News that caught our eye / The week ending September 16
NOTE: The news reports below are not in chronological order. There is often a time lag in their reaching the US and in gaining our attention. These reports reflect the opinions of a variety of news sources.
Putin suggests China has concerns about invasion of Ukraine / September 15, 2022
After meeting with China’s President Xi at Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Uzbekistan, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he sought to address Beijing’s concerns about the Ukraine war. “We understand your questions and your concerns,” he said, in remarks broadcast on Russian state television (Wall Street Journal).
Chinese official voices support for Russia in Ukraine / September 10, 2022
According to Deutsche Welle, Li Zhanshu, the third-highest official of the Chinese Communist Party, publicly expressed support for Russia's attempts to conquer Ukraine. He said that Russia’s actions are defensible because Europe and the US were using Ukraine to weaken Russian security.
Typhoon Muifa heads is the strongest storm to hit Shanghai / September 16, 2022
Typhoon Muifa made landfall in eastern China on Wednesday evening, shortly after affecting Japan in previous days, arriving as a Category 2 storm and billed as the strongest on record to hit Shanghai, China’s largest city (The Guardian).
Mike Pompeo: The CCP does not represent the Chinese people / September 13, 2022
Former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and the Hudson Institute’s China Center are directing a series of short YouTube videos at the Chinese people. In the first episode, Pompeo explains that despite its rhetoric the Chinese Communist Party is a totalitarian, one-party government that neither represents the Chinese people nor governs in their interests.
China cannot become carbon-neutral / September 13, 2022
According to Richard Smith, a commentator for The China Project, “There is no chance that Xi will meet his carbon-neutral goal. He cannot decarbonize the economy because, since Mao’s day, the Communist Party has been committed to overtaking the United States to become the world’s leading economy. This leaves Xi little choice but to maximize growth of the very industries that are driving emissions off the charts, including coal-fired electricity generation.”
Xi’s COVID-zero causes frustration in China / September 12, 2022
“Lockdowns of varying strictness are going on all over China, causing food shortages, obstructing access to medical care, and limiting holiday travel plans” (TheChinaProject.com).
Xi Jinping has brought China back to its Mao roots / September 11, 2022
Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd says Xi Jinping has brought communist ideology back to the core of the country’s decision-making. He warns that the Chinese president appears unable to make a course correction (The Sydney Morning Herald).
Germany’s decoupling from trade with China is impractical / September 10, 2022
In light of Germany cutting back on its trade dependence with China, the Global Times says, “It’s legitimate for a country to be concerned about its high level of external dependence and long-term economic security…. What is unacceptable to China is using ‘reducing dependency on China as a pretext of ‘decoupling’ while accusing China of being ‘unreliable,” which is a 'discriminatory and targeted attack on a major trading partner.”
President Xi offers condolences, praise for Queen Elizabeth II / September 9, 2022
The United Kingdom received condolences on the passing of their monarch from President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Chinese state media lauded the queen's bilateral relations with China and friendly demeanor with the communist state. "The queen was the first British monarch to visit China and received multiple Chinese state leaders’ on their visits to Britain…. She has made important contributions to promoting the understanding of Chinese and British people and expanding friendly exchanges between the two countries."
Chinese scientists find a new mineral in samples of Moon soil / September 09, 2022
Chinese scientists have discovered a new mineral on the Moon. Scientists from Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology isolated a single crystal particle with a radius of about 10 microns through high-tech means such as X-ray diffraction. China becomes the third country in the world after the US and the former Soviet Union to discover a new mineral on the moon (Global Times).