Mass Protests Continue in China | China in Focus

Welcome to China In Focus, I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story, the White House says President Trump will visit China in mid-May, but Beijing has yet to confirm the date. So how does this meeting fit into rising global tensions? Feeling the pressure from the U.S. activity, combined U.S.-Israel activity and Iran, and understanding that probably has at least some message to Beijing. Barring fertilizer exports and pressing companies to release their reserves, that's China's answer to ease the global fertilizer shortage sparked by the Iran war. But for other countries, this is devastating. Small businesses in America aren't spared in the economic war China has waged against the U.S. Some victims testified on Capitol Hill. We sued for breach of contract and interference, and then they counter-sued us, a small local business for $110 million. And residents continue protesting across several Chinese cities. Meanwhile, house church Christians face ongoing pressure from authorities. After the White House announced President Trump will visit China from May 14th to 15th, Beijing on Thursday stopped short of confirming the dates. It comes as the administration balances a high-stakes diplomatic mission with the ongoing military operation in Iran. Taiwan, meanwhile, says the trip will not affect the pace of U.S. arms sales to the island. On Wednesday, President Trump announced on Truth Social that he will visit China on May 14th. He also revealed that he and First Lady Melania Trump will host Chinese leaders Xi Jinping and Madame Peng Liyuan in Washington later this year. Trump called the upcoming summit, quote, a monumental event. The trip was originally set for late March, but it was postponed due to the war in Iran. There was a discussion about the rescheduling of the meeting between the president and President Xi. President Xi understood that it's very important for the president to be here throughout these combat operations right now. He understood, obviously, the request to postpone and accepted it, which is why we have new dates on the books. In Beijing, the tone was more reserved. On Thursday, a foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed that the two sides are in communication about the visit, but stopped short of confirming specific dates. He noted that head of state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in guiding the China-U.S. relations. Meanwhile, both China's foreign and defense ministries reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire. This comes as Washington has been in negotiations with Tehran, but continues to strike Iranian military targets. During a cabinet meeting today, the president offered his latest take on a potential deal with Iran. I say they're lousy fighters, but they're great negotiators. And they are begging to work out a deal. I don't know if we'll be able to do that. I don't know if we're willing to do that. Later that day, he said on Truth Social that the talks were going very well, adding that he had decided to pause the destruction of energy plants by 10 days until April 6th. As for whether the conflict could end before a potential Trump-Xi summit, White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt addressed the timeline a day earlier. She said the president had initially estimated the operation would wrap up within four to six weeks. That timeline would put its end around April 10th, well before the Beijing summit. Shifting to Taiwan, all eyes are on the upcoming meeting. Defense Minister Wellington Kuo addressed concerns about whether the Beijing trip would delay U.S. arms sales to the island. Kuo says Taiwan has received letters of assurance from Washington and has not received any notice of delays. If the trip in May goes forward, it will mark the second face-to-face meeting between Trump and Xi during his second term, following their talks at the APEC summit in South Korea last October. To discuss the upcoming meetings between President Trump and China's Xi Jinping, we spoke with retired Air Force Brigadier General David Stilwell. He served as the U.S. defense attaché in Beijing and as the Assistant Secretary of State. If you're going to do any sort of negotiating with PRC, you have to be willing to walk away. You know, when we have delegations come to China, we would take them to the silk market or the pearl market or whatever, and just show them how you negotiate, and you always walk away. If you don't walk away, you're not serious. And so this is a really, I think, smart move by the administration just to say, we don't like the deal, we're going to walk away and wait for a better deal. How the current conflict is impacting both the trip and the PRC in general, I think it's got the folks in Beijing scared to death. Because the language from the president to the Iranian people was, we're giving you every opportunity now to stand up and remove your oppressors and get back to what looks like a normal government. If you don't think the Chinese people are hearing that message, it's loud and clear. That's got to have the Chinese Communist Party shaking. Now expanding on that, if this war does wrap up, the president say four to five weeks hence the new dates, right? Does that up the president's hand in terms of leverage, or as he likes to say, who has the cards? Well, it depends on how you play those cards. People misread, I think, the language, and I'm not an apologist, I just think we need a better understanding how this very unorthodox president operates. And you can look at past performance and then use that to understand current. When he said we've set up another meeting in May, he was very clear, he was very flattering. The great president of China, all that stuff, and people say, oh, he loves despots and tyrants. No, no, it's flattery. You disarm your adversaries by flattering them. It makes it really hard for them to punch you in the face when you're fawning over them. And if you look at how that flattery has worked in the past, it hasn't shown any drawback or pulling back on tariffs or other activities or other policies that are purely in US interest. So I ask people to look at the, don't look at the words, look at the actions. So having said no once, walked away from the deal once, I do think the negotiating leverage has gone up going into May. And in terms of actions from China, there's reporting that an IED was discovered at McGill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. That is headquarters to CENTCOM and the U.S. special ops that are focused on Iran. Now the FBI says Alan Chen, who is currently in China, and his sister Anne Mary Chen are responsible and that the plot is tied to the Iran war. What is China's interest in the Iran war? Well, it's called the United Front Work Department activity in our country. From our colleges to our government, you've got the son, Michael and Linda, you know, in California and New York. We are an open society and we are thoroughly penetrated. Read Political Warfare by Kerry Gershanik or any of these other books that give you an idea of how United Front Work Department works. They have people, saboteurs, influencers, whatever you want to call them throughout the country. And so feeling the pressure from the U.S. activity, you combine U.S.-Israel activity in Iran and understanding that probably has at least some message to Beijing. You're going to see more and more of this stuff. Now ahead of the strikes in Iran, many Chinese media mouthpieces said the U.S. didn't have the backbone to strike Iran, given how things are playing out so far. How could this change the calculus, if you will, of China's invasion of Taiwan plans? Any time you show that you are willing to act, remember, weakness breeds aggression. Yeah. You know, it's showing strength, showing a, you know, getting away from this immunity or this hesitation to act sends a clear message. And it says that, I mean, and on that topic, again, let's always remember, it's U.S. and Israel versus Iran right now. It's not the U.S. alone. And it's Japan and the U.S. and others in the Pacific. It's not Japan. It's not the U.S. alone. Whenever you can show cooperation, alliances like that, especially between a country as powerful as Japan, Beijing has to think twice. That makes any sort of Taiwan adventure a really, really bad idea. You saw the reaction of the CCP to when the new prime minister, Takeichi, came on strong saying all of this instability in the region, the attacks on Taiwan have a direct impact on Japan and how they reacted and overreacted, strengthening your hand. Wolf warrior diplomacy fails again. Israel, Japan, the Philippines and others who are along side by side with the U.S. on this one, that is not missed in Beijing. Expanding on that, there were a lot of professors and analysts inside Beijing who were very surprised by what the U.S. did here and said that the killing specifically of Ali Khamenei, the former Iranian regime leader, was one of the most consequential geopolitical moves recently. What do you make of that and the broader geopolitical impacts this war is having? America's back. We care about our own security and our borders. We care about our hemisphere. Why? We went after Venezuela first. Why Cuba? Why the Panama Canal deal? With Hutchinson Wampoa, the Chinese company is being reconsidered. All those things are saying that, you know, the days of there's nothing wrong with dialogue. I love dialogue. I wish we could solve more things with dialogue. But when dialogue fails, you can't keep doubling down on dialogue. Eventually, you have to do something. And and the world is seeing an administration that's doing something. Well, General Stillwell, as always, thank you so much for your time. All right. Protests by residents are continuing in several cities, while Chinese authorities maintain pressure on house church Christians. Let's take a look. More than a thousand residents in a community in Wuhan took to the streets on Tuesday to protest new parking fees. They tore down multiple payment barriers. Variety of protests began last week. They escalated on Tuesday when some elderly residents got into a conflict with fee collectors and more residents joined in. Mass protests continued in a city in southern China's Guangdong province on Wednesday. They began last week over plans to build a crematorium less than a mile from residential areas and a water reserve. Residents say it raises safety concerns. Authorities initially claimed the project was a road before the truth emerged. A Beijing-based Christian lawyer was forced to surrender his license last week. Li Xiaoming is part of a house church that operates outside China's state-sanctioned system and does not recognize Communist Party authority. Over the past decade, he has repeatedly defended Christians in disputes with authorities. He says at least seven other Christian lawyers have had their licenses revoked for defending religious freedom. A business owner in Chongqing shouted injustice outside a local court on Tuesday. He says his assets were unlawfully seized by the government. Police officers were later sent to stop him and confiscate the banner. Next, the war in Iran is impacting not only the oil market, but also the fertilizer market. Nearly one third of the world's fertilizer exports go through the Strait of Hormuz. This key agricultural supply is facing a crisis with direct impacts on the spring planting season and global food security. So how is agricultural powerhouse China, who's also a major fertilizer exporter, juggling it all in this situation? NTD's Flora Hua has the story. China is stepping up measures to control its domestic fertilizer market. Over the weekend, an organization overseeing the sector urged fertilizer manufacturers to release their reserves. That's to ensure farmers have access to enough and affordable fertilizers for their crops. On top of that, Reuters reported days ago that about 50 to 75 percent of Chinese fertilizer is now banned from leaving the country. Here's the thing. China is the world's biggest grain producer. While also being a major fertilizer producer. But why is China curbing fertilizer exports? Ensuring food security is at the top of the Chinese Communist regime's priority list. Its goal is to build a self-sufficient food supply system. James Goury, author of The China Crisis, says food shortages and famine could be a primary cause of mass unrest, which could threaten the regime's rule. In 2022, protests driven by food shortages broke out amid the pandemic. It was the first in over three decades and quickly spread to multiple cities, including Shanghai. Beyond the pandemic, tensions between Washington and Beijing and the war in Ukraine have all made Beijing more alert to China's food security. And this spring planting season is especially challenging. About 30 percent of the world's fertilizers were shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, up until Iran blocked that route. The shortage soon caused the fertilizer prices to jump and China is taking steps to control domestic prices, which are now on average less than half the global level. But China's clients are feeling the heat. Media reports citing industry insiders say Beijing may not plan to lift the fertilizer export ban until August. China's fertilizer export account for 16 to 20 percent of total imports for countries like India, Brazil, and Thailand, based on last year's data. For New Zealand and Malaysia, that share is about 30 percent. Flora Hua, NTD News. Several Americans telling their stories at a house hearing on Wednesday. Lawmakers are probing how the Chinese regime is waging a war on small American businesses. NTD's Arianne Pongstar has the story. The People's Republic of China is America's foremost strategic competitor. The House Committee on Small Businesses on Wednesday, probing the Chinese Communist Party's threat to American entrepreneurs. Ranking member Nydia Velazquez laying out the main problems the CCP creates. The practices it has employed to bolster its state-controlled firms, corner markets, and undermine free competition around the world. Are hurting America's technological leadership and small businesses. One of the witnesses at Wednesday's hearing was Rush Doshi. He's the director of the China Strategy Initiative at the Council on Foreign Relations. He laid out one of the aspects of China's unrestricted economic warfare, the so-called little giants program. Once firms get in, once they get that little giants designation, they get access to an incredible package of loans, subsidies, state equity investments, expedited patent processing, university research support, streamlined stock market listings, and even offtake from SOEs and the government. Today more than 17,000 Chinese firms have been designated little giants. 90% are in high-tech manufacturing and some have grown into global titans like Unitary Robotics. Like other CCP tactics, it goes beyond simple competition between free market businesses. Another example of China's war on American businesses is the story of witness Sean Murphy, a businessman from Singapore invested in Murphy's Bitcoin mining company. However, it later turned out that the investors weren't from Singapore, but from Beijing with ties to the CCP. Just before Bitcoin mining began, they brought in personnel from China to replace us as operators. They sued for breach of, we sued for breach of contract and interference. And then they countersuit us, a small local business for $110 million. It was unfair. It was hugely inflated. It was lawfare and effectively they were mocking us and our judicial system. China experts often point out that the CCP uses America's free and open legal system to advance its own unethical goals by hiring multiple law firms and using funding from the Chinese regime, as was the case with Murphy. The witnesses at Wednesday's hearing saying the stories show that China is waging war against American entrepreneurs. They're calling on Congress to take legislative action to counter the CCP. Ariane Pasdar, NTD News. Coming up Chinese citizens and companies indicted for selling chemical precursors used to make fentanyl. Tens of thousands of Americans die from fentanyl overdoses each year. Another indictment in a case involving the smuggling of AI chips into China, bringing humans back to the moon. The space race is heating up between the US and China. More on America's push to get ahead. The number of Chinese companies going public in the US is dropping quickly. So what's behind the decline? More on that after the break here on China In Focus. Welcome back to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer, a fentanyl related indictment involving China. Six Chinese citizens and two China-based pharmaceutical companies have been indicted for allegedly selling chemical precursors used to make fentanyl. FBI Director Kash Patel announced the indictments on X. In a post on the social media platform, Patel added that the group had also formed an alliance with a Mexican drug cartel. The FBI director called the indictments historic. According to Patel, the investigation involved cooperation with Chinese authorities following an FBI trip to China in November. Tens of thousands of Americans die from fentanyl overdoses each year. Another major indictment involving China, three people, including a Chinese national and two Americans, have been charged with trying to smuggle AI chips into China through Thailand. Federal prosecutors say the trio attempted to buy millions of dollars worth of export-controlled computer chips without the proper licenses. The defendants allegedly began conspiring in May 2023 using Thailand-based companies as cover to get the chips to China. Authorities warned that illegally exporting advanced computing technology is a direct threat to U.S. national security. Leaders in Washington and Silicon Valley are sounding the alarm on artificial intelligence, calling it a race the U.S. can't afford to lose. At a major summit Tuesday, both sides agreed the biggest concern isn't just innovation, it's China. Tech executives and lawmakers came together at the Hill and Valley Forum to address how AI is now a high-stakes global competition. Despite past clashes over regulation, both sides are largely on the same page. The U.S. needs to stay ahead. Lawmakers warned this goes beyond business or technology. They framed it as a broader fight over economic power and national security, with China at the center of the concern. But underneath that agreement, there's tension. Some in Washington are questioning whether American companies should be selling advanced technology to Beijing. That concern comes after reports of high-end NVIDIA chips being exported and even smuggled into China through back channels. House Speaker Mike Johnson urging tech leaders to keep critical infrastructure, data and innovation here at home. Industry leaders echoed that urgency, with some saying they won't invest in technologies that could benefit competing nations. And others warned that if Washington and Silicon Valley don't get aligned soon, the U.S. could risk falling behind. NASA is focusing on the race with China over who will return to the moon first. NASA plans to build a $20 billion base on the moon over the next seven years, according to its new chief, Jared Isaacman, who spoke Tuesday. America will never again give up the moon. NASA is canceling plans to deploy a largely built space station meant to orbit the moon, and will instead use the components to construct a $20 billion base on the moon's surface over the next seven years. New chief Jared Isaacman announced the changes to NASA's flagship moon program, called Artemis, during a day-long event at NASA's Washington headquarters on Tuesday. Despite some of the very real hardware and scheduled challenges, we can repurpose equipment and international partner commitments to support surface and other program objectives. The Lunar Gateway Station was intended to be parked in a lunar orbit. It was designed to serve as both a research platform and a transfer station, where astronauts could board the moon landers before descending to the lunar surface. The changes imposed by Isaacman in recent weeks are reshaping billions of dollars' worth of contracts under the Artemis effort. As China races towards its own moon landing, companies are now scrambling to accommodate the extra urgency. NASA has stated we will return Americans to the moon before the end of President Trump's term. Our great competitor said before 2030. The difference between success and failure will be measured in months, not years. They may be early, and recent history suggests we might be late. Chinese companies have sharply declined from going public in the U.S. So far this year, just two Chinese firms have launched IPOs in New York. That's down from 19 during the same time last year. The slowdown follows tighter scrutiny from Washington. U.S. regulators have raised the bar for companies trying to list on exchanges like NASDAQ. There's now a minimum public shareholding of about $15 million needed for first-time listings. There are also capital requirements of around $25 million for Chinese companies. The companies with market values below $5 million could face delisting. Analysts say there are a few reasons behind the drop, including concerns over past fraud cases and weaker confidence from U.S. investors. They also point to a broader slowdown in Beijing's economy. For now, major Chinese tech companies like Alibaba and Baidu remain listed in the U.S. That's all for today's China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. If you have any feedback on the show or have something you'd like to see us cover, send us an email at ChinaInFocus at NTD.com. We'd love to hear from you. For on-the-clock original news coverage, visit us at NTD.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you tomorrow.