Tag: USA

New Study Sizes Up How Countries See the US and China

Media Library

Taipei, Taiwan —  Ahead of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in San Francisco, where U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to meet, a study comparing views of China and the U.S. across 24 countries shows that people’s views of Washington are more favorable than those of Beijing, especially among high and middle-income countries. The new data essay released by Pew Research Center Monday, compares previously published views of the U.S. and China and highlights the differences across more than 10 measures, including confidence in U.S.…

US Takes Up China’s Infrastructure Mantel in Africa

Media Library

JOHANNESBURG —  This week, the U.S. State Department confirmed that Washington’s plan to refurbish and extend the Lobito Corridor — a railway that will run through mineral-rich Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to an Atlantic port in Angola — is moving full steam ahead. Such ambitious infrastructure investments by other powers in Africa have been derailed in the past. For years, China has tried with mixed results to increase its influence in Africa and boost trade connectivity by investing in ports and railways. Debt-incurring or unfinished projects undertaken…

China Says official to Lead Delegation in China-US Nuclear Talks

Media Library

BEIJING —  The Chinese foreign ministry said Thursday a leading official from its department of arms control affairs will lead a delegation in China-U.S. nuclear talks. The ministry did not name the official. “Next week in Washington, China and U.S. will hold arms control and non-proliferation consultations at director-general level,” spokesperson Wang Wenbin said when asked about a report that China agreed to nuclear arms-control talks with the United States. According to plans agreed by both sides, Wang said China and the U.S. will conduct dialogue and exchanges on a…

US Intelligence Agency Optimistic It Can Gauge China’s ‘Will to Fight’ 

Media Library

washington —  A top U.S. intelligence official is confident his agency will not fall victim to the same mistakes that allowed the United States to misjudge the military will of allies and adversaries in recent years. U.S. intelligence has been widely criticized for overestimating the “will to fight” of the Afghan military, which collapsed as U.S. forces were withdrawing from the country, and for underestimating the ability of Ukrainian forces to hold off the Russian invasion. But Defense Intelligence Agency Director Scott Berrier told an audience Wednesday that he was…

US to Attend Chinese Military Forum, Easing Chill

Media Library

washington —  An international military forum beginning on Sunday in Beijing is expected to provide an opportunity for direct military-to-military contact between the United States and China, the latest sign of an easing of tensions between the two superpowers. A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed to VOA that the United States will be represented at the 10th Xiangshan Forum by Xanthi Carras, the Defense Department’s principal director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia. A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense announced this week that Russia, Britain and Saudi Arabia also will…

US, China Gear Up Preparation for Biden-Xi Meeting Next Month   

Media Library

state department —  The United States stopped just short of announcing a widely anticipated summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday, after two days of talks in Washington with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Wang’s visit, following a series of recent diplomatic encounters between the two countries, had been seen in part as preparation for a possible face-to-face meeting between the two leaders on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco next month. But in a telephone briefing for reporters…

VOA Interview: Congressman Mike Gallagher Describes US-China Relations as ‘Zombie Engagement’

Media Library

Washington —  Amid a recent flurry of U.S.-China diplomacy, a leading congressional voice on China policy is warning against concessions to Beijing, saying they simply serve to encourage even more aggressive behavior. In an interview with VOA’s Mandarin Service, Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher said that in meetings this week with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the Biden administration should focus on the defense of Taiwan, trafficking in drug precursors and human rights. Gallagher is the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and…

Are China, US Seeking Warmer Ties?

Media Library

WASHINGTON —  Chinese President Xi Jinping, striking an unusually conciliatory tone, is calling for closer cooperation and more stable ties between China and the United States based on mutual respect and peaceful coexistence. The message, contained in a letter to the New York-headquartered National Committee on United States-China Relations on Tuesday, came amid expectations of a meeting between Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden in San Francisco at the November Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. In the letter, Xi said, “As two major countries in the world, whether China and the…

US, Australia Reaffirm Shared Values, Cooperation Against Chinese Ambitions 

Media Library

white house —  President Joe Biden on Wednesday hosted Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for a pageantry-filled state visit aimed at deepening cooperation and emphasizing unity on issues dominating global attention, including the increased ambitions of China and the gruesome conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. Both leaders made a point of acknowledging their shared support of Jerusalem and Kyiv early on in the daylong state visit. “Together, we’re standing with Israel against Hamas terrorism,” Biden said. “We’re standing with Ukraine against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s tyranny. And we’re…