Daily News Brief

July 29, 2022

Top of the Agenda

Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned U.S. President Joe Biden not to “play with fire” (AP) when it comes to Taiwan, Chinese state media said. The warning came in a phone call yesterday that lasted more than two hours and occurred as U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans a potential trip to the island next month. The two leaders also discussed (VOA) trade issues, the war in Ukraine, and the possibility of a future in-person meeting. 

The Chinese military has made clear that it would take strong countermeasures if a U.S. delegation were to visit the island. U.S. forces are reportedly planning to increase their activity (SCMP) in the Indo-Pacific if Pelosi’s trip takes place.

Analysis

“This is a crisis manufactured by China, one with the potential to shake the global economic order given that Taiwan produces the lion’s share of the world’s advanced semiconductors,” CFR President Richard Haass tells the Financial Times. “Should a crisis spiral into a conflict, it would also fundamentally challenge the Indo-Pacific strategic order, as U.S. allies and others would expect Washington to come to Taipei’s defence.”

 
“Chinese leaders are increasingly enraged over U.S. actions that they see as hollowing out Washington’s ‘one China’ policy and Taiwanese actions—both domestic legislation and international outreach—that they interpret as moves toward independence,” the Stimson Center’s Yun Sun writes for Foreign Affairs.

This Backgrounder explains why China-Taiwan relations are so tense.

On The President’s Inbox podcast, CFR’s David Sacks and James M. Lindsay discuss the Biden administration’s Taiwan strategy. 

Pacific Rim

The country reported its first case of monkeypox (Straits Times) today in a man who had recently returned to Manila from abroad, a spokesperson for the health ministry said. The Philippines is reportedly working with the United States to secure vaccines.

Think Global Health tracks the monkeypox outbreak.

South and Central Asia

Pakistan’s powerful army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, asked U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman for U.S. help in securing an early loan dispersal of nearly $1.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), U.S. and Pakistani sources told Nikkei.

CFR’s Brad W. Setser looks at how emerging economies such as Pakistan are struggling with rising debt amid high inflation and interest rates.

India: Google and Apple blocked Indians’ access to an online game created by a China-backed South Korean company. An official told Reuters that India’s government ordered the block due to concerns about the company sharing data with China.

Middle East and North Africa

The leader of the outlawed Islamist organization said in an interview that the group will not attempt to regain power (Reuters), whether through violence or elections. 

Iran: Authorities executed thirty-two people (BBC) in the past week, Iran Human Rights Group said. Amnesty International said Iran executed more than twice as many people in the first half of 2022 as it did in the same period last year.

Sub-Saharan Africa

At least one person died (Al Jazeera) and several others were injured after protests against Guinea’s military government broke out yesterday in Conakry, an opposition group said.

Senegal: Several opposition lawmakers have been barred (France 24) from participating in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, which were postponed from 2019.

Europe

Spanish consumer prices increased by 10.8 percent (Al Jazeera) year-over-year this month, up from 10.2 percent in June. It is the fastest prices have risen since September 1984.

Ukraine: Grain shipments from Ukraine could resume (WaPo) as soon as today, though the exact shipping routes are still being finalized, UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said.

Americas

Venezuela’s supreme court had requested control (Reuters) of more than $1 billion worth of the Venezuelan gold reserves currently stored in London.

Mexico: Nearly one hundred migrants, mostly from Guatemala, fled (BBC) from an abandoned truck near the southern U.S. border due to fears about the extreme heat, Mexican officials said. 

This Backgrounder looks at how the U.S. patrols its borders.

United States

The family of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh met with (WaPo) Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other officials in recent days to press the Biden administration to open a new investigation (NPR) into her death. A State Department investigation found that Israeli soldiers likely shot Abu Akleh while she reported in the West Bank in May.

Friday Editor’s Pick

The New York Times shows how American Sign Language is evolving to keep pace with technological advances and changing cultural norms.

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