Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is in China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit alongside key partners including Russia, marking a significant moment in Tehran's growing alliance with Beijing following its recent conflict with Israel.The visit highlights a strategic alignment as China continues purchasing Iranian oil and transferring missile-related materials and air-defense systems to Tehran, while Russia's presence signals Moscow's shared interest in challenging U.S. influence in the region.
Iran's growing partnership with China after its recent conflict with Israel—and U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear targets— underscores Beijing's expanding influence in the Middle East.
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mandag 14. juli 2025
The Locknet: How China Controls Its Internet and Why It Matters
The man gazes earnestly into the camera, the glow from his computer monitor reflecting off his black-rimmed glasses. “This is more than just a cultural moment,” he says with a smile. “It’s something truly meaningful. This is about mutual respect, kindness, and efforts to understand each other. This feels so good!” he exclaims in a video he posted to RedNote, a China-based social media platform similar to Instagram.
It was January 14, 2025, and Zheng Yubin was speaking in English to American users who had recently surged onto the platform—more than half a million in just two days. Noting that the U.S. and China were sometimes viewed as rivals, he enthused that “today, through this connection, we are seeing something different, a more personal and human side. It’s not just about nations, it’s about individuals . . . people who share the same hope for more freedom and a bigger world. So once again, welcome!”
Over the following weeks, RedNote, also often referred to by its Chinese name of Xiaohongshu, played host to what appeared to be heartfelt exchange, as many Chinese users embraced the influx of Americans. Users from the two countries asked each other about their everyday lives, swapped cat photos, and even did homework together.
It was January 14, 2025, and Zheng Yubin was speaking in English to American users who had recently surged onto the platform—more than half a million in just two days. Noting that the U.S. and China were sometimes viewed as rivals, he enthused that “today, through this connection, we are seeing something different, a more personal and human side. It’s not just about nations, it’s about individuals . . . people who share the same hope for more freedom and a bigger world. So once again, welcome!”
Over the following weeks, RedNote, also often referred to by its Chinese name of Xiaohongshu, played host to what appeared to be heartfelt exchange, as many Chinese users embraced the influx of Americans. Users from the two countries asked each other about their everyday lives, swapped cat photos, and even did homework together.
Censor-busting dissident shines light on overworked Chinese students
An 8th grader from Hunan province was “extremely stressed” — for good reason. His top-ranking middle school demanded he study 85 hours a week, with just two days off a month. “Teachers threatened us that if we reported it, we would be expelled from school,” the student wrote. His story and more than 4,000 like it have been submitted anonymously to a crowd-sourcing website that is shining a light on overworked Chinese students who are nervous about speaking about their plight to authorities.
The site is called 611Study.ICU. The creator says that is a dark reference to the brutal schedule common at Chinese middle and high schools: classes from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. which leaves students “sick in ICU” - or “intensive care unit.”
The site is called 611Study.ICU. The creator says that is a dark reference to the brutal schedule common at Chinese middle and high schools: classes from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. which leaves students “sick in ICU” - or “intensive care unit.”
Chinese Activists Are in Shock over Cuts to U.S. Human Rights Programs
On April 22, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a wide-ranging reorganization of the State Department. Though the details of the restructuring have yet to be published, it seems clear that human rights will be downgraded, and a number of staff positions related to human rights and other key thematic concerns will be cut. The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) was singled out for particular scorn by Secretary Rubio: He falsely labeled it a “platform for left-wing activists to wage vendettas,” and claimed that it pursued “radical causes at taxpayer expense.”
The move was just the latest in a series of efforts, many of them initiated by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to downsize or eliminate key instruments of American human rights diplomacy, some of which have been around for decades, and whose track record is very strong. Unless these moves are quickly reversed, the U.S. government will lack the tools it needs to formulate and implement a serious human rights policy. Authoritarian leaders around the world, including Chinese Party Secretary Xi Jinping, are watching closely, and will no doubt celebrate if these cuts turn out to be permanent.
The move was just the latest in a series of efforts, many of them initiated by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to downsize or eliminate key instruments of American human rights diplomacy, some of which have been around for decades, and whose track record is very strong. Unless these moves are quickly reversed, the U.S. government will lack the tools it needs to formulate and implement a serious human rights policy. Authoritarian leaders around the world, including Chinese Party Secretary Xi Jinping, are watching closely, and will no doubt celebrate if these cuts turn out to be permanent.
søndag 13. juli 2025
‘High probability’ Trump and Xi will meet this year, Rubio says
There is a “high probability” that US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will meet this year, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday. “The odds are high,” Rubio told journalists gathered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Friday. “I think both sides want to see it happen.”
Rubio said he was unable to provide a date for any potential meeting but said there was a “strong desire on both sides to do it.” He added that it’s necessary to build the “right atmosphere” ahead of any such meeting in order to enable concrete deliverables. The US top diplomat met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Kuala Lumpur on Friday for the first in-person meeting between the two foreign ministers, which comes as the US and China navigate trade frictions – and compete for influence in Asia.
Rubio said he was unable to provide a date for any potential meeting but said there was a “strong desire on both sides to do it.” He added that it’s necessary to build the “right atmosphere” ahead of any such meeting in order to enable concrete deliverables. The US top diplomat met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Kuala Lumpur on Friday for the first in-person meeting between the two foreign ministers, which comes as the US and China navigate trade frictions – and compete for influence in Asia.
North Korea reaffirms support for Russia's war in Ukraine
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered Moscow his "unconditional support" on the war in Ukraine, according to state media reports. In talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in North Korea, Kim said that Pyongyang stood by "all the measures taken by the Russian leadership" to tackle the "root cause of the Ukrainian crisis".
Western officials believe Pyongyang has sent an estimated 11,000 troops to Russia over the last year to fight against Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Western officials believe Pyongyang has sent an estimated 11,000 troops to Russia over the last year to fight against Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The deadly drug that’s complicating US-China trade
Since US President Donald Trump – just days into his second term – began imposing tariffs on China for its role in the flow of deadly opioids like fentanyl into the United States, Beijing’s message has been clear.
The fentanyl crisis is the “US’s problem,” Chinese officials have repeatedly said, and China has already done “tremendous work” to address the issue.
“We stand ready for practical cooperation with the US based on equality and mutual respect. That said, we firmly oppose the US pressuring, threatening and blackmailing China under the pretext of the fentanyl issue,” a spokesperson said in March, after Trump’s fentanyl tariffs were raised to 20% on all Chinese imports into the US. But as those tariffs remain in place months later and, despite a truce de-escalating other duties, Beijing is signaling it’s paying attention to the issue – and may be prepared to do more.
The fentanyl crisis is the “US’s problem,” Chinese officials have repeatedly said, and China has already done “tremendous work” to address the issue.
“We stand ready for practical cooperation with the US based on equality and mutual respect. That said, we firmly oppose the US pressuring, threatening and blackmailing China under the pretext of the fentanyl issue,” a spokesperson said in March, after Trump’s fentanyl tariffs were raised to 20% on all Chinese imports into the US. But as those tariffs remain in place months later and, despite a truce de-escalating other duties, Beijing is signaling it’s paying attention to the issue – and may be prepared to do more.
torsdag 10. juli 2025
China Braces for Summer of Northern Floods and Southern Droughts
Amid mounting global climate pressures, Chinese authorities are warning of a more extreme year ahead, one likely to be marked by frequent and severe floods. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment reported in late June that 2024 was China’s warmest year in 64 years and saw the most major river floods since 1998. But 2025 could be more challenging, the report added. The Ministry of Water Resources warned that this year’s flood season would last longer, with vulnerable northern river basins at risk of sudden, intense impacts.
“China entered flood season on March 15, 17 days earlier than average,” said Yan Peihua, a senior official at the ministry, in an interview with state broadcaster CCTV earlier this month. On July 1, China’s peak flood season began, the Ministry of Water Resources announced.
At a briefing the same day, the ministry predicted a nationwide pattern of northern floods and southern droughts through July and August. Most flooding is expected to occur in small- and medium-sized rivers, where water levels can rise quickly with little warning.
“China entered flood season on March 15, 17 days earlier than average,” said Yan Peihua, a senior official at the ministry, in an interview with state broadcaster CCTV earlier this month. On July 1, China’s peak flood season began, the Ministry of Water Resources announced.
At a briefing the same day, the ministry predicted a nationwide pattern of northern floods and southern droughts through July and August. Most flooding is expected to occur in small- and medium-sized rivers, where water levels can rise quickly with little warning.
India and China strive to reset ties but with caution
After years of border tensions, India and China appear to be gradually moving towards resetting ties - but larger challenges and suspicions remain. The visit of two senior Indian officials to China late last month was seen as a sign of a thaw in bilateral relations.
In June, Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also made separate visits as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meetings. The SCO is a 10-member Eurasian security grouping that also includes China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan. Singh's visit was the first by a senior Indian official to China in five years. At the heart of India-China tensions is an ill-defined, 3,440km (2,100-mile)-long disputed border. Rivers, lakes and snow-caps along the frontier mean the line often shifts, bringing soldiers face to face at many points, sometimes sparking skirmishes.
In June, Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also made separate visits as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meetings. The SCO is a 10-member Eurasian security grouping that also includes China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan. Singh's visit was the first by a senior Indian official to China in five years. At the heart of India-China tensions is an ill-defined, 3,440km (2,100-mile)-long disputed border. Rivers, lakes and snow-caps along the frontier mean the line often shifts, bringing soldiers face to face at many points, sometimes sparking skirmishes.
The struggle for control of the Arctic is accelerating - and riskier than ever
Tensions are growing at the top of the world. US President Donald Trump wants Greenland, Russia is modernising its Arctic military bases, Chinese icebreakers are opening new routes and spies are being unmasked. But as the battle for one of the world’s coldest places heats up, an increasingly fragile security balance may be breaking down, leading to an escalating arms race.
President Trump has repeatedly stated his desire to control Greenland. “We need Greenland for national security purposes,” he has said. “I've been told that for a long time.”
The question of why a territory with only 56,000 or so people matters comes down to geography.In the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union, nuclear weapons were the ultimate instruments of war, holding the balance of terror. And the fastest route for weapons to reach their targets was over the North Pole. At the dawn of the Cold War, the US established an important base in the remote North of Greenland at a place called Thule - recently renamed Pituffik Space Base, which I visited in 2008.
President Trump has repeatedly stated his desire to control Greenland. “We need Greenland for national security purposes,” he has said. “I've been told that for a long time.”
The question of why a territory with only 56,000 or so people matters comes down to geography.In the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union, nuclear weapons were the ultimate instruments of war, holding the balance of terror. And the fastest route for weapons to reach their targets was over the North Pole. At the dawn of the Cold War, the US established an important base in the remote North of Greenland at a place called Thule - recently renamed Pituffik Space Base, which I visited in 2008.
Trump wants to talk business with Africa in hopes of countering China. But a US summit excluded Africa’s big players
The White House hosted an “African leaders” summit of sorts this week. But only five countries from the continent of more than 50 nations were welcome to join. US President Donald Trump hosted a working lunch in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, bringing together the presidents of Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Senegal, and Gabon for a discussion focused on “commercial opportunities,” a White House official told CNN.
“This discussion and lunch dialog with African heads of state was arranged because President Trump believes that African countries offer incredible commercial opportunities which benefit both the American people and our African partners,” the White House official said. The multilateral lunch is scheduled for noon in the State Dining Room of the White House.
Going into the meeting, Liberia said that the “high-level summit” intends “to deepen diplomatic ties, advance shared economic goals, and enhance security cooperation” between Washington and “select African nations.”
tirsdag 8. juli 2025
Poisoned water and scarred hills: The price of the rare earth metals the world buys from China
When you stand on the edge of Bayan Obo, all you see is an expanse of scarred grey earth carved into the grasslands of Inner Mongolia in northern China. Dark dust clouds rise from deep craters where the earth’s crust has been sliced away over decades in search of a modern treasure. You may not have heard of this town - but life as we know it could grind to a halt without Bayan Obo.
The town gets its name from the district it sits in, which is home to half of the world’s supply of a group of metals known as rare earths. They are key components in nearly everything that we switch on: smartphones, bluetooth speakers, computers, TV screens, even electric vehicles.
And one country, above all others, has leapt ahead in mining them and refining them: China. This dominance gives Beijing huge leverage - both economically, and politically, such as when it negotiates with US President Donald Trump over tariffs. But China has paid a steep price for it.
The town gets its name from the district it sits in, which is home to half of the world’s supply of a group of metals known as rare earths. They are key components in nearly everything that we switch on: smartphones, bluetooth speakers, computers, TV screens, even electric vehicles.
And one country, above all others, has leapt ahead in mining them and refining them: China. This dominance gives Beijing huge leverage - both economically, and politically, such as when it negotiates with US President Donald Trump over tariffs. But China has paid a steep price for it.
China sidesteps question on TikTok after Trump says close to deal
China’s government on Monday sidestepped a question on US President Donald Trump’s recent claim that he “pretty much” has a deal with Beijing to bring TikTok into American ownership and that talks with China over the popular short-video app could begin early this week.
TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance is under pressure to spin off the short-video app’s US operations by September 17 or face a ban in the United States. Last year, then President Joe Biden signed a sale-or-ban law, requiring ByteDance to divest the app to an American owner over national security concerns. Despite an original January deadline, Trump has repeatedly delayed enforcement of the law.
“China has reiterated its principle and position on issues related to TikTok on multiple occasions,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday in response to a request for an update on the latest TikTok talks, without providing further details.
TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance is under pressure to spin off the short-video app’s US operations by September 17 or face a ban in the United States. Last year, then President Joe Biden signed a sale-or-ban law, requiring ByteDance to divest the app to an American owner over national security concerns. Despite an original January deadline, Trump has repeatedly delayed enforcement of the law.
“China has reiterated its principle and position on issues related to TikTok on multiple occasions,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday in response to a request for an update on the latest TikTok talks, without providing further details.
China Scolds Marco Rubio for Dalai Lama Comments
China scolded U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio after he extended birthday wishes to the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, and told Washington to "stop meddling".
Urbanization Is Intensifying India’s Summer Heat and Rain
When 28-year-old Sonelal Prasad left home on the morning of June 16 for his job at a construction site in Mumbai—the financial capital of India—he didn’t know he’d be digging his own grave. As he worked in the foundation pit of an upcoming high-rise, one of the many in the city, an intense downpour triggered a soil collapse, burying him alive beneath the rain-soaked earth.
Prasad’s death was the result of a dangerous convergence as densely-packed concrete cities expand and new ones mushroom over wetlands, floodplains, and forests across India: climate change and haphazard urban development.
Prasad’s death was the result of a dangerous convergence as densely-packed concrete cities expand and new ones mushroom over wetlands, floodplains, and forests across India: climate change and haphazard urban development.
Why GE Appliances will make more washing machines in Kentucky instead of China. It’s not what you think
Some of President Donald Trump’s steepest tariffs are on products like washing machines, and on Thursday, GE Appliances said it would spend a half a billion dollars to make even more of them in the United States. Tariffs, however, weren’t the driving factor behind the decision, the company’s CEO says, but they did serve as an accelerant.
GE Appliances announced it would spend $490 million to move some washing machine production from China and build a high-tech clothes care operation at its massive industrial park and headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, where it already churns out washers and dryers for the US market. The move of more than a dozen front-load washer models comes as US trade policy uncertainty has reached a high-stakes fever pitch as Trump’s July 9 tariffs deadline approaches.
GE Appliances announced it would spend $490 million to move some washing machine production from China and build a high-tech clothes care operation at its massive industrial park and headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, where it already churns out washers and dryers for the US market. The move of more than a dozen front-load washer models comes as US trade policy uncertainty has reached a high-stakes fever pitch as Trump’s July 9 tariffs deadline approaches.
mandag 7. juli 2025
Why China Isn’t a Bigger Player in the Middle East
China isn’t ready to be the world’s next superpower: That’s one thing the exchange of fire between Israel and Iran in June made abundantly clear.
The country that was perhaps Tehran’s most important diplomatic and economic partner wound up playing virtually no role when Iran and Israel came to blows. This, despite the fact that Beijing has actively sought stronger relations with many countries in the Middle East—not just Iran but also Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—and despite China’s evident stake in promoting stability in a region that supplies more than half of its oil imports.
So why didn’t China step up?
Beijing did make some effort to assert its influence. In mid-June, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a four-point plan, calling for a cease-fire and negotiations to contend with Iran’s nuclear program, and offering to play a “constructive role” in restoring peace. But Xi’s proposal went nowhere. He couldn’t bring the belligerents to the table—especially not Israel.
The country that was perhaps Tehran’s most important diplomatic and economic partner wound up playing virtually no role when Iran and Israel came to blows. This, despite the fact that Beijing has actively sought stronger relations with many countries in the Middle East—not just Iran but also Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—and despite China’s evident stake in promoting stability in a region that supplies more than half of its oil imports.
So why didn’t China step up?
Beijing did make some effort to assert its influence. In mid-June, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a four-point plan, calling for a cease-fire and negotiations to contend with Iran’s nuclear program, and offering to play a “constructive role” in restoring peace. But Xi’s proposal went nowhere. He couldn’t bring the belligerents to the table—especially not Israel.
China Has Paid a High Price for Its Dominance in Rare Earths
Chinese mines and refineries produce most of the world’s rare earth metals and practically all of a few crucial kinds of rare earths. This has given China’s government near complete control over a critical choke point in global trade.
But for decades in northern China, toxic sludge from rare earth processing has been dumped into a four-square-mile artificial lake. In south-central China, rare earth mines have poisoned dozens of once-green valleys and left hillsides stripped to barren red clay.
Achieving dominance in rare earths came with a heavy cost for China, which largely tolerated severe environmental damage for many years. The industrialized world, by contrast, had tighter regulations and stopped accepting even limited environmental harm from the industry as far back as the 1990s, when rare earth mines and processing centers closed elsewhere.
But for decades in northern China, toxic sludge from rare earth processing has been dumped into a four-square-mile artificial lake. In south-central China, rare earth mines have poisoned dozens of once-green valleys and left hillsides stripped to barren red clay.
Achieving dominance in rare earths came with a heavy cost for China, which largely tolerated severe environmental damage for many years. The industrialized world, by contrast, had tighter regulations and stopped accepting even limited environmental harm from the industry as far back as the 1990s, when rare earth mines and processing centers closed elsewhere.
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