14 Dec 2020 01:27AM(Updated: 14 Dec 2020 06:46AM) CNA

BANGKOK: A US-funded project using satellites to track and publish water levels at Chinese dams on the Mekong river was launched on Monday (Dec 13), adding to the superpowers’ rivalry in Southeast Asia.

The 4,350km waterway – known as the Lancang in China and flowing south through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam – has become a focus of competition.

Beijing has dismissed US research saying Chinese dams have retained water to the detriment of downstream nations, where 60 million people depend on the river for fishing and farming.

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• DANH ĐỨC
• 11.12.2020, 12:00

TTCT – “Vui sướng nhất thế giới hiện giờ là các lãnh đạo Trung Quốc…” – Phải chăng phát biểu của Tổng thống Donald Trump phản ánh quan hệ giữa ông và Bắc Kinh vào cuối trào? Phải chăng cơn lốc trừng phạt Trung Quốc vừa rồi của ông chỉ là những nước đi cuối trước khi dẹp bàn cờ?

Song, có lẽ chính ông Trump cũng là một trong những nhà lãnh đạo “sung sướng” nhất hiện nay. Thứ bảy tuần rồi 5-12 tại Valdosta, bang Georgia, ông đi gặp các fan cứng trong một cuộc mittinh mà báo chí gọi là “cuộc tập hợp quần chúng đầu tiên kể từ bầu cử hôm 3-11”. 

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By Isaac Chotiner December 9, 2020 The New Yorker

In September, the House passed a bill that would ban imports produced by Uighur forced laborers in Xinjiang. Companies such as Apple, Nike, and Coca-Cola have mounted a lobbying campaign against the bill, which passed the House by an overwhelming margin of four hundred and six to three, and is likely to pass the Senate. If the bill does become law, it will be the latest sign that the relationship between the United States and China is as contentious as it has been in decades. The Chinese Communist Party’s use of forced labor, its authoritarian activity in Hong Kong, and its obfuscation about the coronavirus have raised bipartisan concerns about the future of the relationship between the U.S. and China.

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10 Dec 2020 02:50PM(Updated: 10 Dec 2020 02:52PM)

BEIJING: The European Union and the United States should work together to stand up to coercive Chinese diplomacy and coordinate with other countries in the region on the disputed South China Sea, the EU ambassador to China said on Thursday (Dec 10).

US President-elect Joe Biden, due to take office on Jan 20, has spoken of the need to revitalise alliances with like-minded democracies as a core source of strength in dealing with China.

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The DailyBeast

CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER

The two governments have been reduced to trading insults and taunts, closing consulates, and mounting demonization campaigns for the benefit of their respective domestic audiences.James A. WarrenPublished Nov. 27, 2020 5:12AM ET 

U.S.-China relations have been on a generally downward trajectory since it became apparent during the later Obama years that America’s longstanding policy of diplomatic and economic engagement had failed to bring China around to embrace democratic institutions or accept the rules-based international order led by the United States. On all fronts—diplomatic, military, and commercial—the relationship has been an exceptionally bumpy ride since Donald Trump assumed office. With the advent of COVID-19, international relations scholars and professional China watchers say, things have gone rapidly from bad to worse.

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By: Nigel Pittaway, defensenews    3 days ago

MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia and the United States are partnering to develop and test an air-launched hypersonic cruise missile under the bilateral Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment program, or SCIFiRE, the two countries announced Monday.

From the U.S. perspective, the effort falls under the Allied Prototyping Initiative, which is managed by the Directorate of Advanced Capabilities within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.

The program will be executed by the U.S. Air Force under the auspices of the weapons program executive officer, and it will leverage more than 15 years of collaboration on research into scramjets, rocket motors, sensors and advanced manufacturing materials between the two countries.

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The American and Chinese flags are displayed outside a hotel in Beijing on May 14, 2019. (File photo: AFP/Greg Baker) 03 Dec 2020 04:42PM(Updated: 03 Dec 2020 09:31PM) WASHINGTON: Washington issued new entry rules for Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members travelling to the United States, the New York Times reported on Thursday (Dec 3), citing the State Department. The new policy – which took immediate effect on Wednesday – caps visas of Communist Party members and their immediate families to one month and a single entry into the country, the report said. Continue reading on CVD >>

BBC

China has introduced tough new laws which restrict the export of “controlled items”.

The rules primarily focus on the export of military technologies and other products that might harm China’s national security.

The export controls are widely believed to be in response to similar actions by the US.

TikTok, Huawei and Tencent are among the casualties of Washington’s Chinese technology crackdown.

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By DAVID HUTTNOVEMBER 28, 2020 Asia Times

Biden’s top envoy says China decoupling was a ‘mistake’ but ASEAN nations will still be pressed to pick superpower sides 

The incoming Joe Biden administration is expected to be more dependable and predictable than Donald Trump’s, a potential cause for relief among Southeast Asian governments that have struggled to read and react to the outgoing US president’s mercurial leadership.

The region, a key battleground for influence between the US and China, may also benefit from a possible de-escalation of tensions between the two superpowers after Biden is inaugurated on January 20.

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Chinese and US flags flutter near The Bund in Shanghai, China, Jul 30, 2019. (Photo: REUTERS/Aly Song/Files)

23 Nov 2020 12:06PM(Updated: 23 Nov 2020 05:57PM)

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is close to declaring that 89 Chinese aerospace and other companies have military ties, restricting them from buying a range of US goods and technology, according to a draft copy of the list seen by Reuters.

The list, if published, could further escalate trade tensions with Beijing and hurt US companies that sell civil aviation parts and components to China, among other industries.

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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian attends a news conference in Beijing, China September 10, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins23 Nov 2020 04:35PM(Updated: 23 Nov 2020 05:38PM) CNA

BEIJING: China will respond to the reported visit of a US Navy admiral to Taiwan and firmly opposes any military relations between Taipei and Washington, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday (Nov 23).

A two-star Navy admiral overseeing US military intelligence in the Asia-Pacific region has made an unannounced visit to Taiwan, two sources told Reuters on Sunday.

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Sunday, November 22, 2020, 14:51 GMT+7 tuoitrenews

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and United States National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien discussed the two countries’ bilateral relationship in Hanoi on Saturday.

The meeting was convened within the framework of O’Brien’s visit to Vietnam on November 20-22, which is conducted on the occasion of the two nations’ 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

The relationship has seen comprehensive and practical development, which significantly contributes to regional and global security, peace, cooperation and development, PM Phuc said at the talk.

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November 25, 2020, By David Leonhardt Good morning. Biden introduces his foreign policy team. The Dow breaks 30,000. And Pennsylvania is banning alcohol sales. How Biden will confront China The presidents who came just before Donald Trump took a mostly hopeful view of China. Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and the two George Bushes all tried to integrate China into the global economy and political system. Doing so, they believed, could persuade China to accept international rules and become more democratic. The strategy largely failed. China used access to the world’s markets to grow richer on its own terms. It rejected many international rules — on intellectual property, for example — while becoming more authoritarian at home. As a recent Times story puts it, China has adopted “increasingly aggressive and at times punitive policies that force countries to play by its rules.” Continue reading on CVD >>