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US and China spar with warnings about misunderstandings and miscalculations

The United States and China butted heads over a number of contentious bilateral, regional and global issues as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Friday with senior Chinese officials and warned of the dangers of misunderstandings and miscalculations. Blinken's discussions started with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and then Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong, who said Blinken would also see President Xi Jinping a meeting that had been expected but not previously announced by either said. A State Department official confirmed that Blinken would meet the president before leaving the country late Friday. Talks between the two sides have increased in recent months, even as differences have grown. Blinken and Wang underscored the importance of keeping lines of communication open, but they also lamented that divisions were becoming more serious in nature. They each underscored the importance of keeping lines of communication open but they also lamented persistent and ...

Blinken to meet Chinese counterpart in Beijing, discuss complex issues

Taiwan and the disputed South China Sea remain flashpoints, while the US is eager to see more progress on the curbing of China's supply of the chemicals to used to make fentanyl

Trump advisers discuss penalties for nations that move away from dollar

As president, Trump weighed forcibly weakening the dollar to support the domestic manufacturing sector

Blinken in Shanghai; begins contentious talks with Chinese officials

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken opened his first full day of meetings in China on Thursday by talking with local government officials in Shanghai. Blinken discussed local and regional issues with Chen Jining, the Chinese Communist Party Secretary of Shanghai. He also planned to speak to students and business leaders before heading to Beijing by train for what are expected to be contentious talks with national officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Blinken arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday shortly before President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package that has several elements likely to anger the Chinese, including $8 billion to counter China's growing aggressiveness toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea. It also seeks to force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform. China has railed against U.S. assistance to Taiwan, the self-governing island that it regards as a renegade province, and immediately condemned the move as a ...

China's Sinopec charts global expansion with refinery in India's backyard

India is also deepening its involvement in Sri Lanka's power sector with solar projects and grid connectivity

US starts sending arms to Ukraine; Biden says China, Iran helping Russia

The United States on Wednesday started sending much-needed arms and ammunition to Ukraine for it to fight against the Russian invasion, with President Joe Biden alleging that countries like China, Iran and North Korea are helping Moscow in this war. "(Russian President Vladimir) Putin's friends keeping him well supplied. Iran sent him drones. North Korea has sent him ballistic missiles and artillery shells. China is providing components and know-how to boost Russia's defence production," Biden said as he signed the National Security Supplemental USD 95.3 billion aid package to Ukraine and Israel and to strengthen the security of America and its allies in the Indo-Pacific, including Taiwan. "With all this support, Russia has ramped up its airstrikes against Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure, rained down munitions on brave Ukrainians defending their homeland. And now, America is going to send Ukraine the supplies they need to keep them in the fight," Biden said. Hours later

China angry over US aid to Taiwan, says island putting itself in 'danger'

China on Wednesday blasted the latest package of US military assistance to Taiwan on Wednesday, saying that such funding was pushing the self-governing island republic into a dangerous situation. The US Senate late Tuesday passed USD 95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars. The package included USD 8 billion for Taiwan, meant to counter the threat of invasion by China, which claims the entire island as its own territory and has threatened to take it by force if necessary. The mainland's Taiwan Affairs Office said the aid seriously violates US commitments to China and sends a wrong signal to the Taiwan independence separatist forces. Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian added that Taiwan's ruling pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, which won a third four-year presidential term in January, is willing to become a pawn for external forces to use Taiwan to conta

Who would lead if US stepped off world stage, asks President Biden

If the United States stepped off the world stage, who would lead the world, US President Joe Biden asked his fellow countrymen as he slammed his November challenger for making such an argument. "Think of it this way -- if the United States stepped off the world stage, like Trump wants us to do, who would lead the world? Who would lead the world?" Biden asked the gathering at a campaign event in Tampa, Florida. Biden is facing his predecessor, Donald Trump, in the November presidential election, which is a rematch of the 2020 polls. "One of the things that is happening now is that ... every international meeting I attend with other heads of state -- whether it is the G7, the G20, all these international meetings -- before I leave, literally, almost every one will walk up to me and wait to get me in a corner alone and grab my arm and say, 'You have got to win'. Not because of me, but because of the alternative. And they say, 'Because my democracy depends upon it', meaning their ...

Blinken's visit to China: Ukraine, Mideast tensions to be key discussions

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is starting three days of talks with senior Chinese officials in Shanghai and Beijing this week with US-China ties at a critical point over numerous global disputes. The mere fact that Blinken is making the trip shortly after a conversation between President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, a similar visit to China by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and a call between the US and Chinese defense chiefs might be seen by some as encouraging, but ties between Washington and Beijing are tense and the rifts are growing wider. From Russia and Ukraine to Israel, Iran and the broader Middle East as well as Indo-Pacific and trade issues, the US and China are on a series of collision courses that have sparked fears about military and strategic security as well as international economic stability. Blinken will raise clearly and candidly our concerns during the talks starting Wednesday, a senior State Department official said. Here's a look at some of

Tensions between Beijing, Washington biggest worry for US firms in China

Simmering tensions between Beijing and Washington remain the top worry for American companies operating in China, according to a report by the American Chamber of Commerce in China released Tuesday. The survey of US companies said inconsistent and unclear policies and enforcement, rising labour costs and data security issues were other top concerns. It also said that, despite the insistence of Chinese leaders that Beijing welcomes foreign businesses, many still are hindered from free competition. The Chinese government has stated that it encourages foreign direct investment, but many of our members continue to encounter barriers to investment and operations including policies that discriminate against them and public relations campaigns that create suspicion of foreigners, the report said. The report welcomed an improvement in relations in 2023 that was capped by summit meetings of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden, but said the US presidential election in November w

Major powers should avoid rivalry in South Pacific: China's Wang Yi

Wang made the comments at a joint press conference with his Papua New Guinea counterpart during a visit to country

Prez Xi launches Information Support Force, a new wing of Chinese military

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday launched an Information Support Force, a new wing of the People's Liberation Army, which he said will be a strategic branch, a key pillar and a vital power in modern warfare for the world's largest military. Xi, 71, who also heads the Central Military Commission (CMC), the overall high command of the Chinese military, besides heading the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Presidency, said that the establishment of the Information Support Force (ISF) is a major decision made by the CPC and the CMC in light of the overall need of building a strong military. The Information Support Force (ISF) was regarded as the revised version of the PLA's Strategic Support Force (SSF), established in 2015 by the Chinese military to deal with space, cyber, political and electronic warfare to fight what was described as "informationised wars". The leadership and structures of the PLA Space Force and the PLA Cyberspace Force have been rearranged ...

Apple removes WhatsApp, Threads from its China App Store on Beijing request

US politicians have cited national security concerns in their push to force the company to either sell TikTok to a non-Chinese owner or face a ban in the US market

China opens new air routes with flight paths situated very close to Taiwan

The democratically elected government of Taiwan rejects China's sovereignty claims and says only the island's people can decide their future

US ban on TikTok over ownership issues gets major boost from Republicans

Legislation that could ban TikTok in the US if its China-based owner doesn't sell its stake won a major boost late Wednesday when House Republican leaders included it in a package of bills that would send aid to Ukraine and Israel. The bill could be law as soon as next week if Congress moves quickly. The TikTok legislation, which passed the House in March and has widespread support in both chambers, was included in the House foreign policy package after negotiations with the Senate over how long the Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd would have to sell its stake for the app to continue operating in the United States. President Joe Biden has said he would sign the TikTok legislation if it reaches his desk. The bill was included in the national security package after it won a key endorsement from Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell, who said in a statement that she had successfully pushed to extend the period from six months to a year to give the company enough time

US navy sends aircraft through Taiwan Strait a day after US-China talks

The US 7th Fleet said a Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, a day after US and Chinese defence chiefs held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconaissance plane transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace, the 7th Fleet said in a news release. By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations, the release said. Although the critical 160 kilometre-wide strait that divides China from the self-governing island democracy is international waters, China considers the passage of foreign military aircraft and ships through it a challenge to its sovereignty. China claims the island of Taiwan, threatening to defend by force if necessary despite US military support for the island. China had no immediate response to the report, but has in past issued stern protests and activated defences in ...

President Biden's push for World Bank funds to compete with China stalls

The World Bank's two major lending arms committed a combined $72.8 billion last year, with total cumulative lending since 1945 at nearly $1.4 trillion

US house committee accuses China of fuelling fentanyl crisis in country

China is fuelling the fentanyl crisis in the US by directly subsidising the manufacturing of materials that are used by traffickers to make the drug outside the country, according to a report released Tuesday by a special House committee focused on countering the Chinese government. Committee investigators said they accessed a government website that revealed tax rebates for the production of specific fentanyl precursors as well as other synthetic drugs as long as those companies sell them outside of China. Through its actions, as our report has revealed, the Chinese Communist Party is telling us that it wants more fentanyl entering our country, said Rep Mike Gallagher, the Republican chairman of the special House committee. It wants the chaos and devastation that has resulted from the epidemic. In November, President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a resumption of bilateral cooperation on counternarcotics with a focus on reducing the flow of precursor chemicals

Russia, China trade new copper disguised as scrap to skirt taxes, sanctions

Customs data on Chinese imports of copper wire rod is not publicly available

US blacklists 4 Chinese tech companies for helping China's military

The four companies were allegedly supplying artificial intelligence chips for China's military modernisation programmes