Sri Lanka, China discusses loan from Beijing to cover debts
Sri Lanka’s government said Tuesday it is discussing obtaining another loan from Beijing to repay some of its debt to Chinese banks after China told the nearly bankrupt island nation it was not in favor of restructuring existing loans. Sri Lanka has nearly $7 billion in foreign debt due for repayment this year and will need to repay $ 25 billion over the next five years. The economic crisis has brought weeks of protests across the country calling for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation.
news.yahoo.comIndia, China discuss steps to end border impasse early
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Indian counterpart and the national security adviser on Friday to expedite the disengagement of thousands of Indian and Chinese forces involved in a tense faceoff and occasional clashes along their disputed border, an Indian official said. A fierce brawl in June 2020 exploded into hand-to-hand combat with clubs, stones and fists that left 20 Indian soldiers dead. China said it lost four soldiers in the clash.
news.yahoo.comChina calls Russia its chief 'strategic partner' despite war
China’s Foreign Minister on Monday called Russia Beijing’s “most important strategic partner,” amid its continued refusal to condemn the invasion of Ukraine. Wang Yi said ties with Moscow constituted “one of the most crucial bilateral relationships in the world." China has broken with the U.S., Europe and others that have imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
news.yahoo.comRussia-Ukraine latest news: China tells US it opposes moves that 'add fuel to the flames'
Don’t test Britain, Ben Wallace warns Vladimir Putin Evacuation buses dare not make a move as ceasefire proves an illusion Putin hints at deadly nuclear strike on the West Ben Wallace: Vladimir Putin could be toying with Emmanuel Macron Syrians celebrate Ukraine capturing Russian pilot Listen to the latest episode of our daily Ukraine podcast
news.yahoo.comChina expresses concern over civilians in Ukraine after citizen wounded during evacuation, urges de-escalation
China has been carefully balancing between its burgeoning relationship with Moscow against a Western-led world order and its longstanding stated commitment to noninterference in other nations’ affairs.
washingtonpost.comChina Leadership Gathers as Economic Challenges Mount
China’s annual parliamentary pageant -- the National People’s Congress -- opens Saturday in Beijing, bringing President Xi Jinping one step close to a precedent-defying third term in power. Amid the pomp and propaganda at the Great Hall of the People, the Communist Party leadership will lay out policies to address the country’s biggest challenges, such as rebuilding growth slowed by Covid. The 3,000-or so deputies always give their ceremonial seal of approval to everything proposed, but that doe
washingtonpost.comAs tensions simmer, China demands US action to improve ties
China's top diplomat called on the U.S. Monday to take steps to improve ties, as tensions simmer over Taiwan, trade and other issues. Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s remarks Monday were delivered virtually to a forum marking the 50th anniversary of the Shanghai Communique signed during the icebreaking 1972 visit to China by President Richard Nixon.
news.yahoo.comChina is Russia's best hope to blunt sanctions, but wary
China is the only friend that might help Russia blunt the impact of economic sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, but President Xi Jinping’s government is giving no sign it might be willing to risk its own access to U.S. and European markets by doing too much.
China demands US halt Olympics 'interference'
China is demanding the U.S. end “interference” in the Beijing Winter Olympics, which begin next week, in an apparent reference to a diplomatic boycott imposed by Washington and some of its allies. Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the demand in a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday Beijing time, according to the Foreign Ministry. The U.S. has said it will not send dignitaries to the Games, which open Feb. 4, in a protest over China’s detention of more than 1 million Uyghur Muslims in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, along with crackdowns on human rights elsewhere in the country.
news.yahoo.comSecretary of State Blinken to meet with Ukraine president to discuss escalating tensions with Russia
Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to Europe this week to discuss escalating tensions with Russia. He will meets with Ukraine's president in Kyiv, then with other European allies in Berlin and stop in Geneva to meet with Russia's foreign minister. CBS News foreign correspondent Charlie D'Agata explains what we can expect from these meetings.
news.yahoo.comSri Lanka seeks Chinese debt restructuring amid crisis
The president of debt-ridden Sri Lanka on Sunday asked China for the restructuring of its loans and access to preferential credit for imports of essential goods, as the island nation struggles in the throes of its worst economic crisis, partly due to Beijing-financed projects that don’t generate revenue. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa told visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that it would be "a great relief to the country if attention could be paid on restructuring the debt repayments as a solution to the economic crisis that has arisen in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to a statement from his office. Rajapaksa asked Wang for a concessionary credit facility for imports so that industries can run without disruption, the statement said.
news.yahoo.comBlinken raised concerns about Taiwan with China
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as part of the Group of 20 summit on Sunday — an outreach designed to ensure that the intensely competitive relationship between the world's two largest economies doesn't veer into open conflicts. Senior State Department officials described the conversations as candid, constructive and productive, saying that Blinken was clear about U.S. concerns during the roughly hourlong meeting. One of the U.S. goals is to maintain an open line of communication with China and set a virtual meeting later this year between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
news.yahoo.comChina's FM Wang offers aid and friendship on Cambodia visit
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Sunday that China has agreed to provide the Southeast Asian nation with grant aid of 1.75 billion yuan ($272 million), announcing the assistance during a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Wang met with Hun Sen and other officials for bilateral talks on combating COVID-19, trade and investment, education and security issues. Cambodia’s foreign ministry said earlier that Wang’s meetings on Sunday and Monday also would include discussions of regional and international issues of shared interest.
news.yahoo.comChina blames US over Afghanistan, but says will work with it
China has expressed a willingness to hold talks with the U.S. to promote a “soft landing” in Afghanistan, while heavily criticizing Washington and again demanding that the Biden administration halt its attacks on China. Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in a phone call Monday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, blamed what he called America's “hasty” military withdrawal the chaos accompanying the Talibain's seizure of power in Afghanistan, according to a Foreign Ministry statement dated Tuesday. “China is willing to conduct communication and dialogue with the U.S. to promote the soft landing of the Afghan issue and avoid a new civil war or humanitarian disaster ... and not let it become a breeding ground and shelter for terrorism once again," Wang was quoted as saying in the call.
news.yahoo.comSenior US diplomat in China for talks on fraught ties
America's No. 2 diplomat has arrived in China to discuss the fraught relationship between the countries on Monday with two top Foreign Ministry officials. Wendy Sherman, the deputy secretary of state, will hold separate meetings with Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng, who is in charge of U.S.-China relations, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a closed-off resort hotel in the city of Tianjin.
news.yahoo.comNo. 2 US diplomat Sherman to visit China as tensions soar
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will travel to China this weekend on a visit that comes as tensions between Washington and Beijing soar on multiple fronts, senior U.S. officials said Wednesday. Sherman will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and others in the northeastern city of Tianjin on Sunday as part of her current trip to Asia, which also is taking her to Japan, South Korea and Mongolia, the officials told reporters. Sherman will be the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office, though Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan met Wang and veteran Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi in Anchorage, Alaska, in March for what proved to be a contentious first exchange.
news.yahoo.comChina welcomes US withdrawal as a new chance for Afghanistan
China says the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan offers the country a new chance to take its destiny into its own hands, while calling for the resurgent Taliban to cut all ties with terrorist groups. Speaking Tuesday in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the U.S. should reflect on its role in Afghanistan after its 20-year military involvement failed to bring peace. “With the United States and NATO leaving Afghanistan, the Afghan people have a new opportunity to take the destiny of their country and their people into their own hands," Wang said in a news release posted on the ministry's website Wednesday.
news.yahoo.comChina pledges further COVID-19 aid to Southeast Asia
China on Tuesday pledged further assistance to Southeast Asian nations in battling the coronavirus pandemic as it seeks to boost influence with the region where the United States is also looking to strengthen ties. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his counterparts from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations that China had already delivered 100 million vaccine doses to ASEAN nations along with other pandemic-fighting materials and technical help. Wang likened the challenge to earlier economic crises, the 2003 SARS outbreak and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, saying all were faced with “practical action arising from feelings of brotherly concern and the care of watchful neighbors.”
news.yahoo.comChina hosts Southeast Asian ministers as it competes with US
China is hosting foreign ministers from 10 Southeast Asian nations this week amid heightened competition between Beijing and Washington for influence in the region. Chinese state media said the meeting Tuesday in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing will cover issues from restoring tourism and other economic exchanges battered by COVID-19, to more coordinated efforts in fighting the pandemic and the feasibility of creating a vaccine passport to allow freer travel among them. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is also expected to meet separately with each of his counterparts on the sidelines of the conference.
news.yahoo.comChina urges closer Afghanistan ties as US withdrawal looms
China is urging closer security and economic cooperation with Afghanistan in an apparent effort to bolster its influence in the region as the U.S. and its allies prepare to withdraw their forces from the country. The official Xinhua News Agency reported that foreign ministers from China, Afghanistan and Pakistan met via video conference on Thursday and agreed that the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan should be carried out in a responsible and orderly manner to prevent the deterioration of the security situation in Afghanistan and the return of "terrorist forces.” It quoted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as saying the three countries “needed to to strengthen communication and cooperation” for the sake of Afghanistan’s interests and those of neighboring countries.
news.yahoo.comChina sanctions Britons over West's Xinjiang criticism
Residents wearing masks pass by government propaganda with slogans some of which read "Forever follow the Party" and "China's Ethnicities One Family" in the city of Aksu in western China's Xinjiang region on Thursday, March 18, 2021. China on Friday announced sanctions on British individuals and entities following the U.K.'s joining the EU and others in sanctioning Chinese officials accused of human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)BEIJING – China slapped sanctions on several British politicians and organizations Friday after the U.K. joined the European Union and others in sanctioning Chinese officials accused of human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region. China has rejected all criticism over its policies in Xinjiang, along with its crackdown on opposition figures in Hong Kong and threats against Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy China claims as its own territory. Cotton and other agricultural products form a major component of the local economy in vast but thinly populated Xinjiang.
Uyghurs in Turkey protest Chinese foreign minister's visit
A protester from the Uyghur community living in Turkey waves a Turkish flag during a protest against the visit of China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Turkey, in Istanbul, Thursday, March 25, 2021. Dozens of Uyghurs, Turkish opposition lawmakers and academics also assembled near the Chinese Embassy in Ankara, as Wang met with Turkish Foreign Mevlut Cavusoglu and later with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “We call on Turkey to stand with East Turkestan,” said Burhan Uluyol, who joined the protest in Istanbul. AdUyghurs, a Turkic group native to China’s Xinjiang region, have sought refuge in Turkey for decades because of their shared cultural ties with the country. Both Turkish and Chinese authorities insist that the extradition bill doesn't aim to target Uyghurs for deportation.
China-Europe sanctions fight shatters image of amicable ties
On Monday, that image shattered when the European Union joined Washington, Britain and Canada in imposing sanctions on Chinese officials over accusations they abused ethnic minorities. Earlier proposals to criticize China's human rights record were vetoed by Hungary and Greece, possibly to avoid disrupting trade and investment ties. Relations with Canada have been strained by the arrest of an executive of tech giant Huawei on U.S. charges related to possible violation of trade sanctions on Iran. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday there was no connection between Canada’s support for the Xinjiang sanctions and those cases. “We understand that we must work together to demonstrate our intolerance in the face of human rights abuses,” Trudeau told broadcaster CTV.
The Latest: California prisons to resume in-person visits
The state health department said nearly 17,000 people had filled up four days of appointments for the speedway clinic being held Friday through Monday. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California state prisons will soon resume limited in-person visits with inmates more than a year after they were halted because of the coronavirus pandemic. Museums, aquariums, retail businesses and shops, hair salons and personal care businesses can operate at 100% capacity indoors and outdoors. The three joined neighboring Santa Mateo County on Tuesday as the latest Bay Area counties to move into California’s “moderate” tier for coronavirus restrictions. Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady says the biggest driver behind the increase is young adults.
China summons foreign diplomats in protest over sanctions
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a media conference after a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, March 22, 2021. (Aris Oikonomou, Pool via AP)BEIJING – China on Tuesday said it summoned foreign diplomats in protest after the United States, the European Union, Canada and Britain jointly imposed sanctions on senior Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses in China’s far western Xinjiang region. That came hours after the Chinese and Russian foreign ministers denounced a new wave of criticism and sanctions against both countries over human rights. “These measures will not be embraced by the international community.”Russia is also under Western sanctions over human rights abuses and military aggression against Ukraine. The Australian and New Zealand governments reiterated their grave concerns about the growing number of credible reports of severe human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
China, Russia officials meet in show of unity against EU, US
(Lu Boan/Xinhua via AP)BEIJING – The foreign ministers of China and Russia affirmed their countries' close ties at a meeting Tuesday, amid intense criticism and new Western sanctions against them over human rights. Russia and China both maintain close relations with Tehran, with which they share a firm approach against any political opposition. Ad“Countries should stand together to oppose all forms of unilateral sanctions," Wang said. Russia has been under Western sanctions for years over its seizure of the Crimea, support for separatists in Ukraine and attacks on government critics. “On an unrelated issue, we along with our international allies are very concerned about the situation facing Muslim minorities in western China."
US ties with Russia, China sink as Biden toes tough lines
Airing myriad complaints, the Biden administration took an extraordinarily tough line with China and Russia last week. Airing myriad complaints, the Biden administration took an extraordinarily tough line with China and Russia this past week. Public spats between the countries erupted as Biden characterized Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “killer” and his top national security aides excoriated China for a litany of issues. Just 24 hours later, Biden's top diplomat and national security adviser blasted Chinese officials in face-to-face talks. In taking a strong line on Russia, Biden has said the days of the U.S. “rolling over” to Putin are done.
After testy meeting, China says will discuss climate with US
The two countries feuded over journalist visas and consulates during the Trump administration, and climate change is seen as one area where they may be able to cooperate. AdSenior Biden administration officials held their first face-to-face meeting with their Chinese counterparts in Anchorage, Alaska, since taking office earlier this year. AdThe Xinhua report did not provide any details on the climate change working group, other than to say both countries were committed to enhancing communication and cooperation in the field. China and the U.S. both expelled a number of each other's journalists last year. In addition, Chinese journalists in the U.S. and foreign journalists working for U.S. media in China are now being granted only three-month stays, adding uncertainty to their tenure, though those stays have been generally renewed.
Here are the highlights from the heated exchange between the U.S. and China in Alaska
Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councilor Wang Yi and Yang Jiechi, director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party, led the Chinese delegation. I'm hearing deep satisfaction that the United States is back, that we're reengaged with our allies and partners. And on some regional issues, I think the problem is that the United States has exercised long jurisdiction and suppression and over stretched. The United States itself does not represent international public opinion and neither does the Western world. Whether judged by population scale or the trend of the world, the Western world does not represent the global public opinion.
cnbc.comUS, China wrap up testy 1st face-to-face talks under Biden
AdAs they opened the talks on Thursday, Blinken said the Biden administration is united with its allies in pushing back against Chinese authoritarianism. Yang responded angrily by demanding the U.S. stop pushing its own version of democracy at a time when the United States itself has been roiled by domestic discontent. “I’m hearing deep satisfaction that the United States is back, that we're reengaged,” Blinken retorted. In response, China stepped up its rhetoric opposing U.S. interference in domestic affairs and complained directly about it. “Is this a decision made by the United States to try to gain some advantage in dealing with China?” State Councilor Wang Yi asked.
First U.S.-China meeting under Biden gets off to a rocky start
Brown | AFP | Getty ImagesBEIJING — The first high-level gathering of U.S. and Chinese officials under President Joe Biden kicked off with an exchange of insults at a pre-meeting press event in Alaska on Thursday. "I said that the United States relationship with China will be competitive where it should be, collaborative where it can be, adversarial where it must be." The United States does not have the qualification to say that it wants to speak to China from a position of strength. I'm hearing deep satisfaction that the United States is back, that we're reengaged with our allies and partners. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately have a comment.
cnbc.comMyanmar factory attacks put focus on Chinese influence
Some say they suspect the military instigated attacks on the factories to justify imposing martial law in industrial zones that have been hotspots for protests against the junta. AdTurmoil is bad for business and will deter investors, the Chinese state-owned broadcaster CGTN said in a commentary. AdMuch of the controversy over the arson attacks has centered on what happened in and around the Chinese-owned Xing Jia shoe factory in Hlaing Thayar. “That's worrying because there are a lot of native Myanmar Chinese businesspeople as well. AdThe coup and its aftermath have raised risks for all doing business in and with Myanmar, analysts say.