A photo of former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews alongside the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, during a military parade in Beijing raised troubling questions. Earlier, former New South Wales premier Bob Carr sought to pre-emptively justify his possible attendance at the event (although he didn’t in the end) in an opinion piece. While it is difficult for the Australian government to control the actions of former officials, the photo still raises the question how the two former premiers found…
Category: Media Library
Strongmen assemble: Putin, Kim and Xi in Beijing – podcast
It has been a historic week of diplomacy in China. As senior China correspondent Amy Hawkins explains, it started on Sunday, with more than 20 heads of state attending the opening of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Among them were strongmen from across Europe and Asia: presidents Putin of Russia, Erdoğan of Turkey, Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Lukashenko of Belarus and many others. Yet it was not just an array of autocrats – India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, also came to the summit, openly warm to both Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.…
Global bonds rally after poor US economic data
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Sovereign bonds myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Bond markets rallied on Wednesday, recovering from a global sell-off, as disappointing US job openings data prompted bets that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates more aggressively to support the world’s biggest economy. Job openings fell to 7.18mn in July according to closely watched Jolts data, below the 7.38mn expected by economists polled by Reuters, and down from 7.44mn in the previous month. Andy Brenner, head of international fixed…
Nuclear triad and ‘robot wolves’: parade shows off array of Chinese weapons
It was hardly a subtle attempt to project power. China showed off air-, sea- and land-launched nuclear weapons in its parade on Wednesday, a triad intended to demonstrate that Beijing’s long-term aspiration is to match US military might. Also on display were large underwater torpedo-like drones, intended to threaten western warships, as well as anti-drone lasers and four-legged “robot wolves”, all designed to be noticed, regardless of their actual military effectiveness. Though China last fought a war in 1979 – a month-long conflict with Vietnam – it has been pursuing…
Hot mic catches Putin and Xi discussing organ transplants and immortality – video
The authoritarian leaders Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping mused on how organ transplants might lead to immortality during a brief exchange of small talk caught on a hot mic on Wednesday. The Russian president was in Beijing as a guest at a huge military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war The Guardian
Putin tells Xi organ transplants could offer immortality
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping discussed the potential for science to extend the lifespans of men of their age, with the Russian president even suggesting organ transports might allow them to live forever. Russia’s president told a press conference in China on Wednesday that the leaders had talked about longevity in a conversation first inadvertently broadcast on a television audio feed. “Modern means and methods of improving health, even…
China’s new world order
Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world China’s President Xi Jinping has had a tremendous week. He hosted a well-attended international security summit and presided over a lavish military parade that showcased cutting-edge military kit ranging from hypersonic missiles to shipborne laser weapons. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting and commemoration of the 1945 defeat of Japan are together unmistakable, and unignorable, demonstrations of China’s growing power — and of its ambition to remake the global…
Xi Jinping says world faces ‘peace or war’, as Putin and Kim join him for military parade
Xi Jinping said the world was facing a choice between peace or war as he held China’s largest-ever military parade, joined by Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un in a show of defiance to the west. Putin and Kim, the authoritarian leaders of Russia and North Korea, were among dozens of world leaders who attended the parade, a massive display of military hardware and personnel, orchestrated to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, which China calls the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. “Today, humanity…
‘He should come to Moscow,’ Putin says about peace talks with Zelenskyy – video
Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he would meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Moscow if the Ukrainian leader was ready. ‘It’s possible, I never rejected it, if this meeting is well-prepared and will lead to some positive, possible results,’ the Russian president said at a news conference after attending a big military parade in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of world war two The Guardian
Xi, Putin and Kim: behind the choreographed image that could symbolise a shift in the global balance of power
It is an image that, had it been published just a few years ago, would have been dismissed as a piece of mischievous photo-shopping: the leaders of Russia and China, accompanied by the head of a pariah regime whose mission to arm his country with nuclear weapons had been opposed at the United Nations by his two companions. But dramatic shifts in the geopolitical landscape – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and, crucially, the re-election of Donald Trump – have combined to bring Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader…