By Ben Westcott, CNN

Updated 0757 GMT (1557 HKT) October 29, 2020

(CNN)The Unites States has charged eight people, including six Chinese citizens, over a three-year plot to intimidate a US resident into returning to China to face criminal charges.

The case is believed to be part of the ruling Communist Party’s Operation Fox Hunt, an international anti-corruption campaign targeting Chinese fugitives — often former officials or rich individuals suspected of economic crimes.

The US Department of Justice said Wednesday the charges included “conspiring to act in the US as illegal agents of the People’s Republic of China.” Five people have been arrested, while three are believed to be at large in China.

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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian (Photo: Reuters)

3 min read. Updated: 20 Oct 2020, 09:20 PM IST Elizabeth Roche, livemint.com

• ‘There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory,’ says Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian
• The comments come against the backdrop of tensions between India and China along their common border in Ladakh

NEW DELHI: China on Tuesday warned India against launching any talks with Taiwan on trade saying such a move would be violative of the one China policy New Delhi has so far supported.

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Analysis by Brad Lendon, CNN

Updated 0300 GMT (1100 HKT) October 30, 2020

Hong Kong (CNN) China was one of two countries, along with Russia, named in a 2018 Pentagon report as posing the most significant military challenge to the United States. Two years on and that challenge has only grown.

Beijing’s program of rapid modernization has seen its military transformed into a true global power, capable of comfortably projecting its forces throughout the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.

This year alone has seen China engage in deadly border clashes with Indian troops; China’s People’s Liberation Army aircraft have repeatedly buzzed Taiwanese and Japanese air defenses; and Chinese ships have been involved in multiple incidents in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

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31/10/2020    10:15 GMT+7

The unexpected visit by US Secretary of State Michael Richard Pompeo to Vietnam reflects the development of Vietnam – US relations. Pompeo’s visit to Vietnam took place after his visits to four Asian countries.

According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, US Secretary of State Michael Richard Pompeo officially visited Vietnam on October 29-30 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Vietnam-US diplomatic relations.

A US diplomat said that Pompeo’s visit to Vietnam was not on schedule.

The surprising schedule of Mr. Pompeo showed the development of the Vietnam – US relations. Pompeo’s visit to Vietnam took place after his visits to four Asian countries, including India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia.

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DW

With tariffs on Chinese products high, US importers are turning to other countries. A DW analysis shows where Americans are now buying their cell phones, computers, furniture and clothing from instead.

Dung Trans’ business is booming: “Last year, we added a second floor to our factory. And now I’m looking at a new site four times larger than the current one.” For his company, the ongoing trade dispute between China and the United States has been a boon. And he is not alone.

The United States and China have been locked in a trade dispute for more than two years. Between July 2018 and September 2019, the US raised tariffs on almost all imports from China by up to 25%.

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By Nike ChingUpdated October 25, 2020 01:41 PM VOA

STATE DEPARTMENT – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper departed for India Sunday to strengthen bilateral security cooperation as Washington looks to confront Chinese geopolitical and economic challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. Besides New Delhi, the top U.S. diplomat is also traveling to Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Indonesia from October 25-30. Continue reading on CVD >>

By James Griffiths, CNN

Updated 0946 GMT (1746 HKT) October 27, 2020US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (right) is greeted by US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster upon his arrival at an airport in New Delhi on October 26, 2020.

Hong Kong (CNN) The United States and India have reaffirmed their defensive and security relationship, as Washington continues to rally allies in Asia amid concerns over increased Chinese military activity in the region.

During a press conference Tuesday in the Indian capital, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh announced the signing of the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), enabling greater information-sharing and further defense cooperation between the two countries.”

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Analysis by Brad Lendon, CNN

Updated 2333 GMT (0733 HKT) October 27, 2020

Hong Kong (CNN)Tens of thousands of US and Japanese troops will begin a massive island-landing exercise in the Pacific this week as part of joint military operations seen as a warning to China that Washington backs Tokyo over Beijing’s claim to Japanese-controlled islands.

Speaking aboard a Japanese warship Monday, Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider, commander of US Forces Japan, said the exercises would demonstrate the ability of the US-Japan alliance “to deliver combat troops to defend the Senkakus or respond to other crises or contingencies.”

Both Tokyo and Beijing claim the Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyus in China, as their own, but Japan has administered them since 1972.

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US-China frictions and the threat of American financial sanctions have renewed debate in Beijing about reducing dependence on the US dollar. China cut its holdings of US government debt to US$1.07 trillion in late August, the lowest level since March 2017, the US Department of Treasury says

Frank Tang in Beijing

Published: 12:00am, 21 Oct, 2020 SCMP

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22 Oct 2020 05:44PM

BEIJING: China threatened on Thursday (Oct 22) to retaliate against the latest US arms sale to Taiwan, as the island welcomed the weapons package but said it was not looking to get into an arms race with Beijing.

The Trump administration has ramped up support for Taiwan through arms sales and visits by senior US officials, adding to tensions between Beijing and Washington, already heightened by disagreements over the South China Sea, Hong Kong, human rights and trade.

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By Ben Westcott and Jennifer Hansler, CNN Business

Updated 0541 GMT (1341 HKT) October 22, 2020

(CNN Business) The United States government has labeled six more Chinese media companies operating in the US as foreign missions in the latest round of tit-for-tat between Beijing and Washington over restrictions on journalists.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the decision at a press briefing on Wednesday, saying that the six media companies were “substantially or effectively controlled by a foreign government.”

”We’re not placing any restrictions on what these outlets can publish in the United States,” Pompeo said. “We simply want to ensure that American people, consumers of information, can differentiate between news written by a free press and propaganda distributed by the Chinese Communist Party itself. They’re not the same thing.”

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By Nike ChingOctober 21, 2020 04:02 PM VOA

STATE DEPARTMENT – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo embarks on a week-long trip to South Asia on Sunday, as the United States looks to confront Chinese geopolitical and economic challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.
 
The top U.S. diplomat is traveling to New Delhi, India; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Male, Maldives; and Jakarta, Indonesia from October 25-30.
 
“On every stop I will discuss a broad range of bilateral topics, but also work to find out with each of those countries the best ways that we can make sure that we cooperate to preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Pompeo told reporters Wednesday during a press briefing at the State Department.

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OCt. 14, 2020 Al Jareeza

Senior US human rights official named as special coordinator for Tibetan issues amid increasingly tense relations between Washington and Beijing.

14 Oct 2020

The United States has appointed a senior human rights official as special coordinator for Tibetan issues, amid increasingly tense relations between Washington and Beijing.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Wednesday that Robert Destro, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, would assume the additional post, which has been vacant since the start of President Donald Trump’s term in 2017.

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By Adam TaylorOctober 15, 2020 at 12:00 AM EDT Washington Post

The U.S.-Taiwan security relationship has been purposely ambiguous for four decades. But amid increasing Chinese threats of invasion, America’s commitment to Taiwan needs to be clearer, the island’s de facto ambassador to the United States said this week.

“We need some degree of clarity,” Hsiao Bi-khim, an American-educated lawmaker who became representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington this summer, told Today’s WorldView.

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By Ben Westcott, CNN

Updated 1353 GMT (2153 HKT) October 14, 2020

Hong Kong (CNN)  – Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on troops to “put all (their) minds and energy on preparing for war” in a visit to a military base in the southern province of Guangdong on Tuesday, according to state news agency Xinhua.

During an inspection of the People’s Liberation Army Marine Corps in Chaozhou City, Xinhua said Xi told the soldiers to “maintain a state of high alert” and called on them to be “absolutely loyal, absolutely pure, and absolutely reliable.”

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