A rush of Chinese military activity across the region this month has capped off a year of increased aggression, as President Xi Jinping displays China’s increased military might despite economic struggles and the impact of the zero-Covid policy and its sudden end. This month the People’s Liberation Army – the Chinese Communist party’s military wing – has broadened its aerial incursions into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (Adiz), come to blows with Indian troops in the Himalayas, run military drills near Japan and participated in major joint exercises with Russia.…
Tag: Russia
Putin Ally Meets With China’s Top Leader, Signaling Close Ties
A close ally of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia met with China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, on Wednesday, a sign of the countries’ alignment amid Russia’s deepening international isolation. Dmitri A. Medvedev, the former Russian president and prime minister, held a previously unannounced meeting with Mr. Xi in Beijing as Chinese and Russian naval ships began weeklong joint exercises in the East China Sea. China has remained a significant, if largely silent, counterweight to the international censure of Mr. Putin. Russia has backed China’s claim over the island democracy…
An Alternate Reality: How Russia’s State TV Spins the Ukraine War
Collaboration between the Kremlin and state broadcasters dates back more than two decades, said Mr. Gatov, a former Russian journalist and an expert on state propaganda. Each day, the Kremlin provides a list of talking points for broadcasters. The closely guarded document, known as the “temnik,” is delivered to senior officials at V.G.T.R.K. and other organizations, outlining issues the Kremlin wants covered, positively or negatively, along with views to endorse and people to criticize, said Mr. Gatov, who has seen copies. The Kremlin’s tight control of the media has increased…
In Hostage Diplomacy, It’s Often the Hostage-Takers Who Pay
Brittney Griner’s release, nearly a year after Russian authorities detained her, is once more forcing a difficult question in Washington and other capitals. What is the least bad option in dealing with hostage diplomacy? The practice, which has grown somewhat more common in recent years, involves imprisoning a foreigner, usually on spurious or exaggerated charges, for the purpose of extracting concessions from that person’s government. For the victim’s government, giving in risks encouraging hostile states to take more hostages. But holding out prolongs the hostage’s suffering, as well as sending…
Star-crossed: Mercedes faces dilemma over dependence on Russia and China
A brand new, gleaming Mercedes vehicle rolls off the production line roughly every three minutes at the carmaker’s Rastatt plant in south-western Germany. A total of 185,000 of its upmarket A-Class, B-Class and all-electric EQA cars were assembled here last year in the factory, close to the French border. They are then taken by road, rail and ship to their new owners, perhaps to zip through European capitals, Chinese cities, or along California’s coastal roads. Mercedes-Benz Group (MBG) produces hundreds of thousands such vehicles a year from eight German factories:…
At the DealBook Summit, Untangling the Now — and the Future
This article is part of our special section on the DealBook Summit that included business and policy leaders from around the world. Last week at the DealBook Summit, I interviewed some of the world’s most influential leaders, among them Janet Yellen, the Treasury secretary of the United States; President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine; Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Meta; and Andy Jassy, the chief executive of Amazon. One common theme came up in just about every conversation. It was that every decision — big and small — is ultimately a…
Saudi Arabia readies full state pageantry for Xi Jinping visit
Xi Jinping will arrive in Riyadh on Wednesday on a long awaited visit to a regional ally that has readied full state pageantry and a round of agreements likely to cement ties between China and Saudi Arabia – and deepen alarm in Washington. China’s president will meet more than 30 heads of state and business leaders during his three-day visit to the Saudi capital, which is set to lead to a “strategic agreement” between the authoritarian powers. The trip is the culmination of decades of cooperation once based on oil…
South Korea scrambles jets after Chinese and Russian warplanes enter air defence zone
South Korea’s military said it scrambled fighter jets as two Chinese and six Russian warplanes entered its air defence zone. The Chinese H-6 bombers entered and left the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (Kadiz) off South Korea’s southern and north-east coasts repeatedly from about 5.50am local time on Wednesday, Seoul’s joint chiefs of staff (JCS) said. They re-entered the zone hours later from the Sea of Japan, known in Korea as the East Sea, accompanied by Russian warplanes, including TU-95 bombers and SU-35 fighter jets, the JCS said. “Our military…
Rishi Sunak to set out pragmatic approach to Russia and China
Rishi Sunak will pledge an “evolutionary approach” to British foreign policy, arguing that states like Russia and China plan for the long-term, and the UK needs to follow suit as he attempts to set out his vision for the country’s place on the global stage. In his first major foreign policy speech since becoming prime minister, he will draw on his years running the Treasury to say that the UK’s strength abroad must be underpinned by a strong economy at home as it stands up to competitors with “robust pragmatism”.…
‘Extinction is on the table’: Jaron Lanier warns of tech’s existential threat to humanity
Jaron Lanier, the eminent American computer scientist, composer and artist, is no stranger to skepticism around social media, but his current interpretations of its effects are becoming darker and his warnings more trenchant. Lanier, a dreadlocked free-thinker credited with coining the term “virtual reality”, has long sounded dire sirens about the dangers of a world over-reliant on the internet and at the increasing mercy of tech lords, their social media platforms and those who work for them. Nothing about the last few weeks – of chaos on Twitter and the…