Daily News Brief

November 16, 2023

Top of the Agenda

U.S. President Joe Biden said after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday that the countries had returned to “direct, open, clear” communication (FT) following months of tension and made “important progress” in bilateral relations. The two leaders agreed to resume military communications after they had been severed last year and create a counternarcotics working group to curb the export of precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl. Xi told Biden (NYT) upon his arrival that the countries should be “fully capable of rising above differences.” After the talks, he went on to meet with business leaders in San Francisco. 

Though the bilateral talks aimed to put a floor under sinking relations between the United States and China, the leaders issued no joint statement. They had a lengthy exchange over Taiwan in which Xi reiterated China’s intent for reunification (NYT), but stopped short of mentioning the potential use of force. Biden emphasized that Washington’s “one China policy” has not changed and called for restraint in Chinese military activity in and around the Taiwan Strait, according to the White House readout of the meeting.  

Analysis

“The scope of the agenda reflects the perilous state of the world and the importance of a functional U.S.-China relationship to addressing international challenges or at least ensuring they do not get worse,” CFR expert David Sacks writes for the Asia Unbound blog. “Viewed from another perspective, though, the low expectations that both sides set for the meeting is a stark reminder that the world’s two largest economies disagree on nearly all of the most consequential issues.”

“The resumption of high-level military contacts, not only between theatre commanders but also between policymakers, is welcome. Whether they help to reduce dangerously close encounters between American and Chinese forces, in the air and at sea, is to be seen,” the Economist writes.

Middle East and North Africa

The resolution that passed 12–0 yesterday called for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses” (AP) in Gaza and for “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” held by Palestinian militant group Hamas and other groups. The United States, United Kingdom (UK), and Russia abstained from the resolution. It was the first to pass the Security Council after four previous attempts failed.

Iran: The UN nuclear watchdog says that Iran has increased its stockpile (AP) of uranium that is enriched to near weapons-grade since its last report in September. It also said that Tehran has rebuffed UN requests for information on its uranium or the installation of monitoring cameras. 

This Backgrounder by CFR’s Kali Robinson lays out global efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal. 

Pacific Rim

Today’s dialogue, organized by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), covers military challenges (Reuters) within and beyond the region. Yesterday, Indonesia’s defense minister named Myanmar, the Korean Peninsula, and the South China Sea as “hot spots that can destabilize the region.” 

This Backgrounder explains what to know about ASEAN.

South and Central Asia

Pakistan met targets (Bloomberg) set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order for the country to receive its next payout as part of a $3 billion bailout package. The loans, which are still subject to approval from the IMF’s executive board, would help ease Pakistan’s financial crisis in the lead up to its February election. 

Bangladesh: Election authorities set January 7, 2024, as the country’s election date (Nikkei). The ruling party’s general secretary said he ruled out talks with the opposition, despite U.S. calls for a national dialogue to take place before the vote. Anti-government protests and blockades have roiled the country for weeks. 

Sub-Saharan Africa

Ten out of twelve opposition candidates have called on their supporters (Reuters) to boycott today’s election, saying they lack credibility. President Andry Rajoelina is running for a third term; he first came to power in a 2009 coup, stepped down, and later won an election in 2018. Initial voter turnout was as low as 15 percent in some areas of the country. 

Ethiopia/Africa: The African Development Bank (AfDB) said Ethiopian security forces arrested, assaulted, and detained (Bloomberg) two of its staff members in an incident that prompted the bank to file a formal complaint with Ethiopian authorities. The AfDB said in a statement today that Ethiopia assured the bank that those who broke the law would be brought to justice.

Europe

The court said that the government’s decision to reallocate more than $65 billion from an unused debt fund that was unlocked during the COVID-19 pandemic was unconstitutional (Politico). The money was intended to help fund Germany's green transition.

UK: The UK became the first country to approve a therapy (FT) based on Crispr gene editing technology. The country’s health regulatory agency greenlit a treatment for some ailments, including sickle cell disease.

For the Global Health Program, Gigi Kwik Gronvall explores how to manage the risks of biotechnology innovation. 

Americas

Paraguay had severed ties (Reuters) with Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro government in 2019, when it chose to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country’s interim president. 

Haiti/Kenya: Kenya’s legislature approved the deployment (AP) of one thousand police officers to Haiti to help quell rising gang violence in the country. Though the UN Security Council had approved the deployment in October, a Kenyan court blocked it. A Kenyan lawmaker who chairs a parliamentary administrative committee said the United Nations would fund the mission. 

For the Africa in Transition blog, Robert I. Rotberg and CFR expert Ebenezer Obadare discuss the challenges facing the Kenya-led mission.

United States

The Senate voted 87–11 (NYT) to approve the bill previously passed by the House of Representatives that extends funding for federal government agencies into early next year. President Biden is expected to sign it ahead of a funding deadline at midnight on Friday. 

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