China is warning of retaliation as the European Union moves forward with an aggressive plan to reindustrialize the continent and wall off key sectors from foreign competitors — particularly Beijing.
At the center of the brewing dispute is the Industrial Accelerator Act, also known as the &#8220;Made In Europe Act,&#8221; a sweeping proposal from the European Commission that would require a significant share of products in strategic industries to be made in Europe when public money is involved.
European officials argue the move is long overdue, as businesses across the bloc have complained they are competing against heavily subsidized Chinese firms — particularly in sectors like electric vehicles, batteries, and industrial materials. <a href="https://www.euronews.com/business/2026/04/27/china-slams-made-in-europe-push-mulls-retaliation">According</a> to EU Industry Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné, the act “will create jobs by directing taxpayers’ money to European production, decreasing our dependencies and enhancing our economic security and sovereignty.”
The proposal would impose strict domestic content requirements across strategic industries. Electric vehicles purchased with public funds, for example, would need to be assembled in Europe, with up to 70% of components sourced within the bloc. Similar thresholds would apply to materials like aluminum, cement, and key clean energy technologies.
It also directly targets foreign firms — primarily ubiquitous Chinese manufacturers — by requiring them to partner with European companies, limit ownership stakes, and in some cases transfer valuable technology in order to access EU markets or subsidies.
That has drawn a sharp response from Beijing: “If the EU &#8230; presses ahead with the legislation, and thereby harms the interests of Chinese companies, China will have no choice but to take countermeasures to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its enterprises,” China’s Ministry of Commerce of the People&#8217;s Republic of China <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260427-china-warns-eu-made-in-europe-plan-countermeasures">warned</a> in a statement.
Chinese officials have accused the EU of erecting discriminatory barriers and violating principles of the World Trade Organization, arguing that the “European preference” system unfairly shuts foreign competitors out of public funding and investment opportunities.
The legislation is part of a broader “European preference” strategy aimed at reversing years of industrial decline. European officials say more than 200,000 jobs have already been lost in energy-intensive industries and the automotive sector since 2024, with hundreds of thousands more projected this decade.
At the same time, China has expanded its export footprint across European markets while building factories that EU officials say generate limited local economic benefit. “They come, build on European land, and run operations with minimal local value,” one EU official <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/what-is-eus-draft-made-europe-law-2026-02-17/#:~:text=Makers%20of%20electric%20vehicles%20bought,will%20negotiate%20the%20final%20law.">said</a>. “Europe is not a supermarket — it has to be a factory.”
Beyond procurement rules, the proposal would impose strict conditions on foreign investment in strategic sectors, particularly targeting countries like China that dominate global manufacturing capacity. Investments exceeding €100 million could face caps on foreign ownership, mandatory technology transfers, and requirements that a substantial share of production and employment remain within Europe.
Chinese officials say they are open to negotiations but have made clear that retaliation remains on the table if talks fail, underscoring a growing economic rift between Brussels and Beijing as Europe joins the United States in reassessing its reliance on Chinese manufacturing.
The plan is not without critics within the Union, Sweden and the Czech Republic have warned the measures could deter investment and raise costs, while Germany has urged a more flexible approach that allows cooperation with allied trade partners. The proposal must still pass through the European Parliament and member states before becoming law, setting up a contentious political fight within the bloc.
Regardless of the final outcome, the direction is clear: Europe is moving to reclaim its industrial base, even at the risk of escalating tensions with China. Beijing, for its part, seems to be prepared to respond in kind.

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Europe And China Enter A High-Stakes Game Of Economic Chess

Communist China

Europe

Global Politics

A pair of giant pandas will make their way to America as part of a ten-year agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association, according to a statement from China on Friday. The male, Ping Ping, and the female, Fu Shuang, will relocate to Zoo Atlanta, becoming the third zoo in the United States to currently house the animals.
The announcement comes just weeks before President Donald Trump is set to visit Beijing, where he will meet with China’s President Xi Jinping.
Specific departure dates have not yet been given, but the zoo is currently working on facility upgrades and preparation work for the pandas&#8217; arrival, per the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-us-pandas-zoo-atlanta-743549119313ddeea6b1d838f76fe8b3">statement</a>.
Zoo Atlanta <a href="https://zooatlanta.org/two-new-giant-pandas-are-expected-to-arrive-at-zoo-atlanta/">said</a> Thursday that it was delighted and honored to be trusted to take care of the pandas. “We can’t wait to meet Ping Ping and Fu Shuang and to welcome our members, guests, city, and community back to the wonder and joy of giant pandas,” said the zoo’s president, Raymond B. King. 
The zoo cited a previous panda agreement with the association from 1999 to 2024, which &#8220;resulted in a highly productive 25 years of partnership,&#8221; where pandas Lun Lun and Yang Yang gave birth to seven cubs. They returned to China once the partnership concluded.
America was briefly &#8220;panda-less&#8221; in 2024 when several agreements ended, marking the first time without pandas in fifty years since the first pair arrived in 1972.
Pandas have long been a broader symbol of China&#8217;s ties to foreign nations, where the country loans them to strengthen its relationships; the animals are typically sent back when the agreement ends. &#8220;Panda diplomacy,&#8221; as it&#8217;s commonly called, has been a practice since the People&#8217;s Republic of China&#8217;s founding in 1949 and can conversely be used to show the nation&#8217;s negative feelings toward another country.
In 2010, China <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/what-is-chinas-panda-diplomacy-how-does-it-work-2024-06-18/#:~:text=Former%20Chinese%20leader%20Mao%20Zedong,opens%20new%20tab%20Read%20more">recalled</a> two pandas from Zoo Atlanta after warnings from the nation of a meeting between then-President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama. Though there was no formal statement on the matter, some speculated the timing reflected Beijing&#8217;s displeasure with Washington.
The San Diego Zoo and the Smithsonian’s National Zoo are the other two locations in the U.S. with pandas.

A Chinese Panda on a Tree

‘Panda Diplomacy’ Is Back And An American Zoo Just Hit The Jackpot

Animals

Atlanta

China

General

Panda

U.S.

A Republican candidate for governor in Massachusetts is facing renewed scrutiny over his role in bringing a Chinese state-owned manufacturer into the Boston subway system, a decision that represents both a financial debacle and a potential national security risk.
Brian Shortsleeve, who is running in a three-way GOP campaign ahead of the September 1 primary election, has built much of his campaign around his tenure as chief administrator of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. But newly surfaced research obtained exclusively by The Daily Wire is casting that record in a harsher light, focusing on a $277 million contract awarded during his leadership to China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation, or CRRC.
At the time, Shortsleeve defended the deal as fiscally responsible. “The decision we made today was a good business decision,” he said in December 2016, touting the new Chinese-built subway cars as a cost-saving measure for the struggling transit system. He also appeared at a 2016 ceremony marking construction at CRRC’s Springfield facility, publicly celebrating the partnership.
That relationship has since become a liability, with the project becoming plagued by delays and mechanical issues, and only a fraction of the promised cars delivered years behind schedule. In 2023, CRRC reportedly submitted unfinished cars for inspection, and in August 2025, federal agents detained several new MBTA subway car shells at the Port of Philadelphia amid an investigation into potential forced labor connections.
Security concerns surrounding CRRC have also grown over time. Lawmakers and industry experts have warned for years that Chinese state-owned rail manufacturers could pose a surveillance or sabotage threat to U.S. infrastructure. A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/14/business/chinese-train-national-security.html?unlocked_article_code=1.cVA.i653.VI8KwYILj5Dk&amp;smid=url-share">2019 report</a> in The New York Times highlighted fears that subway cars built by CRRC might be equipped with technology capable of tracking passengers’ movements or communications.
Those concerns have been echoed at the federal level. In a <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/05/30/marco-rubio-dont-let-chinas-spies-near-the-nyc-subway/">2019 op-ed</a>, then Florida Senator Marco Rubio warned that CRRC is part of a broader effort by the Chinese Communist Party to expand its influence in critical infrastructure sectors, calling it “one tactic China is employing to supplant America.” Federal agencies have since classified CRRC among Chinese military-linked companies, and Congress has moved to restrict federal funding for transit projects involving such firms.
Independent research has reinforced those warnings. A <a href="https://www.rtands.com/passenger/intercity/crrcs-chief-obligation-is-to-the-chinese-state-report/">report</a> published in an industry magazine described CRRC as having “indelible ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” noting that executives often serve dual roles as corporate leaders and party officials. The company, the report found, operates in close alignment with Beijing’s industrial strategy, including efforts to dominate global transportation networks under initiatives like “Made in China 2025.”
Meanwhile, the Rail Security Alliance <a href="https://railsecurity.org/fiasco-mbtas-contract-with-crrc/">has called</a> the MBTA’s contract with CRRC a “fiasco,” citing delays, alleged coverups, and mechanical failures. The group and others have argued that Chinese state-owned enterprises benefit from heavy government subsidies, allowing them to undercut competitors and win contracts that may not serve long-term U.S. interests.
All of that is now intersecting with Shortsleeve’s political ambitions; the 53-year-old Marine veteran and Harvard MBA is positioning himself as a fiscal conservative capable of fixing Massachusetts’ economic challenges.
His business background has been emphasized in <a href="https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/02/19/brian-shortsleeve-governor-massachusetts-gop-baker-romney">local reporting</a>, and he argues that the state needs “a chief executive … that understands how to get costs under control, provide tax and regulatory relief and get jobs growing.”
But his record complicates that message. While he is now campaigning on a more hardline conservative platform—taking tough positions on immigration and energy policy and attacking Democratic Gov. Maura Healey—Shortsleeve’s political history reflects a more moderate, establishment trajectory. He worked closely with former Gov. Mitt Romney, serving as political director for his 2002 gubernatorial campaign and fundraising for both his 2008 and 2012 presidential runs.
Shortsleeve, a self-described “Cape Cod voter” and founder of venture capital firm M33 Growth, has donated to several Democrats in recent years, including members of Congress and state officials.
He has also shifted party affiliations over time, at one point registering as a Democrat before later switching between Independent and Republican. As recently as 2021, he moved to “unenrolled” status following January 6, before rejoining the Republican Party in 2023.
Political strategist Wendy Wakeman noted that Shortsleeve is now running “a little more Republican, a little more right” than in the past, as he competes in a primary shaped by the Trump-era GOP.
That dynamic leaves him in a delicate position. To win the nomination, he must appeal to a conservative base that has grown increasingly skeptical of establishment figures and foreign economic dealings, particularly those involving China. Yet to compete in a general election in deep-blue Massachusetts, he would likely need to regain support from moderates and independents.
The controversy over the MBTA’s CRRC contract underscores the tension at the heart of his candidacy. What was once presented as a pragmatic, cost-saving decision is now being reframed as a cautionary example of the risks tied to foreign state-owned enterprises—and a potential vulnerability for a candidate trying to redefine himself in a changing Republican Party.

mbta-brian-shortsleeve-fb

Three-Way GOP Race Heats Up As China Deal Haunts Hopeful

Elections

Massachusetts

Politics

Republican Party

U.S. authorities arrested a Chinese national at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City earlier this month who is accused of traveling to Nebraska and taking pictures of military aircraft near Offutt Air Force Base.
Tianrui Liang also allegedly planned to travel to Oklahoma to photograph more military aircraft at Tinker Air Force Base, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/chinese-national-arrested-jfk-after-allegedly-photographing-us-military-aircraft-nebraska-base?lid=zeskeho3ui7f">reported</a>. The 21-year-old Chinese national is charged with violating U.S. law prohibiting people from photographing or sketching defense installations, according to court documents.
Authorities were first alerted to suspicious activity near Offutt Air Force Base after a person witnessed &#8220;a male holding a camera with a telescopic lens&#8221; near the military installation, according to an FBI affidavit.
Offutt Air Force Base is one of the most sensitive military installations in the United States and is the home of U.S. Strategic Command, which is <a href="https://www.stratcom.mil/About/#:~:text=Air%20Force%20Global%20Strike%20Command,United%20States%20and%20Combatant%20Commanders.">responsible</a> for nuclear defense and global strike operations. The base also hosts some of the U.S. military&#8217;s most powerful reconnaissance aircraft, including the E-4B &#8220;Nightwatch,&#8221; or &#8220;doomsday plane,&#8221; which is designed for military leaders or the president to use in the case of a nuclear war.
Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City is home to the Air Force Sustainment Center, which focuses on maintaining the Air Force&#8217;s &#8220;Weapons System Readiness.&#8221;
Liang was charged in Nebraska on April 3 and was arrested at JFK International Airport four days later. Liang was taken into custody just before he boarded a plane for Frankfurt, Germany, after which he planned to fly to Glasgow, Scotland, according to court documents. The Chinese national was in the United States on a non-immigrant B1/B2 visa, which authorizes temporary travel to America for foreign tourists or people on business trips or visiting family.
Liang told authorities at the airport that he had been previously questioned by law enforcement over the allegations, according to court documents.
Multiple Chinese nationals have been arrested in recent years for taking pictures near U.S. military bases. In August 2023, five Chinese nationals who were former students at the University of Michigan were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/5-chinese-nationals-accused-of-photographing-michigan-military-facility">caught</a> taking pictures of military equipment during joint training exercises between the National Guard and the Taiwanese military at Camp Grayling in northern Michigan, according to authorities.
Last December, a Chinese national was arrested for taking videos of B-2 Spirit stealth bombers at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. He also took numerous photos of military equipment and the base&#8217;s perimeter fencing, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmo/pr/chinese-national-charged-unlawfully-photographing-air-force-base-and-vital-military">according</a> to the Justice Department.

Chinese man photography

A Chinese Man Was Just Caught Photographing The U.S. Military’s ‘Doomsday’ Plane

Crime

Espionage

Nebraska

Oklahoma

U.S. Air Force

U.S. Military

Huawei, China’s answer to Nvidia, is rapidly expanding its AI technology into other countries and signaling a rapid acceleration in the global AI race. It&#8217;s a move AI experts predicted would not occur. 
Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, South Africa, and Turkey will now be able to build on Huawei’s Model-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform, which includes AI models like DeepSeek. 
 Much like individual consumers who become dependent on Apple’s ecosystem, companies that build on Huawei’s models and cloud infrastructure risk becoming deeply tied to that platform. At scale, this creates a ripple effect — as companies that adopt Chinese technology may find it difficult to switch to American providers later.
The switching costs are anything but trivial. Migrating away from Huawei would require rewriting code, transferring massive datasets, and re-optimizing systems — making it difficult for countries to later pivot to U.S. providers. 
But it’s not just software expansion. Rolling out its cloud compute means rolling out the underlying infrastructure — hardware and chips. Former White House AI Czar David Sacks says that’s what he wants for the United States. “You just want everybody to be building on top of your technology stack.” He <a href="https://x.com/DavidSacks/status/1929592692318650429?s=20">says</a> that winning the AI race looks like 80% of the world using America’s tech stack — and losing looks like 80% of the world using China’s. 
Before Huawei&#8217;s expansion announcement, AI experts downplayed Huawei’s technology. In January of 2025, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and former Trump deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/trump-can-keep-americas-ai-advantage-china-chips-data-eccdce91">told</a> the Wall Street Journal that Huawei was &#8220;in no position to export chips at a meaningful scale.” 
Lennart Heim, former Lead on AI &amp; Compute at RAND&#8217;s Technology and Security Policy Center, <a href="https://x.com/ohlennart/status/1877391549316608254">said</a>, “I still don’t see Chinese AI chips being used much globally — or even in China. Not saying it won’t become an issue, but current evidence shows limited to no adoption both domestically and internationally.” Another advisor for RAND, a nonprofit think tank, Jimmy Goodrich, said China didn&#8217;t even have enough chips to meet its own demand.
Previously, Sacks and President Trump condemned Washington’s bureaucracy around the American tech stack, which he said resulted in businesses applying for licenses every time they sent a regulated chip. 
“The last administration was obsessed with imposing restrictions on AI, including extreme restrictions on its exports,” said President Trump. “As you know, they made it very difficult to export. This alienated American partners and drove even our friends into the arms of China and other countries.” 
In July of 2025, President Trump signed an executive order promoting the export of the American AI tech stack, including hardware, models, software, and applications, to “America’s friends.” 
Some people do not want China or the United States to advance in AI adoption. On Sunday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) hosted a rally protesting AI&#8217;s acceleration. In March, he proposed legislation along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) that called for a moratorium on AI data centers.

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China Makes Major Move To Challenge U.S. For Key Tech Dominance

Artificial Intelligence

Economy

Grace Jin Drexel hopes Donald Trump can get her father out of a Chinese prison.
 Mingri “Ezra” Jin is the pastor of Beijing&#8217;s Zion Church, one of China&#8217;s largest underground Christian churches. In October, he and 22 other church leaders were arrested and imprisoned as part of the Chinese Communist Party&#8217;s crackdown on independent churches. Drexel, an American citizen, told The Daily Wire that Trump has an opportunity to build on his &#8220;impressive&#8221; record of freeing hostages to advocate for her father&#8217;s freedom.
“This Eastertide season, President Trump has the unique opportunity and ability to secure the release of my father — building on his already impressive track record of freeing hostages — and show that he has not forgotten persecuted Christians,” Drexel told The Daily Wire. “My father, as a pastor, only wanted what Christians all over the world want: to worship our one and only God freely. We are so proud to have such a role model as a father and grandfather.”
Her comments come after a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Wednesday urged Trump to press Chinese President Xi Jinping on the treatment of Chinese Christians during his upcoming visit to China.
“We encourage you to advocate for their release and request the PRC to allow Mr. Jin to leave China, in addition to raising concerns regarding the ongoing unjust imprisonment and persecution of Christians, Tibetans, and Uyghurs, among other religious and ethnic minority groups across China,” the lawmakers wrote in a <a href="https://www.budd.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Letter-to-President-Trump-China-Religious-Persecution.pdf">letter</a> led by Senators Ted Budd (R-NC) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Reps. Riley Moore (R-WV) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY). 
The lawmakers also asked for the Trump administration to use visa restrictions and sanctions to target individuals responsible for locking up Christians and other religious minorities in China. 
“President Trump cares deeply about our great Christians around the world,&#8221; White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told The Daily Wire. &#8220;We do not comment on the president’s private conversations.&#8221;
Drexel, who testified about her father’s plight during a hearing by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in January, thanked the lawmakers for their advocacy. 
“I am so grateful for the letter by so many members of Congress from across the country that highlights that me and my father&#8217;s story resonates with so many,&#8221; she told The Daily Wire. &#8220;As a daughter, I want my father back with us in the U.S. and I hope that the leaders of both countries, both having daughters, will understand my family&#8217;s plight.&#8221;
Drexel <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/daughter-of-detained-pastor-warns-of-a-coming-wave-of-christian-persecution-in-communist-china">previously told</a> The Daily Wire that her father became a Christian after the brutal Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989. 
“When the country betrayed them in such a brutal way, it really was shocking, and they lost a sense of direction for my dad,” she told The Daily Wire. “He then found the sense of purpose and direction in Christianity, and he turned to Christ, and he realized that was the firm foundation that he needed in order to build his life upon.”
The initial wave of arrests targeting Christians occurred in October 2025, but <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-escalates-persecution-of-christians-with-more-shocking-arrests">another wave</a> began in January 2026 when police arrested at least seven people linked to Early Rain Covenant Church, a prominent evangelical Presbyterian church located in southwestern China.
The Trump administration previously condemned the arrest of Jin and other Christians. 
“This crackdown further demonstrates how the CCP exercises hostility towards Christians who reject Party interference in their faith and choose to worship at unregistered house churches,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in October 2025. “We call on the CCP to immediately release the detained church leaders and to allow all people of faith, including members of house churches, to engage in religious activities without fear of retribution.”

MixCollage-27-Mar-2026-12-37-PM-6166

Her Father Preached. Then Came The Arrest. Here’s How Trump Can Step In

Christian Persecution

Christianity

Donald Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Latin American leaders to Florida on Saturday to launch a new coalition against drug cartels, telling officials their countries had allowed gangs to seize territory and joking that he had no time to learn their languages.
Trump framed the effort as an aggressive campaign to confront drug cartels, citing them as a primary reason for ramping up U.S. involvement in Latin America, including a pressure campaign against Venezuela that culminated in the January capture of President Nicolas Maduro. At one point, Trump suggested the United States could use missiles against cartel leaders if partners requested it.
He also singled out Mexico as the center of cartel activity and predicted major political change in Cuba, saying the country was &#8220;very much at the end of the line&#8221; and repeating previous statements that Cuban officials are negotiating with him and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
At least a dozen leaders from Central America, South America and the Caribbean joined the &#8220;Shield of the Americas&#8221; summit, where Trump signed a proclamation launching the coalition.
&#8220;Leaders in this region have allowed large swaths of territory in the Western Hemisphere to come under the direct control of transnational gangs, and they&#8217;ve run areas of your country,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;We&#8217;re not gonna let that happen.&#8221;
In an opening speech that ran more than 30 minutes, Trump also touched on topics far beyond drug cartels, including Iran, Ukraine, Pakistan and India, political endorsements, Dominican sugar, building battleships, and the importance of interpreters.
Trump joked about language differences between himself and the mostly Spanish-speaking group of leaders. &#8220;I&#8217;m not learning your damn language,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t have time.&#8221;
Rubio, a son of Cuban immigrants, later delivered brief remarks in English and Spanish, while Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth echoed Trump&#8217;s stance.
&#8220;I only speak American,&#8221; Hegseth joked.
Trump has pushed to build a coalition of regional partners around a more forceful approach to combating drug cartels and organized crime. Saturday&#8217;s event also gave him an opportunity to project strength closer to home as the war with Iran escalates and threatens to push up global oil and gas prices.
Earlier in the day, Trump said Iran would be &#8220;hit very hard&#8221; on Saturday and that he was considering widening the areas and groups of people targeted, without providing details.
Among those who attended the summit were Argentine President Javier Milei, Chile&#8217;s President-elect Jose Antonio Kast and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, whose gang crackdown, criticized by human rights groups, has become a model for parts of Latin America&#8217;s right.
Politicians from across the region have toured Bukele&#8217;s sprawling &#8220;mega-prison&#8221;, where the United States last year deported more than 200 Venezuelans without trial.
Also in attendance was Honduran President Nasry Asfura, who narrowly won a disputed election with Trump&#8217;s backing, and Ecuador&#8217;s President Daniel Noboa, who has echoed parts of Trump&#8217;s economic agenda and recently announced joint operations with the U.S. in a military crackdown on drug trafficking.
Many of the leaders share Trump&#8217;s hardline view of crime and migration, favoring crackdowns over deeper social fixes and private business over the state. Their rise reflects a broader rightward turn in parts of Latin America at a time when the region is being pulled between Washington and Beijing.
Trump did not mention China specifically but warned that the United States would not allow &#8220;hostile foreign influence&#8221; to gain a foothold in the Western Hemisphere, including in the Panama Canal, a key global freight route.
The comments, while not explicit, come as Washington increasingly views Latin America through the lens of strategic competition with Beijing.
China’s trade with the region reached about $518 billion in 2024 and Beijing has extended more than $120 billion in loans to governments across the Western Hemisphere, according to Ryan Berg of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
China’s growing footprint — from satellite tracking facilities in Argentina to a Chinese-backed port in Peru and economic support for Venezuela — has long troubled U.S. officials.
In response, the Trump administration has pressed governments across the region to curb Beijing’s role in ports, energy projects and other strategic infrastructure.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Miami, Florida, David Brunnstrom in Washington and Sarah Morland in Mexico City; Additional reporting by Simon Lewis in Washington and Natalia Siniawski in Mexico City, Editing by Sergio Non, Himani Sarkar, Alex Richardson and Alistair Bell)

Trump Launches New America-Led Security Push To Crush Cartels, Counter China

Drug Cartels

South America

World

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether Microsoft makes it challenging for customers to use its products on rival cloud services.
After a report in July 2025 that Microsoft was employing China-based engineers for work on certain Pentagon cloud systems, the software company <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/microsoft-ends-use-china-based-computer-engineers-certain-defense-dept-projects-amid-espionage-fears">said</a> that it adjusted its policies to ensure that “no China-based engineering teams are providing technical assistance for DOD government cloud and related services.”
Will Hild, the executive director of Consumer’s Research, says the investigation is a good sign.
“Microsoft’s massive market power is finally being scrutinized by Trump’s FTC, and rightly so, as the company uses its dominant market share to push a radical, woke agenda while potentially engaging in anti-competitive behavior,” Hild told The Daily Wire.
Last year, Consumers’ Research issued a “woke alert” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/woke-alert-microsoft-slammed-for-race-based-pay-equity-scheme">highlighting</a> various activist-focused initiatives at Microsoft, <a href="https://consumersresearch.org/woke-alert/woke-alert-microsoft/">including</a> donations to transgender activist groups and “pay equity” analysis comparing pay based on race and sex.
“Consumers’ Research fully supports FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson and welcomes this antitrust investigation,” Hild said. “We hope it helps prevent corporate power from being abused to advance ideology at the expense of consumers.”
Joe Grogan, who led the Domestic Policy Council during Trump’s first term, said that an FTC investigation probing whether Microsoft employed anti-competitive practices was much needed.
“In the last year Microsoft has compromised American security by giving Chinese nationals access to cloud projects at the Pentagon,” he told The Daily Wire. “They&#8217;ve also signaled a strong willingness to bend to Europe&#8217;s anti-American digital services policies amid intense trade negotiations, all while pursuing anti-competitive practices to limit consumer choice. The administration is right to use its authority to hold them accountable.”
The comments from Grogan, the head of the nonprofit Public Policy Solutions, come as the FTC is looking into whether Microsoft makes it challenging for customers to use its products on rival cloud services.
Grogan also argued that Microsoft is <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/industry/sovereign-cloud/overview/european-digital-commitments">strengthening</a> its ties to Europe while the European Union implements the Digital Services Act, a sweeping speech-regulation law that allows authorities to penalize companies for failing to remove so-called misinformation or other content deemed illegal.

DailyWire Photo Illustration // Getty Images

Federal Trade Commission’s Microsoft Probe Draws Widespread Praise

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Executive

Federal Trade Commission

Microsoft

U.S. President Donald Trump will travel to China from March 31 to April 2 for a highly anticipated meeting between the leaders of the world&#8217;s two biggest economies, a trip announced as the Supreme Court overturned Trump&#8217;s sweeping tariffs on imported goods.
A White House official confirmed the trip on Friday, just before the highest U.S. court dealt Trump a stinging defeat by striking down many of the tariffs he has used in a global trade war, including some against rival China.
Trump&#8217;s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on an extended visit to Beijing had been expected to revolve around extending a trade truce that kept both countries from further hiking tariffs.
But the Supreme Court&#8217;s reversal created new questions for tense U.S.-China relations that had recently stabilized after Trump trimmed tariffs on Chinese goods, in exchange for measures from Beijing, including cracking down on the illicit fentanyl trade and pausing export restrictions on critical minerals.
Twenty-percent tariffs on China&#8217;s U.S.-bound exports were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, which the court ruled Trump had overstepped. Those tariffs were tied to national emergencies related to fentanyl distribution and trade imbalances.
Other duties on Chinese goods, including those implemented under legislated trade authorities known as Section 301 and Section 232, remain in place.
It was not immediately clear how many of the tariffs Trump would restore, but he told a press conference that he would impose a new 10% global tariff for 150 days.
Trump&#8217;s last trip to China, in 2017, was the most recent by a U.S. president.
&#8220;That&#8217;s going to be a wild one,&#8221; Trump told foreign leaders visiting Washington on Thursday about the upcoming China visit. &#8220;We have to put on the biggest display you&#8217;ve ever had in the history of China.&#8221;
The Chinese embassy in Washington declined to comment on the dates of the trip, which were first reported by Reuters. Beijing has not confirmed the trip.
The Trump administration has said the global tariffs were necessary because of national emergencies related to trade imbalances that have weakened U.S. manufacturing.
Trump had already been &#8220;playing defense&#8221; in the trade war, given the effectiveness of Beijing&#8217;s threat to cut off rare earths, said Scott Kennedy, a China economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. The tariff defeat likely &#8220;cements his weakness in their eyes,&#8221; he said.
Chinese officials &#8220;like the direction of travel of the bilateral relationship in which the U.S. is diminished and they want to keep things from re-escalating,&#8221; Kennedy said.
Trump&#8217;s visit will be the leaders&#8217; first in-person talks since an October meeting in South Korea, where they agreed on the trade truce.
While the October meeting largely sidestepped the sensitive issue of Taiwan, Xi raised U.S. arms sales to the island when the two leaders spoke this month.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a position Taipei rejects. The U.S., bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, has formal diplomatic ties with China, but it maintains unofficial ties with Taiwan and is the island&#8217;s most important arms supplier.
Washington announced its largest-ever arms sale approval with Taiwan in December, including $11.1 billion in weapons that could ostensibly be used to defend against a Chinese attack. Taiwan expects more such sales.
Xi also said during the February call that he would consider further increasing soybean purchases, according to Trump. Struggling U.S. farmers are a major political constituency for Trump, and China is the top soybean consumer. Analysts said on Friday that China may be less likely to follow through on another big purchase of U.S. soybeans after the Supreme Court ruling.
Although Trump has justified hawkish policy steps from Canada to Greenland and Venezuela as necessary to thwart China, he has eased policy toward Beijing in the past several months in areas from tariffs to advanced computer chips and drones.
The global trade war Trump initiated after he began his second term as president in January 2025 has alienated other trading partners, including allies.
Critics had argued that imposing steep tariffs on countries across the board actually insulated Beijing from the tariff barrage and reduced incentives to move supply chains out of China.
Friday&#8217;s ruling could indirectly increase pressure on Beijing if the effective tariff rates on other countries, particularly in Southeast Asia, fall more than those on China, said Martin Chorzempa, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics.
&#8220;Unlike with many other countries, there is a well-established, much more legally durable mechanism for most of the tariffs on China that make them less affected than those on other countries,&#8221; Chorzempa said.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Michael Martina; Additional reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Andrei Khalip, Colleen Jenkins, Rod Nickel, Patricia Zengerle)

Donald Trump, Xi Jinping

Trump To Travel To China In March, With Tariffs In Focus

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Mayor Eileen Wang of Arcadia, California, declined to comment on her former fiancé’s conviction at the first City Council meeting since his sentencing, despite previously acknowledging their relationship.
Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-election-interference-california-yaoning-mike-sun-d514395039bea63a8c7b8814d29d1aaa">sentenced</a> on February 10 to four years in federal prison after pleading guilty in October 2025 to acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China without notifying the U.S. attorney general, as required by law. His guilty plea was entered and sentence imposed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Prosecutors <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/political-operative-sentenced-48-months-federal-prison-acting-covert-agent-peoples-republic">alleged</a> that from at least 2022, when Wang said she became a Democrat, to January 2024, Sun “knowingly acted within the United States as an agent of the PRC and officials of its government — without notifying the Attorney General,” a violation of federal law designed to expose foreign influence operations. 
Sun <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/chino-hills-covert-agent-china-political-advisor-yaoning-sun-john-chen/">worked</a> as the campaign advisor to a candidate identified in court filings as “Individual 1,” who was elected to a Southern California city council seat in November 2022. While the individual was not named in court papers, Sun was listed as a campaign treasurer for Wang, then an Arcadia City Council candidate, on a 2022 campaign statement filing.
During a December 2022 Arcadia City Council meeting, Wang publicly praised Sun while referring to him as her fiancé. “To my fiancé, Mike Sun, who walked streets with me every single day, who is a real leader of me,” she said at the time. 
After Sun was indicted and charged, Wang sought to distance herself from that earlier characterization. In September 2025, she said, “No. 1, he’s not my fiancé. Whoever wants to say he’s my former fiancé, please prove it.” 
Sun’s conviction stems from what prosecutors describe as extensive covert activity on behalf of the Chinese government, including the dissemination of pro-Beijing propaganda and surveillance of individuals and groups that China viewed as adversarial. According to federal prosecutors, his duties included efforts to counter pro-Taiwan independence advocacy and influence public opinion through a purported local news site. 
According to the Department of Justice, Sun &#8220;closely surveilled the then-President of Taiwan during her April 2023 visit to Southern California, reporting directly to PRC officials on her movements.&#8221; 
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg condemned Sun’s activities, saying he “received and executed taskings from Chinese government officials, distorted our public discourse by disseminating Chinese propaganda, and surveilled groups in the United States that China viewed as threatening its interests as part of a campaign of intimidation.” 
Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division also released a statement at the time of sentencing: “When Americans vote for elected officials, they expect them to represent the interests of their constituents — not those of a foreign adversary like the Chinese government,” he said. “By exploiting his position as a campaign advisor, Yaoning Sun attempted to undermine our political processes and democratic institutions for the benefit of the Chinese Communist Party.” 
At the council meeting following Sun’s sentencing, Wang declined to address questions about his conviction or their prior relationship. Wang has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with the case, and prosecutors have not charged her with any offense. However, her prior public references to Sun — and subsequent denials of that relationship — have drawn scrutiny in local and national media coverage. 
Federal prosecutions of unregistered foreign agents are part of broader U.S. counterintelligence efforts to stem covert influence operations on domestic political processes. Criminal filings in this case made clear that individuals acting at the direction of foreign governments are required by law to register with the U.S. Attorney General, a requirement Sun failed to meet. 
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Washington Prepares For Arrival Of Chinese President Hu Jintao

From City Hall Praise To Silent Treatment: Dem Mayor’s China Agent Problem

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The United States has presented new seismic data to substantiate its allegations that China tested a nuclear device in 2020, violating an international agreement against such tests.
A seismic monitoring station in Kazakhstan registered a 2.75 magnitude seismic event on June 22, 2020, the date that Washington has said Beijing tested a nuclear device in northwest China. The reading may be minor, but it picked up on an event that happened over 450 miles away, according to Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Yeaw.
“There is very little possibility that it is anything other than an explosion, a singular explosion,” Yeaw said on Tuesday, according to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/02/17/nx-s1-5716046/u-s-releases-new-details-on-alleged-secret-chinese-nuclear-test">NPR</a>. “It is quite consistent with what you would expect from a nuclear explosive test.”
Yeaw said that the event that was measured in Kazakhstan originated from Lop Nor, long recognized as one of China’s main nuclear test sites.
The revelation of the seismic data comes as the United States is pushing China to join in nuclear talks between Washington and Moscow. Earlier this month, an arms treaty that limited nuclear weapons <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nuclear-caps-gone-as-u-s-russia-treaty-expires">expired</a> between the United States and Russia.
President Donald Trump said last year that China and Russia have conducted secret nuclear weapon tests. Trump said that the United States would begin testing, too.
“Russia’s testing, and China’s testing, but they don’t talk about it. You know, we’re an open society. We’re different. We talk about it. We have to talk about it, because otherwise you people are going to report,” the president said during an interview with “60 Minutes.” “We’re going to test, because they test and others test.”
Days after the CBS interview, the president <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-announces-major-decision-on-nuclear-weapons">announced</a> that he had directed the Department of War to begin conducting nuclear tests.
“The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country,” the president said in a Truth Social <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115499324245510580">post</a>. “This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term. Because of other countries [sic] testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis.”
In a video message, Trump added, “Because of the tremendous destructive power, I hated to do it, having to do with nuclear weapons, but I really had no choice. Russia is second in line, and China is a distant third, but will be even within five years.”

Trump Admin Reveals Seismic Data To Confirm Secret Chinese Nuclear Tests

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A man who once worked for the current mayor of a California city was sentenced to four years in prison for covertly spreading Chinese Communist Party propaganda.
Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, was sentenced to 48 months in prison on Monday by U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner for acting as an illegal agent for China from 2022 to 2024. Sun once worked on the city council campaign of Democrat Eileen Wang, the current mayor of the Southern California city of Arcadia.
“For years, Sun received and executed taskings from Chinese government officials, distorted our public discourse by disseminating Chinese propaganda, and surveilled groups in the United States that China viewed as threatening its interests as part of a campaign of intimidation,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg. 
“His conduct represents a brazen violation of our national sovereignty. This sentence reflects our commitment to prosecuting those who would extend the authoritarian reach of the Chinese government on U.S. soil,&#8221; he added.
During his time working as an agent for China, Sun submitted reports to Chinese officials highlighting his work to counter the Falun Gong minority and pro-Taiwanese independence forces and “helping to elect a like-minded individual (&#8216;Individual 1&#8217;) to political office in Southern California,” according to the Justice Department sentencing memo.
While “Individual 1” was not identified in court documents, both the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-02-10/sentence-chinese-spy-helped-elect-council-member">Los Angeles Times</a> and the <a href="https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2026/02/09/chino-hills-man-advisor-for-arcadia-leader-sentenced-to-prison-for-acting-as-unregistered-agent-for-china/">Pasadena Star-News</a> reported sources confirmed this person was Wang. Campaign documents <a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-election-interference-california-yaoning-mike-sun-d514395039bea63a8c7b8814d29d1aaa">listed</a> Sun as Wang’s campaign treasurer. Wang, who has not been charged with any crimes, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While her position is officially non-partisan, filings show that Wang switched from identifying as a <a href="https://laserfiche.arcadiaca.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=866849&amp;dbid=0&amp;repo=CityofArcadia">Republican</a> to a <a href="https://laserfiche.arcadiaca.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=866847&amp;dbid=0&amp;repo=CityofArcadia">Democrat</a>. The Los Angeles Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-12-21/who-is-the-politician-at-the-center-of-the-latest-chinese-influence-scandal">reported</a> the switch was motivated by housing policies.
In one of his reports to Chinese officials, Sun said that he had “orchestrated and organized my team to win the election for city council” for “Individual 1,” whom he described as a “new political star.”
“Throughout 2022, defendant also worked as the campaign advisor for Individual 1, who was running for City Council in a Southern California city. Individual 1 was elected to the City Council in November 2022,” the sentencing memo said.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Sun was Wang’s fiancé and that he helped bring in donations from sources tied to the Chinese government. Wang previously said she ended her romantic relationship with Sun about eight months before he faced federal charges.
“We broke up the fiancé relationship,” Wang <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-05-02/china-allegedly-tried-to-influence-this-politician-she-says-shes-not-going-anywhere">said</a> in April 2025. “We keep the friendship.”
Additionally, Sun spied on then-Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in April 2023 when she visited the United States, and he published a website “targeting the local Chinese-American population&#8221; at the direction of PRC Consulate officials, according to the sentencing memo.
Investigators said that Sun worked with John Chen, a “high-level member of the PRC intelligence apparatus,” who previously pleaded guilty to acting as a foreign agent for China. Chen was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/california-man-sentenced-acting-illegal-agent-prc-government-and-bribery">sentenced</a> for his efforts to repress U.S.-based practitioners of Falun Gong, a persecuted religious minority in China.
In one report submitted to Chinese officials, Sun said he had been in the United States since 1996 to “persist in resisting any hostile forces that undermine the friendship of US-China relations.&#8221;
The House Select Committee on China said the sentencing should serve as a warning for the United States.
&#8220;This case is what the Select Committee has warned for years: the Chinese Communist Party is actively targeting U.S. political systems, all the way down to local elections,&#8221; the committee <a href="https://x.com/ChinaSelect/status/2021270689332764734">said</a>. &#8220;A China-directed agent orchestrated efforts to elect a city council candidate, pushed CCP propaganda through a fake local news outlet, and reported directly to PRC officials, all while on U.S. soil.&#8221;

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Man Who Worked For California Mayor Sentenced To Prison For Spreading CCP Propaganda

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