In the port of Benguela on Angola’s Pacific coast, fishermen and fish traders are struggling to make ends meet. They say their catch is getting smaller and they blame illegal fishing by Chinese  trawlers. For Joao Marcos, Barbara Santos has this report.  (Mayra de Lassalette contributed)
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washington — Taiwan Navy Commander Admiral Tang Hua said during a trip to Maryland that the self-governing island wants more cooperation with the U.S. and other countries amid military pressure from China.  

But as to whether or not he would hold direct talks with U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, as reported by Reuters, Tang said he would not comment so as to avoid China’s protest causing trouble to the U.S. side.

Speaking to VOA on Monday at this year’s Sea-Air-Space Conference hosted by the Navy League of the U.S. at National Harbor, outside of Washington, Tang said he would meet with navy personnel from the U.S. and other countries. 

“I think the People’s Liberation Army’s problem with Taiwan is not just about Taiwan,” he said. “It may be in the East China Sea or the South China Sea. It is a global issue, not an issue specifically targeting Taiwan.” 

Taiwan split from China in 1950 after the nationalists lost to the communists and fled to the island, where they established a government that eventually became a democracy.  

China claims Taiwan is a breakaway province that must one day reunite with the mainland, by force if necessary.  

China also has territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea and claims most of the South China Sea as its own, putting it in conflict with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. 

The U.S. supports a “One China” policy that Beijing is the only recognized government of China while maintaining non-diplomatic relations with Taiwan and vowing to defend its right to self-governance.  

In response to a Reuters question at a briefing March 29 about the Taiwan Navy chief’s trip to the U.S., Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said China firmly opposes “military collusion between the U.S. and Taiwan.” 

He urged the U.S. to “immediately stop official interactions and military contact with Taiwan, and refrain from sending any wrong message to ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces.”  

Tang said other countries’ navies at the conference were also looking to partner up.  

“Not only are the U.S. military, but also the navies of various countries here. In fact, regarding much of our current cooperation, you just heard them talk about many things, including manpower issues, shipbuilding issues, and demand and cooperation, so I think on these occasions, everyone is seeking opportunities for cooperation and integration,” he said. 

Tang, along with Rear Admiral Chung-Hsing Wei, defense attache with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S., and the visiting Taiwan delegation attended meetings and speeches of naval leaders from the U.S. and other countries. 

He also visited the booths of major U.S. military manufacturers at the exhibition, including Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, and inquired about weapons and equipment with companies that have procurement projects with Taiwan.  

This included General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, which produced four MQ-9B “SkyGuardian” drones for Taipei.  

A senior official from the company also told him that he will join a U.S. Taiwan Business Council delegation to visit Taiwan in early June. 

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
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Beijing — Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Tuesday in a sign of mutual support and shared opposition to Western democracies amid Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. 

“We would like to express our highest appreciation and admiration for the successes that you have achieved over the years and, above all, over the last decade under your leadership,” Lavrov told Xi, according to Russian media. 

“We are sincerely pleased with these successes, since these are the successes of friends, although not everyone in the world shares this attitude and are trying in every possible way to restrain the development of China — in fact just like the development of Russia,” Lavrov said. 

Russia’s growing economic and diplomatic isolation has made it increasingly reliant on China, its former rival for leadership of the Communist bloc during the Cold War. In past decades, the two have closely aligned their foreign policies, held joint military exercises and sought to rally non-aligned states in groupings such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. 

Lavrov held a news conference earlier Tuesday with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at which they reaffirmed solidarity in international affairs. 

Lavrov said Russia and China oppose any international events that do not take Russia’s position into account. 

He said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s “so-called peace formula” was “completely detached from any realities.” 

Zelensky has called for the withdrawal of Russian forces and the return of all occupied Ukrainian territory, but is heavily reliant on support from the U.S., where the Republican Party majority in the House of Representatives has been holding up a new military aid package. 

China and Russia are each others most important diplomatic partners, both holding permanent seats on the United Nations security council and working together to block initiatives by the U.S. and its allies to spread democratic values and human rights from Venezuela to Syria. 

While China has not provided direct military support for Russia, it has backed it diplomatically in blaming the West for provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch the war and refrained from calling it an invasion in deference to the Kremlin. China has also said it isn’t providing Russia with arms or military assistance, although it has maintained robust economic connections with Moscow, alongside India and other countries. amid sanctions from Washington and its allies. 

At their joint news conference Wang repeated China’s calls for a ceasefire and “an end to the war soon.” 

“China supports the convening at an appropriate time of an international meeting that is recognized by both Russia and Ukraine, in which all parties can participate equally and discuss all peace solutions fairly,” Wang said. 

China’s peace proposal has found little traction, in part due to the country’s continuing support for Russia and lack of vision for what a future resolution would look like, particularly the fate of occupied Ukrainian territories and their residents. 

Wang also said Xi and Putin would continue to maintain close exchanges this year amid expectations of visits to each other’s capitals. 

“China and Russia have gone through ups and downs, and both sides have drawn lessons from historical experience and found a correct path to promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations,” Wang said. “Today’s good relations between China and Russia are hard-won and deserve to be cherished and carefully maintained by both sides.” 

Lavrov arrived in China on Monday, while Wang and other leading Chinese figures have recently visited Russia and maintained China’s line of largely backing Russia’s views on the cause of the conflict. 

China has at times taken an equally combative tone against the U.S. and its allies. China and Russia have held joint military drills, and are seen as seeking to supplant democracies with dictatorships in areas where they wield influence. China is involved in its own territorial disputes, particularly over the self-governing island of Taiwan and in the South China and East China Seas. 

Just weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine, Putin visited Beijing for the opening of the 2022 Winter Olympics and the sides signed a pact pledging a “no limits” relationship that has China supporting Russia’s line, even while formally urging peace talks. 

In a phone call last week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, U.S. President Joseph Biden pressed China over its defense relationship with Russia, which is seeking to rebuild its industrial base as it continues its invasion of Ukraine. And he called on Beijing to wield its influence over North Korea to rein in the isolated and erratic nuclear power.
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Taipei, Taiwan — Taiwan’s annual war games this year will practice “kill” zones at sea to break a blockade and simulate a scenario where China suddenly turns one of its regular drills around the island into an actual attack, the defense ministry said on Tuesday.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its territory, has been staging regular exercises around the island for the past four years, to pressure Taipei to accept Beijing’s claim of sovereignty, despite Taiwan’s strong objections.

Taiwan starts its main annual Han Kuang exercises this month with tabletop drills, extended from a more usual five days to eight given the number of scenarios to be included, followed in July by actual combat exercises, the ministry said.

Tung Chih-hsing, head of the ministry’s joint combat planning department, told a news briefing the drills would practice how to speedily respond to one of China’s drills suddenly turning into an attack, something military planners have begun to worry about, considering their regularity.

How different branches of the armed forces can mount a coordinated response to a Chinese blockade will be another focus, Tung said.

The drills will integrate naval, air and coast guard forces, shore-mounted anti-ship weapons and drones to establish a maritime “attack and kill chain,” he added.

“In addition, [we will] use naval and air forces and coast guard ships to jointly carry out escort operations” to ensure sea and air links to the outside world remain open, Tung said.

During one major round of war games around Taiwan in April of last year, China practiced precision strikes and blockading the island.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago, Taiwan has been looking to see what lessons it can learn and integrate into its own exercises, especially how the much smaller Ukrainian forces have been able to fend off the larger Russian military.

Tung said those would again feature this year, along with the lessons learned from the war in Gaza.

For both of those conflicts, Tung said officials were looking at the use of psychological warfare and asymmetric operations in particular, though without explaining exactly how they would figure in the drills.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has championed the idea of “asymmetric warfare” to make its forces, also much smaller than China’s, more mobile and harder to attack, with, for example, vehicle-mounted missiles and drones.
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Beijing — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and her team are leaving China and returning to Washington after trying to tackle the major questions of the day between the countries. Here’s a look at what she tried to accomplish, what was achieved, and where things stand for the world’s two largest economies:

Unfair trade practices

Yellen said she wanted to go into the U.S.-China talks to address a major Biden administration complaint that Beijing’s economic model and trade practices put American companies and workers at an unfair competitive disadvantage by producing highly subsidized solar products, electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries at a loss, dominating the global market.

Chinese government subsidies and other policy support have encouraged solar panel and EV makers in China to invest in factories, building far more production capacity than the domestic market can absorb. She calls this overcapacity.

Throughout the week of meetings, she talked about the risks that come from one nation maintaining nearly all production capacity in these industries, the threat it poses to other nations’ industries and how a massive rapid increase in exports from one country can have big impacts on the global economy.

Ultimately, the two sides agreed to hold “intensive exchanges” on more balanced economic growth, according to a U.S. statement issued after Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng held extended meetings over two days in the southern city of Guangzhou. It was not immediately clear when and where the talks would take place.

“It’s not going to be solved in an afternoon or a month, but I think they have heard that this is an important issue to us,” she said.

Money laundering, related crimes

After several rounds of meetings, the U.S. Treasury and the Chinese central bank agreed to work together to stop money laundering in their respective financial systems.

Nearly all the precursor chemicals that are needed to make the deadly substance fentanyl are coming from China into the U.S. The U.S. says exchanging information on money laundering related to fentanyl trafficking may help disrupt the flow of the precursor chemicals into Mexico and the U.S.

“Treasury is committed to using all of our tools, including international cooperation, to counter this threat,” Yellen said in a speech announcing the formation of the group.

The new cooperative between the U.S. and China will be part of the two nations’ economic working groups that were launched last September, and the first exchange will be held in the coming weeks.

TikTok

Efforts in the U.S. to ban social media app TikTok, owned by Chinese parent company ByteDance, were raised initially by the Chinese during U.S-China talks, a senior Treasury official told The Associated Press. The firm has in the past promoted a data security restructuring plan called “Project Texas” that it says sufficiently guards against national security concerns.

However, U.S. lawmakers have moved forward with efforts to either ban the app or force the Chinese firm to divest its interest in the company, which the White House has supported. In China this week, it was evident that there was little movement on the issue.

Yellen said at a news conference Monday that she supported the administration’s efforts to address national security issues that relate to sensitive personal data. “This is a legitimate concern,” she said.

“Many U.S. social apps are not allowed to operate in China,” Yellen said. “We would like to find a way forward.”

Financial stability

On the second day of Yellen’s trip to China, the U.S. and China announced an agreement to work closely on issues related to financial stability, in that U.S. and Chinese financial regulators agreed to hold a series of exercises simulating a failure of a large bank in either of the two countries.

The aim is to determine how to coordinate if a bank failure occurs, with the intent of preventing catastrophic stress on the global financial system.

Yellen said several exercises have already happened.

“I’m pleased that we will hold upcoming exchanges on operational resilience in the financial sector and on financial stability implications from the insurance sector’s exposure to climate risks.

“Just like military leaders need a hotline in a crisis,” Yellen said “American and Chinese financial regulators must be able to communicate to prevent financial stresses from turning into crises with tremendous ramifications for our citizens and the international community.”

What she ate

Yellen is something of a foodie celebrity in China ever since she ate mushrooms that can have psychedelic effects in Beijing last July. This trip was no different.

High-ranking Chinese officials brought up her celebrity ahead of important meetings — Premier Li Qiang noted in his opening remarks that Yellen’s visit has “indeed drawn a lot of attention in society” with media covering her trip and her dining habits. And social media was abuzz, following her latest movements around Guangzhou and Beijing.

This time in Beijing, Yellen ate at Lao Chuan Ban, a popular Sichuan restaurant. She also had lunch with Beijing Mayor Yin Yong at the Beijing International Hotel. On Monday evening, her last night in China, Yellen visited Jing-A Brewing Co. in Beijing — co-founded by an American — where she ordered a Flying Fist IPA, a beer made with American hops.
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Austin, Texas — Chinese migrants coming across the southern U.S. border say they made the treacherous journey to flee China’s authoritarian rule, to seek the American dream or escape growing political and economic uncertainty at home.

But the challenges do not end after they arrive, and some are deciding to return to China, while others have no choice.

Last April, Xia Yu arrived in the United States after traveling through more than 10 countries over a period of two months. Xia, a Chinese man in his 40s, asked to use a pseudonym so he could speak more freely with VOA Mandarin about his journey.

On his way to the U.S. border, he says, all his property was stolen, and his American dream did not come true: In immigration custody, he failed to pass the “credible fear interview” for asylum-seekers.

2023 surge

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, 52,700 Chinese immigrants arrived at U.S. borders without valid entry visas in fiscal 2023 — more than twice the number of just two years earlier. About half of them entered somewhere along the southern U.S. border where they were apprehended by Border Protection agents and sought asylum.

Individuals who pass the screening and establish that they have a credible reason to fear torture, persecution, or returning to their country, are allowed to stay in the U.S. to pursue their cases in immigration court.

Xia remained in the detention facility in the U.S. for months as he was processed for deportation, eventually landing at Shanghai Pudong Airport last August. Entering Chinese customs, he was fined $71 and had to sign a document admitting his crime of being deported after illegally entering another country. His passport was confiscated, and he was notified that he would be barred from leaving the country for three years.

The public security bureau in his hometown also questioned him about whom he encountered while on U.S. soil.

“They asked me to delete my foreign social media apps and foreign contacts,” he told VOA. “Then they told me not to contact these people because I would be deceived.” 

Xia said he thinks his WeChat account is being monitored to prevent him from inciting others to emigrate illegally. He said spending tens of thousands of dollars without even staying in the U.S. is nothing to brag about, and that he’d rather not mention his experience again.

‘A full life at home’

At 33, Wang Zhongwei from China’s Anhui Province now lives in Los Angeles, where has become a vocal advocate for immigrants since entering the United States in May.

Many Chinese who have crossed the border or are attempting to do so reach out to him for advice. Wang tells VOA Mandarin that while most who make the journey across the border stay, there are those who return because of loneliness, deceit, or family pressure.

Wang’s friend, Liu Ming, from Sichuan Province, came to the United States in the second half of 2023. Liu, 31, first stayed in Los Angeles for a month or two and then moved to New York to find work. After a long wait, he found a job working for a Chinese boss, but the pay wasn’t good.

In January, Liu’s boss refused to pay him, so he had no choice but to call the police. After receiving his salary the following day, Liu immediately went to the airport, messaging Wang: “I’m at the airport now and about to go back to China. I don’t like it here. See you again if destiny has it.”

In March, when Wang contacted him again, he found that Liu had used the self-service kiosk when entering China and wasn’t even interviewed by government staff.

Within months, Liu had returned to a life in China much as he knew it before.

“I am now working in a restaurant in my hometown. I work eight hours and the food is super good,” he told Wang via WhatsApp. “I used to work 12 hours non-stop in a restaurant in the U.S., [where] I was bored and lonely … but I live a full life at home.

At one point, when he got sick in the U.S., he worried about dying in a foreign land. He also complained about not being able to meet women there.

“I don’t regret the trip to the U.S.,” Liu continued, allowing, however, that on getting sick he’d worried about dying in a foreign land, and that he’d found it difficult to meet women.

“What I saw in real life was different from what I saw online,” he concluded. “There are both good and bad things in America.”

Room for regret

Zhang Lin, who is in his 30s and asked to use an alias to protect his privacy, describes himself as a person of double regrets. He first regretted coming to the United States, and now he regrets returning to China.

Crossing the U.S. border, Zhang found a job as a massage therapist in Los Angeles because he had the training. There, he made about $150 a day, a substantial wage for an undocumented immigrant.

But after only a month he returned to China, where he now runs a foot spa in his hometown.

“There were so many things I wasn’t used to in the U.S., and I was lonely,” he said. “I felt very homesick, so I came back impulsively.”

When he went to the U.S., Zhang said, he’d hoped to make a lot of money and make his family the envy of his hometown neighbors.

But now, after returning to China, where he faced a 12-hour interrogation at customs but faced no penalties, he says he regrets his impulsive decision to return.

“Life in my hometown is really hopeless,” Zhang said, adding that he hopes to go to the U.S. illegally again. “When you go out, you realize that the outside world is different. Your mind is opened up.”

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
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BEIJING — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned China on Monday that Washington will not accept new industries being decimated by Chinese imports as she wrapped up four days of meetings to press her case for Beijing to rein in excess industrial capacity. 

Yellen told a media conference that U.S. President Joe Biden would not allow a repeat of the “China shock” of the early 2000s, when a flood of Chinese imports destroyed about 2 million American manufacturing jobs. 

She did not, however, threaten new tariffs or other trade actions should Beijing continue its massive state support for electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels and other green energy goods. 

Yellen used her second trip to China in nine months to complain that China’s overinvestment has built factory capacity far exceeding domestic demand, while fast-growing exports of these products threaten firms in the U.S. and other countries. 

She said a newly created exchange forum to discuss the excess capacity issue would need time to reach solutions. 

Yellen drew parallels to the pain felt in the U.S. steel sector in the past. 

“We’ve seen this story before,” she told reporters. “Over a decade ago, massive PRC government support led to below-cost Chinese steel that flooded the global market and decimated industries across the world and in the United States.” 

Yellen added: “I’ve made it clear that President Biden and I will not accept that reality again.” 

When the global market is flooded with artificially cheap Chinese products, she said, “the viability of American and other foreign firms is put into question.” 

Yellen said her exchanges with Chinese officials had advanced American interests and that U.S. concerns over excess industrial capacity were shared by allies in Europe, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines and other emerging markets. 

Pushback 

China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, said in March the government would take steps to curb industrial overcapacity. 

But Beijing says the recent focus by the United States and Europe on the risks to other economies from China’s excess capacity is misguided. 

Chinese officials say the criticism understates innovation by their companies in key industries and overstates the importance of state support in driving their growth. 

They also say tariffs or other trade curbs will deprive global consumers of green energy alternatives key to meeting global climate goals. 

Trade curbs on Chinese electric vehicles would be disruptive to a growing industry and contravene World Trade Organization rules, the industry and information technology ministry said in a statement carried by state media CCTV and China Daily. 

The ministry added that it was committed to support EV exports and would help “accelerate the overseas development” of the industry including planning for shipping and logistics and support for firms to innovate and meet global standards. 

State news agency Xinhua quoted Li as saying the U.S. should “refrain from turning economic and trade issues into political or security issues” and view the topic of production capacity from a “market-oriented and global perspective.” 

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao voiced more pointed objections during a roundtable meeting with Chinese EV makers in Paris, saying U.S. and European assertions of Chinese excess EV capacity were groundless. 

Rather than subsidies, China’s electric vehicle companies rely on continuous technological innovation, perfect production and supply chain systems and full market competition, Wang said on his trip to discuss a European Union anti-subsidy inquiry. 

Yellen said a possible short-term solution was for China to take steps to bolster consumer demand with support for households and retirement, and shift its growth model away from supply-side investments. 

Yellen spoke about the issue at length with Premier Li Qiang and also met Finance Minister Lan Foan on Sunday. She met People’s Bank of China (PBOC) governor Pan Gongsheng and former vice premier Liu He on Monday. 

In a CNBC interview after the meetings, Yellen said she was “not thinking so much” about trade curbs on China, as much as shifts in its macroeconomic environment. But she reiterated she would notrule out tariffs. 

 
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MANILA, Philippines — Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday called on China to talk to prevent more incidents like ramming vessels and the use of water cannons in the South China Sea.

The Philippines continues to talk with China, and is exhausting all options to speak to Chinese leadership so as not to heat up tensions in the waterway, Marcos said.

He added he hopes the recently concluded joint maritime activity with Japan, Australia, and the United States will reduce incidents at sea with China.

Defense forces of the four nations on Sunday conducted a “maritime cooperative activity” involving five warships in the South China Sea.

Later this week, leaders of Japan, the United States and the Philippines will hold a summit in Washington to discuss issues like recent incidents in the South China Sea.

China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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London — The U.S., Britain and Australia are set to begin talks on bringing new members into their AUKUS security pact as Washington pushes for Japan to be involved as a deterrent against China, the Financial Times reported.

The countries’ defense ministers will announce discussions Monday on “Pillar Two” of the pact, which commits the members to jointly developing quantum computing, undersea, hypersonic, artificial intelligence and cyber technology, the newspaper reported Saturday, citing people familiar with the situation.

They are not considering expanding the first pillar, which is designed to deliver nuclear-powered attack submarines to Australia, the Financial Times said.

AUKUS, formed by the three countries in 2021, is part of their efforts to push back against China’s growing power in the Indo-Pacific region. China has called the AUKUS pact dangerous and warned it could spur a regional arms race.

U.S. President Joe Biden has sought to step up partnerships with U.S. allies in Asia, including Japan and the Philippines, amid China’s historic military build-up and its growing territorial assertiveness.

Rahm Emanuel, the U.S. ambassador in Tokyo, wrote in an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that Japan was “about to become the first additional Pillar II partner.”

A senior U.S. administration official told Reuters on Wednesday that some sort of announcement could be expected in the coming week about Japan’s involvement but gave no details.

Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will likely discuss expanding AUKUS to include Japan when the president hosts the prime minister in Washington on Wednesday, a source with knowledge of the talks said.

Australia, however, is wary of beginning new projects until more progress has been made on supplying Canberra with nuclear-powered submarines, said the source, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

Obstacles for Japan

A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council and China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the FT report.

A Japanese foreign ministry spokesperson said the ministry could not immediately comment.

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles has said they would “seek opportunities to engage close partners in AUKUS Pillar II” and any involvement of more countries would be decided and announced by the three partners, a spokesperson from his office said.

Britain’s defense ministry said it too would like to involve more allies in this work, subject to joint agreement.

While the U.S. is keen to see Japanese involvement in Pillar Two, officials and experts say obstacles remain, given a need for Japan to introduce better cyber defenses and stricter rules for guarding secrets.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, an architect of U.S. Indo-Pacific policy, said Wednesday the U.S. was encouraging Japan to do more to protect intellectual property and hold officials accountable for secrets. “It’s fair to say that Japan has taken some of those steps, but not all of them,” he said.

The United States has long said that other countries in Europe and Asia are expected to join the second pillar of AUKUS.

The senior U.S. official said any decisions about who would be involved in Pillar Two would be made by the three AUKUS members, whose defense ministers had been considering the questions for many months, based on what countries could bring to the project.

Campbell said that other countries had expressed interest in participating in AUKUS.

“I think you’ll hear that we have something to say about that next week and there also will be further engagement among the three defense ministers of the United States, Australia, and Great Britain as they focus on this effort as well,” Campbell told the Center for a New American Security think tank.

Campbell also said Wednesday the AUKUS submarine project could help deter any Chinese move against Taiwan, the democratically governed island that Beijing claims as part of China.

Biden, Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. are to hold a trilateral summit Thursday.
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Moscow — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit China on Monday and Tuesday to discuss the war in Ukraine and the deepening partnership between Moscow and Beijing.

Talks between Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who extended the invitation to the Russian minister, will include bilateral cooperation as well as “hot topics,” such as the crisis in Ukraine and the Asia-Pacific, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Reuters reported last month that Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to China in May for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in what could be the Kremlin chief’s first overseas trip of his new presidential term.

China and Russia declared a “no limits” partnership in February 2022 when Putin visited Beijing just days before he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, triggering the deadliest land war in Europe since World War II.

The United States casts China as its biggest competitor and Russia as its biggest nation-state threat, while U.S. President Joe Biden argues that this century will be defined by an existential contest between democracies and autocracies.

Putin and Xi share a broad world view, which sees the West as decadent and in decline just as China challenges U.S. supremacy in everything from quantum computing and synthetic biology to espionage and hard military power.

China-Russian trade hit a record of $240.1 billion in 2023, up 26.3% from a year earlier, according to Chinese customs data.

Chinese shipments to Russia jumped 46.9% in 2023 while imports from Russia rose 13%.

China-United States trade fell 11.6% to $664.5 billion in 2023, according to the Chinese customs data.

One year into the Ukraine war, China in 2023 published a 12-point position paper on settling the Ukraine crisis. Russia has said China’s position is reasonable.

Switzerland in January agreed to hold a peace summit at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has put forward a peace formula that calls for a full Russian withdrawal from all territory controlled by Russian forces.

Reuters reported in February that Putin’s suggestion of a cease-fire in Ukraine to freeze the war was rejected by the United States after contacts between intermediaries.

Moscow says that Zelenskyy’s proposals amount to a ridiculous ultimatum and that the proposed meeting in Switzerland was being used by the West to try to garner support for Ukraine among the Global South.

Russia says that any peace in Ukraine would have to accept the reality of its control over just under one fifth of Ukraine and include a broader agreement on European security.

Ukraine says it will not rest until every last Russian soldier is ejected from its territory.
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washington — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is on a five-day visit to China, where she expressed concern to Chinese officials Friday about state subsidies that fuel manufacturing overcapacity in industries such as electric vehicles, solar panels and semiconductors.

U.S. officials and economists have warned that China’s overcapacity — when its production ability significantly exceeds what is needed in markets — will further drive down prices and cost jobs, especially if China seeks to offload excess production through exports instead of domestic consumption.

U.S. President Joe Biden, in a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping Tuesday, said China’s “unfair” trade policies and “non-market” practices harm the interests of American workers and families.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin gave reporters at a regular briefing Wednesday a rundown of the conversation the two leaders had on trade, according to Beijing. He said “the U.S. has adopted a string of measures to suppress China’s trade and technology development and is adding more and more Chinese entities to its sanctions lists. This is not ‘de-risking,’ but creating risks.”

So, when is an industry at overcapacity?

Gary Clyde Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said that for capital-intensive industries such as steel, oil refining and semiconductors, when capacity utilization is below 75% for an extended period of time, most observers would label that excess capacity.

Hufbauer told VOA that China’s massive government-stimulated and bank-financed investment has resulted in almost all the country’s capital-intensive manufacturing industries having overcapacity.

“If China does pursue a massive export ‘solution,’ that will hurt manufacturing firms in Japan, the E.U., Korea and other industrial countries. But low prices will be welcome in many developing countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia,” he said.

A report last week by the New York-based Rhodium Group, which researches the Chinese market, shows that the utilization rate of China’s silicon wafer capacity dropped from 78% in 2019 to 57% in 2022. In 2022, China’s lithium-ion battery production reached 1.9 times the domestic installation volume, showing that the problem of overcapacity in clean energy fields is emerging.

China’s exports of electric vehicles, solar cells and lithium batteries have increased even more significantly. Data shows that in 2023, China’s electric vehicle export volume was seven times that of 2019, while its solar cell export volume in 2023 was five times that of 2018, an increase of 40% from 2022.

The report notes that while temporary overcapacity may be harmless and a normal part of the market cycle, it becomes a problem when it is perpetuated by government intervention.

The Rhodium Group’s report says that China’s National People’s Congress in March focused on industrial policies that benefit high-tech industries, while there is little financial support for household consumption.

“This policy mix will compound the growing imbalance between domestic supply and demand,” says the report. “Systemic bias toward supporting producers rather than households or consumers allows Chinese firms to ramp up production despite low margins, without the fear of bankruptcy that constrains firms in market economies.”

Overcapacity a decade ago

China’s structural overcapacity problem is not a new phenomenon. Rhodium Group’s report says the last time China had large overcapacity issues was from 2014 to 2016, a few years after the government launched a massive stimulus package in response to the global financial crisis that began in 2008. The stimulus package centered on infrastructure and real estate construction, triggering major capacity build-up in a range of associated industries.

In 2014, as the demand for real estate and infrastructure construction weakened, there was obvious overcapacity in heavy industrial products such as steel and aluminum.

“Ultimately, China’s excess capacity is due to state interference in the market,” said Derek Scissors, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “Genuinely private participants can’t sustain excess capacity for long because it causes losses. But state support for production of some goods and services, called “strategic” or something like that, enables companies to survive despite these losses.”

Scissors said China’s overcapacity in the new energy sectors of electric vehicles, solar panels and batteries concerns the Biden administration as it wants to expand those sectors in the U.S.

“The U.S. has raised concerns about Chinese overproduction for years,” he told VOA. “What’s changed is there is now emerging American industrial policy clashing with long-standing and widespread Chinese industrial policy.”

The Rhodium Group’s report says China’s surge in exports of new energy products over the past few years could be devastating for market-constrained producers in advanced economies such as the U.S.

Beijing’s policy planning will exacerbate the growing imbalance between domestic supply and demand, it reads, putting China on the road to trade confrontation with the rest of the world.

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
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washington — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on China Friday to address its industrial overcapacity, reform its trade practices and create a “healthy economic relationship” with the United States.

“The United States seeks a healthy economic relationship with China that benefits both sides,” Yellen said in remarks in the industrial southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. “But a healthy relationship must provide a level playing field for firms and workers in both countries.”

Yellen also met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and other high-level central bank officials Friday. During the meeting, Yellen told Chinese officials that their industrial overcapacity, particularly in green energy sectors, threaten American production of electric vehicles and solar panel parts.

China has supported its solar panel and EV makers through subsidies, building production capacity far beyond the domestic market’s demand and exporting its products globally. Although this production has massively cheapened prices for these green products — crucial in efforts to fight climate change — American and European governments worry that Chinese products will flood the market and put their own domestic production at risk.

During a meeting Friday with Guangdong province Governor Wang Weizhong, Yellen said the U.S. and China must communicate regarding areas of disagreement, including green industrial policy.

“This includes the issue of China’s industrial overcapacity, which the United States and other countries are concerned can cause global spillovers,” she said.

China has sought to downplay these concerns, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin noting earlier this week that China’s green production is a positive in global efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

Wang said U.S. reluctance to export technology to China, a policy related to U.S. fears of industrial overcapacity, meddles with global supply and demand.

“As for who is doing nonmarket manipulation, the fact is for everyone to see,” he said. “The U.S. has not stopped taking measures to contain China’s trade and technology. This is not ‘de-risking,’ rather, it is creating risks.”

Beyond addressing overcapacity, Yellen also expressed concerns about Chinese trade practices.

Yellen said China has pursued “unfair economic practices, including imposing barriers to access for foreign firms and taking coercive actions against American companies.”

She urged Chinese officials to reform these policies.

“I strongly believe that this doesn’t only hurt these American firms,” Yellen said in a speech at an event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Guangzhou. “Ending these unfair practices would benefit China by improving the business climate here.”

Yellen’s visit to China, her second, marks the first visit by a senior U.S. official to China since November meetings between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Both He and Yellen said the U.S. and China need to, in He’s words, “properly respond to key concerns of the other side” to form a more cooperative economic relationship.

Yellen said, “It also remains crucial for the two largest economies to seek progress on global challenges like climate change and debt distress in emerging markets in developing countries and to closely communicate on issues of concern such as overcapacity and national security-related economic actions.”

She added that U.S. efforts to push Chinese policies are geared toward reducing global risk.

“This is not anti-China policy,” she said. “It’s an effort for us to mitigate the risks from the inevitable global economic dislocation that will result if China doesn’t adjust its policies.”
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WASHINGTON — Deputy Minister of Human Rights of Myanmar’s shadow government, the National Unity Government (NUG), Aung Kyaw Moe told VOA that the Myanmar people distrust the ruling military leader’s recent claim that he is interested in restoring democracy in the country. In a recent interview with VOA, the minister, also the NUG’s first Rohingya minister, called for caution in assessing China’s efforts to facilitate the repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh and delved into the Rohingyas’ aspiration to align themselves with the Rakhine people against the junta, which overthrew a democratically elected government in 2021. 

The following interview has been translated into English and edited for length and clarity. 

VOA: The Myanmar junta’s senior general, Min Aung Hlaing, gave a speech at their Armed Forces Day parade on March 27th in which he claims he is holding power only “temporarily” to strengthen democracy. What is your opinion on that? 

Aung Kyaw Moe, NUG Deputy Human Rights Minister: The main leader of the military junta is Min Aung Hlaing. Almost every word that comes out of his mouth belies his intentions. From day one, when he first attempted to seize power, he has not been accountable for his words, and there is no accountability within the organization he leads. Therefore, listening to his words would be a waste of time and only serve to exhaust people seeking a genuine political solution. 

His political vision and the reality he faces are completely opposed. When the military attempted to seize power, their political calculation did not anticipate such a collective resistance from the public. They never expected such widespread opposition. This latest statement, although insincere, is calculated to craft a narrative that he can present to the international community, one that is more likely to be accepted by countries allied with them. This narrative is also an attempt to deceive the people amidst a rising political tide against his military government. However, the people are aware of the misinformation spread by the junta, and they won’t believe these false messages. 

VOA: Senior General Min Aung Hlaing also said in his speech that, by the end of this year, they will complete a new accounting of the voter pool in Myanmar. He didn’t say exactly when an election would be held but said that to hold this election, there must be unity between the people and the military. How do you see the prospects for unity before a new election? 

Aung Kyaw Moe: That election would be rigged — a fake election. They consistently claim that they view the election as a political exit strategy from their attempted seizure of power. Firstly, they haven’t been able to accomplish anything, let alone prepare for an election. Secondly, we already have a parliament composed of representatives elected by the people, who clearly emerged victorious in 2020. With this mandate from the people and the parliament, the junta have no justification for calling another election during this term. The public doesn’t accept it, ethnic revolutionary organizations don’t accept it, and democracy activists don’t accept it. Such statements by the junta cannot be tolerated in the current intense political climate in Myanmar. 

VOA: The United Nations has taken the lead in addressing the Rohingya crisis, but China has also gotten involved, for example, in the repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh back to Myanmar. How do you see China’s role in the Rohingya crisis going forward? 

Aung Kyaw Moe: It’s undeniable that China holds significant sway in Myanmar’s political landscape as a neighboring superpower. However, China needs to understand that the transition towards the rule of law in Myanmar is not a threat to its interests. Regarding the Rohingya, China calculates its interests carefully. The Rohingya issue doesn’t directly affect China’s borders, but Chinese investments in Rakhine State, including deep-sea ports and the Shwe Gas natural gas pipelines project, are substantial. Perhaps China’s desire for peace and stability in Rakhine State aligns with its national interests. However, China’s attempts to garner international acceptance for the military junta, potentially by facilitating Rohingya repatriation, could grant the junta the legitimacy it seeks in international relations. It’s also plausible that China is indirectly creating diplomatic room to legitimize the junta. 

VOA: Currently, the Rohingya community remaining in Rakhine faces pressure from both the junta and the Arakan Army (AA), particularly during the AA’s recent offensive, which saw military tactical positions and entire towns being occupied. The Rohingya are essentially caught in the crossfire between the military junta and the AA, as the group seeks autonomy from Myanmar’s central government in Rakhine state. Given this complex situation, how do you perceive the possibility of coexistence between these two communities, especially considering the differing perspectives on ethnic identity? 

Aung Kyaw Moe: There are two crucial aspects to consider here. Firstly, as a government member and a Rohingya myself, in the complex political landscape of Myanmar, I see my individual and collective rights intricately linked to my identity and circumstances. In a political environment shaped by identity, the promise of equality means little if we’re denied the right to identify ourselves as we choose. Hence, the assertion of our Rohingya identity is essential for safeguarding our rights and cultural heritage. 

Secondly, peaceful coexistence hinges on addressing political aspirations accurately. While we strive to dismantle the junta and forge our own destinies, it’s imperative to avoid replicating the very racism we condemn. Our unity must be grounded in moral integrity and responsibility, not reactive emotions. When addressing organized provocations by the junta, our response should prioritize the common interests of all ethnic groups in Rakhine state. By aligning with the Rakhine people’s interests, we counter the junta’s attempts to marginalize us, and we uphold our collective well-being. Embracing moral principles and responsibilities empowers us to resist exploitation by the junta while fostering genuine unity based on shared values and aspirations.
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Taipei, Taiwan — Several human rights organizations say China has intensified persecution against human rights lawyers and their family members in recent months, as the ailing wife of a lawyer is denied access to her pension and medical insurance, while the children of two lawyers are repeatedly forced by local authorities to drop out of schools. 

VOA has reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry for comment but has yet to receive a response. 

On March 31, 16 human rights lawyers and dissidents in China called for donations to Chinese human rights lawyer Zhou Shifeng, whose family struggles to pay for his wife’s mounting medical bills because she hasn’t been able to access social insurance or her pension. 

Zhou’s wife has been disabled since suffering a serious stroke in 1995. Since Zhou was sentenced to seven years in jail for “inciting subversion of state power” in 2015, which was part of the Chinese government’s nationwide crackdown against more than 300 human rights lawyers, his wife hasn’t been able to regularly pay for her social insurance or properly handle her retirement application.  

“Before his arrest, Zhou’s law firm would pay for his wife’s social insurance and he would take care of everything she needed,” said Ren Quanniu, a Chinese human rights lawyer familiar with Zhou’s situation.  

“But after he was arrested, her social insurance payment was suspended and no one could help her complete the retirement process in 2017, which caused her to lose access to the social insurance and pension,” he told VOA by phone.  

As a result, Zhou’s wife can’t be reimbursed for her mounting medical bills and her rapidly deteriorating health is increasing pressure on her family. 

“Her overall health condition deteriorated since Zhou’s arrest in 2015 and it became even more serious since the start of 2024,” Ren said, adding that she has been in the intensive care unit of a local hospital in Henan Province since February.  

Like many human rights lawyers in China, Zhou lost his license after he was detained, and since his release in September 2022, he hasn’t been able to find a stable job to support his family. “Since he can no longer work as a lawyer, his family has lost their only source of income,” Ren added.  

With no income to pay his wife’s medical bills, Ren said the human rights lawyer’s community wants to support his family by calling for public donations. “His wife is probably hanging by a thread, so we hope to do whatever we can to help support his family through this difficult period,” he said.  

Forced to drop out of school  

Other human rights lawyers’ families are experiencing repeated forced evictions, while schools are repeatedly turning away their children due to pressure from local authorities.  

Wang Quanzhang, a prominent human rights lawyer sentenced to four and a half years on charges of subversion during the 2015 crackdown, has been evicted by landlords or hotels more than a dozen times since last April. He said the forced evictions are part of Chinese authorities’ retaliation against him and his family.

The 2015 crackdown is known in China as the 709 crackdown because it began on July 9, 2015. On that date, Chinese authorities began targeting independent legal advocates and arrested hundreds of lawyers. 

“The authorities think our community has been trying to humiliate them, so they want to use all the means at their disposal to punish human rights lawyers,” Wang told VOA in a phone call.  

Apart from the forced evictions, Wang said his 11-year-old son has been turned away by schools several times over the last year. “Since we were forced to move to new places so frequently over the last year, it’s been difficult for my son to remain at the same school for long enough,” he said, adding that some schools would turn away his son due to pressure from authorities.  

Wang tried to send him abroad for schooling last year, hoping to protect him from the harassment.  

“When we tried to leave China last October, the customs officers stopped my son and the daughter of another human rights lawyer and said they weren’t allowed to leave the country since they could be a threat to national security,” he said.  

Since then, Wang and his family moved to the southern province of Guangzhou and tried to admit his son to a private academy recommended by his friends. 

“After just a week, close to 20 people suddenly showed up at the academy to conduct ‘inspection’ and following their repeated harassment, the academy was forced to move to a more discreet location,” Wang said. 

Since it’s unclear when his son may return to school, Wang is signing him up for some online classes to make sure he is still learning something. “The authorities know my son is my biggest weakness so they try to make it difficult for him to go to school, hoping it could stop me from criticizing them,” he told VOA.  

Some human rights advocates say the Chinese government has increased the level of persecution against Chinese dissidents and their families in recent years. Yu Zhenyang, the son of detained human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng and his wife Xu Yan, was briefly detained and has tried to commit suicide twice since last November.

“Under Xi Jinping’s rule, persecutions against the children of Chinese dissidents have increased and it’s now a new normal,” said Zhou Fengsuo, a former Tiananmen student leader and executive director of New York-based organization Human Rights in China. He spoke to VOA by phone.  

During a Universal Periodic Review, held by the U.N. Human Rights Council in January, China’s top diplomat in Geneva said Beijing is dedicated to “safeguarding the rights of specific groups” and “implementing four consecutive cycles of outlines for children’s development.” 
…

washington — Planning is already underway for three-nation naval patrols in the South China Sea ahead of a high-profile summit next week among the leaders of the United States, Japan and the Philippines, senior officials have said.

Philippine ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel Romualdez was quoted by the Financial Times on Wednesday saying that Washington, Tokyo and Manila are finalizing details of an agreement on the patrols, including when to begin and how often they will take place.

The U.S. and the Philippines have conducted joint patrols in the past, but this will be the first time Japan has participated. Both Japan and the Philippines are treaty allies of the United States.

Asked about the plan, Pentagon spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Martin Meiners told VOA’s Korean Service via email this week that the U.S. has been concerned about “dangerous and destabilizing” actions in the region and is “committed to maintaining deterrence, peace, and stability” with its allies and partners.

Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said the April 11 summit will be an occasion for “an unprecedented trilateral engagement” among the three countries that will lead to closer cooperation in the South China Sea and elsewhere.

He made the remark Wednesday at an event hosted by the Center for a New American Security in Washington.

A senior U.S. official said the three leaders will discuss what was described as China’s “increasingly risky behavior” in the South China Sea.

“We are increasingly concerned that the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China’s] behavior in this space could lead us closer to really, unintended consequences,” the official said at a background White House press briefing this week.

“U.S. alliances and partnerships are not about China. … But oftentimes, Chinese action motivates a lot — much of what we talk about,” continued the official.

The most recent flare-up came on March 26 when the Chinese Coast Guard used water cannon to prevent a Philippine vessel from conducting a resupply mission to an outpost on a reef in waters within Manila’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

 
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told his Philippine counterpart Eduardo Año on Monday that the U.S. supports the Philippines against China’s “dangerous actions on March 26 obstructing a lawful Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal.”

Manila claims the shoal in the Spratly Islands as its own territory and has been keeping the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era navy transport ship, grounded on the reef since late 1999.

Patrick Cronin, the Hudson Institute’s Asia-Pacific Security Chair, told VOA via email on Tuesday that the trilateral maritime patrols can provide “both a level of deterrence and a way of blocking Beijing’s efforts to create de facto control over disputed waters and some areas that clearly belong to the Philippines.”

He continued, “China will not desist from its ‘sovereignty enforcement’ efforts, use of white hulls and maritime militia to impose its domestic law on international waters, but it may have to shelve staking further claims in the face of concerted opposition from the three democracies.”

Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, told VOA via email on Wednesday that “the military cooperation between the relevant countries must not interfere in South China Sea disputes,” and called for the three allies to avoid actions that would “harm China’s territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests and security interests.”

Liu continued, “The South China Sea issue is a matter between China and some ASEAN countries.”

Among ASEAN member states, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei are official claimants against China, whose claims to virtually all of the resource-rich waters have been rejected by an international tribunal.

 
Prashanth Parameswaran, a fellow at the Wilson Center and founder of the weekly ASEAN Wonk newsletter, told VOA on Tuesday, that “more patrols by more countries is one of many ways to reinforce presence and prevent the nightmare scenario of the South China Sea becoming a Chinese lake.”

He continued, “In addition to alliance networking, the United States and its partners will have to find ways to work with Southeast Asian states which are not formal allies but are nonetheless critical in addressing China’s assertiveness as well.”
…

washington — Any resentment among Central Asian leaders over China’s treatment of its Uyghur minority was swept aside during recent tours of the region by the chairman of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and the Chinese minister of public security.

The warm welcome given the Chinese officials reflects the region’s growing economic ties with Beijing and its uneasiness with Russia — the region’s longtime guarantor against domestic rebellion — as that country struggles on the battlefield in Ukraine. 

Fears that Moscow’s territorial ambitions may extend to other former Soviet republics have been reinforced by a backlash against Central Asians in Russia following the March 22 attack on a Moscow music venue, which killed at least 140 people and injured nearly 100.

Russian media have reported a spike in hate crimes and violence against migrants from Central Asia since the attack, which prompted Russian authorities to detain more than a dozen suspects, the majority of whom have links to the region.

Responsibility for the attack was claimed by Islamic State-Khorasan Province, a branch of the Islamic State terrorist group that is active in South-Central Asia, primarily Afghanistan, and includes Central Asian members.

Central Asian economies have historically depended on remittances from migrant laborers in Russia. But according to Salih Hudayar of the Washington-based East Turkistan Government in Exile — a group that advocates for China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region — Central Asian leaders are deepening ties with China despite its well-documented human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples.

He told VOA that the willingness of some Central Asian regional governments to do business with Chinese officials, including those in Xinjiang, whose majority Muslim ethnic Uyghurs have deep ties across Central Asia, is driven by the lack of international action over rights abuses on the ground.

“The tepid responses from powers like the U.S. and the EU have not only failed the people of East Turkistan [Xinjiang] but have also encouraged Central Asian countries to deepen their ties with China,” said Hudayar, adding that economic gains from doing business with China outweigh any ethical considerations.

The U.S. and European Union have officially labeled China’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang as genocide, while the U.N. Human Rights Office has stated that China’s actions in Xinjiang could constitute crimes against humanity, including arbitrary detention, forced labor, forced sterilization, and widespread surveillance targeting Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities.

China denies these accusations, dismissing them as lies concocted by U.S.-led anti-China forces seeking to contain China’s development. 

Chinese official Erkin Tuniyaz, chairman of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, led the first delegation in meetings with Kyrgyz President Sadir Japarov in Bishkek on April 1, following discussions with Uzbek and Kazakh leaders the previous week.

An ethnic Uyghur who has himself been sanctioned by the U.S. government for his alleged role in human rights abuses, Tuniyaz led discussions on cooperation in trade, mining, cultural exchanges and humanitarian aid. 

Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong held security talks with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev that same day. 

According to Temur Umarov, an expert on China and Central Asia at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Central Asian leaders’ readiness to overlook human rights abuses to enhance economic and security ties with China stems from their own styles of governance.

“It’s important to keep in mind that all Central Asian countries are authoritarian, and the same concerns that the U.S. has toward the situation in China also apply to the regimes in Central Asian countries,” Umarov told VOA. “So, in this regard, I don’t see why Central Asian countries would even consider such allegations from the U.S. toward China as a factor affecting their relationship with China. 

“They’re pragmatic in their foreign policy,” he added. “They clearly understand that without China, the development of their own economies and political stability is impossible to imagine.”

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said during his meeting with Tuniyaz that he had recently been in the Xinjiang capital of Ürümqi, where his delegation “had very good negotiations regarding the prospects for Kazakhstan’s cooperation with China as a whole and, of course, with Xinjiang province.”

According to Umarov, Xinjiang’s crucial role in Central Asian countries’ economic cooperation with China underscores its current and future importance to them, as China’s assistance in diversifying their global economic connections increases.

“All of the logistic hubs and energy exports from Central Asia to China go through Xinjiang,” Umarov said. “All of the businesses that have branches in Central Asia and all the investment projects, the majority of them originate from Xinjiang.

“So, in fact, what we call the China-Central Asia relationship is, in most cases, the Xinjiang-Central Asia relationship,” he said. “So, I think that’s also important to keep in mind.”

Official statistics show China has become the primary trade partner for all five Central Asian states. According to Kazakh media, bilateral trade reached $31.5 billion last year, with Xinjiang contributing over 64%, or $20.3 billion.

“China is one of the region’s main trading partners and a key investor into Central Asia,” said Genevieve Donnellon-May, a research associate at Asia Society Policy Institute told VOA. “At the same time, there may be interest from Central Asian leaders’ in reducing reliance on Russia.”
…

Discrimination dating back decades has often meant Chinese Muslims living in Indonesia have had a difficult time blending in with others of their faith. Several mosques in the country now aim to bridge that gap, as VOA’s Ahadian Utama reports. VOA footage by Gregorius Giovanni.
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tokyo — Japan is set to improve its strategic partnership with the Philippines at an upcoming trilateral meeting with the United States amid rising tensions between Beijing and Manila.

Leaders of the three countries, who will meet April 11 in Washington, are expected to discuss maritime security issues that are drawing Japan into a more robust military role in the Asia-Pacific region.

China used water cannons last month to disrupt a Philippine mission to resupply its garrison in a disputed portion of the South China Sea, an attack that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called “illegal, coercive” and warranting countermeasures.

Despite its geographical distance from the South China Sea, Japan’s national interests lie in defending peace across the region, according to Alexander Vuving, professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.

“From the Philippines’ perspective, Japan is Manila’s second most important partner in the South China Sea, second only to the United States, given Japan’s high commitment to keeping the sea free of Chinese dominance; Japan’s robust economic and military capabilities; and Japan’s proximity to the sea,” he told VOA.

Protecting regional dominance

Freedom of navigation in the maritime region is vital to Japan, which sees 90% of its energy and trade flow through the South China Sea. Japan relies heavily on importing crude oil from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, while one-fourth of the nation’s total trade in 2019 was from the European Union and members of ASEAN that also rely on the sea route.

Vuving added that Japan has changed its strategy from depending only on the U.S.-Japan military alliance to taking a more proactive role in defending its own national interests.

“The protection of the sea lines of communication that connect Japan with the rest of Afro-Eurasia is prominent in this vision because these maritime routes are some of the main arteries of Japan’s supply chains,” he said.

Ken Jimbo, a Keio University professor specializing in Japanese defense and security policy, said Japan is aiming to keep China’s maritime presence in check.

“Diplomatically, [keeping China in check] allows Japan to strengthen its position in the Indo-Pacific region, fostering closer security and defense cooperation with like-minded countries to counterbalance China’s assertiveness,” he told VOA.

Japan announced late last year that it was in talks with the Philippines for a defense pact known as a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) that would provide for enhanced security assistance.

“The negotiation of a Japan-Philippines RAA signifies a deepening military cooperation, aiming to elevate their defense relations,” Jimbo said. “Japan is considered a powerful ally for the Philippines, not just in terms of military equipment but also in enhancing interoperability and strategic alignment against common security challenges in the region.”

Early last year, the two countries signed terms of reference that simplified the process for Japanese forces to enter the Philippines for humanitarian assistance.

Further friction with China?

Japan’s siding with the Philippines and the U.S. has created friction in sometimes bumpy Sino-Japanese relations. China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, urged Japan to “take actions that are beneficial to regional peace and stability,” state media CGTN reported in late March.

The sources of friction between the two countries range from anger over Japan’s use of sexual slavery during World War II to the release of wastewater from the disabled Fukushima nuclear power plant. There is also a long-standing dispute over islands in the East China Sea known as Diaoyu to China and Senkaku to Japan.

Jimbo said the trilateral summit in Washington could strain Sino-Japanese relations, but that the benefits outweigh the costs.

“It is a calculated move within Japan’s broader regional strategy,” he said. “The dynamics of Japan-China relations are complex, with economic interdependence coexisting with strategic rivalry, suggesting that both nations are accustomed to managing fluctuations in their relationship.”

Vuving said China is unlikely to react by raising tensions over the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands.

“Such tensions would only strengthen Japan’s belief in seeking regional cooperation to deny Chinese regional dominance,” he said. “China may seek ways to hurt Japan economically, but for Japan, the trilateral cooperation … helps to redress the balance of power in the South China Sea in the long term … and would be immensely important if a conflict occurred over Taiwan.”

China is currently Japan’s largest trading partner, and one of the largest investment destinations for Japanese companies. Japan exports semiconductors and electronic parts to China and imports telecommunications and computer equipment from it, according to government data.

Experts say that after the trilateral meeting, Japan is expected to send its naval vessels to patrol with the U.S and the Philippines and will likely join military drills in the South China Sea. 
…

On a call Tuesday, President Joe Biden discussed with Chinese President Xi Jinping a range of high-level issues and reiterated his request that China not use web-based disinformation tools to interfere with the U.S. presidential election. The two leaders also discussed Taiwan – the island China claims – as it prepares to inaugurate a new leader next month. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Washington.
…

new york — A U.S. judge on Tuesday rejected exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui’s bid to dismiss an indictment accusing him of defrauding thousands of investors out of more than $1 billion. 

U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan said prosecutors sufficiently alleged that Guo engaged in a pattern of racketeering through four fraud schemes, and that proving it was a matter for trial. 

Lawyers for Guo did not immediately respond to requests for comment after business hours. 

Guo has pleaded not guilty to 12 criminal charges including securities fraud, wire fraud, unlawful monetary transactions and conspiracy, including for money laundering. 

According to the indictment, Guo and his accomplices defrauded investors in a media company, cryptocurrency and other ventures. 

The indictment said Guo took advantage of his prolific online presence and hundreds of thousands of followers by promising outsized financial returns and other benefits. 

In reality, the scheme allowed the co-conspirators to enrich themselves and family members and fund Guo’s “extravagant lifestyle,” the indictment said. 

Two co-defendants face related criminal charges, and one defendant is charged with obstruction. 

Also known as Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Kwok, Guo is a critic of China’s Communist Party and a business associate of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s onetime adviser Steve Bannon. 

Guo has been jailed in Brooklyn, a borough in New York City, since his March 2023 arrest, with Torres and a federal appeals court rejecting his proposed $25 million bail package last year. 

Jury selection in his trial is scheduled to begin on May 20. 

Prosecutors also sought the forfeiture of various assets, including bank accounts, a $37 million yacht, a New Jersey mansion, a Bugatti, a Lamborghini and a Rolls Royce. 

Guo filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Connecticut in February 2022. That case was later combined with the bankruptcies of other companies he controlled. Torres has twice rejected Guo’s bid to stay the bankruptcy proceedings. 
…

phnom penh, cambodia/washington — Cambodia’s first leadership change in almost four decades has given the United States an opportunity to reset its relationship with Phnom Penh, analysts and experts told VOA Khmer following a recent visit from an American diplomat. 

However, Cambodia’s slide away from democracy — along with claims that China is establishing an exclusive military presence at Cambodia’s main naval base — continues to pose a major impediment to warming relations, they said in recent interviews. 

Sebastian Strangio, the author of Hun Sen’s Cambodia, said some voices in U.S. foreign policy circles were questioning the effectiveness of Washington’s prevailing Cambodia policy even before former Prime Minister Hun Sen handed control to his son, Prime Minister Hun Manet, in August — ending the father’s 38-year reign. 

“There has been discussion amongst people who pay attention to Southeast Asia that the very moralistic tone of American policy toward Cambodia, really since the early ’90s, has failed to achieve its goals, while also opening up the space for China to step in as Hun Sen’s benefactor and patron, and that some sort of change in emphasis was needed,” he said during an interview with VOA Khmer on March 28. 

Strangio described tension between leading Hun Sen critics in Congress, who want human rights and democracy at the forefront of Cambodia policy, and more pragmatic figures in the State Department who are willing to sacrifice principles for more influence in Phnom Penh. 

The coming to power of Manet, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, “has given an opportunity for the country to take a new approach, or for people advocating a new approach to get more of a hearing,” Strangio said. 

That shift was on full display after July’s election. The U.S. initially froze $18 million in foreign aid to Cambodia in protest of the election, pointing to a “pattern of threats and harassment” against opposition politicians, journalists and civil society ahead of the vote. 

Two months later, after Hun Manet was sworn in, Victoria Nuland, the acting U.S. deputy secretary of state, met with the new prime minister in New York and informed him the U.S. would unfreeze the funds. 

Analysts say Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Kritenbrink’s visit to Phnom Penh in late February showed the delicate balance the United States is pursuing, highlighting areas of agreement without entirely abandoning its stated priorities since helping broker peace in Cambodia 30 years ago. 

The U.S. envoy, in an online news conference March 7, said he raised “areas of difference related to issues such as human rights, trafficking in persons, and creating space for free and independent media,” while also reiterating the U.S. commitment to “a more prosperous, democratic, and independent country.” 

Kritenbrink praised Cambodia at the United Nations for cooperating with sanctions against North Korea and consistently condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

Astrid Norén-Nilsson, a senior lecturer at the Center for East and South-East Asian Studies at Sweden’s Lund University, said the U.S. “commitment to Cambodia remains fundamentally geopolitical.” 

She noted Hun Manet’s government was sending some positive signals on the domestic front, despite the political repression.

“The new government’s focus on administrative reform, its discourse of meritocracy, and its technocratic approach to policy also allow Western governments to latch on to its policy agendas,” she said. 

Kritenbrink said he and Hun Manet discussed the Ream Naval base, a pain point between the countries that has prompted U.S. sanctions against top military figures. 

The U.S. accuses Cambodia of allowing China to develop the base as an exclusive Chinese naval outpost. Cambodia denies any such deal and says China will not have any special access to the base.

 
Paul Chambers, of the Center of ASEAN Community Studies at Naresuan University in Thailand, said Kritenbrink’s visit was “meant to send a message to Cambodia that leading U.S. officials are worried about Cambodia’s tilt to China.” 

Chambers said the high level of Chinese military and economic involvement in Cambodia would remain a roadblock to expanding cooperation with Washington.

“It will deeply worsen U.S.-Cambodia relations unless there is an offset — Cambodia allows equal levels of U.S. security activity with Cambodia,” he said in an email to VOA Khmer on March 13. Cambodia canceled its annual joint military drills with the United States in 2017. 

Sophal Ear, an associate professor at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University and a longtime Cambodia observer, was optimistic about a potential breakthrough in U.S.-Cambodia relations. 

“Timing is everything. Rapprochement may be on the menu,” he said in an email last month. 

“Cambodia is strategically located in Southeast Asia and is crucial to regional dynamics,” he added. “Engaging with Cambodia allows the U.S. to promote its governance, trade, and regional security interests.”

However, other analysts said the United States is likely unwilling to take steps that would significantly change the state of relations.

Christopher Primiano, an assistant professor of political science at Huntingdon College in Alabama who studies China’s role in Southeast Asia, said Washington is not interested in competing with China in military or economic support for Hun Manet’s government. 

And though the tone from U.S. diplomats may have shifted to some extent, he told VOA in a phone call last week that criticism around democracy and human rights hasn’t stopped. 

“This will always be a source of discontent for the leadership in Cambodia,” he said. “If the U.S. government were very interested in Cambodia as a security partner, then we think that we would see less naming and shaming.”

Sim Chansamnang contributed to this report.
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