China’s 5% growth target ‘conservative’, impressive for developed economy

China’s GDP growth target of “about 5 percent” for 2024 is “fairly conservative” and definitely in the realm of possibility for achieving, Dr. John Gong, a professor of economics at the Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics, has told Sputnik, commenting on the development priorities outlined by Premier Li Qiang in a speech to the National People’s Congress.

China’s growth rate targets are all the more impressive, Gong said, given that the Asian nation’s economy is “increasingly looking like a ‘developed economy’, where normally a 4-5 percent growth rate is already a great achievement.”

On the tech and R&D front, where Li outlined a series of measures to stimulate growth, Gong said the prioritized commitment of resources to these “very critical areas” signals “that China doesn’t want” to fall behind the West, particularly amid “a fair amount of hi-tech choking and boycotting by Washington.”

On defense, which saw 7.2 percent bump in spending, Dr. Gong said it’s important to keep the PRC’s outlays in perspective compared to the United States, whose defense budget is approaching $900 billion compared to China’s $238 billion, even though China’s nominal GDP is approaching the US.

“In terms of where the defense budget will be spent, I would guess an increasing portion will be spent on emerging technologies in defense. The war in Ukraine tells a lot about what the future battlefield will look [like], and I am pretty sure PLA generals are keeping a close eye on what is happing in the Donbass and Zaporozhye,” Gong said.

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NATO member states are still in agreement that the military alliance is not a party to the conflict in Ukraine, despite leaked audio of German military officials discussing a possible missile strike on the Crimean Bridge with a French fighter jet, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told RIA Novosti.

"I'd like to say two things on that: first, that we have a decision in NATO in place, and this decision has not been questioned by anyone yet. This decision has been made a bit more than two years ago, and this decision says that NATO is not a party to this conflict," Szijjarto said, when asked about the leaked conversation.

Neither Germany nor France has challenged or requested a review of the NATO decision, Szijjarto said.

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The US Censorship Industrial Complex is alive and well, according to independent commentator Steve Poikonen. Poikonen joined Sputnik's The Critical Hour program to discuss the issue after the popular blog Naked Capitalism received an email from its ad service provider conveying a threatening warning from Google over alleged content on the site.

"If you are espousing genuine dissent, if you are challenging power, regardless of what its political party is, you are on the chopping block," said Poikonen, adding "this is a war for the supremacy of the digital information space."

Poikonen claimed the kind of corporate oligopoly that controls traditional media in the United States is emerging online as well, with the US government holding strong influence over the few social media companies that control most online discourse

"Elon Musk is performing a service for the security state, not just on Twitter, but in every other company he owns," said the journalist. "He's implemented a social credit score on Twitter. There's a whole bunch of algorithms that determine your reach and your ability to get your word out, and all of them have to do with never saying anything out of line."

In 2022, journalist Lee Fang reported on a clandestine effort between the X social media platform and the US Department of Defense to spread US-backed propaganda on the microblogging site.

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Americans from fifteen states are voting in Republican and Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses on Tuesday, with primaries taking place in states including: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia.

Alaska and Utah are holding Republican caucuses, while Democrats are holding a caucus in the unincorporated South Pacific island territory of American Samoa.

Republican Primaries:
1. Iowa (40 total delegates): Trump - 51.00%, 100% reporting
2. New Hampshire (22 total delegates): Trump - 54.34%, Haley - 43.22%, 99% reporting
3. Nevada (26 total delegates): Trump - 99.11%, 99% reporting
4. South Carolina (50 total delegates): Trump - 59.79%, Haley - 39.52%, 99% reporting
5. Michigan (55 total delegates): Trump - 68.11%, 99% reporting
6. Missouri (54 total delegates): Trump – 100%, Haley – 0%, 100% reporting
7. Alabama (50 total delegates): Trump - 83.77%, 8% reporting
8. North Carolina (74 total delegates): Trump - 74.07%, 64% reporting
9. Tennessee (58 total delegates): Trump - 76.57%, 42% reporting
10. Texas (161 total delegates): Trump – 76.54%, Haley – 18.34%, 66% reporting
11. Virginia (48 total delegates): Trump - 63.14%, 91% reporting
12. Vermont (17 total delegates): Trump - 45.85%, Haley - 49.91%, 46% reporting
13. Massachusetts (40 total delegates): Trump - 62.07%, 7% reporting
14. Minnesota (39 total delegates): Trump - 75.00%, <1% reporting
15. Colorado (37 total delegates): Trump - 62.01%, 66% reporting
16. Arkansas (40 total delegates): Trump - 73.07%, 28% reporting
17. Oklahoma (43 total delegates): Trump - 82.68%, 67% reporting
18. Maine (20 total delegates): Trump - 70.86%, 22% reporting

Former President Donald Trump, after his sweeping victories on Super Tuesday, said it was an amazing and inspiring day.

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🇷🇺 Russian mobile anti-tank group of paratroopers neutralise a Ukrainian infantry group

Paratroopers used a Fagot anti-tank missile system mounted on a pick-up truck to wipe out a Ukrainian infantry group of eight men.

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Execution by nitrogen is spreading in the US - now it has been authorized in Louisiana, The Independent reports

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has signed a bill that not only adds a new type of execution, but also abolishes parole for almost all people convicted of crimes after August 1, 2023. It also lowers the age for prosecution as an adult to 17.

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▪️ Three of five Ukrainian Abrams tanks have already been destroyed by Russian forces near Avdeyevka

▪️ Ugly colors of Victoria Nuland's revolution: she’ll be remembered for the f-word – CIA veteran

▪️ Super Tuesday results: Trump is winning in almost all states, even in California, but loses in Vermont

▪️ The aid supplied by the US have been embezzled in Ukraine since February 2022, a report says

Also take a look:

▪️ Bundeswehr audio leak ignites blame game between German politicians

▪️ Sputnik found out what surprised international participants of the World Youth Festival in Russia

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Main points of Gagauzia head Eugenia Gutsul’s interview with Sputnik:

▪️ There is nothing to suggest talking about Gagauzia's secession from Moldova, the contradictions with Kishinev lie in the political sphere.

▪️ Disputes between Gagauzia and Kishinev will quickly be resolved when new, responsible politicians come to power.

▪️ Maia Sandu's policy of European integration is being carried out without taking into account national interests and is contrary to the position of the people of Gagauzia.

▪️ Maia Sandu, who is planning a referendum on Moldova's accession to the EU, will have to reckon with the Eurasian orientation of the people of Gagauzia.

▪️ Gagauzia expects that Turkiye will influence the Moldovan authorities and will not allow them to infringe on the special legal status of the region.

▪️ Gagauzian business is interested in the Russian market, which remembers the region's products and appreciates them for their taste and environmental friendliness.

▪️ Gagauzia would like to develop ties with Russian regions and pursue joint projects.

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A Russian kamikaze FPV drone destroyed a Starlink stationary communications module, UAV crew commander with the call sign “Topaz” told Sputnik.

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🇷🇺 Western intelligence is alarmed by the scale of the work of the Russian intelligence services following the leak of a recording of a conversation between German officers, the Financial Times reports.

The newspaper's sources believe the operations of Russian intelligence now may be even more serious than during the Cold War.

One unnamed Western intelligence official admitted that the Russians "can also do some very sophisticated operations that, in intelligence terms, are stupendously cool."

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Despite criticism of his militaristic statements even from his European counterparts, French President Emmanuel Macron has backed a Czech plan to deliver hundreds of thousands of artillery shells to Ukraine from countries outside the European Union.

France will take part in the initiative, Macron said, without giving financial details, adding that the EU's European Peace Fund could be partly used to finance it. Earlier, a French official said no such mechanisms would be used.

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❗️ Vladimir Putin will meet IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi in Sochi to talk about the latter’s negotiations with Rosatom head Alexey Likhachev, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

In addition, the president will talk to the participants of the World Youth Festival in Sirius and deliver a speech at the closing ceremony.

🇱🇧 Illustration from a Lebanese newspaper showing an American airplane dropping food for the Gaza Strip and weapons for Israel

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🇷🇺🇨🇳 Russia, China plan on building lunar nuclear power plant

Russia and China are mulling jointly building a lunar nuclear power plant, said Yuri Borisov, the head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos.

“At the turn of 2033-2035 we plan to deliver and install a power unit on the lunar surface together with our Chinese colleagues,” Borisov said.

▪️ The installation will be done in an automated mode, without the presence of humans, and the technology required for the construction of the lunar nuclear power plant is almost ready.

▪️ Russia is also working on building a nuclear-powered cargo spaceship, called the Zevs (Zeus).

In 2021, Russia and China presented a road map for building a scientific station on the Moon by the end of 2035. The project includes technical lunar rovers for research, a jumping robot, and several smart mini-rovers designed to explore the surface of Earth’s natural satellite.

The director general of Roscosmos emphasized that, “Of course, space should be free of nuclear weapons.”

This echoes what President Vladimir Putin reiterated at a meeting with the country's Security Council members on March 1, saying that Russia does not plan to deploy nuclear weapons in space.

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In the Russian federal territory of Sirius there is a long line for a lecture by Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s press secretary.

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the Transnistria issue relevant, and said the situation there is far from predictable and calm.

The Kremlin hopes that Kishinev will take into account the opinion of the region's residents, while Moscow is in favor of dialog with Moldova.

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❗️ After his meeting with the Russian delegation, Grossi said that the negotiations were tense, but he was able to assess the situation around the ZNPP.

Rosatom reports that, in addition to the ZNPP, they discussed promising areas of nuclear power development.

Main points of Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto’s interview with RIA Novosti:

▪️ NATO's decision not to intervene in the conflict in Ukraine remains in force, neither Germany nor France have asked for a revision of this.

▪️ Everything possible must be done to prevent a clash between Russia and NATO.

▪️ Sending forces from NATO member states to Ukraine would violate the alliance's decision not to intervene in the Ukraine conflict, and Budapest would oppose it.

▪️ Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will meet with Donald Trump in Florida on March 8, with plans to discuss bringing peace to Ukraine.

▪️ Budapest believes "peace in Ukraine is President Trump."

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