Chinese Kingpin of Cambodia Fraud Ring Comes From Xi Jinping’s Political Base

Welcome to China in Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story, President Trump cutting to the chase with China. Washington says there are three things that China must fix as soon as possible before their leaders meet for talks. >> One of the things I want is China's going to buy soybeans. I want China to stop with the fentinol. Very, you know, normal things. I don't want them to play the rare earth game with us. President Trump signing a rare earth's deal with Australian Prime Minister Abanzi. Details on the effort to curb dependence on China. The head of a crime syndicate is on the run from global authorities. That's out for the US busted his operation in Cambodia. Details on how he's connected to Chinese regime leader Xi Jinping's political base. >> And China's top leaders meeting to hammer out China's 5-year plan. What to watch out for following a power shakeup in Beijing's top achelon. President Trump is pointing to three big issues with China and they're at the top of his agenda for upcoming meetings. Rare earths, fentinel, and soybeans. The Trump administration has been pressuring Beijing to address the problems tied to them since day one of the president's first term, but they've mainly received push back from Beijing, much less any concrete progress. Here's the president speaking to Bloomberg on Sunday. Take a look. >> One of the things I want is China's going to buy soybeans. I want China to stop with the fentinol. Very, you know, normal things. I don't want them to play the rare earth game with us. Trump describes the three points as very normal things. All of them are closely linked to Americans day-to-day activities. Here's the full breakdown. Starting with fentinel. Drug cartels manufacture large numbers of fentinel pills using chemicals that mostly come from China. The drugs are then smuggled into the US, killing tens of thousands of Americans every year. Trump wants China to restrict the flow of the precursors. Next, China accounts for over half of America's overseas soybean market. And Trump wants China to ramp up its purchases of the crop. But China has yet to purchase any US soybeans this harvest season, leaving US farmers in a desperate situation. Third on the list, rare earths are critical to modern life. From smartphones, electric vehicles, and home appliances to fighter jets and missiles, 90% of the world's rare earths have to go through China for refining. and the country decided two weeks ago to impose export restrictions on all of them, impacting not only the US but the global economy. Trump's three requests come before top officials from both countries meet this week. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson on Friday announced that the meeting with his Chinese counterpart Halifong will be held in Malaysia. It will lay the groundwork for both countries leaders to meet in person at the end of the month. Trump called China a tough adversary on Sunday, saying the only way to work with China is to show them strength and hinting at a tougher stance he's taking. But he also said he doesn't want to destroy China, adding skyrocketing tariff hikes are quote not sustainable. On Monday, a CCP spokesperson responded to the recent signals from Washington, saying no one wants tariffs and trade wars and that the two countries should address issues through consultation, respect, and mutual benefit. a rare earth minerals agreement to counter China. President Trump and Australia's prime minister signed a deal on Monday to secure the supply chain of rare earths. >> We work together very much on rare earths, critical minerals, and lots of other things >> and we've had a very good relationship. We've been working on that for quite a while. Uh in about a year from now, we'll have so much critical mineral and rare earths that you won't know what to do with them. Today's agreement on critical minerals and rare earths is just taking it to the next level. Seizing those opportunities uh which are before us uh to take our relationship uh to that next level. >> President Trump welcomed the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to the White House to sign the agreement. Trump signaled that he has been working with other countries as well on rare earth deals. This comes as China has announced more export controls on rare earth minerals. The president also said that they talked about trade and defense, including the Orcus submarine deal between the US, Australia, and the UK. One of Cambodia's biggest Chinese-owned companies is accused of running a massive criminal empire. The USS Prince Group and its founder, Teni, led one of Asia's largest transnational crime syndicates. Last week, the US seized nearly 130,000 Bitcoin, worth $15 billion in its biggest ever crypto bust. The UK also froze 19 of Chin's London properties, including one worth over $133 million. Now, Singapore and Thailand have joined the global probe. Chin is charged with wire fraud, money laundering, and forced labor, and faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted. He comes from China's Fujian province, the political stronghold of Chinese leader Xiinping, and his close ally Tangi. A Chinese-born tycoon, Chenur, founder of Cambodia's Prince Group, is on the run. One of his fraud compounds near the nation's capital, is now abandoned. Court papers show he ran at least 10 fraud centers across Cambodia using so-called phone farms with millions of fake numbers. John Eisenberg, US assistant attorney general for the Justice Department, has accused a group of trafficking workers, locking them in prison-like conditions and forcing them to scam people online. Chen holds multiple passports and started out in China's Fujen Province. After moving to Cambodia in 2011, he became a citizen through investment and launched Prince Group in 2015. The company grew fast into real estate, banking, casinos, and even aviation. It now operates in over 30 countries and territories. But Chen's path to fortune is murky with no clear record of where his startup money came from. He also served as an adviser to the previous Cambodian prime minister and current leader, receiving Cambodia's highest national honor. A report by US-based think tank Pacific Economics claims the group invested over1 billion dollars in resorts projects in Palao, allegedly serving as a tool for Beijing's political influence. China has repeatedly pressured Palao to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. In March this year, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that China has long used Chinese business people and criminal organizations with Chinese backgrounds to infiltrate Palao under the guise of land development and investment. The ministry added that these networks engage in money laundering, gambling, fraud, and other illegal activities to economically infiltrate and pressure the country. The Chinese Communist Party kicking off a major meeting that outlines its plan for the next five years. Party leader Xiinping approved a draft plan on Monday. The official announcement did not give any details, though an editorial from a CCP mouthpiece says the plan would focus on highquality development and technological innovation. The meeting comes at an interesting time during a shakeup inside China's top power circle and amid a sluggish economy under pressure from US tariffs. Many are watching to see the effect on Chinese leader Xi's power and potential changes at the meeting to personnel could offer some insight. There's also obviously a need to look at personnel decisions and and whether the uh three open slots on the central military commission get filled and how many members there are in the CC in the central uh committee and um what's going on at the at the organizational and structural level of the party and I guess also what ambitions or timelines get set out. >> Speculations about Te's grip on power have been mounting following an unusual move last Friday. The Chinese Communist Party ousted nine top generals. All of them were Xi Jinping loyalists. The highest ranking official among them, Hue Dong, was China's number two military leader directly under Xi Jinping. He was seen as she's choice to lead a potential invasion of Taiwan. Another expelled official, Mia Hua, was the army's top political officer. He is also seen as close to Xiinping's inner circle. The recent developments have sparked speculation that Titin Ping's loyalists have been stripped of power by opposing factions. Top Communist Party leadership is split into factions and infighting has been prevalent. Also on Monday, China released statistics showing its economic growth is slowing in its third quarter this year. Authorities say China's GDP growth in the third quarter is at 4.8 lower than the previous quarter. It's unclear if the numbers are factual given economic data could be manipulated to serve the party's political goals. Meanwhile, China's real estate sector isn't doing well. The price of new buildings in midsize to large cities continues to drop. China's youth unemployment rate rose to a record high in August, almost 19%. The turmoil in China's real estate market in recent years has wiped out significant portions of Chinese household savings. Many people have limited their spending as a result. The meeting is set to wrap up on Thursday. Top leadership is expected to approve the draft 5-year plan, though the full details may only emerge next March. The Chinese Communist Party is holding a key meeting this week with the economy front and center as pressures mount. Beijing is doubling down on a state controlled approach amid deflation, unemployment, and weak wages, raising questions about what measures could realistically restore domestic confidence and global credibility. We spoke with Jaclyn Deal, president and CEO of defense research firm Long-Term Strategy Group, an advisory board member of State Armor for insights. >> They seem to not want to transition to what we would consider to be kind of a normal economy that's based on consumption and and more services. They seem to be very intent on this kind of neo mercantalist or Marxist mercantalist attempt to kind of control the the factors, the critical inputs, the means of production, um the choke points for the rest of the world uh at the expense of um kind of real wage growth for their people and quality of living improvements and maybe employment. So there must be pressure building up within the system. What's the next kind of trick? Is it some sort of uh continued seduction of of Western financial elites that's going to save them this time or or some sort of tech breakthrough that they may think they have up their sleeves? What could they possibly do in the face of headwinds like deflation or we're not supposed to to even use that word, I guess, if you're a Chinese economist. Um the the continuing um deflation or busting of the realist bursting of the real bubble. uh as I mentioned unemployment uh there's so many challenges uh the way that they've desoiled their environment >> expanding on that you know we have seen to your point you know record high youth unemployment to the point that at one point they stopped releasing those numbers because they couldn't cover it up anymore you even saw Xiinping ahead of the golden week holidays issuing a rare nod to more stimulus measures from either you know China central banks also they had this new thing where they were offering subsidies to you know those who were deemed they don't really say poor but you know people who were struggling even to students who weren't able to get jobs that's something we haven't seen before so there is that level on the economic scale you didn't see that consumerism even after the golden week huge travel holiday weekend or eight days I should say given all of that leading into this fourth plenum to your point what can this five-year plan review do to kind of plate if you will the domestic arena inside China. And then on the flip side with that, you know, potential meeting between Ashi and President Trump, how do you see maybe the US leveraging this domestic turmoil, if you will? >> Secretary uh Besson said is uh we can't really trust or the Chinese, our counterparts in these negotiations can't be trusted. He said that. So where does that leave us in terms of um prospects for a deal? And again, I think that just increases the pressure on the general secretary. What can Xiinping say at this point? Because notwithstanding the rhetoric about we're the the back stops or the leaders of globalization and and continued free trade in the world and global engagement. His actions have belied that. Um the threat that the CCP has leveled against the United States but but not just the United States all the countries that are involved in the global supply chain is is palpable is demonstrable and so it kind of belies the the idea that they've been or the narrative that Cinping has been pushing. I think, you know, it it raises the stakes for what gets discussed. And I don't think it's just a question of more rhetoric like high high quality or new quality productive forces or dual circulation. I don't think a slogan is going to get them out of this. >> Given all of that, what kind of are you watching to come out of this meeting? What would be the main areas that you're like, "Oh, this is going to spell a huge change for the next however many years, maybe decades ahead. Well, I mean, if they move away from um some of the insistence that they're backstopping uh the existing global order and and double down on the idea that they're offering some new alternative, I think that will be a sign that there's recognition that the narrative or the line that they were pushing isn't isn't flying and and they need to come up with some other offer to the world or or um pitch. And I think it will it'll be very tall order for that to be credible at this point. >> Jackie Deal, thank you so much for joining us. >> Thanks, Tiffany. >> Coming up, Chinese leader Xiinping removing his top trade negotiator from a post of the World Trade Organization after US Treasury Secretary calling out the official as unhinged. Tensions in the South China Sea rising. A Chinese fighter jet released flares dangerously close to an Australian Air Force plane. More on that after the break here on China in Focus. Welcome back to China in Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Beijing's top trade negotiator just lost his second job. Li Changong is China's number one official when it comes to trade negotiations with the US, but Chinese leader Xiinping removed him Monday from his second post, permanent representative to the World Trade Organization. The change comes just days after US Treasury Secretary Scott Besson described Lee as quote unhinged last week. >> This individual was very disrespectful and I'll tell you that we've had four rounds of talks Geneva, London, Stockholm, and Madrid. And both sides approached them with great respect. And this individual did not. He showed up uninvited in Washington and said, quote, "China will cause global chaos if the if the port shipping fees go through." >> President Trump said Monday that he plans to meet with Chinese leader Xiinping in South Korea, quote, in a couple of weeks. He added that he expects to strike a fair deal with Beijing. Australia is demanding answers from Beijing. A Chinese fighter jet released flares dangerously close to an Australian Air Force plane Sunday as it flew over the South China Sea. The Australian government says the flares came within striking distance of the aircraft. Officials called the maneuver unsafe and unprofessional. Here's more. Australia's defense minister said the country formally raised the incident with China through both embassies, warning it posed a serious risk to the aircraft and crew. China's military accused Australia of intruding into airspace near the Parasel Islands territories Beijing claims and said it deployed forces to monitor and expel the plane. No injuries or damage were reported. This marks at least the third dangerous encounter in less than a year. Australia says it will continue lawful patrols in international airspace and expects China to operate safely under international law. President Trump says India will keep paying massive tariffs if the country doesn't stop buying Russian oil. He also said Indian Prime Minister Morinda Modi told him that India would cease doing so. Here's what President Trump had to say on Sunday. >> I spoke with uh Prime Minister Modi of India and he said he's not going to be doing the Russian oil thing. So that's it. >> India's purchase of oil from Russia has caused tension in trade talks between New Delhi and Washington. Half of Trump's 50% tariffs on Indian goods are in retaliation for those buys. The US government argues petroleum revenue funds Russia's war in Ukraine. India has become the biggest buyer of seaborn Russian oil sold at a discount after Western nations stopped buying. That was in retaliation for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Trump on Wednesday said Modi had assured him that day India would stop buying Russian oil. India's foreign ministry said it wasn't aware of any telephone conversation between the leaders that day. But it said New Delhi's main concern was to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer. >> Two people are dead after a cargo plane skidded off a runway at a Hong Kong airport. The aircraft had struck a ground service vehicle just moments before. Here's what we know. Two Hong Kong airport security workers died after a Boeing 747 cargo planes skidded off the runway, hit the patrol car, and pushed it into the sea. That is according to the city's airport operator on Monday. The crash happened around 3:50 a.m. local time. The airport security staff were not breathing when rescued from the water. One was declared dead at the scene and the other died later in hospital. According to Steven U, the airport's executive director of operations. He added that authorities are investigating the cause, looking at weather, runway conditions, the aircraft, and the crew. You also said flights at Hong Kong's airport have not been affected. Emirates, the Dubai based airline, said the crash at the world's busiest cargo airport involved an ACT Airlines plane operating on its behalf. There was no cargo on board. All four crew members of the plane escaped safely. This was Hong Kong's deadliest airport accident since a 1999 China Airlines crash that killed three people. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. That's all for today's China in Focus. I'm 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 chinainfocusentd.com. We'd love to hear from you. Round the clock original news coverage. Visit us at ntd.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you tomorrow.