Tag: East Asia

German chancellor heads to Beijing amid efforts to balance trade, geopolitical concerns

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TAIPEI, TAIWAN —  German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will kick off a three-day visit to China Saturday, aiming to double down on Germany’s deep economic ties with China amid rising trade tension between Beijing and the European Union. Making his first trip to China since his government released its first China strategy in July, stressing the need to lower economic dependence on China, Scholz will be accompanied by executives from major German companies, such as Siemens, Volkswagen, and Bayer, and three Cabinet ministers. Some analysts say bilateral economic relations will be…

China sanctions 2 US defense companies and says they support arms sales to Taiwan

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Beijing —  China on Thursday announced rare sanctions against two U.S. defense companies over what it said is their support for arms sales to Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy Beijing claims as its own territory to be recovered by force if necessary. The announcement freezes the assets of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems held within China. It also bars the companies’ management from entering the country. Filings show General Dynamics operates a half-dozen Gulfstream and jet aviation services operations in China, which remains heavily reliant on…

US restricts trade with companies tied to drones used by Russia, Houthis

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WASHINGTON —  The United States restricted trade with five companies on Wednesday that it said help produce and procure drones for use by Russia in Ukraine and by Iran-backed Houthis in Red Sea shipping attacks. The companies from Russia and China were among 11 additions to the Commerce Department’s Entity List, which means suppliers need licenses before shipping goods and technology to them. Russia has intensified its drone and missile strikes against Ukrainian energy facilities in recent weeks, causing significant damage and threatening a repeat of the blackouts experienced in…

China’s Xi, former Taiwanese president push unification

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Taipei, Taiwan —  Chinese leader Xi Jinping met former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday, wrapping up an 11-day “journey of peace” aimed at promoting unification between Taiwan and China. Although unification with authoritarian China has little support in democratic Taiwan, according to public opinion polls, Ma and Xi used the meeting to promote a vision they say looks to avert conflict and highlights shared historic and cultural roots instead of differences. Following a 15-second handshake in front of some cameras,…

Taiwan’s Navy leaders seek cooperation with US at annual exposition

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washington —  Taiwan Navy Commander Admiral Tang Hua said during a trip to Maryland that the self-governing island wants more cooperation with the U.S. and other countries amid military pressure from China. But as to whether or not he would hold direct talks with U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, as reported by Reuters, Tang said he would not comment so as to avoid China’s protest causing trouble to the U.S. side. Speaking to VOA on Monday at this year’s Sea-Air-Space Conference hosted by the Navy League of…

Australian lawmakers talk up security cooperation during Taiwan visit

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A leading Australian opposition lawmaker visiting Taiwan this week has highlighted the importance of security cooperation between Taiwan and Australia. In a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen Monday, Andrew Wallace, the deputy chair of Australia’s Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, said that in an ever-changing geopolitical landscape, security cooperation is “paramount.” “Taiwan and Australia both recognize the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Our partnership, our strategic partnership, contributes significantly to regional security,” he said. Wallace is one of a group of five…

Top Chinese official to visit North Korea this week

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China’s third highest-ranking official Zhao Leji will visit North Korea this week, Beijing and Pyongyang said Tuesday, as the two countries mark 75 years of diplomatic ties. Zhao, who is a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo and is China’s top lawmaker, “will lead a Chinese party and government delegation to pay an official goodwill visit from April 11 to 13”, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said. Beijing is North Korea’s most important ally and economic benefactor, their relationship forged in the bloodshed of the…

Taiwan war games to simulate repelling Chinese drill that turns into attack

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Taipei, Taiwan —  Taiwan’s annual war games this year will practice “kill” zones at sea to break a blockade and simulate a scenario where China suddenly turns one of its regular drills around the island into an actual attack, the defense ministry said on Tuesday. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its territory, has been staging regular exercises around the island for the past four years, to pressure Taipei to accept Beijing’s claim of sovereignty, despite Taiwan’s strong objections. Taiwan starts its main annual Han Kuang exercises this month…

From overcapacity to TikTok, issues covered during Janet Yellen’s trip to China

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Beijing —  U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and her team are leaving China and returning to Washington after trying to tackle the major questions of the day between the countries. Here’s a look at what she tried to accomplish, what was achieved, and where things stand for the world’s two largest economies: Unfair trade practices Yellen said she wanted to go into the U.S.-China talks to address a major Biden administration complaint that Beijing’s economic model and trade practices put American companies and workers at an unfair competitive disadvantage by…

Chinese nationalist trolls pretend to be Trump supporters ahead of US elections

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washington —  British researchers say Chinese nationalist trolls have been posing as American supporters of former President Donald Trump on X to try to exploit domestic divisions ahead of the U.S. election. A report released April 1 by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a London think tank, says it found four previous Mandarin-tweeting accounts that went silent before re-emerging as American Trump supporter personas tweeting in English. It linked them to China’s so-called Spamouflage network, which it described as a “long-running and widespread but largely ineffective” campaign to promote pro-Chinese…