Tag: China News

Number of Chinese Workers in Africa Drops Substantially

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Johannesburg, South Africa —  The number of Chinese workers across Africa has hit its lowest level in more than a decade, new data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics show. From a record high of 263,696 workers on the continent in 2015, only 88,371 were recorded in 2022, the most recent year on record. The China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University, which analyzed data from 2009 to 2022, attributed the drop in numbers partially to the pandemic as Chinese workers left during that period and the country only…

China-Russia-Iran Maritime Drills Send Signal to West

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tel aviv, israel —  China conducted joint military drills this week with Russia and Iran in the Gulf of Oman, a critical water conduit near the entry to the Persian Gulf. The five-day exercise, “Maritime Security Belt 2024,” involved both naval and aviation forces, with the primary objective of enhancing the security of maritime economic activities, according to Russia’s Ministry of Defense. The drills may have been planned long in advance of the current Israel-Hamas war, but their implication and message to regional players and the West are highly significant,…

China Gives Warnings on Vietnam-Australia Strategic Relationship

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washington —  A new, closer diplomatic relationship between Australia and Vietnam is drawing warnings from China against forming “exclusive circles” in the Indo-Pacific region. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at Monday’s daily news briefing, “To advocate bloc confrontation and build exclusive circles goes against the trend of the times and the common aspiration of regional countries.” Although Wang did not mention Vietnam or Australia by name, he was responding to a question posed by one of China’s official media outlets, Shenzen TV, about an agreement the two nations…

Witness in Jimmy Lai Trial Mistreated in Custody, Experts Say

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A key prosecution witness in the trial of Hong Kong pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai took the stand this week despite concerns raised by U.N. officials that the witness may have been mistreated in custody. Andy Li, a computer programmer who became a pro-democracy activist in 2019, gave evidence against Lai on Wednesday. Li’s testimony pertained to his role in a crowdfunding campaign that supported Hong Kong’s 2019 pro-democracy protests. Prosecutors have alleged that Lai, a British national, masterminded the crowdfunding campaign. The 76-year-old is accused of “collusion with foreign forces”…

Despite Sanctions, North Korea Runs More Than 50 Restaurants in China

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washington —  North Korea is operating more than 50 restaurants staffed by its citizens in more than 10 Chinese cities in violation of U.N. sanctions, according to a diplomatic source. The North Korean regime takes most of the wages its workers earn abroad to fund its nuclear and missile programs. The source, who asked not to be named because the person was not authorized to speak to the press, provided the names of the restaurants in Korean and Chinese and their addresses in China to VOA’s Korean Service. The U.N.…

China Positioning C919 Passenger Jet to Take On Boeing, Airbus

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washington —  China’s state-owned plane manufacturer is facing industry skepticism over its claims that its newest passenger aircraft, the C919, can break the passenger-jet duopoly of Boeing and Airbus. COMAC’s promotional tour through the fast-growing aviation markets of Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia ended in Malaysia on Wednesday, according to China’s official Xinghua news agency. At each stop, the Shanghai-headquartered enterprise presented its C919 to potential buyers as a viable alternative to the Airbus 320 and Boeing 737. International and regional tourism is expected to reach, then surpass pre-pandemic…

Former US Treasury Chief Mnuchin Looking to Buy TikTok

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Former U.S. treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday he is going to put together an investor group to try to buy TikTok, a day after the House of Representatives voted to ban the popular video app in the U.S., if its China-based owner doesn’t agree to sell it. Mnuchin, who served in former president Donald Trump’s Cabinet, told CNBC that TikTok, with more than 170 million U.S. users, “should be owned by U.S. businesses. There’s no way that the Chinese would ever let a U.S. company own something like this…

Chinese Cyber Nationalists Target Nobel Laureate, Water Company

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Taipei, Taiwan —  Online nationalism has been surging in China in recent weeks, with a growing band of cyber nationalists targeting the country’s first Nobel laureate in literature, Mo Yan, and the largest bottled water producer, Nongfu Spring. The online attacks against Nongfu Spring began after prominent nationalist billionaire Zong Qinghou, the founder of the company’s key competitor, Hangzhou Wahaha Group, passed away on February 25. Some netizens began comparing Zong with Nongfu Spring’s founder, Zhong Shanshan, the richest person in China, and it quickly grew into an all-out attack…

World’s Largest Drone Maker Expands in US Amid Rights Abuse Allegations  

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washington —  Chinese drone maker DJI is expanding in the U.S. with its first flagship store in New York City amid allegations of links to human rights abuses and ties to China’s military. DJI’s “first concept” North American store on New York’s Fifth Avenue welcomes customers into a futuristic, minimalist space to shop. The company describes itself on its website as “the world’s leader in civil drones and creative camera technology.” “We continue to see growing consumer demand throughout North America as we expand our consumer product portfolio,” said Christina…