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By Amber WANG Agence France-Presse TAIPEI, May 17, 2023 (AFP) — Britain’s former prime minister Liz Truss on Wednesday urged her successor Rishi Sunak to get tough with China on Taiwan, describing the democratic island as “an enduring rebuke to totalitarianism”. China considers self-ruled Taiwan to be its territory, to be taken one day by force if necessary, and strongly opposes any formal engagement with the island, including by high-profile foreign political figures. Truss, who […]
By Ella IDE Agence France-Presse ROME, Italy (AFP) — When Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni meets fellow G7 leaders this week, her allies will be looking for reassurances that Rome is ready to quit Beijing’s Belt and Road (BRI) initiative. Debt-ridden Italy in 2019 became the only one of the group of leading developed democracies to sign up to China’s trillion-dollar investment scheme, which critics denounce as a predatory “Trojan horse” aimed at buying political […]
By Oliver HOTHAM Agence France-Presse BEIJING, May 16, 2023 (AFP) – China is renewing its push for massive infrastructure projects in Central Asia as Beijing aims to fill the vacuum left in former Soviet states by Russia, which is ensnared in a widening net of Western sanctions over the Ukraine war. Central Asia has become key to China’s trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, a defining geopolitical project for President Xi Jinping. Around 150 countries […]
SAN FRANCISCO, May 13, 2023 (AFP) – A former US-based executive of ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, has sued it for wrongful dismissal, saying he was fired for sounding the alarm over what he called its “culture of lawlessness.” The suit, filed by Yintao Yu in a San Francisco court, comes as political pressure has been growing in the US to ban TikTok. Critics say the popular platform allows Beijing to covertly collect […]
WASHINGTON, May 11, 2023 (AFP) – US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi met in Vienna this week, Washington and Beijing announced Thursday, as the two powers seek to maintain communication amid soaring tensions, especially over Taiwan. The two held eight hours of talks stretching over Wednesday and Thursday in the Austrian capital, ending an unofficial pause in high-level contacts since the United States shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon […]
SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — China said Tuesday it was expelling Canada’s consul in Shanghai in a tit-for-tat move after Ottawa said it was sending home a Chinese diplomat accused of trying to intimidate a Canadian lawmaker critical of Beijing. Beijing’s foreign ministry labelled Jennifer Lynn Lalonde “persona non grata” in an English statement published online, adding “China reserves the right to further react”. Lalonde was told to leave China by May 13. “China strongly condemns […]
By Michel COMTE Agence France-Presse OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Ottawa announced Monday the expulsion of a Chinese diplomat accused of having sought to intimidate a Canadian lawmaker critical of Beijing, plunging the two nations into a new diplomatic row. “We will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs,” Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement declaring the diplomat “persona non grata.” “We remain firm in our resolve that defending our democracy […]
PARIS, May 5, 2023 (AFP) – Chinese cut-price fast-fashion giant Shein defended its business model in an interview with AFP, saying demand-based production accounted for its low prices and not forced or cheap labour. Founded in China in 2008, Shein has swiftly claimed a top place in the global fast-fashion marketplace, offering young social-media-savvy customers low-priced collections that turn over at a steady clip. The Singapore-based firm’s strategy chief Peter Pernot-Day told AFP that Shein […]
WASHINGTON, United States — The Biden administration on Thursday warned that superpower rival China would “love” to see Washington fail to extend the national debt ceiling and push the country into the “chaos” of default. “They love to see chaos in the American system,” senior White House economics official Shalanda Young told reporters. “They love to see that we can’t do our basic jobs.” Republicans in Congress and President Joe Biden’s Democrats are running out […]
By Peter CATTERALL Agence France-Presse RUDONG, China (AFP) — At the end of a back alley surrounded by dilapidated buildings, the pitter-patter of ping-pong balls echoes around a cavernous warehouse in a Chinese town north of Shanghai. The members of this table tennis club in Rudong, a sleepy seaside county with one of the highest proportions of elderly residents in China, gather to exercise and catch up. Rudong once played a pioneering role in […]
TOKYO, May 1, 2023 (AFP) – Chinese billionaire Jack Ma on Monday took up a visiting professor position at a Japanese university, another new academic role for the founder of tech giant Alibaba. Tokyo College, part of the prestigious University of Tokyo, said Ma would “share his rich experience and pioneering knowledge on entrepreneurship, corporate management and innovation” in seminars for students and staff. The 58-year-old has kept a low profile since his fall from […]
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — President Ferdinand Marcos said his government would not allow the Philippines to become a “staging post” for military action ahead of a meeting with US President Joe Biden on Monday. Manila recently granted Washington access to more Filipino military bases as the allies seek to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the region and its sweeping claims over disputed waters, islands and shoals. “We will not encourage any provocative action that will […]
