Tag Archives: China
17 April 2013
The New York Times reports that Chinese officials are seeking to enlist the help of the Nepalese authorities in cracking down on the political activities of the 20.000 Tibetans in Nepal. China is exerting its influence across Nepal in a variety of ways, mostly involving financial incentives. In Mustang, China is providing 50.000 US dollars in annual food aid and sending military officials across the border to discuss with local Nepalese what the ceremonial prince of Mustang calls ‘border security.’ Nepalese police regularly detains Tibetans during anti-China protests in Katmandu, and have curbed celebrations of the birthday of the Dalai Lama.
Source: The New York Times | China Makes Inroads in Nepal, and Stanches Tibetan Influx
14 April 2013
A Chinese statement issued during a visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry said the nuclear issue was the ‘shared responsibility of all parties’. North Korea has recently threatened nuclear attacks, and is feared to be preparing a missile launch. China and the US vowed to work together to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear programme and to settle tensions through dialogue. John Kerry said that the US and China were able ‘to underscore our joint commitment to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula in a peaceful manner’.
Source: BBC | China and US make North Korea nuclear pledge
7 March 2013
At the Conference of the Parties of the of the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), eight states (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and China) were identified as key to the trade in ivory and were threatened with trade sanctions if they do not address failures in protection against poaching, and failures in seizing illegal ivory trade.
Six of these states are states which most ivory passes through (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam), the other two are the states were most ivory is bought (China and Thailand).
The news of threat of trade sanctions coincides with the publication of a report that details the increase in levels of poaching. The report concludes that illicit ivory trade activity and the weight of ivory behind this trade has more than doubled since 2007, and is over three times greater than it was in 1998.
Source: The Guardian | Two-thirds of forest elephants killed by ivory poachers in past decade
Source: UNEP, CITES, IUCN, TRAFFIC | Elephants in the Dust - The African Elephant Crisis | A Rapid Response Assessment
Source: The Miami Herald | Ivory trade nations face threat of sanctions
25 February 2013
The White House threatened China and other states with diplomatic and trade action over corporate espionage in a conference on Wednesday, after cataloging more than a dozen cases of commercial thefts and cyberattacks at some of the biggest companies in the United States (US). The strategy of the Obama administration was outlined in a report at the conference.
The strategy report said Washington would work with its allies to coordinate on ways to pressure states like China, which according to the US government are engaged in heavy theft of intellectual property.
Source: The Wall Street Journal | U.S. Ups Ante for Spying on Firms
Source: Administration Strategy on Mitigating the Theft of U.S. Trade Secrets | February 2013
3 September 2012
According to prosecutors from the United States (US), there is evidence that Chinese banks may have disregarded the financial sanctions imposed on Iran. Chinese banks are suspected of moving large amounts of dollars on behalf of Iranian companies and banks. Last month, the US imposed sanctions against the ‘Bank of Kunlun’, because the bank ‘facilitated transactions worth millions of dollars on behalf of Iranian banks.’
Source: New York Times | Prosecutors Link Money From China to Iran