Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for September 13, 2022
Newsline: China’s diplomacy believed to be aimed at dominance in Latin America
Beijing has been carefully looking to increase its influence in Latin America and with it, observers claim, advance its geopolitical goals. For decades, China has been investing in the region and building close relationships with politicians of undemocratic regimes who make decisions to benefit the Asian giant not only economically and commercially, but also politically. On Monday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken came to meet with leaders in Mexico, including President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Up for discussion was the U.S. and Mexico High Level Economic Dialogue that seeks to foster among other things regional prosperity. (https://news.yahoo.com/china-apos-growing-dominance-latin-115036745.html) While not mentioned publicly, China was likely on the minds of Blinken and his colleagues. China is Mexico’s second trading partner after the U.S, the third destination for exports and the second supplier of Mexican imports. In 2021, bilateral trade amounted to 110.27 billion dollars. China’s dominance in the region is advancing with new strategies that go far beyond economic influence to encompass the political, military, security and even technological fields.
Newsline: Turkey seen engaged in pro-active diplomacy
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who made official contacts in three countries last week, will continue his visits abroad this week. Erdoğan will first attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit to be held in Uzbekistan. Then he will travel to the United States to attend the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Erdoğan held a Balkan tour covering Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia on Sept. 6-8. The SCO Heads of State Summit is to be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on Sept. 15-16. There, he will meet with the leaders of member states and all eyes will be on his meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Erdoğan’s next stop will be the U.S. where he will attend the 77th General Assembly in New York. Erdoğan, who is expected to address the General Assembly on Sept. 20, will give messages to the world on numerous critical topics from the Russia-Ukraine war to grain shipments, from the fight against terrorism to the tension with Greece. (https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/diplomacy/erdogan-to-engage-in-busy-diplomacy-participate-in-summits-this-week) A meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Erdoğan is also under discussion, a senior Turkish official told Reuters, with Türkiye-Russia relations, U.S. weapons and conflicts in Ukraine and Syria on the agenda. NATO-member Türkiye has sought to strike a balance between Moscow and Kyiv by criticizing Russia’s invasion and selling arms to Ukraine, while opposing Western sanctions and continuing trade, tourism and investment with Russia.
Newsline: Top China Envoy Pledges to Build ‘More Just’ World Order
China is willing to work with Russia to take the global order “in a more just and reasonable direction,” Beijing’s top diplomat said, underscoring the depth of the two nations’ ties. Under the guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin, “the relationship between the two countries has always been on the right track, and both sides firmly support each other on issues relating to their core interests,” Yang Jiechi told Russian Ambassador Andrey Denisov in a meeting in Beijing. “The Chinese side is willing to work with the Russian side to continuously implement high-level strategic cooperation between the two countries, safeguard common interests and promote the development of the international order in a more just and reasonable direction,” Yang said, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-13/xi-putin-building-more-just-world-order-top-china-envoy-says#xj4y7vzkg) Xi plans to travel to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan this week for his first trip abroad since the start of the pandemic two years ago. Uzbekistan is hosting the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit Thursday and Friday.
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