Tag: china

What to expect from Xi’s next five years as Chinese president

Xi Jinping on Friday sealed a historic third term as China’s president. AFP examines how he is expected to handle the key issues facing the country: – Slowing economy – China’s slowing economy will likely dominate Xi’s next five years but his decision to pack the Communist Party’s top leadership with loyalists has stoked concerns about him prioritising ideology at the expense of growth. The world’s second-largest economy expanded just three percent last year, widely […]

Russian President Putin congratulates China’s counterpart Xi Jinping on new term, hails ‘strengthening’ ties

  Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday congratulated Xi Jinping on his third term as China’s leader, hailing the strengthening ties between the two countries. “Dear friend, please accept sincere congratulations on the occasion of your reelection,” Putin said in a statement released by the Kremlin. “Russia highly values your personal contribution toward the strengthening of ties… and strategic cooperation between our nations.” “I am certain that working together, we will ensure the development of […]

China’s Xi handed historic third term as president

by Peter CATTERALL Xi Jinping was handed a third term as Chinese president on Friday, capping a rise that has seen him become the country’s most powerful leader in generations. His appointment by China’s rubber-stamp parliament comes after Xi locked in another five years as head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in October. Since then, the 69-year-old has weathered widespread protests over his zero-Covid policy and the deaths of countless people after its abandonment. […]

US worries China will use supply chains as weapon

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States increasingly worries that China will use its power in global supply chains as an additional weapon to advance its political and military might, a report released Wednesday showed. The “Annual Threat Assessment” issued by the Director of National Intelligence said China is already using its supply chain dominance to force foreign companies and countries to transfer technologies and intellectual property to it. But the US intelligence community […]

China’s students leap ‘Great Firewall’ to get homework help from ChatGPT

by Poornima WEERASEKARA Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese schoolchildren are turning to AI bot ChatGPT to slash their homework time — vaulting the country’s “Great Firewall” to write book reports and bone up on their language skills. With its ability to produce A-grade essays, poems and programming code within seconds, ChatGPT has sparked a global gold rush in artificial intelligence tech. But it has also prompted concern from teachers, worried over the possibilities […]

China lashes out at US, warns of ‘conflict and confrontation’

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China lashed out at the United States on Tuesday, accusing Washington of stoking tensions between the two powers and warning of “conflict and confrontation”. Beijing’s new Foreign Minister Qin Gang told a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing National People’s Congress (NPC) there would be “catastrophic consequences” if the United States carried on in its current direction. “If the United States does not hit the brakes but continues to […]

Xi condemns US-led ‘suppression of China’: state media

BEIJING, China (AFP) — President Xi Jinping condemned the US-led “suppression of China” in a speech to delegates at an annual congress in Beijing, state media reported. “Western countries led by the United States have implemented all-round containment, encirclement and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented severe challenges to our country’s development,” Xi said, news agency Xinhua reported late Monday. The 69-year-old leader, who is gearing up to start a third consecutive presidential term, […]

China’s Xi to secure third term as president, brush off crises

  by Matthew WALSH Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Xi Jinping will secure a third term as China’s president at a rubber-stamp parliament that starts this weekend, enjoying unchallengeable status despite criticism over his handling of Covid and the economy. Xi is certain to be reappointed as president after he locked in another five years as head of the Communist Party (CCP) and the military — the two more significant leadership positions in Chinese […]

Massive fire hits Hong Kong high-rise construction site

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — A high-rise building under construction in Hong Kong erupted in flames and was still burning hours later, with some nearby residential blocks evacuated early Friday after the fire threatened to spread. Officials said the fire initially broke out at 11:11 pm (1511 GMT) Thursday in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui, a busy shopping and tourist district on the city’s harborfront. It eventually escalated to the fourth level of severity […]

US says China arming Russia is still ‘on the table’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States has “no indication” that China has decided to supply arms to Russia, but the possibility remains “on the table,” a White House spokesman said Thursday. “This is not a move that would be in the best interest of the Chinese and their standing in the international community, which we know they highly prize,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists. “We’ve communicated to the Chinese our […]

US selling Taiwan $619 mn worth of F-16 munitions

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US has approved the sale to Taiwan of $619 million in munitions for F-16 fighter jets, the Pentagon announced Wednesday, in a move likely to anger Beijing. The package includes 100 AGM-88B High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARM), 200 AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles(AMRAAM), and launchers and dummy missiles for training, the Pentagon said in a statement. The sale will boost Taiwan’s “capability to provide for the defense of its […]

Belarus leader ‘fully supports’ China’s Ukraine peace plan

BEIJING, March 1, 2023 (AFP) – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that his country “fully supports” Beijing’s proposals for ending the Ukraine war when the two leaders met Wednesday. The state visit to the Chinese capital by Lukashenko — a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin — comes after Beijing published a position paper on Moscow’s war in Ukraine insisting it is a neutral party and calling for dialogue. […]