Tag: Politics and Government

Iran and Saudi Arabia Demand Gaza Cease-Fire

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After the Saudi and Iranian leaders finished their speeches, they left the main conference hall for a bilateral meeting. Prince Mohammed’s welcoming of Mr. Raisi amounted to a remarkable departure for the Saudi leader, who once bluntly warned Iran not to pursue expansionist policies in the region. “We won’t wait for the battle to be in Saudi Arabia,” he said in a televised interview in 2017. “Instead, we will work so that the battle is for them in Iran, not in Saudi Arabia.” He also once likened Iran’s supreme leader,…

More Semiconductors, Less Housing: China’s New Economic Plan

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China’s political leaders, under pressure to support the country’s fragile recovery, are slowly steering the economy on a new course. No longer able to rely on real estate and local debt to drive growth, they are instead investing more heavily in manufacturing and increasing borrowing by the central government. For the first time since 2005, when comparable record keeping in China began, banks controlled by the state have started a sustained reduction in real estate lending, data released last week showed. Enormous sums are instead being channeled to manufacturers, particularly…

In a Worldwide War of Words, Russia, China and Iran Back Hamas

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The conflict between Israel and Hamas is fast becoming a world war online. Iran, Russia and, to a lesser degree, China have used state media and the world’s major social networking platforms to support Hamas and undercut Israel, while denigrating Israel’s principal ally, the United States. Iran’s proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq have also joined the fight online, along with extremist groups, like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, that were previously at odds with Hamas. The deluge of online propaganda and disinformation is larger than anything seen before,…

China’s Male Leaders Push to Get Women to Stay Home for Family

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At China’s top political gathering for women, it was mostly a man who was seen and heard. Xi Jinping, the country’s leader, sat center stage at the opening of the National Women’s Congress. A close-up of him at the Congress was splashed on the front page of the Chinese Communist Party’s newspaper the next day. From the head of a large round table, Mr. Xi lectured female delegates at the closing meeting on Monday. “We should actively foster a new type of marriage and childbearing culture,” he said in a…

Gavin Newsom, on Climate Mission to China, Meets With Xi Jinping

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Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, met with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, in Beijing on Wednesday, according to the Chinese state media, as part of an ambitious weeklong mission to negotiate climate partnerships. The two-term Democratic governor wants California to set an aggressive pace for the United States — and the world — to cut carbon emissions that are dangerously heating the planet. Mr. Newsom’s moves to tackle the climate crisis have elevated his national profile, just as he is widely believed to be preparing for a White House run…

Foxconn, China Contractor for Apple, Said to Be Under Tax Audit

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Foreign and local companies in China are increasingly the targets of tax audits and other regulatory reviews, as local governments try to steady their finances by collecting more revenue. The latest company to come under scrutiny is Foxconn of Taiwan. Chinese state media outlets reported on Sunday that the company was facing investigations in four provinces. Foxconn, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of electronics, is Apple’s main contractor for the production of everything from iPhones to MacBook laptop computers. Global Times, a nationalistic tabloid and website owned by the…

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen Criticized for Comments on Reporter’s Chinese Nationality

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Gov. Jim Pillen of Nebraska is facing criticism after he dismissed a news article about environmental concerns at his hog farms, saying that the reporter who wrote it was from “Communist China.” The reporter, Yanqi Xu, 27, revealed her findings in an article published Sep. 7 by The Flatwater Free Press that detailed nitrate levels “far above” the legal drinking water limit at more than a dozen farms owned by Mr. Pillen, a Republican. While the farms had brought prosperity to Platte Center, a village about 60 miles northwest of…

With Putin by His Side, Xi Outlines His Vision of a New World Order

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The leaders of China and Russia hailed each other as “old” and “dear” friends. They took swipes at the United States and depicted themselves as building a “fairer, multipolar world.” And they marveled at their countries’ “deepening” trust. China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, used a Beijing-led conference of leaders from mostly developing countries on Wednesday to showcase his ambitions to reshape the global order, as the world grapples with a war in Ukraine and a crisis in Gaza. He cast his country as an alternative to the leadership of the…

Putin Visits China as Moscow and Beijing Reaffirm Ties

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When President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia meets with China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, during a visit to Beijing this week, both men will likely seek to demonstrate the strength of their “no limits” partnership in challenging the Western-dominated global order. The visit comes at a time of turmoil in the Middle East after Hamas’s attack on Israel this month, which has led to Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and expectations of a ground invasion. Both Russia and China have refrained from following the lead of Western countries by condemning Hamas…

Across U.S., Chinese Bitcoin Mines Draw National Security Scrutiny

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When a company with Chinese origins broke ground last year on a crypto-mining operation in Cheyenne, Wyo., a team at Microsoft that assesses national security threats sounded the alarm. Not only was the site next door to a Microsoft data center that supported the Pentagon — it was about a mile away from an Air Force base that controlled nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles. The location could allow the Chinese to “pursue full-spectrum intelligence collection operations,” the Microsoft team wrote in an August 2022 report to the Committee on Foreign Investment…