Beijing Warns of U.S. ‘Containment’ Efforts, Announces Tech, Finance Overhauls |
During China’s rubber-stamp legislative session, President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Qin Gang said that Washington is rallying the West against Beijing in a mission of “containment” (Bloomberg). To better compete with the West, Chinese officials announced plans (FT) to overhaul supervision of the country’s financial sector, reorganize the science and technology ministry, and create a department for data oversight and protection.
Qin rejected the idea that the U.S.-China relationship can avoid conflict given its current trajectory. Seeking to prevent that outcome, Washington has stressed that it aims to establish “guardrails” on its competition with China. Separately, U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has reportedly agreed to meet (FT) with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California next month to discuss shared concerns about China.
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“As Beijing eagerly pivots to revive a battered economy, China’s business leaders and foreign investors are reticent, looking for indications that the latest government dictum will actually become a long-term policy, and whether it will result in a favorable, predictable business environment,” the South China Morning Post’s Josephine Ma writes.
“The problem today isn’t that Americans are insufficiently concerned about the rise of China,” CFR’s Max Boot writes for the Washington Post. “The problem is that they are prey to hysteria and alarmism that could lead the United States into a needless nuclear war.”
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South Korean Trade Minister Criticizes U.S. CHIPS Act |
Trade Minister Lee Chang-yang said the incentives offered by the 2022 U.S. CHIPS and Science Act introduce heavy compliance burdens (Bloomberg) for foreign companies looking to manufacture chips in the United States. Lee said he is working to resolve the concerns with Washington and that South Korea would strengthen its own chips industry. |
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Sri Lanka Says China Will Support Debt Restructuring |
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said a Chinese state bank agreed to the restructuring (FT), which could end an impasse that has held up the approval of a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
Afghanistan: A report by the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan said that the Taliban’s prohibitions on girls’ schooling could amount to a crime against humanity (CNN).
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Middle East and North Africa |
Oil Exec Turned COP28 Leader Calls for Decarbonizing Energy Industry |
At a U.S. oil conference, Emirati state oil company chief Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber urged companies (The National) in the oil and gas industry to adopt targets for reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, saying only half of the sector has such targets. Al Jaber has been tapped to lead the annual UN climate conference, COP28, later this year.
Iraq: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin traveled to Iraq today, nearly twenty years after the U.S.-led invasion of the country. Austin committed to keeping U.S. troops in Iraq (Reuters), where some 2,500 of them are stationed on a counterterrorism mission.
This timeline traces the Iraq war. |
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Nigerians Protest Results of Presidential Election |
Thousands of pro-opposition demonstrators marched (AP) to the electoral authority’s headquarters in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, yesterday and called for a new election.
For the Africa in Transition blog, CFR’s Ebenezer Obadare discusses how to view Nigeria’s imperfect election.
South Africa: Amid an energy crisis, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed a new energy chief (Bloomberg) and replaced several ministers. South Africa has suffered rolling blackouts as its aging energy infrastructure struggles to meet heightened demand.
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Turkish Opposition Unites Behind Candidate |
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Canada to Investigate Allegations of Foreign Election Meddling |
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he will name a special rapporteur (CBC) and open multiple investigations into reports that China meddled in Canada’s 2019 and 2021 general elections.
U.S./Mexico: Armed men kidnapped four Americans (WaPo) in Matamoros, Mexico, on Friday, U.S. and Mexican officials said. Authorities are searching for the Americans, who Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said had entered Mexico to purchase medication.
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Biden Reportedly Planning to Propose Tax on High Earners to Help Fund Medicare |
President Joe Biden is expected to propose raising taxes on Americans who earn over $400,000 per year, the Washington Post reported. Experts have warned that Medicare could face a major funding crisis by 2028. |
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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