It seems the Biden-Harris administration has made America a safe space for at least one of her sworn existential enemies, the Chinese Communist Party. A report from the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence claims “CCP-related espionage and acts of transnational repression” have spiked under the Biden-Harris administration’s watch.
Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green (R-TN) said in the report, “Beijing has continually encroached upon American sovereignty to spy, intimidate, and harass not only defectors, but even American citizens. It is important we remain clear-eyed about the threat the CCP poses to the security of the American people so we are prepared to counter its malign influence at every turn.”
CCP Spying ‘Expanded Rapidly’ Under Biden-Harris– thefederalist.com Source Link Excerpt:
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spying in the United States “expanded rapidly” under the Biden-Harris administration’s watch, according to a congressional report released Thursday.
Published by the House Homeland Security Committee’s House Committee On Homeland Security’s Subcommittee On Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, And Intelligence, the assessment details how cases of “CCP-related espionage and acts of transnational repression” have significantly increased since President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office. The analysis was first reported by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Beijing has continually encroached upon American sovereignty to spy, intimidate, and harass not only defectors, but even American citizens,” Committee Chair and Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn. said in a statement. “It is important we remain clear-eyed about the threat the CCP poses to the security of the American people so we are prepared to counter its malign influence at every turn.”
According to the report, there have been more than 55 “CCP-related espionage cases in 20 states” from January 2021-October 2024. These have included incidents related to “transmission of sensitive military information to [the People’s Republic of China] PRC,” “stealing of trade secrets to benefit the PRC,” “transnational repression schemes to target PRC dissidents,” and “obstruction of justice.”
China made it clear to the world recently that it is committed to following the ESG standards of the DNC-CCP, with ESG standing for Environmental, Social, and Governance. A recent government propaganda piece signaled China’s involvement in the woke ideology and its commitment to following the standards.
From senecaesg.com: Although China’s ESG framework is still developing, it aligns closely with international standards, ensuring that mainland companies adhere to sustainable practices. This regulatory push is expected to promote widespread ESG awareness and implementation across industries.
China Strengthens ESG Compliance with New Regulatory Framework for Carbon Neutral Strategy – senecaesg.com Source Link Excerpt:
China has made significant progress in establishing a regulatory framework for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) compliance, evolving over two decades. The first ESG policy, initiated in 2003, laid the groundwork for environmental information disclosure. By 2022, the State Council’s “Opinions on Comprehensively Promoting the Construction of a Beautiful China” emphasized the importance of ESG. This government endorsement advanced China’s focus on ecological governance and green economic development.
Recent developments, like the Ministry of Finance’s 2023 draft “Corporate Sustainability Disclosure Standards,” marked a milestone in ESG regulations. These guidelines broaden ESG disclosure requirements beyond listed companies to include small and medium-sized enterprises. They focus on governance, strategy, and risk management, requiring timely and transparent reporting.
Additionally, the Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing stock exchanges have introduced guidelines mandating sustainable development reports for certain companies, emphasizing both financial and environmental impact. These reports must align with the company’s annual reports, fostering regulatory compliance.
Although China’s ESG framework is still developing, it aligns closely with international standards, ensuring that mainland companies adhere to sustainable practices. This regulatory push is expected to promote widespread ESG awareness and implementation across industries.
Your Local Election Might be Invaded by Chinese Bots – mindfulintelligence.com
A report in the Washington Post claims senior U.S. intelligence officials have discovered a mass of Chinese Communist online bots targeting American local elections, seeking to “inflame tensions in the country just one month before the 2024 election.” Another report in Newsweek cited Reuters as claiming “China-linked actors… directly interfered in ‘tens’ of down-ballot races, particularly when it comes to issues that most concern the Chinese Communist Party.”
This writer would assume at the local level what China wants most are officials amendable to provide the Chinese Communist Party free access to sensitive institutional territory, as well as preferential treatment to assure the Chinese can move in as seamlessly and stealthily as possible.
Lest you think that means democrats, this writer can assure you there are plenty of republicans, especially at the local level, willing to grift America for personal gain, there’s just even more democrats not only willing to grift America, but to do that grifting with glee, for they hate her to their core. For the democrat, they’re not selling out their country, their selling out ours, America.
Defense Experts Warn of Dependence on Chinese Technology– www.dailysignal.com Source Link Excerpt:
DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—American defense startups are far too reliant on Chinese parts—and that poses a serious risk of exploitation by Beijing, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Business is booming as hundreds of defense startups have joined the growing U.S. military-industrial complex since 2021, according to The Wall Street Journal. But defense contractors are heavily dependent on China for parts for weapons systems, including motors, chips, and rare-earth minerals, which poses potential avenues for Beijing to exploit or hamper American technologies, experts said.
“This is a serious problem for two reasons,” said John Lee, senior defense expert at the Hudson Institute. “First, as we saw during the pandemic, overreliance on Chinese supply chains for components and inputs leaves countries and economies vulnerable to politically or policy-motivated restrictions being imposed by Beijing.”
“Second, components can have elements inserted into them without the knowledge of the end user. This could be spying equipment, channels for China to disable or damage the component from a distance, or even materials that can weaponize the component,” Lee said.
China slaps sanctions on 3 US firms, 10 senior execs over weapons sales to Taiwan – Reuters Source Link Excerpt:
China’s foreign ministry on Thursday announced it had imposed sanctions on three U.S. military-linked firms and 10 senior excecutives over U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan.
The steps taken against the firms, including Edge Autonomy Operations LLC, Huntingdon Ingalls Industries Inc and Skydio Inc, became effective on Thursday and will freeze any property within China, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Kamala Harris’s Electric School Bus Program Granted $395k to a Chinese Manufacturer. Then Its Top Executive Sent Biden-Harris Scores of Campaign Cash.– freebeacon.com Source Link Excerpt:
Vice President Kamala Harris’s billion-dollar Clean School Bus program provided funding to Chinese EV manufacturer BYD Company’s subsidiary in the United States, according to federal filings reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon. Months later, the subsidiary’s top executive, a Chinese national, wired $50,000 in support of what is now Harris’s presidential campaign.
BYD Americas was selected in late 2022 to receive $395,000 under the administration’s Clean School Bus program, which was spearheaded by Harris and EPA administrator Michael Regan, EPA documents show. That funding was disbursed in May 2023, six months before Li’s donations to the Biden-Harris campaign, according to the EPA.
The company applied for federal funding to supply an electric bus to Princeton Joint Unified School District located in northern California.
It remains unclear whether the company is directly providing its buses to school districts that applied for program funding from the EPA. “We are currently not aware of other school districts that may be purchasing buses from this company under the Clean School Bus program,” EPA spokesman Remmington Belford said in a statement to the Free Beacon.
BYD Americas’s president, Ke Li, then donated $25,000 to the Biden Victory Fund (now the Harris Victory Fund), $18,400 to the Democratic National Committee, but earmarked for the Biden Victory Fund, and a maximum individual contribution of $6,600 to the Biden campaign (now the Harris campaign), according to FEC filings reviewed by the Free Beacon. Li made each contribution on the same day: Nov. 14, 2023. President Joe Biden’s $96 million campaign war chest was transferred to Harris’s campaign in July after Biden withdrew from the presidential race.
In BYD Company’s most recent annual report, Li is identified as a Chinese national. Other company documents indicate she is a Chinese national with a “right of abode” in the United States. While federal law prohibits foreign nationals from making campaign donations, there is an exception for individuals with a green card.
Li’s donations are evidence that Chinese electric vehicle industry officials support the Biden-Harris administration’s agenda, even as the administration seeks to curb reliance on Chinese companies for green energy technologies. They also put a spotlight on the taxpayer funds the administration steered to BYD Americas as part of the push to rapidly scale up EV and electric bus production.
BYD is one of a handful of Chinese automakers that Congress began probing last month over potential espionage concerns. The company was also targeted by a provision in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which prohibits federal funding from being used to procure buses manufactured by a company that “is owned or controlled by, is a subsidiary of, or is otherwise related legally or financially to a corporation based in” China.
That provision—designed to block Chinese companies from benefiting both from subsidies awarded by the Chinese government and the U.S. government—applies, however, to programs administered by the Transportation Department. BYD Americas issued a press release last year publicly offering its products for the Clean School Bus program. “We are happy to help children across the U.S. breathe cleaner air,” said Patrick Duan, the company’s senior vice president.
BYD Americas didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The Clean School Bus program was created three years ago as a provision of the 2021 infrastructure bill, which put aside $5 billion for the EPA to distribute in the form of rebates and grants over the course of five years. Since the initial announcement in 2022, when BYD was selected for funding, the EPA has selected hundreds of school districts to receive nearly $3 billion to deploy electric buses.
A recent report published by the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s oversight subcommittee concluded the program was “overall a failure,” in part because it serves as a subsidy for products with ties to China. The report also found the program is costly, vulnerable to fraud, and improperly pushes school districts to adopt inefficient technology.
BYD Americas operates a plant in Lancaster, California, where it assembles electric bus and coach models. Its parent company, BYD Company, operates dozens more plants worldwide, and it manufactures batteries and passenger EVs among other technologies. Although BYD Company doesn’t export any passenger EVs to the United States, it is planning to open a plant in Mexico to supply EVs to the American market, Reuters reported in May.
In recent months, BYD Company has emerged as the world’s largest manufacturer of EVs, surpassing Tesla, which held that title for years. The Chinese company delivered more than 500,000 battery-electric vehicles during the final quarter of 2023, more than the 484,000 sold by Tesla, marking the first time Tesla was dethroned as the top EV maker in the world, the Financial Times reported.
BYD’s growing market share of the global EV market exemplifies China’s continued dominance of both the EV industry and the green energy sector more broadly.
According to the International Energy Agency, for example, China produces about 75 percent of all lithium-ion batteries, a key component of EVs, worldwide. China also boasts 70 percent of production capacity for cathodes and 85 percent for anodes, two key parts of such batteries, the data showed.
“Just at a time when American producers have made our country energy independent in oil and natural gas, Biden/Harris are pursuing energy policies that would make us dependent on China,” Kathleen Sgamma, the president of industry group the Western Energy Alliance, told the Free Beacon.
The Biden-Harris administration’s “record of favoring technologies dependent on China that would be disastrous for the American worker, economy, and energy supply makes you wonder about their loyalties,” she added.
The Harris campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment.
October 9, 2024
CHINESE COMMUNIST HACKERS ACCESS FISA WIRETAPS? – A report in the Wall Street Journal claims the U.S. government is aware of a major cyberattack by China. The cyberattack enabled the Chinese Communists to access sensitive, as well as general, American wiretapping assets. Some of these systems include the same systems America’s de facto Star Chamber Courts, the FISA Courts, rely on, the same system that spied on a presidential candidate in 2016.
The report comes from WSJ interviews with informants, from which the publication concluded, “A cyberattack tied to the Chinese government penetrated the networks of a swath of US broadband providers, potentially accessing information from systems the federal government uses for court-authorized network wiretapping requests. For months or longer, the hackers might have held access to network infrastructure used to cooperate with lawful US requests for communications data, according to people familiar with the matter.”
CHINA SIGNALS IT’S WILLING TO PUSH DNC-CCP IDEOLOGY IN BUSINESS, ESG – China made it clear to the world recently that it is committed to following the ESG standards of the DNC-CCP, with ESG standing for Environmental, Social, and Governance. A recent government propaganda piece signaled China’s involvement in the woke ideology and its commitment to following the standards.
From senecaesg.com: Although China’s ESG framework is still developing, it aligns closely with international standards, ensuring that mainland companies adhere to sustainable practices. This regulatory push is expected to promote widespread ESG awareness and implementation across industries.
Censors Delete Claim That China’s Bad Economy Is Packing Jails– chinadigitaltimes.net Source Link Excerpt:
1. Severe economic pressure. The frequency of crime in the “new economy” is attributable to the desperate measures many have resorted to. Many individuals have taken to industries that are illicit or semi-illicit: multi-level marketing, money laundering, and crypto-fraud. A number of businesses with falling revenues have also taken to falsifying invoices and faking contracts.
2. Strike Hard. This year, every public security and procuratorate agency has run a “strike hard” campaign, with key targets including prostitution, gambling, and “new economic crimes.”
3. “The criminalization of formerly legal activity and the harsh penalization of minor crimes.” For example, a few formerly non-criminal activities are now sometimes construed as crimes, and so side-hustles are viewed as “illegal economic activity” and playing mahjong is classified as “gambling.” [Chinese]
It is difficult to confirm whether the Douyin trend claiming that “jails are packed” is true. Chinese authorities have touted mass arrests this year as part of an effort to root out financial crime. In May, the Ministry of Public Security announced it had “investigated and solved” approximately 95,000 cases of economic crimes. Prosecutors have also vowed that a crackdown on organized crime that is entering its seventh year will continue at full force. In July, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate announced that it had approved the arrest of 367,000 people in total over the past half-year.
China hits European Union with new anti-dumping tax on mostly French brandy imports – upi.com Source Link Excerpt:
The Chinese government is reportedly considering additional tariffs on other EU imports including cars, pork and dairy products.
Currently, China is seeing a downturn on cognac and brandy imports into the Chinese market. Import volumes for August were down 40% on a year-on-year basis, according to the UBS spirit tracker. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Oct. 8 (UPI) — The Chinese government on Tuesday announced it will be placing an anti-dumping tax on Brandy produced in the European Union that is imported into China.China’s Ministry of Commerce said officials on Friday will begin collecting security deposits from companies that sell European-made Brandy. The security deposits would equal more than 30% of the products’ total value.
The announcement came days after the EU decided on Friday to move ahead with tariffs on China-made electric vehicles of up to 45%. The extra tariff could be as high as 35% and would come on top of the existing 10% rate.
“The relevant brandy industry within China has been substantially damaged or threatened,” China’s Commerce Ministry said Tuesday.
Chinese Laser Weapon “Protects” Iran’s Supreme Leader Amid Fear Of Israeli Attacks – Speculative Reports – Eurasia Times Source Link Excerpt:
In an unusual development, a Chinese laser anti-drone system has allegedly been spotted in Iran as the West Asian country fears an Israeli retaliation to its missile strike conducted earlier this month.
On October 4, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave a rare public sermon. The site where the leader spoke was protected by a host of defensive systems for security, including a possible Chinese laser counter-drone system, which was spotted by military observers after photos of the event were published online.
In the sermon, which came days after Iran’s strike on Israel, Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei justified Iran’s recent ballistic missile attack and declared that Iranian-backed proxies would continue fighting.
He also lauded the October 7 attack launched by Hamas on Israel last year, which led to the latter declaring war on the Gaza-based militant group.
1. Severe economic pressure. The frequency of crime in the “new economy” is attributable to the desperate measures many have resorted to. Many individuals have taken to industries that are illicit or semi-illicit: multi-level marketing, money laundering, and crypto-fraud. A number of businesses with falling revenues have also taken to falsifying invoices and faking contracts.
2. Strike Hard. This year, every public security and procuratorate agency has run a “strike hard” campaign, with key targets including prostitution, gambling, and “new economic crimes.”
3. “The criminalization of formerly legal activity and the harsh penalization of minor crimes.” For example, a few formerly non-criminal activities are now sometimes construed as crimes, and so side-hustles are viewed as “illegal economic activity” and playing mahjong is classified as “gambling.” [Chinese]
It is difficult to confirm whether the Douyin trend claiming that “jails are packed” is true. Chinese authorities have touted mass arrests this year as part of an effort to root out financial crime. In May, the Ministry of Public Security announced it had “investigated and solved” approximately 95,000 cases of economic crimes. Prosecutors have also vowed that a crackdown on organized crime that is entering its seventh year will continue at full force. In July, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate announced that it had approved the arrest of 367,000 people in total over the past half-year.
A report in the Wall Street Journal claims the U.S. government is aware of a major cyberattack by China. The cyberattack enabled the Chinese Communists to access sensitive, as well as general, American wiretapping assets. Some of these systems include the same systems America’s de facto Star Chamber Courts, the FISA Courts, rely on, the same system that spied on a presidential candidate in 2016.
The report comes from WSJ interviews with informants, from which the publication concluded, “A cyberattack tied to the Chinese government penetrated the networks of a swath of US broadband providers, potentially accessing information from systems the federal government uses for court-authorized network wiretapping requests. For months or longer, the hackers might have held access to network infrastructure used to cooperate with lawful US requests for communications data, according to people familiar with the matter.”
Reports: China hacked Verizon and AT&T, may have accessed US wiretap systems – arstechnica.com Source Link Excerpt:
Chinese government hackers penetrated the networks of several large US-based Internet service providers and may have gained access to systems used for court-authorized wiretaps of communications networks, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. “People familiar with the matter” told the WSJ that hackers breached the networks of companies including Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen (also known as CenturyLink)….
The Washington Post reported on the hacking campaign yesterday, describing it as “an audacious espionage operation likely aimed in part at discovering the Chinese targets of American surveillance.” The Post report attributed the information to US government officials and said an investigation by the FBI, other intelligence agencies, and the Department of Homeland Security “is in its early stages.”
Five Chinese Nationals Charged with Lying About Midnight Visit to U.S. Military Base– www.breitbart.com Source Link Excerpt:
Five Chinese nationals were indicted on federal charges on Wednesday for conspiracy, lying to federal investigators, and destroying records pertaining to their strange midnight visit to a Michigan Army National Guard base in August 2023.
The defendants, who were University of Michigan students at the time, were caught with cameras near a major National Guard live-fire training exercise at Camp Grayling. The exercise, dubbed “Northern Strike,” involved military vehicles and classified communications equipment. Visiting personnel from Taiwan were involved in the drills.
The indictment filed on Wednesday did not pertain to the suspicious activities of the students near the military base, but rather to the false statements they gave investigators. When they were approached by a National Guard officer after bypassing abundant caution tape and “no trespassing” signs to enter the Northern Strike area, the five Chinese nationals falsely claimed to be members of the media, then fled the area.
Local law enforcement soon discovered the five had booked themselves into a motel in Grayling, seemingly for the purpose of observing the military exercise.
The Chinese are continuing to press the Philippines’ presence in the South China Sea, having declared the disputed territories are absolutely theirs while they rammed a Philippines fishing boat with the crew of 60 minutes on board.
A Christian man, David Lin, was freed from China’s prisons after being wrongfully convicted 18 years ago for the crime of being a Christian. As the prisoner was being released, Pope Francis signaled he might be signing a new deal with the CCP, one that might see their relations with Taiwan frayed.
China rams Philippine ship while 60 Minutes on board; South China Sea tensions could draw U.S. in – CBS News
… A 60 Minutes crew got a close look at the tense situation when traveling on a Philippine Coast Guard ship that was rammed by the Chinese Coast Guard.
China has repeatedly rammed Philippine ships and blasted them with water cannons over the last two years. There are ongoing conversations between Washington and Manila about which scenarios would trigger U.S. involvement, Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro said in an interview.
“I really don’t know the end state,” Teodoro said. “All I know is that we cannot let them get away with what they’re doing.”
China states it has indisputable sovereignty over reef after Philippine ship leaves – LBC Group Source Link Excerpt:
China said Sunday it had “indisputable sovereignty” over a contested reef after a Philippine ship anchored there for months left the area.
Beijing “has indisputable sovereignty over… Xianbin Jiao and its adjacent waters,” Chinese coast guard spokesperson Liu Dejun said, using the Chinese name for Sabina Shoal.
Analysis: As China-Vatican deal nears renewal, warming ties could shake Holy See’s decades-old alliance with Taiwan – Channel News Asia Source Link Excerpt:
Dr Reyes noted that the developments reflect the “significant progression” between both parties, even as both do not share formal relations.
Beijing severed diplomatic ties with the Holy See in 1951, after China’s Communist Party (CCP) took power and expelled foreign priests. The Vatican instead maintains official links with Taiwan – one of only a dozen states to do so.
Mr Yeo highlighted that Cardinal Chow, during his visit to the Vatican in May, extended an invitation to Pope Francis to visit Hong Kong. He views the gesture as significant, aimed at reinforcing the city’s role as a bridge between China and the global Catholic community.
Pope Paul VI is the only pontiff to have visited Hong Kong – he made a three-hour stopover in 1970 when it was a British colony, holding mass at Happy Valley racecourse.
“It was an informal invitation, but many eyebrows were raised because the Hong Kong cardinal would not have issued this invitation on his own, without clearance to China,” said Mr Yeo in an interview with CNA late last month.
China frees David Lin, American pastor who U.S. government says was wrongfully detained for 18 years– www.cbsnews.com Source Link Excerpt:
China’s Mid-Autumn Festival holiday typically sees families reunite and give thanks, much like Thanksgiving in America. This year, Chinese-American pastor David Lin will have much to be thankful for when the holiday is marked on Tuesday. In a surprise move, Beijing freed the 68-year-old Sunday after he spent nearly 20 years in prison in a case the U.S. government and his family have always dismissed as baseless.
Lin entered China in 2006 and attempted to establish a Christian training center in Beijing. China‘s Communist Party disapproves of such activities and routinely roots out underground Christian churches, seeing them as a threat to its power. Only officially-sanctioned, closely monitored churches are permitted under the Communist Party’s rule.
Lin was detained the same year he arrived, then in 2009 he was handed a life sentence after being convicted of fraud. The charge is often applied to home church leaders who try to raise money for expansion, according to the Dui Hua Foundation human rights group.
The U.S. State Department, which always maintained that Lin was wrongfully detained by China, confirmed his release on Sunday. The Chinese government did not make any public comment on Lin’s release during the long holiday weekend.
Federal Loopholes Allow China To Buy Land Near Sensitive Ports, Labs, and Coast Guard Facilities, Prompting Congressional Concern– freebeacon.com Source Link Excerpt:
… The Treasury Department’s Committee of Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the central body responsible for approving land sales to foreign entities, moved to “significantly expand” its jurisdiction in July, allowing it to review real estate transactions near 50 military and other sensitive sites. That expanded list, however, does not include locations such as “national laboratories, maritime ports, and critical telecommunications and energy infrastructure,” all of which remain vulnerable to foreign spy operations, according to Reps. Greg Murphy (R., N.C.) and John Moolenaar (R., Mich.).
The oversight, the lawmakers say, reflects “significant gaps in our national security screening regime for land purchases near national security sites.” Their concern comes as China works to ramp up its influence operations and “wreak havoc” on American infrastructure, efforts that have made combating Chinese land purchases a major political issue in states across the country.
“Coast Guard facilities, Department of Energy National Labs, among other locations, remain off CFIUS’s list of sensitive sites and are thereby vulnerable to foreign adversary exploitation,” Murphy and Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China, wrote in a Monday letter to the Treasury Department.
“These loopholes must be closed, and closed quickly. Allowing our adversaries to have potential access to these sites poses risks to both our economic and national security, especially as we see companies with ties to hostile nations continue to increase their investments in the U.S.”
Chinese Communist Party-tied companies own at least 384,000 acres of American agricultural land, a 30 percent increase since 2019, though poor federal oversight means the number could be higher. This accounts for nearly $2 billion in holdings, planting Beijing and its interests across the American heartland.
China Has 100,000 Mines Ready to Sink the U.S. Navy – nationalinterest.org Source Link Excerpt:
Beyond having a larger fleet, China is developing innovative attack methods, including the mass production of cheap yet highly lethal naval mines.
-These mines are difficult to detect and capable of targeting U.S. warships, including aircraft carriers, especially in constrained waters near China like the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
-While U.S. carriers have layered defenses against mines in open waters, conflicts in these compact regions pose a greater risk due to China’s ability to seed the areas with mines.
China has already proven it has superior manufacturing capacity than the United States, at least at the mass-production level. And contrary to popular opinion in the West, Chinese technology is reaching parity with the Americans. This all translates to significant strategic advantages for the Chinese military if Beijing and Washington ever go to war.
US strategy for anti-ship weapons to counter China: plentiful, mobile, deadly – Reuters.com Source Link Excerpt:
The United States is amassing an arsenal of abundant and easily made anti-ship weapons as part of American efforts to deter China in the Indo-Pacific region and gear up U.S. forces there.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed U.S. thinking toward a new philosophy – “affordable mass,” as one missile industry CEO put it, speaking on condition of anonymity, referring to having plenty of relatively cheap weapons at the ready.
“It’s a natural counter to what China has been doing,” said Euan Graham, a senior analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think tank, referring to the Chinese arsenal of ships and conventional ballistic missiles including those designed to attack vessels.
The Pentagon and China’s Ministry of Defence did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The United States has ramped up testing of its QUICKSINK weapon, an inexpensive and potentially plentiful bomb equipped with a low-cost GPS guidance kit and a seeker that can track moving objects. The U.S. Air Force used a B-2 stealth bomber during a test last month in the Gulf of Mexico to strike a target ship with QUICKSINK.
China will still have a large advantage in sheer numbers of anti-ship missiles, according to experts, and can base them on its home territory. But increasing U.S. production of QUICKSINK would narrow that gap by putting China’s 370 or so warships at more risk during any future conflict than they have faced since before Beijing leaned into modernizing its military in the 1990s.
China: Supplying Components for Russian Drones in the War Against Ukraine – lansinginstitute.org Source Link Excerpt:
Chinese companies are supplying components for Russian military drones, which may shed light on Beijing’s interests in prolonging the war in Ukraine and avoiding pressure on the Kremlin to end the conflict. These supply chains allow Russia to maintain its UAV production and military operations, raising questions about China’s true geopolitical motivations.
By supporting Russia’s drone capabilities, China indirectly contributes to Moscow’s military aggression, despite its public stance of neutrality and calls for peace. Beijing’s reluctance to exert pressure on Russia could indicate a strategic interest in keeping the West distracted and divided, as well as ensuring access to Russian resources and maintaining a partnership against Western influence.
This dynamic suggests that China might see the continuation of the conflict as beneficial for its long-term objectives, avoiding direct involvement while gaining from the geopolitical instability. By balancing diplomatic rhetoric with actions that support Russia, China maintains its influence without openly aligning with Moscow’s military agenda.
Chinese Electric Vehicles Could Be ‘Weaponised’ by Beijing, Report Warns– www.breitbart.com Source Link Excerpt:
The British government’s open-doors approach to electric vehicles from Communist China threatens to undercut domestic manufacturing and expose the country to national security risks, with a think tank warning that EVs could be “weaponised” by Beijing.
A report from the China Strategic Risks Institute (CSRI) warned that the growing market share of and dependency on Chinese-made electric vehicles in Britain presents both “economic and security risks” to the United Kingdom.
The report noted that the UK’s domestic car industry is responsible for 198,000 manufacturing jobs, representing 2.5 per cent of the country’s entire GDP.
… A 60 Minutes crew got a close look at the tense situation when traveling on a Philippine Coast Guard ship that was rammed by the Chinese Coast Guard.
China has repeatedly rammed Philippine ships and blasted them with water cannons over the last two years. There are ongoing conversations between Washington and Manila about which scenarios would trigger U.S. involvement, Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro said in an interview.
“I really don’t know the end state,” Teodoro said. “All I know is that we cannot let them get away with what they’re doing.”
China states it has indisputable sovereignty over reef after Philippine ship leaves – LBC Group Source Link Excerpt:
China said Sunday it had “indisputable sovereignty” over a contested reef after a Philippine ship anchored there for months left the area.
Beijing “has indisputable sovereignty over… Xianbin Jiao and its adjacent waters,” Chinese coast guard spokesperson Liu Dejun said, using the Chinese name for Sabina Shoal.
Analysis: As China-Vatican deal nears renewal, warming ties could shake Holy See’s decades-old alliance with Taiwan – Channel News Asia Source Link Excerpt:
Dr Reyes noted that the developments reflect the “significant progression” between both parties, even as both do not share formal relations.
Beijing severed diplomatic ties with the Holy See in 1951, after China’s Communist Party (CCP) took power and expelled foreign priests. The Vatican instead maintains official links with Taiwan – one of only a dozen states to do so.
Mr Yeo highlighted that Cardinal Chow, during his visit to the Vatican in May, extended an invitation to Pope Francis to visit Hong Kong. He views the gesture as significant, aimed at reinforcing the city’s role as a bridge between China and the global Catholic community.
Pope Paul VI is the only pontiff to have visited Hong Kong – he made a three-hour stopover in 1970 when it was a British colony, holding mass at Happy Valley racecourse.
“It was an informal invitation, but many eyebrows were raised because the Hong Kong cardinal would not have issued this invitation on his own, without clearance to China,” said Mr Yeo in an interview with CNA late last month.
China frees David Lin, American pastor who U.S. government says was wrongfully detained for 18 years– www.cbsnews.com Source Link Excerpt:
China’s Mid-Autumn Festival holiday typically sees families reunite and give thanks, much like Thanksgiving in America. This year, Chinese-American pastor David Lin will have much to be thankful for when the holiday is marked on Tuesday. In a surprise move, Beijing freed the 68-year-old Sunday after he spent nearly 20 years in prison in a case the U.S. government and his family have always dismissed as baseless.
Lin entered China in 2006 and attempted to establish a Christian training center in Beijing. China‘s Communist Party disapproves of such activities and routinely roots out underground Christian churches, seeing them as a threat to its power. Only officially-sanctioned, closely monitored churches are permitted under the Communist Party’s rule.
Lin was detained the same year he arrived, then in 2009 he was handed a life sentence after being convicted of fraud. The charge is often applied to home church leaders who try to raise money for expansion, according to the Dui Hua Foundation human rights group.
The U.S. State Department, which always maintained that Lin was wrongfully detained by China, confirmed his release on Sunday. The Chinese government did not make any public comment on Lin’s release during the long holiday weekend.
—
Russia and China Conduct Largest Military Drills since Cold War › American Greatness– amgreatness.com Source Link Excerpt:
In the last week, the military forces of China and Russia conducted some of the largest drills in the last 30 years, marking an alarming increase in the two nations’ displays of military strength.
According to Fox News, the week-long drills will include 90,000 troops, 400 naval vessels, and 120 aircraft, and will take place in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, as well as the Baltic, Caspian, and Mediterranean Seas. The drill has been named “Ocean 24.”
The display of power takes place as representatives from the United States meet with leaders of the European Union in Brussels, specifically focusing on rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific Region. China and Russia have slowly been growing closer together in recent years, with the former supporting the latter’s invasion of Ukraine.
The United States has been critical of China for providing “very substantial” support to Russia’s ongoing war effort.
“These are not dual-use capabilities,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell after the latest reports of China providing military supplies to Russia. “These are basically being applied directly to the Russian war machine.”
China to train thousands of overseas law enforcement officers to create ‘more fair’ world order – The Guardian Source Link Excerpt:
China will train thousands of foreign law enforcement officers so as to see the world order “develop in a more fair, reasonable and efficient direction”, its minister for public security has said.
“We will [also] send police consultants to countries in need to conduct training to help them quickly and effectively improve their law enforcement capabilities,” minister Wang Xiaohong told an annual global security forum.
Wang Xiaohong made the announcement in the eastern city of Lianyungang on Monday in front of law enforcement representatives from 122 countries, regions and international organisations such as Interpol.
The forum is part of ongoing efforts by China’s ruling Communist party to position itself as a global security leader. In 2022 China’s leader, Xi Jinping, launched the Global Security Initiative (GSI), which centres China as a facilitator to “improve global security governance … and promote durable peace”.
China’s New Aircraft Carriers Have a ‘Sizeable Edge’ over U.S. Navy for 1 Reason – The National Interest Online
Unlike the U.S., whose aircraft carriers are central to its naval power, China’s carriers are meant to operate under the protective “bubble” created by its A2/AD defenses, particularly within the First Island Chain.
What You Need to Know on China’s Aircraft Carriers and the 1 Edge They Have Against the U.S. Navy: China is rapidly expanding its aircraft carrier fleet, with plans for five or six by the 2030s, despite the challenges posed by anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) systems. Unlike the U.S., whose carriers are central to its naval power, China’s carriers are meant to operate under the protective “bubble” created by its A2/AD defenses, particularly within the First Island Chain.
US roll outs new export controls aimed at restricting China’s chip industry – Al Jazeera English
The United States has rolled out fresh export controls on quantum computers and semiconductor-manufacturing equipment amid concerns about the use of advanced technologies by rivals such as China.
The US Department of Commerce said on Thursday that the export restrictions followed consultation with international partners and would strengthen relations with “like-minded countries”.
“Today’s action ensures our national export controls keep step with rapidly evolving technologies and are more effective when we work in concert with international partners,” Under Secretary for the Bureau of Industry and Security Alan Estevez said in a statement.
“Aligning our controls on quantum and other advanced technologies makes it significantly more difficult for our adversaries to develop and deploy these technologies in ways that threaten our collective security.”
Xi offers African leaders more aid as China challenges US-led global order – Imperial Valley Press
BEIJING (AP) — Dozens of African leaders gathered Thursday in Beijing for a summit that signals China’s influence in a continent that it hopes will be a key ally in pushing back against a U.S.-led global order.
Chinese President Xi Jinping promised the leaders billions of dollars in loans and private investment over the next three years, and proposed that relations with all African countries that have diplomatic ties with China be elevated to the “strategic” level.
China rolls out red carpet for African leaders as it strategizes against the West – washingtonexaminer.com
China is rolling out the red carpet for 53 African leaders as it seeks to strengthen ties and cement its influence in the mineral-rich and strategically centered continent.
The three-day summit in Beijing began on Wednesday and comes as China tries to counter U.S. and European influence in the region to gain global dominance.
Dancers perform as Morocco Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch arrives at the Beijing Capital International Airport ahead of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit in Beijing on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Adek Berry/Pool Photo via AP)
Under President Xi Jinping, China is trying to raise its political credibility to the point that it becomes a rulemaker versus a rulebreaker in the international playing field. To do that, it needs other countries, in this case, in Africa, to become its allies in international institutions such as the United Nations. However, to do that, it must first build and nurture the relationships.
Even though the United States, Japan, India, and Russia also hold summits to push their interests in Africa, China is unmatched when it comes to the continent’s economic partner, investing billions of dollars in infrastructure and green projects.
‘Tier One’ US Special Forces Unit Preparing for Chinese Invasion of Taiwan: Report– www.westernjournal.com Source Link Excerpt:
A “Tier One” force is reportedly preparing to assist the island nation of Taiwan against a mainland superpower’s overwhelming and relentless force.
The United States Navy’s SEAL Team 6 is currently training for the types of missions that may occur if the People’s Republic of China opens hostilities against its island neighbor, the Financial Times reported.
According to the report, SEAL Team 6 has been training for the simmering conflict for over a year at the elite force’s Dam Neck, Virginia, headquarters.
German warships to cross Taiwan Strait for first time in 22 years, defying Beijing’s warnings – Firstpost Source Link Excerpt:
Two German warships are set to pass through the sensitive Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Spiegel magazine reported on Saturday.
Reuters reported last month that the warships were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing.
Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasise that Berlin views the trip as normal.
Germany’s defence ministry declined to comment.
China targets SpaceX’s reusable rocket lead, seeks to replace Jeff Bezos as Elon Musk’s top space rival – Mint Source Link Excerpt:
China is aiming to loosen Elon Musk’s lock on reusable launch vehicles — and close a yawning technology gap with the US.
Beijing is turning to aerospace startups and state-owned enterprises alike to develop an edge in rockets that can be used dozens of times to lift satellites into low-Earth orbit.
One company trying to meet that challenge isLandSpace Technology Corp.,whoseZhuque-3 reusablerocket successfully completed a 10 kilometer (6.2 mile)vertical takeoff and landing returntest flightat the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centeron Wednesday.According to Chinese state media, it markeda “significant breakthrough in China’s commercial space industry” and was a “crucial step toward achieving high capacity, low cost, high frequencyand reusability in future space launches.”
China raising its retirement age may be unpopular but it’s much needed, analysts say– www.cnbc.com Source Link Excerpt:
China’s top legislative body passed an official plan Friday to begin incrementally raising the nation’s statutory retirement age from Jan. 1 of next year and concluding in 2040, according to Chinese state media.
The final goal of the roughly 15-year plan is to raise the retirement age by three years for men to 63 years old, five years for women that work in factories from 50 to 55 and three years for women that work in white-collar jobs from 55 to 58.
The reforms are “overdue and very much welcome,” Erica Tay, director of macro research at Maybank Investment Banking Group, told CNBC.
China has been grappling with a shrinking workforce and looming pension budget shortfalls that could significantly damage the economy.
Mali seals arms deal with Chinese manufacturer – APANEWS
Mali has sealed a military cooperation deal with Chinese arms manufacturer Norinco on the eve of the opening of the 9th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) taking place in Beijing from 4 to 6 September.
The head of the Malian transition, Colonel Assimi Goïta, visited the headquarters of Norinco, a world leader in the manufacture of armaments for the signing of a contract for the purchase of new military equipment for his country.
In Beijing, Colonel Goïta was received at Norinco’s headquarters, accompanied by the Minister of Defence and Veterans, Colonel Sadio Camara, and several members of his government.
The visit gave the Malian officials the opportunity to learn about the latest innovations in the field of armaments, particularly in the areas of light weapons, combat drones and advanced artillery systems.
Mali’s Colonel Assimi Goïta reflects on visit to China – APAnews Source Link Excerpt:
In an interview with Malian television, he described the visit as a decisive advancement in Mali-China relations.
Colonel Goïta noted, “Currently, China and Mali enjoy fraternal ties that have lasted for over 60 years,” emphasizing that these relations span several sectors, including defense and security, education, agriculture, and energy.
A significant outcome of the visit was the announcement that Mali and China would elevate their relationship to a strategic partnership. “At the request of President Xi Jinping, we have decided to enhance our partnership to a strategic level,” the head of Mali’s transition stated. This development underscores the importance of Sino-Malian cooperation and will be formalized during an upcoming state visit.
China Hands 9-Year Prison Sentence to Taiwan Activist for ’Separatism’ – time.com
China handed a nine-year prison term to a Taiwanese political activist convicted of “separatism,” a rare sentence that prompted Taiwan to warn its people about the dangers of traveling across the strait.
Yang Chih-yuan received the term in a court in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said in a briefing on Thursday, according to the semi-official Central News Agency.
China’s ruling Communist Party intended for the “case to intimidate the people of Taiwan,” said council Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh, adding that travelers from the democracy of 23 million should be prudent when considering going across the strait.
This was the first time China jailed a Taiwanese person on a charge of trying to break up its territory, according to the council, a government department in Taipei that handles cross-strait relations. In recent years, Chinese prosecutors have leveled the charge against Uyghurs, a minority group in the restive far western region of Xinjiang.
As Xi Clamps Down, Chinese Civil Society Flourishes Overseas– www.dailysignal.com Source Link Excerpt:
Mournful residents of Shanghai, China, watched Jifeng Bookstore close its doors for the last time on Jan. 31, 2018. The establishment was best known for carrying books and hosting forums that pushed the boundaries on issues deemed sensitive by the Chinese Communist Party.
The forced closure of the bookstore was part of a broader crackdown on free speech and civic discourse by Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government.
Nearly seven years later, Jifeng reopened Sept. 1 in a new location—Washington, D.C.—under the name JF Books. The bookstore’s grand opening attracted a diverse assortment of local scholars, journalists, activists, and members of diaspora communities from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
The excitement was palpable as visitors perused books, took in memorabilia from the shuttered Shanghai store, and registered for upcoming lectures, which are starting back up this month after a hiatus of nearly seven years.
China’s Presence in Timor-Leste Is Unseen, but Unmissable – TIME
“It was not really an assassination attempt,” says José Ramos-Horta. Timor-Leste’s President is sitting on the breezy veranda of Galeria Memoria Viva, the seafront bungalow in capital city Dili that now serves as his personal museum. The walls are festooned with memorabilia spanning half-a-century of activism and politics: a watercolor by an incarcerated former comrade; a plaque commemorating his 1996 Nobel Peace Prize; photos of an Australian journalist slain during his nation’s tumultuous birth pangs.
But when asked about that fateful morning of Feb. 11, 2008, Ramos-Horta tears up the history book. It was during his previous stint as president that rebel leader Alfredo Reinado entered his home at 6 a.m. with a dozen heavily armed men. Ramos-Horta was out jogging on the beach and returned to a firefight between the intruders and his security staff, during which he was shot at least twice (the rebels used banned “dum-dum” bullets that fracture on impact, so the exact number remains a mystery.)
Ramos-Horta was airlifted to the Australian city of Darwin for medical treatment and nearly lost his life; one shrapnel fragment was lodged just 2 mm from his spine. When he eventually recovered, Ramos-Horta from his hospital thanked “all who prayed for me, who looked after me, who cared for me following the assassination attempt on me by Mr. Alfredo Reinado.
As Global Underpopulation Crisis Continues, China’s One-Child Policy Has Destroyed Its Population – lifenews.com
Steven Mosher, President of the Population Research Institute, has issued a stark warning in the New York Post. In his article “Baby Doom,” Mosher highlights the alarming global decline in birth rates.
“The big story comes from China, home to one-sixth of the world’s population,” Mosher writes, “the decades-long devastation wrought by the one-child policy has sent that country, for centuries the pacesetter in population, into absolute decline.” He notes that the official population figure of 1.44 billion is likely exaggerated by as much as 130 million.
This birth rate issue is widespread, as Mosher explains “for the first time in the 60,000 or so years that human beings first arrived on the planet, we are not having enough babies to replace ourselves.” In addition, he argues that the 2.1 figure, often reported as the necessary replacement rate, is too low because “in many countries sex-selection abortion skews the sex ratio strongly in favor of boys.”
Aspects of China’s global economic coercion strategy – Mizzima News Source Link Excerpt:
The US has adopted a two-pronged strategy towards China. One, is pursuing the path of dialogue, the other is confrontation. Both go hand in hand as can be seen by recent developments. While Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State travelled to Beijing for talks, back home administration officials criticised China for its coercive behaviour worldwide.
The nature of Chinese coercion is evident on all fronts and its ramifications across several fronts including economic, defence and other areas, is also a focus area for the Biden administration. Such actions are normally visible as Beijing uses tools like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Global Security Initiative to penetrate and pressurize nations. Just one recent example of the heft China carries can be cited, this time in a cultural context. In Paris at a cultural event on China, the French Museum which hosted the event was ‘forced’ to title Tibet as ‘Xizang’, the latest effort by China to show that Tibet has always been a part of China. Thus, the world should be aware of various aspects of China’s coercive tactics.
China’s military coercion has been very visible in the South China Sea and its current actions clearly threaten the security of the Philippines. Nicholas Burns, the US Ambassador to China, recently pointed that the “very ill-advised efforts by the government of China to intimidate the Philippines at Second Thomas Shoal, at Sabina Shoal, in an incident at Scarborough Shoal, just to name three incidents over the last month or so”. Diplomatic messaging is certainly one way to signal intent and the US has been consistently doing it. Apart from the Ambassador in Beijing, Secretary Antony Blinken has conveyed US concerns to China as did US NSA Jake Sullivan, who told the Chinese leadership “very directly” that Washington had an ironclad commitment to defend the Philippines.
Disney Consumer Products helps Chinese partners to ‘go global’ – China.org Source Link Excerpt:
A Disney executive shared with China.org.cn that his cross-border strategy, introduced last year, has prompted many of Disney’s Chinese partner brands to successfully sell their products in overseas markets. In addition to aiding Chinese partners abroad, the global media and entertainment conglomerate is also optimistic about future growth with its own business in consumer products.
Kermid Rahman, senior vice president and general manager for Disney Consumer Products in Asia Pacific, stated that since he initiated the cross-border strategy last year nearly 70 licensees in the region have collaborated with Disney to start cross-border business.
“Many Chinese brands have successfully entered the Japanese, South Korean and Southeast Asian markets, and have already achieved brilliant performance,” he said at The Walt Disney Company’s Greater China Consumer Products Showcase 2025 held in Shanghai on Sept. 10. The temporary exhibition and showcase conference saw more than 3,700 representatives from various partner brands in attendance.
A $208 million grant from the Biden administration to Volvo Holdings that is intended to enable the company to keep 3 American facilities from shutting down is directly benefiting a Chinese Communist Party senior member, auto industry magnate Li Shufu, whose firm holds $2.4 billion worth of stock in the company.
Chinese billionaire and auto industry magnate Li Shufu is a senior Chinese Communist Party member who has explicitly devoted his career to spreading Chinese influence worldwide. According to data reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon, he is also set to personally benefit from the Biden-Harris administration’s latest taxpayer-funded initiative to boost electric vehicle manufacturing.
Li’s firm, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, holds a $2.4 billion stake in heavy-duty vehicle manufacturer Volvo Group, making the Chinese firm the company’s second-largest shareholder. The Volvo Group is set to receive a $208.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy that will help keep some of the truckmaker’s factories afloat.
Geely’s stake is entirely made up of class-A shares, which are more exclusive and confer much greater voting power. In total, Geely has a 15 percent share of voting power, giving it sway in the Volvo Group’s corporate decisions, such as electing board members or initiating mergers.
The value of that stake has surged 5.3 percent, or $119 million, since the morning of July 11, when the Biden-Harris administration announced the grant, which is designed to support the Volvo Group’s transition to electric truck manufacturing across three facilities in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland.
The Energy Department’s grant was earmarked under a new federal program designed to support “shuttered or at-risk auto manufacturing and assembly facilities.” The designation suggests that, without the funding, the Volvo Group’s three facilities may have been forced to close.
The Chinese military ran a military exercise that saw it send 56 war birds across the lines the United States has drawn to divide the waters of Taiwan from the waters of China down the Tiawan Strait. This is the most amount of war birds China has ever sent across that proverbial line in the straits.
China sent a record number of warplanes across a U.S.-drawn boundary in the Taiwan Strait—a move that comes as the new president of the archipelago mulls a trip that may include a stop in America.
Some 56 aircraft crossed the so-called median line as of early Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense in Taipei said on the X social media site. Taiwanese aircraft, naval vessels and missile systems were used “in response” to the flights by the People’s Liberation Army, the military added, without providing details on what that entailed.
The archipelago’s armed forces have “a close grasp of the dynamics of the sea and airspace surrounding the Taiwan Strait, including the actions of the PLA aircraft and ships,” ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang told reporters later in the day.
66 PLA aircraft and 7 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 56 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern, southwestern and southeasten ADIZ. pic.twitter.com/UnNyjvbcDI
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) July 11, 2024
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te was considering passing through the U.S. while potentially visiting nations that have ties with the archipelago, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said Wednesday, according to the semi-official Central News Agency in Taipei. Details of the trip were still being planned, Lin added.
Beijing reacted to a similar stop in the U.S. by Lai’s predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, last year by holding large military exercises. Tsai met then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a move that angered Beijing, which opposes nations it has ties with from having official contact with Taiwan.
The latest warplane flights add to the pressure campaign China has rolled out since the election victory in January of Lai, who Beijing accuses of pursuing independence. That drive has included holding major military drills just after he took office in May, peeling off one of Taiwan’s few remaining diplomatic allies and expanding a law targeting what it sees as “separatists.”
China has vowed to bring the archipelago of 23 million people under its control someday, by force if necessary.
When asked about the warplanes crossing the median line at a regular press briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian avoided directly responding. “The determination of China to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity remains unrelenting,” he said.
While Beijing has never officially recognized the median line that the U.S. drew in 1954 during a period of cross-strait tensions, its military had for decades respected the boundary.
The PLA has stepped up incursions across the demarcation in recent years, effectively shrinking the buffer zone between the two sides and slashing the amount of time that Taiwan’s smaller military has to react to any attack from China.
President Joe Biden has repeatedly said the U.S. would come to Taiwan’s aid in the event of a Chinese invasion. The U.S. has also stepped up military aid to the archipelago that produces the bulk of the world’s advanced semiconductors in recent years in the hopes of deterring any attack.
If you need proof that America’s leaders are not American at all, news of China being allowed to purchase hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland near U’S bases across the country, from North Carolina to California.
The report came from the NY Post, which also published a map showing all the states the Chinese have invaded with the complicity of seditionists within our own government, at the local, state, and federal levels.
Chinese entities own farmland near 19 United States military bases across the nation, according to a recent report from the New York Post.
The news outlet released a map showing the locations of the China-owned land in the U.S. and their proximity to some of the nation’s most strategically important bases. The Post noted that some of the sites include Fort Liberty in Fayetteville, North Carolina; Fort Cavazos in Killeen, Texas; Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California; and MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.
‘The Chinese are, or will, use this farmland to learn more about US military capabilities, movements, and technology.’
Robert S. Spalding III, a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, told the Post that the lands’ “proximity to strategic locations” is “concerning.”
The South American nation of Peru is allowing China to build a massive new port in its country that creates a significant security risk to the United States of America. The $3.5 billion port will be built in Chancay, Peru by China’s state-owned shipping giant, Cosco Shipping. The port is scheduled to be complete by the end of this year, 2024.
A $3.5 billion deep-water port in Chancay, Peru, primarily owned by China’s state-owned Cosco Shipping and part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. The port will facilitate direct shipping routes between South America and Asia, significantly reducing transit times for commodities like soy, corn and copper to China.
The U.S. is worried the port’s ability to handle megaships directly between Peru and China could shift trade dynamics, making it easier for China to extract and control South American resources. The U.S. is also concerned about China’s growing economic leverage in the region.
There are also fears the port could be used for military purposes. General Laura Richardson of the U.S. Southern Command has highlighted concerns about the dual-use nature of such infrastructure, where commercial ports could potentially serve military functions. This includes worries about data security and the control over cargo scanning and logistics.
The Chancay port is expected to transform Peru into a strategic commercial hub, facilitating the export of commodities not only from Peru but also from other South American countries like Brazil. This development is seen as a significant step in China’s strategy to deepen its economic ties with Latin America, which has become a new battleground for resources among global powers.
Peruvian officials have downplayed U.S. concerns, suggesting that if the U.S. is worried about China’s growing presence, it should increase its own investments in the region. This stance reflects a broader trend in Latin America, where countries are increasingly looking to China for financing and development projects due to a significant gap in infrastructure funding.
The state of Indiana has passed a bill to end the sale of land to the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party, a bill that was passed and signed after a CCP-connected company was caught trying to buy land. The company that was identified was Fufeng who had just attempted to purchase land in Grand Forks, North Dakota but had to exit the deal after the U.S. Air Force issued a memo referring to the company as a “significant threat to national security.”
The exposure led to more discoveries of CCP purchases of land in Indiana that seems to have resulted from an intentional concentration on the state by the CCP. The network of CCP-connected companies was built under the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, The website openly states it exists to connect Chinese American entrepreneurs with Chinese-owned businesses to come in partnership with one another.
Indiana’s speedy passage of House Bill 1183 in March, prohibiting certain land sales to companies from China and other adversarial countries, has halted a pending real estate deal with the China-owned company Fufeng, according to LaPorte County Assessor records. Fufeng was looking for real estate in Indiana after being booted out of Grand Forks, North Dakota, following a U.S. Air Force memo that called it a “significant threat to national security.”
Fufeng managed to implant itself in North Dakota with a land purchase before being tarred and feathered out of the state. Fortunately, it was legislated out of Indiana — for now.
Fufeng’s short-lived appearance in Indiana was a smoking gun. What else is going on? The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), an unelected upgrade to the traditional commerce department, helps select and develop businesses in Indiana. The IEDC has set up many China-owned companies in the state, including 25 currently operational, according to the IEDC general counsel.
The trend of China-based companies in Indiana has not developed organically but through centralized planning with the help of a Chinese Communist Party-linked nonprofit. A contract on the IEDC’s website shows that it has been paying the America China Society of Indiana (ACSI) to facilitate deals with China-owned businesses. The contract outlines IEDC’s interest in “identifying and creating a pipeline of [foreign direct investment] prospects in China” and preparing trip itineraries, among other tasks.
A state contract to fill a requested “pipeline” of China-owned businesses wishing to engage in foreign direct investment, including the purchase of U.S. land, is concerning. The 2017 National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China directs that “any organization or citizen shall support, assist, and cooperate with the state intelligence work” and “state intelligence work institutions shall collect and handle the acts or acts of foreign institutions, organizations, and individuals….”
In other words, China-owned companies operating in the United States are expected to collect intelligence on the United States. Further, most large Chinese companies, especially those allowed to expand into the United States, have CCP members or even party committees within them ensuring loyalty to the CCP’s goals.
Beyond the concerns with Chinese companies taking root in the United States, an organization such as ACSI introduces additional issues when attached to state-level government. ACSI has implemented a series of influence operations and public relations events that may have compromised state decision-making through pressure, gain, or both.
You Will Know Them by Their Fruits
ACSI’s 2018 board of directors paints a picture of the IEDC’s exposure to CCP influence.
A member of the IEDC is on the board, guaranteeing that the IEDC is not only aware of, but actively has influence in, ACSI’s activities.
Westfield Outdoors is one of the China-owned businesses that ACSI brought in as part of the “pipeline.” Westfield Outdoors, along with other China-owned businesses, is one of ACSI’s member sponsors, which in turn influence businesses ACSI recommends to Indiana.
Dr. Zao (Joe) Xu, founder of the Confucius Institute at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, was on the ACSI board until 2018. The U.S. government defunded Confucius Institutes (CI) following expert testimony identifying CI as part of a CCP influence operation. The Confucius Institute at IUPUI closed in 2019 along with nearly all others in the United States.
A board that convenes Indiana government representatives alongside CCP-linked influence operators and oversees a society whose members include China-owned businesses with an intel-gathering mission is a recipe for compromised decision-making.
The Deepening
In 2019, Indiana Governor and IEDC Board Chairman Eric Holcomb took a trip to China likely arranged by ACSI “to renew the Indiana-Zhejiang sister-state relationship” established back in 1987. The Indiana legislature has since banned sister-city agreements with China, so Holcomb had to sign a bill that deeply criticizes the same kind of agreement he celebrated just five years ago.
During that trip, Holcomb visited with the president of the China People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), known as the “‘public face’ of the CCP’s United Front Work Department.”
In contrast to ACSI’s description of CPAFFC as “focused on deepening international friendships,” the CPAFFC’s mission in its own words is “to make the foreign serve China.” This stunning whitewashing is readily available on Wikipedia.
Why did Indiana’s governor meet with the leader of the part of the CCP’s influence operation concerned with making other countries serve China? ACSI would have added the CPAFFC stop to the itinerary as part of its role arranging IEDC’s China-bound trips, at the direction of the CCP. It is possible that Holcomb thought he was innocently “deepened” by a nice lady with a panda plate. But from the CPAFFC’s and CCP’s point of view, he declared his subservience.
‘Mask Diplomacy’
During early Covid days, China hoarded masks while companies like MyPillow diverted production to manufacturing masks for donation. Then China decided it was time to share. ACSI worked diligently to ensure Indiana participated in the geopolitical phenomenon later coined “Mask Diplomacy.”
Mask diplomacy, the CCP’s effort to look generous and deflect suspicions that Covid came from the Wuhan Lab, involved distributing small quantities of masks for a photo op. Indiana was among the favored states and countries to receive the honor of free masks, per the July 2020 news story on ACSI’s website.
In reality, this publicity stunt was a favor the CCP called in, likely among those trusted partners who have pledged allegiance to the CCP’s head of foreign submission (the CPAFFC) and could be counted on to promote this effort. With both the general public and the carefully selected recipients, the self-serving “favor” was an investment that would be expected to produce a return.
To the recipients, it was likely a nuisance. In context, 100,000 masks is a very small number. The IEDC reported in 2020 with macabre glee that it took fiduciary charge of spending $49 million on 27 million masks for the state, the smallest order of which was 1 million masks. The Chinese gift came with a very detailed receipt — the only mention of this event on IEDC’s website:
The IEDC likely had little “desire” for such a small quantity of masks, other than to satisfy the CCP’s desire to give masks and take credit. But in doing so, the state of Indiana (through its contractor ACSI) accepted a public gift from the Zhejiang Provincial Government of the CCP with an approximate value of nearly $200,000. What are the odds that the CCP would parlay that “favor” into a return gesture?
Far-Flung Fufeng
These are some of the more interesting elements within a long pattern of CCP-linked business development activities, advertised little if at all by the IEDC. It may also explain why the IEDC accepted the disgraced Fufeng earlier this year after its Department of Defense-directed expulsion from North Dakota.
Will the IEDC cancel its contract with ACSI for a “pipeline” of China-based companies in light of the HB 1183 restrictions? Do other states have similarly low-profile links to the CCP buried deep within unelected departments? The nearly two-thirds of all U.S. states currently advancing anti-China bills similar to HB 1183 may be doing so at odds with influence operations hidden within their own governments.
Vanessa Battaglia is a defense engineer with experience designing software, hardware, and airborne systems for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Special Operations Command, and the Federal Aviation Administration.
John Ratcliffe, the former Director of National Intelligence from 2020 to 2021 is warning the federal government about the current state of America’s patent courts, which are allowing foreign nationals to exploit American technology and sabotage American businesses.
The Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) is claiming it has evidence that reveals the Chinese Communist Party is funding, in part, the operations that are leading to riots and other disruptions in American universities.
President Joe Biden made it official on May 14, 2024 when the administration announced it would be implementing a new round of tariffs targeting Chinese goods, including electric vehicles. The tariffs affect $18 billion worth of Chinese goods.
Representative Tom Suozzi (D-NY) was caught paying a Chinese Communist Party agent thousands of dollars to place ads in a Chinese-owned newspaper. Suozzi also happens to be on the House committee currently investigating China’s alleged ongoing genocide of the Uyghurs.
After TikTok’s CEO told the American congress he was no communist asset, nor was his company, a court filing by the CCP-owned company proves TikTok is, in fact, nothing but a CCP asset that operates only through CCP approval. In a court filing protesting the passage of a law that would ban the CCP-controlled app, TikTok admitted that due to the Chinese government’s direct control of its company, it couldn’t even legally sell the asset to a non-CCP entity even if they wanted to.
Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, said of the filing, “For years, TikTok has asserted its legal and operational independence from the Chinese Communist Party. TikTok admitted as much in its federal petition against the law and said what every serious person has known for years: the Chinese Communist Party will not permit a divestment,” he continued. “That’s not a problem for the American people. That’s a problem for TikTok.”
TikTok and its parent company ByteDance filed a lawsuit against the United States on Tuesday claiming it is “unconstitutional” for the government to force the app to be sold by its Chinese owner or be outright banned in the U.S.
In addition to the expected — yet inadequate — arguments as to why TikTok should remain under Chinese ownership and available to American users on First Amendment grounds, the complaint makes a significant admission about how valuable TikTok is to the Chinese Communist Party.
On pages 18 and 19 of the complaint, TikTok’s attorneys argue that the app’s foundational algorithm can’t be passed off to another entity to remain available in the United States…because the Chinese Communist Party won’t allow it (emphasis added):
Third, the Chinese government has made clear that it would not permit a divestment of the recommendation engine that is a key to the success of TikTok in the United States. Like the United States, China regulates the export of certain technologies originating there. China’s export control rules cover “information processing technologies” such as “personal interactive data algorithms.” China’s official news agency has reported that under these rules, any sale of recommendation algorithms developed by engineers employed by ByteDance subsidiaries, including TikTok, would require a government license. China also enacted an additional export control law that “gives the Chinese government new policy tools and justifications to deny and impose terms on foreign commercial transactions.” China adopted these enhanced export control restrictions between August and October 2020, shortly after President Trump’s August 6, 2020 and August 14, 2020 executive orders targeting TikTok. By doing so, the Chinese government clearly signaled that it would assert its export control powers with respect to any attempt to sever TikTok’s operations from ByteDance, and that any severance would leave TikTok without access to the recommendation engine that has created a unique style and community that cannot be replicated on any other platform today.
GM lost $106 million during the first quarter in China, marking only its third quarterly loss in the country in at least 15 years and the largest outside of the coronavirus pandemic during that time.
GM’s fall from grace in the country is staggering amid geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China, along with changing consumer sentiment and increased domestic competition there.
While the challenges aren’t unique to GM, the company has the most to lose after several restructurings and exits from other markets in a bid to become more profitable.
