US-China relations

Sales of “patriotic” products that tell the United States to butt out of their internal affairs are booming in China after last week’s fiery Alaskan summit. Just days after the summit ended, mobile phone cases, cigarette lighters, T-shirts, vacuum mugs, hoodies, umbrellas, canvas bags, pants and even beers carrying pro-Chinese sentiments have been selling fast on mainland China’s shopping website Taobao. Ads for the “patriotic” products promise immediate shipping while some online shops sell merchandise carrying slogans translated into English, such as, “stop interfering in China’s internal affairs.” The products were inspired by quotes from China’s foreign policy chief Yang Jiechi, in the

America’s top diplomat will hold talks with high-ranking Chinese officials next Thursday in Anchorage, Alaska, the state department announced on Wednesday.  US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan plan to discuss “a range of issues” with Yang Jiechi, China’s most senior foreign policy official, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the department said. Blinken said the meeting would not herald further high-level talks unless it could yield “tangible outcomes.” White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday emphasized the fact that the meeting was taking place in the US. “It was important to us that this administration’s first meeting with Chi

Nine out of 10 Americans view China as either an enemy or competitor rather than a partner, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. The perception of China in the US corresponds with the recent sharp deterioration of relations between the two countries, with a majority of those surveyed in favor of pressuring Beijing on human rights and economic issues. Around 67% of respondents in the survey, released on Thursday, reported feeling “cold” toward China this year, up from 46% in 2018. “I don’t know if it [the US-China relationship] can get any lower,” said Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “But the fact that both R

In his first foreign policy address, US President Joe Biden on Thursday described China as the “most serious competitor” to the United States and vowed to confront Beijing on various fronts, including human rights, intellectual property and economic policy. Appearing at the State Department, Biden said his administration would “take on directly the challenges posed [to] our prosperity, security and democratic values by our most serious competitor: China.” “We’ll confront China’s economic abuses, counter its aggressive, coercive actions, and push back on China’s attack on human rights, intellectual property and global governance,” he said. “We’ll compete from a position of strength, by build

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday accused China of “genocide and crimes against humanity” for the country’s treatment of Uygur Muslims in its far-western region of Xinjiang.  The statements came on his last full day as America’s top diplomat. Pompeo’s accusations include arbitrary imprisonment of more than a million Uygurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang, as well as torture and forced labor inflicted on these groups.  They are also consistent with comments President-elect Joe Biden has made. Pompeo said:  “Since at least March 2017, local authorities [in China] dramatically escalated their decades-long campaign of repression against Uygur Muslims and

There has been mounting pressure on celebrities to avoid angering Beijing and Chinese netizens, and risk losing access to China’s lucrative market, with a growing number falling afoul of Chinese fans and regulators for remarks deemed politically incorrect in the past year. BTS K-pop sensation BTS was the latest to spark boycott calls in China, after the group’s leader Kim Nam-joon, known as RM, delivered a speech last month about remembering the “history of pain” and “sacrifices” by the US and South Korea during the Korean war. The comments drew backlash from Chinese netizens, who took to social media to complain that BTS had not acknowledged Chinese suffering during the war. The Korean war,

Donald Trump’s earlier moves to sanction Hong Kong officials and end the city’s special trade status are unlikely to be rolled back, even if his challenger Joe Biden secures the US presidency, political watchers say. But while Biden was expected to press on with tough policies against China – especially in relation to technology and the economy – he was less likely to use Hong Kong as a pawn than his predecessor, and would be more inclined to return to diplomatic norms in the United States’ ongoing tussles with China, they added. “Biden will still have to deal with some of Trump’s legacies,” said Wilson Chan Wai-shun, secretary general of the Global Studies Institute (Hong Kong) think tank,

Every morning since September, Frank Fu has started the day with a cup of coffee and news about the US presidential election. Fu, 45, a business analyst with an American financial institution in Beijing, has never been so keen to follow an election. Although he lives behind “the Great Firewall” along with most of China’s 1.4 billion people, whose access to foreign media is largely blocked, Fu tries to form a picture of what future US-China trade relations will look like despite the mostly censored and limited information available domestically. “As far as I know, many Chinese like me have an unprecedented interest in the election because China’s fate will be more intertwined with the United

Four Hong Kong activists entered the US consulate on Tuesday afternoon in a dramatic bid for asylum. The drama took place just hours after the city’s police national security unit arrested the former leader of a pro-independence group as he was planning a similar move at the diplomatic mission. A South China Morning Post reporter saw the four running toward the consulate and talking to security guards at the entrance before they were allowed into the compound. It is understood that they were later rejected, but there was no official confirmation. Sources said mainland Chinese officials in Hong Kong were aware of their attempt and closely monitoring what could have erupted into a major diplo

Taiwan’s ability to strike back at a potential attack from mainland China has received a further boost after the US approved its second arms sale to the island in a week, to boost its coastal defenses. The Taiwanese defense minister said the deal would help the island achieve its goal of being able to destroy half of any invading force. In a statement on Monday, the US state department said it had notified Congress of its approval for the $2.4 billion package, which includes 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, 100 launcher transporters, radar and support systems. The arms deal is the ninth approved since Donald Trump became president in 2017. According to the state department, Taiwan will be abl