In the coming week, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will continue his trips in southeast Asian countries. U.S. President Joe Biden will pay a visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The flow of gas from Russia to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will stop on Monday.

Wang Yi's ongoing trips in southeast Asian countries

Next week, Wang Yi will visit Malaysia and chair the 14th Meeting of the China-Vietnam Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation and the sixth Meeting of China-Cambodia Intergovernmental Coordination Committee in Nanning, the capital city of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian announced on July 1.

From July 3 to 10, Wang Yi has chaired the seventh Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Myanmar, attended the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Indonesia upon invitation and paid official visits to Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. 

Biden visits the Middle East

U.S. President Joe Biden turns his attention this month to a sensitive trip to the Middle East that will test his ability to reset relations with Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi de facto leader who the U.S. intelligence community concluded was behind the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist and political opponent Jamal Khashoggi.

"It's in Saudi Arabia, but it's not about Saudi Arabia," Biden said. "And so there's no commitment that is being made or – I'm not even sure; I guess I will see the king and the crown prince, but that's – that's not the meeting I'm going to. They'll be part of a much larger meeting," he told reporters at the NATO summit in Madrid last Thursday.

Biden will first stop in Israel on his July 13-16 trip.

Russia set to switch off the gas for work on a key pipeline

The flow of gas from Russia to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will stop on Monday for "a planned 10-day maintenance period."

"Annual scheduled maintenance activities are planned well in advance as part of the long-term pipeline integrity management strategy," Nord Stream announced in its press release.

"Maintenance schedule closely coordinated and agreed with upstream and downstream partners," the company said.

Day by day

Monday: China's National Maritime Day.

Tuesday: U.S. President Joe Biden hosts Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at the White House; January 6th committee holds next hearing in the Capitol riot probe.

Wednesday: U.S. President Joe Biden meets Israeli and Palestinian leaders during a two-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories; British Prime Minister's question time in parliament.

Thursday: Pacific Islands Forum expected to start; French President Emmanuel Macron attends 14th of July ceremony.

Friday: U.S. President Joe Biden pays a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia (from July 15 to July 16); the opening of G20 Indonesia Finance Ministers/Central Bank Governors meeting.

Saturday-Sunday: Quiet days in politics.