Day: April 25, 2023

China Accepts US Envoy’s Credentials More Than a Year After His Arrival

Chin@Strategy

State Department —  U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns presented his credentials to Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, more than one year after Burns arrived in Beijing. While the U.S. State Department downplayed the implication of the delay, some analysts said it reflects “the frozen nature” of current US-China diplomatic ties. In a tweet on Tuesday, Burns said: “I presented my credentials to President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People. It is an honor to represent the United States as Ambassador to the People’s Republic of…

Vulnerable to Chinese Air Attack, Taiwan Signs Deal With US to Maintain Fighter Aircraft

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Washington —  Taiwan and the U.S. have signed two deals worth close to $420 million for maintaining fighter aircraft operated by the self-governing island that China considers its own territory. Based on the agreement, around $323 million will be allocated for a parts contract that runs through March 2028, according to a local news report. The smaller deal, which runs through June 2027, covers nonstandard parts and aviation materials. The deals were signed on Sunday. Taiwan has relied on the U.S. for air defense capability to secure its airspace and…

Taiwan Voters Consider US-China Tensions  

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HONG KONG —  When Taiwan’s former and current presidents each embarked on overseas trips this month, their travels highlighted how rising tensions between the United States and China are seen by the islands’ voters who will pick a new leader in January. President Tsai Ing-wen met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other American legislators during stops in New York and California. Around the same time, Tsai’s predecessor, former President Ma Ying-jeou became the first Taiwanese former or current president to visit China since the two sides were separated…

China’s ‘wolf warrior’ envoy threatens Xi’s plan to woo EU

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A Chinese ambassador who questioned the sovereignty of former Soviet states has damaged Beijing’s standing as it approaches a pivotal moment in its relations with the EU. Although Beijing quickly sought to disown Lu Shaye’s comments, insisting it did recognise the sovereignty of post-Soviet states, the furore has coincided with the start this week of EU efforts to formulate a new policy towards China, which its 27 leaders will debate at a summit in June. Analysts said the outburst from Lu, one of China’s more prominent “wolf warriors” — diplomats…

Tobacco Giant to Pay $629 Million to Settle Charges it Violated US Sanctions on North Korea

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WASHINGTON —  In the largest penalty of its kind, tobacco giant British American Tobacco has agreed to pay U.S. authorities nearly $630 million to settle charges of violating U.S. sanctions on North Korea. The hefty penalty is part of a “deferred prosecution agreement” that the company has reached with the U.S. Justice Department, officials announced on Tuesday. At the same time, a Singapore-based subsidiary of BAT pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions. The settlement caps a long-running U.S. investigation into…

Chizuko Ueno: the Japanese writer stoking China’s feminist underground

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To find evidence that China’s feminist movement is gaining momentum – despite strict government censorship and repression – check bookshelves, nightstands and digital libraries. There, you might find a copy of one of Chizuko Ueno’s books. The 74-year-old Japanese feminist and author of Feminism from Scratch and Patriarchy and Capitalism has sold more than a million books in China, according to Beijing Open Book, which tracks sales. Of these, 200,000 were sold in January and February alone. Ueno, a professor of sociology at the University of Tokyo, was little known…

US-China rift looms over Japanese companies

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Last week Yuko Kishida, the wife of Japan’s prime minister, made a rare solo trip to the White House to plant a cherry tree with Jill Biden, celebrating a friendship between the two countries that will last “forever and ever”, in the US first lady’s words. It was a congenial symbol of the close alignment between the two nations. The costs of those ties have been a source of concern for some Japanese executives as tensions mount between the US and China. But at the Shanghai motor show also held…

China’s wealth management sector reels from ‘crisis of confidence’

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Chinese banks’ wealth management units are suffering a crisis of confidence as mum-and-dad investors have fled the sector after products they thought were risk-free suddenly dropped in value. Volatile markets and a stream of redemptions at the end of last year pushed lenders’ managed assets down by more than Rmb1.36tn ($200bn), raising concerns about future growth for a business that supplied banks with a steady stream of fees and crucial capital for corporate bond issuers. Many conservative investors panicked when bond yields surged and prices dropped as China suddenly abandoned…

If China invaded Taiwan it would destroy world trade, says James Cleverly

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A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would destroy world trade, and distance would offer no protection to the inevitable catastrophic blow to the global economy, the UK’s foreign secretary, James Cleverly, warned in a set piece speech on Britain’s relations with Beijing. In remarks that differ from French president Emmanuel Macron’s attempts to distance Europe from any potential US involvement in a future conflict over Taiwan, and which firmly support continued if guarded engagement with Beijing, Cleverly said “no country could shield itself from the repercussions of a war in Taiwan”.…

Hun Sen publicly threatens to fire relatives of popular Facebook activist

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Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday threatened to fire the relatives of a popular Cambodian online activist based in France who has been highly critical of the longtime leader and the government. Thousands of viewers watch Sorn Dara’s talk shows on Facebook during which he routinely attacks Hun Sen and calls for his removal from office. His father is a military officer and a longtime supporter of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and and his sister-in-law works at the Ministry of Interior.  “You want to try me if your parents…