分类： politics

In a move that has triggered sharp diplomatic pushback from Kuala Lumpur, Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed Friday it has pulled export licenses for a advanced naval missile system destined for Malaysia, citing new restrictions that limit sales of its most sensitive defense technologies exclusively to allied nations and close strategic partners.

The revoked licensing blocks delivery of the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) system and its accompanying launcher components, which were earmarked for Malaysia’s ongoing littoral combat ship initiative, a core part of the Southeast Asian country’s broader naval modernization agenda. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has issued a stern warning that the unilateral reversal of a finalized contract risks eroding long-term trust in European defense suppliers among countries in the Indo-Pacific.

Responding to questions from the Associated Press, the Norwegian foreign ministry explained that the policy shift comes amid sweeping changes to the European and global security landscape over recent years. To adapt to these new conditions, Oslo has implemented strengthened oversight frameworks for defense technology exports, resulting in the new restriction: “Exports of some of the most sensitive Norwegian-developed defense technologies will be limited to our allies and closest partners. It is regrettable that this affects Malaysia.”

Malaysia first signed the procurement contract for the NSM anti-ship missile system back in 2018 with Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace AS, Norway’s leading state-affiliated defense contractor. The missiles were designed to be integrated onto Malaysia’s new fleet of modular littoral combat ships, which are intended to boost the country’s maritime surveillance and coastal defense capabilities.

Anwar revealed Thursday that he had already conveyed Malaysia’s formal strong protest during a direct phone call with his Norwegian counterpart, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. He emphasized that Oslo’s last-minute cancellation would not only undermine Malaysia’s military operational readiness, but also create lasting uncertainty about the reliability of European defense partners if signed, legally binding agreements can be overturned without warning.

In blunt remarks, Anwar pushed back against the unilateral decision: “Contracts are not confetti to be scattered in so capricious a manner. If European defense suppliers reserve the right to renege with impunity, their value as strategic partners flies out the window.”

The Norwegian foreign ministry confirmed that Støre had walked through the reasoning behind the policy shift during his conversation with Anwar. Despite the export restriction, the ministry reiterated that Norway “greatly values its relationship with Malaysia” and remains committed to maintaining ongoing cooperation and open constructive dialogue with Malaysian government authorities.

To date, Malaysia has already disbursed 95% of the total contract value to the Norwegian contractor. Malaysian officials confirmed this week that the government is currently reviewing all available legal pathways to address the canceled delivery, including pursuing formal compensation claims for losses incurred from the policy change.

NEW DELHI – A key two-day gathering of foreign ministers from the BRICS bloc wrapped up in the Indian capital on Friday, falling short of the traditional outcome of a unified joint statement. The failure to reach a consensus was attributed to deep-seated differing perspectives on the ongoing Middle East crisis among some member states, host India confirmed in an official statement released after the meeting. This breakdown in collective agreement has laid bare the growing strains holding the bloc together at a time when BRICS is actively working to expand its global geopolitical influence.

India’s official statement noted that despite the inability to agree on a unified text, all BRICS members did present their individual national stances and exchanged a broad spectrum of views across multiple priority topics. These discussions covered core principles of national sovereignty, global maritime security, and the critical need to protect both civilian infrastructure and innocent civilian lives amid the turmoil in the Middle East.

A detailed footnote added to the Indian statement further specified that one member state had formal reservations over key portions of the draft text addressing the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the evolving security situation in the Red Sea and the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a critical global shipping chokepoint connecting the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.

BRICS, which was originally founded with five core emerging economies, has expanded significantly in recent years. The bloc now counts 10 full members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia, the latest addition to the grouping.

Internal rifts within the bloc have become increasingly pronounced amid the escalating regional tensions across the Middle East, particularly sharp divisions between two recent joining members, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. On the first day of the meeting Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took a hard line, calling on all BRICS member nations to formally issue a condemnation of the United States and Israel over what he labeled as “unlawful aggression” in the region. He also urged fellow member states to push back against what he described as the improper politicization of multilateral global institutions.

The final stop of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s two-day Beijing visit was a rare guided tour of Zhongnanhai, the centuries-old heavily secured compound that houses China’s top leadership, with Chinese President Xi Jinping serving as his host. The high-profile excursion capped a trip defined by elaborate diplomatic pageantry, though concrete details of finalized policy agreements between the two global powers remained largely undisclosed.

Coming on the heels of escalating tensions over bilateral trade and tensions surrounding the Iran conflict, the summit saw both leaders adopt a notably conciliatory tone. Trump described his time in China as “incredible,” while Xi framed the meeting as a step forward in building a “new bilateral relationship.” During a stroll through the compound’s landscaped grounds, the pair stopped to admire blooming Chinese roses, and Xi promised to send cuttings of the flowers to Trump, a gesture the U.S. president welcomed enthusiastically.

Nestled just kilometers from central Beijing, the 14th-century Zhongnanhai compound holds a status equivalent to the White House in U.S. politics. Originally built as a secondary imperial retreat for Chinese emperors, the site is celebrated for its scenic lakes, sprawling manicured gardens, and centuries-old historic trees. It has served as the central headquarters of China’s Communist government since 1949, and today ranks among the country’s most politically symbolic landmarks. For foreign dignitaries, an invitation to tour the compound is widely interpreted as a marker of high honor and close bilateral ties.

When Trump asked how many foreign leaders had previously been granted access to the compound, Xi noted that such invitations remain “extremely rare.” Past visitors include Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who toured the site the previous year. Several U.S. presidents have also received invitations dating back decades: Richard Nixon during his groundbreaking 1972 visit, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama all toured the compound during their time in office.

During the tour, Trump paused to admire what he called “the most beautiful roses anyone has ever seen” and mature ancient trees, which Xi confirmed were between 200 and 400 years old. When Trump expressed surprise at their longevity, Xi added that even older 1,000-year-old specimens can be found across China.

Hours before the Zhongnanhai walk, Fox News aired a pre-recorded exclusive interview with Trump, where he praised Xi as “warm” and “very sharp.” In the interview, Trump claimed Xi had pledged that China would not supply military weapons to Iran, though he added that Xi noted China would continue purchasing large volumes of Iranian crude oil and supported keeping the Strait of Hormuz open to global shipping.

While Chinese officials have not issued a formal public response to Trump’s specific claims, the country’s foreign ministry released a general statement confirming that Beijing has been working behind the scenes to facilitate an end to the Iran conflict, confirming that Chinese diplomats are pushing for Tehran to enter negotiations. As Iran’s largest crude oil buyer and biggest overall trade partner, China holds unique economic and political leverage over Tehran – a lever the Trump administration had hoped Beijing would use to advance its diplomatic goals ahead of the summit.

Though a fragile temporary trade truce was a core item on the summit agenda, the Iran issue had grown into a more pressing priority in the months leading up to the meeting. Even so, Trump told reporters that trade talks between the two sides had progressed “better than last time.” The U.S. delegation included a cohort of American business leaders, who Trump said were in Beijing to finalize commercial agreements and help create new jobs back in the United States.

Trump publicly claimed China had agreed to purchase U.S. crude oil, 200 new commercial jets from Boeing, and large volumes of U.S. agricultural products. However, when asked to confirm these deals during a press briefing later that day, China’s foreign ministry declined to comment on the specific agreements. Chinese officials have only referenced “a series of new consensuses” reached between the two leaders without elaborating on the content of any deals.

Independent policy analysts note that China’s global economic standing has expanded steadily in recent years, as Beijing has diversified its trade partnerships beyond the U.S. to insulate itself from the impact of U.S. tariffs. Trump’s visit came on the heels of high-profile trips by leaders from Britain, Canada, and Germany, all of whom traveled to Beijing to expand bilateral trade ties.

Following the conclusion of the Beijing summit, Trump extended an invitation to Xi to visit the White House for a second summit in September, a date that has already been added to the official diplomatic calendar. Closing out his visit after the Zhongnanhai tour, Trump told reporters: “You’re gonna walk away hopefully very impressed, like I’m very impressed with China.”

CANBERRA, Australia — Australian authorities have formally designated the notorious neo-Nazi network once known as the National Socialist Network, sometimes operating under the alias White Australia, as the second hate group outlawed under the nation’s landmark new legislation targeting extremist organizations that promote racial and religious hatred.

The designation, announced Friday by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, brings the long-targeted white supremacist network into legal prohibition, with the ban set to enter into force by the end of the same day. The new law, passed by parliament in January 2024, was a direct policy response to a deadly antisemitic attack that left 15 people dead at a Hanukkah gathering on Sydney’s Bondi Beach in December 2023, an act of violence that shocked the nation and spurred urgent legislative action to curtail rising extremism.

Burke emphasized that the group’s attempt to rebrand itself after announcing a voluntary disbandment in January did not erase its extremist character. Even after changing its name, the organization retained its structure and continued to engage in radical, hateful activity that meets the legal threshold for a ban under the new legislation, Burke told reporters in Canberra. “None of this will stop bigoted people from holding horrific ideologies,” Burke noted. “But it does prevent this group from organizing, from meeting, and prevents some of the sorts of horrific bigoted rallies that we’ve seen around our country.”

Under the terms of the ban, any act of supporting, funding, training for, recruiting to, joining or leading the group — even if it reorganizes under a new name — carries a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment. This landmark legislation fills a critical gap in Australian national security law, allowing authorities to ban hate groups that do not meet the existing legal definition of a terrorist organization, a change widely called for after the Bondi massacre.

The Islamist group Hibzt ut-Tahrir became the first organization banned under the law back in March, and both that group and the National Socialist Network were openly named by policymakers as the primary targets of the legislation from its early drafting stages.

The process for designating a banned hate group follows a clear two-step framework: Australia’s national security intelligence agency ASIO first assesses whether an organization meets the statutory criteria, which include a pattern of violence incitement, engagement in hate crime, and elevated risk of public harm. The final ban is then approved by a federal government minister.

The announcement comes as the group’s former leader, Thomas Sewell, awaits trial on multiple charges stemming from an alleged attack on an Indigenous protest camp in Melbourne last August. During an anti-immigration rally, a group of black-clad men affiliated with the network stormed the camp, leaving three people injured. Sewell has pleaded not guilty to all five counts against him.

Longstanding connections to transnational white supremacist violence have previously linked Sewell to one of the deadliest far-right attacks in modern history: an independent inquiry into the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre that killed 51 Muslims in New Zealand found that Sewell attempted to recruit the attack’s perpetrator, Brenton Tarrant, to another Australian white nationalist group two years before the massacre.

Burke rejected the group’s January claim that it would voluntarily disband to avoid member arrests, a announcement first reported by local Australian news outlets via a post on the network’s Telegram channel. He confirmed the federal government is already prepared to face any potential legal challenges from the newly outlawed organization.

The ban on the National Socialist Network is the latest in a series of escalating government actions against far-right extremism and rising antisemitism in Australia. Earlier in 2024, before the Bondi Beach attack, Canberra enacted a nationwide ban on Nazi salutes and the public display of swastikas and other Nazi symbols. That policy was itself a response to a months-long surge in antisemitic criminal activity targeting synagogues, Jewish-owned businesses and Jewish schools in Sydney and Melbourne.

The Solomon Islands has ushered in a new head of government after weeks of political turbulence, with long-time opposition leader Matthew Wale securing the post of prime minister following a parliamentary vote that ousted the previous pro-Beijing administration. Wale’s elevation comes one week after former prime minister Jeremiah Manele was removed from office via a no-confidence motion, a motion fueled by months of growing public anger over skyrocketing living costs and sustained political uncertainty. By late March 2026, 12 sitting ministers from Manele’s cabinet had already stepped down and defected to the opposition bloc, creating a fatal rift in the pro-Beijing government that ultimately led to its collapse.

In Friday’s parliamentary vote, Wale defeated former foreign minister Peter Shanel Agovaka by a clear margin of 26 votes to 22, locking in his victory as the nation’s new leader. In his first address to the public after the win, the 57-year-old politician pledged to deliver systemic change for the island nation, noting that the Solomon Islands, located at the center of contemporary great power competition in the South Pacific, cannot escape the spillover effects of ongoing geopolitical gridlock. “These changes are necessary and may be painful. I ask that you join with your government by putting your hand to the plough,” Wale said, adding that he urged Solomon Islanders to hold his new administration accountable, reminding voters: “When we act as if we are your lords, please remind us we are your servants.”

Wale has been a fixture of Solomon Islands opposition politics for nearly a decade, and first rose to regional prominence for his fierce opposition to the 2022 security pact between the Solomon Islands and China. At the time of the pact’s signing, Wale argued that a majority of Solomon Islanders opposed any expanded Chinese presence in the country, and launched an unsuccessful bid to oust then-prime minister Manasseh Sogavare, who oversaw the agreement. For context, the 2022 security pact was reached just a few years after the Solomon Islands broke its decades-long diplomatic ties with Taiwan to switch recognition to Beijing, and the deal grants China permission to deploy police and military personnel to the island nation. The agreement immediately sparked deep alarm across Australia and other Pacific regional powers, which raised concerns that the deal could clear the way for a permanent Chinese military base in the strategically critical South Pacific.

In recent years, however, Wale has softened his hardline stance on the agreement and on ties with China more broadly, shifting to call for “balanced international engagement” rather than a full withdrawal from the pact. He has not made any public pledge to scrap the existing security agreement, a key detail that has led regional analysts to predict that major shifts in the Solomon Islands’ foreign policy are unlikely.

Connor Graham, a research fellow specializing in Pacific affairs at the Lowy Institute’s Pacific Islands Program, explained that despite hopes from Canberra and Western allies for a policy pivot, Wale’s election is unlikely to upend the Solomon Islands’ existing relationship with Beijing. “Chinese infrastructure is embedded. China is also critical to Solomon Islands economy as a major export destination, and now, thanks to the security pact, its military and police are increasingly integrated,” Graham wrote in a recent commentary. He added: “What changes under Wale is tone, transparency and openness to traditional partners. What doesn’t change is the structural weight of seven years of Chinese investment.”

Australia has remained the Solomon Islands’ largest single aid donor for decades, even as the island nation has deepened its economic and diplomatic ties with Beijing in recent years. Following Wale’s election, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese extended an official congratulation via a post on X, stating that he looks forward to “working together to continue strengthening our economic, development and security partnership” between the two nations. As of publication, Chinese state media has reported on Wale’s victory, but central government authorities in Beijing have not yet released an official comment on the outcome of the parliamentary vote.

In a landmark bilateral meeting that sent ripples across global geopolitics, the White House released new details Thursday outlining shifting alignments between Washington and Beijing on the escalating crisis around Iran and the strategic Strait of Hormuz, following face-to-face talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The diplomatic gathering wrapped up with an elaborate state dinner hosted by Xi, attended by top-ranking U.S. administration officials and American business leaders. The two leaders of the world’s largest economies opted to set aside long-running public disagreements over contentious flashpoints including Taiwan and Iran policy at least for the day, turning their public focus toward advancing bilateral commercial agreements.

In an interview with Fox News following his closed-door meeting with Xi, Trump offered new remarks about China’s shifting position, claiming Xi had proposed to mediate an end to the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran while downplaying frictions over Beijing’s long-standing ties to Tehran. According to Trump, Xi made a firm statement that China would not supply military equipment to Iran amid the conflict. He added that Xi affirmed China’s commitment to keeping the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, open to international shipping, and offered Chinese assistance to de-escalate tensions wherever possible.

These claims come amid multiple media reports outlining recent military support from Beijing to Tehran. Middle East Eye (MEE) was the first outlet to report that China delivered air defense systems to Iran after its June 2025 conflict with Israel and the United States. The outlet further reported that ahead of a planned 2026 Iranian attack, Beijing also supplied Tehran with kamikaze drones. The New York Times later confirmed that shipments of Chinese shoulder-fired air defense systems arrived in Iran back in April, while the Financial Times reported that Iranian forces have used advanced Chinese satellite imagery to target U.S. military installations positioned across the Gulf region.

Even ahead of Trump’s high-profile visit to China, analysts noted that Beijing has clear strategic incentives to push for an early end to the ongoing war in Iran. Ahmed Aboudouh, an associate fellow at the London-based Chatham House and head of the China Studies research unit at the Emirates Policy Center, previously told MEE that both Washington and Beijing share core overlapping goals: preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons and securing the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping.

As the world’s top buyer of Iranian crude oil, purchasing roughly 90 percent of Tehran’s total oil exports, China’s posture toward Iran is being closely watched by policymakers in Tehran and across global energy markets. Trump acknowledged the deep economic ties between the two countries in his Fox News interview, noting, “Look, anybody that buys that much oil has obviously got some kind of relationship with them [Iran],” when referencing Xi’s engagement with Tehran.

On Thursday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced it had authorized passage for a group of Chinese-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz in line with pre-negotiated agreements on Tehran’s strait management protocols. The IRGC confirmed that the transit of these vessels began overnight Wednesday. Iranian state television reported that “more than 30 ships” had been cleared for passage, though it did not confirm how many of the vessels were Chinese-owned or flagged.

Even as Chinese vessels were allowed to transit the waterway, new reports of Iranian maritime activity emerged Thursday that signaled ongoing tensions. The UK Maritime Trading Organization confirmed that Iranian forces seized a commercial cargo vessel anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah port earlier the same day, a move that underscores the fragile security environment in the region even as major powers negotiate new de-escalation frameworks.

A landmark summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing has delivered a series of tangible commitments from Beijing on agricultural imports, energy purchases and aircraft orders, creating a critical foundation to de-escalate years of mounting trade and security tensions between the world’s two largest economies. The 135-minute one-on-one meeting between the two leaders has also paved the way for a full reset of bilateral relations after a prolonged period of escalating trade disputes, restrictive export controls and sharpening geopolitical disagreements, with Trump formally extending an invitation for Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan to visit the White House on September 24.

Speaking to Fox News on Thursday, Trump outlined the key commitments secured during the talks: Xi has pledged China’s cooperation on the Iran nuclear issue, and agreed to ramp up purchases of American soybeans, crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other U.S. energy exports. Trump also confirmed that China will procure 200 Boeing 737 commercial jets, a major win for the U.S. aerospace manufacturing sector.

A senior anonymous U.S. administration official added further context to the discussions around Iran and energy security, noting that Xi has publicly opposed the militarization of the Strait of Hormuz and any attempt to impose navigation tolls on the critical global energy chokepoint. Xi also signaled China’s interest in expanding imports of U.S. crude oil as a long-term strategy to reduce Beijing’s reliance on energy shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the official said. Both leaders also reached a clear joint position, with the official confirming that “both countries agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed in a Thursday CNBC interview that Beijing has reaffirmed its major existing soybean purchase commitment, a core pledge from the previous 2025 Trump-Xi summit held in Busan, South Korea. “And then soybeans, we have a very large purchase commitment from the Busan agreement for the next three years. So beans are really all taken care of,” Bessent stated. That original agreement, reached during the October 2025 Busan summit, committed China to importing 25 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans annually through 2028.

Global geopolitical shifts have altered the negotiating landscape since early 2026, when U.S. forces captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife in January, followed by Washington’s imposition of a full blockade on commercial shipping to and from Iranian ports in April. Some Chinese policy analysts note that rising Middle East instability and persistent global supply chain disruptions have made Beijing far more receptive to Trump’s request for expanded U.S. energy purchases.

In a separate, unexplained development reported by Reuters on Thursday, China’s General Administration of Customs initially appeared to renew market access licenses for hundreds of U.S. beef exporters, a move that would have restored access for dozens of processing facilities whose permits expired over the past 12 months. However, the agency quickly reversed the change, restoring the “expired” status for those exporters on its public database, leaving the reasons for the sudden reversal unclear.

Beyond trade and agriculture, the summit also produced incremental progress on technology trade. A last-minute stop by Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang to join Trump’s delegation in Alaska en route to Beijing stoked widespread market expectations that the two sides would reach a tentative deal to allow Chinese firms to import and deploy Nvidia’s advanced H200 graphics processing units (GPUs). Reuters later confirmed Thursday that the U.S. Commerce Department has granted export approval for roughly 10 major Chinese technology firms to purchase H200 chips, including e-commerce and technology giants Alibaba, JD.com, Tencent, and ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. U.S. regulators also approved Lenovo and Foxconn to act as authorized distributors for the chips. To date, Nvidia has not shipped any H200 units to China, as Beijing has implemented policies urging domestic technology firms to prioritize locally produced semiconductors over foreign alternatives, and full details on potential future shipment timelines remain undisclosed.

Observers noted ahead of the summit that Trump’s core domestic priorities for the trip were clear: boost sales for U.S. farmers and manufacturers to the Chinese market, giving Republican congressional candidates a strong economic messaging boost ahead of November 2026 midterm elections. Other key U.S. negotiating objectives included pressing Beijing to end imports of Iranian oil, halt shipments of drone components and missile-related materials to Tehran, and secure the release of jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy businessman Jimmy Lai. Media outlets also report that the two governments are scheduled to hold follow-up negotiations to reduce tariffs on roughly $30 billion worth of bilateral trade that is not tied to national security-related sectors.

For Beijing, the summit’s top priority was advancing efforts to rebuild stable China-U.S. ties and prevent the reimposition of sweeping U.S. tariffs scheduled for early November 2026, after a one-year tariff truce between the two sides. Beijing also pushed for the Trump administration to end U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, roll back existing punitive tariffs and loosen restrictive export controls targeting Chinese industries.

During a formal banquet honoring Trump and his visiting delegation, Xi emphasized the global stakes of the bilateral relationship, noting that China-U.S. ties directly shape the well-being of more than 1.7 billion people across the two countries, and impact the interests of all 8 billion people worldwide. Xi urged both sides to shoulder their shared historic responsibility and steer the “giant ship” of China-U.S. relations along a steady, positive course.

Notably, Xi framed China’s national rejuvenation agenda – Beijing’s core policy goal of building a wealthy, globally influential nation by 2049 and achieving cross-strait reunification with Taiwan – as fully compatible with Trump’s signature “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) policy agenda, rather than inherently conflicting.

“The people of China and the U.S. are both great people. Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand. We can help each other succeed and advance the well-being of the whole world,” Xi said in his ceremonial toast.

During the official working meeting, Xi emphasized the centrality of the Taiwan question to long-term bilateral stability, telling Trump: “If the Taiwan issue is handled properly, the bilateral relationship between the U.S. and China will be overall stable. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy.” He added that safeguarding cross-strait peace and stability is the broadest common interest for both sides, stressing that “Taiwan independence” and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water, and urged the U.S. to exercise extreme caution in all actions related to Taiwan. Xi also confirmed that the two leaders had agreed on a new shared vision for building a constructive China-U.S. relationship rooted in strategic stability, saying “I look forward to working together with you to set the course and steer the giant ship of China-U.S. relations, so as to make 2026 a historic, landmark year that opens up a new chapter in China-US relations.”

This new shared vision will provide overarching strategic guidance for bilateral relations over the next three years and beyond, a outcome Xi said should be welcomed by populations of both countries and the broader international community. Reaffirming the core nature of bilateral economic ties, Xi noted that “China-US economic ties are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature. Where disagreements and frictions exist, equal-footed consultation is the only right choice.” He called on both governments to fully implement the consensus reached by the two leaders, expand utilization of existing communication channels across political, diplomatic and military domains, and deepen collaborative exchanges in trade, public health, agriculture, tourism, people-to-people ties and law enforcement.

During the meeting, Xi posed three fundamental questions that frame the long-term future of the bilateral relationship, centered on the concept of the Thucydides Trap – a theory popularized by American political scientist Graham Allison that holds that rising powers almost inevitably go to war with existing dominant powers. The three questions Xi posed were: “Can China and the US overcome the Thucydides Trap and create a new paradigm of major-country relations? Can we meet global challenges together and provide greater stability for the world? Can we build a bright future together for our bilateral relations in the interest of the well-being of the two peoples and the future of humanity?” He added that “These are the questions vital to history, to the world and to the people.”

Cui Hongjian, a professor at the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, explained that in recent years, many U.S. commentators and policymakers have framed U.S.-China rivalry as inevitable, arguing the two countries have already fallen into the Thucydides Trap and are fated to compete for global supremacy. “This pessimistic and negative sentiment not only affected China-US relations, but also affected the international community, raising the sense of insecurity and uncertainty,” Cui said. He added that this latest summit, coming on the heels of the 2025 Busan meeting, demonstrates that both sides are committed to moving the relationship beyond pessimistic zero-sum framing and back toward managed, constructive engagement. “This has resolved a major psychological concern in the international community,” Cui said. “This interaction is expected to reverse that sense of losing control and put the two countries back on a track of reasonably and effectively managing their relationship.”

A bitter public dispute has erupted over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent claim of a secret March meeting with United Arab Emirates leader Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, pitting a prominent Emirati commentator against the Israeli leader while exposing underlying frictions in the Abu Dhabi-Tel Aviv relationship forged by the 2020 Abraham Accords.

The controversy began Wednesday, when Netanyahu’s own office announced that the Israeli prime minister had conducted an unannounced, off-the-books visit to the UAE amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran. The claim was immediately pushed back by the UAE’s foreign ministry, which issued an official statement denying any such meeting ever took place.

In the wake of that official denial, prominent Emirati scholar Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a non-resident fellow at the Washington-based Arab Gulf States Institute, delivered a scathing rebuke of Netanyahu in a post on the social platform X on Thursday. Abdulla labeled Netanyahu a war criminal and the killer of Palestinian children in Gaza, asserting the Israeli leader is completely unwelcome on Emirati soil. He went further, dismissing Netanyahu’s claim of a visit as a fabrication born of a distorted political imagination, arguing the false claim was crafted to advance Netanyahu’s opportunistic domestic electoral goals, given the prime minister’s long track record of misleading public statements.

The UAE foreign ministry’s formal statement stressed that all of the country’s relations with Israel are conducted openly within the framework of the officially recognized Abraham Accords, and do not rely on non-transparent or unofficial back-channel arrangements. The ministry also called on global media outlets to uphold professional standards of accuracy, urging them not to spread unconfirmed information or amplify misleading political narratives.

Despite the official UAE denial, multiple independent and open-source sources appear to corroborate elements of Netanyahu’s claim. Both Israeli and Arab sources told Middle East Eye that the meeting between Netanyahu and Mohammed bin Zayed did indeed take place on March 26 in Al-Ain, an oasis city located along the UAE’s border with Oman. Independent flight tracking evidence also supports this timeline: on March 26, Avi Scharf, open-source intelligence and national security editor for Israeli newspaper Haaretz, posted to social media noting that two Israeli business jets typically used for very important official (VVIP) travel had landed in Al-Ain and returned to Israel just four hours later that same evening. Independent verification of flight data has since confirmed that the two jets traveled from Tel Aviv to Al-Ain, departing Israel in the afternoon and returning the same night.

The dispute over the claimed visit unfolds against a shifting backdrop of security and diplomatic cooperation between the UAE and Israel, which has deepened dramatically since the Abraham Accords were first signed in 2020 under the first Trump administration. The agreement made the UAE the first Gulf Arab state to establish formal diplomatic ties with Israel, and the two countries have since partnered on multiple joint military and intelligence initiatives alongside the United States.

Ties between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv have grown even closer since the U.S. and Israel launched their coordinated military campaign against Iran in late February, but this deepening cooperation has also created new strains. The emerging security partnership has been thrown into sharp relief in recent days by the first on-the-record confirmation of Israeli military assistance to the UAE: U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed Tuesday that Israel has deployed Iron Dome air defense batteries to the UAE, alongside Israeli military personnel to operate the systems, to help the Gulf state defend against Iranian drone and missile attacks. Huckabee framed the deployment as proof of the extraordinary strategic bond between the two countries rooted in the Abraham Accords.

Huckabee’s public confirmation marked the first on-the-record acknowledgment of this Israeli military support, following earlier unconfirmed reports from outlets including Axios, which first reported the Iron Dome deployment last month. The Financial Times later added that Israel has also deployed its advanced Iron Beam laser defense system to the UAE, specifically designed to intercept low-cost drones and short-range missiles.

The deployment of Israeli air defenses comes after Iran launched a massive barrage of retaliatory attacks across the region, following the February U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign against Iranian targets. The UAE was one of the most heavily targeted countries, with Emirati authorities confirming that Iran fired roughly 550 ballistic and cruise missiles and more than 2,200 drones at targets across the country. While the vast majority of these projectiles were intercepted, the attacks have still caused significant damage and disrupted key sectors of the UAE’s economy. The country’s reputation as a stable luxury tourism and global financial hub has also taken a hit. Critical energy infrastructure has been particularly affected: the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company announced this week that the Habshan natural gas processing facility, the UAE’s primary gas plant, will not return to full operational capacity until 2027 after being targeted twice by Iranian attacks. The facility is currently operating at just 60% of its normal output.

The broader regional conflict has also exposed differing approaches among Gulf Arab states to the U.S.-led war on Iran. While most Gulf states opposed the initiation of the conflict, they have largely aligned with their long-standing core security partner the United States since fighting broke out. Saudi Arabia, for example, has provided the U.S. with expanded access to military bases, basing rights and overflight permission, but has also supported mediation efforts led by its close strategic partner Pakistan. By contrast, the UAE has adopted a far more hawkish stance aligned closely with U.S. and Israeli positions in the conflict.