GLOBAL TIMES (CHINA): Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is in China on a state visit, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The two heads of state jointly met the press, signed and issued the Joint Statement. Under the strategic guidance of the two leaders, China and Russia have consistently developed their bilateral relations based on the principles of non-alignment, non-confrontation, and not targeting any third party, setting an example of peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation between major powers. This not only aligns with the fundamental interests of both countries and their peoples but also contributes to regional and global peace, stability, and prosperity. The relationship between China and Russia, two major powers, is unique in the history of modern international relations. The two countries are not military-political allies, but rather represent a new model of major power relations characterized by non-alignment, non-confrontation, and not targeting any third country. The development of their relationship has its own internal logic and driving force. It is not a threat to any country, nor is it subject to any interference or discord sown by any third party.
KOMMERSANT (RUSSIA): Россия и Китай условились вместе противодействовать угрозам со стороны США. Москва и Пекин заявили о намерении совместно противостоять курсу США на так называемое двойное сдерживание России и Китая. О соответствующих планах сказано в заявлении, принятом по итогам состоявшегося в четверг российско-китайского саммита. Среди шагов США, несущих, по мнению властей РФ и КНР, “прямую угрозу” безопасности их стран, особо выделены планы Вашингтона по размещению ракет средней и меньшей дальности наземного базирования в Азиатско-Тихоокеанском и Европейском регионах. Россия и Китай и ранее осуждали эти действия, но о стремлении совместно противодействовать им объявили впервые.
NIKKEI (JAPAN): Chinese President Xi Jinping met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Thursday and agreed to further bolster trade relations amid growing pressure from the West. The leaders issued a joint statement on “deepening the partnership of comprehensive strategic cooperation in the new era.” At a news conference, Xi described the essence of the relationship as “firm support for each other’s core interests and major concerns.”
THE WASHINGTON TIMES (USA): Russian President Vladimir Putin held a day of talks Thursday in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a visit meant to forge closer strategic ties and portray the United States as an aggressive Cold War hegemon attempting to destabilize the world. The summit comes amid mounting tensions both states are experiencing with Washington. In a joint press appearance, Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi signed a statement that criticized the United States on two hot-button issues — Russia’s war in Ukraine and the growing concern of a U.S.-China clash over Taiwan. “The parties reiterate their serious concern over the attempts of the United States to disrupt the strategic security balance in the region,” the document said. U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in an annual threat assessment earlier this month that Chinese support for Russian defense industrial base is tipping the balance of the war in Ukraine in Moscow’s favor. Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, also cited mounting concern over the growing collaboration among U.S. adversaries such as China, Russia and Iran. The United States in recent years has increased alliances and partnerships in the Asia-Pacific as part of a strategy to push back against Chinese military, diplomatic and economic moves to dominate the region.
THE STRAITS TIMES (SINGAPORE): Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned what they labelled as increasingly aggressive US behaviour, and pledged to deepen their countries’ already close defence and military ties. In a clear snub to Washington, Mr Xi said China and Russia see eye to eye on a range of important issues, including on the war in Ukraine, and will resist pressure from the West to downgrade their ties. “The China-Russia relationship today is hard-earned, and the two sides need to cherish and nurture it,” Mr Xi told Mr Putin. A joint statement spoke of concerns about what were described as US efforts to violate the strategic nuclear balance, Washington’s global missile defence initiatives that threaten Russia and China, and US plans for high precision non-nuclear weapons.
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST (HONG KONG, CHINA): China renews call for political end to Ukraine war as Xi Jinping rolls out red carpet for Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Any settlement must respect security and sovereignty of all parties, Chinese president says after talks. Sino-Russian relationship has withstood international “storms and changes” and sets a model for mutual respect and cooperation, he says. China renewed its call for a “political settlement” to the war in Ukraine on Thursday as Beijing pulled out all the stops to welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin on the first international trip of his new term. “Both sides agree that a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis is the correct direction,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said after talks with Putin.
THE GUARDIAN (GB): As Putin seeks to cement Russia’s economic ties with China, the west has been moving to “decouple” its economy, and his visit comes the same week that the US imposed huge new tariffs on Chinese imports. The US is concerned by the prospect of cheap, subsidised Chinese goods flooding US markets and undercutting the billions of dollars of government investment that have been poured into key manufacturing sectors via Biden’s Chips and Inflation Reduction acts. The new measures affect $18bn in imports, including steel, aluminium, computer chips, solar cells, cranes and medical products – however it is the 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles that has dominated headlines.
THE MAINICHI SHIMBUN (JAPAN): U.S. officials raised concerns about China's “misuse of AI” while Beijing’s representatives rebuked Washington over “restrictions and pressure” on artificial intelligence, the governments said separately Wednesday, a day after a meeting in Geneva on the technology. Summaries of the closed-door talks between high-level envoys, which covered AI’s risks and ways to manage it, hinted at the tension between Beijing and Washington over the rapidly advancing technology that has become another flashpoint in bilateral relations.
KHALEEJ TIMES (UAE): The Arab League on Thursday called for a UN peacekeeping force in the Palestinian territories and an international peace conference at a summit dominated by the war between Israel and Hamas. In a concluding statement following a meeting in Manama, the 22-member group called for “international protection and peacekeeping forces of the United Nations in the occupied Palestinian territories” until a two-state solution is implemented. It also adopted calls by host Bahrain's King Hamad and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to “convene an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations, to resolve the Palestinian issue on the basis of the two-state solution”.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (USA): Netanyahu pacifies Israel’s far right and alienates everyone else. A pair of hard-line ministers hold tremendous power that has stymied demands from the U.S., the military and hostage families.
IZVESTIA (RUSSIA): Сюрприз для Нетаньяху: США решили надавить на Израиль через саудовцев. Вашингтон захотел добиться сделки с Эр-Риядом и прекращения огня в Газе. Помощник президента США по национальной безопасности Джейк Салливан отправляется с визитом на Ближний Восток. Он посетит Саудовскую Аравию и Израиль. Главная цель — обсуждение происходящего вокруг Газы. Однако также он планирует рассмотреть перспективы ускоренного заключения сделки о нормализации отношений между Эр-Риядом и Тель-Авивом, которого последние несколько лет добивается американский президент Джозеф Байден.
HAARETZ (ISRAEL): U.S. ambassador: We’ve been saying for months Israel needs a plan for post-Hamas Gaza. Ambassador Jack Lew tells Haaretz that Israel must address the question of who runs Gaza after the war. He adds that the Israeli military operation in Rafah has so far not crossed the line drawn by U.S. President Joe Biden.
THE TIMES (GB): Are angry Gazans ready to rise up against Hamas? Support for the militants is fading as the conflict grinds on. In the nightmare of Gaza, elections are a distant dream. “There is no administration at any level,” says Hajj Yazan, 60, who has been imprisoned more than once during previous wars with Israel, the first and second intifadas. “We lost martyrs, our homes, our land and our money.”
ARAB NEWS (SAUDI ARABIA): The presidents of Egypt and Yemen held talks on Thursday about ways to secure shipping lanes in the Red Sea. Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met on the sidelines of the Arab League Summit in Bahrain. Al-Alimi and El-Sisi emphasized the importance of security in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden for the region’s stability. During the meeting, El-Sisi emphasized Egypt’s commitment to Yemen’s unity and stability, and added that Cairo would continue seeking a political solution to the crisis in that country.
LE FIGARO (FRANCE): La Nouvelle-Calédonie: situation plus apaisée. La Nouvelle-Calédonie était dans “une situation plus calme” ce vendredi, selon les autorités locales, à l’exception de quartiers “hors de contrôle” que l’État va tenter de “reprendre” grâce à l’armée, après quatre nuits de violente contestation contre une réforme électorale votée à Paris.
POLITICO (USA): French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said that the violence, which has claimed the lives of three indigenous Kanak people and a police officer, had been actively supported by Azerbaijan. Speaking to POLITICO, a French intelligence official granted anonymity to discuss sensitive issues of national security, said that “we’ve detected activities from Russia and Azerbaijan in New Caledonia for weeks, even a few months. They’re pushing the narrative of France being a colonialist state.” Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada strongly rejected claims the country was behind the unrest. Relations between France and Azerbaijan have hit rock bottom in recent years as a result of French military and political support for the South Caucasus country’s neighbor and historic rival Armenia — a situation only intensified by Baku’s military seizure of the ethnic Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh last year.
DAILY SABAH (TURKEY): Pope Francis intends to travel to Türkiye next year to commemorate the anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, the spiritual head of the world’s Orthodox Christians said on Thursday. The First Council of Nicaea, convened in 325, was a pivotal event in early Christianity where bishops convened to address theological controversies and establish foundational doctrines, resulting in the formulation of the Nicene Creed. “His Holiness Pope Francis wishes to celebrate this important anniversary together,” Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who is based in Istanbul, said at an event in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon.
THE ECONOMIC TIMES (INDIA): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman projected that India’s consumer market would double by 2031 and anticipated a significant 18% contribution to global growth in the next five years. Emphasising the strength of India’s growth narrative, the FM stated that it is compelling. Furthermore, the Finance Minister expressed confidence in the robust health of both the corporate sector’s balance sheet and the finance sector’s balance sheet. Sitharaman also stressed the necessity of enhancing manufacturing capabilities to foster self-reliance and economic growth. She also pointed out the importance of sophistication in product manufacturing, highlighting that a concerted effort to expand this sector is crucial.
LES ECHOS (FRANCE): Tensions géopolitiques, montée du protectionnisme et désorganisation des chaînes de valeur. Ce sont les principaux risques que les 3.000 entreprises exportatrices de huit pays interrogées par Allianz Trade mettent en avant pour cette année. Avec la guerre en Ukraine, la relance de la guerre commerciale entre les Etats-Unis et la Chine ainsi que le conflit au Moyen-Orient, 70% de ces entreprises citent les risques géopolitiques comme faisant partie de leurs trois principales craintes. Comme le dit Philippe Dauba-Pantanacce, économiste chez Standard Chartered, “l’évènement géopolitique le plus important de l’année, c’est l’élection présidentielle américaine de novembre prochain. L’issue de ce scrutin aura des répercussions sur le monde entier. On en voit d’ailleurs déjà les conséquences comme en Asie où les pays ont tendance à resserrer leurs liens économiques pour faire face à un retour de Trump, ce dernier souhaitant instaurer des droits de douane de 60% sur les importations chinoises”.
THE WASHINGTON POST (USA): As he nears the end of his first term, President Biden, a long-standing institutionalist, is growing more comfortable using the full powers of the presidency — and in an election year, his latest actions have the added benefit of potentially shaping the political landscape in his favor. On Thursday morning, Biden asserted executive privilege over audio recordings from the special counsel investigation into his handling of classified documents — blocking Republicans from using clips to attack or embarrass him in political ads. In the afternoon, he publicly endorsed the Justice Department’s recommendation to loosen restrictions on marijuana, which came at his urging and could usher in a historic shift in the nation’s drug policy that Democrats hope will boost support among young voters and communities of color. Taken together, the actions illustrate offensive and defensive efforts by Biden to protect against embarrassment and appeal to particular voting groups in his closely contested rematch with former president Donald Trump, as recent polls show Trump holding narrow leads over Biden in the key battleground states.
LE MONDE (FRANCE): Sénégal: le premier ministre, Ousmane Sonko, s’en prend à la France et à la présidence Macron. Devant un public conquis et bouillant, et en présence de Jean-Luc Mélenchon, le responsable s’est livré à une vive critique de l’action passée et récente de l’Occident, de l’Europe et de la France concernant son pays.
INDEPENDENT (GB): Archeologists believe they may have discovered the secret behind one of the wonders of the world. Some 4,700 years after the construction of Egypt’s pyramids began, including the Great Pyramids of Giza, researchers have found they may have been built along an abandoned branch of the river Nile. New evidence suggests this lost 40-mile (64-kilometre) branch of the Nile was used for transporting construction material to the pyramids, which were built over an 1000-year period. This could explain why the pyramids are concentrated in what is now a narrow, inhospitable strip of the Saharan Desert.