Tag: China News

India, China Spar Over Modi Visit to Himalayan State

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New Delhi —  India has dismissed China’s objections to a recent visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims is its territory. The spat is the latest flare-up in a four-year-long military standoff between the two countries’ that shows no signs of easing. A day after Beijing lodged a diplomatic protest over Modi’s visit, India’s foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said that Chinese objections do not “change the reality that Arunachal Pradesh was and will always be an integral part of India.”…

China Renews Diplomatic Push to Repair Strained Ties with EU

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Taipei, Taiwan —  China has launched a new push to repair relations with the EU in recent weeks, deploying its special envoy on Eurasian affairs on a “shuttle diplomacy” tour through several European countries while calling on Brussels to prioritize the common interests rather than differences between the two sides. At a press conference during China’s annual parliamentary meeting last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pushed back against the European Union’s characterization of China as “a partner, competitor and systemic rival” while reiterating that their common interests “outweigh” differences.…

Xi Jinping Sees AI, Unmanned Tech Boosting Military’s Capabilities

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Taipei —  During China’s top legislative meetings this year, which wrapped up Monday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping ordered the military to develop what he called “new quality combat capabilities,” a phrase analysts say highlights a focus on the use of artificial intelligence, high-tech and intelligent warfare. It also could signal, they say, plans to build forces of unmanned ships and submarines to support military operations. Speaking at a gathering of the People’s Liberation Army or PLA and Armed Police Force delegates to the National People’s Congress late last week about…

Intelligence Community Report Warns Lawmakers About US Disengagement From Ukraine

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In its annual global threats assessment report Monday, the U.S. intelligence community told lawmakers that the war in Ukraine is at a turning point whose outcome will depend on American assistance. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more from the Senate, where lawmakers called on the House to take up the $95 billion foreign aid bill. Voice of America

US State Department Requests $4 Billion To Outcompete China

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WASHINGTON —  The United States must employ “all the tools at our disposal” to outcompete China, a top U.S. State Department official said on Monday, as the Biden administration unveiled its budget request for the 2025 fiscal year. The request includes $4 billion over five years in mandatory funding for this purpose, including $2 billion to create a new international infrastructure fund to provide a credible, reliable alternative to Chinese infrastructure funding, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Rich Verma told a news briefing. The other $2 billion…

Former US Official’s Work for Chinese Client Stirs Concern Over Disclosure Loopholes

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WASHINGTON —  When a Chinese drone company came under U.S. government scrutiny over its alleged ties to China’s military, the company turned to one of America’s pre-eminent lawyers: Loretta Lynch, a former attorney general in the Obama administration. Lynch, who ran the U.S. Department of Justice from 2015 to 2017 and is now a partner at the Paul, Weiss law firm, wrote a letter to a senior Defense Department official last July on behalf of SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd, asking that her client be removed from a list of…

US Assessing Expansion of Chip Export Controls Impacting China’s Military

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MANILA, Philippines —  The United States is constantly assessing the need to expand export controls to stop China from acquiring advanced computer chips and manufacturing equipment that could be used to boost its military, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Monday. The U.S. export controls were launched in 2022 to counter the use of chips for military applications that include the development of hypersonic missiles and artificial intelligence. Last year, the U.S. Commerce Department broadened the export controls, sparking protests from China’s Commerce Ministry that the restrictions violated international trade…

Chinese Government Cracks Down on Academic Fraud

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WASHINGTON —  China is cracking down on academic research fraud following revelations in January that publishers have retracted thousands of works by Chinese academics in recent years. However, observers say that addressing the problem will be difficult because it is so pervasive. According to the scientific journal Nature, some 14,000 papers were retracted from English language journals in 2023 alone, three-quarters of which involved a Chinese co-author. Last month, the Chinese Ministry of Education gave universities a deadline to submit a full list of academic articles that journals have retracted…

China, Iran, Russia Host Naval Drills

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China, Russia and Iran are holding joint naval exercises this week near the Gulf of Oman, according to the Chinese defense ministry. According to a ministry statement Monday, the exercises, dubbed “Security Bond-2024,” will take place from Monday to Friday and aims to “strengthen maritime cooperation” and “jointly safeguard regional maritime security.” A similar round of drills was held last year in the same area between the three countries. According to Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, the drills are set to start Tuesday with naval representatives from Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan,…

China’s Shanghai Zhenhua Denies Posing Cybersecurity Risk to US Ports

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Beijing, China —  Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries, or ZPMC, said on Sunday its cranes do not pose a cybersecurity threat, after U.S. congressional committees questioned the Chinese state-owned company’s work on cranes bound for the United States. The House of Representatives’ security panels, scrutinizing ZPMC’s installation of Swiss engineering group ABB’s equipment onto U.S.-bound ship-to-shore cranes, in January invited ABB executives to public hearings to clarify its relationship with ZPMC, which they said raised “significant concerns.” “ZPMC takes the U.S. concerns seriously and believes that these reports can easily mislead…