Daily News Brief

March 22, 2023

Top of the Agenda

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded their summit in Moscow (CNN) today after announcing a string of economic cooperation agreements and releasing joint statements on the war in Ukraine. On the latter, China generally mirrored Russian discourse. Moscow pledged to support (CNBC) increased international trade in China’s currency, the yuan, as well as the arrival of Chinese companies that could replace Western firms that have left Russia since the start of the war. However, Xi did not confirm details of a gas pipeline deal that Putin had emphasized before the meeting.

Russia and China’s tightening of economic ties came as International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff approved a $15.6 billion loan (Bloomberg) to shore up Ukraine’s economy. The agreement, which still requires approval by the IMF’s board, would be the first IMF loan to a country at war.

Analysis

“[Western sanctions on Russia] have exacerbated the already asymmetrical relationship between Russia and China,” the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Maria Shagina tells the Financial Times. “It’s hard to hide the fact that Russia is now a junior partner.”

“The perception of a hardening Chinese-Russian axis has, in turn, reinforced ties among U.S. allies and partners. And China’s proximity to Russia has undermined the credibility of Beijing’s claims of being a champion for peace and development,” the Brookings Institution’s Patricia M. Kim writes for Foreign Affairs.

Pacific Rim

The decision is part of the countries’ rapprochement (AP), which South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol attributed to shared concerns about North Korea’s nuclear program, U.S.-China tensions, and supply-chain challenges.

For the Asia Unbound blog, CFR’s Scott A. Snyder discusses the new turn in Tokyo and Seoul’s relationship.

South Korea: Prosecutors indicted (Yonhap) opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on corruption charges related to his time as a mayor of Seongnam, a city south of Seoul. A spokesperson for Lee’s Democratic Party of Korea called the charges politically motivated and said he will remain in his position.

South and Central Asia

The quake in northeastern Afghanistan also injured more than two hundred people (BBC).

Pakistan: Parliament is holding a meeting today (Reuters) on how to respond to former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s repeated defiance of arrest warrants, which Khan has said are intended to prevent him from participating in elections later this year.

Middle East and North Africa

Thousands of funeral attendees demanded justice for four members of a Kurdish family (MEE) who were killed by Turkey-backed rebels during a celebration of the Nowruz holiday on Monday. 

This timeline traces the Kurds’ long struggle with marginalization and persecution.

U.S./Iran: The U.S. government sanctioned four companies (AP) and three individuals in Iran and Turkey that it accused of procuring equipment for Iran’s drone and weapons programs.

Sub-Saharan Africa

While gay sex was already illegal in Uganda, the new law outlaws (BBC) even openly identifying as gay. It is one of the toughest anti-LGBTQ+ laws in Africa.

Ethiopia: The country’s legislature removed (AFP) the Tigray People’s Liberation Front from a list of terrorist groups, a step forward on the roadmap for peace that the government and Tigrayan rebels agreed to in November.

Europe

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members have agreed to spend at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense by 2024, but only the United States, Greece, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the Baltic states hit that target last year (Politico), according to the alliance’s annual report.

This Backgrounder looks at NATO.

Americas

The spate of killings in the first two weeks of March prompted a UN human rights spokesperson to repeat the United Nations’ appeal (UN News) for a rapid-response force to be deployed to Haiti. 

Argentina: The government plans to force state-run institutions to sell their dollar-denominated debt in an attempt to relieve pressure on the official exchange rate, Bloomberg reported.

This Backgrounder examines Argentina’s struggle for economic stability.

United States

A climate activist group composed mainly of retirees organized the demonstrations (WBUR), which took place yesterday in front of one hundred major banks in cities across the country.

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