Surprise Blinken-Xi Meeting

Hello again, Global Recap readers! 

🔍 Did you know that China is drilling down one of the deepest holes in the world? They have already started their first borehole to tunnel 10,000 meters beneath the Earth’s crust. Located in the resource-rich Xinjiang, this project is part of China’s national security strategy to source raw materials and energy domestically and reduce foreign dependence.

What are we doing? We can’t fall behind. Let’s also dig into today’s stories! 👇🏻

US & China
Surprise Blinken-Xi Meeting

Here they are - Blinken and Xi Jinping awkwardly shaking hands on Monday, surprising everyone with an unexpected meeting. If you think this translates to breakthroughs in the long list of disagreements between the two nations, you would be very disappointed.

Xi vs Blinken

• Xi stated that the world needs a “generally stable” relationship between the US and China. He also said to Blinken:

(Am I the only one sensing a jab?)

• Blinken addressed the challenges of managing a positive relationship between the two superpowers, while also stressing that the US is an advocate for “de-risking and diversifying” its economic engagement with China.

Meanwhile, China’s foreign ministry blames the US

While this meeting may not look all that terrible, on the same day Xi and Blinken met, China's foreign ministry blamed the US's 'erroneous perception of China' for the difficulties facing the tense relationship between the two nations, in an officially released statement.

So what now?

Other than that, there is not much else known about any progress that resulted from the historic meeting. The meeting lasted around 35 minutes, and it supposedly led to progress on some 'specific issues' - which were not disclosed.

India
Don’t Mess with This Man

🗓️ June 21 is the date. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited by President Biden to visit the US. Naturally, he will lead the International Day of Yoga celebrations, meet President Biden and other top officials, address a joint session of Congress, and interact with the Indian diaspora. We all know the tensions between the two BRICS allies - China & India. Is Biden trying to pry open this long-widening crack?

World
Top of the News World

❌ Ukraine’s dashed hope of getting invited by NATO. NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg disappointed many who had hoped that NATO would finally extend a formal invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July. The reason? Not all members of the alliance were aligned in their opinions. However, leaders will discuss how to move Ukraine closer to NATO. Does this look like strategic stalling, or is it merely a conflict of opinions?

🚀 One failed satellite launch attempt isn’t enough for dictator Kim. Top North Korean officials at a recent ruling party meeting vowed to push for a second attempt, calling the failed launch “the most serious” shortcoming this year and criticizing those responsible. The goal? To acquire a space-based surveillance system to better spy on the US and South Korea. Will they succeed this time?

📱 Hong Kong court strikes down its media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s appeal to a search warrant for his phones. He says the phones contain “protected journalistic materials.” But are we all that surprised by this? After all, it was the CCP-imposed National Security Law, that locked up the founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. How can we expect him to have any decent chance in court? This is not even the first time his case has been thrown out. His previous attempts to block the warrant were twice rejected at the High Court in August and October last year.