LiveNewsWatch

Category: US-China News

  • Trump Asked Xi to Release Hong Kong Media Tycoon Jimmy Lai

    Trump Asked Xi to Release Hong Kong Media Tycoon Jimmy Lai

    U.S. President Donald Trump has appealed to Chinese President Xi Jinping to release Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong media tycoon imprisoned for his pro-democracy views. Trump is worried about Lai’s health since he is 78 years old and was recently convicted.

    On Monday, Hong Kong’s High Court found Lai guilty on three charges related to a national security trial. Rights groups condemned this ruling, calling it a major setback for press freedom in Hong Kong.

    Prosecutors claimed that Lai conspired to get foreign governments to act against Hong Kong or China and published materials that stirred up distrust towards Chinese authorities. Lai pleaded not guilty and now faces a possible life sentence.

    “I talked to President Xi and asked him to consider releasing Jimmy Lai,” Trump told reporters. He did not say when he made this request. “He’s an older man, and he’s not well. I put that request out there, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump said.

    Trump met Xi in October in South Korea, where he likely brought up Lai’s case. After Trump’s comments, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the verdict showed that Beijing wants to silence dissent.

    Rubio pointed out that the conviction highlights China’s efforts to suppress freedom of speech and other basic rights.

    Lai started the now-closed pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily and has become a key target under Hong Kong’s national security law. “Reports say Mr. Lai’s health has worsened after spending over 1,800 days in prison,” Rubio stated. “We urge authorities to end this ordeal and release Mr. Lai for humanitarian reasons.”

     

     

    The United Kingdom also criticized Lai’s conviction, calling it politically motivated, and demanded his immediate release.

    Lai, a British citizen, has been detained since late 2020. His son, Sebastien, stated that the UK should increase pressure on Beijing. “It’s time to turn words into actions and make my father’s release a condition for better relations with China,” his son said at a news conference in London.

     

    Lai’s Daughter to Quit Politics After His Release from Jail

     

    Lai’s daughter, Claire, said that if her father were released from prison, he would stop being politically active. “He just wants to reunite with his family. He wants to serve our Lord and spend the rest of his days with his family,” she told the Associated Press in Washington.

    “My father is fundamentally not a man who breaks the law,” she added.

    Lai is a devout Catholic who has support in the U.S. from democracy advocates, press freedom groups, and Christian activists. This group is an important part of Trump’s political base.

    In 2021, Lai’s newspaper, Apple Daily, had to close because it reported critically on the government. This was a major change for the media in Hong Kong. Since then, news organizations have been less critical of China because they are afraid of being prosecuted in Hong Kong. As a result, Hong Kong’s global press freedom ranking has dropped to 140th out of 180 countries, according to the group RFA.

    “Even though we expected this verdict, when the news came out, it felt final,” said Edward Li, a former editor at Apple Daily who now lives in Taiwan. “Hong Kong no longer has Apple Daily, and it lacks a strong voice to criticize and monitor the government. This is why we feel the need to fill that role,” Li said.

  • Zelensky Warns Russia, China are Increasing Military Cooperation

    Zelensky Warns Russia, China are Increasing Military Cooperation

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that China is working to strengthen its cooperation with Russia, especially in military production. This comes as their relationship deepens since Russia invaded Ukraine.

    On social media, Zelensky shared a report from the head of Ukraine’s foreign intelligence agency. The report highlights that Russia relies on Chinese investment, technology, and political support.

    Zelensky mentioned that intelligence partners have also seen the increased cooperation between China and Russia in the military sector. He has directed Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service to watch this cooperation closely, focusing on how it affects Ukraine and its Western allies.

    “Global security must not be put at risk, as Russia’s desire for aggression continues,” he said.

    The report highlights that parts of Russian territory are becoming less independent as they increasingly favor Beijing. This is happening mainly through the use of resource-rich land and the sale of valuable resources to China.

    Despite Western pressure, China has grown closer to Russia since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

    China claims to be neutral in the conflict and has kept a low profile during global efforts to negotiate peace. However, many have urged China to use its influence over Moscow. Russia relies heavily on China to lessen the impact of Western sanctions.

    In September, leaders from China and Russia discussed their idea for a new international order at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. Last month, during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Chinese President Xi Jinping promised to increase investment and strengthen economic ties between their countries. He called this closer relationship a “shared strategic choice.”

    Xi mentioned several areas where they could work together, including aerospace, energy, agriculture, and the digital economy.

    Coalition of the Willing to Meet

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Ukrainian officials will soon share their latest proposals to end the war with U.S. negotiators. This comes as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes for a settlement.

    Zelensky will discuss these negotiations in a video call on Thursday with leaders from about 30 of Ukraine’s allies, part of the “Coalition of the Willing,” led by France and the United Kingdom. The French presidency confirmed that the call will happen.

    Ukraine’s European allies support President Zelensky’s goal of reaching a fair peace agreement that will stop future Russian attacks in Europe. They are concerned that Trump’s push for a quick deal could lead to an agreement that helps Russia.

    In response to Trump’s comments suggesting that Zelensky is using the war to avoid elections, Zelensky said Ukraine could hold a vote within three months if its partners guarantee safety during wartime and adjust the electoral law.

    “To hold elections, we must answer two main questions: First, how can we ensure security during the elections while facing attacks, and how will our military vote?” Zelensky explained.

    “The second question is the legal framework needed to make sure the elections are legitimate,” he noted, pointing out that elections cannot happen during martial law.

    Hospital Shelled in Russian-Controlled Kherson

    Fighting continues in the war as peace talks go on.

    In the southern Kherson region of Ukraine, controlled by Russia, Ukrainian shelling has killed three hospital workers and injured two others. Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-appointed governor, shared this information on Telegram. One of the injured workers is in intensive care.

    Separately, Russian drones attacked the gas transport system in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, reported Deputy Energy Minister Mykola Kolisnyk. Heavy fighting is also happening in Pokrovsk, in the eastern Donbas region, where Ukraine’s military is defending against a Russian mechanized attack.

  • Trump Allowed the Sale of Powerful Nvidia H200 Chips to China

    Trump Allowed the Sale of Powerful Nvidia H200 Chips to China

    US President Donald Trump has approved the sale of Nvidia’s H200 chip to China. This decision reduces the export controls that the U.S. has placed on Chinese technology.

    On Monday, Trump told Chinese President Xi Jinping about this decision. Under this plan, 25 percent of the sales revenue will go to the U.S. government. Trump said that sales would only be allowed to “approved customers” and would include measures to protect national security. He stated his administration would take the same approach with other chipmakers like AMD and Intel.

    “This policy will support American jobs, strengthen U.S. manufacturing, and benefit American taxpayers,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

    Nvidia, based in Santa Clara, California, said the decision strikes a “thoughtful balance” and will help support high-paying jobs and manufacturing in America.

    Nvidia shares increased by over 2 percent after hours due to recent news.

    Significant Policy Change from the Biden Administration

    Former President Donald Trump announced a significant change from the Biden administration’s policy. Biden’s government had limited Nvidia and other chipmakers to selling downgraded versions of their products for the Chinese market.

    In a post on Truth Social, Trump criticized Biden’s approach. He said it made U.S. tech companies spend billions on downgraded products that “nobody wanted.”

    The H200, released in 2023, is Nvidia’s strongest chip outside of the latest Blackwell series. Trump confirmed that the Blackwell series will still be restricted for the Chinese market.

    Although the H200 is not the most advanced chip, it is almost six times more powerful than the previous H20 chip, according to the Institute for Progress, a non-partisan think tank based in Washington.

    In August, the Trump administration announced an agreement with Nvidia. Nvidia will pay the US government 15 percent of the money it makes from selling the H20, a product made to meet restrictions on the Chinese market.

    Tilly Zhang, a Chinese tech expert at Gavekal Dragonomics, said Trump’s decision shows the realities of the market and strong pressure from Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang.

    According to Zhang, the focus is now on competing for market share instead of just blocking China’s tech progress. She mentioned that since blocking China’s technology growth is getting harder, the US is now prioritizing increasing market share and revenue.

    Zhang said this change signals a shift in the competition between China and the US in artificial intelligence. She believes that chipmakers in both countries may innovate faster, which could lead to more dynamic markets.

    Democratic lawmakers quickly criticized Trump’s announcement.

    Trump Administration Harmed US Security – Elizabeth Warren

    US Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts accused the Trump administration of harming US security.

    “Trump is allowing Nvidia to export advanced AI chips that his own Department of Justice has said are being illegally smuggled into China,” Warren stated on X. She referred to several investigations by the DOJ into illegal chip shipments.

    “His own DOJ called these chips ‘building blocks of AI superiority.’”

    Chris McGuire, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said that Trump’s recent decision is a setback for the U.S. in its competition with China to lead in artificial intelligence (AI).

    He noted that easing export controls on AI chips will help Chinese AI companies catch up to advanced U.S. AI models. It will also allow Chinese cloud computing firms to set up competitive data centers around the world. McGuire, who worked on tech policy in Biden’s White House, shared these thoughts with Al Jazeera.

    He warned that this could undermine the administration’s efforts to keep the U.S. AI technology in a leading position globally.