U.S. TRADE CHIEF TAI SAYS U.S. FACES ‘VERY LARGE CHALLENGES’ ON CHINA

Reuters. 27 May 2021

Below is an article published by Reuters. Photo:Reuters.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Wednesday that the United States still faces “very large challenges” in its trade and economic relationship with China that require the Biden administration’s attention across the board.

Tai spoke with Reuters in an interview before her first virtual call with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, a meeting in which she raised “issues of concern,” according to her office.

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FACTORY BOSS DEFIANT AS SANCTIONS BITE IN CHINA’S XINJIANG

AP News. 25 May 2021

Below is an article published by AP News. Photo:AP.

A backlash against reports of forced labor and other abuses of the largely Muslim Uyghur ethnic group in Xinjiang is taking a toll on China’s cotton industry, but it’s unclear if the pressure will compel the government or companies to change their ways.

Li Qiang, general manager of the Huafu Fashion yarn factory in Xinjiang, told reporters that even though the company lost money in 2020 for the first time in its 27-year history, it bounced back by shifting to domestic orders.

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UYGHUR TRIBUNAL DETERMINATION COULD CHANGE PARADIGM FOR CHINA RELATIONS: EXPERTSNEW

RFA. 26 May 2021

Below is an article published by RFA. Photo:AP.

A legal determination on whether China’s policies in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) constitute genocide can force states to reevaluate their ties to Beijing, experts said, a week ahead of the first hearing of an international people’s tribunal investigating reports of abuses in the region.

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EU efforts to ratify China investment deal on ice after sanctions

Yahoo News. 4 May 2021

Below is an article published by Yahoo News. Photo: AFP.

The European Commission said Tuesday that efforts to win approval for the EU’s massive investment deal with China were effectively “suspended” given the soured diplomatic relations between both sides after tit-for-tat sanctions.

“We now in a sense have suspended… political outreach activities from the European Commission side,” EU Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told AFP in an interview.

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WHY WON’T ENVIRONMENTALISTS SPEAK OUT AGAINST FORCED LABOR FOR CHINA-MADE SOLAR PANELS?

Forbes. 29 April 2021

Below is an article published by Forbes. Photo:NRDC, WIKIMEDIA, JEFFREY SACHS/COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY.

America’s leading climate and environmental groups including Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Energy Foundation, and Environmental Defense Fund have not responded to repeated queries about evidence that China is forcing Uyghur Muslims to choose between forced labor at factories which make solar panels which all three groups promote, or being sent to concentration camps.

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