U.S. Weighs More Nuclear Arms to Counter China, Russia | China in Focus

Welcome to China In Focus, I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story. The U.S. is rethinking its nuclear arsenal strategy, potentially reversing decades of effort to reduce the weapons count, what a White House official is warning about. The European Union parliament just wrapped up an enormous election. Several big China critics secured their seats for another term, and they are vowing to build up a stronger Europe to counter Chinese aggression. We want a Europe that can defend itself, dear friends. And a top-selling Western weight loss drug is taking the Chinese market by storm, but local Chinese rivals are eager to grab a slice, fueled by an early patent expiry on the drug's active ingredient. Welcome to China In Focus, I'm Tiffany Meyer. Before we turn to today's top story, we'd like to share an announcement. NTD's original documentary, Hollywood Takeover, China's Control in the Film Industry, is coming to the big screen in New York City this Saturday. It will screen at the Manhattan Film Festival on June 15th at 1 p.m. Take a look. Is it really just about money? Are there other parts at stake? Chinese influence was playing into what we see in U.S. films. China said you can't have that in there, and Hollywood listened. This is insane. And we all know that their goal is global domination. People have been brainwashed without knowing it. That's this Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Manhattan Film Festival. Don't miss it. Click the link down below to get your tickets. The Biden administration is weighing whether to deploy more nuclear weapons. That's to counter rising aggression from China and Russia. The details come from comments by a White House official Friday during a meeting of the Arms Control Association. Pranay Vani is the National Security Council's top arms control official. He said, quote, more nuclear weapons are required to deter our adversaries and protect the American people and our allies. Another official who serves on the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the U.S. said China and Russia are on a very aggressive path to develop their nuclear forces. A day after those comments, Beijing responded by accusing Washington of undermining nuclear disarmament. The U.S. currently holds no more than 1,500 nuclear warheads under an agreement inked with Russia in 2010. But Moscow suspended the deal last year. Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal. The Pentagon has warned that Beijing could have more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030. More on the weapons of mass destruction. South Korea and the United States are working to coordinate an allied nuclear response in case of potential war with North Korea. Senior defense officials from both sides held talks at the third nuclear consultative group in Seoul. It sets up the architecture for what eventually the NCG provides oversight on, which will be the development of CNI options, concepts and options that we can ultimately provide to our leaderships in a crisis. The U.S. has promised to give South Korea more insight into its nuclear planning in case of a conflict with the North. Draft guidelines lay out the principles and procedures for maintaining and enhancing a credible and effective nuclear deterrent. The talks come as North Korea races ahead to advance its nuclear weapons program and delivery systems. The developments have triggered questions in South Korea about its reliance on the American nuclear umbrella. The EU Parliament just wrapped up its elections, totaling 27 countries on Sunday. Some of the continent's top China critics have secured their seats in parliament. NTD's Flora Hua has more. The European Commission's ruling party, the EPP, won with significant success. The party is EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's party, and it continues to be the largest in parliament, with seven additional seats gained this year. We want a Europe that can defend itself. The party's victory is also a boost of confidence for the EU's top leader as she seeks another five-year term. She vows to enhance Europe's defensibility and dealings with China. On von der Leyen's China agenda, the country's unfair trade practices. Last month, she called on the Chinese leader Xi Jinping to address China's overcapacity issue as soon as possible. She also launched an anti-subsidy investigation into China's electric vehicle last October. Beyond von der Leyen's bid for re-election, some of the most active China hawks in the EU parliament have just secured new terms of their own. This includes a French member of parliament who led a forced labor ban targeting Beijing's human rights abuses, a Slovak member who was sanctioned by Beijing three years ago, and the former Dutch cybersecurity chief who spent most of his last term investigating China's involvement in key European infrastructure. One official from Germany known for fearing ties with China also got re-elected. He's under investigation for possible links to Beijing. The European Union is expected to unseal a tariff plan on Chinese electric vehicles this week. This comes as the bloc's automakers cope with an influx of cheap electric cars from the communist country. EU officials have been probing China state subsidies for automakers. They believe the financial benefits are behind a massive dumping trend of cheap products into the European market. China's Ministry of Commerce said Thursday that Beijing is willing to sort out trade disputes with the EU through dialogue. Over in the US, the White House announced a series of swiping sanctions on 18 billion dollars worth of imports from China. That includes a 100% tariff on all Chinese EVs. Turkey is set to impose a 40% tariff on imported Chinese vehicles. The country says the tax will protect its domestic auto market and maintain its government account balance. The number of countries are imposing tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars. They say automakers in China are heavily subsidized by Beijing and that those state benefits give Chinese carmakers an unfair advantage. Turkey already imposed additional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles last year. Turkey plans to charge at least seven thousand dollars in new tariffs for each Chinese vehicle and they apply to conventional hybrid and electric vehicles. Chinese drug makers are taking on a western pharma group's blockbuster medication. At least 15 generic versions of popular weight loss and diabetes drugs Ozempic and Wegovy are being developed in China. Here's a closer look. Novo Nordisk, maker of blockbuster drug Ozempic, may face serious competition in China. The Danish company had high hopes that the drug would boom in the promising Chinese market. In 2021, Ozempic won approval from China and last year Novo Nordisk saw sales of the drug there double to almost 700 million dollars. It's expecting Wegovy to be approved this year. But the patent on semaglutide, the active ingredient in both medicines, expires in China in 2026, which is far ahead of the expiry in other key markets like Japan, Europe and the US. Novo is in a legal fight over the patent in China, but an adverse court ruling could mean the company loses its semaglutide exclusivity even sooner. Those circumstances have drawn several of the country's drug makers to the fray. Records show at least 11 semaglutide drug candidates from Chinese firms are in the final stages of clinical trials. And one company said it has developed a drug that has, quote, similar clinical efficacy and safety as Ozempic. In April, it applied for approval for sale, which it has said could come in the second half of 2025, with plans to sell the drug the following year. That's unless Novo loses its patent battle sooner. A Dutch vessel reportedly harassed by Chinese fighter jets. According to the Netherlands Defense Ministry, several Chinese aircraft circled a Dutch warship and approached a patrol helicopter. The ship had been enforcing United Nations sanctions on North Korea at the time. Officials said the maneuver caused a, quote, potentially unsafe situation. The incident took place in the East China Sea, an international shipping lane located between China, South Korea and Japan. How is illegal immigration affecting life in America? President Biden recently passed an executive order meant to limit the number of asylum seekers to 2,500 a day. Earlier, we spoke with NTD News contributor A. Scott Bolden about the issue. Bolden is the former chair of the D.C. Democratic Party and the former New York assistant district attorney. A. Scott Bolden, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you back on the show. Thank you for having me. Now, President Biden took executive action. First, what is your view on this and how effective it will be? Well, you know, I don't think Biden had much choice with the bipartisan legislation. It's a good thing to get some control over the border, but it's not going to be enough. One, we need Mexico to cooperate in repatriating many of these immigrants from other countries either to Mexico or from Mexico. And then we need money. I mean, we need that. That's the congressional piece to it. Need money to hire more judges, more security on the border, more technology. And Congress just is unwilling to do that during the election year. But this is a good, strong first step. Surprisingly, the Republicans aren't applauding it. You would think they would applaud it because they've been pushing the president to do this. They haven't so far. They say it's too little too late. So I don't think Joe Biden's going to have a win with the Republican Party one way or the other. How do we ensure that legal immigration does continue while putting a stem to the illegal immigration part? Well, we've got to encourage people to come through the port sites legally. That's one thing. Secondly, we've got to have a strong partnership, a stronger partnership with Mexico to enforce laws against the cartels, not just for illegal immigration, if you will, but for drugs, as well as for people on the terrorist watch list. And, you know, the majority of the people coming across the border are not from Mexico. You have people coming across the border from the Middle East, from China, and at least one other South American country. And so this is a real challenge for our Border Patrol people, which is why the money is so important to protect that border, if you will, and to protect the northern border, too. We don't talk about the northern border. If you talk to Canadian officials and border states on the northern border, law enforcement and immigration officers will say, we've got the same challenge. We're just not talking about the northern border. Indeed. A. Scott Bolden, thank you so much for your time. Thank you. That's all for today's China InFocus on YouTube. We're now sharing a shortened version of our program here after being demonetized for three years. If you'd like to support us, consider donating. Find us at donorbox.org slash china-in-focus, or subscribe to our partner platform Epic TV, where you can watch our full episodes. Just click the link down below. Here's what to look out for in our second half. Online shoppers, beware. Your next orders from Xi'an or Chimu could get stuck in U.S. customs. A new U.S. regulation is causing speed bumps for no tariff shipments. But that's not the only problem for Xi'an. The Chinese fast fashion brand is also hitting road blocks in its quest to grow in Europe. European trade associations say they are worried about a hidden threat lurking within Xi'an's budget-friendly offerings. Fierce dragons, cultural maidens, and inspired music, all in the setting of a magical European city. Catch a glimpse of the Tiangu marching band parade and its message after the break here on China InFocus. Thanks for watching China InFocus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. See you tomorrow.