China Arrests U.S. Citizen 1 Month After Trump Xi Summit | China in Focus

Welcome to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story. A U.S. citizen arrested in China less than a month after President Trump's visit to Beijing puts the risk for Americans traveling to China. For decades, SpaceX was reserved for billionaires and institutions. Now trading on the Nasdaq, retail investors can buy a piece of Elon Musk's space empire for the first time. But with billions in losses, what should everyday investors know before buying in? Google suing a Chinese cybercrime group, accusing it of using artificial intelligence to scam Americans. The FBI is also involved. And Beijing-backed hackers launched 300 million cyberattacks against a U.S.-based non-profit. How this organization struck a nerve with the Chinese regime. Within 45 minutes, there were over 110,000 malicious attempts per second attacking our websites. This was an attempt to drain all our resources and crash our websites. China confirming that it has arrested a U.S. citizen who is also a Ph.D. candidate at UC Berkeley. This comes less than a month after President Trump visited Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. Chinese authorities suspect Meng Jing of engaging in espionage that endangered China's national security. He has been placed under criminal detention. It's rare for Beijing to arrest a U.S. citizen on national security allegations. The State Department told NTD there's no higher priority than the safety of Americans, and that it works to provide counselor assistance whenever a U.S. citizen is detained. Xin is the founder of a Myanmar-based think tank that has written about Chinese foreign policy. Xin was a student activist in Myanmar, also known as Burma. He fled the country in the 1990s as the junta tightened its control. He later obtained asylum in the U.S. Zooming out right now, there are about 200 Americans currently blocked from leaving China, according to the Duai Hua Foundation. Some have been jailed on drug charges, while others are barred from leaving due to financial disputes. And for Americans considering travel to China, the State Department advises exercising increased caution. The department says Chinese authorities could detain U.S. citizens for conducting research or accessing publicly available material. Under Chinese law, transferring documents, data or materials related to national security could be considered espionage. The tricky thing is, China is vague about what types of materials fall under national security. As a result, there are concerns that normal business activities could be treated as criminal acts, such as company owners gathering market data. It's the biggest day in Wall Street history. Elon Musk's SpaceX has officially gone public. For the first time, everyday Americans can buy shares in the company. Trading under the ticker symbol SPCX on the Nasdaq, it opened on Friday $135 a share. Here's the story. For more than two decades, SpaceX has been a private company. Only billionaires and massive banks could buy in. But today, the doors have swung wide open. SpaceX raised a record $75 billion, putting the total value of the company at around $1.77 trillion, making the largest initial public offering, or IPO, in history. And Elon Musk did something unusual. He saved up to 20 percent of those shares, specifically for everyday retail investors. Normally, that number is closer to 5 to 10 percent. And that's what SpaceX is all about. It's to take the fiction out of science fiction and create an exciting, inspiring future for everyone. Americans poured over $100 billion into orders before the opening bell even rang. That makes Elon Musk as the world's first trillionaire. So what are you actually buying when you purchase a share of SpaceX? SpaceX is really three businesses in one. It launches NASA astronauts, operates the Starlink internet service, and is betting big on artificial intelligence. So when you buy SpaceX stock, you're also betting on future ideas like space-based data centers for AI. The AI business is more uncertain. There's a lot of moving parts there in terms of, you know, what is the LLM that they're using? What are the chips they're going to use? What's computing capacity going to be? And can they prove out, let's say, a commercial model for data centers in space? While Starlink is the company's main moneymaker, SpaceX is currently operating at a loss. It lost nearly $5 billion last year alone. And in just the first three months of 2026, it lost another $4.3 billion. Much of the loss was attributed to spending related to X.A.I., the company behind Grok. So why is a money-losing company worth nearly $2 trillion? Wall Street is essentially making a bet that SpaceX's future is so big that today's losses don't matter. But if you're a regular investor thinking about buying on day one, remember, IPOs can jump at first due to hype, but they often cool off afterward. The IPO offering price is pricing in perfection. And that means that if you're buying at full price and everything doesn't go exactly right, you're not really getting any margin of safety. And there are other risk factors. One that stands out is Elon Musk's super voting control, which means major corporate decisions wouldn't really be up to a shareholder vote. Remember, investing always carries risk. Financial advisors generally suggest only investing what you can afford to lose and not betting everything on a single name. SpaceX's ambition is big to extend the light of consciousness to the stars. Its operations on Earth are big too, with thousands of launches expected per year. That could lead to a major problem. It requires large amounts of critical minerals to produce the equipment. And China still dominates the industry. So are there alternatives? First, the US and its allies are working to boost rare earth mining and manufacturing. Secondly, new technologies could emerge for critical minerals. And finally, as space exploration advances, it may become possible to source critical minerals from space. Or there could be a fundamental shift in China. All of these paths will take time and we'll see how it unfolds. Google suing a Chinese cybercrime group. The group is accused of using artificial intelligence to scam Americans. To counter it, Google is working with the FBI. In a federal lawsuit filed today, Google claims the operation is using its Gemini AI to mass produce fake corporate and government websites. Officials say the group, known as Outsider Enterprise, blasted fraudulent text messages to cell phones and stole millions of dollars from victims by impersonating trusted brands. In addition to filing the lawsuit, Google is now coordinating with the FBI and major wireless carriers to shut the network down. The tech giant is also pushing for new federal legislation to fight scams. 300 million cyberattacks within 45 minutes. All directed at a US-based non-profit helping Chinese people quit the Communist Party. The incident happened in Maine. The non-profit is called the Global Service Center for Quitting the CCP. It has helped over 460 million Chinese nationals quit the party and its affiliated organizations. They publish their statements under pseudonyms to avoid endangering themselves after severing ties with the CCP. The non-profit's chair, Wang Jiyuan, said the cyberattacks were launched by Beijing-backed hackers. Within 45 minutes, there were over 110,000 malicious attempts per second attacking our websites. This was an attempt to drain all our resources and crash our websites. The cyberattacks did not succeed. Still, Wang noted what's alarming is that it's not an isolated incident. Earlier this year, there have been five incidents where volunteers for the non-profit have been attacked in the US, UK and South Korea. The non-profit also received eight death threat emails last year, with the messages' IP addresses traced back to China. The email stated that they would detonate bombs during our activities in New York's flushing, and that they would send cars to crash into our parades. Wang believes the Chinese regime is behind it all. Why is the Chinese Communist Party so afraid of us? Because the number of people quitting the party and its affiliated organizations have been growing every day? The total number accounts for over 30 percent of China's population. Around 50,000 people are quitting every day and breaking free from the CCP's mental shackles. The movement has greatly shocked the CCP. It also serves as a big encouragement for the Chinese people. Wang said the non-profit is a safe outlet for Chinese people to express their opinion toward the party freely, something not available in China today. Over 460 million Chinese have made a choice deep down in their hearts that they do not acknowledge the party's lies and constraints. They want freedom. Wang noted the non-profit can't be stopped by any regime because it's not built around an organization. It's driven by people's desire for freedom. He said those in the West can support the quitting CCP movement by signing petitions on the website endccp.com. The U.S. targeting a communist country in its backyard, the State Department is sanctioning Cuba's state-owned oil and gas company. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday the regime's elites have weaponized energy as a means of social control and profit. In a post on X, the Secretary of State accused the Cuban government of hoarding fuel for decades. The secretary went on to say that the regime instead uses those resources to fund the Castro's private jet and state security forces that repress the Cuban people. Rubio said Cubans have endured blackouts and fuel shortages as a result. He went on to say that in post that quote, President Trump wants a new future for the Cuban people with greater economic and political freedom and opportunity. Secretary Rubio, his comments come as the United States continues to enforce an oil embargo against the communist governed island. The U.S. sanctions came just hours after high-level officials from China and Cuba held remote talks on expanding cooperation. The move also followed a Wednesday visit by War Secretary Pete Hexeth to the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Take a listen. What happens with the future of Cuba is in the hands of our, of the President of the United States and the leadership of Cuba. No matter what, the Department of War is going to be prepared. So far, the Trump administration has not announced any plans to use military force against Cuba. A diplomatic opening between Taiwan and an African country despite pressure from Beijing, Somaliland says it has the right to choose its own partners as it opens a new representative office in Taiwan. Somaliland, a self-declared state, broke away from Somalia in 1991. It's not internationally recognized and remains largely viewed as part of Somalia, but the exception of Israel. Somaliland and Taiwan are similar in one aspect. Both are diplomatically isolated. Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island, is being claimed by the Chinese Communist Party even though it has never ruled the island. Only a dozen countries officially recognize Taiwan. Taiwan and Somaliland established mutual representative offices in 2020. Somaliland's top envoy in Taiwan says the island is a key partner and says outside pressure has not changed its ties with Taiwan. But Somalia strongly rejects the relationship between Somaliland and Taiwan, saying Somaliland remains part of its sovereign territory. Somalia has previously banned Taiwan passport holders. Taiwan, meanwhile, says it has the right to maintain international partnerships even as Beijing's pressure continues to shrink its diplomatic space. China sanctions the Philippines' defense chief and now he's fighting back. Beijing says the move stems from remarks he made that harmed its interests. Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. firing back on Friday after China sanctioned him and his family. He is known for using strong language to counter China's claims over the South China Sea, calling them a fiction and lie that no Southeast Asian country would accept. Teodoro also said last year that Chinese leader Xi Jinping runs a small dictatorship and autocracy. He says Beijing targets those who speak the truth and vow to keep defending Philippine interests despite what he called China's wickedness in the region. The sanctions announced Thursday banned Teodoro and his family from entering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Beijing also barred individuals and groups in China from conducting business with them. After the first reports of the travel ban surfaced, Teodoro said he has no assets in China and no plans of going there. Local media quote him as saying, even if I wanted to visit because the food is good and the people are kind, that is overshadowed by the kind of government they have. The Philippines' foreign minister says the country plans to raise the issue with Chinese authorities and seek discussions over the sanctions. Welcome back to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. South Korea's ousted president Yoon Suk-yool and his former defense minister have been sentenced to 30 years in prison. The case involved allegations that Yoon ordered drone flights over Pyongyang. This was allegedly to heighten tensions with North Korea and justify declaring martial law at home. The full version of Seoul Central District Court's ruling today was not immediately available. Yoon already had been sentenced to life in prison for a rebellion conviction over his short-lived impose of martial law in 2024. North Korea accused Seoul of flying drones over Pyongyang to drop propaganda leaflets in 2024. Tensions rose sharply, but no clashes occurred. Yoon's legal team has said he never ordered the alleged drone flights. Turning now to the Middle East, a U.S.-Iran deal could be just around the corner or it might fall apart. The Strait of Hormuz could stay open or become the next flashpoint. With so much uncertainty, NTD's Kevin Hogan was joined by geopolitical analyst and Martin Capital CEO Rod Martin. President Trump calls Iran's oil infrastructure the pipes and he knows that those pipes are very precious to them, so he definitely weighs that in his calculations. Now, the regime's extreme ideology is a barrier to cooperation with the U.S. From one perspective, it seems a deal brought about by military pressure is the only way forward in the near future because the regime simply won't relinquish its goals without a direct threat to its survival. Looking past a signed deal, is there any way for Iran to be a partner or ally of the U.S. and how could that come about? A free Iran would be the greatest investment opportunity of the next decade. It would be extraordinary. A free Iran would become a first world country within a generation. It's an incredibly educated, incredibly industrious people that was well on track for that before the Islamist revolution in 1979. Now, if you end up with some kind of deal with the existing Iranian regime, that's harder. It's much harder to do business with that government, but it's not impossible and there could be some things that are doable that would significantly reduce global oil prices that would restrain Iran's ambitions around the region. The question would be enforcement, and I don't see a meaningful enforcement mechanism with these guys short of the regular threat of bombing because truly, it's as you say, you've got leadership that are true believers and you have more than a little bit of that in the ranks of the IRGC. You also have guys who know that in the event that the regime falls, the average Iranian is going to do his darndest to hang all those guys from the nearest lamp post like Ceausescu in Romania. And so they have a lot of incentive to hang on. But I think there's a point beyond which, and we're getting to that point, where there's just so little money to pay the enforcers of the regime that the script flips and a free Iran becomes possible. That may or may not happen before an agreement. I'm skeptical there will be an agreement, but even if there is one, that does not end the lion and sun revolution. And China is America's greatest adversary, as an interpretation from our reporting, what it's revealed, knowing what the Chinese regime does. Now, meanwhile, former national security advisors say the U.S. should stop treating China, Russia, and Iran as separate regional theaters and should instead drive wedges between them to weaken their cooperation. Are you seeing any of that playing out in the administration's approach to this conflict with Iran? Oh, absolutely. You know, this started before the Venezuela operation, with the beginning of U.S. naval interdictions of shadow fleet tankers that carry the steeply discounted illicit sanctioned oil then from Venezuela, but also from Iran and Russia. That all goes to China, almost all of it. For a while, a lot of the Russian oil was going to India. The Indians flipped sides and joined us in February, also interdicting Russian tankers, buying a lot of U.S. energy. What's left is China. And what we saw in China last month is just extraordinary and went greatly underreported, not by you guys, but by a lot of your competitors. They actually had a summit with the president, the result of which was, among other things, the shipment of a bunch of liquefied natural gas from the United States to China. So the Chinese are buying our energy. The next week, they had Putin in Beijing, and Putin walked away empty handed from seeking to build a pipeline from Siberia to China. Now, if the Chinese want to be free of the threat of American control over the Strait of Malacca and the Strait of Hormuz, the right answer is a Russian pipeline. That absolutely benefits them. They don't seem to care. And the net result clearly is Trump has been able to demonstrate to them that they are far more dependent on the U.S. consumer market than they are on any possible American disruption of oil supplies from the Middle East. And as a result, they're just going ahead and cutting out the middleman and buying from the United States. So yes, this divide and conquer strategy is clearly working. And meanwhile, you look at Iran. They have no modern air defenses. We destroyed what they did have. The bigger story there is they have no modern fighter jets at all. And they approached the Chinese last year yet again about selling the modern fighter jets. And basically, Beijing laughed them out of town, said the Israelis will have them blown up before we can get them to Tehran. So we have split these guys apart in a meaningful way. China and Russia are not helping Iran meaningfully at all. And Xi Jinping just put the squash eat us on Putin's most necessary economic initiative with that gas pipeline. Well, Rod, in response, I will say that, you know, analysts frequently point out that these types of authoritarian states or aggressor nations or whatever groups this Iran, China, Russia axis, they're not allies. They're just partners. And only when it's convenient for them. Rod Martin, thank you. Great talk. Thank you. 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 soon.