Month: April 2025

China’s Shandong carrier makes rare show of force as US and Philippines hold joint drills

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The Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong has made two rare transits north of the Philippines within the span of a week, in what analysts called a “show of force” as US and Philippine forces held joint drills in the area. Advertisement They said the Shandong’s passage through the Luzon Strait – a key naval choke point located between Taiwan and the Philippines – underscored Beijing’s resolve to break through the first island chain in the face of US containment efforts, notably through the deployment of anti-ship missiles during the joint exercise.…

FirstFT: China steps up global propaganda push against US trade war

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This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter: China’s global propaganda push How Trump’s honeymoon turned sour so quickly Martin Wolf argues why the US will lose against China We start today with China’s international propaganda campaign against the US trade war, featuring slick videos portraying itself as standing up against American…

How Central Asia is embracing Chinese arms sales

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While China’s economic ties with Central Asia are mostly visible in terms of investments and commercial deals, Beijing is also making inroads into the region’s arms market as part of its greater overall security engagement there. Advertisement For much of the post-Soviet period, Russia held a near-monopoly over arms sales to Central Asian countries, particularly Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. However, the war in Ukraine has pulled in Russia’s military resources and sapped its arms export ability. Between 2020 and 2024, Russia’s arms exports fell 64 per cent, out of which…

US is urged to mine seabeds for critical minerals in counter to China

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To break China’s strategic grip on critical minerals, the US must remove impediments, streamline issuance of permits and marshal capital to mine resources from the sea floor, witnesses told Congress on Tuesday. Advertisement The hearing by a House Committee on Natural Resources subcommittee comes as US President Donald Trump – known for his “drill, baby, drill” mantra – promotes the harvesting of oil and minerals with minimal regard for environmental or foreign policy costs. “The Trump administration have worked tirelessly to unleash America’s natural resources and restore our nation’s energy…

Brics ministers meeting in Brazil to flag ‘serious concern’ over trade barriers

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The foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and others in a forum that excludes the United States will criticise unilateral protectionist measures and call for a renewed defence of the multilateral trading system, reflecting mounting international concern over US President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade policies. Advertisement Officials representing the group known as Brics gathered in Rio de Janeiro for two days, and will express in their joint statement “serious concern” over the rise of “unjustified unilateral protectionist measures” that they say violate World Trade Organization rules.…

Trump’s tariffs are starting to hammer Chinese exporters

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To look out on Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, the busiest port in the world by cargo throughput, you would not know there is a trade war going on. Security around Chinese ports is tight, but from a wooded hill overlooking one of its giant terminals, it feels as though it is just another normal working day. Lines of trucks steadily snake into the port, bringing in red, grey and green containers. Forklift operators scoot around, stacking them up in towers. Most of the dozens of towering gantry cranes in the terminal are in…

Investigation exposes China’s global campaign of transnational repression

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An international investigation involving dozens of news organizations has revealed how Beijing is exploiting global institutions – from Interpol to the United Nations – to silence critics and expand its authoritarian reach worldwide. Led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the project, China Targets, brought together more than 100 journalists from 42 media organizations, including Radio Free Asia. Over a 10-month period, reporters interviewed 105 individuals across 23 countries who had been pursued, harassed, or threatened by Chinese authorities – often for merely expressing dissent online or engaging…

INTERVIEW: Uyghur human rights activist Rushan Abbas and her fight for freedom

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Rushan Abbas is one of the most prominent international advocates for the rights of ethnic Uyghurs. Her memoir, “Unbroken: One Uyghur’s Fight for Freedom,” will be published on June 10. The book explores her personal journey from her pro-democracy activism as a student in China in the 1980s, to her move to the United States in 1989, and her efforts to draw attention to the plight of Uyghurs in the face of mass internments and other grave abuses that the U.S. government says constitute genocide. uyghur-rushan-abbas-book-interview Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J.,…

Why the US will lose against China

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Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world Donald Trump’s “liberation day” of supposedly “reciprocal tariffs” against the rest of the world — arguably, the most eccentric trade policy proposals ever made — has, after a hasty retreat under fire from the markets, turned into a trade war with China. This may (or, may not) have been what was intended from the start. So, can Trump win this war against China? Indeed, can the US, as…

White House calls reported Amazon plan to list tariff costs ‘hostile and political act’

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The White House lashed out at Amazon on Tuesday after a report that the e-commerce giant plans to display tariff costs on its product listings, condemning the move as politically motivated and done in concert with China. Advertisement “This is a hostile and political act by Amazon,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, following the report by PunchBowl News that Amazon was planning to display new added tariff costs. “It’s not a surprise because, as Reuters recently wrote, Amazon has partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm. So this is…