英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总 2023-10-17
October 18, 2023 17 min 3443 words
您好,我已经整理了这些报道的主要内容,并提出了一些客观公正的评论意见- 总结主要内容- 最近媒体报道了以下几个方面的中国相关新闻- 1. 中英关系方面,MI5局长声称有2万英国人在LinkedIn上受到中国特工接触招募。 2. 美国方面,五眼联盟情报局长在加州举行峰会,美国防部公布了中国军机在过去两年对美国侦察机进行危险截击的视频,拜登政府计划进一步切断中国获得更先进的英伟达芯片,并将出口管制扩大到更多国家。 3. 经济和科技方面,国际货币基金组织警告中国经济复苏疲弱会损害亚洲其他经济体,拜登政府计划通过新规划切断中国获得更先进的人工智能芯片的途径。 4. 外交方面,中国加强与智利、塞尔维亚的关系,中国和俄罗斯加强反西方联盟,菲律宾要求中国停止在南海的危险挑衅行为。 5. 军事方面,加拿大指责中国战机对其军用飞机进行危险拦截,韩国针对为台湾造潜艇的企业展开调查。 6. 反腐方面,中国逮捕了中国银行原董事长刘连舸。 评论意见- 1. 对于个别报道中的不实之处,需要澄清事实,防止误导舆论。例如有报道夸大中国特工在英国的活动,但并未提出确凿证据。 2. 一些负面报道部分基于西方国家的偏见,应该保持谨慎客观的态度,不盲从西方观点。中国坚持独立自主的发展道路,西方国家应该尊重。 3. 确实中国在一些方面如军事活动增加、海外影响力扩大等引发其他国家担忧,但这是中国合法维护自身权益,不应片面责怪中国。中国反对过度解读这些正常活动。 4. 对于个别事件如南海摩擦,各方应保持冷静理性,通过对话协商解决争端,避免导致紧张局势升级。不能以偏概全看待中国。 5. 需要看到中国也在许多方面与其他国家保持良好合作,如加强与亚洲和发展中国家的经贸往来,这对世界经济发展大有裨益。不能只着眼中国的负面新闻。 6. 中方应该加强跟外界的沟通,及时澄清一些误解,避免外界因片面报道而对中国产生偏见。中国的发展不是威胁,与世界各国的合作是双赢的。 7. 新闻报道应该坚持客观公正的原则,而不应该受自己立场的影响进行有选择性的报道。建议西方媒体也应反思自己在报道中国议题时是否存在不公。 8. 中国仍是一个发展中国家,存在一定问题是正常的,但总体趋势是向着更开放、更负责任的方向发展。外界应该以更积极、理性的视角看待中国。 总而言之,中国仍存在一定需要改进的地方,但眼下也面临着许多不公之处的报道。中国需要继续通过对话沟通来增进外界对自身发展的理解,西方国家和媒体也应该维持客观公正的态度,不能因为意识形态差异而妖魔化中国。只有立足事实,理性看待中国,才能对世界真正负责任。
- Putin says suggestions of U.S. war against Russia and China are nonsense
- Putin to visit China to deepen “no limits“ partnership with Xi
- [World] China's roads win hearts in South Asia - but at a cost
- Scientists build traps to manage UK’s rising number of Chinese mitten crabs
Putin says suggestions of U.S. war against Russia and China are nonsense
https://reuters.com/article/russia-usa/putin-says-suggestions-of-u-s-war-against-russia-and-china-are-nonsense-idUSKBN31F05FPresident Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that suggestions the United States should prepare for a war against Russia and China were nonsense, and warned the West that any war against Russia would be on a whole different level to the conflict in Ukraine.
A bipartisan panel appointed by the U.S. Congress said on Thursday that Washington must prepare for possible simultaneous wars with Moscow and Beijing by expanding its conventional forces, strengthening alliances and enhancing its nuclear weapons modernization programme.
Putin, who is to visit China this week, said the United States had stoked tensions with Beijing by building the "AUKUS" security alliance of U.S., Australia and Britain and that Russia and China were not building a military alliance.
Putin told Kremlin reporter Pavel Zarubin in a clip published on Sunday that thoughts of war between Russia and the United States were unhealthy but that if people were making such thoughts public they could not but cause concern to Moscow.
"I don't think these are healthy thoughts in the minds of healthy people, because to say that the United States is preparing for war with Russia, well we are all preparing for war because we follow the ancient principle: if you want peace, get ready for war," Putin said in a clip posted on Telegram.
"But we want peace," Putin said with a chuckle. "Moreover, to fight with both Russia and China, it is nonsense - I don't think it is serious. I think they are just scaring each other."
The deepening partnership between the rising superpower of China and Russia, the world's biggest nuclear power, is one of the most intriguing geopolitical developments of recent years - and one the West is watching with anxiety.
The United States casts China as its biggest competitor and Russia as its biggest nation-state threat while U.S. President Joe Biden argues that this century will be defined by an existential contest with between democracies and autocracies.
Putin cautioned that if the United States fought against Russia then it would be very different to the war in Ukraine that the Kremlin calls a special military operation.
"And if they want to fight with Russia then it will be a completely different war - it will not be carrying out a special military operation," Putin said. "Look at the Middle East - is that a special military operation - can you compare them?"
"If we talk about a war between great nuclear powers, then it would be a completely different story. I don't think that people in their right minds can think about such a thing, but if such a thought does come to them then it can only cause us to be wary."
The United States says that both Russia and China are modernising their nuclear weapons arsenals and that China will likely have a stockpile of 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035 if it continues with its current pace of nuclear buildup.
Putin controls around 5,889 nuclear warheads as of 2023, compared with 5,244 controlled by Biden, according to the Federation of American Scientists. Of those, Russia has about 1,674 deployed strategic nuclear warheads while the United States has 1,670.
Putin to visit China to deepen “no limits“ partnership with Xi
https://reuters.com/article/china-russia-preview/putin-to-visit-china-to-deepen-no-limits-partnership-with-xi-idUSKBN31F02WRussian 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 Oct. 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 Europe since World War Two.
The United States casts China as its biggest competitor and Russia as its biggest nation-state threat while U.S. President Joe Biden argues that this century will be defined by an existential contest with between democracies and autocracies.
"Over the past decade, Xi has built with Putin's Russia the most consequential undeclared alliance in the world," Graham Allison, professor at Harvard University and a former assistant secretary of defense under Bill Clinton, told Reuters.
"The U.S. will have to come to grips with the inconvenient fact that a rapidly rising systemic rival and a revanchist one-dimensional superpower with the largest nuclear arsenal in the world are tightly aligned in opposing the USA."
Biden has referred to Xi as a "dictator" and has said Putin is a "killer" and a leader who cannot remain in power. Beijing and Moscow have scolded Biden for those remarks.
Since the Ukraine war, Putin has mostly stayed within the former Soviet Union, though he visited Iran last year for talks with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Once the senior partner in the global Communist hierarchy, Russia three decades after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union is now considered a junior partner of a resurgent Communist China under Xi, China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.
Putin and Xi share a broad world view, which sees the West as decadent and in decline just as China challenges U.S. supremacy in everything from quantum computing and synthetic biology to espionage and hard military power.
But Xi, who leads a $18 trillion economy, must balance close personal ties with Putin with the reality of dealing with the $27 trillion economy of the United States - still the world's strongest military power, and the richest.
The United States has warned China against supplying Putin with weapons as Russia, a $2 trillion economy, battles Ukrainian forces backed by the United States and the European Union.
Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said the optics of the Ukraine war made big public deals unlikely right now.
"Putin is definitely guest of honour," Gabuev said, adding that military and nuclear cooperation would be discussed.
"At the same time I think China is not interested in signing any additional deals at least in public, because anything that can be portrayed as providing additional cash flow to Putin’s war chest and Putin’s war machine is not good at this point."
Adding to the complexity of military cooperation is uncertainty over the fate of Defence Minister Li Shangfu, who has not been seen in public for more than six weeks.
The heads of Russian energy giants Gazprom (GAZP.MM) and Rosneft (ROSN.MM), Alexei Miller and Igor Sechin, will join Putin's retinue during his visit, sources familiar with the plans have told Reuters.
Russia wants to secure a deal to sell more natural gas to China and plans to build the Power of Siberia-2 pipeline, which would traverse Mongolia and have an annual capacity of 50 billion cubic metres (bcm).
It is unclear if the gas deal - particularly the price and the cost of building it - will be agreed.
[World] China's roads win hearts in South Asia - but at a cost
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66981742?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGAKhunjerab in Pakistan is a high-altitude desert, a region that is both dry and cold. Surrounded by towering mountains, pristine glaciers and alpine meadows, this rocky landscape is home to some of the world's highest peaks.
Snaking through it is a highly strategic road that connects China to Gwadar port on Pakistan's south-west coast.
The Silk Road route has been used for trade and travel for centuries, and in the last 10 years, it has become central to Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Described as "one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects ever conceived", President Xi Jinping's vision to rebuild the ancient route heralded the construction of transport links across South Asia, in the process developing poorer countries and helping Beijing win allies abroad.
The West has long been wary of Beijing's moves - concerned these investments would actually help China develop a string of ports through the South China Sea, Arabian Sea and on to Africa to be used by its navy. China has denied this.
To date, more than 145 countries, accounting for almost 75% of the world's population and more than half of global GDP have signed up for the BRI.
The largest project so far is the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC); $60bn (£49bn) was initially pledged to build a network of roads, railways and pipelines through this remote and rugged part of Pakistan.
The eventual plan was to connect to oil and gas pipelines from central Asia and the Middle East directly into western China, cutting out lengthy sea routes around South and South East Asia.
Developing this region of Pakistan made a lot of sense for China. It could act as a counterweight to long-time rival India, it offered a gateway to Afghanistan and the rare earths potentially buried there, and an opportunity to secure the porous border with its own restive Xinjiang region.
Corruption and delays
Although progress has been made, CPEC, like so many other BRI projects has been beset with corruption, delays and other issues, including environmental and security concerns. Gwadar port which was supposed to become a flagship facility, still lies empty, with no sign of cargo coming in or out.
This is the third in a series of stories that examines Chinese investment abroad 10 years after Xi Jinping launched the Belt and Road Initiative.
Read the first story about the shadowy Chinese firms that own chunks of Cambodia and the second story on Life in Laos: A country on the brink.
Much of that has to do with Pakistan's own economic problems. It was on the cusp of default earlier this year, plagued by high inflation, low growth and a weak currency. While textile workers were being laid off, and factories were shutting down because businesses couldn't afford raw materials or electricity, officials were struggling to pay for the imports needed to build CPEC infrastructure.
Eventually, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $3bn bailout programme in July. But Pakistan's external debt still stands at $100bn, with one third of it owed to China.
And Pakistan is not the only country that finds itself in this predicament.
China has become the largest creditor and a crucial source of investment for many developing countries since the BRI's inception and many of Pakistan's neighbours in South Asia are now finding themselves in the crosshairs as it evolves.
"Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh saw the BRI after 2013 as an opportunity to diversify options and attract much needed imports and investments to modernise their economies," said Constantino Xavier, fellow in Foreign Policy and Security Studies at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress in Delhi.
"Today, however, the grass is looking less green... in Nepal, China has begun to interfere in political affairs; in Sri Lanka, China has converted unsustainable infrastructure investments into long term leases impinging on sovereignty; and in Bangladesh it is becoming apparent that China's promised grants are in effect costly loans."
Playing by the rules
Beijing has transformed the way it assists these countries too. One study found China spent $240bn bailing out 22 countries between 2008 and 2021.
"Beijing is ultimately trying to rescue its own banks. That's why it has gotten into the risky business of international bailout lending," said Carmen Reinhart, a former World Bank chief economist and one of the study's authors.
China rarely forgives debt, and is secretive about how much money it has loaned and on what terms. Experts say that makes it difficult to restructure debt when more than one international lender is involved.
What can happen in cases like Sri Lanka, which saw massive social unrest and political upheaval after it ran out of foreign reserves, is that countries get into a cycle of trying to pay back interest, which restricts the economic growth that would aid them with paying off the debt in the first place. When the money stops flowing in, people start losing their jobs, inflation spirals and crucial imports like food and fuel become unaffordable.
China has provided emergency loans and pushed back payment deadlines.
But despite criticism it is engaging in "debt trap diplomacy", an idea popularised by the Trump administration, where indebted governments offer creditor countries major assets as collateral, experts say this is not the case.
They add that there is no advantage for China of these foreign loans, because its banks are dangerously exposed to indebted real estate companies domestically.
China often plays a role in the economic woes of these countries but its loans are certainly not the only issue, says Ana Hirogashi, analyst at research lab Aid Data. Transparency around the loans is a problem she adds, but as in Sri Lanka, Beijing eventually comes to the table.
Sri Lanka has struck deals with creditors China and India, as part of an effort to restructure its debt and pave the way for the approval of the IMF's $2.9bn bailout package.
The question then presents itself: Why has China tied itself to countries with such poor economic fundamentals? Analysts point out for example, that if China truly wanted to develop Pakistan, it could have helped expand Karachi port, rather than invest in Gwadar.
"There's an element of opportunism and politics in Chinese investments. Bilateral political ties could be improved with recipient country governments," says Meia Nouwens, head of the China Programme at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
"China uses this as an example to support its own narrative of being a leader of the Global South - a country that is supportive of developing countries and one that understands and responds to their needs."
China's deals are known for having fewer conditions and for completing in less time compared to commercial lenders. Multilateral organisations like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) also take time and often attach social and environmental riders to their promises of aid.
"A lot of leaders in the Global South are contending with election cycles and need projects to complete fast with minimal policy conditions," says Ms Hirogashi.
The road ahead
Despite the successes and failures, analysts point out that the infrastructure that otherwise would not have been built will continue to lift the economic prospects of many developing nations, including in South Asia.
"China's BRI has spurred growth and development in South Asia, forcing India and other countries to find better and faster ways to deliver alternatives. The region is now an open field for geo-economic competition, where beyond China and India there are now many more other actors such as Japan or the European Union," Mr Xavier adds.
Last year for instance, the G7 announced a plan to boost investment in infrastructure in low and middle income countries. And on the side lines of the G20 summit this month, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), was announced which seeks to connect India with several Gulf countries and others in the Middle East and Europe through a trade corridor. The US is involved, with President Joe Biden saying there would be more such corridors to come.
China has become an "entrenched, resident economic and political actor across South Asian countries", according to Mr Xavier.
But with China's economy slowing down, another transition in the global order may be in the offing.
"As China shifts its growth model towards internal consumption, and there is less capital available to be deployed to South Asia, countries in the region are now rebalancing towards India, Japan, the United States, European Union and other traditional partners. This is apparent in Sri Lanka, where China has been largely missing in action after the country's financial default," Mr Xavier said.
Scientists build traps to manage UK’s rising number of Chinese mitten crabs
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/14/scientists-build-traps-to-manage-uks-rising-number-of-chinese-mitten-crabsIt is classified by conservationists as one of the 100 worst invasive alien species in the world. Now, a group of scientists are hoping they have found a way to deplete the UK’s rapidly growing Chinese mitten crab population and prevent the crustaceans, which can grow bigger than a 10-inch dinner plate and have distinctive furry claws, from “eating us out of house and home”.
The group has constructed and installed the UK’s first Chinese mitten crab trap at Pode Hole in Lincolnshire, to catch the voracious predators as they migrate downstream to mate.
“The mitten crab are eating our native fauna,” said Dr Paul Clark of the Natural History Museum, one of the scientists working on the project. “If we start capturing these crabs and depleting their population, we might see changes in our environment for the better.”
This could include an increase in the local population of spined loach, a freshwater fish which is reported to have declined at Pode Hall, along with water voles, bivalve mollusks, small shrimp and snails.
The Chinese mitten crab, so-called because it originated in south-east Asia, was first sighted in the UK in 1935. Since then its population has exploded.
“Females can spawn two series of eggs, and they spawn somewhere between 500,000 and one million eggs in one go,” said Clark. “There’s millions in the Thames and huge populations in the Medway, the Ouse Washes, the Dee, Tyneside and the Humber. They are eating us out of house and home.”
He described seeing a mitten crab devouring a snail. “The crab treated it like an ice-cream cone. It nipped off the top, pulled the snail out from its shell – and ate it.”
Similarly, he said, his students have filmed a mitten crab “crushing an amphipod against the underside of its carapace, and with its other claw, it killed the shrimp and ate it”.
Research has shown the crabs also eat salmon and trout eggs – native fish species which are already under threat in the wild.
The scientists plan to freeze the crabs they catch, and then hope to be able to dissect them to find out what they have been feeding on. “If we can, we will do some DNA analysis on the digested guts.”
The “experimental” trap, which has a unique letterbox construction, was designed by Mick Henfrey, a foreman at the Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board, and Oscar Jones, a graduate of the Department of Engineering at the University of Sheffield.
Jones came up with the idea for the project after a Chinese Mitten crab was spotted by a member of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust climbing over the weir at Pode Hill. “We got together and decided to build a trap and the Environment Agency gave us permission to set it,” said Clark. “It’s like an extended letterbox that goes across the weir, with two openings, one facing upstream and one downstream. We hope they will climb into the letter box and then up a tube.”
He said the trap will be inspected every day and hopes that, if it is successful, other traps can be installed in rivers such as the Dee, an important salmon habitat.
The project is being run in conjunction with the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and the Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board.
Members of the public are asked to report sightings of Chinese mitten crab online at mittencrabs.org.uk.