China - US relations: Chip competition heating up

The US-China chip war is heating up after Huawei launched a new phone featuring technology that Washington was hoping to keep out of China's reach.

Last month, Huawei released the Mate 60 Pro phone without providing much detail on the chips used for the device. But Ottawa-based TechInsights, a research organization specializing in semiconductors, made a surprising discovery after taking the phone apart for analysis — the device was run on a Chinese-made Kirin 9000s 7-nanometer processor. The scale of the chip is essential, as smaller-scale chips can be packed with more elements, thus making them faster and more powerful. The chip also appears to be 5G capable.

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China's Tik-T,ok fined by EU: European regulators slapped TikTok with a €345 million fine Friday for failing to protect children's privacy

European regulators slapped TikTok with a €345 million fine Friday for failing to protect children's privacy. It's the first time the popular short video-sharing app has been punished for breaching Europe's strict data privacy rules.

Ireland's Data Protection Commission, the lead privacy regulator for Big Tech companies whose European headquarters are predominantly in Dublin, said it was fining TikTok and reprimanding the platform for the violations dating back to the second half of 2020.

The Commission's investigation also found that the default settings posed a risk to children under 13 who had gained access to the platform even though they were underage.

In addition, the Commission ruled that a 'family pairing' feature designed for parents to manage settings was not strict enough, allowing adults to turn on direct messaging for users aged 16 and 17 without their consent.

Read more at https://www.euronews.com

China's President will skip G20 meetng in New Delhi India next weekend

Beijing's foreign ministry confirmed Monday that Li would be at the G20 Leaders' Summit on Saturday and Sunday, which it described as an important forum for economic cooperation.

"In attending this meeting, Premier Li Qiang will convey China's thoughts and positions on G20 cooperation, pushing for the G20 to strengthen unity and cooperation, and working together to combat global economic and development challenges," spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular news briefing.

Read more at: https://www.france24.com

USA: Several polls in America show large numbers of citizens consider the US status as a world power is declining

Nearly half of Americans (47%) say that the United States’ influence in the world has been getting weaker in recent years. Only about one-in-five say U.S. influence has been getting stronger, while 32% say U.S. influence has been staying about the same.

This is in stark contrast with views of China: Two-thirds of U.S. adults say that the country’s influence has been getting stronger in recent years. Roughly one-in-five Americans say China’s global influence is holding steady, and only one-in-ten say China’s influence has been weakening.

Read more at: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/06/23/prevailing-view-among-americans-is-that-u-s-influence-in-the-world-is-weakening-and-chinas-is-growing/

China sacks its Foreign Minister

Former Foreign Minister Wang Yi will replace Qin Gang, who has not been seen in public since June. Chinese officials did not say why Qin was let go and have not commented on his whereabouts..

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CIA: Chief Burns visited China last month to meet with Chinese counter parts

Last month, Director Burns traveled to Beijing where he met with Chinese counterparts and emphasized the importance of maintaining open lines of communication in intelligence channels," the official said.

The official provided no further details on the meeting.

The US intelligence agency does not regularly announce the director's travels.

The Associated Press cited a second anonymous source as saying that Burns only met with intelligence officials and had no meetings with political leadership.

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China: a new era of China-Central Asia relations

Held in the ancient Chinese city of Xi’an, the historic eastern end of the Silk Road that linked China to Europe through Central Asia, Beijing has said this week’s meeting is of “milestone significance”.

And in a speech to the region’s leaders at a welcoming banquet Thursday evening, Xi said strengthening ties was a “strategic choice”.

“I am confident that with our joint efforts, tomorrow’s summit will be a full success and will herald a new era of China-Central Asia relations,” Xi was quoted as saying in a readout of the speech seen by AFP.

Read more at: https://www.france24.com

United Nations: China and India have voted in favour of a UN resolution that explicitly acknowledges "the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

In a surprising diplomatic move, China and India, two countries that have carefully avoided condemning Moscow for launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine despite repeated pleas from Western allies, have voted in favour of a United Nations resolution that explicitly acknowledges "the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine."

The reference is found in just one paragraph of a broader resolution that calls for closer cooperation between the United Nations and the Council of Europe, the Strasbourg-based human rights organisation. 

The text, promoted by a wide group of European countries, together with Canada and the United States, received 122 votes in favour and 18 abstentions.

Read more at: https://www.euronews.com

China--Ukraine relations: Presidents XI and Zelenskyy hold productive telephone conversation as China promises to send a special envoy to Ukraine

More than 14 months after Russia invaded Ukraine, Chinese President Xi Jinping held his first phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday.

China emphasized that its core position is promoting peace talks while promising to send a special envoy to Ukraine and hold talks with all parties in the ongoing conflict.

Zelenskyy characterized the talks with Xi as "long and meaningful."

"I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine's ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations," Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter.

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Brasil - Russia relations: President Lula recomments negotiations with Ukraine instead of disasterous war

Lula is fresh off a trip to China and the United Arab Emirates, during which he raised eyebrows in the West by accusing the United States of "encouraging the war" in Ukraine.

He also said the United States and Europe "need to start talking about peace," and that Kyiv shares the blame for the conflict, which began in February 2022 when Russian forces poured into Ukraine in an attempt to overthrow the democratically elected government and annex swaths of the pro-Western country.

His remarks echoed a line frequently used by Moscow and Beijing, which blame the West for the war.

Sergei Lavrov, Russia's top diplomat, thanked Lula on Monday for his offer to mediate peace talks on the 14-month war.

Read more at: https://www.france24.com

Brazil and China relations: Brazil tightens relations with China

Chinese leader Xi Jinping was to host hosting Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in Beijing this weekend, seeking to deepen ties with another diplomatic ally following his three-day visit to Russia that took place earlier this week.

The visit was postponed on Saturday as the Brazilian leader was admitted to hospital with pneumonia.

Had it gone ahead, the state visit would have come at a time when China is trying  to present itself as an important global power that can rival the US.

China's trade relationship with Brazil was set to take center stage, as Lula was to bring a delegation of 240 business representatives with him to Beijing. Trade flow between China and Brazil currently amounts to $150 billion (€140 billion) annually, and Brazilian exports to China reached $89 billion in 2022.

China now invests in a wide range of sectors in Brazil, and experts say Beijing wants to tap into the South American country's rich resources and market size.

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Canada: The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) is calling interference activities by the Chinese government the "greatest strategic threat"

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) is calling foreign interference activities by the Chinese government the "greatest strategic threat to national security."

In a statement provided in French to CBC/Radio-Canada on Friday, a CSIS spokesperson said that this threat comes not from the "Chinese population" but from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which9 is deploying a strategy aimed at "geopolitical gains" on economic, technological, political and military fronts.

"To do so, it uses all the state powers at its disposal to carry out activities that directly threaten the national security and sovereignty of the country," said the unnamed spokesperson.

Read more at: https://www.cbc.com

China: Economic growrh China for 2023 predicted to reach 5%

Premier Li Keqiang, the top economic official, set this year's growth target at “around 5%” following the end of anti-virus controls that kept millions of people at home and triggered protests. Last year's growth in the world's second-largest economy fell to 3%, the second-weakest level since at least the 1970s.

“We should give priority to the recovery and expansion of consumption,” Li said in a speech on government plans before the ceremonial National People’s Congress in the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing.

Read more at: https://www.ap.com

China: Chinese parliament set to centralize CCP power

Around 3,000 delegates from across China are making their way to the Chinese capital, Beijing for the start of the annual parliamentary conference this weekend. The dual political sessions are expected to endorse a list of top officials for key government positions, pass a plan to overhaul several government agencies and institutions, while also formally confirming Chinese leader Xi Jinping's precedent-busting third term in power.

Typically called the "two sessions," the meetings in Beijing include the gathering of China's rubber-stamp parliament — the National People's Congress (NPC) — and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which is an advisory body.

Read more at: https;//www.dw.com

German - US relations: German Chancellor goes to Washington for meeting with Biden re: China or Ukraine ?

A few days before Olaf Scholz's trip to Washington this week, an astonishing transatlantic spectacle unfolded: Joe Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a TV interview that the US president had only agreed to supply American Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine at the German chancellor's urging. The US tanks are to supplement the German Leopard tanks that Germany and other European NATO countries plan to send.

In doing so, Sullivan not only contradicted earlier statements by his boss who insisted that Germany had not made him change his mind, but also the German government, whose spokesman explicitly denied the notion of "a package" of German Leopards and American Abrams.

The German denial is meant to "avoid the impression that the Americans have been put under pressure," Henning Hoff of the German Council on Foreign Relations told DW. "I think what has become clear is that Chancellor Scholz was able to make it clear to Washington: 'I need this backing, otherwise it will be very difficult for me to take this step.'"

He added that this ultimately succeeded because the chancellor and the president have a good personal connection.

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China: A responsible world power which will certainly not back Putin's illegaal invasion of Ukraine

  For a generation, American expectations and policy responses to China have been based on the implicit assumption of perpetually strong Chinese economic growth. Fear of China’s ascension has led  to unprecedented public antipathy toward China. Both the Trump and Biden administrations have imposed tough trade measures and export controls on China. The House of Representatives has created a select committee on China as a means of pressuring the White House to be even tougher.

But expectations of the inevitability of China’s growing power need to be tempered by underlying economic and demographic trends. China’s prospects are constrained by its debt overhang, aging population, and productivity shortcomings that will restrict its future growth prospects.

Read more ai https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/3814610-china-may-prove-not-to-be-the-threat-we-have-come-to-assume/

China unveiled global security initiative

Tuesday China unveiled its "global security initiative" based on a proposal last April by President Xi Jinping.

Chinese state media reported the paper lays out core concepts and principles regarding global peace and security.

Also on Tuesday, the country's top diplomat said Beijing was "deeply" concerned about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, as the war approaches its first anniversary on February 24.

Read more at : https://www.dw.com

Ghina: Is TikTok replacing Google ?

Since they’ve been old enough to feel embarrassed by their elders, Generation Zers have made many things we once used to love obsolete.

Take the side part haircut, the crying laughing emoji, and skinny jeans; just a few of the many relics of the recent past that zoomers have decided - often rightly - that we should just leave behind.

But is now the time for Google, the number one search engine, to suffer a similar fate and disappear into oblivion?

For Gen Z, TikTok is the place to turn to when you’re looking for answers. Where to find cute cafes in town? What is the best Italian restaurant in London? What exhibitions are on in Paris? How to write a cover letter? How to have a clean break-up?

Read more at:https://www.euronews.com

China-Saudi relations: China's Xi Jinping visits Riyadh to meet with Arab leaders

China relies heavily on Saudi oil and is expected to sign a number of agreements with Riyadh. This is Xi's third overseas visit since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for a three-day visit.

During the visit, Xi is expected to attend the China-Arab States Summit and a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

The GCC includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The trip is Xi’s third overseas visit since the coronavirus pandemic began, and his first trip to Saudi Arabia since 2016.

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China: popular uprising against Covid restrictions increase and now also include protests against lack of democracy in China

A protest poster showing a Friedmann equation was purportedly held up by students in Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University - a play on the word "Friedmann", which sounds similar to "free 的 man" - quite literally translated to "a man who is free".

Friedmann is a Russian physicist and mathematician best-known for his work on the theory of relativity and for introducing the possibility of an expanding universe - a concept that may not have been lost on the protesting students.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.com