Resolving border friction key for mutual trust, India foreign minister tells China
The neighbors have made 'good progress' over the last nine months for the normalization of relations, he said, adding that it was key for restrictive trade measures and roadblocks to be avoided.
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Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Faced with geopolitics and trade war, US companies in China report record-low new investment plans
American companies in China are reporting record-low new investment plans for this year and declining confidence in profits, while uncertainty in US-China relations and President Donald Trump's tariffs have become their top concerns, according to a business survey released Wednesday. The companies are also challenged by China's slowing economy, where weak domestic demand and overcapacity in local industries are eroding profitability for the Americans. Businesses in China are less profitable now than they were years ago, but risks, including reputational risk, regulatory risk, and political risk, are increasing, said Sean Stein, the president of the US-China Business Council, a Washington-based group that represents American companies doing business in China, including major multinationals. The survey, conducted between March and May and drawing from 130 member companies, came after the two countries clashed over tariffs and non-tariff measures, including export controls on critical products such as rare-earth magnets and advanced computer chips. Following high-level talks in Geneva and London, US and Chinese officials agreed to pull back from sky-high tariffs and restrictions on exports, but uncertainty persists as the two sides are yet to hammer out a more permanent trade deal. Kyle Sullivan, vice president of business advisory services at the USCBC, said more than half of the companies in the survey indicated they do not have new investment plans in China at all this year. That's a record high, Sullivan said, noting that it is a new development that we have not observed in previous surveys. Around 40 percent of companies reported negative effects from US export control measures, with many experiencing lost sales, severed customer relationships, and reputational damage from being unreliable suppliers, according to the survey. Citing national security, the US government has banned exports to China of high-tech products such as the most advanced chips, which could help boost China's military capabilities. Stein argued that export controls must be very carefully targeted because businesses from Europe or Japan or local businesses in China would immediately fill the void left by American companies. Silicon Valley chipmaker Nvidia won approval from the Trump administration to resume sales to China of its advanced H20 chips used to develop artificial intelligence, its CEO Jensen Huang announced on Monday, though the company's most powerful chips remain under US export control rules. While 82 percent of US companies reported profits in 2024, fewer than half are optimistic about the future in China, reflecting concerns over tariffs, deflation, and policy uncertainty, according to the survey. Also, a record high number of American businesses plan to relocate their business operations outside of China, Sullivan said, as 27 percent of the members indicated so, up from 19 percent the year before. In a departure from past surveys, concerns over China's regulatory environment, including risks of intellectual property misuse and lack of market access, didn't make it to the top five concerns this year. That's likely a first, and not for a good reason, Stein said. It is not because things got dramatically better on the Chinese side, but the new challenges often coming from the US are now posing as much of a challenge, Stein said. Almost all the American companies said they cannot remain globally competitive without their Chinese operations. A survey from the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China in May found that European companies were cutting costs and scaling back investment plans in China as its economy slows and fierce competition drives down prices.
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Air India completes fuel control switches inspection on Boeing 787 planes, no issues found
Air India has completed the inspection of fuel control switches on Boeing 787 planes with no issues being found, Indian broadcaster NDTV said on Wednesday, citing an official. Air India did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reuters could not immediately verify the NDTV report. India on Monday ordered its airlines to examine fuel switches on several Boeing aircraft models, while South Korea ordered a similar measure on Tuesday, as scrutiny intensified of fuel switch locks at the center of an investigation into a deadly Air India crash last month that killed 260 people. India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had said it issued an order to investigate locks on several Boeing models, including 787s and 737s, after several Indian and international airlines began making their own inspections of fuel switches. A preliminary report released last week into the crash found the switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run position to cutoff shortly after takeoff. The Boeing Dreamliner bound for London from the Indian city of Ahmedabad began to lose thrust and sink shortly after takeoff, according to the report on the world's deadliest aviation accident in a decade.
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Pakistan to close national chain of subsidized retail stores amid privatization push
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will shut down the state-owned Utility Stores Corporation (USC) by July 31 as part of a broader government effort to restructure and privatize loss-making public sector entities, according to a statement from the finance ministry carried by state broadcaster Radio Pakistan on Wednesday. The decision follows years of declining performance, mismanagement allegations, and heavy financial losses at the USC, a nationwide retail chain originally established in 1971 to provide essential commodities at subsidized prices to low-income households. The stores were once a key instrument in the government's food security and price control policies but have faced mounting criticism over inefficiency, politicized staffing and weak oversight. A high-level committee formed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to oversee the closure and privatization of the USC met on Wednesday in Islamabad, with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb chairing the session. The committee is responsible for ensuring a transparent shutdown process, designing a fair Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) for USC employees and recommending a timeline for privatization or asset disposal. 'All operations of Utility Stores Corporation will be closed by 31st of this month in accordance with the government's directives,' the Radio Pakistan report said. The committee 'discussed at length the formulation of a fair and financially viable Voluntary Separation Scheme for the Utility Stores employees' and examined various aspects including its potential size, fiscal impact, and legal implications. To support the analysis, a sub-committee led by the secretary of the Establishment Division has been formed and will submit recommendations on the structure and feasibility of the VSS by the end of the week. The committee also advised that the government's Privatization Commission be consulted on whether the USC's assets should be sold off or restructured for privatization. The closure of the USC marks a significant step in Pakistan's ongoing efforts to reduce the burden of state-owned enterprises on the national budget in line with reforms encouraged by the International Monetary Fund. Over the years, several audits and parliamentary reviews have pointed to chronic inefficiencies at the USC, including procurement irregularities and an inability to meet its mandate effectively in remote and underserved areas.
