BEIJING: The United States and China have pledged to stabilize their badly deteriorated ties during a critical visit to Beijing by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met Monday with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
It remains to be seen whether the two countries can resolve their most important disagreements, many of which have international financial, security and stability implications.
Apart from a willingness to talk, there was little sign that either were few indications is prepared to bend from hardened positions on issues ranging from trade, to Taiwan, to human rights conditions in China and Hong Kong, to Chinese military assertiveness in the South China Sea, to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
At the meeting with Blinken, Xi pronounced himself pleased with the outcome of Blinken’s earlier meetings with two top Chinese diplomats, and said the two countries had agreed to resume a program of understandings that he and President Joe Biden agreed to at a meeting in Bali last year.
“The Chinese side has made our decision clear, and the two sides have agreed to follow through the common understandings President Biden and I had reached in Bali,” Xi said.
That agenda had been thrown into jeopardy in recent months, notably after the US shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon over its airspace in February, and amid escalated military activity in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. Combined with disputes over human rights, trade and opiate production, the list of problem areas is daunting.
But Xi suggested the worst could be over.
“The two sides have also made progress and reached agreement on some specific issues,” Xi said without elaborating, according to a transcript of the remarks released by the State Department. “This is very good.”
“I hope that through this visit, Mr. Secretary, you will make more positive contributions to stabilizing China-US relations,” Xi added.
In his remarks to Xi during the 35-minute session at the Great Hall of the People, which was not announced until an hour before it started, Blinken said “the United States and China have an obligation and responsibility to manage our relationship.”
“The United States is committed to doing that,” Blinken said. “It’s in the interest of the United States, in the interests of China, and in the interest of the world.”
Blinken described his earlier discussions with senior Chinese officials as “candid and constructive.”
Despite his presence in China, Blinken and other US officials had played down the prospects for any significant breakthroughs on the most vexing issues facing the planet’s two largest economies.
Instead, these officials have emphasized the importance of the two countries establishing and maintaining better lines of communication.
Blinken is the highest-level US official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office, and the first secretary of state to make the trip in five years. His visit is expected to usher in a new round of visits by senior US and Chinese officials, possibly including a meeting between Xi and Biden in the coming months.
Blinken met earlier Monday with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi for about three hours, according to a US official.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote in a statement that Blinken’s visit “coincides with a critical juncture in China-US relations, and it is necessary to make a choice between dialogue or confrontation, cooperation or conflict,” and blamed the “US side’s erroneous perception of China, leading to incorrect policies toward China” for the current “low point” in relations.
It said the US had a responsibility to halt “the spiraling decline of China-US relations to push it back to a healthy and stable track” and that Wang had “demanded that the US stop hyping up the ‘China threat theory,’ lift illegal unilateral sanctions against China, abandon suppression of China’s technological development, and refrain from arbitrary interference in China’s internal affairs.”
The State Department said Blinken “underscored the importance of responsibly managing the competition between the United States and the PRC through open channels of communication to ensure competition does not veer into conflict.”
In the first round of talks on Sunday, Blinken met for nearly six hours with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, after which both countries said they had agreed to continue high-level discussions. However, there was no sign that any of the most fractious issues between them were closer to resolution.
Both the US and China said Qin had accepted an invitation from Blinken to visit Washington but Beijing made clear that “the China-US relationship is at the lowest point since its establishment.” That sentiment is widely shared by US officials.
Blinken’s visit comes after his initial plans to travel to China were postponed in February after the shootdown of a Chinese surveillance balloon over the US
A snub by the Chinese leader would have been a major setback to the effort to restore and maintain communications at senior levels.
And Biden said over the weekend that he hoped to be able to meet with Xi in the coming months to take up the plethora of differences that divide them.
In his meetings on Sunday, Blinken also pressed the Chinese to release detained American citizens and to take steps to curb the production and export of fentanyl precursors that are fueling the opioid crisis in the United States.
Xi had offered a hint of a possible willingness to reduce tensions on Friday, saying in a meeting with Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates that the United States and China can cooperate to “benefit our two countries.”
Since the cancelation of Blinken’s trip in February, there have been some high-level engagements. CIA chief William Burns traveled to China in May, while China’s commerce minister traveled to the US And Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Wang Yi in Vienna in May.
But those have been punctuated by bursts of angry rhetoric from both countries over the Taiwan Strait, their broader intentions in the Indo-Pacific, China’s refusal to condemn Russia for its war against Ukraine, and US allegations from Washington that Beijing is attempting to boost its worldwide surveillance capabilities, including in Cuba.
And, earlier this month, China’s defense minister rebuffed a request from US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for a meeting on the sidelines of a security symposium in Singapore, a sign of continuing discontent.
US-China pledge to stabilize deteriorating ties, resume high-level talks after Blinken visit
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US-China pledge to stabilize deteriorating ties, resume high-level talks after Blinken visit
- Blinken’s visit is the highest-level trip by a US official to China in nearly five years
- Visit is expected to usher in new round of visits by senior US and Chinese officials
Eastern half of US sweltering again, with dangerous heat wave expected to last until midweek
- A phenomenon known as a heat dome, a large area of high pressure in the upper atmosphere that traps heat and humidity, is responsible for the extreme temperatures, say meteorologists
MADISON, Wisconsin: Tens of millions of people across the Midwest and East endured dangerously hot temperatures again on Sunday as a rare June heat wave that gripped much of the US was expected to last well into this week.
Most of the northeastern quadrant of the country from Minnesota to Maine was under some type of heat advisory. So were parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi, the National Weather Service said.
Weather service offices throughout the region warned of sweltering and sometimes life-threatening conditions through Wednesday.
“Please plan ahead to take frequent breaks if you must be outside, stay hydrated and provide plenty of water and shade for any outdoor animals,” the service office in Wakefield, Virginia, said on X.
Meteorologists say a phenomenon known as a heat dome, a large area of high pressure in the upper atmosphere that traps heat and humidity, is responsible for the extreme temperatures.
Thunderstorms slam New York State
Twin 6-year-old girls were among three people killed when thunderstorms brought trees down onto homes in central New York before dawn Sunday, according to the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office. Several inches of rain fell over just a few hours, inundating the small town of Kirkland.
A neighbor, Jared Bowman, said he ran next door to help the twins’ mother escape through a window after a giant maple crashed through the roof around 4 a.m.
“She was yelling, ‘Get my kids out!’” Bowman told the Post-Standard.
A 50-year-old woman died when a tree hit a house nearby, sheriff’s officials said. The streets were littered with electrical lines and thousands in the region were without power.
Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency in 32 counties due to the strong storms and forecast extreme heat.
‘I just want to sit in my air conditioning’
Sunday marked the second straight day of extreme heat across the Midwest and East Coast. Heat indexes on Sunday hit 103 F (39.4 C) in Chicago and 101 F (38.3 C) on Saturday in Madison, Wisconsin, turning that city’s annual naked bike ride into a sticky and sweaty affair.
Lynn Watkins, 53, director of Sacred Hearts Day Care in Sun Prairie, a Madison suburb, said that she tried to sit outside to grill but it was so hot she had to go inside. She plans to cancel all outdoor activities at the day care on Monday with highs around 93 F (33.8 C) forecast.
“I can’t stand being outside when it’s like this,” she said. “I just want to sit in my air conditioning.”
The heat index in Pittsburgh reached 105 F, and hovered around 104 F (40 C) in Columbus, Ohio.
Forecasts in Philadelphia called for a heat index of 108 F (42.2 C) on Monday.
Philadelphia declares a heat emergency
The city’s public health department declared a heat emergency through Wednesday evening. Officials directed residents to air-conditioned libraries, community centers and other locations, and set up a “heat line” staffed by medical professionals to discuss conditions and illnesses made worse by the heat.
With temperatures in the mid-80s, Maryland’s Rehoboth Beach was crowded Sunday.
“It’s only going to get worse,” said beachgoer Vak Kobiashvili. “People are trying to get out to the beach before it’s too hot to really even manage to be outside.”
Kobiashvili said even his dog didn’t want to be outside.
“East Coast weather, at least from my perspective, is just very sweaty in the summer,” he said. “It’s that walking through a swamp kind of feeling.”
Forecasters warned the heat index in Cromwell, Connecticut, would reach 105 F on Sunday, which could make life brutal for PGA Tour golfers during the final round of the Travelers Championship. Fans sought shelter under trees and on air-conditioned benches. Many lined up for water at a hydration station near the ninth green.
Karin Skalina, of New York, had been in the sun-soaked bleachers by the eighth green and eventually sought relief on a ventilated cooling bench. “Didn’t work,” she said.
“(We’re) trying to follow the shade,” Skalina said.
Courtney Kamansky, of Newington, Connecticut, came prepared with extra water bottles. Asked if she was able to find shade, she pointed to her umbrella and said, “I bring it with me.”
Heat to persist into the coming week with highest temperatures shifting eastward
Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz got sick Saturday while playing in extreme heat against the Cardinals in St. Louis. Seattle Mariners reliever Trent Thornton, facing the Cubs in Chicago, also fell ill.
The heat is expected to persist this week with the highest temperatures shifting eastward. New York City is expected to see highs around 95 F (35 C) on Monday and Tuesday. Boston is on track for highs approaching 100 F (37.7 C) on Tuesday, and temperatures in Washington, D.C., were expected to hit 100 F on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Mark Gehring, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Sullivan, Wisconsin, said this level of heat is not uncommon during the summer months in the US, although it usually takes hold in mid-July or early August. The most unusual facet of this heat wave is the sheer amount of territory sweltering under it, he said.
“It’s basically everywhere east of the Rockies,” he said, referring to the Rocky Mountains. “That is unusual, to have this massive area of high dewpoints and heat.”
3 dead, 81 injured after stand collapses at Algerian soccer match
ALGIERS: Three people died and 81 were injured following the collapse of a stand after soccer club Mouloudia Club d’Alger won a ninth league title, Algerian authorities said Sunday.
An earlier toll was one dead and 50 injured but two fans subsequently died from their injuries following Saturday’s incident at the Stade Olympique du 5 Juillet 1962, according to a statement issued by the country’s Ministry of Health.
Algeria president Abdelmadjid Tebboune offered his condolences.
According to the website La Gazette du Fennec, a security barrier broke just as fans were getting ready to celebrate the title following a goalless draw between MC Alger and NC Magra.
Kyiv says ‘massive’ drone attack on Ukraine’s capital
- Possibly, several waves of enemy drones,” said a statement from Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration
KYIV, Ukraine: Authorities in Kyiv said early Monday the Ukrainian capital was being subjected to “another massive attack,” reporting at least one person wounded. AFP journalists reported hearing strong explosions.
“Another massive attack on the capital. Possibly, several waves of enemy drones,” said a statement from Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration. “Stay in shelters while the danger persists!“
Britain to cut companies’ energy bills in new industrial strategy
- “Tackling energy costs and fixing skills has been the single biggest ask of us from businesses and the greatest challenge they have faced – this government has listened,” Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in a statement
LONDON: Britain will aim to cut the electricity bills of thousands of companies under a new industrial strategy to be published on Monday, heeding calls from business to lower high energy costs that they say have damaged competitiveness and hindered growth.
Under an industrial strategy for the decade 2025-2035, the government plans to cut the bills of electricity-intensive manufacturers by up to 25 percent from 2027, a move it said could benefit more than 7,000 businesses.
The government has made boosting Britain’s anaemic growth a key priority. But lawmakers and business leaders had highlighted the sky-high energy costs many companies face as a hindrance to that aim, with industry body Make UK saying government should scrap climate levies imposed on firms.
Britain has been under pressure to do more to support its key industries and bolster competitiveness as the United States and the European Union also seek to do likewise, in a trade landscape upended by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Alongside the strategy, five sectoral plans for areas such as advanced manufacturing, creative industries and clean energy are also set to be published. The Industrial Strategy focuses on eight previously identified sectors of strength for Britain, which also include defense and financial services.
The government said it would exempt energy-intensive manufacturers from levies like the Renewables Obligation to boost their international competitiveness.
“Tackling energy costs and fixing skills has been the single biggest ask of us from businesses and the greatest challenge they have faced – this government has listened,” Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in a statement.
The government said the energy measures would be funded through reforms to the energy system, without raising household bills or taxes. The scope and eligibility for the scheme will be finalized after a consultation.
Make UK said the industrial strategy was a “giant and much needed step forward” that also tackled a skills shortage in Britain’s workforce and access to capital. The Confederation of British Industry said it was an “unambiguous, positive signal” that would provide a “bedrock for growth“
The industrial strategy, Britain’s first in eight years, will expand the state-owned British Business Bank’s capacity to channel investment into smaller companies, and provide an extra 1.2 billion pounds ($1.61 billion) a year on skills by 2028-29.
The government added it would cut regulatory burdens on businesses, spend more on research and development and speed up planning processes.
West African leaders admit security woes mounting in region
- Coups and attempted putsches have rocked nearly half of the original ECOWAS member states in the last decade, straining relations between neighbors
ABUJA: Leaders from the west African bloc ECOWAS on Sunday admitted during talks in the Nigerian capital that the region was in trouble, facing mounting unrest and political instability.
“Our region is at the crossroads,” said Sierra Leone’s Julius Maada Bio as he took over the rotating chairmanship of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) from Nigeria’s Bola Tinubu.
West Africa is “facing serious challenges, some long-standing, others new and evolving,” he said.
They included “insecurity in the Sahel and coastal states, terrorism, political instability, illicit arms flow and transnational organized crimes.”
It was time to “overhaul our collective security architecture” including intelligence-sharing and rapid response, he added. “The democratic space is under strain in parts of our region — the constitutional order has been disrupted.”
Coups and attempted putsches have rocked nearly half of the original ECOWAS member states in the last decade, straining relations between neighbors.
Three junta-led countries — Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger — quit the bloc earlier this year, setting up their own alliances.
Jihadists exploiting fraying ties between regional countries are gaining ground in the Sahel and Lake Chad region.
They have recently intensified offensives in the Sahel region, staging bloody raids in Mali, incursions into major cities in Burkina Faso and inflicting heavy army losses in Niger.
Summit host Nigeria has also witnessed a spike in attacks in recent weeks, targeting both villagers and military bases.
In his speech, outgoing ECOWAS chair Tinubu spoke of the “stark and consistent challenges that continue to impede our aspirations... violent extremism and other cross-border crimes that have continued to widen” and intensify.
The three Sahel states’ military juntas pledged during the coups that brought them to power to make security a priority.
But, like their predecessors, they are struggling to contain the advance of jihadists, who are threatening neighboring countries on the west African coast more than ever.
Tinubu said that under his leadership ECOWAS “deployed all diplomatic means” to engage the three countries and expressed confidence “that before too long, they may return” to the bloc.
Bringing the three countries back into the ECOWAS fold will be the “biggest test” of the chairmanship of Maada Bio, a former soldier who briefly led a military junta in his own country more than two decades ago, said Ikemesit Effiong, analyst with SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based African geopolitical risk consulting firm.
The three countries have so far formed a confederation called the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Earlier this year they announced the creation of a joint 5,000-strong force for joint military operations.
ECOWAS leaders in August 2023 mustered plans to create a military “standby force” aimed at fighting against terrorism and transnational crimes. At the time it was announced, it was aimed at the junta leaders in Niger who had toppled the sitting president.
Tinubu said ECOWAS “must act decisively to operationalize the standby force in the fight against terrorism to serve as an instrument for peace and stability for our region.”
“I am a little bit worried about the slow pace of its activation, which is taking longer than desired,” said Tinubu.
ECOWAS did not give a timeline of when it would become operational.
But the organization has a long history of military interventions having deployed since the 1990s in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Ivory Coast, the Gambia and Guinea-Bissau.
