Amidst standoff, China deploys new commander to oversee India border

THE ANNOUNCEMENT, from China’s civil aviation regulator, followed the Trump administration’s announcement on Wednesday that it would block Chinese passenger airlines from flying into or out of the United States starting on June 16.

Beijing: China has appointed a new Army commander for its Western Theatre Command ground forces responsible for the SinoIndia border, ahead of the key talks between senior Indian and Chinese military officials on Saturday to end the border standoff.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Western Theatre Command, on its official website, announced that Lt. Gen. Xu Qiling has been appointed as the new commander for its ground forces. The Western Theatre Command of the PLA guards the 3,488-km long Line of Actual Control with India and includes the Army, Air Force and Rocket Force. It is headed by Gen. Zhao Zongqi.

New York, June 5: The Chinese authorities appeared to retreat partially from an escalating dispute with the United States over air travel between the two countries, announcing that foreign airlines would be allowed to operate one flight per week in Chinese cities.

The announcement, from China’s civil aviation regulator, followed the Trump administration’s announcement on Wednesday that it would block Chinese passenger airlines from flying into or out of the United States starting on June 16.

That move was a response to a similar ban by the Chinese government on American carriers, which had further stoked tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.

Foreign airlines that were barred from operating in China during the pandemic — which includes all American airlines except those carrying cargo — will be allowed to choose one Chinese city from an approved list to operate one flight each week, beginning June 8, the announcement said.

Relations between the countries have deteriorated sharply in recent weeks as officials scuffled over the origin of the pandemic and China’s move to tighten its authority over Hong Kong, a semiautonomous city.

With the US presidential election just five months away, President Trump and his campaign have taken a much tougher stand against China, blaming its government for allowing the Coronavirus to turn into a pandemic and wreck the American economy.

The aviation dispute has threatened to further chill economic relations and disrupt business ties between the United States and China. Flights between the countries were already sharply curtailed by the pandemic and Chinese restrictions on foreign airlines that effectively halted trips by the major US carriers that go there.