Beijing

Authored by Federico Pieraccini via The Stratgeic Culture Foundation,

Last summer, when the Syrian conflict was near its peak under the Obama administration, China unexpectedly warned it was ready to enter the proxy war when in a stunning announcement, Xinhua reported that Beijing was prepared to side with Syria and Russia, against the US-led alliance, and that Xi and Assad had agreed that the Chinese military will have closer ties with Syria and provide humanitarian aid to the civil war torn nation.

Hayman Capital's Kyle Bass made a brief media appearance today, when he confirmed to Reuters that unlike some other "China tourist bears", he remains staunchly negative on China, saying he is still short the Yuan because problems from China’s credit bubble are "metastasizing."

Demonstrating China's creeping geopolitical dominance, on Monday night Panama’s President Juan Carlos Varela announced that Panama has established diplomatic ties with China while breaking relations with Taiwan in a major victory for Beijing, which continues to lure away the dwindling number of countries that have formal relations with the self-ruled island.

The Trump administration has asked Beijing to impose what would be the first round of sanctions against nearly 10 Chinese companies and individuals that trade with North Korea, part of a strategy to starve, and ultimately shut down, Kim's nuclear program, the WSJ reports.