PRC FIRM VIOLATED PANAMA CANAL PORTS CONTRACT
The Hong Kong firm in charge of two key Panama Canal ports has violated its contract, according to a Panamanian audit. The audit found "many breaches" of the concession awarded to a subsidiary of logistics giant CK Hutchison to operate the two ports, and determined that Panama did not receive the $1.2 billion it was owed under the contract. The subsidiary, called Panama Ports, benefited from many tax exemptions and irregularities in a previous audit were used to justify an extension of the concession first awarded in 1997, said state comptroller Anel Flores. "This is a very delicate issue," Flores said, adding that he would file a complaint with prosecutors in coming days over the unpaid concession fees. The release of the audit results came hours before U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth arrived in Panama. (Channel News Asia, April 7, 2025)
XI REMOVES CMC VICE CHAIR
Xi Jinping has purged General He Weidong, one of the two vice-chairs of the six-member Central Military Commission, for corruption. He's dismissal comes six months after Xi suspended Miao Hua, another Commission member, and is the latest in a long line of high-ranking officers purged for "serious violations of discipline." He's seniority makes his removal more serious than Miao's, and represents the first firing of a general in that role in six decades. Over the past two years, Xi has removed two defense ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, and the two heads of the PLA Rocket Force, which oversees China's nuclear arsenal. (Financial Times, April 10, 2025)
RUSSIA RECRUITS PRC CITIZENS TO FIGHT IN UKRAINE
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that Kyiv had captured two Chinese mercenaries fighting for Russia and accused Moscow of conducting a "systematic campaign" to recruit Chinese citizens. Zelenskyy said at least 155 other Chinese are now fighting for Russia, many without any military experience. One of the captured Chinese men said he had had not held a weapon until he enlisted and traveled to Russia for training. According to a Russian ad on Chinese social media platform Weibo, Moscow is offering Chinese recruits a signing bonus of between $7,000 and $21,000, and a monthly income of $2400, to fight in Ukraine – pay that exceeds the average monthly income in rural areas. While there is no indication that Chinese soldiers are part of a state-sponsored initiative, PRC censors have allowed dozens of ads to remain online for months where they continue to be shared. (Radio Free Europe, April 11, 2025)
CHINA HALTS CRITICAL EXPORTS AS TRADE WAR INTENSIFIES
On April 4, Beijing began restricting the export of six heavy rare earth metals used to make magnets and which are produced almost entirely in China. Shipments of the rare earths, essential for assembling everything from cars and drones to robots and missiles, has been halted while Beijing drafts a new regulatory system to prevent supplies from reaching U.S. military contractors. The metals, and the special magnets made with them, can now be shipped out of China only with an export license. The official crackdown is part of China's retaliation for President Trump's sharp increase in tariffs on April 2. Rare earth magnets make up a tiny share of China's overall exports, so halting shipments causes minimal pain in China but could cripple the U.S. car, semiconductor and aerospace industries. (New York Times, April 13, 2025)
PRC MINISTRIES ISSUE U.S.TRAVEL WARNINGS
The PRC's Ministry of Culture and Tourism and its Ministry of Education have both issued new guidance that tourists and students looking to visit the U.S. should "fully assess the risks of traveling." According to its April 9 advisory notice, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism laid out that: "Recently, due to the deterioration of China-U.S. economic and trade relations and the domestic security situation in the U.S., the Ministry of Culture and Tourism reminds Chinese tourists to fully assess the risks of traveling to the United States and be cautious." The education ministry's warning urges "Chinese tourists to fully assess the risk of traveling to the U.S., and to travel with caution." Canada and several European countries have also updated their travel guidance after several high-profile cases of tourists being detained at the U.S. border. (Newsweek, April 9, 2025)
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