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Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in the United States for his first visit in six years, after US President Joe Biden said his goal in their bilateral talks this week was to restore normal communications with Beijing, including military-to-military contacts.

Xi is due to meet Biden near San Francisco on Wednesday morning US time, before attending the annual summit of the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) grouping.

The summit will be their first face-to-face meeting in a year and follows months of high-level meetings to prepare the ground, after tensions between the two countries spiked over issues from trade to human rights and the pandemic.

Speaking ahead of his departure, Biden said his goal was simply to improve the bilateral relationship.

“We’re not trying to decouple from China. What we’re trying to do is change the relationship for the better,” Biden told reporters at the White House before heading to San Francisco.

Asked what he hoped to achieve at the meeting, he said he wanted “to get back on a normal course of corresponding; being able to pick up the phone and talk to one another if there’s a crisis; being able to make sure our [militaries] still have contact with one another”.

Xi waved from the door of his Air China plane before walking down the steps to meet US officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, who were waiting on the tarmac.

He is on his first visit to US since 2017 when he met then president Donald Trump.

China, which regularly talks about “red lines” on issues such as the self-ruled island Taiwan, which it claims as its own and its expansive claims in the South China Sea, has been more circumspect about its expectations for the summit.

A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry mentioned only “in-depth communication” and “major issues concerning world peace” when asked about the meeting this week.

Nevertheless, analysts said the very fact the talks were taking place was significant.

“The importance of the much-expected meeting between President Biden and President Xi in San Francisco cannot be understated, no matter the likely shallowness of the outcomes,” Alicia Garcia Herrero of investment banking group Natixis wrote in an analysis ahead of the summit.

Protests expected

Crowds gathered along the route of Xi’s motorcade to the luxury hotel where the Chinese delegation is staying.

Some held signs that read “End CCP,” the initials of Chinese Communist Party. Another sign read “Warmly Welcome President Xi Jinping” and was stuck to concrete bollards.

Outside the hotel, several hundred Beijing supporters waved US and Chinese flags as they waited and played the patriotic song Ode to the Motherland through loudspeakers

Scuffles broke out with the few anti-Xi protesters who were there, but police quickly intervened to restore calm.

Pro-China and anti-China demonstrators also gathered near the Moscone Center, the venue where many of the APEC meetings were being held. Larger protests, including by rights groups critical of Xi’s policies in Tibet, Hong Kong and towards Muslim Uyghurs, are expected near the summit venue on Wednesday.

Xi and Biden are expected to meet at Filoli Estate, a country house museum about 40km (25 miles) south of San Francisco, the Associated Press news agency reported, citing three senior officials in the US administration who requested anonymity. The venue has not yet been confirmed by the White House and Chinese government.

While economic issues are likely to be high on the agenda of the meeting, including steps to curb the production of the potent synthetic opioid drug fentanyl, increasing geopolitical tensions are likely to dominate discussions.

White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that Biden and Xi would talk about the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza as well as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

While Washington has sought to reset ties with China, it has also signalled that will not be at the expense of key US concerns.

Biden is “not going to be afraid to – to confront where confrontation is needed on issues where we don’t see eye to eye with President Xi and the PRC,” Kirby said, using the initials for the People’s Republic of China.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told APEC ministers that the US believed in “a region where economies are free to choose their own path … where goods, ideas, people flow lawfully and freely”.

Blinken did not mention China by name, but his language echoed US rhetoric in recent years in which Washington has accused China of bullying smaller countries in the Asia Pacific and trying to undermine what the US and its allies call the “rules-based” international order.

Israel has launched an overnight raid on Gaza’s largest medical facility – al Shifa hospital – hours after the US backed claims it was being used by Hamas fighters.

Israeli forces said they entered a “specified area” of the medical complex for a “precise and targeted” operation “against Hamas“.

The raid came hours after the US backed Israel’s claims that the medical facility had been used by Hamas as a base of operations.

Hamas – which flatly denied the claims – blamed US President Joe Biden and his administration for the Israeli raid, saying that the “adopting” of the allegations had effectively given Israel the “green light” to launch the operation.

However, in a statement, the White House said it did not support air strikes on the hospital and that it “did not want to see” a firefight inside the facility.

The White House also urged that patients “must be protected” during the raid.

Israel-Gaza latest: Israeli forces enter al Shifa hospital in ‘targeted operation’

While thousands have fled the hospital since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict, around 650 patients and 500 staff – along with around 2,500 displaced Palestinians – are thought to still be in al Shifa, according to UN estimates.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, said their intelligence put the number of people still inside the facility at around 1,000.

However, he told CNN that Israeli forces were “not overrunning the hospital” and instead were carrying out a targeted operation in a “specific location” of the al Shifa medical complex.

He did not give further details of the “complex” operation, but said it was a “military necessity” based on Israeli and US intelligence.

He also said IDF forces would “perhaps” rescue some of the estimated 240 hostages who were taken into Gaza during Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October.

Israel has repeatedly claimed that al Shifa – a large medical complex in Gaza City – along with other hospitals, have been used as bases by Hamas.

It has previously threatened to target al Shifa and has warned about the potential for the facility to lose its protection under international humanitarian law if used to hide fighters or store weapons.

On Monday, President Biden said that the hospital “must be protected” and said it was his “expectation” that there would be “less intrusive action”.

However, on Tuesday, the White House’s national security council spokesperson, John Kirby, said the US had its own intelligence that showed Hamas were operating out of al Shifa.

Hamas responded to “strongly condemn and reject the claims”. However, hours later, the IDF announced it had launched its “targeted operation” at the hospital.

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In a statement announcing the raid, the IDF said it had “publicly warned time and again that Hamas’ continued military use of the hospital jeopardised its protected status under international law”.

“Yesterday [Monday], the IDF conveyed to the relevant authorities in Gaza once again that all military activities within the hospital must cease within 12 hours,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, they did not.”

The IDF urged any Hamas fighters in the hospital to surrender immediately.

In response, Hamas said it held Israel, President Biden, and his administration, “fully responsible for the repercussions of the occupation army’s storming of the Shifa Medical Complex, and what the medical staff and thousands of displaced people are exposed to, as a result of this brutal crime against a health facility protected by international law”.

The raid came amid claims of a humanitarian crisis at the hospital, which has been encircled by Israeli troops.

Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said 32 patients, including three babies, had died since the hospital’s emergency generator ran out of fuel on Saturday.

On Monday, the ministry released images of about a dozen premature babies wrapped in blankets together on a bed to keep them warm.

Israel’s military said it was working to bring incubators into Gaza and on Tuesday shared an image showing a soldier unloading incubators from a van.

The military did not make it clear if the incubators had been delivered or how they would be powered.

According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, at least 11,255 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its retaliatory strikes after the 7 October attack.

The latest test in contravention of UN sanctions is part of Pyongyang’s ongoing effort to modernise its weaponry.

North Korea has successfully conducted static tests of a new solid-fuel engine for its banned intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM), according to state media.

The country “has developed new-type high-thrust solid-fuel engines for intermediate ballistic missiles again, which are of important strategic significance,” the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Wednesday.

“The test provided a sure guarantee for reliably accelerating the development of the new-type IRBM system,” KCNA said, adding that the tests took place on November 11 and 14.

Military analysts say solid-fuel missiles are easier and safer to operate, and require less logistical support, making them harder to detect than liquid-fuel weapons.

North Korea has carried out a slew of weapons tests in recent years, including its first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and a “new type” of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), as leader Kim Jong Un steps up his efforts to modernise the country’s military. The country is banned from carrying out ballistic missile tests under UN sanctions.

North Korea’s General Missile Bureau said the recent tests were essential for enhancing the strategic offensive capabilities of the military in light of “the grave and unstable security environment facing the country” and the “vicious” collusion of its enemies, KCNA said.

The announcement came as a Russian delegation led by Moscow’s natural resources minister Alexander Kozlov was in Pyongyang to hold talks on issues from trade to economy, science and technology.

The two countries’ growing military cooperation has been a source of concern, with United Nations’s member states enforcing the Korean War armistice saying this week they were concerned that Russia and China were helping North Korea expand its military capabilities by enabling Pyongyang to evade UN sanctions.

The United States has also said North Korea is sending weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine and that Moscow is providing Pyongyang with technical military support.

North Korea is also trying to put a military spy satellite into orbit – an effort at which it has already failed twice – and South Korea has said Moscow is providing it with the space technology to help.

North Korea and Russia have denied any arms deals, although they have promised to deepen military cooperation.

Kim Jong Un travelled to eastern Russia in September where he held a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome and later toured weapons factories as well as the naval base in Vladivostok.

Vegetable trader Afsar Uddin was distraught. He needed to pay nearly 50 percent more to bring a truck of vegetables to his shop in Karwan Bazar, the largest wholesale market for fresh produce in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka.

The ongoing countrywide road-rail-waterway blockade imposed by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies has disrupted the supply chains and significantly pushed up the cost of transport because only a fraction of the trucks and buses have been on the road during the shutdown.

“Just days ago, I needed to pay 15,000 Bangladeshi takas ($136) for a truck to bring vegetables from the countryside to my shop in Dhaka. Now it has become 22,000 takas ($200) as very few truck owners are allowing their vehicles to ferry goods,” said Uddin. This is on the heels of already high inflation in the country, he pointed out.

“If we don’t increase the prices again, we will bear losses. But if we do, then we will end up with unsold, rotten vegetables,” Uddin lamented.

Tailor Samrat Mia, who lives on a daily paycheque by sewing and altering ready-made garments at Dhaka’s New Market, is also frustrated with the lack of business. “We are sitting here for the whole day but no customers. Who would come out to buy and alter pants amidst this political crisis?” he asked. “But we have a family to [take care of] and mouths to feed. Will [politicians] bother?”

Political unrest in Bangladesh is crippling the country’s already shaky economy and hurting small traders like Uddin and Mia, as the opposition parties attempt to push Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to quit ahead of a general election scheduled for January.

BNP and its allies have been demanding the restoration of a caretaker government system to oversee national elections as they believe no free and fair election can take place under Hasina’s regime.

Hasina’s party — the Awami League — has been in power since 2009, and the last two general elections of 2014 and 2018, respectively, were marred with opposition boycotts and allegations of massive vote rigging.

Hasina, the world’s longest-serving female head of a government, is also accused of brutally suppressing the opposition and dissenting voices during this nearly 15-year period.

In 2011, the country’s parliament dissolved the caretaker government, a neutral election-time administration that had successfully conducted at least four elections since the South Asian nation’s democratic transition from military dictatorship in the early 90s. Both the Awami League and BNP came to power twice, alternatively, in those elections.

The BNP’s efforts in the last few years to restore the caretaker government have invited police brutality and thousands of court cases. Now the party and its allies have vowed to step up disruptive events ahead of the national elections and declared a series of nationwide blockades since early November.

But the brunt of this political impasse is ultimately being borne by ordinary Bangladeshis.

Rahul Amin, a travel agency executive, is paying at least 10 times his normal fare to work as there are very few buses, autorickshaws and taxis plying, pushing up prices.

“We have already been struggling hard with rising food prices and inflations for the last year or so. Now this political turmoil is wreaking havoc in the market,” Amin told Al Jazeera. “I understand the opposition’s demand for a free and fair election, but the whole economy will tank if these [blockades] continue.”

Economy in tatters

The escalating political standoff is causing serious concerns for the South Asian economy, which has already been squeezed by the global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Shrinking foreign currency reserves and strong inflationary pressures pushed Hasina’s administration to seek a $4.7bn loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier this year.

At a recent public forum, Abdur Rouf Talukder, the governor of Bangladesh’s central bank, admitted that the country’s economy has hit “rock bottom” and they are navigating “a very strenuous period”.

During the July-September quarter, Bangladesh’s balance-of-payments deficit – its import of commodities, capital and services higher than its exports – increased to $2.8bn. At the same time, its current-account deficit – which occurs when a nation sends more money abroad than it receives – increased to $3.93bn. According to central bank data, foreign currency reserves have fallen to a new low of $20.66bn.

Last month, earnings through exports, the lion’s share of which comes from the ready-made garments (RMG) industry, fell by 13.64 percent to $3.76bn, the lowest in the last 26 months, according to the Export Promotion Bureau.

Inflow of remittances, another important economic lifeline after exports, also fell by 4.4 percent during the last quarter.

Now, the blockades are causing Bangladesh’s economy to lose 65 billion takas ($588m) a day, as per the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), the country’s apex trade body.

“All businesses, small and large, are affected by these blockades,” Mahbubul Alam, president of FBCCI, told Al Jazeera. “We have seen how political violences disrupted the economy for a long period back in 2014 before elections [then]…. The crisis this time will be even bigger.”

Zahid Hussain, former chief economist of the World Bank’s Dhaka office, warned of the same. “The current political impasse is looking similar to 2014 in which the economy suffered damages worth several billion dollars. This time it may hurt more not just because the economy is bigger, but also because the buffers are thin to begin with,” he said.

Hussain, however, said the current economic crisis cannot be attributed to the political impasse only. “[It] has been there for more than 15 months and counting,” he said. While the global shocks have played a role in creating some of these pressures, the country’s monetary, exchange rate, financial and fiscal policy response did not help either, he added.

Since the start of the pandemic, Bangladesh had capped the lending rate at 9 percent for more than three years until this past July. This gave businesses the scope of grabbing funds at real interest rates of nearly zero (borrowing rate minus inflation, which was hovering at around 10 percent).

The central bank’s policy to keep the value of the country’s currency – the taka – artificially inflated also exacerbated inflation.

“Now, a deeper political impasse and violence will add loads of salt to pre-existing injuries,” Hussain said.

Financial analyst Zia Hassan told Al Jazeera that while the political impasse obviously exacerbated economic instability, the roots of the struggle around the balance of payments and dollar reserves can be traced back to deeper structural weaknesses in Bangladesh’s import-dependent, and undiversified economy.

In the fiscal year ending June 2023, Bangladesh imported goods worth $90bn against its export of $55bn – over 80 percent of which came from RMG products.

Bangladesh’s narrow export base, which is solely reliant on RMG products, and over-reliance on remittance inflows, have left it vulnerable to external shocks for many years now, Hassan says.

Need for ‘restoring democracy’

Hassan also attributes the current economic downfall to an oligarchy of political elites entrenched in the Sheikh Hasina regime who have control over banking, bureaucracy and business.

Corruption in the country’s banking sector caused a loss of 100 billion takas ($900m) in the 2016-17 fiscal year, found a study by the South Asian Network on Economic Modelling (SANEM), a Bangladeshi think-tank.

Global Financial Integrity (GFI) data indicates that between 2008 and 2017, Bangladesh lost a staggering $7.53bn – or 17.95 percent of its international trade – per year on average to trade misinvoicing where companies declared a lower value for their imports and exports to pay lower taxes.

This oligarchy, which has been accused of corruption and money laundering, has stymied reforms that threaten their economic interests, Hassan said. “Without a political settlement that restores genuine democracy by dislodging entrenched oligarchic networks, meaningful economic reforms are unlikely to be undertaken or implemented effectively,” he added.

Opposition leaders and activists meanwhile say their ongoing blockades are a part of their quest to break up this oligarchy and “restore democracy” in Bangladesh. “In the last 15 years, the Hasina governments and their beneficiaries have conducted unprecedented corruption. The whole economy is in shambles because of that,” said Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, joint secretary general of BNP.

“Blockades are obviously detrimental to the economy, but if we don’t fight to restore democracy now and allow another sham election, the economy as well as the whole country will be in bigger trouble,” he told Al Jazeera.

Ali Riaz, distinguished professor of politics and government at Illinois State University in the United States, told Al Jazeera that the absence of an inclusive democratic system and pursuing cronyism have led to the economic crisis of Bangladesh.

“The ruling party needs to understand that stubbornness, use of brute force, silencing opposition and machination may provide an aura of invincibility, but they do not deliver a solution to the economic crisis,” he said. Blaming the opposition or the global economy will not put an end to it, he added.

Riaz said the Awami League needs to address the sources of problems – break the hold of a small group of beneficiaries in various sectors. “It is not an easy task,” he said, “and only a new political settlement with popular mandate can deliver this.”

Who: India vs New Zealand
When: Wednesday, November 15, 2pm (08:30 GMT)
Where: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India

India may be the outstanding team at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, but coach Rahul Dravid has warned their semifinal against New Zealand in Mumbai represents the “pointy end in a tournament”.

The hosts go into the match with a perfect played nine, won nine record – the first time any side had achieved such a feat at a World Cup featuring a round-robin format.

“You’re at a pointy end in a tournament now,” Dravid said.

“There is going to be certain amount of pressure but I think the way we have responded to the pressure so far gives us a lot of belief.”

India are well stocked in all departments, with star batter Virat Kohli the tournament’s leading batsman with 594 runs and captain Rohit Sharma not far behind on 503.

India also boast a formidable fast-bowling lineup in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami.

If successful teams are fortunate as well as good, then India certainly had a lucky break when an injury to all-rounder Hardik Pandya paved the way for Shami’s return, with the experienced seamer having since taken 16 wickets in five matches at a stunningly low average of under 10.

In addition, spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav are also capable of taking wickets without being flogged for runs.

Rohit leading by example

Wednesday’s match takes place at Rohit’s Wankhede Stadium home ground, where India bowled out Sri Lanka for just 55 to win by 302 runs in the group stage, with the aggressive 36-year-old opener leading from the front at what could be his last World Cup.

Dravid said Rohit’s batting has “cracked open” games for his team.

“We’ve talked about playing in a particular way. You cannot do that unless your leader really buys in and actually shows by example.”

And yet the fact remains India have been waiting since a 2011 triumph over Sri Lanka in Mumbai to win a third World Cup title, while their last major piece of silverware was the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Rohit said while a semifinal was a high pressure situation, his side were always under intense scrutiny in cricket-crazy India.

“If you are an Indian cricketer, then whatever the format, whatever the tournament, there is always pressure. Because you hear the same voice from everywhere that we have to win the match tomorrow…So, I think in terms of pressure, it becomes mandatory for Indian cricketers.

“There is pressure, but we have tried so hard in all these years to keep that aside and focus more on our game, strategy, and the way we play,” he added.

Before this World Cup, Rohit spoke about having “unfinished business”, with the 36-year-old saying Wednesday: “Now it’s just about business, the pure business of getting the job done for the team.”

‘Everything starts again’

New Zealand, in contrast to India, are in the semifinals despite losing four of their nine group games but will approach the match with a clean slate and confidence in their ability to upstage the in-form hosts.

Williamson, who returned from knee surgery for the World Cup and recovered from a fractured finger during it, is expecting a tough test.

“We know it’s going to be a really tough challenge. They’re a side that’s been playing extremely well, but we also know come finals time everything starts again and it’s all about the day,” Williamson told reporters in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

New Zealand’s proven pace trio of Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson are capable of succeeding against even the strongest batting lineup, with miserly left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner an often under-rated threat.

Runners-up at the last two World Cups, New Zealand also boast a break-out rising star in Rachin Ravindra, with the 23-year-old left-hander having already scored 565 runs.

The son of Indian-born parents, Ravindra is also the first New Zealander to compile three hundreds at a single World Cup, earning rich praise from his captain.

“It’s not just the volume of runs that he’s achieved so far but how he’s been scoring them and how it’s been geared towards trying to move the team forward,” Williamson said.

Williamson, who knows India well from playing in the Indian Premier League, added: “We’re expecting a fairly blue crowd that will be supporting their team.”

Form

There’s not much to be said about India’s form after they have gone unbeaten in a home tournament.

Meanwhile, New Zealand have seen a resurgence after their mid-tournament blip and will look to build on their big win over Sri Lanka.

India: W W W W W

New Zealand: W L L L L

Head-to-head

New Zealand hold a slight edge in their 10 World Cup meetings with India, having won five matches, including the 2019 semifinal. Meanwhile, India have won four, including their last match in Dharamshala last month. One match, at the 2019 World Cup, ended in a no-result due to a washout.

India team news

Barring any last-minute injury concerns, India are certain to field the same team that has taken them to the semifinals.

Predicted XI: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj

New Zealand team news

New Zealand are set to field the same team that beat Sri Lanka in their last group match.

Predicted XI: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (captain), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult