Chinas premier Li Keqiang steps down amid new lockdowns in major Chinese cities. The “premier” is the second most powerful position in the Chinese communist party. Unlike Li’s predecessors, he left quietly without much explanation. The premier is on his way out of elite Chinese politics, but Xi is here to stay for a long time. “Against the backdrop of the decline of the West and the rise of the East, the confrontation between major powers is unprecedented, and we need to focus on responding to containment and suppression from the outside” said Wei Fenghe, Chinese Minister of Defence. Fenghe took a dig at the west claiming its on a “decline” while claiming the new rise of the east is leading to confrontations (ukraine-russia).
The article also goes over the new lockdowns imposed in China. Changchun, the capital of the Jilin province, was put under lockdown. The city is home to 9 million residents. The megacity of Shanghai has been asked to shut down its schools, and people were encouraged to work from home. Russia started making claims that Ukraine and its allies (US and United Nations) will start using migratory birds to spread pathogens. This comment went to national media when Chinese diplomats also voiced their concern.
I chose this article because it was actually a bit concerning. With the conflict going on in Ukraine the Russian-Chinese relationship continues to get stronger with a goal of “defeating” the west. Taiwan believes that Beijing intends to take advantage of the Russia-Ukraine war, the NSB said in its report. The intelligence agency has published its analysis of the potential impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on Beijing’s actions towards Taipei. The NSB report said that Beijing would also use cyber warfare and public opinion tactics to create divisions within Taiwan. If the Chinese go ahead with taking Taiwan it would not only destroy the lives of millions but disrupt major global supply chains as they would control the South China Sea.