Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon
aims to alert you to the threats and opportunities that China and India present. China and India require serious attention; case of ‘hidden dragon and crouching tiger’.
Without this attention, governments, businesses and, indeed, individuals may find themselves at a great disadvantage sooner rather than later.
The POSTs (front webpages) are mainly 'cuttings' from reliable sources, updated continuously.
The PAGEs (see Tabs, above) attempt to make the information more meaningful by putting some structure to the information we have researched and assembled since 2006.
China imported 72 per cent of its oil in 2019, with Saudi Arabia and Russia, who are now locked in a price war, its largest suppliers
Oil prices again fell on Wednesday, with Brent crude down to US$36 a barrel as Saudi Arabia moved to boost output capacity in an escalation of its price war with Russia
China imported 506 million tonnes (3.7 billion barrels) of oil in 2019, an increase of 9.5 per cent from 2018, marking the 17th consecutive year of increased imports. Photo: AP
China’s coronavirus-hit industrial enterprises could receive a welcome boost from plunging oil prices, with the world’s largest importer and consumer set for significant cost savings, analysts said.
A total of 72 per cent of the oil consumed in China was imported in 2019, an average of 10 million barrels per day, meaning any sharp drop in costs as a result of the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia will help firms reduce costs as they struggle to resume production.
“China benefits a lot from the price war as it is the world’s biggest crude importer,” said Bai Jun, an economic committee member at the China Petroleum Society, an association of Chinese energy researchers.
China imported 506 million tonnes (3.7 billion barrels) of oil in 2019, an increase of 9.5 per cent from 2018, marking the 17th consecutive year of increased imports.
Lower oil prices should raise output by 0.3 per cent above what it would have been with higher oil prices. This will provide some relief, but is a small offset to the many other drags facing the economy Julian Evans-Pritchard
Saudi Arabia and Russia topped a list, also including Angola, Iraq and Oman, that accounted for about 55 per cent of China’s total crude imports in 2018, according to China’s customs data.
Profits for China’s industrial firms could increase by 2 per cent this year as a result of lower oil prices, according to Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics.
“Lower oil prices should raise output by 0.3 per cent above what it would have been with higher oil prices. This will provide some relief, but is a small offset to the many other drags facing the economy, including the slump in global demand that has contributed to the fall in oil prices,” he said.
“For example, a 2 percentage point decline in export growth would fully wipe out the gains we foresee from lower oil prices. We expect a slowdown in
Global stock markets plummet amid coronavirus panic and falling oil prices
On the other hand, a crash in international oil prices could potentially lead to an increasingly monopolised supply structure as small suppliers could be priced out in the market. This would fly in the face of Beijing’s long-term strategy of securing multiple sources of supply, Wang Yongzhong, who leads the global energy research at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a government think tank, said.
Beijing “is concerned more about the energy security, or how to find multiple sources of stable supply [than a gain from lowers prices],” according to Wang.
The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell back to US$36 a barrel on Wednesday, reversing gains made earlier in the day, after plunging more than 30 per cent on Friday after Saudi Arabia moved to boost output capacity in the opening of a price war with Russia. In 2019, according to customs data, China’s average import price per barrel was around US$65.
China is also a big oil producer with 190 million tonnes (1.4 billion barrels) of output last year and the average cost is higher than US$40 per barrel – a fall in oil prices can push them into lossesBai Jun
But the drop is oil prices is not an unmitigated positive for the Chinese economy, as it will adversely impact domestic oil producers and overseas oilfield investments.
“China is also a big oil producer with 190 million tonnes (1.4 billion barrels) of output last year and the average cost is higher than US$40 per barrel – a fall in oil prices can push them into losses,” added Bai from the China Petroleum Society.
Dong Xiucheng, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, agreed that a lower oil price could help Chinese consumers and facilitate
but that it would also create a “cold winter” for China’s oil producers, especially state-owned enterprises who still have to maintain production levels.
“The coming days for them will be very hard,” Dong said. “State-owned players need to consider production targets and social stability. Workers can’t lose their jobs.”
As oil prices are falling, these projects could translate into big burden for Chinese investors as there’s now a big question mark over whether these projects can make any money Zhu Kunfeng
China National Offshore Oil (CNOOC), one of China’s three state-owned oil companies, has seen its share price in Hong Kong plummet over 20 per cent this week, closing down almost 6 per cent on Wednesday alone.
Zhu Kunfeng, a Beijing-based expert with consultancy firm IHS Markit, said the plunge in international crude prices could dampen China’s domestic output and force it to rely more on overseas supplies.
The collapse in oil prices could also question the financial viability of many Chinese-invested oil projects overseas.
“Chinese companies had been aggressive in buying overseas oil assets in the early 2010s … in the name of improving China’s energy security”, Zhu said.
“As oil prices are falling, these projects could translate into big burden for Chinese investors as there’s now a big question mark over whether these projects can make any money.”
UNITED NATIONS, March 6 (Xinhua) — China’s UN envoy on Friday said China welcomes the Russia-Turkey agreement on a ceasefire for Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib.
In a press encounter after a close-door Security Council meeting on Syria, China’s Permanent Representative to the UN Zhang Jun said “for China, we welcome the agreement signed by the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey, and we welcome the diplomatic efforts along this direction.”
He said the signing of the agreement is conducive to finding “what we have always longed … a comprehensive solution to the issue in Syria.”
It’s a step forward in promoting a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process, facilitated by the UN, he said, expressing the hope that the agreement will be fully implemented.
Zhang stressed that in the process of implementation, Syria’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence should be fully respected.
He said China hopes the international community will continue to commit to the fight against terrorism in the process. “We do hope that we will see more encouraging progress.”
The Chinese envoy voiced support for the humanitarian effort made by the UN, pledging that China will do whatever it can to provide humanitarian aid. “We also hope that the comprehensive humanitarian situation in Syria will be taken care of by the international community.”
He also urged parties concerned to avoid any attack on the civilians in Idlib and in Syria as a whole.
Russia and Turkey agreed Thursday on a ceasefire in the de-escalation zone in Idlib, a development that could ease escalating conflicts and facilitate a peace process in the war-torn country.
The ceasefire became effective from 00:01 a.m. on Friday local time. Russia and Turkey also agreed to create a safety corridor 6 km to the north and 6 km to the south from the strategic M4 highway, which connects Aleppo in northern Syria with Latakia in the northwest.
Also in the press encounter, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said the ceasefire does not “exempt” operations targeting terrorists in the area, and that he hopes the sporadic fighting after the ceasefire took effect will be put out.
Britain and Germany’s UN ambassadors also expressed hope that the fresh ceasefire will last.
In 2018, the two countries agreed on a deal in the southern Russian city of Sochi, which created a “de-escalation” zone in Idlib and allowed for the deployment of 12 Turkish observation posts. However, the “de-escalation” zone has been repeatedly violated.
More than 30 Turkish soldiers were killed last month around the area during an operation of the Syrian government, which Russia backs. The operation was attempting to regain control of the final rebel stronghold in the country after nearly nine years of war.
In response, Turkey targeted Syrian positions with aircraft, drones and artillery, raising fears of a direct military confrontation between Russia and Turkey.
Since March 2011, Syria has been in the throes of a conflict that has forced more than half of all Syrians to leave their homes.
According to The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, an estimated 5 million Syrians have fled the country, 6 million others are internally displaced, over 13 million people need assistance and an untold number of men, women and children are suffering greatly.
(Reuters) – Airlines have been suspending flights to China or modifying service in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Below are details (in alphabetical order):
AIRLINES THAT HAVE CANCELLED ALL FLIGHTS TO MAINLAND CHINA
** American Airlines – Extends suspension of China and Hong Kong flights through April 24
** Air France – Said on Feb.6 it would suspend flights to and from mainland China for much of March
** Air India – Suspends flights to Shanghai, Hong Kong until June 30
** Air Seoul – The South Korean budget carrier suspended China flights from Jan. 28 until further notice.
** Air Tanzania – Tanzania’s state-owned carrier, which had planned to begin charter flights to China in February, postponed its maiden flights.
** Air Mauritius – Suspended all flights to China and Hong Kong
** Austrian Airlines – until end-February.
** British Airways – Jan. 29-March 31.
** Delta Airlines – Feb. 2-April 30
** Egyptair suspended flights on Feb, 1, but on Feb. 20 said it would resume some flights to and from China starting next week.
** El Al Israel Airlines – Said on Feb. 12 it would suspend its Hong Kong flights until March 20 and reduce its daily flights to Bangkok. It suspended flights to Beijing from Jan. 30 to March 25 following a health ministry directive.
** Iberia Airlines – The Spanish carrier extended its suspension of flights from Madrid to Shanghai, its only route, from Feb. 29 until the end of April.
** JejuAir Co Ltd – Korean airline to suspend all China routes starting March 1
** Kenya Airways – Jan. 31 until further notice.
** KLM – Will extend its ban up to March 28
** Lion Air – All of February.
** LOT – Extends flight suspension until March 28
** Oman and Saudia, Saudi Arabia’s state airline, both suspended flights on Feb. 2 until further notice.
** Qatar Airways – Feb. 1 until further notice.
** Rwandair – Jan. 31 until further notice.
** Scoot, Singapore Airlines’ low-cost carrier – Feb. 8 until further notice.
** United Airlines – Feb. 5-April 23. Service to Hong Kong suspended Feb. 8-April 23.
** Vietjet and Vietnam Airlines – Suspended flights to the mainland as well as Hong Kong and Macau Feb. 1-April 30, in line with its aviation authority’s directive.
AIRLINES THAT HAVE CANCELLED SOME CHINA FLIGHTS/ROUTES OR MODIFIED SERVICE
** Air Canada – Extended the suspension of its flights to Beijing and Shanghai until March 27. It also suspended its Toronto to Hong Kong flights from March 1 to March 27, but its Vancouver to Hong Kong route remains active. [bit.ly/39zgmI0]
** Air China – Said on Feb. 12 it will cancel flights to Athens, Greece, from Feb. 17 to March 18
** Air China – State carrier said on Feb. 9 it will “adjust” flights between China and the United States.
** Air New Zealand – Suspended Auckland-Shanghai service Feb. 9-March 29. Reduced capacity on Shanghai route throughout April and Hong Kong route throughout April and May.
** ANA Holdings – Suspended routes including Shanghai and Hong Kong from Feb. 10 until further notice.
** Cathay Pacific Airways – Plans to cut a third of its capacity over the next two months, including 90% of flights to mainland China. It has encouraged its 27,000 employees to take three weeks of unpaid leave in a bid to preserve cash.
** Emirates and Etihad – The United Arab Emirates, a major international transit hub, suspended flights to and from China, except for Beijing.
** Finnair – Cancelled all flights to mainland China and decreased the number of flights to Hong Kong until March 28.
** Hainan Airlines – Suspended flights between Budapest, Hungary, and Chongqing Feb. 7-March 27.
** Korean Air Lines Co. – The national flag carrier suspended eight routes to China and reduced services on nine Chinese routes between Feb. 7 and 22.
** Philippine Airlines – Cut the number of flights between Manila and China by over half.
** Qantas Airways – Suspended direct flights to China from Feb. 1. The Australian national carrier halted flights from Sydney to Beijing and Sydney to Shanghai between Feb. 9-March 29.
** Royal Air Maroc – The Moroccan airline suspended direct flights to China Jan. 31-Feb. 29. On Jan. 16, it had launched a direct air route with three flights weekly between its Casablanca hub and Beijing.
** Russia – All Russian airlines, with the exception of national airline Aeroflot, stopped flying to China from Jan. 31. Small airline Ikar will also continue flights between Moscow and China. All planes arriving from China will be sent to a separate terminal in the Moscow Sheremetyevo airport. Aeroflot reduced the frequency of flights to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou until Feb. 29.
** Nordic airline SAS – Extended its suspension of flights to Shanghai and Beijing until March 29.
** Singapore Airlines – Suspended or cut capacity on flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Xiamen and Chongqing, some of which are flown by regional arm SilkAir.
** UPS – Cancelled 22 flights to China because of the virus and normal manufacturing closures due to the Lunar New Year holiday.
** Virgin Atlantic – Extended its suspension of daily operations to Shanghai until March 28.
** Virgin Australia – Said it will withdraw from the Sydney-Hong Kong route from March 2 because it was “no longer a viable commercial route” due to growing concerns over the virus and civil unrest in Hong Kong.
MUNICH (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended on Saturday his nation’s global role despite misgivings in Europe, vowing that Western values would prevail over China’s desire for “empire”.
Pompeo was seeking to reassure Europeans troubled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America first” rhetoric, ambivalence over the transatlantic NATO military alliance and tariffs on European goods.
“I’m happy to report that the death of the transatlantic alliance is grossly exaggerated. The West is winning, and we’re winning together,” he said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference, listing U.S. steps to protect liberal democracies.
RELATED COVERAGE
U.S., allied firms testing alternatives to Chinese 5G technology – Esper
Pompeo was, in part, responding to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who on Friday accused the United States, Russia and China of stoking global mistrust.
Trump’s decision to pull out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, as well as the Paris climate accord, have undermined European priorities, while moves such as recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital have weakened European diplomacy, envoys say.
Pompeo defended the U.S. strategy, saying Europe, Japan and other American allies were united on China, Iran and Russia, despite “tactical differences.”
He reiterated Washington’s opposition to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline under construction between Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea, a project backed by the government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Citing Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, cyber threats in Iran and economic coercion by China, Pompeo said those countries were still “desiring empires” and destabilising the rules-based international system.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, speaking immediately after Pompeo, focused his remarks solely on China, accusing Beijing of a “nefarious strategy” through telecommunications firm Huawei [HWT.UL].
“It is essential that we as an international community wake up to the challenges presented by Chinese manipulation of the long-standing international rules-based order,” Esper said.
He said it was not too late for Britain, which last month said it would allow Huawei a limited role in building its 5G networks, to take “two steps back,” but added he still needed to asses London’s decision.
“We could have a win-win strategy if we just abide by the international rules that have been set in place for decades … that respect human rights, that respect sovereignty,” he said.
MUNICH (Reuters) – Germany’s president took an indirect swipe at U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday in accusing Washington, China and Russia of stoking global mistrust and insecurity with a “great powers” competition” that could threaten a new nuclear arms race.
In opening remarks at the annual Munich Security Conference, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier deplored the three big powers’ approach to global affairs and, without naming Trump, took issue with his vow to “make America great again”.
“‘Great again’ – even at the expense of neighbours and partners,” quipped Steinmeier, a former Social Democrat foreign minister whose comments on foreign policy carry authority.
As foreign minister in 2014, he was central to the so-called “Munich consensus” when German leaders said Berlin was ready to assume more responsibility in global affairs. Steinmeier pressed that point again on Friday, but not before bemoaning the foreign policy approaches of Russia, China and the United States.
“Russia…has made military force and the violent shifting of borders on the European continent the means of politics once again,” he said in the text of a speech for delivery at the opening of the conference.
“China…accepts international law only selectively where it does not run counter to its own interests,” Steinmeier said.
“And our closest ally, the United States of America, under the present administration itself, rejects the idea of an international community.”
The upshot is “more mistrust, more armament, less security…all the way to a new nuclear arms race,” he said.
In response, he said, Germany should raise defence spending to contribute more to European security and to maintain its alliance with the United States, recognising that U.S. interests were gravitating away from Europe toward Asia.
He also called for a European policy towards Russia “that is not limited to condemning statements and sanctions alone”.
Europe, he added, “must find its own balance with China between intensifying competition between systems and the need for cooperation.”
BEIJING, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) — China highly appreciates a BRICS chairmanship statement in support of China’s fight against the novel coronavirus epidemic, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said Wednesday at an online press briefing.
Russia, holding this year’s chairmanship of the emerging-market bloc that groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, on Tuesday issued the statement representing the BRICS countries to support the “firm commitment and decisive efforts of the Chinese government” to combat the epidemic.
The statement also called for international cooperation and coordination within the World Health Organization framework to protect regional and global public health security, and underlined the importance of avoiding discrimination, stigmatization and overreaction while responding to the outbreak.
Calling other BRICS countries as important partners for China, Geng said this statement delivered positive and constructive messages, voiced support for China’s efforts and called for greater international cooperation in safeguarding public health security.
“This demonstrates the BRICS spirit of helping each other during difficult times. It also epitomizes the support China has received from the international community. We highly appreciate it,” he said.
“We will continue to work with the international community including the BRICS countries to combat the epidemic and safeguard regional and global public health security,” said the spokesperson.
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia will begin delivering S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to India by the end of 2021, agency RIA Novosti on Wednesday quoted a Russian official as saying.
India signed a $5 billion deal for S-400 missiles in 2018, drawing warnings from the United States that such an acquisition would trigger sanctions as part of a wider programme against Russia.
“The contract is being implemented on schedule. The first shipment is due by the end of 2021,” Deputy Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC), Vladimir Drozhzhov, said at Defence Expo 2020 in Lucknow, India, according to RIA.
In November, the same agency cited the general director of Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, Alexander Mikheev, as saying deliveries would start in September 2021.
An Airbus A380 landed at the military base of Istres in the southern French region of Bouches-du-Rhone on Sunday
Of the 180 French people who were flown back from Wuhan on Friday, one showed symptoms of being infected with the virus
An Airbus A380-84, believed to be carrying European citizens flown out from the coronavirus zone in Wuhan, approaches the Istres-Le Tube Air Base near Istres. Photo: AFP
A second French-chartered plane carrying 300 evacuees from China flew to France on Sunday as more foreigners fled China’s rapidly developing virus.
The Airbus A380 landed at the military base of Istres in the southern French region of Bouches-du-Rhone. A first French plane landed Friday.
Officials said that when this latest flight left the central Chinese city of Wuhan, none of the passengers had symptoms of coronavirus. They include French, Belgians, Dutch, Danes, Czechs, Slovaks and some citizens of African countries.
Authorities said the plane would drop off most of its passengers at Istres before leaving for Belgium with several dozen people from northern Europe. Authorities haven’t said if the travellers arriving at Istres will be put into quarantine.
Of the 180 French people who were flown back from Wuhan on Friday, one showed symptoms of being infected with the virus and was sent to a Marseille hospital for testing, French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn said.
The other passengers were being quarantined for 14 days at a large, isolated Mediterranean resort not far from Marseille near Carry-le-Rouet.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said that two people who were flown back to Germany on Saturday were found to be infected with the virus. That brought the total of cases in Germany to 10. Spahn said the two had been symptom-free when they left Wuhan and when they arrived in Frankfurt, and that they were “doing well at the moment” in quarantine at a Frankfurt hospital.
French police officers gather at the entrance gate of the ENSOSP (French National Fire Officers Academy) where French citizens will be quarantined after their repatriation from Wuhan. Photo: EPA-EFE
Europe has 25 reported cases of people who have been infected with the virus that emerged from Wuhan: Germany has 10; France has six; Russia, Italy and the U.K have two each and Finland, Sweden and Spain each have one.
The Italian foreign ministry said permission had been given for cargo flights to fly between Italy and China.
Separately, the special commissioner in charge of coordinating Italy’s efforts during the viral outbreak said consideration was being given to letting a handful of Chinese commercial airliners fly to Italy to pick up Chinese tourists and other Chinese citizens stranded in Italy by the suspension of commercial flights.
The commissioner, Angelo Borrelli, was quoted by Italian media as saying that Italy would like those flights, if approved, not to fly to Italy empty, but instead to bring back Italians from China. There are an estimated 500 other Italians in China who have apparently expressed an interest in returning home during the outbreak, but nothing firm had been decided on those flight possibilities.
Meanwhile, an estimated 3,000 tourists and others from China are stranded in Italy and want to return to home, according to Italian media.
Coronavirus: Indonesia evacuates citizens, stops flights from China
2 Feb 2020
The death toll in China climbed Sunday to 304 and the number of infections rose to 14,380. In addition, the Philippines on Sunday reported the first death from the virus outside China.
On Saturday night, a Turkish military transport plane carrying 42 people arrived in Ankara from Wutan. The 32 Turkish, six Azerbaijani, three Georgian and one Albanian nationals will remain under observation in a hospital for 14 days, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.
Twenty Turkish personnel who took part in the evacuation will also be kept in quarantine.
The Egyptian government said 306 of its nationals would return home from Wuhan on a chartered plane later Sunday and will be subject to a 14-day quarantine. The online news outlet Masrawy reported that authorities prepared a hotel in the northwestern city of Marsa Matruh where the returnees would be quarantined.
The new coronavirus has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization, as the outbreak continues to spread outside China.
“The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The concern is that it could spread to countries with weaker health systems.
Meanwhile, the US has told its citizens not to travel to China.
The state department issued a level four warning – having previously urged Americans to “reconsider” travel to China – and said any citizens in China “should consider departing using commercial means”.
China has said it will send charter plans to bring back Hubei province residents who are overseas “as soon as possible”.
A foreign ministry spokesman said this was because of the “practical difficulties” Chinese citizens have faced abroad. Hubei is where the virus emerged.
At least 213 people in the China have died from the virus, mostly in Hubei, with almost 10,000 cases nationally.
The WHO said there had been 98 cases in 18 other countries, but no deaths.
Most international cases are in people who had been to Wuhan in Hubei.
However in eight cases – in Germany, Japan, Vietnam and the United States – patients were infected by people who had travelled to China.
Getty Coronavirus outbreak outside China
18 The number of countries with cases
14 Cases in Thailand and Japan
13 Singapore
11 South Korea
8 Australia and Malaysia
5 France and USA
Source: WHO and local authorities
Speaking at a news conference in Geneva, Dr Tedros described the virus as an “unprecedented outbreak” that has been met with an “unprecedented response”.
He praised the “extraordinary measures” Chinese authorities had taken, and said there was no reason to limit trade or travel to China.
The US Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, has said the outbreak could “accelerate the return of jobs to North America”.
Preparing other countries
What happens if this virus finds its way into a country that cannot cope?
Many low- and middle-income countries simply lack the tools to spot or contain it. The fear is it could spread uncontrollably and that it may go unnoticed for some time.
Remember this is a disease which emerged only last month – and yet there are already almost 10,000 confirmed cases in China.
The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa – the largest in human history – showed how easily poorer countries can be overwhelmed by such outbreaks.
And if novel coronavirus gets a significant foothold in such places, then it would be incredibly difficult to contain.
We are not at that stage yet – 99% of cases are in China and the WHO is convinced the country can control the outbreak there.
But declaring a global emergency allows the WHO to support lower- and middle-income countries to strengthen their disease surveillance – and prepare them for cases.
How unusual is this declaration?
The WHO declares a Public Health Emergency of International Concern when there is “an extraordinary event which is determined… to constitute a public health risk to other states through the international spread of disease”.
It has previously declared five global public health emergencies:
Swine flu, 2009 – The H1N1 virus spread across the world in 2009, with death toll estimates ranging from 123,000 to 575,400
Polio, 2014 – Although closer than ever to eradication in 2012, polio numbers rose in 2013
Zika, 2016 – The WHO declared Zika a public health emergency in 2016 after the disease spread rapidly through the Americas
Ebola, 2014 and 2019 – The first emergency over the virus lasted from August 2014 to March 2016 as almost 30,000 people were infected and more than 11,000 died in West Africa. A second emergency was declared last year as an outbreak spread in DR Congo
Media caption Inside the US laboratory developing a coronavirus vaccine
How is China handling the outbreak?
A confirmed case in Tibet means the virus has reached every region in mainland China. According to the country’s National Health Commission, 9,692 cases have tested positive.
The central province of Hubei, where nearly all deaths have occurred, is in a state of lockdown. The province of 60 million people is home to Wuhan, the heart of the outbreak.
The city has effectively been sealed off and China has put numerous transport restrictions in place to curb the spread of the virus.
People who have been in Hubei are also being told to work from home until it is considered safe for them to return.
The virus is affecting China’s economy, the world’s second-largest, with a growing number of countries advising their citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to the country.
How is the world responding?
Voluntary evacuations of hundreds of foreign nationals from Wuhan are under way.
The UK, Australia, South Korea, Singapore and New Zealand are expected to quarantine all evacuees for two weeks to monitor them for symptoms and avoid contagion.
Australia plans to quarantine its evacuees on Christmas Island, 2,000km (1,200 miles) from the mainland in a detention centre that has been used to house asylum seekers.
In other recent developments:
Italy suspended flights to China after two Chinese tourists in Rome were diagnosed with the virus; earlier 6,000 people on board a cruise ship were temporarily barred from disembarking
In the US, Chicago health officials have reported the first US case of human-to-human transmission. Around 200 US citizens have been flown out of Wuhan and are being isolated at a Californian military base for at least 72 hours
Russia has decided to close its 4,300km (2,670-mile) far-eastern border with China
Two flights to Japan have already landed in Tokyo. Japan has now raised its infectious disease advisory level for China
Some 250 French nationals have been evacuated from Wuhan
India has confirmed its first case of the virus – a student in the southern state of Kerala who was studying in Wuhan
Israel has barred all flight connections with China
Papua New Guinea has banned all visitors from “Asian ports”
Summit between Chinese, South Korean and Japanese leaders could yield results for future of Korean peninsula, analyst says
North Korea has promised an unwelcome “Christmas present” if the US does not show the “right attitude” for talks. Photo: KCNA
Chinese President Xi Jinping has again stressed the need for tensions on the Korean peninsula to be resolved through dialogue, as the deadline looms in North Korea’s threat to give the United States an unwelcome “Christmas gift”
.
With just over a week to go until Pyongyang’s year-end deadline for Washington to change what it says a policy of hostility, Xi held separate talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Beijing on Monday.
Moon and Abe will also join Chinese Premier Li Keqiang for a trilateral summit in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Tuesday.
The first trilateral leadership talks took place in 2008, but were not held in 2013 and 2014, or in 2016 and 2017.
Xi said China and South Korea “both insist on maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula, and advocate solving problems through dialogue and consultation”, state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday.
“China supports South Korea in continuing to improve its relationship with
and injecting impetus for the Korean peninsula peace talks,” the report said.
Moon said the suspension of talks between the US and North Korea and heightened tensions along the peninsula “are not beneficial to both our countries and North Korea”, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.
Moon also said that China had played an “important role” in efforts for the denuclearise the peninsula, the report said.
North Korea has signalled impatience over the stalled talks with the US, and the fading hopes for an end to Washington’s economic sanctions.
In April, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said that he would “wait” until the end of the year to decide whether the US had the “right attitude” to allow a resumption of negotiations, but no signs of further talks have emerged.
Then earlier this month Pyongyang warned that Washington would receive a “Christmas gift”, and US actions would determine whether the present would be good or bad.
In an apparent sign of frustration with the US, North Korean news agency KCNA reported on Sunday that Kim held a meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea to “bolster the overall armed forces of the country” to deal with the “the fast-changing situation”.
The US imposed crippling sanctions on North Korea’s economy in 2017, though many countries, including China, South Korea and Japan, have also tightened measures against the North.
South Korea and Japan both scaled back people-to-people links in 2016, China banned coal exports to the North in 2017. Earlier this year, Trump thanked China and Russia for maintaining sanctions against Pyongyang.
As diplomats make last-ditch attempts to stop renewed confrontation, US special envoy for North Korea Stephen Biegun shuttled around the region last week, meeting senior officials in China, South Korea and Japan. Biegun urged North Korea to return to negotiations, and said the US “does not have a deadline” for talks.
China and Russia also proposed last week that the United Nations Security Council
Xi’s meeting with Moon also comes as Beijing tries to mend ties with Seoul to prevent neighbouring nations from getting closer to Washington.
Relations between China and South Korea deteriorated in 2017 after Seoul deployed a US-led missile defence system known as THAAD, which Beijing deemed as a security threat to its own territory.
On Monday, both Xi and Moon said in their meeting that they looked forward to improving relations between their countries.
“We have been friends and partners that have continued close cooperation,” Xi said. “We have a wide range of common understandings in various fields, including on further developing bilateral relations, facilitating regional peace, stability and prosperity, and defending multilateralism and a free trade system.”
Sun Xingjie, a North Korea specialist at Jilin University, said the US signal was “very clear” in Beigun’s comments.
“They still want to continue discussions,” he said.
Sun also said the talks in Chengdu on Tuesday would likely play an important role in the future of resolving problems on the Korean peninsula.
“After returning to the platform these last couple years, I believe this will become an important, normalised place for discussions. Whatever problems they run into, the platform should continue to move forward,” Sun said.
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 