said that popular social media platform TikTok will be “out of business” in the US if it doesn’t reach a deal to sell its American operations by mid-Sept.
• The president comments to the media confirmed a previous blog post from Microsoft — which is currently in discussions with Beijing-based TikTok parent company ByteDance over a potential acquisition — which said it was looking to reach a deal “no later than Sept 15.”
• We look forward to opportunities for American and Indian universities to partner & collaborate on research to advance our understanding of the world: said State Dept, for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA).