Your Monday Briefing: China’s leader warns of “stormy seas” in speech

By Jonathan Wolfe

Good morning. We’re covering Xi Jinping’s speech to China’s Communist Party congress and explosions in the Russian region of Belgorod.

China’s leader warns of “stormy seas”

In his nearly two-hour address at the Communist Party congress yesterday, Xi Jinping defended his hard-line reign and presented himself as the leader who saved the nation from the pandemic and who can guide the country through danger and uncertainty.

Xi, who is poised to claim a third term as leader, used his opening report to argue that his decade in power had brought historic gains: a campaign against corrupt officials, a cleanup of the environment and a crackdown on antigovernment protesters in Hong Kong.

Though he did not mention the U.S. by name, his distrust of the world’s other great power was an unmistakable backdrop as Xi warned of potential obstacles ahead. “Get the house in good repair before rain comes, and prepare to undergo the major tests of high winds and waves, and even perilous, stormy seas,” he said. Here are updates from the congress.

Analysis: Xi’s speech represented a movement in the party’s focus away from economic development and squarely toward his obsession with security — quashing all ideological and geopolitical challenges to the party’s rule.

More takeaways:

• On the economy: His proposals were cautiously and vaguely worded, suggesting some desire to avoid alarming investors, though he hailed Marx more than markets.

• On Covid: Xi cited the country’s “zero Covid” policy as an achievement — a signal that the measures are not going away soon.

• On Taiwan: Delegates applauded heartily after Xi said that he wanted to achieve peaceful unification with Taiwan. But he made clear that “we will never promise to abandon using armed force, and reserve the option of adopting any necessary measures.”

• On tech: Innovation in science and technology would be a key part of the country’s growth, Xi said, emphasizing scientific research and making strong indications that the state would guide key initiatives.

• On international affairs: He described Chinese foreign policy as a series of successes in fending off Western “bullying” and protectionism. He also called for China to exert further influence on world affairs directly and through institutions like the United Nations.

Explosions echo in Belgorod

Several strikes hit the Russian region of Belgorod just across the border from Ukraine yesterday, wounding at least three people. It was not immediately clear what caused the blasts, and Ukrainian officials did not comment.

The explosions appeared to be part of an uptick in attacks on Belgorod — an important staging ground for Russia’s invasion — which have undermined Putin’s efforts to distance the Russian people from the war. Local officials have evacuated towns and villages that have come under shelling. Sunday was the fourth successive day that strikes have been reported in the area.

On Saturday, two men opened fire on Russian soldiers at a training camp in the region, killing 11 and wounding 15, before being killed themselves, according to state-run news outlets. It was not immediately clear if the attackers were volunteer soldiers themselves involved in the training.

Context: Several attacks in recent days have targeted Russian-held areas far from the front lines, including in the occupied city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, where explosions hit an administrative building on Sunday.

Mobilization: The Russian media has reported at least seven deaths among people who were recently drafted. President Vladimir Putin said that in some cases training could take just 10 days.

Lives lived: New reporting illuminates the fortitude of three women who were victims of Russian brutality in Bucha, Ukraine.

Fire at a notorious Iranian prison

A massive fire broke out on Saturday at Evin prison, a facility in Iran’s capital where hundreds of dissidents and political prisoners are held, as antiregime protests roiled the country for a fifth week. Explosions and gunfire could be heard in the neighborhood near the prison, according to witnesses and videos posted to social media.

IRNA, the state news agency, reported that eight people had been injured in the fire and said that it started during clashes in a wing of the prison that housed those convicted of financial crimes.

The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage were unclear. Contradictory reports on social media cited an explosive device, an attempted escape and an infiltration of the prison from the outside.

Background: The thousands of prisoners at Evin include prominent opposition politicians, activists, lawyers, journalists, environmentalists and students. The prison is infamous for accusations of torture and is a potent symbol of the regime’s authoritarian approach to justice.

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THE LATEST NEWS

• In the southern Australian state of Victoria, floodwaters have risen again.
• A tropical storm made landfall yesterday in the northern Philippines and intensified into a typhoon, Reuters reports.
• President Joe Biden called Pakistan “one of the most dangerous nations in the world.” Pakistani politicians said the claim was baseless, The Associated Press reports.

• Turkey’s president, who faces political and economic difficulties ahead of spring elections, has been ramping up threats against Greece.
• Tens of thousands of people marched in Paris yesterday to protest living costs.
• In Britain, Monday morning will bring the first opportunity for investors to give their verdict on the government’s rapidly changing economic plans.

• A Georgia inmate used a contraband phone to impersonate a billionaire, secured more than $11 million in gold coins and then arranged to buy a multimillion-dollar house.
• Rising rent costs in the U.S. are flaring into pockets of resistance.
• Research suggests there may be far more mummified skin on dinosaur skeletons than previously thought — if only paleontologists look in the right places.

Delcir Sonda, a Brazilian supermarket magnate, said that after investing millions in Neymar, the Brazilian soccer star, he didn’t receive any returns. The relationship between the two men comes under scrutiny in a Spanish court today.

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ARTS AND IDEAS

How Russian actions movies are selling war

For an American, it can be easy to forget how much ideology is packed into the genre of action movies, Amos Barshad wrote in The New York Times Magazine. That is, until you watch a film from elsewhere and are confronted with the cartoonish heroes and villains of other cultures.

Amos explored big-budget shoot-em-ups like “Granit,” Touriste” and “Solntsepyok” that glorify the actions of the Wagner Group, a private Russian military force. It has close ties to President Vladimir Putin and has been used in war zones across the world, including in Ukraine. (“Granit” was produced by a company controlled by the founder of the Wagner Group.)

The films are aimed at the countries where Wagner operates, as well as toward Russians, as a recruitment tool for those with a taste for action and weaponry and a paucity of job options — people who might be enticed to fight for money. Not unlike old American mercenary magazines, the films help put a righteous and alluring face on going off to kill and die in unofficial operations aligned with Kremlin interests.

As a recruitment vehicle, the Wagner movies’ closest American analogue might be Frank Capra’s World War II series, “Why We Fight,” Amos wrote. But the Wagner movies’ inspiration comes from the Cold War 1980s, when America was churning out nationalistic stuff like “Red Dawn,” “Invasion U.S.A.” and “Rambo III” — films with an obvious, unexamined arrangement of global good guys and bad guys.

PLAY, WATCH, EAT

Kay Chun’s tofu and mushroom jorim is a vegan take on a Korean soy-braised dish, often made with beef.

The Times published an excerpt from “The Passenger,” Cormac McCarthy’s first novel in 16 years.

Here are five horror movies to stream.

Play the Mini Crossword, and a clue: French luxury fashion house (5 letters).

Here are the Wordle and the Spelling Bee.

You can find all our puzzles here.

That’s it for today’s briefing. See you next time. — Jonathan

P.S. The word “clubstaurants” appeared for the first time in The Times yesterday in a story about paywalled restaurants.

The latest episode of “The Daily” is an update on a young girl whose fears were taking over her life.

You can reach Jonathan and the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

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