Xi and Putin talk Ukraine, Hong Kong arrests another for ‘subversion,’ and U.S. and China eye chips at home

Here’s what else you need to know about China today:

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 and Vladimir Putin had an “in-depth exchange of views on the Ukraine issue” at their informal meeting in Moscow yesterday, where Russia said that it is “open to talks for peace.” The two are discussing their new plans to strengthen coordination in their formal talks today, as their interactions put Moscow’s growing economic dependence on Beijing in the spotlight. Xi also invited Putin to China for the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation this year, signaling that the two leaders will continue to deepen ties.

China helped broker a landmark deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia last week, in what Tuvia Gering, a researcher at the Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation’s Israel-China Policy Center at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), describes as Beijing’s first successful “Moon landing” moment. Scroll down for a summary or click through for the whole thing.

As the U.S. comes ever closer to banning TikTok, the company’s CEO Shou Zi Chew (周受资 Zhōu Shòuzī) who will Chew, who will testify on Thursday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee posted a video to his own platform, asking TikTok users for their support. Meanwhile in the Netherlands, the Dutch Interior ministry has banned civil servants from using TikTok on their work phones.

A former Hong Kong opposition lawmaker was arrested for subversion over allegedly interfering with witnesses. Albert Ho (何俊仁 Hé Jùnrén), the 71-year-old man who once led the city’s largest opposition group, the Democratic Party, had been out on bail under the National Security Law after he was prosecuted in 2021. However, the cases against more than 6,000 protesters who were arrested, but not charged, during the 2019 unrest will be dropped.

The U.S. and China are both refining their chip funds to shore up manufacturing at home. Washington released new rules to prevent operations in China and in other countries of concern from accessing its $52 billion chip fund. Meanwhile, Beijing plans to boost its top semiconductor companies by giving them easier access to more government funding and more control over state-backed research to develop key projects.