Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 143

The White House: Readout of President Joe Biden’s Meeting with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China

President Joseph R. Biden Jr. met with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Lima, Peru today. This meeting is the third between the two Presidents and follows their April 2, 2024, telephone call. The two leaders had a candid, constructive discussion on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues, including areas of cooperation and areas of difference.President

China is building new villages on its remote Himalayan border. Some appear to have crossed the line

High in the mist-shrouded Himalayas, a winding mountain road opens to a clearing in the pine forested valley, revealing rows of uniform Tibetan-style houses, each topped with a Chinese flag. Construction is booming in this remote place. Piles of logs and other building materials line the road. On a nearby hillside, cranes tower over rising housing blocks.“They are building resettlement houses

Trump looms over Biden’s final meeting with Xi in Peru

President Joe Biden meet s for the final time Saturday with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, his aides say the moment will be ripe for reflection on a relationship that began more than a decade ago, over a long meal in Chengdu. It was an episode that left deep impressions on the president, at least judging by how often he recounts it. A search of Biden’s speeches over the past four years

Eight killed and 17 injured in mass stabbing in eastern China

Eight people were killed and 17 others injured in a stabbing attack on a college campus in the eastern Chinese city of Yixing on Saturday, police say. “Around 6:30 p.m. on November 16, 2024, a stabbing incident that resulted in casualties occurred at Wuxi Vocational Institute of Arts and Technology in Yixing city, causing 8 deaths and injuring another 17, The suspect was apprehended on the scene,

When horror hits China, the first instinct is shut it down

The gates outside the Zhuhai sports complex in China were closed. Inside, the stadium was in darkness, as were the grounds around it. It was here, hours before, where dozens of people were killed when a man drove an SUV into a crowd. Many more were injured.Only security guards appeared to be moving around behind the fence when the BBC arrived, and they had been ordered to keep an eye out for

China megaport opens up Latin America as wary US looks on

As the world waits to see how the return of Donald Trump will reshape relations between Washington and Beijing, China has just taken decisive action to entrench its position in Latin America. Trump won the US presidential election on a platform that promised tariffs as high as 60% on Chinese-made goods. Further south, though, a new China-backed megaport has the potential to create whole new trade

Rubio’s nomination welcomed by Uyghurs and Tibetans

Uyghur and Tibetan activists have welcomed U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Marco Rubio to be the next secretary of state, saying they hope the senator’s track record of defending human rights in China will continue in his role as America’s top diplomat. The son of Cuban migrants and a longtime foreign policy “hawk” when it comes to the Chinese Communist Party, Rubio was named by

What Does Taiwan Think About Trump 2.0?

As was to be expected, the U.S. presidential election cast a large shadow over Taiwan.Polling two days ahead of the election conducted by political scientists Lev Nachman, Yen Weiting, and Hannah Kim showed that Taiwanese seemed to prefer Vice President Kamala Harris, with 56 percent of respondents showing a preference for her over former President Donald Trump. Although some deep Greens remain

'I missed you very much': China's social media darling returns

A Chinese influencer, with a huge global following and the approval of the Communist Party, has returned to the internet after a three-year hiatus. Famous for idyllic videos of life with her grandmother in a village in Sichuan province, the 34-year-old has released three videos since Tuesday - and they have millions of views already. Li first rose to fame in 2016 when China's fast-growing social

World leaders heading to major summits are wary of Trump. China’s Xi sees an opportunity

As leaders from across the world gather for two major summits in South America in the coming days, the uncertainty brought by Donald Trump’s impending return to the White House is expected to loom large. Many will be grappling with what Trump’s “America First” agenda will mean for the global economy and the grinding conflicts in Europe and the Middle East.China, perhaps more than most countries,