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☆ The Red Sea crisis tests China’s global ambitions
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

China’s responseThe Houthi rebels in Yemen started firing missiles and drones at ships in the Red Sea in mid-November, in what they say is an act of solidarity with Palestinians. Chinese officials repeatedly stressed that the Red Sea crisis is a “spillover” from the conflict in Gaza, citing an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as the top priority. Beijing’s reluctance to wade into the Red Sea crisis reflects these geopolitical calculations. The Chinese government readout of the meeting between Wang and Sullivan did not mention the Red Sea. Egypt is losing millions of dollars per day from the reduced traffic at the Suez Canal at the northern end of the Red Sea.

Persons: Houthi, “, ”, Mordechai Chaziza, Xi Jinping, Israel, ” Chaziza, Wang Yi, Jake Sullivan, Iran ”, we’re, Wang, Sullivan, Ebrahim Raisi, Yan Yan, OOCL, Kuehne + Nagel, Jonathan Fulton, “ can’t, ” Fulton, William Figueroa, Xi Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Ashkelon Academic College, Beijing, Iran, People’s Liberation Army Navy, Britain, United Nations Security Council, Global, Western, Chinese Foreign, White House, Reuters, Chinese Foreign Ministry, China, Shanghai Shipping Exchange, Atlantic Council, University of Groningen, Xi’s Global Security Initiative, GSI, Hamas Locations: Hong Kong, Red, Israel, Ashkelon, United States, China, Europe, Yemen, Gulf, Aden, Djibouti, Beijing, Gaza, Bangkok, Iran, Tehran, Africa, Switzerland, Francisco, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi, Egypt, Suez, Sea, Saudi Arabia, Netherlands

☆ Iran is stepping up its shadow war with Israel to boost its clout — but it could backfire
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But it appears wary of provoking a wider, regional war. As part of this covert war, Iran has funded and trained a network of militias stretching across the Middle East. Iran has threatened Israel with the prospect of a wider regional war if it invades Gaza, reported Al Jazeera. But Iran faces a dilemmaIranian officials have told Reuters that Iran faces a dilemma in its response to the Israel-Hamas war. "Iranian behavior is a key factor in whether this remains contained or spreads into a wider regional war.

Persons: —, Gaza Ilia Yefimovich, Israel, Trump, Trump administration's Abraham, Iran —, Tobias Borck, Al, Alex Vatanka, Abraham, Mahmud Abbas, Xi Jinping, Jade Gao, it's, Jonathan Fulton Organizations: Service, Hamas, CNN, dpa Israel, St, The New York Times, Trump administration's, Trump administration's Abraham Accords, Royal United Services Institute, Israel, Hezbollah, Reuters, US, West Bank, East Institute, Abraham Accords, of, People, The Atlantic Council Locations: Iran, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Palestinian, Tehran, Saudi, Al Jazeera, China, Beijing

Shadi Tabatibi/Reuters Relatives mourn for a family killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on October 21. Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images Palestinians inspect a destroyed area following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on October 21. Ronen Zvulun/Reuters A woman mourns over a dead man at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza City on October 18. Fatima Shbair/AP People react at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City on Saturday, October 14. Ramez Mahmoud/AP A plume of smoke rises in the sky over Gaza City during an Israeli airstrike on October 9.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Zhai Jun, Beijing’s, Zhai, ”, Sanam Vakil, ” Jonathan Fulton, Said Khatub, Leon Neal, Hatem Moussa, Nir Oz, Wolfgang Schwan, Yousef Masoud, Alexi J . Rosenfeld, Shadi Tabatibi, Ali Jadallah, Belal al Sabbagh, Mohammed Saber, Khan, Rizek Abdeljawad, Ahmad Gharabli, Janis Laizans, Abed Khaled, Mohammed Dahman, Yoav Gallant, Gallant, Yasser Qudih, Ofir Libstein, Aza, Ronen Zvulun, Belal Khaled, Abed Rahim Khatib, Hod, Ayal Margolin, Antony Blinken, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Brendan Smialowski, Biden, Netanyahu, Kenny Holston, Ariel Schalit, Mohammed Abed, Kfar Aza, Ilia Yefimovich, Mustafa Hassona, Mahmoud Khaled, Samar Abu, Fatima Shbair, Dor Reder, Violeta Santos Moura, Shir Torem, Wahaj Bani Moufleh, Antonio Macías, Macías, Francisco Seco, Eli Albag, Liri, Mohammed Talatene, Sergey Ponomarev, Hatem Ali, Dor Kedmi, Mahmud Hams, Saher, Abraham Cohen, Valentin Ghnassia, Ghnassia, Yuri Cortez, Ibrahim Hams, Bashar Taleb, Baz Ratner, Jack Guez, Yahya Hassouna, Mapal Adam, Abed Zagout, Tamir Kalifa, Agha, Ibraheem Abu Mustafa, Reuters Itzik, Miriam Shafir, Dor Shafir, Savion Kiper, Maya Alleruzzo, Mohammed Salem, CNN Sergey Ponomarev, Eden Guez, Atef Safadi, Ohad, Mohammed Soboh, Said, Noam Elimeleh Rothenberg, Amir Cohen, Ilai Bar Sade, Erik Marmor, Oren Ziv, Majdi, Ramez Mahmoud, Roi Levy, Alleruzzo, Tali Touito, Jalaa Marey, Oded, Khan Younis, Ahmad Hasballah, Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa, Tsafrir, Ilan Rosenberg, Eyad Baba, Itai Ron, Hadas Parush, Xi Jinping, ” Vladimir Putin, Putin, ” Zhai, Mikhail Bogdanov, Putin’s, Israel –, Israel, “, Li Mingjiang, Li, China’s, Mao Zedong, Fulton, Zhao Tong, Vakil, China doesn’t Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, United, Palestine, Chatham House, Atlantic Council, Getty, Pictures, Tel Aviv University, AP, New York Times, Reuters, Reuters Civil, AP Rockets, AP Israel's, Regional, Al, Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Israel's, Ahli Baptist Hospital, Israel Defense Forces, Israeli, Ben Gurion International, Shifa, Palestinian, West Bank, Aris Messinis, Haim, Mount, Mount Herzl Military, Nova, Anadolu Agency, CNN, Nova Festival, Ben Gurion, Rockets, United Nations, Reuters Police, Reuters Rockets, Biden, US, UN, Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University ., Israel, Carnegie Endowment, International Locations: China, Hong Kong, United States, Israel, Beijing, Palestinian, Qatar, Egypt, Gaza, peacemaking, East, North Africa, Abu Dhabi, Rafah, AFP, Tel Aviv, Deir al, Anadolu, Khan Younis, Europe, Zahra City, Gaza City, Xinhua, East Jerusalem, Ras, Israel's, Yehuda, Aqsa, Hod HaSharon, Kiryat Shmona, Al, Ahli, Sderot, Gan, Kfar, North Sinai, Samar, Samar Abu Elouf, Beit Kama, Haifa, Cyprus, Nablus, West, Lebanon, Kfar Saba, Israeli, Be'eri, Rehovot, Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, Kibbutz Be'eri, Modiin Maccabim, Kfar Aza, Ashkelon, Mount Herzel, Yassin, Beitar Ilit, Ramat Gan, Itai, Beit Hanun, Rishon Lezion, Ukraine, Russia, Chatham, Iran, Africa, Moscow, Washington, Xinjiang, Leningrad, Communist China, United Nations, Palestine, Beijing –, Saudi Arabia, Lebanese, Tehran

☆ Belt and Road Forum: Beijing to host global gathering as Xi Jinping lays out China's vision
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, whose on-going assault on Ukraine is another major point of global instability and division, is expected to attend. The last time he was in Beijing was for the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in early 2022. Winning backing for China’s global leadership from a broad swath of developing and emerging economies is key to Xi’s strategy to push back against perceived international threats, analysts say. Overseas development finance from China’s two major development banks has also decreased significantly since a peak in 2016, the report’s data show. Ten years on, Chinese decision makers are becoming “more selective and more calculating” about the benefits of their financing, she said.

Persons: Xi Jinping, laud China’s, –, weren’t, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, ”, Craig Singleton, “, Kenya . Han Xu, Li Mingjiang, ” Jonathan Fulton, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Cyril Ramaphosa, Narendra Modi, Sergei Lavrov, Alet Pretorius, ” It’s, Liang, Yun Sun Organizations: CNN, Global, Initiative, Foundation for Defense, Democracies, Getty, Communist Party, Hamas, Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, Officials, Atlantic Council, Indian, Russia's, Boston University Global Development, Center, World Bank, Overseas, China’s National, Reform, China Program, Stimson Locations: China, Beijing, United States, Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Ukraine’s, Washington, Kenya ., Xinhua, Russia, Moscow, China’s, Abu Dhabi, Fulton, Johannesburg, New Delhi, saddling

☆ China wants to be a peace broker in the Middle East. How has it responded to the Israel-Gaza war?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Experts say this initial response may expose Beijing’s limited influence in the region, despite official propaganda talking up China as the world’s new peacemaker. Yuval Waks, a senior official at the Israeli Embassy in Beijing, said his country expected a “stronger condemnation” of Hamas from China. State media coverageDespite its claims of neutrality, coverage of the conflict on China’s state-run television appears more slanted. Chinese state media were also quick to blame the US for the conflict now raging in the heart of the Middle East. “China looks at Israel as an opportunity to get points with the broader Arab world and the rest of the developing world.

Persons: Mahmoud Abbas, Xi Jinping, Jonathan Fulton, they’re, Yuval Waks, ” Waks, Chuck Schumer, Xi, “, ” Schumer, Mao Ning, ”, Zhang Jun, Beijing’s, Phil Cunningham, Israel –, Abbas, –, Israel, ” Fulton, Fulton, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Atlantic Council, China’s, Embassy, Reuters, US, Foreign, United Nation, European Union, Global Times, Communist, USS Ford, US Air Force, UN Security Council, Palestinian, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, ”, Israel, Washington, Israeli Locations: China, Beijing, Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Gaza, Palestinian, Palestine, Abu Dhabi, United States, Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, State, ”, Russia, Hamas, Ukraine, Xinjiang, Fulton, Haifa, Iraq, Oman –

[1/5] Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jeddah in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia June 7, 2023. Amer Hilabi/Pool via REUTERSJEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, June 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had an "open, candid" conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the early hours of Wednesday about a wide range of bilateral issues, a U.S. official said. Blinken and the crown prince, known as MbS, met for an hour and forty minutes, a U.S. official said, covering topics including Israel, the conflict in Yemen, unrest in Sudan as well as human rights. In April, Saudi Arabia restored ties with Iran, a regional rival and Israel's arch-foe. MbS and Blinken also discussed Yemen and potential ways to resolve remaining issues, while Blinken thanked the crown prince for the kingdom's role in pushing for a ceasefire in Sudan and helping evacuate U.S. citizens.

Persons: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Antony Blinken, Amer Hilabi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Prince Mohammed, Blinken's, Donald Trump, Jonathan Fulton, Fulton, Blinken, Humeyra Pamuk, Aziz El Yaakoubi, El, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Mark Potter Organizations: Saudi Arabia's Crown, REUTERS, Saudi Crown, U.S, MbS, United, New York Times, Saudi, However U.S, Atlantic Council, Washington, ., normalising Saudi, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, REUTERS JEDDAH, Iran, Washington, Riyadh, United States, Arabia, OPEC, Israel, Yemen, Sudan, East, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, However, China, Arab, Beijing, Saudi

☆ 5 key takeaways from Xi’s trip to Saudi Arabia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Here are five key takeaways from Xi’s visit to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Press Agency//ReutersDuring Xi’s visit, Saudi Arabia and China released a nearly 4,000-word joint statement outlining their alignment on a swathe of political issues, and promising deeper cooperation on scores of others. China is the world’s biggest buyer of oil, with Saudi Arabia being its top supplier. China is also keen to cooperate with Saudi Arabia on security and defense, an important field once reserved for the kingdom’s American ally. Saudi Arabia was, however, keen to reject notions of polarization, deeming it unhelpful.

☆ Xi Jinping: Chinese president lands in Saudi Arabia amid tensions with US
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh on Wednesday for a multiple-day visit, China’s official news agency Xinhua reported, amid frayed ties between the two countries and the United States. A purple carpet was rolled out for the Chinese president, and canons were fired. But Saudi Arabia’s grand reception of the Chinese president is only emblematic of the magnitude of their growing relationship, specifically around oil, trade and security. Saudi Arabia has also traditionally been China’s top oil supplier, with Saudi barrels making up around 17% of total Chinese oil imports as of last year, according to the Saudi-backed Arab News. Apart from oil exports, Saudi Arabia has this year ramped up its Chinese investments, which culminated in Aramco’s whopping $10 billion dollar investment into a refinery and petrochemical complex in China’s northeast.

☆ Analysis: Saudi prince seeks Mideast leadership, independence with Xi's visit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Aziz El Yaakoubi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The Saudi government did not respond to requests for comment on Xi's visit and its agenda. It is China's top oil supplier, although fellow OPEC+ producer Russia has increased its Chinese market share with lower-priced fuel. The Chinese delegation is expected to sign dozens of agreements with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states covering energy, security and investments, diplomats have told Reuters. U.S. officials have declined to comment when asked about Saudi-China bilateral relations ahead of Xi's visit. "The relationships with China pale versus those with the United States in terms of both complexity and intimacy," he said.

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