Keir Starmer to announce expansion in region that will also include business club to increase economic ties
The UK will increase its military and economic presence in the Indo-Pacific to support regional stability, Keir Starmer will announce on Saturday.
In an effort to counter China’s influence, ministers will expand the Royal Navy’s presence in the region and carry out more joint patrols with Pacific island nations.
Continue reading...Rachel Reeves to encourage import of raw materials from Commonwealth countries to counter China’s grip on market
Businesses that import critical minerals to the UK will be given access to state-backed loans in a move to counter China’s dominance in the market.
The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is expected to announce extra government support to encourage the import of critical minerals such as lithium, graphite and cobalt in her budget next week. Companies that bring supplies of critical minerals into the UK will be able to access state-backed loans under the UK export finance mechanism.
Continue reading...China’s foreign ministry spokesperson accuses Canberra of double standards after Australia’s top diplomat raises human rights concerns
Anthony Albanese has dismissed criticisms by China’s foreign ministry that Australia is plagued by “systemic racism” and “hate crimes” after Australia’s top diplomat raised concerns about rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Lin Jian, accused Australia and other nations who joined the statement of double standards, saying it was “political manipulation under the pretext of human rights”.
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Continue reading...Russian president’s goal to de-dollarize world economy alarms members that do not want bloc to turn against west
Vladimir Putin has opened the expanded Brics summit by issuing a call for an alternative international payments system that could prevent the US using the dollar as a political weapon.
But the summit communique indicated that little progress had been made on an alternative payment system.
Continue reading...Campaign targets wordplay and memes that are often used by people to get around censorship controls
China’s internet regulators have launched a campaign cracking down on puns and homophones, one of the last remaining ways for citizens to safely discuss sensitive subjects without recriminations or censorship.
The “clear and bright” campaign is targeting “irregular and uncivilised” language online, particularly jokes, memes, and wordplay, the Cyberspace Administration of China and the ministry of education announced this month.
Continue reading...West infuriated as UN secretary general accepts invitation to meeting of countries including China, India and Iran
Vladimir Putin, ostracised by the west and labelled a possible war criminal by the international criminal court, has played host to 36 world leaders from nations including China, India and Iran as part of a summit of the Brics group designed to display Moscow as anything but isolated.
One of the main aims of the summit will be to speed up ways to reduce the number of dollar transactions, and so mitigate the US ability to use the threat of sanctions to seek to impose its political will.
Continue reading...Rahima Mahmut, in exile in the UK, ‘disappointed’ at failure to describe Beijing’s crackdown on minority as genocide
A leading Uyghur activist has accused the Labour government of “falling behind” its allies in failing to stand up to China, after ministers backtracked on plans to push for formal recognition of the country’s treatment of the minority group as genocide.
Speaking after David Lammy’s first visit to China as UK foreign secretary, the human rights activist Rahima Mahmut, who has lived in exile in the UK since 2000, said she had hoped there would be a shift in UK policy once the party came into power, including following the US in declaring a continuing genocide in Xinjiang.
Continue reading...Foreign secretary discussed China’s treatment of Uyghurs and support of Russia as well as ‘areas of cooperation’
David Lammy pressed his Chinese counterpart on human rights concerns and China’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during talks in Beijing, the Foreign Office has said.
The foreign secretary had been under pressure to take a tough line on a range of human rights issues with the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, when the pair met on Friday during Lammy’s first visit to China since taking office.
Continue reading...Blistering sharemarket rally of recent weeks recedes as expectations cool towards long-awaited ‘bazooka stimulus’ for ailing property sector
China posted its slowest growth in a year and a half on Friday, as Beijing struggles to steady an economy shaken by sluggish consumer spending and persistent property sector woes.
Officials have in recent weeks unveiled a string of measures to reignite the world’s number-two economy, with an eye to achieving its official annual growth target of 5%.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Party drops plan for formal recognition laid out last year by David Lammy, who will visit Beijing on Friday
Labour has backtracked on plans to push for formal recognition of China’s treatment of the Uyghurs as genocide in the run-up to David Lammy’s trip to the country this weekend.
The foreign secretary is expected to arrive in Beijing on Friday for high-level meetings before travelling to Shanghai on Saturday.
Continue reading...Shares in LVMH, which also owns Dior, Tiffany and Moët & Chandon, fell by as much as 7%, briefly hitting two-year low
Shares in luxury goods brands slumped after Louis Vuitton’s LVMH reported an unexpected fall in third-quarter sales amid China’s economic slowdown.
Shares in LVMH, which also owns Dior, Tiffany and Moët & Chandon, fell by as much as 7% in early trading, briefly hitting a two-year low, before regaining slightly, after it warned of an “uncertain economic and geopolitical environment”,with falling sales in Asia.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Group of UK MPs says foreign secretary must ‘engage with China as it really is’ amid rapprochement drive
David Lammy must “engage with China as it really is under the leadership of Xi Jinping” and raise human rights concerns during his trip to the country, UK parliamentarians who have been hit with sanctions by Beijing have said.
The foreign secretary is expected to hold high-level meetings in China this week. The visit forms part of an effort by Labour to improve relations with China after they deteriorated under successive Conservative governments. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, plans to travel to the country next year and restart high-level economic dialogue.
Continue reading...Coverage with UK-European provider will be in place by end of month, says island’s main telecoms company
Taiwan is expected to have access to low earth orbit satellite internet service by the end of the month, a step the government says is crucial in case a Chinese attack cripples the island’s communications.
The forthcoming service is via a contract between Taiwan’s main telecoms company, Chunghwa, and a UK-European company, Eutelsat OneWeb, signed last year, and marks a new milestone in Taiwan’s efforts to address technological vulnerabilities, particularly its internet access, after attempts to get access to Elon Musk’s Starlink service collapsed.
Continue reading...Brent crude slides by almost $3.50 a barrel to below $74 after Opec cuts forecasts for demand growth
Global oil prices have tumbled by almost $3.50 a barrel amid ongoing concerns about a slowdown in China and as fears ease about the possibility of an attack by Israel on Iran’s energy facilities.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has reportedly offered assurances to the White House that its retaliation against Iran for its missile attack at the start of October would not target oil export terminals or nuclear facilities, which could send market prices soaring.
Continue reading...Image dispersed during Monday’s military drills likened to sexual harassment or abusive partner
A Chinese propaganda image dispersed during Monday’s military drills around Taiwan was supposed to send a positive message to the island’s people, but instead has been decried as weird, creepy, and akin to “sexual harassment”.
On Monday China targeted Taiwan with major military exercises, surrounding its main island and outer territories with planes and ships to practise a blockade and attack. Alongside a record number of warplanes, dozens of navy and coastguard vessels, and cyber-attacks, China also launched a torrent of propaganda.
Continue reading...Fan, who disappeared after tax scandal, stars in thriller – but experts say she is unlikely to regain previous fame in increasingly authoritarian nation
Fan Bingbing, once one of China’s most famous film stars, is returning to the screen after a more than five-year hiatus following her alleged involvement in a massive tax evasion scandal.
Fan stars in Green Night, a Hong Kong-produced neo-noir thriller set in South Korea, which is released on US streaming services on 18 October. The film has been billed as Fan’s comeback from professional purgatory since she disappeared from public view for nearly a year in 2018. During her year of silence, she was hit with a bill of more than 880m yuan (£99m) by the Chinese tax authorities.
Continue reading...Consumer advocate says results are a ‘worrying reminder’ children are at risk from insecure battery components on most items
An LED-lit tutu skirt, a spinning top and a set of building blocks are among a number of dangerous toys that were sold by Chinese-owned shopping platform Temu, Choice has found.
Choice tested 15 toys operated by circular coin or button-style batteries, including watches, a writing tablet, a musical keyboard, a cartoon projector and a electronic pet game from Temu in May.
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Continue reading...PLA and Chinese coastguard approach Taiwan by sea and air in move linked by state media to ‘separatist’ National Day speech
Chinese military and coastguard personnel surrounded Taiwan’s main island on Monday for a day of large-scale drills that Beijing said were a warning against “separatist acts”, in the wake of a recent speech by Taiwan’s president.
State media linked the drills to a National Day speech last Thursday by Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, in which he repeated that the People’s Republic of China “has no right to represent Taiwan”, but that he was willing to work with it to maintain peace and stability.
Continue reading...Russian foreign minister says final declaration not adopted because of attempts by US, Japan, South Korea, Australia and NZ ‘to turn it into a purely political statement’
Russia and China blocked a proposed consensus statement for the East Asia Summit drafted by south-east Asian countries, mainly over objections to language on the contested South China Sea, a US official said on Saturday.
A draft statement arrived at by consensus by the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations was put to the 18-nation East Asia Summit meeting in Laos on Thursday evening, the official said.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Request to postpone Tsai Ing-wen’s trip came before ‘goodwill visit’ to China by David Lammy next week
The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) asked for a visit by the former Taiwanese president to be postponed so as not to anger China ahead of a trip by David Lammy, the Guardian has learned.
Lammy is due to travel to China next week for high-level meetings in his first trip to the country as foreign secretary.
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