Recently, China announced that it would be restricting chips made by the US firm Micron in its critical infrastructure projects, citing it as a "national security threat". In doing so, Beijing deliberately played the same card frequently used by the United States and its allies concerning its own technologies, most namely Huawei, where unfounded concerns relating to "national security" were used to exclude the telecommunications firm from participating in 5G networks, as well as the US has blacklisted thousands of other Chinese technology companies.

For me personally, the G7 summit is up amongst the most insufferable political events of the year. That's because it is an exclusive club borne out of the United States, motivated by ideology, hegemony and thus, elitism, which it then uses to try and force its agenda on the rest of the world. Although it was originally conceived of the "world's seven largest economies" that is no longer a reality in practice, and it has thus become an "old guard" for how they believe the world ought to be. In the process, the US is attempting to tailor it into a distinctive "Anti-China" grouping.

Laughing stock former British Prime Minister Liz Truss is heading to Taiwan on Tuesday, where of course she will seek to make a number of provocative comments against China. Truss, who is the shortest serving Prime Minister in the country's history, was forced to resign after just little more than a month in office following a disastrous "mini-budget" which decimated the British pound and provoked a financial crisis.

From Friday to Sunday, I was privileged to travel to Beijing. The trip marked my first visit to Mainland China in three years, with the country having been closed to the outside world owing to the impact of the covid-19 pandemic. My last time in China was in fact from January 3rd-5th 2020, in Shanghai, just one day before the virus's discovery was revealed to the outside world. As such, this was an important trip for me because I had waited so long for this moment, which gave me an opportunity to see how the country had changed.

The past four years have been an immensely difficult period for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In 2019, the city was struck with violent riots, which were openly backed by US politicians and the Western media. The unrest plunged the city into a state of disorder, and led to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress enacting the National Security Law for Hong Kong (NSL), according to the requirements of the Basic Law. On top of this, the city then faced the COVID-19 pandemic.

China's relations with Canada are in freefall, although that itself is hardly anything new. Following interference in the country's politics by US military-industrial complex funded think tank, CSIS, a Chinese diplomat has been "accused" (without due evidence) of intimidating Canadian Conservative MP Michael Chong, for previously having sponsored a motion concerning the Xinjiang region. Following a media firestorm, Canada's foreign ministry then announced on Monday night that they had expelled Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei from the country.

On Saturday Charles III and his Consort, Camilla, were officially crowned as King and Queen of the United Kingdom in a splendour display at Westminster Abbey. The event was arguably a historic moment as it was the first of its kind in Britain to take place in the 21st century and in a modern context, and the first of course in 70 years following the reign of Elizabeth II. The broadcast was watched by a peak of 20 million people in the UK, just under a third of the population, but nonetheless less that of Elizabeth's funeral last year.

Having spent the Labour Day Holiday weekend in Hong Kong, the number of tourists I seen from mainland China was astronomical. Some popular attractions, such as the Victoria Peak Tram, became very lengthy waits as lines spanned as long as one hour, where vocal Mandarin could only be heard at the absence of any Cantonese. Similarly, hotel availability was scarce, as well as restaurants bustling. At a traditional restaurant in Kowloon, I watched how entire families congregated at round spanning tables to spend time together.

The past four years in Hong Kong have been a very difficult experience for those who live in the city. First, not only was the territory swept by violent riots and protests, deliberately promoted, and encouraged by foreign forces, leading to the implementation of the National Security Law (NSL), but it also had to simultaneously face the covid-19 pandemic which restricted access to the city and disrupted everyday life up until just recently.

On Saturday I visited a mini-museum in Seoul themed on the island of Dokdo, a small series of rocks and cliffs which Korea has fiercely defended its national sovereignty over amidst its territorial dispute with Japan. I was vaguely surprised that the museum had been allowed to continue to exist, especially seen as the foreign policy of the Yoon Seok Yeol presidency is now to improve ties with Japan and effectively brush historical disputes between the two countries under the carpet.

On Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will make a keynote speech concerning the country's relations with China, where he is expected to say, "isolating China would be 'betrayal of our national interest" and speak out against a "new cold war", as well as rejecting terms which "generalize" the country, such as "adversary" or "competitor". Similarly, the address is expected to condemn China's "authoritarianism", particularly with reference to Hong Kong and Xinjiang, and ask Beijing to "adhere to its international obligations".

The news broke in the US last night that two middle-aged Chinese men had been arrested in New York City for operating a "Secret Chinese Police Station". These so-called "Police Stations" have been a regular anti-China meme appearing throughout the media, alleging that the Chinese state is operating these covert entities which are then used to oppress dissidents or "monitor" the local community.

Last week, the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made an official visit to Beijing to meet with his counterpart Xi Jinping, where he pledged to "change world governance" together, working with China. The two countries signed a litany of agreements, including on environment, technology, manufacturing, and currency, as well as setting out their own peace proposals to end the war in Ukraine. Lula, very much known for his left-wing stance, praised the "extraordinary" relationship with China, turning away from previous President Bolsonaro's pro-US stance.

In 1956, revolutionary Arabist leader Gamal Abdel Nasser forcefully nationalized the Suez Canal. The Canal, a legacy of British Imperialism and colonialism, had been built across the strait of land between the Sinai Peninsula and mainland Africa, creating a strategic waterway which connected the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, and as such bypassing Africa itself. British ownership of the Suez Canal company which maintained it, as part of its dominion over Egypt, was, therefore, a keystone in its power over multiple regions of the world.

Advocating European "strategic autonomy", Macron said that France needs to "lessen its dependence upon the US", avoid getting "caught up in crises that are not ours" and only being "America's followers".