China downgrades diplomatic ties with Lithuania

The first round of the presidential election in the Maldives will take place on Saturday, September 9. Incumbent Ibrahim Solih is running for re-election against Mohamed Muizzu, who has emerged as the main opposition candidate. The polls are taking place against a backdrop of China and India competing for strategic control of the region. Both are seeking to consolidate their economic and political power by financing large infrastructure projects and are actively supporting rival candidates. Our regional correspondents report.

US President Joe Biden and Vietnamese leader Nguyen Phu Trong have signed a "strategic partnership" on semiconductor manufacturing and rare earth minerals in a bid to counter China's influence in the Asia-Pacific region. We take a closer look. Also, Chevron tries to head off strikes at its Australian LNG plants, and Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour boosts the US hotel industry.

The recent announcement of a US-backed rail and shipping project linking India with the Middle East and Europe is seen as a challenge to Beijing's "Belt and Road Initiative."

Beijing has called a European Commission probe into Chinese electric vehicle subsidies, a "naked protectionist act."

The European auto industry has raised concern about a wave of cheap, new electric vehicles from China hitting the EU market soon. There are calls for imposing punitive tariffs.

China has sharply rejected statements made by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in the United States about Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is due to meet Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev and counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The visit is meant to lay the groundwork for a possible Putin visit to Beijing next month.

Climate change is disrupting China’s tea industry. The country is the world's leading producer of tea leaves, but this year, spring harvests fell by 20%, according to official figures. What’s more, the taste of the national beverage is also changing – the consequences of last summer’s drought. Lou Kisiela, Antoine Morel, Yan Chen and Yena Lee bring us this report from Hangzhou, China.

At least 17 Japanese nationals have been accused of spying under sweeping "espionage" regulations introduced by Beijing in July, leaving companies reluctant to send their staff to China and imperiling local production.

Syrian President Bashar Assad is due to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. China has long provided diplomatic support to Assad's regime, and could play a role in reconstructing war-battered Syria.

Starting on Saturday September 23, China is hosting the Asian Games, a major multi-sport event held every four years between the Olympics. The 19th edition, postponed from last year, brings together some 12,000 athletes from across the continent, competing in 40 sports over two weeks in the eastern city of Hangzhou. For the first time, e-sports are featured as an official medal sport event, with seven golds on offer. But a lot of attention is also focused on what's happening outside the tracks and arenas. FRANCE 24's Oliver Farry tell us more about the geopolitical aspect of the event.

The UN chief has called it an epidemic of coups. In Africa, since 2020, military officers have seized power, or attempted to do so, in numerous sub-Saharan countries. Just in the last two and a half months, soldiers in Gabon announced a takeover of power, while in Niger, members of the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum and announced that they were seizing power.