| Sreemoy Talukdar brings you the essential cheat sheet on foreign affairs covering India and the world |  | | Our coverage of another eventful week begins with Xi Jinping's epochal visit of Saudi Arabia where crown prince MbS laid out a lavish welcome. We also track China's decision to roll back 'Zero Covid' and its repercussions, impact of G7 price cap on Russian seaborne crude, ousting of Peruvian president and outcome of Nepal's elections. | | TOP FIVE NEWS UPDATES | | Xi Jinping on a pivotal visit to deepen ties with Saudi Arabia as MbS lays out a lavish welcome | | Chinese president Xi Jinping is on an official four-day visit to Saudi Arabia where he will also meet other leaders from the Arab world. The visit is being called "pivotal" and may bring tectonic shifts in power balance in the West Asian region where the United States has traditionally been the most dominant player. Besides, Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) has a point to prove. CNN reports that "when Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia received him with the pomp and circumstance normally reserved for the kingdom's most strategic ally, the United States. Four fighter jets from the Royal Saudi Air Force escorted Xi's plane after it entered the country's airspace. It was then escorted to land by six aerobatic jets dragging green smoke trails… A purple carpet was rolled out for the Chinese leader, and canons were fired… Xi's red-carpet welcome is a far cry from US president Joe Biden's trip to Riyadh this summer. An unsmiling crown prince MbS greeted Biden with a fist-bump then publicly embarrassed him during a televised roundtable meeting, announcing a limited increase in oil production that fell far short of US demands. While MbS uttered the decision, Saudi state TV turned to a visibly exasperated Biden, who appeared to have been caught off-guard by the development." Gulf News says "China and Saudi Arabia signed a number of agreements, including on energy and investments" as king Salman bin Abdul Aziz, crown prince MbS met Xi at the royal palace. These include "a strategic partnership agreement and a harmonisation plan between the kingdom's Vision 2030 that aims to wean the economy off a reliance on oil and China's Belt and Road Initiative. Memorandums of understanding were also signed on hydrogen energy, solar power, direct investments and housing." According to South China Morning Post, both nations signed "34 energy and investment deals covering green energy, information technology, infrastructure and health" and "Saudi Arabian energy minister Abdulaziz bin Salman announced a plan to establish a regional centre for Chinese factories to further boost energy supply chains." Xi also wrote an op-ed for Saudi Arabia's Al Riyadh newspaper, where he vowed to enhance bilateral ties and opposed any "external interference" in the "strategic partnership". As Saudi Arabia looks to buy more and more weapons from China after years of arms deal with the US, Xi and MbS agreed to hold summits every two years and it was decided that Xi will help boost Chinese tourism to the West Asian nation and expand cultural links, reports Bloomberg. The White House, meanwhile, said Xi's visit to Saudi Arabia is an example of Chinese attempts to exert its influence around the world and it will not change US policy toward the Middle East. | | Xi rolls back 'zero Covid' restrictions in major win for protestors but China now faces soaring infections | | Chinese president Xi Jinping, faced with unprecedented and widespread protests from citizens including students from elite universities, has decided to withdraw key tenets of his 'dynamic Covid Zero' policy that has created anger within China and dragged back its economy. On Wednesday, "China dropped many of its quarantine and testing requirements and curtailed the power of local officials to shut down entire city blocks," reports Wall Street Journal, adding, "the speed of Beijing's retreat from its pandemic regime suggests the country's leaders are now more concerned about the damage those controls have caused to China's economy than the risk of worsening Covid infections that surged to a record high in November." Less than a month after starting the reopening process by issuing 20 guidelines to local officials to minimize disruption from looser rules, reports Bloomberg, China's National Health Commission set out 10 new measures to assist the move away from Covid Zero. It means "people with Covid can now isolate at home rather than in state facilities if they have mild or no symptoms. They also no longer need to show tests for most venues, and can travel more freely inside the country," notes BBC. Xi's rollback of 'zero-Covid' faced with landmark protests is a tacit admission of his policy failure, but Chinese state media attempted to seize the narrative, claiming that the rollback was a planned transition while avoiding reference to the protests, says Bloomberg. Chinese citizens responded to the relaxation of rules with relief, cheer and hoped for normality to return but health officials in China are worried that the sudden rollback may lead to a huge spike in cases, throwing the healthcare system into disarray. China is already facing soaring infections as undetected cases rise and due to panic buying by citizens, Beijing is running out of fever medication and medical supplies. Financial Times quotes a Beijing resident, as saying, "we have a child with a high fever but all the pharmacies are out of ibuprofen… "It came too fast, we didn't have time to prepare." | | Russia unfazed as G7 price cap on seaborne crude kicks in, move causing tanker jam off Turkey | | The price cap on Russian seaborne oil imposed by Group of 7 (G7) democracies and Australia came into effect Monday as the West tries to limit Moscow's ability to finance its war in Ukraine while maintaining flow of energy into Europe in a difficult balancing act. The sanctions allow Russian oil to be shipped to third-party countries using G7 and EU tankers, insurance companies and credit institutions, only if the cargo is bought at or below the price cap of $60 a barrel, reports Reuters. Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter, has made it clear that it will not sell oil that is subject to a Western price cap even if it has to cut production. In another report, Reuters, quoting analysts, says the cap will have little immediate impact on the oil revenues that Moscow is currently earning. Russia said on Monday the cap would not hurt the financing of its "special military operation" in Ukraine. The price cap is "an unhappy compromise that will do very little to cut Russia's oil revenue" from current levels, the news agency quoted Ben Cahill, an energy security expert, as saying. While the G7-imposed price cap is unlike to majorly impact Putin's war machine in UIkraine, the move has already triggered unintended consequences. Financial Times report that "by Tuesday afternoon, less than 48 hours after the EU sanctions and associated price cap on Russian oil came into effect, at least 22 crude tankers had been blocked from crossing Turkish waters over fears in Ankara that uninsured vessels risked causing 'catastrophic' damage in the Turkish Straits…The disruption is the first sign of the potential unintended consequences of the G7's intervention in the global oil market." India has said that it isn't worried by the price cap on Russian crude, reports Bloomberg, quoting Union oil minister Hardeep Puri, signaling that the South Asian economy intends to continue purchasing from Russia for now. | | Peru gets first female president as lawmakers oust predecessor Castillo for 'attempted coup' | | Our next update comes from Peru where populist president Pedro Castillo, who came to power 17 months ago, was ousted by Congress and arrested on a charge of rebellion Wednesday. Castillo, facing corruption charges, sought to dissolve the legislative body and take unilateral control of the government, triggering a grave constitutional crisis. Vice president Dina Boluarte replaced Castillo and became the first female leader in the history of the republic after hours of wrangling between the legislature and the departing president, who had tried to prevent an impeachment vote, reports Associated Press. Ignoring Castillo's attempt to shut down the legislature by decree, lawmakers moved ahead with a previously planned impeachment trial, with 101 votes in favor of removing him, six against and 10 abstentions, reports Reuters, adding that the result was announced to loud cheers, and the legislature called on Boluarte to take office. The 60-year-old Boluarte was sworn in as president through 2026, making her the first woman to lead Peru. She called for a political truce after months of instability, including two prior impeachment attempts, and said a new cabinet inclusive of all political stripes would be formed. She lambasted Castillo's move to dissolve Congress as an "attempted coup." Guardian reports that Peru's ousted president has since appeared in court to face rebellion and conspiracy charges. The report adds that "late on Wednesday, Castillo's supporters clashed with riot police who used teargas to disperse them, while other Limeños rejoiced at the removal of the president who had cycled through five cabinets, survived two impeachment attempts and faces six investigations for alleged corruption and influence trafficking. The streets of the capital were calm on Thursday, a scheduled public holiday." Mexico, meanwhile, has said it is considering granting asylum to the embattled and ousted Peruvian president. | | PM Deuba set to continue as ruling Nepali Congress wins most seats in Nepal's elections | | We turn our attention to Nepal next where the ruling Nepali Congress party has emerged as the Himalayan nation's single-largest party after winning 89 seats in the 275-member parliament in a general election last month, and its leader, Sher Bahadur Deuba, looks set to stay on as prime minister, reports Reuters. The report adds that a five-party alliance led by the Nepali Congress, which has been in power since July last year, won 136 seats, just two short for the 138 required for a majority, a tally of results from the Election Commission showed on Wednesday. According to a report in Al Jazeera, "the formation of a new government could take days as a five-party alliance that has been in power since July last year said they had sought the support of some new legislators and parties to reach the necessary majority. Deuba, considered close to India, is in a better position to muster support for a majority." While a new wave of youngsters have won and have entered the political arena vowing to change the old discourse, the old guard has dismissed the "cohort for not having any ideology". Swarajya magazine in a report says the results in Nepal's election are a setback for China. | | | | | | | | | | TOP ANALYSES OF THE WEEK | | Saudi Arabia likely to move closer to China, Russia | | Xi's visit to Saudi Arabia shows Riyadh's monogamous marriage to Washington is over, argues Aaron David Miller in Foreign Policy. | | US distractions have opened door for China in West Asia | | Dave Sharma notes in Nikkei Asia that Xi Jinping is getting a warmer welcome than Joe Biden did in Saudi Arabia, and argues that U.S. distractions have opened door for China's Arab romance. | | China's Covid policy failed but so did America's | | As China struggles with Covid, it's easy for Americans to feel cocky by comparison. But this is no time for triumphalism. The United States also failed in dealing with covid. We just failed in very different ways, argues Max Boot in Washington Post. | | Xi has destroyed China's bid for economic supremacy | | Three years of Xi Jinping's Covid-Leninism have done as much damage to China's long-term growth prospects as an economic depression, writes Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in The Telegraph. | | Jiang Zemin's death has exposed further Xi's shortcomings | | Jiang Zemin led China through a tumultuous time, exercised power with a light touch. The contrast with the current one-man leadership is stark for Chinese people, writes former foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale in Indian Express. | | Jiang's supporters can create trouble for Xi within CCP | | With Jiang Zemin's death, his supporters can coalesce into a sizeable and influential anti-Xi group in the Chinese Communist Party, writes Jayadeva Ranade in The Tribune. | | China is challenging India in Indian Ocean region | | Beijing is signalling that the Indian Ocean is no longer India's Ocean, and South Asia is no longer India's sphere of influence, write Harsh V Pant and Aditya Gowdara Shivamurthy in Hindustan Times. | | FIFA double standards on 'no politics' need to be exposed | | 'Free Palestine' signs and Palestinian flags are abound at the Qatar World Cup. But FIFA does nothing despite having clamped down on rainbow armbands, writes Mark Meadows in DW, on FIFA's politics. | | New army chief won't be able to stay out of Pakistan's murky politics | | Would the appointment of a new army chief change the relationship between the military and the Pakistani government? Sushant Sareen writes in ORF that eventually, Munir and his men will be dragged into Pakistan's murky politics, if not by the government, then by the Opposition, or even its own interests. | | India will have to recalibrate Nepal ties | | With changes in Nepal's Parliament, India and the rest of the international community will have to be recalibrating their ways of dealing with Kathmandu, writes Sujeev Shakya in The Hindu. | | PODCAST | | Many colours of Jiang Zemin | | We recommend this edition of 'China Stories' podcast where host Kaiser Kuo speaks on five lesser-known facts about Jiang Zemin that Chinese internet users are fondly remembering him for. | | | | Copyright © 2022.Firstpost - All Rights Reserved. | |
