China’s President Xi Jinping has called for “pragmatism” to end the war in Ukraine, saying his country’s peace proposal reflects the unity of the global community’s views and aims to neutralize the consequences of the crisis. The proposal represents “as much as possible the unity of the world community’s views,” …
Read More »Japan’s PM Kishida announces $75 bln new plan to counter China in Indo-Pacific
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday announced an expansive new plan for an open and free Indo-Pacific, promising billions of dollars in investment to help economies across the region in everything from industry to disaster prevention. The plan announced in New Delhi is seen as Tokyo’s bid to forge …
Read More »New Zealand parliament bans TikTok
MPs have been told to remove the Chinese app from their phones by the end of the month The popular Chinese video-sharing app TikTok has been banned from all devices that can access the New Zealand parliament’s network, the legislature’s chief executive has announced. Wellington has become the latest capital …
Read More »‘Visit for peace’: China’s Xi heading to Russia first time since Ukraine war
Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit Russia next week at the invitation of his Russian counterpart in a move that will demonstrate growing cooperation between the two all-weather allies in the face of Western pressures. The high-stakes three-day visit beginning on Monday comes as Beijing has offered to …
Read More »TikTok says US threatening to ban the app
Washington is demanding that the app’s Chinese owners sell their stake, company representatives have said Washington has urged TikTok’s Chinese owners to divest their stakes in the popular video app or face a potential US-wide ban, representatives of ByteDance – the company behind the platform – told various media outlets …
Read More »Honduras to establish diplomatic ties with China
Honduras will establish diplomatic relations with mainland China, President Xiomara Castro said Tuesday, a move that would result in the severing of longstanding official ties with Taiwan. Castro wrote on Twitter that she had instructed Foreign Minister Eduardo Reina “to undertake the opening of official relations with the People’s Republic …
Read More »China announces naval drills with Russia and Iran
The ‘Security Bond-2023’ exercises in the Gulf of Oman seek to “inject positive energy” into the region, Beijing said Russia, China and Iran are holding a five-day maritime exercise, seeking to bolster their naval security, Beijing’s Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday. The ministry said the three-nation ‘Security Bond-2023’ wargames in …
Read More »Xi Jinping to visit Moscow soon – Reuters
The Chinese leader will reportedly make a trip to the Russian capital as early as next week. Chinese President Xi Jinping is planning a trip to Moscow to hold talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and could arrive as early as next week, Reuters reported on Monday, citing anonymous …
Read More »Iran, Saudi Arabia agree to resume diplomatic relations
Iran and Saudi Arabia have reached an agreement in the Chinese capital of Beijing to restore their diplomatic relations and re-open embassies and missions, seven years after they were broken off over several issues. The agreement was struck on Friday after several days of intensive negotiations between Secretary of Iran’s …
Read More »Xi Jinping re-elected as Chinese president
The historic third term came with unanimous support from Chinese lawmakers Xi Jinping was re-elected as the President of China on Friday, securing an unprecedented third five-year term in power. Last year, Xi was also re-confirmed in the key position of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader. His candidacy was endorsed …
Read More »China warns conflict is inevitable unless U.S. changes course
The United States and China are hurtling toward inevitable “confrontation and conflict” unless Washington changes course, Beijing’s new foreign minister warned Tuesday. The fiery comments from Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang underlined the deepening tensions between the world’s two largest economies in the wake of the surveillance balloon saga and …
Read More »Taiwan issues China warning
Chinese military could this year carry out a “sudden entry” into areas close to the island, Taipei’s defense minister has said. Taiwan should be on the lookout for the Chinese military’s possible actions in areas adjacent to the self-governing island during 2023, its Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told lawmakers on …
Read More »China doubles down on Taiwan reunification
Beijing says it will take resolute steps to oppose the self-governed island’s push for independence. Beijing maintains that Taiwan is part of China’s territory and will continue working towards reunification with the self-governed island through peaceful means, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has said. “We should promote the peaceful development of …
Read More »US approves sale of F-16 missiles worth $619M to Taiwan
The United States is Taiwan’s main supplier of military equipment, and China has objected to past sales with sanctions and other actions. The United States has approved the sale to Taiwan of $619 million in munitions for F-16 fighter jets, in a move likely to anger Beijing. The package includes …
Read More »Beijing responds to FBI’s Covid origin claim
China’s Foreign Ministry told the US to “stop politicizing” the issue China has warned the US against making “politicized” claims about the origins of Covid-19. The Foreign Ministry in Beijing was responding after FBI Director Christopher Wray claimed that the virus “most likely” came from a Chinese government laboratory. Speaking …
Read More »FBI makes claim over ‘most likely’ Covid origin
The head of the bureau accused Beijing of attempting to “thwart” investigations into the source of the global pandemic FBI Director Christopher Wray has claimed Covid-19 “most likely” originated due to a leak from a Chinese government laboratory, citing a bureau assessment. The assertion follows reports regarding a classified briefing …
Read More »No plans to meet Russian, Chinese counterparts at Delhi G20 meetings: Blinken
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that he has no plans to meet either the foreign ministers of Russia or of China during the Group of 20 (G20) meeting in New Delhi. Blinken was on a brief tour of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and will head to the …
Read More »US ready ‘to do more pain’ to China’s Huawei – WSJ
Washington reportedly plans to halt export licenses to the tech company The US government is considering annulling existing licenses for American firms to export items to Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing its sources. According to the report, the measure could be viewed …
Read More »Biden national security adviser: No ‘definitive answer’ on COVID origins despite lab leak report
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that there is still no “definitive answer” from the intelligence community to how COVID-19 originated, despite reporting that the Department of Energy has concluded the pandemic most likely came from a laboratory leak rather than emerging naturally. The Wall Street Journal …
Read More »Russia, China block condemnation of Ukraine War at G20 summit
Air raid alerts continued nationwide in Ukraine Saturday, as Russia and China blocked a statement from the G20 condemning the war, amid new saber-rattling from a Putin ally. Finance leaders and central bank chiefs from the world’s largest economies meeting in India strongly condemned Moscow for the invasion a year …
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