Eileen Wang, the mayor of a southern California city, resigned suddenly on Monday after the US Department of Justice (DoJ) announced she had been charged with acting as an illegal foreign agent of China. Wang, 58, agreed to plead guilty to the felony count and could face a sentence of 10 years in prison. “Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy,” said Bill Essayli, an assistant US attorney. “This plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend the homeland…
Day: May 11, 2026
Acclaimed biologist Xu Xianzhong returns to China after arrests in his US lab
Renowned biologist Xu Xianzhong has returned to China, taking up a full-time position in the southern tech hub of Shenzhen, months after four researchers in his laboratory at the University of Michigan were accused by the United States of “biological material smuggling”. Xu, a fellow of the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science – has joined the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation (SMART) as a senior investigator with its Institute of Bio-Architecture and Bio-Interactions. Xu Xianzhong has returned to China, taking up a full-time position at…
Mayor of Arcadia, Calif., Will Plead Guilty to Working as Chinese Agent
Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, Calif., resigned on Monday after federal prosecutors announced they had charged her with acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government. She will plead guilty to the charge, according to a plea deal unsealed the same day. The felony charge comes with a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison. The court document outlined Ms. Wang’s efforts, beginning in late 2020 and continuing until at least the end of 2022, to operate a purported news website called U.S. News Center that…
Southern California mayor will plead guilty to acting as agent for Chinese government
A Southern California mayor has agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government, and has resigned from her city position, officials said on Monday. Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, was charged in April with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government. She was accused of doing the bidding of Chinese officials, such as sharing articles favourable to Beijing, without prior notification to the US government as required by law. The 58-year-old was elected in…
How the Trump-Xi summit could set superpower relations for many years to come
“So long as the visit proceeds smoothly and Trump concludes he was treated respectfully, then the uneasy calm in the bilateral relationship will endure. If, on the other hand, Trump leaves feeling disrespected or trifled with, then he could have a change of heart,” says Ryan Hass, Director of the John L Thornton China Centre at the Brookings Institute. BBC
The big questions hanging over the Trump-Xi meeting in China
On 20 February, a White House official confirmed that US president Donald Trump would be travelling to Beijing the following month to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Top of the agenda: the US-China trade war. One week later, Trump approved joint strikes with Israel against Iran, starting a new war in the Middle East. Its ramifications have spread far beyond the region and caused alarm in Beijing. The presidential summit was postponed. Now the highly anticipated meeting between Trump and Xi is expected to take place on 13-15 May…
US trial hears witness claims of harassment over Chinese ‘secret police station’
A US government witness in a trial of an alleged illegal Chinese police station in New York testified on Monday that he was harassed after holding a protest against establishing the Fuzhou-directed facility, one of several that China purportedly set up overseas. The US government has charged Lu Jianwang, 64, with acting as an unauthorised agent of China; conspiracy to act as a foreign agent and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors argue that it is part of a pattern that underscores China’s bid to expand its influence well beyond US shores.…
Trump heads to China with Musk, Cook and top CEOs for Xi talks
US President Donald Trump is expected to be accompanied by more than a dozen business leaders, including Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk and Tim Cook of Apple, during his trip to China this week. The White House on Monday released the list of leaders set to travel to China alongside Musk and Cook, including Larry Fink of BlackRock, Kelly Ortberg of Boeing, Dina Powell McCormick of Meta and Ryan McInerney of Visa. The delegation spans key industries, including aviation, technology, banking and social media, as the Trump administration seeks to…
Nations Brace for Long-Term Economic Woes as Trump Calls Iran Truce Plan ‘Garbage’
Countries were bracing on Monday for prolonged economic woes stemming from high energy prices after President Trump called the latest Iranian offer to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz “garbage” and declared that the cease-fire was “on massive life support.” Mr. Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, reiterated that Iran could not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and likened the truce announced last month to a patient with a “1 percent chance” of survival. Iran’s state-owned broadcaster reported on Monday that in its…
Brics doesn’t need a unified voice on Iran war to have a future
With the war in the Middle East entering its third month, questions have surfaced over its geopolitical ramifications in the region and beyond. An entity that has drawn particular scrutiny is Brics. The 10-member grouping is defined less by a clear set of common values and more by contingently overlapping interests. It does not and cannot speak with one voice on the conflict. Two Brics members, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), are at loggerheads: Tehran has launched missile and drone attacks targeting strategic Emirati sites, including oil facilities…