US - China relations

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China wants to pull away from the USA and reign over Asia. I am more concerned about the Chinese getting into South America than SE Asia. The Phillippines and Vietnam already know they do not want the Chinese telling them what to do wheras Venezuela and others are welcoming them.
 

Enhance Naval Deterrence, Near and Far​

The Navy should adopt a concise four-campaign construct to deter conflict with China inside the first island chain while strengthening support for U.S. allies and partners on the periphery of Asia and beyond.

The U.S. Navy faces many challenges as it sails deeper into the 21st century, but perhaps none more compelling than the need to communicate to the American people what it must accomplish, how it will do so, and with what assets. In short, it needs an organizational strategy.

Official defense guidance in Washington now has coalesced around China being the “pacing threat” facing the United States and its partners, thereby clarifying the focus of the strategic challenge.1 Yet it remains up to the Navy to design and communicate a simple and persuasive rationale on which to base its operational planning, force design, budget requests, and public communications.

Perhaps the best way to meet that goal is to adopt a concise four-campaign construct centered on deterring conflict inside the first island chain—especially over Taiwan—while strengthening support for U.S. allies and partners on the periphery of Asia and beyond. Adopting such a strategy would yield four lines of effort aimed at:

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It’s practically an international article of faith: Countries may not default on their sovereign debt. Yet China has done just that on $1 trillion it owes to U.S. bondholders. Is there nothing we can do about it?

Finding members of Congress willing to talk tough isn’t hard. Many resolutions and joint letters over decades have called for China to honor its debt to U.S. citizens. But too many members, their election coffers lined by Wall Street and other financial and business interests heavily exposed to China, leave it at that.

That makes the action of Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) all the more noteworthy. He recently introduced a bill to address the People’s Republic of China’s selective default on American bondholders of Chinese sovereign debt.
...
Some historical context is needed here. Before the People’s Republic of China was established in 1949, the Republic of China issued a large volume of long-term sovereign gold-denominated bonds, secured by Chinese tax revenues, for the construction of infrastructure and financing of governmental activities. China’s imperial government had done the same before the Republic of China was formed in 1912.

Following its defeat in the Chinese Civil War, the Republic of China’s government fled mainland China to Taiwan in 1949. The People’s Republic of China was eventually recognized internationally as its successor government. Under well-established international law, the “successor government” doctrine holds that, as the current government of China, the People’s Republic is responsible for repayment of the bonds issued by both predecessor governments, the Republic of China and previous imperial governments.

There is precedent for the PRC paying back this defaulted sovereign debt. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s tough stance led to a British settlement agreement on Chinese sovereign bonds owed to British bondholders, established in the Foreign Compensation Order of 1987.

As a result, the PRC Fund was established, and British bondholders of this debt were paid their due. Now our government should demand a settlement as well.

No other country has been permitted to continuously get away with defaulting on its sovereign debt while maintaining access to U.S. capital markets. ...
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thehill.com

Lawmakers want to make China pay its trillion-dollar debt to Americans

When the People’s Republic of China won recognition as China’s rightful government, it also inherited its predecessor government’s debts
thehill.com thehill.com

The bill is S. 3945:
To restrict the Chinese Government from accessing United States capital markets and exchanges if it fails to comply with international laws relating to finance, trade, and commerce.
...
(b) In general.—If the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, determines that the Government of the People's Republic of China is not in compliance with applicable laws relating to finance, trade, and commerce, as specified in subsection (c) and including the successor government doctrine with respect to sovereign debt, the Secretary shall prohibit any applicable United States entity, including capital markets, bond markets, and exchanges, from accepting any new investment, or effecting any transaction for others relating to a new investment, from such government or any commercial entities under the control of such government.
...
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If this passes... :popcorn:
 
the-gap-band-dancing.gif
 

UPDATED: Chinese Spy Ships Stalk U.S., Philippine and French Warships in South China Sea​

This post has been updated with a statement from U.S. forces in the Philippines.

U.S., Philippine, and French amphibs and frigates drew the attention of Chinese surveillance ships and surface combatants as they sailed out of Philippine territorial waters into the disputed waters of the South China Sea over the weekend during Manila’s largest annual military exercise.

The combined force, composed of USS Harpers Ferry (LSD-49), BRP Davao del Sur (LD 602), BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS-16) and FS Vendémiaire (F 734), departed Puerto Princesa last Thursday to kick off the multilateral maritime exercise component of Balikatan 2024 with Chinese warships nearby.

Sailing to their planned exercise areas in the South China Sea, the ships were within Philippine archipelagic waters in the Sulu Sea during an uneventful first day at sea. However, after exiting territorial waters, at least two People’s Liberation Army Navy spy ships were spotted shadowing the multinational formation on Saturday.

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$170bln is a rounding error in the USA's monthly budget. I bet the US spends more on office supplies.

That being said it looks like the BRICS will corner the gold market sometime in my lifetime. It will be interesting when Russia and China control the gold and India controls the silver.

I suppose platinum will be controlled by Russia and South Africa? I hope to see hydrogen fuel cells replace most automobile and marine IC engines.
 
news.usni.org

Destroyer USS Halsey Sails Through Taiwan Strait - USNI News

Destroyer USS Halsey (DDG-97) performed a Taiwan Strait transit on Wednesday, U.S. 7th Fleet announced. “The ship transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal State.” U.S. 7th Fleet said in a statement. “Halsey‘s transit through the Taiwan Strait...
news.usni.org news.usni.org
 
CNBC

U.S. and China trade divisions threaten a 'reversal' for global economy, IMF official warns​

  • Tensions between Washington and Beijing have been rising as the U.S. ramps up trade restrictions and sanctions on China, citing national security concerns.
  • Since the invasion of Ukraine, trade between the U.S. and China blocs has dropped by about 12% and foreign direct investments are down by 20% compared with those within the bloc's constituents.
  • If divisions are not bridged, the IMF estimates the economic costs to the world's GDP could be as high as 7% in the extreme scenario.
Differences between U.S.-led Western and China-aligned economic blocs threaten global trade cooperation and economic growth, a top official with the International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday.

IMF Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said in a speech at Stanford University that events such as the global pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine have disrupted global trade relations in ways not seen since the Cold War.

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I'm not going to argue that the USA is handling the situation with strategic brilliance, but it's pretty apparent that China is also not a good faith actor, so I'm not sure there really is a golden path for diplomatic and economic relations until that changes.
 

Biden sharply hikes US tariffs on an array of Chinese imports​

WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled a bundle of steep tariff increases on an array of Chinese imports including electric vehicles, computer chips and medical products, risking an election-year standoff with Beijing in a bid to woo voters who give his economic policies low marks.

Biden will keep tariffs put in place by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump while ratcheting up others, the White House said in a statement citing "unacceptable risks" to U.S. "economic security" posed by what it considers unfair Chinese practices that are flooding global markets with cheap goods.

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China’s New World Order - How dependent is the West? | DW Documentary​

May 15, 2024 #documentary #dwdocumentary #China

For years, good relations with China guaranteed the German economy healthy profits and cheap goods. But over time, that relationship has become a dependency. The documentary "In the Jaws of the Dragon - How to Deal with China?” explores the nature and extent of this reliance.

At a summit meeting to discuss the "New Silk Road” infrastructure project in October 2023, China’s President Xi appeared alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin. Whether in Asia or the Middle East - China is evidently pushing for a new world order, with offensives directed against the West. Germany is already feeling the consequences.

For a long time, trade with China flourished: From 1984, Volkswagen flooded the Chinese market with cars, ultimately exporting one in every three VWs to China. But now, Chinese companies like BYD are dominating the market with e-cars. And Germany’s reliance on China for computer chips, antibiotics and solar cells can now be seen as downright reckless. This dependence is becoming more evident as China increasingly comes up trumps both politically and economically. Whether regarding the Ukraine war, in its relations with Russia or its continued saber rattling in the conflict with Taiwan: Where China would have once conducted itself with restraint, it now demands its slice of global power. In Berlin, politicians are rubbing their eyes in disbelief: what was once a healthy relationship is now a codependency. And there’s no easy way out.


42:25
 

Investigating China's illegal operations on foreign soil | Four Corners​

May 13, 2024 #4Corners #ABCNewsAustralia #ABCNewsIndepth

For the first time ever, a former spy for China’s notorious secret police – one of the most powerful arms of the country’s intelligence apparatus – goes public, exposing the covert and illegal operations he was ordered to carry out on foreign soil and the dissidents he was tasked with tracking, including in Australia, Canada, India, Cambodia and Thailand.

In a major investigation reported by the ABC’s Echo Hui, the spy – who goes by the name Eric – comes out of the shadows at great danger to himself, revealing his face to expose how China has used its global network over the last two decades to surveil, silence and kidnap those its government and president Xi Jinping deems enemies of the state.

The spy divulges his double life and the secrets he’s been guarding. He reveals the inner workings of the secret police, including the companies they use as cover, who his targets were, and the tactics he used to hunt them down.

It raises tough questions about China’s global reach and Australia’s national security.

Read more about this story here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-1...

Read more about Eric's story here: https://ab.co/4dFexeK


47:23
 
Don't know how true this is but if it is true, it's strategically insane and is on the same level as national suicide.

 
searcher said:
Don't know how true this is but if it is true, it's strategically insane and is on the same level as national suicide.
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It's true, and being permitted by those in charge of our government.

Ie: our "leaders" are facilitating it and supposedly doing so in your interests. Feel better now?
 

Report to Congress on China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ Initiative​

The following is the May 16, 2024, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, China’s “One Belt, One Road” Initiative: Economic Issues.

From the report​

The People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) in 2013 launched an ambitious and multifaceted foreign economic policy initiative—One Belt, One Road—to expand China’s global economic reach and influence. In 2015, China’s leaders changed the English name to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), possibly to deflect from the initiative’s focus on developing China-centered and controlled global ties in a hub and spoke format. The Communist Party of China (CPC) incorporated the initiative into its Charter in 2017 and reaffirmed the effort’s significance in 2022 at its 20th Party Congress. Some participating governments say they value the initiative for filling infrastructure gaps. Other governments, and some in Congress, assess that One Belt, One Road projects advance PRC geopolitical and economic goals while undercutting U.S. influence and interests.

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news.usni.org

Report to Congress on China's 'One Belt, One Road' Initiative - USNI News

The following is the May 16, 2024, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, China’s “One Belt, One Road” Initiative: Economic Issues. From the report The People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) in 2013 launched an ambitious and multifaceted foreign economic policy initiative—One Belt...
news.usni.org news.usni.org
 

Report to Congress on TikTok and China’s Digital Platforms​

The following is the May 22, 2024, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, TikTok and China’s Digital Platforms: Issues for Congress.

From the report​

Congress and U.S. policymakers at the federal and state levels have taken steps to address their national security-related concerns about the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC or China) influence over PRC digital platforms operating in the United States. Most U.S. actions to date have focused on TikTok, owned by ByteDance, a company with ties to the PRC government. Other expressed concerns include PRC platforms’ large user bases, access to large amounts of U.S. data, and company data and content policies. TikTok has an estimated 148.9 million U.S. users as of January 2024. TikTok’s CEO testified to Congress in March 2023 that ByteDance retains in the PRC at least seven years of U.S. TikTok users’ data. Enacted in April 2024, P.L. 118-50 has provisions that address PRC digital platforms and related data issues. Division H requires ByteDance to divest TikTok and allows the President to address other PRC-controlled digital platforms. Division I prohibits the transfer of U.S. personally identifiable sensitive data to foreign adversaries, including the PRC.

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Report to Congress on TikTok and China's Digital Platforms - USNI News

The following is the May 22, 2024, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, TikTok and China’s Digital Platforms: Issues for Congress. From the report Congress and U.S. policymakers at the federal and state levels have taken steps to address their national security-related concerns about...
news.usni.org news.usni.org
 

China's premier hails 'new beginning' with US-allied South Korea, Japan​

  • Countries hold first trilateral summit since 2019
  • Declaration calls for trade, environmental, cultural cooperation
  • China urges economics be separate from politics
  • Summit reduced frictions, did not reshape geopolitics - analyst
SEOUL, May 27 (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Li Qiang praised what he called a restart in relations with Japan and South Korea as he met their leaders for the first three-way talks in four years on Monday, agreeing to revive trade and security dialogues hampered by global tensions.
The Chinese premier met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Seoul with efforts to revitalise three-party free trade agreement negotiations, stalled since 2019, high on the agenda.

As the summit opened, Li said the meeting was "both a restart and a new beginning" and called for the comprehensive resumption of cooperation between East Asia's economic powerhouses.

But for this to happen politics should be separated from economic and trade issues, he added, calling for an end to protectionism and the decoupling of supply chains.

"For China, South Korea, and Japan, our close ties will not change, the spirit of cooperation achieved through crisis response will not change and our mission to safeguard regional peace and stability will not change," Li said.

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In the Market: In Asia, people ask, how do I derisk from America?​

May 29 (Reuters) - A European private wealth manager in Hong Kong told me last week he recently got the catalyst he needed to land a Taiwanese billionaire's account: geopolitics.

The billionaire was down to two major wealth managers -- UBS and JPMorgan Chase -- after Credit Suisse’s demise last year. He wanted a third bank but did not want to increase exposure to the Americans.

The Taiwanese tycoon's worry, the banker said, stemmed from the uncertainty caused by China-U.S. tensions: What if the Americans turned against people like him, or U.S. banks came under pressure to pull back from business there?

In recent years, as the Sino-U.S. saber rattling has increased, I have repeatedly heard from sources in the United States about how companies and investors are de-risking from China, building resiliency in their supply chains, reducing their exposure and putting a higher risk premium to business there. China is still too big a market to ignore or abandon, they say, but they need a backup, a ‘China plus 1’.

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IMF upgrades China's GDP growth forecasts but warns of risks ahead​

BEIJING, May 29 (Reuters) - China's economy is set to grow 5% this year, after a "strong" first quarter, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday, upgrading its earlier forecast of 4.6% expansion though it expects slower growth in the years ahead.

The global lender's new projections come as Beijing steps up efforts to shore up an uneven recovery in the world's second-biggest economy, which has stumbled in the face of a protracted property crisis and its ripple effects across investors, consumers and businesses.

The IMF said it had revised up both its 2024 and 2025 GDP targets by 0.4 percentage points but warned that growth in China would slow to 3.3% by 2029 due to an ageing population and slower expansion in productivity.

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Report to Congress on Taiwan, U.S. Relations​

MAY 31, 2024 11:22 AM

The following is the May 23, 2024, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, Taiwan: Background and U.S. Relations.

From the report​

Taiwan, which also calls itself the Republic of China (ROC), is a self-governing democracy of 23.4 million people located across the Taiwan Strait from mainland China. The United States terminated diplomatic relations with the ROC on January 1, 1979, in order to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which claims sovereignty over Taiwan. At that time, the U.S. government also agreed to withdraw U.S. military personnel from Taiwan and terminate a U.S.-ROC Mutual Defense Treaty, and stated that it would henceforth maintain “cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan.” The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act (TRA, P.L. 96-8; 22 U.S.C. §§3301 et seq.) provides a legal basis for unofficial relations.

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If, I mean when, China invades Taiwan, WE will bomb those fabs ourselves.

Or at least, try to.
 

China Coast Guard Impounds Philippine Navy Boats, Seizes Firearms in Latest Second Thomas Shoal Incident​

JUNE 19, 2024 1:12 PM - UPDATED: JUNE 19, 2024 4:25 PM

Chinese forces seized Philippine small boats and firearms during Monday’s botched resupply attempt to BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57) at Second Thomas Shoal, Philippine military officials confirmed.

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Romeo Brawner slammed the actions of the China Coast Guard and Maritime Militia, describing their acts as “piracy” in a press briefing in Palawan on Wednesday.

“They have no right, or legal authority, to hijack our operations and destroy Philippine vessels operating within our exclusive economic zone,” said Brawner.

Brawner’s visit to Palawan included a visit to service members wounded in the incident. Navy seaman First Class Jeffrey Facundo, who lost his thumb in a highspeed collision with a Chinese rubber-hulled inflated boat, was awarded a Wounded Personnel Medal by the military chief. A similar visit was conducted in March following the first instance Philippine personnel were injured by Chinese actions around Second Thomas Shoal.

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Exclusive: U.S. and China hold first informal nuclear talks in 5 years, eyeing Taiwan​

HONG KONG, June 21 (Reuters) - The United States and China resumed semi-official nuclear arms talks in March for the first time in five years, with Beijing's representatives telling U.S. counterparts that they would not resort to atomic threats over Taiwan, according to two American delegates who attended.

The Chinese representatives offered reassurances after their U.S. interlocutors raised concerns that China might use, or threaten to use, nuclear weapons if it faced defeat in a conflict over Taiwan. Beijing views the democratically governed island as its territory, a claim rejected by the government in Taipei.

"They told the U.S. side that they were absolutely convinced that they are able to prevail in a conventional fight over Taiwan without using nuclear weapons," said scholar David Santoro, the U.S. organizer of the Track Two talks, the details of which are being reported by Reuters for the first time.

Participants in Track Two talks are generally former officials and academics who can speak with authority on their government's position, even if they are not directly involved with setting it. Government-to-government negotiations are known as Track One.

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Summary of China’s Political System​

JULY 2, 2024 7:49 AM

The following is the July 1, 2024, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, China Primer: China’s Political System.

From the report​

The People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) is the only Communist Party-led state either among the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council or among the members of the G-20 grouping of major economies. As Congress has intensified its focus on China in the context of U.S.-China strategic competition, Members have increasingly sought to legislate and conduct oversight on matters that require an understanding of the PRC political system. Select features of that system are introduced below.

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Summary of China's Political System - USNI News

The following is the July 1, 2024, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, China Primer: China’s Political System. From the report The People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) is the only Communist Party-led state either among the five permanent members of the United Nations Security...
news.usni.org news.usni.org
 
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