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NEWS IN CHINA 

• Xi Jinping Highlights Ideological Rectification in Speech to Senior Military Officers: President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech on political training at the opening ceremony of the training course for senior military officers at the National Defense University. Xi emphasized the need to be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era and highlighted the relevance of carrying out ideological rectification, deepening political training, and strengthening the revolutionary forging of the cadre ranks of the military to maintain the purity and glory of the People's Army. Xi stated that the party and the army have continuously grown stronger in the struggle against various erroneous ideologies. The opening ceremony was presided over by Zhang Shengmin, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission. Participants of the opening ceremony included trainees of the first training course for senior military officers, principal officials from various departments of the Central Military Commission and relevant military units stationed in Beijing.
  
  

• Zhao Leji Holds Talks with Portuguese Speaker of Parliament: Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), held talks with the Speaker of Parliament of Portugal, Aguiar-Blanco, on 8 April. Zhao emphasised that China and Portugal are comprehensive strategic partners who respect, trust and co-operate with each other for mutual benefit. Zhao highlighted that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Portugal has adhered to the One-China principle. The resolution of the Macao issue through friendly consultations between the two countries was cited as an example of the high degree of mutual trust between the two countries. Aguiar-Blanco underscored Portugal's relationship with China amid global uncertainties and stated that Portugal hopes to jointly uphold multilateralism with China and strengthen co-operation in various fields such as trade, economy, culture, promote the development of EU-China relations, and enhance global stability.  
  
  

• Representatives from China, Afghanistan and Pakistan Hold Informal Meeting in Urumqi: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning stated in a press conference that, in accordance with a consensus reached earlier between the foreign ministers of China, Afghanistan and Pakistan, representatives of the three countries held informal meetings in Urumqi, Xinjiang, from 1 to 7 April. The trilateral delegations included representatives from foreign affairs, defense and security departments. Mao stated that the delegations from both Afghanistan and Pakistan appreciated China’s global security initiatives and Asian security models proposed by President Xi Jinping, particularly the concept of seeking common ground while reserving differences, treating each other as equals and peaceful resolution of differences through dialogue and consultation. Mao also highlighted that both sides expressed gratitude for China's mediation efforts as the host country and affirmed China as fair, just and dedicated to the mediation process. The meeting produced consensus on the importance of the Urumqi dialogue process, and parties agreed to take a comprehensive solution to the problems. China highlighted that terrorism is the core issue and that, given the current turbulent international situation, maintaining good neighbourly relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan is crucial for peace and stability in South Asia.
  
  

• The Supreme People's Court Issues Document to Ensure Safety Measures for Civilian Flights: The Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate jointly issued a judicial interpretation on handling criminal cases endangering civil aviation flight safety. The interpretation emphasised strict legal standards to safeguard the safety of passengers on airplanes. Luo Guoliang, Chief Judge of the Fourth Criminal Division of the Supreme People's Court, explained that the interpretation stipulates the standards for conviction and sentencing for the crime of endangering flight safety by violence on civil aviation aircraft in flight. The interpretation also clarifies that flight attendants are flight safety personnel and are targets of the crime of endangering flight safety by violence. The judicial interpretation emphasizes stricter punishment for crimes involving fabrication and intentional dissemination of false terrorist information related to civil aviation flight safety. It stipulates that  fabrication and false dissemination of information affects normal operation of civil aviation flights and airports and causes public security, armed police, fire, rescue or health quarantine departments to take countermeasures, and it should be treated as a crime. The judicial interpretation establishes that flight safety is inviolable.  
  
  

• State Financial Regulatory Commission Issues Notice Outlining Work Plan for Revitalization of Rural Areas: The State Financial Regulatory Commission issued a notice on 8 April titled the "Notice on Doing a Good Job in Financial Support for Rural Revitalization in 2026." The notice clarified that in 2026, the Agricultural Development Bank of China and large and medium-sized commercial banks should continue to list separate agricultural credit plans and strive to achieve the goal of continuous growth in the balance of agricultural loans on a comparable basis with the beginning of the year. The notice states that in 2026, large and medium-sized banks will be guided to actively develop agricultural industry chain finance, expand first-time borrowers, promote improvement in the ability of rural small and medium-sized banks to support agriculture and small businesses through reform, rationally determine the internal preferential policies for inclusive agricultural loans, and prevent and correct involution competition. Additionally, the notice also calls for strengthening insurance coverage for rice, wheat, corn, and soybeans and developing insurance for locally advantageous and distinctive agricultural products based on local conditions. It also emphasizes the role of agricultural insurance for disaster prevention and mitigation.
  
  

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER

Netizens Criticise Unruly Behavior of Foreign Players in Basketball League: The hashtag #NingboMen'sBasketballTeamCutsForeignPlayerontheSpot# is trending on the social media platform Weibo. During a game against the Shanghai Men's Basketball Team, two American players, Bazley and Simpson, had a heated argument. A Chinese player intervened to stop the fight but was pushed and shoved. The American basketball player Bazley, who pushed the Chinese player, was substituted off the court immediately by the coaching staff. The Ningbo Men's Basketball Team subsequently announced the termination of Bazley's contract. The club stated, "no foreign player has special privileges." Netizens have criticized the behaviour of the foreign players and described it as "lawless" and the players as constantly attacking coaches and teammates. Many have criticized the temper of the player and the non-adherence to the rules of the game. Others have stated that foreign players who earn through participation in the Chinese Basketball Association League must abide by and respect Chinese rules, with comments such as "if you eat our food, you have to follow our rules." Many have described the termination of the player as "satisfying." The incident has also led many netizens to raise questions on the professionalism of athletes in sports like basketball.


INDIA WATCH

Guancha Discusses Ban on Chinese Cameras on Toll Roads in India: An editorial in Guancha authored by  Zhang Congyu of Observer Network discusses the Indian government’s restrictions on cameras manufactured in mainland China that are installed on toll roads in India. The article terms the decision a security tactic and remarks that India is using data security as an excuse to enforce a ban on Chinese-manufactured cameras. It notes that India will purchase cameras from the US, Taiwan and Germany and lists Delta Electronics of Taiwan, Bosch of Germany and Motorola Solutions in the US as the enterprises shortlisted for procuring camera equipment. Despite shortlisted suppliers being priced higher than Chinese competitors, the article observes that  India is attempting to 'decouple from China.' The article analyses concerns of Indian policymakers that data collected by Chinese-manufactured cameras could be used for intelligence gathering, especially during military conflicts. The author states that the tightening of restrictions on Chinese video equipment reveals a trust deficit in the India-China relationship. Lin Minwang, a researcher at the Center for South Asian Studies at Fudan University, quoted in the article, notes that India elevates any matter related to China to a security level. Additionally, India seems to be following Western countries and the US in excluding Chinese products from domestic projects under the pretext of national security.

Prepared By

Rituja Ghosh

Rituja Ghosh is a Research and Administrative Intern at Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). She holds a master's in International Relations from South Asian University, New Delhi. She has presented her work in several prestigious conferences, such as the paper titled "Sinicization in the People's Republic of China: An Analysis of Language Policies" at the 16th All India Conference on China Studies. She has previously worked as a Security Analyst with a corporate firm and as an Academic Associate at the Kautilya School of Public Policy, Hyderabad. Her interests lie in studying the politics of South Asia, India-China relations and China’s social and cultural policies.