WASHINGTON — The Biden administration launched a series of actions against China in recent days, sustaining pressure against the United States’ key strategic rival even as it focuses on more urgent fronts, including the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

In the span of one week, the administration announced an executive order to protect Americans’ personal data from foreign adversaries, including China; launched an investigation into potential security threats posed by connected vehicles that use Chinese technology; and placed sanctions on Chinese entities for supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The actions taken by President Joe Biden stand in contrast to the months of warming ties following a November summit in California between him and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping — a meeting aimed to improve a bilateral relationship that had reached its lowest point in decades due to rivalry and mistrust.

Since the summit, diplomatic engagement has increased from both sides, including the resumption of military-to-military talks that were frozen after former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s 2022 visit to Taiwan.

Restarting staff-level talks in early January was key to ensuring that the two sides avoided a major cross-strait incident during Taiwan’s election later in the month.

In January, Washington and Beijing also launched a working group designed to crack down on the flow of Chinese precursors used in the production of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs sold in the U.S., another sign of cooperation between the superpowers.

Ties improved to the point that Beijing marked the 45th anniversary of U.S.-China diplomatic relations in January with a lavish banquet, where Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi promised that Chinese giant pandas, much loved by American zoo visitors, will return to U.S. by the end of the year.

So why the flurry of actions against China now?

National security issue

The White House sidestepped questions on the back-to-back timing of the measures.

Biden is “concerned about countries like China,” White House deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton said to reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday.

“China is right now looking to flood the market here in the United States and around the world with vehicles equipped with advanced technology from countries of concern,” she said. “That’s a national security issue that we take very seriously.”

An administration official told reporters during a briefing that the U.S. Commerce Department probe launched Thursday to ensure that Chinese cars driving on American roads do not undermine U.S. national security, is “complementary and distinct” from the executive order to protect Americans’ personal data from China and other foreign adversaries. The latter order blocks bulk transfers of data such as geolocation, biometric, health and financial information to “countries of concern.”

By putting the two announcements next to each other, the administration is trying to communicate that they’re taking data security seriously, said Emily Benson, director of the Project on Trade and Technology at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“The anticipated outcome there was to signal that the connected vehicle rules are actually a national security instrument,” Benson told VOA.

The U.S. plans to engage partners and allies following the investigation into the threat posed by Chinese vehicles. There’s a “growing sense of the security risks” and “really strong interest in the measures that we might take and the results of the investigation,” an administration official told VOA during a briefing Wednesday.

Biden himself warned of the dangers.

“Connected vehicles from China could collect sensitive data about our citizens and our infrastructure and send this data back to the People’s Republic of China,” the president said in a statement.

National security concerns aside, the administration is also anticipating an overcapacity of more affordable Chinese vehicles entering the American marketplace, especially as Chinese auto producers such as BYD set up manufacturing facilities in Mexico that would afford them more favorable tariff rates under USMCA, the free-trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

“That has created a lot of fear in Washington about the longevity of the U.S. automobile sector,” Benson said.

She added that the executive actions taken this week are “easier and more appropriate” than the effort to ban TikTok. The social media app is used by more than 100 million Americans despite allegations that its China-based parent company, ByteDance, could collect sensitive user data.

While the federal government and dozens of individual states have barred TikTok from government devices, Congress has yet to enact legislation to ban Americans from using the application on their personal devices.

The app is highly popular, especially among young people, prompting Biden’s campaign to join the platform despite the administration’s previously firm stance on its potential national security concerns.

Balanced approach

As Biden gears up for his reelection campaign, his administration is keen to project the image that they are taking the threat of China seriously, said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center.

“Balancing has always been the theme of his policy,” Sun told VOA. “When there is positive engagement, there’s also the punitive gestures.”

Without such gestures, the administration would be vulnerable to criticism that it is ignoring the fact that Beijing remains a source of significant national security challenges for the United States, she said.

“The administration has to demonstrate that it is extremely clear-eyed about the limitation of engagement but also the desirability of the engagement,” she said. “Engagement does not mean there’s no problem.”

Washington also announced sanctions against Chinese firms last week as part of a measure marking the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The trade penalties targeted entities in Russia and in countries viewed by the administration as supporting Moscow’s war effort.

The actions against China followed a meeting between Wang and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference earlier in February.

In the meeting, Wang warned Blinken that turning de-risking “into ‘de-China,’ building ‘small courtyards and high walls,’ and engaging in ‘decoupling from China’ will eventually backfire on the United States.”
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Washington — U.S. lawmakers sharply criticized Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday over the failure to inform the White House about his hospitalization earlier this year for complications from cancer treatment.

Both Democrats and Republicans expressed dismay over the secrecy, but the House Armed Services Committee hearing ultimately shed little light on why information had been withheld from other top officials.

“It’s totally unacceptable that it took three days to inform the president of the United States that the secretary of defense was in the hospital and not in control of the Pentagon,” Representative Mike Rogers, the committee’s Republican chairman, said during the hearing.

“Wars were raging in Ukraine and Israel, our ships were under fire in the Red Sea and our bases were bracing for attack in Syria and Iraq. But the commander-in-chief did not know that his secretary of defense was out of action,” Rogers said.

The committee’s ranking Democratic member, Representative Adam Smith, said “the lack of transparency” should not be repeated and that “we need clearer, more transparent information about what’s going on at the Pentagon.”

Austin insisted “there was never a break in command and control,” but said that “what we didn’t do well was a notification of senior leaders.”

The Pentagon chief repeated that he “never told anyone not to inform the president, White House or anyone else about my hospitalization,” admitting however that “we didn’t get this right.”

Austin, a 70-year-old career soldier, initially underwent minor surgery to treat the cancer on December 22, returning home the following day. 

But he was readmitted due to complications including nausea and severe pain on January 1.

The White House was not informed about Austin’s hospitalization until January 4, while Congress was not told until the following day, and President Joe Biden did not learn of the cancer diagnosis until January 9.

Various Republican lawmakers called for Austin — who apologized earlier this month for the secrecy surrounding his treatment — to be sacked, but Biden has stood by him.

The Pentagon conducted a 30-day review of the situation and released a summary on Monday that said privacy concerns contributed to the secrecy, but found no evidence of intentional wrongdoing or obfuscation
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washington — U.S. President Joe Biden’s is a “healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency,” his physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said in a statement released by the White House on Wednesday, following Biden’s annual physical examination. 

“The president feels well, and this year’s physical identified no new concerns. He continues to be fit for duty and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations,” O’Connor said following Biden’s visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, earlier Wednesday.  

The checkup included consultations with optometry, dentistry, orthopedics, physical therapy, neurology, sleep medicine, cardiology, radiology and dermatology specialists, O’Connor said.  

It’s Biden’s third physical since taking office, amid concerns about his age as he seeks a second term.  

“They think I look too young,” Biden joked to reporters at the White House after his checkup. “There is nothing different than last year,” he said.

According to the summary, Biden is currently being treated for several conditions, including obstructive sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux, seasonal allergies, arthritis and sensory peripheral neuropathy of the feet. He also has atrial fibrillation with normal ventricular response, a type of asymptomatic irregularity of the heartbeat.  

His doctor pronounced his conditions as “stable and well-controlled,” with “three common prescription medications and three common over-the-counter medications.”  

The symptoms were similar to those described in Biden’s 2023 physical exam report that noted the president’s “stiff gait,” due to “a combination of significant spinal arthritis, mild post-fracture foot arthritis and a mild sensory peripheral neuropathy of the feet,” and “occasional symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux,” that made him have to clear his throat often.     

President didn’t undergo cognitive test 

Recent events have highlighted Biden’s potential age-related issues, including the president being described in a special counsel report as an “elderly man with a poor memory.”      

In pushing back on reporters’ questions about his age, Biden insisted that his “memory is fine” but shortly after mistakenly referred to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi as the president of Mexico. That and two other mistaken references to world leaders’ names in recent weeks fueled further attacks by his rivals.     

Responding to reporters’ questions during her briefing on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden did not undergo a cognitive test as part of his physical because the president’s physician, “doesn’t believe that he needs one.” 

As president, Biden passes a cognitive test “every day,” Jean-Pierre underscored. 

A poll by the George Washington University shows 35% of respondents say Biden was in good enough physical health to serve effectively as president, and 38% said he has the mental soundness to serve effectively as president.  

This is lower that what respondents say about the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, Donald Trump, who is four years younger. For Trump, the numbers are 54% and 46%, respectively. 

“These figures indicate that this is a big problem for Biden,” Todd Belt, professor of politics at George Washington University, told VOA. “The campaign has changed course to attack Trump on his vulnerabilities on the mental soundness issue.” 

Biden did exactly that during an appearance on a late-night television show earlier this week, by referencing a video in which Trump appeared to forget his wife’s name.  

Americans concerned about Biden’s age

Trump was 70 when he took office in 2017, which made him the oldest American president to be inaugurated until Biden broke his record at 78 in 2021. The former president has also made blunders, including praising Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for his leadership of Turkey, and confusing his Republican rival, Nikki Haley, with former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.   

A February ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted after the release of the special counsel report indicated concerns among 59% of Americans regarding the age and capability for a second term for both candidates, although more Americans are worried about Biden compared with Trump, said Clifford Young, president of Ipsos Public Affairs.   

“Age is an Achilles’ heel, is an anchor for Biden,” Young told VOA. “It was four years ago. Without a doubt, it will be this year.”   

Though not publicly announced in advance, the timing of Biden’s physical was anticipated, given the increasing focus on his age and health in the context of his reelection campaign ahead of the November election. 
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Tukwila, Washington — Though the number of migrants crossing daily into the United States has fallen since December, local communities are still scrambling to provide them with resources.

In the Pacific Northwest, Riverton Park United Methodist Church in Tukwila, Washington, has become a shelter for hundreds of asylum-seekers from Africa and Latin America.

At the church entrance is a hum of conversations in Portuguese, French and Spanish, as asylum-seekers from countries such as Angola, Congo and Venezuela gather to discuss their immigration claims.

Eurice, a bespectacled woman in her 50s, came from Venezuela. She asked that her last name not be used.

“I don’t want to be a burden to the United States,” she said. “I didn’t come here for a dream. Because of my work at the Colombian consulate, I was labeled a traitor. I’ve worked all my life, and instead of a peaceful retirement, I had to flee my country, walking through the jungle, crossing seven countries.”

She said she is grateful to find shelter at this church.

“I thank God and the lady pastor for providing a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in, and a plate of food. I am blessed already,” she said.

Pastor Jan Bolerjack said that over the past year, Riverton has helped find shelter, food and basic necessities for about 1,000 asylum-seekers of various ages, including pregnant women and toddlers. Some of them arrived on their own. Others were brought in by the police.

“The police department in Seattle found them on the streets in tents and realized they were a different population from our usual homeless individuals,” Bolerjack told VOA. “And so, they started bringing them here. We went from zero to 100 by March 2023, and then 400 by July. In October, the mayor of Tukwila declared a humanitarian emergency here. And this is where we are now — continuing with this humanitarian emergency.”

Unlike refugees who are eligible for resettlement services, asylum-seekers are unable to work legally before their work permit application is approved in a process that may last many months.

Bolerjack said her church has always had an open door for the most vulnerable members of the community, but with limited resources, staff and volunteers are overwhelmed.

“We have to provide everything, from food to laundry to bathrooms, showers, tents, sleeping bags, mattresses. Everything has to come from our friends and sources in the neighborhood,” she explained, walking through the church hall where piles of donated mattresses, suitcases and bags line the walls, and past a tiny kitchen, where several young African women are cooking, and through an area where volunteers sort donated clothes.

“Somehow, this place has been advertised across the country and at the border as the place to go,” Bolerjack explained. “And you know, I can take great pride in that. And yet, I’m kind of embarrassed when they arrive after a long, traumatic journey and we have to say, ‘You have to sleep in a wet, soggy tent.'”

In winter, when temperatures in the area dropped below zero, hundreds of asylum-seekers were temporarily moved from tents to local hotels. Some refused to return to the encampment, asking lawmakers for help.

State Representative Mia Gregerson is working to improve the state’s response to the crisis with legislation to better coordinate migrant services. Speaking with VOA at her office in the state capital, Olympia, she said that despite Tukwila’s tradition of welcoming newcomers, the community of fewer than 22,000 people shouldn’t be pushed to shoulder the crisis on its own.

“I think they’re really rolling up their sleeves well and making a go of it,” Gregerson said. “But there is a lot of uncertainty. What are we going to do when the funds run out?”

She said processing asylum cases is often complicated by different immigration statuses within a family. The bill she introduced with 18 co-sponsors seeks to empower the state’s Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance.

 

“The idea is that the office is able to be nimble and utilize resources quickly to not only put them into the system for legal advice that’s correct and factual, or quickly get them the education resources, transportation needs, and housing vouchers,” Gregerson said. “And we need to maintain that contact with them so we can help them through the system. Otherwise, they may fall victim to other types of issues.”

Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s current budget includes $5 million in new funding for the Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance to expand support services for newly arriving people who do not qualify for federal refugee resettlement program services. A separate request for $3.4 million is meant to help provide transitional and long-term housing support to asylum-seekers in the county around Seattle.

Volunteers at Riverton help asylum-seekers complete the required paperwork in English. In the past year, Bolerjack said just one person won their asylum case and obtained a work permit.

That has not diminished the optimism of Jeremiah Lefau, who said he left Angola with his wife and three children in December 2022 because of insecurity in his country. They lived at Riverton for four months before they were approved for family shelter. The children are enrolled in local schools along with more than 100 young asylum-seekers. Lefau is taking English classes and volunteers at the church.

“I feel good about the future,” he said. “Now, we need to help others as the church helped us.”

Eurice, from Venezuela, hopes to return to her country someday.

“My family is still there. I miss them,” she said. “I hope to stay here as long as necessary to be safe, and I thank the United States for this opportunity they are giving us. But I have faith that one day my country will be able to repair itself so I can return.”

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is advancing measures making it more challenging for asylum-seekers to stay in the U.S.
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New York — A New York appellate judge on Wednesday refused to halt collection of Donald Trump’s $454 million civil fraud penalty while he appeals, rejecting the former president’s request that he be allowed to post a bond covering a fraction of what he owes.

Judge Anil Singh of the state’s midlevel appeals court ruled that Trump must post a bond covering the full amount in order to stop enforcement of the judgment. Singh did grant some of Trump’s requests, including pausing a three-year ban on him seeking loans from New York banks, which could help him secure the necessary bond.

Trump’s lawyers told the appellate court earlier Wednesday that Trump was prepared to post a $100 million bond, arguing that the lending ban in the Feb. 16 verdict made it impossible for him to secure a bond for the full amount.

Trump’s lawyers floated the smaller bond offer in court papers as they sought an order from the appellate court preventing New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office from enforcing the judgment while his appeal plays out. Singh ruled that Trump needs to post the full amount, which would pause collection automatically.

In all, the Republican presidential candidate and his co-defendants owe more than $465 million to the state. They have until March 25 to secure a stay, a legal mechanism pausing collection while he appeals, or they’ll be forced to pay the monetary penalty or risk having some of their assets seized.

“The exorbitant and punitive amount of the judgment coupled with an unlawful and unconstitutional blanket prohibition on lending transactions would make it impossible to secure and post a complete bond,” Trump lawyers Clifford Robert, Alina Habba and Michael Farina wrote in their request.

James’ office opposed Trump’s plan, saying his lawyers have all but conceded he has “insufficient liquid assets to satisfy the judgment.”

“These are precisely the circumstances for which a full bond or deposit is necessary,” Senior Assistant Solicitor General Dennis Fan wrote, saying Trump’s offer would leave James’ office and the state “with substantial shortfalls” if the verdict is upheld.

“A prevailing plaintiff is entitled to have her award secured, and defendants have never demonstrated that Mr. Trump’s liquid assets could satisfy the full amount of the judgment,” Fan wrote.

James, a Democrat, has said that she will seek to seize some of Trump’s assets if he’s unable to pay the judgment.

Judge Arthur Engoron found that Trump, his company and top executives, including his sons Eric and Donald Jr., schemed for years to deceive banks and insurers by inflating his wealth on financial statements used to secure loans and make deals.

Among other penalties, the judge put strict limitations on the ability of Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, to do business. Paperwork making the judgment official was filed on February 23. That started a 30-day window for Trump to pay up or file an appeal and seek a stay.

Trump filed his appeal on Monday. His lawyers are asking the Appellate Division of the state’s trial court to decide whether Engoron “committed errors of law and/or fact” and whether he abused his discretion or “acted in excess” of his jurisdiction.

Trump lawyers argued that Trump’s vast real estate assets and oversight mandated by Engoron’s ruling, including supervision of his company by an independent monitor, “would alone be sufficient to adequately secure any judgment affirmed.”

The $100 million bond, they said, “would simply serve as further security.”

Trump maintains that he is worth several billion dollars and testified last year that he had about $400 million in cash, in addition to properties and other investments.

In all, Trump has at least $543.4 million in personal legal liabilities from Engoron’s ruling and two other civil court judgments in the last year.

In January, a jury ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her after she accused him in 2019 of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. That’s on top of the $5 million a jury awarded Carroll in a related trial last year.
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