https://www.scmp.com/rss/506210/feed Jacob Fromer has reported from Beijing and Washington. He has a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com US customs officials say that administering a ban of imports from China’s Xinjiang region over forced labour concerns has become more difficult because Chinese firms are hiding the origins of goods made there. “It has become normal operating procedure [for Chinese producers] to obfuscate the origin of goods from the XUAR” after the law went into effect, Diana Sassmann, an international trade analyst at US Customs and Border Protection, wrote in a blog post this week on the agency’s website. XUAR... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3205932/us-customs-officials-say-chinese-firms-are-concealing-exports-xinjiang-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3205932/us-customs-officials-say-chinese-firms-are-concealing-exports-xinjiang-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Jan 2023 22:38:36 +0000 The US will require travellers arriving from China to test negative for Covid-19 before entering the country, amid concerns over China’s surging cases and a lack of reliable official data on the spread of the coronavirus, federal health officials said on Wednesday. “The United States is taking preventative, proactive steps to protect Americans’ public health,” one of the officials said. “We have just limited information in terms of what’s being shared related to the … cases that are increasing,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3204866/coronavirus-us-may-require-travellers-china-test-covid-19-entering?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3204866/coronavirus-us-may-require-travellers-china-test-covid-19-entering?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Dec 2022 17:26:32 +0000 The US House of Representatives may form a new panel focused solely on Beijing in the Republican-controlled Congress that begins in January, the Republican Party’s top House lawmaker said on Sunday. “When I become speaker, I’m going to have a select committee on China,” California representative Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, said in an interview on Fox News. He vowed to “no longer allow the administration to sit back and let China do what they are doing to America”. The comments... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3200331/top-us-house-republican-kevin-mccarthy-plans-special-committee-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3200331/top-us-house-republican-kevin-mccarthy-plans-special-committee-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Nov 2022 17:12:45 +0000 Congress should suspend normal trade relations with China if Washington determines Beijing has not complied with the World Trade Organization market access agreement it signed decades ago, the US government’s top advisory panel on China policy said on Tuesday. In a sweeping annual report comprising 39 recommendations and covering nearly every aspect of the bilateral relationship, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission also called on US lawmakers to study the feasibility of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3199753/top-us-china-panel-urges-halt-normal-trade-relations-if-no-wto-compliance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3199753/top-us-china-panel-urges-halt-normal-trade-relations-if-no-wto-compliance?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Nov 2022 19:45:19 +0000 Despite soaring tensions between Washington and Beijing, China continued to send more students to study at US universities last year than any other nation, according to an annual State Department survey made public on Monday. A total of 290,086 Chinese students came to US institutions of higher education for undergraduate study, graduate work and short-term postgraduate employment in the 2021-2022 academic year, the survey found. That number was 8.6 per cent lower than the previous school year –... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3199376/china-sends-more-students-us-universities-any-other-nation-survey-finds-despite-bilateral-unease?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3199376/china-sends-more-students-us-universities-any-other-nation-survey-finds-despite-bilateral-unease?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Nov 2022 05:01:07 +0000 US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he would discuss American “red lines” over Taiwan among other issues during an expected meeting next week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. “Look, I’m not willing to make any fundamental concessions,” Biden said during a post-election press conference at the White House, when asked if he would tell Xi whether the US would defend the self-ruled island from a Chinese attack. “What I want to do with him when we talk is lay out what each of our red lines are,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3199072/biden-says-xi-meeting-g20-summit-would-discuss-us-china-red-lines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3199072/biden-says-xi-meeting-g20-summit-would-discuss-us-china-red-lines?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Nov 2022 00:00:35 +0000 Washington’s top national security official urged Beijing on Monday to resume defence talks with the United States, which China cut off after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan over the summer. “Since the elevated and aggressive actions of the Chinese military around Taiwan started in August, we have not had the military-to-military communication that we believe can help create more stability and reduce the risk of misunderstanding,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said. “We... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3198800/us-says-it-wants-get-defence-talks-china-back-track?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3198800/us-says-it-wants-get-defence-talks-china-back-track?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Nov 2022 22:35:31 +0000 The US State Department condemned Hong Kong’s conviction this week of jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying on “spurious” fraud charges, accusing the Hong Kong authorities once again of using the national security law as an excuse to muffle the city’s press corps and shut down critical speech. “We remain deeply concerned about the deterioration in protection for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the systematic dismantling of Hong Kong’s autonomy under the national security law (NSL),”... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3197369/us-state-department-condemns-spurious-fraud-conviction-media-mogul-jimmy-lai-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3197369/us-state-department-condemns-spurious-fraud-conviction-media-mogul-jimmy-lai-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Oct 2022 16:00:30 +0000 Xinjiang’s exports to the United States dropped in September after soaring for two consecutive months, but were still nearly three times as high as the same month last year, according to the latest Chinese customs data – despite a Washington law that seeks to ban goods from the far-west region of China due to forced labour allegations. The shipments from Xinjiang to the US have appeared to continue even as officials from the US customs agency insist that they have been effectively enforcing the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3197111/xinjiang-exports-us-dip-september-still-higher-year-year-despite-forced-labour-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3197111/xinjiang-exports-us-dip-september-still-higher-year-year-despite-forced-labour-law?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Oct 2022 18:00:21 +0000 Washington’s No 2 diplomat will travel to Tokyo next week to meet with her counterparts from Japan and South Korea amid rising tensions with China and North Korea. The visit by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will come just days after Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to grasp an unprecedented third term as the country’s paramount leader at the 20th party congress. The trip also comes as concerns grow in Washington and elsewhere that Pyongyang, which has conducted a slew of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3196694/us-envoy-meet-japanese-and-south-korean-counterparts-next-week-tokyo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3196694/us-envoy-meet-japanese-and-south-korean-counterparts-next-week-tokyo?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Oct 2022 21:53:27 +0000 Members of a US Senate committee said Thursday they are considering new rules to block investments in China’s hi-tech sectors, a move they said was needed to stop American money from financing Beijing’s tenacious efforts to out-compete Washington, even as they differed on what form the rules should take. “We know that our adversaries will use any means they can to close the gaps between our technological capabilities and theirs, without much care to how legal their tactics actually are,” Sherrod... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3194320/us-senate-weighing-limits-us-investments-chinese-hi-tech-businesses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3194320/us-senate-weighing-limits-us-investments-chinese-hi-tech-businesses?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Sep 2022 21:49:54 +0000 On the 29th of August, at the height of the busy import season before America’s annual holiday shopping boom, a crate of T-shirts and toys arrived at the Port of Long Beach in California after a journey of thousands of miles from Yantian Port in Southern China. The 21kg of shirts (46lbs) and 3kg (6.6lbs) of toys were on their way to Massachusetts and New York – two almost negligible entries among the billions of dollars in US-China trade every year. But they were both shipped from the same... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3193616/how-xinjiang-still-shipping-millions-goods-us-after-forced?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3193616/how-xinjiang-still-shipping-millions-goods-us-after-forced?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Sep 2022 15:00:09 +0000 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in New York on Friday, the latest round of high-level talks between the two powers amid soaring tensions over human rights, trade policy and Taiwan. A readout from the US State Department said they spoke about Taiwan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and potential cooperation “where our interests intersect”. “The secretary discussed the need to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the US-PRC... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3193659/top-us-and-china-envoys-meet-new-york-during-un-general?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3193659/top-us-and-china-envoys-meet-new-york-during-un-general?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Sep 2022 20:38:27 +0000 New legislation to solidify Washington’s close but unofficial relationship with Taiwan cleared a key Senate committee on Wednesday, an important step on its path to becoming law. The bill, called the Taiwan Policy Act, has been described by lawmakers as “the most comprehensive restructuring of US policy towards Taiwan” since Washington normalised relations with Beijing and cut off official ties with Taipei in 1979. The bill includes billions of dollars in funding for Taiwan’s military;... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3192531/us-senate-committee-clears-bill-would-bolster-us-ties-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3192531/us-senate-committee-clears-bill-would-bolster-us-ties-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Sep 2022 20:53:28 +0000 US President Joe Biden said he is “sure” he will see Xi Jinping at the coming G20 summit in Indonesia if the US and Chinese leaders both attend, in what would be their first face-to-face meeting since Biden took office more than a year and a half ago. “If he’s there, I’m sure I’ll see him,” Biden told reporters on Tuesday at a cabinet meeting at the White House. The brief comments came as US-China tensions soar over Taiwan, human rights, trade disputes and other issues, and gave one of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3191595/joe-biden-says-sure-see-chinas-xi-jinping-if-he?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3191595/joe-biden-says-sure-see-chinas-xi-jinping-if-he?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Sep 2022 21:29:57 +0000 Xinjiang’s clothing exports to the United States surged to their highest point in nearly two years in July, the first full month after the US began enforcing a law to block goods from the far-west region of China due to forced labour concerns there, according to Beijing’s most recent customs data. The Chinese government’s figures show Xinjiang continued to send tens of thousands of shirts, pants, jackets and dresses as well as millions of pairs of socks to the US, among other clothing items,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3190901/xinjiang-exports-us-hit-two-year-high-despite-uygur-forced-labour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3190901/xinjiang-exports-us-hit-two-year-high-despite-uygur-forced-labour?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Aug 2022 19:30:22 +0000 Washington and Seoul vowed on Wednesday to expand their joint military drills and deepen security cooperation with Japan amid rising tensions in the region, affirming they may deploy US nuclear “strategic assets” on the peninsula if Pyongyang conducts an anticipated nuclear test. The joint statement from the Pentagon and South Korean defence ministry presented the latest evidence of an increasingly close alliance between the two countries as US-China relations languish and concerns run high over... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3189277/next-north-korea-nuclear-test-could-lead-us-deploy-strategic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3189277/next-north-korea-nuclear-test-could-lead-us-deploy-strategic?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Aug 2022 20:30:19 +0000 US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday that Beijing’s unprecedented military drills around Taiwan after her trip to the island last week have upended a long-standing status quo in the region, and that her visit was being used by Beijing merely as a “pretext” to act more aggressively. “What we saw with China is they were trying to establish sort of a new normal, and we just can’t let that happen,” she said, in her first extensive public comments following her trip. “Their pretext was our... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3188463/us-house-speaker-says-beijing-used-her-trip-pretext-aggressive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3188463/us-house-speaker-says-beijing-used-her-trip-pretext-aggressive?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Aug 2022 19:15:27 +0000 Unabating tensions between Washington and Beijing over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan and China’s subsequent military drills encircling the island led the White House to summon the Chinese ambassador to blast Beijing’s “overreaction” to the visit, prompting the envoy to “sternly” reject the criticism. The strong statements reveal that the rancour and unease centred on the Taiwan Strait have seeped thousands of miles away into the halls of power in Washington. The two superpowers... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3187938/latest-twist-taiwan-spat-sees-top-china-envoy-and-white-house?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3187938/latest-twist-taiwan-spat-sees-top-china-envoy-and-white-house?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Aug 2022 22:50:28 +0000 US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said her trip to Taiwan is a signal to the world that Washington stands with the self-governed island’s “vibrant, robust” democracy and has a “sacred vow” to support its defence amid growing threats from Beijing. “In the face of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) accelerating aggression, our congressional delegation’s visit should be seen as an unequivocal statement that America stands with Taiwan, our democratic partner, as it defends itself and its... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3187504/nancy-pelosi-explains-her-taiwan-trip-vital-defence-democracy-freedom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3187504/nancy-pelosi-explains-her-taiwan-trip-vital-defence-democracy-freedom?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Aug 2022 18:22:11 +0000 In 1995, at a heated moment in US-China relations, a junior member of Congress named Nancy Pelosi lashed out at Beijing for thinking it could stop a senior politician from travelling between Taiwan and the United States. “Let us not let China violate human rights, trade and proliferation and then dictate to us whether the president of Taiwan can come into this country,” Pelosi said in a speech on the House floor, urging the White House to ignore Beijing’s demands and let Taiwanese leader Lee... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3187128/prospect-nancy-pelosi-trip-taiwan-jolts-washington-well-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3187128/prospect-nancy-pelosi-trip-taiwan-jolts-washington-well-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Jul 2022 21:47:58 +0000 The US House of Representatives gave a final stamp of approval on billions of dollars in new funding for the US semiconductor industry on Thursday, putting a key component of Washington’s efforts to out-compete China on the verge of becoming law. The House passage came just one day after the Senate cleared the bill on Wednesday with a bipartisan vote of 64-33. The House vote was 243 to 187, with 24 Republicans voting in favour and one Democrat voting “present”. The legislation, known as the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3186972/us-house-approves-chips-act-subsidise-and-speed-semiconductor-production?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3186972/us-house-approves-chips-act-subsidise-and-speed-semiconductor-production?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Jul 2022 20:37:45 +0000 The US Senate approved billions of dollars in new federal funding for the American semiconductor industry on Wednesday, advancing a top priority for Washington’s efforts to out-compete China. “Today, by approving one of the largest investments in science, technology and manufacturing in decades – in decades – we say that America’s best years are yet to come,” Senator Charles Schumer, the Senate majority leader and an original sponsor of the bill, said before the vote. “If we didn’t get there... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3186826/us-senate-passes-bill-providing-us52-billion-subsidies-semiconductor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3186826/us-senate-passes-bill-providing-us52-billion-subsidies-semiconductor?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Jul 2022 17:15:30 +0000 Here in the slick corporate headquarters of Hybe, the South Korean entertainment company that manages the K-pop superstars BTS, chief communications officer Jinhyeong “AJ” Lee knows that even the tiniest speck of news about the musicians or their millions of passionately loyal fans can send shock waves around the world. That may be why two topics in this meeting seem to be far more sensitive than the others. One is the status of the world’s most popular band, after BTS stunned the globe and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3186006/distrust-and-unease-loom-south-koreans-grow-wary-chinas-clout?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3186006/distrust-and-unease-loom-south-koreans-grow-wary-chinas-clout?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Jul 2022 22:33:36 +0000 China has been lobbying behind the scenes at the UN’s top human rights body to block the publication of a highly anticipated report on rights conditions for Uygurs and other minority groups in China’s Xinjiang region, according to a document circulating among UN diplomats. The effort comes just weeks after the UN’s human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, travelled to Xinjiang on a controversial tour of the region that critics said was a propaganda coup for Beijing. The “so-called assessment on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3186000/china-lobbying-behind-scenes-un-block-publication-xinjiang?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3186000/china-lobbying-behind-scenes-un-block-publication-xinjiang?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Jul 2022 19:38:19 +0000 The US Senate appears likely to pass legislation that would deliver billions of dollars of federal funding to the American semiconductor industry, a top priority in the Biden administration’s continuing efforts to out-compete China, after a preliminary vote on Tuesday. The Senate’s procedural vote passed 64 to 34, but the legislation will still require additional voting rounds before final passage in the chamber. If the bill ultimately passes both chambers of Congress and becomes law, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3185873/senate-test-vote-shows-support-bill-providing-52-billion-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3185873/senate-test-vote-shows-support-bill-providing-52-billion-us?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Jul 2022 00:33:07 +0000 Top American and British intelligence officials warned Western businesses that deal with China on Wednesday to become far more vigilant about Beijing’s relentless industrial espionage. “When you deal with a Chinese company, know you’re also dealing with the Chinese government – that is, the MSS and the PLA – too, almost like silent partners”, FBI Director Christopher Wray told business leaders in London, referring to China’s spy agency and military. “The Chinese government poses an even more... https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3184383/fbi-and-britains-mi5-raise-fresh-alarms-about-chinese-spying-rare-joint-speech?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3184383/fbi-and-britains-mi5-raise-fresh-alarms-about-chinese-spying-rare-joint-speech?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Jul 2022 18:23:32 +0000 In the latest effort by American lawmakers to protect Taiwan in the face of growing Chinese threats, a bipartisan pair of senators on Friday introduced expansive legislation that would increase defence assistance to the self-governing island. The bill comes as many in Congress believe the US must do more because of China’s aggressive moves to undermine the status quo across the Taiwan Strait and potentially start a war. Those fears have only grown since Russia launched its own assault on Ukraine... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3182183/new-bill-us-senate-proposes-expansion-military-aide-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3182183/new-bill-us-senate-proposes-expansion-military-aide-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Jun 2022 19:20:23 +0000 A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has struck a compromise on a long-debated plan to screen outbound investments into China, members of the Senate and House of Representatives said on Monday. It comes as Congress continues to negotiate a final version of sweeping legislation meant to strengthen US competitiveness with Beijing, and the lawmakers’ announcement raises the odds that the new outbound investment rules could be included in that final bill. If it is included, the new rules on outbound... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3181571/us-lawmakers-reach-compromise-screening-investments-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3181571/us-lawmakers-reach-compromise-screening-investments-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Jun 2022 23:02:18 +0000 China warned of a potential “catastrophe” while forced on Wednesday to defend its veto last month of a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have punished North Korea for its latest intercontinental ballistic missile tests. The rare UN debate came as officials in Washington, Seoul and the International Atomic Energy Agency warned that Pyongyang might be preparing an imminent nuclear test, which would be the country’s seventh. “China always engages in the work of the Security... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3180939/china-defends-its-veto-un-security-council-resolution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3180939/china-defends-its-veto-un-security-council-resolution?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Jun 2022 18:14:16 +0000 Washington’s No 2 diplomat will criss-cross East and Southeast Asia on a nine-day trip beginning on Sunday, the latest in a recent burst of top-level US diplomacy in the region. Deputy US Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will meet with officials in South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and Laos, the State Department said on Friday. Her trip comes amid worsening tensions with Beijing – but also questions about the US engagement in Asia while Washington has been consumed by Russia’s invasion of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/diplomacy/article/3180399/no-2-us-diplomats-trip-show-us-continued-commitment-indo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/diplomacy/article/3180399/no-2-us-diplomats-trip-show-us-continued-commitment-indo?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Jun 2022 21:48:52 +0000 A senior State Department official expressed high confidence on Wednesday that Washington’s efforts at “trilateral” cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo would succeed in the face of regional threats, despite numerous disputes that have long plagued relations between South Korea and Japan. “Yes, I do think they can be overcome,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mark Lambert said at a briefing, referring to those disputes. “A robust and effective trilateral relationship between and among the United... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3179174/us-official-sees-trilateral-relationship-japan-and-south-korea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3179174/us-official-sees-trilateral-relationship-japan-and-south-korea?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 May 2022 20:54:13 +0000 The top US trade negotiator met with a Taiwanese official in Bangkok on Friday to discuss ways to strengthen Washington’s economic relationship with Taipei. It was the latest signal just this week of the ever-closer ties between the US and the self-ruled island, and it came as US President Joe Biden was travelling to South Korea and Japan – a trip that observers say is meant to bring the US and its allies closer together in the increasingly tense competition with Beijing. During his trip, Biden... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3178596/top-us-trade-official-meets-taiwanese-minister-explore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3178596/top-us-trade-official-meets-taiwanese-minister-explore?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 May 2022 15:42:57 +0000 A deadly mass shooting on Sunday at a Taiwanese church congregation in southern California was carried out by an immigrant from Taiwan, a Taiwanese government official in Los Angeles confirmed on Tuesday. The information contradicted reports issued by law enforcement officials in California on Monday that the assailant was from mainland China. The suspect in Sunday’s attack “had an absolute bias against the Taiwanese people, its country, as a Chinese or mainland national”, Orange County District... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3177982/california-church-shooter-was-chinese-immigrant-who?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3177982/california-church-shooter-was-chinese-immigrant-who?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 May 2022 20:25:39 +0000 In late February 2021, as US President Joe Biden’s administration was just getting started, a Congress hungry to confront Beijing dived into a new project – sweeping legislation meant to jolt American industry and alliances in the competition with China. Fifteen months later, after scores of hearings, speeches, votes, and even name changes, the bill now faces a final, towering hurdle: actually becoming law. In a potential coup for Beijing, observers inside and outside Congress say they do not... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3177823/15-months-and-counting-massive-china-bill-tests-ability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3177823/15-months-and-counting-massive-china-bill-tests-ability?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 May 2022 14:30:22 +0000 Washington’s trade office told US businesses on Tuesday that it had begun a statutory process that could ultimately end up removing tariffs on Chinese goods. The notification, part of a legal requirement to review the tariffs four years after they were first put into place, puts the burden on US businesses benefiting from those tariffs to speak out and say that they want the policy to continue, the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said. “The office of the US Trade Representative is... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3176420/us-trade-office-says-it-has-begun-process-whether-lift-tariffs-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3176420/us-trade-office-says-it-has-begun-process-whether-lift-tariffs-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 May 2022 15:18:22 +0000 US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday that lifting tariffs on certain Chinese goods could help alleviate the high inflation that has taken hold across the United States this year. Her remarks were the latest signal from President Joe Biden’s administration that Washington may eventually remove at least some of the tariffs left over from the trade war that began during the Donald Trump era, although it remains unclear when or even if that will ultimately happen. They came one day... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3175268/us-treasury-secretary-janet-yellen-says-were-looking-tariff-cuts-some?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3175268/us-treasury-secretary-janet-yellen-says-were-looking-tariff-cuts-some?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Apr 2022 21:48:09 +0000 US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned China against supporting Russia and its invasion of Ukraine and raised the prospect of deeper economic integration with Europe and other partners embracing similar “core values and principles”. “China has recently affirmed a special relationship with Russia,” Yellen said in a speech to the Atlantic Council on Wednesday. “I fervently hope that China will make something positive of this relationship and help to end this war.” “The world’s attitude... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3174175/ukraine-war-us-treasury-secretary-janet-yellen-issues-sharp?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3174175/ukraine-war-us-treasury-secretary-janet-yellen-issues-sharp?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Apr 2022 16:46:42 +0000 Within days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China watched the United States and its allies thrash Moscow’s economy with astonishing speed, coordination and power. Now officials in Washington are looking ahead towards a once-unthinkable possibility: in a future moment of crisis, would those same economic weapons work against China too? In the weeks since Washington unleashed the broadest sanctions in history against Russia, studies are already under way within US President Joe Biden’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3173916/chinas-support-russia-galvanises-us-europe-washington-examines-once?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3173916/chinas-support-russia-galvanises-us-europe-washington-examines-once?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Apr 2022 20:01:18 +0000 A top US State Department official gave new hints on Wednesday of the consequences China might face if it gets caught aiding Russia in the invasion of Ukraine – the latest sign that Beijing has failed to convince Washington of its proclaimed neutrality in the war. “I think one only has to look at the range of sanctions, more to be announced today, against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman, the department’s No 2 official, told the House Foreign Affairs... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3173319/ukraine-war-senior-us-diplomat-says-if-china-aids-russia-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3173319/ukraine-war-senior-us-diplomat-says-if-china-aids-russia-it?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Apr 2022 21:12:38 +0000 The United States, Britain and Australia announced plans on Tuesday to cooperate on state-of-the-art weaponry – including hypersonic missiles and “counter-hypersonics”, an apparent response to China’s aggressive pursuit of its own hypersonic arsenal. It is the latest sign that Washington and many of its closest allies, including those in the new “Aukus” security partnership, remain focused on the growing military threat from Beijing, even as the war in Ukraine grinds on with no obvious end in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3173187/aukus-partnership-plans-develop-hypersonic-weapons-apparent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3173187/aukus-partnership-plans-develop-hypersonic-weapons-apparent?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Apr 2022 22:12:55 +0000 The United States has no immediate plans to sanction China over the war in Ukraine because Beijing has so far not provided military support to Moscow, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday. “I don’t think that that’s necessary or appropriate at this point,” Yellen said in an interview on CNBC. “Senior administration officials are talking privately and quietly with China to make sure that they understand our position.” The comments were the latest in Washington’s pressure campaign... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3171939/ukraine-war-us-sanctions-china-supporting-russia-are-not-needed-yet-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3171939/ukraine-war-us-sanctions-china-supporting-russia-are-not-needed-yet-says?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Mar 2022 20:39:15 +0000 US President Joe Biden plans to tell his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that he will “impose costs” for any support Beijing provides to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Washington’s top diplomat said on Thursday, as the administration made its clearest comments to date that it is concerned about such assistance. “We believe China in particular has a responsibility to use its influence and defend the international rules and principles that it professes to support,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3170863/chinese-president-xi-jinping-and-us-president-joe-biden?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3170863/chinese-president-xi-jinping-and-us-president-joe-biden?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Mar 2022 12:33:54 +0000 The US customs agency has banned all goods made by the Chinese sportswear giant Li-Ning, accusing the company of using North Korean labour in its supply chain, a violation of US sanctions. It is the latest move from Washington to crack down on China’s apparel sector over suspected human rights abuses, this time under the authority of a five-year-old sanctions law targeting Pyongyang. “[The law] is yet another tool in CBP’s trade enforcement arsenal that allows us to uphold the fundamental value... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3170606/us-bans-import-all-li-ning-products-citing-use-north-korean-labour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3170606/us-bans-import-all-li-ning-products-citing-use-north-korean-labour?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Mar 2022 21:51:03 +0000 China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi met US national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Rome on Monday as the war in Ukraine threatened to become a new source of tension between the two countries. For seven hours, Yang and Sullivan discussed a full range of tensions now dividing Washington and Beijing, US officials said, but they focused extensively on Ukraine, with the US warning that China would face serious consequences if it backs Russia in the war. “What we have conveyed – and what was conveyed... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3170432/us-china-relations-ukraine-casts-long-shadow-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3170432/us-china-relations-ukraine-casts-long-shadow-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Mar 2022 12:46:17 +0000 US President Joe Biden’s administration on Friday announced sanctions against a network of Russians suspected of helping North Korea build up its illicit weapons programmes. The move comes one day after US officials warned that Pyongyang would face punishment for building and testing a new type of long-range missile, and they also add to a slew of economic sanctions already imposed against Moscow earlier in the day over its invasion of Ukraine. “The DPRK continues to launch ballistic missiles in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3170221/us-sanctions-russian-network-it-says-helped-north-korea-build-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3170221/us-sanctions-russian-network-it-says-helped-north-korea-build-its?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Mar 2022 23:14:19 +0000 US President Joe Biden’s administration said it planned to announce new sanctions on North Korea on Friday after concluding that Pyongyang tested a new, advanced long-range weapon system. Launches in late February and early March “involved a new intercontinental ballistic missile system”, Jung Pak, the State Department’s deputy special representative for North Korea, said on Thursday. “This is a serious escalation.” Pak said the tests were likely intended to check elements of this new system... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3170048/us-impose-new-sanctions-north-korea-over-recent-missile-tests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3170048/us-impose-new-sanctions-north-korea-over-recent-missile-tests?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Mar 2022 21:11:40 +0000 US President Joe Biden urged Congress on Wednesday to hurry up and pass a final, compromise version of sweeping legislation meant to strengthen US competitiveness against China. “The bottom line is this bipartisan innovation bill will allow us to stamp more products ‘Made in America’. It’s going to bolster our national security and our economic security,” said Biden. The comments come as Washington remains consumed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which will soon enter a third week of intense... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3169893/joe-biden-presses-us-congress-finalise-bill-fund-tech-compete-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3169893/joe-biden-presses-us-congress-finalise-bill-fund-tech-compete-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Mar 2022 20:30:46 +0000 Hackers linked to China’s Ministry of State Security have spent most of the last year infiltrating and moving freely through state government networks across the United States, according to a report by the cybersecurity firm Mandiant. Released on Tuesday, the report says that the hacking group known as APT41, whose members are already sought by the FBI for allegedly working on behalf of Beijing to conduct cyberattacks, began targeting at least six state governments starting last spring, and had... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3169750/hackers-linked-chinese-government-have-invaded-state-networks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3169750/hackers-linked-chinese-government-have-invaded-state-networks?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Mar 2022 17:49:22 +0000 A debate is under way within US President Joe Biden’s administration over its policy toward China given the risk that Beijing will help Russia weather the economic and financial sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine, according to sources with ties to the administration. At issue is whether there is enough daylight between Beijing and Moscow to secure some measure of Chinese cooperation in enforcing sanctions and convincing Russia to de-escalate, they say. “There’s definitely a big... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3169624/us-debates-trying-gain-chinas-help-defusing-russia-cooperating-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3169624/us-debates-trying-gain-chinas-help-defusing-russia-cooperating-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Mar 2022 23:29:07 +0000