Day: March 13, 2022

Russia Asked China for Military and Economic Aid for Ukraine War, U.S. Officials Say

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON — Russia asked China to give it military equipment and support for the war in Ukraine after President Vladimir V. Putin began a full-scale invasion last month, according to U.S. officials. Russia has also asked China for additional economic assistance, to help counteract the battering its economy has taken from broad sanctions imposed by the United States and European and Asian nations, according to an official. American officials, determined to keep secret their means of collecting the intelligence on Russia’s requests, declined to describe further the kind of military…

It’s Time to Offer Russia an Offramp. China Can Help With That.

Chin@Strategy

Casualties are mounting in Ukraine. Bombs continue to fall. More than 2 million refugees have fled the fighting. Vladimir Putin seems to have assumed he could get a swift victory, underestimating the fierce resistance from Ukraine. Two weeks in, Russia is intensifying its assault on Ukraine, and Western nations in turn are intensifying their financial and economic punishments against Russia, including by triggering the financial “nuclear option” — banning some Russian banks from the SWIFT payment system. Meanwhile, Mr. Putin has put his actual nuclear forces on high alert. We…

The more things change, the more China’s Xi Jinping focuses on stability

Chin@Strategy

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives for the closing session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, on March 10. China holds two major annual political meetings, The National People’s Congress (NPC) and the CPPCC, known as ‘Lianghui’ or ‘Two Sessions’. Photo: EPA-EFE South China Morning Post

China battles worst Covid outbreak for two years as cases double in 24 hours

Chin@Strategy

China reported nearly 3,400 daily Covid-19 cases on Sunday, double the previous day, forcing lockdowns on virus hotspots as the country contends with its gravest outbreak in two years. A nationwide surge in cases has seen authorities close schools in Shanghai and lock down several north-eastern cities, as almost 19 provinces battle clusters of the Omicron and Delta variants. The city of Jilin has been partially locked down, with hundreds of neighbourhoods sealed up, an official announced Sunday, while Yanji, an urban area of nearly 700,000 bordering North Korea, was…