XI JinPing of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia are scheduled for an online meeting on Wednesday.
This was revealed by China’s Foreign Affairs Department on December 13, who said the video meeting is coming due to the altercations between the Russian and Ukrainian borders that have managed to raise concerns around the world.
The tensions brewing between the two countries, Ukraine and Russia, has been an issue of concern for a while being among the hottest business news, with the US alongside other G7 leaders discouraging Russia from continuing its aggression towards Ukraine.
Russia and China President to Hold Virtual Meeting
While China is not a member of the G7, the country was at the center of one of its recent discussions as they looked to discuss the economic growth and military rise of the Asian country.
According to available information from the discussion, members of the G7 group are looking to collaborate in their relations with Beijing, however, they want to avoid a situation where they would be viewed as an “anti-China” club.
In Russia, the G7 concerns continue to be on the level of disinformation being spread by the Putin-led country. Members of the group also were mostly in support of President Biden’s plans to warn Russia with the threat of imposing an economic crackdown due to its renewed efforts to annex part of Ukraine.
While Russia and China have maintained a somewhat healthy trading relationship, the Asian country’s position on Russia’s handling of its relationship with Ukraine remains unclear. There have also been reports of the Chinese president reaching out to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky five months ago. Notably, China had imported tons of Russia’s coal following a prolonged coal shortage within its territories.
While those two consulted, President Putin has also had video communications with President Joe Biden urging him against allowing Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
It is widely believed that this was Russia’s condition for it not to invade its eastern neighbor. It should be noted that Ukraine has sought membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for almost two decades now and Russia is against this citing that this would be a direct threat to them. Per the treaty, an attack against one member state is an attack against the entire alliance.
GlobalFoundries Expects Industry to Keep Growing
In another development covered by the international business news outlet, GlobalFoundries has witnessed a booming expansion in the semiconductor industry. GlobalFoundries is an Abu Dhabi-based giant chipmaker. “The semiconductor industry is on track to record exponential growth over the next decade” said the CEO of Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s state investment fund and manager of $240+ billion worth of assets. The CEO also shared his belief that chipmakers are set to play a “vital” role in the global economy.
According to Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the semiconductor industry took the best part of 59 years to become a $500 billion industry. However, its size could double within the next decade.
Other than its role as a sovereign investment fund, Mubadala is also a giant shareholder in GlobalFoundries with a recent $2.6 billion IPO raise. Out of the four foundry businesses in the world, four are Asia-based which positions the continent as a pacesetter in the space.
GlobalFoundries chips are customer-customized as applied in online payments and battery power management touch display drivers among others. The company has three U.S.-based factories in the state of New York and Burlington in Vermont. They also have other factories spread across Germany and Singapore.
It should be noted that the current demand for chips far outstrips its supply, this means that car manufacturers, PC producer, consumer gadgets and mobile phones have been witnessing a drop in their supply for a while now. Experts have posited that this current imbalance could continue till 2023.
