C.I.A. Admits to Losing Informants

The warning, according to those who have read it, was primarily aimed at front line agency officers, the people involved most directly in the recruiting and vetting of sources. The cable reminded C.I.A. case officers to focus not just on recruiting sources, but also on security issues including vetting informants and evading adversarial intelligence services. Among the reasons for the cable, according to people familiar with the document, was to prod C.I.A. case officers to think about steps they can take on their own to do a better job managing…

Another Chinese real estate developer misses a payment.

A Chinese real estate developer missed a key payment to foreign bondholders this week, heightening the persistent fears of a coming crisis in China’s real estate sector. The developer, Fantasia Holdings Group, a company specializing in luxury properties that was founded by the niece of Zeng Qinghong, a former vice president, said on Monday night that it had failed to make a final payment of $206 million. The disclosure surprised investors already on edge after two missed payments from China Evergrande Group, the world’s most indebted developer. Jittery investors sold…

China’s Top Disciplinary Body Moves Against Ex-Security Officials Fu Zhenghua, Sun Lijun

Advertisement Fu Zhenghua, a former Beijing Public Security Bureau chief and vice minister of public security, is suspected of a “serious breach of discipline and the law,” according to an announcement by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) published on Saturday on the commission’s website. His fall was revealed a day after the commission issued a withering condemnation of another former vice minister of public security, Sun Lijun, who has been under investigation since April last year. Top officials in China who are removed for alleged abuse of power…

China Evergrande’s Shares Are Halted as Doubts Swirl

Shares of China Evergrande were halted on Hong Kong’s stock exchange on Monday pending a deal, as doubts swirled over whether the struggling property giant would be able to meet its immense financial obligations. Evergrande said in a filing that its shares were halted ahead of an announcement about a “major transaction.” It gave no additional details. The real estate developer — once China’s most prolific — has been under close watch by foreign investors and local regulators after it missed two important interest payments on U.S. dollar bonds. The…

U.S. Signals No Thaw in Trade Relations With China

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration offered its strongest signal yet that the United States’ combative economic approach toward China would continue, with senior administration officials saying that President Biden would not immediately lift tariffs on Chinese goods and that he would hold Beijing accountable for trade commitments agreed to during the Trump administration. Comments on Monday by Katherine Tai, the United States trade representative, and other officials provided one of the first looks at how the Biden administration plans to deal with a rising economic and security threat from China.…