Tag: USA

Washington —  U.S. and Chinese officials will meet in Beijing Tuesday for their first talks in years to stem the production of ingredients for the drug fentanyl, senior Biden administration officials said. The meeting of the counternarcotics working group comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged during a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden in November to clamp down on the trade. “For years bilateral cooperation between the United States and the People’s Republic of China on counternarcotics has been suspended which has hindered our progress,” a U.S. official said.…

TAIPEI, Taiwan —  China sent more than 30 warplanes and a group of navy ships toward Taiwan, the island’s defense ministry said Saturday. The military pressure comes on the heels of an announcement that senior American and Chinese representatives were expected to meet in the Thai capital as the two countries seek to cool tensions. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army sent 33 aircraft, including SU-30 fighters, and six navy vessels around Taiwan, between 6 a.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday. Of these, 13 warplanes crossed the midline of the Taiwan…

TAIPEI, Taiwan —  A bipartisan delegation from the U.S. Congress reaffirmed support for Taiwan during a visit Thursday, following the election of its new president. The delegation’s visit is the first from U.S. lawmakers to the island since the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party won a third-straight term in the January 13 presidential election. China, America’s chief competitor for global influence, claims Taiwan as its own territory and threatens to use force to bring the self-ruling island under its control. Beijing strongly condemned Lai Ching-te’s election and appears set to continue…

TAIPEI, Taiwan —  The co-chairs of the U.S. Congressional Taiwan Caucus on Wednesday opened the first trip by U.S. lawmakers to the island where the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party won a third straight term in presidential elections this month. U.S. Reps. Ami Bera, a Democrat from California, and Florida Republican Mario Díaz-Balart plan to “engage with senior officials and business leaders,” Bera’s office said in a statement, without naming those with whom they would meet. “The aim of the trip is to reaffirm U.S. support for Taiwan following their successful…

Boston —  A Chinese music student went on trial Monday on U.S. charges that he harassed an activist who posted flyers at the Berklee College of Music in Boston supporting democracy in China and threatened to report her activities to Chinese law enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alathea Porter told a federal jury in Boston that Xiaolei Wu, 25, scared the activist, referred to only as Zooey in court, by making threats online to chop off her hands and report her to the Chinese government because of her “reactionary posters.” “She…

BANGKOK —  U.S. and Chinese officials have completed the third meeting of a working group established to cooperate on financial issues, in a step that continues the trend set by the two powers last November to ease tensions. Officials from the U.S. Treasury Department met with counterparts in the People’s Bank of China to discuss issues ranging from financial stability to countering money laundering. The delegation also met with Vice Premier He Lifeng while they were in China, according to a statement Friday from the Treasury Department. The group also…