US Sanctions Strain Ties Ahead of Trump’s China Trip

A scheduled Trump–Xi summit is drawing closer, but Washington’s sanctions arrived sooner than the U.S. president. A Chinese oil refiner has been targeted for allegedly bankrolling Iran. Beijing responded.

China is pulling the plug on Meta’s two-billion-dollar Manus deal, sending a strong signal that cross-border AI partnerships now face much higher scrutiny.

A Chinese coffee chain in New York City is raising national security concerns. It appears to be a simple business decision—cashless payments only, requiring customers to download an app to pay. But a watchdog group says there could be more to it.

A Chinese national has been charged in a years-long scheme targeting NASA employees. Officials say he posed as a trusted colleague, gaining access to sensitive data.

And could China’s social credit system see a global rollout in the form of digital IDs? And why is the World Health Organization pushing for a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system? Reggie Littlejohn joins us to unpack it all.

1. U.S. Sanctions Strain Ties Ahead of Trump’s China Trip
2. China Blocks Meta’s $2B Manus Deal After Acquisition
3. Chinese Coffee Shops Go Cashless-Only in NY
4. FBI Warns Americans to Keep Data From Chinese Firms
5. Chinese Firms Must Comply With Beijing Intelligence
6. Luckin Coffee Fined for Not Accepting Cash Payments
7. Luckin Coffee Says It Must Comply With Chinese Laws
8. Chinese National Charged in NASA Phishing Scheme
9. 2 Americans Killed in Clashes in the Philippines
10. Tensions Rise Between China, EU Over New Sanctions
11. Digital IDs and the WHO to Gain More Power?
12. Digital IDs Raise Global Privacy Concerns: Littlejohn
13. Critics Warn Digital IDs Could Enable Social Control
14. WHO Pathogen System Raises Lab Leak Fears: Littlejohn
15. Critics Warn WHO Pact Could Limit National Power