https://www.scmp.com/rss/517131/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The US and China held what could be their last working-group meetings on economics and finance, a month before Donald Trump’s return to the White House amid an anticipated revival of the two superpowers’ trade war. The US Treasury on Monday announced that senior officials from Washington and Beijing discussed economic and financial issues in two working group meetings in recent days. The economic working group convened on the sidelines of the Group of 20 deputies’ meeting in Johannesburg, South... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3291083/us-china-working-groups-economy-finance-meet-future-doubt-under-donald-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3291083/us-china-working-groups-economy-finance-meet-future-doubt-under-donald-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Dec 2024 19:45:11 +0000 A year after the presidents of the US and China met for an landmark summit on the sidelines of an Apec leaders summit in San Francisco, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met again, this time at an Apec meeting in Lima, Peru, but under very different circumstances. The last Xi-Biden meeting exceeded expectations in terms of the thawing of relations between the No 1 and No 2 global economies. On Saturday, Biden walked in as a lame-duck president whose successor is known for unpredictable moves that could... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3286995/xi-biden-meet-one-last-time-xi-apparently-sending-message-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3286995/xi-biden-meet-one-last-time-xi-apparently-sending-message-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Nov 2024 09:01:37 +0000 Mark Magnier Mark Magnier Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Peru on Thursday morning accompanied by some 400 businesspeople and entrepreneurs to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that lasts through Saturday. A focal point of the visit is Thursday’s virtual inauguration of Peru’s new US$3.5 billion Chancay port funded and operated by China. Beijing and Lima also plan to sign some 30 bilateral agreements during Xi’s visit, including an updated free-trade agreement. “We must build on our traditional... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3286631/xi-jinping-arrives-peru-apec-poised-sign-30-bilateral-agreements-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3286631/xi-jinping-arrives-peru-apec-poised-sign-30-bilateral-agreements-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Nov 2024 19:15:30 +0000 Beijing will focus on courting G20 nations to join its financial networks to circumvent Western sanctions in a potential Taiwan conflict, while the US and G7 will pressure these nations to comply with critical supply-chain restrictions against the mainland. A new report studying G20 responses in a Taiwan crisis found that Beijing would have limited interest in using punitive economic statecraft against these countries, while the US and G7 nations would be likely to ask them to comply with... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3286466/china-court-g20-nations-bypass-us-led-sanctions-potential-taiwan-conflict-report?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3286466/china-court-g20-nations-bypass-us-led-sanctions-potential-taiwan-conflict-report?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Nov 2024 22:20:37 +0000 Laura Zhou,Igor Patrick Laura Zhou,Igor Patrick US President Joe Biden will meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Saturday in what is likely to be their last face-to-face talk as presidents, according to a senior American official, as Beijing braces for the return of Donald Trump. The meeting will take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, Peru, and will be their third in-person meeting during Biden’s presidency. Biden is the only American president to have not visited China while in office... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3286457/joe-biden-and-xi-jinping-are-expected-meet-apec-sidelines-peru-us-official-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3286457/joe-biden-and-xi-jinping-are-expected-meet-apec-sidelines-peru-us-official-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Nov 2024 17:35:14 +0000 US president-elect Donald Trump is likely to tap a roster of billionaires – Elon Musk, Stephen Schwarzman, Steve Wynn and Linda McMahon – along with some trusted Washington policy wonks to steer his freestyle diplomacy with Beijing, analysts said. These powerful figures are expected to play outsize roles as Trump prepares for a high-stakes second term, including tariffs of up to 60 per cent or more on Chinese imports that the president-elect has promised. In sharp contrast to outgoing President... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3286141/trumps-china-dealings-billionaires-elon-musk-play-backchannel-role-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3286141/trumps-china-dealings-billionaires-elon-musk-play-backchannel-role-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Nov 2024 23:53:15 +0000 US President Joe Biden’s restrictions on hi-tech trade with China came to a head in meetings between the countries’ top commerce officials. In a call with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo defended these rules put in place on national security grounds as “not negotiable”, her department said on Tuesday. Raimondo “noted ongoing concerns from the US business community about decreasing regulatory transparency in the PRC, non-market policies and practices,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3281621/us-tells-china-hi-tech-trade-limits-are-not-negotiable-meeting-commerce-chiefs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3281621/us-tells-china-hi-tech-trade-limits-are-not-negotiable-meeting-commerce-chiefs?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Oct 2024 22:23:24 +0000 John Podesta, the top US climate diplomat, is heading to China. It is no coincidence that Podesta may be the last high-level US official to set foot in Beijing before the presidential election and that his predecessor, John Kerry, was the first dignitary to visit China in 2021 after Joe Biden took office. In fact, this reflects the important role climate has played in tempering bilateral ties. However, as the 2022 suspension of talks showed, this current model of engagement also has its limits... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3276530/podestas-china-trip-chance-biden-seal-his-climate-legacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3276530/podestas-china-trip-chance-biden-seal-his-climate-legacy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Sep 2024 12:30:10 +0000 Beijing is tightening its regulation and control of three chemicals used to produce fentanyl, Washington said on Tuesday, signalling closer bilateral cooperation in America’s push to stem a nationwide crisis. A US National Security Council spokesman hailed China’s decision subjecting key precursor chemicals to the potent synthetic opioid to greater control as “a valuable step forward”. China’s Ministry of Public Security on Monday stated that three substances would be managed under the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3273471/us-china-fentanyl-cooperation-deepens-beijing-tightens-controls-precursor-chemicals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3273471/us-china-fentanyl-cooperation-deepens-beijing-tightens-controls-precursor-chemicals?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Aug 2024 17:35:12 +0000 A delegation of senior officials from Beijing is visiting Washington on Wednesday to carry forward discussions on the rival superpowers’ collaborative efforts in counternarcotics. Describing the bilateral relationship as “complex” and “complicated”, a senior American government official on Tuesday said the US was “encouraged by the continued commitment and conversations”. China of late has taken concerted action trying to disrupt the global supply chain of synthetic substances that are used to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3272549/china-delegation-visits-us-discuss-fentanyl-crisis-collaboration-amid-complex-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3272549/china-delegation-visits-us-discuss-fentanyl-crisis-collaboration-amid-complex-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Jul 2024 09:00:09 +0000 Senior Biden administration officials on Monday conveyed a mixed message about negotiations with Beijing to ban the use of artificial intelligence in both American and Chinese nuclear arsenals. The US had sought “a strategic dialogue with China for years on nuclear matters”, according to US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, who depicted Beijing as reluctant to proceed with negotiations to limit its arsenal. That said, China “may be prepared to talk about other issues around nuclear... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3267892/china-and-ai-us-sends-mixed-message-about-talks-ban-technology-nuclear-use?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3267892/china-and-ai-us-sends-mixed-message-about-talks-ban-technology-nuclear-use?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Jun 2024 22:40:38 +0000 US restrictions on advanced technology exports to China are driven by greater evidence of Beijing’s increasingly “aggressive” stance and an analysis of how it would likely use these tools as it “bullies” some neighbours, a senior US diplomat said on Thursday. “We have to expect those technologies will be militarised, and we do not intend to be number two,” said Nicholas Burns, the US ambassador to China, in remarks delivered at the Asia Society in New York. Washington’s response to Beijing has... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3265694/bullying-china-spurs-us-limit-advanced-tech-exports-american-ambassador?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3265694/bullying-china-spurs-us-limit-advanced-tech-exports-american-ambassador?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Jun 2024 20:22:14 +0000 In this latest interview in the Open Questions series, national security analyst Graham Allison discusses whether the United States and China are destined for war. Allison served as an assistant secretary of defence in the Clinton administration, and is author of the 2017 book Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap. The Thucydides trap refers to the view of its namesake Greek historian, who argued that it is inevitable that competition between a rising power and a... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3264633/us-china-relationship-governed-compete-communicate-cooperate-framework-says-graham-allison?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3264633/us-china-relationship-governed-compete-communicate-cooperate-framework-says-graham-allison?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 May 2024 06:00:14 +0000 The US and China plan to meet later this year in Azerbaijan in a bid to reduce methane emissions, according to an American read-out released on Friday in Washington after two days of climate talks between the two giant emitters. The second US-China summit on methane and non-CO2 greenhouse gases is slated to take place in November during the United Nations’ top climate conference, the read-out stated. It follows last year’s meeting on the topic in the United Arab Emirates. The talks on Wednesday... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3262291/us-and-china-set-meet-year-azerbaijan-discuss-methane-emission-reductions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3262291/us-and-china-set-meet-year-azerbaijan-discuss-methane-emission-reductions?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 May 2024 22:25:19 +0000 The sooner the US and China accept the fact that they have common interests, the better it will be both for their respective nations and for the wider world, experts said on Friday at a conference at Harvard University. The gathering of China experts in business, academia and politics comes at a delicate time following the summit last November between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden in Woodside, California that stabilised ties even as it left looming questions about their... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3258900/yoked-together-experts-us-china-ties-urge-powers-embrace-shared-interests-and-introspection?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3258900/yoked-together-experts-us-china-ties-urge-powers-embrace-shared-interests-and-introspection?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Apr 2024 11:14:55 +0000 The first phone call in nearly two years between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden conveyed stability overall in a bilateral relationship previously marked by contention on all fronts, while also signalling a deepening disconnect on tech restrictions and economic disputes, analysts said. “What’s important is that the top level of communication is very frequent, is regular,” said Rhodium Group’s Daniel Rosen of the conversation between the leaders on Tuesday. “Summits are important, but there’s no... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3257632/call-between-xi-jinping-and-joe-biden-conveys-stability-deep-disconnect-us-china-ties-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3257632/call-between-xi-jinping-and-joe-biden-conveys-stability-deep-disconnect-us-china-ties-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Apr 2024 22:19:12 +0000 China’s top envoy to the US criticised President Joe Biden’s recent moves targeting Chinese products on national security grounds, even as he acknowledged that the American leader’s recent summit with President Xi Jinping helped to stabilise the bilateral relationship. Speaking at a conference hosted by Chinese state media outlets on Thursday, Ambassador Xie Feng appeared to reference an investigation into connected technology used in Chinese vehicles and actions aimed at reducing possible... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3255437/top-beijing-envoy-us-criticises-bidens-moves-targeting-chinese-products-over-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3255437/top-beijing-envoy-us-criticises-bidens-moves-targeting-chinese-products-over-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Mar 2024 16:47:43 +0000 “We want competition with China, but not conflict,” declared an energetic 81-year-old Joe Biden on Thursday during his last State of the Union address as US president before the country goes to the polls in November. “We’re in a stronger position to win the competition for the 21st century against China, or anyone else for that matter,” he said, presenting a passionate case for a second term in the White House. Biden boasted of low US unemployment rates, controlled inflation and falling imports... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3254631/america-rising-biden-uses-state-union-address-push-competition-china-not-conflict?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3254631/america-rising-biden-uses-state-union-address-push-competition-china-not-conflict?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Mar 2024 06:10:52 +0000 US special climate envoy John Kerry praised China’s climate commitments and emphasised the importance of personal relationships in diplomacy during his farewell tour of Washington. Kerry is leaving his cabinet-level position on Wednesday after three years, but said on Tuesday that he was not leaving the climate fight. Instead, he will remain “deeply involved” and redirect his attention to mobilising private capital to help the clean energy transition. He also said he hoped he and his former... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3254309/outgoing-us-climate-envoy-john-kerry-says-he-will-stay-involved-hopes-maintain-dialogue-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3254309/outgoing-us-climate-envoy-john-kerry-says-he-will-stay-involved-hopes-maintain-dialogue-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Mar 2024 21:54:49 +0000 China’s economy is gaining momentum towards recovery and high-quality development as it becomes a “modern socialist country in all respects”, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday, even as he denigrated American critics calling for hardline policies against the Asian giant. The comments by Qian Jin, China’s deputy consul general in New York, come as the administrations of Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping seek to stabilise relations and build on good will following their November summit in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3253919/china-economy-gaining-momentum-despite-calls-hardline-us-stance-senior-diplomat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3253919/china-economy-gaining-momentum-despite-calls-hardline-us-stance-senior-diplomat?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Mar 2024 23:41:09 +0000 The beloved phrase “city upon a hill”, cited by America’s forefather John Winthrop, is often used to denote the exceptionalism of America’s power, founded on “universal” human values and principles for others to follow. In the late 1950s, I was a great fan of the United States. Having a rudimentary command of English, I remember reading a Chinese translation of Little House on the Prairie from the now-defunct US Information Agency Library in Macau. In the summer of 1990, my faith in America was... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/united-states/article/3252584/gaza-ukraine-tiktok-us-double-standards-are-eroding-its-global-power?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/united-states/article/3252584/gaza-ukraine-tiktok-us-double-standards-are-eroding-its-global-power?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Feb 2024 21:30:20 +0000 The Bangkok rendezvous between China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan ended quietly with no breakthroughs, except the renewed commitment to continue this “strategic channel of communication” and other high-level consultations. But Beijing and Washington still claimed that the meeting last month, the highest level talks since the leaders of the two countries met in California in November, was a diplomatic success, with both taking credit for bringing the other... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3251151/although-china-and-us-made-no-real-gains-bangkok-maybe-talking-about-relationship-relationship?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3251151/although-china-and-us-made-no-real-gains-bangkok-maybe-talking-about-relationship-relationship?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Feb 2024 06:30:12 +0000 China is stepping up its US charm offensive through non-official channels by sending the head of an organisation dedicated to boosting friendly overseas exchanges on a tour around America. A delegation led by Yang Wanming, president of the semi-official Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, arrived in Washington on Saturday to begin a 12-day tour of the country. During the visit he is also visiting Texas, Nevada, California and Washington state. “The visit aims to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3250781/chinese-foreign-friendship-chief-seeks-boost-relations-tour-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3250781/chinese-foreign-friendship-chief-seeks-boost-relations-tour-us?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Feb 2024 13:00:22 +0000 China and the United States have pledged to step up efforts to fight illicit drugs such as fentanyl as part of their latest efforts to stabilise relations. An inter-agency US delegation led by deputy homeland security adviser Jen Daskal travelled to Beijing on Tuesday for a two-day talk with their Chinese counterparts and to launch a counternarcotics working group. “It is hoped that both sides will … continually expand cooperation in various fields to inject more positive energy for the stable,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3250435/china-and-us-vow-closer-cooperation-fighting-americas-fentanyl-crisis-drugs-group-begins-its-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3250435/china-and-us-vow-closer-cooperation-fighting-americas-fentanyl-crisis-drugs-group-begins-its-work?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Jan 2024 14:00:12 +0000 High-ranking commerce officials from China and the United States are expected to hold talks in Washington in the coming months, with a focus on tackling concerns from both countries’ business communities, a US trade official said on Friday. The in-person meeting would be the first of the US-China commercial issues working group – a consultation mechanism of government officials and private sector representatives seeking solutions to trade and investment disputes. The group launched last August... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3249983/senior-us-and-chinese-commerce-officials-poised-meet-and-tackle-business-communities-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3249983/senior-us-and-chinese-commerce-officials-poised-meet-and-tackle-business-communities-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Jan 2024 20:30:15 +0000 Republican lawmakers in Washington expressed dissatisfaction on Wednesday with what they called the Biden administration’s “diplomacy from a position of weakness” in efforts to halt the flow of fentanyl from China to the United States. The criticism came after US State and Commerce Department officials acknowledged that lifting sanctions on a division of China’s Ministry of Public Security was a “trade-off” aimed at securing Beijing’s cooperation on fentanyl. During a hearing of the House... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3248843/republican-lawmakers-criticise-lifting-us-sanctions-gain-chinas-help-fentanyl?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3248843/republican-lawmakers-criticise-lifting-us-sanctions-gain-chinas-help-fentanyl?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Jan 2024 23:43:23 +0000 In a letter to a long-time American friend, Chinese president Xi Jinping praised the role of ordinary people in advancing US-China ties and pushed for more people-to-people exchanges between the two superpowers. The message to Sarah Lande of Muscatine, Iowa – the small Midwestern city where Xi led a delegation nearly four decades ago – said China was ready to work with the US to push for the steady, sound and sustainable development of bilateral relations. Xi said the achievements in China-US... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3247978/chinas-xi-jinping-pushes-stable-us-ties-and-more-exchanges-letter-long-time-american-friend?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3247978/chinas-xi-jinping-pushes-stable-us-ties-and-more-exchanges-letter-long-time-american-friend?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Jan 2024 12:15:55 +0000 Beijing has sanctioned US risk intelligence firm Kharon and two researchers in response to the latest Xinjiang-related sanctions by Washington, its foreign ministry announced on Tuesday. The firm, which provides analysis on investment risks – including those regarding Xinjiang – has been sanctioned by the Chinese government in a tit-for-tat response to US Treasury sanctions earlier this month on Chinese entities over their links to alleged human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3246309/xinjiang-china-adds-us-risk-intelligence-firm-kharon-and-researchers-sanctions-list-over-human?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3246309/xinjiang-china-adds-us-risk-intelligence-firm-kharon-and-researchers-sanctions-list-over-human?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Dec 2023 12:00:22 +0000 “Hopeful” and “realistic”, but not “optimistic”. That was the assessment on Friday from America’s ambassador to Beijing about recent efforts by US President Joe Biden’s administration to stabilise the US-China relationship. In a wide-ranging discussion at the Brookings Institution that hit on all the familiar notes about the challenge that China presents for the US, Ambassador Nicholas Burns referred to the country as a “systemic rival”, but said that because Washington is both competing and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3245299/i-wouldnt-say-im-optimistic-about-state-us-china-relations-says-ambassador-beijing-nicholas-burns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3245299/i-wouldnt-say-im-optimistic-about-state-us-china-relations-says-ambassador-beijing-nicholas-burns?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Dec 2023 20:26:39 +0000 The United States and China should view engagement as a “moral imperative” and build greater trust as they seek to manage tensions, a forum in Hong Kong has heard. While last month’s meeting between presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden was seen as positive, speakers at the event said relations could be tested by events such as next month’s Taiwanese elections. John Thornton, chair emeritus of US think tank Brookings, said both Washington and Beijing needed to recognise their place in the world... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3245256/us-china-relations-both-sides-must-see-engagement-moral-imperative-hong-kong-forum-told?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3245256/us-china-relations-both-sides-must-see-engagement-moral-imperative-hong-kong-forum-told?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Dec 2023 13:00:11 +0000 US ambassador to China Nicholas Burns touted a “revival of a close, coordinated relationship” between the US and China on Thursday, while also saying the relationship remains “intensely competitive”. Speaking at the 50th anniversary gala of the US-China Business Council in Washington, Burns said: “I can report to you this evening that both of our governments have found a way to bring a measure of badly needed stability to the US-China relationship.” The next year would usher in “a normal... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3245176/china-us-relations-ambassadors-celebrating-decades-old-business-council-foresee-warmer-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3245176/china-us-relations-ambassadors-celebrating-decades-old-business-council-foresee-warmer-future?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Dec 2023 07:00:15 +0000 History will show that the meeting between the US and Chinese presidents in San Francisco last month was not merely a “highlight” in China-US ties this year but a “milestone” in the decades-old relationship with far-reaching influence on peace and development. That was the assessment Beijing’s ambassador to Washington Xie Feng delivered on Wednesday, calling for more exchanges between the two countries. The San Francisco meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3245053/chinas-envoy-us-describes-xi-biden-meeting-milestone-ties-stresses-wisdom-ping-pong-diplomacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3245053/chinas-envoy-us-describes-xi-biden-meeting-milestone-ties-stresses-wisdom-ping-pong-diplomacy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Dec 2023 07:19:55 +0000 Beijing was “certainly … not willing” to cooperate on the fentanyl crisis if the Chinese Ministry of Public Security’s Institute of Forensic Science was not removed from the US entity list, a key US congressional panel was told on Wednesday. A senior US commerce department official said the IFS had been taken off the blacklist and Beijing had taken “concrete actions” to address the narcotics issue, although it was too early to see measurable results. “The US removed IFS from the entity list... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3244889/china-not-willing-cooperate-fentanyl-crisis-until-institute-removed-blacklist-us-official-testifies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3244889/china-not-willing-cooperate-fentanyl-crisis-until-institute-removed-blacklist-us-official-testifies?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Dec 2023 03:59:12 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. I refer to the article, “China confirms it is working with US to restore military communication channels based on Xi-Biden agreement” (November 30). As the tumultuous currents of the global... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3244601/us-china-cooperation-vital-stability-southeast-asia-and-beyond?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3244601/us-china-cooperation-vital-stability-southeast-asia-and-beyond?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Dec 2023 03:30:09 +0000 Even as China and the US race for supremacy in the military use of artificial intelligence, their presidents have recognised the need to “address the risk of advanced AI systems and improve AI safety”. Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, meeting for a rare summit in San Francisco last month, agreed to work together on regulating the military application of AI. However, there were no specifics, and differences remain between the rival powers. “I don’t know if they can go beyond what has already been agreed... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3243662/china-us-see-risks-ai-systems-can-bring-can-they-see-past-military-tech-rivalry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3243662/china-us-see-risks-ai-systems-can-bring-can-they-see-past-military-tech-rivalry?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Dec 2023 04:02:08 +0000 In the wake of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to San Francisco, pundits wheeled out the usual superficial tropes used to analyse US-China relations: discussion of the politics of the island of Taiwan, even though experts doubt any present danger; negative statistics about Chinese growth; seemingly unrelated prognostications about former US president Donald Trump. Blow away the fog of war, though, and the issue at the root of US-China rivalry is dominance in scientific research. The United... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3243446/us-china-rivalry-its-science-stupid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3243446/us-china-rivalry-its-science-stupid?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Dec 2023 21:30:10 +0000 If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Xi Jinping pledges to ‘tear down’ foreign investment barriers after Biden meeting After meeting US President Joe Biden in San Francisco, President Xi Jinping pledged more measures would be unveiled to attract foreign investors to China. Xi told the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit that China would “strive to tear down the barriers”. ‘The next China is still China’: Xi pledges to tear down investment... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3243357/xi-jinpings-investment-promise-mastercard-visa-free-entry-7-things-chinas-economy-november?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3243357/xi-jinpings-investment-promise-mastercard-visa-free-entry-7-things-chinas-economy-november?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Nov 2023 23:00:14 +0000 Global Impact is a weekly curated newsletter featuring a news topic originating in China with a significant macro impact for our newsreaders around the world. Sign up now! In the year between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping’s most recent face-to-face meetings – from the G20 in Indonesia to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) leaders’ week in San Francisco – history is neither repeating nor rhyming. It seems, rather, to be accelerating to the point where deep analysis is all but impossible. In... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3242889/global-impact-xi-biden-apec-meeting-creates-more-questions-answers-many-contentious-issues-still?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3242889/global-impact-xi-biden-apec-meeting-creates-more-questions-answers-many-contentious-issues-still?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Nov 2023 06:00:35 +0000 In a much-publicised report issued on October 19, the US Department of Defence estimated China’s stock of operational nuclear warheads to be at 500, and exceeding 1,000 by 2030. This contrasts with its 2020 report that estimated a stockpile “in the low-200s”, which would grow to about 400 by the end of the decade. Beijing has consistently dismissed these reports, asserting they are used to serve Washington’s strategic interest of portraying China as a threat to global security. Irrespective of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3242540/why-west-suddenly-softening-china-power-grows-out-nuclear-warheads?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3242540/why-west-suddenly-softening-china-power-grows-out-nuclear-warheads?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Nov 2023 08:30:08 +0000 A majority of Taiwanese do not view the US as a “trustworthy” country, a recent survey has found, despite most respondents saying they believe in Washington’s security commitment to the island. The annual survey by the Institute of European and American Studies at Academia Sinica in Taipei found that only 34 per cent of those polled agreed that the US is trustworthy, holding steady from last year when the figure fell to 34 per cent from 43.4 per cent in 2021. Yet as American credibility remained... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3242242/most-taiwanese-do-not-view-us-trustworthy-majority-believe-its-security-commitment-survey?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3242242/most-taiwanese-do-not-view-us-trustworthy-majority-believe-its-security-commitment-survey?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Nov 2023 22:05:20 +0000 China-US ties are too “complex” to be reset by a single meeting between the leaders of the two countries, and the Taiwan issue has to be acknowledged first as a “life-or-death question” before true progress is possible, according to veteran Chinese diplomat Cui Tiankai. Speaking exclusively to the Post just ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s face-to-face talks to his American counterpart Joe Biden in San Francisco last week, China’s longest-serving ambassador to the United States also... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3242090/life-or-death-question-us-must-grasp-taiwans-importance-china-former-envoy-cui-tiankai-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3242090/life-or-death-question-us-must-grasp-taiwans-importance-china-former-envoy-cui-tiankai-says?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Nov 2023 01:00:11 +0000 “A Better Biden-Xi Summit?” was the title of my commentary last month, and the emphasis was on the question mark. With good reason: last year’s summit in Bali was a flop. Owing to poor preparation and an overemphasis on slogans (setting a “floor” for the troubled US-China relationship), any effort to ease tensions was quickly scuttled by the US downing of a Chinese surveillance balloon in February. There were no guarantees that the meeting in San Francisco would be any better. The good news is... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3242072/biden-xi-summit-clears-low-bar-set-us-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3242072/biden-xi-summit-clears-low-bar-set-us-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Nov 2023 14:30:08 +0000 For the past week, two international issues have monopolised the attention of the Western media: the tragic, appalling annihilation of Gaza under thousands of Israeli bombs; and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s efforts with US President Joe Biden, on the margins of the Apec meetings in San Francisco, to call the dogs off a bilateral conflict that, if unabated, could harm the livelihoods of billions worldwide. For the former, I have found the news unbearable to watch, not just because of the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3242061/how-joe-biden-xi-jinping-and-apec-brought-hope-our-troubled-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3242061/how-joe-biden-xi-jinping-and-apec-brought-hope-our-troubled-world?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Nov 2023 12:30:12 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping urged Asia-Pacific economies to expand innovation and trade, as Apec leaders wrapped up an annual summit in San Francisco on Friday amid divisions over conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. “Innovation is a strong driver of development,” Xi told the Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting chaired by US President Joe Biden. “We should follow the trends of scientific and technological advancement, more proactively promote exchanges and cooperation in science and technology,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3241996/apec-ends-commitment-trade-climate-change-differences-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3241996/apec-ends-commitment-trade-climate-change-differences-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Nov 2023 02:03:04 +0000 This week’s meeting between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden met the very low expectations that both sides telegraphed well in advance, effectively hitting the pause button on deteriorating bilateral relations and delivering a few modest agreements. But the problems are too entrenched, the trust too tenuous and the political calendar too fraught by coming elections in Taiwan and the US to achieve the fundamental reset that global leaders and chief executives want. “Neither side was willing to negotiate... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3241995/xi-biden-summit-hit-pause-troubled-us-china-relations-delivering-some-modest-deals-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3241995/xi-biden-summit-hit-pause-troubled-us-china-relations-delivering-some-modest-deals-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Nov 2023 00:01:18 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping is courting big American businesses in China in San Francisco this week, but analysts and investors say structural tensions continue to cloud the Sino-US economic relationship as companies look to diversify supply chains to other Asian countries. At a gala dinner in San Francisco on Wednesday, Xi aimed to reassure American business leaders, including Apple CEO Tim Cook and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, that China’s business environment is favourable. The dinner came... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3241893/san-francisco-chinese-president-xi-woos-us-business-investment-welcome-mat-not-enough-say-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3241893/san-francisco-chinese-president-xi-woos-us-business-investment-welcome-mat-not-enough-say-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Nov 2023 09:00:20 +0000 Beijing has made a concession to Washington on the fentanyl issue, warning Chinese companies against selling equipment and precursor chemicals that could be used to produce the opioid overseas. Washington meanwhile lifted Xinjiang-related sanctions on a lab affiliated with the Chinese police, saying the move was key to stopping the trafficking of precursor chemicals. It came after China and the US agreed to work together on narcotics control when Xi Jinping and Joe Biden held talks in California... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3241885/china-warns-companies-against-selling-equipment-precursors-fentanyl?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3241885/china-warns-companies-against-selling-equipment-precursors-fentanyl?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Nov 2023 06:18:26 +0000 President Xi Jinping pledged more measures would be unveiled to attract foreign investors to China, amid Beijing’s increasing efforts to restore the ebbing confidence of foreign companies, which has hampered its post-pandemic recovery. “No matter how the international situation evolves, China’s resolve to foster a market-oriented, law-based and world-class business environment will not change,” Xi said in written remarks to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) CEO Summit in San Francisco... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3241872/chinas-xi-jinping-pledges-heart-warming-measures-tear-down-barriers-attract-foreign-investors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3241872/chinas-xi-jinping-pledges-heart-warming-measures-tear-down-barriers-attract-foreign-investors?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Nov 2023 04:10:04 +0000 President Joe Biden told Chinese leader Xi Jinping that the US has every right to be in the Indo-Pacific in response to a question during their closely watched meeting on Wednesday, the American president said on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. “I had that brief discussion yesterday with President Xi,” Biden said at the Apec CEO Summit, attended by more than 1,000 business leaders. “He asked why we … are so engaged in the Pacific. It’s because we’re a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3241842/us-has-every-right-be-indo-pacific-joe-biden-tells-1000-apec-business-leaders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3241842/us-has-every-right-be-indo-pacific-joe-biden-tells-1000-apec-business-leaders?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Nov 2023 23:55:42 +0000 The Xi Jinping-Joe Biden summit in California cleared the “low bar for success”, but the two countries are unlikely to budge on many disputes in future, according to diplomatic observers. Despite low expectations, both Washington and Beijing claimed that the “candid, constructive” talks on Wednesday had seen them make headway on a number of key issues. In their first face-to-face talks for a year, the two leaders agreed to establish a working group on fentanyl, resume military-to-military... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3241824/xi-biden-talks-clear-low-bar-success-bigger-hurdles-loom-us-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3241824/xi-biden-talks-clear-low-bar-success-bigger-hurdles-loom-us-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Nov 2023 14:22:45 +0000