July 18, 2026

Southeast Asia Watch

China Is Increasingly Holding U.S. Citizens Hostage Indefinitely– thefederalist.com
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China imposed exit bans on two U.S. citizens: a senior executive of U.S.-based Wells Fargo Bank and a federal employee of the U.S. Commerce Department. These incidents underscore the significant risks of conducting business or traveling in China.

Very little personal information is public regarding the federal employee affected by the exit ban, likely due to his affiliation with the U.S. government and concerns for his safety. According to the South China Morning Post, he is a naturalized U.S. citizen who originally came from China and is a veteran of the U.S. Army. He traveled to China in April to visit family but has been unable to leave since then. The reason for the exit ban is unclear, but The Washington Post suggests it may be related to his alleged failure to disclose his U.S. government employment on his visa application to Chinese authorities.

In contrast, more information exists about the Wells Fargo executive affected by the exit ban. Her name is Chenyue Mao, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from China, and a managing director in Wells Fargo’s Atlanta division. Mao is reportedly an expert in factoring, a process in which exporters in one country “sell unpaid invoices to third parties, who then collect payments later from importers in another country.” Mao has previously collaborated with Chinese companies in trade financing and factoring.

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During a June 17 speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Steve Koehler declared that despite an ongoing campaign of intimidation against its smaller neighbors in the South China Sea, “China’s pressure is not working well. It has failed to intimidate Southeast Asian claimants and make them surrender their sovereign rights.”

Koehler detailed examples of Chinese harassment and violence over the last year against Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and especially the Philippines, but noted that in each case, the Southeast Asian states have refused to back down. The admiral echoed this assessment the following month in a speech in Manila on the anniversary of the Philippines’ 2016 arbitral victory in The Hague, which ruled most of Beijing’s maritime claims in the South China Sea illegal.

That China is faltering might surprise casual observers of the South China Sea disputes, but it matches the available evidence. China’s efforts to establish control over the sea have plateaued over the last four years. That came after nearly a decade of steady gains. The strategy that won Beijing control over much of the body of water, despite the illegality of its claims, was centered on a campaign of intimidation and non-lethal force, often dubbed “gray zone” coercion. That campaign is no longer working but the Xi Jinping regime is unwilling, and likely unable, to accept that reality and seek compromise with its Southeast Asian neighbors. The result is a dangerous cycle of brinksmanship, but one that is not delivering results for Beijing. To help Southeast Asian partners, especially the Philippines, remain resilient and deter Beijing from military escalation, the United States should follow through with plans to strengthen force posture and support the military modernization of partners in the region.

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As Taiwan concluded its largest-ever Han Kuang military exercise, annual war games designed to test the island’s ability to repel a Chinese invasion, China simultaneously launched a series of back-to-back drills, overtly simulating an attack and applying strategic pressure. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command issued daily updates detailing synchronized maneuvers designed to mirror and counter Taiwan’s activities.

The 2025 Han Kuang exercise, held from July 9 to 18, was the longest and most comprehensive iteration since its inception in 1984. It marked a significant shift toward whole-of-society defense, emphasizing joint combat operations and responses to “grey zone” threats. The drills featured over 22,000 reservists and incorporated both domestically developed and U.S.-supplied weapons, including Sky Sword II missiles, Abrams M1A2T tanks, and HIMARS rocket systems. For the first time, Han Kuang was paired with the Urban Resilience Exercises, a multi-month campaign held from April through July to test Taiwan’s ability to withstand a prolonged conflict through full societal participation.

The computer-aided phase of the drill was extended from 8 to 14 days, while the live-fire segment doubled from 5 to 10. Key focus areas included electronic warfare, rapid mobilization, integrated air and missile defense, maritime security, and ground operations. The traditionally scripted exercises were replaced with 24/7 unscripted scenarios simulating combat in urban areas, civil-military coordination, and mass evacuation drills in real-world locations such as hypermarkets.

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Last month, the Department of Justice charged two Chinese nationals for smuggling a scientifically classified potential agroterrorism fungus into the United States. They were allegedly receiving funding from China to research the pathogen for potential future attacks, highlighting the dangers China could pose to the U.S. food supply in the future at a time it has already effectively infiltrated American agriculture through land acquisition.

China’s acquisition of U.S. land is a well-documented national security threat, especially as it continues to purchase land in suspicious proximity to U.S. military bases. This strategic investment by China has rapidly developed, with China only owning approximately 13,720 acres in 2010 growing to the 277,336 acres it owned as of Dec. 2023.

Despite the number of acres reported in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act Dec. 2023 report, this data “should be interpreted as a minimum.” The data disclosed to the USDA is collected through voluntary reporting. This creates gaps in the database, with 3.1 million acres unaccounted for. Additionally, there is a caveat in the reporting, as entities can list “no predominant country” in their filing. Roughly 2.3 million acres account for no foreign investor and no predominant country listed. The number of Chinese-controlled acreage is highly likely to be far larger than reported.

China Tries Getting Rich In America’s Backyard– dailycaller.com
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Some major Chinese companies are attempting to gain a foothold in new markets such as Brazil, the New York Times reported on Friday.

Several big Chinese companies have been moving to attract consumers and hire more workers in recent months amid increased competition and mounting trade tensions with the U.S., according to the NYT. In May, Meituan, China’s largest food delivery platform, announced that it would shell out $1 billion to establish operations in Brazil, the NYT reported.

“The golden time for Meituan’s food delivery business in China may be over,” Ernan Cui, a consumer analyst at the research firm Gavekal Dragonomics in Beijing, told the NYT.

Cui also told the NYT that factors such as stringent regulations and increasing competition are “all adding pressure” on the company.

Moreover, Mixue, a Chinese multinational fast-food restaurant chain, recently said it was planning to hire thousands of employees in Brazil, the NYT reported. Similarly, Temu, a popular Chinese shopping site, began selling products in Brazil in June 2024. In May, the Trump administration ended a tariff loophole that allowed certain packages valued at $800 or less from China to enter the U.S. duty-free, which has impacted popular Chinese e-commerce websites such as Temu and Shein.

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In another welcome sign of the Trump Administration’s focused prioritization of American interests in foreign policy, the State Department’s Senior Bureau Official for African Affairs recently rolled out a clear-eyed approach to U.S. engagement in Africa. As part of a long-overdue restructuring of the State Department, the Trump Administration articulated a directive to U.S. diplomats that puts enhanced trade and commercial diplomacy at the forefront of advancing U.S. interests, with the American private sector squarely in the lead as the engine of mutual prosperity and expansive growth. As highlighted throughout a hearing by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee recently, threats from Chinese activities across Africa, especially commercial activities, directly undermine U.S. interests across the continent.

Subcommittee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) laid out the challenge directly, calling China “the most significant long-term strategic threat to the United States” and highlighting that throughout Africa, “China is exercising its military, economic, and political power and advancing its authoritarian agenda, all while undermining the sovereignty of African nations and the strategic interests of the United States.” To help confront this harmful influence directly, the Trump Administration’s updated strategy prioritizes the need to reduce barriers to entry for U.S. companies and level the playing field for American businesses. Fair, clear, and equal rules of doing business, coupled with strengthened institutions and the rule of law to uphold those standards, are the opportunity the private sector seeks as it evaluates prospective markets. Coupled with broader Trump Administration reforms at trade promotion and enhanced prioritization ensuring American competitiveness in Africa, this strategic focus on “trade, not aid” is what both our African partners and the American people want.

The success of this strategy goes beyond the ongoing reorganization and strategic restructuring of the state. As Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch (R-ID) noted during another recent hearing focused on issues in East Africa, “There are countries where meaningful engagement is possible—but only with sober judgment and clear-eyed realism. We must stop building U.S. policy in Africa around individual leaders and instead focus on strengthening institutions, expanding private sector ties, and empowering the region’s young and dynamic populations.” That clear focus requires careful analysis of the various ways China’s coercive activities have been successful in the past to help inform what is needed to expand commercial relationships in Africa.

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TAIPEI: The two Chinese aircraft carriers spotted conducting simultaneous operations in the Pacific for the first time send a political message about the country’s “expansionist” aims, Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said on Wednesday (Jun 11).

Japan’s defence minister said the previous day that the appearance of the Chinese aircraft carriers signified Beijing’s intention to further widen its capabilities beyond its borders.

Koo said the armed forces had a “full grasp” of the carriers’ movements.

“Crossing from the first island chain into the second island chain sends a definite political message and their expansionist nature can be seen,” he told reporters in Taipei.

The first island chain refers to an area that runs from Japan down to Taiwan, the Philippines and Borneo, while the second island chain spreads further out into the Pacific to include places like the US territory of Guam.

Two Chinese aircraft carriers seen in Pacific for first time, Japan says | Military News– www.aljazeera.com
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Two Chinese aircraft carriers have been seen operating in the Pacific at once for the first time, Japan’s Ministry of Defence has said.

China’s Shandong and four other vessels on Monday sailed within Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

The aircraft carrier conducted landing and takeoff drills involving its fighter jets and helicopters in waters north of the Pacific atoll of Okinotori, the ministry said.

Tokyo’s announcement came a day after Japanese officials said the Liaoning, the older of China’s two operating aircraft carriers, had entered waters near the remote island of Minamitorishima.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tokyo would step up surveillance and had conveyed “an appropriate message” to China, without elaborating.

On Monday, Hayashi, who is Tokyo’s top spokesman, said China’s growing maritime activity appeared to be aimed at bolstering its capability to carry out missions farther from its shores.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian on Monday defended the aircraft carriers’ movements, describing them as “fully consistent with international law and international practices”.

“Our national defence policy is defensive in nature. We hope Japan will view those activities objectively and rationally,” Lin told a regular news conference.

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A Chinese researcher allegedly tried to smuggle biological materials into the US from Wuhan and lied to the feds about the secretive scheme.

Chengxuan Han was arrested Sunday after landing at the Detroit Metropolitan airport on a flight from Shanghai, according to charging documents. She was charged with smuggling goods into the US and making false statements.

Han is the third Chinese scientist to be charged with smuggling illegal biological materials into Michigan in recent weeks.

Yunqing Jian, 33, and her boyfriend Zunyong Liu, 34, were caught last year allegedly trying to smuggle samples of a dangerous crop-killing fungus into the US, the FBI said. Jian, a Communist Party loyalist and lab researcher at the University of Michigan who received Chinese government funding for her work, was charged last week in a ploat the national security insiders called “an attack on US food supply.”

Upon Han’s arrival to the US, border officers discovered Han sent four packages that “contained biological material related to round worms” from China, according to court documents

The packages, which were sent in both 2024 and 2025, were addressed to individuals associated with a laboratory at the University of Michigan.

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Is the Defense Department still preparing to fight biological warfare as if it’s 1970?

When preparing for biological warfare, most nations picture scenarios in which an enemy openly sprays traditional agents over wide areas to kill their adversaries.  However, revolutionary capabilities in the life sciences and biotechnology have transformed the threat. China’s approach to warfare, combined with these emerging technologies, reveals new vulnerabilities among Western forces that, to date, have not been fully acknowledged. In no small measure, this is due to the U.S. government’s continued reliance on a 20th-century strategy for countering weapons of mass destruction. In particular, as China is a major nuclear power, it cannot be threatened after it uses biological weapons as easily as a non-nuclear state. Given these points, can China be deterred from using such advanced biological weapons during a regional crisis in the Indo-Pacific, especially an invasion of Taiwan? And if not, is it possible to mitigate the damage from such a scenario?

Although Western attention has focused on the rapid expansion of China’s nuclear and conventional warfighting capabilities, one ought to expect equal analysis of China’s biological warfare potential. By examining China’s most recent efforts at biological research, we put forward that it has bypassed 20th-century Western concepts of biological warfare and has new capabilities that could be effective across the entire conflict spectrum. Given China’s new capabilities and nuclear arsenal, we assess that standard strategies of deterrence and protection likely will not work in the future. New approaches and new concepts will be necessary if the United States is to prepare itself for potentially new forms of biological warfare in the 21st century.

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The talks have been led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, with the Chinese contingent helmed by Vice Premier He Lifeng.

The talks ran for almost seven hours on Monday and resumed just before 10am local time on Tuesday, with both sides expected to issue updates later in the day.

The inclusion of Lutnick, whose agency oversees export controls for the US, is one indication of how central rare earths have become. He did not attend the Geneva talks, when the countries struck a 90-day deal to roll back some of the triple-digit tariffs they had placed on each other.

China holds a near-monopoly on rare earth magnets, a crucial component in electric vehicle motors, and its decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets upended global supply chains and sparked alarm in boardrooms and factory floors around the world.

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This is the third Chinese national accused of smuggling biological materials into Michigan. Despite last week’s arrest of Chinese agroterrorists, China continues to wage bio-war on the United States.

Authorities say Chengxuan Han is a doctoral student at the College of Life Science and Technology in the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China.

Agroterrorist Han is from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, which works closely with China’s military and defense industry.

On June 8, Chengxuan Han was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after arriving on a J1 visa. Officers inspected Han, who, during that time, reportedly lied to officials about the packages and the biological materials she is accused of previously sending to the U.S. Officers say Han related content from an electronic device three days before arriving in the U.S.

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For the second time this month, federal officials have announced the arrest of a Chinese researcher who sought to bring biological material into Michigan.

Chengxuan Han has been charged with smuggling goods into the United States and false statements, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. said Monday, according to a Department of Justice news release.

The news release noted that Han is based in Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, where she is a researcher at the College of Life Science and Technology in the Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

On Sunday, Customs and Border Protection officers at Detroit Metropolitan Airport detained Han, who allegedly lied about shipments of biological material she had earlier sent to a laboratory at the University of Michigan.

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Beijing has also launched an anti-dumping investigation into Canadian canola that is set to conclude in September.

Canola, also known as rapeseed, was one of Canada’s top exports to China, the world’s number 1 agricultural importer, prior to Beijing’s investigation.

“The two governments should listen to and respond to the people’s calls and do more to deepen the friendly cooperation and enhance mutual understanding and trust,” Li told Carney.

China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner, trailing far behind the US. Canada exported US$47 billion worth of goods to the world’s second-largest economy in 2024, according to Chinese customs data.

Beijing is also willing to work with Canada to safeguard multilateralism and free trade, Li added.

Beijing’s olive branch to Ottawa also comes ahead of a Group of Seven summit of leaders in Canada in mid-June.

Chinese Communist Party’s Disturbing Nickname for Harvard Proves Trump Was Right to Take Action– www.westernjournal.com
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You can often glean a lot about someone or something based solely on how people talk about them when they’re not in the room.

President Donald Trump’s use of “Rocket Man” to describe North Korean strongman Kim Jong Un, for instance, revealed a lot.

It was obviously biting and mocking, noting disdain and a lack of respect, while still acknowledging the dangers that Kim and his missile-shaped dreams represented. You can often find similar phenomena throughout the world, where small, candid quips pack big, layered meaning.

So what does it mean that the Chinese Communist Party has reportedly described an American institute of higher learning as its “party school”?

Here’s the key snippet from an ominous Wall Street Journal report:

“For decades, the [CCP] has sent thousands of mid-career and senior bureaucrats to pursue executive training and postgraduate studies on U.S. campuses, with Harvard University a coveted destination described by some in China as the top ‘party school’ outside the country.”

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Two Chinese researchers were allegedly involved in what could have developed into an attack on America’s food supply.

Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, were charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud, according to a Department of Justice news release.

The release said they are accused of “smuggling into America a fungus called Fusarium graminearum, which scientific literature classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon.”

According to the release, China’s communist government funded Jian’s research in China. The complaint said that when law enforcement scanned her electronic devices, they found documentation of her membership in and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. Liu, who has claimed he was Jian’s boyfriend, also conducted research on the same pathogen.

Liu has admitted to authorities that he smuggled Fusarium graminearum into America to conduct research with Jian.

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National security authorities and members of Congress are raising alarm over the alleged plot by two romantically involved Chinese researchers to smuggle samples of a dangerous crop-killing fungus into the US.

Yunquing Jian, 33, a Communist Party loyalist and lab researcher at the University of Michigan who received Chinese government funding for her work, plotted the illicit transport of the pathogen with her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, 34, the FBI alleged.

Liu was was caught at Detroit Metropolitan Airport last July after allegedly attempting to sneak packages of Fusarium graminearum into the country, the feds said.

“This is an attack on the American food supply,” one senior Trump administration official told The Post.

Yunqing Jian (pictured) initially denied that she was aware of her boyfriend’s intent to smuggle the pathogen. University of Michigan

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WASHINGTON: Two Chinese scientists have been charged with allegedly smuggling a toxic fungus into the United States that they planned to research at an American university, the Justice Department said on Tuesday (Jun 4).

Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, are charged with conspiracy, smuggling, false statements, and visa fraud, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said in a statement.

Jian is in US custody while Liu’s whereabouts are unknown.

The Justice Department said the pair conspired to smuggle a fungus called Fusarium graminearum into the US that causes “head blight”, a disease of wheat, barley, maize and rice.

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This Wednesday, June 4 marks the 36th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre. Hongkongers had for decades commemorated the date with a large-scale vigil at Victoria Park, until the 2020 National Security Law made such public demonstrations subject to harsh judicial punishment. In the lead-up to this year’s anniversary, much like last year, Hong Kong authorities continued to restrict opportunities for publicly observing the date.

On Tuesday, reporters asked Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee whether on June 4 residents could legally light candles or even show up to Causeway Bay, the area in which Victoria Park is located. Lee made no direct comment but stated, “Any activities held on any date must comply with the law.” Local media reported that people who were stopped outside Victoria Park on June 4 last year were called by the city’s police ahead of this year’s anniversary and asked about their plans. On Tuesday, performance artist Chan Mei-tung was stopped and searched by planclothes police in Causeway Bay while standing in front of a store chewing gum, and was later released. On that same date in 2022 and 2023, she was arrested outside the same store while peeling potatoes. Between 2020 and 2024, 82 people in Hong Kong were arrested for commemorating the Tiananmen Massacre around its anniversary, and among them 43 people were convicted and sentenced to a total of over 20 years in prison, according to a tally by Brian Kern.

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The Wall Street Journal: Harvard Has Trained So Many Chinese Communist Officials, They Call It Their ‘Party School’

For decades, the [Chinese Communist] party has sent thousands of mid-career and senior bureaucrats to pursue executive training and postgraduate studies on U.S. campuses, with Harvard University a coveted destination described by some in China as the top “party school” outside the country.

Alumni of such programs include a former vice president and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s top negotiator in trade talks with the first Trump administration.

Americans spend gargantuan amounts of money on education. Just K-12 costs $17,277 per student each year. For state and local governments, 8.5% of their entire budget is allocated to higher education, i.e., colleges and universities — more than what’s spent on highways, roads, police, courts, jails, and housing.

These colleges and universities also stuff their pockets with federal grants. In 2023, Americans spent nearly $60 billion on research and development grants alone.

China appears to be making a concerted effort to cement alliances with as many nations as possible, but not just among some of the usual suspects, like Iran, and recently, Afghanistan, but even among U.S. allies.

Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron had a phone chat with Chinese Chairman Xi, with both sides promising to work closer to one another to “safeguard the global order.” As Xi reached out to France, reports of Greenland making overtures to China make it seem as if China is aggressively attempting to peel off American allies using the promise of investment dollars to do so.

China, Russia, Iran cement Kabul ties as US reenters Afghan game – thecradle.co
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An unspoken alliance is quietly chipping away at the US-backed Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), challenging India’s influence across the Indian Ocean, the Asia-Pacific region, and particularly South Asia.

This alignment – comprising China, Russia, Iran, and Pakistan – has emerged as a formidable counterforce, especially in the wake of the US President Donald Trump administration’s attempts to sever Beijing’s access to vital Afghan minerals.

China has already invested $14 billion into Afghanistan’s mineral, petroleum, mining, and agriculture sectors. It has also revamped the Wakhan border with Afghanistan as part of a broader strategy that includes Iran’s plans to build the Iran–Afghanistan–China corridor.

Since the US and NATO withdrawal from Kabul in 2021, Afghanistan has become a nucleus of intense regional activity. The Taliban-led government has welcomed billions in foreign investments in mining and communications, while its ties with China and Russia have deepened.

Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron had a phone chat with Chinese Chairman Xi, with both sides promising to work closer to one another to “safeguard the global order.” As Xi reached out to France, reports of Greenland making overtures to China make it seem as if China is aggressively attempting to peel off American allies using the promise of investment dollars to do so.

Xi, Macron commit to deepening bilateral cooperation and safeguarding global order – CGTN
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Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday afternoon held a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron at the latter’s request. The two leaders had an in-depth exchange of views on China-France relations, China-Europe cooperation, and major international and regional issues of mutual concern.

President Xi recalled that during his visit to France last May, both sides agreed to carry forward the original aspirations of establishing diplomatic relations – independence, mutual understanding, foresight, and mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation – and to infuse these principles with new relevance for the times.

China and France should maintain high-level exchanges and strategic communication to consolidate consensus, seize opportunities, and expand cooperation, he pointed out.

He encouraged deepening collaboration in traditional areas such as investment, aerospace and nuclear energy, while exploring new cooperation opportunities in emerging sectors including the digital economy, green development, biopharmaceuticals and the silver economy.

Xi also underscored the importance of enhancing people-to-people exchanges to foster mutual understanding and friendship between the two nations.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned Trump foreign policy would push allies to China. Greenland is reaching out now – Independent UK

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Foreign governments, including Greenland, are currently considering investment alternatives to the U.S., such as China. This comes as JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned that President Donald Trump’s foreign policy could isolate the U.S. under what he characterized as an “America alone” doctrine.

Dimon has stressed the need to keep in place strong economic and military ties, indicating that the CEO is frustrated with U.S. diplomacy as Trump’s foreign policy has prompted concerns at home and abroad.

Renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and making threats of annexing Canada and Greenland are just some of the issues that have created consternation. The tariffs put in place by the Trump administration on allies and foes alike

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned Trump foreign policy would push allies to China. Greenland is reaching out now – Independent UK

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Foreign governments, including Greenland, are currently considering investment alternatives to the U.S., such as China. This comes as JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned that President Donald Trump’s foreign policy could isolate the U.S. under what he characterized as an “America alone” doctrine.

Dimon has stressed the need to keep in place strong economic and military ties, indicating that the CEO is frustrated with U.S. diplomacy as Trump’s foreign policy has prompted concerns at home and abroad.

Renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and making threats of annexing Canada and Greenland are just some of the issues that have created consternation. The tariffs put in place by the Trump administration on allies and foes alike