Last week’s US sanctioning of Chinese officials involved in Beijing’s ongoing criminal efforts to erase Tibet as a separate political, ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious entity showed America at its best. Few other governments give a hoot. Most cravenly look the other way. Citing a recent UN report on the “forced assimilation” of one million Tibetan children ordered into Mandarin-language state boarding schools far from their homes and families, Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, demanded China stop trying to eradicate Tibet’s distinct identity. “We urge PRC [People’s Republic…
Tag: US foreign policy
Pacific islands warn US over Chinese threat and urge Biden to increase aid
Countering China and bolstering national security dominated the conversation in a Hilton hotel on Guam, 15 hours before and oceans away from the Milwaukee arena hosting the first Republican primary debate. Nine members of the GOP-led House committee on natural resources convened in the US-governed Pacific island territory for a rare field hearing – during the summer recess – on countering China’s influence in the region. At a time when Democrats and Republicans view China as an economic and global security threat, island nations who offer the US military proximity…
US seeks to extend longstanding scientific research agreement with China
The US is seeking a six-month extension to a decades-old science and technology agreement with China so that it can undergo negotiations with Beijing to “strengthen” the pact, the state department has said. The landmark deal, signed when Beijing and Washington established diplomatic ties in 1979 and renewed about every five years since, has led to the geopolitical rivals cooperating across a range of scientific and technical fields. But concerns about China’s growing military prowess and theft of US scientific and commercial achievements have prompted questions in Washington about whether…
Huawei accused of building secret microchip factories to beat US sanctions
Huawei has been accused by a leading association of semiconductor manufacturers of building a collection of secret chip-making facilities across China to help the technology company bypass US sanctions, according to a report. The Chinese tech firm moved into chip production last year and was receiving an estimated $30bn (£23.7bn) in state funding from the government, the Washington-based Semiconductor Industry Association was quoted as saying in a Bloomberg news story, adding that Huawei had acquired at least two existing plants and was building three others. The US commerce department had…
China officials hit by US sanctions over ‘forced assimilation’ of children in Tibet
The United States will impose visa sanctions on Chinese officials pursuing “forced assimilation” of children in Tibet, where UN experts say one million children have been separated from their families. Secretary of state Antony Blinken said the US would restrict visas to Chinese officials behind the policy of state boarding schools, in the latest in a series of US moves on Beijing that comes despite a resumption of high-level dialogue. “These coercive policies seek to eliminate Tibet’s distinct linguistic, cultural and religious traditions among younger generations of Tibetans,” Blinken said…
US promises ‘new era’ as Biden prepares to host first summit with Japan and South Korea
The US has promised to usher in a “new era” in relations with its most important allies in Asia, as the region struggles to address the threat posed by an increasingly assertive China and a nuclear-armed North Korea. Joe Biden is expected to take advantage of a recent thaw in ties between Japan and South Korea – home to tens of thousands of US troops – to announce new collaborations on missile defence and technology, when he meets the countries’ leaders on Friday. Biden will host the South Korean president,…
China a ‘ticking time bomb’ because of economic woes, Joe Biden warns
Joe Biden has called China a “ticking time bomb in many cases” because of its economic challenges, saying the country was in trouble because of weak growth. The US president pointed to the country’s high unemployment and ageing workforce, saying: “China is in trouble.” “They have got some problems. That’s not good, because when bad folks have problems, they do bad things,” Biden said at a political fundraiser in Utah on Thursday. He said he did not want to hurt China and wanted a rational relationship with the country. Biden’s…
Biden’s China investment ban: who’s targeted and what does it mean for the 2024 US election?
Joe Biden has moved to restrict US investment in Chinese technology, signing an executive order which focuses on a few, sensitive hi-tech sectors including semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI). It is the latest in a series of measures taken by the US to restrict China’s access to the most advanced technology and comes as the president has embarked on a multi-state tour of the south-west to tout his plans to revive American manufacturing after decades of decline. The restrictions are expected to take effect next year – and…
US and Beijing spar over shipwreck-turned-military outpost
An international row is growing between the Philippines, the US and China over a rusting ship that has been turned into a crucial military outpost in the South China Sea. The dilapidated second world war-era ship was deliberately run aground on a tiny reef in the South China Sea in 1999 by the Philippines, and a small contingent of troops continue to stay on board to stake the country’s claim in the highly disputed water. The strategically important South China Sea is subject to competing territorial claims by China and…
China-Philippines dispute could escalate into superpower conflict, say analysts
A territorial dispute between China and the US-aligned Philippines is at increasingly high risk of escalating into a conflict involving the two superpowers, analysts have said, after Chinese coastguards used a water cannon on a Philippine boat. Global concern about China’s naval activities is growing as the country expands and modernises its military, and shows increasing aggression in its claims over the South China Sea and Taiwan. Joint drills with Russia – during which a flotilla sailed near Alaska this weekend – have also heightened concern over military coordination between…