Following Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s trip to the United States last week, the Chinese military is simulating attacks on “key targets” in Taiwan in a second day of drills many experts believe are intended to intimidate the small island nation. 
On Friday, Tsai returned from her visit to America, during which she met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) – the highest-level meeting between a sitting Taiwanese president and American official <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/07/china/china-taiwan-military-exercises-hnk-intl-ml/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ever</a> to take place on American soil – prompting strong warnings from Beijing. The Chinese military began three days of drills on Saturday, even rehearsing an “encirclement” of the island. 
&#8220;Under the unified command of the theatre joint operations command center, multiple types of units carried out simulated joint precision strikes on key targets on Taiwan island and the surrounding sea areas, and continue to maintain an offensive posture around the island,&#8221; Chinese state TV <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-says-it-is-monitoring-chinas-drills-around-taiwan-closely-2023-04-08/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Sunday. 
According to the Taiwan Defense Ministry, 11 Chinese navy ships and 71 Chinese warplanes were spotted around Taiwan on Sunday, with 45 planes <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/07/china/china-taiwan-military-exercises-hnk-intl-ml/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> entering Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Saturday. State media claimed the aircraft were armed with live weapons, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-says-it-is-monitoring-chinas-drills-around-taiwan-closely-2023-04-08/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, which Taiwanese planes also employ when attempting to scramble Chinese jets. 
Along the Taiwan Strait median line – an unofficial buffer between Taiwan and Communist China – sits roughly ten Taiwanese ships and ten Chinese ships in a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-says-it-is-monitoring-chinas-drills-around-taiwan-closely-2023-04-08/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">standoff</a>, a security source told Reuters. 
Taiwan is not China’s only target, another source familiar with the situation told Reuters. China has also reportedly been conducting air and sea attack simulations on “foreign military targets” off the southwestern coast of Taiwan. “It’s very provocative,” the source told the outlet.
This is the first time Communist China has openly talked about simulated attacks on specific Taiwanese targets in such a manner, Zhao Xiaozhuo from China’s Academy of Military Sciences told the Global Times, a state-run newspaper. Zhao also clarified what “key targets” might mean, adding that military logistics outfits, runways, and mobile targets are included, Reuters reported. 
Zhao also reportedly told the Global Times that China would “annihilate&#8221; the targets &#8220;in one fell swoop if necessary.” 
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The de facto United States embassy in Taiwan released a statement saying it felt &#8220;comfortable and confident&#8221; in America&#8217;s ability to keep peace and ensure stability in the region, adding the situation is being monitored closely.
Last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken <a href="https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2023/04/05/chinese-unilateral-action-on-taiwan-would-hit-literally-every-country-on-earth-blinken-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Euronews in an interview before the Chinese drills began that if China were to attack Taiwan, it would have far-reaching implications. 
&#8220;I heard this in conversations with many of our NATO allies as well as partners in Asia: there is concern that, were there to be a crisis as a result of China&#8217;s actions over Taiwan, that would have repercussions for quite literally every country on earth,&#8221; Blinken said.
China has continuously provoked Taiwan, especially since the election of Tsai, whose Democratic Progressive Party favors remaining independent from the communist country. Following Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) trip to Taiwan in August, China employed numerous provocative measures, including sending Chinese planes and ships in and near the Taiwan Strait, with 21 of them entering Taiwan’s air defense zone.
At the Chinese Communist Party Congress in October, President Xi Jinping called for “reunification” with Taiwan and claimed the communist nation is willing to use force to achieve it, saying they “reserve the option of taking all measures necessary,” The Daily Wire previously reported.  
“The wheels of history are rolling on towards China’s reunification and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” Xi said in his opening address at the party congress. “Complete reunification of our country must be realized.”

TAIWAN-CHINA-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-MILITARY

China Simulates ‘Precision Strikes’ On ‘Key’ Targets In Taiwan After President’s U.S. Visit

China

Communist China

Global Politics

Kevin McCarthy

Taiwan

World

Xi Jinping

Way off in the Land Down Under, former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/barack-obama" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barack Obama</a> blamed his White House successor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> for China&#8217;s increasingly antagonistic behavior.
Obama talked foreign policy during a paid speaking tour appearance Tuesday in Sydney — part of a lucrative arrangement that reportedly could net him <a href="https://twitter.com/9NewsSyd/status/1640424665033130010" target="_blank" rel="noopener">upwards of $1 million</a>.
In talking with former Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, Obama said Chinese leader Xi Jinping has a &#8220;forceful and confident&#8221; demeanor, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11910877/Barack-Obama-reveals-crush-Qantas-flight-attendant.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> reporting by Daily Mail Australia and NCA Newswire.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Barack Obama has kicked off his speaking tour in Australia with an attack on Donald Trump | 7NEWS" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/chpoe2dQpWE?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The Democrat said China began to change &#8220;once I left office&#8221; in 2017 when Trump entered the White House following his victory over Obama&#8217;s preferred candidate Hillary Clinton.
&#8220;With my successor coming in, I think he saw an opportunity because the U.S. president didn&#8217;t seem to care that much about a rules-based international system,&#8221; Obama said of Xi.
&#8220;And so as a consequence, I think China&#8217;s attitude as well, we can take advantage of what appears to be a vacuum internationally on a lot of these issues,&#8221; Obama said.
Even as he worked to <a href="https://www.axios.com/2019/05/05/trump-china-tariffs-25-percent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strike a deal</a>, Trump waged a trade war against China during his four years in office, which included steep tariffs on imports in what he said was an effort to reverse a deficit that disadvantaged the United States. In Trump&#8217;s stated view, it was his predecessors, including Obama, who allowed China to become so powerful.
&#8220;They took advantage of us for many, many years,&#8221; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1MHh4uAd1c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump told</a> Fox News host Steve Hilton in 2019. &#8220;And I blame us, I don&#8217;t blame them. I don&#8217;t blame President Xi. I blame all of our presidents, and not just President Obama. You go back a long way. You look at President Clinton, Bush — everybody. They allowed this to happen, they created a monster. We rebuilt China because they get so much money.&#8221;
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Now, more than two years into the presidency of Joe Biden, who served under Obama as vice president, U.S. intelligence officials are warning that China has <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-worldwide-threats-hearing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">become the biggest national security threat</a> to the United States. Last week, more than a year into Russia&#8217;s war in Ukraine, Xi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, where they struck deals that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/xi-flaunts-chinas-deepening-bond-with-russia-during-talks-with-putin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">further cemented economic ties</a> between their two countries.
During the event in Australia, Obama reportedly observed that relations between the United States and China are &#8220;significantly strained&#8221; and predicted that tensions are not &#8220;going to go away anytime soon.&#8221;
&#8220;Nor should they, because I think there are some fundamental differences in terms of how we operate when you look at the South China Sea,&#8221; Obama said, referring to Beijing&#8217;s <a href="https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/territorial-disputes-south-china-sea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">territorial dispute</a> with many of its neighbors in Asia.
&#8220;The fact of the matter is, is that if China starts claiming what had previously been international waters that is going to make life difficult for its neighbors, and for everyone, long term, I don&#8217;t even think it&#8217;s going to be good for China,&#8221; Obama said.

Barack Obama

Obama Blames Trump For China’s Rise

Obama Blames Trump For China's Rise

Donald Trump

A new investigative <a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-foreign-influence-utah-legislature-mormon-church-921526d0c8eda2732c361488d20dd1b4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> published this week from the Associated Press found that China has been able to forge ties in Utah that have led to the communist nation scoring public relations and legislative victories in the state and from its lawmakers.
The report found that the Chinese &#8220;appealed&#8221; to the lawmaker&#8217;s ties to the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to win favor with them that they later used to score wins in a variety of areas, including delaying legislation that took action against Chinese propaganda, canceling resolutions that condemned China, and promoted false positive images of China. The report said the church has &#8220;long dreamed of expanding in China.&#8221;
“Utah is an important foothold,” said Frank Montoya Jr., a retired FBI counterintelligence agent who lives in the state. “If the Chinese can succeed in Salt Lake City, they can also make it in New York and elsewhere.”
Lawmakers delayed the closing of Chinese-funded Confucius Institutes, which are propaganda entities, at state universities by one year.
A letter exchange coordinated by a Chinese teacher in Utah resulted in fourth-grade students getting correspondence from Chinese President Xi Jinping thanking them for cards the teacher had them send him. The incident was used by Chinese state media to portray Xi as a warm grandfather figure when he is actually a brutal dictator who has forced tens of thousands into concentration camps. Some state lawmakers gushed over the cards that Xi sent the children, the report noted.
China&#8217;s civilian spy agency, the Ministry of State Security (MSS), has also been focused on Utah, the report said, noting that there have been multiple people convicted of spying for China in the state.
The report said that groups of up to a couple of dozen Utah lawmakers have been taking trips to China every other year since 2007 and they make remarks while visiting that are later used by state media for propaganda.
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The report alleged that two men, Taowen Le, a Chinese professor who moved to the U.S. in the late 90s; and Dan Stephenson, the son of a former state senator and employee of a China-based consulting firm; were responsible for much of China&#8217;s increased activity in the state.

China Influences Utah Lawmakers By Appealing To Mormonism: Report

Propaganda

Utah

Paging Dr. Freud, you&#8217;re needed in the West Wing.
President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> spent the last couple of days visiting his ol&#8217; comrade and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Friday afternoon, the leader of the free world went to thank his host country for their new commitment to accept 150,000 individuals from Latin America.
Only, it didn&#8217;t come out the way he planned —and as Freudian slips go, it was a big one.
&#8220;Today, I applaud China for stepping up,&#8221; Biden said before Parliament. &#8220;Excuse me, I applaud Canada.&#8221;
Unfortunately, the error caused his audience to laugh in his face.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Biden: &quot;I applaud China&#8230;excuse me, I applaud Canada.&quot;<a href="https://t.co/q3CPwoGGQI">pic.twitter.com/q3CPwoGGQI</a>
&mdash; Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1639361323157839875?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Considering the Biden family&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-family-got-over-a-million-from-china-but-nobody-in-the-democrat-media-complex-cares" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mysterious financial connections</a> to the Chinese Communist Party, this administration&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidens-america-chinese-spy-balloons-in-the-sky-chinese-fentanyl-on-the-ground" target="_blank" rel="noopener">feckless diplomacy</a> toward the country, and even White House climate czar John Kerry&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/john-kerry-blames-recent-covid-bout-for-failed-climate-change-talks-with-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dogged determination to make China his bestie</a>, it is easy to see how — and why — Biden would want to thank China for whatever it was Biden was thinking about.
As for Trudeau, he doesn&#8217;t have much ground to stand on when it comes to standing up to China.
Readers might remember that last fall, CCP leader Xi Jinping essentially dog-walked the Canadian leader at the G20 Summit.
In one video, Trudeau could be seen sheepishly standing there as a stone-faced Xi dressed him down for their conversation leaking to the press.
&#8220;Everything we discussed has been leaked to the papers and that is not appropriate,&#8221; he said according to a translator.
Trudeau responded, &#8220;&#8230; in Canada we believe in free and open and frank dialogue and that is what we will continue to have.&#8221;
&#8220;We will continue to look to work constructively together but there will be things we disagree on, and you will have to &#8230;&#8221; he added before Xi cut him off and didn&#8217;t let him finish his thought.
The mere text of the exchange doesn&#8217;t do it justice. It must be seen to be believed:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Xi Jinping confronts Justin Trudeau at G20 over &#039;leaked&#039; conversation details" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4YkzzhI2EoI?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
As for Biden, the verbal miscue is the latest in a long line of public displays that have the whole world laughing: First, it was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/saudi-arabian-media-releases-video-mocking-biden-as-senile-harris-played-by-a-man-in-drag" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Saudis</a>, then the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-australian-news-bursts-out-laughing-at-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australians</a>, and now the Canadians.
Can it get any worse than this, eh?
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

March 24, 2023. US President Joe Biden speaks during a joint press conference with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Sir John A. Macdonald Building in Ottawa, Canada, on M SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 22: Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during a meeting with five United States governors to discuss clean technology and economic development September 22, 2015 in Seattle, Washington. Xi is on his first state visit to the U.S.

Biden: ‘I Applaud China …  Excuse Me, I Applaud Canada’

Biden: ‘I Applaud China ...  Excuse Me, I Applaud Canada'

Canada

Chinese Communist Party

Executive

Joe Biden

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) slammed President Biden for his fecklessness in foreign policy, snapping that Biden “has put a kick me sign on the back of Uncle Sam.”
Cotton spoke of China’s attempts to become a power broker of diplomacy, Biden’s first year in office in which he appeased Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Biden’s tenure permitting Saudi Arabia to cozy up to Iran.
“Over the last two years, Joe Biden has put a kick me sign on the back of Uncle Sam,” Cotton began. “That’s just another lesson. When America recedes from the world, we don&#8217;t get peace and tranquility. We get chaos and war and adversaries acting against our interest.”
“Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are anti-American dictators,” he declared. “They didn’t need Joe Biden to give them overlapping interests, but Joe Biden has given them opportunity to exploit America&#8217;s receding from the world. You look in China, for instance. Joe Biden came into office saying China is not a competitor of ours, and what do we get? Them sending a spy balloon across America and rattling sabers against Taiwan or in Russia. Joe Biden spent his first year in office appeasing Vladimir Putin, and what do we get? We get the first or the biggest land war in Europe since WWII, and we get them downing our aircraft drone over the Black Sea.”
“These kind of weak actions provoke and beget more aggression from our adversaries,” he opined, “and now you see Xi Jinping strutting across the world stage and trying to establish himself as a broker of peace among countries. It just gets back to the basic rules of foreign affairs: either you run the show or the show runs you. We&#8217;ve been used to running the show for decades, but under Joe Biden we’re increasingly letting others run the show and let it run against us.”
After Fox News host Martha MacCallum pointed out that John Kirby, the coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council, admitted that Biden had no plans to speak to Jinping, Cotton asserted, “Again, this is an example of what happens when you recede from the world. Barely two years ago, former President Trump had helped broker peace for instance between Israel on the one hand and Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates and other Arab and African nations. We were hoping two years ago that we’d soon get a peace agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia brokered by the United States. Instead, under Joe Biden what we received is a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran.”
“All of these countries around the world that prefer to work with America, that have been longstanding partners of America like Saudi Arabia, like the United Arab Emirates, like Bahrain or Qatar on Jordan or Egypt have security needs. They have threats that they face primarily from Iran. Those security needs don&#8217;t go away when America goes away or when the Democratic Party turns its back on longstanding allies because they don&#8217;t like the fact that some of these countries oppose President Obama&#8217;s nuclear deal with Iran or that they worked with President Trump. Those security needs will be filled by other countries, our adversaries like China,” he concluded.
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Oversight of the Department of Justice

‘Has Put A Kick Me Sign On The Back Of Uncle Sam’: Cotton Rips Biden’s Weak Foreign Policy

Cotton Rips Biden’s Weak Foreign Policy

Foreign Policy

Iran

Politics

Russia

Saudi Arabia

Tom Cotton

U.S.

Vladimir Putin

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is putting on a show of solidarity with Russian President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/vladimir-putin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vladimir Putin</a> with his three-day state visit to Moscow that began on Monday.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Xi is spending his time in Russia&#8217;s capital negotiating and signing statements with Putin that <a href="http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/70748" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seek to strengthen economic cooperation</a> between their nations over the next decade — ties which offer Putin a lifeline after Western nations levied sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine.
In regard to the conflict, which has been going on for more than a year now, a joint statement Xi and Putin signed voiced support for &#8220;the international community to support constructive efforts&#8221; toward &#8220;<a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/xi-jinping-vladimir-putin-back-peace-talks-ukraine-war-blame-nato-no-offer-withdraw-china-russia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responsible dialogue</a>.&#8221;
Russia began what it called a “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, in an ongoing conflict that has led to tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions of people.
The United States government, which has led a coalition of countries in instituting the financial penalties against Russia and sending Ukraine billions of dollars of lethal aid, rejected such calls for a ceasefire now as one that would <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-china-xi-putin-ukraine-war-2f0d035942cfca14ae5a42d82f5e8627" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cement Russia&#8217;s hold on territory its forces had taken</a>. The U.S. announced on Monday that it would send Ukraine an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-sending-another-350-million-to-ukraine-blinken-warns-world-should-not-be-fooled-by-china-russia-peace-talks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">additional $350 million</a> in ammunition, weapons, and military vehicles.
Xi and Putin previously met just before the invasion of Ukraine began when they touted a &#8220;no limits&#8221; <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/22/china/china-ukraine-russia-reaction-united-nations-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">friendship</a> between their countries. Building upon that bond this week, <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/putin-xi-highlight-boosting-russian-chinese-cooperation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Xi declared</a> &#8220;political mutual trust is deepening&#8221; between their two countries and &#8220;common interests are multiplying.&#8221;
The White House dismissed the notion that the world is witnessing the formation of an alliance as Xi and Putin held their latest round of talks. &#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t go so far to call it an alliance,&#8221; National Security Council spokesman John Kirby <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyCaller/status/1638259992376537147" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told reporters</a>. China and Russia have grown closer &#8220;over years now,&#8221; he insisted.
The high-level talks in Moscow come shortly after the International Criminal Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-international-criminal-court-issues-arrest-warrant-for-vladimir-putin-for-abducting-children-war-crimes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued an arrest warrant</a> for Putin for alleged war crimes during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in particular the abduction of children, and the Russian leader&#8217;s visit to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/putin-visits-russian-occupied-mariupol" target="_blank" rel="noopener">captured city of Mariupol</a>.
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Xi is expected to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since the war began following his visit to Moscow, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-xi-jinping-vladimir-putin-meet-in-russia-400d39e1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to The Wall Street Journal</a>. Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/21/world/europe/japan-kishida-ukraine.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unannounced visit</a> to Ukraine on Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s President Xi Jinping

Xi Flaunts China’s ‘Deepening’ Bond With Russia During Talks With Putin

Xi Flaunts China's 'Deepening' Bond With Russia During Talks With Putin

Ukraine-Russia War

The U.S. announced Monday that it will send <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine</a> an additional $350 million in ammunition, weapons, and military vehicles as Chinese President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/xi-jinping" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Xi Jinping</a> meets with Russian President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/vladimir-putin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vladimir Putin</a> for peace talks in Moscow this week. 
As the U.S. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-aid-ammunition-riverine-boats-91b4aa084c7e00bd7c93ef8b857b1509" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> its latest handout to the Ukrainians to bolster their war effort against Russia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that “the world should not be fooled” by Xi’s peace talks with Putin. Blinken claimed that China and Russia’s plan is to “freeze” territorial gains made by Russia since its invasion over a year ago. 
“The fundamental element of any plan for ending the war in Ukraine and producing a just and durable peace must be upholding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Blinken said, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-20/blinken-warns-of-a-xi-putin-peace-plan-to-freeze-russian-gains?srnd=premium">according</a> to Bloomberg. 
Xi <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/xi-hails-new-era-as-he-arrives-in-moscow-in-bid-to-broker-ukraine-peace-deal">arrived</a> in Moscow Monday on a “mission of peace” signaling that China-Russia relations are growing stronger as the West lines up in opposition to Putin’s war in Ukraine. Blinken’s comments echo statements made by another Biden administration official last week regarding China’s peace talks with Russia. 
“While that sounds perfectly reasonable and it sounds like a good thing, a ceasefire right now would basically ratify Russia’s conquest,” U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. “Russia would basically be free to use that ceasefire to further entrench its positions in Ukraine, to rebuild their forces, refit them, re-man them, retrain them so that they can then restart attacks at a time of their choosing.”
So far, the Biden administration has sent around <a href="https://www.cfr.org/article/how-much-aid-has-us-sent-ukraine-here-are-six-charts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$50 billion</a> in military aid to Ukraine, including 31 Abrams tanks and advanced long-range missile systems. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pushed for the U.S. and its allies to give Ukraine fighter jets, but so far, the Biden administration has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/09/politics/ukraine-russia-poland-fighter-jets/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">refused</a>. Blinken, however, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-aid-ammunition-riverine-boats-91b4aa084c7e00bd7c93ef8b857b1509">pledged</a> America’s unwavering support for Ukraine on Monday, saying that Russia “could end this war today,” but until it does, “we will stand united with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
According to Monday’s <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3334472/dod-announces-additional-security-assistance-for-ukraine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a>, additional munitions the U.S. is sending to Ukraine include: 
<ul>
<li>Ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">155mm artillery rounds;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">25mm ammunition;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs);</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">81mm and 60mm mortar systems and mortar rounds;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">AT-4 anti-armor weapon systems;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Grenade launchers, small arms, and associated ammunition;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Demolition munitions and equipment for obstacle clearing;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Mine clearing equipment;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Heavy fuel tankers;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Thermal imagery systems, optics, and laser rangefinders; </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Riverine patrol boats; </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Testing and diagnostic equipment to support vehicle maintenance and repair; </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Spare parts and other field equipment.</li>
</ul>
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Ukraine Ammunition

U.S. Sending Another $350 Million To Ukraine; Blinken Warns, ‘World Should Not Be Fooled’ By China-Russia Peace Talks

U.S. Sending Another $350 Million To Ukraine; Blinken Warns, 'World Should Not Be Fooled' By China-Russia Peace Talks

Antony Blinken

Putin

Ukraine

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/xi-jinping" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinese leader Xi Jinping</a> arrived in Moscow Monday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on what Beijing labeled a “mission of peace.”
The visit underscores strengthening ties between the two powerful nations and comes as Xi is trying to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. The U.S. has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-rejects-china-brokered-ceasefire-in-ukraine">opposed a ceasefire</a> called for by Xi and expressed concerns that a Beijing-brokered peace pact would be one-sided in favor of Russia, which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine-russia-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invaded Ukraine</a> over a year ago.
&#8220;I am very glad, at the invitation of President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, to come back to the land of our close neighbor,&#8221; Xi said, according to Russian-state-run news service TASS. &#8220;I am sure my visit will be fruitful.&#8221;
After touching down, Xi was greeted on a red carpet as a military band played the two countries&#8217; anthems. Xi hailed a &#8220;new era&#8221; and said his first state visit to Russia since the start of the war would give &#8220;new momentum&#8221; to relations. The visit is China&#8217;s strongest show of support for Russia since the war began on February 24, 2022.
Xi was scheduled to talk informally with Putin Monday ahead of a formal dinner, then hold peace negotiations on Tuesday. The U.S. and the rest of NATO are watching the visit closely, and Russia is touting it as evidence it has a powerful ally as it has become isolated from the West.
Xi has also reportedly reached out to Ukrainian President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/volodymyr-zelensky" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Volodymyr Zelensky</a>, although details on that were also unclear. Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in a phone call last week.
U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters last week the Biden administration believes a ceasefire would work against Ukraine.
“While that sounds perfectly reasonable and it sounds like a good thing, a ceasefire right now would basically ratify Russia’s conquest. Russia would basically be free to use that ceasefire to further entrench its positions in Ukraine, to rebuild their forces, refit them, re-man them, retrain them so that they can then restart attacks at a time of their choosing.”
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The meeting comes a day after Putin made a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/putin-visits-russian-occupied-mariupol" target="_blank" rel="noopener">surprise visit to Mariupol</a>, a Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine where he spoke briefly with supporters.

Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin

Xi Hails ‘New Era’ As He Arrives In Moscow In Bid To Broker Ukraine Peace Deal

Xi Hails 'New Era' As He Arrives In Moscow In Bid To Broker Ukraine Peace Deal

The U.S. will sell three to five nuclear-powered submarines to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/australia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australia</a> beginning in the early 2030s, President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> announced on Monday, prompting <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a> to respond with a direct warning to America and its allies.
Biden made the announcement as part of the AUKUS Partnership alongside British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego. The deal marks the first time since 1959 that the U.S. will share nuclear submarine technology with an ally, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/china-issues-ominous-threat-biden-australia-nuclear-submarine-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. 
“Our unprecedented trilateral cooperation … is testament to the strength of the longstanding ties that unite us and to our shared commitment of ensuring the Indo-Pacific remains free and open, prosperous and secure, defined by opportunity for all — a shared commitment to create a future rooted in our common values,” Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/03/13/remarks-by-president-biden-prime-minister-albanese-of-australia-and-prime-minister-sunak-of-the-united-kingdom-on-the-aukus-partnership/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. 
The president clarified that the submarines going to Australia would be &#8220;nuclear-powered, not nuclear-armed.&#8221; China, nevertheless, blasted the three countries, arguing that the deal could violate the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. 
&#8220;The latest joint statement issued by the U.S., U.K., and Australia shows that the three countries have gone further down the wrong and dangerous path for their own geopolitical self-interest, completely ignoring the concerns of the international community,&#8221; China spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Tuesday. 
As part of the deal, the U.S. and the United Kingdom will send subs to Australian ports for Australian sailors to learn American and British nuclear-propulsion technology, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/13/aukus-nuke-submarine-deal-00086835#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20is%20preparing%20to,Monday%20alongside%20his%20allied%20counterparts." target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to POLITICO. After Australian sailors have learned the technology, the country will purchase three nuclear-powered submarines from the U.S. with the option to buy two more. 
The submarines will vastly improve Australia’s naval capabilities in the coming years as its adversary in Beijing threatens expansion and influence into <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-plans-to-drastically-increase-troop-numbers-in-taiwan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taiwan</a> and <a href="https://2017-2021.state.gov/chinas-military-aggression-in-the-indo-pacific-region/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">beyond</a>. Prime Minister Albanese said the plan “is a genuine trilateral undertaking. All three nations stand ready to contribute and all three nations stand ready to benefit.”
During his address on Monday, Biden said that China would not view the deal as aggression and promised he would discuss the plan with Chinese President Xi Jinping soon.

Joe Biden/Xi Jinping

U.S. To Sell Nuclear-Powered Subs To Australia; China Responds With Harsh Warning

Australia

Nuclear

United Kingdom

United States

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house-speaker-mccarthy-plans-meet-taiwans-president-us-sources-2023-03-06/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plans</a> to meet with the president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, in California — where she&#8217;s been invited to speak at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. In addition to the likely April meeting in the Golden State, McCarthy also reportedly plans to visit Taiwan itself this year.
That may seem like a relatively benign diplomatic mission for the man who is second in line to the presidency, but it&#8217;s a move that is almost sure to cause outrage in Beijing. A visit to Taiwan by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last year so perturbed the Chinese Communist Party that it conducted military &#8220;operations&#8221; that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-launching-targeted-military-operations-encircling-taiwan-after-pelosi-lands-on-island" target="_blank" rel="noopener">encircled</a> the entire island with Chinese military assets and even <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-china-threatens-to-shoot-down-pelosis-plane-if-she-tries-to-visit-taiwan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatened</a> to shoot down Pelosi&#8217;s plane in a vain effort to forestall her diplomatic overture.
The CCP has had its eye on conquering Taiwan since the de facto end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, and the party&#8217;s leadership has become more hawkish on reunification in recent years. In January, U.S. Air Force General Michael Minihan issued a memo that predicted an invasion of the island in 2025, but some analysts have <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jillgoldenziel/2023/01/31/chinas-ferry-tale-taiwan-invasion-is-a-legal-nightmare/?sh=a2e85d65ceb1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">argued</a> that an invasion could come even sooner if the Red Army levies civilian boats for use as landing craft.
Much like with U.S. support for Ukraine after the Russian invasion in 2022, any direct aid to Taiwan in the event of an attack will likely receive intense criticism from non-interventionist elements in both major parties. However, a U.S.-aligned Taiwan provides both an economic and geopolitical ally in the region to counterbalance the growing threat from communist China.
The CCP&#8217;s territorial claim on the island, and its desire to enforce it, may be the focus of current foreign policy discussions in the region, but it&#8217;s often forgotten that Taiwan likewise has a claim on the Chinese mainland, indicated by the country&#8217;s official name — The Republic of China.
The current government of Taiwan is descended from the Chinese Nationalists, also known as the Kuomintang, that fled to the island in 1949 after they were defeated by the communists under Mao Zedong. Since then, two ideological factions have emerged in Taiwanese politics.
The traditional camp is embodied by the Kuomintang — which continues to see itself as the sole legitimate government of all China and opposes a separate Taiwanese national identity or independence.
The Kuomintang had previously operated as the official national government of all China since 1928 (after defeating various warlords who had carved up the country into their own personal domains). The current flag and national emblem of Taiwan is the same one that flew over all of China under the Nationalists, and the current constitution of Taiwan is the same constitution that was adopted by China as a whole in 1947, before the communist takeover. Taiwan also held China&#8217;s seat on the United Nations as well as one of the five permanent seats on the extremely important U.N. Security Council until 1971.
In 1979, the U.S. formally <a href="https://adst.org/2013/12/the-u-s-recognizes-communist-china-not-taiwan-january-1-1979/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">established</a> relations with communist China and ended its recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state. An act from Congress, the Taiwan Relations Act, in 1980 maintained de facto relations with Taiwan.
The Kuomintang ruled the island as a one-party state until democratic reforms were enacted in the mid-1980s and continued to dominate the country&#8217;s politics until the 2000 presidential election.
The current ruling party, the Democratic Progressive Party, broke off from the Kuomintang during the democratic reforms of the &#8217;80s. It supports a separate national identity for Taiwan and Taiwan&#8217;s full independence from mainland China. Tsai Ing-wen, the DPP&#8217;s candidate, won the 2020 presidential election by almost 20 points in the midst of the CCP&#8217;s crackdown in Hong Kong.
Either position could be used to the United States&#8217; benefit. If the Kuomintang become popular again, the U.S. could reverse course and support its claim as the true government of China, undermining the CCP&#8217;s legitimacy in the region. If public opinion in Taiwan continues to swing toward full independence, the U.S. can promote closer relations on the grounds of protecting an autonomous, democratic nation from authoritarian aggression — perhaps gaining the support of other East Asian democracies like South Korea and Japan. The CCP has <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2021/08/why-taiwan-matters-to-the-united-states/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a> that any official American support for Taiwanese independence constitutes a &#8220;red line.&#8221;
Taiwan&#8217;s geographic position — 100 miles off the mainland — potentially provides a central link in a chain of alliances and partnerships the U.S. is forging in the western Pacific Rim to counter the CCP&#8217;s expansionist aims, especially its moves in the South China Sea.
The mutual defense treaty between the U.S. and Taiwan ended in 1980 — around the same time the United States recognized the communists as the legitimate government of China — but there is still an implicit understanding that the U.S. would intervene if the CCP launched an invasion. Taiwan <a href="https://time.com/6245036/taiwan-conscription-military-comparison/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">currently</a> supports 169,000 active military personnel and can call upon up to 1.6 million reservists in the event of an attack. The country has compulsory conscription, and President Ing-wen extended the timeframe of mandatory service from four months to a year in 2022. Additionally, the U.S. has provided billions in defense aid for the island&#8217;s military.
In addition to its strategic importance, Taiwan has implemented a highly successful free market economy of considerable value to the United States. Once the Kuomintang established itself on the island, it implemented land reform and an industrialization scheme that allowed for rapid development over the next few decades. Further market liberalization efforts in the 1960s and &#8217;70s turned into an &#8220;economic miracle&#8221; during which the island nation was able to overcome challenges like a lack of natural resources to become a manufacturing powerhouse. According to the Heritage Foundation, Taiwan is <a href="https://www.heritage.org/index/country/taiwan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ranked</a> number four globally in economic freedom and number two in Asia after Singapore.
Taiwan&#8217;s industrial success stems primarily from its position in the tech industry&#8217;s supply chain. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is the largest semiconductor foundry in the world, and HIWIN Technologies is one of the leading producers of machinery components used in automated manufacturing. The country&#8217;s tech companies are pioneering the use of advanced technology in manufacturing processes, which HIWIN Chairman Eric Chuo called &#8220;Industry 4.0,&#8221; <a href="https://www.bbc.com/storyworks/future/transforming-taiwan/taiwan-and-the-next-industrial-revolution" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the BBC.
As more and more communist Chinese-made products are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/defense-officials-worry-about-new-chinese-espionage-threat-report-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> to contain spying technology, Taiwan&#8217;s wares could provide a far safer alternative. Though the Biden administration is trying to <a href="https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2023/02/biden-harris-administration-launches-first-chips-america-funding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">incentivize</a> domestic semiconductor and microchip production, Taiwan&#8217;s products will still be of strategic importance to the nation until those efforts are fully realized.
Beijing&#8217;s sensitivity toward closer U.S.-Taiwan relations necessitates a delicate approach from U.S. diplomats, but it&#8217;s a relationship the Biden administration must pursue if it&#8217;s serious about countering China in the Pacific. Taiwan&#8217;s strong economic position supplies a boon to the U.S. tech industry at the expense of communist China, its geographic location provides a first line of defense against communist expansionism, and the island&#8217;s politics could furnish the U.S. with an ideological rallying cry for other democratic nations in the region.
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Grunge flags illustration of three countries with conflict and political problems (cracked concrete background) | USA, China and Taiwan

Why A Free And Democratic Taiwan Is Essential For Pacific Rim Stability

Readers Pass

China put forward a plan for peace in Ukraine on the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-ukraine-war-a-year-later" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one-year anniversary</a> of the embattled nation’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine-russia-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">grueling war with Russia</a>, but Western leaders were initially cool to the proposal, which includes likely concessions to Moscow and a retreat by NATO.
The proposal, in the form of a <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/what-is-china-s-peace-proposal-for-ukraine-war-17803136.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">12-point position paper</a> from China’s foreign ministry, called for a ceasefire and peace talks. China has claimed neutrality in the war, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, but Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Beijing has sent non-lethal aid to Russia.
“There are no winners in conflict wars,” the proposal stated. “All parties should maintain rationality and restraint [and] support Russia and Ukraine to meet each other, resume direct dialogue as soon as possible, gradually promote the de-escalation and relaxation of the situation and finally reach a comprehensive ceasefire.”
The plan called for an end to the West’s crippling sanctions on Russia and suggested negotiations which observers said seemed aimed at Ukraine conceding land to Russia, most likely Crimea and in the Donbas region. The proposal also suggested NATO pull back from Russia’s borders, an issue that Putin has cited as a threat to his nation. Ukraine is not a NATO member, although it seeks to be.
Here are the dozen points in China’s proposal:
<ul>
<li>Respecting the sovereignty of all countries</li>
<li>Abandoning the Cold War mentality</li>
<li>Ceasing hostilities</li>
<li>Resuming peace talks</li>
<li>Resolving the humanitarian crisis</li>
<li>Protecting civilians and prisoners of war</li>
<li>Keeping nuclear power plants safe</li>
<li>Reducing strategic risks</li>
<li>Facilitating grain exports</li>
<li>Stopping unilateral sanctions</li>
<li>Keeping industrial and supply chains stable</li>
<li>Promoting post-conflict reconstruction</li>
</ul>
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Beijing is not a neutral party in the conflict and seemed skeptical of its role as a peacemaker.
“China doesn&#8217;t have much credibility because they have not been able to condemn the illegal invasion of Ukraine,&#8221; he told reporters in Tallinn.
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the West believes China is poised to begin supplying arms to Russia. Given that the West, led by the U.S., is sending lethal aid to Ukraine, that would raise the specter of a proxy war between the world’s most powerful nations and stoke fears the U.S., Europe, and China could all be further drawn in.
President Joe Biden, during a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-makes-secret-trip-to-ukraine-appears-with-zelensky" target="_blank" rel="noopener">surprise visit to Kyiv</a> earlier this week, said the U.S. would support Ukraine for “as long as it takes.” The U.S. has so far pledged between $130 billion and $200 billion in aid to Ukraine, with Biden even pledging to shore up the beleaguered nation’s pension system. Some polls show Americans’ support for the war is flagging.
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The war is increasingly unpopular in Russia, where Putin has emptied prisons to bolster troops and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-pledges-more-sanctions-against-russia-over-war-in-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sanctions</a> have hurt poor citizens and billionaire oligarchs alike. While China has not condemned the invasion, it has warned that any use of nuclear weapons would be “unacceptable.”
Putin and Xi are set to meet in Moscow in April, according to The Wall Street Journal.
&#8220;We await a visit of the President of the People&#8217;s Republic of China to Russia, we have agreed on this,&#8221; Putin told top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi Wednesday during their meeting at the Kremlin, according to Reuters. &#8220;Everything is progressing, developing. We are reaching new frontiers.&#8221;
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who warned last week that if China allied with Russia there would be a “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/zelensky-warns-of-world-war-iii-if-china-allies-with-russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world war</a>,” said before the proposal was released that he welcomed input from China.
“I think that, in general, the fact that China started talking about peace in Ukraine, I think that it is not bad,” he said Friday. “It is important for us that all states are on our side, on the side of justice.”
State Department spokesman Ned Price, speaking Thursday before the proposal was released, said the U.S. would reserve judgment but questioned China&#8217;s standing to broker peace.
&#8220;We would like to see nothing more than a just and durable peace,” he said. “But we are skeptical that reports of a proposal like this will be a constructive path forward.”
The war has ravaged Ukraine’s infrastructure and killed as many as 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers, according to Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. At least 8,000 civilians have been killed millions have fled the country. An estimated 60,000 Russian soldiers have been killed.

Zelensky, Xi, Putin

China’s Plan To End Ukraine-Russia War Met With Skepticism In West

China's Plan To End Ukraine-Russia War Met With Skepticism In West

Americans breathed a sigh of relief when the U.S. Air Force shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina on February 4. The balloon had floated almost entirely across the country after it was first sighted in Montana.
The Biden administration refrained from shooting down the balloon while it was over land, despite it moving past several military installations, because of concerns that the debris from the airship could cause collateral damage to civilians below. The U.S. quickly began to collect the debris from the craft to discern what kind of tech it carried.
Since the downing of China&#8217;s would-be instrument of high-altitude espionage, several more strange craft have been spotted and downed over America&#8217;s skies. U.S. intelligence officials have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/02/07/china-spy-balloon-intelligence/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> that the balloon is part of a vast spy network that has been used by the communist country to surveil military bases in countries like Japan, India, and Taiwan. President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. does not believe that these additional objects are part of China&#8217;s spy program, but apprehension about China&#8217;s attempts to spy on the United States has come to the forefront of the national consciousness.
But in reality, the CCP has employed far more subtle and sophisticated methods to glean information from Americans than simple balloons.
Corporate espionage is a favorite tactic of the CCP in its ongoing economic struggle with the United States. Of the 160 publicly revealed instances of Chinese espionage since 2000, 51% of the incidents attempted to steal American commercial technology, compared to 34% of incidents that tried to acquire military tech and 16% that attempted to get information on government agencies or politicians, <a href="https://www.csis.org/programs/strategic-technologies-program/archives/survey-chinese-espionage-united-states-2000" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Chinese spies have been caught trying to smuggle data on everything from nanotechnology to pharmaceuticals to artificial intelligence back to the CCP, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64206950">according</a> to the BBC. These espionage efforts also include some of the largest companies in the U.S. — a Chinese national was sentenced to 20 years in prison in January for trying to steal information about jet turbines from General Electric.
During a meeting in London to discuss the threat of Chinese spy programs, FBI Director Christopher Wray <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/06/politics/fbi-mi5-wray-china/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that law enforcement had caught people paid by Chinese companies trying to steal genetically modified seeds from fields in rural areas. Intellectual property theft by Chinese agents could cost the U.S. up to $600 billion a year, <a href="https://www.nbr.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/publications/IP_Commission_Report_Update.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a report from the National Bureau of Asian Research.
Chinese agents and affiliates have also managed to infiltrate American universities and laboratories, stealing valuable research.
In 2020, the U.S. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/10/us-cancels-1000-china-student-visas-claiming-ties-to-military" target="_blank" rel="noopener">canceled</a> over 1,000 visas belonging to Chinese students and researchers at American universities due to concerns that they had ties to the Chinese military.
China&#8217;s Thousand Talents Program, which aims to partner with leading foreign researchers, has been accused of facilitating the theft of research. Between 1987 and 2021, over 160 researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, one of the nation&#8217;s top locations for nuclear research, returned to China, with dozens returning under the Thousand Talents program. Those researchers went on to &#8220;advance key military and dual-use technologies in areas such as hypersonics, deep-earth penetrating warheads, unmanned aerial vehicles, jet engines, and submarine noise reduction,&#8221; a <a href="https://www.striderintel.com/wp-content/uploads/Strider-Los-Alamos-Report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Strider Technologies said.
Over a quarter of perpetrators in Chinese espionage schemes are non-Chinese agents, according to CSIS.
Charles Lieber, the former head of Harvard University&#8217;s Chemistry Department, was <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-22/harvard-professor-found-guilty-of-hiding-ties-to-china#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found guilty</a> in December 2021 of hiding his ties to the Thousand Talents Program. For his involvement in the program, Lieber had received $50,000 a month from the Wuhan University of Technology as well as $1.5 million in grants, which he failed to disclose. Prosecutors said that Lieber wrote articles and applied for patents on behalf of the Chinese university.
One suspected Chinese spy who enrolled at an American university was Christine Fang. From 2011 to 2015, she made connections with several powerful California politicians, and allegedly developed sexual relationships with two Midwestern mayors. One of her principal targets was Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell. She helped fundraise for his 2014 re-election campaign as well as place an intern in Swalwell&#8217;s office, sources told Axios.
Fang&#8217;s behavior caught the attention of federal law enforcement, and the congressman severed ties with her after they gave him a briefing on their findings. Fang left the country in 2015 before the investigation was concluded.
Swalwell&#8217;s office told the outlet that he &#8220;provided information about this person — whom he met more than eight years ago, and whom he hasn’t seen in nearly six years — to the FBI.&#8221;
Though Swalwell&#8217;s alleged association with Fang has become a meme among conservatives, intelligence officials are concerned that it&#8217;s part of a larger effort to cultivate influence among U.S. politicians.
&#8220;She was just one of lots of agents,&#8221; an intelligence official <a href="https://www.axios.com/2020/12/08/china-spy-california-politicians" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Axios. The FBI <a href="https://www.axios.com/2020/02/12/fbi-china-us-political-influence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">created</a> a unit in 2019 solely dedicated to countering Chinese political influence schemes.
Balloons aren&#8217;t the only way the Chinese have tried to spy on key U.S. military installations out West. The Chinese telecom giant Huawei provided cheap equipment to small providers in rural America.
The sheer amount of Chinese-made equipment being installed in rural areas caught the attention of federal investigators, who discovered that in many cases Huawei was selling the technology at an unprofitable price to providers near U.S. military assets. One company, Viaero, had 1,000 Huawei-equipped towers spread across five states, and the company&#8217;s coverage area happened to contain several missile silos and military bases.
Multiple sources <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/23/politics/fbi-investigation-huawei-china-defense-department-communications-nuclear/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> CNN that the Huawei-made tech on the cell towers had the ability to intercept and even disrupt highly sensitive U.S. Strategic Command communications — including those related to the nation&#8217;s nuclear weapons. Cameras mounted on Viaero&#8217;s towers to monitor weather and traffic could also provide the Chinese with intel on U.S. military movements in the area.
The Federal Communications Commission effectively banned companies from using Huawei equipment in 2019. Even though billions of dollars were appropriated by Congress in order to help get rid of the equipment, as of 2022 not all of the technology has been removed, according to CNN.
Installing technology that can spy on military bases in the American West is one thing, but in 2017 federal officials killed a $100 million project that could have allowed China to position similar equipment at the perfect location to eavesdrop on lawmakers in the nation&#8217;s capital.
The Chinese government <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-infiltrates-critical-u-s-infrastructure-can-disrupt-nuclear-response-and-spy-on-u-s-military-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">offered</a> to pay $100 million to install a lavish garden, complete with a pagoda, at the National Arboretum. The planned 70-foot structure would have been placed at one of the highest points in Washington, D.C., and only two miles from the Capitol Building, according to CNN. One red flag that caught the eye of counterintelligence officials was the fact that China insisted that the materials that would be used to build the garden should be shipped to Washington in diplomatic pouches, which would prevent U.S. Customs from examining them before they entered the country. Suspicious U.S. officials soon put an end to the project.
Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in 2020 that the Chinese consulates in Houston, San Francisco, and New York City were hotbeds for Chinese spies. The espionage activity at the Houston embassy was so bad that the U.S. government ordered it to be closed, with one Justice Department official <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-consulate-houston/houston-consulate-one-of-worst-offenders-in-chinese-espionage-say-u-s-officials-idUSKCN24P1XT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">telling</a> Reuters, &#8220;The sum total of the Houston consulate’s activities went well over the line of what we’re willing to accept.&#8221;
The consulate in New York City was allegedly being <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/07/28/chinese-consulates-in-nyc-san-francisco-identified-as-spy-hubs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">used</a> to spy on anti-Chinese Uyghur and Tibetan groups, while the one in San Francisco helped Chinese agents steal secrets from Silicon Valley.
Spy balloons ominously floating across the American countryside may make for more sensational reporting in most media outlets, but in reality, Xi Jinping has far more subtle and effective methods of intelligence gathering at his disposal — including ones that don&#8217;t end up in the Atlantic Ocean.
U.S. intelligence officials are aware of and in many cases have taken action against these spying efforts, but the economic and political necessities of maintaining close ties with the communist nation ensure that their efforts to steal, bribe, and spy their way to the top of the geopolitical order will continue apace on U.S. soil.

China’s Standing Committee Members Of The 20th CPC Central Committee Meet With Press

Spy Balloons May Grab Headlines, But China Has Far More Subtle And Effective Methods Of Spying On Us

California

New York

Washington D.C.

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