China Closing Off Further From Outside World | China in Focus

Welcome to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story. China's door to the outside world is closing further. New restrictions on Chinese travelers going abroad are now written into law. And risks for non-Chinese people are rising as well. It's getting tougher for wealthy people in China. The communist regime is now targeting business elites. What are the consequences? A simple tap-to-pay feature on some Chinese Android phones has suddenly stopped working. While some smartphone users are losing contactless payments after a Google update. And Beijing is reshaping aggression into routine law enforcement. Taiwan says China is expanding pressure across the region. Not just with warships, but with Coast Guard vessels, cyber attacks and disinformation. China is closing itself off further from the world with new restrictions on Chinese travelers abroad. The Chinese Communist Party is significantly expanding its exit and entry rules. The new regulations allow China's commerce ministry to stop people from leaving the country over certain export control and technology-related violations. The rules also allow authorities to discourage overseas travel by citing risks at a destination, though they do not define how that power can be used. Even before the new rules were announced, Chinese authorities had already taken action. The CEO of AI startup Manus and the company's chief scientist were called to Beijing for a meeting in March. They were later told they could not leave China. The company was based in Singapore and was in talks to be acquired by Meta. But after Beijing stepped in, the roughly $2 billion deal was called off. In some national security or criminal cases, travelers may not realize that they are under an exit ban until they arrive at the airport. The regulations also tighten entry rules for foreigners, including new bans for those who submit false information or appear on China's restricted lists. The new regulations will take effect in the middle of next month. The practice of stopping Chinese citizens or foreigners from leaving the country has existed for years, but the new regulations make it explicit by writing it into law for the first time. Beijing has been tightening rules on wealthy Chinese for years. Now a new rule targeting offshore trusts has arrived. A China affairs analyst says this could push more wealthy people to leave China. Chinese authorities have recently been reaching beyond their own areas to investigate companies for alleged tax problems. Critics say they are using these investigations to target private businesses and take control of their assets. Now they have expanded the rules to overseas places, including the Cayman Islands, North America and Singapore. Offshore trust accounts were once viewed by wealthy Chinese as safe havens for their wealth, but now they are being specifically targeted. Under the new rules, transferring assets in China into an offshore trust is subject to tax. Previously, these transfers were tax-free. Any money earned by the trust will be taxed at 20 percent, even if the funds remain in the trust and are not paid out. When the trust ends, any remaining money distributed to beneficiaries will also be taxed as income. Tang Jingyuan, a China Affairs analyst, told NTD that this policy specifically targets wealthy Chinese people, especially private business owners, regardless of their citizenship. The biggest reason is that the CCP is facing a severe economic crisis. The sharp downturn has driven up unemployment and left many local governments effectively bankrupt. Tang says the CCP's move will push more wealthy Chinese citizens to move abroad, as they become increasingly uncertain about keeping their money under Chinese rule. Google seems to have taken another step toward distancing itself from the Chinese market. Chinese phones are facing new payment restrictions. A recent Google update is causing some smartphone users to lose access to contactless payments. The issue appears to affect devices made for the Chinese market, even when used overseas. Owners of phones from companies like Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo and OnePlus say Google's tap-to-pay feature stopped working after its most recent Google Play service update. The problem seems to affect phones running software designed for the Chinese market. Experts found the update may be identifying those devices and disabling the payment feature that allow users to tap their phones at checkout. The Google Wallet app itself still appears normal, with saved bank cards and account information still visible. The issue has been reported by users in countries including parts of Europe and Brazil, not just China. Some users have found temporary workarounds, like using other payment apps, but those options aren't practical or convenient for many everyday users. Some users have since regained access to Google Wallet, but Google has not explained what caused the problem or whether it was temporary. The entity has reached out to Google for comment, but did not hear back before airtime. A warning from Taiwan's top security official. He says China's expanding military and Coast Guard presence now stretches far beyond its shores, posing a direct threat to regional stability and global shipping. From cyber attacks and fake news to a massive surge in Coast Guard patrols, Taiwan says it is on the front lines of a hybrid war. In a recent interview with Nikkei Asia, Taiwan's National Security Council Secretary Joseph Wu warned that Beijing is disguising aggressive actions as routine law enforcement across the first island chain. His comments come after a report released in June by the London-based China Strategic Risks Institute. The report warned that Chinese Coast Guard operations east of Taiwan have begun affecting international commercial shipping, with foreign cargo vessels reportedly contacted over radio and asked to provide voyage information. To strengthen deterrence, Wu says Taiwan is rapidly expanding its drone capabilities and investing in nearly 200 new Coast Guard vessels, with deliveries expected by 2033. Wu emphasized that Washington remains a vital security partner as Taiwan works around the clock to deter a conflict. Taiwan's security chief warns that if Beijing's maritime expansion goes unchecked, higher intensity gray zone operations will become easier. Japan is ramping up efforts to build its own drone industry with new investments aiming to reduce reliance on Chinese drones. As global demand for defense drones rise, the country is backing domestic manufacturers to strengthen production and secure its supply chain. Japan aims to build more than half of the country's industrial drones domestically in the next few years. That's up from just three percent in 2025. Several Japanese startups are expanding into defense drones. ProDrone announced a partnership with Toshiba on Friday to develop interceptor drones that can track and take down enemy drones. The companies also plan to build a supply chain capable of mass production. Meanwhile, TerraDrone is investing in domestic battery production as it develops an AI-guided interceptor drone. The company is one of four selected by Japan's defense ministry for trials next month. The trials will help determine which designs move toward full-scale production. Japan's push to reduce reliance on Chinese-made drones is also drawing interest from abroad. U.S. defense company Anduril Industries is exploring opportunities to expand production in Japan and support the country's growing drone industry. Ground work is being laid for the upcoming summit at the White House with Chinese regime leader Xi Jinping. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson and Trade Representative Jameson Greer met with their Chinese counterparts in a virtual meeting to support preparations and discuss their differences on the economic front. To discuss the summit and the relationship, NTD's Kerry Dunst spoke with Grant Youshim. He's a retired U.S. Marine colonel and a former U.S. diplomat. What does he expect President Trump's top priorities will be when he meets with Xi in September? I think he's going to want Xi Jinping to live up to its agreements to buy U.S. agricultural products, but as much as he wants the Chinese to stop using the rare earth, a domination that they have to strangle us. So he has an agreement with the Chinese on all of these. They just haven't lived up to it. So President Trump is perhaps showing his negotiator side here. He just wants to meet Xi Jinping, see what might be worked out. But there is some track record and precedent so that one probably shouldn't be too optimistic about this. Yeah, as you mentioned that frustration about not honoring the past deals that were made, particularly with the rare earths and the agricultural purchases. When you take a look back at this economically, does one side have more leverage over the other in these negotiations? I think the Chinese have more leverage than they've ever used. They've had it for quite a while, but they'd never played that card, the rare earth card on which so much of U.S. manufacturing, both commercial and defense, depends. Everyone knew this was a problem, but they kept increasing the dependencies on the Chinese and acting as if there was no problem. And then finally, when President Trump came along, tried to get tough with the Chinese, particularly imposing very high tariffs over things like fentanyl, for example, that they suddenly said, well, not so fast. If you want rare earths, you've got to stop. And that stopped the Trump administration in its tracks. At the same time, it's not as if the Americans don't have some good cards to play as well, and the rest of the free world too, because China is very much dependent on high-tech exports or high-tech technology, particularly advanced chips from the United States and the manufacturing machines to make these things from elsewhere. And without that, their economy is in a lot of trouble. Plus, they absolutely depend on being able to export their overcapacity, which means make as much of everything as they possibly can, which is a lot of things, unfortunately, and then sell it overseas at a lower price that no local manufacturer can compete with. And they depend on being allowed to do this. So it's a very predatory system they have, and they do worry very much about controls being put on technology and their ability to export freely however they want. Yeah, I do want to move on to some of the Trump administration's coming out and talking very publicly about Chinese meddling as of late, from the election interference to cyber and intel. While there's clearly this political dimension with regards to the SAVE Act, are there other objectives behind the administration's messaging as of late? Well, it's partly, and I think it's maybe even more than that, although it's imperfectly done, is to call out the Chinese and to make it clear that we know what they're up to. But we don't perhaps do it hard enough. And I would note, for example, that we know what the Chinese are doing to help the Iranians. And they're providing the Iranians with missiles, technology they need to make drones, probably actual drones. And also they're providing the targeting data that the Iranians are able to use to hit and kill Americans in the region and to keep that war going. And yet we know this, President Trump has effectively said it, but he's also said, well, it's not a big deal in so many words. And that is, as I said, it's a little bit schizophrenic. We do some things that are very tough. The sanctions, for example, on Chinese, on the inverters, for example, and robotics, that was very effective. Putting a U.S. Coast Guard ship down in between the Filipinos and the Chinese at Second Thomas Shoal near the Philippines recently, as is said to have been done, that's a big deal as well. Getting our allies to step up on their own defenses, these are important. And the Uyghur Forced Labor Act that was passed a couple years ago and is now really being enforced. These are all things that the Chinese don't like and that are serious steps. But then at the same time, there's this talk of, well, trying to reach an agreement with them, not embarrassing them. And there was even a sort of word going around, and I'm told that within administration and circles, that one should not be too critical of the Chinese. So in this case, you were dealing with a country like the Chinese, you really can't sort of take it as a half measure. They are not going to appreciate any restraints you show, verbal or otherwise, and reciprocate with some nice gesture of their own. That is an advantage they get. They will pocket it and continue with their aggressive strategy. Well, a lot to look forward to as the buildup happens to this summit just a few weeks away at the White House. Colonel Grant Newsham, thank you for joining us this morning. Thanks for having me. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday that China has purchased nearly half a million tons of U.S. soybeans. That comes after traders said on Friday that Chinese state buyers purchased about 14 to 16 cargoes, totaling around 1 million tons. The shipments are scheduled for October and November. Last October, China agreed to buy 25 million tons of U.S. soybeans every year through 2028. Before the latest purchase, China had bought just over 4 million tons of U.S. soybeans this year. That's roughly 15 percent of what Beijing promised. Coming up, did China interfere in U.S. elections? Top intelligence officials now say the answer is yes. And the race for the future is on. China is pushing hard to lead in A.I., electric vehicles and even space. It's creating new security threats for the U.S. Rick Fisher, senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center, weighs in. More on that after the break here on China In Focus. Welcome back to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Top intelligence officials say China's targeting of U.S. voter registration data constitutes election interference. NTD's Washington correspondent, Jack Bradley, reports. The heads of America's top intelligence agencies are saying China's acquisition of U.S. voter registration data was election interference. A new White House fact sheet says the Chinese regime and its proxies bought, stole or hacked voter data belonging to as many as 220 million Americans, some of it not publicly available, backing up President Trump's recent statement. The People's Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history. The document was approved by the directors of national intelligence, the CIA, the NSA and Homeland Security. They say voters' stolen personal information could be used by China to block people from voting, force provisional ballots and disrupt election day operations. This is a cyber threat aimed at the very heart of our democracy. But some Democrats are pushing back. The efforts to try to actually interfere did not change any votes. That was the conclusion driven by the Trump administration, national intelligence. But President Trump says some intelligence officials were keeping this information hidden. They did not disclose to me as president or to anyone else and to the best of our knowledge, they did not inform Congress. The president is now directing the Justice Department, the FBI, CIA and the Office of Director of National Intelligence to investigate why and to pursue criminal charges where appropriate. China is racing to dominate the technologies of the future, from artificial intelligence to electric vehicles and from the earth to space. Experts warn that Beijing's growing influence could pose new challenges for the U.S. We spoke with Rick Fisher, senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center, to discuss. Just one day after President Trump addressed the nation and accused China of election interference, China's Xi Jinping formally launched the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, or WICO, at the 2026 World AI Conference and high-level meeting on global AI governance in Shanghai. First, what does this WICO entail and what are the geopolitical signals here? Well, China lags behind the United States in several aspects of artificial intelligence. The United States has over 5,500 large data centers. Controversial though they are, they confer amazing strength to the United States. China reportedly only has about 450 data centers. We restrict a lot of technology in China to build more data centers and also to access our greater AI technology and large language models and the such. China is tilting in different ways to try and compensate for the American embargo, so to speak. And one of the tilts is this World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization. China is stepping forward to create this organization to try to set rules for artificial intelligence, and by doing so, help to expand the market for Chinese AI products. But at the same time, we have to understand that China is actively trying to exploit all manner of artificial intelligence and technologies in order to expand its utilization of its dominance in telecommunication markets, which is fairly substantial around the world. It already can turn your Huawei phone into an intelligence gathering and even a targeting tool if you let them. But with China's pervasiveness in telecommunications markets, Huawei, 5G, and the telecommunications dominance, marrying that to artificial intelligence will simply turbocharge China's global surveillance, intelligence, and manipulation. There's already been some reports raising concerns about China's open weight models, which are very popular, and that that could be a tool to spread essentially communism and communist ideas around the world, given how many people are using it and pouring information into that. In terms of trying to push back a bit against this, we did just see the FCC ban foreign imports of advanced robotics. They didn't directly name China, but Beijing has responded, threatening countermeasures. Give us a sense of the national security implications tied to these advanced robotics. Well, it's not just robotics. The United States is also trying to stop the import of Chinese electronic vehicles, which have been very popular elsewhere in the world. All of these electronic vehicles are coming attached to a satellite network. The satellite network helps tell the car where it's located, but it also tells China where the car is located. So essentially, marry artificial intelligence to Chinese electronic vehicles and the ability to control them, you can basically conjure a scenario in which China can take 500 electric vehicles, drive them up to an American military installation, set the batteries on fire, and create a crisis for that military base. All of this is completely plausible. It may sound fantastical, but it is something that our government is trying to defend us against. In that vein, zooming out a bit here, how are you reading the biggest differences when it comes to the US versus China-led strategies in terms of AI? Well, the Chinese are very correct to stress open AI models that it subsidizes and sells around the world. This is how China creates a market, especially in markets where it is already dominating telecommunications. It's going to be far easier for China to dominate the AI market in Africa, for example, possibly even in Latin America, and much of Asia because of its dominance already hard fought in telecommunications. So the American strategy of trying to limit technology can only go so far. The United States also has to remain far ahead in terms of basic AI technology, and we also have to remain ahead in terms of data centers to include eventual stationing of data centers in space. The Chinese have ambitions to follow us in space with data centers as they are furiously trying to build up their data center numbers on Earth. 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 chinainfocusandntd.com. We'd love to hear from you. For around the clock original news coverage, visit us at ntd.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you tomorrow.