China’s Massive African Mine Threatens to Upend Iron Ore Market Bloomberg.com
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China Watch
Shares of Europe’s biggest carmakers rose Monday as fears over an industry shortage of semiconductors appeared to recede.
China on Saturday said it would consider some exemptions for Nexperia chip exports. It had previously blocked Nexperia semiconductors from leaving the country after the Dutch government seized control of Nexperia, owned by the Chinese company Wingtech.
The standoff between the Netherlands and China had prompted automotive groups to raise the alarm over a worsening chip shortage.
Communist Party expels two senior officials as China’s anti-corruption crackdown widens AOL.com
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How Some Chinese Companies Obscure Ties to China and What Policymakers Should Do About It Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF)
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China’s South Korean espionage campaign is growing bolder The Spectator
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Chinese Ambassador Decodes the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee Times of Oman
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China bans foreign AI chips as Jensen Huang pivots strategy; Nvidia joins India tech alliance livemint.com
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Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said Chinese Premier Li Qiang has agreed to accelerate talks on the South China Sea Code of Conduct (COC) with Asean member states.
Anwar said the Chinese leader’s remarks came after the bloc stressed that all maritime disputes in the South China Sea be resolved based on a mutually-agreed code of conduct during the recent Asean-China Summit.
“All agreed that this region should not be an area of contestation for superpowers,” Anwar told reporters after the closing ceremony of the 47th Asean Summit and Related Summits, here, today.
“Their presence is accepted. We work with some maritime initiatives with the Americans and conduct traditional military exercises with Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore.
True to form, Xi’s regime claims that the military leaders swept up by his latest purge – including General He Weidong, a member of the Politburo, Vice Chair of the Central Military Commission, and the third-highest-ranking figure in China’s military hierarchy – committed “disciplinary violations” and “duty-related crimes.” But a more plausible explanation is that Xi is playing an interminable game of Whac-a-Rival, desperately trying to preserve his grip on power.
Xi’s fears are not entirely misplaced: each new purge deepens mistrust among China’s elite and risks turning former loyalists into enemies. From Mao Zedong to Joseph Stalin, there is ample evidence that one-man rule breeds paranoia. By now, Xi may well have lost the ability to distinguish allies from foes. At 72, Xi remains so insecure in his position that, unlike even Mao, he has refused to designate a successor, fearing that a visible heir could hasten his own downfall.
None of this bodes well for China. By refusing to lay the groundwork for an eventual leadership transition, Xi sharply increases the risk that the end of his rule – however that comes – will usher in political instability. In the meantime, Xi’s emphasis on personal fealty over ideological conformity is weakening institutional cohesion in a system once grounded in collective leadership. Coupled with his arbitrary firings and prosecutions, Chinese governance is now increasingly defined by sycophancy and anxiety, rather than competence and consistency.
China’s military is paying a particularly steep price for Xi’s insecurity. In recent years, the PLA has undergone sweeping structural reforms aimed at transforming it into a modern fighting force capable of “winning informationized wars.” But Xi’s purges risk undermining this effort by disrupting military planning and leadership. For example, his abrupt removal in 2023 of the leaders of the PLA’s Rocket Force, which oversees China’s arsenal of nuclear and conventional missiles, may have jeopardized China’s strategic deterrent.
Xi had been escalating the trade war with the U.S. by attempting to use its rare earth monopoly to separate market allies from the U.S. Trump’s response of a 100% rise in tariffs raised the cost of China’s potential response significantly. After the fourth plenum, Xi is now ready to formalize a ceasefire with Trump at the APEC Summit. The seeming pullback from the brink is seen by some experts as a sign that Xi’s bellicose policy towards the U.S. has been checked by a weakness from within after the fourth plenum. It would seem the Generals may have been replaced BECAUSE of their loyalty to Xi, not their failure to protect him.
The Trump-Xi trade truce on rare earth stability represents a pivotal moment in rare earth diplomacy, but understanding its true significance requires examining China’s entrenched position across critical minerals supply chains. Beyond the headlines of temporary détente lies a complex web of processing dominance that extends far deeper than raw material extraction.
China’s market control spans multiple critical stages of rare earth production. The nation processes approximately 92% of global rare earth elements, while maintaining 87% of permanent magnet manufacturing capacity. This processing monopoly creates bottlenecks that no diplomatic agreement can immediately resolve, as Western manufacturers have discovered during recent supply chain disruptions.
The lithium sector reveals similar patterns of concentration. Chinese companies control 65% of global lithium processing capacity, with facilities in Chile, Australia, and domestic operations handling the majority of battery-grade lithium carbonate production. Furthermore, this innovative lithium extraction processing dominance means that even lithium extracted in Western nations often requires Chinese refining before reaching battery manufacturers.
Industry Reality: Processing infrastructure represents the true chokepoint in critical minerals supply chains, not raw material access.
Cobalt refining demonstrates another dimension of Chinese market control. The nation handles 72% of cobalt refining operations, processing material primarily sourced from Democratic Republic of Congo mines. Consequently, this global cobalt mining vertical integration strategy allows Chinese companies to control pricing and allocation across multiple battery metals simultaneously.
Market Dynamics Beyond Raw Materials
The rare earth sector’s complexity extends beyond simple mining statistics. China’s strategic advantage lies in its integrated supply chains that span from ore processing to finished magnet production. Neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets, essential for electric vehicles and wind turbines, require specialised metallurgical expertise that takes decades to develop.
Chinese processing facilities benefit from economies of scale that Western competitors struggle to match. The Baotou region alone processes over 100,000 tonnes of rare earth concentrates annually, more than the combined capacity of all non-Chinese facilities worldwide. This scale advantage translates into cost efficiencies of 30-40% compared to alternative suppliers.
Separation technology represents another critical barrier to market diversification. The chemical processes required to separate individual rare earth elements from mixed concentrates involve proprietary technologies developed over decades. China’s solvent extraction capabilities can achieve purities exceeding 99.99%, while many Western facilities struggle to reach 99.5% purity levels consistently.
Trump-Xi Trade Truce Delivers Rare Earth Supply Stability Discovery Alert
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China Pushes to Silence Victims of African Mining Disaster The Wall Street Journal
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China urges joint efforts with Japan, South Korea, ASEAN in science and tech The Straits Times
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Fourth Plenum Signals Xi Jinping’s Weakened Grip as Military and Party Reassert Control Vision Times
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Xi Jinping’s latest purge: paranoid or purposeful? The Economist
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Trump Trade War: How China’s Growth Model and Gold Strategy Challenge Dollar Dominance FXEmpire
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Prime Minister Mark Carney plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping while the pair are at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum later this week in South Korea.
The meeting will come seven months after then-foreign affairs minister Melanie Joly confirmed in March that four Canadians holding dual Chinese citizenship were given the death penalty in China.
At the time, Joly said the federal government “strongly condemns” the actions by China over what they called “drug-related crimes.”
Carney said he and Xi will discuss “a broad range of issues, both in terms of the commercial relationship as well as the evolution of the global system.”
The planned meeting comes on the heels of Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand’s visit to Beijing, where she met with her counterpart, Wang Yi.
The Chinese Military’s New Third in Command The Diplomat – Asia-Pacific Current Affairs Magazine
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PLA mouthpiece puts focus on ‘political rectification’ after generals purged South China Morning Post
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Former senior Chinese legislator expelled from CPC, public office China Daily
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Trump Administration Highlights: U.S. and China Reach Trade ‘Framework’ Ahead of Trump-Xi Meeting The New York Times
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Chinese legislators hear reports at NPC standing committee session Xinhua
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Chinese legislators urged to study, implement guiding principles of CPC plenum China Daily
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President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi signed an agreement on Tuesday that will secure a supply of rare earth minerals, a resource that is vital for the manufacturing of computer chips, AI, and everyday technology.
The agreement states that the US and Japan “intend to support the supply of raw and processed critical minerals and rare earths crucial to the domestic industries of the United States and Japan.” The countries “intend to capitalize on their respective existing mining and processing operations in critical minerals and heavy and light rare earths as well as new capacity.”
The countries intend to invest in mining and processing through government and private sector support, streamlining the permitting processes, and the creation of the US-Japan Critical Minerals Supply Security Rapid Response Group, among other points.
The Chinese Communist Party’s Fourth Plenum was held from October 20-23. The results of the plenum itself are unclear, though the fact that the results are unclear in and of itself should tell you the current head of the party, Xi Jinping, is losing (or has lost) control. Getting information about China’s internal political machinations is difficult as anti-China propagandists are prone to hype China’s real issues while China advocates don’t recognize they have them.
One “rumor” that has the most credibility is Xi losing some power, specifically losing his control of the Central Military Commission. One fact not disputed is 11 top officials were axed, with nine of them, all Generals, being called out for taking insubordinate action. The nine generals are all close Xi allies, with two being considered both his right- and left-hand man. Beyond that, MIA will continue to monitor the feeds for more data to support a clearer reality of the consequence of the contested fourth plenum.
Xi’s Grip on Power Falters Amid Military Shake-Up and Rising Successor Hu Chunhua Vision Times
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As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) convenes for its long-delayed Fourth Plenary Session, held from Oct. 20-23, speculation is mounting over a potential power shake-up inside Zhongnanhai — the Party’s political nerve center. Historically, such meetings have often signaled major realignments within the CCP’s top echelons.
Multiple unverified leaks circulating online suggest that Xi Jinping, long seen as China’s most dominant leader since Mao Zedong, may soon lose his position as Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) — the post that grants him command over the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Other reports claim Xi’s movements are now under strict control, while rival factions have allegedly prepared two separate plans for handling his political future.
Xi to step down as military chief
Following the downfall of CMC Vice Chairman He Weidong, who was recently expelled from the Party after an internal investigation, the seven-member CMC has been reduced to just four officials. The Politburo (the CCP’s top ruling body) has also quietly shrunk from 24 members to 23.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) has sent a letter to a DNC-aligned NGO that serves as the latest red flags that the “American” left and the CCP are working together against the same enemy, us, the Americans. His letter was sent to the People’s Forum in regard to its funding from Neville Roy Singham, an American expat now living the good life as a CCP favorite in Shanghai.
Other organizations with ties to CCP operatives include Americans for Justice in Palestine Educational Foundation, American Muslims for Palestine, Islamic Relief USA, Alliance for Global Justice, WESPAC Foundation, Tides Foundation, Palestinian Youth Movement, and People’s Media Project.
Time for Congress to expose CCP and terrorist linked NGO’s
Chinese Communist Party-funded nonprofit organizations have long spread radical antics by exploiting the generosity of the American taxpayer. It is time they face the public as they are held accountable by Congress.
Congress must hold a public hearing on these nonprofit organizations.
from www.washingtonexaminer.com
SINGAPORE: Chinese state oil majors have suspended purchases of seaborne Russian oil after the United States imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Moscow’s two biggest oil companies, multiple trade sources said on Thursday (Oct 23).
The move comes as refiners in India, the largest buyer of seaborne Russian oil, are set to sharply cut their crude imports from Moscow to comply with the US sanctions imposed over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
A sharp drop in oil demand from Russia’s two largest customers will put a strain on Moscow’s oil revenues and force the world’s top importers to seek alternative supplies and push up global prices.
China’s biggest all-electric bulk carrier, named Gezhouba, was launched on Thursday in Yichang, central China’s Hubei Province, marking a key milestone in the country’s green and intelligent shipping sector.
The vessel, with a length of nearly 130 meters and a maximum load capacity of over 13,000 tonnes, is equipped with 12 lithium battery power units providing total energy capacity of 24,000 kWh.
Its developer said this vessel allows for rapid battery swapping and boasts a range of 500 kilometers.
Public backlash has forced local officials in Pengyuan—a community in the city of Jiangmen, Guangdong province—to rescind an order requiring residents to surrender their keys so that sanitation workers can enter outbuildings to fumigate and eradicate mosquitos. The eradication effort is in response to an outbreak of the mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus, which has resulted in over 20,000 confirmed cases throughout Guangdong this year.
The controversy began when residents in Pengyuan began complaining about a notice that had been posted by community officials, informing them that residents would be required to provide a key to parts of their property, such as bicycle sheds, so that community sanitation workers could carry out fumigation and mosquito-abatement work on a regular basis. If residents did not turn in their keys, the notice warned, workers would summon a locksmith to force entry. Some residents reported incidents of sanitation workers entering their properties without permission and confiscating plants, or using intimidation tactics to enforce compliance.
Anand says Canada is in a ‘strategic partnership’ with China CityNews Halifax
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