China’s president, Xi Jinping, has decided not to attend the two-day Group of 20 summit starting Sept. 9 in India. Xi attended the 2020 and 2021 meetings virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic, but this will be the first time a Chinese leader has skipped one of the gatherings outright since the first summit in…
The smartest insight and analysis, from all perspectives, rounded up from around the web: The world’s economic engine is sputtering, said The Economist. When China abandoned its draconian zero Covid controls last year, the expectation was that it “would stage a rapid recovery, even as other countries courted recession.” In fact, China’s economic growth has…
The smartest insight and analysis, from all perspectives, rounded up from around the web: The world’s economic engine is sputtering, said The Economist. When China abandoned its draconian zero Covid controls last year, the expectation was that it “would stage a rapid recovery, even as other countries courted recession.” In fact, China’s economic growth has…
HONG KONG — Local Chinese officials trying to encourage earlier marriages are offering an incentive that all newlywed couples can appreciate: cash. Couples who marry while the bride is 25 years old or younger will get a reward of 1,000 yuan ($137), officials in Changshan county, in the eastern province of Zhejiang, said last week…
1 At least 80 dead in Maui wildfire as search for survivors continues The death toll from the devastating wildfire in Maui, Hawaii, reached 80 on Friday, officials said, as rescue workers continued to search for survivors in the decimated town of Lahaina. Police were restricting access throughout the island, and access to Lahaina remained heavily…
Peace of a sort may be at hand between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The Wall Street Journal reported the two longtime antagonists are preparing to normalize relations, with Saudi Arabia finally giving formal recognition to Israel in return for “concessions to the Palestinians, U.S. security guarantees and civilian nuclear help.” There are still “long odds,”…
There are two questions on the agenda as President Joe Biden hosts a trilateral summit at Camp David this weekend with the leaders of Japan and South Korea, Fumio Kishida and Yoon Suk Yeol, respectively. Can Biden draw the two countries, which have a long history of enmity and warfare, into a fruitful alliance? And…
Trust Foreign Policy Biden’s ‘historic’ Asia summit confronts an old foe: History | View caption Hide caption A summit between the United States, Japan, and South Korea sought to institutionalize the trilateral relationship. But the relations must overcome several sources of distrust: in Asia of U.S. staying power, in China toward the three allies, and…
Cooperation Europe Following Xi’s lead? Russia takes closer look at Chinese ideology. | View caption Hide caption Is Russia’s future aligned with China? Many in Moscow think so, seeing the two countries’ visions aligning not just geopolitically, but also ideologically – though it may cost Russia considerably. “Interest toward our eastern partner is really great…
Days of unprecedented heavy downpours around Beijing, China’s capital, have triggered massive flooding and landslides, leaving at least 20 people dead and 27 missing. Authorities have deemed it the heaviest deluge in a decade, as the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri batter the area. Two days of intense rain prompted the city to close tourist attractions…