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Whether the U.S. Air Force (USAF) requires a larger, modern fighter force is no longer an open question—it does. China's military is on track to have the largest fighter force in the world, surpassing the United States in comparative numbers within this decade. This represents a dangerous shift in the global military balance. At the same time, instability from Eastern Europe to the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific continues to drive demand for advanced American airpower. While Operation Epic Fury results over Iran to date are impressive, the sca le and scope of that conflict pales in comparison to what we would require for a larger conflict. The Air Force's fighter inventory has shrunk over 60 percent since the end of the Cold War and has been flown relentlessly in combat ever since. Today those aircraft—and their crews—are worn hard. Yet missions such as air superiority and strike remain central to deterrence and warfighting as evidenced by recent results over Iran. If ...

China has committed more than US$120 billion in direct investment in overseas mining and mineral processing projects since 2023 – covering the likes of lithium and rare earth metals – with that spending boosting clean energy usage in developing countries, a think tank said on Wednesday. It was helping to advance the "zero-emissions world economy" by offering mineral inputs for solar equipment, wind power, electric vehicles and industrial decarbonisation offshore, the Australian think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF) said in a report titled "Raw Power". "China's resources and cleantech OFDI (outbound foreign direct investment) together form a … global green industrial strategy of unprecedented scale and ambit ion that now reaches into every resource-rich region on earth and is helping to drive global energy transition," it said. About 90 per cent of global rare earth refining capacity, 90 per cent of the production of battery components that store...

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Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, shakes hands with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent prior to their talks in Paris, France, on March 15, 2026. Photo: Xinhua The Chinese and US delegations held candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges and consultations in Paris from Sunday to Monday on economic and trade issues of mutual concern, including tariff arrangements, promoting bilateral trade and investment, and maintaining existing consultation consensus, Xinhua News Agency reported. During the talks, which are guided by the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, the two sides reached some new consensus and agreed to continue consultations, Xinhua said. Under the strategic guidance of the important common understandings between the two heads of state, and following five rounds of economic and trade consultations last year, China and the United States hav e reached a series of ...

BEIJING - With three weeks until US President Donald Trump meets Chinese President Xi Jinping , Beijing is frustrated by what it sees as insufficient US preparation that may limit the landmark summit to trade agreements and leave key diplomatic and security matters untouched. Chinese officials are dissatisfied with what they consider last-minute planning ahead of Mr Trump's arrival on March 31, according to a person familiar with the preparations. The White House's lack of communication about the US leader's expectations for the visit has also been an issue for Beijing, said another person familiar with the matter, who was not authorised to speak publicly. The Chinese frustrations stem, in part, from the White House's departure from Beijing's standard practice of hosting high-level US officials to lay the groundwork for a state visit. Before Mr Trump's last trip to China in 2017, for example, the US dispatched both a secretary of state and a commerce chief to...

Iran may be using a Chinese satellite navigation system to target Israel and United States military assets in the Middle East, intelligence experts say. Former French foreign intelligence director Alain Juillet told France's independent Tocsin podcast this week that it is likely that Iran has been provided access to China's BeiDou satellite navigation system because its targeting has become much more accurate since the 12-day war with Israel in June. "One of the surprises in this war is that Iranian missiles are more accurate compared to the war that took place eight months ago, raising many questions about the guidance systems of these missiles," Juillet, who served as the director of intelligence for the General Directorate for External Security from 2002 to 2003, told Tocsin. In response to the US-Israeli attacks that began on February 28 and the killing of top Iranian figures, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Iran has launched hundreds of ballistic missil...

BEIJING — China said it hopes this year will be a "landmark year" for its relationship with its biggest competitor, the US, striking a largely positive tone ahead of an expected summit between the leaders of the two countries later this month. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, speaking Sunday (March 8) at a press briefing on the sidelines of an annual meeting of China's ceremonial legislature, said that it was a "big year" for the relationship between the two world powers.  He said that while there are many differences, "the two heads of state have personally maintained good exchanges at the highest level", providing a level of "strategic guarantee" for the bilateral relationship. US President Donald Trump is due to visit Beijing for a summit with China's President Xi Jinping at the end of March.  While Wang did not confirm the visit, he signaled that Beijing is looking for a less fraught relationship. "The agenda for high-lev...

SHANGHAI: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi in a phone call that disputes between Afghanistan and Pakistan should be resolved through dialogue and consultation, not force, the foreign ministry said in a statement published on Friday (Mar 13). Wang urged both sides to remain calm and exercise restraint, hold face-to-face talks as soon as possible, seek an immediate ceasefire and address differences through dialogue, according to the statement. The further use of force would only complicate the situation and intensify tensions, Wang said. The ministry's statement came after Pakistan on Friday bombed the fuel depot of private airline Kam Air near Afghanistan's Kandahar airport, stepping up the neighbours' worst conflict in years, despite China's efforts to mediate. Wang and Muttaqi also exchanged views on t he situation in Iran, the statement said. Wang told Muttaqi, according to the statement, that Beijing is willing to w...

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