Year: 2022

China economy 2022 review: another turbulent 12 months as coronavirus weighs heavy

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Chinese mothers gave birth to 10.62 million babies in 2021, representing an 11.5 per cent drop from 12 million in 2020. The national birth rate also fell to a record low of 7.52 births for every 1,000 people in 2021, from 8.52 in 2020. China also cut its benchmark lending rate for the second consecutive month in the latest move to shore up the cooling economy, while also lowering a mortgage reference rate for the first time in nearly two years. February China and Russia began the month by strengthening…

Lao prime minister resigns amid soaring inflation, criticism over mining concessions

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Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh resigned on Friday for health reasons, retiring after serving in the position for less than two years amid a tanking economy, with soaring inflation and a sharp drop in the value of the currency, the kip.  Viphavanh, 72, submitted his resignation to the National Assembly earlier in the day. He took office in April 2021 following a general election.  “In the current situation, our country is experiencing a lot of hardships. I’m not able to do this difficult job any further,” he said in a…

China Promotes its US Envoy Qin Gang to Foreign Minister

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BEIJING/WASHINGTON —  China has appointed Qin Gang, its ambassador to the United States and a trusted aide of President Xi Jinping, to be its new foreign minister, as Beijing and Washington seek to stabilize rocky relations. Qin, 56, replaces Wang Yi, who has been foreign minister for the past decade. Wang, 69, was promoted to the politburo of the Chinese Communist Party in October and is expected to play a bigger role in Chinese foreign policy. In solving challenges common to all of mankind, China’s diplomacy will offer “Chinese wisdom,…

Share Data, WHO Urges China at COVID Surge Talks

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GENEVA —  The World Health Organization met Chinese officials for talks on Friday about the surge in COVID-19 cases, urging them to share real-time data so other countries could respond effectively. The rise in infections in China has triggered concern around the globe and questions about its data reporting, with low official figures for cases and deaths despite some hospitals and morgues being overwhelmed. The talks came after WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged Beijing to be more forthcoming on the pandemic situation in the world’s most populous country. The…

Tech war: China’s push to forge a chip coalition in Asia falters as Washington expected to tighten the screws in 2023

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“On the one hand, we can’t be blindly optimistic and believe that we can do everything – the concept of ‘Amazing China’ is certainly out of fashion,” Wei said in published comments. “[However] we don’t have to be depressed or belittle ourselves.” Amazing China is the title of a Chinese propaganda movie from 2017 which hailed the country’s economic and technological achievements. Washington moved quickly in 2022 to deny China access to advanced chips. With the Chips and Science Act, the US is luring chip manufacturing back to American soil…

North Korea Ends 2022 With 1 More Missile Launch

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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA —  North Korea capped off its record year of missile tests by sending three more ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast Saturday, according to South Korea’s military. The North fired three short-range ballistic missiles from North Hwanghae Province starting about 8 a.m. local time, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. Japan’s Coast Guard earlier reported that two North Korean missiles were launched. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear. It is North Korea’s 37th launch event this year…

Analysts: As 2023 ASEAN chair, Indonesia must dial up pressure on Myanmar junta

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Much is expected from next year’s ASEAN chair Indonesia, especially in resolving the post-coup crisis in Myanmar, but analysts say that little will change unless Jakarta spearheads a hardline stance against the Burmese junta. Navigating geopolitical rivalries between superpowers will pose another challenge, say analysts. Some predict that Indonesia will likely focus its 2023 chairmanship on regional connectivity, economic recovery, and preventing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations from being used as a pawn in the U.S.-China tug-of-war. Last month, Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said that the situation in…

Myanmar’s junta ignored condemnation of its rule in 2022

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The people of Myanmar suffered as the anti-junta armed resistance took on the military in 2022. It was a year in which not only democracy and human rights eroded in the aftermath of the February 2021 coup, but also one that saw an acute loss of civilian lives and destruction of private property. But widespread condemnation of the junta’s policies largely fell on deaf ears, as the military regime continued to rule with impunity. These were some of the most significant political developments in Myanmar this year: Ko Jimmy and…

Hong Kong committee can bar foreign lawyers from national security cases: Beijing

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China on Friday issued a ruling giving top officials in the Hong Kong government the power to bar foreign lawyers from representing clients in “national security” cases, paving the way for officials to block the appointment of media mogul Jimmy Lai’s British defense barrister. The National People’s Congress Standing Committee ruled that a national security committee chaired by Chief Executive John Lee has the right to decide whether to allow foreign lawyers to represent clients in cases deemed to involve matters of national security, and that its decisions are binding…

Rishi Sunak to impose Covid tests on travellers from China in U-turn

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Rishi Sunak has performed a major U-turn by imposing Covid checks on travellers from China from 5 January, after criticism from a growing number of Conservative MPs over his “dithering”. After a series of seemingly mixed messages about whether the UK would follow the lead of Spain, Italy, Israel, the US and India in screening arrivals, the prime minister backed the move to bring the UK into line with its allies in a change of policy on Friday. The UK Health Security Agency will also initiate surveillance from 8 January,…