Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) toasts with Chinese President Xi Jinping while congratulating him on his birthday before the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan June 15, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping celebrated his 66th birthday on Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who Xi considers a close friend and who gave Xi ice cream as a present, Chinese state media reported.
The discussion of senior leaders’ private lives is extremely rare in China, and the exact birth dates of most of them are not revealed publicly, as they are considered a state secret.
State television showed pictures of Xi and Putin holding up champagne glasses to toast Xi’s birthday at the hotel he is staying at in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, where they are both attending a regional summit.
While Putin gave Xi Russian ice cream - the flavor was not mentioned - Xi gave Putin back some Chinese tea, the report said.
Xi thanked Putin and said that in China Putin was extremely popular, it added.
Pictures on Chinese state television’s website showed the two men inspecting a white cake decorated with red and blue confectionary flowers with the words written on it, in somewhat shaky red-colored Chinese characters, “good fortune double six”.
It was not immediately clear if Xi ate any of the cake.
Reporting by Ben Blanchard; editing by Christian Schmollinger
MANILA (Reuters) - China has rejected Philippine allegations that a Chinese fishing vessel abandoned 22 Filipinos after it sank their boat in the South China Sea, as pressure builds on President Rodrigo Duterte to take a tougher line.
FILE PHOTO: President Rodrigo Duterte speaks after his arrival, from a visit in Israel and Jordan at Davao International airport in Davao City in southern Philippines, September 8, 2018. REUTERS/Lean Daval Jr.
China’s embassy in Manila said the crew had sought to rescue the Filipino fishermen but fled after being “suddenly besieged by seven or eight Filipino fishing boats”.
“There was no such thing as (a) ‘hit-and-run’,” it said in a statement late on Friday, adding it would handle the issue in a “serious and responsible manner”.
The sinking took place on Sunday near the Reed Bank, the site of untapped gas deposits that an international arbitration court in 2016 ruled the Philippines had sovereign rights to exploit. Beijing disputes that.
The issue could complicate what are determined efforts by Duterte to build a strong relationship with China, despite deep mistrust among his U.S.-allied defense apparatus, which remains wary about China’s maritime militarization and what it sees as bullying and denial of Manila’s access to its own offshore oil and gas reserves.
Duterte has made no mention of Sunday’s incident during any of the lengthy and unscripted speeches he has since given. His defense minister, navy chief and spokesman have publicly denounced the Chinese crew and his foreign minister said he had lodged a protest with Beijing.
Presidential spokesman, Salvador Panelo, did not respond to a request for comment on China’s version of events.
Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros on Saturday called for bilateral ties to be downgraded and said China’s denial was “preposterous” and the story made no sense.
She said Duterte had plenty to say about mundane issues, but should speak up when it came to sovereignty.
“Nothing is more reassuring to the public than to see and hear their own president, the supposed architect of the country’s foreign policy, telling them that he is on top of the situation,” Hontiveros said.
Sunday’s incident is the latest confrontation involving China’s vast fishing fleet, which experts say has been co-opted to serve as Beijing’s militia and augment its constant coastguard presence in waters also claimed by Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei.
Philippines Supreme Court judge Antonio Carpio, a staunch critic of China’s maritime claims and conduct, said that among its massive fishing contingent were boats with reinforced steel hulls “purposely for ramming fishing vessels of other coastal states.”
“The Filipino people must send a strong signal to China that any new ‘gray zone’ offensive of ramming Filipino fishing vessels ...will mean a break of diplomatic ties,” Carpio said in a statement late Friday.
Reporting by Martin Petty; Editing by Michael Perry
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong media reported on Saturday the city’s government would suspend a proposed law on extradition to mainland China that sparked widespread anger and violent protests, with leader Carrie Lam planning to address reporters later in the day.
Support for the swift passage of the extradition bill began to crumble on Friday with several pro-Beijing politicians and a senior advisor to Lam saying discussion of the bill should be shelved for the time being.
The extradition bill, which will cover Hong Kong residents and foreign and Chinese nationals living or traveling in the city, has many concerned it may threaten the rule of law that underpins Hong Kong’s international financial status.
Around a million people, according to protest organizers, marched through Hong Kong last Sunday to oppose the bill. Protests through the week were met with tear gas and rubber bullets from police, plunging the city into turmoil and piling heavy pressure on Lam.
Another protest is planned for this Sunday.
Hong Kong’s iCable, the South China Morning Post and Sing Tao newspaper all reported that the bill would be suspended on Saturday. TVB and iCable said Lam would hold a news conference on Saturday afternoon.
Calls to Lam’s office went unanswered outside of business hours. Lam has not appeared in public or commented since Wednesday. Hong Kong media reported Lam would meet pro-Beijing lawmakers around noon to explain her pending announcement.
Backing down from efforts to drive the bill through the city’s legislature by July would have been unthinkable last week when the law’s passage seemed inevitable as Lam remained defiant.
People attend a rally in support of demonstrators protesting against the proposed extradition bill with China, in Hong Kong, China, June 14, 2019. Picture taken June 14, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
But Michael Tien, a member of Hong Kong’s legislature and a deputy to China’s national parliament, said a total withdrawal of the bill was unlikely.
“The amendment is supported by the central government, so I think a withdrawal would send a political message that the central government is wrong. This would not happen under ‘one country, two systems’,” he told Reuters, referring to the model under which Hong Kong enjoys semi-autonomy.
Tien, a member of the pro-Beijing camp, said he supported a suspension of the bill without a timetable.
Despite chatter that the government would hit pause on the bill, organizers of last Sunday’s protest march stood by plans for another march this Sunday. In addition to opposing the bill they would also be calling for accountability of the police for the way protests have been handled.
Lam has said the extradition law is necessary to prevent criminals using Hong Kong as a place to hide and that human rights will be protected by the city’s court which will decide on a case-by-case basis extraditions.
Critics, including leading lawyers and rights groups, note that China’s justice system is controlled by the Communist Party, and marked by torture and forced confessions, arbitrary detention and poor access to lawyers.
Last Sunday’s protest in the former British colony was the biggest political demonstration since its return to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” deal. The agreement guarantees Hong Kong’s special autonomy, including freedom of assembly, free press and independent judiciary.
Many accuse China of extensive meddling since then, including obstruction of democratic reforms, interference with elections and of being behind the disappearance of five Hong Kong-based booksellers, starting in 2015, who specialised in works critical of Chinese leaders.
Slideshow (4 Images)
Beijing has denied that it has overreached in Hong Kong.
The extradition bill has spooked some of Hong Kong’s tycoons into starting to move their personal wealth offshore, according to financial advisers, bankers and lawyers familiar with the details.
Reporting by John Ruwitch, Joyce Zhou, Vimvam Tong, Clare Jim and Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Michael PerryEditing by Michael Perry
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong media reported on Saturday the city’s government would suspend a proposed law on extradition to mainland China that sparked widespread anger and violent protests, with leader Carrie Lam planning to address reporters later in the day.
People attend a rally in support of demonstrators protesting against proposed extradition bill with China, in Hong Kong, China, June 14, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
Support for the extradition bill began to crumble on Friday with several pro-Beijing politicians and a senior advisor to Lam saying discussion of the bill should be shelved for the time being.
The extradition bill, which will cover Hong Kong residents and foreign and Chinese nationals living or traveling in the city, has many concerned it may threaten the rule of law that underpins Hong Kong’s international financial status.
Hundreds of thousands of people marched through Hong Kong last Sunday to protest the bill, and street demonstrations through the week were met with tear gas and rubber bullets from police, plunging the city into turmoil and piling heavy pressure on Lam. Another protest is planned for this Sunday.
Hong Kong’s iCable, the South China Morning Post and Sing Tao newspaper all reported that the bill would be suspended on Saturday. TVB and iCable said Lam would hold a news conference on Saturday afternoon.
Calls to Lam’s office went unanswered outside of business hours. Lam has not appeared in public or commented since Wednesday.
Backing down from efforts to drive the bill through the city’s legislature by July would have been unthinkable last week when the law’s passage seemed inevitable as Lam remained defiant.
Lam has said the extradition law is necessary to prevent criminals using Hong Kong as a place to hide and that human rights will be protected by the city’s court which will decide on a case-by-case basis extraditions.
Opponents, including leading lawyers and rights groups, say China’s justice system, where courts are controlled by the Communist Party, is marked by torture and forced confessions, arbitrary detention and poor access to lawyers.
Last Sunday’s protest in the former British colony was the biggest political demonstration since its return to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” deal. The agreement guarantees Hong Kong’s special autonomy, including freedom of assembly, free press and independent judiciary.
Many accuse China of extensive meddling since then, including obstruction of democratic reforms, interference with elections and of being behind the disappearance of five Hong Kong-based booksellers, starting in 2015, who specialized in works critical of Chinese leaders.
The extradition bill has spooked some of Hong Kong’s tycoons to start moving their personal wealth offshore, according to financial advisers, bankers and lawyers familiar with the details.
Reporting by John Ruwitch, Joyce Zhou, Vimvam Tong, Clare Jim and Anne Marie Roantree
PARIS (Reuters) - France and Italy forged a military shipbuilding alliance on Friday, as state-controlled Naval Group and Fincantieri signed off on a 50-50 joint venture that will bid for Franco-Italian warship projects and sell to the world market.
FILE PHOTO: A sub-scale sized model of a Corvette by Fincantieri is displayed at Euronaval, the world naval defence exhibition in Le Bourget near Paris, France, October 23, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
The alliance reflects the two countries’ desire to fend off competition in naval shipbuilding from the likes of China, the United States and Russia.
It is targeting orders worth up to 5 billion euros ($5.63 billion) over the next decade. Naval Group said the joint venture aims to build 10-15 warships in that period, with synergies estimated at 10-15%.
“It is the product of a shared industrial ambition,” Herve Guillou, chief executive of Naval Group told reporters on a call.
“We are by far the two biggest naval shipbuilders in Europe, but we cannot remain competitive and maximize our resources if we rely only on our domestic markets.”
The joint venture does not entail a share swap between the two groups.
France and Italy first outlined plans to deepen naval shipbuilding cooperation in September 2017.
However, political and business relations between the two euro zone powerhouses have become increasingly fraught since then and uncertainty hangs over other deals.
Earlier this month, Fiat Chrysler withdrew its proposal for a 35 billion euro merger with Renault, with both the Italian-American carmaker and Rome blaming French government interference for the deal’s collapse.
Meanwhile, at France’s request, the European Union’s antitrust chief is examining Fincantieri’s purchase of a 50% stake in French shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique, formerly STX, a move which irritated Fincantieri and Rome.
Fincantieri top executives recently said they were confident of winning approval from Brussels, but that it could take some months.
The joint venture between Fincantieri and Naval Group, in which French defense company Thales has a 35% stake, seeks to balance power within the alliance.
That has been a stumbling block for other Franco-Italian mergers such as the troubled Essilor-Luxottica tie-up.
The new enterprise will be headquartered in Genoa, with its engineering center based in France’s southern Var region.
Its chief executive Claude Centofanti is a Frenchman and its chairman, Giuseppe Bono, an Italian who is also CEO of Fincantieri.
The two companies have said they will look for efficiencies by taking advantage of their bigger scale, jointly conducting some research and sharing test facilities.
Guillou said the market for mid-size to large frigates was growing 5-7% a year. “It’s also where the emerging competition is attacking us the hardest,” he added.
He said there was potential for Naval Group and the new JV to derive synergies too from the Fincantieri-Chantiers de l’Atlantique tie-up, but a go-ahead from Brussels would be needed before they can be more deeply explored.
But he added that the setting up of the venture and the merger between Fincantieri and Chantier were separate issues, downplaying analysts’ hopes the JV could make it easier to win the go-ahead for Fincantieri-Chantier.
Naval Group holds a minority stake in Chantiers de l’Atlantique.
“We could imagine buying steel benefitting from scale of volume,” Guillou said. “When you think about what vessels of the future might look like, and cleaner energies, it’s not something that will only interest military shipbuilders.”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers on Thursday responded to the crisis in Hong Kong over a proposed extradition law with China by introducing legislation that would require the U.S. government to justify the continuation of special treatment for the territory.
Protesters hold signs following a day of violence over a proposed extradition bill, outside the Legislative Council building in Hong Kong, China, June 13, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
The bipartisan Senate legislation, sponsored by several senior senators, would require the U.S. secretary of state to issue an annual certification of Hong Kong’s autonomy to justify special treatment under the U.S. Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992.
The proposed law, introduced by Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, would also require the U.S. president to identify those responsible for the abduction of booksellers and other individuals from Hong Kong and subject them to U.S. sanctions.
In Beijing on Friday, the foreign ministry expressed “extreme dissatisfaction” with the proposed U.S. bill, calling it “irresponsible carping and crude interference”.
China called on the United States “to give up its delusions of creating chaos in Hong Kong, stop pushing the proposed bill and to stop interfering in China’s domestic affairs,” spokesman Geng Shuang told a regular media briefing.
The bill would also require the president to issue a strategy to protect U.S. citizens and business from the effects of a revised extradition law and the U.S. Commerce Department to issue an annual report assessing whether Hong Kong was adequately enforcing U.S. and U.N. sanctions, particularly those on Iran and North Korea.
In addition, the legislation would make clear that Hong Kong citizens should not be denied visas to the United States if they were arrested or detained in connection with protest activity there.
The legislation was expected to be introduced to the House on Thursday.
Scuffles broke out between demonstrators and police in Hong Kong on Thursday as hundreds of people persevered with a protest against the extradition law a day after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up big crowds.
Wednesday’s protests around the city’s legislature forced the postponement of debate on the bill, which many in Hong Kong fear will undermine freedoms and confidence in the commercial hub.
Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Additional reporting by Huizhong Wu; Editing by Steve Orlofsky
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Police kept a close watch over central Hong Kong as the Asian financial hub returned to normalcy on Friday, with banks re-opening branches closed during violent protests against a proposed extradition bill with mainland China.
A woman attends a protest following a day of violence over a proposed extradition bill, under a footbridge leading to the Legislative Council building in Hong Kong, China, June 13, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
But with the city’s government showing no signs of backing down over the controversial bill, which critics warn threatens Hong Kong’s rule of law, further demonstrations are planned.
A few dozen demonstrators remained near the city’s legislature on Friday, which had been scheduled to debate the bill this week but was thwarted when thousands of protesters took to the streets and blocked the building.
Police, who fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd, have been criticized for using excessive force on unarmed demonstrators.
Opponents of the proposed extradition bill fear it would undermine Hong Kong’s that underpins its status as an international financial hub.
The territory’s Beijing-backed leader, Carrie Lam, has stood by the bill, arguing that it is necessary to plug loopholes that allow criminals wanted on the mainland to use the city as a haven. She has said the courts would provide human rights safeguards.
On Friday, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank re-opened branches that had been closed near where the protests erupted. Businesses were operating normally and commuters flowing through the area to work.
Hong Kong authorities have closed government offices in the city’s financial center for the week due to the unrest.
On Thursday, Hong Kong Police Commissioner Stephen Lo said police had arrested 11 people and fired about 150 tear gas canisters at the crowd during protests on Wednesday. The city’s hospital authority said 81 people were injured in the protests.
Police also later arrested two students at the University of Hong Kong after a raid on a student hall of residence, according to an official at the university. The police gave no immediate response to Reuters inquiries on what charges the students face.
Despite the calm on Friday more protests loom this weekend.
Last Sunday, a march against the extradition bill drew what organizers said was more than a million people for the biggest street demonstration since the 1997 handover of the former British colony back to Chinese rule.
March organizers have urged people to take to the streets again on Sunday, and protesters applied for a permit to gather on Monday, when the Legislative Council may re-convene to discuss the bill.
Meanwhile, diplomatic pressure on Hong Kong mounted.
In the United States, senior congressional lawmakers from both parties responded to the crisis on Thursday by introducing legislation that would require the U.S. government to provide an annual justification for the continuation of special business and trade privileges afforded to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong was returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under an agreement that promised a high degree of autonomy for the city within a “one country, two systems” framework. Critics say Beijing has been slowly undermining that deal and encroaching on Hong Kong’s freedoms.
Beijing has rejected those accusations and Chinese state media said this week “foreign forces” were trying to damage China by creating chaos over the bill.
Skyscrapers at Hong Kong's central business district are seen during sunset, China, June 13, 2019 REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
The hawkish Chinese newspaper the Global Times on Friday lambasted foreign leaders for being hypocrites and failing to condemn what it called “violent demonstrators”.
“This is a stark provocation. These U.S. senators make us see the dark mind of the U.S. political elite who just want to turn Hong Kong into a chaotic place by hyping the uncontrolled violent street politics,” an editorial on the newspaper’s website said.
Hong Kong’s benchmark stock exchange slid as much as 1.5% on Thursday before closing down 0.1%, extending losses from the previous day.
Writing by John Ruwitch; Additional reporting by Sijia Jiang in HONG KONG and David Brunnstrom in WASHINGTON; Editing by Michael Perry
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - As many as 61 people have been killed and 356,000 evacuated from their homes as heavy rain and floods swept through large parts of southern and central China this week, Chinese rescue authorities said.
In a notice published late on Thursday, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management said 9,300 homes have collapsed and 3.71 million hectares of farmland damaged during the floods, with direct economic losses now estimated at 13.35 billion yuan ($1.93 billion).
It said more than 4,300 people had been rescued from floodwaters, which have affected regions stretching from Guangdong province in the southeast to southwest China’s Chongqing on the upper reaches of the Yangtze river.
During the summer, China routinely suffers from droughts in the far north and floods in the south. The emergency ministry has warned that northern regions face even lower precipitation levels this year, while heavy rains are expected to raise flood risks on the Yellow river’s upstream.
Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Michael Perry
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian meat processor Minerva SA said on Thursday it has suspended a furlough announced last week for its Barretos beef processing facility, following news that a ban to exports to China has ended.
Brazil’s government said on Thursday it has lifted a suspension of beef exports to China after dealing with an atypical case of mad cow disease.
Reporting by Gabriela Mello and Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Phil Berlowitz
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil’s government said on Thursday it has lifted a suspension of beef exports to China after dealing with an atypical case of mad cow disease, sending shares of Marfrig Global Foods, Minerva SA and other Brazilian meatpackers soaring.
The suspension had been in effect since June 3 after a case was reported in a 17-year-old cow in the state of Mato Grosso. Cases can arise spontaneously in cattle herds, usually in animals 8 years old or older.
Tereza Cristina Dias, the agriculture minister, said on her Twitter account that Brazil would resume issuance of international health certificates to allow for beef exports to China.
Marfrig, whose shares jumped 5% after the announcement of the end of the suspension, said in a securities filing that the government’s issuance of these certificates had been normalized on Thursday.
Shares of rival Minerva also rose 3% in São Paulo.
China is the only country among Brazilian importers that enforces a health protocol requiring suspension of beef imports when an atypical case of mad cow disease is reported, Brazil’s agriculture ministry said in a statement.
The ministry reiterated the Brazilian government’s intention to negotiate a new health protocol with Chinese authorities to address the issue.
Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Dan Grebler and Paul Simao
BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s ministry of agriculture said on Thursday a company which claimed a natural compound was effective in preventing African swine fever did not have government approval to research the virus and its assertions were not scientifically sound.
Shopping mall operator Guangdong Highsun Group Co was questioned by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange earlier on Thursday after this week announcing it was backing development of an African swine fever vaccine.
Beijing strictly regulates research on, and handling of, the virus.
Highsun said on Tuesday it would spend 900 million yuan ($130.09 million), or 26% of its 2018 net assets, on supporting research into a natural compound it said had been shown to prevent the disease which is deadly to pigs and ravaging herds across Asia.
But the ministry said it had not received a research application and without experimental data, the claim that a polysaccharide injection is effective in preventing the virus lacked scientific proof.
Researchers around the world have been trying for years to develop a vaccine against African swine fever without success.
Highsun said that preliminary research had found the polysaccharide to be 92% effective in preventing the disease in clinical trials - an announcement which triggered a 10% surge in its shares on Wednesday, leading to a trading suspension.
The Shenzhen exchange said it was seeking clarity on several issues, including additional data regarding the vaccine’s effectiveness and whether the researchers had government approval to conduct research on the virus.
An official from Highsun, who asked not to be identified, said the company was preparing a response to the exchange’s questions and declined to comment further.
African swine fever kills almost all the pigs it infects. The breeding herd in China, the world’s top pork producer, has declined by a record 24% owing to the disease, the agriculture ministry said on Thursday.
The Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs for Hainan province said on its website on Thursday that it had supported a research team that had isolated a polysaccharide compound from tropical plants which had shown a “certain preventive effect” against African swine fever.
However, it said more research was needed in areas including the possible impact of virus mutation and the safety, stability and feasibility of industrial production of the compound.
It is not clear if the bureau was referring to the same team backed by Highsun and it did not answer calls for a comment on the statement.
Highsun’s shares rose 7.3% to 3.38 yuan ($0.49) a share after resuming trading on Thursday.
Reporting by Dominique Patton and Beijing Newsroom; Meg Shen in Hong Kong; editing by Christian Schmollinger and Kirsten Donovan
