China still ❤️ Russia

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

China will “continue to work with Russia,” Chinese President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 told chairperson of Russia’s Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko during their meeting in Beijing yesterday. “To develop China-Russia relations is a strategic choice made by both countries based on the fundamental interests of their respective countries and peoples,” Xi said.

The head of a U.S. think tank has been charged with acting as a Chinese agent, as well as illegal arms trafficking and violating U.S. sanctions against Iran by attempting to broker oil deals, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said on Monday.

Gal Luft, the 57-year-old co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, “agreed to covertly recruit and pay a former high-ranking U.S. Government official” while the official was an adviser to then President-elect Donald Trump “to publicly support certain policies with respect to China,” according to the statement.

Luft has repeatedly denied the accusations. He has been on the lam for the past five months after being arrested in Cyprus and then fleeing authorities. He is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Israel, and is often touted by Republicans as a potential whistleblower for his repeated accusations of corruption against U.S. President Biden and his family.

China and the Solomon Islands signed a deal on police cooperation as part of an upgrade of their relations on Monday, four years after the Pacific nation switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing.

The police cooperation pact was among a slew of deals signed on “development cooperation, trade, infrastructure development, civil aviation, education…customs and meteorology,” after Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare met with Chinese Premier Lǐ Qiáng 李强 in Beijing during his official visit from July 9 to 15, according to the joint statement.

In June, Sitiveni Rabuka, the new prime minister of Fiji, another South Pacific island nation, said a similar police exchange agreement with China was under review and might be canceled.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qín Gāng 秦刚 will skip ASEAN meetings from July 13 to 14 because of “health reasons,” according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, extending his two-week absence. China’s top diplomat Wáng Yì 王毅 will attend the gathering in Jakarta, Indonesia instead.

If Qin had attended, it would have put him and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the same room for the first time since they met in Beijing last month in a bid to “stabilize” bilateral relations.

Hong Kong will impose a widespread ban on Japanese seafood products if Tokyo follows through with its plan to release Fukushima water, the Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee (李家超 Lǐ Jiāchāo) said today, following similar statements from Beijing. China and Hong Kong are Japan’s top markets for agricultural and fisheries exports.

Japan’s plan to release treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant was approved by the United Nations’ (UN) nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last week. But it has faced opposition at home and abroad over environmental and food safety concerns.

Chinese state media: The top story on state news agency Xinhua’s website is an infographic about Xi Jinping’s three proposals for “a new type of international relations,” which are:

• “All countries and peoples should enjoy dignity, and that China “opposes interference in the internal affairs of other countries.”
• “All countries and peoples should share the fruits of development.”
• “All countries and peoples should enjoy security together.”

Xinhua’s English and other international websites highlight Xi’s meeting with Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko in Beijing.

The People’s Daily’s print edition today highlights Xi’s meeting with the visiting chairperson of Russia’s Federation Council, and meetings of the Solomon Islands prime minister with Xi and with Premier Lǐ Qiáng 李强.