INTERNACIONAL
China skirts US efforts to stiff-arm CCP interference by bolstering state, local relations
As the U.S. looks to better secure itself from threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Beijing is skirting efforts to clamp down on Chinese interference by utilizing a core American principle, the separation of state and federal powers.
While the U.S. federal government over the last several years has taken steps to protect against potential threats posed by Beijing – like efforts to restrict its ability to invest in U.S. farmlands over concerns that China could use the land for espionage schemes – it has failed to address China’s most utilized tool: influence.
According to a report titled, «The Near Enemy: China’s Subnational Reach Into the United States» and released on Tuesday by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), China’s localized subnational relations in the U.S. are its driving force behind Beijing’s continued influence in a range of sectors nationwide.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is on hand to greet Chinese President Xi Jinping as he arrives in San Francisco to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ week on Nov. 14, 2023. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
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«Chinese subnational influence in the United States today grossly outweighs the capacity enjoyed by any other external power. It also dwarfs the leverage cultivated by the ‘active measures’ playbook deployed by the last U.S. great power rival, the Soviet Union,» the authors of the report found.
This sphere of influence is obtained by skirting federal policies and instead focusing on relation-building at the state and local levels, whether this is through private contracts, state-based programs, or acquisitions and investments that create jobs and boost local economies.
«State and local governments are more ‘pragmatic’ than their federal counterparts, focused on ‘employment and economic development’ rather than security concerns,» the authors said in reference to a 2019 report by the state-owned news agency Xinhua that reviewed local U.S. government relationships with China despite the ongoing trade war ignited one year earlier under the then-Trump administration.
The Chinese report found that «U.S. local governments actively seek cooperation with China,» and according to the FDD’s most recent findings, this attitude toward Beijing has not changed when it comes to state leadership on both sides of the aisle.
«An asymmetry exists within the U.S. federal system’s division of labor. National authorities carry responsibility for national security and international trade policy. State and local authorities focus on the provision of public goods and economic development,» the FDD report found.
President Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
«As a result, Chinese subnational influence efforts that disproportionately emphasize economic impact – particularly inbound investment at the subnational level – can bypass security mechanisms that exist at the national level,» the report added.
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The report pointed to relationships that have been fostered between both Democrats and Republican leaders, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who last year visited China and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. They reportedly discussed issues ranging from economic development to cultural exchange programs.
Similarly, in 2018, as the trade war with China was kicking off, Arkansas’ Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson, said during an event hosted by the National Governors Association, and attended by China General Chamber of Commerce Foundation – a group committed to fostering U.S.-China business cooperation – that subnational cooperation with China «is very important.»
«Obviously, our federal government runs our foreign policy and our trade policy. But the more we can build relationships at the state level, then the more successful we will be at the national level,» he added.
But according to the findings of the FDD report, this sentiment is the core issue facing the U.S. today and its inability to effectively safeguard itself from Chinese interference in areas ranging from trade and investment to technology, education systems, media and research enterprises.
«American policy responses to China lack coordination. Defending against China’s subnational influence arms requires a more integrated approach to address the complex collective action problem posed by China’s cultivation of influence through state, local, and commercial avenues in the United States,» the authors wrote.
China’s President Xi Jinping attends a meeting with Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in Brasilia, Nov. 20, 2024. (Reuters/Adriano Machado)
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The FDD experts reported that China sees state and local actors as «valuable and ripe targets for influence efforts» that are effective in not only securing investment deals and cultural programs, but in swaying national narratives.
«The Chinese Communist Party takes a deliberate approach to finding seams in U.S. defenses and working to establish a united front that extends the CCP’s influence beyond China’s borders,» Nathan Picarsic, FDD senior fellow and co-author of the report told Fox News Digital. «State, local and commercial avenues provide openings for Beijing to manipulate – and through which it can evade the barriers imposed by an increasingly hawkish Washington.»
«For the United States to effectively and efficiently respond to the threat of the CCP’s global positioning – across domains of competition, whether measured in capital, technology or military power – we must first address the CCP’s presence in the United States,» he added.
Fox News Digital reached out to Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Gov. Hutchinson for comment.
INTERNACIONAL
Detained captain of cargo ship that collided with US oil tanker is Russian national, ship owner says
A Russian national was revealed to be the captain of the cargo ship that collided with a U.S. tanker off the coast of England in an incident that sparked a massive fire, spilled jet fuel into the sea and left one person feared dead.
The 59-year-old man remained in United Kingdom police custody Wednesday after being detained on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence, according to Ernst Russ, the owner of the Portugal-flagged Solong cargo ship. It added that the ship’s 14 crew members were a mix of Russian and Filipino nationals. One of them remains missing and is presumed dead.
The Solong collided Monday with MV Stena Immaculate, a U.S.-flagged tanker transporting jet fuel for the American military. U.S.-based Crowley Ship Management said the MV Stena Immaculate was anchored near Hull when it was struck and that all 23 onboard are «safe and accounted for» with no reported injuries.
Leading up to the collision, the Solong was inspected in Dublin, Ireland last July and was found to have 10 deficiencies, according to the Associated Press.
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Smoke billows from the MV Solong cargo ship in the North Sea, off the coast of England, on Tuesday, March 11. (Dan Kitwood/Pool Photo via AP)
Port inspection documents show the Solong failed steering-related safety checks with the vessel’s «emergency steering position communications/compass reading» unreadable. It also had «inadequate» alarms, survival craft «not properly maintained» and fire doors «not as required.»
Then a second inspection in Scotland in October found two more deficiencies, but the ship wasn’t detained after either inspection, the AP reported.
However, U.K. authorities said they don’t suspect foul play in the crash.
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The captain of the MV Solong cargo ship is a 59-year-old Russian national, the Associated Press cited the ship’s owner as saying. (Dan Kitwood/Pool Photo via AP)
The 596-foot Stena Immaculate was operating as part of the U.S. government’s Tanker Security Program, a group of commercial vessels that can be contracted to carry fuel for the military when needed.
«Crowley continues to work closely with U.K. agencies to support the incident response, salvage and environmental impact mitigation operations resulting from container ship Solong striking the Crowley-managed tanker Stena Immaculate while at anchor on Monday, March 10,» the ship’s owner said Tuesday.
The collision off the coast of Hull, England, on Monday sparked a massive fire. (Bartek Śmiałek via AP)
«It remains uncertain at this time what volume of fuel may have been released as a result of the incident, but initial review shows impacts have been limited due to exposure to the fire and evaporation of the Jet A1 fuel,» Crowley continued. «In addition, U.K agencies are closely monitoring air quality and any possible public health impacts resulting onshore. Both are currently measuring low or within normal levels.»
Water is seen flowing through the damaged hull of the MV Stena Immaculate oil tanker ship after it collided with a cargo ship off the northeastern coast of England. (Reuters/Phil Noble/TPX Images of the Day)
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The Solong was drifting and still on fire Wednesday, but is likely to remain afloat rather than sinking, officials said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
INTERNACIONAL
Guerra comercial: entran en vigor los aranceles de Trump al acero y aluminio, y Europa responde con impuestos por US$ 28.300 millones
La Unión Europea impondrá contramedidas a productos estadounidenses por valor de 28.300 millones de dólares en respuesta a los aranceles del presidente Donald Trump sobre el acero y el aluminio que entraron en vigor a medianoche.
Los aranceles impuestos por Estados Unidos y el anuncio de contramedidas por parte de la Unión Europea marcan el inicio de una guerra comercial entre los dos socios transatlánticos, en un momento de creciente incertidumbre en los mercados por los cambios de rumbo del gobierno de Trump.
La presidenta de la Comisión Europea, Ursula von der Leyen, calificó las medidas, que se aplicarán a productos estadounidenses desde barcos hasta bourbon, de «fuertes pero proporcionadas».
Los aranceles de Trump, que entraron en vigor la noche del martes, implican que las empresas estadounidenses que deseen importar acero y aluminio al país deberán pagar un impuesto del 25 % sobre ellos.
Canadá y China también están alcanzados por las medidas de Trump.
China afirmó que tomará «todas las medidas necesarias» para salvaguardar sus derechos e intereses, mientras que el alto comisionado de Canadá en el Reino Unido criticó el «mundo comercial sin ley de Donald Trump».
Ukraine on Tuesday agreed to a preliminary proposal put forward by the Trump administration that called for a 30-day ceasefire contingent on Russia’s acceptance of the terms in a major step toward ending the brutal war.
But even if the Trump administration is able to get Moscow to the negotiating table and end the three-year war under a new treaty, which several security experts say Russian President Vladimir Putin is under no real pressure to do, can the Kremlin chief be trusted?
Russia under Putin has repeatedly violated formal international agreements intended to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty, chiefly from its former Soviet overlord.
From left, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi National Security Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Ukrainian Head of Presidential Office Andriy Yermak hold a meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via AP)
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These agreements include the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which Ukraine agreed to relinquish its nuclear arsenal in exchange for assurances over its territorial integrity after its 1991 withdrawal from the Soviet Union, as well as the 1997 Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership by which Moscow and Kyiv agreed to respect one another’s existing borders. Both deals were first violated in 2014 when Putin seized Crimea and backed Russian separatist forces in the Donbas region.
The 2014-2015 Minsk Agreements, though criticized as «weak,» attempted to end Russia’s aggression in eastern Ukraine, an agreement that was never fully achieved and was again violated by Putin’s 2022 invasion.
Some world leaders and security officials, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have cautioned that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is unlikely to be achieved in the near term and against Putin’s reliability in adhering to any international agreement without serious security commitments from the West.
«The problem here is that the Russians only understand win-lose outcomes, which means that to prevent them from ever attacking Ukraine again, they must see themselves to be the losers in the war just as they did at the end of the Cold War,» Michael Ryan, former deputy assistant secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy and former acting assistant secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, told Fox News Digital.
Ukrainian soldiers fire a cannon near Bakhmut, an eastern city where fierce battles against Russian forces have been taking place in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, May 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Libkos)
Security officials interviewed by Fox News Digital argued that securing Ukraine’s future is not about «trusting» Putin. It’s about actually putting Russia in a position where any future violations would hinder Moscow more than it could be enticed by unchecked opportunity.
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«Even if a deal is concluded, Russia will continue clandestine operations across the world to expand its footprint in terms of geopolitical influence,» Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer, told Fox News Digital, noting the former KGB operative can be counted on to «continue election interference campaigns, cyber warfare, espionage and destabilization operations across the globe.
«There’s no such thing as peace in Russia’s strategic military thinking. You are in a constant confrontation.»
Ryan argued a Trump-brokered peace deal needs to reflect on the lessons learned from previously failed agreements, like the post-WWI Treaty of Versailles, which arguably led to the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.
«How to solve this conundrum? Just as we did after World War II … reconstruction of Ukraine must include economic reconciliation with Russia,» Ryan said. «The Russians saw how we rebuilt the losing side in World War II Germany and Japan. They expected us to do the same for Russia after the Cold War, but we did not.
«We can’t make that same mistake if we want lasting peace for Ukraine and if we want to split Russia from China,» he added, noting other adversaries are watching how the West handles this geopolitical hurdle.
Ukrainian soldiers of the Aidar battalion training at an undetermined location in Donetsk oblast, 4 April 2023. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
There are numerous obstacles when it comes to the Trump administration’s attempt to negotiate with Putin, including arguments over occupied territory, international recognition of occupied lands, international aid and support for Ukraine, international confiscation of frozen Russian assets, Zelenskyy’s standing at home, the return of prisoners of war and the return of abducted Ukrainian children, according to Peter Rough, senior fellow and director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at the Hudson Institute.
«Putin has officially annexed four Ukrainian oblasts as well as Crimea. But Moscow has yet to conquer any of the four entirely,» Rough told Fox News Digital while traveling to Ukraine. «I can’t imagine that Ukraine will withdraw from the areas they control, having fought tooth and nail to defend those regions.
«I also doubt that the West will offer de jure recognition to the areas Moscow controls,» he added. «So, Putin would have to swallow all of that in a peace deal.»
Each issue alone is a massive undertaking to negotiate, and while Ukraine this week may be outlining concessions it could make to secure a deal coordinated by the U.S., Putin is unlikely to do the same, according to Koffler, who briefed NATO years ahead of the 2022 invasion on Putin’s plans.
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«Putin is unlikely to make any concessions as he believes he is in a strong position,» Koffler told Fox News Digital. «The disparity in combat potential dramatically favors Russia over Ukraine, which is out-manned and outgunned because Putin transitioned the Russian military and economy on a wartime footing seven years prior to the invasion of Ukraine.»
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on the draft of a 2024 federal budget and the planning period of 2025 and 2026, via video link at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Sept. 18, 2023 (Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool)
«Putin believes he has prepared Russia to fight till the last Ukrainian and till the last missile in NATO’s arsenal,» she added, echoing a January warning issued by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who said Russia’s defense industry output over a three-month period equates to what all of NATO produces an entire year.
«Putin is highly unlikely to agree to a ceasefire because he doesn’t want to give a strategic pause to Ukraine, the U.S., and NATO to re-arm,» Koffler said. «He doesn’t trust Washington. He doesn’t trust President Trump any more than we trust Putin.
«He trusts Trump even less than Biden because he could read Biden and predict his behavior. He cannot read Trump because Trump is unpredictable.»
The experts argued there are too many variables that could play out during negotiations that will determine whether Putin can be adequately held accountable or «trusted» regarding future agreements.
Ukrainian soldiers work with «pion» artillery in the northern direction of the Donbass front line as the Russia-Ukraine war continues in Donetsk, Ukraine, Jan. 7, 2023. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Ultimately, Koffler said, Putin will not leave eastern Ukraine.
«Ukraine has always been a red line for Putin, in terms of who has geopolitical control of it, Russia or the West. And he will continue to enforce this red line,» she said. «The only way to ensure that Putin doesn’t invade another country is to make NATO strong again, beef up force posture, increase defense spending, secure its command-and-control networks and develop actual deterrence and counter-strategy that addresses every prong of Putin’s strategy.»
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