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”.
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.
… 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.
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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.
Tensions in the South China Sea have escalated, focusing on the dispute between China and the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal. Both are within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) but claimed by China.
Chinese academic Wu Shicun has proposed a controversial three-point plan to resolve the conflict. However, the proposal has sparked concerns among regional players. Instead of diffusing the situation, Wu’s strategy might escalate tensions further, complicating the already fraught geopolitical landscape.
Tensions between the Philippines and China have escalated over the past two years, primarily due to disputes over two significant territories: Scarborough Shoal and the Spratly Islands.
China recently unveiled an ambitious plan to significantly reduce its emissions by the end of the decade. This initiative includes setting quotas for key polluting industries and introducing ‘carbon label certification’ for products, aimed at accelerating the “dual control of carbon emissions.” The dual control approach involves oversight of both total carbon emissions and emission intensity, which measures greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP.
During the next five-year plan period from 2026 to 2030, China aims to incorporate carbon emission indicators, budgets, and forecasts into its economic plans. These will be applied across provinces and industries that are major pollution sources. By 2030, China has committed to peak carbon emissions, demonstrating a significant move towards a sustainable future.
A crucial element of this plan involves establishing comprehensive carbon accounting standards. This includes evaluating the carbon footprint of individual products and investment projects, setting up a detailed database by 2025, and focusing on controlling emission intensity from 2026 onwards. Major industries like electricity, steel, petrochemicals, construction, and transportation will have specific quotas and will be required to perform emissions assessments.
The State Council’s plan also includes continuous emissions monitoring and early warning systems for sectors experiencing emission spikes. Furthermore, economic planners are tasked with formulating action plans for carbon peak and neutrality, implementing stringent laws for emissions control and energy savings, and developing emissions indicators for each province. These indicators will account for various factors, such as energy needs and existing carbon sinks.
In its updated Arctic Strategy released July 22, the Pentagon says it will take a “monitor-and-respond” approach to the region, as officials warned that more cooperation between China and Russia and the effects of climate change present growing challenges in the area.
The Arctic is “becoming a venue for strategic competition,” Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III wrote. In response, the U.S. military must “enhance its Arctic capabilities.”
Melting ice is creating bigger shipping lanes and more access to the Arctic than ever before, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen H. Hicks told reporters. Meanwhile, Russia remains active even as its war in Ukraine rages on, and China has sought to assert itself as a “near-Arctic” nation.
“Although the vast majority of the Arctic is under the jurisdiction of sovereign states, the PRC seeks to promote the Arctic region as a ‘global commons’ in order to shift Arctic governance in its favor,” the strategy states, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
This is such a big and important issue for the UK’s future that unnecessary partisanship should be resisted wherever possible. Now the election is over, there needs to be a show of cross-party force to ensure that the newly elected government doesn’t flinch from building a fit-for-purpose China strategy. Here are some ideas, together with some key areas that no China policy can afford to ignore.
Authoritarianism is spreading like a virus, and, to extend that analogy, the UK needs to do what it can to ensure it remains immune. To protect UK economic interests, therefore, we would propose a 10–15 year Authoritarianism Immunity Strategy, with the goal of sustaining UK prosperity in an unstable world. Such a strategy would need to develop a government-wide understanding of dependency tolerance levels, effectively bolstering the central nervous system of UK public and private institutions against exposure to authoritarian influence. It would also need urgently to implement a plan to audit and reduce exposure to authoritarian influence in areas of critical infrastructure and across key value chains. Meanwhile, the same approach must be applied to investment screening, as well as essential UK institutions such as universities, where a strategy to prevent academic coercion is still lacking.
