The sweeping deal aims to link South Asia and the Middle East to help the flow of energy and trade from the Gulf to Europe

While India and the US are not formal treaty-bound allies, Washington wants New Delhi to be a strategic counterweight to China

The chief of one of the world’s biggest chip equipment-makers, ASML, said isolating China completely will ‘force’ the country to ramp up innovation

"The significance is that it shows that China has been able to stay 2-2.5 nodes behind the world's best (chip) companies," Dan Hutcheson, an analyst with TechInsights said

China's ban on iPhone use by government workers was extended to local government entities last month, raising fears that Apple and its suppliers could be hit hard by rising Sino-US tension

State media said the investment was a clear sign of Beijing's push to end the country's reliance on foreign semiconductor firms

Guterres warned of fragmentation "in world economic and financial systems" amid differing views on technology and security; he also urged solutions for poor nations' debt and climate change

Among major backers of the chip designer is smartphone giant Xiaomi, which won approval last month from China's state planner to manufacture electric vehicles

Chinese Premier told a summit of Southeast Asian leaders it was important to oppose taking sides, to avoid bloc confrontation or a new Cold War; after talks on the South China Sea made no progress yet again

The development follows sanctions-hit Huawei's success in building an advanced 7-nanometer processor, in collaboration with state-backed SMIC

Reports that Huawei's latest smartphone has 5G capabilities has sparked questions on the effectiveness of US sanctions and whether chip curbs on China should be expanded

In interviews broadcast on Sunday, the US commerce secretary said China's economy did better when it was more transparent and market-oriented