China could build an artificial island at the fiercely contested Scarborough Shoal to shore up control of the surrounding waters if its newly established nature reserve fails to stem challenges by the Philippines, a prominent Chinese scholar on the dispute has said. But a final decision would boil down to control, cost and confrontation, according…
The trip could take place either before or after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, which gets under way late next month. The White House already imposed 30 per cent tariffs on imports of Chinese goods this year and is pressing its European allies to impose 100 per cent tariffs of their own…
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has arrived in Kabul to meet his counterparts from Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is Wang’s first trip to the country since a surprise visit March 2022. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed he had arrived in Afghanistan on Wednesday. The ministry had earlier said he would travel to Pakistan later…
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi met China’s top diplomat on Tuesday and hailed the “steady progress” made in improving the bilateral relationship after a years-long stand-off between the nuclear-armed Asian powers. Mr Modi also noted “respect for each other’s interests and sensitiveness” in a statement on social media after meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi….
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has spoken by phone with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for about an hour, in a high-level contact aimed at reinforcing ties with Brazil’s largest trading partner while confronting a sudden rupture in trade relations with the United States. The call on Tuesday morning Beijing time, requested by Lula,…
US President Donald Trump is keen to visit China but a September visit is not happening, according to sources, who said Beijing and Washington were working to secure a trip in October or November. Hurdles remain, but high-level officials “share a consensus”, sources familiar with the matter told the South China Morning Post. Media reports…
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday that Beijing and Washington should “find the right way to get along with each other in the new era.” According to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement, Wang told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Beijing hopes the US would view China with an “objective, rational, pragmatic…
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the European Union’s top diplomat on Wednesday that Beijing cannot afford a Russian loss in Ukraine because it fears the United States would then shift its whole focus to Beijing, according to several people familiar with the exchange. The comment, to the EU’s Kaja Kallas, would confirm what many…
For months since the return of US President Donald Trump, there has been a roaring trade in papers and speeches about how to make Europe a truly independent geopolitical player. The term “strategic autonomy”, championed by the French government during Trump’s first term, is back in vogue. But the independence movement was on the ropes…
According to one China watcher, Beijing may be a “long-term beneficiary” of the American retreat from stable leadership, as Washington’s strikes on Iran have revealed it to be an uncertain and unpredictable global power. More significantly, the conflict has revealed Washington’s reluctance to engage in a prolonged war, offering the Chinese leadership clues on how…