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☆ Dalai Lama Apologizes After Video of Kiss With Boy at Public Event Stirs Criticism Online
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Dalai Lama is a widely recognized religious teacher and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. HONG KONG—The Dalai Lama apologized on Monday for an encounter during a public talk with a boy who he kissed and told to “suck on my tongue.”Video of the February event circulated online recently in India, where the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader lives, and beyond, spurring criticism on social media.

☆ Macron Urges China’s Xi to Help Negotiate End to War in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Noemie Bisserbe | Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

French President Emmanuel Macron sought to enlist Chinese leader Xi Jinping in efforts to persuade Russia to stop its war in Ukraine, inviting a U.S. rival that sees itself as an increasingly vital part of global diplomacy to play a more prominent role in ending the conflict. Mr. Macron made the appeal during a meeting with Mr. Xi on Thursday, part of a three-day trip that French officials say is designed to limit Chinese support for Russia.

PARIS—French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to press Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a trip to China this week to limit support for Russia in its war against Ukraine, according to French officials, amid growing Western concerns over Beijing’s deepening economic and political ties with Moscow. Mr. Macron is scheduled to arrive in China on Wednesday, a day before his meeting with Mr. Xi in a bid to dissuade him from throwing his full weight behind Russia’s war campaign, French officials said. China is Russia’s most significant partner and an increasingly important economic lifeline as it faces Western sanctions.

☆ In Beijing, Japan’s Foreign Minister Warns Over Russia-China Military Ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Alastair Gale | Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Japan Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, left, discussed a range of issues with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing Sunday. TOKYO—Japan’s foreign minister raised concerns in Beijing about increasing Russian and Chinese joint military activity on a day when Tokyo formally opened its closest missile base to China. Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, that China should play a responsible international role and called for the release of a Japanese citizen detained in China, according to Tokyo’s account of the meeting.

☆ Zelensky Urges China’s Xi to Visit Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Jared Malsin | Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is urging Chinese leader Xi Jinping to meet with him as Beijing maneuvers itself as a potential peacemaker with strong ties to Moscow. Mr. Zelensky’s overtures are a test of China’s push to expand its influence on the global stage while maintaining Beijing’s claim of neutrality in the Ukraine war. Mr. Xi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week in a visit that reaffirmed the countries’ economic and political partnership. Now Kyiv is seeking to counter Russia’s embrace of China with its own diplomatic efforts.

☆ Russia-China Summit Showcases Challenge to the West
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Ann M. Simmons | Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

MOSCOW—Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed the deepening political and economic ties between their two countries at a summit that telegraphed their shared interest in challenging a world order led by the U.S. and its democratic allies. With war raging in eastern Ukraine, hundreds of miles away from the gilded Kremlin hall where the men met, Mr. Xi, in his third term as China’s leader, noted that “political mutual trust is deepening” between Moscow and Beijing and “common interests are multiplying.”

In Tehran, a man holds a newspaper with news of Iran and Saudi Arabia’s agreement to re-establish diplomatic relations. China’s brokering of a détente between Iran and Saudi Arabia accelerates a geopolitical realignment in the Middle East, as rivalries that erupted during the Arab Spring fade and outside powers besides the U.S. vie for influence. The restoration of diplomatic relations between Tehran and Riyadh, announced Friday in Beijing after years of enmity between the two capitals, reflects the new reality: With Washington increasingly preoccupied in Ukraine and Asia, the region is trying to move past its old divisions, resolving conflicts and easing tensions.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko , Moscow’s closest ally, sought to cement the partnership between their two nations as Minsk seeks more help for its sanctions-hit economy while endorsing Beijing’s efforts to cast itself as a peacemaker in the Ukraine war. Both Belarus and China have called for an end to the fighting in Ukraine, but neither has pressed Russia to withdraw. A Chinese position paper on Ukraine last week urged peace talks, but criticized the use of unilateral sanctions and reliance on military blocs, an apparent reference to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s support for Kyiv.

☆ China Sticks Close to Russia as It Makes Cautious Diplomatic Push
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met in Beijing last year shortly before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. HONG KONG—Over a year of war in Ukraine, Russia and China have grown closer. The next stage, as China seeks to cast itself as pushing for peace, will test whether Beijing is willing to put any distance between itself and Moscow. Aside from statements from China’s leader Xi Jinping that nuclear war must be avoided—the sort of truism few would argue with—China has offered no criticism of Russia’s actions. Even that nudging hasn’t stopped President Vladimir Putin from nuclear gamesmanship, highlighted by his stepping back from the New START treaty this week.

☆ China’s Top Diplomat Lauds Strength of Russia Ties in Putin Meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Ann M. Simmons | Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

MOSCOW—Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, touted the resilience of their countries’ partnership amid growing antagonism with the West, as Moscow presses on with its war in Ukraine and Beijing says it seeks a role as a mediator in the conflict. The partnership between the two countries has deepened since the start of the war, troubling the U.S. and its Western allies. Both countries have declared that their friendship has “no limits” and China has extended an economic lifeline to Russia, which is grappling with Western sanctions in response to its Ukraine invasion.

HONG KONG—Chinese leader Xi Jinping is preparing to visit Moscow for a summit with Russia’s president in the coming months, according to people familiar with the plan, as Vladimir Putin wages war in Ukraine and portrays himself as a standard-bearer against a U.S.-led global order. Beijing says it wants to play a more active role aimed at ending the conflict, and the people familiar with Mr. Xi’s trip plans said a meeting with Mr. Putin would be part of a push for multiparty peace talks and allow China to reiterate its calls that nuclear weapons not be used.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have a friendly relationship, though, at a September summit meeting in Uzbekistan, Mr. Putin publicly acknowledged Mr. Xi’s questions and concerns about Russia’s war in Ukraine. This week’s visit to Moscow by China’s top diplomat signals the importance Beijing and Moscow place on a relationship that has grown deeper in the face of growing animosity to the West and geopolitical realignments driven by the conflict in Ukraine. Wang Yi , China’s top diplomat, arrives in Moscow on Monday at the end of a European tour where he presented Beijing as committed to peace in Ukraine and eager to strengthen diplomatic ties with the outside world following three years of pandemic isolation.

☆ Amid Tensions With U.S., China’s Top Diplomat Travels to a Wary Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders informal dialogue in Bangkok, last year. Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, kicks off a weeklong visit to Europe and Russia with a difficult task: Repair fraying relations in the region at a time of heightened tension with the U.S., growing European wariness toward Beijing and concern over China’s partnership with Russia. Mr. Wang met on Wednesday with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Palace, followed by stops in Italy, Hungary and Russia.

After Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Beijing on Tuesday, the countries signed 20 cooperation agreements. President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Tuesday at the start of a three-day trip, as the two countries shored up ties amid their escalating tensions with the U.S.Iran is increasingly reliant on China to salvage an economy crippled by U.S. sanctions, but also fears Beijing’s growing ties with Saudi Arabia could leave it further isolated.

☆ Hong Kong’s Brand Makeover Leaves Out Mention of Social Upheaval
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—Hong Kong began promoting its reopening this month with a 30-second video featuring the city’s leader, John Lee , zooming across the screen, touting “new opportunities, new facilities, new experiences” as the backdrop fills with the repeated exclamation “more!”The campaign marks the start of Hong Kong’s effort to redefine itself after several tumultuous years that included a mass protest movement, a continuing political crackdown and some of the world’s strictest and most enduring pandemic controls, which largely cut off a city long considered open and cosmopolitan.

☆ Xinjiang Governor’s Planned Visit to Europe Sparks Anger
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—Lawmakers and human-rights groups in Europe have denounced an expected visit to London and Brussels this month by a Chinese official sanctioned by the U.S. for helping orchestrate repression of ethnic minorities. The official, Erkin Tuniyaz, is the governor of Xinjiang, the region of northwest China where as many as a million or more Uyghurs, Kazakhs and members of other Turkic groups have been held in camps and prisons as part of a campaign of forced assimilation.

☆ Chinese and Local Workers Clash at Indonesia Nickel Smelter, Leaving Two Dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Jon Emont | Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A clash involving Chinese and Indonesian workers at a nickel smelter in Indonesia left two people dead and a part of the facility burned down, showing how tensions have accompanied the expansion of Chinese investment in operations to mine and process the lucrative metal in the Southeast Asian country. The violence—which broke out Saturday at the facility of PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry, a subsidiary of China’s Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry Co.—involved the use of pipes and rocks, a police spokesman said. As the confrontation spiraled, workers set fire to mess halls, dozens of rooms and heavy machinery, said the spokesman, Didik Supranoto .

☆ China’s Censors End Crackdown on Covid-Policy Criticism—of a Certain Kind
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—As Covid-19 sweeps across China following the end of its strict pandemic controls, sparking a run on fever drugs and swamping hospitals, some people in the country are looking to cast blame. One clear target has emerged: Those who called for opening in rare nationwide protests last month.

☆ China Records First Deaths After Easing Covid-19 Policy, With Many More Likely
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—China acknowledged the first Covid-19 deaths since the country ended its strict pandemic control policies, but the true scale of the outbreak is veiled by lack of data and unclear rules. The two deaths were recorded in Beijing on Monday, China’s National Health Commission said, the first blamed on the virus in the capital since November. Official infection figures have slumped since last month after the government dropped strict testing requirements and abandoned efforts to tally asymptomatic cases. That contrasts with predictions by health experts of a surge in infections as well as reports from residents of Beijing and other cities that they have seen a sharp increase in Covid cases in their apartment buildings and personal circles.

☆ Disney’s ‘Avatar’ Sequel Opens With Ticket Sales Shy of Predictions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Robbie Whelan | Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ was shown on over 1,500 IMAX screens worldwide. “Avatar: The Way of Water” made waves at the box office, but lingering concerns over the coronavirus tempered ticket sales in China, where the makers of the sci-fi epic were hoping to score a major hit. Directed by James Cameron and distributed by Walt Disney Co.’s 20th Century Studios, the film earned $435 million in theaters around the world in its debut, the second-highest global opening-weekend gross of 2022, trailing only “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” from Disney ’s Marvel Studios.

☆ Beijing’s Parcel Pileup Shows Strain of Zero-Covid Exit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Pedestrians wore protective gear in Beijing on Thursday. A lack of data has made it difficult to gauge the size of the wave of Covid infections. HONG KONG—Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc. said it would dispatch 1,000 workers to Beijing to clear a backlog of deliveries, adding to mounting evidence that China’s exit from its zero-Covid policies has been bumpy and uncertain. A lack of data, after China abandoned widespread testing, has made it difficult to gauge the size of the wave of infections that experts said was bound to follow, as well as the impact on the economy.

☆ China’s Covid-19 Surge Puts Strain on Medical Workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Liyan Qi | Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Epidemic control workers in Beijing go to disinfect an epidemic area in a recently reopened neighborhood after China lifted its policies such as locking down areas and cities. The death of a Chinese medical student who had been doing hospital work shook healthcare workers across the country and stirred fears of inundated hospitals as the scrapping of Beijing’s strict Covid-19 restrictions has triggered a surge in infections. The West China School of Medicine in the southwestern city of Chengdu said that the first-year medical student, whom it referred to by his surname, Chen, collapsed on Tuesday after completing his clinical work. It said he died of cardiac arrest a little after 10 p.m. Wednesday.

☆ China Halts Location Tracking App as Covid Restrictions Fall
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—China is pulling the plug on a nationwide mobile tracking app that collects data on users’ travel movements, dismantling a symbol of one of the world’s sternest and most durable Covid-19 containment regimes even as cases continue to surge across the country. Authorities said Monday that the mobile app, a cornerstone of Beijing’s technocentric approach to throttling the pandemic, would disappear by day’s end, part of China’s swift retreat from the “zero-Covid” approach that it has adhered to for the past three years.

☆ Hong Kong Media Tycoon Jimmy Lai Gets Another Jail Term After Fraud Conviction
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG— Jimmy Lai , the staunchly pro-democracy Hong Kong media tycoon, was sentenced by a Hong Kong court Saturday to more than five years in prison for fraud over a sublease at the former headquarters of his media company. Mr. Lai, whose widely read publications were some of the most aggressive critics of China’s Communist Party and its locally appointed leaders, has been one of the chief targets of the crackdown that followed mass antigovernment protests that swept the city in 2019.

☆ China’s Covid Protests Began With an Apartment Fire in a Remote Region
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Austin Ramzy | Wenxin Fan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

As smoke crept through the 21-story apartment building in far western China, panicked messages filled the residents’ chat group. “On the 16th floor, we don’t have enough oxygen,” a woman gasped in an audio message. “Soon our children won’t be OK.”Another resident added a plea about the people in apartment 1901: “They wouldn’t be able to open the door. Can you break into it and take a look? There are many children inside.”

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