Security guards tried to stop Australian journalists covering Anthony Albanese’s visit to China from leaving a popular Beijing tourist destination, just hours before the prime minister’s talks with Xi Jinping on Tuesday. Albanese is on a six-day visit to China and is due to meet Xi, the country’s president, and its premier, Li Qiang, in Beijing on Tuesday afternoon. But ahead of the meeting, security crews approached journalists and Australian embassy staff at the capital’s historic Drum and Bell Towers area. Journalists from the ABC, SBS, Nine, Seven and Sky…
Tag: Asia Pacific
Caught in the contest between China and the west, the Cook Islands asks where its future lies
On a remote stretch of land in the Cook Islands lies a second world war airstrip. Once used as a wartime supply route by American forces, the narrow runway is in dire need of resealing to allow larger tourist jets to land. Leaders on the northern island of Penrhyn have asked New Zealand, Australia and the US to help, but none have come through. Now, they hope China will step in and fund it. “That is the dream,” says Penrhyn’s executive director, Puna John Vano. “We want to maintain our…
Australia won’t commit in advance to joining hypothetical US-China conflict, Pat Conroy says
Australia will refuse any US request to join a “hypothetical” conflict with China over Taiwan and won’t make any advance commitment, the defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, has said, amid reports Washington is seeking such promises in discussions over the Aukus submarines. Conroy called on China to be more transparent about its military buildup, but said any commitment to war would be the sole power of the Australian government of the day. It came after multiple reports this week that the Pentagon was seeking guarantees from Australia and other allies…
World must be more wary than ever of China’s growing economic power
China is pulling every lever at its disposal to counter Donald Trump’s economic blockade, and it’s working. Trade is recovering after the massive hit from Washington’s wide-ranging tariffs on Beijing’s exports. According to data provider Macrobond and Beijing-based consultancy Gavekal Dragonomics, exports to the US were down by about $15bn (£11bn) in May, but up by half that figure to other countries that trade with the US. Exports to African countries have also risen sharply. Meanwhile, Chinese officials are poised to strike deals to deepen economic cooperation with countries ranging…
Ukraine arrests Chinese father and son on suspicion of spying
Ukraine says it has arrested a Chinese father and son on suspicion of spying on its Neptune anti-ship missile programme, a key part of Kyiv’s growing domestic arms industry that is critical to its defence against Russian forces. The announcement by Ukraine’s security service (SBU) follows assertions by Kyiv in recent months that Beijing, which has sought to project an image of neutrality, is helping the Kremlin’s war effort. Counterintelligence officials arrested a 24-year-old former student in Kyiv after they provided him with “technical documentation” related to Neptune production, the…
China’s human rights lawyers speak out, 10 years after crackdown
A decade on from China’s biggest crackdown on human rights lawyers in modern history, lawyers and activists say that the Chinese Communist party’s control over the legal profession has tightened, making rights defence work next to impossible. The environment for human rights law has “steadily regressed, especially after the pandemic”, said Ren Quanniu, a disbarred human rights lawyer. “Right now, the rule of law in China – especially in terms of protecting human rights – has deteriorated to a point where it’s almost comparable to the Cultural Revolution era.” The…
Buddhist rebirth v Chinese control: the battle to choose the Dalai Lama’s successor
Few celebrations have the hills of Dharamshala abuzz like the birthday of the Dalai Lama. But this year, as monks and devotees flooded into the mountainous Indian city before the Tibetan spiritual leader turns 90 on Sunday, the mood of anticipation has been palpable. For years, the Dalai Lama had promised that around his 90th birthday he would make a long-awaited announcement about his reincarnation. Finally, in a video broadcast to Tibetan monks and leaders on Wednesday, he laid out what the future would hold. It came amid fears of…
Trump to start TikTok sale talks with China, he says, with deal ‘pretty much’ reached
Donald Trump has said he will start talking to China on Monday or Tuesday about a possible TikTok deal. The United States president said the US “pretty much” had a deal on the sale of the TikTok short-video app. “I think we’re gonna start Monday or Tuesday … talking to China – perhaps President Xi or one of his representatives – but we would, we pretty much have a deal,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Friday. Trump also said he might visit Xi Jinping in China or…
‘Will AI take my job?’ A trip to a Beijing fortune-telling bar to see what lies ahead
In the age of self-help, self-improvement and self-obsession, there have never been more places to look to for guidance. Where the anxious and the uncertain might have once consulted a search engine for answers, now we can engage in a seemingly meaningful discussion about our problems with ChatGPT. Or, if you’re in China, DeepSeek. To some, though, it feels as if our ancestors knew more about life than we do. Or at least, they knew how to look for them. And so it is that scores of young Chinese are…
Former UK civil service chief calls Xi Jinping a ‘dictator’ over plans to reunify Taiwan
The former head of the UK’s civil service has described the Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a “dictator” and said Donald Trump had put “helpful pressure” on Europe to increase defence spending. Simon Case, who served as the cabinet secretary until December, when he stepped down on health grounds, said China had sent a clear message to “prepare for serious conflict” in Taiwan. The UK has committed to spend the equivalent of 2.6% of GDP in 2027, and it and other Nato members have signed up to increasing spending to…