…

HONG KONG — China must reprioritize economic growth and reforms and boost investor confidence by leveling the playing field for all companies in the country, a European business group said Wednesday. 

With “business confidence now at an all-time low” over lagging domestic demand and overcapacity in certain industries, the annual European Business in China Position Paper called on China to open its economy and allow a more free market to determine resource allocation. It also recommended introducing policies to boost domestic demand. 

Profit margins in China are at or below the global average for two-thirds of the companies surveyed earlier in the year, according to the paper published Wednesday by the European Chamber of Commerce in China. 

In August, China filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over European Union tariffs on electric vehicles made in China. It also launched anti-dumping and subsidies investigations of European dairy products, brandy and pork exports. The tit-for-tat actions have raised fears that a trade war may break out. 

Many European businesses are deciding that the returns on investments in the world’s second-largest economy are not worth the risks, due to issues including China’s economic slowdown and a politicized business environment. 

“For some European headquarters and shareholders, the risks of investing in China are beginning to outright the returns, a trend that will only intensify if key business concerns are left unaddressed,” Jens Eskelund, president of China’s European Union Chamber of Commerce, said in a message at the beginning of the paper. 

The European Chamber’s paper proposes over 1,000 recommendations for China to resolve challenges and problems faced by European businesses operating in the country and boost investor confidence. Among them are calls for China to refrain from punishing companies for the actions of their home governments. Others include ensuring that policy packages for attracting foreign investment are followed by implementation, and refraining from “erratic policy shifts.” 

The report also recommended that the EU proactively engage with China and keep its responses “measured and proportionate” when disagreements arise. 
…

Taipei, Taiwan — As China is set to host bilateral talks with the Philippines this month, their South China Sea dispute is expanding from sea to air, increasing the risk of military confrontation, analysts warn.

The Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper on Monday published an article warning that “China-Philippines relations stand at a crossroads” over the South China Sea dispute.

The warning came after Filipino Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo told reporters at a diplomatic reception on September 4 that Beijing will host the next round of the Bilateral Consultative Mechanism meetings designed to manage differences between the two countries.

Manalo did not say on which date the talks would start this month but expressed hope the two countries would discuss an incident in late August when coast guard ships from both sides collided at a disputed shoal. Both countries blame the other for the collision, though video released by the Philippine coast guard appears to show the Chinese coast guard ship ramming their vessel, BRP Teresa Magbanua.

It was the second such collision of their coast guard ships in August at the disputed atoll.

Vincent Kyle Parada, a former defense analyst for the Philippine Navy and a graduate student at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, says the frequency of the sea clashes is pushing the two sides to expand their operations to the air.

“Over the past few weeks, China has been actively working to disrupt resupply missions to the ship and crew, to the point that after one such failed attempt, the Philippine government announced that essential supplies reached critical levels,” he told VOA Mandarin. “Manila did manage to resupply BRP Teresa Magbanua through a helicopter, signaling this potential shift.”

Parada added, “This potential shift from maritime to aerial resupply emissions in the future is obviously a risk because China has also been escalating aerial operations in the South China Sea.

“Beijing would increase its aerial presence in the Spratlys and send fighter jets to its artificial islands for extended deployments. I think the goal there really would be to make aerial resupply emissions an incredibly dangerous policy option for Manila. That way, it limits Manila’s ability to sustain a long-term presence in the disputed territories.”

According to the latest data from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has lodged 176 diplomatic protests with the Chinese government, which claims almost the entire South China Sea, putting it in conflict with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and researcher at Xuanyuan (Hong Kong) Science and Technology Exchange Center, says any Chinese military moves in the airspace over the South China Sea are due to what he calls “illegal expansion” by the Philippines.

“Whether it’s Scarborough Shoal, Second Thomas Shoal or Sabina Shoal, these are all China’s sovereign territories,” he told VOA Mandarin, repeating Beijing’s claims. “If the Philippines wants to conduct patrols or resupply by air, this in itself is violating the security of China’s airspace, and China will inevitably take certain measures to intercept it.”

An article published on September 2 by the Beijing-based think tank South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative says since 2024, the Philippines has “repeatedly dispatched military aircraft to invade the islands and reefs of Spratly Islands and Macclesfield Bank” and also sent military aircraft to carry out airdrops and replenishment missions over the sea, indicating that “air intrusion is becoming another major path for the Philippines to cause trouble in the South China Sea.”

The article warned that if the Philippines insists on carrying out an “air invasion,” China will have to take corresponding measures, and “once there is friction or even collision, the consequences will be much more serious than the collision with a ship.”

Su Tzu-yun, a research fellow and director at the Division of Defense Strategy and Resources in Taiwan, says China is more likely to take coercive actions in the air, making it difficult for the Philippines to defend its sovereignty.

“China may first take measures to interfere, as it does with the United States and Australian military aircraft, and it will scatter thermal flares to interfere so that Philippine helicopters may not be able to get close,” Su told VOA Mandarin. “It may use jets to create turbulence, meaning it uses air from the jet tail to interfere with the Philippine helicopter when it’s flying.”

Su says Beijing is taking more aggressive interception actions, which greatly increase the risk of accidental conflict.

“The number of Chinese ships has increased. Second, coupled with the previous conflict between China and the Philippines in the sea, which caused injuries to Philippine coast guards, and now it threatens to use stronger means against the Philippine so-called aircraft, so it is moving the definition of gray zone operations closer to the direction of war.”

Philippine National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro in August said the Philippines plans to purchase 40 new multirole fighter jets and mid-range missiles to strengthen its territorial defense, Reuters reported.

The U.S. in July repeated its commitment to the Philippines’ security after China’s increasingly assertive actions in the South China Sea. US reiterates ‘ironclad’ commitment to Philippines amid China actions in South China Sea.

Parts of the disputed South China Sea are believed to be rich in oil and gas, and the waters are an important transit point for trillions of dollars in annual shipping.

The Hague-based intergovernmental Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 unanimously ruled that China’s claim to almost all the South China Sea had “no legal basis,” which Beijing rejected.

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report. Some information for this report came from Reuters.
…

SINGAPORE — An Australian think tank that tracks tech competitiveness says China is now the world leader in research on almost 90% of critical technologies. In a newly released report, the research group adds there is also a high risk of Beijing securing a monopoly on defense-related tech, including drones, satellites and collaborative robots — those that can work safely alongside humans.

Analysts say the huge leap forward for China is the result of heavy state investment over the past two decades. They add that despite the progress, Beijing is still dependent on other countries for key tech components and lacks self-sufficiency.

The report from the government-funded Australian Strategic Policy Institute, or ASPI, released last Thursday, says China led the way in research into 57 out of 64 advanced technologies in the five years from 2019-2023.

ASPI’s Critical Technology Tracker ranks countries’ innovation capabilities based on the number of appearances in the top 10% of research papers. It focuses on crucial technologies from a range of fields including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cyber and defense.

The report found that “China and the United States have effectively switched places as the overwhelming leader in research in just two decades.”

China led in only three of the 64 technologies between 2003 and 2007 but has shot up in the rankings, replacing the U.S., which is now a frontrunner in just seven critical technologies.

Josh Kennedy-White is a technology strategist based in Singapore. He says China’s huge leap is a “direct result of its aggressive, state-driven research and development investments over the past two decades.”

He adds that the shift toward China is “particularly stark in fields like artificial intelligence, quantum computing and advanced aircraft engines, where China has transitioned from a laggard to a leader in a relatively short period.”

ASPI also determines the risk of countries holding a monopoly on the research of critical technologies. They currently classify 24 technologies as “high risk” of being monopolized — all by Beijing.

Ten technologies are newly classified as “high risk” this year, with many of them linked to the defense industry.

“The potential monopoly risk in 24 technology areas, especially those in defense-related fields like radars and drones, is concerning in the current and future geopolitical context,” Tobias Feakin, founder of consultancy firm Protostar Strategy, told VOA.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has sought to boost his country’s advanced manufacturing capabilities with the ambitious “Made in China 2025” initiative.

The policy, launched in 2015, aims to strengthen Beijing’s self-reliance in critical sectors and make China a global tech powerhouse.

Xi, according to Feakin, views advanced technologies as “strategic priorities for China’s development, national security and global competitiveness.”

He adds that technologies are seen as a “central component of China’s long-term economic and geopolitical goals.”

Beijing’s ambitions are being closely watched in Washington, with the Biden administration working to limit China’s access to advanced technology.

Last week, the U.S. introduced new export controls on critical technology to China, including chip-making equipment and quantum computers and components.

That announcement came shortly after U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan made his first ever visit to Beijing. He met with Xi and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Sullivan told reporters that Washington “will continue to take necessary action to prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine national security.”

The continued efforts to curb China’s chip industry mean that Beijing must look further afield for advanced technology.

“Even though it leads in areas like artificial intelligence and 5G, China still depends on Taiwan, the U.S. and South Korea to produce high-end semiconductors”, Kennedy-White told VOA.

Describing this as China’s Achilles’ heel, Kennedy-White says the lack of self-sufficiency in the semiconductor industry could “stunt Beijing’s progress in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and military applications.”

As China continues its dominance in critical technology research, questions have been raised over exactly how the country is making these breakthroughs.

Last October, officials from the Five Eyes intelligence alliance (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States) issued a joint statement accusing China of stealing intellectual property. U.S. FBI director Christopher Wray described it as an “unprecedented threat.”

Kennedy-White, managing director of Singapore-based venture catalyst firm DivisionX Global, agrees with this assessment. He says China’s jump up the ASPI rankings is “not entirely organic.”

“There is a correlation between China’s rise in certain technologies and allegations of intellectual property theft,” he added.

ASPI also recommends ways for other countries to close the gap on China. It advises the AUKUS alliance of Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. to join forces with Japan and South Korea to try to catch up.

The report also highlights the emergence of India as a “key center” of global research innovation and excellence.

The South Asian nation now ranks in the top five countries for 45 out of the 64 technologies that are tracked by ASPI. It’s a huge gain compared with 2003-2007, when India sat in the top five for only four technologies.

Feakin says countries across the Asia-Pacific “will benefit from leveraging India’s growing technology expertise and influence.”

It will also provide a counterbalance to “overdependence on China’s technology supply chain,” he added.
…

washington — More than a year after China’s former foreign minister, Qin Gang, disappeared from public view, raising a host of questions, the Chinese government remains silent on his whereabouts.

A new report this week from The Washington Post, citing two former U.S. government officials, suggests Qin has been spared any jail time and now is nominally holding a low-ranking position at a publishing house under the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Earlier reports speculated that he was sentenced to life in prison or had died from suicide or torture.

Some are skeptical about the Washington Post report, while others see it as evidence of uncertainty and impermanence within the political system directed by the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP.

According to Sunday’s Washington Post report, Qin, 58, now works, at least on paper, for the World Affairs Press, a state-owned publishing house under the Foreign Ministry.

One of the former officials said Qin is “not going to jail, but his career is over.”

Before he disappeared from public view in July of last year, Qin was the youngest foreign minister since the founding of the CCP. A leading theory among Chinese political analysts is that Qin was removed because he had an affair with Fu Xiaotian, a prominent Chinese television journalist, and that the pair had a child born out of wedlock in the United States.

Some reports suggested that the Chinese government suspected Fu of sharing state secrets with foreign intelligence agencies, but these rumors have never been confirmed. Like Qin, Fu disappeared from public life for more than a year ago.

During a top-level political meeting in July, the Third Plenum of the 20th Central Committee, the CCP agreed to Qin’s request that he be removed from his post as a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chinese state media reported. That followed an official announcement in February that said Qin had resigned as a parliamentary deputy.

A reporter from The Washington Post recently visited the bookstore of the World Affairs Press in Beijing, but employees there told the newspaper that they had not heard that Qin worked at the publishing house. A staff member who answered the phone said she did not know if the news was true. China’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Some observers pointed out that the Washington Post’s report is based on an anonymous source who has left office, and the authenticity still needs to be verified.

Neil Thomas, a fellow on Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, said on social media platform X, “The rumors of Qin Gang moving to World Affairs Press have been around for months. Sources are U.S. ex-officials and I don’t know what they do. But @nakashimae & @cdcshepherd are top reporters.”

Charles Smith, an encryption security expert, said on X that he doesn’t believe the article, which “even notes the ‘bookstore’ employees have never seen Qin. … He’s on an extended fishing vacation.” His tweet was accompanied by an image of a skeleton fishing underwater.

Last December, online news outlet Politico reported that Qin had been arrested for undermining national security and was tortured to death or committed suicide.

Yen-Ting, an X user who frequently comments on China’s social and political issues, tweeted, “It’s almost poetic justice, a ‘Wolf Warrior’ reduced to selling books while the regime’s whispers suggest he’s paid off the hook rather than locked up. This is China’s way of dealing w/ its wayward wolves: not through the claws of justice but by shoving them into obscurity.”

Kalpit A. Mankikar, a fellow in the Strategic Studies Program with the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, tweeted, “Once seen as Stalin’s heir, Soviet politician Georgy Malenkov fell from grace and was banished to Kazakhstan to manage a power plant. In #China, ex-foreign minister Qin Gang seems to have rehabilitated at a Party-run bookshop, says @washingtonpost.”

The Washington Post report also quoted current and former U.S. officials who had dealt with Qin as saying he lacked the diplomatic skills of his experienced colleagues to break out of the “Wolf Warrior” model.

One example is that Qin appeared to threaten the U.S. with China “erasing” Taiwan Strait’s median line, in a heated exchange with U.S. officials amid former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August 2022.

American columnist James Pinkerton tweeted a reader’s online comment on the Washington Post report.

The reader Paul Messina said, “I believe that now that the Chinese economy is falling apart, Xi has realized that this ‘Wolf Warrior’ tactic has actually exacerbated the fall of Chinese industry. Besides aggravating the West, particularly the United States with this nonsense, it has led to multiple Western corporations leaving China, permanently closing their doors and factories in search of friendlier nations to do business.

“Vietnam and other nations have greatly benefited. Thus this idiot actually decreased the CCP’s prestige in the world. I believe that this is why his new ‘career’ is librarian. Xi made a big mistake with his ‘Wolf Warrior’ attitude towards the world. I believe that he now realizes this fact.”

Liu Jianchao, the head of the International Liaison Department of the CCP Central Committee, who is relatively moderate in terms of rhetoric and image, is considered a possible candidate to succeed Wang Yi as the next foreign minister.

According to The New York Times, as China is already seeking to soften its image in the U.S. and Europe and improve relations with some of its neighbors, appointing Liu may mean China is abandoning its “Wolf Warrior” diplomacy.

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
…

Taipei, Taiwan — Russia and China are holding a series of joint military naval and air force exercises this month in a bid to deepen ties and counter increased security coordination between the United States and its allies in the Indo-Pacific region, analysts say. 

“Russia wants to demonstrate that they can engage in a full-scale war with Ukraine while deploying resources to the Indo-Pacific region and China wants to show that they can deepen its relationship with Russia and cause problems in the region, primarily in the South China Sea but also around Japan,” said Stephen Nagy, a regional security expert at the International Christian University in Japan.  

On Monday, the Chinese defense ministry said both countries would conduct joint naval and aerial exercises aimed at deepening bilateral strategic cooperation and strengthening their ability to respond to security threats in the waters and airspace near the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk. 

In addition to the joint exercise near Japan, the Chinese defense ministry said Chinese and Russian naval fleets will conduct their fifth joint patrol in the Pacific Ocean and take part in the “Ocean 2024” strategic exercise held by Russia. On Tuesday, the Moscow Times reported that the weeklong exercise had begun and would last from September 10 to 16. 

“Russia hopes to increase pressure on the United States on the Pacific front through the joint military exercise with China, which may force Washington to reduce its military deployment to Europe,” said Lin Ying-yu, a military expert at Tamkang University in Taiwan.  

On the other hand, he added that China hopes to divert Japan’s attention from waters near the Taiwan Strait through its closer military partnership with Russia.  

“Japan will have to prioritize threats to their security so they won’t have more bandwidth to focus on the situation across the Taiwan Strait,” Lin told VOA in a phone interview.  

China and Russia’s increased military cooperation near Japan in recent years has prompted Tokyo to characterize their joint activities as a “grave concern.”

“These repeated joint activities are clearly intended for demonstration of force against Japan and are a grave concern from the perspective of the national security of Japan,” the Japanese defense ministry wrote in its annual defense white paper, which was released in July.  

For now, Nagy said Japan is more concerned with how the military cooperation may evolve, adding that there are still limits to what the two can do together when they conduct exercises.  

“Japan will be concerned about whether the coordination between China and Russia will be used to destabilize sea lines of communication, to prop up North Korea, or to move towards some kind of forced reunification with Taiwan,” he told VOA in a phone interview. “The Russians and Chinese will sail beside each other, fly next to each other, or coordinate how their boats move around but they haven’t developed interoperability and inter-command.” 

Enhancing logistics, communication collaboration 

While there are limits to their cooperation, other analysts say Russia and China will still use joint military exercises to enhance their cooperation in logistics, such as exchanging parts, fuel, or services or sharing data or communication channels.  

“The ability for the Chinese and Russian armies to better understand one another and better support each other in the field is an important capability to develop for both countries,” Drew Thompson, a visiting senior research fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore, told VOA by phone.  

In addition to that, Lin in Taipei said China could also enhance its forces’ combat capabilities through joint military exercises with Russia since the Russian forces have accumulated real combat experiences from Moscow’s war in Ukraine.  

“Since Russia’s navies have dealt with drone or anti-ship missile attacks launched by Ukraine, the Chinese navy could learn about how to deal with similar attacks in a potential war across the Taiwan Strait from their Russian counterparts,” he told VOA.  

Pushing back against NATO  

China and Russia’s upcoming military exercise near Japan is part of their growing efforts to push back against the United States and NATO allies. Since July, Beijing and Moscow have held at least three joint military drills in different parts of the world, including the South China Sea, the skies off coastal Alaska, and the Gulf of Finland.

“These increased military drills all over the world are part of Beijing and Moscow’s efforts to counter the deepening defense coordination between the U.S. and its allies, both in Europe and in the Pacific,” Sari Arho Havren, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told VOA in a phone interview.  

Despite their attempt to challenge the U.S. and NATO through closer military cooperation, Nagy said China and Russia are unlikely to let their partnership escalate out of proportion.  

“Russia and China will continue to reciprocate what the U.S. and its allies are doing, but not escalate since Beijing wants to maintain its narrative to the Global South that they are not a hegemonic power,” he told VOA. 

On Tuesday, Chinese authorities said the United States and China held theater-level commander talks for the first time when Admiral Sam Paparo, head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, held a video telephone call with his counterpart Wu Yanan of the Southern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army. The Indo-Pacific Command focuses on enhancing security and stability in the Asia Pacific region and hotspots including the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait. 
…

BEIJING — The United States and China held theater-level commander talks for the first time on Tuesday, Chinese authorities said, amid efforts to stabilize military ties and avoid misunderstandings, especially in regional hot spots such as the South China Sea.

Washington seeks to open new channels of regular military communication with Beijing since ties sank to a historic low after the United States downed a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon last year.

Admiral Sam Paparo, head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, held a video telephone call with his counterpart Wu Yanan of the Southern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s areas of responsibility include the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, two hot spots for regional tension that are also flashpoints in U.S.-China bilateral ties.

Both sides had an “in depth exchange of views on issues of common concern,” the Chinese defense ministry said in a readout.

Paparo urged the PLA “to reconsider its use of dangerous, coercive, and potentially escalatory tactics in the South China Sea and beyond,” the Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that described the exchange as “constructive and respectful.”

He also stressed the importance of continued talks to clarify intent and reduce the risk of misperception or miscalculation.

The call followed a meeting in Beijing last month between U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s leading military adviser, at which the talks were agreed.

U.S. and Chinese troops were also taking part in large-scale military exercises led by the Brazilian Armed Forces this week in the Brazilian city of Formosa in the state of Goiás.

American and Chinese troops had not trained side by side since 2016, when Beijing participated in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, or Rimpac, led by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

Most two-way military engagements between the U.S. and China were suspended for almost two years after Nancy Pelosi, then speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, visited Taiwan in August 2022.

“I certainly worry about an unintended conflict between our military forces, an accident, an accidental collision,” Nicholas Burns, the U.S. ambassador to China, told the magazine Foreign Policy in an online interview.

Later this week, the United States plans to send a senior Pentagon official to a major security forum in China.
…

beijing — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday urged visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to play a “constructive role” in improving strained ties between Bejing and the European Union. 

Sanchez for his part said he hoped the EU could avoid a trade war with China, even as Brussels weighs imposing tariffs on China-manufactured electric vehicles.

In their meeting, Xi also talked up deepening commercial ties between China and Spain in sectors such as artificial intelligence, digital economy, new energy and other high-tech fields.

The Chinese leader said Beijing wanted to work with Brussels to further develop a China-EU relationship where the two maintain their independence and autonomy but also succeed together and bring benefit to the world, a Chinese readout said. 

“It is hoped Spain will continue to play a constructive role in this regard,” Xi added. 

Sanchez responded: “Spain wants to work constructively so that relations between the two are closer, richer and more balanced.” 

Beijing in June said that frictions with the EU over its plans to impose tariffs of up to 36.3% on its electric vehicles (EVs) could trigger a trade conflict, days after China announced a retaliatory anti-dumping probe into European pork imports. 

China in August then raised the stakes by opening an investigation into the bloc’s dairy subsidies. 

Prior to meeting Xi, Sanchez said at business events that Spain would work for a negotiated consensus to the EV dispute within the World Trade Organization and that a “trade war would benefit no one,” a government source said.  

Spain in 2023 exported $1.5 billion worth of the pork products that China will investigate, Chinese customs data showed, dwarfing the outbound shipments from the Netherlands and Denmark, which rank second and third. 

Spain also sold just under $50 million worth of targeted dairy products to China last year. 

But in a promising sign for Spain’s pork producers, a separate source with direct access to Xi’s meeting with Sanchez said the two leaders had “found harmony and understanding,” when asked about possible curbs on Spain’s outbound pork shipments. 

“The meeting went extremely well,” the source said, adding that both defended their positions while seeking agreements. 

Fair trade 

“We want to build bridges together to defend a trade order that’s fair,” Sanchez told China’s second-ranking official, Premier Li Qiang, before meeting Xi.  

Spain had a trade deficit of 17.27 billion euros ($19.07 billion) in the first half of this year, according to government statistics.  

Sanchez will also want reassurance that China will not strike back at Brussels by raising its own tariffs on imported large-engined gasoline-powered vehicles, as state Chinese media have suggested it might.  

Spain could also be impacted by the Chinese EV tariffs. Last week SEAT-CUPRA’s CEO said that an electric vehicle made in China and designed in Spain by CUPRA, which is owned by Germany’s Volkswagen, would be “wiped out” if the European Commission followed through with planned import tariffs on Chinese-made vehicles.  

Sanchez on Tuesday is expected to meet representatives of SAIC Motor, one of the Chinese automakers most affected by the EU tariffs, and sign a Memorandum of Understanding with greentech company Envision, which is building an EV battery plant in Spain. 

“In this increasingly geopolitical and economic context, as you have pointed out, we must work together to resolve differences through negotiation,” Sanchez told Xi. 

In an advisory vote in July, Spain, France and Italy supported the European Commission’s proposal to adopt additional duties on Chinese-made EVs on top of the bloc’s standard 10% tariff.  

But Beijing has been urging the EU’s member states to reject the curbs at a final vote on it in October.  

The tariffs would be implemented in addition to the EU’s standard 10% import tariff unless a qualified majority of 15 EU members representing 65% of the EU population vote against them.
…

Beijing — China’s Defense Ministry on Monday announced joint naval and air drills with Russia starting this month, underscoring the closeness between their militaries as Russia presses its grinding invasion of Ukraine.

The ministry said the “Northern United-2024” exercises would take place in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk farther north, but gave no details.

It said the naval and air drills aimed to improve strategic cooperation between the two countries and “strengthen their ability to jointly deal with security threats.”

The notice also said the two navies would cruise together in the Pacific, the fifth time they have done so, and together take part in Russia’s “Great Ocean-24” exercise. No details were given.

China has refused to criticize Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its third year, and blamed the U.S. and NATO for provoking President Vladimir Putin.

While China has not directly provided Russia with arms, it has become a crucial economic lifeline as a top customer for Russian oil and gas as well as a supplier of electronics and other items with both civilian and military uses.

Russia and China, along with other U.S. critics such as Iran, have aligned their foreign policies to challenge and potentially overturn the Western-led liberal democratic order. With joint exercises, Russia has sought Chinese help in achieving its long-cherished aim of becoming a Pacific power, while Moscow has backed China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and elsewhere.

That has increasingly included the 180-kilometer (110-mile) wide Taiwan Strait that divides mainland China from the self-governing island democracy that Beijing considers its own territory and threatens to invade.

Based on that claim, the Taiwan Strait is Chinese. Though it is not opposed to navigation by others through one of the world’s most heavily trafficked sea ways, China is “firmly opposed to provocations by countries that jeopardize China’s sovereignty and security under the banner of freedom of navigation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing on Friday.

Mao was responding to a report that a pair of German navy ships were to pass through the strait this month for the first time in more than two decades. The U.S. and virtually every other country, along with Taiwan, considers the strait international waters.
…

WASHINGTON — How to curb and counter China’s influence and power — through its biotech companies, drones and electric vehicles — will dominate the U.S. House’s first week back from summer break, with lawmakers taking up a series of measures targeting Beijing.

Washington views Beijing as its biggest geopolitical rival, and the legislation is touted as ensuring the U.S. prevails in the competition. Many of the bills scheduled for a vote this week appear to have both Republican and Democratic support, reflecting strong consensus that congressional actions are needed to counter China.

The legislation “will take meaningful steps to counter the military, economic and ideological threat of the Chinese Communist Party,” said Rep. John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and a Michigan Republican. “There’s a bipartisan goal to win this competition.”

Advocacy groups worry about the impact, warning against rhetoric that hurts Asian Americans and could create “an atmosphere of guilt by association or fuel divisiveness,” said Christine Chen, executive director of Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington called the legislation “new McCarthyism” that hypes the tensions in an election year. If passed, the bills “will cause serious interference to China-U.S. relations and mutually beneficial cooperation, and will inevitably damage the U.S.’s own interests, image and credibility,” spokesman Liu Pengyu said in a statement.

Among the bills are efforts to reduce U.S. reliance on Chinese biotech companies, ban Chinese EVs and drones, restrict Chinese nationals from buying farmland, toughen export restrictions and revive a program to root out spying on U.S. intellectual property.

If approved, the measures would still need to clear the Senate. Here’s a look at the key legislation:

Targeting Beijing-linked biotech

A bill seeks to ban a group of five biotechnology companies with Chinese ties from working with anyone that receives federal money.

The companies include those that work to help doctors detect genetic causes for cancer or do research and manufacturing for American drugmakers, considered a key step in developing new medications.

America’s biotech companies have said the bill would disrupt their partnerships with Chinese contractors, resulting in delays in clinical trials for new drugs and higher costs.

Supporters say the legislation is necessary to protect U.S. health care data and reduce the country’s reliance on China for its medical supply chain.

“American patients cannot be in a position where we rely on China for genomic testing or basic medical supplies,” said Rep. Brad Wenstrup, an Ohio Republican who sponsored the bill. He called it “the first step” in protecting Americans’ genetic data.

BGI, one of the Chinese companies named in the bill, called it “a false flag targeting companies under the premise of national security.” The company, which offers genetic sequencing for research purposes in the U.S., said it follows the law and has no access to Americans’ personal data.

Banning Chinese drones

Another bill would dub drones made by the Chinese company DJI, which dominates the global drone market, “an unacceptable risk to U.S. national security” and cut its products from U.S. communications networks over data security concerns.

The bill would protect Americans’ data and critical infrastructure, said Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who introduced it. “Congress must use every tool at our disposal to stop” China’s “monopolistic control over the drone market,” she said.

DJI argues that users have to “opt in” to share data such as flight logs, photos and videos with the company. If users don’t do so, the company said it won’t have data to share with any government when compelled. It also has rejected allegations that it is a Chinese military company and has aided the persecution of members of ethnic Muslim minorities.

Adam Bry, co-founder and CEO of major U.S. drone maker Skydio, told a congressional committee in June about losing business to China, where “the Chinese government has tried to control the drone industry, pouring resources into national champions and taking aim at competitors in the U.S. and the West, tilting the playing field in China’s favor.”

Protecting intellectual property

A challenge is likely against an attempt to revive a Trump-era program described as a way to stop Chinese efforts to steal intellectual property and spy on industry and research.

The bill would direct the Justice Department to curb spying by Beijing on U.S. intellectual property and academic institutions and go after people engaged in theft of trade secrets, hacking and economic espionage.

The Trump-era program, called the China Initiative, ended in 2022 after multiple unsuccessful prosecutions of researchers and concerns that it had prompted racial and ethnic profiling. Critics also say it chilled cooperation between the U.S. and China in science and technology meant to benefit the greater good.

“Our colleagues in the Republican Party sought to reinstate this failed program because they wanted to look like they were solving problems. But in reality, they were only stoking fear and hatred,” several Democratic lawmakers said in a statement in March, when they fought off another effort to restart the program.

Restricting farm sales

Another bill, which says it will protect U.S. farmland from foreign adversaries, has raised concerns about discrimination.

It would add the agriculture secretary to the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment, which reviews the national security implications of foreign transactions. The bill also flags as “reportable” land sales involving citizens from China, North Korea, Russia and Iran.

“Food security is national security, and for too long, the federal government has allowed the Chinese Communist Party to put our security at risk by turning a blind eye to their steadily increasing purchases of American farmland,” said Rep. Dan Newhouse, a Republican from Washington state, who introduced the bill.

The National Agricultural Law Center estimates 24 states ban or limit foreigners without residency and foreign businesses or governments from owning private farmland. The interest emerged after a Chinese billionaire bought more than 130,000 acres near a U.S. Air Force base in Texas and another Chinese company sought to build a corn plant near an Air Force base in North Dakota.
…

TOKYO — One by one, the students, lawyers and others filed into a classroom in a central Tokyo university for a lecture by a Chinese journalist on Taiwan and democracy — taboo topics that can’t be discussed publicly back home in China.

“Taiwan’s modern-day democracy took struggle and bloodshed, there’s no question about that,” said Jia Jia, a columnist and guest lecturer at the University of Tokyo who was briefly detained in China eight years ago on suspicion of penning a call for China’s top leader to resign.

He is one of tens of thousands of intellectuals, investors and other Chinese who have relocated to Japan in recent years, part of a larger exodus of people from China.

Their backgrounds vary widely, and they’re leaving for all sorts of reasons. Some are very poor, others are very rich. Some leave for economic reasons, as opportunities dry up with the end of China’s boom. Some flee for personal reasons, as even limited freedoms are eroded.

Chinese migrants are flowing to all corners of the world, from workers seeking to start businesses of their own in Mexico to burned-out students heading to Thailand. Those choosing Japan tend to be well-off or highly educated, drawn to the country’s ease of living, rich culture and immigration policies that favor highly skilled professionals, with less of the sharp anti-immigrant backlash sometimes seen in Western countries.

Jia initially intended to move to the U.S., not Japan. But after experiencing the coronavirus outbreak in China, he was anxious to leave and his American visa application was stuck in processing. So he chose Japan instead.

“In the United States, illegal immigration is particularly controversial. When I went to Japan, I was a little surprised. I found that their immigration policy is actually more relaxed than I thought,” Jia told The Associated Press. “I found that Japan is better than the U.S.”

It’s tough to enter the U.S. these days. Tens of thousands of Chinese were arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border over the past year, and Chinese students have been grilled at customs as trade frictions fan suspicions of possible industrial espionage. Some U.S. states passed legislation that restricts Chinese citizens from owning property.

“The U.S. is shutting out those Chinese that are friendliest to them, that most share its values,” said Li Jinxing, a Christian human rights lawyer who moved to Japan in 2022.

Li sees parallels to about a century ago, when Chinese intellectuals such as Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of modern China, moved to Japan to study how the country modernized so quickly.

“On one hand, we hope to find inspiration and direction in history,” Li said of himself and like-minded Chinese in Japan. “On the other hand, we also want to observe what a democratic country with rule of law is like. We’re studying Japan. How does its economy work, its government work?”

Over the past decade, Tokyo has softened its once-rigid stance against immigration, driven by low birthrates and an aging population. Foreigners now make up about 2% of its population of 125 million. That’s expected to jump to 12% by 2070, according to the Tokyo-based National Institute of Population and Social Security Research.

Chinese are the most numerous newcomers, at 822,000 last year among more than 3 million foreigners living in Japan, according to government data. That’s up from 762,000 a year ago and 649,000 a decade ago.

In 2022, the lockdowns under China’s “zero COVID” policies led many of the country’s youth or most affluent citizens to hit the exits. There’s even a buzzword for that: “runxue,” using the English word “run” to evoke “running away” to places seen as safer and more prosperous.

For intellectuals like Li and Jia, Japan offers greater freedoms than under Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s increasingly repressive rule. But for others, such as wealthy investors and business people, Japan offers something else: property protections.

A report by investment migration firm Henley & Partners says nearly 14,000 millionaires left China last year, the most of any country in the world, with Japan a popular destination. A major driver is worries about the security of their wealth in China or Hong Kong, said Q. Edward Wang, a professor of Asian studies at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey.

“Protection of private property, which is the cornerstone of a capitalist society, that piece is missing in China,” Wang said.

The weakening yen makes buying property and other local assets in Japan a bargain.

And while the Japanese economy has stagnated, China’s once-sizzling economy is also in a rut, with the property sector in crisis and stock prices stuck at the level they were in the late 2000s.

“If you are just going to Japan to preserve your money,” Wang said, “then definitely you will enjoy your time in Japan.”

Dot.com entrepreneurs are among those leaving China after Communist Party crackdowns on the technology industry, including billionaire Jack Ma, a founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, who took a professorship at Tokyo College, part of the prestigious University of Tokyo.

So many wealthy Chinese have bought apartments in Tokyo’s luxury high-rises that some areas have been dubbed “Chinatowns,” or “Digital Chinatowns” — a nod to the many owners’ work in high-tech industries.

“Life in Japan is good,” said Guo Yu, an engineer who retired early after working at ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok.

Guo doesn’t concern himself with politics. He’s keen on Japan’s powdery snow in the winter and is a “superfan” of its beautiful hot springs. He owns homes in Tokyo, as well as near a ski resort and a hot spring. He owns several cars, including a Porsche, a Mercedes, a Tesla and a Toyota.

Guo keeps busy with a new social media startup in Tokyo and a travel agency specializing in “onsen,” Japan’s hot springs. Most of his employees are Chinese, he said.

Like Guo, many Chinese moving to Japan are wealthy and educated. That’s for good reason: Japan remains unwelcoming to refugees and many other types of foreigners. The government has been strategic about who it allows to stay, generally focusing on people to fill labor shortages for factories, construction and elder care.

“It is crucial that Japan becomes an attractive country for foreign talent so they will choose to work here,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said earlier this year, announcing efforts to relax Japan’s stringent immigration restrictions.

That kind of opportunity is exactly what Chinese ballet dancer Du Hai said he has found. Leading a class of a dozen Japanese students in a suburban Tokyo studio one recent weekend, Du demonstrated positions and spins to the women dressed in leotards and toe shoes.

Du was drawn to Japan’s huge ballet scene, filled with professional troupes and talented dancers, he said, but worried about warnings he got about unfriendly Japanese.

That turned out to be false, he said with a laugh. Now, Du is considering getting Japanese citizenship.

“Of course, I enjoy living in Japan very much now,” he said.
…

Ha Long, Vietnam — Super Typhoon Yagi ripped roofs off buildings, sank boats and triggered landslides in Vietnam, leaving nine people dead as of Sunday, after tearing through southern China and the Philippines.

A family of four was killed in a landslide in the mountainous Hoa Binh province of northern Vietnam early Sunday morning, according to state media.

The landslide happened around midnight, after several hours of heavy rain brought by Yagi, when a hillside gave way and collapsed onto a house, VNExpress said, citing local authorities.

The home’s 51-year-old owner escaped but his wife, daughter and two grandchildren were buried, their bodies recovered soon after.

Yagi, which has devastated infrastructure and uprooted trees, made landfall in northern Vietnam on Saturday, packing winds exceeding 149 kilometers per hour.

Four people were killed Saturday as roofing flew through the air, disaster management authorities said.

A man in Hai Duong province was killed Friday when heavy winds brought down a tree.

Several areas of the port city of Hai Phong were under half a meterof flood waters on Sunday, and electricity was out, with power lines and electric poles damaged, according to AFP journalists.

At Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site about 70 kilometers up the coast from the city, fishermen were in shock as they examined the damage Sunday morning.

At least 23 boats were seriously damaged or sunk at the Hai Au boat lock on Tuan Chau island, according to local residents.

Rooftops of buildings were blown off and motorbikes were left toppled over in piles of building rubble and glass, AFP journalists observed.

Pham Van Thanh, 51, a crew member of a tourist boat, said all the vessel’s crew remained on board since Friday to prevent it from sinking.

“The wind was pushing from our back, with so much pressure that no boat could stand,” he told AFP.

“Then the first one sank. Then one after another.

“I have been a sailor for more than 20 years and have never experienced such a strong and violent typhoon,” he said.

Before hitting Vietnam, Yagi tore through southern China and the Philippines, killing at least 24 people and injuring dozens of others.

Typhoons in the region are now forming closer to the coast, intensifying more rapidly, and staying over land for longer due to climate change, according to a study published in July.

 
…

Beijing — Super Typhoon Yagi, Asia’s most powerful storm this year, churned toward the northern coast of Vietnam on Saturday after tearing through China’s southern island province of Hainan and leaving two people dead.

The lightning, rain and violent winds that hit Hainan also caused 92 to be injured, Chinese state media said on Saturday, citing local authorities.

Yagi made landfall in Hainan on Friday, packing maximum sustained winds of 234 kph near its center, downing trees and flooding roads. Power supply to more than 800,000 homes was cut.

The island province of more than 10 million people remained in a state of paralysis, with emergency workers only starting to clear debris, uprooted trees and overturned vehicles.

Yagi formed over the sea to the east of the Philippine archipelago on Sept. 1. Gaining strength, it became a tropical storm and swept across Luzon, the most populous island in the Philippines, killing at least 16 people and injuring 13.

The storm grew dramatically stronger late in the week, becoming the world’s most powerful tropical cyclone in 2024 after the Category 5 Atlantic hurricane Beryl, and the most severe in the Pacific basin this year.

On Saturday morning, Yagi was spinning toward northern Vietnam over the Gulf of Tonkin.

Maximum wind speeds that had slightly eased earlier on Saturday picked up pace again, reaching Category 4 velocities of 216 kph, according to Chinese meteorological authorities.
…

washington — Russia, Iran and China are ramping up efforts to impact the outcome of the U.S. presidential election and down-ballot races, targeting American voters with an expanding array of sophisticated influence operations.

The latest assessment from U.S. intelligence agencies, shared Friday, warns that Russia remains the preeminent threat, with Russian influence campaigns seeking to boost the chances of Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump over Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.

Russian actors, led by networks created by the Kremlin-backed media outlet RT, “are supporting Moscow’s efforts to influence voter preferences in favor of the former president and diminish the prospects of the vice president,” a senior intelligence official told reporters, briefing on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.

“RT has built and used networks of U.S. and other Western personalities to create and disseminate Russia-friendly narratives while trying to mask the content in authentic Americans’ free speech,” the official said.

And RT, the official added, is just part of a growing Kremlin-directed campaign that is looking to impact not just the race for the White House, but smaller elections across the United States, with an added emphasis on swing states.

“Russia’s influence apparatus is very large and it’s worth highlighting that they have other entities that are active,” the official said. “Russia is working up and down ballot races, as well as spreading divisive issues.”

Tracking the Russian influence efforts has become more difficult, with U.S. officials saying that there is a greater degree of sophistication and an increased emphasis on amplifying American voices with pro-Russian views rather than seeding social media with narratives crafted in the Kremlin.

“It’s not just about Russian bots and trolls and fake social media persona, although that’s part of it,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told VOA Friday.

“We’re not taking anything for granted,” he added. “There’s no question that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has every intent to try to sow discord here in the United States, to try to pump disinformation and Russian propaganda through to the American people, through what he believes were our credible sources, be they online or on television and we have to take that seriously.”

The intelligence officials declined to share additional specifics about Russia’s network of influence operations. But indictments Wednesday from the U.S. Justice Department have shed some light on the scope of the Kremlin’s recent operations.

In one case, the U.S. charged two employees of RT with using fake personas and shell companies to funnel almost $10 million to Tenet Media, a Tennessee-based company producing videos and podcasts for a stable of conservative political influencers.

The aim, prosecutors said, was to produce and disseminate content promoting what Moscow viewed as pro-Russian policies.

In a separate action, the U.S. seized 32 internet domains linked to an operation directed by a key aide to Putin. The aim, U.S. officials said, was to mimic legitimate U.S. news sites to spread Russian-created propaganda.

RT publicly ridiculed the allegations while some of the influencers working with Tenet posted statements on the X social media platform saying they were unaware of the company’s links to Moscow.

As for the latest U.S. intelligence allegations, the Russian Embassy in Washington has yet to respond to VOA’s request for comments, though it has described previous accusations as “Russophobic.”

Requests for comment to the Trump and Harris campaigns have also, so far, gone unanswered.

But earlier U.S. intelligence assertions of Russian support for Trump have raised the ire of the Trump campaign, which has pointed to public statements by Russia’s Putin supporting Trump’s opponents.

“When President Trump was in the Oval Office, Russia and all of America’s adversaries were deterred, because they feared how the United States would respond,” national press secretary for the Trump campaign, Karoline Leavitt, told VOA in an email this past July.

U.S. intelligence officials, however, said it would be a mistake to put any faith in Putin’s words, including public comments Thursday expressing support for Harris.

The U.S. intelligence community “does not take Putin’s public statements as representative of Russia’s covert intentions,” the senior official said. “There are many examples over the past several years where Putin’s public statements do not align with Russian actions. For example, his comments that he would not invade Ukraine.”

Experts say Iran, China trying to influence results

U.S. intelligence agencies Friday emphasized Russia is not alone in its effort to shape the outcome of the U.S. elections in November, warning both Tehran and Beijing are sharpening their influence campaigns with just about 60 days until America voters go to the polls.

“Iran is making a greater effort than in the past to influence this year’s elections, even as its tactics and approaches are similar to prior cycles,” the intelligence official said, describing a “multi-pronged approach to stoke internal divisions and undermine voter confidence in the U.S. democratic system.

U.S. intelligence agencies previously assessed that Iran has focused part of its efforts on denigrating the Trump campaign, seeing his election as likely to worsen tensions between Tehran and Washington.

U.S. officials last month also blamed Iran for a hack-and-leak operation targeting the Trump campaign, though they said that Iran-linked actors have also sought to infiltrate the Harris campaign.

As for China, U.S. intelligence officials said it appears Beijing is still content to stay out of the U.S. presidential race, seeing little difference between Trump and Harris.

But there are indications China is accelerating its efforts to impact other political races.

U.S. intelligence “is aware of PRC [People’s Republic of China] attempts to influence U.S. down-ballot races by focusing on candidates it views as particularly threatening to core PRC security interests,” the official said.

“PRC online influence actors have also continued small scale efforts on social media to engage U.S. audiences on divisive political issues, including protests about the Israel-Gaza conflict and promote negative stories about both political parties,” the official added.

‘Malicious speculations against China’

The Chinese Embassy in Washington, Friday, rejected the U.S. intelligence assessment.

“China has no intention and will not interfere in the U.S. election, and we hope that the U.S. side will not make an issue of China in the election,” spokesperson Liu Pengyu told VOA in an email.

Liu added that accusations Beijing is using social media to sway U.S. public opinion “are full of malicious speculations against China, which China firmly opposes.”

While U.S. intelligence officials have identified Russia, Iran and China, as the most prominent purveyors of disinformation, they are not alone.

Officials have said countries like Cuba are also engaging in influence operations, though at a much smaller scale.

And other countries are edging closer to crossing that line.

“We are seeing a number of countries considering activities that, at a minimum, test the boundaries of election influence,” according to the U.S. assessment. “Such activities include lobbying political figures to try to curry favor with them in the event they are elected to office.”

Misha Komadovsky contributed to this report.
…

beijing — The Chinese government is ending its intercountry adoption program, and the United States is seeking clarification on how the decision will affect hundreds of American families with pending applications to adopt children from China.

In a phone call with U.S. diplomats in China, Beijing said it “will not continue to process cases at any stage” other than those cases covered by an exception clause. The embassy is seeking clarification in writing from China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, the U.S. State Department said Thursday. 

“We understand there are hundreds of families still pending completion of their adoption, and we sympathize with their situation,” the State Department said. 

At a daily briefing Thursday, Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said China is no longer allowing foreign adoptions of the country’s children, with the only exception for blood relatives to adopt a child or a stepchild. 

She didn’t explain the decision other than to say that it was in line with the spirit of relevant international conventions. 

Many foreigners have adopted children from China over the decades, visiting the country to pick them up and then bringing them to new homes overseas. 

U.S. families have adopted 82,674 children from China, the most from any foreign country. 

China suspended international adoptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government later resumed adoptions for children who had received travel authorization before the suspension in 2020, the U.S. State Department said in its latest annual report on adoptions. 

A U.S. consulate issued 16 visas for adoptions from China from October 2022 through September 2023, the first in more than two years, the State Department report said. It wasn’t clear if any more visas had been issued since then. 

In January, Denmark’s only overseas adoption agency said it was winding down operations after concerns were raised about fabricated documents and procedures, and Norway’s top regulatory body recommended stopping overseas adoptions for two years pending an investigation into several cases. 

Beijing’s announcement also follows falling birth rates in the country. The number of newborn babies fell to 9.02 million in 2023, and the overall population declined for the second consecutive year. 
…

washington — Linda Sun, the Chinese American political aide accused this week of acting as an agent of Beijing, rose rapidly in New York state politics on her way to a job as deputy chief of staff to Governor Kathy Hochul.

She climbed the ladder with stints as public relations director to a Taiwanese American member of Congress and an assignment as the deputy chief diversity officer in the office of the previous governor.

But according to the indictment made public this week, she used her position to tamp down public criticism of China’s treatment of its Uyghur minority and to prevent interactions between Taiwanese government officials and senior New York state officials.

In return, the indictment alleges, Beijing rewarded her with millions of dollars in bribes and business deals.

Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, were arrested Tuesday, accused of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act by illegally acting as agents of the Chinese government. Other charges include visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering conspiracy. Hu was also charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and abuse of identification.

Court appearance

The two naturalized U.S. citizens made their first appearance in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn on Tuesday. During the arraignment, they pleaded not guilty and were released on a combined $2 million bail. They are not allowed to travel outside New York, New Hampshire and Maine.

In a statement shared with VOA Mandarin, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu dismissed the allegations.

“I am not aware of the specific details. But in recent years, the U.S. government and media have frequently hyped up the so-called ‘Chinese agents’ narratives, many of which have later been proven untrue,” he said.

He added that “China requires its citizens overseas to comply with the laws and regulations of the host country, and we firmly oppose the groundless slandering and smearing targeting China.”

Barnard graduate

Sun was born in China in 1983 and moved to the U.S. with her parents at age 5. She is fluent in Chinese.

She got her undergraduate degree in political science from Barnard College in 2006. According to a campus magazine, she first got involved in public service at age 8 by translating forms and filing tax returns for her parents.

She obtained her master’s degree in education from Columbia University in 2009, but her path turned to politics.

In 2008, she met Grace Meng, the U.S. representative for New York’s 6th Congressional District. Meng was campaigning at the time and was said to be impressed by Sun’s energy and initiative.

Sun joined Meng’s campaign as public relations director and then became chief of staff for the Taiwanese American congresswoman.

In 2012, Sun became the director of Asian American Affairs and Queens regional representative in the governor’s office. She also served as the deputy chief diversity officer in former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration from 2018 to 2020 and then was deputy chief of staff to Hochul from 2021 to 2022.

Alleged effort to silence

As a deputy chief diversity officer, she called on ethnic minorities to have a seat at the table through government programs.

However, according to the indictment, Sun sought to silence voices in the U.S. speaking out for China’s Uyghur Muslim minority, whom the Chinese government has long been accused of oppressing. She allegedly had an argument with Hochul’s speechwriter, who had insisted the then-lieutenant governor should mention the Uyghur situation in China in a Lunar New Year speech to the Chinese American community.

The indictment said Sun successfully prevented Taiwanese government officials, including former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, from interacting with senior New York state officials, while facilitating Chinese delegations’ trips to the U.S. with fraudulent invitation letters.

In return for Sun’s political assistance, the indictment says, the Chinese government financially rewarded her with millions of dollars and aided Hu’s commercial activities in China.

Using the illegal funds, the couple is alleged to have bought a 2024 Ferrari, a $2.1 million apartment in Hawaii and a $3.55 million Long Island single-family home.

Sun and Hu are scheduled to next appear in court on September 25.

Adrianna Zhang and Adam Xu contributed to this report.
…

Taipei, Taiwan — China is defending itself against accusations that it is flooding the Thai market with cheap goods and hurting local businesses. 

In a post on its official Facebook account on September 4, the Chinese Embassy in Thailand called the trade between the two countries “mutually beneficial and win-win.” 

“Almost 80% of the goods that Thailand imports from China are capital goods and intermediate goods that are used for production and added value before being exported,” the statement said. 

Most of the so-called cheap goods “are products used in daily life, food, health products, clothing and accessories, etc., which account for less than 10% of the total value of goods imported from China,” it added.  

The statement came after Thailand announced new measures to combat the influx of cheap Chinese imports threatening its manufacturing sector. The Bangkok Post reported on August 28 that Thailand’s deputy prime minister and minister of commerce, Phumtham Wechayachai, said the government would set up a task force comprising 28 agencies that would meet every two weeks to review and revise regulations to curb the threat of cheap Chinese imports to the already weak economy. 

The Federation of Thailand Industry previously warned that cheap Chinese goods could cause a “tsunami” in Thailand and in the region, and that in 2023 the low-cost imported products had contributed to the closure of nearly 2,000 factories. 

Pavida Pananond, professor of international business at Thammasat Business School at Thammasat University in Thailand, said low-priced Chinese goods or Chinese capital are often concentrated in Thailand’s e-commerce and electric vehicle industries. While Chinese investment has increased foreign direct investment in Thailand, it has also made it difficult for many smaller local enterprises to survive. 

“Right now, the Chinese are facing restrictions on their products in many markets,’’ Pavida told VOA in a Zoom interview. ‘’So, it is natural that we are seeing the Chinese products targeting more emerging markets, particularly in Southeast Asia. So, those sectors would be at risk of having direct competition from the Chinese, cheaper products. And I think in the longer term, there also is more impact on the Thai economy.” 

The Chinese Embassy quoted preliminary statistics in its statement and said more than 1,000 Chinese companies have invested in Thailand. In the past two years, 588 investment projects by Chinese have been submitted to the Thai government, with an investment value of nearly $7 billion, according to the Chinese Embassy. Most investments are in the electric vehicle industry, the digital economy, new energy, and modern manufacturing. 

The Thailand Economic and Business Research Center forecasts that the Thai economy will grow by 2.6% this year due to tourism and exports, but it will also be dragged down by manufacturing. In the first half of 2024, Thailand’s industrial output decreased by 2% compared to the same period last year. 

Chinese e-commerce platform Temu entered Thailand on July 31. Observers are worried that cheap Chinese goods flooding Thailand’s market through Temu will lead to unfair competition, supply chain disruptions, and rising unemployment. Srettha Thavisin, Thailand’s former prime minister, previously asked authorities to investigate whether Temu has complied with the relevant regulations and paid the tax due. 

Nisit Panthamit, director of ASEAN Studies and an associate professor at the Faculty of Economics at Chiang Mai University in Thailand, said, “If you buy it from China, you have to wait for so long to get that item. But the local [products] are easy to find in the market. Now, after more goods are coming in from the new [Chinese] companies, that’s why the SME [small and medium-sized enterprise] might get heavily impacted.’’  

Nisit said if the Thai government cannot introduce more effective policies to alleviate the problem soon, sales of Thai-made goods may decline significantly. Also, he said, some basic Thai products may be replaced in local markets by inferior Chinese-made replacements.  

He said that indications are that, by the end of 2024, there will be a 10% to 20% drop in the sales and consumption of local Thai products, because of competition from more Chinese-made goods.    

The New York Times reported at the end of July that Thailand’s auto industry, which often is referred to as the “Asian Detroit” because of its manufacturing capacity, had been dominated by Japanese cars. In recent years, however, Chinese electric vehicle companies have made inroads, resulting in local auto factories closing and some land prices soaring, economists in Thailand say. 

“When the Thai government welcomes the EV cars from China without much long-term planning for Thai suppliers in automotive industry, vehicles and parts, that could be something that could negatively affect the Thai economy,” Pavida said.  

In July, Thailand’s Ministry of Industry required Chinese EV manufacturers to use at least 40% local components when assembling EVs to support Thailand’s automotive supply chain. In response, China’s Changan Automobile pledged to invest $282 million, in Thailand, and the proportion of local parts will reach 60% and then increase to 90%; Shanghai-based Neta Auto also said it would increase the proportion of Thai car parts from 60% to 85%. 

There are also increasing concerns that Chinese companies may exploit Thailand as an “illicit transshipment hub” to evade U.S. and European tariffs and sanctions. Illicit transshipment refers to exporting products through a third country to circumvent higher tariffs. 

Bloomberg reported on August 22 that since many Chinese solar companies have set up factories in Southeast Asia in an attempt to circumvent U.S. import tariffs, Washington seems to be preparing to impose high tariffs on ASEAN countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia. 

“We should also be concerned about Thai companies that import Chinese supplies for their intermediate products, and then re-export these [finished products] to other countries like the U.S. or the EU,” Pavida said. “This could end up being against the regulations that the EU and the U.S. are tightening.” 

Pavida added that further study of the many layers and elements of Chinese imports are needed as well, so policies can clearly and specifically address different kinds of Chinese products.  

VOA’s Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
…

…

…

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA / WASHINGTON   — China has been establishing closer cooperation with Africa, a relationship some view as fraught with debt burden while others hail as Africa leveraging its strategic importance globally.

This week’s Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing carries benefits for both Africa and China, officials and African affairs experts say.

Countries like Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya have been on the receiving end of a huge amount of investment from Beijing. And China has been relentless in seeking to secure partnerships for dependable sources of raw materials as well as creating alliances to gain geopolitical influence and counterbalance Western powers. That is the assessment of former Ugandan diplomat Simon Mulongo.

“What is in it for Africa is basically four things: infrastructure development where China has invested heavily in Africa infrastructure, building roads, railways, ports and other essential facilities,” Mulongo said.

“The second is economic growth. The Chinese investments have actually created jobs and stimulated economic activities in various sectors, which includes manufacturing, mining and agriculture. There is also financial aid and loans where China offers financial assistance, often with fewer conditions compared to the Western countries. And the fourth is trade opportunities [in] which Africa benefits from access to the Chinese markets, which can boost export revenues, especially raw materials and agricultural products.”

Mulongo, who is the managing partner of EMANS Frontiers, a governance and security consultant, said China also is benefiting from the partnership with Africa, including through trade opportunities and the rich mineral resources, oil and other natural resources that China needs to fuel its industrial growth and sustain its population.

Djibouti is one of the countries where China investment is visible. China not only has a major military base there but also has developed, together with the Djibouti government, large infrastructure projects, including electrical rail, a deep-sea port and a free-trade zone.

Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh, Djibouti’s minister of economy and finance, said the forum has become the “cornerstone for enduring collaboration” between the two counties.

Financing challenges

“Everybody knows in Africa we are facing financing challenges when it comes to the key infrastructure development,” said Dawaleh, who spoke to VOA’s Horn of Africa Service from Beijing.

“The infrastructure financing gap in Africa is estimated to billions per year. Therefore, we very much value the support of China when it comes to narrow or reduce that gap in infrastructure financing,” he said.

Asked if Chinese loans were a “ticking time bomb” for Africa, Dawaleh said they weren’t.

He said the debt crisis Africa is facing is driven by global challenges, including the impact of two years of COVID-19; droughts and climate change in the Horn of Africa; the Red Sea and Middle East crisis; and “inflation imported due to the crisis in Ukraine and Russia.”

“We need the understanding of the partners, and China again confirmed, standing with Africa in order to look at means and ways to deal more softly in the debt crisis,” he said.

Kibur Gena, an economist and the executive director of Initiative Africa, said African countries should exercise a strategic and disciplined approach in managing large loans so that they contribute to sustainable economic development rather than leading to debt distress.

The loans, he said, should be “transparent with clear terms and conditions.”

“They should be definitely used to finance projects that have the potential to generate significant economic returns,” he said. Countries should “strengthen their debt management offices to monitor and manage the loans portfolio effectively. I think these are some of the basic points that I would like to raise in terms of managing loans with China, or any other country, for that matter.”

Kibur said balanced partnership is key to China-Africa relations.

“All that requires is a balanced and strategic partnership that prioritizes mutual interest, that prioritizes transparency and scores long-term development,” he said.

Open markets

Kibur said China should also open its markets to a broader range of African products, particularly those with higher value added to support industrialization effort.

Mulongo highlighted the difference between the relations Africa has with China as opposed to Western countries.

“The Western countries often engage and involve aid with conditions related to governance, human rights and economic reforms — a number of African leaders can see these conditions as intrusive,” the former Africa Union deputy special envoy to Somalia said.

“The other one is security-focused. The West usually focuses on security, particularly counterterrorism, peacekeeping and military cooperation,” he added.

Africa should not be forced to choose between China and the West, Mulongo said. Instead, African countries should aim to balance relations with both, leveraging the unique strengths and opportunities that each power presents, he said.

This story originated in VOA’s Horn of Africa Service.
…

…

…

…

…