China’s foreign minister told his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts his country is ready to help facilitate peace talks, state media reported. The separate phone calls between Chinese foreign minister, Qin Gang, and the Israeli and Palestinian top diplomats comes amid recent moves by Beijing to position itself as a regional mediator. Qin encouraged “steps to resume peace talks,” and said that “China is ready to provide convenience for this,” in a Monday phone call with Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen, state media agency Xinhua reported. In his conversation with Palestinian…
Day: April 17, 2023
‘Zero Covid’ Behind It, China’s Economy Starts to Recover
Economic growth began to recover in China during the first three months of the year, after the government abruptly lifted stringent “zero Covid” measures in early December. The Chinese economy grew 4.5 percent from January through March compared with the same months last year, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday. Strong retail sales, up 10.6 percent in March from a year earlier, led the way. The stakes for the rest of the world are high. China has been the single largest engine of global growth for most of…
China GDP: uneven economic recovery ups pressure despite better-than-expected 4.5 per cent first-quarter growth
The full-year target appears more attainable because of the low base comparison with 2022, when economic activity was suppressed due to zero-Covid controls. The International Monetary Fund is estimating that China’s economy will grow by 5.2 per cent this year, which would likely contribute to a third of the global economic growth in 2023. Advertisement With consumption contributing around two thirds of China’s first quarter growth, retail sales rose by 10.6 per cent last month from a year earlier, rising from the 3.5 per cent growth in combined figures for…
As UN Security Council Dithers, North Korea Progresses on WMD
United Nations — A senior United Nations official warned Monday that North Korea is hitting “significant milestones” in its five-year military development plan, including its launch last week of a reported solid fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). “The lack of unity and action in the Security Council does little to slow the negative trajectory on the Korean Peninsula,” U.N. deputy political chief Khaled Khiari told an emergency meeting of the council. “The DPRK is unconstrained, and other parties are compelled to focus on military deterrence.” DPRK are the initials for…
F.B.I. Arrests Two on Charges Tied to Chinese Police Outpost in NYC
For years, thousands of New Yorkers and tourists have walked past an unassuming office building in Lower Manhattan. On Monday, federal prosecutors unsealed criminal charges accusing two men of helping run an unauthorized Chinese police outpost there, one of more than 100 around the globe used to intimidate and control China’s citizens abroad, and to stamp out criticism of the ruling Communist Party. The two men were arrested on Monday and charged with conspiring to act as agents of the Chinese government, and with obstructing justice. They are said to…
UK cyber security chief to warn of China’s rise as a technology superpower
China poses an “epoch-defining” challenge to the west, the head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is reportedlyto warn. Lindy Cameron, who is the director of the GCHQ arm, will use a speech in Belfast this week to warn the UK and allies of the “dramatic rise of China as a technology superpower”. The remarks, to be delivered this week at the CyberUK annual conference, come as the US, the UK and western nations attempt to navigate the growing economic and political reach of China amid concerns about the…
FBI makes arrests over alleged secret Chinese ‘police stations’ in New York
“To me, it is outrageous to think that the Chinese police would attempt to set up shop, you know, in New York, let’s say, without proper co-ordination,” Mr Wray said. “It violates sovereignty and circumvents standard judicial and law enforcement co-operation processes.” BBC
US, Allies Stage Drills as N. Korea Warns of Security Crisis
seoul, south korea — The United States, South Korea and Japan conducted a joint missile defense exercise Monday aimed at countering North Korea’s growing nuclear arsenal, as a top North Korean army official warned the U.S. that it risks “a clearer security crisis and insurmountable threats.” Last week, North Korea conducted one of its most provocative weapons demonstrations in years by flight-testing for the first time an intercontinental ballistic missile powered by solid fuel. It is considered a more mobile, harder-to-detect weapon and could directly target the continental United States.…
Two arrested on charges relating to Chinese police station in New York
Two individuals were arrested in New York on Monday on federal charges that they operated a police station in lower Manhattan for the Chinese government, prosecutors said. “Harry” Lu Jianwang, 61, of the Bronx, and Chen Jinping, 59, of Manhattan, both U.S. citizens, worked together to create an overseas branch of the Chinese government’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS), federal officials said. They opened the station in an office building in Chinatown, a neighborhood in Manhattan. The station was closed last year, according to the prosecutors. Federal officials also filed…
EU lodges protest over China’s detention of rights lawyer and activist wife
The European Union has lodged a protest with China after police detained veteran rights lawyer Yu Wensheng and his activist wife Xu Yan ahead of a meeting with its diplomats during a scheduled EU-China human rights dialogue on April 13. “We have already been taken away,” Yu tweeted shortly before falling silent on April 13, while the EU delegation to China tweeted on April 14: “@yuwensheng9 and @xuyan709 detained by CN authorities on their way to EU Delegation.” “We demand their immediate, unconditional release. We have lodged a protest with…