Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for China
Newsline: U.S. Ambassador made rare prison visits to citizens in China
Over the course of the past month, U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns had the first meetings in more than five years with at least three U.S. citizens whom Washington says have been wrongfully detained, a senior U.S. official and family members said. Chinese-American citizen Kai Li, jailed in China on spying charges he denies, received a rare in-person visit last week from the U.S. Ambassador to Beijing and urged the U.S. government to continue to work for his release, Li’s son said on Friday. Burns met Li on March 16 in a Shanghai prison, Li’s son Harrison said. Li, a businessman, has been held in China since 2016 and was handed a 10-year jail sentence in 2018 for espionage. “The biggest message that my dad wanted to convey is to remind everyone in the U.S. government and the public that … he’s 100 percent innocent,” Harrison Li said. “Of course the U.S. government knows this, but he said it just bears repeating.” (https://neuters.de/world/envoy-made-rare-prison-visits-three-us-citizens-china-official-says-2023-03-24/) Burns wanted to shake Li’s hand but Chinese authorities did not allow that, Harrison Li said. The two could see and hear each other in an hour-long meeting through a floor-to-ceiling glass partition, he said. Harrison Li said that when the ambassador asked his father what he hoped to do once he was released, he replied that he wanted to work on “improving relations between the United States and China.” China did not allow in-person visits during its prolonged COVID-19 lockdown. Burns has also met with Mark Swidan, a Texas-based businessman who was convicted by a Chinese court in 2019 and David Lin, an American pastor detained in China since 2006, the senior U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. He did not provide the dates but said Burns visited the men “within the last few weeks” and that “this is the first time he’s actually had a chance to get face-to-face.” Burns has accompanied consular officers on prison visits to U.S. citizens held in China, a State Department spokesperson said. China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Newsline: China’s top diplomat eyes stronger ties with New Zealand
China regards New Zealand as a key partner and has confidence in stable bilateral ties, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi said on Friday. China and New Zealand have always respected and trusted each other, and bilateral ties have long been at the forefront of China’s relations with developed Western countries, Wang told New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, according to a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry. “China-New Zealand cooperation has great potential,” Wang said. (https://neuters.de/world/asia-pacific/chinas-top-diplomat-confident-about-stable-ties-with-new-zealand-2023-03-24/) Mahuta arrived in China on Wednesday for a four-day trip, the first by a New Zealand minister since 2019, with her trip seen paving the way for a future visit by Chris Hipkins who became prime minister in January after Jacinda Ardern resigned. New Zealand and China’s interactions have remained largely cordial, with the two sides upgrading their free trade pact last year. China remains New Zealand’s largest trading partner.
Newsline: Philippines, China pledge peaceful diplomacy to solve maritime issues
Maritime issues between the Philippines and China remain a “serious concern”, a Philippine official said on Friday, as the countries pledged to use diplomacy to resolve differences peacefully during high-level talks. The Philippines hosted this week the first in-person meeting between diplomats from the countries since before the COVID-19 pandemic, amid a flare-up in tensions over what Manila described as China’s “aggressive activities” in the South China Sea. “Both our countries’ leaders agreed that maritime issues should be addressed through diplomacy and dialogue and never through coercion and intimidation,” Philippine foreign ministry undersecretary Theresa Lazaro said at the opening of bilateral talks on the South China Sea. “Maritime issues are an important part of China-Philippines relations that should not be ignored,” China’s Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong said. “In the past years, through friendly dialogue and consultations, the two countries have generally managed and effectively dealt with our differences on maritime issues. And we have also advanced our practical cooperation and our mutual trust,” added Sun, who is on a three-day visit to Manila. (https://neuters.de/world/asia-pacific/philippines-china-say-need-work-together-over-maritime-issues-2023-03-24/) The discussions come two months after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s state visit to China, where President Xi Jinping said he was ready to manage maritime issues “cordially” with Manila. Last month, Marcos granted the United States expanded access to military bases, amid China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea and towards self-ruled Taiwan. Beijing, which claims large parts of the South China Sea, including some areas in Philippine waters, has expressed concern over an increasing U.S. military presence in its neighbour, accusing Washington of increasing regional tensions.
Newsline: Honduras top diplomat travels to China
The Honduran foreign minister is travelling to China to “promote” the establishment of diplomatic ties, an official said, signalling the end is most likely near for the country’s decades-long relations with Taiwan. Honduran President Xiomara Castro tweeted last week her government would seek to open relations with China. “Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina on instructions from President Xiomara Castro travelled to China on Wednesday to promote efforts for the establishment of diplomatic relations,” presidential press secretary Ivis Alvarado said. China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said it had summoned in the Honduran ambassador to express its “strong dissatisfaction” at the trip which “seriously harmed the feelings of our government and people”. A source with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters Reina and his delegation left for Beijing from Panama, accompanied by Chinese officials. (https://neuters.de/world/taiwan-says-chinas-involvement-honduras-is-very-obvious-2023-03-23/) The source declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the situation. A senior Taipei-based diplomatic source told Reuters that Reina going to China meant an announcement on forging relations was probably near.
Newsline: China protests Germany’s ‘vile’ Taiwan visit
Beijing expressed its anger at a visit by Germany’s education minister to Taiwan, describing it as “vile”, while a source at Berlin’s foreign office responded by saying the trip did not deviate from Germany’s “one China” policy. Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger, also of the FDP, said at the signing of a technology cooperation agreement with Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council Minister Wu Tsung-tsong that it was “extremely important to my ministry and I to promote cooperation with like-minded partners”. “This arrangement stands for enhancing cooperation on the basis of the democratic values transparency, openness, reciprocity and scientific freedom, to only name a few,” she said in Taipei on Tuesday. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said it had filed a strong protest with Germany about her “vile conduct”. Germany should “immediately stop associating and interacting with Taiwan independence separatist forces, immediately stop sending wrong signals to Taiwan independence separatist forces, and immediately stop using the Taiwan issue to interfere in China’s internal affairs”, Wang told a daily news briefing. A source at the German foreign office said Berlin had taken note of the Chinese response but that Stark-Watzinger’s trip was in line with its “one China” policy, which acknowledges that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. (https://neuters.de/world/german-minister-says-honoured-be-esteemed-partner-taiwan-2023-03-21/) Germany, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, though it does maintain a de facto embassy in Taipei.
Newsline: China’s embassy warns nationals after killings in Central African Republic
China’s embassy in the Central African Republic has urged its citizens to avoid travelling outside the capital Bangui after nine Chinese nationals were killed in an attack by militants at a gold mine outside the city. The embassy said in a statement on Sunday there had been many “vicious” security incidents against workers of foreign mining enterprises in the area, and Chinese citizens still outside Bangui were requested to evacuate immediately. (https://neuters.de/world/china-warns-against-travelling-out-central-african-republic-capital-after-2023-03-20/) In view of the security risks, the Chinese embassy warned Chinese institutions and citizens not to travel outside Bangui and in case of emergency, to contact the embassy to seek consular protection. Armed men killed nine Chinese nationals and wounded two more in an attack on a mine run by the Gold Coast Group, 25 km (15 miles) from the town of Bambari, its mayor told Reuters. Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for “severe punishment” of the perpetrators in accordance to the law, and said the safety of Chinese citizens must be ensured, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday. The security risk level in the Central African Republic, apart from the capital, was “red”, or very high, the Chinese foreign ministry added.
Newsline: Top level diplomacy of China’s and Russia’s leaders
China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin published separate articles on Monday, as Xi was due to begin a visit to Moscow, setting out their hopes for bilateral relations and praising each other. “China and Russia are the largest neighbours, strategic partners of comprehensive cooperation, leading world powers and permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. Both countries pursue an independent and autonomous foreign policy, and consider relations between China and Russia as one of the main priorities in diplomacy,” Xi wrote in Rossiiskaya Gazeta. “China and Russia adhere to the concept of eternal friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation.” A Chinese proposal on the Ukraine crisis, a 12-point paper released last month, represents “as much as possible the unity of the world community’s views”, Xi said. “We are grateful for the balanced line of (China) in connection with the events taking place in Ukraine, for understanding their background and true causes. Russia is open to a politico-diplomatic settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. We welcome China’s willingness to play a constructive role in resolving the crisis,” Putin wrote in China’s People’s Daily. (https://neuters.de/world/putin-quoting-confucius-heaps-praise-xi-2023-03-20/) Bilateral trade in 2022 rose to $185 billion – a record. Putin says $200 billion in trade is likely to be reached in 2023. Putin said oil and coal deliveries had grown and that Russia is helping to build new nuclear power reactors in China. He says the two are exploring outer space and developing new technologies.
Newsline: China takes ‘diplomatic dance’ to isolated Russia
Xi Jinping walks a diplomatic tightrope as he heads to Moscow, seeking to present China as a global peacemaker while strengthening ties with his closest ally, President Vladimir Putin, who faces criminal charges over his Ukraine war. Leaving on Monday for his first trip overseas since securing a third term as president, Xi will seek to burnish Beijing’s diplomatic clout after it brokered a surprise detente between Saudi Arabia and Iran last week, even as he cements his “no limits” partnership with the increasingly isolated Putin. China’s top trade partners are the United States and the European Union – among the fiercest critics of Russia’s war in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”. (https://neuters.de/world/touting-friendship-peace-chinas-xi-takes-diplomatic-dance-isolated-russia-2023-03-18/) China published a proposal last month to end the conflict, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives and forced millions to flee. It received a lukewarm welcome in Kyiv and Moscow, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he would be open to talks with Xi, which some media reports say could follow the Chinese leader’s Russia trip. The U.S. and its Western allies are deeply sceptical of China’s motives, noting Beijing has refused to condemn Russia and provided it with an economic lifeline as other countries heap sanctions on Moscow.
Newsline: Chinese top diplomat voices hopes Russia and Ukraine will hold peace talks
China is concerned about an escalation of the war in Ukraine and hopes Moscow and Kyiv will hold peace talks, senior Chinese diplomat Qin Gang told his Ukrainian counterpart on a phone call on Thursday. China has urged both sides to agree to a gradual de-escalation leading to a comprehensive ceasefire in its 12-point paper on the “political resolution of the Ukraine crisis”. The plan, which received a lukewarm welcome on both sides, called for the protection of civilians and respect for each other’s sovereignty. “China hopes that all parties will remain calm, rational and restrained, and resume peace talks as soon as possible,” Qin told Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement. (https://neuters.de/world/europe/china-hopes-ukraine-russia-will-not-close-door-political-solution-senior-chinese-2023-03-16/) Qin added that China hopes Ukraine and Russia will not close the door to a political solution no matter how difficult and challenging the situation, the ministry said. Kuleba said he and Qin had discussed the “significance of the principle of territorial integrity” during the call. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Russian Vladimir Putin as soon as next week and hold a virtual meeting with Zelenskiy.
Newsline: China Blocks U.S. Webcast of North Korea Meeting at U.N.
China blocked the United States on Wednesday from broadcasting on the internet an informal United Nations Security Council meeting on human rights abuses in North Korea, diplomats said. The meeting will be held on Friday, but the 15 council members have to unanimously agree to allow it to be webcast. Diplomats said it is rare for a broadcast to be blocked. The Security Council has regularly discussed human rights in North Korea since 2014 in public formal meetings and behind closed doors. China and Russia have long said they do not believe the council – charged with maintaining international peace and security – should be discussing human rights in North Korea. China told its council colleagues on Wednesday in an email, seen by Reuters, that the discussion – “won’t bring any benefit, and we have been against the holding of this … meeting from the very beginning.” “Therefore, we have to object to the webcasting of this meeting by UN WebTV,” China said. (https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-03-15/china-blocks-u-s-webcast-of-north-korea-rights-meeting-at-u-n) Pyongyang rejects accusations of human rights abuses and blames sanctions for a dire humanitarian situation in North Korea. The country has been under U.N. sanctions over its ballistic missile and nuclear programs since 2006. The aim of the informal council discussion is to spotlight rights abuses in North Korea and “identify opportunities for the international community to promote accountability,” according to a note to council members last week from the United States and elected council member Albania, which is co-hosting the meeting.
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