News that caught our eye / The week ending November 18
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.
Will Xi-Biden talks revive stalled climate talks"? / November 15, 2022
The bad news is that little progress resulted from Xi Jinping and Joe Biden’s discussion at the Egypt climate talks. The good news is China and the US will continue talking. Added good news is that the climate talks didn’t result in further hostilities (South China Morning Post).
Commentary: Covid relaxation must have clear messaging / November 15, 2022
China’s relaxation in its zero-Covid mandates appears to be contradictory. The goal remains the complete containment of the virus. But easing the testing of school children and targeted testing of adults (rather than mass testing) opens the door to Covid’s spreading (South China Morning Post).
A good deal? China infrastructure/trade deals / November 10, 2022
China continues its massive investment strategy in the continent of Africa and south Asia. Its newly structured financial packages appear to be equitable for those in a trade partnership with China. Countries with prior agreements appear to shortchange their struggling finances and benefit Chinese banks (The China Project).
China’s Xi starts 1st day at G20 with a whirlwind of meetings with US allies / November 15, 2022
Along with meeting President Biden at the G20 conference, Xi Jinping also met with other heads of state, mainly allies of the US. It is the first time in 2 years that Xi has met in person with so many heads of state, again. Western nations are striving to find common ground with China and China with them (CNN).
China's Xi confronts Canada's Trudeau at G20 over media leaks / November 16, 2022
In an informal conversation at the G20 summit in Bali, Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau received a bit of a snub from the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping. Xi voiced his disapproval that information about their talks at the summit was leaked to the media (Reuters).
Chinese military vessels cross ADIZ; Taiwan readies missiles / November 16, 2022
Chinese aircraft and naval vessels crossed Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) twice this month. President Biden claims there is no imminent plan for China to invade Taiwan. A high-level Chinese official declared that the Chinese military must be prepared to use “non-peaceful means” at all times to respond to these perceived threats (Fox).
Frustration turns to anger over ongoing COVID curbs / November 16, 2022
China recently “relaxed” some of its zero-Covid mandates. But positive cases of Covid have increased. Nationwide, positive cases more than doubled to 20,000 over a week ago. In the city of Guangzhou, protests broke out over the Covid lockdowns that came in response to the 5000 cases that were reported there (Al Jazeera).
Where are the babies? / November 15, 2022 (video)
The Chinese government is concerned that its fertility rate has dropped too much — more than 10% in 2021. China is incentivizing young parents to have more children. But young parents cite the expense of raising a second child and caring for their own aging parents as reasons to not increase the size of their families (SCMP).