Daily News Brief

June 21, 2024

Top of the Agenda

Washington and Beijing agreed to establish a direct communication channel and carry out more scientist exchanges regarding potential synthetic drug threats at the talks yesterday in China. They pointed to a joint probe of a drug-linked money laundering operation that spanned China, Mexico, and the United States as an example of recent cooperation. The talks were set in motion last November during a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in California. 

The U.S. Justice Department announced the joint probe this week to investigate whether Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, groups based in California, and elements of Chinese underground banking laundered more than $50 million in drug proceeds. Washington has urged Beijing to implement stricter controls on the sale of ingredients for the synthetic opioid fentanyl and take a more aggressive stance on illegal financing in the pharmaceutical sector. Today, China’s top prosecutor issued a directive for Chinese law enforcement officials to increase their focus on drug trafficking. (SCMP, Reuters) 

Analysis

“Washington and Beijing often trade heated words on the subject, but both sides share an interest in stopping the illegal fentanyl trade,” CFR expert Zongyuan Zoe Liu writes in this article. “Neither government benefits from tolerating international money-laundering activity associated with drug trafficking because it also enables corruption among officials.”

“China has no incentive on its own to do anything on fentanyl. They view it as a U.S. problem,” CFR Senior Fellow Tom Bollyky said on this episode of the Why It Matters podcast. “China’s incentive for doing anything on this product or around this class of drugs, is really linked to their motivation to cooperate with the U.S. more generally. And that is tied to China’s sets of requests on areas that they would like to see progress on.”

On Monday, CFR will launch the China Strategy Initiative, a program to study and debate the questions that go to the heart of the United States’ China strategy.

Pacific Rim

The two countries signed cooperation agreements worth up to $2.8 billion during Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s three-day visit to Malaysia, which concluded yesterday. They also discussed ongoing rail investments and agreed to an extension of visa-free travel. Ahead of the visit, Malaysia announced it seeks to join the BRICS group, which is named after its original members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. (Straits Times, The Star)

South and Central Asia

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is the first head of state to hold an official visit to India following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inauguration for a third term earlier this month. The two leaders are expected to discuss rail connectivity and infrastructure investments during Hasina’s two-day trip. (BSS, Dhaka Tribune)

Pakistan: The province of Punjab issued an emergency order today banning protests for seven days. The order comes as the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan plans national demonstrations to call for his release. A Punjab official said “adequate grounds exist” for issuing the order, without specifying what they were. (Dawn)

Middle East and North Africa

Some 1.4 million pounds of aid were transferred from the floating pier yesterday after it reopened following repairs, a Pentagon spokesperson said. Though Israel has paused fighting each day in order for aid to pass along a separate humanitarian corridor into the enclave, UN World Food Program Executive Director Cindy McCain said that deliveries have not effectively increased due to lawlessness and looting. (AP, Al-Monitor)

Israel/Lebanon: Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it launched dozens of rockets toward northern Israel yesterday after an Israeli strike killed a Hezbollah field commander. Senior U.S. and Israeli officials discussed efforts to contain escalation of the conflict with Hezbollah yesterday in Washington. (Times of Israel)

This In Brief by CFR’s Christina Bouri looks at what escalating Hezbollah-Israel tensions mean for Lebanon.

Sub-Saharan Africa

A man was killed yesterday during nationwide demonstrations against the bill, which Kenyan lawmakers moved forward yesterday. More than one hundred people were arrested during the protests, Amnesty International said. Amid opposition, some provisions of the bill were removed earlier this week. (Daily Nation, BBC)

Europe/Africa: European Union (EU) countries pledged more than $800 million yesterday to support vaccine manufacturing in Africa. The new financial mechanism was launched at a forum hosted by France, the African Union, and global vaccine organization Gavi. (Euronews)

Europe

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis withdrew his candidacy to be the next secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), guaranteeing the position to outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. The appointment is expected to be formalized in the coming days, with Rutte set to assume the post in October. (Le Monde, AFP)

U.S./Ukraine: The United States will expedite the delivery of air-defense interceptors to Ukraine by delaying their transfers to other U.S. allies and partners, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said yesterday. He added the move would not affect Israel or Taiwan. Among the countries likely to be affected are South Korea and the United Arab Emirates, an unnamed congressional official told the Wall Street Journal. (WSJ)  

In this Expert Brief, CFR Senior Fellow Max Boot looks at the weapons race between Russia and Ukraine.

Americas

Claudia Sheinbaum named six members of her cabinet yesterday, including former Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard as economy minister and current Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena as minister of the environment and natural resources. Sheinbaum, a climate scientist, also said she will create a new science and technology ministry. (AP)

For Foreign Affairs, CFR Senior Fellow Shannon K. O’Neil discusses how presidential elections in both the United States and Mexico could reset bilateral relations. 

Haiti: The White House will override a congressional hold on military assistance to Haiti in order to provide the country with almost $110 million as it prepares to host a multinational security mission, an unnamed U.S. State Department official told Reuters. Some U.S. lawmakers had attempted to delay the funds, saying they needed more information on the mission. The State Department official said the security situation in Haiti “cannot wait.” (Reuters)

United States

Sales of products by the Moscow-based firm to U.S. federal agencies have been banned since 2017 and will now be banned for all U.S. consumers, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said. A U.S. probe found that Russia can exploit firms like Kaspersky “to collect and weaponize the personal information of Americans,” she added. The firm denied that its software is used for espionage, saying that it believes the move was “based on the present geopolitical climate and theoretical concerns.” (WaPo)

Friday Editor’s Pick

To mark yesterday’s World Refugee Day, the New Humanitarian curates recent reporting on refugee and forced displacement communities around the globe.

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