Keir Starmer, the UK Prime Minister, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday in what he hoped would be historic talks to deepen economic ties between the two nations. The meeting, the first visit by a UK leader to China in eight years, occurred amid uncertainty over the reliability of the United States as a partner, according to The Guardian.
Starmer's visit involved heightened security measures. His team was issued burner phones and precautions were taken against potential espionage, a common practice for UK officials visiting China, The Guardian reported. Such security concerns are not new; Theresa May was previously advised to dress under a duvet during her trips to the country.
The Prime Minister's visit comes as South Korea is also navigating its relationship with China while simultaneously pushing forward with its own technological advancements. South Korea has launched what it calls "world-first" laws aimed at regulating artificial intelligence, The Guardian reported. However, these laws have faced pushback from tech startups, who believe they are too restrictive, and civil society groups, who argue they don't go far enough.
Meanwhile, in Latin America, Mexico's President, Claudia Sheinbaum, confirmed the cancellation of an oil shipment to Cuba. She insisted that the decision was a sovereign one and not a response to pressure from the United States, after former President Trump said zero oil would go to Cuba, according to The Guardian. Fuel shortages are causing increasingly severe blackouts in Cuba, and Mexico has been the island's biggest oil supplier since the US blocked shipments.
Venezuela is also looking to China for economic inspiration. There is speculation about whether Delcy Rodríguez, a Sorbonne-educated successor, could become a Latin American Deng Xiaoping, ushering in an era of reform and opening up modeled on China's post-Mao boom, The Guardian reported.
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