China Watch

US moves to counter China in Bangladesh, plans to pitch defence alternatives– www.channelnewsasia.com

pgnewser February 11, 2026 0

Blurb:

DHAKA: The United States is concerned about China’s expanding presence in South Asia and is planning to offer Bangladesh’s next government US and allied defence systems as alternatives to Chinese hardware, Washington’s ambassador to Dhaka told Reuters.

Bangladesh votes in a general election on Thursday (Feb 12) after a Gen Z-led uprising toppled India-allied premier Sheikh Hasina in August 2024. She has since taken refuge in New Delhi, allowing China to deepen its influence in Bangladesh as India’s presence wanes.

China recently signed a defence agreement with Bangladesh to build a drone factory near the India border, worrying foreign diplomats. Bangladesh is also in talks with Pakistan to buy JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, a multi-role combat aircraft jointly developed with China.

Taiwan pushes back against Washington’s 40% chip supply relocation goal– www.cnbc.com

pgnewser February 10, 2026 0

Blurb:

Taiwan has told Washington that its proposal to move 40% of the island’s semiconductor supply chain to the U.S. was “impossible,” the country’s top tariff trade negotiator said in an interview.

Speaking on a local television broadcast Sunday, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun said she had made it clear to Washington that the country’s semiconductor ecosystem, built over decades, could not simply be relocated.

Taiwan’s international expansion, including its investments in the U.S., is predicated on the notion that the industry remains’ rooted in Taiwan and continues to expand domestic investments, she said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC.

Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison– thefederalist.com

pgnewser February 10, 2026 0

Blurb:

In a further erosion of freedom in Hong Kong, the city’s Chinese-backed government sentenced media mogul and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison on Monday.

“Having stepped back and taking a global view of the total sentence for Lai’s serious and grave criminal conduct … we are satisfied that the total sentence for Lai in the present case should be 20 years’ imprisonment,” Hong Kong’s High Court reportedly wrote in its ruling.

As The Federalist previously reported, Lai — a pro-freedom activist and founder of the city’s now-shuttered largest pro-democracy newspaper (Apple Daily) — was previously convicted by the city’s pro-China government in December “on charges of alleged collusion with foreign powers and sedition.” Most of the charges were brought under Hong Kong’s national security law, which was implemented as a means of further criminalizing dissent and solidifying the Chinese Communist Party and its allies’ control of the city.

According to CNBC, Lai’s 20-year sentence “was the longest handed out under the national security law introduced in 2020, surpassing the 10-year term given to activist Benny Tai, a former law professor who was convicted of conspiring to subvert state power, in November 2024.” Barring any shortening of his sentence or an immediate release, it’s likely the 78-year-old media tycoon — whose health is reportedly declining — will spend the remainder of his life in prison.

Xi, Putin hail ‘stabilising’ China-Russia alliance– www.channelnewsasia.com

pgnewser February 4, 2026 0

Blurb:

BEIJING: China’s President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin hailed their countries’ “stabilising” economic, political and security alliance in the face of “turbulent” times globally, as they spoke via video call on Wednesday (Feb 4).

Moscow and Beijing have sought to present a united front against the West, with ties deepening since Russia’s 2022 Ukraine offensive.

The call comes days after top officials from both countries agreed ties could “break new ground” this year as Moscow and Beijing ramp up economic cooperation.

Feds Raid Chinese Bio Lab in Las Vegas That Made People ‘Deathly Ill’ › American Greatness– amgreatness.com

pgnewser February 4, 2026 0

Blurb:

Las Vegas Police and the FBI raided a illegal Chinese biological lab running out of a Las Vegas home on January 31, collecting more than 1,000 samples. Several people allegedly became sick after being exposed to the laboratory in the home’s garage, 8 News Now reported.

“Initial search of the residence on Sugar Springs identified a bio-safety hood, a bio-safety sticker, a centrifuge, multiple refrigerators, red-brown unknown liquids in gallon-sized containers and refrigerated vials with unknown liquids,” said Christopher Delzotto, FBI Special Agent in Charge at the Las Vegas office.

On Monday, the samples were reportedly loaded onto an FBI aircraft to be transported to the National Bioforensic Analysis Center in Maryland for testing.

Secret suspected Chinese biolab was allegedly used as Airbnb, linked to ‘deathly’ sicknesses– www.theblaze.com

pgnewser February 4, 2026 0

Blurb:

 

Police raided a house in northeast Las Vegas on Saturday managed by Ori Solomon, an Israeli national currently in the U.S. on an E-2 visa, and owned by Jia Bei Zhu, the criminally charged Chinese national linked to a secret biolab discovered in Reedley, California, in late 2022.

Inside Zhu’s Vegas property on Sugar Springs Drive, law enforcement agents found a “possible biological laboratory” complete with a “bio-safety hood, a bio-safety sticker, a centrifuge, multiple refrigerators, red-brown unknown liquids in gallon-sized containers, and refrigerated vials with unknown liquids,” according to Christopher Delzotto, FBI special agent in charge at the bureau’s Las Vegas office.

UK, China rush to forge business deals– www.cnbc.com

pgnewser February 2, 2026 0

Blurb:

Chinese businesses have pledged hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of investment in the U.K. and struck new partnerships with British peers as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to China spurred a flurry of bilateral business activity and investment flows.

During his four-day visit in China last week, Starmer met Chinese President Xi Jinping and secured deals that would see hundreds of millions worth of new investments from Chinese businesses, in addition to £2.2 billion ($3 billion) worth of exports and £2.3 billion in market access, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.

Following the high-profile visit, the two leaders hailed the benefits of cooperation, with Xi describing the bilateral ties as “mutually beneficial.” Starmer, who brought a large delegation of executives from banking, pharmaceutical, and automobile companies to China, also described the country as vital to Britain’s interests.

China Rewards UK With Trip For Mega-Embassy– www.breitbart.com

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

Blurb:

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has arrived in Beijing, the first British leader to make an official trip to China since 2018, after he said he believes he can unlock business opportunities there despite security concerns.

A chartered British Airways jet carried the Prime Minister to Beijing overnight — allegedly to keep Chinese spies away from the Prime Minister’s own government plane — for the first of a three-day trip to China, which the Labour leader hopes will thaw relations after what he called an “ice age”.

The hurried trip was only officially announced by China on Tuesday and seems to be something of a reward for Starmer after the British government forced through permission for Beijing to build a new “mega-embassy” in London just last week. The new complex, which will be the largest embassy in Western Europe once completed, has been the subject of intense criticism over spying and national security fears, but was signed off on nevertheless by one of Starmer’s government ministers.

China’s Top General Accused Of Giving Nuclear Secrets To United States– wltreport.com

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

Blurb:

China’s top general is in deep water.

In an exclusive report, the Wall Street Journal has reported that China’s top military general has been ousted from his position after allegedly giving nuclear secrets to the United States.

The General was known in Beijing and to U.S. intelligence as President Xi Jinping’s top military ally.

The New York Post reported more on the general leaking nuclear secrets to the United States:

China’s top general has been accused of leaking nuclear secrets to the US and accepting bribes as President Xi Jinping purges the country’s senior military leadership.

General Zhang Youxia, 75, once considered one of Xi’s most-trusted military allies, allegedly leaked core technical data on China’s nuclear weapons to the US, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Zhang, the first-ranked vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, was officially placed under investigation on Saturday.

He was detained by military corruption investigators earlier this week, according to reports from Chinese outlets.

President Xi has reportedly sent a special task force to Shenyang in northeast China, where Zhang was previously stationed.

Carney Caves, Backtracks on China Trade Deal After Trump Threatens 100% Tariffs on Canada– slaynews.com

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

Blurb:

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is scrambling to walk back his China pivot after President Donald Trump threatened to hammer Canada with massive tariffs if Ottawa turns itself into a trade conduit for Beijing.

Carney now insists Canada has “no intention” of pursuing a free trade deal with the Chinese Communist Party.

It comes just days after President Trump warned that any such move would trigger a 100% tariff on Canadian exports entering the United States.

The sudden reversal follows a series of events that exposed Canada’s quiet but aggressive realignment toward Beijing.

China Spied on UK Gov’t Phones over Multiple Administrations: Report– www.breitbart.com

pgnewser January 28, 2026 0

Blurb:

China reportedly hacked and surveilled the mobile phones of top officials in Downing Street for years as a part of a global espionage dragnet.

A report from London’s Daily Telegraph has claimed that a Chinese spying operation saw the communications of senior officials in the administrations of prime ministers Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak monitored between 2021 and 2024.

Although it is unclear if the phones of prime ministers were caught up in the surveillance scheme, a source is quoted by the broadsheet as saying that the Chinese infiltration reached “right into the heart of Downing Street”.

Trump Moves to Kill Canada’s ‘New World Order’ Pact with China– slaynews.com

pgnewser January 27, 2026 0

Blurb:

President Donald Trump has launched a sweeping new effort to shut down Canada’s new alliance with China to help the Chinese Communist Party establish a “new world order.”

Trump is seeking block Communist China from further entrenching itself in North America by cutting off Beijing’s growing influence inside Canada.

The move comes as Trump formalizes what allies are calling the “Donroe Doctrine,” a return to hard-line American hemispheric dominance modeled on the Monroe Doctrine.

Carney’s embrace of China is a disaster for both the U.S. and Canada– www.washingtonexaminer.com

pgnewser January 27, 2026 0

Blurb:

For most of its history, the United States has been blessed by geography. Since the country’s founding nearly two hundred and fifty years ago, both Europe and Asia have often been beset by war and upheaval. America was fortunate to have oceans between them while also having neighbors, Canada and Mexico, who were weaker and incapable of posing a serious threat. Mexico’s instability has posed problems of its own, but the U.S. could always count on Canada. Until now.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has embraced China, America’s foremost geopolitical adversary. And he’s done so with undisguised relish.

President Xi says India, China ‘friends, partners’ in Republic Day message | News– www.aljazeera.com

pgnewser January 27, 2026 0

Blurb:

Xi wished Indian President Droupadi Murmu congratulations on the South Asian nation’s Republic Day on Monday, according to Chinese state media.