Xi meets Lavrov, reaffirms China's emphasis on partnership with Russia
Xi meets Lavrov, reaffirms China’s emphasis on partnership with Russia
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday in Beijing. Chinese analysts said the meeting sends a strong signal that China will firmly develop its strategic partnership with Russia, despite pressure from the West. The China-Russia partnership continues to be key for the global strategic balance and the hope for promoting a multipolar world in which countries of the Global South will have greater roles to play.
Xi asked Lavrov to convey his sincere greetings to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Noting that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, Xi said China and Russia have embarked on a new path of harmonious coexistence and win-win cooperation between major countries and neighbors, which has benefited the two countries and their peoples and contributed wisdom and strength to international fairness and justice.
Chinese Embassy lashes out at US over harassing Chinese citizens at border
The Chinese Embassy in the US lashed out at the US for overstretching the scope of normal law enforcement after a number of Chinese citizens have been subject to hours of interrogation in a “small black room” when entering or leaving the US.
Observers said that the duplicitous nature of Biden administration will stoke up distrust, further foster hostility among the people of the two countries and derail the commitment of the two leaders to advance bilateral relations. They urged the US to heed the “kind reminder” from China and alter their operational behavior to avoid irreversible harm to people-to-people exchanges.
Quoting data, a spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the US said in a statement that nearly 300 Chinese citizens have been deported by the US since July 2021, including more than 70 Chinese students with legal and valid materials. Since November 2023, at Washington Dulles Airport alone, there have been 10 cases of Chinese students being harassed, interrogated and, after having their visas canceled, deported.
Germany’s Scholz embraces TikTok, ‘to connect with a younger audience’
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has become the latest Western political leader to open an account on TikTok, an ultra-popular video-sharing platform owned by Chinese company ByteDance that is undergoing attacks from some Western countries, especially the US, due to “national security concerns.”
Analysts said the growing numbers of Western politicians opening TikTok accounts not only proves the vitality and competitiveness of the platform, but also shows the accusation that the app is a “national security threat” is untenable. Attacking TikTok while using the platform will only show the hypocrisy of some politicians, whose real intention is to suppress the development of Chinese tech companies.
In the first video posted by Scholz’s account, the German Chancellor sits at his desk, showing a glimpse of his office. He also announced his TikTok channel on X, formerly Twitter, saying “I won’t dance. Promised.”
According to German government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit, the TikTok channel aims to connect with a younger audience, as the German government “has to go where citizens go to get information.”