China can destroy US targets in space.
That’s according to a new Pentagon report.
Carnival in Italy has a surprise guest.
And China reaches out to the Venezuelan opposition.
That and more on this week’s China news headlines.
This is China Uncensored.
I’m Chris Chappell.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
for the latest China news,
and click the notification bell so you get an alert
each time we publish a new episode.
This week’s China news headlines.
China is the largest
most powerful authoritarian state in the world.
Plus they’ve got lasers,
and they know how to use them.
That’s at least the message
of the latest Hollywood blockbuster,
Challenges to Security in Space.
Wait, what’s that Shelley?
Oh, that’s not a movie.
It’s a report from the Pentagon.
Makes sense.
I did think the special effects were somewhat lacking.
The report says “China and Russia, in particular,
are developing a variety of means to exploit
perceived US reliance on space-based systems
and challenge the US position in space.”
Basically space warfare is already here.
The future is now!
The scary future.
Not the cool hoverboards future they promised us.
Most people today don’t think about how much we rely on space.
Satellites are used for everything from consumer GPS,
to military weapons targeting,
to intelligence gathering.
And China and Russia are building space lasers
to destroy these satellite networks.
“China likely will field a ground-based laser weapon
that can counter low-orbit space-based sensors by 2020.”
That’s part of the reason President Trump
has been pushing for a Space Force.
That and of course the obvious Warhammer 40K references.
Italy knows what’s up.
Because the recent carnival in Italy
had this gigantic Trump float.
There’s a lot going on there,
but if you look at his right leg,
you’ll notice the crest of the People’s Republic of China
and I’m pretty sure that’s Xi Jinping’s face.
Another float also had Xi Jinping, Putin,
and Trump holding down a dove
as Kim Jong-Un stabbed it with a nuclear missile.
Carnival seems like a lot of fun.
What’s next, a Cthulhu float?
What’s that, Shelley?
Ok, close enough.
Speaking of space wars,
the Trump administration
is also preparing an executive order
that would ban telecommunications companies in the United States
from using Chinese equipment in their 5G networks,
in particular Huawei.
Though it seems like the executive order won’t mention Huawei,
or even China by name.
Rather it’s geared at “adversarial powers.”
No adversarial power in particular.
It could be anyone.
And in trade war news,
it looks like the US could extend the deadline
on trade negotiations with China by 60 days.
Otherwise, if no agreement was reached
by its current deadline, March 1,
the US has said it would slap 25% tariffs
on 200 billion dollars worth of Chinese goods.
The biggest challenge though—
making sure China keeps the promises it makes.
To that end, according to anonymous sources
who spoke to the New York Times,
“American negotiators want to create a mechanism
that would automatically raise tariffs on Chinese goods
if its exports to the United States keep rising.”
Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping
should be meeting soon to hammer out
more of the trade deal.
And something tells me Trump
may be getting a slightly frostier welcome
compared to the last time he was in the Forbidden City.
That was in 2017,
before he launched the trade war.
The Chinese regime has been propping up
the dictator of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro
with money, weapons, and surveillance technology.
The only problem—
other than that not being cool—
is that now this guy, Juan Guaido,
has declared himself interim president.
And most of the world is backing him.
Man, he looks like Obama.
Wait, have we ever seen the two of them
in the same room at the same time?
Come to think of it,
I’ve never seen Batman and Shelley
in the same room at the same time.
I wonder…
What’s that, Shelley?
Oh?
Oh really?
But anyway,
China has given big loans to Venezuela—
about 20 billion dollars worth.
They’re supposed to pay that back in oil.
And if Maduro goes down,
which seems more and more likely,
the Chinese regime is going to want to make sure
Guaido doesn’t renege on those agreements—
or do what the new prime minister of Malaysia has done,
and cancel a whole bunch of Chinese investment deals.
For Guaido’s part,
he needs China to switch from supporting Maduro to him
if he wants to get into power.
And according to the Wall Street Journal,
“Chinese diplomats...have held debt negotiations in Washington
in recent weeks with representatives of Juan Guaidó.”
I can’t imagine Maduro will be dancing much longer.
That’s it for this week’s China news headlines.
Before we go,
now is the time when I answer questions from you,
my loyal 50-Cent Army—
fans of the show who support what we do
through the crowd funding website Patreon.
BlueFox asks,
“Chris, do you think the CCP plans to
meddle with the 2020 elections coming up?”
Well that is a good question.
It’s certain that the Chinese Communist Party
does enjoy undermining the democratic process
when it's in the Party’s interest.
It’s widely believed Beijing did meddle
in the recent elections in Taiwan.
Mainly it was through social media,
and supporting certain candidates.
President Trump certainly made a similar claim
during the 2018 midterm elections.
“Regrettably we found that China
has been attempting to interfere
in our upcoming 2018 election —
coming up in November.
Against my administration.
They do not want me or us to win
because I am the first president ever
to challenge China on trade.”
And while there wasn’t a whole lot of proof of that,
it’s not far fetched to imagine the Chinese regime
would like to ensure a more China-friendly president
takes the reins in 2020.
And earlier this year,
the Director of US National Intelligence said
in a worldwide threat assessment
to the Senate Intelligence Committee,
that Russia, China and Iran,
“probably already are looking to the 2020 U.S. elections
as an opportunity to advance their interests.”
Specifically he wrote they
“will use online influence operations
to try to weaken democratic institutions,
undermine U.S. alliances and partnerships
and shape policy outcomes
in the United States and elsewhere.”
So a lot to look forward to—
besides the normal chaos of the US election cycle.
Thanks for your question, BlueFox.
And thank all of you for your support.
It’s contributions from viewers like you
that keep China Uncensored going.
Visit our crowdfunding website Patreon.com/ChinaUncensored
to learn how you can support us.
And when you do,
as a way of saying thank you,
I’ll answer your questions on the show.
Thanks for watching China Uncensored.
Once again, I’m your host Chris Chappell.
See you next time.