Category: The Diplomat

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on China on Friday to address manufacturing overcapacity that she said risks causing global economic dislocation, and to create a level playing field for American companies and workers. Starting a five-day visit in one of China’s major industrial and export hubs, she raised what the U.S. considers to be unfair Chinese trade practices in talks with senior Chinese officials. “The United States seeks a healthy economic relationship with China that benefits both sides,” she said ahead of a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He…

Earlier this week, U.S. President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first phone call since the two leaders met face-to-face in San Francisco last November. In the Chinese readout of the call, Xi reportedly stated that “China-U.S. relations are stabilizing.” Both sides have accepted the premise that bilateral competition requires diplomatic communication. Nonetheless, beneath the veneer of stability, the bilateral relationship is arguably more precarious than at any point since the Biden administration entered office. The list of underlying tensions and risks across the relationship continues to grow.…

On the night of March 11, 2024, the new ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Panama, Xu Xueyuan, arrived at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City. Ambassador Xu is a career diplomat and the former deputy chief of mission in China’s embassy to the United States of America. She replaced Ambassador Wei Qiang, an eloquent, Spanish-speaking and highly regarded diplomat, who served in Panama for more than six years after the establishment of diplomatic ties in 2017. Xu brings an interesting set of experiences to the table. She…

In 2021, the Biden administration adjusted the United States’ strategy of technological restrictions on China, from Trump’s decoupling to a “small yard, high fence” approach that emphasized decoupling from China in the realm of cutting-edge technologies. However, looking back over the past three years, the scope of U.S. technological restrictions on China has expanded from its initial focus on high-end technology to encompass all technologies deemed “related to national security,” including products and virtual services.  Such an escalation could be regarded as a shift from “small yard, high fence” to…

Amid the challenges posed by climate change and the pursuit of global carbon neutrality goals, the electric vehicle (EV) industry is experiencing rapid growth. Chinese EV makers, boasting advanced technology and significant manufacturing capacity, are swiftly expanding their exports, with more than 1 million EVs exported in 2023, marking a 99.1 percent increase from 2022. This is an opportune time for the industry. Driven by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries’ energy diversification initiatives, the region is emerging as a pivotal EV market. As demand grows, Chinese EV companies are becoming…

Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in a quarter century rocked the island during the morning rush hour on Wednesday, damaging buildings and causing the deaths of four people. Taiwan’s national fire agency said four people died in Hualien County. Hualien was the epicenter of the quake that struck around 8 a.m. Wednesday. The local United Daily News reported that three hikers died in rockslides in Taroko National Park near the offshore epicenter. A five-story building in Hualien appeared heavily damaged, collapsing its first floor and leaving the rest leaning at a 45-degree…

The risk of the Uyghur genocide being forgotten is a grave concern. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has not only employed deliberate and calculated tactics to conceal its genocide and crimes against humanity in East Turkestan but has also orchestrated a campaign to ensure others forget it is happening. Gregory H. Stanton, the president of Genocide Watch, formulated a comprehensive framework known as the 10 stages of genocide, outlining the different phases leading up to the occurrence of genocide. It starts with classification as a crucial stage in identifying an…

The Western Hemisphere was instrumental in developing ideas and norms around international and regional governance. In fact, since the independence period, leaders in the Americas have sought to develop collective governance mechanisms. However, due to differing preferences, ideological schisms, and leadership styles, the region has seen the proliferation of regional governance mechanisms rather than the consolidation of these mechanisms into a unified regional body. This has created a spaghetti bowl of interconnected countries tied together through different regional bodies — often with the same countries participating in multiple organizations that…

“De-risking” has become the buzzword in China policy circles since G-7 leaders endorsed the concept in May of last year. The task of reevaluating the complicated global supply chain with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has catapulted to the top of elites’ minds from Washington to Brussels to Tokyo. However, this laser focus on vulnerabilities in the economic relationship with China ignores a critical blind spot: the vulnerability of democratic societies and their non-governmental sectors.  Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-affiliated entities have pierced – and in some cases, subsidized –…

Their days often began at the crack of dawn. They’d head out to a church, a temple, a park and set up a stall. They’d seek out seniors in particular, those who are perhaps the most vulnerable citizens of the information-saturated society that has enveloped them. To get people to stop and listen, they’d offer free bars of soap — a metaphor for the scrubbing that they were undertaking. They’d talk to people, and ask them about their lives and their media consumption habits. They’d ask: How has fake news…