Is China 'Bombing' Mockups of U.S. Jets in Drills? | China In Focus

Welcome to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story. A satellite image is sparking speculation. Mock-ups of US fighter jets captured in China's desert. Has the Chinese military been practicing how best to attack them? Biden warns China's leader Xi to be aware of the price to pay if China continues supporting Russia or asserting aggression in the Indo-Pacific. It's the second harsh warning China received during three days of NATO meetings. We have to make sure that Xi understands there's a price to pay for undercutting both the Pacific Basin as well as Europe. Why is a Chinese biotech firm allowed to grow genetically engineered soybeans in the U.S. while American companies are facing delays for approval? Congressman John Molinar wants answers from the USDA. And the eighth anniversary of a landmark ruling over Beijing's claims in the South China Sea. Filipino activists come together to celebrate. Before we dive into today's top story, we have some announcements to share. NTD's Fiona Ji will be sitting in for me on China In Focus from July 15th to the 18th. Next week, NTD's Steve Lance and I will bring you live special coverage of the Republican National Convention. Former President Trump is expected to be officially nominated as the 2024 Republican presidential candidate at the event. Take a look. The biggest Republican event of the year. Four nights. Thousands under one roof. Officially nominating their candidate for president. America's comeback starts right now. Watch NTD's live special coverage with Steve Lance and Tiffany Meyer on The Nation Decides 2024. Republican National Convention, 6 p.m. Eastern from July 15th through the 18th on NTD News. Watch our special coverage of The Nation Decides 2024 next week, Monday through Thursday at 6 p.m. Eastern. Has the Chinese military been practicing how to strike U.S. fighter jets? A satellite image is raising speculations. Captured this May, it shows 20 replicas of fighter jets and the mock-ups are strikingly similar to U.S. F-22 and F-35 fighter jets. Several of the mock-up fighter jets appear to have been damaged. A runway nearby shows what appears to be scorch marks after blasts. These mock-ups are in a desert in the western Xinjiang region. A naval affairs expert told South China Morning Post that the exercises indicate Beijing's efforts to build up long-range missile systems to deter U.S. naval forces. He said the U.S. and its allied naval forces would be a natural target for China because of their ability to project power. F-35 is the most advanced fighter jet in the U.S. It's commonly used in U.S. Air Force and allied nations. The Chinese military has said that its exercises don't target any specific party. In 2015, news about a Chinese drill sparked controversy. Footage shows a Chinese soldier charging toward a building that looked like Taiwan's presidential office. Taiwan launched protests to Beijing following the incident. The Chinese Communist Party sees Taiwan as part of China despite never having ruled it. It has pledged to take the island under control by force if necessary. President Biden wrapping up NATO's Washington summit with a press conference Thursday night. In it, Biden sent out a warning to China's top leader Xi Jinping. Watch. We have to make sure that Xi understands there's a price to pay for undercutting both the Pacific basin as well as Europe and it relates to Russia and dealing with Ukraine. Biden stressed that China needs to understand that it won't benefit economically if Beijing continues supplying Russia with quote information and capacity. The statement counters China's argument that it has not supplied Russia with arms. At the same time, the West is looking for ways to curb China with European allies now preparing to pull investments out of the country. According to a May survey posted by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, the number of companies seeing China as the top choice for investments has dropped to the lowest point in 14 years. Back to the summits, NATO leaders also accused China of widespread oppression in the Asia-Pacific region. They said it undermined security for NATO allies and partners, namely in the South China Sea and Taiwan. NATO Secretary General also condemned China for crushing democratic voices in Hong Kong. The NATO chief also raised concerns that China is building a huge military presence with no transparency, especially when it comes to missiles and nuclear weapons. Worth noting, the Chinese military is holding an 11-day joint exercise with Belarus near NATO member Poland's border. The NATO chief said this exercise proves authoritarian regimes are building a closer alliance approaching NATO territory. More news from the NATO summit. The United States will start deploying longer-range missiles in Germany in two years. The two countries announced the move at the NATO summit in Washington. It's part of the alliance's efforts to counter threats from Russia. Plus, China has been labeled as an enabler for Moscow's war. Here's more. In a major step aimed at countering what NATO allies say is a growing Russian threat, the United States will start deploying longer-range missiles in Germany in two years. The two countries announced the move at NATO summit in Washington, with U.S. President Joe Biden hailing on Wednesday pledges by member states to invest in defense. We can and will defend every inch of NATO territory, and we'll do it together. The decision will send to Germany the most potent U.S. weapons to be based on the European continent since the Cold War. There was also strong language on China, with the 32 NATO allies jointly labeling the country a decisive enabler of Russia's war effort in Ukraine. China provides dual-use equipment, microelectronics, a lot of other tools which are enabling Russia to build the missiles, to build the bombs, to build the aircraft, to build the weapons they're using to attack Ukraine. The NATO leaders said they're open to constructive engagement with Beijing, but that they're also boosting their shared awareness against what they called China's coercive tactics and efforts to divide the alliance. After viewing a draft of the communique, a spokesperson for the Chinese mission to the European Union slammed the statement as full of belligerent rhetoric, as well as provocations, lies, incitement and smears. Are days numbered for Chinese metal evading U.S. tariffs? President Biden's new tariff aims to put a stop to its trade path through Mexico. But what about dumping concerns about Chinese EVs moving through Mexico and crossing the border, plus $2.8 billion of U.S. taxpayer funding going to a lithium resource company backed by Chinese investors? To discuss, we sat down with Rex Lee, cybersecurity advisor at MySmartPrivacy. Rex Lee, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you back on the show. Tiffany, thank you for having me on the show. When it comes to this Lithium Americas and GAN Fund especially, you actually raised that issue at Sarah Week. And what did Senator Manchin tell you? OK, so I had an opportunity to question Senator Dan Sullivan from Alaska and Joe Manchin, who attended the conference. Joe Manchin actually championed the Lithium Americas deal in the Senate. So I had asked him about the investment made by GAN Fang in Lithium Americas. And he said that they should have a minority stake in the company. But I don't know if there's any real oversight there, because due to my question and the information that I had at the conference, he asked me after my question to stay behind. And he wanted to get more information from me. Likewise, Dan Sullivan also asked me to stay behind. And so both senators, they had their staffers collect my information. And only Dan Sullivan followed up with me. And I was able to send him my resources and my research on GAN Fang's investment in Lithium Americas. But since Sarah Week, and since I sent that information to Senator Dan Sullivan's office, neither Joe Manchin's office or Dan Sullivan's office has reached out to me for any follow up on this matter. And again, since then, there's been another $70 million investment by GAN Fang in Lithium Americas. Given that, what steps should the U.S. take to ensure that taxpayer dollars aren't inadvertently funding a country like China that sees the U.S. as its enemy? I believe that the perception was that the taxpayer was investing in American companies so that America can become the leader in green energy exploration, the development of green energy products and the manufacturing of green energy products here in the United States. But what we're finding out is that that money is being spent on green energy production and manufacturing in foreign countries. This is a huge issue. And this led to another issue that Joe Manchin had brought up, which is product dumping in Mexico. And what that is, is where Mexican companies who are getting a nation favorite trading status through NAFTA can now import products from China into Mexico, then export them into America under a favored nation trading status. And so then now you can see where these backdoors are allowing these companies from all over the world, mainly from China, to benefit at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer. Rexley, thank you so much for your time. Thank you. President Biden has renewed Hong Kong's national emergency status, an executive order issued by the Trump administration in 2020. The policy strips the city of its special trade privileges after Beijing imposed a draconian national security law on the region. In a statement, Biden said China's recent actions fundamentally undermine Hong Kong's autonomy. He added the regime continues to pose an unusual threat to the U.S. In response, China vowed, quote, fervent counterattacks if the U.S. proceeds with the order. Under the emergency status, no sensitive American technology is allowed to be exported to Hong Kong, and Hong Kong passports are treated just the same as Chinese ones. A letter to the U.S. agriculture chief from the chairman of the House-elect China Committee. Congressman John Molinar on Wednesday asked the USDA why it greenlit a Chinese biotech company, allowing it to make genetically engineered soybeans in the U.S. That's as many American agricultural companies face delays for approval. The Chinese biotech company is called Qi Biodesign. The committee says it has links to the Chinese regime. The company is partially funded by a venture capital firm controlled by China's official science and research institute. Molinar wrote that Qi Biodesign and other Chinese firms are directly supported by Beijing with the goal of replicating and replacing their U.S. counterparts. In 2012, a Chinese man dug up seeds from farmland in Iowa and sent them back to China. The House-elect China Committee has asked the USDA to immediately revisit the status review for Qi Biodesign. The USDA said it reviewed the soybeans produced by the Chinese company and determined it has no authority to regulate them. And in the South China Sea, dozens of Filipino activists gathered in the Philippine capital Manila on Friday. It marks the eighth anniversary of a landmark ruling over China's claims to the waters. China claims almost the entire South China Sea. But in 2016, the internationally recognized Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague rejected China's territorial claim over the It ruled that China has no right to the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. The Chinese Communist Party rejected the ruling and continued to build artificial islands armed with military facilities and fighter jets. China's Coast Guard is also accused of harassing Filipino boats in the region. The international community has already ruled that Filipino fisher folks have a right to fish in the West Philippine Sea. So no matter what they are doing, harassing our fisher folks, harassing our Coast Guard, ordinary Filipino citizens are standing up protecting our Filipino fisher folks because we refuse to back down and we refuse to cower to China's threats and harassment. The Philippines accused the Chinese Coast Guard last month of intentionally ramming and deliberately puncturing Navy vessels to disrupt Philippine military resupply missions in its exclusive economic zone. It also accused the Coast Guard of seizing weapons that seriously injured a Filipino sailor who lost a finger in the incident. Filipino officials said on Friday that the nation has agreed with China to ease tensions in the contested shoal. China's Three Gorges Dam is bracing for a new round of flooding. The water level inside the reservoir has climbed over 500 feet in July, a record. Authorities say the flood would hit the dam in about four days along with heavy rainfall. Moving west to Chongqing, the largest city in China, is reeling from the aftermath of heavy rain. Floods washed away cars, destroyed roads and trapped residents in buildings. Thousands have been forced to evacuate and the downpour is expected to last over the next few days. So far, flooding has affected over 20 million in southern China. Officials say 86 are dead or missing. NTD can't independently verify that number due to the regime's history of covering up disaster casualties. Coming up, thousands of candles lighting up the National Mall in front of U.S. Capitol. Thousands of Falun Gong practitioners gather on a special night to remember those killed by the CCP for their faith. Going nuclear would be an option in combat against North Korea, according to President Joe Biden. He spoke to his South Korean counterpart to reiterate U.S. support. Both leaders deny aggressive intent against Pyongyang. Not far from Australian shores, the Chinese Communist Party is boosting its influence in Pacific island states. Why are the small islands so important? More on that after the break here on China In Focus. That's all for today's China In Focus on YouTube. We're now sharing a shortened version of our program here after being demonetized for three years. If you'd like to support us, consider donating. Find us at donorbox.org slash china-in-focus or subscribe to our partner platform Epic TV, where you can watch our full episodes. Just click the link down below. Here's what to look out for in our second half. Coming up, thousands of candles lighting up the National Mall in front of the U.S. Capitol. Thousands of Falun Gong practitioners gather on a special night to remember those killed by the CCP for their faith. Going nuclear would be an option in combat against North Korea, according to President Joe Biden. He spoke to his South Korean counterpart to reiterate U.S. support. Both leaders deny aggressive intent against Pyongyang. Not far from Australian shores, the Chinese Communist Party is boosting its influence in Pacific island states. Why are the small islands so important? More on that after the break here Thanks for watching China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. See you soon.