Month: April 2024

South China Sea: Malaysia opposes ‘external forces’ meddling in the disputed waters, foreign minister says

Media Library

Malaysia’s foreign minister said on Thursday that his country opposes “external forces” meddling in the South China Sea. Speaking during a meeting in Beijing with Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, Mohamad Hasan said foreign interference in the region was not welcomed. Mohamad Hasan was in Beijing for the 50th anniversary celebration of diplomatic ties between Malaysia and China, according to a statement issued by China’s foreign ministry. Chinese Premier Li Qiang to visit Malaysia as countries mark 50 years of ties Malaysia is one of several nations with overlapping territorial…

Why China is unlikely to restrain Iran

Media Library

EARLIER THIS year, when the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen were attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea, America approached China for help. In talks with their Chinese counterparts, American officials reportedly asked them to urge Iran to rein in the Houthis. Months later, after Israel struck the Iranian consulate in Syria, America again approached its biggest rival. This time it was said to have asked China to tell Iran not to retaliate. During crises like these China would seem a useful interlocutor. It has good relations with Iran. Last…

China’s young people are rushing to buy gold

Media Library

CHINA’S GOLD market, which accounts for about a fifth of global sales, used to attract an older crowd. Many buyers were middle-aged women looking to add to their nest-eggs or buy chunky bracelets. But these days Chinese gold shops regularly serve customers in their 20s. Xiaohongshu, a social-media site favoured by “Generation Z” (those born between 1997 and 2012), is buzzing with talk of the precious metal. Young people don’t have much spare cash. The youth-unemployment rate in cities is about 15%. Many companies are cutting salaries. So youngsters are…

China’s ties with Russia are growing more solid

Media Library

CHINA’S FIRST tropical spaceport, Wenchang, is proof of national swagger. During the cold war, China launched rockets from the Gobi desert and other desolate inland spots, for fear of enemy attack. Once China was more confident that it could deter invaders, though, Wenchang became a fine gateway to space. This close to the equator, on the southern island of Hainan, the Earth’s rotation gives a boost to every launch. The palm-fringed coastal site allows the largest Long March rockets to be delivered by sea. Wenchang finally opened in 2016. Its…

China sends trio to Tiangong space station from Gobi desert launch as authorities declare 2030 moon landing on track

Media Library

The trio will take about six and a half hours to arrive at Tiangong after the spacecraft reaches orbit and performs an automated rendezvous to dock with the space station some 400km (250 miles) above Earth, CMSA deputy director Lin Xiqiang told the media at Jiuquan on Wednesday. The crew will be greeted by the three Shenzhou-17 astronauts who have lived and worked on Tiangong since October and are scheduled to return to Earth in about a week. 02:49 Commercial US spacecraft touches down on the moon in a historic…

US sell-or-ban law against TikTok stirs unease in China as Beijing, social media giant ByteDance stay mum on next moves

Media Library

An article published by the Beijing Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party’s Beijing Municipal Committee, said the measure against TikTok is tantamount to a “robbery” that would “completely destroy American national credibility, which is already flawed”. United States President Joe Biden speaks after signing into law the foreign aid bill and a measure to ban TikTok in the US at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 24, 2024. Photo: Agence France-Presse While both Beijing and TikTok owner ByteDance have stayed silent on potential moves, Ministry…

Solomon Islands elections watched closely for international impact

Media Library

In the Solomon Islands – officials are counting ballots in key national elections that were held on April 17. It’s the first poll since the strategic Pacific country signed a security pact with China. And who wins may well dictate whether the Solomons continues to draw closer to Beijing or Washington. VOA’s Jessica Stone reports. Charley Piringi and Bakhtiyar Zamanov contributed. Voice of America

With Blinken in China, Beijing Deprioritizes Taiwan

Media Library

Following his initial visit in June of last year, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is making his second visit to China from April 24 to 26. On the 23, Chinese state media CCTV’s new media platform “Yu Yuan Tan Tian” (玉渊谭天) published five key objectives outlined by the head of the North American and Oceanian Affairs Department of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding Blinken’s visit. Among these objectives, the third point emphasizes that the United States should respect China’s “red line” on Taiwan. However, comparing this with the…

US-China relations: Antony Blinken calls for level playing field for business and hits out at ‘non-market practices’

Media Library

Blinken’s visit, his second to the country in the space of 12 months, comes as the United States and China are stepping up official contacts in an effort to stop relations deteriorating further due to their ongoing disputes over issues such as trade and Taiwan. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said after the meeting: “In a constructive and candid exchange, [Blinken] raised concerns about PRC [People’s Republic of China] trade policies and non-market economic practices and stressed that the United States seeks a healthy economic competition with the PRC and…

Bristol Myers Squibb drafts contingency plans for US restrictions on Chinese pharma

Media Library

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Bristol Myers Squibb is working on contingency plans to “protect the continuity of supply” of medicine in preparation for draft US legislation seeking to restrict Chinese pharmaceutical companies over national security concerns, according to its finance chief. The Biosecure Act, introduced in the US Congress in January, would prohibit US companies receiving federal grant money from working with WuXi AppTec and any related entities. Three other Chinese companies are named…