Tag: East Asia

China’s commerce minister due in Paris for EV talks

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Paris —  China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao is due in Paris Sunday for talks that are expected to cover China’s fast-growing export of cheap electric vehicles (EVs) into the European market. Four sources briefed on Wang’s trip told Reuters in late March that the discussions would focus on a European Commission investigation into whether China’s EV industry has benefited from unfair subsidies. European carmakers have a fight on their hands to produce lower-cost electric vehicles and erase China’s lead in developing cheaper models. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm…

China conducts ‘combat patrols’ as US holds drills with allies in disputed waters 

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Beijing, —  China conducted “combat patrols” Sunday in the South China Sea, its army said, the same day the Philippines, the United States, Japan and Australia held their first joint drills in the disputed waters. The maritime activities took place days before U.S. President Joe Biden was due to hold the first trilateral summit with the leaders of the Philippines and Japan, with growing tensions over the hotly contested South China Sea on the agenda. Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command said it was organizing “joint naval and…

US, China need ‘tough’ conversations, Yellen tells Chinese Premier Li

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BEIJING —  U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday that the ability to have difficult conversations has put the two economic superpowers on “a more stable footing” over the past year. As they began a meeting in Beijing, Li responded that the two countries needed to respect each other and should be partners, not adversaries, adding that “constructive progress” had been made during Yellen’s trip. Yellen said Washington and Beijing had a “duty” to responsibly manage the complex relationship, as she brought her case for…

US, China discuss economic issues on Yellen’s China tour

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TAIPEI, TAIWAN —  The United States and China have agreed to hold talks and create two economic groups focused on a wide range of issues — including addressing American complaints about China’s economic model, growth in domestic and global economies and efforts against money laundering — according to a statement released Saturday by the U.S. Treasury Department. The agreement comes on the second day of an official visit to China by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, during which she has urged Chinese leaders to change their domestic manufacturing policies. The…

China’s overcapacity results from state interference in markets, say analysts

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washington —  U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is on a five-day visit to China, where she expressed concern to Chinese officials Friday about state subsidies that fuel manufacturing overcapacity in industries such as electric vehicles, solar panels and semiconductors. U.S. officials and economists have warned that China’s overcapacity — when its production ability significantly exceeds what is needed in markets — will further drive down prices and cost jobs, especially if China seeks to offload excess production through exports instead of domestic consumption. U.S. President Joe Biden, in a phone…

Taiwan earthquake rescuers face threat of landslides, rockfalls

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HUALIEN, Taiwan —  Rescuers in Taiwan faced the threat of further landslides and rockfalls in their search Friday for a dozen people still missing from this week’s earthquake, as the death toll rose to 12 and some of the stranded were brought to safety. Searchers discovered two more bodies after Wednesday’s quake of magnitude 7.2 struck the sparsely populated, largely rural eastern county of Hualien, stranding hundreds in a national park as boulders barreled down mountains, cutting off roads. As some 50 aftershocks rattled the area overnight, some felt as…

Scathing federal report rips Microsoft for response to Chinese hack

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BOSTON —  In a scathing indictment of Microsoft corporate security and transparency, a Biden administration-appointed review board issued a report Tuesday saying “a cascade of errors” by the tech giant let state-backed Chinese cyber operators break into email accounts of senior U.S. officials including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. The Cyber Safety Review Board, created in 2021 by executive order, describes shoddy cybersecurity practices, a lax corporate culture and a lack of sincerity about the company’s knowledge of the targeted breach, which affected multiple U.S. agencies that deal with China. It…

Japan seeks to defend national interests in South China Sea

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tokyo —  Japan is set to improve its strategic partnership with the Philippines at an upcoming trilateral meeting with the United States amid rising tensions between Beijing and Manila. Leaders of the three countries, who will meet April 11 in Washington, are expected to discuss maritime security issues that are drawing Japan into a more robust military role in the Asia-Pacific region. China used water cannons last month to disrupt a Philippine mission to resupply its garrison in a disputed portion of the South China Sea, an attack that President…

Chinese state, social media echo Russian propaganda on concert hall attack

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Taipei, Taiwan —  Specious theories designed to implicate Ukraine and the United States in connection with the late March terror attack in Russia are spreading on China’s state media outlets and on its heavily censored social media platform Weibo. False claims that paint Kyiv and Washington as masterminds of the attack have fueled debate in Russia even after Islamic State-Khorasan — also known as IS, IS-K, ISIS and Daesh — claimed responsibility for killing at least 143 people and injuring nearly 200 at the Crocus City Hall music venue in…