Family member of Israeli embassy staffer stabbed in Beijing
...and Beijing throws a Belt and Road bash | October 16, 2023
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Jeremy Goldkorn
Editor-in-Chief
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CURRENT AFFAIRS
Israeli embassy staffer stabbed in Beijing |
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A family member of an Israeli diplomat based in China was attacked by an unknown assailant on Friday. Unverified videos on social media show a man wrestling with the victim, stabbing him repeatedly, before staggering away.
Meanwhile, China’s top diplomat Wáng Yì 王毅 called for a “ceasefire” in the conflict between Israel and Hamas during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Beijing today, Chinese state media reported.
Jeremy Goldkorn |
NEWS BRIEFING
Here’s what else you need to know about China today:
A slew of top dignitaries have started to arrive in Beijing for the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on October 17–18, which Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 will attend. The Chinese capital has beefed up security measures by stationing police and other guards around the forum’s venue at China National Convention Center and in Liangmaqiao, home to many embassies in the city, and has also banned the use of civilian drones. World leaders including the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia and the presidents of Indonesia and Kazakhstan touched down in Beijing today. The Taliban will also make a rare appearance, a spokesperson announced on October 14, signaling China’s growing ties with Afghanistan’s ruling regime despite the fact that no country has formally recognized its government. But the top of the forum’s guest list is Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose expected arrival will mark his first trip to a major country since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest for “unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.” It’s also the first time Putin will visit China since he agreed to a “no limits” partnership with Xi on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics just 20 days before the Russian invasion. Scroll down for more on the BRI. The U.S. plans to tighten up China’s access to advanced semiconductors and other chipmaking equipment, Bloomberg reports, building on the sweeping measures imposed by the Biden administration last October. The planned measures, expected to be announced next week, are aimed at strengthening controls on the sale of graphics chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced chipmaking gear. They also include additional checks on Chinese firms that attempt to evade U.S. export restrictions by routing shipments through other nations, as well as adding Chinese chip design companies to its trade restriction list. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and People’s Bank of China governor Pān Gōngshèng 潘功勝 had “substantive and productive” talks in Marrakech, Morocco, on October 13, according to the U.S. press readout. It’s the latest in a series of high-level meetings between U.S. and Chinese officials, aimed at paving the way for a potential meeting between Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden next month. Meanwhile, the ex-chairman of Bank of China was arrested for suspected bribery and doling out illegal loans, Chinese state media reported today. Last week, China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced that Liú Lián’gě 刘连舸, 62, was expelled from the Communist Party for allegedly conducting illegal activities and taking bribes. Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison testified that the crypto trading firm bribed Chinese officials with $150 million to unfreeze funds that had been locked on Chinese exchanges. Weeping on the witness stand during the Sam Bankman-Fried trial last week, Ellison said that they had attempted to use Thai prostitutes’ identities to trade billions of dollars’ worth of funds, which were frozen in early 2021 when FTX was being investigated by Chinese officials for money laundering. The bribe resulted in their Alameda trading accounts on OKX and Huobi in China being unlocked in November 2021. Chinese state media: Xinhua News Agency’s top story today is a short announcement that Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 will attend the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit Forum and deliver a keynote speech that will be broadcast live. The People’s Daily’s front page led with a piece on the Belt and Road Summit titled: “Opening up a ‘road to happiness’ that benefits all countries and the world,” and an announcement that the Chinese Communist Party’s theoretical journal Qiúshì 求是 will publish an “important article by General Secretary Xi Jinping [about] adapting Marxism to China and the times.”
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BELT AND ROAD DISPATCH
The Belt and Road Initiative, 10 years after its launch |
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Foreign leaders are converging in Beijing tomorrow for the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, demonstrating that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) continues to hold currency, globally and within Chinese foreign policy. In the final part of our four-part Belt and Road Dispatch, Jacob Mardell takes a look at the Maritime Silk Road.
Beijing aspires to a leading position on the high seas. This has made multiple countries uncomfortable, for different reasons.
In 2019, Mardell spent a year traveling overland from the U.K. to Vietnam, visiting Belt and Road projects and talking to people about the impact of China’s ambitions. This year, he marked the BRI’s anniversary by heading back out on the road to see what has changed. Click through to read what he’s learned.
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THE CHINA AGENDA
BRI Summit, more U.S. chip export curbs, and a new Defense Minister for China? |
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From our new weekly preview of upcoming events for the week October 16–22:
The 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) will hold its 6th legislative meeting on October 20–24, and it might see the announcement of a new Defense Minister. The third Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit takes place in Beijing from October 17–18. The theme for the summit is “High-quality Belt and Road Cooperation: Together for Common Development and Prosperity.”
Other notable trips:
There are several United Nations events this week, too. Click through to read about them and other political and business happenings this week.
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MORE FROM THE CHINA PROJECT
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FROM THE NEWSBASE
Below are links from our NewsBase to other noteworthy reports published in the last 24 hours from and about China.BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY:Economic gloom or boom Consumer spending and Singles’ Day Credit easing and liquidity Banking fraud in Hong Kong Foreign businesses in China U.S.-China tech war Exports and imports Real estate and property development Evergrande SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT:Infectious diseases POLITICS AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS:Propaganda: Xi Jinping Thought on Culture Corruption BRI Taiwan and South Korea Israel-Hamas conflict North Korea EU Central Asia Nepal Chile South Korea Japan Russia Philippines SOCIETY AND CULTURE:Child policy Education Music Life coaching
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