At a time when US president-elect Donald Trump is reported to have once again tapped tariff hawk Robert Lighthizer for the US trade representative role, analysts are underscoring the need for “supply chain diplomacy” to achieve balanced solutions in trade between China and the United States. A working group, jointly formed by Zhejiang University and … Read more
BEIJING: China supports Iran in defending its “sovereignty, security and national dignity”, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told Iran’s acting foreign minister in a phone call on Sunday (Aug 11), according to a statement by China’s foreign ministry. In the phone call, Wang repeated Beijing’s denunciation of the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in … Read more
Illustration: Henry Wong China’s coastguard has found itself embroiled in a series of intense confrontations in three major hotspots – with tensions simultaneously coming to a head in a two-week period in late June. In one of the most dramatic incidents, the Philippines accused China of acting like “pirates” and carrying out “aggressive and illegal” … Read more
“NO COMMITMENT” ON RUSSIA SUPPORT The two talked for an hour and 20 minutes on the sidelines of a regional summit in Laos, in their sixth meeting since June 2023, when Blinken visited Beijing in a sign of improvement in strained relations between the world’s two biggest economies. The two did not set a date … Read more
A top Apple executive has paid a visit to China’s southern tech hub Shenzhen to speak with the city’s party secretary about supply chains, underscoring China’s importance for the US consumer giant as other tech firms seek to “de-risk” from the country. According to official statements from Shenzhen, Apple chief operating officer Jeff Williams met … Read more
The former defence minister Li Shangfu, who is facing corruption charges, and two other senior commanders have also been removed from the committee. There continues to be much speculation about the fate of Qin, China’s shortest-serving foreign minister, whose disappearance the foreign ministry attributed to “health reasons”. Once seen as a trusted aide to the … Read more
A group of heavyweight US executives will head to Beijing next week, hoping to meet with Chinese officials to obtain first-hand insight following the conclusion of China’s widely-watched third plenum, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The visit will be arranged by the US-China Business Council (USCBC), a Washington-based advocacy group. It will … Read more
“Development is the hard truth,” Deng said, and all debates about whether reform policies were capitalist or socialist should stop. Instead, support should go to whatever reforms benefited productivity, the overall strength of the country and living standards of the people. Generations of Chinese leaders have stayed true to that principle. President Xi Jinping, who … Read more
With import tariffs removed for the first time in three years, shipments of Australian wine to China surged in April, with analysts expecting producers to jump back into the lucrative market “quite quickly”. China imported US$10.4 million of wine from Australia in April, up from US$126,045 a year earlier, representing a roughly eightyfold increase, according … Read more
Lai’s inauguration marks an unprecedented third term for the DPP. However, unlike Tsai when she became president in 2016, Lai made no mention of the 1992 consensus in his address. The consensus is a tacit agreement between Beijing and Taipei that there is one China but each side of the Taiwan Strait can have its … Read more
