Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 226

UK relations with China during the presidency of Xi Jinping

Over the last few years, the largely cordial relationship between the UK and China has deteriorated sharply. In the previous two decades, regardless of the political make up of successive UK governments, the trend had been towards closer engagement and cooperation. The high-point of UK-China relations was during the 2015-17 Conservative Government, when there was talk on both sides of a “golden

US Navy rejects China claim that warship ‘illegally’ entered part of South China Sea

The United States has denied Chinese claims that a US destroyer was driven out from waters around the contested Paracel Islands after it “illegally” entered the area in the South China Sea. In a statement on Thursday, the Chinese military said the guided-missile destroyer USS Milius illegally intruded into China’s territorial waters, without the approval of the government, undermining peace and

Despite Xi’s trip to Russia, dialogue between China and Ukraine is still possible

Hours after Xi Jinping wrapped up a state dinner hosted in a lavish 15th-century palace, where he extolled Beijing’s “positive role” in Vladimir Putin’s invasion, Russia sent a swarm of drones to Ukraine that killed seven people in a town south of Kyiv.Commenting on the attack, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, wrote: “Every time someone tries to hear the word ‘peace’ in Moscow,

No path to peace: Five key takeaways from Xi and Putin’s talks in Moscow

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have made a sweeping affirmation of their alignment across a host of issues – and shared mistrust of the United States – in a lengthy statement following talks between the two leaders in Moscow this week.Their meeting, which took place under the shadow of Russia’s onslaught in Ukraine, left no question about Beijing’s commitment to

Russia launches deadly strikes across Ukraine as China’s Xi departs Moscow

Russia unleashed a wave of deadly attacks on towns and cities across Ukraine on Wednesday as Chinese leader Xi Jinping departed from Moscow following talks with President Vladimir Putin. Xi left Russia’s capital pledging to deepen ties with Putin but the meetings failed to achieve a breakthrough on Ukraine.As Xi flew back to Beijing, Russia’s military launched a barrage of strikes with Iran-made

Evergrande: Crisis-hit Chinese property giant offers debt restructuring plan

Embattled Chinese property giant Evergrande has announced plans for restructuring around $20bn (£16.2bn) in offshore debt, which could be seen as a model for other struggling developers. The firm said the measures will help "efforts to resume operations and resolve issues on shore". Evergrande has more than $300bn in liabilities and defaulted on its debts in late 2021.The crisis has spooked

US firms 'more negative' about doing business in China

US companies are "more negative than they've been in a long time" about doing business in China, according to the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China). As tensions continue to grow between the world's two biggest economies, Michael Hart says that the rivalry has "made business very challenging".The governments of President Xi and President Biden have been

China Shakes Up Bureaucracy With Eye on Technological Edge

President Xi Jinping of China has embarked on a third term in office by ordering bureaucratic reforms with an eye on financial stability and economic resilience in the face of internal and external pressures.A dozen central government institutions were affected by the extensive reorganization announced at this month's annual legislative gathering known as the "two sessions." China's Communist

China Suspends Access to Western Scientists Searching for COVID Origins

Western scientists researching the origins of the coronavirus pandemic have had their access to an international database suspended due to a complaint from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that they scooped data from a Chinese study.The scientists—from the U.S., U.K., Canada and France—on Monday published a paper which said analysis of data from the start of the

Two-year jail for India's Congress leader for defamation

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has been sentenced to two years in prison by a local court in a criminal defamation case. Mr Gandhi was convicted by the court in Gujarat state for his 2019 comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surname during an election rally. He will not go to jail immediately - he has been given bail for 30 days and can file an appeal against the order. The