ExclusiveChina Tightens Crackdown on Cross-Border Stock Trading | China in Focus

Welcome to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story, 1.7 billion dollars gone in just a single day. More on Beijing's most aggressive push yet to limit its citizens from buying securities overseas, including the U.S. Huawei has unveiled a plan to build some of the world's most advanced computer chips within the next five years, despite U.S. sanctions, as China pushes to reduce its A massive explosion rips through a red-flagged coal mine in northern China, with at least 82 dead and two missing. Rescuers say fake blueprints and unregistered workers left them searching in the dark. Four of the EU's biggest economies are urging Brussels to get tougher on unfair trade President Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and other administration officials pay tribute to America's fallen heroes with messages on Memorial Day. A clampdown wiping out over 1 billion dollars in a day, China is closing a major loophole that allows capital to flow out of the country, while making it harder for mainland Chinese to buy U.S. A Bloomberg report says some Chinese investors are rushing to sell their overseas equities. That comes after Beijing began cracking down on brokerages helping mainland Chinese buy securities overseas, including in the U.S. The regime says these companies were operating on the mainland without a license. The penalty marks Beijing's most aggressive push yet to limit its citizens' access to overseas stock markets. Chinese investors face many restrictions when U.S. stocks due to strict controls on capital outflows. As a result, many have turned to online brokerages to bypass those limits. They are drawn to U.S. markets for higher returns compared to Chinese equities. But in doing so, their money flows out of China, something Beijing is keen to prevent. For the three brokerages under crackdown, the penalties are steep, more than 300 million dollars in fines, with authorities also moving to seize what they call illegal gains. The CEO of one of the firms saw his fortune drop by more than a billion dollars in a single day following the announcement. The firm said they would comply with regulatory requirements. Officials say mainland investors can still invest overseas through legal channels. But those options remain tightly restricted, such as access being limited primarily to Hong Kong-listed stocks. Imagine a mining disaster in a place like West Virginia, only to find out the company's maps were completely wrong. That's the nightmare now unfolding in northern China's Shanxi province. It's the country's worst mining disaster in 17 years, and nearly half the workers weren't even on the books when the tunnels gave way. Rescue operations are underway in China's coal mining heartland, a region very much like West Virginia. A powerful underground explosion ripped through a mine on Friday, with at least 82 people killed, 120 injured and two missing. Chinese state media reports the blueprints the mine operator gave rescue crews didn't match the actual tunnels underground, severely slowing down the search. On top of that, nearly half of the 247 miners underground weren't even registered on the books. Some workers reported that companies secretly operate unlicensed coal mines and don't allow workers to take their tracking cards into the shaft. One miner said that the practice of falsifying blueprints is widespread in the coal mining industry, noting that virtually every mine has two or three sets of blueprints. This specific mine was already flagged back in 2024 as a high-risk disaster zone due to dangerous gas levels. The mine's executive has been taken into police custody. Our thoughts are with the victims. Taiwan President Lai Ching-de expressed his condolences to the victims' families. In a post on X, he said, quote, Taiwan stands ready to provide humanitarian assistance. We hope those in need are rescued soon, and may the departed rest in peace. Deadly flooding in southwestern China is worsening after days of extreme rainfall. The number of casualties is rising, with widespread evacuations reported across Chongqing. Dongchuan District on the outskirts of Chongqing was hit the hardest, with heavy rain triggering flash floods and landslides over the weekend. State media report that at least nine people have been killed and 11 others are still missing, a sharp increase from earlier figures. Some areas saw nearly 12 inches of rain in just two hours overnight Saturday, triggering severe flooding. More than 2,000 residents were evacuated, with roads cut off and farmland flooded across nearby mountain areas. Authorities say rescue and recovery operations are ongoing as crews search for the missing and assess damage. The flooding also spread into nearby Guizhou Province earlier in the week. It added to widespread disruption across southwestern China, where severe storms have already killed dozens in recent days. And at NTD, our thoughts are with all those affected. The devastating floods are hitting local small businesses hard. One farm-to-table resort owner told the media he lost 3,500 pounds of specialty fish that were washed away, and dozens of his livestock drowned. In just a matter of hours, Chen says the storm caused nearly $14,000 in damages. Chinese tech giant Huawei says it plans to make some of the world's most advanced computer chips within the next five years. The company announced a new chip strategy Monday, saying it hopes to build some of the world's most advanced semiconductors by 2031. The announcement comes as China works to build up its own chip industry after the U.S. restricted access to its advanced semiconductor technology. Huawei says it hopes to develop 1.4 nanometer chip technology by the end of the decade, one of the most advanced levels in the world. In general, smaller nanometer numbers mean chips are faster, more powerful, and more energy efficient. Right now, experts say China's most advanced chip-making capability is around 7 nanometers. Meanwhile, Taiwan-based chipmaker TSMC is already producing two nanometer chips. It plans to move to 1.4 nanometer production in 2028. Huawei says U.S. restrictions pushed the company to develop more of its own technology after it was blacklisted in 2019. Since then, the company has become a major part of Beijing's effort to build its own semiconductor industry. Huawei chips are already being used to power Chinese AI systems, including models developed by AI startup DeepSeek. However, analysts say Huawei faces major challenges, including overheating issues and the need for new chip design tools. China is also still trying to catch up with global leaders like NVIDIA and Intel in advanced chip manufacturing. The global AI race is evolving fast. NVIDIA says the next wave could extend far beyond the graphics chips that made the company a giant. CEO Jameson Huang said on Saturday that his forecast of a $200 billion CPU market includes China amid ongoing U.S.-China tensions. CPUs, or central processing units, are becoming more important as companies move toward agentic AI, which are systems that can perform tasks more independently. The shift is expanding demand beyond GPUs or graphics processing units the chips NVIDIA is best known for, widely used to train large AI models. In face of rising competition, Huang has tried to assure investors that the world's most valuable company can keep up its blockbuster growth with its broad base of customers. He's also been positive that new products will help the company beat the $1 trillion in sales it has forecast for its flagship AI chips. Vera is a really exciting CPU and I'll tell you more about it next week. But NVIDIA's H200 chip still faces hurdles in China. The U.S. government has granted licenses, allowing the company to sell its second most powerful chip there. But Chinese officials have not yet approved it, as Beijing works to support domestic chip makers. H200 has been licensed to ship to China. It would be terrific to be able to serve that market. The U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping did not produce an immediate breakthrough. Lawmakers are searching for ways to counter Chinese AI chip smuggling, an issue that's becoming more pronounced. Senators approving a bipartisan bill to incentivize whistleblowers by paying them for high-value information. NTD's Melinda Weisskopf has the details. The Stop Stealing Our Chips Act would encourage whistleblowers to come forward with tips about any potential smuggling of AI chips. This poses a serious and escalating national security threat. Under his bill, whistleblowers would be tipped 10 to 30 percent of the fines collected if they give the government original information on potential violations. In recent 2.5 billion chip smuggling case of NVIDIA AI chips to China, adversaries like China, Russia, Iran are working around the clock to gain access to our cutting-edge technology. It is critical that we think creatively to step up our enforcement efforts. Co-sponsor of the bill, Senator Warner, stated, as China continues working to acquire advanced American AI technology through illicit networks, we need stronger tools to detect and prevent these violations. The bipartisan bill passed the Senate before lawmakers left Washington, D.C. last week and is now awaiting action in the House. It's a common-sense, bipartisan step to protect our most sensitive supply chains and ensure that the innovations powering our economy and safety stay in American hands. The issue has become more pronounced over the past several years. For example, last December, two Chinese nationals were taken into custody in Texas, shutting down a sophisticated smuggling network for smuggling NVIDIA GPUs to China. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Melina Weiskopf, NTD News. Fablio is calling for stronger regulation of artificial intelligence in his first major teaching document. He warns the rapidly advancing technology risks spreading misinformation, fueling conflict, and normalizing war. Other very troubling voices have also reached me about increasingly autonomous weapons systems, practically beyond any human reach to govern them effectively. I hear very troubling accounts of algorithms that can block access to healthcare, employment, and security on the basis of data tainted by prejudice and injustice. Artificial intelligence needs to be disarmed. The word is strong, I know, but deliberately chosen because this moment needs words capable of attracting attention, awakening consciences, and indicating paths forward for humanity. The first American pope urges governments to slow the AI race. He says political leaders must not surrender oversight to private companies or unchecked market forces. The pope calls for stronger legal safeguards, independent oversight, protections for workers and children, and greater transparency around AI-driven warfare. He also warns against allowing a small number of companies to control vast amounts of data and power. And before we go to a break, we have an exciting new show coming soon to NTD that you don't want to miss. Every weeknight at 8 p.m., I'll sit down with newsmakers and a lively panel to connect the dots on national security threats, trending political stories, and to show how global events are directly impacting American lives. Tiffany Meyer Tonight premieres tomorrow on Tuesday, May 26th at 8 p.m. only on NTD. Don't miss it. Coming up, President Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of War Pete Hexeth, and other Trump administration officials pay tribute to America's fallen heroes with messages on Memorial Day. Four of the EU's biggest economies are urging Brussels to get tougher on unfair trade from China. What's behind the growing trade tensions? More on that after the break here on China In Focus. Welcome back to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Four of the biggest economies in the European Union are pushing Brussels to be tough on unfair trade practices from China. Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, France, and Lithuania have signed a paper calling for a tougher response from the EU on industrial overcapacity. The paper did not mention China by name, but China's industrial overcapacity has been a long-running issue. The country produces more goods than it can consume domestically, and the surplus flows to other countries, creating a growing headache for the EU. The paper said the issue had led to more than one million job losses between 2019 and 2025. The move comes as the EU works on a more assertive trade policy to deal with China. The paper calls for making it easier to impose higher tariffs on imports. It also suggests measures to prevent countries from circumventing them. President Trump expressing gratitude for the sacrifice of America's fallen troops at Arlington National Cemetery this Memorial Day. The president saying there can be no Independence Day without Memorial Day, as preparations are underway for America's 250th birthday. NTD's White House correspondent Mario Tzu has the details. What a beautiful day as it turns out. It's just perfect. We'd rather have this than the heat. It's just beautiful. In a rainy Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, President Trump reminds those present ahead of the 250th anniversary of the nation that there could be no Independence Day without Memorial Day. Before we crown the victory, we count the cost. Today, we are reminded that there could be no Fourth of July without America's armed forces, and there could be no Independence Day without Memorial Day. We unite in solemn observance with reverent hearts. We honor those who fell so that our republic might stand, those who died so that our nation could live, those who gave up their sacred light on earth so that the sublime light of American freedom would shine forever and ever. The president's remarks coming against the backdrop of ongoing negotiations with Iran, which he says are proceeding nicely. President Trump pushing for a bigger peace plan for the Middle East amid these ongoing negotiations with Iran, now urging Gulf allies to join the Abraham Accords. In his Memorial Day remarks, he's paying homage to those lives lost in Operation Epic Fury. In Operation Epic Fury, we lost 13 wonderful souls, wonderful special people. These incredible men and women gave their lives to ensure that the world's number one state sponsor of terror will never have a nuclear weapon. Oh, and they won't. They will never have a nuclear weapon. I'm sure you know that. This comes as President Trump says that the potential deal with Iran must be great and meaningful, or there will be no deal. The president says that he has informed his representatives not to rush into a deal, saying that both sides must take their time to get it right, and Central Command over the weekend announcing a milestone, saying that they have now redirected 100 ships that were trying to either exit or enter Iranian ports transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and that the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports is still in full effect. President Trump saying that it will remain so until a certified agreement with Iran is reached. As the president said, he's not in a hurry. He's not going to make a bad deal. I mean, the president's not going to make a bad agreement. So let's see what happens. Well, we're going to give diplomacy every chance to succeed before we explore the alternatives. What's the holdup right now? Is there something that needs to be done? It's just a response. I mean, when you get down to some of these things, you got to hear back, it takes the Iranian system a little while longer to get back. So look, the president's not going to make a bad deal. He's just not. This issue, no one has done more, and no one has been more serious about the threat of a nuclear Iran than President Trump has been. And so I'm very confident that we should all be very confident that we're not going to have a, we're either going to have a good agreement or we're going to have to deal with it another way. We'd prefer to have a good agreement. President Trump changing plans at the last to work on these Iran negotiations over this Memorial Day weekend. And Saturday evening, around 6 p.m., a shooting incident happened on 17th and Penn near the press entrance to the White House. President Trump responding to the shooting by thanking law enforcement and secret service for jumping into action. Also mentioning that this White House shooting was only about a month removed from the third assassination attempt on President Trump at the White House correspondence dinner. The president also renewing his call for the White House ballroom as an issue of national security in light of this most recent shooting. Reporting from the White House, Mario Tsu, NTD News. Trump administration officials sharing heartfelt messages to honor America's fallen heroes on Memorial Day. Vice President J.D. Vance and War Secretary Pete Hegseth both delivered remarks at the annual ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. NTD correspondent Jason Blair has more. We owe a debt to the people who put on a uniform knowing they might never come back. And indeed, today we pay tribute to those who never came back. Members of the Trump administration commemorate Memorial Day with messages in honor of the fallen who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of their country. Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth participated in a wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. The first is that we be the very best version of ourselves in honor of those who gave everything that this nation might be worthy. May the ones we remember today live on in every flag that flies. May they live on in every voice of a school child who says the Pledge of Allegiance. May they live in our prayers to Almighty God. And Secretary of State Marco Rubio shares America was built, defended, and preserved by those willing to give everything for it. On Memorial Day, we honor the heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation and our freedom. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. posts, today we honor the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our country, and we renew our commitment to protecting the health, dignity, and future of the nation they sacrificed to defend. Memorial Day was first observed on a large scale on May 30, 1868, to honor the soldiers who had fallen during the Civil War. It officially became a national holiday by an act of Congress in 1971. Reporting in Washington, D.C., Jason Blair, NTD News. And this Memorial Day, NTD is at America's largest Memorial Day parade in the nation's capital, where more than 300,000 people gathered along Constitution Avenue. Over 5,000 marchers from all 50 states honor our nation's heroes in a grand display of patriotism. We hear directly from the parade organizer and veterans about the true meaning of Memorial Day, as America looks ahead to its 250th birthday. It's the 250th anniversary of America's birth, and then it's also Memorial Day. How special is this moment to you? Very special, exactly as you said. We're commemorating 250 years of American service and sacrifice this year, so the freedoms that everybody will be celebrating upcoming in a few weeks, the 4th of July, are all made possible by the sacrifices we commemorate here today on Memorial Day. Today we're here to celebrate the ones that were lost. On Veterans Day, we celebrate the ones that are alive. Memorial Day, we celebrate the ones that were lost. My father's younger brother was my godfather, and he was torpedoed off the coast of Florida. He was a merchant seaman, and he was lost that day, so that's my personal story with World War II. Memorial Day is very important, but you also got to remember that's important for me being from New York. It's also the 25th anniversary of 9-11. I lost my son on 9-11. He was one of the firefighters in the New York City Fire Department, and we're celebrating not only our war heroes, but our heroes in America, across America. What does it mean to be serving for America? It's a privilege, and it's an honor, and it goes beyond saying. I was in at the very beginning of Vietnam, but I wound up as a medic in the Martin Army Hospital in Fort Benning, Georgia. I had witnessed so many fellows that came back wounded, whereas being in the hospital, in the hospital unit watching them, and I was just awed by their courage. Fifth generation of my family. World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and it stopped with me during the Gulf. We're taught service is the most important thing. As in service, it doesn't matter if you're volunteering at a soup kitchen, or if you go do a stint in the service. It's about service, because you get that back. What's your message to the men and women who are still out there serving on the front line? Be proud of what you're doing. You're working, you're serving for a wonderful country, and they will show their gratitude. Be proud. What you're doing is God's work. You're doing what is absolutely necessary in keeping us free and able to do the things that we can do every day. That America should never forget that freedom costs in blood. Always will. 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 ChinainFocus at NTD.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.