The week began with a devastating news, China witnessed one of its worst air disasters in nearly three decades. A Chinese Eastern Boeing 737-800 with&nbsp;more than 130 people on board crashed in a mountainous area. Many major&nbsp;Chinese cities and provinces continue to battle surge in Covid cases.

Overseas, too, China has been engaged in diplomacy. This week, from NATO accusing Beijing of politically helping Moscow, to Chinese FM Wang Yi’s tour of South Asia, we look at the big stories from China.

China Eastern Airlines plane crash

On Monday, condolences poured from around the globe, when a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 with 123 passengers and 9 crew onboard,&nbsp; crashed&nbsp;in&nbsp;mountains&nbsp;in&nbsp;Southern&nbsp;China.&nbsp;Flight MU5735&nbsp;was flying&nbsp;to&nbsp;Guangzhou from Kunming when&nbsp;it&nbsp;lost contact&nbsp;above the city of&nbsp;Wuzhou,&nbsp;around 210 km&nbsp;from the destination.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Chinese&nbsp;President Xi Jinping said he was “shocked”&nbsp;and ordered for&nbsp;an immediate&nbsp;investigation&nbsp;into the matter. The&nbsp;plane&nbsp;nosedived from&nbsp;an&nbsp;altitude of 29,100 feet&nbsp;to&nbsp;9,075 feet&nbsp;in&nbsp;two minutes&nbsp;and 15 seconds, reported state media&nbsp;CGTN.&nbsp;

The&nbsp;airlines expressed “its deep condolences for the passengers&nbsp;and crew members who died&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;plane&nbsp;crash.”&nbsp;

According&nbsp;to Zhu Tao,&nbsp;an official&nbsp;with&nbsp;China’s Civil&nbsp;Aviation&nbsp;Administration, “Air traffic controllers tried multiple times&nbsp;to&nbsp;reach pilots of doomed&nbsp;China&nbsp;Eastern Flight 5735&nbsp;after&nbsp;it&nbsp;began&nbsp;its deadly dive on Monday but received no response.” reported&nbsp;Bloomberg.&nbsp;

Both the black boxes have been found&nbsp;and sent for examination. On Friday, state broadcaster CCTV confirmed that&nbsp;all 132 on board were dead.&nbsp;&nbsp;

While there&nbsp;are many theories&nbsp;about the cause of the&nbsp;crash, Chinese&nbsp;newspaper&nbsp;the&nbsp;China&nbsp;Daily&nbsp;busted many&nbsp;rumours&nbsp;and urged people not&nbsp;to&nbsp;believe easily.&nbsp;

China&nbsp;in&nbsp;Russia-Ukraine conflict&nbsp;

On Wednesday, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg accused China of politically backing Russia&nbsp;as&nbsp;it&nbsp;continues&nbsp;to&nbsp;attack Ukraine.&nbsp;And warned Beijing&nbsp;against providing&nbsp;any material support.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“China&nbsp;has provided Russia&nbsp;with&nbsp;political support,&nbsp;including by spreading blatant lies&nbsp;and misinformation,&nbsp;and&nbsp;allies&nbsp;are concerned that&nbsp;China&nbsp;could provide material support for the Russia&nbsp;invasion,” he said,&nbsp;ahead of&nbsp;an urgent NATO summit on Thursday.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Stoltenberg further&nbsp;said that he expected&nbsp;that&nbsp;world leaders&nbsp;will “call on&nbsp;China&nbsp;to&nbsp;live up&nbsp;to&nbsp;its&nbsp;responsibilities&nbsp;as&nbsp;a&nbsp;member of the UN Security Council”&nbsp;and&nbsp;China&nbsp;must&nbsp;“refrain from supporting Russia”,&nbsp;instead&nbsp;it&nbsp;should “join the rest of the world&nbsp;in&nbsp;calling for&nbsp;an immediate, peaceful end&nbsp;to&nbsp;this war.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

China&nbsp;fired back&nbsp;and&nbsp;called the claims “disinformation”.&nbsp;China&nbsp;also called out US’ ‘smear’ campaign&nbsp;as&nbsp;Washington&nbsp;accused Beijing of having prior knowledge of Russia’s&nbsp;invasion of Ukraine.&nbsp;

On Wednesday, at the UN Security Council (UNSC),&nbsp;China&nbsp;voted&nbsp;in&nbsp;favour&nbsp;of the Russian Resolution, stating UNSC should play&nbsp;its role&nbsp;in&nbsp;the humanitarian crisis&nbsp;in&nbsp;Ukraine.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

“We&nbsp;advocate that the Security Council should fulfil&nbsp;its primary responsibility for the maintenance of&nbsp;international peace&nbsp;and security,&nbsp;and play&nbsp;its due role&nbsp;in&nbsp;the humanitarian issue of Ukraine,” said&nbsp;Zhang Jun, the Permanent Representative of the People’s Republic of&nbsp;China&nbsp;to&nbsp;the United Nations.&nbsp;

He further went on&nbsp;to&nbsp;present Beijing’s six-point&nbsp;initiative&nbsp;and clarified&nbsp;to&nbsp;the UNSC members that the vote&nbsp;in&nbsp;favour was a “call&nbsp;to&nbsp;the&nbsp;international community&nbsp;to&nbsp;prioritise the humanitarian situation&nbsp;in&nbsp;Ukraine,”&nbsp;and “protect the safety of civilians, especially women, children&nbsp;and other vulnerable groups,&nbsp;and&nbsp;to&nbsp;facilitate the personnel evacuation&nbsp;and humanitarian relief operations.”&nbsp;

Wang Yi’s&nbsp;tour of South&nbsp;Asia&nbsp;&nbsp;

This week,&nbsp;Chinese&nbsp;Foreign Minister&nbsp;and State&nbsp;Councilor Wang Yi embarked on&nbsp;a&nbsp;tour of South&nbsp;Asia. His&nbsp;itinerary&nbsp;included Pakistan,&nbsp;Afghanistan,&nbsp;India,&nbsp;and Nepal.&nbsp;&nbsp;

On Tuesday, Wang Yi&nbsp;attended the gathering of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)&nbsp;in&nbsp;Islamabad,&nbsp;as&nbsp;a&nbsp;special guest.&nbsp;In&nbsp;his speech, he reiterated&nbsp;China’s stand of support for Russia&nbsp;and Ukraine peace talks&nbsp;and&nbsp;a&nbsp;ceasefire.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“We need&nbsp;to&nbsp;prevent humanitarian disasters&nbsp;and prevent the spillover of the Ukrainian crisis from&nbsp;affecting or harming the legitimate rights&nbsp;and&nbsp;interests of other regions&nbsp;and countries,” he said.&nbsp;

Wang Yi&nbsp;also said that Beijing’s close ties&nbsp;with&nbsp;the Muslim world&nbsp;are based on respect&nbsp;and mutual cooperation,&nbsp;and&nbsp;China&nbsp;has been&nbsp;investing over $400 billion&nbsp;in&nbsp;nearly 600 projects&nbsp;across 54 Muslim countries under the Belt&nbsp;and Road&nbsp;Initiative.&nbsp;

In&nbsp;Pakistan, Wang&nbsp;also met&nbsp;with&nbsp;Prime Minister Imran Khan&nbsp;and discussed plans&nbsp;to&nbsp;extend the&nbsp;China-Pakistan Economic Corridor&nbsp;to&nbsp;Afghanistan.&nbsp;And&nbsp;criticised&nbsp;the West’s handling of&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;with&nbsp;Pakistan’s&nbsp;Chief of&nbsp;Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa.&nbsp;

Next,&nbsp;Chinese&nbsp;FM Wang Yi travelled&nbsp;to&nbsp;Kabul, where he held talks&nbsp;with&nbsp;Taliban Foreign Minister&nbsp;Amir Khan Muttaqi. He focused on “political, economic&nbsp;and transit issues”,&nbsp;including education, trade, mining sector&nbsp;as&nbsp;well&nbsp;as&nbsp;BRI projects&nbsp;in&nbsp;Afghanistan. Later this month,&nbsp;China&nbsp;plans&nbsp;to&nbsp;host&nbsp;a&nbsp;meeting of&nbsp;Afghanistan’s&nbsp;neighbours.&nbsp;

On Thursday,&nbsp;Chinese&nbsp;MFA spokesperson Wang Wenbin said,&nbsp;“As&nbsp;Afghanistan's&nbsp;neighbour,&nbsp;China&nbsp;stands ready&nbsp;to&nbsp;leverage&nbsp;its strength&nbsp;and contribute&nbsp;to&nbsp;the country’s lasting stability&nbsp;and security.&nbsp;With&nbsp;regard&nbsp;to&nbsp;your question&nbsp;about the specifics, we will release&nbsp;information&nbsp;in&nbsp;due course.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

On Friday, Wang Yi reached Nepal for&nbsp;a&nbsp;three-day visit.&nbsp;According&nbsp;to&nbsp;reports, the visit is&nbsp;a&nbsp;chance for the two countries&nbsp;to&nbsp;make&nbsp;amends. The visit&nbsp;comes&nbsp;in&nbsp;the backdrop of Kathmandu ratifying the&nbsp;Millennium Challenge Corporation compact,&nbsp;a&nbsp;setback for Beijing.&nbsp;The USD 500 million grant is&nbsp;a&nbsp;part of developmental&nbsp;assistance from Washington&nbsp;to&nbsp;the Himalayan nation.&nbsp;

The visit is&nbsp;also&nbsp;an&nbsp;opportunity&nbsp;for&nbsp;China&nbsp;to&nbsp;bring on track the development of projects under BRI&nbsp;in&nbsp;Nepal. The two nations have signed nine deals, however none on BRI.&nbsp;

Before reaching Nepal, the&nbsp;Chinese&nbsp;official made&nbsp;a&nbsp;surprise stopover&nbsp;in&nbsp;India. Thursday night, he reached the capital city of New Delhi.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Wang Yi’s visit&nbsp;to&nbsp;India&nbsp;and OIC controversy&nbsp;

On Friday, Wang Yi met&nbsp;with&nbsp;India’s&nbsp;National Security&nbsp;Advisor&nbsp;Ajit Doval&nbsp;and&nbsp;External&nbsp;Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The officials of the two nations discussed the way forward&nbsp;to&nbsp;resolve the two-year-old military stand-off&nbsp;at the Line of&nbsp;Actual Control.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The two countries stayed completely silent on the high-level visit,&nbsp;a&nbsp;first between the two sides since the standoff&nbsp;in&nbsp;2020.&nbsp;According&nbsp;to&nbsp;reports, they were waiting for each other&nbsp;to&nbsp;make the&nbsp;announcement, but&nbsp;India shelved the idea&nbsp;after Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s statement&nbsp;at the OIC meet on Tuesday.&nbsp;

At the OIC meet, Wang Yi made&nbsp;a&nbsp;reference&nbsp;to&nbsp;the Union Territory of Jammu&nbsp;and Kashmir. He said, “On Kashmir, we have heard&nbsp;again&nbsp;today the calls of many of our Islamic friends.&nbsp;And&nbsp;China&nbsp;shares the same hope.” While the statement was open ended,&nbsp;it&nbsp;‘effectively offered support&nbsp;to&nbsp;all that was spoken on Jammu&nbsp;and Kashmir by the OIC foreign ministers,’ said the&nbsp;Hindustan Times.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The&nbsp;Indian government fired back&nbsp;and reminded Wang Yi that&nbsp;as&nbsp;India doesn’t make&nbsp;any “public judgment” regarding&nbsp;internal matters of&nbsp;China,&nbsp;it&nbsp;shouldn’t either.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“We reject the uncalled reference&nbsp;to&nbsp;India by the&nbsp;Chinese&nbsp;foreign minister Wang Yi during his speech&nbsp;at the opening ceremony,” said&nbsp;Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson of&nbsp;India’s External&nbsp;Affairs Ministry.&nbsp;

“Matters related&nbsp;to&nbsp;the Union Territory of Jammu &amp; Kashmir&nbsp;are entirely the&nbsp;internal&nbsp;affairs of&nbsp;India. Other countries,&nbsp;including&nbsp;China, have no locus standi&nbsp;to&nbsp;comment. They should note that&nbsp;India refrains from public judgement of their&nbsp;internal issues,” he&nbsp;added.&nbsp;

Despite the ‘unannounced’&nbsp;arrival, the visit&nbsp;took place rather smoothly. Wang Yi proposed&nbsp;a&nbsp;three-point&nbsp;approach. First, he stressed on&nbsp;China&nbsp;and&nbsp;India’s long history,&nbsp;and urged the two sides&nbsp;to&nbsp;view ‘bilateral relations&nbsp;with&nbsp;a&nbsp;long-term vision’ He&nbsp;added, "China&nbsp;and&nbsp;India do not pose&nbsp;a&nbsp;threat&nbsp;to&nbsp;each other, but provide opportunities for each other's development",&nbsp;according&nbsp;to&nbsp;the MFA press release.&nbsp;

Next, he urged that the two nations “should view each other's development&nbsp;with&nbsp;a&nbsp;win-win mindset,”&nbsp;and lastly, they must “participate&nbsp;in&nbsp;multilateral processes&nbsp;with&nbsp;a&nbsp;cooperative&nbsp;attitude.”&nbsp;

China-Sri Lanka&nbsp;

The island nation of Sri Lanka is reeling under one of&nbsp;its worst financial&nbsp;meltdowns. Despite huge foreign&nbsp;investment from&nbsp;China,&nbsp;its forex is depleting. This week, Colombo has sought&nbsp;a&nbsp;fresh loan&nbsp;and buyer’s credit from Beijing for USD 2.5 billion.&nbsp;And&nbsp;China&nbsp;is considering the&nbsp;request.&nbsp;

China&nbsp;has been&nbsp;accused of debt-trapping countries on multiple occasions.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Qi&nbsp;Zhenhong,&nbsp;Ambassador of the People's Republic of&nbsp;China&nbsp;to&nbsp;Sri Lanka, clarified that Beijing’s&nbsp;assistance is being extended on “competitive terms”,&nbsp;adding that&nbsp;China&nbsp;would “never take&nbsp;advantage of Sri Lanka” while helping&nbsp;a&nbsp;country&nbsp;in&nbsp;need, said&nbsp;The Hindu.&nbsp;

Continuous rise&nbsp;in&nbsp;COVID-19 cases&nbsp;

China&nbsp;continues&nbsp;to&nbsp;battle one of&nbsp;its worst&nbsp;outbreaks&nbsp;of COVID-19, primarily driven by the highly&nbsp;infectious Omicron variant. On Friday,&nbsp;Chinese&nbsp;health officials called the situation “severe&nbsp;and complex”.&nbsp;

Since March 1, the&nbsp;China&nbsp;mainland has recorded more than 56,000 Covid-19 cases,&nbsp;according&nbsp;to&nbsp;national health officials. While Hong Kong has recorded more than&nbsp;a&nbsp;million.&nbsp;&nbsp;

This week, the city of Shanghai, particularly saw&nbsp;a&nbsp;sharp rise&nbsp;in&nbsp;cases,&nbsp;with&nbsp;as&nbsp;many&nbsp;as&nbsp;2000 new&nbsp;asymptomatic cases.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The city came under strain&nbsp;as&nbsp;cases rose, but the&nbsp;authorities had no plans&nbsp;to&nbsp;impose&nbsp;any&nbsp;immediate lockdown due&nbsp;to&nbsp;its ‘important role&nbsp;in&nbsp;the national&nbsp;and global economy, making decisions on lockdown won't be easy.’&nbsp;

"Shanghai is&nbsp;a&nbsp;city that not only covers the Shanghai people themselves, but&nbsp;also plays&nbsp;an important role&nbsp;in&nbsp;the national economic&nbsp;and social development,&nbsp;and even has&nbsp;an impact on the global economy," said&nbsp;CGTN&nbsp;quoting Wu Fan,&nbsp;a&nbsp;medical expert.&nbsp;

On March 28, however,&nbsp;at 5 am, the&nbsp;authorities locked down the city of 25 million.&nbsp;According&nbsp;to&nbsp;reports, the city will lockdown&nbsp;in&nbsp;two phases&nbsp;to&nbsp;conduct mass testing. Currently, the&nbsp;areas east of the Huangpu River&nbsp;are under lockdown,&nbsp;and&nbsp;after four days, the other half of the city,&nbsp;in&nbsp;the west, will be under lockdown for four days.

Other cities&nbsp;too,&nbsp;continue&nbsp;to&nbsp;follow&nbsp;a&nbsp;strict ‘zero-Covid ‘policy, more than 20 cities&nbsp;and provinces have imposed travel bans&nbsp;and lockdowns since this wave began.&nbsp;This policy&nbsp;has been facing&nbsp;backlash. Students&nbsp;at Sichuan University&nbsp;in&nbsp;the Chengdu, capital of southwestern&nbsp;China's Sichuan province, said ‘they were effectively banned from leaving the campus&nbsp;almost two weeks&nbsp;after the city lifted restrictions,’ reported the&nbsp;South&nbsp;China&nbsp;Morning Post.&nbsp;

(The&nbsp;author is&nbsp;an&nbsp;Assistant Researcher&nbsp;at WION TV)

The week began with a devastating news, China witnessed one of its worst air disasters in nearly three decades. A Chinese Eastern Boeing 737-800 with more than 130 people on board crashed in a mountainous area.

The week began with a devastating news, China witnessed one of its worst air disasters in nearly three decades. A Chinese Eastern Boeing 737-800 with more than 130 people on board crashed in a mountainous area. Many major Chinese cities and provinces continue to battle surge in Covid cases. Overseas, too, China has been engaged in diplomacy. This week, from NATO accusing Beijing of politically helping Moscow, to Chinese FM Wang Yi’s tour of South Asia, we look at the big stories from China. China Eastern Airlines plane crash On Monday, condolences poured from around the globe, when a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 with 123 passengers and 9 crew onboard, crashed in mountains in Southern China. Flight MU5735 was flying to Guangzhou from Kunming when it lost contact above the city of Wuzhou, around 210 km from the destination. Chinese President Xi Jinping said he was “shocked” and ordered for an immediate investigation into the matter. The plane nosedived from an altitude of 29,100 feet to 9,075 feet in two minutes and 15 seconds, reported state media CGTN. The airlines expressed “its deep condolences for the passengers and crew members who died in the plane crash.” According to Zhu Tao, an official with China’s Civil Aviation Administration, “Air traffic controllers tried multiple times to reach pilots of doomed China Eastern Flight 5735 after it began its deadly dive on Monday but received no response.” reported Bloomberg. Both the black boxes have been found and sent for examination. On Friday, state broadcaster CCTV confirmed that all 132 on board were dead. While there are many theories about the cause of the crash, Chinese newspaper the China Daily busted many rumours and urged people not to believe easily. China in Russia-Ukraine conflict On Wednesday, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg accused China of politically backing Russia as it continues to attack Ukraine. And warned Beijing against providing any material support. “China has provided Russia with political support, including by spreading blatant lies and misinformation, and allies are concerned that China could provide material support for the Russia invasion,” he said, ahead of an urgent NATO summit on Thursday. Stoltenberg further said that he expected that world leaders will “call on China to live up to its responsibilities as a member of the UN Security Council” and China must “refrain from supporting Russia”, instead it should “join the rest of the world in calling for an immediate, peaceful end to this war.” China fired back and called the claims “disinformation”. China also called out US’ ‘smear’ campaign as Washington accused Beijing of having prior knowledge of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On Wednesday, at the UN Security Council (UNSC), China voted in favour of the Russian Resolution, stating UNSC should play its role in the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. “We advocate that the Security Council should fulfil its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and play its due role in the humanitarian issue of Ukraine,” said Zhang Jun, the Permanent Representative of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations. He further went on to present Beijing’s six-point initiative and clarified to the UNSC members that the vote in favour was a “call to the international community to prioritise the humanitarian situation in Ukraine,” and “protect the safety of civilians, especially women, children and other vulnerable groups, and to facilitate the personnel evacuation and humanitarian relief operations.” Wang Yi’s tour of South Asia This week, Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councilor Wang Yi embarked on a tour of South Asia. His itinerary included Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and Nepal. On Tuesday, Wang Yi attended the gathering of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad, as a special guest. In his speech, he reiterated China’s stand of support for Russia and Ukraine peace talks and a ceasefire. “We need to prevent humanitarian disasters and prevent the spillover of the Ukrainian crisis from affecting or harming the legitimate rights and interests of other regions and countries,” he said. Wang Yi also said that Beijing’s close ties with the Muslim world are based on respect and mutual cooperation, and China has been investing over $400 billion in nearly 600 projects across 54 Muslim countries under the Belt and Road Initiative. In Pakistan, Wang also met with Prime Minister Imran Khan and discussed plans to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan. And criticised the West’s handling of Afghanistan with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa. Next, Chinese FM Wang Yi travelled to Kabul, where he held talks with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. He focused on “political, economic and transit issues”, including education, trade, mining sector as well as BRI projects in Afghanistan. Later this month, China plans to host a meeting of Afghanistan’s neighbours. On Thursday, Chinese MFA spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, “As Afghanistan's neighbour, China stands ready to leverage its strength and contribute to the country’s lasting stability and security. With regard to your question about the specifics, we will release information in due course.” On Friday, Wang Yi reached Nepal for a three-day visit. According to reports, the visit is a chance for the two countries to make amends. The visit comes in the backdrop of Kathmandu ratifying the Millennium Challenge Corporation compact, a setback for Beijing. The USD 500 million grant is a part of developmental assistance from Washington to the Himalayan nation. The visit is also an opportunity for China to bring on track the development of projects under BRI in Nepal. The two nations have signed nine deals, however none on BRI. Before reaching Nepal, the Chinese official made a surprise stopover in India. Thursday night, he reached the capital city of New Delhi. Wang Yi’s visit to India and OIC controversy On Friday, Wang Yi met with India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The officials of the two nations discussed the way forward to resolve the two-year-old military stand-off at the Line of Actual Control. The two countries stayed completely silent on the high-level visit, a first between the two sides since the standoff in 2020. According to reports, they were waiting for each other to make the announcement, but India shelved the idea after Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s statement at the OIC meet on Tuesday. At the OIC meet, Wang Yi made a reference to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. He said, “On Kashmir, we have heard again today the calls of many of our Islamic friends. And China shares the same hope.” While the statement was open ended, it ‘effectively offered support to all that was spoken on Jammu and Kashmir by the OIC foreign ministers,’ said the Hindustan Times. The Indian government fired back and reminded Wang Yi that as India doesn’t make any “public judgment” regarding internal matters of China, it shouldn’t either. “We reject the uncalled reference to India by the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi during his speech at the opening ceremony,” said Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson of India’s External Affairs Ministry. “Matters related to the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir are entirely the internal affairs of India. Other countries, including China, have no locus standi to comment. They should note that India refrains from public judgement of their internal issues,” he added. Despite the ‘unannounced’ arrival, the visit took place rather smoothly. Wang Yi proposed a three-point approach. First, he stressed on China and India’s long history, and urged the two sides to view ‘bilateral relations with a long-term vision’ He added, "China and India do not pose a threat to each other, but provide opportunities for each other's development", according to the MFA press release. Next, he urged that the two nations “should view each other's development with a win-win mindset,” and lastly, they must “participate in multilateral processes with a cooperative attitude.” China-Sri Lanka The island nation of Sri Lanka is reeling under one of its worst financial meltdowns. Despite huge foreign investment from China, its forex is depleting. This week, Colombo has sought a fresh loan and buyer’s credit from Beijing for USD 2.5 billion. And China is considering the request. China has been accused of debt-trapping countries on multiple occasions. Qi Zhenhong, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Sri Lanka, clarified that Beijing’s assistance is being extended on “competitive terms”, adding that China would “never take advantage of Sri Lanka” while helping a country in need, said The Hindu. Continuous rise in COVID-19 cases China continues to battle one of its worst outbreaks of COVID-19, primarily driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant. On Friday, Chinese health officials called the situation “severe and complex”. Since March 1, the China mainland has recorded more than 56,000 Covid-19 cases, according to national health officials. While Hong Kong has recorded more than a million. This week, the city of Shanghai, particularly saw a sharp rise in cases, with as many as 2000 new asymptomatic cases. The city came under strain as cases rose, but the authorities had no plans to impose any immediate lockdown due to its ‘important role in the national and global economy, making decisions on lockdown won't be easy.’ "Shanghai is a city that not only covers the Shanghai people themselves, but also plays an important role in the national economic and social development, and even has an impact on the global economy," said CGTN quoting Wu Fan, a medical expert. On March 28, however, at 5 am, the authorities locked down the city of 25 million. According to reports, the city will lockdown in two phases to conduct mass testing. Currently, the areas east of the Huangpu River are under lockdown, and after four days, the other half of the city, in the west, will be under lockdown for four days. Other cities too, continue to follow a strict ‘zero-Covid ‘policy, more than 20 cities and provinces have imposed travel bans and lockdowns since this wave began. This policy has been facing backlash. Students at Sichuan University in the Chengdu, capital of southwestern China's Sichuan province, said ‘they were effectively banned from leaving the campus almost two weeks after the city lifted restrictions,’ reported the South China Morning Post. (The author is an Assistant Researcher at WION TV)

Chinese vignettes | Woes continue in  China as it comes to reality with a fatal plane crash

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi called on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today in New Delhi.&nbsp; 
 
The two leaders held discussions on issues of mutual interests, said local media reports. 
 
India&#39;s national security advisor Ajit Doval and foreign secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar were also present during the meeting. 
 
Wang, on a three-day visit to India, is also met his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj later in the day on key regional and bilateral issues. He is likely to seek India&#39;s support for Chinese position on the South China Sea dispute.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Delhi: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets EAM Sushma Swaraj <a href="https://t.co/R7eFr7DZJh">pic.twitter.com/R7eFr7DZJh</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/764345155554054144">August 13, 2016</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Delhi: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets PM Narendra Modi <a href="https://t.co/N52UqLkNC1">pic.twitter.com/N52UqLkNC1</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/764341052627161088">August 13, 2016</a></blockquote>
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China has refused to recognise last month&#39;s ruling by an arbitration court in The Hague that invalidated its vast territorial claims in the South China Sea, to which India reacted by saying that all parties involved must &quot;show utmost respect&quot; to the verdict by Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. 
 
Modi&#39;s upcoming trip to Hangzhou for G-20 summit on September 04-05 and recent transgression by Chinese troops in Chamoli district of northern Uttarakhand state are also expected to figure in discussions. 
 
Wang&#39;s visit is the first bilateral meeting between leaders of the two Asian giants after China ruled out bending rules for India for its entry to the prestigious Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in June. 
 
(Agencies)&nbsp;

Wang's visit is the first bilateral meeting between leaders of two Asian giants after China ruled out bending rules for India for its NSG

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi called on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today in New Delhi. The two leaders held discussions on issues of mutual interests, said local media reports. India's national security advisor Ajit Doval and foreign secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar were also present during the meeting. Wang, on a three-day visit to India, is also met his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj later in the day on key regional and bilateral issues. He is likely to seek India's support for Chinese position on the South China Sea dispute. Delhi: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets EAM Sushma Swaraj pic.twitter.com/R7eFr7DZJh — ANI (@ANI_news) August 13, 2016 Delhi: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets PM Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/N52UqLkNC1 — ANI (@ANI_news) August 13, 2016 China has refused to recognise last month's ruling by an arbitration court in The Hague that invalidated its vast territorial claims in the South China Sea, to which India reacted by saying that all parties involved must "show utmost respect" to the verdict by Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. Modi's upcoming trip to Hangzhou for G-20 summit on September 04-05 and recent transgression by Chinese troops in Chamoli district of northern Uttarakhand state are also expected to figure in discussions. Wang's visit is the first bilateral meeting between leaders of the two Asian giants after China ruled out bending rules for India for its entry to the prestigious Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in June. (Agencies)

Chinese foreign minister meets Modi, discusses issues of 'mutual interest'

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Chinese vignettes | Woes continue in China as it comes to reality with a fatal plane crash

Chinese foreign minister meets Modi, discusses issues of 'mutual interest'