China's Xi meets with Lukashenko of 'all-weather' partner Belarus
BEIJING, June 4 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday met with President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus in Beijing, the official Xinhua news agency reported, as the two "all-weather" partners looked to further deepen strategic ties and cooperation.
Lukashenko's visit to Beijing was his first to the Chinese capital since he was declared a winner of a presidential election in January, extending his 31-year rule of the former Soviet republic.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BreakingNews.ie
2 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Beijing-appointed Panchen Lama holds rare meeting with Chinese leader
The man picked by Beijing as the second highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism pledged adherence to the ruling Communist Party's dictates on Friday during a rare face-to-face meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Gyaltsen Norbu, who is rarely seen in public, met behind closed doors with Mr Xi in Zhongnanhai, the government compound in the centre of Beijing, about 2,300 miles from his home monastery of Tashilhumpo, high on the Tibetan steppe. Advertisement The 35-year-old said he would 'firmly support the leadership of the Communist Party of China and resolutely safeguard the unity of the motherland and national unity', the Xinhua News Agency reported. The Chinese government appointed him as the Panchen Lama of Tibetan Buddhism in 1995 at age five after followers of the Dalai Lama recognised a different boy, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, as the Panchen's incarnation. That boy and his family disappeared in 1995 in what the US government has alleged was an abduction by the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama, 89, has refused to recognise the Chinese-appointed Panchen Lama. Chinese President Xi Jinping (centre) receives Gyaltsen Norbu as Wang Huning, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, looks on (Yan Yan/Xinhua via AP/PA) The Chinese government says Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is now a college graduate living a private life and working a stable job, while producing no evidence. Advertisement The Chinese-appointed Panchen Lama was quoted on Friday by Xinhua as saying he would 'contribute to promoting national unity and progress, systematically promote the sinicisation of religion in China, and promote the modernisation of Tibet'. Mr Xi's government uses the term 'sinicisation' to mean that all religions including Christianity and Islam must take their orders from the Communist Party, reduce their non-Chinese aspects and limit their role in society. Mr Xi was quoted as telling the Chinese government's Panchen that he should continue Tibetan Buddhism's 'strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, systematically advancing the sinicisation of religion in China, and promoting the modernisation of Tibet'. Last month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement marking the 30th anniversary of the disappearance of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, saying he and his family had been abducted by the Chinese government. Advertisement 'Chinese authorities should release Gedhun Choekyi Nyima immediately and stop persecuting Tibetans for their religious beliefs,' Mr Rubio's statement read. The position of Panchen Lama is especially sensitive since he is expected to take part in the recognition of a new Dalai Lama and serve as his tutor, a religious process that the officially atheist Communist Party is determined to control. The meeting on Friday also reflected Mr Xi's focus on economic and political stability within China's borders, where an economic slump has raised concerns of anti-government outbursts and control over minority groups is an overwhelming obsession.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
China says it is working with France on trade differnces, no sign yet of a cognac deal
BEIJING/PARIS, June 6 (Reuters) - China and France have agreed to resolve their trade disputes through dialogue, China's foreign ministry said on Friday, though there was no indication that agreement had been reached in talks on lifting Chinese levies on European brandy. Talks to resolve the cognac dispute accelerated this week with China's commerce minister Wang Wentao meeting his French counterpart in Paris on the sidelines of an OECD conference, and technical talks on the matter taking place in Beijing. The latest round of negotiations have raised hopes of a settlement, two industry sources with knowledge of the discussions said. "The two sides have reached consensus on resolving economic and trade issues through dialogue and consultation", the Chinese foreign ministry said after a call between the Chinese and French foreign ministers. Chinese anti-dumping measures that applied duties of up to 39% on imports of European brandy - with French cognac bearing the brunt - have strained relations between Paris and Beijing. The brandy duties were enforced days after the European Union took action against Chinese-made electric vehicle imports to shield its local industry, prompting France's President Emmanuel Macron to accuse Beijing of "pure retaliation". The Chinese duties have dented sales of brands including LVMH's ( opens new tab Hennessy, Pernod Ricard's ( opens new tab Martell and Remy Cointreau ( opens new tab. Beijing was initially meant to make a final decision on the duties by January, but extended the deadline to April and then again to July 5. China is seeking to strengthen trade ties with the 27-member bloc as relations with the United States have soured in the escalating trade war. "France will not compromise on ... the protection of its industries, such as cognac," French trade minister Laurent Saint-Martin said after talks with Wang on Wednesday. Chinese officials, meanwhile, signalled to industry officials during three rounds of technical meetings in Beijing this week they wanted to settle the matter, one of the sources said, but added some sticking points remained. With annual imports of around $1.7 billion last year, China is the French brandy industry's most important measured by value and the second-largest by volume after the United States.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Exclusive: US suspends licenses to ship nuclear plant parts to China, sources say
June 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. in recent days suspended licenses for nuclear equipment suppliers to sell to China's power plants, according to four people familiar with the matter, as the two countries engage in a damaging trade war. The suspensions were issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the people said, and affect export licenses for parts and equipment used with nuclear power plants. Nuclear equipment suppliers are among a wide range of companies whose sales have been restricted over the past two weeks as the U.S.-China trade war shifted from negotiating tariffs to throttling each other's supply chains. It is unclear whether a Thursday call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would affect the suspensions. The U.S. and China agreed on May 12 to roll back triple digit, tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, but the truce between the two biggest economies quickly went south, with the U.S. claiming China reneged on terms related to rare earth elements, and China accusing the U.S. of "abusing export control measures" by warning that using Huawei Ascend AI chips anywhere in the world violated U.S. export controls. After Thursday's call, further talks on key issues were expected. The U.S. Department of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment on the nuclear equipment restrictions. On May 28, a spokesperson said the department was reviewing exports of strategic significance to China. "In some cases, Commerce has suspended existing export licenses or imposed additional license requirements while the review is pending," the spokesperson said in a statement. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. U.S. nuclear equipment suppliers include Westinghouse and Emerson (EMR.N), opens new tab. Westinghouse, whose technology is used in over 400 nuclear reactors around the world, and Emerson, which provides measurement and other tools for the nuclear industry, did not respond to requests for comment. The suspensions affect business worth hundreds of millions of dollars, two of the sources said. They also coincide with Chinese restrictions on critical metals threatening supply chains for manufacturers worldwide, especially America's Big Three automakers. Reuters could not determine whether the new restrictions were tied to the trade war, or if and how quickly they might be reinstated. Department of Commerce export licenses typically run for four years and include authorized quantities and values. But many new restrictions on exports to China have been imposed in the last two weeks, according to sources, and include license requirements for a hydraulic fluids supplier for sales to China. Other license suspensions went to GE Aerospace for jet engines for China's COMAC aircraft, sources said. The U.S. also now requires licenses to ship ethane to China, as Reuters reported first last week. Houston-based Enterprise Product Partners (EPD.N), opens new tab said Wednesday that its emergency requests to complete three proposed cargoes of ethane to China, totaling some 2.2 million barrels, had not been granted. Enterprise said a May 23 requirement for a license to sell butane to China, in addition to the ethane, was subsequently withdrawn. Dallas-based Energy Transfer said it was notified on Tuesday about the new ethane licensing requirement, and planned to apply and file for an emergency authorization. Other sectors that have been hit with new restrictions include companies that sell electronic design automation software such as Cadence Design Systems (CDNS.O), opens new tab.
