China

China's struggling economy may also dampen Beijing's appetite for what had been more combative ties with Washington amid improving Chinese relations with Russia. Wang and Sullivan agreed to properly handle important and sensitive issues in U.S.-China relations, China's foreign ministry said, and for Xi and Biden to "maintain regular contact to provide strategic guidance for bilateral relations … Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held candid talks in Bangkok aimed at keeping in contact, both sides said, with Wang stressing that "Taiwan independence" posed the biggest risk to Sino-U.S. ties. The meeting came just over two months after U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met to discuss competition and cooperation between the two countries. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and United States National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan have held talks aimed at keeping in contact, both sides said, with Wang stressing that “Taiwan independence” posed the biggest risk to Sino-US ties. Wang and Sullivan met in Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday, just more than two months after US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco. The two “had candid, substantive and fruitful strategic communication on implementing the consensus reach at the San Francisco meeting … and on properly handling import

China, which has been Iran's biggest trading partner for the past decade, warned Tehran against any attack on any Chinese-related vessels or undermining Beijing's interests. It is not clear how Tehran would react to China's ultimatum as Beijing's influence on Tehran was not absolute. Red Sea crisis: In a dramatic development, Chinese officials on Friday issued an ultimatum to Iran - either halt the Houthi attacks on commercial and merchant vessels in the Red Sea, or risk harming business relations with Beijing - according to four Iranian sources and a diplomat aware of the matter. The Iran-backed group have launched a series of attacks in the Red Sea that pushed tensions to a boiling point in the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas war.According to Iranian sources, the discussions about ...

China reiterated its call for Houthis militants to stop their attacks on Red Sea shipping, comments that come after Beijing reportedly asked Tehran to help rein in the rebel group. “We are concerned about rising tensions in the Red Sea,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Friday at a regular press briefing in Beijing. “We urge the cessation of attacks and harassment against civilian ships, and urge all parties to stop fueling the tensions.” The comments come after Reuters reported that Chinese officials asked their Iranian counterparts to intervene with the Houthis or risk harming business relations with Beijing. The talks took place at several recent meetings in Beijing and Tehran, according to the report, which cited a diplomat and people in Iran familiar with the

In 2023, China emerged from COVID-19 related troubles utilising large-scale vaccination but faced economic struggles, high youth unemployment and ongoing debt issues within the housing market. On the political front, the year was marked by changes in key leadership roles, alleged corruption scandals within the nuclear weapons programme and shifting international relations — particularly involving Russia's war against Ukraine and tensions with the United States, despite attempts to restore dialogue. China entered 2023 emerging from one sea of troubles, only to find itself embroiled in another. The lifting of COVID-19-related restrictions in November 2022 as a result of widespread protests saw the country largely return to normal by January 2023. Against the expectations of many, the

The export of Communism during the Cold War was a function of the ideological battle between the Soviet Union and the West. Today, it is China which continues to export its Communist ideology and authoritarian rule. This is being done on the African continent, where ‘democratic’ rulers have remained in power for long and seek to continue their political dominance. Evidence of this phenomenon comes from the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Leadership School in Tanzania. At the school, the Communist Party of China (CPC) teaches how it fuses the ruling political party and state. The school, located on 30 miles outside of Dar es Salaam, was funded by a US$ 40 million donation provided by the CPC's Central Party School, which trains China's top party officials, and built by a Chinese construction compan