US Releases New Chip Export Controls on China; Elon Musk's Mother a Rising Star in China

Welcome to China In Focus, I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story, Washington further limiting what American-made microchip technology China can get its hands on. More on how it ties into Beijing's military advancements. Trump vowing to slap 100% tariffs on the BRICS block, a group that includes China, Brazil, India, Russia and South Africa, if they go ahead with creating a new currency to challenge the U.S. dollar. Taiwan's president wrapping up a two-day stopover in Hawaii. More on his remarks during the U.S. visit ahead of diplomatic trips to three Pacific allies. And President Biden is visiting Africa. He's there to promote a railroad project that will deliver critical minerals to the U.S. but not to China. The Biden administration unleashing another round of semiconductor export controls on China. The goal is to prevent Beijing from using American technology to advance its own military. The Commerce Department is restricting exports for 24 types of equipment used to make microchips plus three software tools. A type of microchip that's critical for AI training is also on the banned list. 140 companies are also added to the blacklist. Some of them work with one of Beijing's state-backed champions, tech giant Huawei. Semiconductors are the heart of U.S. China competition. The tiny devices make up the foundation for all other technology, including advanced know-how like AI and quantum computing. Microchips also power our modern life, from iPhones to cars to home appliances, plus military gear and even missiles. China is the world's largest market for semiconductors. It accounted for 36% of U.S. semiconductor exports in 2022. Zooming in on American chipmaker Intel, a quarter of its revenue last year came from China, about $15 billion. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the move aims to prevent China from advancing its domestic semiconductor manufacturing system, which it will use to support its military modernization. China's foreign ministry responded, saying the new expert controls undermine international trade. China has ramped up efforts to become self-sufficient in the semiconductor sector in recent years, but it remains years behind industry leaders from other countries. President-elect Donald Trump has a warning for BRICS countries. A potential 100% tariff could be on the way. BRICS is an international organization with member states including China, Russia, India, Brazil, Iran and South Africa. It's largely seen as a counter to the Western-led world order. Trump urged BRICS not to create its own currency and not to support any alternative that would attempt to replace the U.S. dollar. He warned that doing so could cost them access to the U.S. market. The Taiwanese president is taking his first overseas trip since taking office. The first stop, a two-day visit to U.S. soil in Hawaii. Washington supported his visit, even as the Chinese regime expressed its anger. I am grateful to the United States for its assistance and support provided under the principles of safety, dignity, comfort and convenience, which ensure the success of this trip. I'm especially delighted that the first stop of this visit is Hawaii. President Lai Ching-de visited Hawaii before continuing on to visit three Pacific island nations. In a speech, Lai said that Taiwan's democracy could become a model for the international community. He also noted that Taiwan is a trusted partner of the United States in the high-tech sector. Taiwan is a major microchip producer. The island is home to a key supplier for Apple and NVIDIA, chipmaker TSMC. China's foreign ministry condemned U.S. support for his visit and launched a formal complaint with the U.S. government. The Chinese Communist Party claims Taiwan as its own territory, despite never having ruled it. Beijing also criticized a recent U.S. weapons sale to Taiwan, saying it would take forceful measures to, quote, safeguard the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Before Lai left for the trip, Washington announced a $385 million arms sale package for Taiwan. Lai's next stop is the U.S. territory of Guam. It's unclear whether Lai will meet with any members of the incoming U.S. administration during his stay. In addition to U.S. stops, Lai will visit the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, Taiwan's three diplomatic allies in the Pacific. President Biden is finally making his long-promised visit to Africa this week. There, he will promote an $800 million U.S.-backed rail project called the Lobito Corridor to counter Chinese influence on the continent. Here's the story. President Joe Biden visiting Africa today to see a railroad project called the Lobito Corridor. The corridor will transport critical minerals from the Congo to the Atlantic Ocean, where they will then eventually travel to America. If we don't have access to the critical minerals for the green economy, we'll lag behind in terms of greening the global economy. Strategy consultant Wala Chabala says that the U.S. is trying to maintain its global lead by accessing these critical minerals that include cobalt, copper, lithium, zinc and germanium. Now, these minerals are used in everything from plumbing and electronics to batteries and fiber optics. The corridor will connect the minerals in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the Lobito Atlantic Railway, which will deliver them to the Atlantic Ocean. Presently, most of the critical mineral resources and the strategic minerals are exported out of the eastern side of Africa, mostly through Dar es Salaam into China. China is currently the most active investor in the Congo, which is something that Washington is concerned about. Forward Trump officials say that Trump is likely to continue backing the Lobito Corridor. Shifting now to home soil. As of 2022, foreign investors own a whopping 43 million acres of U.S. farmland. The massive buy-up in recent years is raising concerns that adversarial countries like China are gaining control over the U.S. food supply. Part of a fourth-generation farm family, Brian Reisinger explores the stakes of protecting America's heartland with entities Steve Lance. He's also the author of Land Rich, Cash Poor. Brian Reisinger, thank you so much for joining. Thanks for having me on. I appreciate it. Now, with the consolidation of farmland into fewer and fewer hands, there's a concern about foreign ownership. What are some of the risks of allowing foreign adversaries such as China to gain more control over our nation's food supply? And how can we protect it from being acquired by foreign investors? This is a fundamental danger. Not only is the disappearance of our farms driving up the cost of our food and challenging the health of our food, but it is fundamentally putting in danger the supply of our food. There's no more fundamental security than a country being able to feed itself. Think about a crisis like COVID. Think about war. Think about uncontrollable weather disasters, moments where we need to make sure that we can feed ourselves. If we lose control of our domestic food supply, and if it is under the control of a foreign adversary, we are in as grave of danger as a nation could be. I can tell you that nobody's going to walk up on my dad's porch and get him to sell his farmland to China. But as we get that land in fewer and fewer hands, there are a lot of companies that just have to protect shareholders, and they might turn around and sell it to a foreign interest without having any real sense of the concerns. Or we may not be able to see it. It may go through different companies that keep you from being able to see who the actual end buyer is. So more oversight and more transparency is what's needed. What do farmers want to see in this next administration? And how can we protect the farmers and support them throughout, knowing that there could be some tactical tariffs on the way that may temporarily stall exports? Yeah. What farmers need overall is they need new entrepreneurial opportunities, so research and development that can bring innovation into farming in a bigger way. And they also need rules that allow us to make sure that we've got fair competition going on domestically and internationally. Farmers are among the most strident supporters for getting tough with China. But if, and tariffs are a tool in that, if the tariff situation goes too far and ends up turning into a retaliatory situation back and forth, tariffs upon tariffs upon tariffs, what will happen is it will become harder for American farmers to sell their goods. Brian Reisinger, author of Land Rich, Cash Poor, really appreciate you sharing this remarkable story with us. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Tesla CEO Elon Musk holds major celebrity status in the U.S. as well as China. But now the Chinese public is getting more curious about the woman who raised him. 76 year old model May Musk has made a few trips to the communist country in the past year. She's gained a massive following from the Chinese public, as many refer to her as a quote silver haired influencer. Her memoir titled A Woman Makes a Plan became popular among working women in China. The tech giant's mother also has a huge business presence there. Besides appearing in commercials and on magazine covers, May Musk is currently a global brand ambassador for Chinese mattress firm AISC Baobao. Meanwhile, her son Elon Musk has earned himself a position in the upcoming Trump administration. The business magnate is slated to spearhead a new department aimed at reducing government inefficiency. Despite tension between Washington and Beijing, his connection with China so far remains intact. Tesla currently operates its largest manufacturing plant in Shanghai. Coming up, an investigation zeroing in on tomato puree sold in several UK and German supermarkets. They're marketed as Italian, but may contain tomatoes grown and picked using forced labor in China. Death threats aimed at blocking the public from seeing a movie in Taiwan. The island's Congress vowing to investigate and stop the threats. The film's content aims to expose China's forced Oregon harvesting. And Germany's foreign minister says Russia is dragging Asia into the Ukraine war, pointing to Chinese drones and North Korean troops. She warns that Europe security is now at risk. More on that after the break here on China in Focus. Welcome back to China in Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. An investigation found tomato puree sold in several UK and German supermarkets marketed as Italian may contain tomatoes grown and picked using forced labor in China. There's no evidence the supermarkets were aware of this, instead finding signal that these Chinese tomatoes entered somewhere higher up in the supply chain. NTD's international correspondent Malcolm Hudson has more for us. A number of British supermarkets are alleged to be selling Italian tomato puree sold under their own brand name, made using tomatoes grown not just in Italy, but also in China, particularly in the Xinjiang region, and allegedly using forced labor from Uyghur people. BBC World Services commissioned testing of 64 different tomato purees sold in the UK, Germany and the United States. The testing found 17 products sold by retailers in the UK and Germany are likely to contain some Chinese tomatoes. That's despite the name or description of these purees having the word Italian. The BBC's testing included products from British supermarkets such as Tesco's, Waitrose, Asda and Morrison's. All the supermarkets whose products the BBC tested have said they take the allegations very seriously. Tesco suspended supply and German supermarkets chain Roo immediately withdrew the products. Others say that after carrying out their own internal investigations they found no evidence of Chinese tomatoes. There is no suggestion in the BBC's investigation that the supermarkets were aware the products allegedly contained Chinese tomatoes. China produces one third of the world's tomatoes and most of these are grown in the Xinjiang region. Xinjiang production is linked to forced labor of Uyghur and other largely Muslim minorities. The United Nations also reported human rights issues such as torture and abuse. The United States last month banned imports from around 30 Chinese companies over alleged forced Uyghur labor ties. These new measures included a restriction on tomato paste, US homeland security said they urged companies to take responsibility, know their supply chain and act ethically. A British Business Department spokesperson said that they are clear that no UK company should have forced labor in their supply chain and that they keep their approach to tackling forced labor in supply chains under continual review. Malcolm Hudson, NTD News, London. Movie theaters planted on the screen a documentary about China's forced organ harvesting facing death threats across Taiwan. The City Council of Taiwan's capital city Taipei disclosed details of these threats Friday and vowed to defend the island's freedom and democracy. NTD's Flora Hua has more. The award-winning documentary State Organs played at the City Council in Taipei, Taiwan's capital city, Saturday. But one day before, the council received an anonymous threat warning that someone would break into the screening room and attack people with knives. I want to reiterate firmly that such threatening rhetoric will not be tolerated in the highest hall of Taipei City, the Taipei City Council. Our right to screen this film and the public's right to know will not be challenged. I emphasize once again, tomorrow afternoon we will proceed with the official screening and it will be shown in full without compromise. The police were on guard on the screening day to protect the audience. The council also invited the mayor of Taipei to watch the film. Although there's no evidence of Beijing was behind these threats, the movie touches one of the most serious accusations against China, forcefully harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience and selling them for huge profits. The source of organ transplants in mainland China has long been questioned and criticized by the international community. The documentary State Organs focuses on exposing the CCP's alleged involvement in forced organ harvesting and human rights violations. Lawmakers say they're against any form of transnational suppression in Taiwan. Facilities hosting the film, ranging from a movie theaters to congressional agencies, have received nearly three dozen death threats over the past two months. Police investigation reveals that some of these threatening emails passed through 14 different countries IP addresses before reaching Taiwan. Flora Huan, NDD News. Zooming in on some of the other threats received, one of them reads, quote, several bombs have been planted. If you don't want to be blown to pieces, please delete all information about State Organs before 2 p.m. tomorrow. Another warns, quote, if State Organs is broadcast, we will storm Taiwan's Congress and start chopping people up. Moving to northern Europe, Lithuania has expelled three Chinese diplomats. Its foreign ministry said the Chinese staff violated the country's law and a diplomatic rule called the Vienna Convention. There are no further details on the case. The diplomats must leave the country within the week. China condemned Lithuania for its decision Monday, but expressed interest in making friends with the country's incoming government. The expulsion has further sour ties between China and Lithuania. NATO and European Union members are investigating a Chinese vessel over suspicions that it damaged undersea cables, including one that connects Lithuania to Sweden. In March, a Lithuanian spy chief warned that China could meddle in their October elections. And in 2021, Taiwan opened a de facto embassy in Lithuania. In retaliation, Beijing downgraded ties with Lithuania and pressured several companies to sever links with it. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says Russian President Putin is dragging Asia into the war in Ukraine. During a Monday press conference in Beijing, she spoke about the use of Chinese-made drones and North Korean troops. Take a listen. Drones from Chinese factories and North Korean troops attacking peace in the middle of Europe violate our core European security interests. The security and stability of Europe are closely linked to the security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. This includes massive unannounced military exercises near Taiwan, as well as aggressive, provocative behavior in the South China Sea. Baerbock stressed the responsibility of permanent members of the UN Security Council to not further fuel conflicts. China is a permanent member of the UN. China did not take part in the joint press conference and has yet to address the meeting. The United States is not considering returning the nuclear weapons that Ukraine gave up after the Soviet Union collapsed. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke to ABC over the weekend. He said the U.S. is increasing conventional support to help Ukraine defend itself. He also emphasized the importance of a smooth transition with the incoming administration, as major challenges will remain after January 21st. Sullivan made the remarks when questioned about a New York Times article that was published last month. It cited unnamed sources who suggested President Biden could give Ukraine nuclear weapons before he leaves office. Looking at China's southwestern border, India is strengthening its naval forces. The country's Navy chief said Monday that India is adding 100 ships and submarines to its military fleet, plus a nuclear powered attack submarine. We have also kept a close watch on the activities off extra regional forces operating in the Indian Ocean region. Which included the PLA Navy units. The PLA is the formal name of the Chinese military. The Indian naval chief confirmed that French authorities agreed to sell 26 warplanes and three additional attack submarines to India. He disclosed the submarines could be completed as soon as next month. India's Prime Minister Modi has upped the country's budget for modernizing the military over the past few years. Tensions caused by border disputes between China and India have cooled in recent months. The two nuclear powers reached a deal for disengage back in October and you can now catch China in focus on Genji world every Tuesday. Instead of YouTube to watch, simply click the link in the description box down below or search China in focus at Genji world dot com. 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 China in focus entity dot com. We'd love to hear from you around the clock. Original news coverage. Visit us at NTD dot com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you tomorrow. Coming up on NTD. Stay tuned for America's hope with Kelly Wright. Tonight Kelly talks to political analyst bunny pounds and law enforcement veteran Bobby Kipper about the recent violent threats targeting cabinet nominees and some democratic members of Congress. Both guests stress the need for respect and kindness. Pounds also discusses the challenges of immigration, highlighting the role of law enforcement and the need for border security. Kipper addresses the need for people to actively care for each other. That's tonight at 10 p.m. After China in focus. Thanks for watching. See you tomorrow.