The ongoing G20 meeting in the city of Srinagar has given foreign dignitaries and observers a good opportunity to witness the ground realities of India-administered Kashmir. They can see and tell the world what has changed in Kashmir since revocation of the special status. The full integration of J&K with the rest of the country appears to have proven beneficial.

In 2022, record 18.4 million tourists visited Kashmir, which was the highest in past seven decades. The number of tourists from foreign countries too touched 20,000-figure. All this indicates normalcy has returned to the region, which is now almost free from militancy.

The Kashmir valley is peaceful now and witnessing different kinds of development activities. Commoners appear to be freed from the clutches of extremism, violence, and propaganda. India’s rivals Pakistan and China had warned of unrest and violence in Kashmir. However, things took a positive turn.

Michael Rubin, senior fellow with Washington-based The American Enterprise Institute (AEI), said he witnessed optimism and growing confidence in Indian-controlled Kashmir. He visited both parts of Kashmir—one under the jurisdiction of India and the other of Pakistan. “While Kashmiris under Pakistani control remain hobbled by a moribund economy and suppressed by Jamaat-e-Islami extremism, Kashmiris in India have security, taste freedom, and thrive,” Rubin said.

Farooq Wani, a political analyst from J&K, said the progress in development activities was visible now. “While only 9,229 projects had been completed in fiscal 2018-19, during 2021-22, this figure went up almost six times to a staggering 50,627,” he said. Premier health and technological institutions, youth skilling centres, and sport training centres are being established in Kashmir as the cancellation of the special status of J&K in 2019 allowed smooth funding and implementation.

The budgetary allocation for the J&K was USD 9.7 billion in 2018-19. It increased to USD 14 billion in 2022-23. There has been a significant increase in the allocations of government funds for humanitarian relief, crisis management, social infrastructure development, and economic infrastructure expansion in the J&K. Even international humanitarian and financial institutions are joining the hands for development of Kashmir. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has extended its support in the upgradation of civic and transport facilities in Kashmir.

The people of Kashmir responded positively to the steps taken by the government. J&K showed an “incremental” performance in Sustainable Development Goals of good health and well-being of people (India Index 2020-21). There has been momentum in business and commerce activities, which is reflected in a 30 per cent increase in tax collection in just one year. The youth is coming up with successful start-up ideas, which are set to fuel economic growth in the region.

The government of India has been offering incentives to attract foreign investment in J&K. The Kashmir Conclave is held in the US annually where discussions are held on how to bring comprehensive development in Kashmir, which focuses on investment in agriculture, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Carmen Montana, Mayor of California’s Milpitas City has assured support in establishing fruitful partnerships with businesses in J&K. Dubai’s Emaar group is set to make the investment of USD 60 million in Kashmir, which is expected to generate 7,000-8,000 job opportunities.

There has been a significant reduction in violence and clashes. In the first two years, a 34 per cent reduction was witnessed in militant activities while civilian deaths dipped by 90 per cent. Indian agencies including the army have been coming up with different policies and programmes to prevent the Kashmiri youth from joining terror activities. They are offering opportunities to militants to surrender and live a normal life.

Sher Khan had links with a terror outfit named Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI). He was influenced by the disinformation peddled by Pakistan-sponsored terrorist groups. Khan quit the HuJI after realising Kashmiris were exploited by Pakistan for political gains. “After realizing that I was on the wrong path, I along with some other members of my group surrendered before security forces to live a peaceful life as a citizen of India,” he said.

L'articolo <strong>G20 meeting offer glimpse into changed lives in Kashmir</strong> proviene da InsideOver.

The G20 summit concluded this weekend in Osaka, Japan. US President Donald Trump was the center of several controversies and discussions, not limited to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, climate change, and US support for Saudi Arabia in the Yemen Civil War. The main focal point, however, was Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Following hours of negotiation between the two presidents, Trump announced that they would put the trade war on pause and agree to resume discussions. To be clear, this does not translate to immediate tariff relief as neither side agreed to back down. There is one small victory, however, for China as Trump appears to have agreed to remove part of the ban on Huawei.

After taking his Asian counterpart to task over what many have deemed unfair trade practices, Trump set about imposing tariffs last summer on $50 billion of imports, then on $200 billion worth of products. China had responded in kind, slapping American goods with tariffs of its own, while also appealing to the World Trade Organization for recourse.

Ahead of the G20 summit, he taunted that he may target the remaining $325 billion of goods not covered under previous tariffs, a punishment for stalled diplomatic negotiations. While every tit-for-tat by each side has had an effect, Trump’s banning of Huawei products has been the most newsworthy, in that by declaring a national emergency, he effectively crippled one specific company single-handedly.

Huawei had just overtaken Apple to become the second-largest smartphone maker when Trump labeled it a national security risk in May. While its devices are more popular in Asia and Europe, they were made possible through American companies such as Intel, Google, and Qualcomm. After signing an executive order, Trump essentially not only banned Huawei devices and network equipment, but also forbid American companies from transferring or selling technology to the tech giant. Unwilling to risk penalties, companies that had previously formed strong business relationships with Huawei began to quickly abandon ship.

Making the situation worse, Trump’s order came during a time of early 5G network expansion. Companies and governments across the globe are laying the groundwork for the next generation of mobile networks. Doing so requires equipment and infrastructure, which happens to be Huawei’s specialty. While it may be known for known for its handheld devices, Huawei rose to international prominence by building networks across Europe, beginning with Vodafone and British Telecom. Like its smartphones, Huawei’s network technology often fares much cheaper than its competition.

Leading up the White House ban, the Trump administration had already begun to pressure its allies to follow suit. By portraying Huawei as a national security risk, Washington managed to convince Australia, New Zealand, and Japan to blacklist the company. Furthermore, investigations were launched in Germany, the UK, and Canada, most of which led to no solid evidence of Huawei acting as an agent of the Chinese government, but some restrictions were imposed nonetheless.

All of these factors forced the company into a downward spiral and increased pressure on Beijing to find an amicable solution to the trade war. Judging by Trump’s response following the meeting in Osaka, it seems that the Chinese government was finally able to find the right words to convince him to lift the ban, at least in part. According to Trump, American suppliers such as Intel and Qualcomm could once again resume selling its components to Huawei. While he said that a discussion with China about the issue would come at a later date, this concession at least provides mild relief, and will allow Huawei to make its smartphones once more. Without sourcing goods and technology from outside suppliers, it would have been forced to create practically everything, from the software to the chips, by itself, a next to impossible mission for any smartphone manufacturer.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer did not take too kindly to the idea of backing off of the Huawei ban so quickly. Although a Democrat typically opposed to Trump, the company is “one of few potent levers we have to make China play fair on trade.” Furthermore, if Huawei posed such a strong risk to not just national security, but that of allies as well, it doesn’t make sense to remove the ban so quickly. More than anything, doing so discredits the Trump administration and its risk assessment. While the ban was always presumed to be more about trade than security, its removal only confirms that sentiment.

For its part, China has agreed to buy more agricultural products, according to Trump. Beijing has often targeted the US agriculture industry, as farming states have shown more support for the president, especially during the 2016 election. By hurting farmers, Xi hoped Trump would fall out of favor with them. Already, Washington has issued two emergency stimulus packages for farmers who have seen their profits fall off.

“China is going to be buying a tremendous amount of food and agricultural product, and they’re going to start that very soon, almost immediately,” Trump said. “We’re going to give them lists of things we would like them to buy.”

Both sides would prefer to sign a comprehensive trade deal which includes the removal of tariffs. While the meeting between Trump and Xi at the G20 summit did not achieve such a lofty goal, the promise of no new tariffs in the immediate future amid resumed talks should help calm any economic uncertainty.

L'articolo Trump, Xi Resume Negotiations Putting Trade War on Hold proviene da InsideOver.

“I cannot imagine a complete separation between China and the US. This is not a scenrio that I would like to see and I don’t think our American friends want to see it, and my friend Trump wouldn’t want to see it either.” It is a small fleeting sign, made by Xi Jinping, yet it is more than significant, because never before has he called the American President “a friend.”

A singular opening, made by Xi, at the St. Petersburg’s Economic Forum, in which he took part sitting next to his best friend, Vladimir Putin. The details are reported by the Hong Kong South China Morning Post.

During his speech Xi said that ties between the two countries are so strong, the commercial exchanges so intense, that a detachment between the two seems impossible. And then came the above surprise comment.

It should be noted that it was on this same day which Trump stated that the increase of tariffs on Chinese products, which he had announced a few days ago, would be postponed.

The US president had declared that he would increase tariffs up to a total of $325 billion, however yesterday he specified that the final decision on the subject will only come after the G20 summit, which will take place in June in Osaka (Bloomberg).

It should be remembered that last May Trump had announced that he wished to meet both Xi and Putin in Osaka. However, while the Kremlin has replied with a communication stating that the meeting could take place, (Tass), Beijing has yet to give an answer.

It seems obvious that Trump has deferred the decision on new tariffs in order to facilitate the meeting with Xi

For Xi, it would be somewhat difficult to accept the invitation if the current economic war on the Washington-Beijing axis continues to rage on, all the more as it has sparked off intense Chinese nationalism.

A summit where Xi shakes the hand of Donald Trump, the man behind the current US “bullying” – as the Chinese press has defined it – could appear as a sign of weakness which Xi cannot afford: he would risk alarming those throughout the world who have envisaged the mighty Chinese development as an opportunity for investment.

From this stems an opportunity for Trump. Xi’s surprise remark yesterday appears like an initial reply. It is more than encouraging.

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L'articolo Xi Jinping: My Friend Donald Trump… proviene da InsideOver.