United States (US) President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, have begun their first direct talks since November, amid growing US concern over Beijing’s relationship with Russia and its stance on the increasingly brutal war in Ukraine.Biden and Xi began speaking at 13:00 GMT on Friday, the White House said, amid warnings from Washington that China may be considering providing military support to Russia.

War. Inflation. And now, COVID lockdown deja vu in China.

For Chinese President Xi Jinping, the initial response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brutal war on Ukraine must have seemed a no-brainer.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday the country will "stick with" its zero-COVID strategy, state TV reported, as the world's most populous nation battles its largest outbreak since the early days of the pandemic.The country where the virus emerged in late 2019 has largely kept subsequent outbreaks under control thanks to a combination of strict border controls, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns, and has not reported any coronavirus-related deaths for over a y

A Shanghai pedestrian swarmed by hazmat-clad health officials, police tape wrapped around entire blocks, and panic buying at a Shenzhen shopping centre: China is returning to virus controls many hoped it had long left behind.The country is facing its worst COVID-19 outbreak since the first wave of the pandemic emerged in Wuhan in late 2019.While the daily caseload is comparatively small, around 5,300 were recorded on Tuesday, the Omicron variant is shaking Beijing's "zero-COVID&quot

Tens of millions of people across the country face restrictions, including the entire Jilin province and technology hub Shenzhen, as authorities report record numbers of cases.Toyota, Volkswagen and Apple supplier Foxconn are among the firms affected.The lockdowns have raised concerns that crucial supply chains may be disrupted.China on Tuesday reported a record high of more than 5,000 cases, most of it in Jilin.All 24 million residents of the north-eastern province were placed under quaranti

In terms of geopolitical impact, nothing could be more important than the United States’ (US) shift from strategic cooperation to strategic competition with China.

China, the country where the coronavirus was first detected in 2019, is among the last remaining devotees to a zero-COVID approach to the pandemic.But after two years of virtually closed borders, mass testing, targeted lockdowns and quarantines, the strategy is being stress-tested like never before as cases surge across the country.With millions currently under lockdown, can China's approach hold out against the march of the Omicron variant?What Is Zero-COVID?China essentially closed its

China has sought to keep a diplomatic distance from the war in Ukraine, choosing to abstain in a United Nations (UN) vote condemning Russia's invasion.It is also making concerted efforts to stifle strong views about the conflict on Chinese social-media platforms.It's a fine line to tread.

China placed all 17 million residents in one of its biggest cities under lockdown on Sunday, as virus cases doubled nationwide to nearly 3,400 and anxiety mounted over the resilience of its 'zero-COVID' approach in the face of the worst outbreak in two years.The southern tech hub of Shenzhen told all residents to stay at home as the city struggles to eradicate an Omicron flare-up linked to neighbouring virus-ravaged Hong Kong.The lockdown and a suspension of public transport will la