Administration
Jan 18 | AP
A Treasury readout of a Jan. 11 meeting between Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and her Chinese counterpart Liu He says the two agreed that the U.S. and China would cooperate more on issues around financing for battling climate change and would both work to support “developing countries in their clean energy transitions.” The readout also indicates that Yellen plans to travel to China and to welcome her counterparts to the U.S. in the near future. More
Jan 16 | Politico
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet in Beijing with his counterpart, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, on Feb. 5-6. This visit will be a test of whether the November Biden-Xi meeting has paved the way for more productive U.S.-China ties, and will likely include discussions on the war in Ukraine, Beijing's growing nuclear arsenal, stalled counternarcotics cooperation, and U.S. citizens held in China. More
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118th Congress
Jan 12 | Reuters
The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill on Jan. 12 to ban releases of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve from being exported to China, though the measure faces an uncertain future in the Senate. With all of the "no" votes coming from Democrats, the legislation is one of several bills that Republicans are seeking to pass early this year to highlight the difference between the two parties. More
Jan 10 | Bloomberg
The House set up a new select committee on Jan. 10 to come up with ways the U.S. can counter China's growing economic and strategic power. Chaired by Representative Mike Gallagher, the committee plans to scrutinize U.S. investments in China, as well as U.S. economic dependence on China for products like pharmaceuticals and rare earth minerals. While it won't have legislative jurisdiction, the new committee is tasked with making policy recommendations to Congress by the end of the year. More
Climate & Energy
Jan 16 | WSJ
The supply chain for renewable energy technology is heavily concentrated in China, which refines 95% of the world's supply of cobalt, manufactures over 70% of sicilia-based solar photovoltaic modules, and is home to three-quarters of global electric-vehicle battery production capacity. While the world has benefited from China's low-cost manufacturing and highly integrated supply chains, the overreliance on China for renewable energy technology will raise the cost of the global energy transition. More
Jan 11 | Reuters
China's chief climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua met his U.S. counterpart John Kerry on Jan. 11 and both sides agreed to maintain communication to jointly address the challenge of climate change, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said the following day. More
Jan 11 | Bloomberg
Korean conglomerate Hanwha Solutions pledged to invest more than $2.5 billion in U.S. solar manufacturing, a boost to the Biden administration's efforts to fight against climate change through clean technology while reducing the nation's dependence on China for its panel supply. More
U.S. Multilateralism
Jan 15 | Japan Times
The U.S.-Japan alliance has hit a high-water mark following the Jan. 13 meeting between Kishida and Biden. While no concrete deliverables emerged from the talks, experts agree that the leaders are in deep alignment, with Friday's meeting formally setting the course for the U.S.-Japan partnership for the coming years. More
Jan 13 | AP
Last week, the U.S. signed memorandums of understanding with the Marshall Islands and Palau that administration officials hope will pave the way for broader agreements that will govern the islands' relations with Washington over the next two decades and grant the U.S. unique military and other security rights on the islands in return for substantial aid. More
Geopolitics
Jan 17 | NYT
Vice Premier Liu He sought to reassure his audience that China was still a good place to do business. “If we work hard enough, we are confident that growth will most likely return to its normal trend, and the Chinese economy will make a significant improvement in 2023,” he said. More
Jan 16 | Foreign Affairs
China's footprint in Latin America is large and growing. It is the region's second-largest trade partner and the biggest sovereign lender to Latin American governments. As the region enters a period of low economic growth and China seeks to expand its direct investment overseas, it will become increasingly difficult for Latin American countries to resist Chinese lending in exchange for concessions such as support for the country's political positions. The best way for Western governments to combat rising Chinese influence is to invest in Latin America's human capital. More
Jan 15 | CNN
Indonesia has deployed a warship, maritime patrol plane, and drone to its North Natuna Sea to monitor a Chinese coast guard vessel that has been active in a resource-rich maritime area that both countries claim as their own. The Chinese vessel has not conducted any suspicious activities, according to the chief of the Indonesian navy. More
Jan 12 | WSJ
The decline of U.S. military power relative to Beijing's is leading Asia-Pacific countries into a broader web of cooperation. As China now rivals the U.S. in areas such as advanced missiles and naval hardware, American protection is no longer enough for democracies in Asia, who are now looking to Europe and others to bolster their security. More
Diplomacy
Jan 16 | Bloomberg
China is recalibrating its aggressive "Wolf Warrior"-style diplomacy as global anti-China sentiment soars. Incoming Foreign Minister Qin Gang is striking a conciliatory tone with the U.S., and Zhao Lijian, China's most high-profile hawk, was moved from his position as Foreign Ministry spokesman. However, a change in tone does not necessarily indicate a change of message. More
Jan 13 | SCMP
Deputy foreign minister Ma Zhaoxu has been promoted to a full ministerial position and will oversee the daily affairs of the department. The ex-UN envoy is noted for pushing the concept of "human rights with Chinese characteristics" and stating that "there are no dissidents in China" when activist Liu Xiaobo was jailed in 2010. More
Jan 11 | WSJ
China is likely to nominate Xie Feng, a vice foreign minister and a U.S. specialist, as its new ambassador to Washington. Mr. Xie is regarded by both colleagues and foreign counterparts as a firm and evenhanded conduit between China and the U.S., and his appointment would reflect the continuing, gradual tempering of the abrasive “Wolf Warrior” style that has defined Chinese diplomacy in recent years. More
Military & Maritime
Jan 17 | Bloomberg
The Pentagon is struggling to get China to resume military-to-military talks, underscoring continuing tensions between the two sides despite last year's meeting between Biden and Xi. Regular communication over defense issues is crucial to preventing a potential crisis, particularly as the People's Liberation Army has increased its military capacity and generally become more reckless toward U.S. and allied partners in the South China Sea. More
Jan 13 | CNN
A US carrier strike group began operating in the South China Sea on Thursday, the Navy announced, amid heightened tensions with Beijing, which claims much of the body of water as its sovereign territory. Two Chinese ships are already tailing the US group, a defense official told CNN, which consists of an aircraft carrier, a guided missile cruiser, and three guided missile destroyers. More
Jan 12 | SCMP
Military researchers at the National University of Defence Technology in southeastern China say they have created a material that can prevent missiles from being blinded by laser defense systems while maintaining a clear view of their target. More
Intelligence & Espionage
Jan 16 | NYT
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have moved to dismiss a case against a New York City police officer accused of acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government “in the interests of justice” because of the emergence of “additional information bearing on the charges.” Baimadajie Angwang, a former Marine, was charged with providing intelligence about Tibetans in New York to Chinese consular officials. More
Jan 16 | BBC
Zheng Xiaoqing, a former employee with energy conglomerate General Electric Power, was sentenced to two years in prison for stealing confidential files from his employers in the binary code of a digital photograph of a sunset. This is the latest of a series of similar cases prosecuted by U.S. authorities, as the theft of trade secrets has become part of a broader struggle as China strives to gain technological know-how to power its economy and challenge the geopolitical order, while the U.S. does its best to prevent a serious competitor to American power from emerging. More
Jan 12 | NYT
The F.B.I. search of a Chinese outpost suspected of conducting police operations without jurisdiction or diplomatic approval represents an escalation in a global dispute over China's efforts to police its diaspora far beyond its borders. While Irish, Canadian and Dutch officials have called for China to shut down police operations in their countries, the F.B.I. raid is the first known example of the authorities seizing materials from one of the outposts. Beijing says the outposts aren't doing police work, but Chinese state media reports say they “collect intelligence” and solve crimes far outside their jurisdiction. More
Tech & National Security
Jan 17 | NPR
The U.S. and the Netherlands are both global leaders in semiconductor technologies. And the U.S. wants the Dutch to cut off competitors, specifically China. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will discuss this issue with President Biden in person this week. More
Jan 13 | WSJ
Citing concerns that the Chinese government could order TikTok to collect data and information on Americans or influence what videos they are shown on the app, federal lawmakers and a growing number of governors are banning TikTok from government devices. More
Jan 13 | CNN
Swedish mining company LKAB says it has found Europe's largest deposit of rare earth oxides in the country's north, a discovery that could reduce the continent's reliance on China for this critical resource. Rare earth minerals play a key role in generating clean energy and producing electric vehicles and consumer electronics, and demand for these minerals is expected to surge as a result of electrification. More
Jan 11 | SCMP
Mainstream encryption in use today may become vulnerable within years instead of decades after Chinese researchers proposed a new code-breaking algorithm to run on a small quantum computer built from technology already within reach. And yet some senior security and quantum experts in the United States have raised concerns about the claim, including doubts about its technical feasibility, as well as the nagging question of why the Chinese government didn't classify this research. More
Trade & Commerce
Jan 17 | VOA News
A high-level delegation from the U.S. is in Taiwan this week to resume negotiations over the new U.S.-Taiwan 21st Century Trade Initiative. The initiative will cover 11 areas, including anti-corruption, agriculture, digital trade, the environment, and labor. More
Jan 16 | Bloomberg
Beijing just published its full-year figures that show record trade between the U.S. and China of around $760 billion, a signal of resilient links between the world's top economies amid the heated national security rhetoric in Washington and fears of “decoupling.” More
Business & Investment
Jan 16 | Nikkei
In the first nine trading days of the new year, foreign investors bought a net 64 billion yuan ($9.5 billion) of Chinese stocks via the trading link between the mainland and Hong Kong. Analysts say many of the foreign buyers remain worried about China's prospects but are reversing course because of the rally that began in early November that has been buoyed by the sudden shift in zero-COVID policies in December, surprising investors who did not expect China to open up for months More
Jan 13 | Bloomberg
Two of China's largest state-owned airlines, China Eastern Airlines Corp. and China Southern Airlines Co., said they would give up their New York stock exchange listings, joining a raft of Chinese government-controlled firms that announced their departures from U.S. bourses last year. The companies attributed the decision to commercial factors, including the costs of maintaining a U.S. listing despite the smaller number of shares and trading volumes in the U.S. relative to those in Hong Kong. More
Jan 12 | Axios
The Biden administration is leaning toward making its executive order on U.S. investments in China more focused and targeted than some of the earlier suggestions. While there was bipartisan congressional legislation on U.S. investor activity in China in the last Congress, the administration wants to start with executive actions and work out any kinks with outbound restrictions on a smaller scale. More
Space & Science
Jan 16 | Nikkei
China is the undisputed champion in artificial intelligence research papers, far surpassing the U.S. in both quantity and quality. Among the top producers of AI research in China are Tencent Holdings, Alibaba Group Holding, and Huawei Technologies. More
Jan 14 | WashPost
More than 20 countries have signed on to what NASA calls the Artemis Accords, a legal framework that establishes rules for the peaceful use of space and governs behavior on the surface of the moon. NASA is hopeful that the new international coalition will help propel its return to the moon — a key step in what some consider to be a space race with China. More
Jan 11 | Rest of World
A constellation of companies has sprung up in recent years to power China's satellite internet plans. Though the plans envision a Chinese satellite internet service sweeping enough to compete with Elon Musk's Starlink, China's global satellite internet project will be developed and run by the state. Beyond out-competing Starlink in China, Chinese companies are looking to beam broadband internet around the world, particularly in areas where the internet infrastructure development is lagging. More
Inside China
Jan 18 | CNBC
Many investors think Beijing's crackdown on technology firms is ending, but the Chinese government, by taking these shares, will still hold influence over names like Alibaba and Tencent. More
Jan 17 | AP
China's economy grew by 3% in 2022, which is less than half of the previous year's 8.1% rate and the second-lowest annual rate since at least the 1970s after 2020. However, despite pressure from anti-virus controls and a real estate slump, activity is reviving due to the reversal of China's zero-Covid policy. More
Jan 16 | NYT
Deaths in China outnumbered births last year for the first time in six decades. Experts see major implications for Chinese society, as labor shortages that will accompany China's rapidly aging population will also reduce tax revenue and contributions to a pension and eldercare system that is already under enormous pressure. More
Covid-19
Jan 15 | WSJ
The World Health Organization, which had urged China to be more forthcoming about the toll of its current Covid-19 outbreak, said it welcomed Beijing's recent sharing of data and report of around 60,000 Covid-related deaths over the past month, while also asking the country to share more information. More
Jan 13 | Reuters
The peak of China's COVID-19 wave is expected to last two to three months, and will soon swell over the vast countryside where medical resources are relatively scarce. Infections are expected to surge in rural areas as hundreds of millions travel to their home towns for the Lunar New Year holidays, which officially start from Jan. 21. More
Hong Kong
Jan 16 | WSJ
Beijing named Zheng Yanxiong, who ran Beijing's Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong since mid-2020, as the director of its liaison office in the city. The appointment signals China's intention to maintain a tough line on Hong Kong, as the liaison office represents the central government in the city and executes decisions from Beijing. More
Tibet & Human Rights
Jan 16 | The Tibet Post
A group of 120 Tibetan organizations protested against China taking Tibetan DNA without consent. They also called on the CEO of Thermo Fisher to stop selling DNA kits to China that steal DNA from Tibetans as young as five years old. More
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