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Washington is seeking to protect U.S. manufacturers from low-cost competitors in China, including those it suspects of using forced labor, which Beijing denies. Both countries say they should be able to collaborate on climate change regardless of other disagreements. After Pelosi's August trip to Taiwan, a democratically-governed island that China claims as part of its territory, Beijing said it would halt all dialogue with Washington on climate change. The two countries only resumed informal climate talks in November at the COP27 summit in Egypt. During Yellen's visit last month, she made a public push to get China to participate in the UN-run funds to help poorer nations address climate change.

Persons: Kerry, John Kerry, Xie Zhenhua, David Sandalow, Biden, Antony Blinken, Janet Yellen, Li Shuo, Nancy Pelosi, Pelosi's, Alden Meyer, Yellen's, Fang Li, Valerie Volcovici, David Stanway, John Stonestreet Organizations: Observers, UN, U.S, Center, Global Energy, Greenpeace, Trump, ., Centre for Research, Energy, Clean, Global Energy Monitor, World Resources Institute, Thomson Locations: COP28 WASHINGTON, United States, China, Beijing, Washington, Paris, Taiwan, U.S, Xinjiang, Egypt, Singapore

☆ Philippines allows 'Barbie' movie to be screened, calls China map 'cartoonish'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Philippines cleared the "Barbie" movie for release following calls to ban the show due to a controversial map of China's "nine dash line." The decision came after the film review board concluded the map was "cartoonish" and that there was no representation of a controversial map feature that China uses to stake its claims to large swarths of the disputed South China Sea. Warner Bros. "Barbie" is unexpectedly turning out to be one of the most controversial movie releases this summer after Vietnam last week banned Greta Gerwig's comedic fantasy production about the famous doll. Promotional trailers reportedly featured a scene showing the "nine-dash line," a map feature China uses to justify its territorial claims to the vast majority of the South China Sea. It said the decision came after reviewed the movie twice, and consulted both foreign affairs officials and legal experts.

Persons: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Barbie, Greta Gerwig's Organizations: Auditorium, Warner Bros, Television Locations: Los Angeles , California, Philippines, China, Vietnam, South China

☆ Decoding the Antiwar Messages of Miniature Protesters in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Marco Hernandez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Videos show a view looking up at a building in Russia and then zooming down to a small antiwar figurine there. With Putin’s crackdown on protests of the Ukraine war, people have found ways to express their opposition through small displays of resistance. Fish, asterisks, blank messages and the letter Z: All of these are symbols of opposition to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Sending such pictures, even privately, carries enormous risk: Sharing antiwar messages can be a cause for imprisonment. A Ukrainian flag is sometimes paired with an antiwar flag.

Persons: Malenkiy, “ Don’t, Putin, Malenkiy Piket, Russia ≠ Putin ” “ Putin, ”, I’m Organizations: Kremlin, Times, Police, Russian Armed Forces Locations: Russia, Ukraine, St . Petersburg, Hong Kong, China, Tiananmen, Naberezhnaya, Moscow, Russian, Moskva, Soviet, Peace, Ukrainian, Argentina, Spanish, Rome

☆ China to clamp down on AirDrop and Bluetooth file sharing for national security reasons
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —China’s cyberspace regulator plans to issue new rules clamping down on the use of wireless file sharing functions such as Bluetooth and Apple’s AirDrop on national security grounds. The move comes after protesters in China used AirDrop during anti-government protests in October 2022 to share content, bypassing strict internet censorship. Weeks later, Apple moved to limit the use of the AirDrop function on devices in China. The aim of the regulation is to “maintain national security and social public interests” by regulating the use of close-range wireless communication tools such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and other technologies, it said. Other than AirDrop, Google’s Nearby Share allows users to transfer data between Android and Chrome OS devices via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Persons: Weeks, Apple, Xi Jinping, Oppo, Xi Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Bluetooth, Cyberspace Administration, The New York Times Locations: Hong Kong, China, Beijing

Senior military officials from the United States and China used a conference in Singapore to push competing visions of Asia’s future security: a U.S.-led safety net of well-armed partnerships versus a region where China is the center of a new international order. On Sunday, the Chinese defense minister, General Li Shangfu, methodically laid out criticisms of the United States and presented Beijing as a contrast in leadership, increasingly confident in using its political, economic and military power to keep Asia stable. “Certain countries willfully interfered in other countries’ internal matters and regional affairs, frequently resort to unilateral sanctions and armed coercion,” General Li said in an unmistakable reference to the United States and its allies. They “create chaos in a region and then walk away, leaving a mess behind,” he said. “We never want to let this be replicated in the Asia-Pacific.”The Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore where Mr. Austin and General Li spoke is one of the few regular forums where Beijing and Washington try to publicly win over Asian policymakers and publics.

Persons: Lloyd J, Austin III, —, General Li Shangfu, General Li, ”, “, Austin Organizations: U.S . Defense, Mr Locations: United States, China, Singapore, U.S, Ukraine, Asia, Beijing, Washington, Britain, Germany, Canada, American

☆ 'We are not decoupling': G-7 leaders agree on approach to 'de-risk' from China
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Chinese President Xi Jinping and hands with then U.S Vice President Joe Biden inside the Great Hall of the People on December 4, 2013 in Beijing, China. Leaders of the Group of Seven agreed there's a need to de-risk, not decouple from China, and acknowledged challenges posed by the mainland's practices which "distort the global economy." "We are not decoupling or turning inwards," the G-7 said in a joint statement released over the weekend as leaders met in Hiroshima, Japan. Leaders added, "We will seek to address the challenges posed by China's non-market policies and practices, which distort the global economy. Reiterating the stance, President Joe Biden said at a press conference on Sunday: "We're not looking to decouple from China, we're looking to de-risk and diversify our relationship with China.

☆ In first-of-its-kind drill, US Army special operators train to defend Taiwan against Chinese attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Drew F. Lawrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

At US Army Special Operations Command's annual capabilities exercise, soldiers trained to defend Taiwan. The training was part of the USASOC's annual capabilities exercise, or CAPEX, and the mission they were gaming out was an insertion into Taiwan to defend against a Chinese invasion. So instead of hovering 8,000 miles away in the South China Sea where the island actually is perched, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment's Chinooks landed on Range 68 at Fort Bragg. US Army Rangers conduct an air-assault raid during Capabilities Exercise at Fort Bragg on April 20, 2023. Soldiers take part in US Army Special Operations Command's annual Capabilities Exercise in June 2019.

☆ Russian Attack on Ukraine Kills at Least 12 People: Live Updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Marc Santora | Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Evidence is piling up about the steady disintegration of Russia’s vital natural gas export industry since the country’s invasion of Ukraine. With this success behind them, European leaders are contemplating widening their attack to include imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia. Russian L.N.G. energy commissioner, has urged members of the bloc and European energy companies to stop buying Russian L.N.G. On the other hand, having largely gone cold turkey on Russian pipeline gas, European leaders may calculate that “going without Russian L.N.G.

☆ As US and Philippine defense ties grow closer, China drives wedge over Taiwan issue
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

But the election of his successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, last year has returned relations to a more even keel, in part because Manila has become wary of a more assertive China. Last year the US granted $100 million to boost the Southeast Asian country’s defense capabilities and military modernization. Heydarian added that China has to rethink its strategy towards the Philippines, as the Marcos Jr administration is openly more aligned with the US. China remains one of the top trade partners of the Philippines, while Marcos Jr also continues to negotiate energy and agriculture investments from Beijing. Some worry Marcos Jr might be giving too much access to the US, especially when it comes to bases and facilities close to Taiwan, Heydarian said.

REUTERS/Katherine Taylor/File PhotoWASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - A former Harvard University professor was sentenced on Wednesday to six months' house arrest for lying about his ties to a China-run recruitment program, prosecutors said, in one of the highest-profile cases resulting from a crackdown on Chinese influence on U.S. research. Lieber was sentenced to two days in prison - time that he had already served following his arrest - and half a year of house arrest with a fine of $50,000, prosecutors said. He was also sentenced to two years of supervised release and a restitution to the Internal Revenue Service of $33,600, according to prosecutors. The failed cases included another one in Boston in which prosecutors in January 2022 dropped charges against Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Gang Chen for concealing his ties to China when seeking grant money. Prosecutors said Lieber failed to report his salary on his 2013 and 2014 income tax returns and for two years failed to report the bank account.

☆ Russia's space program is crumbling because of US sanctions and the rise of SpaceX, but it's being replaced by China's rapid growth, leaked US intel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's space program is declining thanks in part to sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. The documents added that Russia's space program has been in decline since at least 2020. While Russia's space program is suffering, China's is booming, the documents said. This would include China using its satellites to jam other communications and intelligence satellites, and to "destroy ballistic missile early warning satellites," the documents said. Both China and Russia have also developed the ability to use missiles to destroy satellites in space, the Post noted.

Unlike the chubby, fluffy image of her younger self, 22-year-old Ya Ya has appeared skinny in recent photos, with her black and white coat missing clumps of fur. But Le Le died suddenly of heart disease in early February, further fueling suspicions of mistreatment. Throughout the past weeks, Ya Ya regularly appeared as a top trending topic on Weibo, each time attracting hundreds of millions of views. Allegations of mistreatmentWhen Ya Ya and Le Le arrived at Memphis in 2003, it was a huge deal for the city. A petition by Panda Voices to bring Ya Ya and Le Le back to China on change.org has garnered 193,000 signatures.

☆ China GDP: Economy shakes off Covid legacy to grow 4.5% in Q1
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But private investment barely budged and youth unemployment surged to the second highest level on record, indicating the country’s private sector employers are still wary about longer term prospects. Retail sales jumped 10.6% in March from a year earlier, the highest level of growth since June 2021. The country’s GDP will grow 5.2% this year and 5.1% in 2024, it predicted. If adjustments are made to account for the impact of delayed economic activity, GDP growth in the first quarter could have been just 2.6%, he said. For example, private investment was extremely weak.

BEIJING/TAIPEI, April 11 (Reuters) - China's latest military drills near Taiwan show it is serious about being able to cut off the democratically ruled island in a conflict, analysts said, as Beijing said its aircraft carriers could "shatter" defences from the east. 1) Carrier OperationsMany analysts noted the jets flying off the Shandong aircraft carrier, which took up position east of Taiwan, about 230 kilometres (143 miles) south of Japan's Miyajima island. The aim of the drills was to show that they could encircle Taiwan in a blockade and deter foreign powers from intervening, Zhao said. 3) Precision TargetingThe PLA also said it carried out virtual simulations showing how its forces could execute targeted missile attacks on Taiwan. Japan's military said in a briefing on Tuesday that it was assessing China's manoeuvres around Taiwan, but described them as "without question, serious training".

☆ Taiwan president slams 'irresponsible' China military drills
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, April 11 (Reuters) - China's military exercises have caused instability in Taiwan and the region and are irresponsible acts for a major country, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen wrote on Facebook after Beijing ended three days of drills around the island. China began the war games on Saturday after Tsai returned to Taipei following a meeting in Los Angeles with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy. "However, China used this to launch military exercises, causing instability in Taiwan and the region. China simulated precision attacks and blockades of Taiwan during the drills, sending up dozens of fighter jets and bombers. "Although China's military exercises have come to an end, the nation's military and national security team will continue to stick to their posts and defend the country," she added.

☆ China's Xi: Ties with Singapore set benchmark for countries in region
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, March 31 (Reuters) - Relations between China and Singapore have set a benchmark for countries in the region, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during talks in Beijing on Friday. China is willing to work with Singapore in further building new "channels" by land and sea, Xi told Lee, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. "Other countries must be able to accept that China today is not what China used to be," Lee told CCTV in an interview ahead of his visit. China is Singapore's largest trading partner, while the island-state is China's biggest foreign investor. Lee's visit to Beijing was his first trip to China since 2019, before the global COVID pandemic broke out.

☆ U.S. and China wage war beneath the waves – over internet cables
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +28 min

Three of China’s state-owned carriers – China Telecommunications Corporation (China Telecom), China Mobile Limited and China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd (China Unicom) – had committed funding as members of the consortium, which also included U.S.-based Microsoft Corp and French telecom firm Orange SA, according to six people involved in the deal. China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom and Orange did not respond to requests for comment. China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom were resolutely behind HMN Tech, which had come in with a bid of around $500 million. China Telecom and China Mobile threatened to walk off the project, taking tens of millions of dollars of investment with them. Among them is China Telecom, which had previously won authorization to provide services in the United States.

☆ The next world power will be the first to harness the power of AI, former defense official argues in new book
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Paul Scharre, a former defense official, argues AI dominance will determine the next global power. The battle for AI power will revolutionize world militaries and economies. His book, "Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence," was released on February 28. In his latest book, "Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence," Scharre explores how the international battle for the most powerful AI technology is changing global power dynamics. Over time, regulation in some fashion of AI technology; probably much of which will be sector-specific.

☆ Another Stock Market Crash Coming, Wall Street's Top Investors Warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

This elation has lulled Wall Street into a false sense of security, according to the investing world's elite who I've spoken with over the past few weeks. It's like all the good little boys and girls on Wall Street asked for a rally for Christmas and got it. He added that nonprofessional retail investors' strong return to the market indicated an unsustainable rally. Anytime Wall Street has forgotten that over the past year, it has gotten punished. And that means Wall Street will eventually have to open its eyes, take its fingers out of its ears, and watch this bear-market rally fall apart.

☆ Senator says U.S. should consider mandating transponders on high-altitude balloons
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Senator Mark Kelly says Congress should consider mandating transponders on high-altitude weather and research balloons to help the U.S. military differentiate between potential threats. The issue has drawn new attention in recent days after U.S. fighter jets shot down a Chinese balloon and three other objects. The United States has said the Chinese balloon was used for surveillance purposes while Beijing called it a weather balloon. Since an American fighter jet shot down the 200-foot Chinese balloon on Feb. 4, three other objects have been downed. The National Weather Service launches balloons at about 90 locations daily carrying an instrument tracked by specialized ground equipment.

China’s official count 0 2.5 million 83,150 deaths Model based on Shanghai outbreak 1.6 million deaths LOW ESTIMATE HIGH ESTIMATE Estimate using travel patterns 970,000 deaths Estimate using recent testing data 1.5 million deaths Estimate based on U.S. death rates 1.1 million deaths China’s official count 0 2.5 million 83,150 deaths Model based on Shanghai outbreak 1.6 million deaths LOW EST. But China’s official Covid death toll for the entire pandemic remains strikingly low: 83,150 people as of Feb. 9. Four separate academic teams have converged on broadly similar estimates: China’s Covid wave may have killed between a million and 1.5 million people. Why official data underrepresents China’s outbreak83,150 deaths China’s official count on Feb. 9 0 2.5M 83,150 deaths China’s official count on Feb. 9 0 2.5 millionChina has a narrow definition of what counts as a Covid-19 death. But the work was unwavering in its ultimate conclusion: Ending the “zero Covid” policy was likely to overwhelm the health care system, producing an estimated 1.6 million deaths.

☆ Japan, Netherlands to join US in restricting chip equipment exports to China-Bloomberg
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Japan and the Netherlands will soon agree to join the United States in restricting exports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China, Bloomberg News reported. Japan would impose similar restrictions on Nikon Corp (7731.T), the report said. "We have been in discussion with the United States and other countries regarding the export-control regime," Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, told reporters on Friday. "A balance needs to be struck so no one among Japan, the United States and Europe will be disproportionately disadvantaged. Japan expects sales at affected chip-related companies to rebound quickly because the market for their equipment is expanding, a trade and industry official involved in overseeing semiconductor firms told Reuters.

☆ Japan, Netherlands to join U.S. in restricting chip equipment exports to China, Bloomberg reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TOKYO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Japan and the Netherlands will soon agree to join the United States in restricting exports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China, Bloomberg News reported. Japan would impose similar restrictions on Nikon Corp (7731.T), the report said. Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara, a government spokesperson, said Japan would make "appropriate steps" based on the United States' and other nations' regulatory moves. "We have been in discussion with the United States and other countries regarding the export-control regime," Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, told reporters on Friday. "A balance needs to be struck so no one among Japan, the United States and Europe will be disproportionately disadvantaged.

☆ China-Developed mRNA Covid Vaccine Starts Test Production
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Joyu Wang | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TAIPEI—Chinese drugmaker CanSino Biologics Inc. started trial production of a vaccine targeting new variants of Covid-19 that are behind the country’s current outbreak, which would be among the first developed in China using the mRNA technology that drove inoculation in the U.S. and other countries. The Tianjin-based biotech firm plans to produce 100 million doses of the vaccine, designed to combat Omicron during the first phase of manufacturing, according to a company release posted to its social-media account late on Thursday.

☆ Taiwan's remote islands are on the frontline with China — sometimes only a few hundred yards from Chinese troops
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Taiwan is roughly 100 miles from mainland China, but some Taiwanese islands are much closer. Taiwan's outlying islands would stand little chance against China, but they wouldn't be easy to take. While celebrated, this year's anniversary was also a reminder of Taiwan's islands' growing vulnerability to Chinese attack. Taiwan's islands are much easier to reach. Tourists watch a Chinese military helicopter fly over Pingtan Island, one of mainland China's closest points to Taiwan, on August 4.

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