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China’s Birth Rate Falls So Low That Baby Formula Factory to Shut Down

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Nestle, the world’s largest food company, announced on Wednesday that it will shutter or sell the Wyeth Nutrition baby formula factory in Askeaton, Ireland, no later than the first quarter of 2026.

The major reason given for this decision was that China’s birth rate has collapsed so much that the plant’s output, which was exported to Asia, is no longer needed.

“The number of newborn babies in China has declined sharply from some 18 million per year in 2016 to fewer than 9 million projected in 2023. The market, which had previously been reliant on imported infant formula products, is also seeing rapid growth in locally produced products,” Nestle stated.

The company said it would shutter a research and development center at the Askeaton plant by 2025, putting a total of 542 local jobs on the line.

“The full range of state supports will be made available to the employees, and we will examine each and every option to ensure that the best possible outcome is reached for all concerned,” Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade, and Employment Simon Coveney told the BBC on Wednesday. (Read more from “China’s Birth Rate Falls So Low That Baby Formula Factory to Shut Down” HERE)

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Pentagon Warns Risky and Coercive China Air Encounters Could Trigger a War

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China is engaged in a systematic program of military intimidation and coercion involving dangerous jet intercepts of U.S. and allied aircraft that could trigger a U.S.-China conflict, the Pentagon’s senior policymaker for Asia said Tuesday.

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner told reporters the Chinese military is engaged in a coordinated campaign featuring “risky and coercive” actions by jet fighters that have made close passes to U.S. and allied aircraft flying in international airspace.

More than 180 incidents involving U.S. aircraft have taken place, mainly over the South China Sea and East China Sea, since 2021. The number over just the past two years is more than occurred during the entire decade prior to 2021.

The incidents have included what Mr. Ratner said were “reckless maneuvers” by Chinese Su-27 and J-16 jets flying very close to, or in front of, patrolling U.S. aircraft. In some cases, the Chinese jets released chaff or flares that could have damaged the engines of the U.S. aircraft.

When added to an additional number of dangerous intercepts involving allied aircraft, the total number of risky incidents is nearly 300, Mr. Ratner said. (Read more from “Pentagon Warns Risky and Coercive China Air Encounters Could Trigger a War” HERE)

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Illegal Chinese Nationals Crossing Southern Border Skyrocketing

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The number of Chinese migrant encounters recorded by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents has seen a massive spike in the year to date.

Statistics recently released by the CBP show there were nearly 45,500 encounters with Chinese nationals in the 11 months to August, compared to almost 28,000 for the 2022 fiscal year, which runs from October to September. Many of these encounters were recorded at the southern land border with Mexico and the overwhelming majority were unaccompanied adults.

One expert warned this dramatic upswing was a potential national security risk, telling Newsweek: “It kind of goes to the question of: are any of these here on China’s orders?” (Read more from “Illegal Chinese Nationals Crossing Southern Border Skyrocketing” HERE)

Photo credit: Jason Carter via Flickr

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Ukraine Brands China’s Biggest Oil and Gas Companies ‘Sponsors of War’

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Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) announced on Tuesday that it had decided to add China’s three largest oil and gas companies to its list of “international sponsors of war” for their lucrative business interests in Russia, potentially driving a wedge between Kyiv and Beijing.

China is one of Russia’s closest international allies and has dramatically increased its imports of Russian fossil fuels since the government of strongman Vladimir Putin announced a “special operation” to invade Ukraine in February 2022. Russia overtook Saudi Arabia and China’s top source of oil in June 2022 and has rerouted ships into the Arctic to more efficiently meet China’s demand for its products — at a time in which Europe imposed sanctions on Moscow in response to the invasion.

The Chinese Communist Party also enjoys close ties to the government of Ukraine, however. Ukraine is a member of China’s Belt and Road Initative (BRI), a debt-trap scheme in which Beijing offers predatory loans to poor countries that serve to erode their sovereignty and increase Chinese influence. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has encouraged Chinese businesses to help rebuild a post-war Ukraine and invited dictator Xi Jinping to maintain communication lines open. Xi and Zelensky last spoke in April, in a phone call Zelensky described as “long and meaningful.”

The Chinese government has repeatedly described itself as a neutral party in the war despite refusing to support sanctions on Russia. It published an alleged “peace plan” to end the Russian invasion in which Beijing advised both Russia and Ukraine to “calm down as soon as possible.” (Read more from “Ukraine Brands China’s Biggest Oil and Gas Companies ‘Sponsors of War’” HERE)

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Exposed: Wires to Hunter From Beijing; Bidens Claimed They Didn’t Get ‘One Cent’

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Hunter Biden denied receiving “one cent” from his family’s deal with BHR Partners associate Jonathan Li, a video from October 2019 shows.

In the summer of 2019, Hunter Biden received two wires totaling $260,000 originating from BHR Partners associates, including Li, that listed President Joe Biden’s Delaware home as the beneficiary address for the funds, the House Oversight Committee revealed this week. The fund is bankrolled by the Bank of China.

Months after receiving the bank wires in 2019, Hunter Biden told ABC News he did not receive one penny from Li. . .

“Have you received any money from that business dealing?” an ABC News reporter asked Hunter Biden. . .

“Not one cent,” Hunter Biden claimed.

(Read more from “Exposed: Wires to Hunter From Beijing; Bidens Claimed They Didn’t Get ‘One Cent'” HERE)

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James Biden Admits to FBI: Family Tried to Help Chinese Firm Buy U.S. Energy Assets

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James Biden, brother of President Joe Biden, confirmed to the FBI last year that his family tried to help CEFC China Energy Co. purchase a U.S. liquid natural gas facility in Louisiana, according to documents released Wednesday by the House Ways and Means Committee.

CEFC, closely linked to the CCP and Chinese President Xi Jinping, was chaired by Ye Jianming, an associate of Hunter Biden. James Biden told the FBI he personally met once with Jianming about CEFC’s interest in acquiring the liquid natural gas facility.

“James B noted that RHB portrayed CEFC to him as Chairman Ye was a protégé of President Xi,” FBI agents noted in a memo.

“James B recalled that the life changing meeting was the deal with Monkey Island. Monkey Island was off the coast of Louisiana near the Gulf of Mexico. James B stated that there was room for a port to be developed and that the properties were pre-approved,” the FBI memo said. “The island was 50-100 miles from the Gulf of Mexico and that there was a clear passage to offload and load gas. CEFC was supposed to buy it from Greg Michaels (‘Michaels’) (the CEO and Owner in control of Monkey Island).” (Read more from “James Biden Admits to FBI: Family Tried to Help Chinese Firm Buy U.S. Energy Assets” HERE)

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Milley, Who Previously Vowed to Warn Chinese Communists Ahead of American Attack, Claims Chinese Spy Balloon Collected No Evidence

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Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, claimed in an interview over the weekend that the infamous 200-foot Chinese spy balloon, which flew across the continental United States before ultimately being shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 4, 2023, hadn’t actually done any spying.

Milley, who has previously attempted to put Chinese communists’ nerves at ease — even at the potential expense of an American advantage — told “CBS News Sunday Morning” that the spy balloon likely hadn’t fulfilled its singular purpose while darting across the very superpower China seeks to replace.

“The intelligence community, their assessment — and it’s a high-confidence assessment — [is] that there was no intelligence collection by that balloon,” said Milley, invoking the confidence of the same community that continues to cast doubt on the Wuhan lab origins of COVID-19 and whose top alumni suggested the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation.

According to Milley, the spy balloon had likely been blown off course by winds at 60,000 feet. He noted further that the “particular motor on that aircraft can’t go against those winds at that altitude.”

This suggestion resembles the excuse originally provided by the Chinese regime as to why another one of its spy balloons had been spotted over the American interior. (Read more from “Milley, Who Previously Vowed to Warn Chinese Communists Ahead of American Attack, Claims Chinese Spy Balloon Collected No Evidence” HERE)

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Chinese Military Conducts Massive Dispatch of Jets Near Taiwan

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China’s military stepped up its provocative military operations around Taiwan over the weekend, flying over 100 military aircraft near the island democracy it has vowed one day to take over.

A total of 103 jets were detected on Sunday and 40 of the planes crossed the median line down the middle of the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait, the Taiwan Defense Ministry disclosed in a post on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. Nine PLA navy vessels also were spotted, the ministry said.

The Chinese warplanes included 10 Su-30s, 12 J-10s, four J-11s, 10 J-16s, two Y-20 refueling tankers and two KJ-500 warning and control jets.

The latest demonstration followed major PLA war games around Taiwan from Sept. 11-15 that included 20 warships, among them the aircraft carrier Shandong and two other action groups of destroyers and frigates. Taipei said that in response Taiwanese jets were scrambled, naval vessels deployed, and land-based missile systems activated.

The observance of the unofficial maritime dividing line between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland had until recently been a key tool in maintaining a fragile status quo. Analysts say the median-line crossings are the latest indication China is challenging the status quo despite repeated U.S. and Taiwanese complaints. (Read more from “Chinese Military Conducts Massive Dispatch of Jets Near Taiwan” HERE)

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‘F—ing Spy Chief of China’: ‘Irregularities’ Found in DOJ Probe of Biden Associate

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The Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation and prosecution of CEFC China Energy Co. boss and Biden family associate Patrick Ho displayed “irregularities,” including concealing known connections between the Chinese Communist Party-linked entity and the Bidens, and communication between Hunter Biden and the FBI agents involved in Ho’s case, according to a memo by the Heritage Foundation Oversight Project.

Ho, infamously referred to as “the f***ing spy chief of China” by Hunter Biden, was arrested in November, 2017, and convicted in December, 2018, in the Southern District of New York and sentenced to 3 years in prison for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money laundering. Ho’s first phone call upon his arrest was to Hunter Biden, who was allegedly providing legal services to him at the time.

Now, a memo by the Heritage Foundation obtained exclusively by Breitbart News alleges that since Ho’s conviction, “significant evidence has emerged identifying concerning irregularities with the DOJ investigation and prosecution,” including that “DOJ was aware of connections between the Biden family and CEFC at least as early as 2017 and that they acted to conceal this information from the public,” as well as “contacts between Hunter Biden and FBI agents related to Ho’s arrest,” and “a leak of investigatory information in the Ho case.”

The memo cites the fact that Ho was under FISA surveillance during a period where he was in “regular communication” with CEFC and the Biden family, which would indicate the FBI and DOJ had knowledge of their business arrangements in at least 2017, and probably in 2016.

The memo also cites evidence that the DOJ redacted mentions of the Biden family — specifically, Hunter Biden — in the evidence presented at Ho’s 2018 trial. For instance, Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Richenthal requested redactions of an email presented in the case for the purpose of avoiding a “political dimension”— which was eventually revealed on Hunter Biden’s “laptop from Hell.” (Read more from “‘F—ing Spy Chief of China’: ‘Irregularities’ Found in DOJ Probe of Biden Associate” HERE)

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America’s Biggest Trading Partner Is No Longer China but This Country

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Mexico has overtaken China as America’s biggest trading partner as the US looks to import goods closer to home and minimize its reliance on geopolitical rivals, according to Bloomberg.

America’s southern neighbor made up 15% of US imports in July, compared to 14.6% from China, according to data analyzed by the outlet.

The number of Chinese shipments in July were at their lowest level since the start of COVID, dropping by 14.5% in July compared to the same month last year, according to data released by Beijing last month.

The findings also showed that imports fell by 12.4% as the ruling Communist Party struggles to dig out of its post-pandemic funk.

Meanwhile, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Mexico is up more than 40% in the country this year as US companies increasingly shun China, Bloomberg reported. (Read more from “America’s Biggest Trading Partner Is No Longer China but This Country HERE)

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