During Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s weekend visit to Tehran, he and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, signed a 25-year agreement which is expected to yield large Chinese investment. They also agreed to a 10-fold increase in bilateral trade over the next decade. [node:read-more:link]
Conservative MP Michael Chong, vice-chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and its international human rights subcommittee is one of several persons sanctioned by China in a dispute over Beijing’s treatment of its minorities. Chong says he will consider China’s response to Canadian sanctions “a badge of honour.” [node:read-more:link]
Defence lawyers for Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou say that although her December 2018 arrest in Vancouver at the request of U.S. authorities was valid, her ongoing detainment is illegal. Federal prosecutors have argued that Canada was obliged by its extradition treaty to arrest Meng. [node:read-more:link]
Iran is reported to have had “constructive” talks April 6 with Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia on a response to the possible easing of U.S. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. European intermediaries have started shuttling between Iranian and U.S. officials in Vienna in a bid to restore a 2015 accord which lifted sanctions on Iran in return for curbs to its program. Former President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018. [node:read-more:link]
Iran is reported to have had “constructive” talks April 6 with Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia on a response to the possible easing of U.S. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. European intermediaries have started shuttling between Iranian and U.S. officials in Vienna in a bid to restore a 2015 accord which lifted sanctions on Iran in return for curbs to its program. Former President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018. [node:read-more:link]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadians can be reassured that vaccine supplies will continue to arrive even as the European Union threatens restrict exports by its manufacturers, requiring them to seek EU permission. “Europe is determined to contribute to this global common good but it also means business,” says Ursula von der Leyen, German president of the European Commission. [node:read-more:link]
A proposed House of Commons committee would have a mandate to scrutinize “all aspects” of Canada’s economic relationship with the U.S. A Conservative motion to create the committee was endorsed Feb. 16 by the Liberals, New Democratic Party and Bloc Québécois MPs in a 326-3 vote. [node:read-more:link]
A report by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies warns that even if the U.S. manages to keep its allies from using Chinese telecommunications technology, Beijing’s “digital silk road” strategy enables China to burrow into those countries' economies and infrastructure, creating dependencies that may ultimately weaken alliance ties. [node:read-more:link]
Efforts by the U.S. and Europe to bring Iran back to the nuclear negotiating table have been rebuffed. “Considering the recent actions and statements by the United States and three European powers, Iran does not consider this the time to hold an informal meeting,” an Iranian foreign minister official said Feb. 28. [node:read-more:link]
A day after seizing power in Myanmar Feb. 1, military coup leaders tried to shift about $1 billion held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. U.S. officials immediately blocked the move, an apparent bid by the generals to limit the impact of international sanctions. [node:read-more:link]
The foundation for the third reactor at Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, which was begun in 2018 and is slated to start generating electricity in 2023, was laid by Turkish and Russian officials March 10. The project is owned by Moscow’s Rosatom, raising concern that the financing arrangements increasing Turkey’s already significant energy dependence on Russia. [node:read-more:link]
The new U.S. administration will join talks in Vienna designed to revive a nuclear deal with Iran from which the former administration withdrew in 2018. The six countries still party to the agreement must find a way for the U.S. to lift the former administration’s sanctions against Iran, which has said it will not meet with the U.S. until that happens. [node:read-more:link]
Seven Chinese supercomputing companies have been added to a U.S. list of entities restricted from buying U.S. technologies without a waiver. The Bureau of Industry and Security within the Commerce Department confirmed the move April 9, saying the companies “are involved in activities that support China’s military actors, its destabilizing military modernization efforts, and/or its weapons of mass destruction.” [node:read-more:link]
Canada is being urged by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to review military export restrictions imposed after it was confirmed that Canadian technology was on drones used in the battle between Armenian and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. His ministry says Cavusoglu conveyed concerns about Canada’s stance” during a call with his Canadian counterpart, Marc Garneau. [node:read-more:link]
A surge in Chinese companies’ investment in U.S. defence suppliers has prompted the Pentagon to approve more than $311 million in potential partnerships with the private sector in a bid to contain Beijing;s influence. The Trusted Capital program targets, among others, companies involved in artificial intelligence and biotechnology. [node:read-more:link]
