California Gov. Gavin Newsom is “on the way” to Israel for discussions with locals and officials following recent incidents in the Middle East. “I’ll be meeting with those impacted by the horrific terrorist attacks and offering California’s support,” Mr. Newsom wrote Oct. 19 on X, formerly known as Twitter. Mr. Newsom’s office declined to comment, and other than the social media post, no official statement or press release was issued regarding the surprise trip. It is unclear how long the governor will be in the Middle East or if he will return to California before traveling to China for a week-long trip, where he is scheduled to lead a delegation starting Oct. 23....Read more https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/newsom-headed-to-israel-china-for-discussions-says-worlds-fate-at-stake-5513738
In August, foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities rose for the third consecutive month to their highest level since December 2021, according to new data from the Treasury Department. But China captured the attention as it continued dumping U.S. assets by vast amounts. Total holdings of U.S. debt increased nearly 3 percent year-over-year to $7.707 trillion. This was also up from July’s total of $7.655 trillion. China reduced its holdings by more than $16 billion to $805.4 billion, down approximately 15 percent from the same time a year ago and the lowest since 2009. Chinese investors also offloaded about $5.1 billion in U.S. stocks in August, the highest on record.... 
The Australian Labor government has decided to not overturn a contentious 99-year lease held by Chinese company Landbridge over the Port of Darwin. The decision comes after a review by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, which said there were sufficient security measures to manage and protect the infrastructure. “The review found that there is a robust regulatory system in place to manage risks to critical infrastructure, including the Port of Darwin; existing monitoring mechanisms are sufficient and will be ongoing; and as a result, it was not necessary to vary or cancel the lease,” the Department said in a statement on Oct. 20....
Since falling into a debt crisis, giant Chinese private property developer Country Garden announced on Oct. 10 that it has HK$470 million (about US$60 million) due and is expected to be unable to fulfill repayment of all foreign debts even in the grace period. According to the announcement, Country Garden has hired high-profile law firm Sidley Austin LLP to assess the company’s capital structure and liquidity position to formulate an overall solution. The move means that Country Garden’s overseas debt restructuring work has been officially launched. The company said that it hopes to fully resolve its current offshore debt crisis....