2026 Issue 9

China’s Two Sessions started this week as the war in the Middle East raged on.  The U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran have once again highlighted that Beijing is an unreliable partner and the performance of Chinese and Russian air defense systems appears to be quite poor.

After switching recognition from Taiwan to the PRC during the Biden Administration, Honduras is considering switching back to Taiwan.  Reuters reports that PRC military flights against Taiwan are down 46% from last year, perhaps reflecting the military purges or an effort by Beijing to turn down the tension before Trump’s visit to Beijing.

Police in the United Kingdom arrested three individuals connected to the ruling Labour Party for espionage on behalf of the People’s Republic of China.  One of the three was the husband of a sitting Labour Member of Parliament.

Last week, the U.S. International Trade Commission initiated an investigation into the impact of revoking Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with the PRC.