The prospect of Chinese global leadership is not inviting but the U.S. is rapidly fading as an alternative COMMENT | IAN BURUMA | Instead of using all the powers of the U.S. federal government to limit the ravages of COVID-19, President Donald Trump’s administration is wasting precious time and energy …
Read More »US Congress set to ramp up China pressure over Uighur rights
Washington, United States | AFP | The US Congress was set Wednesday to authorize sanctions against Chinese officials over the mass incarceration of Uighur Muslims, ramping up pressure in another front in the Pacific powers’ troubled relationship. The US House of Representatives will vote later Wednesday on a final version of …
Read More »Corruption prosecutions nearly double in China over last year
Beijing, China | AFP | The number of prosecutions related to corruption in China nearly doubled last year, according to a report by Beijing’s top prosecutor, as President Xi Jinping ramped up his crackdown on graft. According to the annual report from the Supreme People’s Procuratorate submitted to the national parliament, …
Read More »China takes massive economic hit as Russia virus toll mounts
Beijing, China | AFP | China warned Friday that its huge economy will suffer an immense hit from the coronavirus, as the ongoing pandemic and national lockdowns cause massive global job losses and Russia faces a steep increase in deaths. As Beijing’s communist rulers failed to set an annual growth target …
Read More »Coronavirus infections top 5 million worldwide
Paris, France | AFP | Global infections from the novel coronavirus passed five million on Thursday as the pandemic played out unevenly across the planet, with China eager to declare a victory, Europe tentatively emerging from its shell and deaths still rising in hotspots in Latin America. The grim milestone comes …
Read More »Trump blames Chinese ‘incompetence’ for ‘mass Worldwide killing’
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump again lashed out at China Wednesday over the coronavirus pandemic, blaming Beijing for “mass Worldwide killing.” The early morning tweet, which also referred to an unidentified “wacko in China,” was the latest heated rhetoric from the White House, where Trump is making attacks on Beijing …
Read More »WHO faces virus probe after Trump ultimatum
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | World Health Organization member states agreed Tuesday to launch an investigation into its coronavirus response, after US President Donald Trump threatened to quit the UN agency and branded it a “puppet of China”. Trump has been locked in a bitter spat with Beijing, alleging it covered …
Read More »Australia threatens WTO action as dispute with China deepens
Sydney, Australia | AFP | Australia threatened Tuesday to take China to the World Trade Organisation to counter a fresh round of punitive sanctions, as the two countries clashed over an investigation into the origins and spread of the coronavirus. Canberra said it may seek remedial action to overturn almost 81 …
Read More »China supports inquiry ‘after pandemic brought under control’: Xi
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | China supports an “comprehensive evaluation” of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic after it “has been brought under control”, President Xi Jinping told the World Health Assembly on Monday. Xi told the virtual meeting via video that China has “always had an open, transparent and responsible attitude”, and had …
Read More »China vows to make coronavirus vaccine a ‘global public good’ once ready
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | China would make any coronavirus vaccine it developed a “global public good” once it was put into use, President Xi Jinping told the World Health Assembly on Monday. China has five potential vaccines in clinical trials as countries race to find a way to stop the …
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