China’s Xi Jingping and Vladimir Putin of Russia have signed a joint statement calling on the west to “abandon the ideologised approaches of the cold war”, as the two leaders showcased their warming relationship ahead of the Beijing Olympics. In a joint statement released by the Kremlin, Putin and Xi called on Nato to rule out expansion in eastern Europe, denounced the formation of security blocs in the Asia-Pacific region, and criticised the Aukus trilateral security pact between the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. The two countries also pledged…
Tag: Winter Olympics Beijing 2022
Xi-Putin summit: Russia inches closer to China as ‘new cold war’ looms
When the leaders of China and Russia meet in Beijing this Friday shortly before the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, observers of the bilateral relationship will be looking for insights into how this 21st century quasi-alliance is reshaping the postwar world order. It was 50 years ago this month, on 21 February 1972, that the historic handshake between Richard Nixon and Mao Zedong changed the geometry of the cold war. Historians called the visit “the week that changed the world”. It later influenced Washington’s subsequent movement towards détente with…
‘Nobody can say anything’: China cracks down on dissent ahead of Olympics
A chill is blowing through Chinese civil society as activists, journalists and academics report receiving police warnings and censorship of their social media platforms in recent weeks as Beijing prepares to host the Winter Olympics beginning on Friday. In mid-January, the Beijing-based human rights activist Hu Jia said in a tweet that China’s state security apparatus was summoning activists around the country to question them and warn them to stay silent. The author Zhang Yihe and prominent journalist Gao Yu said they had lost some or all of their access…
Face off: Inside the 4 February edition of Guardian Weekly
Sochi in 2014, Seoul in 2018 … and now Beijing in 2022. In recent years the Winter Olympics has gained an intriguing reputation for pitching up in geopolitically sensitive places. With concerns about human rights issues, and an Omicron outbreak disrupting preparations, Emma Graham-Harrison and Vincent Ni consider how China still hopes to stage manage the Games to its political advantage. And, amid rising global temperatures, there’s a fascinating look from the Guardian’s interactive graphics team at the long-term future of the Winter Olympics, given the fast-declining number of cities…