Jingjing Newsletter (Week 64)
Welcome to this week’s Jingjing Newsletter. Let’s continue to explore under-reported sides of world news.
Sunday was an official day of mourning in Russia that saw thousands of people gather at the Crocus Concert Hall on the outskirts of Moscow to commemorate the victims of Friday’s terrorist attack on concertgoers. The attack claimed the lives of at least 137 people and is the deadliest terror attack on Russian soil since the 2004 Beslan siege. ISIS-K, a central Asian offshoot of the Islamic State, claimed responsibility. Russian President Vladimir Putin said 11 people had been detained and that an investigation into the attack is ongoing. The United States was quick to say that ISIS-K bears sole responsibility for the attack, but Russian investigators remain unconvinced. Russian officials and state media have speculated that Ukraine may have had something to do with the attack, with Putin claiming that one of the suspects was caught fleeing “towards Ukraine where, according to preliminary data, a window to cross the border was prepared.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has also accused the US of covering for its Ukrainian ally by issuing a statement so quickly. For its part, Ukrainian officials have suggested - without evidence - that the Crocus Concert Hall attack was a false-flag operation carried out by the Russian government to shore up support for Putin. Less than a week after the attack, all this remains speculation, and we will have to wait for a full investigation to be published before learning the truth behind the attack.
The United Nations Security Council has issued its first resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza six months into the conflict that has claimed over 32,000 lives. All previous attempts by the Security Council to pass a resolution have been vetoed by the United States. The current resolution only passed after the US was convinced to abstain - all other members of the Security Council voted in favor of the resolution. The passage of the ceasefire resolution comes as the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, released a report saying there are “reasonable grounds” to believe Israel is committing genocide, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of the risks of famine in the Gaza Strip. Why the US decided to abstain is unclear, but the Biden administration is under increasing pressure at home as the November presidential election approaches. A new poll shows that a majority of Americans disprove of Israel’s actions in Gaza, with an astonishing 75% of Biden’s own party saying they did not support Israel’s actions in Gaza - and, by extension, President Joe Biden’s continuing support for Israel. Biden’s advisors are increasingly concerned that the 81-year-old president is out of touch with the views of young and minority voters and that this may cost him the election as these voters may not turn out for him in key swing states. Hundreds of thousands of Democratic voters have already voted uncommitted in the presidential primary in a clear rebuke to Biden’s Israel-Palestine policy. The US abstaining at the United Nations, then, maybe a way to try to appease this key demographic even as the Biden administration continues to funnel billions of dollars in aid to Israel.
President Xi Jinping met with leading representatives of American business, strategic and academic communities in Beijing. These included the Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations Evan G. Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of Blackstone Stephen A. Schwarzman, President and CEO of Qualcomm Cristiano R. Amon, Founding Dean of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government Graham Allison, and President of the U.S.-China Business Council Craig Allen. At the meeting, President Xi made important remarks about the future of the China-US relationship, which he noted was one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world. He called on people from all walks of life in both China and the U.S. to have more contact and exchanges, continue to build a consensus, enhance trust, and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation. These remarks come as certain sectors of the US elite become increasingly bellicose in their anti-China rhetoric, and the US Congress attempts to force the sale of the highly popular social media app TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. Instead of responding in kind, the positive remarks at the meeting this week suggest China is going to continue along the path of promoting cooperation, not just between state-level actors but also between individual citizens of the two countries. The American business and academic leaders responded positively to President Xi’s comments.
The UK has announced sanctions on two Chinese individuals whom the British government claimed were part of a cyber espionage group directed at the British state. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden announced the measures in the British parliament and accused the Chinese government of backing the individuals. Dowden claimed the pair tried to access information about 40 or so MPs as well as data of voters registered with the UK Electoral Commission. What the British government thought the pair intended to do with this information was entirely unclear, and Dowden presented little evidence to support his claim. The Chinese Embassy in London immediately denounced the claim, stating in an official statement, “China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs. We have no interest or need to meddle in the UK's internal affairs. Whether the British government is good or bad, the British people will come to a conclusion sooner or later.” The United Kingdom has been increasingly gripped by anti-China spy fever in recent years. Last year, UK politicians announced that they feared that China was operating secret police stations in London - a claim denied by the Chinese government and later proven groundless in a police investigation conducted by the London Met. Earlier this month, British media even speculated that China and Russia may be behind the widespread online mockery of the British Royal family after the sudden and unexplained disappearance of of the Princess of Wales from public life. British media and some government sources seem to have believed that China was purposefully promoting memes mocking the situation to try to destabilize the UK. This was a claim that has been widely mocked on the Chinese internet, and we do have to wonder about the stability of the UK if a few memes mocking the wife of the heir to a ceremonial position can destabilize the whole of British society.
Opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye appears to have won the Senegalese Presidential elections only 10 days after being released from prison. The result still needs to be confirmed by Senegal’s Constitutional Council, but initial reports suggest he won 54% of the vote, and the outgoing president Macky Sall has already called to congratulate Faye on his victory. Barring a dramatic upset, the 44-year-old former tax inspector looks set to become Senegal’s youngest-ever President. Faye has set out an ambitious agenda aiming at transforming Senegal, vowing to eliminate corruption and prioritize economic sovereignty. In order to do this, he plans to withdraw Senegal from the CFA franc, a currency union of 14 separate former French colonies in Africa, which is controlled by the French treasury, and establish a new Senegalese currency. He also wishes to reassess Senegal’s mining and hydrocarbon contracts to try to ensure a better deal for Senegal. His biggest initial challenge, however, will be addressing the country’s 20% unemployment rate.
This week saw a historic visit to China by the President of Nauru, David Adeang. The tiny Pacific island nation formally resumed diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in January this year, and President Adeang was formally invited to visit Beijing, the first head of state of Nauru ever to do so. President Adeang has met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Li Qiang, and top legislators from the National People's Congress. The visit aims to develop areas of cooperation between the two countries as well as assess areas where China can aid Nauru in development: for example, China Harbour Engineering Company has already invested in the upgrading and renovation project of Aiwo Port Terminal in Nauru, with the aim of transforming the harbor into the country's first international port. There were also talks on how Chinese companies could help Nauru develop fishing and maritime resources. Throughout the 20th century, Nauru was a major source of phosphate, but as the valuable resource ran out in the early 21st century, Nauru faced severe economic difficulties. Chinese development projects may, therefore, offer a lifeline to the country that had previously languished in the American sphere of influence.
Jingjing’s Highlights in This Week
1. Through dialogue & people-to-people exchanges, we can build connections!
I met these U.S. high school students in San Francisco in 2023. I met them again in Beijing this month, 2024. We both got chances to visit each others' countries and learn from each other!
2. “China-U.S. relations can't go back to the past, but we could have a better future.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping said this while meeting with representatives from American business, strategic, & academic communities in Beijing. He called on people from all walks of life in both China and the U.S. to have more contacts & exchanges, continue to build a consensus, enhance trust, steer clear of disruptions, and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation.
What You May Have Missed This Week in the World.
1. China deepens reform and opening up, appeals to global investors
“The opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2024 was held in Boao, south China's Hainan Province on Thursday, with China's top legislator Zhao Leji stressing China's economic potential, appealing to international investors and calling for Asia solidarity and cooperation for regional prosperity in his keynote speech.”
2. Russia says Moscow terror attack suspects planned to flee to Kyiv for reward
“The Russian Investigative Committee said on Friday that it had found evidence showing the terrorists involved in the Moscow concert hall attack were planning to cross into Ukraine to receive ‘a reward.’”
3. 25 years after NATO bombing: How does Belgrade remember?
“It's been 25 years since U.S.-led NATO countries engaged in a 78-day serial bombing campaign that caused thousands of deaths in the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and massive damage to its infrastructure. An illegal and illegitimate war waged without the prior approval of the UN Security Council culminated with the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade on May 7, 1999.”
4. BreakThrough News - From Iraq to Moscow Attacks: How ISIS and US Foreign Policy Always Feed Off Each Other
“ISIS-K, an offshoot of ISIS called Islamic State in Khorasan, claimed responsibility for the March 22 attack at the Crocus City Hall concert hall outside Moscow that killed 133 people. While US officials were quick to put the blame on ISIS, Russia’s President Putin claimed that the attackers were aided by Western and Ukrainian intelligence. BreakThrough’s Kei Pritsker discusses the attack, the origins of ISIS, and the new generation of terrorism as the US continues to wage reckless global war.”
5. Geopolitical Economy Report - The economics of imperialism: Can the Global South resist Western exploitation? Can China help?
“The world economy is structured in an unjust way in which the West drains the wealth of the Global South. Ben Norton discusses the economics of imperialism - and how China has partially reversed it.”
6. Al Jazeera - A criminal economy': How US arms fuel deadly gang violence in Haiti
A wide-ranging investigation into how the arms industry in the United States is making Haiti a more dangerous place.
Page Editor: Jin Yulin
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