Economy

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed is welcomed by President Xi Jinping to Beijing's Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in July 2019.
International relations

China's economic clout chills Bangladesh-India relations

Dhaka warned against becoming a theater for proxy wars between regional powers

11 August 2020
Prime Minister Imran Khan meets with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in September 2019, a time when Saudi Arabia was seen as something of a white knight in Pakistan. (Photo courtesy of Pakistan's Press Information Department)
International relations

Saudi Arabia pulls support for Pakistan as Kashmir tiff widens

As Riyadh takes India's side, China comes through with $1bn for Islamabad

10 August 2020
Icons of Chinese online apps are pictured with that of Facebook: supporting concentrated monopolies has become official policy across much of Asia.
Opinion

Asia's regulators ignore rising influence of Big Tech at their peril

Market power of Alibaba, Reliance, Tencent and Gojek could outweigh US behemoths

5 August 2020
© Illustration by Michael Tsang
Asia Insight

Indian apps soar after ban on China's TikTok, WeChat and Baidu

Relations soured by Ladakh clash force Modi to refocus economic struggle

4 August 2020
An Indian paramilitary soldier stands guard in Srinagar on Aug. 1: no one will know how much the situation has deteriorated.
Opinion

India's Article 370 experiment in Kashmir has failed

International community must help restart talks among region's key stakeholders

3 August 2020
Japan's H2A rocket carrying the UAE's Hope probe takes off on July 20: the Emiratis are basking in their status as the Arab world's space leader.
Opinion

India and Elon Musk show Asia the way in discount race to Mars

US caps record month for Red Planet missions with launch of $2.7bn Perseverance rover

31 July 2020
Protesters call for boycotts of Chinese-made goods in Mumbai in June after a deadly border clash between India and China.
International relations

India freezes out Chinese companies from government bidding

New restrictions on 'neighboring countries' crank up pressure amid border standoff

30 July 2020
A Maruti Suzuki showroom in New Delhi. The pandemic has throttled production and sales.
Automobiles

Maruti Suzuki reports first-ever quarterly loss on Indian lockdown

South Asian nation's vehicle sales plunge 80% as pandemic stings

30 July 2020
A woman examines an iPhone 11 in Kolkata: Since Foxconn started production of the model in Chennai, experts think Apple will cut the price.
Technology

'Made in India' iPhone 11 goes into production in Chennai

Apple uses local assembly to diversify supply chain away from China

28 July 2020
People protest against the alleged rape and murder in Chandigarh in December 2019: there has been no change in the lens through which the legal system views rape victims.
Opinion

Indian legal system is failing rape victims with archaic attitudes

Judge in Karnataka case said alleged victim's response was 'unbecoming'

20 July 2020
Banning Chinese apps has costs such as potential job losses and investment foregone.
Opinion

India's flawed attempt to decouple from China will only hurt consumers

Banning TikTok and keeping Beijing out of 5G network do not help Indians in long run

15 July 2020
Major Chinese internet groups are facing extreme scrutiny but it does not mean that they must stop expanding internationally.
Opinion

China's aggression is undermining its tech giants' global ambitions

TikTok's troubles shows ByteDance and others will face U.S. pushback as they expand

15 July 2020
Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa, left, has appointed a committee to examine concerns about the East Container Terminal project at Colombo Port. Critics charge the project is an attempt to distance Sri Lanka from India, led by Prime Minister Modi. (Nikkei Montage/Source photo by AP/Getty Images/Rie Ishii) 
International relations

Sri Lanka's India ties strained as Rajapaksa rethinks port deal

New president keeps 'Quad' at arms length and cozies up to China

10 July 2020
Anti-China activists shout slogans during a protest in Jammu on July 1: the ban will likely lead to economic retaliation and escalation on both sides.
Opinion

India has chosen sides in the US-China tech war

New Delhi ban on Chinese apps after border clash fits into wider conflict

7 July 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has hit Asian economies hard. Conditions in the ASEAN5 countries and India are still deteriorating, with trade and movement of people restricted in an attempt to control the spread of the virus. 
Economy

ASEAN and India sink into deep minus growth: JCER survey

Acceleration of digitization expected due to COVID-19 pandemic

7 July 2020
Chinese travelers are banned from staying at roughly 3,000 budget hotels in the Indian capital. 
Travel & Leisure

No rooms for Chinese travelers: Indian hotel body issues a ban

3,000 establishments in Delhi told to refuse service as backlash grows

7 July 2020
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has two agreements in as many months from Beijing to fund hydropower projects in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/EPA/Jiji)
Belt and Road

Pakistan benefits from China-India clash with hydropower deal

Himalaya tensions also give Islamabad opportunity to make a case for debt relief

6 July 2020
The U.S.'s northern neighbor is pitching to attract more Asian tech employees.
Technology

Canada opens doors to Asian tech talent fleeing Trump's US

Visa headaches dim the American dream and kindle interest in openings elsewhere

6 July 2020
Traffic in Mumbai: India's highways minister said the country "will not give permission to joint ventures that have Chinese partners for road construction."
International relations

India blocks Chinese highway deals as military talks enter third round

Modi quits Weibo in new sign of souring economic ties after Himalayan clash

2 July 2020
A textile worker lies down outside a factory after it was shut due to the lockdown in Bhiwandi, India, on Apr. 1: the worst is yet to come as a severe export slump lies ahead.
Opinion

Asia has an unemployment crisis waiting to happen

Export collapse will expose how tenuous many workers' jobs are

1 July 2020
Workers load sacks of wheat onto a supply truck at the Gharaunda Grains Market in Karnal district of the northern state of Haryana, India.
Economy

Modi extends $20bn free ration scheme for India's poor by 5 months

More than 800 million people to benefit as the country fights spike in COVID-19 cases

30 June 2020
Migrant workers wait for transport in Ahmedabad on May 20: it was the lack of local job opportunities that had driven over 100 million people in India to migrate.
Opinion

Another government database is not going to help India's unemployed

Duplication and inefficiency are rife in IT systems connecting workforce with jobs

29 June 2020
A member of the National Students' Union of India takes part in a protest against China in the Indian city of Ahmedabad on June 18.
Economy

China-India border tensions spark trade friction in 5G and autos

Huawei and car plant investment deal caught up in calls for tough measures

29 June 2020
Dark clouds hang over Mumbai skyline ahead of cyclone Nisarga on June 4: India is vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Opinion

India needs a plan for extreme weather caused by climate change

Government report shows heat waves, droughts and cyclones are likely to increase

27 June 2020
China has revived its steel industry through its economic stimulus program.
Commodities

China's steel dominance grows as global output shrank 9% in May

Asian powerhouse accounts for more than 60% of market after rivals scale back

24 June 2020