Chinese President Xi Jinping and Vietnam President To Lam meet at the Great Hall of the People on August 19, 2024 in Beijing, China on Mr. Lam’s three-day visit to China, his first overseas.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

China’s President Xi Jinping held talks on Monday (August 19, 2024) with Vietnam’s new leader To Lam in Beijing on his first state visit since he took office, Chinese official media Xinhua said.

The meeting signals the close ties between the two communist-run neighbours, which have well-developed economic and trade relations despite the occasional boundary clashes in the energy-rich South China Sea.

China, displaying exuberance over Mr. Lam’s choosing China for his first official trip, said last week it “fully reflects the great importance he attaches to the development of ties between both parties and countries”.

Mr. Lam arrived in China’s southern province of Guangzhou on Sunday (August 18, 2024) for a three-day visit that would include meetings with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and other Chinese top officials.

While in Guangzhou, he visited some Chinese locations where former President Ho Chi Minh conducted revolutionary activities.

Last December, China and Vietnam signed more than a dozen agreements when Mr. Xi visited Vietnam.

The agreements, specifics of which were not announced, covered strengthening railway cooperation and development, investments in various fields and establishing communication to handle unexpected incidents in the South China Sea.

In a lengthy joint declaration, both countries said they would work on cross-border railway connectivity, naming three rail projects that included one connecting through mountainous Lao Cai in Vietnam’s northwest to the port city Haiphong and a potential one linking two coastal cities to Haiphong.

The statement mentioned continued support for both countries’ railway companies to further cooperate to improve the efficiency of Vietnamese goods transiting through China.

It also mentioned working on other projects under China’s flagship infrastructure programme, the Belt and Road Initiative. It emphasised investment cooperation in agriculture, infrastructure, energy, digital economy, green development and other fields.

China and Vietnam forged diplomatic ties in 1950. They established a comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in 2008 that was jointly fortified five years later to extend to more shared international and regional issues of concern.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers his speech at a conference marking the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 28, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Underlining the importance of the “Global South”, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday said that the Global South should actively participate in reforming and developing the global governance system and make the global governance architecture more balanced and effective. 

“China’s resolve to stay on the path of peaceful development will not change. We will never take the trodden path of colonial plundering, or the wrong path of seeking hegemony when one becomes strong. We will stay on the right path of peaceful development,” Mr. Xi said, in a thinly veiled attack at the West.

He made the comments at an event marking the 70th anniversary of the “five principles of peaceful coexistence”. 

Mr. Xi said that during the Cold War, newly independent countries aspired to safeguard their sovereignty and grow their national economy and the five principles were included in the China-India and China-Myanmar joint statements, which jointly had called for making them basic norms for state-to-state relations.

The five principles are mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. 

“The five principles of peaceful coexistence were born in Asia, but quickly ascended to the world stage… The Non-Aligned Movement that rose in the 1960s adopted the Five Principles as its guiding principles. Over the past 70 years, the five principles of peaceful coexistence have transcended time and space and overcome estrangement, showing robust resilience and everlasting relevance. They have become open, inclusive, and universally applicable basic norms for international relations and fundamental principles of international law,” he added.

Mr. Xi said that of all the forces in the world, the Global South stands out with a strong momentum, playing a vital role in promoting human progress. Standing at a new historical starting point, the Global South should be more open and more inclusive, and join hands together to take the lead in building a community with a shared future for mankind, he said. 

“Together, we should be the staunch force for peace. We should promote peaceful settlement of international disputes, and participate constructively in the political settlement of international and regional hotspot issues. Together, we should be the core driving force for open development. We should restore development as the central international agenda item, reinvigorate global partnerships for development, and deepen South-South cooperation as well as North-South dialogue,” he added. 

Mr. Xi said that countries should jointly uphold the “golden rule” of non-interference, and jointly oppose acts of imposing one’s will on others, stoking bloc confrontation, creating small circles, and forcing others to pick sides. 

The Chinese President said that in the face of new challenges, the authority and central role of the United Nations can only be strengthened rather than weakened. “The purposes and principles of the UN Charter are never outdated, and they are getting ever more important. China advocates the vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit, and China believes in true multilateralism. Our goal is that international rules should be made and observed by all countries. World affairs should be handled through extensive consultation, not dictated by those with more muscles,” he said.

(The correspondent is in China at the invitation of the China Public Diplomacy Association)

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda is in China on a visit that brings the leader of a NATO member to a country that has backed Russia in its full-on invasion of Ukraine.

“I am trying to maintain friendly relations with China, Poland has always had decent relations with China and I would like that to be continued,” Mr. Duda said in an interview on private Radio Zet on June 21.

He was scheduled to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on June 24 and has said peace in Ukraine will be discussed.

Asked if he believes that China is holding a key to peace in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Mr. Duda said: “I think that to a large degree, yes.” While China says it is neutral in the fighting, it has blamed NATO’s expansion for provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin into launching the invasion and has maintained robust trade and diplomatic relations with Moscow. Poland borders Ukraine and has provided refuge for those fleeing the fighting and maintained a hard line against further expansion of Russian aggression.

Mr. Duda said he will also talk to Mr. Xi about Belarus exerting migration pressure on the border with Poland, as a form of hybrid war that also includes cyberattacks. Mr. Duda will also seek a visa waiver for Poles traveling to China and will seek possibilities of increasing Poland’s exports there, to balance their trade relations.

State Statistics Poland said 13.9% of the nation’s imports last year were from China, while Polish exports to China were just a fraction of that amount. Some trade agreements are to be signed during the visit.

On Wednesday, Mr. Duda will fly to the financial hub of Shanghai to attend a Poland-China economic forum.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on November 1 he will raise the plight of a detained democracy blogger with Chinese leaders during a state visit to China.

Mr. Albanese said he had approved a draft letter to the sons of Yang Hengjun, who has been detained in China since 2019.

“We’re very sympathetic and understand the concerns that they would have for their father and for this Australian who has been detained now for a long period of time,” Mr. Albanese told reporters.

The sons have made public a letter to Mr. Albanese, dated October 28, that said there was a “narrow window of opportunity” before Mr. Albanese left for China to secure their father’s freedom.

“We ask that you make it clear that it is not possible to stabilise the bilateral relationship with a government that is holding an Australian citizen just a few kilometres south of where you will be hosted,” the brothers added, referring to Beijing.

They said they had just last week received the first letter Yang had been allowed to send from detention. Yang wrote: “I’m sick, I’m weak, I’m dying.” Yang, who once worked for China’s Ministry of State Security, is still awaiting a verdict from his closed-door trial on espionage charges in May 2021.

His sons are 24 and 31 years old. Family friend Feng Chongyi said the sons had not been publicly identified because they feared Chinese retaliation for their father’s activities. Feng said Mr. Albanese becoming the first Australian Prime Minister in seven years to visit China created an opportunity for Yang.

“It’s not the last chance, but it’s the best chance,” Feng said. “The visit symbolises the complete normalisation of relations between the two countries.” Mr. Albanese’s visit that begins on Saturday is a sign that bilateral relations have improved since his centre-left government was elected last year following nine years of conservative rule.

Mr. Albanese will meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing and attend the China International Import Expo in Shanghai during the three-day visit.

Mr. Albanese raised the plights of Yang and another detained Australian, journalist Cheng Lei, in his first meeting with Xi on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Indonesia a year ago. Cheng was deported last month in what many saw as Beijing clearing the way for Mr. Albanese’s visit.

Yang’s sons wrote that said they had been “inspired by the wonderful news” of Cheng’s release. They hoped Australian authorities could “achieve a second miracle by saving our father”. Asked about Cheng’s case, Mr. Albanese told reporters: “Every case is … different.”

Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng. File
| Photo Credit: AP

China is sending Vice-President Han Zheng to the U.N. General Assembly’s annual high-level debate, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on September 15, suggesting that the country’s most senior diplomat Wang Yi will not attend.

This year’s gathering of world leaders at United Nations headquarters in New York starts on Monday with a sustainability summit. The weeklong general debate gets under way on Tuesday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has not attended the U.N. session in person for several years. He participated via video-conference during the first two years of the coronavirus pandemic.

Wang Yi attended last year and generally represented China at the U.N. Wang is the head of the foreign affairs committee of China’s Communist Party. He was not mentioned in the Ministry’s announcement.

Han is a past member of the Politburo Standing Committee, an elite group of leaders within the party. He retired from that position but assumed the position of Vice-President in March.

Han’s continued political career parallels the one of Wang Qishan, who played an influential role in the past several years in managing the tense U.S.-China relationship. Wang led the Communist Party’s disciplinary body and was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee. He retired at the end of 2017 but was brought back to serve as Vice-President in 2018.

The absence of Beijing’s top leader at the General Assembly may not be as conspicuous as Xi not attending the Group of 20 summit that took place in India earlier this month.

The British government announced in August that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak would not attend the upcoming U.N. session. French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin also do not plan to be there.

U.S. President Joe Biden (left) with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. File
| Photo Credit: AP

The “health of democracy” is an important issue for the India-U.S. relationship, said senior U.S. White House officials, adding that U.S. President Joe Biden raised these issues in every meeting he has held with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Briefing the media after the bilateral meeting on Friday night (September 8) between PM Modi and President Biden, the officials made a reference to the Karnataka State elections, calling Mr. Modi’s public congratulations to the Congress party for its victory in the State, which the ruling BJP lost in May, a “positive indicator” for democracy. 

They said India is “disappointed” that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping did not attend the G20 summit, said senior U.S. White House officials, adding that there was “clear appreciation” that U.S. President Joe Biden travelled to India for it.

On chances for a joint declaration being forged at the end of the G20 summit, the officials said there had been some forward movement, particularly on climate issues in the draft communique, but that the U.S. would remain “purposeful determined and resolute” on the language over Ukraine. As The Hindu had reported on September 8, officials and diplomats said the language on all non-geopolitical issues had been cleared, but Ukraine remains a sticking point with the U.S. and allies ranged on one side and Russia and China on the other. 

“There was a clear appreciation on the part of India that President Biden is here, and that he made the trip,” said Kurt Campbell, the National Security Council’s Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, adding that “I think it is a disappointment for India that both Russia and China (Presidents) are not here”. 

Highlighting the India-U.S.-Saudi Arabia-India infrastructure corridor which now includes the European Union, that is expected to be announced, Mr. Campbell said that talks are still ongoing with all the parties present in Delhi, and this would be a “major breakthrough that would help fundamental delays with respect to infrastructure and communications, from India with the Middle East (West Asia) and then on to Europe. 

Worldview with Suhasini Haidar | PM Modi in US | A major leap forward for India-US ties?

The officials also faced several questions from the U.S. White House Press Corps members on the lack of access for journalists in the press pool to the bilateral meeting and the main G20 venue. Mr. Campbell said that this had been raised with India, and stressed that despite India’s objections, the U.S. had held a press interaction with PM Modi and President Biden during the state visit in Washington in June. 

“I do want to just underscore for you that in every meeting that I’ve been in, the President is very clear about the importance of the health of democracy. He doesn’t do this in such a way that suggests that one country is lecturing to another but rather that we all face shared challenges, and we think it’s important that we’re constantly asking the hard questions about our democracy.” When pressed on whether U.S. concerns over India have led to any “change” in the Modi government, Rear Admiral Eileen Laubacher, the NSC Senior Director for South Asia, pointing to recent Karnataka elections, said that Mr. Modi had congratulated the Congress party on the results, although she said the U.S. would not like to ascribe this to its influence.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes U.S. President Joe Biden for the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, Delhi, on September 9, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Dan Kitwood

The “health of democracy” is an important issue for the India-U.S. relationship, said senior U.S. White House officials, adding that U.S. President Joe Biden raised these issues in every meeting he has held with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Briefing the media after the bilateral meeting on Friday night (September 8) between PM Modi and President Biden, the officials made a reference to the Karnataka State elections, calling Mr. Modi’s public congratulations to the Congress party for its victory in the State, which the ruling BJP lost in May, a “positive indicator” for democracy. 

They said India is “disappointed” that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping did not attend the G20 summit, said senior U.S. White House officials, adding that there was “clear appreciation” that U.S. President Joe Biden travelled to India for it.

G-20 Summit 2023 in New Delhi Live Updates | September 9

On chances for a joint declaration being forged at the end of the G20 summit, the officials said there had been some forward movement, particularly on climate issues in the draft communique, but that the U.S. would remain “purposeful determined and resolute” on the language over Ukraine. As The Hindu had reported on September 8, officials and diplomats said the language on all non-geopolitical issues had been cleared, but Ukraine remains a sticking point with the U.S. and allies ranged on one side and Russia and China on the other. 

“There was a clear appreciation on the part of India that President Biden is here, and that he made the trip,” said Kurt Campbell, the National Security Council’s Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, adding that “I think it is a disappointment for India that both Russia and China (Presidents) are not here”. 

Highlighting the India-U.S.-Saudi Arabia-India infrastructure corridor which now includes the European Union, that is expected to be announced, Mr. Campbell said that talks are still ongoing with all the parties present in Delhi, and this would be a “major breakthrough that would help fundamental delays with respect to infrastructure and communications, from India with the Middle East (West Asia) and then on to Europe. 

Worldview with Suhasini Haidar | PM Modi in US | A major leap forward for India-US ties?

The officials also faced several questions from the U.S. White House Press Corps members on the lack of access for journalists in the press pool to the bilateral meeting and the main G20 venue. Mr. Campbell said that this had been raised with India, and stressed that despite India’s objections, the U.S. had held a press interaction with PM Modi and President Biden during the state visit in Washington in June. 

“I do want to just underscore for you that in every meeting that I’ve been in, the President is very clear about the importance of the health of democracy. He doesn’t do this in such a way that suggests that one country is lecturing to another but rather that we all face shared challenges, and we think it’s important that we’re constantly asking the hard questions about our democracy.” When pressed on whether U.S. concerns over India have led to any “change” in the Modi government, Rear Admiral Eileen Laubacher, the NSC Senior Director for South Asia, pointing to recent Karnataka elections, said that Mr. Modi had congratulated the Congress party on the results, although she said the U.S. would not like to ascribe this to its influence.

File image for representation.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

With Chinese President Xi Jinping skipping a G-20 summit for the first time, Beijing is sending “deliberate signals” to India and the West by essentially downgrading its involvement in a key international forum, according to current and former officials and people familiar with Beijing’s thinking.

Missing the summit, they said, conveys China’s displeasure both with the current state of bilateral ties with India — and New Delhi’s stand that normalcy in broader ties is not possible without a restoration of peace on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) — and with what Beijing sees as a “politicisation” of the G-20, which it believes should be limited to economic issues and not involve itself with issues such as the war in Ukraine.

‘Surprising,’ says Ashok Kantha

Beijing offered no reason on Monday for Mr. Xi’s decision to skip the summit. The decision was “surprising”, noted former Indian Ambassador to China Ashok Kantha, considering Mr. Xi attended all previous G-20 summits (he attended the 2021 Rome summit virtually) and as recently as August 24 travelled to South Africa for the BRICS summit.  Health reasons also do not appear to be a factor, with Mr. Xi in the past week meeting with the visiting President of Benin in Beijing and also addressing by video a key conference on trade in services.

“So one presumes it is a deliberate signal both in the bilateral context, where there is unhappiness about the present state of relations, and a second aspect is a lack of comfort for China with the G-20 as a platform,” Mr. Kantha said. “They are sending out signals that they see things [with India] as not good and that they are not going to go the extra mile to retrieve the situation.”

Following an informal conversation between Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi in South Africa, both sides put out differing readouts over what was said, and then subsequently exchanged sharp barbs over China’s issuing of a new “standard map” for 2023 on August 28. While the timing, five days after the meeting between the leaders, was likely coincidental given the release of the map during what appeared to be a long-planned “map awareness publicity week” campaign in China by the Ministry of Natural Resources, it was seen by New Delhi as further complicating already sensitive relations amid an unresolved border crisis.

Skipping the summit also reflects China’s unease with the G-20 as a platform, and a stark contrast to its investing in other fora such as BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

People familiar with Beijing’s thinking suggest Mr. Xi would have been “very likely present in Delhi” if India hosted the SCO summit in person given the importance accorded by Beijing to the China and Russia-backed grouping. India decided to host the summit virtually, although it had initially planned for a physical summit in New Delhi.

“In BRICS, Xi was more comfortable as China was more in a position to influence the agenda and outcomes,” Mr. Kantha added. “At the G-20, there is much greater pressure on China, and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin being absent means China will come under pressure. The Chinese feel they are more in control at the BRICS and SCO.”

Second-ranked leader and Premier Li Qiang will attend the Delhi G-20 summit. This is a deviation from standard Chinese protocol, with a clear division of responsibility in the Chinese system when it comes to international meetings. The President as Head of State (HoS) usually attends the G-20 and APEC Summit. Mr. Xi is expected to travel to the U.S. in November for the latter. The Premier usually attends the East Asia Summit, which Mr. Li is participating in this week in Indonesia before travelling to New Delhi. Both attend the SCO where there are separate HoS and Head of Government meetings.

“That practice is maintained very clearly and they don’t ordinarily deviate from it,” Mr. Kantha noted. “So this is not a routine decision, and it is clearly well thought out.”