Daily News Brief

February 8, 2023

Top of the Agenda

U.S. President Joe Biden focused on domestic issues (NYT) for much of his State of the Union address to a divided Congress last night, praising job growth and efforts to green and strengthen U.S. infrastructure. He also touted investments in industries that are central to U.S.-China competition. Biden said he plans to work with China where possible but not compromise U.S. national security. “As we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country,” Biden said, a reference to the recent U.S. downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon. On Ukraine’s efforts to repel Russia’s invasion, Biden pledged to stand with Kyiv for “as long as it takes.”

Biden cited recent infrastructure legislation as proof that bipartisan cooperation is possible. However, he expressed concern over lawmakers’ debt-ceiling impasse and appealed for “stability over chaos.” Some Republican lawmakers in the audience jeered as he spoke (NPR). 

Analysis

“Good to see [Biden] demonstrated discipline and restraint when it came to China and the balloon. He made clear that what took place was unacceptable, but by not hyping or harping on what happened he made it less difficult for both governments to get diplomacy back on track,” CFR President Richard Haass tweets.

“Biden’s speech began as a promise to play nice with newly empowered House Republicans. Things then went stunningly off-script as GOP jeering escalated throughout the roughly 75 minutes, drowning out some of the president’s biggest moments and foreshadowing a long two years to come under divided government,” Politico’s Sarah Ferris, Burgess Everett, and Meredith Lee Hill write.

Europe

Rescue teams are struggling (NYT) to work through cold weather and equipment shortages as they approach the end of a seventy-two-hour window that aid groups consider crucial for finding survivors.

Ukraine/UK: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is visiting the United Kingdom (UK), which today pledged to train Ukrainian pilots (FT) on the standard aircraft of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Pacific Rim

China’s defense minister denied a phone call (WSJ) from the U.S. Department of Defense immediately after U.S. forces shot down a Chinese-operated balloon over the weekend, the department said.

Hong Kong: Disney removed a Simpsons episode (AP) that referenced Chinese “forced labor camps” from its streaming service in Hong Kong. 

This video looks at China’s crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong.

South and Central Asia

The raid near the country’s border with Afghanistan resulted in a shootout (AP) in which twelve members of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan died, officials said. It followed a deadly mosque bombing last week that the Pakistani government blamed on the group.

Pakistan: A report from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, a nongovernmental organization, wrote that the government fails to protect religious minorities (Dawn), saying it allows abuses such as forced conversions and the desecration of minorities’ places of worship.

Middle East and North Africa

During a visit to the region last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked Israel to “pause” its settlement building in the occupied West Bank and the Palestinian Authority its actions against Israel at the United Nations, Axios reported. 

For Foreign Affairs, Daniel Byman discusses why the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could boil over into a third intifada, or Palestinian uprising.

Egypt/Greece/Saudi Arabia: Riyadh offered to pay for new sports stadiums in Egypt and Greece in exchange for those countries accompanying Saudi Arabia in a joint bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, Politico reported.

Sub-Saharan Africa

The Ugandan government said (Nile Post) it is capable of monitoring the country’s rights situation on its own. The office’s mandate had included operating a regional human rights training center. 

Mali/Russia: On a trip to Mali, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pledged that Moscow would continue to support (BBC) the government’s battle against insurgents. It was Lavrov’s second visit to Africa in two weeks.

Americas

The mechanism is designed to facilitate trade (Prensa Latina) between the countries. China has established similar agreements (Reuters) with Kazakhstan, Laos, and Pakistan in recent months.

Mexico: London-based Unilever will build a manufacturing plant (Reuters) in northern Mexico as part of a plan to invest $400 million in the country over the next three years. The announcement comes as Mexico becomes a favored destination for companies interested in “nearshoring,” or moving manufacturing facilities closer to their sales destinations.

CFR’s Shannon O’Neil writes that the United States should encourage nearshoring.

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