Day: August 22, 2023

Xi Jinping hails ‘golden era’ in China-South Africa relations amid Brics summit

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Relations between China and South Africa have entered a “golden era” and are set to deepen, Chinese President Xi Jinping told his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa in talks in Pretoria on Tuesday. “China is willing to work with [South Africa] to … deepen cooperation, strengthen collaboration and push the China-South Africa comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level,” the Chinese foreign ministry quoted Xi as saying. “Regardless of what happens in global affairs, China’s commitment to deepening the friendly and cooperative relations between China and South Africa will remain…

China officials hit by US sanctions over ‘forced assimilation’ of children in Tibet

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The United States will impose visa sanctions on Chinese officials pursuing “forced assimilation” of children in Tibet, where UN experts say one million children have been separated from their families. Secretary of state Antony Blinken said the US would restrict visas to Chinese officials behind the policy of state boarding schools, in the latest in a series of US moves on Beijing that comes despite a resumption of high-level dialogue. “These coercive policies seek to eliminate Tibet’s distinct linguistic, cultural and religious traditions among younger generations of Tibetans,” Blinken said…

Global stocks head for worst month in nearly a year

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Global stock markets have lost about $3tn in value this month, as a “witches’ brew” of gloomy Chinese economic data and surging US borrowing costs sours investor sentiment after a bumper start to the year. Wall Street’s S&P 500 index, Europe’s Stoxx 600 and China’s CSI 300 have shed a cumulative $2.8tn — about 5 per cent of their aggregate value and more than the entire market capitalisation of London’s FTSE 100 — in the three weeks to August 21, according to Refinitiv data analysed by broker AJ Bell. An…

Despite Luna-25 spacecraft crash, China expected to continue working with Russia in race for moon base

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Despite its Luna-25 spacecraft crashing, Russia will probably remain China’s major partner to build a base on the moon, although the setback may see the US-led Artemis programme get ahead on its own base project, a space policy researcher says. Russia’s robotic probe, which was scheduled to touch down in the lunar south pole region early this week, encountered an engine failure during Saturday’s manoeuvre to lower its orbit ready for the landing, head of Russian space agency Roscosmos Yury Borisov told state media on Monday. “Instead of the planned…

Warnings of scientific ‘suicide’ as US-China research collaboration hangs in balance

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In 1991, about 25 babies in every 100,000 in the United States were born with spina bifida, a birth defect that can cause paralysis and brain damage. Fifteen years later, the likelihood had fallen by nearly one-third. That so many babies could be spared such a fate was thanks to the simple discovery that folic acid supplements could dramatically reduce the chances of neural tube defects, which cause spina bifida and anencephalus, a rarer condition. It was “one of the great successes of public health,” according to Tom Frieden, a…

Survey: Many Hongkongers in UK Feel Unsafe Visiting Beijing’s Diplomatic Offices, at Protests

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LONDON —  Many Hongkongers who moved to the U.K. after China cracked down on their home city are concerned about their safety while protesting Beijing’s policies or visiting Chinese diplomatic offices to extend travel documents, according to a recent survey. Initiative SAFE, a research project founded by the group Hongkongers in Britain, conducted an online survey between April 22 and May 7, and released the results on Aug. 17. Of 458 people who responded, more than 40% had children, and over 50% of all respondents planned to travel to Hong…

As China’s property crisis plagues its economy and financial system, is a ‘Lehman Moment’ looming?

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Global investors, Chinese homebuyers and economists are now holding their breath to see which domino will be the next to fall, and what tools Beijing can use to prevent its own so-called Lehman moment – a phase drawn from the late 2008 bankruptcy of global investment bank Lehman Brothers to describe the trigger of a systemic risk outbreak. In a state banking system, the authorities can move liabilities around the financial system and use ‘extend and pretend’ accountingGeorge Magnus And dozens of private developers in China could also follow suit.…

Biden Heads to G20, Sends Harris to ASEAN, East Asia Summits

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WASHINGTON —  President Joe Biden will attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India, but is skipping the U.S.-ASEAN and East Asia Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, sending Vice President Kamala Harris instead, the White House announced Tuesday. In a testament to the importance Biden places on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, Biden will be in India September 7-10, arriving two days ahead of the annual gathering of the leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies. The heads of state and governments are set to begin their meetings on September 9…

Trump Condemns Hunter Biden’s Foreign Business. He’s Quiet on His Own.

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After his fourth indictment, bringing his total count of felony charges to 91, former President Donald J. Trump last week posted a video online accusing President Biden and his family of being criminals. “The Biden crime family,” he claimed, had received millions of dollars from foreign countries. “I believe we have a compromised president,” Mr. Trump said, adding: “He’s a Manchurian candidate. That’s why Crooked Joe is letting other countries walk all over the United States.” For Mr. Trump, outrage is a selective commodity when it comes to presidential families…

Prosecutor-turned-president looms over South Korean business

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Receive free South Korean business & finance updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest South Korean business & finance news every morning. South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol last week pardoned 12 business leaders convicted of offences ranging from misappropriation of company funds to embezzlement with the aim of “revitalising the domestic economy”. The Korean ritual of pardoning convicted executives and politicians is long established. Last year, Yoon issued a pardon to Samsung princeling Lee Jae-yong, who served 19 months in prison for his…