Tag: Politics and Government

Blinken Finds Receptive Leaders in Central Asia, Where Russia Seeks Aid

Chin@Strategy

ASTANA, Kazakhstan — Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken came to Central Asia to press his case that the region should hold the line against Russian efforts to seek economic aid as Moscow grapples with Western sanctions. Within hours of landing in Astana, the snow-draped capital of Kazakhstan, he received a sign that the United States had some leverage. The Kazakh president stood next to Mr. Blinken in the blue-doomed presidential palace and thanked the Americans for their support of his nation’s “independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty.” The president, Kassym-Jomart…

China Welcomes Belarusian Leader Amid Concerns About Ukraine

Chin@Strategy

President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a three-day visit in which China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, is expected to meet with him, lending support to one of Russia’s staunchest allies amid growing concerns in the United States and Europe about China’s position on the war in Ukraine. Mr. Lukashenko, who has led Belarus since 1994, allowed Russia to use his country as a staging ground to invade Ukraine more than a year ago, which resulted in Western sanctions against Minsk. A 68-year-old authoritarian, Mr.…

In Central Asia, Blinken Will Urge Distance From Russia, and Ukraine War

Chin@Strategy

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is flying on Tuesday into the heart of what Moscow considers its sphere of influence to urge senior Central Asian officials convening in Kazakhstan to maintain independence from Russia and China. The meetings come at a critical juncture in American efforts to head off Moscow’s global efforts to seek economic aid — and in some cases military aid — as the United States and its allies rush new weapons into Ukraine to try to give the Ukrainians a battlefield advantage over Russian troops. This…

China Reprises Old Themes in Ukraine Plan, Casting Itself as Neutral

Chin@Strategy

After a drumroll of diplomatic activity suggesting that China was poised to play a more energetic role in seeking peace in Ukraine, Beijing issued a paper on Friday that reprised its established views on the war, calling for an end to fighting while avoiding demands — or words like “invasion” — that could hurt its ties with Russia. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released the paper on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion and after China’s most senior diplomat, Wang Yi, visited Europe, telling a security forum in Munich that…

How Health Insurance Works in China, and How It’s Changing

Chin@Strategy

Almost everyone in China has had at least some health insurance since new policies were introduced a decade ago. Now China has begun pursuing a second wave of changes. The new policies, which have triggered protests in several big cities like Wuhan, are aimed at covering deficits in local employee health insurance plans and reducing inequality between cities and rural areas. Who has health coverage in China? China has two main kinds of health insurance: employee hospitalization insurance and so-called residents insurance. The employee hospitalization insurance is the better of…

China’s Tech Rainmaker Vanishes, and So Does Business Confidence

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On Valentine’s Day in 2015, two of China’s biggest ride-hailing start-ups, one backed by the tech giant Alibaba and the other by Tencent, announced they would merge after burning through hundreds of millions of dollars in a price war. Brokering the deal, while managing the egos of combative founders and investors, was Bao Fan, the rainmaker of China’s tech industry. His company, the investment bank China Renaissance, went on to advise and invest in many of China’s most successful tech companies, taking them public in Hong Kong and New York.…

U.S. Warnings to China on Arms Aid for Russia’s War Portend Global Rift

Chin@Strategy

MADRID — When the top foreign policy officials from the United States and China appeared this weekend at Europe’s premiere global security conference, both stressed that their governments were not seeking a new Cold War. Yet, new warnings by U.S. officials that China may be preparing to give weapons and ammunition to Russia ‌for its war on Ukraine portend the worst of the old Cold War. In that decades-long shadow struggle, the United States, the Soviet Union and occasionally China poured military resources into protracted wars around the globe, engaging…

China Tries to Depict Furor Over Spy Balloon as Sign of U.S. Decline

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While many in the world see the Chinese spy balloon as a sign of Beijing’s growing aggressiveness, China has sought to cast the controversy as a symptom of the United States’ irrevocable decline. Why else would a great power be spooked by a flimsy inflatable craft, China has argued, if not for a raft of internal problems like an intensely divided society and intractable partisan strife driving President Biden to act tough on Beijing? The balloon incident “has shown to the world how immature and irresponsible — indeed hysterical —…

The Toll That Twitter’s Glitches Is Taking on Chinese Activists

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In November, Bao Pu, a veteran human rights activist who was visiting Beijing, posted videos on Twitter of university protests against China’s tough coronavirus lockdown orders. He gained over 10,000 followers in subsequent weeks. But friends and fellow activists soon told him they were having a hard time finding his posts — and even his account — on Twitter. “I was shocked,” said Mr. Bao, who is based in Hong Kong. He said he feared that Twitter was “putting a limit on the influence” that he could have. More than…

China Says U.S. Balloons Entered Its Airspace Over 10 Times Since 2022

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In the latest jab over aerial surveillance, China said on Monday that high-altitude balloons from the United States had flown over Chinese airspace without permission more than 10 times since the start of last year. Wang Wenbin, a foreign ministry spokesman, said that it was a “common occurrence” for U.S. high-altitude balloons to “illegally enter the airspace of other countries,” while providing no further details. China’s claims were swiftly rejected by the United States. “Any claim that the U.S. government operates surveillance balloons over the P.R.C. is false,” said Adrienne…