Latest news with #Chinese-developed
Mint
4 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Despite trade war, US drug companies turn to China for key cancer treatments
The drug industry has spent months going along with the Trump administration's efforts to move manufacturing and investment into the U.S., and to disentangle the U.S. and Chinese economies. A long list of big pharmaceutical firms have committed tens of billions of dollars to factories and research facilities in the U.S. In the past few months, though, U.S. pharma companies have simultaneously supercharged their interest in China-based biotechs, announcing what are likely to be the biggest deals ever for the rights to experimental medicines invented by Chinese companies. So far, the Trump administration has been silent on the deals, which are worth around $25 billion in upfront and potential milestone payments and seem to fly in the face of White House policy. The deals could one day result in new options for sick patients, but they also pose a major risk to U.S. biotech firms. The domestic drug pipeline relies on capital from Big Pharma, and now those funds may be going to start-ups in Shanghai, rather than Cambridge, Mass. The recent deals follow a successful trial result last year by U.S. biotech Summit Therapeutics of a new immunotherapy cancer drug it licensed from Chinese firm Akeso. In the trial, the drug outperformed Merck's top-selling Keytruda, raising hopes that it could prove a major advancement in cancer treatment. Since then, Big Pharma companies have rushed to get their own drugs to compete with Summit's product. There was one deal in November, when Merck licensed an experimental drug from a Chinese drugmaker for around $500 million up front and another $2.7 billion in potential milestone payments. The biggest deals have come in just the past two weeks. In mid May, Pfizer said it would pay the Chinese biotech 3SBio $1.3 billion up front for its own competitor to the Summit drug, plus billions more in potential milestone payments. Pfizer is also making a $100 million equity investment in 3SBio. This past week, Bristol Myers Squibb said it would pay $3.5 billion over the next three years, plus billions more in potential milestone payments, for half the rights to a similar drug developed by a Chinese company called Biotheus, which German biotech BioNTech acquired a few months ago. These numbers would be big for any biotech licensing deal—the drugs remain far from approval. For Chinese-developed drugs, the payment sizes are unprecedented. 'These are pretty sophisticated companies allocating major capital here," says Craig Garthwaite, a professor and director of the program on healthcare at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, of the latest deals. 'It's demonstrating the validity of the science." It's all happening while Big Pharma is doing its best to show the Trump administration that it can adapt to the president's agenda, as the industry seeks to head off threatened tariffs and drug price limits. Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol Myers, and others have all announced tens of billions of dollars in planned U.S. investments in manufacturing and research facilities this year. The White House didn't respond to a request for comment. Washington has been increasingly anxious about the rapid development of China's biotech ecosystem. The Biosecure Act, which hasn't passed Congress, targets complex drug manufacturing in China, while a recent report commissioned by Congress called on the U.S. to take 'swift action" to compete with the Chinese biotech sector. Amid those stalled efforts, the pace of Chinese biotech innovation is picking up. Until recently, the U.S. drug industry had largely seen Chinese biotechs as a source for cheaper 'me too" assets, which echo but don't duplicate existing medicines. Now, with the latest cancer drug deals, Chinese companies are innovating a new class of drugs that every Big Pharma firm seems to think it needs to get in on. The Summit drug that got investors, analysts, and companies excited last year is known as a PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody, which combines two proven cancer-fighting tools. Daina Graybosch, an analyst at Leerink Partners, says that companies in the U.S. and Europe have been experimenting with similar combinations, but never tested them in humans. That's because early-stage human tests are cheaper and easier to run in China than the U.S. All but the largest U.S. biotechs generally develop just one or two experimental medicines at a time, while Chinese biotechs of a similar size 'could have a dozen" different drugs in trials, according to Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Li Watsek. The combination cancer drugs ultimately weren't exciting enough for the U.S. biotechs to prioritize. But Chinese companies moved forward with different variations. When Summit and its Chinese partner got promising results on an antibody that combined PD-1 and VEGF, there were multiple other Chinese biotechs with their own PD-1/VEGF combinations ready to of this is great news for the U.S. biotech sector, which has been battered in recent years by declining share prices, cash shortfalls, and other challenges. Over the past 12 months, the SPDR S&P Biotech exchange-traded fund is down 11.5%, versus a gain of 11.7% for the S&P 500. Watsek says that part of the problem for investors is that it's hard to know what Chinese biotechs are actually working on. 'Right now it's a little bit of a black box, because a lot of these Chinese companies, they may have assets, but it's impossible to track," she says. 'There could be a dozen molecules that are in development that you may not have even heard of." Over the long term, the worries get potentially more complex. 'At some point, it's going to get terminal velocity, and we're going to have a very dangerous competitor next to us," says Joseph Grogan, a senior policy official during the first Trump administration who is now a nonresident senior scholar at the USC Schaeffer Institute. 'If the Chinese establish the flywheel of the ecosystem that we built—of private-sector companies, research and development, government support, and strong but prudent regulatory foundation—then we're cooked." Write to Josh Nathan-Kazis at
Daily Maverick
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Ninth hole negotiations: Sneak time travel peek into Trump/Ramaphosa's meeting at Bedminster golf course
As the meeting on Wednesday, 21 May 2025, between presidents Donald Trump and Cyril Ramaphosa comes into focus, Daily Maverick has worked out a way to get the jump on all other reporting on the event. The key question is whether this meeting turns into a repeat of that dreadful Zelensky-Trump encounter, or will it be closer to the more normal-style Carney-Trump or Starmer-Trump meetings? Fortunately, there was a way to find out, but we had to get ahead of the press pack. So, we fired up our brand new teleportation-time machine, powered by a whole rack of Nvidia new generation computer chips connected to an array of quantum computers, and guided by some special Chinese-developed, generative AI software, and a flux capacitor. Using some ultra-accurate GPS readings, we set our vehicle to arrive at the precise coordinates of the woods bordering the ninth-hole green of Donald Trump's Bedminster golf course, at precisely 4pm, Eastern Daylight Time. We were extremely fortunate in having that ultra-closely held presidential schedule leaked to us yesterday by a source in the Union Buildings, as well as receiving the very same information passed along by an old acquaintance in the White House's transportation coordination team, naturally using the Signal communications app. Both sources thus confirmed that the two presidents would fly together to Trump's New Jersey golf club immediately after their Wednesday morning meeting in the Oval Office. The plan was for the two presidents to go to Trump's Bedminster club where they would play a round of golf to mark the conclusion of their talks in Washington — and, at a minimum, to recognise that the meeting hadn't been reduced to a rancorous, angry shouting match. Neither US Vice-President JD Vance nor Elon Musk were scheduled to participate in the golf match, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen were designated as honorary caddies. After the match, there would be a traditional American-style barbecue at the Bedminster club with a carefully selected group of representatives from major corporations with investments in South Africa — or companies considering African investments. My sources also told me secretly that Ramaphosa planned to present Trump with a special gold-plated putter, personally autographed by both Ernie Els and Gary Player, a copy of the book Ramaphosa wrote extolling the beauty of Ankole cows, as well as a mahogany, hand-carved, ceremonial Zulu staff, suitable for a royal prince. But no one-of-a-kind aeroplane. The Trump gift package included an autographed copy of his personally selected portrait for Time magazine when he was chosen as their Person of the Year (superimposed on maps of the Middle East and Ukraine), framed in gold and embossed with a newly minted family crest. Also included were autographed copies of The Art of the Deal and that Trump Bible, both books bound in hand-tooled bison hide, and adorned with a 24-carat gold-leaf American eagle motif. There was also a copy of the Melania book, autographed of course, plus a gold copy of a $Trump crypto coin. The time machine Putting some iron rations and a few other necessities in a rucksack and hoisting it on to my shoulders, I slid onto the saddle of our machine, pressed the start button, almost instantly smelled the faint odour of ozone in the air, and then, with a slight whirring and the dimming of the furniture in the office, the room lights flickered, just as HG Wells had predicted in his novel The Time Machine. Suddenly, there was a shudder as the machine put itself into pause/sleep mode and we were positioned right on the edge of the ninth hole, and we were obscured by a small grove of trees and azalea bushes. It was the perfect hide to be able to observe the two men's approach to the green without being seen by anybody else. I covered our machine with the camouflage cloth I had brought, took up my observation position, and set up my miniature video camera/recorder and a small dish antenna to pick up any exchanges between the two men. Just as I had calculated, within minutes they soon approached the tee for the ninth hole. Donald Trump graciously allowed the South African leader to take the first swing, and Ramaphosa hit a superb drive up the fairway, with the ball landing just twenty-five metres from the green. The American host then took his own swing. His ball landed even closer to the green, but it was poorly placed, virtually at the edge of the rough, off to the left. Both men then selected their irons and drove their golf balls towards the green, although the American president's ball rolled perilously close to the trees into some ground cover on the opposite side of the green, before rolling to a stop between two bushes. Ramaphosa's ball landed on the green, but because it had too much English on it, it spun towards the sand trap and then into it. While everyone else was watching the South African's shot, Donald Trump very quietly moved his ball a few inches with his foot to get a better shot back to the green, a move he took with a look of pure innocence on his face, betraying that fact he knew what he had done; the others knew it; and he knew that they knew — but that it simply did not matter. His course, his rules. For a moment, the Secret Service escorts and the assorted staffers, the two actual caddies and the two honorary caddies exchanged looks — but, finally, they all shrugged their shoulders, the code of presidential omertà at work. This was a game; it was not a war, after all, and the Oval Office talks had gone just well enough that it was not worth making a fuss over an infraction that could upset the balance. Let it be; let it be. Ramaphosa, meanwhile, took his best swing with his sand wedge and just managed to get the ball back on to the green, about 10 meters from the cup. Both men now had tough shots to the cup, but it was theoretically still possible to achieve par — if they were a bit lucky. The travelling members of the White House press corps were now jostling hard to get a closer look at the competition between the two golfers. Cameramen were clambering up their portable aluminium ladders in order to get better shots, even as the Secret Service was working to keep the media from spilling over on to the green. A police helicopter hovered overhead and two drone craft were patrolling the fairway as well. The growing clatter was now making it hard for the golfers to focus on their game. 'My club, my rules' Nevertheless, our antenna managed to pick up some fragments of conversation, despite the aerial noise level. Trump: … I like the ideas for an agreement to increase imports from the US into South Africa and to make it much easier for companies to set up their businesses in South Africa, hire foreign experts and managers, and operate without political interference. … Of course you will have to figure out some way to make all those racially biased regulations go away — I can't really make it sound like I was wrong in what I said before. But our two countries do have lots in common. Yes, I understand you have politics too. And you do have great golf courses, Gary Player has told me… Ramaphosa: … (static, unclear)… We really do want more American investment to grow the number of companies and jobs. We have lots of unemployed young people. Our future depends on creating employment, and lots of it. We already host more than 600 US companies. They are usually good corporate citizens, but we would love to have more of them, as long as they adhere to our laws, of course… … I hope our two senior staffs will reestablish a bilateral commission, a working group, and a war room to identify the impediments to such economic participation. We will be happy to set up a full educational process about our laws relating to expropriation — what Americans call eminent domain… … In addition, we offer to do whatever we can to bring an end to the awful Ukraine conflict — all those young men dying as you have reminded the world — and to offer our resources to help end the awful devastation in Gaza. While we can't retract our earlier push for an international court to address what the world sees daily on its television screens, I am glad we agree the achievement of a more permanent peace in the region is the goal. I am glad to see, too, that the United States is reaching out to Iran… … As for those Afrikaners who really wish to leave our land, let me just say we can assist in the departures, but let me give you an assurance we want all our skilled people — black and white — to contribute here. This could even extend even to people who emigrated years before, perhaps they can consider returning to the country of their birth… Trump: (interrupting)… Cyril, go ahead, hit your ball. I'll wait. It's okay, I'm the host, it's my club and golf course. My rules. The two men took careful aim and Ramaphosa's ball came painfully close to the cup, but stopped just short. Trump's ball, meanwhile, rolled forward and swirled around the top of the cup until a gust of wind from the helicopter or one of the drones pushed it back. Trump: Go ahead, tap it in. Close enough to count. Ramaphosa: Yours is a gimme, too. No problem. Trump: Hey, who's keeping score? Marco? Never mind, let's just call it a draw and go eat. You like a good grilled steak with ketchup and fries? Didn't you used to own some McDonalds restaurants? Great food there. Under the cerulean blue sky, with puffs of white clouds scudding across it, the two shook hands and smiled for photographers. The perfect photo. But then reality. There was no joint communiqué issued after the Oval Office meeting or from the following conversations over the golf match, at least not yet. The bilateral disagreements were yet to be resolved, despite the apparent bonhomie on display. This was a performance. The real diplomacy would have to come afterwards. We crept quietly back to our teleporter/time machine, took it out of sleep mode, and returned back to the present with our story. DM Letters will be edited.
Forbes
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
8 Chinese Video Games To Check Out
China has lots of incredible games to offer. For years, Chinese video games were strange curios for those of us in the Western world, with seemingly few of them existing, or at least making it out of the country. But over the past 10 years or so, more and more Chinese-developed games have made their way onto the Western stage, and some have become massive hits around the globe. These days, if you look in the right places you could spend your entire gaming life playing Chinese games, and there are likely some you didn't even realise were developed in the country. Many still remain unlocalized and are impossible for many of us to play, but the ones that do make it through can rival the best Western developed games. So, if you want to experience the best games China has to offer, this list is a great place to start. China's gaming history is a bit unusual, as concerns around games impact on kids led to most being outlawed for years. This means the first Chinese developed games were clones of western titles trying to get around the censors. But, with the bans now lifted Chinese development is flourishing, and while the choices aren't as broad as western games just, yet there are a lot of genres on offer. RPGs are popular, but for the longest time China was focused on mobile and social games, so you'll still find a lot of titles with those roots. Fortunately, this list includes a lot of variety, with these top games from China being chosen based on critical and fan reception, popularity and a bit of personal bias. Platforms: Android, iOS A potentially contentious entry as it was developed by some Western studios as well as Activision Shanghai (which is enough to qualify it for this list). CoD Warzone Mobile is a surprisingly competent mobile port of the main battle royale experience, and has a ton of players around the globe. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Warzone is Call of Duty's take on the battle royale genre, and is one of the best examples of a battle royale that anyone can easily pick up, with the 2024 mobile version being no different. You jump out of a plane, land on a map with very little, and then have to search for weapons and upgrades while taking out enemies you see until you're the last one standing. Anyone looking for a mobile battle royale title will love this. Platforms: PC, Switch, Xbox One, PS4, iOS, Android A farming/life sim from Chinese indie devs Pathea Games, this is one that is perfect for Stardew Valley or Harvest Moon fans. You're tasked with essentially building a new settlement after a catastrophic event basically wipes out civilization, and that involves a lot of cutting down trees. This is one of the better cosy games out there, so perfect for anyone looking for that vibe. It did launch in 2019, so is starting to show its age, meaning its sequel might be another option if you need a few more modern creature comforts. Platforms: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS5 Incredibly popular in China and Asia in general, this third person melee-focused battle royale regularly sits in Steam's 10 most popular games when that region is awake, and it's worth checking out if you like melee combat and battle royale. Developed by 24 Entertainment, based in Hangzhou, China, and released in 2021, Naraka: Bladepoint sees 60 players drop into a map and do the usual searching for better weapons as the game starts. If you come across other players, then the melee combat kicks in, until there is just one player or team left standing. It does what it sets out to do very well, so if it sounds like your thing, you likely won't find a better alternative. Platforms: Switch, Android, iOS A Pokémon multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game sounds like a licence to print money, and while Pokémon Unite hasn't quite hit the heights you might have hoped, it's still a very fun competitive experience when you can play as an actual Pokémon in real time. Released in 2021 by TiMi Studio Group, this is more of a sports game than a traditional MOBA: You have to collect and deposit Poké Balls in order to take down the towers and eventually the enemy's base. That doesn't stop it being fun, and with the right teams it can be a very hype and competitive game. If you want a faster paced Pokémon game, then this is for you, but hardcore MOBA players may be underwhelmed. Platforms: Android, iOS Developed by LightSpeed & Quantum Studio in rapid time back in 2018, this is a surprisingly competent mobile port of the iconic PC battle royale that has now arguably surpassed the original title when it comes to popularity. This is just PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds but on mobile devices, so you jump out of a plane, loot some weapons, armor and other gear, then go shoot everyone you see and hope you are the last one standing. It's the game that really kicked off the genre, and still an all-time classic. The mobile version makes a few quality of life improvements, but it is a near perfect recreation of the PC game, making this perfect for all battle royale fans. Platforms: Android, iOS Honor of Kings launched in 2015 in China, but only in 2024 in the rest of the world, thanks to some weird legal wrangling that we don't need to get into. But, that means those of us outside of China missed out on one of the best MOBAs ever made, which is really saying something. Developed by TiMi Studio Group, Honor of Kings is a pretty basic MOBA that will feel familiar to any League of Legends fan, just on a mobile device. Matches rarely go past the 20-minute mark, making this a much faster paced experience, but it's well-balanced and doesn't feel rushed. As far as mobile MOBAs go, this is by far the best and a genuinely massive game in China. One for any MOBA fan to check out. Platforms: PC, PS5 One of the best-selling games of 2024, Black Myth: Wukong is considered by many in the west to be the first real AAA game from China. Developed by Game Science, this souls-like action RPG is inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West, and brings some Chinese culture to the wider world. A single-player experience that has a pretty significant difficulty, Black Myth: Wukong sees you run around as a monkey with a big staff and beat up a ton of enemies in the Souls style. Its combat is surprisingly good, in fact It's arguably some of the best in the genre not made by FromSoft, and will satisfy anyone looking for that kind of game. Fans of the underlying lore will also love this, and given the amount it sold, over 20 million units in the first month, it seems very accessible to everyone. Platforms: Android, iOS, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S Developed by MiHoYo and originally released in 2020, Genshin Impact shares a lot of similarities with modern Japanese Role-Playing Games, despite obviously being Chinese in origin. It's an open world RPG set in an anime styled world where you go on epic quests and fight enemies with the party based combat. That should sound pretty familiar to any JRPG fan, and if you can deal with the slightly controversial gotcha monetization that turns some off, it will likely become a firm favorite for any eastern RPG fans. It's undoubtedly a harder sell for anyone unfamiliar with the eastern RPG style, but its wild levels of popularity around the globe aren't by chance. This is a very addictive game if it clicks for you, so worth a try, especially if you want a major AAA experience on a mobile device. Bottom Line While still a new player to the global gaming scene, China is quickly becoming a powerhouse when it comes to development, and you can expect that trend to continue over the coming years. Fortunately, that should also mean some brand-new gaming experiences the western world has never seen before, which is a very exciting prospect. There isn't all that much hard data on how popular gaming is in China, and a lot of the data we do get is often questioned by those in the know, so getting an exact picture isn't easy. However, it's fairly safe to assume that gaming is fairly popular in China, just like anywhere else in the world. With the console ban being lifted not all that long ago, it's a safe bet that gaming is only increasing in popularity in China, and with more major games being developed there that is likely to continue. The increase in mobile device power will also likely play a factor in the continued growth in the region. While not technically a single developer, the simple answer to this is any studio that is owned by Tencent. The giant media conglomeration is one of the biggest companies in the world and has a ton of developers under its banner in one form or another, a lot of which are based in China. From LightSpeed & Quantum Studio that made PUBG Mobile, to Morefun Studios that made Arena Breakout Infinite and of course, the TiMi Studio Group that has multiple studios within it that is responsible for the likes of Honor of Kings, Call of Duty: Mobile, Pokémon Unite and many more. Taiwan doesn't quite have the same depth as the Chinese gaming scene, but there are still a few solid titles to choose from. The highlight is The Legend of Sword and Fairy series from Softstar Entertainment, which originated in Taiwan even though later sequels were developed by the company's Chinese studio. These old school RPGs are so old these days you probably wouldn't want to play them, but they spawned a ton of other content from the brand. Another option is Nine Sols from Red Candle Games, a much more modern Metroidvania style game that did make a bit of a dent in the western consciousness as well as in its home regions. It's available on almost all modern platforms, and looks gorgeous.
Hi Dubai
10-04-2025
- Business
- Hi Dubai
UAE-China Cooperation Strengthens Vaccine Industry
Dr. Xuefeng Yu, Chairman and CEO of China's CanSino Biologics Inc., has underlined the importance of empowering local manufacturing companies in vaccine production as a crucial step toward meeting national healthcare needs. During the World Local Production Forum 2025, Dr. Yu stressed that building strong partnerships with local firms is vital to boosting domestic manufacturing capabilities and ensuring high-quality vaccine output. He applauded the UAE's strategic commitment to becoming a regional biotechnology hub, calling it a forward-looking vision that positions the country at the forefront of health innovation. Dr. Yu revealed that CanSino Biologics is actively collaborating with several UAE-based companies to expand local production in alignment with the nation's growing healthcare demands. He highlighted that such efforts not only support public health resilience but also foster innovation and sustainability in the biotech sector. Reflecting on past successes, Dr. Yu commended the robust UAE-China relationship, particularly in healthcare. He pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as a pivotal moment of cooperation, noting the UAE's key role in hosting clinical trials for Chinese-developed vaccines—an initiative that deepened bilateral trust and shared benefits. Looking ahead, Dr. Yu expressed confidence in the continued strengthening of UAE-China collaboration. He emphasized that this evolving strategic partnership is well-positioned to deliver lasting advantages for both nations, especially in biotechnology and public health. As the global focus shifts toward regional self-reliance in healthcare, Dr. Yu's remarks reinforce the UAE's growing stature as a biotech leader in the Middle East. News Source: Emirates News Agency
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Organizers of Taiwan marathon apologize over trophies shaped like a Chinese machine gun
HONG KONG — Organizers of a military-linked marathon in southern Taiwan have apologized after handing out trophies in the shape of a Chinese machine gun, which drew backlash as the Beijing-claimed island comes under growing pressure from China. The prizes from the Fengshan Marathon near the major city of Kaohsiung were strongly criticized over the weekend because of their close resemblance to the QBZ-95, a Chinese-developed assault rifle used by the People's Liberation Army of China. China sees the self-governing democracy of Taiwan as a breakaway province and has not ruled out using force to achieve its unification goal. The ruling Chinese Communist Party, which came to power in 1949, has never controlled Taiwan, which rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims. The trophies were gun-themed because the route ran through multiple military facilities affiliated with Taiwan's National Defense Ministry. Hsu Chih-chieh, a legislator from Taiwan's governing Democratic Progressive Party whose office co-hosted the race, said it was an 'oversight' of the organizers to model the trophies after a nondomestic military firearm. 'We have requested an immediate recall and apologize for the inconvenience,' Hsu said in a Facebook post Sunday. 'Future events will be handled with greater caution.' The Kaohsiung City Fengshan Jogging Association, another organizer of the event, also issued an apology but said the trophy design choice was made with 'aesthetics in mind.' 'Given the association of the military with rifles, we opted for a rifle-shaped trophy instead of a traditional one, with no other special intention behind,' the association said in a statement on Facebook. The association said it has already contacted the manufacturer and will 'proactively' reach out to the award recipients to offer to replace their trophies. 'We also urge individuals with ulterior motives to refrain from spreading unfounded accusations and labeling the event,' it added. The National Defense Ministry said it had agreed to provide access to the facilities. 'When supporting similar events in the future, we will proactively remind the organizers to pay attention to related matters to avoid similar incidents from happening again,' it said in a statement. The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment Monday. In recent years, Taiwan has come under growing military and other pressure from China, which sends warplanes and naval vessels toward the island almost daily. On Monday, the National Defense Ministry said it had detected 26 Chinese military planes around Taiwan since 6:40 a.m., including 20 that crossed the median line that had previously served as an unofficial buffer in the Taiwan Strait. Last month, the Chinese military carried out a 'joint combat readiness patrol' about 40 nautical miles off Taiwan that included live-fire drills, which the island criticized as provocative and dangerous. China says its military actions are 'necessary, legitimate and just measures' to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity. 'They are a resolute response to external forces' deliberate indulgence and support of 'Taiwan independence' activities,' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday at a regular briefing in Beijing. Mao also said the United States, which has no official relations with Taiwan but is the island's most important international backer, had 'taken a series of misguided actions on the Taiwan issue,' including by amending a State Department website last month to remove the phrase 'we do not support Taiwan independence.' China also responded angrily last week to a joint statement by top diplomats from the Group of Seven nations, which includes the U.S., that condemned 'coercion' against Taiwan and omitted the typical reference to G7 members' 'one China' policies, under which they recognize Beijing as the only legitimate government of China. The G7 statements 'ignore facts and China's solemn position, grossly interfere in China's internal affairs, and blatantly smear China,' a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Canada said in a statement Friday. Last week, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te called China a 'foreign hostile force' and proposed 17 countermeasures against what he called Beijing's influence campaign, including strict review of applications by Chinese nationals to visit and live in Taiwan, and the reinstatement of military courts. In response, China — which considers Lai a separatist and has rebuffed his offer of talks — called Lai a 'destroyer of cross-strait peace' and 'creator of crises in the Taiwan Strait.' 'We warn the Lai Ching-te administration sternly: Those who play with fire will get burned,' Chen Binhua, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said Thursday. 'Anyone who engages in 'Taiwan independence' separatism will end up shattered to pieces.' This article was originally published on
