Volume 20 Issue 5

Iranian Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani (left) meets in Tehran with Song Tao (right), head of the CCP International Liaison Department (July 30, 2019). Larijani used the occasion to comment that "Consultations between Iran and China, and the cooperation of certain friendly countries, can help counter U.S. animosity and neutralize its consequences." (Source: Radio Farda)

Image: Seized illegal animal parts at Hong Kong Customs, January 2019. The bags contain pangolin scales seized from a shipping container originating in Nigeria. Pangolin scales are prized as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine, and pangolin meat is considered a delicacy among some in China and other parts of Asia. (Image source: Quartz)

Image: PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi (center) greets Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (right) as the latter arrived in Beijing for an official visit on February 5. Hun Sen pointedly made the visit even as many other countries were implementing travel restrictions to China, and throughout the visit offered effusive praise for the Chinese government’s response to the COVID-19 epidemic. (Source: China Daily)

Image: PRC Premier Li Keqiang delivering the government’s annual work report at the plenary session of the National People’s Congress in March 2016. In his address, Li vowed that the government would deal “proactively yet prudently” with the problem of zombie firms through measures such as mergers, reorganizations, and managed bankruptcies—steps that have often proven difficult to implement due to the political connections of state-owned enterprises. (Image source: China Daily)