US and Chinese officials have been discussing a face-to-face meeting between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, amid a significant escalation in friction over Taiwan. Kurt Campbell, the coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs in Biden’s national security council, confirmed on Friday that the two leaders had raised the possibility of an in-person meeting when they last talked by phone in late July “and agreed to have their team’s follow up to sort out the specifics”. Campbell said there were no new details to announce, but both leaders are expected to take part…
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Hong Kongers in Exile Fight for Their Truth – and Ukrainians
Advertisement In the bustling Prague 7 district, an art exhibition takes place featuring work on the life and pro-democracy struggle of local activists and youth in Hong Kong. A white sculpture in the main hall, with goggles, umbrella, and a gas mask, catches the eye first. The attire, blended in white clay with the rest of the statue, is symbolic and was once donned by thousands of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong when the city was seeing waves of intense protests in 2019 and early 2020 – mainly in opposition…
US and allies should move to protect ‘freedom of navigation’, says Taiwan envoy
The US and its allies should jointly respond to China’s live ammunition drills designed to intimidate Taiwan by holding “freedom of navigation” operations in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei’s official representative to the UK has said. In an interview with the Guardian, Kelly Wu-Chiao Hsieh also called on the UK to uphold the principles of rules-based international order and forge closer trade and security investment relations with Taiwan. He welcomed the decision of the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, to condemn the unprecedented Chinese military exercises in the wake of the visit…
How the crisis over Taiwan will change US-China relations
In january 1950, three months after the Communist victory in China’s civil war, President Harry Truman issued a statement. America, he declared, would not intervene militarily to help China’s defeated Nationalists, who had fled to the island of Taiwan. Mao Zedong was already preparing an invasion and probably would have succeeded had the Korean war not erupted in June that year. The conflict prompted Truman to change tack, backing South Korea and ordering the Seventh Fleet to defend Taiwan in a bid to halt the spread of communism in Asia.…
Xi, Henan, and China’s Growing Financial Crisis
Advertisement In July, videos of tanks supposedly rolling onto the streets of Henan circulated online, with many posts drawing comparisons to the Tiananmen Square Massacre. While the video was later refuted – the Associated Press confirmed the tanks were taking part in a military exercise in another city more than 400 kilometers away – the recent incident put the current Chinese banking crisis under the spotlight. Protesters had indeed gathered in Henan after being unable to access their savings and faced violent retaliation from police. As the 20th National Congress…
China Vows More Drills, but Taiwan Is Undeterred
If China’s show of force over Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip was meant as a deterrent, it has not had the intended effect in Taiwan, where the military drills have reinforced a careful two-pronged strategy of shoring up international support, while avoiding overt confrontation. The exercises, which encircled the self-ruled island and simulated a blockade, appear instead to have hardened the Taiwanese belief in the value of the island’s diplomatic, economic and military maneuverings to stake out a middle ground in the big-power standoff between China and the United States. Under…
Chinese president Xi Jinping to visit Saudi Arabia next week
The Chinese president Xi Jinping will visit Saudi Arabia next week, where plans are under way for a gala reception to match that given to Donald Trump on his first trip abroad as president. The welcome being prepared for the Chinese leader is in stark contrast with that afforded to Joe Biden in June, when the US president received a low-key reception, reflecting strained ties between the two countries and personal distaste between Biden and the de facto Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman. Xi, however, is instead expected to receive…
China’s ruling Communist Party: the faces to watch
*Reached retirement age or moved to ceremonial post List of abbreviations CCDI: Central Commission for Discipline Inspection CCP: Chinese Communist Party CMC: Central Military Commission CPPCC: Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference CYL: Communist Youth League NDRC: National Development and Reform Commission NPC: National People’s Congress PLA: People’s Liberation Army PRC: People’s Republic of China PSC: Politburo Standing Committee South China Morning Post
Connections with China’s most powerful people
Click on the names to see profiles *Reached retirement age or moved to ceremonial post List of abbreviations CCDI: Central Commission for Discipline Inspection CCP: Chinese Communist Party CMC: Central Military Commission CPPCC: Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference CYL: Communist Youth League NDRC: National Development and Reform Commission NPC: National People’s Congress PLA: People’s Liberation Army PRC: People’s Republic of China PSC: Politburo Standing Committee South China Morning Post
Chinese Communist Party: the 19th Central Committee – visually explained
*Reached retirement age or moved to ceremonial post List of abbreviations CCDI: Central Commission for Discipline Inspection CCP: Chinese Communist Party CMC: Central Military Commission CPPCC: Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference CYL: Communist Youth League NDRC: National Development and Reform Commission NPC: National People’s Congress PLA: People’s Liberation Army PRC: People’s Republic of China PSC: Politburo Standing Committee South China Morning Post