- China will continue its campaign against ‘fake news’ and foreign media organizations, targeting financial and political fake news on the Chinese internet.
- India has approved the induction of 9,400 troops for seven new Indo-Tibetan Border Police battalions.
- China’s Foreign Affairs director, Wang Yi, is visiting France, Italy, Hungary, and Russia, where he will present a peace plan for the Russia-Ukraine war in the form of a position paper.
- A US bipartisan resolution calls Arunachal Pradesh an integral part of India.
- Beijing’s high-powered diplomacy in Europe, and the world, has been under scrutiny, with China’s relations with most countries in the bloc taking a plunge.
Summarise in Bullet point Beijing will continue its campaign against ‘fake news’ and foreign media organisations. New Delhi has approved the induction of 9,400 troops for seven new Indo-Tibetan Border Police battalions. Chinese Foreign Affairs director Wang Yi says Beijing will present a ‘peace plan’ for the Russia-Ukraine war. A US bipartisan resolution calls Arunachal Pradesh an integral part of India. Chinascope looks at Beijing’s high-powered diplomacy in Europe–and the world.
China over the week
“In the past year, we have punished commercial websites, internet organisations and public accounts that illegally reported news, cleaned up fake media, and punished organisations and media personnel that published news for profit,” wrote South China Morning Post while citing a report by the Xinhua News agency.Foreign media organisations operating from the Chinese mainland have already trimmed their staff and moved them to Taipei after Beijing arbitrarily detained journalists. We will likely witness further crackdown on the remaining foreign media reporting from the Chinese mainland.
China’s mute position on the Russia-Ukraine war has left many in Europe with an unsavoury taste, and Beijing’s relations with most countries in the bloc have taken a plunge. Wang Yi, director of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, is visiting France, Italy, Hungary and Russia from 14 to 22 February.
In Paris, Wang met French President Emmanuel Macron to convey Chinese President Xi Jinping’s greetings and mend relations that have remained unsettled since Russia’s war on Ukraine.
“China always regards France as a priority partner for cooperation and is ready to further step up high-level exchanges with France to open up new prospects for China-France relations, add new momentum to China-EU relations, and make new contributions to promoting international cooperation and tackling global challenges,” said Wang during his meeting with Macron on 16 February.While in Germany, Wang met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. His discussions with Scholz focused on the Russia-Ukraine war.
“China and Germany are independent major countries and shoulder common responsibilities for maintaining world peace and responding to global challenges. China has always stood on the side of peace, is committed to promoting peace and talks, and advocates an early ceasefire and cessation of war. It is hoped that the German side will play a constructive role in cooling down the situation,” said Wang during his meeting with Scholz on 18 FebruaryThat same day, Wang made an appearance at the annual Munich Security Conference, where he spoke at length about China’s plans.
Wang said Beijing would propose a plan for Russia-Ukraine peace talks as he met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a highly anticipated meeting at the sidelines of the conference. The plan will come in the form of a position paper by Beijing.The hashtag “China will announce its position on the political solution to the Ukraine war” was viewed 46 million times on the Chinese microblogging website Weibo.
However, Wang had something to say about China’s balloon affair with the US in Munich. He called Washington’s reaction to the balloon “hysterical”.
“There are so many balloons all over the world, so is the United States going to shoot all of them down?,” said Wang during his interview at the conference.
Wang told Blinken to “face up to and resolve the damage” to US-China bilateral relations caused by an “indiscriminate use of force”. Blinken is said to have warned Wang about Beijing’s support for Russia’s war on Ukraine.
“There are various kinds of lethal assistance that they are at least contemplating providing, to include weapons,” said Blinken about Beijing’s plans to provide assistance to Russia.
