Tag: diplomacy

Huawei has replaced thousands of US-banned parts with Chinese versions: founder

Beijing, China (AFP) — Chinese technology giant Huawei has replaced thousands of product components banned by the United States with homegrown versions, its founder has said, according to a transcript of a recent speech released by a Shanghai university. A leading supplier of telecom gear, smartphones and other advanced equipment, Huawei has been repeatedly targeted by Washington in recent years over cybersecurity and espionage concerns. The administration of former president Donald Trump effectively barred American […]

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China’s Xi to go to Russia on first visit since Ukraine invasion

  Beijing, China | AFP | Friday 3/17/2023 by Jing Xuan TENG / Matthew WALSH Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to Moscow next week, where he will hold talks with his strategic ally Vladimir Putin just over a year into Russia’s war in Ukraine. Xi will be in Russia from Monday to Wednesday, Beijing’s foreign ministry and the Kremlin said on Friday. China’s foreign ministry called Xi’s trip “a visit for […]

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Honduras to start diplomatic ties with China, in blow to Taiwan

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AFP) — Honduras will establish diplomatic ties with China, President Xiomara Castro said Tuesday, a move that would result in the severing of longstanding official ties with Taiwan. Castro wrote on Twitter that she had instructed Foreign Minister Eduardo Reina “to undertake the opening of official relations with the People’s Republic of China.” The switch — which Castro pledged to make while on the campaign trail — comes weeks after her government announced […]

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Australia to buy US nuclear subs in ambitious new pact

  San Diego, United States | AFP | by Jim Watson with Sebastian Smith in Washington Australia has unveiled plans to buy up to five US nuclear-powered submarines, then build a new model with US and British technology under an ambitious plan to bulk up Western muscle across the Asia-Pacific in the face of a rising China. The announcement came Monday at an event at a San Diego, California, naval base where President Joe Biden […]

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Australia to buy US nuclear subs in ambitious new pact

by Jim Watson with Sebastian Smith in Washington Agence France-Presse SAN DIEGO, United States (AFP) — Australia announced Monday it will buy as many as five US nuclear-powered submarines, then build a new model with US and British technology under an ambitious plan to bulk up Western muscle across the Asia-Pacific in the face of a rising China. The announcement came at an event at a San Diego, California, naval base where President Joe Biden […]

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EU chief wants ‘level playing field’ with China

STRASBOURG, France (AFP) — The head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said Monday she wants to avoid economic dependence on Beijing, but not fully “decouple” the EU’s economy from China. Explaining the stance she took last week when she visited US President Joe Biden, Brussels’ top official said the European Union was merely seeking a level playing field. The pair’s joint statement was a small step in resolving differences over trans-Atlantic trade, […]

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After Saudi deal, Iran says hopes to restore Bahrain ties

  Iran said Monday it would welcome restoring ties with Bahrain to end seven years of ruptured relations, following a recent China-brokered deal to heal rifts between Tehran and Riyadh. “The resumption of political relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia shows the effectiveness and success of the diplomatic solution to resolve misunderstandings,” said Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani. Tehran, pleased by the rapprochement with the Saudis, believes “relations between Iran and Bahrain are no […]

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Peru returns seized Roman coins to Italy

LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Peru on Thursday returned a collection of 73 Roman coins, some from the second and fourth centuries, to the Italian embassy in Lima, the foreign ministry said. The coins were seized from a Peruvian woman in 2021 at the international airport in Cusco, a tourist hub and gateway to the world renown Machu Picchu Inca citadel. Peru’s deputy foreign minister, Ignacio Higueras, told reporters that the collection of 73 coins “are […]

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EU will never accept Russia threat to its security: von der Leyen

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, addressing Canada’s parliament on Tuesday during a visit to bolster support for Ukraine, said Europe would never accept Russian threats to its security. “We will never accept that a military power with fantasies of empire rolls its tanks across an international border,” she said in a speech more than one year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The 27-nation bloc, she added, “will never […]

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North Korea warns US against intercepting missiles during tests

by Claire LEE Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea warned Tuesday that it would be a “clear declaration of war” if its missiles were shot down during their test launches over the Pacific Ocean. The United States and South Korea have ramped up defense cooperation, including joint drills, in the face of growing threats from nuclear-armed Pyongyang, which has conducted a wave of banned weapons tests in recent months. North Korea has […]

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North Korea accuses US of ‘intentionally’ aggravating relations

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s foreign ministry accused the United States of “intentionally” ramping up tensions by flying in joint military drills with South Korea, state news agency KCNA said Tuesday. The allegation comes after Seoul and Washington announced on Friday more than 10 days of large-scale military exercises from March 13 to 23. South Korea’s defence ministry also posted video online Monday they said showed war planes from both countries training together […]

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Seoul announces plan to compensate victims of Japan wartime forced labor

by Kang Jin-kyu Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea announced plans Monday to compensate victims of Japan’s forced wartime labor, but without direct Japanese involvement, as Seoul seeks closer ties with Tokyo to counter Pyongyang. South Korea and Japan are both key regional security allies of the United States, but bilateral ties have long been strained over Tokyo’s brutal 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean peninsula. Around 780,000 Koreans were conscripted into […]

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