Iran’s Foreign Minister to Visit China as U.S. Chokes Its Oil Lifeline | China in Focus

Welcome to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story. Iran's top diplomat is heading to Beijing to meet his Chinese counterpart as U.S. military blockades and economic sanctions tighten around Tehran's oil exports. The visit comes just days ahead of the Trump Xi summit. Follow Washington's sanctions or get sued in Chinese courts. We unpack a new dilemma facing companies involved in China's Cancelled by hoax bomb threats traced to China, now Xinyan Performing Arts is back. How this U.S.-based company was forced off a Canadian stage and how they're returning. And Japan strengthening its defense ties in Southeast Asia. During his five-day tour, Japan's defense minister is pushing closer security ties with the Philippines and Indonesia Iran's foreign minister has departed for Beijing and is set to meet Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi on Wednesday. This marks their first face-to-face meeting since conflicts with the U.S. flared earlier this year. Topics expected for discussion include tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, the Iran- U.S. ceasefire and efforts to strengthen Iran-China strategic ties. China has previously called for a Since the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, Iran has targeted commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. It has also launched attacks on U.S. forces and struck neighboring countries. However, the U.S. does not believe the current situation has reached a threshold to restart major combat operations. The threshold of restarting is a political decision above my pay grade. What I'll say is it's low harassing fire right now. Their command and control structure remains very fractured. And I think they're struggling to maintain control down echelon at the edge. But we're still it's still pretty low level kinetics at this point in time. No, the ceasefire is not over. Ultimately, this is a separate, distinct project. And we expected there would be some some churn at the beginning, which which happened. And we said we would defend and defend aggressively. And we absolutely have. Iran knows that. Ahead of his Beijing visit, Iran's top foreign diplomat recently made intensive trips to Pakistan, Oman and Russia. In St. Petersburg, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Analysts say the trip to China is Tehran's latest bid to break out of its diplomatic isolation under mounting U.S. pressure. Washington has blocked Iranian ships from entering the Strait of Hormuz and intercepted shadow fleets carrying sanctioned Iranian oil. It has also sanctioned cutting Beijing's oil ties with Iran. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant urged Beijing on Monday to take action to ensure freedom of navigation. President Xi Jinping have discussed Iran on their phone calls. They've exchanged correspondence. My counterpart, the vice premier and I have discussed it. Let's see them step up with some diplomacy and get the Iranians to open the streets. The timing of this visit is especially sensitive, coming just before President Trump's scheduled visit to Beijing next Thursday. Throughout the U.S.-Iran conflict, Washington has warned Beijing not to assist Tehran. Trump has claimed that the U.S. intercepted what he called a gift from China bound for Iran, hinting it could have military value. China's invitation to Iran at this moment is widely seen as an effort to strengthen its bargaining position ahead of the upcoming Trump-Xi summit. Follow Washington's sanction or get sued in Chinese courts. This is the dilemma facing companies involved in Chinese oil refiners' purchase of Iranian oil. They're forced to side with either Washington or Beijing on the issue, whether they're Chinese companies or from elsewhere. The U.S. has sanctioned five Chinese oil refiners for buying oil from Iran, blocking them from accessing the U.S. financial system. It also aims to punish any entity doing business with them. It's part of Washington's effort to hit Iran's oil revenue, as most of Tehran's oil is sold to China. In response, Beijing asked Chinese companies not to comply with U.S. sanctions, an extremely rare move. Beijing has typically allowed firms to comply quietly while criticizing Washington's measures. The pushback came over two weeks before the planned meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. It's unclear what non-compliance with U.S. sanctions would look like in practice. Financial institutions working with the sanctioned oil refiners are reportedly seeking clarification from Beijing. Beijing's order comes with another warning. To counter U.S. sanctions, the Chinese regime has activated a 2021 law. Under it, companies that comply with Washington's sanctions can be sued in Chinese courts. This includes companies inside and outside China. This puts companies in a difficult position. If they follow U.S. sanctions, they could be sued in China. But if they follow Beijing's order, they could risk being cut off from the U.S. dollar financial system. Canada's trade commissioner service has warned companies operating in China that they could be caught between the U.S. and China because of the legislation. A major development on China's long arm in Canada, Shenzhen Performing Arts is heading back to Toronto just one month after its shows there were cancelled due to bomb threats. Organizers say those threats are part of a broader campaign by the Chinese Communist Party aimed at shutting Shenzhen down. NTD's Washington correspondent Jeff Bradley has more. Shenzhen Performing Arts is making a comeback in Toronto after a series of hoax bomb threats cancelled their shows. Toronto's Four Seasons Centre cancelled six Shenzhen performances over a month ago, even after police deemed these threats unfounded. The fake threats that were spread in Toronto have been spread around the world and all the shows have gone on. Toronto was an outlier. But the shows are back. Shenzhen returns to the Four Seasons Centre June 26th through the 28th. The threats in Toronto were nearly identical to those in Vancouver just weeks earlier. Vancouver police traced the email to a Chinese phone number with the sender based in China. Organizers confirmed it was the exact same email address used against Toronto. After the Toronto cancellation, the sender sent bragging follow-ups calling the Chinese Communist Party his motherland and saying, quote, the Toronto Four Seasons incident was my most successful one. Yielding to such pressure only encourages more of it. We must not allow threats and intimidation to dictate how we live our lives. We condemn the Chinese Communist Party for their continued attack on our Canadian sovereignty. Shen Yun says this is part of a systematic campaign by the Chinese Communist Party to stop them from performing. The New York-based company has endured over 150 similar hoax, bomb and death threats worldwide in just the past two years alone, with every single one ruled unfounded by local police. Founded in 2006, Shen Yun revives 5,000 years of China's traditional culture, the China before communism, through world-class dance and music. For the rescheduled performances in Toronto, security is being significantly ramped up. That means metal detectors, canine units, on-site police patrols and a full professional security team. Everybody understands that these threats were just hoaxes and as part of a harassment and discrimination campaign internationally against Shen Yun. But having said that, just for the comfort and the peace of mind of all the patrons and supporters, we've all agreed, both the venue and Shen Yun, to implement some additional security measures. The organizers for Shen Yun say a foreign regime should not dictate what Canadians are allowed to The case of jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai is drawing renewed attention. President Trump says he'll raise the issue directly with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at their upcoming summit. The comments are adding pressure on Beijing ahead of already tense talks. The president will visit China from May 14th to the 15th. He noted he previously raised the issue in an earlier meeting with Xi Jinping. Jimmy Lai is the founder of Apple Daily. He was sentenced in February to 20 years in prison on collusion and sedition charges under Hong Kong's draconian national security law. Amnesty International calls the sentence a travesty of justice and an attack on press freedom. Jimmy Lai's supporters continue to push for his release with his family saying the summit could be a critical moment for his case. A years-long fraud scheme now ends in prison. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Pennsylvania says a California man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. Prosecutors say 61-year-old Bruce Jing of Los Angeles was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Authorities say the scheme totaled about 59 million dollars. According to the DOJ, some of Jing's co-conspirators are based in China. They allegedly set up fake businesses selling protective equipment during the pandemic. Meanwhile, they secretly filed fraudulent unemployment claims. Officials say they opened thousands of bank accounts with stolen identities. That allowed the group to collect millions in unemployment benefits from multiple states including Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida. Jing has been ordered to forfeit more than 59 million dollars. His co-conspirators have pleaded guilty and are expected to be sentenced later this month. Defying pressure from Beijing, Taiwan's president is standing firm on the world stage. Lai Qingde returned from a three-day trip to the African kingdom of Eswatini on Tuesday, saying state visits are a basic right. Dear friends and fellow countrymen, the earth is round. The world belongs to everyone. Taiwan belongs to the world and Taiwanese people are global citizens. Taiwanese people have the right to go out into the world. We will not back down because of suppression. Lai was supposed to travel to Eswatini last month. It's one of Taiwan's 12 remaining diplomatic allies, but he had to cancel that trip due to pressure from the Chinese Communist Party. China pushed three countries to revoke flight permits, denying Taiwan's president transit through their airspace. Chinese officials said they were highly appreciative of what the three countries did. Lai rescheduled the trip, arriving in Eswatini on May 2nd. He discussed cooperation on economic, agricultural and educational ties. For both legs of his trip, he used the king of Eswatini's private plane. The African country's deputy prime minister was also on board. The aircraft took a long route over the southern Indian Ocean while avoiding the three African countries that had complied with Beijing. It then flew over Australia's Christmas Island, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines before returning to Taiwan. That's according to flight tracking apps. Japan is looking to expand military cooperation across Southeast Asia amid rising tensions with China. Its defense minister has signed defense agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines. Here's what he had to say. We also reaffirmed the importance of sharing situational awareness between our defense authorities against the backdrop of an increasingly tense regional environment. We concur that both sides will hold consultations when necessary to ensure the security of both countries and the peace and stability of the region. During his trip to the Philippines, Shinjiro Koizumi said Japan is considering the transfer of defense equipment, including destroyers and aircraft, to the Philippines. Koizumi's visit to Manila follows a stop in Indonesia on Monday, where he signed a defense cooperation agreement with the country. That deal reportedly covers humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, joint exercises and maritime collaboration. It also opens the door to broader defense technology cooperation. The five-day trip comes after Japan lifted a decades-old ban on exporting lethal weapons, a major shift from its post-World War II pacifist policy. But the Philippines and Indonesia are key U.S. allies and have ongoing maritime disputes with China in the South China Sea. A new class-action lawsuit filed in Israel accuses a Chinese car manufacturer of violating privacy laws. The lawsuit alleges the Chinese car company BYD secretly collects video, audio and location data and transfers it to China. NTT's Jason Perry has the details. Are Chinese electric vehicles safe to drive? A class-action lawsuit filed in Israel on Sunday accuses Chinese car company BYD, the world's largest electric vehicle maker, of spying on drivers and passengers without their consent. According to Israeli media, the lawsuit alleges that BYD then secretly sent that information back to China. Some of the information the electric vehicles are accused of collecting include, but are nor limited to, images from the vehicle's cameras, precise location data, call data, biometric data, and startup and shutdown times. The lawsuit argues that purchasers of the BYD Chinese electric vehicle did not have informed consent about the information the car would collect before they purchased it, and after the sale was final. If the user did not consent, then certain functions of the car would not work, which were among the reasons for purchasing the car in the first place. The lawsuit also alleges that not all drivers were even given the chance to consent to the collection of certain personal information, nor were they notified that their information would be sent outside of Israel to China. The sensitive information that BYD is accused of collecting could help the Chinese Communist Party pinpoint where Israeli military leaders live and what sensitive locations they visit, and could also record video and audio of nearby conversations. The vehicle importer, Shlomo Motors, is also included in the lawsuit. More than 50,000 BYD electric vehicles have been sold in Israel, and the lawsuit is asking for over $100 million in damages. Now in America, Chinese cars aren't illegal, but there's a ban on Chinese hardware and software that could possibly collect information on drivers. And since 2024, Chinese electric vehicles have faced a 100% tariff when imported to America, and an additional 25% tariff since March that was included on all imported vehicles and auto parts. Jason Perry, NTD News. Coming up, a blast at a fireworks factory in China, killing 26 people, raising concerns about quality control. And the Xi summit is right around the corner. What cards do both sides hold? Retired Marine Colonel Grant Newsham shares his insights. More on that after the break here on China In Focus. Welcome back to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. A blast at a fireworks factory in China killed 26 people, raising concerns about quality control. The blast occurred on Monday in central China's Hunan province, a hub for fireworks manufacturing. Buildings in the factory area were completely destroyed. The shockwave shattered doors and windows and homes several miles away. And boulders weighing several hundred pounds were blasted to the roadside. The company has already been fined twice this year for quality control issues. U.S. Treasury Secretary Besant and Secretary of State Rubio spoke with Chinese officials last week preparing for President Trump's meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. It's reported that Besant raised trade issues and Rubio discussed the Middle East. NTD's Arlene Richards spoke with retired U.S. Marine Colonel Grant Newsham for his take. What do you expect President Trump's priorities to be at this meeting with Xi Jinping? I think he's going to try to get a trade deal, have the Chinese agree to buy a lot more, say, American agricultural products, aircraft, and maybe get some help with Iran, possibly with Ukraine as well. In a way, he's sizing up Xi Jinping, seeing what might be possible. And you've got to be there to talk to find that out. So that's his style. So there have been some tensions that have been boiling ahead of this summit with the U.S. sanctioning Chinese companies. They've been accused of funding Iran via illicit oil sales in March. So the administration also ordered trade investigations on several countries with China on top of that list. So how might Xi Jinping interpret this? He's paranoid, you might say. He thinks the Americans are trying to contain China, trying to hurt China. And what he wants is the Americans to give up with any restrictions they have on technology exports to China, restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States, to drop tariffs, sanctions, and really to do nothing that China doesn't like. And that's his objective. He also wants us to stand clear of Taiwan and to somehow get tough with the Japanese, who Xi Jinping says are militarizing. So he has his own set of demands that he's going to make. And it's not clear that Mr. Trump will actually agree to any of them. But this is not a case where the Americans come in and say, we want this, you do that. But the Chinese are going to make their own demands, and they are very different than ours. Now, as you know, two big wars are underway, of course, on Iran, the ceasefires in place. But fighting continues in the Russia-Ukraine war. So your thoughts on what this could mean for the talk? I'm not sure how much of an issue it's going to be, actually. We know the Chinese are giving lots of help to Russia. They're also letting the North Koreans help the Russians. And without Chinese support, the Russians could not prosecute the war the way they have. They might not even be able to continue it. But the Americans know this, and they've never really applied any real pressure on the Chinese for what they've done to help the Russians here. The sanctions that they put on in relation to the Iran war, sanctioning, as you've just mentioned, the refineries, the dark fleet, this illegal tanker fleet that the Chinese used to get Iranian oil out of Iran and into China. That's something new. But we haven't seen the Americans really go after the Chinese very hard. And partly, this is a function of the rare earth stranglehold, which the Chinese have, that really does affect U.S. industry and our allies' industries. And that put a huge block into President Trump's efforts to go after China, to be very strict about them. So this is a problem. The U.S. hand is much better than it was four months ago, owing to Venezuela and Iran and potentially Cuba, and also this demonstration of American will to actually use its military to defend its interests. So Mr. Trump goes into this with a much better hand than he had just a little while ago. And China hasn't given up on Taiwan. It warns that Taiwan issues are the biggest risk factor between it and the U.S. And we've seen military escalations in the Indo-Pacific. The U.S. is boosting its cooperation with allies and even moving missile systems closer to the self-governing island via the Philippines. So how could this play out during the summit? Well, I think Xi Jinping is going to demand once again that the Americans stop providing arms, stop supporting Taiwan. And the Americans are probably not going to do that. That's what much of the commentariat and some people in Taiwan are worried about is that President Trump will go meet with Xi Jinping and do something which disadvantages Taiwan, which raises doubts about American commitment, which gives Xi Jinping something. And that is going to be watched very closely. I don't think President Trump is going to do that. He understands the nature of the Chinese regime and that there really is no sense in making any sort of concession on this front. But to the Chinese, they're going to play this card very, very strong. They did with President Biden every time they spoke with him. And the U.S. didn't back down. And I don't think the Trump administration will either. And before I let you go, Grant, I want to turn to the issue of human rights. Now, the Chinese Communist Party continues its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, Christians and others. And advocates and experts are calling on President Trump to demand an end to China's violations during this summit. So your thoughts on that? Well, President Trump should make this a major issue. And he should have done it a long time ago. For a short while in his first administration, he did. But this is something that needs to be front and center all the time. One is just the decent thing to do. Additionally, the Chinese communists hate it whenever they have this human rights card played against them. It's not a card simply pointing out the reality that the Chinese regime is ghastly when it comes to the treatment of other human beings. It's as inhumane a regime as has ever existed. And this is something the Americans should be pushing at every opportunity they get and apply sanctions as well. But the Chinese don't like being told they're uncivilized, even though the Chinese communists do act uncivilized when it comes to human rights. There simply is no such thing in China. I think President Trump is very much aware of China's human rights violations. So let's hope that that comes into the conversation. Grant Newsham, thanks for joining us. It's a pleasure. Thanks for having me. That's all for today's China In Focus. 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 chinainfocusatntd.com. We'd love to hear from you. For on-the-clock original news coverage, visit us at ntd.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you tomorrow.