The U.S. Treasury Department has recently forged working groups with China on economic and financial matters. A China affairs observer believes the move is designed to minimize the risk of a significant shock to the United States and the world in the event of a Chinese economic collapse. The U.S. Department of Treasury announced Sept. 22 that one of the groups will focus on economic topics, working with China’s Ministry of Finance, and the other on financial topics, partnering with China’s Central Bank (the People’s Bank of China). The establishment of the working groups could be seen as a result of discussions by U.S. diplomats with their Chinese counterparts during visits to China this summer. Those efforts included a July talk between U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, as well as a late August dialogue between Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao....Read more https://www.theepochtimes.com/china/analysis-new-us-china-working-groups-hope-to-prevent-chinas-lehman-moment-5501032
Two senators from the Republican and Democrat parties announced they’re seeking answers from Chinese-owned video-sharing platform TikTok after it hired several high-level executives from its Chinese company ByteDance. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew in a letter (pdf) on Tuesday that the hirings “further [call] into question the independence of TikTok’s operations and the security of its U.S. users’ information.” The Wall Street Journal recently reported that many high-level executives have moved from ByteDance to TikTok since the start of the year, moving from China to the United States, the senators noted in their letter.... 
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on Oct. 3 sanctions against 28 individuals and entities involved in a network that sends foreign fentanyl over the nation’s borders. The Justice Department (DOJ) also unsealed eight indictments against China-based chemical manufacturing companies and employees involved in fentanyl production. Sanctions The 14 entities and 14 individuals are responsible for manufacturing and distributing fentanyl, methamphetamine, and ingredients used to make MDMA, as well as trafficking potent drugs often mixed with fentanyl and other drugs. The majority of those sanctioned are in China. Two entities and one individual were based in Canada....
Commentary Delegations of Australian parliamentarians have been visiting Taiwan for decades. Apart from the COVID years, the visits have been regular and frequent, involving Members of Parliament (MPs) from the major political parties. State parliamentarians have also visited the country from time to time. I was privileged to journey to Taiwan a year after being elected in 1991. I returned, on a semi-regular basis, over the next three decades, observing the progress of the country and meeting with its leadership. Most recently, I travelled to Taipei to address a regional security dialogue last year. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has also visited, as will former Prime Minister Scott Morrison in October....