I remember covering then–Vice President Joe Biden’s first visit to China in 2011. His host was then–Vice President Xi Jinping, who was tasked with arranging the trip. When Washington offered several possible dates in July and August, Xi is said to have personally chosen Aug. 17. The choice of date was meant to send a message. On Aug. 17, 1982, the United States under Ronald Reagan and China under Deng Xiaoping issued the Third Communiqué, in which Washington stated that it did not seek to pursue a long-term policy of arms sales to Taiwan. Taiwan arms sales were clearly an important issue for Xi even then. Forty-four years is indeed a long time. But whether it is time for the United States to end arms sales to Taiwan should not depend on how many years have passed. It depends on how confident Washington can be that peace across the Taiwan Strait will endure.

I’m usually not attacked for being naive on China. But I believe strongly in sending students, with appropriate protections, to China. I was one of these students. I cannot see why our piece should be controversial, but realize there are some who believe all exchanges should be halted. I am not among them. Here is our argument: -Longstanding federal programs that encourage US students to learn about China — like Fulbright, CLS, and Boren — should be funded by the US government. We had similar exchanges with the Soviets, and of course with China, in the past. - Given growing risks to students in China, those participating in these programs must be protected from harassment or threats of arbitrary detention, which are growing, and which are why these programs were difficult to renew in the past. - But there is a way out. Summits provide an opportunity to achieve commitments that protect these programs and their students. Trump should (1) elevate these programs into leader-level deliverables, and (2) reach formal (or, more likely, informal) agreements to insulate them from politics. The former sends a signal not to touch these programs and the latter sustains it. - As part of this effort, Min Zin and other scholars and students arbitrarily detained or exit banned by China must be released. - We did not write this in the piece, but obviously these efforts should be accompanied by proper orientation and training for students before they visit China. That was also the case for these programs in the past. It is more criticism now. We have done all this before. It has worked before too. Leader-level recognition of certain programs in China can provide protection. The US desperately needs China expertise. After a surge among millennials, what expertise we did have faces a cliff as students lose interest in and opportunities for studying China and Chinese. That is a problem.

Macron: I do not believe Putin when he says he wants peace. That was not true before. I do not believe him when he says Russia has no aggressive intent toward Europe. That is not true either. 1/

President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump greet President Xi Jinping of China and Madame Peng Liyuan upon their arrival in Washington, D.C., ahead of the state visit at the White House.

🚨 Sensitive F-35 fighter jet technology was unexpectedly diverted to Hong Kong this summer, sparking an inquiry on Capitol Hill and raising the possibility that China could have access to key components of the highly classified weapon system. A shipment of F-35 parts bound for the US for repairs was rerouted as it transited the Pacific Ocean from Australia. The Pentagon confirmed the disappearance of some components. The parts, which an intermediary was transporting on behalf of F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin, instead wound up in Hong Kong. It’s not clear why the equipment was rerouted or who has possession of it now. The incident, which has not been previously reported, triggered an ongoing series of briefings for congressional staff on key national security committees. State Department and Pentagon officials first briefed staff in June, and multiple additional briefings are expected in the coming weeks. The shipment included one of the jet’s canopies, which covers the cockpit and contains stealth technology that only the US and its allies have access to. An adversary could study the parts and potentially reverse-engineer the prized technology if it had one of the canopies. The Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office said in a statement it was “aware of a shipment issue of unserviceable F-35 Lightning II components.” The office is working with US authorities and industry partners to retrieve these components, investigate the incident, and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence. The shipment’s unexpected diversion to Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, would have brought it into Beijing’s sphere of influence. China has already engaged in widespread espionage on secret Pentagon programs, including the F-35. “It’s no secret that China has been aggressively trying to get F-35 data through electronic espionage, among other means. But even if they already had specifications or other data about the part, possessing a real one can give them even more to go on and can verify or refine whatever they already had learned.” The F-35 supply chain is a vast, global operation that relies on facilities across multiple countries to move and repair parts. And while there are Australian maintenance depots for the jet, none are yet capable of repairing canopies. F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin manages the program’s overall supply chain and uses commercial shipping providers to transport parts. The canopy, a critical component of the F-35’s stealth capabilities, is an acrylic bubble that tops the cockpit and is coated with a thin layer of transparent radar absorbent material that helps hide the plane from enemy radar. That layer of stealth protection can degrade over time, prompting the repair or replacement of canopies among the more than 1,300 fighter jets that have been produced for the US and its allies. The F-35 program, which includes the US and other nations such as the UK, Australia, Denmark, Norway and Poland, has a unique way of managing the flow of aircraft parts. Countries have access to a shared pool of spare parts stored around the globe that the Defense Department owns until the parts are on the fighter jet. Although the Defense Department has stepped up oversight of the F-35 supply chain in recent years, it does not account for spare parts in the pool — Lockheed does. A Government Accountability Office report from 2023 found that more than 1 million F-35 spare parts have gone missing in the past five years. The watchdog agency concluded the department hasn’t been able to review spare part losses worth tens of millions of dollars because Lockheed controls the information. “The F-35 Joint Program Office does not track or enter these spare parts into an accountable property system of record that would enable it to capture and store real-time changes to property records. The prime contractors maintain this information.” politico.com/news/2026/09/18…

Chinese officials look on as some final adjustments to the red carpet are made for President Xi.

This. Too many folks have forgotten history. The Party predates the PRC. It founded the PRC, and it still rules the PRC. The state serves the Party and not the other way around. General Secretary Xi.