Category Archives: China

‘Starting to warm up’: Chinese state media welcomes Wong visit after Coalition’s ‘stupid’ policies

Posted on by

Foreign minister says in Beijing she will press for detained Australians Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun ‘to be reunited with their families’

Chinese state media is urging Australia to resist being “swayed by Washington” and to “show verbal goodwill and substantial actions” on the eve of Penny Wong’s visit to Beijing.

Two state media outlets published editorials that may give an indication of the Chinese government’s wishes for the next steps in what the Australian government calls a “stabilisation” of the relationship.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Union fury over Labor decision to split aged care pay rises – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

Crossbench say Australia needs to ‘get cracking’ on Cop15 commitments

More reactions are coming in after the close of the biodiversity Cop15 – which leading scientists have called “vastly more important” than the Cop27 climate meeting, because it decides the “fate of the living world”.

We need to get cracking on implementation to deliver on commitments.

Continue reading...

Objection by DRC sours ‘paradigm-changing’ Cop15 biodiversity deal

Posted on by

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s last-minute bid for additional funds was dismissed on a legal technicality

It was almost a special moment in the early hours of Monday morning in the Palais des congrès in Montreal. China and Canada, two squabbling adversaries, had united for the good of the planet to help the world at Cop15 forge a once-in-a-decade deal to halt the destruction of Earth’s ecosystems.

From the emphasis on indigenous rights to conserving 30% of Earth for nature, there is good reason to believe the Kunming-Montreal agreement could be a truly historic, hopeful turning point in humanity’s relationship with nature after decades of destruction and warnings of mass extinctions.

Continue reading...

‘We didn’t accept it’: DRC minister laments forcing through of Cop15 deal

Posted on by

Democratic Republic of the Congo’s environment minister says country has not agreed to ‘30 by 30’ deal

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s environment minister has said her country has not agreed to a deal to halt the destruction of the Earth’s ecosystems, prompting behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts to keep the agreement alive just hours after it was adopted.

Ève Bazaiba, the DRC’s environment minister, said her country would be writing to the UN secretary general, António Guterres, and the Convention on Biological Diversity to express the DRC’s position on the final text. It comes after the Chinese Cop15 president, Huang Runqiu, appeared to force through the agreement in the final plenary just moments after the DRC negotiator had said did not support the deal, which is typically negotiated by consensus. His interventions prompted further objections from Uganda and Cameroon.

Continue reading...

Australia seeks direct resolution of trade dispute with China before WTO ruling

Posted on by

As Penny Wong heads to Beijing for the first such visit in four years, trade minister says he is confident economic issues can be resolved

The international trade umpire is set to rule within months on Australia’s complaints against China’s trade sanctions, setting up a deadline for the diplomatic thaw to produce a breakthrough.

As Australia and China prepare to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations on Wednesday, the trade minister, Don Farrell, said he was prepared to meet the Chinese commerce minister at any time and place to seek a resolution.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

China’s cities fall quiet amid warning of three Covid waves over winter

Posted on by

Chief epidemiologist says China is in the first of an expected three waves of Covid cases, despite official figures showing low numbers

Chinese authorities have warned of successive waves of Covid infections over the coming months, as cases continue to surge after the lifting of restrictions earlier this month.

Across major cities people appear to be staying inside, either with the virus or in fear of contracting it, but authorities have pushed on with the reopening.

Continue reading...

Penny Wong to travel to China this week for 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations

Posted on by

Trip by Australia’s foreign affairs minister comes as tensions ease between two trading partners

Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, will fly to China this week to mark a key diplomatic milestone in the latest sign of easing tensions between the two countries.

Wong is due to arrive in Beijing on Tuesday and will attend Wednesday’s events marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Australia and China.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Cop15 negotiators close to agreeing nature deal as talks draw to end

Posted on by

Final agreement could bring better protection for vital ecosystems and big reforms to agriculture

A potentially transformational agreement for nature is close to being reached at Cop15 in Montreal, which could bring better protection for Earth’s vital ecosystems such as the Amazon and Congo basin rainforests, big reforms to agriculture, and better protection of indigenous territories and rights – but there are concerns that key issues are being overlooked.

After four years of negotiations and 12 years since the last biodiversity targets were agreed in Japan, the Chinese president of Cop15 put forward its recommendations for a final agreement after two weeks of intense negotiations at the UN biodiversity summit in Canada.

Continue reading...

Shanghai schools ordered to hold classes online to stem Covid infections

Posted on by

City’s kindergartens and childcare centres also to stop in-person lessons as cases rise across China after easing of restrictions

Shanghai’s education bureau has told schools to hold classes online from Monday as rising numbers of Covid infections hit cities across China.

On Saturday the bureau also instructed kindergartens and childcare centres in the city to shut all in-person classes, according to an online statement.

Continue reading...

US asks Australia for extradition of former Marines pilot Daniel Duggan

Posted on by

Lawyer says Duggan maintains his innocence after US accused him of training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers

The US government has sent an extradition request to Australia for former US Marines pilot Daniel Duggan, who is accused of breaking US arms control laws by training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers.

“The US has made a formal request for extradition for Mr Duggan,” Trent Glover, a lawyer for the US government, told a Sydney local court on Friday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Japan approves biggest military buildup since second world war amid China fears

Posted on by

US welcomes doubling of military spending but critics express unease over abandoning seven decades of pacifism

Japan has approved its biggest military buildup since the second world war, warning that China poses the “greatest strategic challenge ever” and outlining plans to develop a counterstrike capability funded by record defence spending.

The plans, announced by the government on Friday, reflect growing alarm over a more assertive Chinese military and a North Korean regime that continues to improve its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.

Continue reading...

Chinese doctors and nurses reportedly told to work while infected as Covid surges

Posted on by

Some Beijing hospitals have as many as 80% of staff infected, according to one doctor, leading to serious staff shortages

Chinese doctors and nurses are being told to keep working even when infected with Covid-19, staff and residents reported, as the virus rips through the population in the wake of eased restrictions.

Some hospitals in Beijing have up to 80% of their staff infected, but many of them are still required to work due to staff shortages, a doctor in a large public hospital in Beijing told Reuters, adding he had spoken to his peers at other big hospitals in the capital.

Continue reading...

China’s return to wildlife farming ‘a risk to global health and biodiversity’

Posted on by

Post-pandemic relaxation of restrictions could weaken animal protection and pose a hazard to public health, say experts

China appears to be weakening its post-Covid restrictions on the farming of wildlife such as porcupines, civets and bamboo rats, which raises a new risk to public health and biodiversity, warn NGOs and experts.

Before the pandemic, wildlife farming was promoted by government agencies as an easy way for rural Chinese people to get rich. But China issued an outright ban on hunting, trading and transporting wildlife, as well as the consumption as food, after public health experts suggested the virus could have originated from the supply chain.

Continue reading...

Vietnam carries out ‘substantial’ expansion in South China Sea, US thinktank finds

Posted on by

Dredging and landfill work creates 170 hectares of new land in Spratly Islands, which are also claimed by China and others

Vietnam has conducted a major expansion of dredging and landfill work at several of its South China Sea outposts in the second half of this year, signalling an intent to significantly fortify its claims in the disputed waterway.

Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has said on Wednesday the work in the Spratly Islands, which are also claimed by China and others, had created roughly 170 hectares (420 acres) of new land and brought the total area Vietnam had reclaimed in the past decade to 220 hectares.

Continue reading...

Chinese diplomats at centre of Manchester consulate row return home

Posted on by

Consular staff wanted for questioning by police over beating up of activists recalled to Beijing

China’s consul general in Manchester and five other diplomats have returned home and will escape questioning by police for their role in the beating up of a pro-Hong Kong democracy demonstrator outside the consulate in the city on 16 October.

The Chinese, citing diplomatic immunity, decided to recall the diplomats after the UK Foreign Office gave the embassy a week to make the diplomats available for questioning by British police.

Continue reading...

China says spread of Covid ‘impossible’ to track as infections soar in Beijing

Posted on by

Health officials cease recording asymptomatic cases as shortages of medical supplies and testing kits reported in wake of sudden end to strict Covid policy

The spread of Covid-19 in China is now “impossible” to track, the country’s health authorities have said, announcing they have stopped recording asymptomatic cases in their daily tallies.

The admission comes amid soaring presentations to hospitals and clinics as Covid-19 spreads rapidly through the population in the wake of the sudden removal of strict pandemic measures. Authorities have urged people not to seek emergency healthcare unless necessary, and announced the rollout of second boosters to elderly and vulnerable people.

Continue reading...

Chinese and Indian troops in fresh skirmish at Himalayan border

Posted on by

Region on high alert after dozens reported injured in first clash in disputed area for more than two years

Chinese and Indian troops have clashed in a disputed Himalayan border region for the first time in more than two years, with reports of dozens injured.

At least 20 Indian soldiers were injured in the incident on 9 December in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, the Indian army said on Tuesday. The clash was the most serious since June 2020, when at least 24 soldiers died in violent hand-to-hand combat, and comes after months of major acts of disengagement by both militaries in the long-running dispute.

Continue reading...

Mother fears for Chinese Covid protester held for nine days

Posted on by

Yang Zijing, 25, apparently detained in Guangzhou after taking part in rallies against harsh restrictions

A young protester has been held in police detention in southern China for nine days after taking part in rallies against Covid restrictions, her mother has said, expressing fear and anguish over her daughter’s safety.

China last week effectively ended its harsh zero-Covid policy, after years of economic damage and simmering public discontent that erupted in nationwide protests on a scale unseen in decades.

Continue reading...

Hong Kong pressures Google to remove protest anthem from searches

Posted on by

Authorities want Glory to Hong Kong axed from top results and replaced with China’s national anthem

Google has refused to change its search results to display China’s national anthem, rather than a protest song, when users search for Hong Kong’s national anthem, the city’s security chief has said, expressing “great regret” at the decision.

Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Continue reading...

China scraps tracking app as zero-Covid policy is dismantled

Posted on by

Health authorities sound warning on infection rate, with hundreds of thousands of doctors redeployed across the country

China has announced plans to scrap its primary Covid tracking app in the latest rollback of pandemic control measures, just days after abruptly abandoning its long-running zero-Covid policy.

It came as health authorities warned of widespread infections on the horizon, and redeployed hundreds of thousands of doctors and nurses to intensive care units in preparation for an Omicron surge through the population of 1.4 billion people.

Continue reading...