Category: Beijing

Recent Events Show How Beijing and Moscow Benefit One Another in Central Asia

News Analysis Several days ago, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced successful ongoing preparations for a Russia-China summit between respective leaders Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. Scheduled to take place in Beijing on Feb. 4, the meeting will occur on the opening day of the Winter Olympic Games. It is meant to further cement the…


Beijing Introduces Mass Testing, More COVID-19 Measures as Olympics Loom

Beijing on Jan. 23 introduced new COVID-19 measures as it faces a “severe and complicated” battle to contain the virus less than two weeks before the opening of the Winter Olympic Games. After identifying a handful of positive cases in the district of Fengtai, officials have organized nucleic acid tests for the district’s 2 million…


State Department Condemns Beijing for Imprisoning 11 Falun Gong Practitioners Weeks Before Olympics

The U.S. State Department on Jan. 21 condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for sentencing 11 Falun Gong practitioners to prison terms as long as eight years for exercising their religious beliefs. The Jan. 14 sentences were handed down just weeks ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The State Department is calling on…


Team USA Prepares to Enter the Enemy’s Backyard

Commentary The Beijing Winter Olympics is about to begin. Is anyone really excited? But plenty of people are concerned and for valid reasons. The British Olympic Association (BOA) is so concerned by the cyberthreat posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that it’s now offering “burner phones” to all members of the GB team. A…


Beijing Warns of ‘Punishment’ if Foreign Athletes Protest at Olympics

A Beijing 2022 official has cautioned foreign athletes against speaking out during the upcoming Winter Olympics, warning that any behavior that crosses the Chinese regulations could potentially get them ejected out of the Games. “Any expression that is in line with the Olympic spirit I’m sure will be protected, and anything and any behavior or…


China Claims 8.1 Percent Growth, but Economy Is Slowing

News Analysis Beijing struggles to maintain economic growth. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims to have achieved 8.1 percent GDP growth last year, in spite of fourth quarter growth only hitting 4 percent. This year, Beijing faces reduced demand, supply chain disruption, and tight credit, as well as a lack of consumer and business confidence….


Beijing Gears Up to Make Its 2022 Growth Target

News Analysis Even after reporting (some would say dubiously) strong 8.1 percent growth for 2021, Beijing knows that after last year’s power shortages and new waves of COVID-19, it will have to work hard to get even the minimum targeted 5 percent real growth in 2022. America’s movement toward monetary restraint will make the effort…


China Cancels Olympic Ticket Sales After Omicron Cases Found in Beijing

Beijing Olympic Organizers on Jan. 17 stopped selling tickets to the general public after the city reported its first case of the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19. Tickets will only be distributed to a selected group of spectators for the Winter Games taking place from Feb. 4, according to an announcement posted on the…


Beijing’s Choreography of the Winter Olympics Might Not Work

Commentary China has been carefully planning the XXIV Olympic Winter Games to showcase Chinese leadership on the world scene. Has the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accounted for everything? CCP leader Xi Jinping and his underlings have invested a great deal of personal and national prestige in preparing what they hope will be a carefully choreographed…


Omicron Reaches Beijing, Deepening Uncertainty for Winter Olympics

The fast-spreading Omicron variant has hit China’s capital Beijing amid emerging COVID-19 clusters across the country, raising pressure on the regime to keep the virus at bay just three weeks before the city is due to stage the Olympic games. Beijing on Jan. 15 reported its first locally transmitted Omicron case from Haidian—the second-largest district…