China

SEOUL, Jan. 9 (UPI) — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung flew to China this week for a summit with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, for the second time in two months. Lee is the first president of the country to visit Beijing since 2019.

Lee said that the two leaders should meet at least once a year, stressing the significance of shoring up the bilateral relationship between the two neighbors, whose ties at times have been strained.

Observers point out that Lee’s meetings with Xi showcases Seoul’s delicate position amid the intensifying rivalry between the United States and China.

“Despite its security alignment with Washington, South Korea relies heavily on China for trade, although the dependence has declined somewhat in recent years. As a result, Seoul is in a delicate position,” Myungji University political science professor Shin Yul told UPI.

“In the past, there was a simple formula — the U.S. for security and China for trade. But at a time when the world’s two most powerful countries are at odds and conditions are changing so fast, such an approach may no longer work,” he said.

Relations between Seoul and Beijing became worse in 2016 and 2017, when South Korea cooperated with the United States to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, missile defense system to tackle North Korea’s threats.

However, the decision provoked China, which feared the advanced radar system would provide a window into the communist country’s internal airspace.

Beijing eventually initiated with what Seoul described as unofficial economic retaliation, including restrictions on Korean cultural content, group tourism bans and regulatory pressure on Korean businesses operating in China.

Officially, however, Beijing has consistently denied taking retaliatory measures over the past decade. Against this backdrop, Lee expressed hope to deal with them during a meeting Tuesday with Chen Jining, Communist Party secretary of Shanghai.

“Korea-China relations will advance to an entirely new stage through this visit to China,” Lee said. “I believe this trip will serve as a valuable opportunity to resolve the minor frictions that existed in the past.”

Strategic ambiguity

Improved ties with China would offer short-term economic benefits for South Korea, as China is South Korea’s largest trading partner. Last year, South Korea’s exports to China totaled $130.81 billion, compared with $122.87 billion to the United States.

However, analysts caution that Seoul cannot prioritize relations with Beijing in isolation, as Beijing’s rivalry with the United States directly affects its core security alliance.

“We cannot closely collaborate with China in such sensitive industries as semiconductors and nuclear reactors,” economic commentator Kim Kyeong-joon, formerly vice chairman at Deloitte Consulting Korea, said in a phone interview.

“In addition, China is our competitor in many industries, including steel, automobiles, rechargeable batteries and petrochemicals. There have also been recurring conflicts over intellectual property issues between the two,” he added.

Concerns have grown among Korean corporations over technology leakage and imitation by their Chinese competitors, particularly in such high-tech sectors as semiconductors and displays.

In this climate, South Korea has little choice but to carefully balance its approach, said political commentator Choi Soo-young, who worked at the presidential house in the 2010s.

“We should shun a situation in which we are forced to single-handedly side with one of the two superpowers, the United States and China. That would be the worst-case scenario,” Choi said.

“In other words, we are required to maintain the so-called ‘strategic ambiguity.’ However, it is a tall task to achieve, as amply demonstrated by Japan’s case,” he said.

From the perspective of Seoul, strategic ambiguity refers to avoiding explicit alignment choices at a time when Washington and China have competing strategic interests, according to Choi.

China’s relationship with Japan has frayed in recent months amid geopolitical tensions, leading to economic standoffs with direct trade impacts.

For example, China imposed export restrictions on dual-use goods this month, targeting Japan. It also curbed exports of rare earth elements, which are vital to Japan’s electronics and automotive supply chains.

Meanwhile, the Seoul administration announced Friday that Lee is scheduled to visit Japan early next week for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Thames Town was built as part of a development to ease overpopulation in Shanghai and was designed to look like a British village complete with cobbled streets, red phone boxes and Victorian terraces

An “amazing” town meticulously designed to replicate a British village has been constructed more than 5,000 miles away. Thames Town reportedly came with a £530 million price tag and sits just 19 miles from central Shanghai in China.

It’s modelled on an English market town, featuring cobbled streets, red telephone boxes, Victorian terraced houses and corner shops. Thames Town, named after the River Thames, formed part of the One City, Nine Towns development announced in 2001 to address Shanghai’s overpopulation crisis.

The wider development also included villages inspired by German, Dutch, Canadian and Spanish architectural styles.

Thames Town was previously labelled a “ghost town” due to sky-high property prices and numerous shuttered shops. YouTuber Ben Morris paid a visit to Thames Town and initially felt he “could be in Milton Keynes ” upon arrival.

In his video, he said: “I am from the UK, I have lived most of my life in the UK, and I feel as though I could be in the UK right now, except for the Chinese number plates and the lack of crime.”

Ben, who explored Thames Town during torrential rain, added: “I’m actually at home, this is amazing. What’s even more homely about this place is, the sprinkle on top, the weather is stinking, it couldn’t be gloomier and it’s cold.”

Properties in Thames Town were originally priced at approximately £400,000, but many were purchased as investments, driving prices even higher. The area has since become a sought-after location for Chinese couples seeking an authentically British backdrop for their wedding photographs.

Alongside the pedestrianised British-style streets and Tudor-inspired buildings, Thames Town features a church based on Christ Church in Clifton, Bristol, a fish and chip shop, a KFC, and even a replica Costa Coffee. The residential properties were designed in Georgian and Victorian architectural styles.

Ben concluded that Thames Town could provide families with a “taste of England” or an escape from Shanghai’s hectic city life.

He said: “Honestly, this town is a lot nicer than many towns I’ve been to in the UK. I don’t know what anyone is on about when they call this place a ghost town because it is full of activity.”

He added: “It was weird walking around a town that felt so familiar but, at the same time, not at all.”

Fellow YouTuber Harvey in China described Thames Town as looking “eerily close” to Britain during his visit a year ago. However, Harvey found the town “very, very empty” on a Saturday.

He added: “It is so surreal walking along the cobbled streets. It is a lot bigger than I thought it would be. It seems everyone here is some sort of vlogger, live streamer, or photographer, just here to take photos, or obviously tourists.”

Dean, a reviewer on Tripadvisor, has dubbed Thames Town as a “worthwhile visit” for those touring Shanghai. He penned: “It worthwhile to visit if you’re in Shanghai for longer than a week. You’ll have to spend more than one and half hours to travel to the place”.

Meanwhile, Anna, who visited in 2021, was equally impressed, stating: “The town is very nice! It really does feel like I’ve stepped back into the UK! Lovely little town to just walk around and escape Shanghai!”.

Jan. 8 (UPI) — As the Philippines takes over the rotating Association of Southeast Asian Nations chair in 2026, it will do so at a moment of sharpened maritime tension and narrowing diplomatic patience in the South China Sea.

Manila has made clear it intends to prioritize two parallel initiatives that reflect the region’s evolving reality: renewed efforts to finalize a legally binding code of conduct with China and a dramatic expansion of U.S.-Philippines military cooperation, with more than 500 joint activities planned for the year.

Taken together, the dual-track strategy underscores how Southeast Asia’s maritime order is being reshaped. Diplomacy remains essential, but it is increasingly paired with deterrence and preparedness, reflecting a regional judgment that rules alone are insufficient without the capacity to defend them.

The Philippines is moving to fast-track a binding code of conduct after decades of inconclusive talks, using its ASEAN chairmanship to push for enforceable rules rather than voluntary guidelines.

“The Philippines will push for a binding COC at the same time continue to strengthen defense ties with the United States, as well as other partners like Japan, Australia and others,” said Lucio Pitlo III, a foreign affairs and security analyst at Asia-Pacific Pathways for Progress Foundation.

Yet, the limits of ASEAN consensus diplomacy remain evident. Member states hold differing threat perceptions and economic dependencies, while China has resisted provisions that could constrain its operational flexibility or legitimize external involvement.

Analysts have argued that, with Manila chairing, a comprehensive agreement is unlikely to be concluded in 2026 given the temperature of China-Philippines tensions – though the chair can still steer narrower confidence-building steps and agenda-setting wins.

“I would not expect a binding code of conduct in the South China Sea to materialize regardless of who is ASEAN Chair,” said Hunter Marston, senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic & International Studies.

As ASEAN chair in 2026, Manila is expected to press for a more active multilateral role in managing South China Sea disputes, seeking to use regional dialogue to dampen tensions when incidents erupt.

Philippine officials, however, are also likely to lean more heavily on bilateral channels with Beijing to manage flashpoints in real time. Chief among them is the Philippines-China Bilateral Consultative Mechanism, a forum designed to contain maritime flare-ups before they escalate into broader diplomatic or security crises, reflecting Manila’s effort to balance regional solidarity with the practical need for direct engagement with China.

Even so, chairmanship confers agenda-setting power. Manila can steer negotiations toward narrower but meaningful gains, such as clearer incident-avoidance protocols, standardized communications between maritime forces and provisions that explicitly address coast guards and maritime militias, which are now central actors in most confrontations.

In that sense, 2026 may be less about delivering a final document than about clarifying whether a credible code of conduct remains politically attainable.

“The progress on CoC isn’t necessarily hinged heavily on who holds the ASEAN chairmanship, though in some ways the ASEAN member state holding onto this position might influence or shape the direction it takes,” said Colin Koh, senior fellow of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

That diplomatic push unfolds against a backdrop of persistent friction at sea. Confrontations near Second Thomas Shoal, Sabina Shoal and other contested features have increasingly involved water cannons, ramming incidents and aggressive maneuvering, often targeting Philippine resupply missions and civilian fishing vessels.

Each episode reinforces Manila’s view that restraint has not been reciprocated, and that negotiations conducted without leverage risk entrenching, rather than moderating, coercive behavior.

This is where the second pillar of the Philippines’ 2026 strategy becomes decisive. Plans for more than 500 U.S.-Philippines joint military activities represent a significant escalation in tempo and scope, even in the absence of a single marquee exercise.

The schedule encompasses everything from staff-level planning and logistics coordination to maritime domain awareness, coastal defense drills and repeated operational rehearsals across air, land and sea domains.

“Having the Philippines as chairman, particularly under the U.S. friendly Marcos administration, is useful to the U.S. agenda in the region,” said Elizabeth Larus, adjunct senior fellow at the Pacific Forum.

She also underscored the critical importance of Trump-Marcos security accord in preventing China from displacing the United States as the dominant maritime power in the region.

The scale of this cooperation carries implications that extend well beyond symbolism. A Philippine maritime force that trains continuously with U.S. counterparts becomes harder to coerce at sea, raising the operational and political costs of gray-zone pressure in contested waters. In a region where presence, response time and narrative control often determine outcomes, that shift matters.

“China is likely to emphasize the Philippine defense cooperation with the United States over a Philippine-led ASEAN agenda that emphasizes legal norms and [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea],” said Khang Vu, a visiting scholar in political science at Boston College.

The volume of combined activities also accelerates alliance integration in less visible but more consequential ways. Regular staff talks, shared surveillance practices and logistics planning embed interoperability as a standing condition rather than a crisis response.

For regional observers, the message is unmistakable: U.S.-Philippines security cooperation is becoming structural, not episodic, and is likely to endure regardless of short-term political fluctuations.

By pairing expanded readiness with a renewed push for a binding code of conduct, Manila also is reframing diplomacy. The Philippines is signaling to ASEAN partners that engagement with China should proceed from a position of resilience, not restraint alone.

In practice, this reflects a broader regional reassessment that negotiations over the South China Sea will only carry weight if backed by credible capacity to resist coercion when rules are tested.

For ASEAN, the Philippine chairmanship will test the concept of “ASEAN centrality” under far less forgiving conditions than in previous decades.

While ASEAN remains indispensable as a diplomatic convener, the region’s most consequential security dynamics increasingly run through alliances and mini-lateral arrangements rather than consensus forums. The challenge for Manila will be to preserve ASEAN’s relevance without pretending that diplomacy alone can manage today’s risks.

Maritime relations in 2026 will be defined less by stability than by tempo, with a surge in patrols, surveillance flights and military exercises raising the risk of miscalculation and making clear rules of engagement and crisis hotlines more critical than ever.

At the same time, legitimacy at sea is becoming as important as capability. Each encounter is now fought on two fronts: on the water and in the information space.

Competing claims of lawful defense versus provocation, sovereign rights versus external interference, shape international perceptions and diplomatic alignments. How states behave during routine encounters may ultimately matter as much as formal agreements signed at the negotiating table.

The Philippines’ 2026 approach signals that the era of quiet accommodation in the South China Sea is over, with Manila pressing for binding rules while bolstering its military posture.

Whether that strategy stabilizes the region will depend on whether China and other regional actors are willing to translate pledges of restraint into behavior at sea, but the Philippine chairmanship already is set to shape how maritime order is contested in the years ahead.

Trump has ‘greenlit’ bipartisan push to sanction countries that buy Russian energy exports, Lindsey Graham says.

United States President Donald Trump has backed a bill to impose sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil, including China and India, an influential Republican senator has said.

Lindsey Graham, a senator for the US state of South Carolina, said on Wednesday that Trump had “greenlit” the bipartisan bill following a “very productive” meeting.

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Graham’s Sanctioning Russia Act, drafted with Democrat Richard Blumenthal, would give Trump the authority to impose a tariff of up to 500 percent on imports from countries doing business with Russia’s energy sector.

“This bill will allow President Trump to punish those countries who buy cheap Russian oil fueling Putin’s war machine,” Graham said in a statement, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

““This bill would give President Trump tremendous leverage against countries like China, India and Brazil to incentivize them to stop buying the cheap Russian oil that provides the financing for Putin’s bloodbath against Ukraine.”

China and Russia continue to be major buyers of Russia’s oil despite US and European sanctions imposed on the Russian energy sector in response to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

China bought nearly half of Russia’s crude oil exports in November, while India took about 38 percent of exports, according to an analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Brazil dramatically ramped up its purchase of subsidised Russian oil after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but those imports have fallen substantially in recent months.

The latest US push to increase pressure on Russia comes as Moscow and Kyiv are engaged in Washington-brokered negotiations to bring an end to the nearly four-year war.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration for the first time gave its backing to European proposals for binding security guarantees for Ukraine, including post-war truce monitoring and a European-led multinational force.

Russia, which has repeatedly said that it will not accept any deployment of NATO member countries’ soldiers in Ukraine, has yet to indicate that it would support such security measures.

In his statement on his bill, Graham said the legislation was timely in light of the current situation in Ukraine.

“This will be well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent,” he said.

US President Donald Trump sees Greenland as a United States national security priority to deter Washington’s “adversaries in the Arctic region”, according to a White House statement released on Tuesday.

The statement came days after Trump told reporters that the US needs Greenland from a national security perspective because it is “covered with Russian and Chinese ships”.

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Here’s what you need to know about what Trump said, whether Russia and China are present in Greenland, and whether they do pose a threat to American security.

What has Trump recently said about Greenland?

“Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on January 4.

The White House statement on Tuesday fleshed out further details on how the US would go about its acquisition of Greenland.

“The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the US military is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal,” the White House statement says.

Over the course of his second term, Trump has talked about wanting Greenland for national security reasons multiple times.

“We need Greenland for international safety and security. We need it. We have to have it,” he said in March.

Since 1979, Greenland has been a self-governing territory of Denmark, and since 2009, it has had the right to declare independence through a referendum.

Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to take control of the island, which hosts a US military base. He first voiced this desire in 2019, during his first term as US president.

As a response, leaders from Greenland and Denmark have repeatedly said that Greenland is not for sale. They have made it clear that they are especially not interested in becoming part of the US.

On January 4, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said, “It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the US needing to take over Greenland.”

“The US has no right to annex any of the three countries in the Danish kingdom,” she said, alluding to the Faroe Islands, which, like Greenland, are also a Danish territory.

“I would therefore strongly urge the US to stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people who have very clearly said that they are not for sale,” Frederiksen said.

US special forces abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during an operation in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, on January 3.

Hours later, Katie Miller, the wife of close Trump aide and US Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller, posted a photo on X showing the US flag imposed on the map of Greenland.

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen hit back in an X post, writing, “Relations between nations and peoples are built on mutual respect and international law – not on symbolic gestures that disregard our status and our rights.”

Why does Trump want Greenland so badly?

The location and natural resources of the Arctic island make it strategically important for Washington.

Greenland is geographically part of North America, located between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean. It is home to some 56,000 residents, mostly Indigenous Inuit people.

It is the world’s largest island. Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, is closer to New York City  – some 2,900km (1,800 miles) away – than the Danish capital Copenhagen, which is located 3,500km (2,174 miles) to the east.

Greenland, a NATO territory through Denmark, is an EU-associated overseas country and territory whose residents remain European Union citizens, having joined the European Community with Denmark in 1973 but having withdrawn in 1985.

“It’s really tricky if the United States decides to use military power to take over Greenland. Denmark is a member of NATO; the United States is a member as well. It really calls into question what the purpose of the military alliance is, if that happens,” Melinda Haring, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Eurasia Center, told Al Jazeera.

Greenland offers the shortest route from North America to Europe. This gives the US a strategic upper hand for its military and its ballistic missile early-warning system.

The US has expressed interest in expanding its military presence in Greenland by placing radars in the waters connecting Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom. These waters are a gateway for Russian and Chinese vessels, which Washington aims to track.

The island is also incredibly rich in minerals, including rare earth minerals used in the high-tech industry and in the manufacture of batteries.

According to a 2023 survey, 25 of 34 minerals deemed “critical raw materials” by the European Commission were found in Greenland.

Greenland does not carry out the extraction of oil and gas, and its mining sector is opposed by its Indigenous population. The island’s economy is largely reliant on its fishing industry.

Are Chinese and Russian ships swarming Greenland?

However, while Trump has spoken of Russian and Chinese ships around Greenland, currently, facts don’t bear that out.

Vessel tracking data from maritime data and intelligence websites such as MarineTraffic do not show the presence of Chinese or Russian ships near Greenland.

Are Russia and China a threat to Greenland?

The ships’ location aside, Trump’s rhetoric comes amid a heightened scramble for the Arctic.

Amid global warming, the vast untapped resources of the Arctic are becoming more accessible. Countries like the US, Canada, China and Russia are now eyeing these resources.

“Russia has never threatened anyone in the Arctic, but we will closely follow the developments and mount an appropriate response by increasing our military capability and modernising military infrastructure,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said during an address in March 2025 at the International Arctic Forum in the Russian city of Murmansk, the largest city within the Arctic Circle.

During this address, Putin said that he believed Trump was serious about taking Greenland and that the US will continue with efforts to acquire it.

In December 2024, Canada released a policy document detailing plans to ramp up its military and diplomatic presence in the Arctic. Russia is also constructing military installations and power plants in the region.

Meanwhile, Russia and China have been working together to develop Arctic shipping routes as Moscow seeks to deliver more oil and gas to China amid Western sanctions while Beijing seeks an alternative shipping route to reduce its dependence on the Strait of Malacca.

The Northern Sea Route (NSR), a maritime route in the Arctic Ocean, is becoming easier to navigate due to melting ice. The NSR can cut shipping trips significantly short. Russia is hoping to ramp up commerce through the NSR to trade more with Asia than Europe due to Western sanctions. Last year, the number of oil shipments from Russia to China via the NSR rose by a quarter.

China is also probing the region, and has sent 10 scientific expeditions to the Arctic and built research vessels to survey the icy waters north of Russia.

Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China addresses attendees on behalf of Xi Jinping, President of China on day one of the BRICS summit at Sandton Convention Center in August 2023. China is opening an anti-dumping investigation into Japan over a key chemical used in manufacturing semiconductors, the Ministry of Commerce announced Wednesday. File Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 7 (UPI) — China is opening an anti-dumping investigation into Japan over a key chemical used in manufacturing semiconductors, the Ministry of Commerce announced Wednesday.

The investigation is set to last a year as China probes whether Japan has been selling the chemical dichlorosilane at an unfairly low price — dumping — harming its domestic producers.

Dichlorosaline is commonly used to manufacture computer chips.

The investigation stems from a complaint by the Chinese company Sunfar that submitted evidence showing a 31% decrease in prices on the chemical from Japan despite an increase in imports between 2022 and 2024.

A review of the complaint found that it met the criteria for further investigation under Chinese laws and rules set out by the World Trade Organization.

“The investigating authority will conduct the investigation in accordance with the law, fully safeguard the rights of all interested parties and make an objective and impartial ruling based on the investigation results,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.

The ensuing investigation will dig into dichlorosilane imports from Japan from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025.

Japan is home to the three leading producers of dichlorosilane, making it the top exporter of the chemical.

China’s top dichlorosilane producer has the fourth-largest market share of the chemical in the world. It relies heavily on imports from Japan, with Japanese products making up about 72% of China’s domestic market between 2022 and 2024.

On Tuesday, China banned the export of products to Japan’s military. Japan has warned China about pursuing control over Taiwan as China believes Taiwan to be part of its territory.

Wednesday’s announcement continues the escalating tension between the countries.

The line at Holbox during the midweek lunch hour has become a cultural sensation, a queue of locals and visitors trailing past the automatic doors and around the parking lot like devotees angling for the latest iPhone series or limited-release sneakers. Believe the lauds, including ours when we named Holbox as The Times’ 2023 Restaurant of the Year. Gilberto Cetina’s command of mariscos is unmatched in Southern California – his ceviches, aguachiles and tostadas revolutionary in their freshness and jigsaw-intricate flavors. The smoked kanpachi taco alone — clinched with queso Chihuahua and finished with salsa cruda, avocado and drizzles of peanut salsa macha — is one of the most sophisticated things to eat in Los Angeles.

Holbox could be considered for the top ranking on its own strength. But in a year when disasters tore at our city, honoring the power of community feels more urgent than ever. Cetina’s seafood counter doesn’t thrive in a vacuum. Holbox resides inside the Mercado La Paloma in South L.A. The mercado is the economic-development arm of the Esperanza Community Housing Corp., a nonprofit organization founded in 1989 that counts affordable housing and equitable healthcare among its core missions. When the mercado was in the incubation stage, Esperanza’s executive director Nancy Ibrahim interviewed would-be restaurateurs about their challenges and hopes in starting a business. Among the candidates was Cetina’s father, Gilberto Sr., who proposed a stall serving his family’s regionally specific dishes from the Yucatán. Their venture, Chichén Itzá, was among the eight startups when the mercado opened in a former garment factory nearly 25 years ago, in February 2001.

Step into the 35,000-square-foot market today, and the smell of corn warms the senses. Fátima Juárez chose masa as her medium when she began working with Cetina at Holbox in 2017. Komal, the venue she opened last year with her husband, Conrado Rivera, is the only molino in L.A. grinding and nixtamalizing heirloom corn varieties daily. Among her deceptively spare menu of mostly quesadillas and tacos, start with the extraordinary quesadilla de flor de calabaza, a creased blue corn tortilla, bound by melted quesillo, arrayed with squash blossoms radiating like sunbeams.

Wander farther, past the communal sea of tiled tables between Holbox and Komal, to find jewels that first-timers or even regular visitors might overlook.

Taqueria Vista Hermosa, run by Raul Morales and his family, is the other remaining original tenant. Order an al pastor taco, or Morales’ specialty of Michoacan-style fish empapelado smothered in vegetables and wrapped in banana leaf. The lush, orange-scented cochinita pibil is the obvious choice next door at still-flourishing Chichén Itzá, but don’t overlook crackling kibi and the brunchy huevos motuleños over ham and black bean puree. The weekends-only tacos de barbacoa de chivo are our favorites at the stand called Oaxacalifornia, though we swing through any time for the piloncillo-sweetened café de olla and a scoop of smoked milk ice cream from its sibling juice and snack bar in the market’s center. Looking for the comfort of noodles? Try the pad see ew at Thai Corner Food Express in the far back.

The everyday and the exquisite; the fast and the formal (just try to score a reservation for Holbox’s twice-a-week tasting menu); a food hall and sanctuary for us all. Mercado La Paloma embodies the Los Angeles we love.

South Korean President Lee ‍Jae Myung proposes a halt to Pyongyang’s nuclear programme in exchange for ‘compensation’.

South Korean President Lee ‍Jae Myung has said he has asked his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to play a mediation role as his government seeks to improve relations with the North and restart talks over its nuclear programme.

Speaking in Shanghai on Wednesday, at the end of a four-day state visit to China, Lee proposed a freeze in Pyongyang’s nuclear programme in exchange for “compensation or some form of return”.

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“Just stopping at the current level – no additional production of nuclear weapons, no transfer of nuclear materials abroad, and no further development of ICBMs – would already be a gain,” Lee told journalists following meetings with top Chinese officials, including his second meeting with Xi in two months.

“If that stage is achieved, then in the medium term we can move toward gradual reduction,” Lee added. “In the long term, we must not give up the goal of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.”

Lee was speaking to reporters on the final day of his trip, which was the first state visit by a South Korean leader to China in six years.

The visit aimed to reset relations between the countries following a rocky period in recent years due to a dispute over the deployment in South Korea of a United States missile defence system in ⁠2017.

Lee told reporters that much progress had been made in restoring trust and that he had told Xi he would “like China to play a mediating role on issues related to the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea’s nuclear programme”.

“All our channels are completely blocked,” Lee said. “We hope China can serve as … a mediator for peace.”

Xi had urged Seoul to show “patience” in its dealings with Pyongyang, given how fraught ties between the two Koreas have become, Lee added.

“And they’re right. For quite a long period, we carried out military actions that North Korea would have perceived as threatening,” Lee said.

South Korea’s ousted former President Yoon Suk-yeol has been indicted for allegedly trying to provoke military aggression from North Korea in a bid to help him consolidate power.

On Monday, Pyongyang confirmed it had carried out test flights of hypersonic missiles, with leader Kim Jong Un saying it was important to “expand the … nuclear deterrent” in light of “the recent geopolitical crisis” – an apparent reference to Washington’s attacks on Venezuela and its abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

This film explores how the Spanish empire built its global dominance by fusing military conquest, religious conversion and imperial wealth.

At the heart of the Spanish expansion was the close alliance between crown, church and conquest. Military campaigns were inseparable from missionary efforts as conversion to Christianity became both a justification for empire and a tool of control. Faith and force advanced together, reshaping societies across the Americas.

Through the conquests of the Aztec and Incan empires, the documentary shows how Spanish power was established through violence, alliances and religious authority. The mission system spread across the Americas, reorganising Indigenous life around churches, labour regimes and colonial administration. Conversion promised salvation but enforced obedience and cultural destruction.

The film also examines the economic foundations of Spanish imperial power. Vast quantities of gold and silver were extracted from the Americas alongside the exploitation of Indigenous and enslaved labour. These resources fuelled European economies, financed global trade and helped integrate the Americas into an emerging world system built on extraction and inequality.

By tracing how faith, conquest and wealth operated together, the documentary reveals how Spanish colonialism shaped global capitalism, religious power and imperial governance. It shows how the legacies of conquest, forced conversion and resource extraction continue to influence social inequality, cultural identity and economic structures in the modern world and how current global superpowers like the United States and China adopt this model to their benefit. It also draws on the parallels between the erasure of cultural artefacts then and today’s “algorithmic colonisation”.

China has called on the United States to immediately release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro after Washington carried out massive military strikes on the capital, Caracas, as well as other regions, and abducted the leader.

Beijing on Sunday insisted the safety of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores be a priority, and called on the US to “stop toppling the government of Venezuela”, calling the attack a “clear violation of international law“.

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It was the second statement issued by China since Saturday, after US President Donald Trump said Washington had taken Maduro and his wife and flown them out of the country.

On Saturday, Beijing slammed the US for “hegemonic acts” and “blatant use of force” against Venezuela and its president, urging Washington to abide by the United Nations charter.

China is closely watching developments in Venezuela, according to Andy Mok, a senior research fellow at the Center for China and Globalisation.

Mok told Al Jazeera that a Chinese delegation had met Venezuelan officials just hours before the US action, adding that Beijing was not surprised by Washington’s move, given the scale of US strategic and economic interests in the region.

What did stand out, he said, was how the operation was carried out, as it may “represent the long-term US strategy in the region”.

China is Venezuela’s largest buyer of oil, Mok added, although the country accounts for only 4-5 percent of its total oil imports. Beyond energy, he said, China has growing trade and investment interests across Latin America, meaning Beijing is paying close attention to political shifts in the region.

Mok warned that if a future US administration were to revive a Monroe Doctrine-style policy, it could increase tensions with China, as Latin America is a “pillar of China’s Global South strategy”.

Still, China is likely to limit its response to the events in Venezuela to diplomatic protest rather than hard power, according to China-based analyst Shaun Rein.

“I think China has issued a very strong condemnation of the United States, and they’re working with other Latin American and Caribbean countries to say this isn’t right,” Rein, founder of the China Market Research Group, told Al Jazeera.

Rein said Beijing is deeply alarmed but constrained, and its options are limited.

“There’s not a lot of things that China can do. Frankly, it doesn’t have the military power. It only has two military bases outside of China, while America has 800,” Rein noted, stressing that, “historically, China is not warlike”.

“China is just going to make proclamations criticising the United States’ actions, but they’re not going to push back with military action, and they’re probably not going to push back with economic sanctions.”

Global condemnations, celebrations

World reaction has poured in since the US military action in Venezuela, with opinion firmly split over the intervention.

Left-leaning regional leaders, including those of Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Mexico, have largely denounced Maduro’s ouster, while countries with right-wing governments, from Argentina to Ecuador, have largely welcomed it.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday said he backed a “peaceful, democratic transition” of power in Venezuela, but urged that international law be respected.

His government was “monitoring developments”, he said in a statement.

South Korea also responded on Sunday, calling for a de-escalation of tensions.

“Our government urges all involved parties to make utmost efforts toward easing regional tensions. We hope for a quick stabilisation of the situation via dialogue, ensuring democracy is restored, and the will of the Venezuelan people is honoured,” its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Venezuela has been increasingly isolated, particularly after Maduro’s contested election in 2024.

China and Russia, however, continue to maintain strong economic and strategic ties, and alliances have grown with Iran over their shared opposition to US policy.

The missile test comes as President Lee Jae Myung arrives in Beijing to meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, their second in two months.

North Korea has launched multiple ballistic missiles off its east coast into the sea as South Korea’s leader begins a state visit to China in its first barrage of the new year.

According to South Korea’s military, the missiles launched at about 7:50am on Sunday (22:50 GMT on Saturday) flew about 900km (560 miles).

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The military added that the country, as well as the United States, was “closely analysing the specifications” while “maintaining a full readiness posture”.

In a statement, the US forces for the Asia Pacific said the missile launches did not pose an “immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies”.

Japan also reported that at least two missiles had reached distances of 900km (560 miles) and 950km (590 miles).

“North Korea’s nuclear and missile development threatens the peace and stability of our country and the international society, and is absolutely intolerable,” Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters.

The last time Pyongyang tested its ballistic missiles was on November 7.

According to North Korean state media, leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday called for the doubling of production capacity of tactical guided weapons while visiting a munitions factory.

In recent weeks, Kim has visited a series of weapons factories and a nuclear-powered submarine, overseeing missile tests in advance of the ninth party congress of the Workers’ Party, which will take place later this year and set out key policy goals.

Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul, told the Reuters news agency the launches from Pyongyang represented “a message to China to deter closer ties with South Korea and to counter China’s stance on denuclearisation”.

Lim added that it was North Korea sending a message of strength that they were different from Venezuela, after the US launched a series of attacks on Saturday and “captured” President Nicolas Maduro.

China visit

On Sunday morning, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that South Korean President Lee Jae Myung had arrived in Beijing on a four-day visit.

Lee, accompanied by more than 200 South Korean business leaders, is expected to discuss supply chain investment, the digital economy and cultural exchanges.

The South Korean leader will meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, for their second meeting in just two months. According to analysts, the short frequency of the meetings signals Beijing’s interest in increasing economic collaboration and tourism.

Seoul has said peace on the Korean Peninsula would be on the agenda during the Beijing trip.

Lee’s trip comes at a time of heightened tensions between China and Japan after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in November that her country’s military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan.

Before his trip, Lee gave an interview to CCTV, in which he assured that South Korea consistently respects the “One-China” policy when it comes to Taiwan. He said the healthy development of Beijing-Seoul relations depends on mutual respect. Lee also praised Xi as a “truly reliable neighbour”.

President Trump’s decision to send U.S. forces into Venezuela to capture President Nicolás Maduro and his wife and return them to the U.S. to face drug charges elicited condemnation from legal experts and other critics who argued that the operation — conducted without congressional or United Nations approval — clearly violated U.S. and international law.

Such criticism came from Democratic leaders, international allies and adversaries including Mexico, France, China and Russia, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and experts on international law and wartime powers.

“Nicolás Maduro was a thug and an illegitimate leader of Venezuela, terrorizing and oppressing its people for far too long and forcing many to leave the country. But starting a war to remove Maduro doesn’t just continue Donald Trump’s trampling of the Constitution, it further erodes America’s standing on the world stage and risks our adversaries mirroring this brazen illegal escalation,” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) wrote on X.

A U.N. spokesman said Guterres was “deeply alarmed” by the U.S. operation and “deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected.”

China’s foreign ministry said “such hegemonic acts of the U.S. seriously violate international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty,” while France’s foreign minister said the U.S. operation “contravenes the principle of the non-use of force that underpins international law.”

Republicans largely backed the president, with both House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) defending the operation as “decisive” and legally justified. However, other Republicans questioned Trump’s authority to act unilaterally, and raised similar concerns as Schiff about other world leaders citing Trump’s actions to justify their own aggression into neighboring nations.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) defended Trump’s actions as “great for the future of Venezuelans and the region,” but said he was concerned that “Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan.”

Trump defended the operation as a legitimate law enforcement action necessary to combat threats to the U.S. from Maduro, whom he accused of sending violent gang members and deadly drugs across the U.S. border on a regular basis.

“The illegitimate dictator Maduro was the kingpin of a vast criminal network responsible for trafficking colossal amounts of deadly and illicit drugs into the United States,” Trump said at a news conference. “As alleged in the indictment, he personally oversaw the vicious cartel known as Cartel de los Soles, which flooded our nation with lethal poison responsible for the deaths of countless Americans.”

However, Trump also made no secret of his interest in Venezuela’s oil. He said U.S. officials would be running Venezuela for the foreseeable future and ensuring that the nation’s oil infrastructure is rebuilt — to return wealth to the Venezuelan people, but also to repay U.S. businesses that lost money when Maduro took over the industry.

Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi announced that Maduro, who had previously been indicted in the U.S. in 2020, is now the subject of a superseding indictment charging him, his wife and several others with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess such weapons and devices.

“They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” Bondi wrote on X.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also framed the operation as a law enforcement effort, and defended the lack of advance notice to Congress.

“At its core, this was an arrest of two indicted fugitives of American justice, and the Department of War supported the Department of Justice in that job,” Rubio said. “It’s just not the kind of mission that you can pre-notify, because it endangers the mission.”

Trump said Congress could not be notified in advance because “Congress will leak, and we don’t want leakers.”

Michael Schmitt, an international law professor at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom and a professor emeritus of international law at the U.S. Naval War College, said Trump’s actions were a “clear violation” of international law.

He said the U.S. had no authority from the U.N. Security Council to conduct military operations in Venezuela, nor any legitimate justification to act in self-defense against an armed attack — which drug trafficking does not amount to.

Schmitt said the operation in Venezuela went far beyond a normal law enforcement action. But even if it were just a law enforcement action, he said, the U.S. would still lack legal authority under international law to engage in such activity on Venezuelan soil without the express permission of Venezuelan authorities — which it did not have.

“International law is clear. Without consent, you cannot engage in investigations or arrest or seizure of criminal property on another state’s territory,” he said. “That’s a violation of that state’s sovereignty.”

Because the operation was illegitimate from the start, the resulting occupation and interference in Venezuela’s oil industry are also unlawful, Schmitt said — regardless of whether the country’s nationalizing of U.S.-tied oil infrastructure was also unlawful, as some experts believe it was.

“That unlawfulness — of seizing U.S. business interests, nationalizing them, in a way that was not in accordance with the required procedures — is not a basis for using force,” Schmitt said.

Matthew Waxman, chair of the National Security Law Program at Columbia Law School, said that in the days ahead, he expects the Trump administration to try to justify its actions not just as a law enforcement operation, but “as part of a larger campaign to defend the United States against what it has characterized as an attack or invasion by Maduro-linked drug cartels.”

“All modern presidents have claimed broad constitutional power to use military force without congressional authorization, but that is always hotly contested. We’ll see if there’s much pushback in Congress in this case, which will probably depend a lot on how things now play out in Venezuela,” Waxman said. “Look at what happened last year in Iran: The president claimed the power to bomb nuclear program infrastructure, and when the operation didn’t escalate, congressional opponents backed off.”

Already on Saturday, some members of Congress were softening their initial skepticism.

Within hours of posting on X that he was looking forward “to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) had posted again, saying Rubio told him that the military action was “to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant” for Maduro.

Such action “likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack,” Lee added.

Others remained more skeptical.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said Trump’s remarks about taking over the country and controlling its oil reserves did not seem “the least bit consistent” with Bondi’s characterization of the operation as a law enforcement effort.

South Korean National security adviser Wi Sung-lac speaks at a press briefing at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, South Korea on Wednesday, October 29, 2025. Wi Sung-lac told reporters at the Blue House that the government respects the One China principle and is responding in line with that stance on Jan 2, 2026. File. Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 2 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s presidential office said Friday it “respects the One China principle” after China urged Seoul to reaffirm its position on Taiwan ahead of President Lee Jae-myung’s planned visit to China.

National Security Office Director Wi Sung-lac told reporters at the Blue House that the government respects the One China principle and is responding in line with that stance.

China’s Foreign Ministry said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi raised the issue during a phone call Wednesday with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun. Wang also criticized what he described as efforts by some political forces in Japan to revise history and downplay past aggression and colonialism, the ministry said.

The remarks were widely seen as pressure on Seoul to publicly restate its position before Lee’s trip.

China’s Foreign Ministry said Cho told Wang that Lee places importance on cooperation with China and is committed to developing the bilateral strategic cooperative partnership. Cho also said South Korea’s position of respecting the One China principle has not changed, the ministry said.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Jan. 2 (Asia Today) — South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday during a four-day visit to China aimed at advancing talks on Korean Peninsula peace, economic cooperation and issues including restrictions on Korean cultural content in China, the presidential office said Friday.

National Security Office Director Wi Sung-lac told a briefing at the Blue House that Lee will travel to China from Sunday through Wednesday at Xi’s invitation, visiting Beijing and Shanghai.

Wi said the summit on Monday will include talks, a signing ceremony for nearly 10 memorandums of understanding and a state banquet. He said the main agenda will center on peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

“People’s livelihoods and peace cannot be separated,” Wi said, adding that both countries share an interest in peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia. He said Seoul plans to strengthen strategic communication with Beijing and urge China to play a constructive role in helping address Korean Peninsula issues.

Wi said the two sides will also seek progress on what South Korea calls China’s restrictions on Korean cultural content. He said China’s official position is that no such ban exists but that South Korea sees it differently and will pursue broader consensus on cultural exchanges.

Wi said Lee’s team will also raise concerns about Chinese structures in the West Sea, also known as the Yellow Sea. He said the issue was discussed during a South Korea-China summit in Gyeongju in November and working-level consultations have continued.

A K-pop concert that had been discussed in connection with the trip is unlikely to take place this time, Wi said.

Lee will attend a South Korea-China business forum on Monday, the presidential office said. On Tuesday, he is scheduled to have lunch with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and meet Zhao Leji, the chairman of China’s national legislature.

On Wednesday, Lee plans to visit the former Shanghai headquarters of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Wi said the visit will mark the 150th anniversary of independence activist Kim Gu’s birth and the 100th anniversary of the Shanghai provisional government building, and is intended to honor the independence movement and the countries’ shared historical experience.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Decline in sales comes amid outrage of Elon Musk’s political forays, end in US electric vehicle tax breaks.

Tesla has lost its place as the top global seller of electric vehicles to Chinese company BYD, capping a year defined by outrage over CEO Elon Musk’s political manoeuvring and the end of United States tax breaks for customers.

The company revealed on Friday that it had sold 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, compared with BYD’s 2.26 million vehicles. The sales represented a 9 percent decline for Tesla from a year earlier.

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Tesla, founded in 2003, had for years far outpaced traditional automakers in its development and sale of electric vehicles. However, the market has become increasingly crowded with competitors, with China’s electric vehicle market bounding ahead.

Musk’s embrace of US President Donald Trump in 2024 and subsequent spearheading of a controversial “government efficiency” panel (DOGE) behind widespread layoffs of federal workers has also proved polarising. The political foray prompted protests at Tesla facilities and slumps in sales.

The company’s fourth quarter sales totaled 418,227, falling short of the much-reduced 440,000 target that analysts recently polled by FactSet, an investment research firm, had expected.

Musk left DOGE in May, in what was largely viewed as an effort to reassure investors.

Tesla was also hard hit by the expiration of a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle purchases that was phased out by the Trump administration at the end of September. Trump’s opposition to electric vehicles has contributed to a strained relationship with Musk.

Despite the downward trends in sales, investors have generally remained optimistic about Tesla and Musk’s ambitious plans to make the company a leader in driverless robotaxi services and humanoid robots for homes.

Reflecting that optimism, Tesla stock finished 2025 up about 11 percent.

Tesla has also recently introduced two less expensive electric vehicle models, the Model Y and Model 3, meant to compete with cheaper Chinese models for sale in Europe and Asia.

Musk entered 2026 as the wealthiest person in the world.

It is widely believed that the public offering of his rocket company, SpaceX, set for later this year, could make the 54-year-old the world’s first trillionaire.

In November, Tesla’s directors awarded Musk a potentially historic pay package of nearly $1 trillion if ambitious performance targets were met.

Musk scored another huge win in December,when the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s ruling, awarding him a $55bn pay package that had been paused since 2018.

Conversely, Tesla is at risk of temporarily losing its licence to sell cars in California after a judge there ruled it had misled customers about the safety of its driverless taxis.

As of December 2025, new laws came into effect making Hainan a separate customs zone and consolidating a favorable regulatory environment in the southernmost province of China.

The move contrasts with the current global trend of protectionism, as many countries move to tighten trade rules and investment controls.

Hainan is now effectively the world’s largest free trade port by area. Encompassing over 35,000 square kilometers, it is roughly fifty times bigger than Singapore and even slightly bigger than Belgium.

China is attempting to offer a solution for the “growing uncertainties in the global economy” and trying to replicate the success of Singapore, with a free trade port the size of a European nation.

According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, the launch of “special customs operations” is not merely a policy tweak but a fundamental restructuring of how the island province interacts with international markets.

The unique framework, instituted by the Chinese Communist Party, could make Hainan the most business-friendly jurisdiction in the world.

This is not the first time the state-led economy, described as a socialist market economy, takes a page from the capitalist playbook to boost its global dominance.

Special economic zones (SEZs) have been successfully implemented in China since the late 1970s, as part of the country’s economic open-door policy. These SEZs allow Beijing to experiment with capitalist mechanisms, in limited areas, while maintaining broader state control over the economy.

In 2020, the CCP unveiled a comprehensive plan to shift Hainan from a mere special economic zone to a strategic hub designed to rival Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai.

Creating a completely separate trade and investment system for the province was the objective until the end of 2025. Going forward, the party projects that Hainan will reach “institutional maturity” by 2035 and achieve a “strong global influence” by the middle of the century.

First line open, second line controlled

The province comprises Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea, and now operates under a “two-line” customs system designed for greater openness while maintaining domestic security.

The first line marks the boundary between Hainan and the global economy, where most trade barriers have been removed. Under the new legislation, the majority of goods can enter the province freely, with a significantly expanded list of zero-tariff imports covering raw materials, equipment and consumer products.

The second line functions as a filter between Hainan and mainland China. There, standard customs rules apply, with goods subject to tariffs and controls intended to protect domestic markets.

However, the system creates a powerful incentive for manufacturers. Goods entering Hainan that achieve at least 30% added value within the province can enter mainland China duty-free, a policy designed to encourage additional production on the islands rather than using it solely as a transit hub.

For example, Australian beef can be imported into Hainan duty-free. Then, if the beef is sliced and packaged for China-destined hotpot products on the island province itself, it can enter mainland Chinese supermarkets with the same exemptions.

China’s strategic gateway

The scope of the CCP’s plans for Hainan extends well beyond customs arrangements.

The province applies a flat corporate tax rate of 15%, lower than those in Hong Kong (16.5%), Singapore (17%) and mainland China (25%).

Hainan is now also operating under a distinct regulatory framework in several other areas, which differs significantly from regulation on the mainland.

For instance, if a pharmaceutical product or medical device is approved by one of many regulatory agencies anywhere in the world, it can be used on the island province despite being banned on the mainland.

Similarly, companies registered in Hainan can apply for broader internet access, allowing them to bypass the so-called “Great Firewall of China”, a system of laws and technologies enforced by the CCP to control online activity nationwide.

Foreign companies can also open special bank accounts in Hainan, with capital flows exempt from mainland foreign-exchange controls, while foreign universities are permitted to establish campuses without a Chinese partner.

Visa-free entry to the province has also been expanded from 59 to 86 countries, now including the United States, Germany and Australia, as well as several countries in the Middle East and South America.

Visitors can stay for up to 30 days without a visa for business, medical treatment or tourism, as the authorities also promote the island province as a major travel destination.

Amid rising tensions in the global economy, Hainan serves as China’s “pressure valve” offering a low-tax, zero-tariff, high-access gateway to Asia-Pacific markets.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has invited South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to a state visit in Beijing, signalling China’s desire to reinforce relations with South Korea amid regional turbulence.

South Korea’s national security adviser, Wi Sung-lac, told reporters on Friday that Lee will meet Xi in Beijing on Monday before travelling to Shanghai to visit the historic site of South Korea’s provisional government during Japan’s 35-year colonial rule.

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Wi said the leaders are expected to discuss “practical cooperation” in areas including supply-chain investment, tourism, and responses to transnational crime, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Lee is also expected to persuade China to take a “constructive” role in achieving “a breakthrough in resolving issues on the Korean Peninsula”, Wi added.

It will be the second meeting between Xi and Lee in just two months, in what analysts have described as an unusually short interval, reflecting Beijing’s interest in bolstering ties before the next meeting between the leaders of South Korea and Japan takes place.

Relations between China and Japan remain at a low point after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could provoke a military response from Tokyo.

On Friday, Wi reaffirmed South Korea’s position on Taiwan, saying the country does “respect the one China policy and act in accordance with that position”. The position acknowledges Beijing’s view that Taiwan remains part of its sovereign territory, while allowing for separate ties with the self-governing island.

Kang Jun-young, a professor of political economics at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, said “China wants to emphasise South Korea’s importance slightly more than before.

“China appears to have strategically decided that it would be better to have [Lee] visit China before South Korea holds a summit with Japan again,” Kang told the Reuters news agency.

For its part, the Lee administration has stressed its goal of “restoring” ties with China, which remains South Korea’s largest trading partner. At the same time, it has said Lee’s approach of “practical diplomacy” aims to maintain strong ties with Japan and the United States, South Korea’s most important ally.

Under Lee’s predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, Seoul leaned closer to Washington and Tokyo and increased criticism of China’s stance on Taiwan.

Lee, in contrast, has said he will not take sides in the dispute between China and Japan, a position he maintains as tensions around the Taiwan Strait rise following Beijing’s recent large-scale military drills near Taiwan.

Security alliances, regional strategy

The two leaders may also address contentious issues such as efforts to modernise the South Korea-US alliance, which some see as a counterbalance to China’s dominance in the Asia Pacific region, according to Shin Beom-chul, a former South Korean vice defence minister and senior research fellow at the Sejong Institute.

Currently, roughly 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea to deter threats from North Korea. US officials have signalled plans to make those forces more flexible in responding to other regional challenges, including Taiwan and China’s growing military reach.

“Korea is not simply responding to threats on the peninsula,” General Xavier Brunson, commander of US Forces Korea, said at a forum on December 29. “Korea sits at the crossroads of broader regional dynamics that shape the balance of power across Northeast Asia.”

As China remains North Korea’s principal ally and economic lifeline, experts expect Lee to seek Beijing’s assistance in encouraging dialogue with Pyongyang.

North Korea dismissed Lee’s outreach last year, calling him a “hypocrite” and “confrontational maniac”.

China and North Korea have, in turn, continued closer coordination, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appearing alongside Xi at a major military parade in September.

Trade and culture

Lee’s visit is also expected to focus on cooperation in critical minerals, supply chains, and green industries, his office said.

Nearly half of South Korea’s rare earth minerals, which are essential for semiconductor production, come from China. The trading partner accounts for a third of Seoul’s annual chip exports, its largest market.

Last month, officials from both countries agreed to work towards stable rare earth supplies. The visit may also explore partnerships in AI and advanced technologies.

Huawei Technologies plans to launch its Ascend 950 AI chips in South Korea next year, providing an alternative to US-based Nvidia for Korean firms, Huawei’s South Korea CEO, Balian Wang, said at a news conference last month.

Another potential topic is Beijing’s effective ban on K-pop content, which stretches back to 2017 following the deployment of the US’s THAAD missile defence system in South Korea.

SM Entertainment’s chief executive, who heads one of the country’s leading K-pop agencies, will join Lee’s business delegation, according to local media.

Kim Ju Ae’s first public visit to the Kumsusan Mausoleum added to speculation she may become the next in line.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter, Ju Ae, who is widely speculated to be his potential successor, made her first public visit to the Kumsusan Mausoleum in Pyongyang alongside her parents, state media images show.

Photographs released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday captured the family paying respects to Ju Ae’s grandfather and great-grandfather, Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung, the founder of the North Korean state. Analysts say that propaganda surrounding the Kim family’s “Paektu bloodline” has allowed its members to dominate daily life in the isolated country and maintain power for decades.

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Over the past three years, Ju Ae has appeared more frequently in state media, prompting speculation from analysts and South Korea’s intelligence services that she may be positioned as the country’s fourth-generation leader.

Photographs show Ju Ae accompanying her father, mother Ri Sol Ju, and senior officials on the visit on January 1, standing between her parents in the main hall of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun.

Ju Ae was first publicly introduced in 2022 when she accompanied her father to the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Believed to have been born in the early 2010s, she also took part in this year’s New Year celebrations, and in September made her first public overseas visit, travelling to Beijing with her father.

The visit to the mausoleum coincided with key dates and anniversaries, reinforcing the dynastic narrative of the nuclear-armed state. North Korean media have referred to her as “the beloved child” and a “great person of guidance” – or “hyangdo” in Korean – a term traditionally reserved for top leaders and their designated successors.

Prior to 2022, Ju Ae’s existence had only been indirectly confirmed by former NBA player Dennis Rodman, who visited the North in 2013.

North Korea’s leaders have never formally announced their successors, instead signalling transitions gradually through public appearances and expanding official responsibilities.

Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un has pledged to further increase production of missiles and artillery shells, describing them as a “war deterrent” amid heightened military readiness from the United States and South Korea.

US recently approved $11bn arms package for Taiwan, which condemned ‘provocative’ Chinese military drills.

The United States has called on China to exercise “restraint” and avoid actions that raise tensions following a series of war games around Taiwan simulating a blockade of the island.

The US Department of State said in a statement on Thursday that China’s bellicose language and military drills, which prompted sharp condemnation from Taipei, were a source of unnecessary strain.

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“China’s military activities and rhetoric toward Taiwan and others in the region increase tensions unnecessarily. We urge Beijing to exercise restraint, cease its military pressure against Taiwan, and instead engage in meaningful dialogue,” said State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott.

“The United States supports peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and opposes unilateral changes to the status quo, including by force or coercion,” he added.

China fired missiles and deployed jets and naval vessels earlier this week in a simulation of military actions to encircle Taiwan, which Beijing claims as an integral part of its territory and has vowed to bring under its control.

Chinese military drills have become a frequent occurrence, causing few disruptions to life on the self-governed island, whose status the US has not officially weighed in on.

But Beijing’s assertive stance has prompted angry condemnations from Taiwanese officials, and crackdowns on formerly autonomous areas such as Hong Kong following integration with China have bolstered scepticism about the prospects of possible reunification with Beijing.

“As president, my stance has always been clear: to resolutely defend national sovereignty and strengthen national defence,” Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te said on Thursday.

Lai has called for a $40bn increase in Taiwan’s military spending, but the proposal is stalled in the country’s legislature, where the opposition party currently holds a majority.

“The coming year, 2026, will be a crucial one for Taiwan,” the president said, adding that Taiwan must “make plans for the worst, but hope for the best”.

While US lawmakers often make strong statements of support for Taiwan, US policy towards the island has been marked by ambiguity for decades and does not include an assurance of military support in the event of an invasion by China.

The US recently approved an $11bn arms package for Taiwan, but President Donald Trump said earlier this week that he did not believe China had plans to launch an invasion of Taiwan in the near future.

“I have a great relationship with [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping]. And he hasn’t told me anything about it. I certainly have seen it,” Trump told reporters on Monday.

“They’ve been doing naval exercises for 20 years in that area. Now people take it a little bit differently,” he added.

Taiwan’s Lai pledges to defend national sovereignty after Beijing holds live-fire drills around island.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to achieve the “reunification” of China and Taiwan, calling Beijing’s long-held goal “unstoppable.”

In a New Year’s address delivered a day after China’s military wrapped up war games around Taiwan, Xi on Wednesday invoked the “bond of blood and kinship” between Chinese people on each side of the Taiwan Strait.

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“The reunification of our motherland, a trend of the times, is unstoppable,” Xi said.

Xi also hailed the institution in 2025 of an annual “Taiwan Recovery Day”, marking the end of imperial Japan’s rule of the island at the end of World War II.

Xi’s speech came on the heels of two days of live-fire drills simulating a blockade of the island, in what officials called a “stern warning” against “separatist” and “external interference” forces.

The drills were the largest ever held around Taiwan in terms of geographical area.

The war games, codenamed “Justice Mission 2025”, came just days after the United States approved its largest-ever arms package to Taiwan, valued at $11.1bn.

China views self-governing Taiwan as part of its territory and has long pledged to bring the island under its control, using force if necessary.

Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party maintains that the island is a de facto independent country, though it has not formally declared independence.

In his New Year’s Day address on Thursday, Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te pledged to “firmly” uphold national sovereignty and boost the island’s defences.

“In the face of China’s escalating expansionist ambitions, the international community is closely watching whether the people of Taiwan have the determination to defend themselves,” Lai said.

While Taiwan elects its leaders and has its own military, passport and currency, the island is officially recognised by just 11 countries and Vatican City.

China insists that countries do not officially recognise Taipei in order to maintain diplomatic ties with Beijing.

Although the US does not officially recognise Taiwan, Washington is committed to helping the island to defend itself under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979.

While Washington is Taipei’s principal supplier of arms, the law does not stipulate any obligation to directly intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese blockade or invasion.

Opinion polls suggest a large majority of Taiwanese favour the status quo, with much smaller proportions supporting imminent moves towards formal independence or unification.

In his speech on Wednesday, Xi also hailed China’s innovation in industries including artificial intelligence and space.

“We sought to energise high-quality development through innovation. We integrated science and technology deeply with industries, and made a stream of new innovations,” he said.

“Many large AI models have been competing in a race to the top, and breakthroughs have been achieved in the research and development of our own chips. All this has turned China into one of the economies with the fastest-growing innovation capabilities.”

New Year’s Eve celebrations are unfolding across the world as countries move into 2026 one time zone at a time.

The first major cities to mark the new year welcomed midnight with fireworks over their waterfronts, and large crowds gathered at public viewing points.

As the night continues, countries across the Americas will close out the global transition with events stretching from Rio de Janeiro’s beaches to Times Square in New York City and beyond.

This gallery shows how people are marking the start of 2026 around the world.