China has maintained a "strategic partnership" with Ukraine for years, but as Beijing and Moscow deepen ties amid the ongoing war, Kyiv is wondering what this partnership is worth.

This week, tensions between the US and China spiked further after an alleged spy balloon was shot down by Washington. Beijing later said it would firmly defend its interests after President Joe Biden vowed to protect the sovereignty of the United States. China continues to insist the balloon was for civilian purposes and had veered off course.

In November 2022, thousands of young Chinese people took to the streets to protest repeated Covid-19 lockdowns, constant PCR tests and to demand greater freedom. The movement was stifled in a few days and authorities abandoned their strict zero-Covid policy. But if China's youth took the risk to voice their anger, it's because their frustration goes well beyond Covid rules. FRANCE 24's Lou Kisiela, Antoine Morel and Yan Chen report.

John Kirby, the coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council in the White House, met DW correspondent Carolina Chimoy for a talk about what kind of impact the recently downed spy balloon could have on US-Chinese relations.

Manila filed a diplomatic protest against Beijing after an incident in the South China Sea. The US warned that it would defend its ally if Filipino forces were attacked.

While Edward Snowden’s revelations about hacked undersea cables familiarised us with large-scale spying, surveillance satellites date back all the way to the Cold War.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping noted the decades of cooperation between the two countries. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's visit to China comes amid tensions between both countries and Western governments.

Pretoria's Western allies are upset by South Africa hosting upcoming joint naval exercises with Russia and China. Historical ties between Moscow and the ruling ANC may explain President Ramaphosa's stance.

A second parliamentary delegation is in Taipei for what Berlin calls part of a commitment to support democratic countries. Beijing has threatened to use force, which it considers China's territory.

Rights groups have slammed the dialogue, labeling it "meaningless," but the EU says it is important "to have a frank discussion."

The relationship between the U.S. and China has always been characterized by mistrust. The world's two largest economies view each other as rivals, and their latest dispute was ignited by a white balloon that China flew over U.S. territory. The US government says that its Air Force shot down a spy balloon that American media describes as part of a global Chinese surveillance system.

South Africa has begun military exercises with both China and Russia as part of a routine army drill. The joint training has drawn immense criticism from the West, coming nearly one year on from the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.