Apr. 10 – In meetings that Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari had with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi on Sunday, emphasis was made on improving ties and moving decades of mistrust aside.

Although terrorism was high on the agenda, so was trade, with Pakistan being urged to adopt the “Sino-Indian Model” of engaging each other; a move endorsed by Beijing. Pakistan has long held that only negotiations over Kashmir could lead to trade talks, but this has come at the expense of an unofficial impasse and a massive drop off of Indian investment into Pakistan. Continue Reading

Communist manifestos diverge due to concerns that China is losing its way over GINI coefficients and capitalism

Apr. 9 – The Communist Party of India (CPI) which has for decades followed policies issued by the Communist Party of China (CPC) is for the first time taking a critical stance on contemporary Chinese communism, including the decision to admit capitalists into the party and a widening income gap.

The CPI, currently holding its 20th Party Congress, has heard a draft ideological document, presented by CPI politburo member Sitaram Yechury which states that “negative tendencies” such as economic inequality, unemployment, corruption and nepotism have surfaced in China. Continue Reading

Apr. 9 – World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy has stated that China, India and Thailand are the fastest growing markets for exports from the world’s least developed countries (LDC).

“Three of the five fastest-growing markets for LDC exports are regional partners: China, India and Thailand,” Lamy said. Continue Reading

India launches first nuclear sub as tensions grumble on over Spratly Islands

India Defense Minister A.K. Antony launches the INS Chakra

Apr. 9 – China suffered a blow at the recent ASEAN meetings in Phnom Penh, losing a motion not to have South China Sea disputes discussed during the summit. China is not a member of ASEAN, but has been granted observer status and the request to interfere with the ASEAN agenda did not seem to sit well with the 10 countries that make up the Southeast Asian bloc. In particular, four ASEAN countries – Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines – are directly engaged in disagreements with China over ownership of the Spratly Islands.

China has long held a view that the South China Sea is Chinese, and that disputes should only be settled with Beijing directly on a bilateral basis. ASEAN, however, provides a multilateral forum and a bloc that allows disputes to be discussed collectively. Much of the debate focuses on the Vietnamese government’s decision to allow a joint venture between an Indian oil drilling company in blocks controlled by Vietnam. China has criticized the move, suggesting that significant “economic and political risks” await both Vietnam and India should exploration commence. Continue Reading

Exit Shanghai, enter Delhi. My smartphone is reincarnated.

Olaf Griese has spent six years with Dezan Shira & Associates in Shanghai and has just recently relocated to Delhi. In this series of articles, he will detail the differences, as well as the pros and cons, of living in both China and India.

Apr. 6 – Leaving Shanghai after working there for six years was surprisingly easy, as New Delhi was already waiting for me. Cities are only places, and I’ve come to find that attachment to a city grows primarily through the people who share that place with you: friends, colleagues, acquaintances, clients, business partners, and even just passersby.

In my time, I saw Shanghai develop from a modern city by Chinese standards into one that today is aspiring to be among the world’s most international and cosmopolitan destinations. When the opening of the Shanghai Expo saw the construction work magically finished in May 2010, many of us did not recognize the city anymore. Shanghai had become a truly international metropolis with the necessary infrastructure, and even attitudes, that come with it. Continue Reading

All four BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) will be among the top five grocery markets by 2015

Apr. 5 – China overtook the United States last year as the world’s top food and grocery retail market with its sector valued at 607 billion pounds (US$964.5 billion), according to a report released yesterday by IGD. It is also estimated in the report that China’s grocery sector will continue to grow over the next few years at an average annual rate of 10.9 percent from 2011 to 2015 when it is expected to hit 918 billion pounds (US$1.46 trillion).

Although China’s double-digit GDP growth has slowed down in recent years, the consumer demand for groceries continues to rise at a consistently fast pace. Continue Reading

Apr. 4 – China is to ban imports of seafood from India after the South Asian country failed to obtain certification from China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ). India exported some 159,000 tons of seafood to China last year.

China introduced the AQSIQ requirements from May last year, and is apparently adhering to them quite strictly. From June 1 this year, China will only import seafood from countries that have obtained AQSIQ certification, which currently extends to just 27 countries. Continue Reading