Category Archives: China

US general’s ‘gut’ feeling of war with China sparks alarm over predictions

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Leaked memo forecasting Taiwan strait conflict in 2025 triggers debate about ‘undisciplined’ comments

A leaked memo from a US four-star general saying his “gut” told him the US would be at war with China in 2025 has prompted warnings about the danger of “undisciplined” predictions of a Taiwan strait conflict.

The memo, by the head of the US Air Mobility Command (AMC), Gen Mike Minihan, was the latest prediction of a Chinese military invasion of Taiwan, which have ranged from 2022 to 2049. It has triggered a debate about US readiness, accusations of warmongering, and concerns about desensitising people to the real risk of invasion.

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US seals crucial military deal with the Philippines close to China ‘flashpoints’

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Deal expands Washington’s access to military bases close to Taiwan and the South China Sea

The Philippines has granted the United States expanded access to its military bases, greatly enhancing Washington’s presence in the region at a time of growing concern about Chinese aggression.

Washington would be given access to four additional military bases in “strategic areas of the country”, without specifying the locations, the Philippines’ Department of National Defence said on Thursday in a statement.

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US opens embassy in Solomon Islands after 30-year absence to counter China

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Move comes amid concerns about Beijing’s military ambitions in Indo-Pacific region after it struck a security pact with Solomons last year

The United States has opened an embassy in Solomon Islands after a 30-year absence as it seeks to boost diplomatic relations in the Pacific as a counter to China.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, announced the news late on Wednesday, saying that “more than any other part of the world, the Indo-Pacific region – including the Pacific Islands – will shape the world’s trajectory in the 21st century”.

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Canada votes to take in 10,000 Uyghur refugees amid Chinese pressure to force their return

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Move shows ‘what is happening to the Uyghurs is unacceptable’, says MP after non-binding parliamentary ballot with prime minister’s support

Canada’s parliament has unanimously passed a motion to take in 10,000 Uyghur refugees who fled China, but are now facing pressure to return.

The vote on Wednesday builds on a February 2021 move by Canadian lawmakers to label Beijing’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in its north-western Xinjiang territory as genocide.

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Chip war: Japan and Netherlands expected to join US in ban on tech exports to China

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Washington officials appear to confirm deal to restrict export of semiconductor manufacturing technology to China

A Washington official has made the most direct comments by a US authority to date acknowledging the existence of a deal with Japan and the Netherlands for those countries to impose new restrictions on exports of chipmaking tools to China.

“We can’t talk about the deal right now,” said Don Graves, deputy commerce department secretary, on the sidelines of an event in Washington. “But you can certainly talk to our friends in Japan and the Netherlands.”

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China attacks ‘unscrupulous’ US after reports of further crackdown on Huawei

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Beijing reacts angrily to reports that Washington has moved to restrict American exports to hi-tech company

China has reacted angrily to reports that the United States has stopped approving licences for American companies to export most items to China’s hi-tech company Huawei, accusing the US of deliberately targeting Chinese companies under the pretext of national security.

US officials are creating a new formal policy of denial for shipping items to Huawei that would include items below the 5G level, including 4G items, wifi 6 and 7, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing and cloud items, according to a Reuters report that quoted unnamed sources.

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All countries must help prevent ‘catastrophic’ war amid China-US tensions, Australian minister says

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In a speech in London, Penny Wong calls on nations to examine how they use power and networks to avoid conflict

The Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, is calling on all countries to play their part to prevent a “catastrophic” war in the Indo-Pacific region.

Amid increasing tensions between the US and China, Wong warned in London on Tuesday that the region was becoming “more dangerous and volatile”.

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Leaked EU plan reveals response to US and Chinese green subsidies

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Draft plan to loosen state aid rules follows Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and Chinese subsidies

The EU executive will loosen state aid rules and propose a new “European sovereignty fund” later this year, in response to the controversial US Inflation Reduction Act and China’s “unfair” green subsidies.

A leaked European Commission plan underscores the global green subsidy race is under way, although EU member states remain divided on how to respond.

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China claims Covid wave is ‘coming to an end’ as tourism and factory activity rebound

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Government figures, which cannot be verified, showed big rises in travel and hospitality activity during lunar new year compared to the same time last year

China’s wave of Covid is “coming to an end”, health officials have claimed, saying there had been no sign of a new surge from the lunar new year holiday period, despite a big increase in travel compared to last year.

Government figures released on Tuesday showed big rises in tourism and hospitality activity compared to the same time last year. Factory activity has also rebounded for the first time in four months, an early sign of economic return after the country reported its slowest growth in about half a century during strict Covid controls.

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Chinese province ends ban on unmarried people having children

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Sichuan measures aim to encourage more people to have children after population fell for first time in 60 years

A Chinese province of more than 80 million people will lift restrictions on unmarried people having children and remove caps on the number of babies as part of a national drive to increase the country’s birth rate.

Sichuan’s health commission announced on Monday it would allow all people to register births with the provincial government from 15 February. It will also remove limits on the number of birth registrations for any parent.

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Australia vows to keep raising human rights concerns with China despite ambassador’s warning

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Xiao Qian implies resumption of dialogue conditional on Australia taking a ‘constructive attitude’ and not ‘trying to smear China’

The Australian government has vowed to keep raising human rights concerns “at the highest levels” after Beijing’s ambassador urged the country to avoid “trying to smear China”.

After a thaw in the diplomatic relationship between the two countries, China has signalled its openness to resuming a dedicated human rights-focused dialogue for the first time in nine years.

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Hongkongers in UK ask Suella Braverman to ditch ‘repressive’ anti-protest bill

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Exclusive: Letter to home secretary says bill echoes ‘dangerously broad laws’ that result in jailing of protesters

Hongkongers in Britain have called on Suella Braverman to reconsider controversial measures in her public order bill, which they likened to the repressive measures used to crack down on democratic opposition in their home city.

In a letter to the UK home secretary, aspects of the bill were described as “repressive measures that threaten to paralyse entire social movement” and posed a threat to their right to protest in Britain, including against Chinese communist repression in Hong Kong.

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Australian universities welcome snap decision by China to ban online studies

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Move would encourage an estimated 40,000 Chinese students to return to Australia

The Australian university sector has welcomed a snap Chinese government ban on citizens studying at foreign universities online.

The chief executive of Universities Australia, Catriona Jackson, said the move would encourage some 40,000 Chinese students to return to Australia but warned there would be logistical hurdles.

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China owns vast network of UK real estate, offshore records reveal

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Presence of key distribution centres on list of more than 250 properties raises questions about grip on supply chain links

The Chinese government owns a vast network of UK real estate via offshore secrecy jurisdictions such as Luxembourg and the Isle of Man, the Guardian can reveal, raising questions about Beijing’s grip on links in the UK supply chain.

Disclosures made as part of a new government register of property owned via offshore entities show that China’s investment division owns more than 250 properties across Britain via dozens of companies. They include distribution centres that are key to the flow of food and goods in multiple regions of the UK including the south-west and south-east of England and the Midlands.

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China claims Covid wave has peaked with severe cases, deaths falling fast

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But reporting from inside China during the lunar new year period suggests rates of infection and fatalities exceeding official reports

China’s health authorities have said the Covid wave is past its peak, with rapid decline in both severe cases and deaths in hospitals, but experts remain wary of the government’s official data.

According to China’s Center for Disease Control (CDC), the number of critically ill patients in hospital peaked in the first week of January, then rapidly declined by more than 70%. The number of deaths also reached its highest level that week, the data said.

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Japan and North Korea sound warning as deadly cold snap sweeps across Asia

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Extreme weather kills at least one person in Japan and more than 100 in Afghanistan while parts of China hit record low temperatures

Weather authorities in Japan and the Korean peninsula have issued warnings over freezing temperatures and gales that have killed at least one person, and stranded thousands.

Severe cold weather has already caused fatalities, havoc and record low temperatures across the region in the last fortnight, with at least 124 people dead in Afghanistan and record lows of -53C in northeastern China.

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China’s shrinking population: what it means for the rest of the world – expert panel

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From climate change to women’s rights, what effect will the demographic time bomb at the heart of China’s economy have?

China has entered a period of “negative population growth”, an important moment in the history of the country. As recently as 2019, the UN projected the population would peak in 2031-32, but despite major government efforts to reverse the trend, China has now begun what is expected to be a long period of population decline.

The ongoing shift in demographics could have a profound effect on everything from how the economy operates to Xi Jinping’s legitimacy. The Guardian spoke to experts about the implications for everything from climate change to the Chinese Communist party.

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US could seize two Australian properties of former marine if he is convicted of training Chinese pilots

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US government claims Daniel Duggan will have to forfeit assets linked to alleged offences of arms trafficking and money laundering

The US government is seeking to seize two country properties in Australia from former fighter pilot Daniel Duggan if he is convicted, as it argues in court for his extradition on charges of arms trafficking and money laundering.

The US alleges Duggan, a former US citizen now naturalised Australian, trained Chinese fighter pilots to land fighter jets on aircraft carriers, in defiance of arms trafficking laws, and engaged in a conspiracy to launder money.

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‘We don’t have limitless resources’: Australian government prepared to scale back defence projects

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Exclusive: While committed to an increase in defence spending, Labor’s Richard Marles refuses to rule out building first nuclear-powered submarines offshore

Richard Marles has signalled the Australian government is prepared to scale back some defence projects to fund others in a major shake-up, declaring “we don’t have limitless resources”.

The deputy prime minister said the government would weigh up “how best we can use the resources that we have to make sure that we have a defence force which maximises Australia’s capability”.

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World of Warcraft to go offline in China, leaving millions of gamers bereft

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Popular role-playing game is being cut off due to a dispute between US developer and its Chinese partner

Millions of Chinese players of the roleplaying epic World of Warcraft (WoW) will bid a sad farewell to the land of Azeroth, with the game set to go offline after a dispute between the US developer Blizzard and its local partner NetEase.

Massively popular worldwide, particularly in the 2000s, WoW is an online multiplayer role-playing game set in a fantasy medieval world. It is known for being immersive and addictive, and players can rack up hundreds of hours of game time.

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