Day: May 26, 2023

Top-Level Meetings Signal Warming of US–China Ties

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Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao was in the U.S. this week, meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai. The meetings took place days after President Joe Biden signaled a thaw in bilateral relations strained by trade and security issues and the takedown by a U.S. fighter jet of a Chinese espionage balloon over American territory in February. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports. Voice of America

US Charges 2 in Beijing-Directed Targeting of Falun Gong

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WASHINGTON —  Two Los Angeles residents have been charged with acting in a Beijing-directed scheme targeting U.S.-based practitioners of the Falun Gong group that is outlawed in China, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday. John Chen, also known as Chen Jun, and Lin Feng were arrested in California on accusations of supporting Chinese efforts to strip the tax-exempt status of a U.S. entity run by Falun Gong practitioners, the department said in a statement. The department described the scheme as part of a broader campaign by China’s government to…

Bumper US$3 billion trade boost in Hunan bid to become China-Africa hub

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The landlocked province in central China was the first to establish the “green lanes” to boost agricultural imports from Africa, proposed by President Xi Jinping at the 2021 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Dakar, Senegal. These included an easing of import-export rules with African countries, the establishment of a currency clearing hub and trade deals with agricultural producers in Africa. African agricultural exports to Hunan increased 16.6 times to 150 million yuan (US$21.32 million) in the first four months of 2023, as the province opened to more products, such as…

US Trade Representative, China’s Commerce Minister Clash on APEC Sidelines

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detroit, michigan —  U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai raised complaints about China’s state-led economic policies during a meeting on Friday with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, who objected to U.S. tariffs and trade policies, their offices said. But statements from the U.S. Trade Representative’s office and China’s Commerce Ministry both emphasized the need for Washington and Beijing to maintain communication on trade. “Ambassador Tai highlighted the need to address the critical imbalances caused by China’s state-led, nonmarket approach to the economy and trade policy,” USTR said in a statement released…

Rapprochement Is Fragile as US, China Put Irritants Aside 

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white house —  U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo met with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, Thursday, the first Cabinet-level engagement in months between the world’s two largest economies. The pair raised export policies, trade and investment issues that have been straining bilateral ties, in an exchange Raimondo’s office described as “candid and substantive.” Wang also met with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Forum trade ministers meeting Friday in Detroit, Michigan. The meetings took place days after President Joe Biden signaled a thaw…

US bill takes aim at state laws restricting property ownership by citizens from China and elsewhere

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Florida’s law, which also targets individuals and entities from six other “foreign adversaries”, is now being challenged in federal court by a group of Chinese residents and a real estate brokerage firm. “While these countries may be competitors or adversaries of the US, such provisions unnecessarily vilify persons lawfully within our country and exacerbate already heightened hostility towards ethnic minorities, in particular persons of Asian descent,” said Green, who like Chu, belongs to the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. Green and Chu’s bill also comes as the Louisiana legislature considers…

Taiwanese Reporters Blocked from Covering World Health Assembly

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washington —  Two Taiwanese reporters who had been accredited to cover this week’s World Health Assembly in Geneva were told on Monday they would not be allowed to obtain their press passes in a move press freedom advocates say was likely caused by pressure from China. On Monday, Judy Tseng and Tien Hsi-ju, reporters with Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA), were blocked from covering the 76th World Health Assembly held by the World Health Organization (WHO), even though the reporters had their press credentials approved a week earlier. This is…

Cyclone Mocha: Before and After

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Myanmar’s Sittwe University is seen Nov. 12, 2022 [left] and May 18, 2023. Credit: Google Earth [left]; Planet Labs Cyclone Mocha hit Myanmar’s coast on May 14 with sustained winds reaching over 220 kilometers per hour (137 mph). Hundreds of Rohingya Muslims were killed when the storm tore through western Myanmar’s Rakhine state, according to RFA reporting. Villagers gather materials to rebuild in Kyay Taw Paik Seik five days after Cyclone Mocha. (Photo: RFA) A view of the few remaining structures in Kyay Taw Paik Seik in the aftermath of…

Childhood friend of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un says he has never heard about Kim’s son

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A childhood friend that has visited North Korean leader Kim Jong Un several times over the years told Radio Free Asia that he has never met Kim’s son, casting doubt on previous intelligence reports about the leader’s family life. South Korean intelligence has said multiple times that Kim, with his wife Ri Sol Ju, has fathered three children: a son around 2010, a daughter named Ju Ae around 2013, and another daughter in 2017. Since late last year, Kim has repeatedly appeared with Ju Ae in public, leading to speculation…