内容摘要：And US imports into China will also go up in price due to China's retaliatory tariffs, ultimately hurting Chinese consumers in a similar way.

And US imports into China will also go up in price due to China's retaliatory tariffs, ultimately hurting Chinese consumers in a similar way.

Its territory, which sits astride the equator, encompasses some of the most biodiverse tracts of the Congo Basin rainforest.And other than a harsh post-election crackdown in the capital, Libreville, in 2016, the country has enjoyed a mostly calm recent history that contrasts with the conflicts and instability that have afflicted many regional neighbours.

Oligui Nguema and his Republican Guards met no resistance when they seized power on 30 August 2023, just hours after the electoral authorities had taken to the airwaves in the middle of the night to proclaim that the incumbent President, Ali Bongo Ondimba, had secured a third seven-year term with a crushing 64% of the vote.It was hard to see this official result as credible. Ali Bongo, who succeeded his father Omar in 2009, had only squeaked a narrow and much disputed victory in the previous poll, in 2016.When he suffered a stroke while visiting Saudi Arabia two years later and embarked on a painstaking gradual recovery there had been widespread popular sympathy.

But the mood shifted after he decided to stand for a third term, despite his visibly frail state of health - this fuelled widespread resentment at the supposed behind-the-throne influence and ambitions of his French-born wife Sylvia and his son Nourredin Bongo Valentin.The military's peaceful intervention to forestall a continuation of the regime, arresting Sylvia and Nourredin and

, triggered spontaneous celebrations among the many Gabonese who had grown weary of this apparently immovable dynasty.

And the coup was greeted with relief even by most of the administrative, political and civil society elite.It is now offering visa-free travel to visitors from parts of Europe as well as from Thailand and Australia. And its pandas are once again being dispatched to foreign zoos.

Perceptions matter to China’s ambitious leader, who wants to take on a bigger global role and challenge the US. He certainly does not want to become a pariah or face fresh pressure from the West. At the same time, he is still managing his relationship with Moscow.While he has not condemned the invasion of Ukraine, he has so far failed to provide significant military assistance to Russia. And during the meeting in May, his cautious rhetoric was in contrast to Mr Putin’s florid compliments about Mr Xi.

So far, China has also provided political cover for Mr Kim’s efforts to advance his nuclear arsenal, repeatedly blocking US-led sanctions at the United Nations.But Mr Xi is no fan of an emboldened Kim Jong Un.