Xi Jinping - The African Mirror

Dec

2023

Chinese military purge exposes weakness, could widen

A sweeping purge of Chinese generals has weakened the People's Liberation Army, exposing deep-rooted corruption that could take more time to fix and slow Chinese leader Xi Jinping's military modernization drive amid geopolitical tensions, analysts say. China's top lawmakers ousted nine senior military officers from the national legislative body on Friday, state media reported a step that typically precedes further punishment for wayward cadres. Many of these were from the Rocket Force - a key arm of the PLA overseeing tactical and nuclear missiles. The purges are a setback for Xi who has pumped billions into buying and developing equipment…

Nov

2023

By MICHAEL MARTINA, TREVOR HUNNICUTT and GREG TORODE

What China’s Xi gained from his Biden meeting

WORLD

WHEN Chinese President Xi Jinping met executives for dinner in San Francisco, he was greeted with not one, but three standing ovations from the U.S. business community. It was one of several public relations wins for the Chinese leader on his first trip in six years to the United States, where he and President Joe Biden reached agreements covering fentanyl, military communications and artificial intelligence on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. All three were outcomes the United States had sought from China rather than the other way around, said two people briefed on the trip. But Xi appeared to…

Nov

2023

By TREVOR HUNNICUTT and JEFF MASON

Biden calls Xi a dictator after carefully planned summit

WORLD

U.S. President Joe Biden said that he had not changed his view that Chinese President Xi Jinping was effectively a dictator, a comment likely to land with a thud in Beijing after the two leaders held straightforward summit talks. Biden held a solo news conference after four hours of talks with Xi on the outskirts of San Francisco. At the end of the news conference, he was asked whether he still held the view that Xi was a dictator, something he said in June. "Look, he is. He's a dictator in the sense that he's a guy who runs a country…

Oct

2023

By The African Mirror

Putin filmed in China accompanied by officers with Russian nuclear briefcase

WORLD

RARE footage was shown of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing accompanied by officers carrying the so-called nuclear briefcase which can be used to order a nuclear strike. Putin, after a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, was filmed walking to another meeting surrounded by security and followed by two Russian naval officers in uniform each carrying a briefcase. The camera zooms in on one of the briefcases. Russia's nuclear briefcase is traditionally carried by a naval officer. Known as the "Cheget" (named after Mount Cheget in the Caucasus Mountains), the briefcase is with the president at all times but…

Oct

2023

By GUY FAULCONBRIDGE and LAURIE CHEN

Putin to visit China to deepen ‘no limits’ partnership with Xi

WORLD

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin will meet Xi Jinping in China this week in a bid to deepen a partnership forged between the United States' two biggest strategic competitors. Putin will attend the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on October 17-18, his first trip outside the former Soviet Union since the Hague-based International Criminal Court issued a warrant for him in March over the deportation of children from Ukraine. China and Russia declared a "no limits" partnership in February 2022 when Putin visited Beijing just days before he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, triggering the deadliest land war in…

Jun

2023

By TREVOR HUNNICUTT and RYAN WOO

China lashes back as Biden labels Xi a ‘dictator’

WORLD

CHINA hit back after U.S. President Joe Biden referred to President Xi Jinping as a "dictator", saying the remarks were absurd and a provocation, in an unexpected spat immediately following efforts by both sides to lower tensions. Biden's comments came just a day after top U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing to stabilize bilateral relations that China says are at their lowest point since formal ties were established. Attending a fundraiser in California, Biden said Xi was very embarrassed when a suspected Chinese spy balloon was blown off course over U.S. airspace early this year, making a personal comment on…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Russia war on Ukraine: SA President briefs Chinese leader

NEWS

SOUTH Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has briefed Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the upcoming visit by African leaders to Russia and Ukraine in a bid to end hostilities, the South African presidency said. Chinese state broadcaster reported that the two leaders had a phone call on Friday. In a statement, South Africa's presidency said Ramaphosa told Xi he noted the peace plan proposed by China and affirmed African leaders' support for initiatives aimed at a peaceful resolution of the conflict. "President Xi Jinping commended the initiative by the African continent and acknowledged the impact the conflict has had on human lives and…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

With lavish treatment of Macron, China’s Xi woos France to “counter” U.S.

WORLD

MICHEL ROSE and JAMES POMFRET CHINA'S Xi Jinping has given French President Emmanuel Macron an unusually lavish welcome on a state visit, which some analysts see as a sign of Beijing's growing offensive to woo key allies within the European Union to counter the United States. The two leaders visited southern China together on Friday, where Macron was due to drink Chinese tea with Xi in a former residence of his father in the city of Guangzhou, the capital of the economic and manufacturing powerhouse of Guangdong province. Such forays by Xi with visiting leaders are rare. Diplomats say it…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

Macron seeks China’s help on Ukraine, Xi ‘willing’ to call Zelenskiy

WORLD

MICHEL ROSE and LAURIE CHEN CHINA'S Xi Jinping expressed willingness to speak to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the head of the EU said after French President Emmanuel Macron urged Beijing to talk sense to Russia over the war in Ukraine. In closely watched talks, European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and Macron met with Xi in Beijing. Macron said the West must engage China to help end the crisis and prevent "spiralling" tensions that could split global powers into warring blocs. Xi, who has sought to position China as a potential mediator in the conflict but has been seen…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

The global civilization initiative: Fresh energy into human development

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

RECENTLY, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), calling for respect for the diversity of civilizations when he delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting. This is the third major global initiative presented by China after the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative. ABBEY MAKOE The political parties' conference was held by the Communist Party of China (CPC) ahead of US President Joe Biden's proposed second Summit for Democracy with the governments of Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Zambia on March…