عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

US Lawmakers Led by Senate Majority Leader Schumer Arrive in China on First Such Visit since 2019

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., center, and other members of the delegation arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. (Aly Song/Pool Photo via AP)
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., center, and other members of the delegation arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. (Aly Song/Pool Photo via AP)
TT
TT

US Lawmakers Led by Senate Majority Leader Schumer Arrive in China on First Such Visit since 2019

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., center, and other members of the delegation arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. (Aly Song/Pool Photo via AP)
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., center, and other members of the delegation arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. (Aly Song/Pool Photo via AP)

A delegation of US lawmakers led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer arrived in China on Saturday in the first congressional visit to the country since 2019.
The trip comes amid a sharp deterioration in relations between the two countries and as Chinese and American officials try to lay the groundwork for a possible meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in November, The Associated Press said.
The delegation of six senators, which includes three Democrats and three Republicans, landed in Shanghai in the mid-afternoon. The Republicans were led by Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, the senior member of his party on the Senate Finance Committee. Schumer is a New York Democrat.
A series of high-ranking Biden administration officials have met their Chinese counterparts in Beijing in recent months, but no other US lawmakers have made the trip since China lifted its COVID-19 restrictions in December of last year.
China said in a statement earlier this week that it hoped the visit would “contribute to a more objective understanding of China in the US Congress.”
Schumer's office said he would focus on the need for reciprocity from China for US business in trade and on maintaining American leadership in advanced technologies for national security. He also hopes to discuss human rights, fentanyl production, and China's role in the international community, as well as areas for potential cooperation.
A smooth visit could help pave the way for a Biden-Xi summit during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting in San Francisco next month. The senators hope to meet Xi in Beijing during their visit.
A Chinese international relations expert said that Schumer's visit is a sign of improvement in China-US relations.
“If the talks proceed well, there is the possibility that President Xi will meet Schumer,” said Wang Yiwei, the director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University of China. “If their meeting is realized, the chances for a Xi-Biden meeting will become greater.”
The White House has been in touch with Schumer and supports the delegation's visit to the region, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said after the trip was announced. The senators will go to South Korea and Japan after their stop in China.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Georgian Opposition Leader Arrested after Fourth Night of Protests

Protesters shoot fireworks toward police during a fourth day of nationwide protests against a government decision to shelve EU membership talks in Tbilisi early on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
Protesters shoot fireworks toward police during a fourth day of nationwide protests against a government decision to shelve EU membership talks in Tbilisi early on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
TT
TT

Georgian Opposition Leader Arrested after Fourth Night of Protests

Protesters shoot fireworks toward police during a fourth day of nationwide protests against a government decision to shelve EU membership talks in Tbilisi early on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
Protesters shoot fireworks toward police during a fourth day of nationwide protests against a government decision to shelve EU membership talks in Tbilisi early on December 2, 2024. (AFP)

Georgian police arrested a prominent opposition leader early on Monday after using water cannon and tear gas to scatter anti-government protesters who rallied outside parliament for the fourth straight night.

The protests were sparked by the government's announcement last week that it was suspending talks on joining the European Union. Critics saw that as confirmation of a Russian-influenced shift away from pro-Western policies, something the ruling party denies.

The Coalition for Change, the country's largest opposition party, said in a post on X that Zurab Japaridze, one of its leaders, had been arrested by police whilst leaving the demonstration.

Footage showed Japaridze being placed in an unmarked vehicle by masked police. It was not clear if he would be charged with any offence.

The United States and the EU have voiced alarm at what they see as democratic backsliding by Georgia, a country of 3.7 million people that lies at the intersection of Europe and Asia and was once part of the Soviet Union.

Russia denies interfering in its neighbor, but former president Dmitry Medvedev warned on Sunday that Georgia was "moving rapidly along the Ukrainian path, into the dark abyss", adding: "Usually this sort of thing ends very badly."

On Sunday night, protesters gathered again in Tbilisi on the central Rustaveli Avenue. Some tossed fireworks at police, who responded with volleys of water cannon and tear gas.

"I'm here for a very simple reason, to defend my European future and the democracy of my country," one of the demonstrators, Nikoloz Miruashvili, said.

Police eventually ended the standoff by moving demonstrators away from the parliament building.

INJURY TOLL MOUNTS

Georgia's interior ministry said 21 police officers had been injured during the overnight protest, with 113 hurt since the beginning of the unrest. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused the opposition of "coordinated violence" aimed at overthrowing the constitutional order.

Dozens of protesters have also been injured since the latest demonstrations began, and the United States has condemned what it called the excessive use of police force.

President Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-EU figure who backs the protesters, said many of those arrested had suffered head and face injuries as a result of beatings.

"This is the revolt of an entire country," she told French news group France Inter.

Hundreds of diplomats and civil servants have signed open letters protesting the decision to suspend talks with the EU and stop receiving any funds from the bloc for four years. At least four Georgian ambassadors have resigned.

Ilia Topuria, a martial arts fighter with a major following in the country, wrote in an Instagram post: "I am opposed to the decision to terminate our accession negotiations to the European Union. I am ashamed to see how the children of Georgia are treated. This is not called freedom."

Zourabichvili has called for pressure to be brought on the Constitutional Court to annul elections won by the ruling party, Georgian Dream, in October. Both the opposition and Zourabichvili say the poll was rigged.

Zourabichvili, whose powers are mainly ceremonial, says she will not leave office when her term expires this month because the parliament that will choose her successor is illegitimate.

The election commission says the vote was fair. Prime Minister Kobakhidze on Sunday said Zourabichvili was reacting emotionally to the opposition's election defeat and would have to leave the presidential palace at the end of the month.

Tension in Georgia has been building for months as the ruling party has passed laws on "foreign agents" and on curbing freedoms. Georgian Dream says it is acting to defend the country's sovereignty against outside interference and prevent the West from dragging it into a war with Russia.