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COVID-19 Cold War: Will the Second Wave Come from Vaccine Trials?

If the English-language press had done its job, and not parroted press releases that promote vaccination as the only escape from the social isolation we’ve endured the last three months, the public would be asking many questions about the ongoing protests and their relation to the logistics of vaccine trials. To test a vaccine, typically […]

China-Russia ties to enter ‘new stage’

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on 14 May 2017 [PPIO]
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has confirmed that President Xi Jinping will visit Russia and meet President Vladimir Putin to take their strategic ties to a “new stage”.
The two leaders and BRICS allies have met several times in the past year and share a very close view of world affairs. Both are strong proponents of multilateralism and both have opposed the US policy of isolationism.

China protests US Defense Act

Can’t we just get along? File photo of US President Donald Trump with Chinese President Xi Jinping. It is unclear how the tariffs and the NDAA will affect their warm relationship

The Chinese Defense Ministry has protested the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2019 which was signed into law in the US by President Donald Trump earlier this week.

The $717 billion act includes several sections on China, some of which violate the One-China policy, a ministry spokesperson said.

Russia raises duties on US imports

Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to meet US President Donald Trump in Helsinki, Finland on July 16 but most of the talks will focus on the Syrian conflict [PPIO]
 
A week after resorting to the World Trade Organization in its complaint against US tariffs on Russian steel and aluminum, Moscow has raised its duties from 25 to 40 per cent on some US imports.
According to the Russian news agency TASS, Economic Development Minister Maksim Oreshkin said the rise was to compensate for more than $500 million loss in exports expected due to the US tariffs.

Expert economists warn Trump of global depression

World leaders including Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have warned Trump that his protectionist policy is a lose-lose for the world [PPIO]
A number of prominent economists, including 14 Nobel prize winners, have warned the Trump administration that protectionist measures such as tariffs won’t only end in trade wars, particularly with China, but could lead to the type of depression which broke global markets in the 1930s.

Analysis: North Korea has no choice but to back down

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is no longer being depicted by the White House as the insane leader of a rogue state. Here, he is addressing the central committee of the ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang [North Korean Central News Agency]
All eyes are on the Korean Peninsula this week as the leaders of the North and South prepare for a historic summit which comes after years of tensions and war rhetoric.
The summit is the third such meeting of Korean heads of state in the past 65 years.