Congress closes. The Chinese Communist Party concluded its 20th National Congress on Sunday. On the closing day, Xi Jinping was given an unprecedented third term as general secretary. The member lists of the newly elected Central Committee and Politburo Standing Committee were also announced. As the congress came to a close, China’s National Bureau of Statistics released third-quarter economic data, which was supposed to be announced last Tuesday. According to the release, China’s gross domestic product grew 3.9 percent in the third quarter compared with the previous year.
Moscow’s message. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke by phone on Sunday with the defense ministers of Britain, France, Turkey and the United States about the situation in Ukraine. In their conversations, Shoigu accused Ukraine of planning a provocation using a “dirty bomb.” The British Defense Ministry said the defense secretary “refuted these claims and cautioned that such allegations should not be used as a pretext for greater escalation.”
Security pact. Australia and Japan signed on Saturday a new security agreement that covers military, energy, intelligence and cybersecurity cooperation. Under the agreement, which updates a security pact signed 15 years ago, Japan said its Self-Defense Forces will train in northern Australia for the first time. Australia is a key energy and resources supplier for Japan and is seeking to fortify its position in regional export markets. Beijing, meanwhile, said the agreement threatens regional peace.
Russia reaches out. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet on Monday with the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, who is in Moscow on a working visit from Oct. 23-26. They will discuss bilateral cooperation between Russia and the OIC and possible aid for OIC member states in the Middle East and Africa experiencing conflict. Russia continues to look for new partners to diversify its consumer and supplier bases.
Turkey as a gas hub. Iran has unveiled plans to increase natural gas exports to Turkey over the next six months. In a recent meeting between the National Iranian Gas Co. and Turkey’s state-owned BOTAS, the two countries agreed to coordinate on projects relating to gas exports to Turkey. Ankara hopes supplies from Iran will help it become a major hub for natural gas.
Defense talks. The Philippines and Japan held their first military dialogue in three years in Manila on Friday. The Philippines is also participating in the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center Rotation, combat drills testing large-scale combat capabilities, in Hawaii.
New rules. Top Chinese chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp. has asked several American employees in key positions to resign from the company in order to comply with new U.S. export controls. The rules, which require any U.S. citizen or entity to seek permission from the Department of Commerce to provide support to a Chinese plant, have halved the number of candidates for senior chipmaking and toolmaking positions at YMTC.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif is in Riyadh, where he will hold consultations with the Saudi crown prince on strengthening economic cooperation and will attend the Saudi Investment Initiative summit. The two countries are also reviving a major project to build a state-of-the-art deep processing plant and a $12 billion petrochemical complex in Pakistan.
Russian-Uzbek cooperation. Russia’s minister of industry and trade met with Uzbekistan’s president and prime minister in Tashkent. The Russian minister noted the strengthening trade and economic ties between the two countries despite recent challenges.
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