Category Archives: China

Australia and China’s barley deal over tariffs is an 11th-hour off-ramp after years of trade tensions

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Latest move fits with Albanese government’s attempts to pursue ‘constructive’ dialogue with China without making any policy concessions

The Australian government is taking a gamble by pressing pause on its formal complaint against China’s hefty tariffs on barley at the 11th hour.

But ministers appear to see this as a risk worth taking in the hope of solving one of the most intractable elements of the wider dispute between Australia and its largest trading partner.

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Australia strikes deal with China over barley trade dispute

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In ‘sign of goodwill’, federal government temporarily suspends WTO challenge as China agrees to review its tariffs

The Australian government has reached a deal with China that may lead to the removal of tariffs on Australian barley that were introduced at the height of diplomatic tensions in 2020.

While the axing of the tariffs is not guaranteed, the Australian government presented the snap review as an important “pathway” to resolve one of the most complex trade disputes between the two countries.

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Macron sparks anger by saying Europe should not be ‘vassal’ in US-China clash

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Alarm on both sides of Atlantic as French president warns against being drawn into any Taiwan conflict

Emmanuel Macron has flown into a storm of criticism after he said Europe should not become a “vassal” and must avoid being drawn into any conflict between the US and China over Taiwan.

The French president made the remarks in an interview on his plane after a three-day state visit to China, where he received a red carpet welcome by China’s president, Xi Jinping – a show of pageantry that alarmed some European China watchers.

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China jails two leading human rights lawyers after closed-door trial

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Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi, prominent figures advocating for improved civil rights, given lengthy jail terms in latest crackdown on dissent

A Chinese court has sentenced two prominent human rights lawyers to jail terms of more than a decade each, a relative and rights groups say, in the latest move in a years-long crackdown on civil society by President Xi Jinping.

Xu Zhiyong, 50, and Ding Jiaxi, 55, were put on trial behind closed doors in June last year on charges of state subversion at a court in Linshu county in the north-eastern province of Shandong, relatives said at the time.

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China ends military drills after simulating strikes on Taiwan

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Ship-launched fighter jets have previously never been seen in island’s air defence zone

China’s military exercises targeting Taiwan have concluded after three days in which it encircled the island, simulated missile attacks on cities, and practised ship-launched strikes from the east.

China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said on Monday the combat readiness drills had “comprehensively tested the troops under actual combat conditions”.

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China sends dozens of warplanes towards Taiwan as US urges restraint amid military drills

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Show of force comes after Taiwanese president Tsai met US House speaker McCarthy this week, despite Beijing warning against it

China sent dozens of warplanes towards Taiwan for a second day of military drills on Sunday, launching simulated attacks in retaliation to the island’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, meeting the US House Speaker during a brief visit to the US.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said it was monitoring the movements of China’s missile forces, as the US said it too was on alert.

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China launches military drills around Taiwan after US House speaker meeting

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Three-day operation comes after Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen met with Kevin McCarthy in California

China launched military drills around Taiwan on Saturday, in what it called a “stern warning” to the self-ruled island’s government following a meeting between its president and the US House speaker.

The move sparked condemnation from Taipei and calls for restraint from Washington, which said it was “monitoring Beijing’s actions closely”.

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Saudi officials arrive in Iran to discuss reopening diplomatic missions

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Visits comes two days after Middle Eastern powers met in China to restore relations

A Saudi delegation arrived in Tehran on Saturday to discuss reopening diplomatic missions with Iran after seven years.

The visit comes two days after the unprecedented meeting between Iran and Saudi Arabia’s heads of diplomacy in China after the two countries agreed to restore diplomatic ties last month.

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China to hold military drills around Taiwan after US speaker meeting

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‘Combat readiness’ exercises come after Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen met US house speaker Kevin McCarthy this week, angering Beijing

China’s military said on Saturday it had begun three days of drills around Taiwan, a day after the island’s president Tsai Ing-wen returned from a trip to the United States.

Tsai met the US House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, while in Los Angeles in Wednesday, angering Beijing, which views Taiwan as its own territory.

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China enters riskier space by positioning itself as diplomatic alternative to US

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Recent meetings in Beijing mark a return to the world stage but with that comes increased scrutiny

Beijing this week displaced New York and the UN as the diplomatic capital of the world, hosting two meetings that have the potential to unblock two of the deepest conflicts plaguing the globe – the nine-year-old conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and the 30-year standoff between Riyadh and Tehran.

For Beijing, often described as neuralgic towards interventionist foreign policy, it marks a step into the biggest of diplomatic leagues, and a sign of the country’s return to the global stage post-Covid.

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China sanctions US figures after Taiwan president’s talks with House speaker

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US thinktank and Reagan Foundation targeted, as well as Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the US, in row over President Tsai Ing-wen’s trip

China has imposed sanctions on US figures linked to the Taiwan president’s visit to the US this week, as well as further restrictions on Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the United States.

The sanctions targeted the Ronald Reagan library which hosted the meeting between Tsai and US House speak Kevin McCarthy, and the Hudson Institute which hosted Tsai in New York and presented her with an award.

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Macron urges Xi to bring Russia ‘back to reason’ over Ukraine

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French president makes plea as two leaders hold first of series of high-level meetings in Beijing

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has urged China’s Xi Jinping to bring Russia “back to reason” over the war in Ukraine, as the two held the first of a series of high-level meetings in Beijing.

“The Russian aggression in Ukraine has dealt a blow to [international] stability,” Macron told Xi, standing alongside the Chinese leader outside the Great Hall of the People before their meeting. “I know I can count on you to bring back Russia to reason and everyone back to the negotiating table.”

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Saudi Arabia and Iran work to restore relations as foreign ministers meet

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Faisal bin Farhan and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Beijing for talks after Chinese-brokered agreement

The Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers have met for the first time in seven years, weeks after the two countries came to an agreement, brokered by Chinese officials, to restore diplomatic relations.

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Iran’s Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met in Beijing to discuss the reopening of embassies, the appointment of ambassadors and a planned visit to Saudi Arabia by Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s president. They also discussed resuming flights between the two countries and issuing travel visas for each others’ citizens.

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New Zealand spy chiefs warn of ‘increasingly aggressive’ foreign interference

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Analysts say country’s strategic importance in Pacific has attracted attention of nations such as China

New Zealand’s intelligence bosses have warned of “increasingly aggressive activity” in the country by people they believe are spies for foreign states.

The annual report by the Security Intelligence Service (SIS), published this week, said unnamed states are making “enduring and persistent” efforts to collect intelligence against New Zealand’s government, target those with access to sensitive information, and interfere in all spheres of the country’s public life. Agents from one foreign government have cultivated “a range of relationships of significant concern”, the report said.

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Taiwan monitoring Chinese strike group off the coast after president meets US speaker

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China has said it would take ‘resolute’ measures to defend sovereignty, after denouncing Tsai’s meeting in California with McCarthy

Taiwan authorities are monitoring Chinese military activity including a carrier strike group about 200 nautical miles (370km) off the main island’s coastline, after the Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-wen, met US House speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.

In the meeting, held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, McCarthy stressed the urgency of arms deliveries to Taiwan, while Tsai praised the “strong and unique partnership” with the US..

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Rival protests in Los Angeles as Taiwan’s president arrives for visit

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Tsai Ing-wen to meet the US House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, which China has called a ‘provocation’

Pro- and anti-Taiwan protesters gathered at Los Angeles airport for the arrival of Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, before a meeting scheduled for Wednesday with the US House speaker, Kevin McCarthy.

Protesters also crowded outside Tsai’s LA hotel on Tuesday evening, banging drums, chanting and holding Taiwanese flags and photos of the president, who shook hands with supporters as she entered. A smaller, pro-Beijing group gathered nearby on the pavement, separated by a police line, at times chanting “One China”.

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Macron arrives in China hoping to talk Xi into changing stance on Ukraine

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French leader sees Beijing as possible ‘gamechanger’ and will also discuss European trade on three-day visit

Emmanuel Macron has arrived in China for a three-day state visit during which he hopes to dissuade Xi Jinping from supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while also developing European trade ties with Beijing.

Shortly after arriving in the Chinese capital, Macron said he wanted to push back against the idea that there was an “inescapable spiral of mounting tensions” between China and the west.

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Mexican president bemoans ‘rude’ US fentanyl pressure in plea to Xi Jinping

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Andrés Manuel López Obrador asks China to curb exports of opioid after lengthy denunciation of similar calls from US

Mexico’s president has written to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, urging him to help control shipments of fentanyl, while also complaining of “rude” US pressure to curb the drug trade.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has previously said that fentanyl is the US’s problem and is caused by “a lack of hugs” in US families. On Tuesday he read out the letter to Xi dated 22 March in which he defended efforts to curb supply of the deadly drug, while rounding on US critics.

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ABC to review use of TikTok after app banned from Australian government devices

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Ban only applies to non-corporate government entities but may have flow-on effects to other agencies and businesses

The ABC is reviewing its use of TikTok following the federal government’s ban of the Chinese-owned social media app on government-issued devices.

The ban announced by the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, on Tuesday only applies to non-corporate government entities, meaning a range of government-owned businesses and agencies are not subject to the ban, including the ABC, SBS, Australia Post and NBN Co.

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Australia-wide ban of TikTok on government devices announced as senior politicians quit the app

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Prohibition of Chinese social media app follows similar bans in other western countries

The Australian government has banned the use of Chinese social media app TikTok on government devices, following similar bans in other western countries.

The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, said he had authorised the secretary of his department to issue a mandatory direction to prohibit the TikTok app on devices issued by commonwealth departments and agencies.

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