Tag: China News

Debt to China fuels anxiety in Kyrgyzstan

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Previously deferred debt repayments to China are coming due in Kyrgyzstan, raising public concerns in the Central Asian country about deepening financial dependence on its powerful eastern neighbor. The country’s total debt accumulated since independence in 1991 is estimated at about $6.2 billion, or 45% of GDP. That is below the debt ratios of some developed countries but problematic in a largely agrarian economy that has been struggling since a change of government in 2020. About $1.7 billion of that is owed to the Export and Import Bank of China,…

NASA chief warns of Chinese military presence in space

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Washington —  China is bolstering its space capabilities and is using its civilian program to mask its military objectives, the head of the U.S. space agency said Wednesday, warning that Washington must remain vigilant. “China has made extraordinary strides especially in the last 10 years, but they are very, very secretive,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson told lawmakers on Capitol Hill. “We believe that a lot of their so-called civilian space program is a military program. And I think, in effect, we are in a race,” Nelson said. He said he…

China-South Korea competition grows in Vietnam

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taipei, taiwan —  A Vietnamese delegation’s visit to China last week has underscored increasingly close economic ties between the territorial rivals, which analysts say is posing a challenge to the dominance of South Korean investment in Vietnam. Vietnam’s National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue led the high-level delegation from April 7 to 12 and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Hue proposed the two countries create a new push for trade development and “connect Vietnam to China’s large development strategies.” He also met with the heads of many large Chinese…

Biden seeks higher tariffs on Chinese steel as he courts union voters

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SCRANTON, Pa. —  President Joe Biden is calling for a tripling of tariffs on steel from China to protect American producers from a flood of cheap imports, an announcement he planned to roll out Wednesday in an address to steelworkers in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. The move reflects the intersection of Biden’s international trade policy with his efforts to court voters in a state that is likely to play a pivotal role in deciding November’s election. President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event, April 16, 2024, in Scranton,…

US Navy flies aircraft through Taiwan Strait a day after US-China defense talks

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TAIPEI, Taiwan —  The U.S. 7th Fleet said a Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, a day after U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs held their first talks since Nov. 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations,” the release said. Although the critical…

At 12, China-central and eastern Europe group faces growing pains

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Vienna, Austria —  Next week, China will mark the 12th anniversary of a group for central and eastern European countries it established to grow its influence in the EU. But when it does, there will be no high-level activities or celebrations to mark the group’s creation. Since 2019, the frequency of meetings between China and central and eastern European leaders has decreased, and one after another, members have withdrawn. Matej Simalcik, executive director at the Central European Institute of Asian Studies, told VOA Mandarin that when the China-Central and Eastern…

Pacemaker or competitor? Beijing half marathon under probe as Chinese star handed a win

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WASHINGTON —  Chinese long-distance runner He Jie is at the center of a controversy over his win in the Beijing Half Marathon, as organizers started a probe after a trio of African runners appeared to deliberately slow down so He could win the race. A video clip circulating online shows that four athletes — Kenya’s Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat, Ethiopia’s Dejene Hailu Bikila and He — were approaching the finish line around the same time. Then, the three African athletes slowed down and gestured He to pass and take…

China facilitating, subsidizing US fentanyl crisis, says House committee

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The U.S House committee on China said Tuesday that the Chinese government is seeking to fuel the fentanyl epidemic in the United States by subsidizing precursors, or substances necessary to make the drug and other synthetic opioids. A committee report says that China is also tampering with U.S. investigations into illicit manufacturers by warning targets beforehand and allowing them to make it harder for authorities to detect activities. Committee investigators on Tuesday said they accessed a government website providing tax rebates for companies producing specific fentanyl precursors on the condition…

German chancellor urges China to use ‘influence’ to end Ukraine war

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has urged China’s leader Xi Jinping to use his country’s influence to press Russia to end its war in Ukraine. Following meetings with Xi on Tuesday in Beijing, Scholz said on the social media platform X that “China’s word carries weight in Russia,” and that “I have therefore asked President Xi to influence Russia so that Putin finally … ends this terrible war.” He added that Xi agreed to support a peace conference in Switzerland. The statements come at the tail end of Scholz’s three-day visit…

US, China defense chiefs hold first call since 2022

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Pentagon —  U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Chinese counterpart on Tuesday, the first dialogue between the two countries’ defense chiefs in nearly 17 months. The Pentagon said Austin and Chinese Admiral Dong Jun discussed “defense relations” and global security issues from Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine to recent provocations from North Korea. A press release said Austin stressed the importance of “respect for high seas freedom of navigation as guaranteed under international law, especially in the South China Sea.” Beijing has asserted its desire to control access…