Xi Jinping

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Beijing this week gives us some important details about what is moving the cogs of her foreign diplomatic and trade relations agenda. Merkel has several reasons, both politically and economically to make this journey.
First of all, China and Germany are both signatories to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, and both parties wish to see it preserved against Donald Trump’s American withdrawal and reimposition of crippling economic sanctions against the Middle Eastern country of 80 million.

I noticed something curious recently, nestled away in one of the newspapers: that the Chinese government has apparently banned the classic book 1984  by George Orwell. There’s something that kind of speaks for itself when an oppressive government bans not just any old book, but something as specific as 1984. Orwell’s Animal Farm has also […]

(ANTIWAR.COM) — Speaking to reporters Tuesday, President Trump said that preparations continue for the summit with Kim Jong-un, but that there is a “very substantial chance” the talks will be postponed from June 12. Trump suggested Chinese President Xi Jinping was to blame. Trump said there was a “little change in attitude from Kim” after his second meeting with […]

If you're a regular reader here, you're already familiar with my usual pattern of doing things: first I talk about general context, then introduce […]
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Even as US President Trump’s forthcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un continues to be the subject of negotiation and speculation, the North Korean leader has just wrapped up his second unannounced meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Western commentary continues to see Kim Jong-un’s forthcoming summit meeting with Donald Trump as they key goal of North Korea’s diplomacy, and the most important summit of Kim Jong-un’s career.  Kim Jong-un’s meetings with Xi Jinping and South Korean President Moon Jae-in are interpreted as steps to that goal.

A year ago the situation in the Korean Peninsula appeared to be sliding rapidly towards war, with North Korea pressing ahead with its ballistic missile and nuclear tests, with Donald Trump, the US’s newly elected and highly inexperienced President tweeting threats of military action, with General H.R. McMaster, Donald Trump’s hawkish National Security Adviser lobbying for military action, and US fleets moving backwards and forwards towards the Korean Peninsula alongside wild talk that they might be about to be used in action.
A year later the mood is transformed.

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.

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.

On Tuesday (4/3/2018) the US published a list of Chinese imports, set to be hit with a $50 billion tariff increase. This is the latest in an escalating trade skirmish between the US and China, that could escalate into a war.

(ANTIWAR.COM) — Monday’s surprise arrival of a North Korean train in the Chinese capital of Beijing raised speculation that Kim Jong-un had made his first overseas visit ever. This proved to be the case, with Chinese media showing footage of Kim meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping. The two had what was described as a “friendly visit,” […]