yeah, simon, just briefly, this really does show the fragmentation of the international community. do you think it puts more pressure on beijing perhaps to take a firmer stance on russia or is that unlikely? at stance on russia or is that unlikely? stance on russia or is that unlikel ? ., ,, ., stance on russia or is that unlikel ? ., ,, . , unlikely? at the moment, russia is one of china s unlikely? at the moment, russia is one of china s few unlikely? at the moment, russia is one of china s few reliable - unlikely? at the moment, russia is one of china s few reliable friends l one of china s few reliable friends in the international scene. friend is a bit of a strong word. it s more an alliance of convenience between the two. where we have seen common ground at the moment is on the issue of nuclear weapons. that s kind of been the fiddly or the prism through which everyone has been able to pretend there s some unity on this issue. with china saying there shouldn t be the use
overstate what a significant moment this is for the chinese leader. this is his first time leaving his country during the pandemic as china has improsed severe lockdowns and restrictions. and u.s. officials that itself made it more challenging in recent years to get a read obey j on beijing and its intentions. so this is an important opportunity to understand what the redlines are on a whole host of issues. this morning democrats are celebrating, narrow senate majority after victories in races in arizona and nevada, and hoping for another miracle, that would be keeping the house. where it stands right now. control of the lower is still undecided. republicans are in the lead, inching closer to the 218 seats
be the preamble to a nuclear test. that s something that hasn t happened, that kim jong un hasn t done since 2017, but there has been evidence of activity around key nuclear testing sites there, so there is the sense that perhaps this is another provocative step towards that. one of the lines of communication at the moment, who s doing the negotiation with north korea. sometimes it s like kim jong un is acting like like a toddler who s not getting attention, and he feels he can get away with more or he gets the world s attention. what s the point of contact given there are no formal talks between the six party talks. does the u.s. have to rely on beijing, because the relations between the u.s. and beijing aren t particularly good at the moment or do they have back channels themselves? there don t seem to be any line of communication between any of the players, not between south korea and north korea, not
port and passes through the panama canal. $270 billion worth of goods will pass through the century-old waterway this year. a recent report raising alarm bells about china s rising influence on america s doorstep. china s increasing interest in panama is something the united states needs to pay attention to. if we had a conflict in the taiwan strait or the south china sea and it started escalating, one of the areas where china my look like to cause trouble would be to close the panama canal. jennifer: meeting latin american defense ministers added his concern about china s ongoing belton road initiative designed to take control of key infrastructure around the world and make countries dependent on beijing. with beijing eyeing the cabinet doors panama canal, it is notable that u.s. has not had an investor assigned to panama 102018. the senate has refused to vote on president biden s choice
pelosi s tour in asia, the underlying message is that time is on china s side with the fast moving military and that reunification with taiwan is not a matter of if but when. now in response to the crisis unfolding around taiwan which beijing blames on the united states, u.s. secretary of state antony blinken weighed in on beijing s recent attempts to change the status quo in the taiwan strait and called its decision to suspend cooperation on a number of issues including climate talks irresponsible and potentially dangerous. while u.s. house speaker nancy pe pelosi s tour of asia wrapped up yesterday and she s now back in the united states, the fallout from her surprise stop here in taiwan continues to be felt. pamela? and our thanks to blake essek in taipei.