Free Republic

BEIJING, June 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Monday reaffirmed his faith in a strong dollar and reassured the Chinese government that its huge holdings of dollar-denominated assets are safe. "We believe in a strong dollar," Geithner said in a question-and-answer session after a speech to students at Peking University. [ID:nPEK144756] A major goal of Geithner's maiden visit to China as Treasury secretary is to allay Beijing's concerns that Washington's mushrooming budget deficit and ultra-loose monetary policy will undermine both the dollar and U.S. bonds. China is the biggest foreign owner of U.S. Treasury bonds. "Chinese financial...

<p>A former analyst for the Pentagon’s intelligence service provided China with highly classified information prior to the loss of a major electronic spying operation against Beijing, The Washington Times has learned. The loss of the National Security Agency’s eavesdropping operation hampered U.S. efforts to track China’s covert arms sales to nations such as Iran, Syria and Pakistan, Bush administration officials said.</p>

Report: China has deployed missiles giving it second-strike capability against U.S. Insight Magazine, August 3, 2006The U.S. intelligence community has determined that Beijing has developed and deployed a series of missiles that would give China second-strike nuclear capability in any confrontation with the United States. The determination of a sea-based deterrent is said to have significantly increased Beijing's threat to the United States. "It is clear to me that China is now embarking on a significant investment in a second-strike capability to ensure the survival and, thus, viability of its nuclear forces," said Richard Fisher, a researcher at the International...

China raking it in China's trade surplus hit a monthly high in May. The surplus is on pace to surpass last year's record. May exports jumped 25.1% from a year earlier to $73.11 billion, picking up from a 23.9% increase in April, according to customs figures issued yesterday. Imports rose a more modest 21.7%. The trade surplus, the excess of exports over imports, surged to $13 billion for the month, 44% higher than in May of last year. Low-tech, labor-intensive goods like footwear and toys haven’t been great performers this year, but China’s booming electronics sector and its growing prowess...

It was a disgusting, when Yahoo helped China jail a dissident writer in September. But it wasn't exactly uncommon. Lots of American technology companies have been helping out the autocrats in Beijing, Legal Affairs notes. Take Cisco. The company "earns $500 million a year in revenues [in China] and holds 60 percent of the Chinese market for routers, switches, and other sophisticated networking gear." That includes "the watchdog router that prevents Internet users in China from gaining access to banned websites." And it includes Policenet, which "connects officials of the Public Security Bureau — a national agency with local branches...

More than a decade after the fall of the former Soviet Union and Eastern European communist regimes, the international communist movement has been spurned worldwide. The demise of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is only a matter of time. Nevertheless, before its complete collapse, the CCP is trying to tie its fate to the Chinese nation, with its 5000 years of civilization. This is a disaster for the Chinese people. The Chinese people must now face the impending questions of how to view the CCP, how to evolve China into a society without the CCP, and how to pass on...

China is attempting to justify its inevitable invasion of Taiwan with some legal maneuvering – an anti-secession law. The free world's response to this grotesque violation of human rights and militaristic, imperialistic threat should be to recognize Taiwan once and for all as an independent, free and sovereign nation-state. But don't hold your breath. Washington doesn't want any more crises on its plate. The Bush administration has its hands full with the war on Islamo-fascist terrorists. It doesn't want any trouble with China right now. Washington would prefer to live in the world of make-believe and wishful-thinking – pretending that...

Guojian Liang is both friend and competitor to Central Washington. For four years, he's been buying apples from Wenatchee and selling them across China. During a one-month span in September 2003, his company imported 10,029 boxes, a feat that garnered an award from Gov. Gary Locke during a visit last year. His company, Shunfeng Trading, also exports Chinese apples to Singapore, Malaysia and other countries. "The Chinese Fuji can dominate in those countries," he says. "The cost is less and the quality is good." In fact, the Chinese Fuji already dominates in Singapore and Malaysia, as well as in Thailand...

China is eyeing participation in new privately funded U.S. space ventures, such as the Bigelow Aerospace inflatable habitat for biotech or other space-business endeavors. A Chinese role in these ventures could challenge the U.S. government to focus more attention on space cooperation with China. This is especially so, since the U.S. State Dept. would have to rule on such commercial cooperation. Bigelow is receiving substantial technical assistance from the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), which developed the original TransHab inflatable concept considered earlier for use on the International Space Station (AW&ST Dec. 8, 1997, p. 39). Bigelow has taken over...