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00:00Hello, Tell Us Your English presents a new episode of China Now, a web media's production
00:14that showcases the culture, technology, and politics of the Asian giant.
00:18In this first segment, China Currents dives into the top stories of the week, including
00:23new Chinese sanctions list on U.S. armed companies and new bonds issued to improve people's
00:29livelihood, among other topics.
00:31Let's see.
00:35China Currents is a weekly news talk show from China to the world.
00:38We cover viral news about China every week and also give you the newest updates on China's
00:44cutting-edge technologies.
00:45Let's get started.
00:46Welcome to China Currents, your weekly news report on what's happening in China.
01:00I'm Lisa.
01:01In this episode, China has issued a new sanction list on U.S. armed companies, and the USAF
01:08will be significantly affected.
01:11China conducts a new round of exercise in the Taiwan Strait.
01:15China issued US$320 billion in bonds to improve people's livelihoods.
01:21First, let's see how the USAF will be affected by China's sanctions.
01:27On 10 October, China announced a new sanction list targeting eight U.S. armed companies
01:33and 10 of their executives.
01:35These individuals will no longer be able to obtain any Chinese visas, including entry
01:40to Hong Kong and Macau.
01:42Their assets in China have been frozen and they are prohibited from engaging in any transaction
01:48or collaborations with companies or individuals in China.
01:53Why might it be a big problem for the U.S. Air Force?
01:56Well, because David Sutton, director of Asia Pacific at Lockheed Martin, is on the sanction
02:02list.
02:03For the U.S. Air Force, Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jets are expected to be their
02:09primary stealth aircraft of the future.
02:12Over a thousand have already been ordered and eventually more than 3,000 will be supplied
02:17to the U.S. and its allies.
02:19The F-35 was intended to be the next showcase product, following the F-22, to rival China's
02:26J-20 stealth fighter jets.
02:29However, internal reviews reveal that even the F-35's ability to fly was actually built
02:35on the covert use of Chinese-made parts.
02:39Now, with China's sanction, this practice can no longer be hidden.
02:43According to a 2022 report by Politico, the secret was uncovered by the Defense Contract
02:49Management Agency in August 2022.
02:53It discovered that Chinese-made parts were the magnets contained in the F-35's turbomachine
02:59pumps.
03:00Lockheed Martin spokesperson Laura Seifert said in an interview with the Warzone magazine
03:05that the turbomachine is part of the Integrated Power Package, the IPP, which is the primary
03:12component of the electric power and thermal management system.
03:17She explained that the IPP supplies electrical power to start the engine and provides conditioned
03:22lead air for cooling aircraft systems.
03:25In other words, if this critical component fails, the F-35 could black out mid-flight
03:31and even fail to start.
03:34After this secret was revealed, the Pentagon's response was interesting.
03:38On the one hand, they seemingly couldn't accept that such a crucial component relied
03:42on Chinese manufacturing and immediately halted deliveries of the F-35.
03:48On the other hand, according to Politico, the Pentagon announced in October 2022 that
03:54the investigation had concluded and deliveries resumed, stating that the new batch of jets
03:59no longer contained Chinese-made parts.
04:03As for the aircraft already delivered with Chinese components, William Laplante, the
04:07Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, signed a national security
04:12waiver, meaning the Defense Department would not replace the parts of those aircrafts.
04:17Now by reviewing the F-35 crash archives in Air and Space Forces magazine, we can see
04:23that prior to October 2020, there were only two recorded incidents involving the F-35
04:30in the US.
04:31However, since October 2020, there have been seven additional incidents, with the failure
04:37rate tripling.
04:39The most recent F-35 crash occurred on May 28, 2024, at Cutland Air Force Base in New
04:45Mexico.
04:47According to ABC, the pilot was flying the jet on behalf of the Defense Contract Management
04:51Agency.
04:52A Lockheed Martin spokesperson said the jet was being transferred from Fort Worth, Texas,
04:58where the company's F-35 factory is located, to Edwards Air Force Base, California, for
05:04modifications and testing.
05:07The stop at Cutland was made to refuel.
05:10The aircraft encountered issues shortly after takeoff, specifically with the vertical takeoff
05:16and landing system.
05:17Air and Space Force magazine reported that the accident bears a few similarities to the
05:22crash of an F-35B at Lockheed Martin's facility in Fort Worth, Texas, in December 2022.
05:30According to Wikipedia, this was the first time an issue with the vertical takeoff and
05:34landing system had been reported for the F-35.
05:38Fortunately, the pilot survived thanks to the ejection seat that was made in the UK.
05:43Now, regardless of whether the US Air Force regrets its decision to phase out Chinese-made
05:48parts, this sanction list launched by China will help them complete this process.
05:53Lockheed Martin will no longer be able to access its fund in China or directly procure
05:59any parts from the country.
06:00Moving forward, we may observe further changes in the reliability of F-35s delivered after
06:07October 2020.
06:08Of course, China doesn't intend to rely solely on sanctions to defend the country.
06:14On the 14th of October, the PLA conducted a joint military drill, codenamed Joint SORT
06:202024-B, in the Taiwan Straits, with vessels and aircraft approaching Taiwan island from
06:26different directions.
06:27The drill came after a speech from the leader of the Taiwan authorities, saying that Taiwan
06:33is not subordinate to China and that Beijing does not have the right to represent Taiwan.
06:39Spokesperson of the PLA Eastern Theater Command, Li Xi, noted that the joint drill focused
06:46on subjects like sea air combat readiness patrol, blockade on key ports and areas, assaults
06:52on marine time and ground targets, as well as joint seizures of comprehensive superiority.
06:58He emphasized that the drill also serves as a stern warning to the separatists of Taiwan
07:04island.
07:05Meanwhile, the China Coast Guard organized a fleet vessel to conduct law enforcement
07:09patrols and marine time control operations around Taiwan, including the waters near Dongyin
07:15Island and Mazu Island, as part of a patrol encircling the island.
07:21In this operation, the China Coast Guard deployed six formations, which is double the size of
07:26the comprehensive law enforcement drills conducted on May 23.
07:31Notably, among the vessels deployed was the 10,000-ton ship numbered 2901, the largest
07:38vessel currently in the China Coast Guard fleet.
07:41Interestingly, the tonnage of this vessel has surpassed that of the US Navy's Ticonderoga
07:46class cruisers and their Alibag class destroyers.
07:50Yet it's just a Coast Guard ship, not even a warship.
07:54In response to the Midland China's drill, the United States Department of State emphasized
07:59it remains committed to its long-standing One China policy in its official statement.
08:04In addition to the military, China has also taken steps to boost its economy.
08:08On 12 October, China's Ministry of Finance announced that over the next three months,
08:14China will issue 2.3 trillion yuan in special bonds to alleviate local governments' debt
08:20pressure and improve people's livelihood, which is roughly about US$320 billion.
08:27From January to September, China's public budget expenditure reached US$280 billion,
08:34reflecting a 2% increase compared to the previous year.
08:37According to the official statistics from the Ministry of Finance, these funds were
08:41primarily allocated to several key areas.
08:45Social security and employment spending rose by 4.3%, educational expenditure increased
08:51by 1.1%, and spending on agriculture, forestry, and water climbed by 6.4%.
08:58Additionally, urban and rural community expenditure experienced a growth of 6.1%, while housing
09:05security spending grew by 2.5%.
09:09Housing security could be one of the most popular topics for Western media to hype the
09:14China collapse.
09:15Just last month, the New York Times report titled with, Why It's So Hard for China
09:21to Fix Its Ailing Economy, claimed that the danger is that the government could have fewer
09:26fiscal resources to deploy to keep things from unraveling.
09:30However, on the 12th, Liao Min, Vice Minister of Finance of China, said that in the past
09:36three years, the central government had allocated about US$7 billion to build 6.6 million indemnificatory
09:44apartments for Chinese citizens.
09:47In China, indemnificatory apartment refers to government-provided housing aimed at meeting
09:52the needs of low- and middle-income families.
09:56Additionally, China has implemented a tax rebate policy, encouraging people to trade
10:01out old homes for new ones.
10:04They've also reduced the interest rate on housing provident fund loans by 0.25% points,
10:11which will save residents across the country a total of US$2.8 billion in interest payments
10:17each year.
10:19And that is all for today.
10:20Thank you for watching this episode of China Current.
10:23If you have any thoughts or comments about our show, please reach us at the email address
10:27below.
10:28We look forward to hearing from you.
10:29See you next time.
10:35We have a short break now, but we'll be right back.
10:37Stay with us.