Islamabad — “We have never seen a Chinese reaction like this one,” says regional security affairs analyst Ahmed Rashid, referring to Beijing’s persistent public demand that Pakistan ensure the safety of Chinese nationals since a March 26 suicide attack killed five Chinese workers there.

As Pakistan fights a resurgent wave of terrorism that has killed hundreds of local civilians and security personnel this year, officials insist they can keep a few thousand Chinese nationals safe.

A major ally of China, Pakistan has seen billions of dollars in much-needed energy and infrastructure projects pour in through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor — the flagship project of Beijing’s global Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

The project, popularly known as CPEC, however, has suffered as Islamist militants and Baloch insurgents fighting the Pakistani state target Chinese nationals and projects.

Since 2017, at least 19 Chinese nationals have been killed in Pakistan. The March suicide attack in Besham, a town in northwestern Pakistan, came days after militants stormed a government compound in Gwadar, home to a Chinese-built deep-sea port in the southwest.

Keen to save one of its most critical bilateral relationships, Pakistan quickly revamped protocols, promising “fool-proof” security for Chinese citizens in meetings with the Chinese leadership.

In June, Pakistan also announced a new nationwide anti-terrorism campaign after a visiting senior Chinese official told Pakistani politicians “the primary factor shaking the confidence of Chinese investors is the security situation.”

“This is a very serious issue because for the first time we have had in the last few months some very strong, tough statements from the Chinese, criticizing its biggest ally in the region, Pakistan,” said Rashid.

What’s new?

A dedicated military division and special provincial police units provide security to Chinese nationals and projects in Pakistan. Local intelligence units keep a record of where the foreigners live and work. Chinese nationals usually move between cities in bullet-proof vehicles with a police escort. One percent of the cost of any project involving Chinese workers is budgeted for security.

“There is pressure,” a counterterrorism officer said while speaking to VOA on background about the new push in Pakistan to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel and projects.

Large-scale projects are often cut off from nearby towns to limit public access, while locals hired to work at sites secured with barbed wires and cameras must clear police background checks.

Since the Besham attack, the Ministry of Interior has created a so-called foreigners security cell to streamline coordination among provinces. A new Special Protection Unit of police in Islamabad now protects Chinese nationals in the capital.

Police personnel are undergoing renewed training and having equipment audited, while security checks on roads near where the Chinese live or work have increased, officials tell VOA.

“Another element that has been added since then [the Besham attack] is kinetic,” said a senior provincial law enforcement officer speaking to VOA on background. “There is improved record-keeping of area residents. So that we are aware of who lives there.”

“The probability of local support and facilitation is very high in our spectrum, and we try to keep identifying such people so that we can preempt it,” the official said.

Chinese help

Pakistani officials reject reports that China has sought to deploy its own security personnel in Pakistan but say law enforcement cooperation between the two countries already exists.

“They have extended support to the establishment of SPU [Special Protection Unit],” Aitzaz Goraya, provincial counterterrorism chief in Baluchistan, told VOA. “They have promised some equipment for it, too. Some has arrived and some is on the way. Such a process is ongoing, at least in Balochistan.”

Authorities say they hope to complete a “safe city” program in Gwadar by the end of the year. The project includes installing hundreds of cameras controlled from a centralized command center in the key port town to surveil residents as guards keep an eye on the situation from watchtowers.

Resentment

Heightened security for Chinese workers is also a source of resentment among locals in parts of Pakistan. In Gwadar, where the Pakistani military controls security, impoverished locals have staged mass protests in recent years, complaining of a lack of involvement in Chinese-funded development projects, and of loss of livelihood and limited mobility.

“All the shops and roadside restaurants close along the five- to six-kilometer-long distance when the Chinese travel from the port to the airport. This happens two to three times a week,” said Naeem Ghafoor, a local activist.

The new nationwide anti-terror offensive named Azm-e-Istehkam faces intense opposition in the militancy-hit northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where residents have experienced mass displacement and destruction of infrastructure in past military operations.

Security affairs expert Rasheed says Pakistan cannot ensure the security of Chinese workers without providing basic facilities to its own citizens first.

“There is a chronic need to involve civil society,” said Rashid. “It’s not just that the army can deal with this on its own or the police can. This needs development. It needs better facilities.”

Fulfilling decades-old promises of development may still take years as Pakistan struggles to bring its economy on track with bailouts from the International Monetary Fund.

Still, Goraya believes Pakistan can keep its promise of providing security to the Chinese.

“They [terrorists] don’t have anything that we don’t,” Goraya said. “If we follow the SOPs [Standard Operating Procedures] and don’t deviate from it, we can do it.”
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Washington — Over the past three weeks, Shirali Abdurehim, a 39-year-old Uyghur honey seller in Istanbul, has been detained in an immigration detention center.

Abdurehim, a father of nine children, has lived in Turkey with his wife since 2013 as a refugee after fleeing repression in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China. He is one of at least a dozen Uyghurs who have been detained in recent weeks, according to detainees, lawyers and rights advocates.

VOA has also seen at least four posts on the social media site Facebook calling for the release of family members since last weekend.

“Turkish agents came to my residence on July 4 and said there was an allegation against me that I conspired with other foreigners from Uzbekistan to produce and sell counterfeit Turkish passports,” Abdurehim told VOA in a phone interview.

“They were very polite when they took me for interrogation. They first said they would immediately release me after taking a statement,” he said.

Family facing eviction

During the interrogation, Abdurehim says he denied the allegations, claiming that the accusations were fabricated by the Chinese government or Chinese agents in Turkey.

“After that interrogation, they said they couldn’t release me and instead transferred me to an immigration detention center, where I joined six other recently arrested Uyghurs,” he said. “My wife and nine children are desperately waiting for my return. They can’t survive without me, and now they face eviction from the apartment we rent.”

VOA emailed the Turkish Interior Ministry’s Immigration Department for more information regarding the cases of Abdurehim and the other Uyghurs detained in recent weeks. The ministry has yet to respond.

Abdurehim’s wife, who asked that her first name not be published to protect her relatives in Xinjiang, told VOA that the family had been living day-to-day on her husband’s honey sales. “Our landlord demanded six months’ rent in advance, but we can’t afford it. With my husband in indefinite detention, we’re also struggling to put food on the table.”

Turkish flag T-shirt

Abdurehim says his troubles trace to 2010 when Chinese authorities arrested him in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang.

“I was arrested for months in 2010 for wearing a T-shirt with a Turkish flag,” Abdurehim said. “It was a time when many Uyghurs felt grateful for [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan’s statement in 2009.”

Unrest had broken out in Urumqi in July of that year amid protests over government inaction following reported killings and injuries of Uyghurs by a Chinese mob in Guangdong province. Initially peaceful, the protests escalated into clashes when Chinese armed police intervened. Subsequently, Uyghurs faced accusations of attacking unarmed Chinese individuals, resulting in arrests, disappearances and detentions.

Erdogan had characterized China’s actions toward Uyghurs as “genocide,” a sentiment that resonated within the Uyghur community.

Fleeing China

After his release, Abdurehim fled the country without a passport. Because of China’s historical restrictions preventing many Uyghurs from obtaining passports legally, he sought assistance from human traffickers in Yunnan province in southwest China.

“In 2012, I journeyed from Yunnan through Vietnam and Thailand, eventually arriving in Malaysia. It was there that my wife, our only child at the time, and I received humanitarian travel documents from the Turkish Embassy, enabling us to relocate to Turkey in 2013,” he recounted.

“For the first time, I felt liberated from government repression in a country I came to cherish deeply, a place I was prepared to sacrifice everything for, including my life.”

After arriving in Turkey, Abdurehim opened a grocery shop in Istanbul. However, in late 2018, he was detained by Turkish authorities on unspecified allegations. He was released in early 2019 without any charges.

“I spent three months in detention due to baseless accusations, which I believe were influenced by Chinese authorities or their agents in Turkey,” Abdurehim recounted.

“Thankfully, Turkish authorities eventually recognized my innocence and released me. However, the ordeal forced me to sell my grocery shop to cover legal expenses and defense fees.”

Refuge in Turkey

Turkey is home to one of the largest Uyghur diaspora communities outside China, with a population estimated at 50,000 to 75,000, according to Uyghur groups there.

Since the 1950s, Turkey has been a refuge for Uyghurs fleeing what they describe as severe repression by the Chinese government, including allegations of genocide, mass arbitrary detention affecting over 1 million people, forced labor, forced sterilization, torture and other abuses.

China denies all those allegations, but in recent years, the U.S. and several Western parliaments have officially labeled China’s recent policies and treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang as genocide. The U.N. human rights office has suggested that these actions may constitute crimes against humanity.

Initially denying these accusations, China later referred to the facilities holding Uyghurs as “re-education centers” aimed at countering “extremism, terrorism and separatism.” China continuously describes accusations of Uyghur human rights abuses as “lies fabricated by U.S.-led anti-China forces” to contain China’s development.

China-Turkey ties

Memettohti Atawulla, an Istanbul-based senior project manager at the Washington-based Center for Uyghur Studies, notes that the recent surge in arrests of Uyghurs in Turkey came shortly after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Xinjiang.

During the trip, “Turkey expressed its commitment to cooperate in what China terms as ‘anti-terrorism,’ a label that masks China’s harsh policies targeting Uyghurs,” Atawulla told VOA. “This may be a significant factor contributing to the increased arrests of Uyghurs in Turkey.”

During his visit to Urumqi, Fidan emphasized Turkey’s support for China’s anti-terrorism efforts in a meeting with Xinjiang Communist Party Secretary Ma Xingrui.

“We support China against armed terrorist groups. We do not approve international initiatives seeking to incite strife in China and to stop China’s economic development,” Fidan said in China. He also urged China to respect Uyghurs and let them “live their values.”

The Turkish Foreign Ministry didn’t respond to a request from VOA for comment on whether the recent arrests were related to “anti-terrorism” cooperation between the two countries.

Recent uptick

According to Jevlan Shirmehmet, an Istanbul-based lawyer advocating for Uyghurs, the reasons for the recent arrests extend beyond accusations related to terrorism.

He said it is hard to determine the total number of Uyghurs detained, but he personally knows of at least five detainees and was meeting with one detained Uyghur in a prison in Istanbul when VOA spoke with him.

He added that arrests of Uyghurs are not new, but that there has been a recent uptick.

“This issue of Uyghur detentions in Turkey has persisted over several years, and I have personally seen a variety of cases,” Shirmehmet said.

“One common scenario involves allegations conveyed by China, while another type accuses Uyghurs of espionage for China. Additionally, there are cases related to civil crimes that occur in any community.”
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Taipei, Taiwan — China hosted a series of high-profile diplomatic meetings this week aimed at projecting an image as a global peacemaker in two major global crises, the Russia-Ukraine war and the conflict between Israel and Hamas. 

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the southern city of Guangzhou, his first trip to China since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. In Beijing, China hosted a meeting that resulted in the signing of an agreement among 14 Palestinian factions to form a national unity government.

Analysts say the developments, while significant, were largely symbolic. 

“These diplomatic efforts are in line with the Global Security Initiative that Beijing is trying to put out to make itself look like a global peacemaker, but the international community needs to see some substantive progress [from China,]” Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, told VOA by phone. 

China dubbed the agreements between representatives from 14 Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, as the “Beijing Declaration.” On Tuesday, Wang Yi said that while reconciliation is an internal affair of Palestinian factions, it could not be achieved “without the support of the international community.”

He also laid out China’s three-step approach to help end the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, including promoting a comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire, upholding the principle of “the Palestinians governing Palestine,” and promoting Palestine to become a full member of the United Nations as well as implementing the two-state solution.

The United States has made its own concerted attempts to achieve an Israel-Hamas ceasefire, laying out conditions intended to lead to the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas in return for a permanent ceasefire and the pullout of Israeli forces from Gaza.

Although Wang tried to use the meeting in Beijing to cast China as a potential mediator in ending the Middle East conflict, Israel quickly denounced the declaration. The United States voiced its objection to Hamas’ involvement in the post-war governance of Gaza, noting it has designated the group as a terrorist organization.

Some experts say that without the support of the U.S. and other countries, China’s efforts to facilitate peace talks in the Middle East could all be in vain. 

“Despite China’s intention to be a peacemaker and mediator, without the support of the United States and other countries, China won’t be able to achieve much,” said Zhiqun Zhu, an expert on Chinese foreign policy at Bucknell University. 

Despite pushback from Israel and the U.S., Chong in Singapore said Beijing’s outreach to Palestinians could boost its standing in the Muslim world. 

“Beijing wants to seem like it is supporting the Palestinian cause, which has broad sympathy among Muslims and this dovetails with investment and efforts to advance Saudi-Iranian reconciliation,” he told VOA. 

Last year, China brokered a deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia that paved the way for the two Middle East rivals to restore diplomatic ties and reactivate a security cooperation agreement.

In his view, China’s efforts stand as a “contrast” to what some observers see as destructive U.S. actions, from Washington’s support for Israel to the U.S. experiences with Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. 

“Beijing is trying hard to look constructive and supportive to causes that many Muslims and Arab states care about,” Chong noted. 

A window of opportunity in Ukraine war

China’s hosting of Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba this week was also an important diplomatic milestone for Beijing, which has faced persistent criticism over its support for Russia. Beijing has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

During a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday, which lasted more than three hours, Kuleba said “a just peace” in Ukraine is in China’s strategic interests and that Beijing’s role as “a global force for peace” is important.

He also said Kyiv is ready to negotiate when Russia is ready to do so in good faith, adding that Ukraine hasn’t sensed any sign of readiness from the Russians. 

In response, Wang Yi said China remains committed to a political settlement of the “Ukraine crisis” and reiterated four principles put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping as well as the six understandings proposed by China and Brazil in May to help find a solution to end the Ukraine war.

Zhu, the China foreign policy scholar at Bucknell University, said a potential victory by former president Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election could mean reduced support for Ukraine from Washington, making it “imperative” for Kyiv to reach out to China. 

“If Trump wins the U.S. election, Ukraine will basically be left to itself, so getting support and help from China is critical for Ukraine moving forward,” he told VOA in a written response. 

Building blocks for an alternative world order

Sari Arho Havren, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in Brussels, said China’s diplomatic efforts are part of the “building blocks” to help establish an alternative world order led by China. 

“China sees an opportunity to weaken the United States’ global position through its diplomatic efforts this week, and countries in the Global South are an important audience [for its messaging,]” she told VOA by phone. 

Zhu said as the U.S. becomes more preoccupied with November’s presidential election, there may be more opportunities for China to present itself as an alternative leader in global affairs. 

“The messier the U.S. elections are and the more isolationist the U.S. becomes, the more opportunities China will have to fill in the gap and play a leadership role in international affairs,” he told VOA. 

However, if China hopes to become a more important international player through these diplomatic efforts, Chong said Beijing needs to follow up on the more declaratory agreements by rolling out some concrete steps. 

“I suppose China has ambitions to become a more important player [internationally,] but those ambitions haven’t been matched by developments on the ground yet,” he said.
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — As state treasurer, Vivek Malek pushed Missouri’s main retirement system to pull its investments from Chinese companies, making Missouri among the first nationally to do so. Now Malek is touting the Chinese divestment as he seeks reelection in an August 6 Republican primary against challengers who also are denouncing financial connections to China.

The Missouri treasurer’s race highlights a new facet of opposition to China, which has been cast as a top threat to the U.S. by many candidates seeking election this year. Indiana and Florida also have restricted their public pension funds from investing in certain Chinese companies. Similar legislation targeting public investments in foreign adversaries was vetoed in Arizona and proposed in Illinois and Oklahoma.

China ranks as the world’s second-largest economy behind the U.S.

Between 2018 and 2022, U.S. public pension and university endowments invested about $146 billion in China, according to an analysis by Future Union, a nonprofit pro-democracy group led by venture capitalist Andrew King. The report said more than four-fifths of U.S. states have at least one public pension fund investing in China and Hong Kong.

“Frankly, there should be shame — more shame than there is — for continuing to have those investments at this point in time,” said King, who asserts that China has used intellectual property from U.S. companies to make similar products that undercut market prices.

“You’re talking a considerable amount of money that frankly is competing against the U.S. technology and innovation ecosystem,” King said.

But some investment officials and economists have raised concerns that the emerging patchwork of state divestment policies could weaken investment returns for retirees.

“Most of these policies are unwise and would make U.S. citizens poorer,” said Ben Powell, an economics professor who is executive director of the Free Market Institute at Texas Tech University.

The National Association of State Retirement Administrators opposes state-mandated divestments, saying such orders should come only from the federal government against specific companies based on U.S. security or humanitarian interests.

The U.S. Treasury Department recently proposed a rule prohibiting American investors from funding artificial intelligence systems in China that could have military uses, such as weapons targeting. In May, President Joe Biden blocked a Chinese-backed cryptocurrency mining firm from owning land near a Wyoming nuclear missile base, calling it a “national security risk.”

Yet this isn’t the first time that states have blacklisted particular investments. Numerous states, cities and universities divested from South Africa because of apartheid before the U.S. Congress eventually took action. Some states also have divested from tobacco companies because of health concerns.

Most recently, some states announced a divestment from Russia because of its war against Ukraine. But that has been difficult to carry out for some public pension fund administrators.

The quest to halt investments in Chinese companies comes as a growing number of states also have targeted Chinese ownership of U.S. land. Two dozen states now have laws restricting foreign ownership of agricultural land, according to the National Agricultural Law Center at the University of Arkansas. Some laws apply more broadly, such as one facing a legal challenge in Florida that bars Chinese citizens from buying property within 16 kilometers of military installations and critical infrastructure.

State pension divestment policies are “part of a broader march toward more confrontation between China and the United States,” said Clark Packard, a research fellow for trade policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. But “it makes it more challenging for the federal government to manage the overall relationship if we’ve got to deal with a scattershot policy at the state level.”

Indiana last year became the first to enact a law requiring the state’s public pension system to gradually divest from certain Chinese companies. As of March 31, 2023, the system had about $1.2 billion invested in Chinese entities with $486 million subject to the divestment requirement. A year later, its investment exposure in China had fallen to $314 million with just $700,000 still subject to divestment, the Indiana Public Retirement System said.

Missouri State Treasurer Malek tried last November to get fellow trustees of the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System to divest from Chinese companies. After defeat, he tried again in December and won approval for a plan requiring divestment over a 12-month period. Officials at the retirement system did not respond to repeated questions from The Associated Press about the status of that divestment.

In recent weeks, Malek has highlighted the Chinese divestment in campaign ads, asserting that fentanyl from China “is drugging our kids” and vowing: “As long as I’m treasurer, they won’t get money from us. Not one penny.”

Two of Malek’s main challengers in the Republican primary — state Rep. Cody Smith and state Sen. Andrew Koenig — also support divestment from China.

Koenig said China is becoming less stable and “a more risky place to have money invested.”

“In China, the line between public and private is much more blurry than it is in America,” Smith said. “So I don’t think we can fully know that if we are investing in Chinese companies that we are not also aiding an enemy of the United States.” 

A law signed earlier this year by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis requires a state board overseeing the retirement system to develop a plan by September 1 to divest from companies owned by China. The oversight board had announced in March 2022 that it would stop making new Chinese investments. As of May, it still had about $277 million invested in Chinese-owned entities, including banks, energy firms and alcohol companies, according to an analysis by Florida legislative staff.

Florida law already prohibits investment in certain companies tied to Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Venezuela, or those engaged in an economic boycott against Israel.

In April, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill that would have required divestment from companies in countries determined by the federal government to be foreign adversaries. That list includes China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela.

Hobbs said in a letter to lawmakers that the measure “would be detrimental to the economic growth Arizona is experiencing as well as the State’s investment portfolio.” 
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In the Pacific Northwest, there is a marching group that has thrilled parade audiences for more than 70 years. The Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team has brought a sense of community and identity for generations of Chinese American girls. VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya reports.
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Washington — Russia and China on Tuesday pushed back against a U.S. warning over their increasing military and economic cooperation in the Arctic, where climate change is opening up greater competition.

Russia has in recent years beefed up its military presence in the Arctic by reopening and modernizing several bases and airfields abandoned since the end of the Soviet era, while China has poured money into polar exploration and research.

“We’ve seen growing cooperation between the PRC and Russia in the Arctic commercially, with the PRC being a major funder of Russian energy exploitation in the Arctic,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks told journalists Monday, using an abbreviation for the People’s Republic of China.

There is also growing military cooperation, “with Russia and China conducting joint exercises off the coast of Alaska,” Hicks said as the department released its 2024 Arctic strategy.

“All of these challenges have been amplified because the effects of climate change are rapidly warming temperatures and thinning ice coverage, and it’s enabling all of this activity,” she said.

The rapid melting of polar ice has sent activity in the inhospitable region into overdrive as nations eye newly viable oil, gas and mineral deposits as well as shipping routes in an area with a complex web of competing territorial claims.

Moscow is heavily promoting its Northern Sea Route, an alternative cargo route for vessels travelling between Europe and Asia.

‘Discord and tension’

China and Russia both defended their policies in the region on Tuesday.

Beijing said it acts on the “principles of respect, cooperation, mutual wins and sustainability,” adding it was “committed to maintaining peace and stability” in the region.

“The United States distorts China’s Arctic policy and makes thoughtless remarks on China’s normal Arctic activities [which are] in accordance with international law,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia “does its part to ensure that the Arctic does not become a territory of discord and tension.”

He told reporters that Russia’s cooperation with China “contributes to an atmosphere of stability and predictability” in the Arctic and their actions were not targeted against other countries.

Washington’s Arctic strategy describes the area as “a strategically important region” for the United States that includes “the northern approaches to the homeland” and “significant US defense infrastructure.”

It says climate change could result in the Arctic experiencing its first “practically ice-free summer by 2030.”

“Increases in human activity will elevate the risk of accidents, miscalculation, and environmental degradation,” and US forces “must be ready and equipped to mitigate the risks associated with potential contingencies in the Arctic.”
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HONG KONG — A top Chinese university fired a professor on Monday, a day after a graduate student accused him of sexual harassment on social media in a rare public allegation and posted recordings as evidence, drawing widespread support.

The woman, who identified herself as Wang Di, said she is studying in a doctoral program at Renmin University of China’s School of Liberal Arts. She posted a 59-minute video on Sunday on the Weibo social media platform in which she said the professor, an ex-vice dean and former Communist Party representative at the school, physically and verbally abused her.

She also said that for more than two years after she rejected him, he assigned her many tasks, scolded her and threatened that she would not graduate.

She included audio clips which she said were evidence of the harassment. In one, a man could be heard trying to kiss a woman, who kept saying, “No, no, teacher.”

“At this moment, I can no longer endure it and have nowhere to retreat, so I am speaking out,” she wrote. She demanded that the professor be punished and a new supervisor be appointed for her. She wore a mask in the video, but held up an identification card.

In China, public accusations of sexual harassment have become rare in recent years following an uptick during a brief #MeToo movement that was swiftly snuffed out by the government. The ruling Communist Party views powerful social movements as a potential threat to stability and its hold on power.

Her post drew 2.2 million likes as of Monday evening, with many users leaving comments in support of the student.

The professor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Renmin University said Monday it concluded that the complaints against the professor were true following an investigation. In addition to sacking him, it also revoked his party membership and reported the incident to authorities in accordance with the law, it said in a statement on Weibo.

It said the academic had “seriously betrayed the original mission of teaching and educating” and that his acts violated party discipline and school rules.

After the university announced its decision, the woman’s post on Weibo disappeared.

The Associated Press does not generally name people who say they are victims of sexual harassment unless they publicly identify themselves.

In June, a Chinese journalist who promoted women’s rights as part of the #MeToo movement was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of incitement to subvert state authority, according to her supporters.

In one of the most high-profile cases, former Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai disappeared from public view after accusing former high-level official Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault in 2021. Her accusation was quickly scrubbed from the internet and discussion of it remains heavily censored.
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KYIV/BEIJING — Ukraine’s top diplomat will visit China on Tuesday at the invitation of Beijing for talks that Kyiv said would focus on how to end Russia’s war in Ukraine and on a possible Chinese role in reaching a settlement.

Nearly 29 months since Russia’s full-scale invasion, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will discuss bilateral ties at talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a trip to China from July 23 to 25, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said.

“The main topic of discussion will be the search for ways to stop Russia’s aggression and China’s possible role in achieving a stable and just peace,” the Ukrainian ministry said in a statement on its website.

The Chinese statement said Kuleba’s visit would run from July 23 to 26 and provided less detail.

The trip is unusual as China is widely seen as close to the Kremlin, with which Beijing declared a “no limits” partnership in 2022 just days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Though the world’s second largest economy has not condemned the Russian invasion and helped keep Russia’s war economy afloat, Kyiv has been cautious in its criticism of Beijing.

China meanwhile says its ties with Russia are built on the basis of non-alliance and do not target any third party.

Various peace initiatives have emerged in recent months as the fighting has dragged on ahead of a U.S. election in November that could see the return to power of ex-president Donald Trump who has threatened to cut vital aid flows to Ukraine.

Kyiv held an international summit without Russian representation in Switzerland in June to promote its vision of peace and now says it hopes to be ready to hold another one in November that would feature Russian representation.

China, which did not attend the Swiss summit, together with Brazil published a separate six-point peace plan on May 23, saying they supported an international peace conference being held that would be recognized by both sides in the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that only the world’s powerful countries would be able to successfully bring an end to the war, singling out China as well as Kyiv’s close U.S. ally as two possibilities.

The Ukrainian leader has said that China should play a serious role in helping to resolve the war.
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Taipei, Taiwan — The news of U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection campaign quickly became a trending topic on Chinese social media platforms Monday.

In a statement released on Sunday afternoon U.S. time, Biden announced his decision to not run for a second term and vowed to focus his energy on fulfilling his duties as president.

So far, the Chinese government has remained tight lipped about the decision. At a regular press briefing on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning declined to comment, and said the “presidential election is an internal affair of the United States.”

Online, however, the entry “Biden withdrew from the election” attracted more than 400 million views on the China’s microblogging site Weibo and tens of thousands of comments.

Other topics went viral as well. Topics such as “Zelensky respects Biden’s decision to withdraw from the election,” “Harris praised Biden,” and “Trump thinks Harris is easier to beat” were all in the top 20 searches Monday on Weibo, which is similar to the social media site X.

Several major media outlets in China, including the state-run Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily, and the Global Times, covered Biden’s withdrawal from the race extensively.

Many Chinese netizens expressed the view that Biden’s decision ensures that Trump will win the election in November while some said things have suddenly changed for Ukraine, referring to Trump’s repeated criticism of U.S. military aid to Ukraine. “Tonight will be a sleepless night for Zelensky,” Chinese netizen “Yo-Huai-To-Bi” from northeastern Shandong province wrote on Weibo.

Other Chinese netizens argued that the United States will continue to compete with China and try to contain the country’s rise regardless of who wins the election in November.

“We shouldn’t be too happy about this news because Trump will likely continue Biden’s strategies toward China and he might roll out harsher measures,” a netizen called “BIGTREE33” from China’s southeastern Fujian Province wrote on Weibo.

Some Chinese commentators said the Democratic Party will have very little chance of winning the presidential election in November without Biden.

“No faction in the Democratic Party can rebuild a campaign that can challenge Trump within a short time, so after Biden withdrew from the race, the Democrats will return to a very divided situation,” Jia Min, an affiliated researcher at Shanghai Development Research Foundation, told Shanghai Morning News in a video.

Hu Xijin, the former editor-in-chief of China’s state-run tabloid Global Times, wrote on X that whoever becomes the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate will make little difference to the presidential race in November.

“Because Trump’s personality is so outstanding, American voters are now divided into two groups: Trump lovers & Trump haters,” he wrote, adding that November’s election will be a choice between Trump or “anyone.”

Harris vs. Trump

After Biden endorsed U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris to be the presidential candidate for the Democratic Party and Harris vowed to win the Democratic Party’s nomination, the entry “Could Harris defeat Trump” quickly became a trending topic on Weibo.

More Chinese netizens seem to believe Harris has very little chance of beating Trump in the presidential election. “If Hillary Clinton couldn’t beat Trump back then, Harris would just be a joke,” a netizen named “Falling in Love with Jia-tze-hu” from Shandong Province wrote on Weibo.

Some Chinese analysts said Harris lacks the experience and achievement to serve as the next president of the United States.

“Looking at Harris’s overall track record, her performance as vice president has not been particularly outstanding, and she has not achieved satisfactory results,” Sun Chenghao, a fellow at the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, told Chinese online media outlet the Paper.

Beijing-Washington rivalry to continue

While Biden’s decision to pull out of the presidential race will likely shape the development of the U.S. presidential election, some analysts say the Chinese government may think that these developments won’t change the fact that Beijing and Washington are engaged in an intense competition.

“Beijing’s view is that the U.S. and China are in this rivalry, and it will continue no matter who runs in the election,” Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, told VOA by phone.

Other experts say the Chinese government may not have clear expectations about how different candidates may focus on issues related to China.

“Despite being the vice president, Harris hasn’t said that much on foreign policy, especially compared to the known track records of both Biden and Trump,” said Timothy Rich, a political scientist at Western Kentucky University.

“So, a known Trump, however erratic, may be easier [for Beijing] to prepare for than Harris,” he told VOA in a written response.

If November’s election becomes a race between Trump and Harris, Rich thinks a potential Trump victory would mean more tariffs on Chinese commodities and a more explicit view of trade as a zero-sum game. A potential Harris administration, he adds, may adopt a more nuanced approach to address Washington’s trade relationship with China.

On the issue of Taiwan, Rich said the fact that the Republican National Committee excluded Taiwan from the party platform may suggest Trump is “thinking transactionally about how cutting off support for Taiwan could lead to some big trade agreement with China.”

“In contrast, I can’t see a Harris administration deviating on support for Taiwan much from her predecessor,” he told VOA.
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BEIJING — China and Canada should promote normalizing relations and get back on track toward establishing a strategic partnership, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Canadian counterpart, according to his ministry.

“China-Canada relations have experienced difficulties and twists and turns over the years, which is not something China would like to see,” Wang told Foreign Minister Melanie Joly in Beijing, the ministry said in a statement late on Friday.

Joly’s three-day visit through Saturday, at Wang’s invitation, is the first by a Canadian foreign minister in seven years.

Bilateral relations, established in 1970, turned icy in 2018 after Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada and China subsequently arrested two Canadians in China. All three were later released, but Ottawa’s allegations of Chinese interference in Canada have kept relations strained.

The last time Chinese and Canadian leaders met was in Indonesia in 2022, when President Xi Jinping criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over alleged leaks of a closed-door meeting.

There is no fundamental conflict of interest between China and Canada, Wang told Joly, adding that maintaining and developing bilateral relations is in the interest of the two countries and peoples.

He said that issues relating to Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong pertain to China’s domestic politics and that Canada should not interfere.

Joly was quoted by the ministry as saying Canada will abide by the one-China policy and is willing to actively develop the bilateral relationship and enhance cooperation in areas such as trade and economy, tourism, climate change and drug control. Wang and Joly also exchanged views on the war in Ukraine and Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, was detained in Vancouver after the United States issued an arrest warrant accusing her of covering up attempts by companies linked to the Chinese tech giant to sell equipment to Iran, breaking U.S. sanctions.

Washington has sought to cripple Huawei on national security grounds. Huawei has denied it is a security risk.

China, warning Canada of consequences if Meng was not released, arrested Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig. Meng was released in 2021 after a deal cut with U.S. prosecutors to end her bank fraud case and returned to China. The two Michaels, as the case came to be known, were also released after nearly three years in detention.

Canada has also claimed political interference by China. Last year, Ottawa began investigating covert Chinese police operations within its borders, while Beijing has denied repeatedly that it interferes with Canada’s affairs.

In April the Canadian spy agency concluded that China had interfered in its 2019 and 2021 elections, prompting Trudeau to set up a commission to probe foreign interference.
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beijing, china — A bridge collapse caused by torrential rains in northern China killed 12 people and left more than 30 missing, state media said Saturday. 

Large parts of northern and central China have been battered in recent days by rains that have caused flooding and significant damage. 

The bridge in the northwestern Shaanxi province buckled “due to a sudden downpour and flash floods” Friday night, according to state news agency Xinhua.   

All 12 victims in the city of Shangluo were found inside five vehicles recovered from the river below the bridge, Xinhua said.   

At least 31 people remained missing and initial investigations indicated that 17 cars and eight trucks had fallen into the river, it added. 

Images on state television showed a partially submerged section of the bridge with the river rushing over it. 

Drivers warn others 

One witness told local media that he had approached the bridge but that other drivers started “yelling at me to brake and stop the car!” 

“A truck in front of me didn’t stop” and fell into the water, the witness, surnamed Meng, said.   

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged “all-out rescue and relief efforts” to find those still missing, Xinhua said. 

In the southwestern province of Sichuan, more than 30 people were reported missing on Saturday after a violent thunderstorm caused flash flooding in the town of Ya’an, according to state broadcaster CCTV. 

On Friday, state media reported at least five people dead and eight missing after the rains sparked flooding and mudslides in Shaanxi’s Baoji city. 

State television broadcast images of neighborhoods completely flooded by muddy water, with excavators and residents attempting to clear the damage.    

Climate change makes weather extremes more intense

The semi-desert province of Gansu, which neighbors Shaanxi, and Henan in central China were also hit by heavy rains this week. 

In Henan’s Nanyang city, the equivalent of a year’s worth of rain fell at the start of the week, CCTV said. 

And in Sichuan province, two people were reported killed and seven others missing Friday after heavy rain triggered landslides, Xinhua said. 

China is enduring a summer of extreme weather, with heavy rains across the east and south coming as much of the north has sweltered in successive heatwaves. 

Climate change, which scientists say is exacerbated by greenhouse gas emissions, is making these types of extreme weather phenomena more frequent and more intense.   

In May, a highway in southern China collapsed after days of rain, leaving 48 dead. 

This month, a tornado passed through a town in eastern China killing one, injuring 79 and causing major damage. 
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Taipei, Taiwan — China’s ruling party has concluded the Third Plenum of its 20th Central Committee with a communique described as vague and cliché by China watchers, who said it lacks specific measures to address China’s economic difficulties.

Shi He-ling, an associate professor of economics at Monash Business School at Monash University in Caulfield, Australia, said the communiqué was disappointing and that its writers were completely unthinking.

The 5,000-word communiqué, issued on Thursday, touted the Chinese Communist Party’s achievements in “comprehensively deepening reforms” and said the future will be critical for comprehensively advancing “Chinese-style modernization,” building a strong country and rejuvenating the nation.

Shi said that while Chinese President Xi Jinping has set out a new vision of “Chinese-style modernization” to highlight his differences from previous party leaders, the communiqué does not provide any specific definitions that are measurable.

“It does not make macroeconomic adjustments at all but is like a philosophical article, which is basically a cliché,” Shi told VOA.

In addition to “socialist market mechanisms” and “new quality productivity,” the communiqué stressed that national security is an important foundation for the steady and long-term development of Chinese-style modernization; that the modernization of national defense and the armed forces is an important part of it; and that “party leadership” in particular is the “fundamental guarantee” for promoting this policy.

Yeh Yao-yuan, chairman of the Department of Political Science at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, said that under the framework of “Xi Thoughts,” it is difficult for the economic exposition of this communiqué to be new.

Even if the “socialist market economic system” is repeatedly touted, it will not be able to reverse China’s economic decline, he said, adding that Xi’s economic reform is in fact “changing things to their old ways.”

These include forcing the private sector to retreat in order to help the state advance and tightening controls over foreign capital, which will hit the market economy hard.

Ming Chu-cheng,  professor emeritus of political science at National Taiwan University in Taipei, offered a similar assessment on Thursday at a seminar in Taiwan.

Xi “is touting the market economy, but what he really pushes is ‘the people retreat and the country advances,’ which is completely opposite to what he says,” Ming said. “I don’t have great hopes for the Third Plenum. Even if you relax the economic restrictions, you will encounter exactly the same problems in another 20 years because politics is choking the economy.”

The communiqué received more than 100 million views on Weibo and made it to the hot search list hours after its release. However, there was hardly any substantive discussion online among Chinese people in the comment areas. Most just reposted and recited some of the communiqué text to express their concerns.

The personnel changes made at the plenum attracted a lot of attention as the CCP officially approved the removal of its former foreign minister, Qin Gang, from its Central Committee.

Qin, who has not been seen in public since last summer, is no longer a member of the Communist Party leadership. He was dismissed as foreign minister in July last year and removed from the post of state councilor three months later.

His resignation from the top body had been accepted. No further details were provided, and the reasons behind Qin’s disappearance remain unclear. He was allegedly investigated for having an extramarital affair, leaking secrets and endangering national security.

The plenum also confirmed the expulsion of former Defense Minister Li Shangfu. Li Yuchao and Sun Jinming of the People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force were also removed from the Central Committee.

Many online comments focused on Qin being called “comrade” in the party’s published decision while others were calling Qin’s ousting a “soft landing.”

After the discussion on Qin’s removal became a hot topic, the Weibo accounts of various media outlets seemed to be alerted and comments were concealed.

Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, said that Beijing dislikes Chinese people arguing online about the CCP’s high-level personnel because comments might call into question the party’s decisions and judgment, especially as Qin was previously Xi’s close confidant and the foreign minister.

“What happened to Qin has not been particularly public so far,” Chong told VOA, “and too many of these discussions [about Qin] will also distract public attention from the economic reform plan the Third Plenum wants to promote.”

Adrianna Zhang, Yang An, Joyce Huang contributed to this story.
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BANGKOK — The newly elected chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association says she was “shocked and appalled” to be fired by the Wall Street Journal this week, immediately after taking her position.

Selina Cheng says the media outlet terminated her contract Wednesday after she accepted the role leading the association, known as the HKJA.

Speaking with VOA, Cheng said, “I think I would not be terminated if I had complied with their request to not be chair.”

The reporter says Wall Street Journal editors had warned her that her HKJA role could be a conflict of interests because the Journal covers press freedom issues in Hong Kong.

Cheng said in a news conference that the Journal’s actions called into question its commitment to press freedom, saying management is blocking employees “from advocating for freedoms the Journal reporters rely on to work, in a place where journalists and their rights are under threat.”

She said the Journal is applying a double standard, noting its advocacy efforts to free American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who is on trial in Russia.

Cheng, who joined the Journal as a full-time employee in 2022, covers the electric vehicle and auto industry.

A spokesperson at Dow Jones, parent company of the  Journal, confirmed to VOA that personnel changes were made in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

When pressed over the reason to terminate Cheng’s role, the spokesperson said, “We don’t comment on specific individuals. This is a newsroom decision.”

The spokesperson added, “The Wall Street Journal has been and continues to be a fierce and vocal advocate for press freedom in Hong Kong and around the world.”

Conflict brewing for weeks

In a statement shared on the social media platform X on Wednesday, Cheng said that about three weeks ago, Wall Street Journal editors learned that she was running for election to be chair of HKJA.

Cheng says that her supervisor, who is based in Britain, then asked her to withdraw.

“She also asked me to quit the board — which I have served on since 2021 —even though the Wall Street Journal approved this when I was hired. This day was the day before our election,” Cheng said in a statement.

When she refused, Cheng says, her supervisor told her the role as chair “would be incompatible” with her job and that “employees of the Journal should not be seen as advocating for press freedom in a place like Hong Kong.”

Cheng told VOA she had been expecting something to happen when she refused to stop her association with the HKJA.

“There didn’t seem to be any room for discussion, and they went straight to threatening to dismiss weeks ago. I’m deeply shocked and appalled by this,” she said.

The journalist said that on Wednesday, Gordon Fairclough, the world coverage chief at the Journal, flew from Britain to Hong Kong to inform Cheng her role had been terminated as part of a restructure.

Cheng said the Journal made layoffs in Hong Kong earlier this year, but that she was kept on.

“Prior to knowing that I was going to run for chair, there wasn’t any indication [of being dismissed],” she told VOA. “In fact, I was a small number of people kept on in the newsroom and my reporting area was highlighted from our editor in chief as being one of the key areas to continue reporting on in Asia.”

Cheng told VOA she had not been asked to relocate to any other of the Journal bureaus.

Cheng has worked in Hong Kong since 2017, reporting on the umbrella protest movement, the removal of books about Tiananmen Square from libraries and a lobbying campaign that sought to revoke the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act.

She previously worked at English news website the Hong Kong Free Press and Hong Kong media outlet HK01.

Association is ‘outraged’

The HKJA in a statement said that it was “outraged” by the Journal’s actions. The statement says Cheng is consulting her lawyers about a potential breach of Hong Kong labor law.

“By pressuring employees not to take part in the HKJA, a key advocate for both local and international journalists working in Hong Kong, the WSJ risks hastening the decline of what space for independent journalism remains,” the statement said.

The HKJA said that other elected board members had come under similar pressure.

The HKJA has come under pressure from authorities and criticism from Chinese-state media since Beijing enacted the national security law in Hong Kong four years ago to quell dissent. The association has been criticized for alleged links to activist organizations.

Former HKJA chair Ronson Chan was sentenced to five days in jail in September for allegedly obstructing a police officer.

Chan was an editor at the now-defunct Stand News website, one of several media outlets to close for allegedly conspiring to publish seditious publications. Media executives and journalists from the outlet are on trial, with a verdict expected in August.

Press freedom in Hong Kong and East Asia have seen a decline in the past year, according to media watchdog Reporters without Borders, known as RSF.

Hong Kong ranks 135 out of 180, where 1 shows the best environment. In 2019, the year before the national security law came in, Hong Kong ranked 73.

Since the national security law was enacted, at least 28 journalists and press freedom defenders have been arrested, with 10 still in jail, and over a dozen media outlets have closed.

Aleksandra Bielakowska, an advocacy officer at RSF, says press freedom has “plummeted.” 

“While Reporters Without Borders does not comment on individual employment disputes, we want to express our support for Selina Cheng’s courageous work with the Hong Kong Journalists Association,” she told VOA.

“As press freedom has sharply plummeted in Hong Kong in recent years, and as pressure has grown against foreign and domestic media operating in the territory, independent journalism is more crucial than ever,” she said.

RSF’s World Press Freedom Index lists these countries in East Asia as the most dangerous for media: China, North Korea and Vietnam.
…

State Department — The United States called China’s decision to suspend nascent arms-control talks with Washington “unfortunate,” noting that China has opted not to engage in efforts to manage strategic risks and prevent costly arms races.

“We think this approach undermines strategic stability. It increases the risk of arms race dynamics. We have made efforts to bolster the defense of our allies and partners in the Indo Pacific, and we will continue to make those efforts in the face of Chinese threats to their security,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters during a briefing on Wednesday.

The Chinese foreign ministry announced on Wednesday that Beijing has decided to hold off on discussions with the U.S. regarding a new round of consultations on arms control and non-proliferation. 

This decision is a protest against Washington’s arms sales to Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that Beijing claims as its territory.

“China has chosen to follow Russia’s lead in asserting that engagement on arms control can’t proceed when there are other challenges in the bilateral relationship,” Miller added.

On November 6, 2023, officials from the U.S. and China convened for a new strategic risk reduction discussion at the State Department. 

Leading the U.S. delegation was Mallory Stewart, assistant secretary for the State Department’s Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability (ADS). The Chinese delegation was headed by Sun Xiaobo, director general for arms control at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with other civilian officials also in attendance.

The U.S. has proposed three measures to China aimed at reducing strategic risks related to missile launches or potential missile launches. These include establishing a strategic crisis hotline between their respective Strategic Commands, implementing space deconfliction measures, and adopting missile launch notifications, a practice observed by China with Russia.

China’s decision to halt the new round of strategic risk reduction talks was described as not a significant loss to the U.S., as Chinese officials did not propose any initiatives during the November discussions, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The source also noted that similar talks between the U.S. and China under previous administrations had yielded no tangible results.

“China stands ready to maintain communication with the U.S. on international arms control issues in line with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Wednesday. 

“But the U.S. must respect China’s core interests and create necessary conditions for dialogue and exchange,” he said.

Some former U.S. intelligence officials doubt the effectiveness of ongoing government-to-government engagements and exchanges. They argue that Beijing’s recent suspension of risk reduction talks in response to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan serves as a convenient pretext for China to persist with its internal nuclear arms buildup and external proliferation.

James Fanell, a retired U.S. Navy captain and former director of intelligence and information operations for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, commented that “talks can and will be held when the Chinese Communist Party changes its nefarious actions and destabilizing behavior.”

In a report mandated by Congress last October, the Pentagon revealed that China was developing its nuclear arsenal more quickly than the U.S. had previously estimated.

As of May 2023, China had more than 500 operational nuclear warheads, with projections indicating they could exceed 1,000 by 2030.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the United States currently has about 3,700 nuclear warheads, fewer than Russia’s estimated 4,500.

The U.S. switched its diplomatic recognition from the government in Taipei to the government in Beijing in 1979.

Since then, the U.S. policy has maintained that differences between the two sides should be settled peacefully and in accordance with the will of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The United States acknowledges but has never endorsed Beijing’s sovereignty claim over Taiwan.

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse.
…

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Beijing — China’s ruling Communist Party is wrapping up a top-level meeting on Thursday that is expected to endorse policies aimed at building the country’s technological prowess and fortifying its national security.

The plenary meeting of the party’s Central Committee was held behind closed doors. But analysts expect a major focus to be on strategies for self-sufficient economic growth at a time when China faces tightening restrictions on access to Western advanced technology, such as leading-edge computer chips and artificial intelligence.

Foreign investors and markets were watching to see what the party might do to counter the slump in China’s real estate sector and weak consumer confidence that has hindered China’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Economic growth slowed to 4.7% on an annual basis in the April to June quarter, as investments in real estate and property sales continued to decline despite a raft of measures aimed at encouraging families to buy housing.

Recent reports in state media and earlier government policy statements suggest Beijing will continue to prioritize investing in technologies and encouraging companies to upgrade their equipment and knowhow in line with leader Xi Jinping’s call for “high-quality development.”

“Xi’s recent remarks on reform and opening-up at various major meetings provide a crucial window into the tone of the session, the priority of China’s reform agenda and the overall goal of further deepening reform and advancing Chinese modernization,” the party newspaper Global Times said in a commentary.

It said the meetings would “draw a blueprint for reform on all fronts,” aiming to improve China’s governance and to “resolve deep-seated institutional challenges and structural issues, so as to promote high-quality development and advance Chinese modernization.”

Chinese leaders have repeatedly said China will keep its doors open to foreign investment and improve the business environment, despite ever-extending Communist Party controls over companies, social media, financial regulators and other aspects of life.

“This is opposite to earlier promises and pledged reforms of further opening up of the economy and pro-market policies,” Teeuwe Mevissen, a senior strategist at Rabobank, said in a report.

New incentives for foreign investors are a possibility, he said, as well as moves in line with Xi’s call for a “common prosperity” that enables ordinary Chinese to benefit more from economic growth.

Another priority is relieving the financial squeeze on local governments that have built up huge amounts of debt after a crackdown on heavy borrowing by property developers pushed the real estate industry into crisis, cutting off a vital source of tax revenues from sales of land-use rights.

This week’s meetings are the third plenary session of the 205-member party Central Committee, which began a five-year term in 2022. Delayed from last year, third plenums usually set major economic and policy decisions. Past landmark plenums launched China into its ascent as a world manufacturing and financial power in an era of “reform and opening up.”

Economists say the odds the meeting will announce significant stimulus spending to help boost the economy are low. And details of any decisions may not come for days, if not after the party’s powerful Politburo meets later this month.

But the scale of problems Beijing is facing has upped the urgency for action.

“Historically, the third plenum generally disappoints when it comes to the announcement of significant policy overhauls. However, this time might be different given China’s mounting economic challenges,” Mevissen said.
…

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam has filed a claim with the United Nations for an extended continental shelf (ECS) in the South China Sea, a month after regional neighbor the Philippines made a similar move, Vietnam’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.

The submission of the continental shelf beyond the current 200 nautical miles is to exercise the rights and obligations of state parties in accordance to the maritime framework, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

This is Vietnam’s third submission of an ECS, the statement added, including a submission in respect to the North Area of the South China Sea or Vietnam’s East Sea and a joint submission with Malaysia in respect to the southern part of the area in 2009.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. Portions of the strategic waterway, where $3 trillion worth of trade passes annually, are believed to be rich in oil and natural gas deposits, as well as fish stocks.

Vietnam also sent a note verbale to the Secretary-General of the U.N. to state Vietnam’s position regarding the Philippines’ similar submission filed last month, Vietnam’s foreign ministry said.

“Vietnam once again affirms its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos in accordance with international law,” it added.
…

washington — Senator J.D. Vance, former President Donald Trump’s newly announced running mate, will take center stage Wednesday evening at the Republican National Convention, focusing on the day’s theme, “Make America Strong Again.”

Vance, 39, a former venture capitalist, has less than two years in public office and little foreign policy background. His recent comments mostly align with Trump’s “America First” doctrine and have revealed a worldview that can be summed up as pro-Israel, anti-China and causing anxiety in Europe.

A former U.S. Marine who was deployed in Iraq, Vance is skeptical of American military intervention overseas and, with the exception of Israel, largely opposes foreign aid. He has argued that the United States can’t simultaneously support Ukraine and the Middle East and be ready for contingencies in East Asia.

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” he said in February at the Munich Security Conference. “The math doesn’t work out in terms of weapons manufacturing.”

However, Vance is not an isolationist, as some have described him, said Emma Ashford, senior fellow with the Reimagining U.S. Grand Strategy program at the Stimson Center.

In a recent speech at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Vance defined his foreign policy goals.

“We want the Israelis and the Sunnis to police their own region of the world. We want the Europeans to police their own region of the world, and we want to be able to focus more on East Asia,” he said.

“You could call him either a realist or perhaps a prioritizer,” Ashford told VOA.

That’s a strong contrast from Biden administration policymakers “who argue that every region is interconnected, and the U.S. has to lead in all of them,” she added. “And it’s definitely a break from the post-Cold War foreign policy in the U.S.”

Yet, Vance’s aim for the United States to pull away from Europe and the Middle East to focus on China is neither new nor uniquely Republican. In fact, former President Barack Obama pursued a Pivot to Asia doctrine from 2009 to 2017.

That pivot has yet to happen, as the U.S. has become bogged down by conflicts in both Europe and the Middle East.

Less support for Ukraine

In terms of priorities, Vance is aligned with Trump’s insistence that Washington reduce support for Ukraine and force Europeans to play a bigger role in the continent’s own security.

“I do not think that Vladimir Putin is an existential threat to Europe,” Vance said in Munich, sending shock waves through European diplomatic circles. He added that Kyiv should pursue a “negotiated peace” with Moscow even if that means ceding territory.

That prompted criticism from John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who is now senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. Vance is “completely naive on Putin’s Russia,” Herbst told VOA.

With Trump suggesting he would not protect countries that failed to meet NATO’s defense spending targets, even appearing to encourage Putin to attack them, and Vance’s criticisms of Ukraine, the prospect of a Trump-Vance administration has sparked alarm across Europe.

However, Herbst remains optimistic.

While Ukraine may not be Trump’s first priority, he “perceives himself as a strongman and does not want to be associated with foreign policy failure,” he said. “And a Russian victory in Ukraine if Trump is president would look very much like a foreign policy failure.”

More support for Israel

While Vance has established himself as a key surrogate for America First, Israel may be the exception. Citing his Christian beliefs, Vance is an even more staunch supporter of Israel than President Joe Biden, pushing for continued military aid and opposing limits on Israel’s war conduct.

“Vance’s strong support for Israel is a reflection of the importance of some conservative evangelical views in today’s Republican Party, as well as the stands of white Christian nationalist thinking that has grown under Trump’s grip on the party,” said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.

Vance has criticized the U.S. neoconservative approach that began with the Bush administration as “strategically and morally stupid.” However, while he is against American interventionism elsewhere, in the Middle East he has advocated for a similar strategy of spending U.S. military resources to shore up an alliance of Israel and Sunni Muslim states to deter Iran and maintain peace and stability in the region.

Katulis critiqued the Republican vice presidential nominee’s worldview as “a reflection of the confused hyperpartisan debate” from isolationist camps that emerged in the U.S. following the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, rather than an “actual coherent worldview about what it would take to protect America’s interest and values in the real world.”

Meanwhile, Katulis said that Middle East actors are “anticipating more unpredictability, incoherence and confusion” should a Trump-Vance ticket win in November.

Hawkish on China

Author of the best-selling memoir-turned-movie Hillbilly Elegy, Vance has lived experience with the social and economic harm that deindustrialization has inflicted upon some American communities.

He has echoed Trump’s accusation that China is stealing manufacturing jobs from the U.S., especially those jobs in the Midwestern part of the country from where he hails.

“Vance has supported more economic restrictions and tariffs on Chinese imports and investments,” said Dean Chen, a professor of political science at the Ramapo College of New Jersey. “I expect his position on China to be in line with Trump nationalists in their potential new administration,” he told VOA.

In the U.S. Senate, Vance introduced legislation to restrict Chinese access to U.S. financial markets and to protect American higher education from Beijing’s influence.

On Taiwan, “the thing that we need to prevent more than anything is a Chinese invasion,” Vance said last year during an event at the Heritage Foundation.

“It would be catastrophic for this country. It would decimate our entire economy. It would throw this country into a Great Depression,” he added.

That’s a much more clear-cut stance than Trump, who has suggested at various times that he may not come to Taipei’s defense should Beijing invade. Washington does not have a formal treaty with Taiwan but supplies the democratically self-governing island with arms to maintain a “sufficient self-defense capability.”

In a June interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Trump indicated he wants Taipei to pay the U.S. for its defense.

“You know, we’re no different than an insurance company,” he said. “Taiwan doesn’t give us anything.”

Taiwan policy aside, Ashford said the biggest shock in a Trump-Vance administration could be on trade policy, with “new tariffs on China or even Europe.”

“It could be quite extreme,” she warned.

Tatiana Vorozhko and Lin Yang contributed to this report.
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Beijing — Firefighters in China pulled six bodies from a shopping centre on Wednesday, state media reported, with an unknown number still trapped after a blaze broke out in a 14-storey building.

Footage broadcast by state broadcaster CCTV and shared on social media showed thick black smoke billowing out of the tower, located in Zigong in southwestern Sichuan province.

The blaze started in the early evening in a shopping center at the foot of the building, the channel said.

Around 30 people were rescued from the shopping complex, with the fire extinguished by rescuers around 8:20 pm (1220 GMT), CCTV said.

Later footage provided by a drone operator to AFP showed firetrucks and other first responders blocking off the road late at night, continuing to spray down the charred building.

“Six people have been killed,” CCTV reported, adding that search and rescue operations were continuing with people still trapped.

Zigong’s emergency services department received news about the fire at around 6:10 pm and immediately dispatched firefighters to extinguish the blaze, the broadcaster said.

Other images shared on social media — which AFP could not immediately verify — show people gathered in front of the burning building.

The emergency department has called on the public to “not to believe or amplify rumours” about the fire.

Zigong, some 1,900 kilometers from the capital Beijing, is home to nearly 2.5 million people.

Lax safety

Fires and other deadly accidents are common in China due to lax safety standards and poor enforcement.

In January, dozens died after a fire broke out at a store in the central city of Xinyu, with state news agency Xinhua reporting the blaze had been caused by the “illegal” use of fire by workers in the store’s basement.

At the time, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for lessons to be learned from the disaster to avoid further tragedies.

The same month, a fire in a residential building killed at least 15 people.

That fire came just days after a late-evening blaze at a school in central China’s Henan province killed 13 schoolchildren as they slept in a dormitory.

In June last year, an explosion at a barbecue restaurant in the northwest of the country left 31 dead and prompted official pledges of a nationwide campaign to promote workplace safety.

And in April 2023, a fire in a Beijing hospital claimed 29 lives and forced desperate patients to jump from windows to escape.

 
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