China Watch
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EXCERPT:
EU lawmakers and countries agreed to double tariffs on foreign steel on Monday, to shield the bloc’s struggling industry from a flood of cheap Chinese exports.
European Union governments and parliament representatives reached a late evening deal to hike levies on steel imports to 50 percent and slash the volume allowed in before tariffs apply by 47 percent.
“The shape and global standing of Europe‘s steel sector are fundamental to our strategic autonomy and industrial strength. We therefore cannot afford to turn a blind eye to global overcapacity reaching critical levels,” commented the EU’s trade chief, Maros Sefcovic.
“Today’s outcome helps bring much-needed stability for our producers to thrive in Europe”.
US Debt: China sells off 623 billion $ Cointribune
from news.google.com
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EXCERPT:
A Chinese-owned oil and chemical tanker slipped through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, becoming the first vessel to make the crossing since President Trump’s blockade on Iranian ports began Monday and raising fresh questions about how hard Tehran and its trading partners are willing to test U.S. pressure.
Fox News reported the tanker, Rich Starry, successfully transited the strait after being turned back on Monday. The ship made it through on its second attempt, the outlet said.
The Trump administration’s blockade is aimed at choking off traffic to and from Iranian ports, not shutting down the entire waterway. Fox News said the Rich Starry was traveling from the United Arab Emirates, not heading to or departing from Iran, and was therefore allowed to pass.
JUST IN: 🇺🇸🇨🇳 Sanctioned Chinese-linked tanker crosses Strait of Hormuz despite US naval blockade. pic.twitter.com/kMG1g8TfuL
— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) April 14, 2026
US stands alone as Iran, China join key UN bodies over objections– www.foxnews.com
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EXCERPT:
Western democracies, including the UK, France, Canada and Australia, are facing backlash after allowing Iran and other authoritarian regimes to secure seats on influential United Nations (U.N.) bodies, with the United States standing alone in opposition.
The controversy stems from decisions by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a 54-member body that plays a central role in shaping U.N. policy and staffing key committees.
Critics warn the outcome could allow governments accused of human rights abuses to influence global policy and control which civil society groups are granted access to the United Nations.
Spain pushes China to assume global leadership role during Iran war– www.washingtonexaminer.com
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EXCERPT:
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday pushed China to embrace a larger role on the world stage as Europe increasingly turns to Beijing amid growing tensions with the United States.
Sanchez’s speech at Beijing’s Tsinghua University follows recent moves from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and others to tighten ties with China after the Trump administration redefined its relationship with Europe, leading many allies to question Washington’s commitment to long-standing alliances.
On the day before he is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Sanchez pushed back against the notion that Europe holds little value and called on China to help fill what he described as a new power vacuum left by the U.S.
“Europe may seem small on a map. But its weight is decisive, and its unity is a guarantee of stability and prosperity in the world, a world that cannot be understood without China,” Sanchez said. “We are called upon to understand one another and to cooperate.”
“Europe will also have to redouble its efforts, especially now that the United States has decided to withdraw from many of these fronts,” he added.
Russia and China on Tuesday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz that had been repeatedly watered down in hopes those two countries would abstain.
The vote — 11-2, with two abstentions from Pakistan and Colombia— took place just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an unprecedented threat that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran does not open the strategic waterway and make a deal before his 8 p.m. Eastern deadline. One-fifth of the world’s oil typically passes through the strait, and Iran’s stranglehold during the war has sent energy prices soaring.
President Donald Trump warned China on Sunday it would face a tariff among other “staggering” consequences if it provided weapons to Iran.
Trump announced a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in a Sunday morning Truth Social post, saying ships that paid an Iranian toll in either Chinese yuan or cryptocurrency would be intercepted by the United States Navy.
“Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo asked Trump about reports China had provided missiles to Iran.
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Chinese Workers Protest Unpaid Wages in Russia’s Far East – www.themoscowtimes.com
EXCERPT:
Chinese workers building a fuel-making unit at a Rosneft refinery in Far East Russia’s Khabarovsk region took to the streets on Sunday to protest unpaid wages, regional authorities said Monday.
At least 200 employees of the Russian-Chinese contractor Petro-Hehua marched through the city of Komsomolsk-na-Amure demanding back payments and help from both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin.
HONG KONG — China is poised to benefit from the Iran war as global energy disruptions accelerate a shift away from fossil fuels and toward clean technologies and renewable power, industries that China dominates.
Most of the oil and gas from the now mostly shut Strait of Hormuz was Asia-bound. Asian nations are scrambling to conserve energy and bolster dwindling reserves. As a temporary ceasefire teeters, gasoline prices in the U.S. and Europe are spiking.
While most of Asia is hit hard, China will likely benefit from the fossil fuel disruptions despite being the biggest purchaser of Iranian oil. China leads the world in battery, solar and electric vehicle exports, and its industries are forecast to face a rise in demand for renewable products.
Before the start of the Iran war in late February, China’s lead in clean technologies was lengthening. The U.S. under President Donald Trump scaled back on renewable energy and leaned on its vast oil and gas resources, promoting energy exports to achieve what Trump described as “energy dominance.”
China’s energy strategy pays off as Mideast war cramps supplies, analysts say The Japan Times
from news.google.com
American tech companies warn the world that China’s domestic tech companies are really military tech companies in disguise. We are China’s free defense tech research and development department now.
The Hidden System Turning Chinese Tech Companies into Military Suppliers – warontherocks.com
In October 2022, Unitree Robotics joined Boston Dynamics, Agility Robotics, and three other firms in signing an open letter pledging not to weaponize their machines and to review customers’ intended applications. This Chinese startup based in Hangzhou had earned its place in that group. Founded in 2016 by a 26-year-old engineer named Wang Xingxing, who quit his job at the drone maker DJI during his probationary period, Unitree set out to build affordable quadruped robots. It worked. By 2023, the company held over 60 percent of the global quadruped robot market by unit sales. Its investors included Sequoia China, Meituan, and Shenzhen Capital Group. Its consumer-grade robot dogs are sold on Amazon.
Two years after the pledge, China’s state broadcaster aired footage of Unitree’s B1 quadrupeds carrying assault rifles in joint military exercises between the Chinese and Cambodian armed forces. By September 2025, robot dogs appeared in China’s largest-ever military parade on Chang’an Avenue. In July of the same year, a military training exercise at a Chongqing vocational college — jointly developed by students, faculty, and a military training team — featured Unitree machines fitted with rifles and rocket launchers. In an August 2025 statement, Unitree affirmed that it “has always been a civilian robotics company” and that all militarized modifications were made by third parties.
The interesting thing is, Unitree isn’t really lying. And that is precisely the policy problem. Unitree did not seek out the Chinese military. The Chinese Communist Party brought the military to Unitree through channels that required no direct order, no classified contract, and no corporate consent. Understanding how that system works, and why current U.S. policy does not reach it, is the most urgent analytical gap in the American response to Chinese military-civil fusion.
China’s retaliation against Panama has backfires across Latin America The Hill
from news.google.com
As the United States-Israel war on Iran — paused for two weeks on Wednesday amid fresh diplomatic talks — has roiled the global economy for more than a month, Iran and China have seized the opportunity to address a shared gripe about the global financial system.
Their common cause: ending the hegemony of the US dollar.
BEIJING — China’s government said Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed not to escalate their conflict and to “explore a comprehensive solution” after several weeks of cross-border fighting between the two countries that has left hundreds of people killed.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Wednesday that after seven days of peace talks in the western Chinese city of Urumqi under China mediation, all the parties also agreed to keep the dialogue.
Chinese Drone Deal Behind Downfall of Myanmar Junta’s Chief Propagandist The Irrawaddy
from news.google.com
Critical minerals are mined all over the world but the majority of the supply ends up passing through China. For a broad range of key metals and minerals, China is either the largest miner, the dominant refiner, or both. This is true for rare earths, lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel, and many other metals and minerals that are essential to defense, energy and high-tech applications.
It is less about where ores are dug out of the ground and more about where they are turned into usable components. In other words, Chinese processing plants are essentially the gatekeepers of global supply.
Xi’s article on correct understanding of governance performance to be published China Daily
from news.google.com
GM’s China venture seeks to build vehicles in Mexico to advance global expansion Automotive News
from news.google.com
China reaffirms unwavering ties with Ghana as Ambassador presents credentials MyJoyOnline
from news.google.com