Beijing

As we approach November 5th, this year’s U.S. presidential election has captivated global interest. Many geopolitical analysts have been repeating, almost monotonously, the familiar claim that these elections are the most critical in the U.S. since 1860.

It seems that some officials in Brussels are nostalgic for Donald Trump, viewing his potential re-election to the White House as a “bitter pill” that could nevertheless drive changes within the European bloc, especially in defense matters.

Beijing said on Tuesday it had lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organization over the European Union's decision to impose hefty tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was welcomed to India on Monday with a flower-filled open-top parade alongside counterpart Narendra Modi, as Madrid seeks to boost investment in the world's fifth-largest economy.

The EU said Friday there were "significant remaining gaps" in negotiations seeking to avoid hefty tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars due to take effect next week but added that talks would continue.

Just before 8 p.m., the hutongs of central Beijing are quiet. We are between the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square during the most important national holiday: The first week of October marked the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan joins the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan Wednesday at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. He will meet with the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

China's central bank on Monday cut two key interest rates to historic lows, in the latest move by Beijing to boost sluggish spending and kickstart the world's second-largest economy.

The cuts come just days after the country posted its slowest quarterly growth in a year and a half, underlining the deep economic woes the country faces.

Greece's Parliament ratified an agreement for aviation services between Greece and China on Thursday.

The agreement had been signed in Beijing on November 3, 2023 by Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Staikouras, who was a member of a delegation by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to China.

China's economy expanded at a slower-than-expected rate of 4.6 percent in the July-September quarter, the government has said.