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1. Chinese football legend and Everton player Li Tie gets 20 years for corruption
Chinese former football star Li Tie, who also served as coach of the country’s national men’s team, has been handed a sentence of 20 years on corruption charges. Li, who also played as a midfielder for the English Premier League side Everton, is the latest to fall amid China’s far-reaching anti-corruption campaign in its sports sector, and especially on football.
2. Macron plans China visit amid talk of Beijing helping end Ukraine war
French President Emmanuel Macron is planning to visit China in the new year, as speculation swirls about Beijing’s potential role in ending the Ukraine war. According to several sources familiar with the matter, Macron’s trusted diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne travelled this week to Beijing with a team of aides to lay the groundwork for a trip by the French leader.
3. China busy bolstering other trade ties amid tensions with US, EU
Officials at China’s Ministry of Commerce have been kept busy recently as they navigate a hectic agenda of trade talks. As well as continuing to engage in negotiations with the European Union on electric vehicle tariffs, they have been monitoring tariff threats from United States president-elect Donald Trump, and working on strengthening trade ties with other countries.