#Rally de Argentina

[crosscountryrally]

Luciano Benavides gana la Etapa 2 del Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Adrien van Beveren toma el liderato de la general

El piloto argentino Luciano Benavides sigue prendido en el inicio de la temporada del Mundial de Rally Raid FIM W2RC y después de ganar tres etapas en el Dakar 2023, consiguió su primer éxito del Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge al ganar la Etapa 2 de este evento en Emiratos Árabes. Luciano marcó un tiempo de 3 horas y 24 minutos para los 257 kilómetros de dunas que tuvo el día. Con ello superó por 1 minuto y 17 segundos a Nacho Cornejo y 1 minuto y 44 segundos a Skyler Howes. 

“Hoy fue un día muy agradable. Las dunas eran más lentas, más técnicas, pero así es como lo prefiero. El día fue agotador y el terreno demostró ser realmente físico, especialmente porque estaba presionando mucho de principio a fin. Sin embargo, todo valió la pena y pude obtener mi primera victoria de etapa de la carrera de este año. Mi ritmo fue bueno hoy y mi confianza es alta. Mañana abriré la pista, así que espero poder hacer un buen trabajo sin perder demasiado tiempo con los que están detrás. Descansaré un poco ahora y lo daré todo de nuevo mañana” declaró Luciano Benavides en el bivouac.

Con un quinto lugar, Adrien van Beveren es el nuevo líder de la general. El piloto francés tomó la tarea de abrir ruta temprano en el día y fue el que más bonificaciones acumuló en el día, lo que sin dudas lo apoyó a conseguir la posición de privilegio por delante de Pablo Quintanilla, que terminó noveno. Van Beveren tiene una ventaja de 1 minuto y 30 segundos sobre Quintanilla con Luciano Benavides tercero a 3:27. Después de dos sólidos días, Nacho Cornejo ha escalado a la cuarta posición de la general a 3 minutos y 28 segundos. Un segundo fue suficiente para que Benavides privara a Honda de un perfecto podio provisional.

Mañana están programados 266 kilómetros en rulo en torno a Qasr Al Sarab.

Clasificación General (Etapa 2 de 5)

Adrien van Beveren (Honda) 7:10:30

Pablo Quintanilla (Honda) +1:30

Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna) +3:27

Nacho Cornejo (Honda) +3:28

Ross Branch (Hero) +3:54

Toby Price (KTM) +3:59

Ricky Brabec (Honda) +5:07

Skyler Howes (Husqvarna) +5:49

Mason Klein (KTM) +11:30

Paolo Lucci (KTM) +28:55

Imagen: Prensa Husqvarna Motorcycles

[reasonsforhope]

— Recent giant anteater sightings in Rio Grande do Sul state indicate the species has returned to southern Brazil, where it had been considered extinct for more than a century.

— Experts concluded that the giant anteater ventured across the border from the Iberá Park in northeastern Argentina where a rewilding project has released around 110 individuals back into the habitat.

— The sightings emphasize the importance of rewilding projects, both to restore animal populations in specific regions and help ecosystems farther afield.

— Organizations across Brazil are working to protect and maintain current giant anteater populations, including rallying for safer highways to prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions that cause local extinctions.

Playing back hours of footage from a camera trap set in Espinilho State Park in the south of Brazil in August 2023, Fábio Mazim and his team banked on possible sightings of the maned wolf or the Pantanal deer and had their fingers crossed for a glimpse of a Pampas cat (Leopardus pajeros), one of the most threatened felines in the world.

What they didn’t expect to see was an animal long presumed extinct in the region. To their surprise, the unmistakable long snout and bushy tail of a giant anteater ambled into shot.

"We shouted and cried when we saw it,” the ecologist from the nonprofit Pró-Carnívoros Institute told Mongabay. “It took a few days to grasp the importance of this record. A sighting of a giant anteater was never, ever expected.”

Last seen alive in the southwest of the Rio Grande do Sul state in 1890, the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) has since been spotted 11 times since August 2023, although the scientists are unsure whether it’s the same one or different individuals. However, the sightings confirm one clear fact: The giant anteater is back.

It's a huge win for the environment. Giant anteaters play an important role in their ecosystems, helping to control insect numbers, create watering holes through digging and are prey for big cats such as jaguars and pumas.

The habitat of the giant anteater stretches from Central America toward the south cone of Latin America.

Its conservation status is “vulnerable,” although it is considered extinct in several countries, including El Salvador, Guatemala and Uruguay, as well as specific regions such as the states of Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo, Santa Catarina and (until now) Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil and the Cordoba and Entre Rios regions in Argentina.

‍In the last six months, the giant anteater was spotted on camera 11 times in the Espinilho State Park in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. It was the first time in 130 years that the species has been seen alive there.

Yet not only is it a triumph for conservationists to see these animals returning to Brazilian biomes, it’s also a surprising mark of success for a rewilding program about 150 kilometers (93 miles) away in neighboring Argentina.

‍Rewilding Argentina’s biomes

‍Iberá National Park in Corrientes province in northeastern Argentina is a 758,000-hectare (1.9 million-acre) expanse of protected land comprising a part of the Iberá wetlands with its swaths of grasslands, marshes, lagoons and forests. The region was once home to just a handful of giant anteaters after habitat loss, hunting and vehicle collisions decimated the population.

Since 2007, the NGO Rewilding Argentina, an offspring of the nonprofit Tompkins Conservation, has been reintroducing the species back to the area, most individuals being orphaned pups rescued from vehicle collisions or poaching.

So far, they have released 110 giant anteaters back into the wild. Nowadays, several generations inhabit the park, transforming it from “a place of massive defaunation to abundance,” Sebastián Di Martino, director of conservation for Rewilding Argentina, was quoted as saying in an official statement.

The project has been so successful that the giant anteaters appear to be venturing farther afield and moving to new territories beyond national borders, such as Espinilho State Park in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul region...

Experts now hope that a giant anteater population can reestablish itself naturally in Espinilho State Park without the need for human intervention.

“The giant anteater returning to Rio Grande do Sul shows the success of the work done in Argentina and how it’s viable, possible and important to do rewilding and fauna reintroduction projects,” Mazim said. “It is also an indication that the management of conservation units and also the agricultural areas of the ecosystems are working,” he added. “Because if large mammals are coming from one region and settling in another, it is because there is a support capacity for them. It is an indication of the health of the environment.”

-via GoodGoodGood, via May 25, 2024

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Uh oh… Am I next?

Former U.S. President Donald Trump, running for the presidency once more, was the victim of an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last weekend. He escaped with a wounded right ear, and has later publicly appeared with it bandaged. 

Such violence is not unique to the U.S., though. Over the last couple of years, we have seen several, equally risky occurrences, including the assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, and attempts to assassinate former Argentina VP Cristina Kirchner, and Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo and his running mate Karin Herrera. 

It doesn’t end there. In fact, it gets worse. Within the first half of 2024, Brazil has recorded 187 episodes of political violence. Notably, in the past, many political figures of high influence have suffered serious violence. You no doubt remember the life-threatening stabbing of former President Jair Bolsonaro during a 2018 campaign rally. And Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman Marielle Franco was assassinated in 2018.

Continue reading.

[orfeolookback]

¡Hola!

¿Hay recursos que recomiendes para leer y aprender más sobre que esta occuriendo en argentina? He leido su post de fascismo en su país, y, como un estadounidense, quiero ayudar, pero no sé exactamente qué esta occuriendo en más detalle o qué puedo hacer para ayudar.

(puede responder en ingles o español, este mensaje es en español porque trato communicar más en español, lo siento si hay errores)

I'll answer in English since the post was in English. Thank you for reaching out!

Unlike many other crisis, we don't have a place for donations. You can help by organizing in your own country, being anti-capitalist and making sure the right doesn't spread elsewhere. If you live in the USA you can join strikes, rallies and protests, and anti fascist groups locally. Unionize. Demand rights. Reject US intervention. When Musk buys shit, boycott him, organize against him. Support Indigenous people's fight for Land Back and make sure no billionaire buys their land In your own country first. When you hear the people in power talking about Argentina (or any country!) as 'an important asset' make sure there's outrage.

I won't share sources that are easily digestible. If you really want to be educated, you can read about Operación Cóndor, read The Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano, watch 1985 (a movie about the last dictatorship's aftermath) and read through the comments of my post, lots of people linked articles. Most sources will be in Spanish.

If you really REALLY want to immediately support Argentina financially, support Argentinian businesses. If you commission artists often, consider us. If there's an Argentinian band you like, buy their stuff. I won't pretend like this will do much but a single dollar is 1000 Argentinian pesos, so you might change someone's month just with 10 dollars. I make a living through my art, personally.

Thank you for the interest, have a nice weekend

[automundoarg]

Carlos Sainz ausente del Desafío Ruta 40

Pese a que pelea por el campeonato, desistió correr en la prueba que se realizará por caminos de las provincias de Córdoba, La Rioja y San Juan.

El español Carlos Sainz, último ganador del Rally Dakar, confirmó que no estará presente en el Desafío Ruta 40, cuarta fecha del Mundial de Rally Raid (W2RC) que se realizará del 1 al 7 de junio en la Argentina. La ausencia del Matador de la prueba que se realizará por caminos de las provincias de Córdoba, La Rioja y San Juan lo dejan prácticamente fuera de la lucha por el título. Sainz comenzó…

[piquira]

Young fans really don’t know shit lol. Pique is nothing compared to the de la Rua stuff. If Antonio’s father being president when an entire country’s economy collapsed (and people literally died in the resulting rioting) did nothing to ruin her popularity in Argentina and Latin America generally than nothing is going to touch her. When she and Antonio first got together there was a huge feeding frenzy in the Latin American press. They were like Barbie and Ken. In any case, she’s as popular as ever in Spain, even with the tax garbage and the nasty breakup. Three #1 songs in a row.

For real!! I can’t say I followed in real time when the whole Argentina drama unfolded, but I remember watching a documentary where they discussed everything that went down, and the backlash was way more intense and dramatic during that time. Especially because Shakira’s career wasn’t completely solidified and most importantly, the drama revolved around politics. DLR president was exiled from the country and Shakira was rumored to have helped the family escape (my memory may be wrong here sorry) and so a lot of Argentina media outlets were pushing to boycott Shakira’s music at the time as a protest. Her fans rallied for her and supported her all the way, but the backlash from the media at the time was no joke. Looking back, it really could have damaged her reputation and career in Argentina, but luckily it didn’t. The debate on whether she should stop singing about her ex now, is baby drama compared to what she went through during the exile of her ex father in law😂. If anything, the consistent reports over the tax scandal is way more damaging to her reputation than any criticism of the session 53, petty tiktoks, etc. But here she is, stronger and more popular than ever so 💁🏼‍♀️

[motorsportverso]

WRC terá etapa no Paraguai em 2025

O WRC anunciou ontem que vai ter etapa na américa do Sul no Paraguai , substituindo o Chile, com datas a ser ainda anunciadas junto com o calendário completo, o Paraguai que teve o rally Dakar em 2017 , que também tem o piloto Diego Domingues no WRC 3 e JWRC em temporada completa. O país é o quarto país a sediar o WRC na America do Sul, já que tivemos etapas do WRC no Brasil entre 1981-82, quem sabe em futuro o WRC retorne ao Brasil, além da Argentina e o próprio Chile.

Quando o Chile foi escolhido em 2019 , a organização do rally de Erechim , a Ace , organizou toda a papelada e documentação para tentar trazer o mundial de rally ao Brasil novamente , más faltou a parte financeira de patrocínio para sair do papel.

[reporteambiental]

Los rallyes, aunque emocionantes, tienen un impacto ambiental significativo. Erosión del suelo, contaminación del aire y agua, y alteración de ecosistemas son algunos efectos. Medidas sostenibles son esenciales para mitigar estos daños y proteger el medio ambiente.

[rogerarroyave]

Rally de optimismo en Argentina

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 2.20 (before 1940)

1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated. 1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark. 1521 – Juan Ponce de León sets out from Spain for Florida with about 200 prospective colonists. 1547 – Edward VI of England is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey. 1685 – René-Robert Cavelier establishes Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France's claim to Texas. 1792 – The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by United States President George Washington. 1798 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier removes Pope Pius VI from power. 1813 – Manuel Belgrano defeats the royalist army of Pío de Tristán during the Battle of Salta. 1816 – Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville premieres at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. 1824 – William Buckland formally announces the name Megalosaurus, the first scientifically validly named non-avian dinosaur species. 1835 – The 1835 Concepción earthquake destroys Concepción, Chile. 1846 – Polish insurgents lead an uprising in Kraków to incite a fight for national independence. 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Olustee: The largest battle fought in Florida during the war. 1865 – End of the Uruguayan War, with a peace agreement between President Tomás Villalba and rebel leader Venancio Flores, setting the scene for the destructive War of the Triple Alliance. 1872 – The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City. 1877 – Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake receives its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. 1901 – The legislature of Hawaii Territory convenes for the first time. 1905 – The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of Massachusetts's mandatory smallpox vaccination program in Jacobson v. Massachusetts. 1909 – Publication of the Futurist Manifesto in the French journal Le Figaro. 1913 – King O'Malley drives in the first survey peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra. 1920 – An earthquake kills between 114 and 130 in Georgia and heavily damages the town of Gori. 1931 – The U.S. Congress approves the construction of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge by the state of California. 1931 – An anarchist uprising in Encarnación, Paraguay briefly transforms the city into a revolutionary commune. 1933 – The U.S. Congress approves the Blaine Act to repeal federal Prohibition in the United States, sending the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution to state ratifying conventions for approval. 1933 – Adolf Hitler secretly meets with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the Nazi Party's upcoming election campaign. 1935 – Caroline Mikkelsen becomes the first woman to set foot in Antarctica. 1939 – Madison Square Garden Nazi rally: The largest ever pro-Nazi rally in United States history is convened in Madison Square Garden, New York City, with 20,000 members and sympathizers of the German American Bund present.

[lavozdelquequen893]

Manuel Andújar ganó por segunda vez el Dakar en cuatriciclos Manuel Andújar ganó por segunda vez el Dakar en cuatriciclos El piloto argentino Manuel Andújar (Yamaha) se consagró campeón del Rally Dakar 2024 en Arabia Saudita y logró su segundo título personal, luego de ingresar como escolta del francés Alexandre Giroud (Yamaha) en la última etapa realizada este viernes en la ciudad de Yanbu. El bonaerense, también ganador de la edición 2021, cubrió el recorrido total de la prueba, unos 7.891 kilómetros (4.727 cronometrados), con un tiempo acumulado de 64 horas, 16 minutos, 53 segundos. Finalizó con una diferencia de 7m.59s. sobre el francés Giroud, que buscaba su tercera coronación consecutiva después de lograr el trofeo en 2022 y 2023. El podio de la división quads lo completó el eslovaco Juraj Varga (Yamaha). Giroud se impuso en seis de las doce etapas del Dakar 2024 pero no le alcanzó ante la regularidad del argentino, quien se clasificó entre los tres primeros de cada día y administró con una estrategia perfecta la distancia conseguida. Con emoción por su logro, después de abandonar en las últimas dos ediciones, el argentino envió un mensaje a quienes "dicen que la categoría de los cuatriciclos está desapareciendo", sin reparar que "fue la más competitiva este año", pese a terminar con sólo siete participantes sobre los terrenos árabes. Andújar, de 27 años, aportó la octava estrella en la categoría que tiene a Argentina como país más ganador. Las seis anteriores fueron logradas por Marcos Patronelli en 2010, 2013 y 2016; su hermano Alejandro en 2011 y 2012 y Nicolás Cavigliasso en 2019. En la categorías motos, el argentino Kevin Benavides (Red Bull KTM) ganó el último parcial y finalizó cuarto en la clasificación general, detrás del nuevo campeón, el estadounidense Ricky Brabec (Honda), el botsuano Ross Branch (Hero) y el francés Adrien van Bereven (Honda). El salteño, consagrado en 2021 y 2023, lideró la última etapa con un tiempo de 1h.48m.40s. para completar los 328 kilómetros (175 cronometrados), por delante del australiano Toby Price (Red Bull KTM) y su hermano Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna), quien completó el podio, dos puestos por arriba del riojano Diego Gamaliel Llanos (KTM). Luciano finalizó en el séptimo lugar de la general y no pudo descontar la desventaja que tenía respecto de Price para igualar sus mejores actuaciones históricas en la carrera: dos sextos puestos logrados en 2020 y 2023. Por otra parte, el español Carlos Sainz (Audi) no dio lugar a la sorpresa y firmó por cuarta vez su coronación en el Dakar, que había quedado como un simple trámite el jueves, después del retraso del francés Sebastien Loeb (Prodrive). "Estoy muy contento por ganar, especilamente con este coche tan especial, tan complicado de poner a punto, con tanta gente que no creía en él y en el último intento de la marca (dejará de competir en el Dakar)", destacó Sainz, en el pasado campeón con Volkswagen, Peugeot y Mini. "Si estoy aquí a mi edad, todavía a este nivel, es porque trabajé duro antes y no he dejado de creer en mí mismo. No ha sucedido así porque sí. Voy a saborear esta victoria y a pensar en los próximos pasos de mi carrera durante las semanas que viene", adelantó. El madrileño, de 61 años, repitió la gesta de 2010, 2018 y 2020, esta vez escoltado por el belga Guillaume de Mevius (Toyota) y el propio Loeb, que venció en el segmento de este viernes y aseguró su presencia en el último escalón del podio. El argentino Juan Cruz Yacopini (Toyota), décimo este viernes, terminó el rally más exigente del mundo en el 28° puesto del clasificador global.

[crosscountryrally]

David Zille gana la Etapa 9 del Dakar 2023, Lucas del Río fue el mejor chileno en T3 con la P12 mientras que Chaleco López y Casale mantienen sus posiciones en la general

Un logro histórico para David Zille y Sebastián Cesana en el Dakar 2023, al conseguir su primera victoria de etapa en este rally y la primera victoria de un argentino en esta clase que surgió en 2021 (Larrauri ganó en SSV en 2018 y González Ferioli apenas un día atrás en T4). La dupla demostró que estaba para grandes cosas en este Dakar pese a un sorpresivo accidente con Marek Gozcal en la Etapa 4 cuando ocupaban un puesto en el Top 10. Zille gana el día por apenas 2 segundos sobre Guillaume de Mevius, que logra una mayor ventaja en la general.

En un día marcado por el barro y el agua además de algunas secciones de dunas que pillaron desprevenidos a punteros en autos y motos, fue un día desafiante para Chaleco López y Juan Pablo Latrach que sufrieron un problema con el turbo de su Can-Am y perdieron potencia, lo que los obligó a reparar. La dupla chilena termina P15 a 15 minutos y 35 segundos de Zille y se mantiene cuarto en la general, aunque cede algo de diferencia con el podio.

Ignacio Casale y Álvaro León tuvieron un día pesado en la ruta perdiendo 45 minutos en la Etapa. La dupla de X-Raid Yamaha mantiene la P10 general pero mañana deberá arrancar P27 y detrás probablemente de algunos camiones, autos y T4 más lentos.

Lucas del Río y Bruno Jacomy volvieron a reengancharse y están aprovechando a fondo su última oportunidad de seguir en carrera. Hoy consiguieron ser la mejor dupla formada por un chileno terminando P12 a 12 minutos de Zille. En un día que también fue muy desafiante por el agua y el barro, sin dudas también muestra que este equipo estaba para pelear más arriba con algo de suerte en los fierros.

Clasificación General - Etapa 9 de 14

Guillaume de Mevius (OT3)  39:41:11

Austin Jones (Can-Am) +12:43

Seth Quintero (Can-Am) +1:13:12

Chaleco López (Can-Am) +2:46:24

Cristina Gutiérrez (Can-Am) +3:19:13

Saleh Alsaif (Can-Am) +4:00:27

Ebenhazer Basson (OT3) +4:27:35

Santi Navarro (Can-Am) +5:11:09

Hans Weijs (Arcane) +5:57:10

Ignacio Casale (Yamaha) +7:34:05

Imágenes: Lucas del Río / Red Bull Content Pool

[wikiuntamed]

Five steps of Wikipedia for Saturday, 9th December 2023

Welcome, dobrodošli, ողջու՜յն (voġčuyn), välkommen 🤗 Five steps of Wikipedia from "Gennaro Giametta" to ""900", Cahiers d'Italie et d'Europe". 🪜👣

Start page 👣🏁: Gennaro Giametta "Gennaro Giametta (Frattamaggiore, 4 August 1867 - 8 February 1938) was an Italian painter. He worked under Pasquale Pontecorvo and Arnaldo De Lisio. He eventually moved to Buenos Aires in Argentina to work for many years. He then returned to Italy and entered politics...."

Step 1️⃣ 👣: Frattamaggiore "Frattamaggiore (locally also known as Fratta) is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, Italy. It is located 15 km (9.3 mi) north of Naples and 15 km (9.3 mi) southwest of Caserta. It was awarded the title of "City of art" in 2008 and named Benedictine city in 1997. It is located in..."

Image by Umberto Basilica at Italian Wikipedia

Step 2️⃣ 👣: Anacapri "Anacapri (Italian: [anaˈkaːpri]) is a comune on the island of Capri, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy. Anacapri is located higher on the island than Capri (about 150 m (490 ft) higher on average)—the Ancient Greek prefix ana- meaning "up" or "above". Administratively, it maintains a..."

Image licensed under CC BY 3.0? by Elenagm

Step 3️⃣ 👣: Blue Grotto (Capri) "The Blue Grotto (Italian: Grotta Azzurra) is a sea cave on the coast of the island of Capri, southern Italy. Sunlight shining through an underwater cavity is reflected back upward through the seawater below the cavern, giving the water a blue glow that illuminates the cavern. The cave extends some..."

Image licensed under CC BY 3.0? by Frédéric de Goldschmidt www.frederic.net

Step 4️⃣ 👣: Alberto Moravia "Alberto Moravia (US: moh-RAH-vee-ə, -⁠RAY-, Italian: [alˈbɛrto moˈraːvja]; born Alberto Pincherle Italian: [ˈpiŋkerle]; 28 November 1907 – 26 September 1990) was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation and existentialism. Moravia is..."

Image licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0? by Paolo Monti

Step 5️⃣ 👣: "900", Cahiers d'Italie et d'Europe ""900", Cahiers d'Italie et d'Europe was an Italian magazine published for the first time in November 1926, directed by Massimo Bontempelli with Curzio Malaparte as co-director. Beginning as an internationalist publication, after some numbers it dramatically changed its editorial line, rallying to..."

[cricketfun]

New Zealand All Blacks beat Ireland, results, latest news, highlights, Argentina beat Wales in Marseille By Jerome Pugmire14 Oct 2023 21:05New Z... #usa #uk

[xtruss]

World: The West Isn't Buying Into China's Year of Diplomacy

Chinese President Xi Jinping at a press conference in Shaanxi, on May 19, 2023. A new poll indicates that the West does not believe that China is contributing to Global Security. Florence Lo/Pool/AFP Via Getty Images

Western nations increasingly see China as an interventionist power that is not improving global security, according to recent polling, as Beijing struggles to square its desired peacemaker image with the political realities of its expanding global influence.

The Pew Research Center conducted a 30,000-person survey across 24 nations between February and May and found that people living in European, North American and Indo-Pacific democracies are particularly wary of China's influence. The sentiment was less strong, though still present, among African and South American respondents.

A median of 71 percent of the 30,000 people polled felt that China does not contribute either much or at all to international peace and stability, versus 23 percent who felt China does. Americans (80 percent), Dutch (86 percent), British (80 percent), Germans (80 percent), and French (75 percent) were among those who felt most strongly that Beijing is a negative influence on global affairs.

Democratic Indo-Pacific nations emphatically agreed, with 87 percent of South Koreans, 85 percent of Australians, and 85 percent of Japanese feeling the same.

The list of nations—the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland and South Africa, and Australia—is dominated by Western liberal democracies, with inherent ideological tensions likely somewhat explaining the negative views of Chinese foreign influence.

But only in Indonesia, Kenya and Nigeria did a majority of respondents say Beijing contributes either a fair amount or a great deal to international peace and stability.

Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry via email for comment.

China—already considered by many an economic and technological superpower—is still shaping its military and diplomatic clout abroad. Major decades-long investment in the former is openly intended to eventually challenge American hegemony, but on the diplomatic battlefield, Beijing is following a less publicly combative path.

Among the salient diplomatic issues that have helped shape global opinions of China this year are one striking success and one ongoing failure.

The former was the landmark Iran-Saudi Arabia normalization deal signed in April, in which China unexpectedly brokered a détente few thought likely given the deep and historic animosity between the Middle East's power players.

But China's unconvincing neutrality regarding Russia's war on Ukraine has somewhat eroded global trust in Beijing, particularly among the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific nations rallying to Kyiv's cause. China's de facto backing for Russia has undermined its continued calls for peace and the anemic peace plan it proposed in March.

North vs. South

Larger issues involving China—among them the fate of Taiwan, the situation in the South China Sea, lingering frustrations about the pandemic, the brewing showdown with the U.S., human rights, and concerns about political interference—have "completely dwarfed" Beijing's diplomatic efforts, Andrew Small, a senior transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund, told Newsweek.

"Publics have evidently not seen either the Saudi-Iranian deal as particularly significant or the Chinese efforts on Ukraine as particularly credible," Small said.

Small noted Beijing will not necessarily be too concerned with continued Western skepticism.

"In one sense, the argument for what China has been trying to do on Ukraine and in some of these other efforts was positioning in the 'Global South,'" he said. "The view on their side had been that no one in Europe is going to take this seriously, but they are able to position themselves through this in the Global South as an actor that approaches these issues in a neutral way."

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and China's President Xi Jinping deliver a joint statement in Moscow, on March 21, 2023. China's de facto support of Russia's war on Ukraine has angered Western nations. Mikhail Tereshchenko/Sputnik/AFP Via Getty Images

But the poll's findings also suggest that Beijing's self-framing might not be playing out as it hoped. A median of 57 percent of those surveyed said they felt China interferes in other countries affairs either a fair amount or a great deal.

The sentiment was most notable in Europe, where a majority of national respondents excluding Hungarians agreed, as well as in North America. A majority of all those in Indo-Pacific nations apart from Indonesia saw Beijing as interventionist.

Even in the four of the six African and South American nations surveyed a majority said China intervened at least somewhat in other countries' affairs. Fifty percent of South Africans and 46 percent of Argentinians also agreed.

"It's such a mantra in Chinese foreign policy, so foundational in the way that they frame things that this is not what they do, and it is the antithesis of the Western approach," Small said.

Against this backdrop, Small added, it is "striking" to see so many nations feeling that China is indeed intervening abroad. The data suggests, he said, that the perception of Chinese anti-interventionism is being "shredded."

Recent months have seen a renewed China-U.S. effort to thaw chilly bilateral relations. In June, Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. And earlier this week, Blinken told CNN the U.S. wants to "put some stability into the relationship."

But the long-term disputes show no signs of easing. While visiting Tonga this week, Blinken hit out at what he called China's "increasingly problematic behavior" in the Indo-Pacific.

In Europe too, major nations are increasingly concerned about Chinese espionage and influence, even if leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are still courting investment.

Worsening Euro-Atlantic ties with Beijing, Small said, might accelerate a brewing confrontation.

"To a certain extent, this will validate an analysis on the Chinese side that starts to write off the West," he said, and instead focus on a "winnable" public opinion battle in the developing world.

— Newsweek Magazine | By David Brennan | July 27th, 2023

[automundoarg]

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