In Taiwan’s sleepy Kinmen islands, which have been described as the frontline of any potential conflict between Beijing and Taipei, the mood is far from warlike. From their sandy shores, the glistening skyscrapers of Xiamen, a Chinese coastal city just three miles away, are a winking reminder of the wealth and security that Beijing promises to deliver to Kinmen should Taiwan and China be unified. But as politicians in Taipei debate the likelihood of armed conflict with Beijing, which wants to unify China and Taiwan and has not ruled out…
Month: July 2023
Rumblings in the EU ranks as ‘de-risking’ plan for China gains momentum
After a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Stockholm in May, top diplomat Josep Borrell proclaimed that all 27 members had vouched support for de-risking. One diplomat responded, in a private conversation, that if they had all agreed, it was only because nobody really understood what de-risking actually was. In Berlin, an early draft of the foreign ministry’s hawkish proposal was watered down by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, known to favour continued engagement with Beijing. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced all 27 EU foreign ministers voted for the…
France’s Eramet blames lack of EU funds for deeper partnership with Chinese
Receive free EU-China relations updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest EU-China relations news every morning. French mining group Eramet has blamed a lack of EU funding for critical minerals for having pushed it into a deepening partnership with China’s Tsingshan, the world’s largest stainless steel producer, which was behind the nickel market blow-up last year. The 143-year-old company, which is 27 per cent owned by the French state, has partnered with the controversial Chinese group in Indonesia on a vast nickel project and…
As US-China relations fray, expect more shows of China-North Korea unity, analysts say
Li and Shoigu are among the first foreign guests Pyongyang has invited into the country since it was locked down during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Li is the first Chinese official to visit North Korea since Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit in 2019. The military parade, hosted by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, featured the country’s most advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles – the Hwasong-17 and Hwasong-18. 02:57 North Korea welcomes Chinese, Russian delegates ahead of 70th Korean war anniversary The missiles are believed to have a range of…
Russian, Chinese Delegates Join North Korea at Parade Featuring ICBMs
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was joined by senior Russian and Chinese delegates as he displayed his most powerful nuclear-capable missiles in a military parade marking a major war anniversary. The show of defiance against the United States also served to deepen ties with Moscow as tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years. Kim attended Thursday night’s parade with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese ruling party official Li Hongzhong from a balcony looking over a brightly illuminated Kim…
How China’s hidden debt risk ‘comes from its system’, and why local governments are beholden to Beijing
Nonetheless, deteriorating finances across the country, particularly in its poorest provinces such as Guizhou, have raised the spectre of a looming local government debt crisis. Beijing sees the potential for a meltdown in China’s predominantly state-owned banking system as a “grey rhino” risk – big, obvious and neglected. “The risk to China’s debt comes from its system,” said Mao Zhenhua, co-head of Renmin University’s Institute of Economic Research, at a seminar arranged by the university on July 12. Advertisement “We are different from some Western countries,” he explained. “We have…
Lao police detain Chinese rights lawyer who was headed to the United States
A Chinese human rights lawyer who lost his law license after speaking out about the cases of 12 Hong Kong activists has been arrested in Laos and could face deportation to China, the Associated Press reported. Lu Siwei was arrested in Vientiane Friday morning as he boarded a train for Thailand. He was traveling to Bangkok to board a flight to the United States to be with his wife and daughter, according to the AP. Lao police said that there was something wrong with his passport, according to Bob Fu,…
Possible Chinese malware in US systems a ‘ticking time bomb’: report
It said the stealthy attack, carried out since mid-2021, was likely aimed at hampering the US in the event of a regional conflict. Authorities in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Britain warned at the same time that Chinese hacking was likely taking place globally, affecting an extensive range of infrastructure. Advertisement Discovery of the malware, the Times said, sparked a series of meetings in the White House Situation Room involving top military, intelligence and national security officials in an effort to track down and eradicate the code. The newspaper quoted…
Flag Japanese Soldier Carried in WWII Returns From US
TOKYO — Toshihiro Mutsuda was only 5 years old when he last saw his father, who was drafted by Japan’s Imperial Army in 1943 and killed in action. For him, his father was a bespectacled man in an old family photo standing by a signed good-luck flag that he carried to war. On Saturday, when the flag was returned to him from a U.S. war museum, where it had been on display for 29 years, Mutsuda, now 83, said: “It’s a miracle.” The flag, known as “Yosegaki Hinomaru,” or Good…
While Eyeing China, Japan Backs Sri Lanka as Indo-Pacific Partner
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Saturday that Sri Lanka is a key partner in a Tokyo-led initiative aimed at building security and economic cooperation around the Indo-Pacific but also at countering an increasingly assertive China. Sri Lanka, strategically located in the Indian Ocean, is integral to realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific, Hayashi said. He was speaking after a meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart, Ali Sabry, in the capital, Colombo. The initiative, announced by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in…