The monitor features developments related to China during the month and is compiled by our research team of Brig. Arun Sahgal (Retd.), Ph.D., Senior Fellow, and Sanket Joshi, Research Associate, from open-source reports and publications.
On September 12, 2024, India’s National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, and the Director of China’s Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, met in St. Petersburg on the sidelines of a BRICS meeting. They reviewed recent efforts towards resolving the remaining issues along the LAC and agreed to work with urgency to achieve complete disengagement. India reaffirmed that peace and tranquility, and respect for the LAC, are essential for rebuilding bilateral relations.
Meanwhile, on September 12, 2024, speaking at an event in Geneva, India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar observed that while some progress had been made on border disengagement, India-China relations remain “complex” in the aftermath of the 2020 border clash.
President Xi hosted the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing on September 5, 2024. He urged China and Africa to upgrade their partnership in a manner that will spark a wave of modernisation throughout the “Global South”, building a community of shared future. China has pledged financial support of CNY 360 billion (USD 50.7 billion) over the next three years to implement the partnership action plan with Africa.
Following a four-year statutory review, the USTR announced new China tariffs on September 13, 2024, in order to protect US business and workers against China's “unfair trade practices”. China's Ministry of Commerce responded that Washington’s decision would not only undermine the “international trade order” and global supply chains but would also fail to address the US's trade deficit and industrial competitiveness.
According to reports, in March 2024, President Biden approved a classified nuclear weapons strategy aimed at reorienting America's deterrence posture in response to China's expanding nuclear arsenal. Reacting sharply, China’s Ministry of National Defence criticised US plans to expand its nuclear arsenal and shirk its responsibility for disarmament under the guise of a “non-existent nuclear threat from China”.
Meanwhile, the PLA Rocket Force (PLARF) launched an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) carrying a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean on September 25, 2024, believed to be the first such test since the early 1980s. Beijing asserted that the country does not seek an arms race, and strictly adheres to a nuclear policy of no-first use.
Amidst mounting economic headwinds, on September 24, 2024, the People’s Bank of China announced several stimulus measures, including lowering home mortgage interest rates, reducing the reverse repo rate, and lowering the Reserve Requirement Ratio for commercial banks.
To read this China Monitor, Vol. VII, Issue 9, please see the PDF attached.
On September 12, 2024, India’s National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, and the Director of China’s Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, met in St. Petersburg on the sidelines of a BRICS meeting. They reviewed recent efforts towards resolving the remaining issues along the LAC and agreed to work with urgency to achieve complete disengagement. India reaffirmed that peace and tranquility, and respect for the LAC, are essential for rebuilding bilateral relations.
Meanwhile, on September 12, 2024, speaking at an event in Geneva, India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar observed that while some progress had been made on border disengagement, India-China relations remain “complex” in the aftermath of the 2020 border clash.
President Xi hosted the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing on September 5, 2024. He urged China and Africa to upgrade their partnership in a manner that will spark a wave of modernisation throughout the “Global South”, building a community of shared future. China has pledged financial support of CNY 360 billion (USD 50.7 billion) over the next three years to implement the partnership action plan with Africa.
Following a four-year statutory review, the USTR announced new China tariffs on September 13, 2024, in order to protect US business and workers against China's “unfair trade practices”. China's Ministry of Commerce responded that Washington’s decision would not only undermine the “international trade order” and global supply chains but would also fail to address the US's trade deficit and industrial competitiveness.
According to reports, in March 2024, President Biden approved a classified nuclear weapons strategy aimed at reorienting America's deterrence posture in response to China's expanding nuclear arsenal. Reacting sharply, China’s Ministry of National Defence criticised US plans to expand its nuclear arsenal and shirk its responsibility for disarmament under the guise of a “non-existent nuclear threat from China”.
Meanwhile, the PLA Rocket Force (PLARF) launched an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) carrying a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean on September 25, 2024, believed to be the first such test since the early 1980s. Beijing asserted that the country does not seek an arms race, and strictly adheres to a nuclear policy of no-first use.
Amidst mounting economic headwinds, on September 24, 2024, the People’s Bank of China announced several stimulus measures, including lowering home mortgage interest rates, reducing the reverse repo rate, and lowering the Reserve Requirement Ratio for commercial banks.
To read this China Monitor, Vol. VII, Issue 9, please see the PDF attached.
