“Many of the companies now guiding on the south side of Everest are taking climbers who have not yet developed the experience necessary to safely navigate the difficulties,” said Adrian Ballinger of US-based Alpenglow Expeditions, who has moved his activities to the Chinese side. This year, Chinese nationals have received theContinue Reading
WASHINGTON: White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday (Apr 27) the United States is not looking to decouple its economy from the Chinese economy, saying, “We’re not cutting off trade.” Speaking at the Brookings Institution, Sullivan said China should step up as a constructive force in assistingContinue Reading
BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the phone on Wednesday (Apr 26), the first call between the two leaders since the start of Russia’s invasion.
Beijing says it is neutral in the Ukraine conflict and Xi has never condemned the Russian invasion, but the Chinese leader has come under increased pressure from Western nations to step in and mediate.
During the long-awaited call, Xi appealed for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that Xi told Zelenskyy “talks and negotiation” were the “only way out” of the war.
“On the issue of the Ukraine crisis, China has always stood on the side of peace and its core position is to promote peace talks,” CCTV reported Xi as saying.
He told Zelenskyy that China will send a delegation to Ukraine to hold talks on resolving the conflict with Russia.
“The Chinese side will send a special representative of the Chinese government on Eurasian affairs to visit Ukraine and other countries to conduct in-depth communication with all parties for a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis,” China’s foreign ministry said at a press conference.
Xi said in early April he was willing to speak with Zelenskyy, who has repeatedly said he would be open to talks with his Chinese counterpart.
“I had a long and meaningful phone call with President Xi Jinping,” Zelenskyy said on Twitter on Wednesday.
“I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations,” he wrote.
Zelenskyy’s spokesman Sergiy Nykyforov said on Facebook that the two had “an almost one-hour-long telephone conversation”.
Pavel Ryabikin, who previously headed the ministry of strategic industries of Ukraine, was named Kyiv’s new envoy to China, according to a decree on the presidency’s website. Ukraine has not had an ambassador to China since February 2021.
WASHINGTON: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Tuesday (Apr 25) the South Korean-US alliance must “leap into a new phase” to jointly overcome complex crises, including slowing economic growth, technology competition with strategic rivals and climate change. Speaking a day before a Washington summit with President Joe Biden,Continue Reading
BEIJING: China’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday (Apr 25) that all inbound travellers will only need to show COVID-19 antigen test results taken within 48 hours before boarding flights starting Saturday, dropping the PCR test requirement. Currently, China requires inbound travellers from some countries to take PCR tests before enteringContinue Reading
UNITED NATIONS: India will overtake China as the world’s most populous country in the coming week, hitting almost 1.43 billion people, the United Nations said on Monday (Apr 24). “By the end of this month, India’s population is expected to reach 1,425,775,850 people, matching and then surpassing the population ofContinue Reading
BEIJING: China’s cooperation with Europe and other nations is “endless” just as its ties with Russia are “unlimited”, China’s envoy to the European Union said, giving some reassurance of China’s neutrality over Ukraine in an interview published on Monday (Apr 24). It was unclear when Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassadorContinue Reading
TOKYO: Potential US presidential candidate Ron DeSantis on Monday (Apr 24) met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and lauded bilateral ties, especially the idea of a “strong Japan”. The trip, officially part of a four-country trade mission, comes as the Florida governor seeks to burnish foreign policy credentials aheadContinue Reading
But in trade, the US’ relationship with the Philippines had weakened, for example, the US had become less important as a destination for Philippine exports. “And China now invests a lot more than the United States does in the Philippines – a situation that is the reverse of 2018 whenContinue Reading
UNITED NATIONS: A UN-convened meeting on Afghanistan next month will not focus on the possible international recognition of the Taliban administration, a UN spokesperson stressed on Thursday (Apr 20) after comments by the deputy UN chief sparked concern and confusion. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is set to host a closed-doorContinue Reading