News that caught our eye / The week ending November 10, 2023
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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.
Blizzards in China's northeast ground flights, force school closures / November 6, 2023
Bitter cold and blizzards unexpectedly hit northeastern China last Monday and Tuesday, closing schools and halting air flights and rail lines in Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces. Almost 10 inches of snow fell in Jilin province, closing about 90% of the expressways in the region (Reuters).
The US is quietly arming Taiwan to the teeth / November 6, 2023
Under a program called Foreign Military Finance, the Biden administration is supplying Taiwan with $80 million of US taxpayer dollars so it can purchase military equipment from the US. That amount may swell to $10 billion over the next 5 years as the US attempts to use this alternative means to help arm Taiwan against an attack by China (BBC).
Putin calls for closer Russia-China cooperation on military equipment / November 8, 2023
President Putin met with Gen. Zhang Youxia, China’s second-ranking military official, praising the two countries’ partnership and recommending greater cooperation in military space technology and hi-tech weapons. The meeting between Putin and Zhang was the latest demonstration of the “no-limits” partnership between the two countries (AP News).
In a worldwide war of words, Russia, China and Iran back Hamas / November 4, 2023
The Israeli-Hamas conflict has entered cyberspace, with posts from Russia, China, Iran, and other countries supporting Hamas against Israel, with up to 33% of posts containing false information about the conflict. The posts have circulated the globe, often causing more anti-Israeli rhetoric and fueling protests on city streets (The Japan Times).
China's 2023 growth target within reach -China Bank governor / November 7, 2023
The People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng stated Wednesday that China is expected to hit its annual gross domestic product growth target this year, despite at least two quarters of negative numbers. Pan described China’s economy in positive terms and said the banking sector and government would do all it could to assist indebted entities and control investment in areas of high risk (Reuters).
China’s economy falls back into deflation in blow to recovery / November 8, 2023
Falling meat prices pulled China’s economy back into deflation in October with the consumer price index falling .2 percent year on year. Producer prices fell 2.6 percent as well, marking the 13th consecutive month of decline in that area. Still, the IMF upgraded China’s GDP to 5.4% and speculated that it will achieve that target by year’s end (Financial Times).
The State of U.S.-China Relations: H2 2023 Report / November 2023
This report describes the current tenor of the relationship between China and the US in a number of areas, including a survey that indicates that the number of Chinese citizens who view the US as an enemy has declined by 9 percentage points since last April. The US view on China declined by 4 percentage points (Morning Consult Pro).
US viewed more positively as China sinks in approval, poll shows / November 7, 2023
A Pew Research survey reveals that people in 24 countries have a far more positive view (59% to 28%) of the US than they do of China, with President Biden having a more popular view than Donald Trump and President Xi of China. Three countries: Japan, South Korea, and Poland, favor the US over China 70% to 30%, and two countries, Kenya and Nigeria, favored China over the US (Al Jazeera).
Albanese in China: five things we learned from his talks with Xi Jinping / November 6, 2023
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited President Xi in China for the first time last week. They spoke about a detained Australian in China, the war in Ukraine, a regional trade pact that China wants to join, easing sanctions on Australian exports of wine and lobsters, and continuing talks between the two leaders (The Guardian).
‘The China Project’ media shuts, blaming ‘politically-motivated attacks’ / November 7, 2023
Citing excessive legal costs to defend itself against lawsuits from both China and the US, media outlet “The China Project” announced it is shutting down after 8 years of providing media coverage about China. The company has been accused by both countries of working for the others’ governments (Al Jazeera).