China
Being a US ally doesn’t mean being a ‘vassal’: Macron on Taiwan issue
French President Emmanuel Macron has defended his recent remarks regarding Taiwan, in which he stated that France should not become involved in an escalation between the United States and China.
He made the remarks during a weekend interview following his three-day state visit to China, reports BBC.
Being a US ally did not mean being a “vassal”, he also said.
Politicians and other public figures on both sides of the Atlantic have criticized his statements.However, on a visit to the Netherlands on Wednesday, he stated that he stood by his views, said the report.
Read More: China military displays force toward Taiwan after Tsai trip
“Being an ally does not mean being a vassal... doesn’t mean that we don’t have the right to think for ourselves,” Macron told a press conference in the Netherlands.
Macron also stated that France’s support for the “status quo” in Taiwan had not altered and that Paris “supports the One China policy and the search for a peaceful resolution to the situation.”
Meanwhile, the White House has downplayed the statements, saying the Biden administration is “comfortable and confident in the terrific bilateral relationship we have with France.”
Taiwan’s foreign ministry took a similar approach but stated that it “noted” Macron’s remarks.A top Taiwanese official, on the other hand, was “puzzled” by the comments.
Read More: China's military announces 'combat readiness patrols' around Taiwan
“Are ‘liberté, égalité, fraternité’ out of fashion?” – wrote Taiwan’s parliament speaker You Si-kun on social media, referring to France’s motto.
According to some analysts, Macron’s remarks signal that the US is equally to blame for the escalating tensions over Taiwan, making it more difficult for the EU to take a tougher stance with Beijing.
Meanwhile, China has appreciated Macron’s statements and stated that it is not surprised by the criticism, added the report.
“Some countries do not want to see other nations become independent and self-reliant, and instead always want to coerce other countries into obeying their will,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.
Read More: Australia won’t promise to side with US in Taiwan conflict
Taiwan, with its own constitution and democratically chosen leaders, sees itself as different from the Chinese mainland.
However, Beijing regards Taiwan as a breakaway province that will inevitably fall under Chinese rule and has never renounced the use of force to achieve this.
While the United States diplomatically recognizes China’s view that there is only one Chinese government, President Joe Biden has pledged to engage militarily to support Taiwan if it is attacked, the report said.
Beijing began practising the encirclement of Taiwan earlier this week during days of military manoeuvres regarded as retaliation to the recent meeting between Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Read More: Anger spreads in France over Macron's retirement bill push
President Tsai said on Saturday that her administration will continue to collaborate with the US and other democracies while the island faces “continued authoritarian expansionism” from China.
China military displays force toward Taiwan after Tsai trip
China’s military sent several dozen warplanes and 11 warships toward Taiwan in a display of force following its president’s trip to the U.S., the island's Defense Ministry said Monday.
The Chinese military earlier had announced three-day “combat readiness patrols” as a warning to Taiwan, a self-ruled island which China claims as its own. The actions follow President Tsai Ing-wen’s delicate diplomatic mission to shore up Taiwan's dwindling alliances in Central America and boost U.S. support, a trip capped with a sensitive meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California. A U.S. congressional delegation also met with Tsai over the weekend in Taiwan after she returned.
China responded to the McCarthy meeting by imposing a travel ban and financial sanctions against those associated with Tsai’s U.S. trip and with increased military activity.
Between 6 a.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. Monday, a total of 70 planes were detected and half crossed the median of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial boundary once tacitly accepted by both sides, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense. Among the planes that crossed the median were 8 J-16 fighter jets, 4 J-1 fighters, 8 Su-30 fighters and reconnaissance planes.
That followed a full day between Friday and Saturday, where eight warships and 71 planes were detected near Taiwan, according to the island's Defense Ministry. The ministry said in a statement it was approaching the situation from the perspective of “not escalating conflict, and not causing disputes.”
Taiwan said it monitored the Chinese moves through its land-based missile systems, as well as on its own navy vessels.
In addition to combat readiness patrols, China's People's Liberation Army would hold “live fire training” in Luoyuan Bay in China's Fujian province opposite Taiwan, the local Maritime Authority announced over the weekend.
China’s military harassment of Taiwan has intensified in recent years with planes or ships sent toward the island on a near-daily basis, with the numbers rising in reaction to sensitive activities.
Taiwan split with China in 1949 after a civil war. China's ruling Communist Party says the island is obliged to rejoin the mainland, by force if necessary. Beijing says contact with foreign officials encourages Taiwanese who want formal independence, a step the ruling party says would lead to war.
China's military announces 'combat readiness patrols' around Taiwan
he Chinese military announced exercises around Taiwan on Saturday in a new act of retaliation for a meeting between the U.S. House of Representatives speaker and the president of the self-ruled island democracy claimed by Beijing as part of its territory.
The People’s Liberation Army said the three-day “combat readiness patrols” were a warning to Taiwanese who want to make the island’s de facto independence permanent. It gave no indication whether they might include a repeat of previous exercises that included firing missiles into the sea, which disrupted shipping and airline flights.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy held talks with President Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday in California, adding to a series of foreign lawmakers who have met Tsai to show support in the face of Chinese intimidation. Beijing responded Friday by imposing a travel ban and financial sanctions against American groups and individuals associated with Tsai’s U.S. visit.
Taiwan split with China after a civil war in 1949. The ruling Communist Party says the island is obliged to rejoin the mainland, by force if necessary. Beijing says contact with foreign officials encourages Taiwanese who want formal independence, a step the ruling party says would lead to war.
“This is a serious warning against the collusion and provocation between the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and external forces,” said a PLA statement. The “Joint Sword” exercises are a “necessary action to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping's government has stepped up efforts to intimidate the island by flying fighter jets and bombers nearby and firing missiles into the sea.
The United States has no official relations with Taiwan's government but maintains extensive informal and commercial ties. Washington is required by federal law to ensure the island of 22 million people has the means to defend itself if China attacks.
“We will never leave room for ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activities in any form and will definitely take resolute measures to defeat any foreign interference,” said a spokesperson for the Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Zhu Fenglian, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
“Complete reunification of our country must be realized, and it can, without doubt, be realized,” Zhu was quoted as saying Friday.
China, Singapore upgrade ties; establish all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership
China and Singapore have agreed to upgrade bilateral relations to an "All-Round High-Quality Future-Oriented Partnership", reflecting both countries' desire to set the strategic direction and chart the development of bilateral relations going forward.
At the invitation of Li Qiang, Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong made an official visit to China from March 27 to April 1, 2023.
During the visit, Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, met with the prime minister of Singapore.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Singapore PM Lee held a bilateral meeting. Prime Minister Lee also met with Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and Wang Huning, Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
A joint announcement was released today by China and Singapore on the establishment of the all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership.
Singapore reaffirmed its support for China's pursuit of high-quality development and welcomed China's continued commitment to reform and opening up.
China spoke highly of Singapore's longstanding participation in China's modernisation journey, which has laid a strong foundation for bilateral cooperation, and expressed support for Singapore's continued growth and prosperity.
Both sides took stock of the commendable progress of bilateral cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). On the important occasion of the tenth anniversary of the BRI this year, both countries will take the opportunity to broaden and deepen high-quality cooperation that benefits our peoples and region.
In line with the two countries' commitment towards collaboration that is of a high standard and quality, both sides welcomed the substantive conclusion of the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (CSFTA) Work Programme for Subsequent Negotiations, which was launched pursuant to the Protocol to Upgrade the CSFTA signed in 2018.
This upgrade will allow the CSFTA to provide for more business-friendly, liberal, and transparent rules as well as improve the market access for our businesses to trade and invest in each other's markets. Both sides looked forward to the signing of the Protocol for the CSFTA Subsequent Negotiations as soon as possible this year.
Building on the "High-Quality" and "Future-Oriented" approach to bilateral cooperation, both sides looked forward to strengthening the comprehensive and innovative cooperation between China and Singapore in areas including trade and investment, green and digital economies, food security, financial sector, aviation, and people-to-people exchanges.
Both countries will work together to harness synergies in new fields like digital transformation and unlock new growth opportunities geared to the future development. Both sides looked forward to pursuing new areas of cooperation, making full use of intergovernmental mechanisms such as the existing annual Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation, as well as the eight Provincial Business Councils in China.
China and Singapore reaffirmed the continued strengthening of ASEAN-China relations and cooperation under the ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Singapore welcomed China's support for the importance of maintaining ASEAN centrality in the evolving regional architecture.
China and Singapore will work together for the effective implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), and advance preparations for the further enhancement of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA 3.0) to drive mutually beneficial economic growth.
They reaffirmed their shared commitment to multilateralism, support for the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, adherence to international law, and would continue to maintain close communication and cooperation at the United Nations and other multilateral organisations.
China and Singapore will continue to work together to uphold the rules-based multilateral trading system as embodied by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), maintain an open and inclusive global economy, and ensure the stable and smooth operation of global supply chains, so as to jointly meet global challenges and make economic globalisation more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all.
Why does US see Chinese-owned TikTok as a security threat?
U.S. lawmakers have grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew about data security and harmful content, with some pushing to ban the popular short-video app nationwide.
A Singaporean native, Chew told the lawmakers that TikTok prioritizes user safety and as he sought to avert a ban by downplaying the app's ties to China.
Both Republican and Democratic representatives aggressively questioned Chew on topics including TikTok’s content moderation practices, its data security plans, and past spying on journalists.
Also Read: Skeptical US lawmakers grill TikTok CEO over safety, content
Here's a look at some of the concerns about TikTok and its ownership.
WHY DOES WASHINGTON SAY TIKTOK IS A THREAT?
TikTok, which has over 150 million American users, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd., which appoints its executives.
ByteDance is based in Beijing but registered in the Cayman Islands, as is common for privately owned Chinese companies. Its headquarters is in Beijing’s northwestern Haidian district, home to key universities and a hub for tech startups.
Founded by Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Yiming in 2012, ByteDance is said to be valued at around $220 billion — nearly half of its 2021 valuation of $400 billion. Publicly traded Chinese tech companies and privately held ones like ByteDance have plunged in value since the ruling Communist Party tightened control over the industry with anti-monopoly and data security crackdowns.
Western governments worry Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over TikTok data on American users, exposing sensitive information. China has denied asking its companies to hand over overseas data, and TikTok insists it has never done so and would not do so.
Also Read: TikTok CEO to tell Congress app is safe, urge against ban
ByteDance says 60% of its shares are owned by non-Chinese investors such as U.S investment firms Carlyle Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Japan's SoftBank Group. Employees own 20% and its founders the remaining 20%.
Some details of the relationship between TikTok and ByteDance remain unclear to outsiders.
WHAT CHINESE RULES WORRY WESTERN GOVERNMENTS?
China's 2017 National Intelligence Law states that “any organization" must assist or cooperate with state intelligence work while a separate 2014 Counter-Espionage Law says “relevant organizations ... may not refuse" to collect evidence for an investigation.
Since ByteDance, which owns TikTok, is a Chinese company, it would likely have to abide by these rules if Chinese authorities asked it to turn over data.
Laws and regulations are only one aspect of the Communist Party’s pervasive control. There are no legal limits on the party’s powers. The authorities also can threaten to cancel licenses, conduct regulatory or tax investigations and use other penalties to compel compliance by Chinese and foreign companies operating in China.
Also Read: China appeals for fair treatment after latest TikTok bans
The party sometimes conveys orders using “window guidance,” or informal communication in private. It has used crackdowns to tighten control over technology companies and force them to align with its goals.
The Chinese government has also sought more direct control over companies by getting seats on boards of directors.
MUST TIKTOK TURN OVER DATA IF THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT SAYS SO, EVEN WITH “ PROJECT TEXAS?”
TikTok has promised to protect data on American users by storing them on servers operated by an outside contractor, Oracle Corp., in what’s known as “Project Texas.” Chew, the TikTok CEO, said all new U.S. user data are stored in the United States and the company should finish deleting older U.S. data from non-Oracle servers this year.
The fear is that ByteDance would have to hand over information it obtained from TikTok if ordered to do so by Chinese authorities, but Chew has said Project Texas will put U.S. data out of China's reach.
Also Read: TikTok dismisses calls for Chinese owners to sell stakes
ByteDance disclosed in December that four employees gained access to data about reporters and people connected to them while looking for how information about the company was leaked. Chew told the lawmakers China-based ByteDance employees may still have access to some U.S. data but that won't be the case once Project Texas is complete.
In November, TikTok’s head of privacy for Europe said some employees in China had access to information about users in Britain and the European Union.
DOES THE COMMUNIST PARTY HAVE ANY INFLUENCE ON BYTEDANCE?
In Thursday’s hearing, lawmakers repeatedly tried to pin down Chew on whether ByteDance had links to China’s communist rulers.
He deflected questions about whether staff and top executives are Communist Party members.
“I do know that the founder himself is not a member of the Communist Party, but we don’t know the political affiliation of our employees because that’s not something we ask,” Chew said.
When questioned whether ByteDance was effectively controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, Chew said he disagreed.
After a lawmaker said the Communist Party holds a “golden share” in ByteDance that allows it to control one ByteDance board seat, Chew said, “That’s not correct.”
In China, so-called golden shares held by official investment funds are one way for Beijing to gain more oversight over business by giving them a 1% stake in companies.
Also Read: White House: No more TikTok on gov’t devices within 30 days
Chew pushed back when lawmakers claimed that the Communist Party owns shares in ByteDance that give it a vote in how the company is run. “The Communist Party doesn’t have voting rights in ByteDance,” Chew said.
ByteDance’s main Chinese subsidiary is the license-holder for some of its video and information platforms that only serve the China market.
Official investment funds have also bought 1% of the Chinese subsidiary of Weibo Corp., the country’s most popular microblog platform, and also of domestic subsidiaries of Alibaba.
WHAT IS DOUYIN AND WHAT IS TIKTOK'S RELATIONSHIP WITH IT?
DouYin is ByteDance’s short-video platform for the China market. It's similar to TikTok, but its content is restricted by Chinese censorship rules that prohibit material deemed subversive or pornographic - a point emphasized by U.S. lawmakers worried about harmful content viewed by young people.
Also Read: China says TikTok ban reflects US insecurities
The Communist Party’s extensive internet filters block most users in China from seeing TikTok. ByteDance has said TikTok has “no affiliation” with Beijing ByteDance Technology Co., the subsidiary that operates DouYin; Toutiao, a news and short-video platform, and other services.
HOW DID CHINA REACT TO THE TIKTOK CEO'S WASHINGTON TESTIMONY?
Most of the social media reaction in China was sympathetic to Chew, with praise for how he handled the hostile questions lobbed at him.
Comments on the microblogging platforms Weibo and Douyin were critical of U.S. lawmakers for asking Chew leading or “trap” questions. Many commenters used a Chinese saying that means “If you want to accuse someone, there's always a way."
House China panel turns focus to plight of Uyghurs
Two women who experienced life in Chinese “reeducation” camps for Uyghurs told lawmakers Thursday of lives under imprisonment and surveillance, rape and torture as a special House committee focused on countering China shined a light on human rights abuses in the country.
Qelbinur Sidik, a member of China's ethnic Uzbek minority who was forced to teach Chinese in separate detention facilities for Uyghur men and women, told lawmakers of male Uyghur detainees held chained and shackled in cells so tiny they had to crawl out when authorities summoned them. “They were called by numbers for interrogations. And then you would hear horrible screaming sounds from torture,” she said.
Innocent female Uyghur detainees were held by the thousands, heads shaved, in gray uniforms, Sidik said. Guards tortured the women by electric shocks and by gang rape, sometimes combining both.
Reeducation camps intended to drain the Uyghur inmates of their language, religious beliefs and customs forced men and women into “11 hours of brainwashing lessons on a daily basis,” testified Gulbahar Haitiwaji, a Uyghur who spent more than two years in two reeducation camps and police stations.
“Before eating, we have to praise them, say that we are grateful ... for China's Communist Party and we are grateful for (President) Xi Jinping,” Haitiwaji said. “And after, to finish eating, we have to praise them again.”
Accused of “disorder” and detained with 30 to 40 people in a cell meant for nine, the Uyghur woman said, she and other female detainees were chained to their beds for 20 days at one point.
Detention left her gaunt. Freed and sent to France thanks to a pressure campaign by her family there in 2019, she was given more food by Chinese authorities before her release, so her appearance would not speak of her mistreatment.
In parting, Chinese officials warned Haitiwaji that “whatever I had witnessed in the concentration camp I should not talk about it,” she said. “If I do, they will retaliate against my family back home.”
The U.S. and many other governments, the United Nations, and human rights groups accuse China of sweeping a million or more people from its Uyghur community and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minority groups into detention camps, where many have said they were tortured, sexually assaulted, and forced to abandon their language and religion. China denies the accusations, which are based on evidence including interviews with survivors and photos and satellite images from Uyghur's home province of Xinjiang, a major hub for factories and farms in far western China.
The accusations also include draconian birth control policies, all-encompassing restrictions on people’s movement and forced labor.
Read more: To China’s fury, UN accuses Beijing of Uyghur rights abuses
“For a long time, some U.S. politicians have repeatedly used Xinjiang-related issues to stir up rumors and engage in political manipulation under the pretext of human rights, in an attempt to tarnish China’s image and curb China’s development,” said Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington.
The Chinese government's actions in Xinjiang were about “countering violence, terrorism, radicalization and separatism,” the embassy spokesman insisted.
The early focus on the plight of Uyghurs by the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party is designed to show the Chinese government's true nature, said Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, the committee's Republican chairman.
“They are the first-hand witnesses to the systemic, unimaginable brutality, witnesses to the attempted elimination of a people, a culture, a civilization,” Gallagher said Thursday.
Between 1 million to 2 million members of China’s Uyghur minority have been held in mass internment centers, said Adrian Zenz, a researcher on the Xinjiang camps at the Washington-based Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. More exact estimates are not possible, given China’s concealment, Zenz said.
Expert witnesses praised U.S. actions, including passage of a bill on forced labor and the levying of penalties on companies shown to be using the forced labor of Uyghurs. They denounced businesses and investors still profiting from suspect supply chains and possibly complicit Chinese enterprises there.
Nury Turkel, chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and a Uyghur-American, said crimes against humanity cannot be treated merely as an area of disagreement or an irritant in a bilateral relationship. “Genocide is defined as an international crime for a reason,” Turkel said. “Confronting is not an option," it's a necessity, he said.
Chinese technology is enabling and facilitating total control and collective punishment of vulnerable populations, Turkel said.
And Naomi Kikoler, director of the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, which is affiliated with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, urged the U.S. to start working with allies in a more comprehensive way to confront China on the abuses in Xinjiang.
Read more: UN cites possible crimes vs. humanity in China’s Xinjiang
“The United States alone cannot prevent these crimes,” Kikoler said. “We must work with other governments, Uyghur civil society and the private sector to develop a swift, coordinated and global strategy to protect the Uyghur community. Thus far no such strategy exists.”
The hearing comes following Chinese President Xi's trip to Russia to show support for President Vladimir Putin, underscoring just how badly U.S. relations with China have deteriorated.
“What we're seeing here is increasingly a de facto alliance against America and our allies to try and undercut our interests,” Gallagher said.
The formation of the special China committee this year was a top priority of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., but close to 150 Democrats also voted for the committee’s creation, and its work has been unusually bipartisan so far.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, the ranking Democrat, said more needs to be done to protect the Uyghurs and the new committee can help lead the way. “Make no mistake, CCP leaders are absolutely listening to us closely this evening,” he said, adding: “Let's make sure the CCP hears us loud and clear. Their genocide must end.”
Haitiwaji, the ethnic Uyghur woman testifying before the committee, said she is speaking out because she feels an obligation to speak for those still languishing in detention centers. She called on lawmakers to follow the example of Canada, which has adopted a policy of accepting 10,000 Uyghur refugees from around the world.
“Please rescue Uyghur and other Turkic refugees, like Canada has done,” she said. “Please stop American companies from continuing to be complicit in surveilling our people and profiting from their labor.”
Bangladesh maintains close ties with all – China, US and India: PM tells CNN
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said Bangladesh maintains close ties with everyone, not only with any particular country.
“We’re close to everyone – China, USA and India. Those who support our development, we’re with them,” she said in an interview with CNN, aired today.
The premier made the remark when CNN’s senior journalist Richard Quest mentioned that the US believes and is concerned that Bangladesh is “getting too close” to China.
Sheikh Hasina said China is one of Bangladesh’s development partners. China is investing here and they are involved in construction. “That’s all. We’re not dependent on anyone,” she said.
When her attention was drawn to Bangladesh’s stance on the so-called “Chinese debt trap”, the PM said, “We’re extremely cautious when taking loans or undertaking development project.”
She said Bangladesh takes majority of loans from different institutions like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. “When it comes to Chinese loans, our case is not like Sri Lanka’s or others,” she said.
The PM said her government always considers the returns and the benefits before undertaking any development project.
Read: ‘Enjoying her own recipe for tea’: CNN’s Richard Quest tweets photo with PM Hasina
“Another thing is that we always try our best to develop our country with our own resources. We don’t take unnecessary loans or big projects. We always consider from which project we can get returns and to what extent people will be benefited,” she said.
'Bangladesh never supports any invasion'
The prime minister also told CNN that Bangladesh never supports any kind of invasion, rather it believes in peaceful resolution through dialogue.
“We believe in peaceful resolution. If there is any conflict, it can be solved through dialogue. We never support any kind of invasion or conflict,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh’s foreign policy is clear and transparent: “Friendship to all, malice to none.”
“So, when we see any human rights violation or invasion, we definitely oppose it,’’ she said.
She asked the global community to come forward to stop the war in Ukraine. ‘’I feel that the world should come forward to stop the war. Because, people are suffering,” she added.
She said a war cannot be dragged on by one side; it needs involvement from both sides. “I believe, each country has the right to maintain and protect its territory,” she added.
'International community should exert pressure on Myanmar to repatriate Rohingyas'
The premier said Bangladesh has called upon the international community to exert pressure on Myanmar to take their nationals back to their country.
She said this while replying to a question on what Bangladesh needs from the global community to deal with the Rohingya crisis.
Read: BGMEA ties up with CNN to promote 'Made in Bangladesh'
Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh is continuing a dialogue with Myanmar. But unfortunately Myanmar is not responding positively.
She said her government had already talked to China, ASEAN countries, Japan, USA and others countries and requested them to put pressure on Myanmar to take back their nationals.
“Unfortunately, the Myanmar government is not listening to anybody. That is the problem,” she said.
The PM said Bangladesh had given shelter to the Rohingyas on humanitarian grounds.
She said the Rohingya (12 lakh) are becoming a “big burden” for Bangladesh as it has to feed them alongside ensuring their basic rights despite the fact that the country is overpopulated.
“I have to feed them (Rohingyas). I have to ensure their basic needs,” she said.
The first episode of the interview was aired in the early hours of Tuesday and the second episode will be aired soon.
Japan, China leaders visit rival capitals in Ukraine war
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida began a surprise visit to Ukraine early Tuesday, hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in neighboring Russia for a three-day visit. The dueling summits come as the longtime rivals are on diplomatic offensives.
Kishida will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Ukrainian capital.
He will “show respect to the courage and patience of the Ukrainian people who are standing up to defend their homeland under President Zelenskyy’s leadership, and show solidarity and unwavering support for Ukraine as head of Japan and chairman of G-7,” during his visit to Ukraine, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in announcing his trip to Kyiv.
At the talks, Kishida will show his “absolute rejection of Russia’s one-sided change to the status quo by invasion and force, and to affirm his commitment to defend the rules-based international order,” the ministry’s statement said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warmly welcomed Xi to the Kremlin on a visit both nations describe as an opportunity to deepen their “no-limits friendship.”
Japanese public television channel NTV showed Kishida riding a train from Poland heading to Kyiv. His surprise trip to Ukraine comes just hours after he met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, and the week after a breakthrough summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yoel.
In New Delhi, Kishida called for developing and Global South countries to raise their voices to defend the rules-based international order and help stop Russia’s war.
Japan, which has territorial disputes over islands with both China and Russia, is particularly concerned about the close relationship between Beijing and Moscow, which have conducted joint military exercises near Japan’s coasts.
Kishida, who is to chair the Group of Seven summit in May, is the only G-7 leader who hasn’t visited Ukraine and was under pressure to do so at home. U.S. President Joe Biden took a similar route to visit Kyiv last month, just before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Due to limitations of Japan’s pacifist constitution, his trip was arranged secretly. Kishida is Japan’s first postwar leader to enter a war zone. Kishida, invited by Zelenskyy in January to visit Kyiv, was also asked before his trip to India about a rumor of his possible trip at the end of March, denied it and said nothing concrete has been decided.
Read more: Japan PM Kishida heading to Ukraine for talks with Zelenskyy
Japan has joined the United States and European nations in sanctioning Russia over its invasion and providing humanitarian and economic support for Ukraine.
Japan was quick to react because it fears the possible impact of a war in East Asia, where China’s military has grown increasingly assertive and has escalated tensions around self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.
Kishida is expected to offer continuing support for Ukraine when he meets with Zelenskyy.
Television footage on NTV showed Kishida getting on a train from the Polish station of Przemysl near the border with Ukraine, with a number of officials.
Due to its pacifist principles, Japan’s support for Ukraine has also been limited to non-combative military equipment such as helmets, bulletproof vests and drones, and humanitarian supplies including generators.
Japan has contributed more than $7 billion to Ukraine, and accepted more than 2,000 displaced Ukrainians and helped them with housing assistance and support for jobs and education, a rare move in a country that is known for its strict immigration policy.
China’s Xi meeting Putin in boost for isolated Russia leader
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow in a political boost for the isolated Russian president after the International Criminal Court charged him with war crimes in Ukraine.
Xi’s government gave no details of what the Chinese leader hoped to accomplish. Xi and Putin declared they had a “no limits friendship” before last February’s attack on Ukraine, but China has tried to portray itself as neutral. Beijing called last month for a cease-fire, but Washington said that would ratify the Kremlin’s battlefield gains.
The Chinese government said Xi would visit Moscow from Monday to Wednesday but gave no indication when he departed. The Russian government said Xi was due to arrive at midday and meet later with Putin.
China looks to Russia as a source of oil and gas for its energy-hungry economy and a partner in opposing what both see as American domination of global affairs.
The meeting gives Putin and Xi a chance to show they have “powerful partners” at a time of strained relations with Washington, said Joseph Torigian, an expert in Chinese-Russian relations at American University in Washington.
“China can signal that it could even do more to help Russia, and that if relations with the United States continue to deteriorate, they could do a lot more to enable Russia and help Russia in its war against Ukraine,” Torigian said.
READ: How a warrant for Putin puts new spin on Xi visit to Russia
Beijing’s relations with Washington, Europe and its neighbors are strained by disputes over technology, security, human rights and the ruling Communist Party’s treatment of Hong Kong and Muslim minorities.
Some commentators have point to a possible parallel between Russia’s claims to Ukraine territory and Beijing’s claim to Taiwan. The Communist Party says the self-ruled island democracy, which split with China in 1949 after a civil war, is obliged to unite with the mainland, by force if necessary. Xi’s government has been stepping up efforts to intimidate the island by flying fighter jets nearby and firing missiles into the sea.
China has stepped up purchases of Russian oil and gas, helping to top up the Kremlin’s revenue in the face of Western sanctions. Beijing appears largely to have complied with U.S. warnings not to give military support.
This week’s meeting follows the ICC announcement Friday of charges that Putin is personally responsible for the abductions of thousands of children from Ukraine.
Governments that recognize the court’s jurisdiction would be obligated to arrest Putin if he visits. Putin has yet to comment on the announcement, but the Kremlin rejected the move as “outrageous and unacceptable.”
In a show of defiance, Putin over the weekend visited Crimea and the occupied Ukrainian port city of Mariupol to mark the ninth anniversary of Russia’s seizure of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. Russian news reports showed him chatting with Mariupol residents and visiting an art school and a children’s center in Sevastopol in Crimea.
Xi said in an article published Monday in the Russian newspaper Russian Gazette that China has “actively promoted peace talks” but announced no initiatives.
“My upcoming visit to Russia will be a journey of friendship, cooperation and peace,” Xi wrote, according to text released by the official Xinhua News Agency.
“A reasonable way to resolve the crisis” can be found if “all parties embrace the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security,” Xi wrote.
The trip follows the surprise announcement of a diplomatic thaw between Iran and Saudi Arabia following a meeting in Beijing, a diplomatic coup for Xi’s government.
Xi wants to be seen as a global statesman who is “playing a constructive role” by talking about peace but is unlikely to press Putin to end the war, said Torigian.
Beijing is worried about “potential Russian losses on the battlefield” but doesn’t want to be seen to “enable Russia’s aggression,” said Torigian.
“They won’t spend political capital” on pressing Moscow to make peace, “especially if they don’t think it will get them anything,” he said.
China leader Xi to visit Moscow in show of support for Putin
China says President Xi Jinping will visit Russia from Monday to Wednesday in an apparent show of support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin on Friday also announced the visit, saying it will take place “at the invitation of Vladimir Putin.”
Xi and Putin will discuss “issues of further development of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction between Russia and China,” as well as exchange views “in the context of deepening Russian-Chinese cooperation in the international arena,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
The two leaders will also sign “important bilateral documents,” the statement read.
China has declared a “no-limits” friendship with Russia and refused to condemn Moscow’s invasion — even while declaring that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries be respected.
Beijing has also condemned Western sanctions and accused NATO and the United States of provoking Russia.
Putin invited Xi to visit Russia during a video conference call the two held in late December. The visit, Putin said, could “demonstrate to the whole world the strength of the Russian-Chinese ties” and “become the main political event of the year in bilateral relations.”
In a rare phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Thursday, China’s foreign minister said Beijing is concerned about the year-old grinding conflict with Russia spinning out of control and urged talks on a political solution with Moscow.
Qin Gang told Dmytro Kuleba that China has “always upheld an objective and fair stance on the Ukraine issue, has committed itself to promoting peace and advancing negotiations and calls on the international community to create conditions for peace talks,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its website.
Kuleba later tweeted that he and Qin “discussed the significance of the principle of territorial integrity.”
“I underscored the importance of (Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s)’s Peace Formula for ending the aggression and restoring just peace in Ukraine,” wrote Kuleba, who spoke the same day with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.