中國下令撤銷Meta對人工智能新創公司的收購

Recently the New York Times reported the following:

China Orders the Unwinding of Meta’s Acquisition of an A.I. Start-Up

The impact of the ruling was not immediately clear, but it could send a chilling signal to Chinese tech founders seeking to team up with foreign companies.

NYT - By Meaghan Tobin - Reporting from Taipei, Taiwan

April 27, 2026

Updated 10:08 a.m. ET

The Chinese government said on Monday that it would require the unwinding of Meta’s acquisition of Manus, a Singapore-based artificial intelligence company with Chinese founders, in a move that could chill other Chinese entrepreneurs from seeking tie-ups with foreign partners.

Chinese officials had said in January that they were investigating whether Meta’s acquisition of Manus in December violated the country’s rules on foreign investment. They were also assessing whether the deal violated China’s requirements that companies obtain approval for the export of certain technologies.

The National Development and Reform Commission, a high-level ministry that oversees economic planning and plays a central role in setting China’s A.I. policy, said on Monday that it had decided to prohibit foreign investment in Manus, and instructed the parties involved to withdraw the acquisition.

It is not clear how such a transaction would be unwound. Meta has described the two teams as “deeply integrated.” Members of the Manus team have been working alongside Meta colleagues at the company’s office in Singapore, according to two people familiar with the operation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly.

In a statement, Meta said the transaction fully complied with law, adding “We anticipate an appropriate resolution to the inquiry.”

The Chinese government issued its decision just a few weeks before a planned meeting between President Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping.

The New York Times reported last month that officials from the Chinese agency had called in Meta and Manus executives to express concerns about the deal, and that Manus executives had been restricted from departing China, as part of an apparent effort to discourage Chinese A.I. executives from moving businesses offshore.

As companies in China and the United States race to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence, the scrutiny could make it harder for other Chinese firms to attract funding from foreign investors. It could also signal to Chinese researchers not to follow the path Manus took, in which Chinese executives register companies outside China to sidestep regulations from both Washington and Beijing.

Manus is based in Singapore but was founded by Chinese engineers and had a Chinese parent company. The company was incorporated offshore and set up in China as a foreign-owned entity; it has affiliated offices in Beijing and Wuhan, China.

Many Chinese tech founders hope to attract Silicon Valley investors. But in recent years, they have increasingly found themselves needing to choose between targeting the Chinese market or moving their headquarters outside China to court foreign investors.

Jianggan Li, chief executive of Momentum Works, a consultancy in Singapore, said scrutiny like the Manus deal was facing “will make it increasingly hard for Chinese A.I. founders who started in China to sit on both sides or switch to the other side.”

“There are already a lot of uncertainties starting an A.I. start-up, and most founders are technologists but not politically savvy,” Mr. Li said.

Meta has been spending billions on A.I. researchers and data centers, and its acquisition of Manus formed a rare direct link between talent from both the United States and China.

In recent years, Chinese companies have made up a large share of Meta’s advertising revenue. Meta said on a call with analysts in 2024 that Chinese-based advertisers accounted for 10 percent of its revenue, almost double the amount two years earlier. China’s start-ups that offer games, short video apps and e-commerce have flooded Facebook and Instagram with ads as they look to establish a presence outside China.

Translation

中國下令撤銷Meta對人工智能新創公司的收購

該裁決的影響尚不明朗，但可能會對尋求與外國公司合作的中國科技創辦人發出寒蟬效應

中國政府週一表示，將要求Meta撤銷對新加坡人工智能公司Manus的收購。 Manus的創始人均為中國人。此舉可能會對其他中國企業家尋求與外國夥伴合作產生負面影響。

中國官員曾在1月表示，他們正在調查Meta去年12月對Manus的收購是否違反了中國的外商投資規定。他們也正在評估該交易是否違反了中國關於企業出口某些技術需獲得批准的規定。

國家發展和改革委員會是負責經濟規劃並在製定中國人工智能政策方面發揮核心作用的高級別部門，該委員會週一表示，已決定禁止外商投資Manus公司，並指示相關各方撤回收購。

目前尚不清楚這筆交易將如何解除。 Meta公司稱兩支團隊「深度融合」。據兩位知情人士透露，Manus團隊成員一直在Meta公司位於新加坡的辦公室與Meta的同事一起工作。這兩位知情人士因未獲授權公開談論此事而要求匿名。

Meta公司在一份聲明中表示，該交易完全符合法律規定，並補充說： “我們期待調查得到妥善解決。”

中國政府做出這項決定時，距離美國總統特朗普與中國國家主席習近平計劃會晤僅幾星期。

《紐約時報》上月報道稱，中國監管機構曾召見Meta和Manus的高層，表達對該交易的擔憂，並限制Manus高層離境，這顯然是為了阻止中國人工智能企業高管將業務轉移到海外。

隨著中美兩國公司競相開發尖端人工智能技術，這種審查可能使其他中國公司更難吸引外國投資者的資金。這也可能向中國研究人員發出警告，告誡他們不要效法Manus的做法 - 即中國高階主管在中國境外註冊公司，以避免華盛頓和北京的監管。

Manus總部位於新加坡，但由中國工程師創立，並有一家中國母公司。該公司在境外註冊成立，並在中國設立了外資企業；其在北京和武漢設有分支機構。

許多中國科技公司創辦人希望吸引矽谷投資者。但近年來，他們越來越需要在瞄準中國市場，或將總部遷至海外以吸引外國投資者之間做出選擇。

新加坡顧問公司 Momentum Works 的執行長Jianggan Li表示，像 Manus 收購案這樣受到的審查「將使在中國起步的人工智能創辦人越來越難以坐在兩邊，或者轉投他方」。

Li先生說： “創辦人工智能新創公司本身就存在諸多不確定性，而且大多數創始人都是技術專家，但不擅長政治。”

Meta 公司一直在人工智能研究人員和資料中心方面投入數十億美元，其對 Manus 的收購在美中兩國人才之間建立了一種罕見的直接聯繫。

近年來，中國公司在 Meta 的廣告收入中佔了很大份額。 Meta 在 2024 年與分析師的電話會議上表示，中國廣告商貢獻了 10% 的收入，幾乎是兩年之前的兩倍。中國的遊戲、短影片應用程式和電商新創公司紛紛在 Facebook 和 Instagram 上投放廣告，以期在中國以外地區拓展業務。

So, China has decided to prohibit foreign investment in Manus. Meta describes its team has “deeply integrated” with Manus. Many China’s start-ups are currently offering games, short video apps and e-commerce that flood Facebook and Instagram with ads as they try to establish a presence outside China. Apparent, this decision to prohibit Meta’s investment could chill other Chinese entrepreneurs from seeking tie-ups with foreign partners.

DeepSeek 的後續是將進一步擴大中國在開源人工智能領域的影響力 (2/2)

Recently the New York Times reported the following:

DeepSeek’s Sequel Set to Extend China’s Reach in Open-Source A.I. (2/2)

Chinese companies have embraced making their most advanced artificial intelligence models available to all.

The NYT - By Meaghan Tobin and Cade Metz - Meaghan Tobin reported from Taipei, Taiwan, and Cade Metz from San Francisco.

April 24, 2026

Updated 11:47 a.m. ET

(continue)

DeepSeek’s open-source models are central to this strategy. While many Western companies guard their most valuable models, China has embraced open source, and almost all of its top-performing systems are widely available.

Even so, Chinese A.I. firms face major hurdles. Three U.S. administrations have imposed export controls limiting access to advanced chips needed for cutting-edge A.I. systems. And firms in Silicon Valley continue to outspend Chinese rivals in the race for top A.I. talent.

China’s push into open-source A.I. has become a major economic advantage at home, according to a new study by a U.S. congressional advisory body. With few barriers to use, the systems have spread across industries such as robotics, logistics and manufacturing. The study found that these industrial applications generate real-world data that are used to improve A.I. systems.

This approach has allowed Chinese tech firms to capture global influence, as programmers and engineers around the world adopt their systems to build new products.

From Lagos to Kuala Lumpur, developers on tight budgets are turning to Chinese open-source models because they are cheaper to run and therefore easier to experiment with. Last May, Malaysia’s deputy minister of communications said the country’s sovereign A.I. infrastructure would be built on DeepSeek’s technology.

Chinese open-source models accounted for roughly one-third of global A.I. use last year, according to a study by OpenRouter, an A.I. model marketplace. DeepSeek was the most widely used, followed by models from Alibaba, the Chinese internet company.

That reflects a broader strategy. As Chinese companies expand abroad, making their systems open source helps them gain traction with coders by offering cheaper, more accessible tools.

“Open source is the soft power of technology of the future,” said Kevin Xu, the U.S.-based founder of Interconnected Capital, a hedge fund that invests in artificial intelligence technologies. Mr. Xu and his fund do not invest in DeepSeek.

Wei Sun, a principal analyst in A.I. at Counterpoint Research in Beijing, said DeepSeek’s success paved the way for China’s tech giants to release their A.I. systems publicly rather than closely guarding them.

Alibaba has since emerged as a leader. Its Qwen model family has surpassed one billion downloads. ByteDance, parent company of TikTok, has also shared some details of its technology after spending $11 billion on A.I. infrastructure in 2024.

“The A.I. generation of open-source builders from China was arguably the biggest A.I. story in 2025,” Mr. Xu said. “The progress of the models, the pace of the releases and the number of A.I. labs that both compete with each other but also seem to cheer each other on came fast and furious with no signs of slowing down.”

Translation

DeepSeek 的後續是將進一步擴大中國在開源人工智能領域的影響力 (2/2)

中國企業已開始積極向所有人開放其最先進的人工智能模型

（繼續）

DeepSeek 的開源模型是這項策略的核心。許多西方公司對其最有價值的模型嚴加保護，而中國則擁抱開源，幾乎所有性能卓越的系統都已廣泛開放。

即便如此，中國的人工智能公司仍面臨巨大的挑戰。美國三屆政府都實施了出口管制，限制取得尖端人工智能系統所需的高階晶片。此外，矽谷的公司在爭取頂尖人工智能人才方面的持續投入巨大資金，遠超中國競爭對手。

根據美國國會諮詢機構的一項最新研究，中國大力發展開源人工智能已成為其國內的一項重大經濟優勢。由於使用門檻低，這些系統已廣泛應用於機械人、物流和製造業等各個行業。研究發現，這些工業應用能夠產生真實世界的數據，用於改善人工智能系統。

這種模式使中國科技公司得以在全球擴大影響力，世界各地的程式設計師和工程師都在採用他們的系統來開發新產品。

從Lagos到吉隆坡，預算緊拙的開發者紛紛轉向中國開源模型，因為它們運作成本更低，因此也更容易進行實驗。去年五月，馬來西亞通訊部副部長表示，該國的自主人工智能基礎設施將基於DeepSeek的技術建構。

根據人工智能模型市場OpenRouter的一項研究顯示，去年中國開源模型約佔全球人工智能使用量的三分之一。 DeepSeek 的應用最為廣泛，其次是阿里巴巴，一間中國網路公司的模型。

這反映了一種更廣泛的策略。隨著中國公司向海外擴張，開源系統有助於它們透過提供更便宜、更易於使用的工具來吸引程式設計師。

總部位於美國的Interconnected Capital的創始人Kevin Xu表示:「開源是未來科技的軟實力」。Interconnected Capital是一家投資人工智能技術的對沖基金。Xu及其基金並無未投資 DeepSeek。

北京 Counterpoint Research 的人工智能首席分析師Wei Sun表示，DeepSeek 的成功為中國科技巨頭公開其人工智能系統鋪平了道路，而不是將其嚴加保密。

阿里巴巴此後崛起成為領導者，成為業界領導者。其 Qwen 模型系列的下載量已超過 10 億次。 TikTok 的母公司字節跳動在斥資 110 億美元用於人工智能基礎建設後，在 2024 年也分享了其技術的部分細節。

Xu先生表示： “中國的人工智能世代開源開發者可以說是 2025 年人工智能領域最大的故事”; “模型的進步、發佈速度以及人工智能實驗室的數量都絲毫沒有放緩的跡象，這些實驗室既快速又熱烈相互競爭，亦互相鼓勵。”

So, DeepSeek has released a preview of V4 and intends it to be open source. China’s push into open-source A.I. has become a major economic advantage. With few barriers to use, the systems have spread across industries. This approach will allow Chinese tech firms to gain global influence. Apparently, open source will be the soft power of technology in the future. I am wondering how will the US AI companies respond to this open-source challenge.

DeepSeek的後續是將進一步擴大中國在開源人工智能領域的影響力（1/2）

Recently the New York Times reported the following:

DeepSeek’s Sequel Set to Extend China’s Reach in Open-Source A.I. (1/2)

Chinese companies have embraced making their most advanced artificial intelligence models available to all.

The NYT - By Meaghan Tobin and Cade Metz - Meaghan Tobin reported from Taipei, Taiwan, and Cade Metz from San Francisco.

April 24, 2026

Updated 11:47 a.m. ET

When the Chinese start-up DeepSeek published details about one of its artificial intelligence models last year, it sent shock waves through the tech industry.

The company said it had built its system by spending far less on computer chips than American rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic. It marked the start of what became known as China’s “DeepSeek moment,” shorthand for the belief that Chinese A.I. companies were ready to showcase their technical capabilities to the world.

The DeepSeek moment reflected a shift in the global A.I. landscape. The change was about not only lower costs but also openness in how the technology is shared.

DeepSeek released its models as open source, which means others can freely use and modify them. By contrast, OpenAI and Anthropic kept their leading models proprietary. The episode demonstrated that an open-source system could perform almost as well as closed versions. In the months that followed, Chinese firms released dozens of other open-source models. By the end of 2025, these models made up a significant share of global A.I. use.

On Friday, DeepSeek released a preview of V4, its long-awaited follow-up model, which it intends to open source. The new model excels at writing computer code, an increasingly important skill for leading A.I. systems. It significantly outperformed every other open-source system at generating code, according to tests from Vals AI, a company that tracks the performance of A.I. technologies. China’s push into open-source A.I. has become a major economic advantage at home, according to a new study by a U.S. congressional advisory body. With few barriers to use, the systems have spread across industries such as robotics, logistics and manufacturing. The study found that these industrial applications generate real-world data that are used to improve A.I. systems. This approach has allowed Chinese tech firms to capture global influence, as programmers and engineers around the world adopt their systems to build new products.

DeepSeek released its new model just days after Moonshot AI, another Chinese start-up, introduced its latest open-source model, Kimi 2.6. While these systems trail the coding capabilities of the leading U.S. models from Anthropic and OpenAI, the gap is narrowing.

The implications are meaningful. Using A.I. to write code is faster and frees up human programmers to focus on bigger issues. It also means people can use DeepSeek’s latest release to power A.I. agents, which are personal digital assistants that can use other software applications on behalf of office workers, including spreadsheets, online calendars and email services.

As A.I. systems improve at writing computer code, they are also getting better at finding security vulnerabilities in software — a skill that is fundamentally changing cybersecurity. That means tools like DeepSeek’s can be used to both attack and defend computer networks.

Across tasks, DeepSeek V4 is on a par with Moonshot’s latest model. “They are basically neck and neck,” said Rayan Krishnan, the chief executive of Vals AI.

In the months leading up to DeepSeek’s latest release, foreign rivals moved to pre-empt another round of glowing headlines. Silicon Valley’s A.I. giants, Anthropic and OpenAI, said DeepSeek had unfairly piggybacked on their technology through distillation, a process in which engineers mimic a rival model by querying it millions of times and copying its behavior.

The competition to build the best-performing A.I. systems has transformed into a geopolitical power struggle. While Silicon Valley leaders at Anthropic and OpenAI warn that their technology would be dangerous in the hands of autocratic countries, China has invested billions to become an A.I. superpower, viewing the technology as a critical engine of economic growth.

(to be continued)

Translation

DeepSeek的後續是將進一步擴大中國在開源人工智能領域的影響力（1/2）

中國企業已開始積極向全世界開放其最先進的人工智能模型

去年，中國新創公司DeepSeek公佈了其人工智能模型之一的詳細信息，這在科技行業引起了巨大震動。

該公司表示，其係統在晶片上的投入遠低於OpenAI和Anthropic等美國競爭對手。這標誌著中國「DeepSeek時刻」的開始，這一時刻象徵著中國人工智能公司已準備好向世界展示其技術實力。

“DeepSeek時刻 ” 反映了全球人工智能格局的轉變。這項轉變不僅關乎降低成本，更關乎技術共享方式的開放性。

DeepSeek 將其模型開源，這意味著其他人可以自由使用和修改它們。相較之下，OpenAI 和 Anthropic 則將其領先的模式設為專有模式。這一事件表明，開源系統幾乎可以達到與封閉版本相同的效能。在接下來的幾個月裡，中國公司發布了數十個其他開源模型。到 2025 年底，這些模型在全球人工智能應用中佔據了相當大的份額。

上週五，DeepSeek 發佈了其期待已久的後續模型 V4 的預覽版，並計劃將其開源。新模型在編寫電腦程式碼方面表現出色，這對於領先的人工智能系統而言是一項日益重要的技能。根據追蹤人工智能技術性能的 Vals AI 公司的測試，V4 在程式碼生成方面顯著優於所有其他開源系統。

就在另一家中國新創公司Moonshot AI發佈其最新開源模型Kimi 2.6幾天後，DeepSeek也發佈了其新模型。雖然這些系統的編碼能力與美國領先的Anthropic和OpenAI模型相比仍有落後，但差距正在縮小。

發佈有重大意義。使用人工智能編寫程式碼速度更快，能夠使程式設計師騰出精力專注於更重要的問題。這也意味著人們可以使用DeepSeek的最新版本來驅動人工智能代理，這些代理是個人電子助理，可以代表辦公室員工使用其他軟體應用程序，包括電子表格、線上日曆和電子郵件服務。

隨著人工智能系統編寫程式碼能力的提升，它們在發現軟體安全漏洞方面也越來越出色 - 這項技能正在從根本上改變網路安全。這意味著像DeepSeek這樣的工具既可以用於攻擊電腦網絡，也可以用於防禦電腦網路。

在各項任務中，DeepSeek V4的表現與Moonshot的最新模型平起平坐。 Vals AI 的執行長 Rayan Krishnan 表示: 「他們基本上不分伯仲」。

在 DeepSeek 最新版本發佈前的幾個月裡，外國競爭對手試圖搶先一步，去阻止另一輪的引人注目的報道。矽谷的人工智能巨頭 Anthropic 和 OpenAI 聲稱，DeepSeek 透過「蒸餾」技術不公平地搭了他們的順風車。蒸餾是一種工程師透過數百萬次查詢競爭對手的模型並複製其行為來模擬其運行過程的方法。

建構最佳人工智能系統的競爭已經演變成一場地緣政治權力鬥爭。儘管 Anthropic 和 OpenAI 的矽谷領導人警告說，他們的技術落入專制國家手中將十分危險，但中國已投入數十億美元力圖成為人工智能超級大國，並將這項技術視為經濟成長的關鍵引擎。

（待續）

Note:

1.  Distillation (蒸餾) is basically a process in which engineers mimic a rival model by querying it millions of times and copying its behavior. In AI development, distillation (often called knowledge distillation) is a technique where a smaller AI model learns to imitate a larger, more capable model. The basic idea is that: A large, expensive model (“teacher”) generates outputs, while a smaller model (“student”) trains on those outputs. The student learns patterns, reasoning styles, and behaviors from the teacher. The result is a model that is faster and cheaper to run while keeping much of the teacher’s performance. (ChatGPT)

中國正在海上打造下一個前哨

Recently the New York Times reported the following:

Antelope Reef in South China Sea (Source: The NYT)

How China Is Building Its Next Outpost at Sea

The NYT - By Lily Kuo and Agnes Chang (Tung Ngo and Pei-Lin Wu contributed reporting)

 April 22, 2026

Over the last few months, China has been quietly and quickly building an island in disputed waters off the coast of Vietnam that will help Beijing continue to dominate one of the most crucial waterways in the world. China claims about 90 percent of the South China Sea, including parts that are also claimed by several Southeast Asian countries.

Satellite imagery going back to November shows Chinese dredgers building a crescent-shaped island on Antelope Reef in the Paracels, a cluster of islands and reefs where China, Taiwan and Vietnam have competing claims.

By April, the edges of the island had been shaped and jetties, a helipad and unpaved roads were visible. It was almost twice the size of New York’s Central Park and appeared to still be under construction.

Analysts say that given its size and the ongoing expansion, Antelope Reef is likely to become one of China’s largest military outposts in the region. Such islands typically have airstrips, radar, electronic warfare facilities and missile bunkers. The bases support China’s Navy and Air Force, helping them operate farther from China’s mainland. China’s Coast Guard and maritime militia, made up of thousands of civilian fishing boats that help assert Beijing’s presence in the waters, use them too.

Analysts tracking China’s island-building activities were surprised to see the new construction because China already had several outposts in contested waters and had largely stopped major construction of such artificial islands.

“The strategic logic of it is not super obvious,” said Harrison Prétat, deputy director and fellow with the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “The sense was they don’t need anything else,” he said.

Between 2013 and 2017, China built or expanded more than 20 military outposts in the South China Sea that are able to house troops. That included three larger military bases across the Spratly Islands — a chain more than 900 miles from the Chinese mainland, but within 300 miles of the Philippine coast — and one in the Paracels. The island-building campaign, which was unprecedented in its scope and speed, prompted international condemnation and damaged China’s ties with its Southeast Asian neighbors as well as the United States.

Mr. Prétat said the latest construction could be a response to Vietnam, which has for the last two years reclaimed land and built military facilities on the islets that it controls in the Spratlys.

More important may be that compared with his predecessors, President Trump appears to be less focused on deterring China’s militarization of the South China Sea. “I think there’s a larger question of: Did they think they could get away with it?” Mr. Prétat said.

Antelope Reef is now one of China’s biggest islands in the region, similar in size to its largest outpost on Mischief Reef in the Spratlys.

Vietnam claims the entirety of the Paracels, which have been under Beijing's control since China seized them in 1974. Hanoi has protested China’s construction at Antelope as “completely illegal and invalid."

But Beijing insists that the Paracels are China’s “inherent territory.” Asked about the buildup at Antelope Reef last month, Lin Jian, a spokesman with China’s foreign ministry, said that any construction was simply aimed at “improving living and working conditions on the islands and growing the local economy.”

Translation

中國正在海上打造下一個前哨

過去幾個月，中國一直在越南沿海爭議水域悄悄快速地建造一座人工島，這將有助於北京繼續主導世界上最重要的水道之一。中國聲稱擁有南海約90%的主權，其中包括一些東南亞國家也聲稱擁有主權的部分海域。

早在去年11月，衛星影像就顯示，中國挖泥船正在西沙群島的羚羊礁上建造一座新月形人工島。西沙群島是島嶼和礁石群，中國、台灣和越南三國都聲稱擁有它的主權的。

今年4月，人工島的邊緣已經成型，防波堤、直升機停機坪和未鋪設的道路也清晰可見。這座人工島的面積幾乎是紐約中央公園的兩倍，而且似乎仍在建設中。

分析師指出，鑑於羚羊礁的規模及其持續擴張，它很可能成為中國在該地區最大的軍事前哨之一。這類島嶼通常配備簡易機場、雷達、電子戰設施和飛彈掩體。這些基地為中國海軍和空軍提供支持，幫助它們在遠離中國大陸的地區進行活動。由數千艘民用漁船組成的中國海警和海上民兵（旨在維護北京在該水域的存在）也使用這些基地。

追蹤中國島礁建設活動的分析人士對羚羊礁的新建工程感到驚訝，因為中國已經在爭議水域擁有多個前哨基地，並且基本上停止了此類人工島礁的大規模建設。

戰略與國際研究中心亞洲海事透明倡議 副主任兼研究員Harrison Prétat表示，“其戰略邏輯並不十分明顯” 。他又表示“感覺上，他們似乎不需要其他任何東西了。”

2013年至2017年間，中國在南海建造或擴建了20多個可駐紮軍隊的軍事基地。其中包括在南沙群島（距中國大陸900多英里，但距菲律賓海岸300英里以內）的三個大型軍事基地，以及在西沙群島的一個基地。這場規模和速度都史無前例的島礁建設行動引發了國際社會的譴責，並損害了中國與其東南亞鄰國以及美國的關係。

Prétat先生表示，最新的建設可能是對越南的回應。過去兩年，越南一直在其控制的南沙群島島礁上填海造陸並建造軍事設施。

更重要的是，特朗普總統與他的前任相比，似乎不太關注遏制中國在南海的軍事化。 Prétat先生說: 「我認為更大的問題是：他們是否認為可以瞞天過海嗎？」

羚羊礁如今已成為中國在該地區最大的島嶼之一，面積與中國在南沙群島美濟礁的最大前哨基地相仿。

越南聲稱對整個西沙群島擁有主權，而西沙群島自1974年被中國佔領以來一直處於北京的控制之下。河內方面抗議中國在羚羊礁的建設並稱其「完全非法無效」。

但北京方面堅稱西沙群島是中國的「固有領土」。上個月，當被問及羚羊礁的建設時，中國外交部官員Lin Jian表示，任何建設都只是為了「改善島上居民的生活和工作條件，促進當地經濟發展」。

So, over the last few months, China has been quietly and quickly building an island in disputed waters off the coast of Vietnam that will help Beijing continue to dominate one of the most crucial waterways in the world. It seems that compared with his predecessors, President Trump appears to be less focused on deterring China’s militarization of the South China Sea. Apparently, Trump is busy in dealing matter in Cuba, Ukraine and Iran.

日本放寬武器出口限制，打破二戰後和平主義政策（2/2）

Recently BBC News on-line reported the following:

Japan loosens arms export rules in break from post-WW2 pacifism (2/2)

 BBC - Kurumi Mori,Tokyo correspondent and Koh Ewe

21 Apr. 2026

(continue)

The new arms export rules were announced as Japan's Self-Defence Forces took part in annual war games between the US and the Philippines. Japan is joining the war games as combatants for the first time, instead of mere observers.

China has opposed the drills, claiming that it would deepen divisions in the region. The exercises take place in parts of the Philippines that are near waters and islands claimed by Beijing, including Taiwan.

China sees self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually be under Beijing's control - and has not ruled out the use of force to take the island.

Last year, Takaichi drew Beijing's ire after she suggested in parliament that Japan could respond with its Self-Defence Force if Beijing attacked Taiwan.

South Korea's foreign ministry said Japan's defence policy "should ideally be carried out in a manner that upholds the spirit of the Peace Constitution while contributing to peace and stability in the region".

South Korea was colonised by Japan from 1910 until the end of World War Two. Japanese soldiers forced hundreds of thousands of Koreans to work in its mines and factories. Women were pushed into sexual slavery.

Eight decades of pacifism

Japan's defence posture was written into its post-World War Two constitution in 1947. It renounced war as a way to settle international disputes and stated that Japan will never maintain war potential.

For decades, pacifism has become part of Japan's identity. But that mindset has been shifting gradually.

In 2014, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe relaxed a blanket ban on all military sales, allowing it to jointly develop arms with allies and give its defence industry access to new markets and technology.

In 2023, then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida took it a step further to allow exports of finished lethal weapons for the first time since World War Two.

Takaichi has supported revising the pacifist constitution. While she has not specified the proposed changes, many think it will involve amending Article 9, which renounces war.

Takaichi's supporters say Japan needs to face a new reality where old rules no longer apply for a country that sits surrounded by China, Russia, and North Korea.

But critics worry that Japan is becoming a war-capable country. To them, Takaichi's stand on constitutional reform could mean Japan might be drawn into military conflicts.

Translation

日本放寬武器出口限制，打破二戰後和平主義政策（2/2）

（繼續）

日本自衛隊宣佈新的武器出口限制之際，正值日本自衛隊參加美菲年度聯合軍事演習。日本首次以參戰方身分參與此次演習，而非只是觀察員的身份。

中國反對此次演習，聲稱將加深地區分裂。演習地點位於菲律賓部分地區，靠近北京聲稱擁有主權的海域和島嶼，包括台灣。

中國將自治的台灣視為分離省份，最終將置於北京的控制之下，亦不排除使用武力收復台灣。

去年，高市在國會表示，如果北京攻擊台灣，日本可能動用自衛隊回應，此舉激怒了北京。

韓國外交部表示，日本的防衛政策「理想地應秉持和平憲法的精神，同時為區域和平與穩定做出貢獻」。

韓國自1910年起被日本殖民統治，直到二戰結束。日本士兵強迫數十萬韓國人到其礦場和工廠從事苦役。婦女被迫淪為性奴。

八十年的和平主義

日本的防衛立場於1947年寫入二戰後憲法。日本放棄以戰爭解決國際爭端，並聲明日本永遠不會保持戰爭能力。

幾十年來，和平主義已成為日本身份認同的一部分。但這種觀念正逐漸轉變。

2014年，時任首相安倍晉三放寬了對所有軍售的全面禁令，允許日本與盟友聯合研發武器，並使其國防工業能夠進入新的市場並獲得新技術。

2023年，時任首相岸田文雄更進一步，允許自二戰以來首次出口致命武器成品。

高市一直支持修改和平憲法。雖然她沒有具體說明擬議的修改內容，但許多人認為這將涉及修改放棄戰爭的第九條。

高市的支持者認為，日本需要面對新的現實，舊規則不再適用於這個被中國、俄羅斯和北韓包圍的國家。

但批評者擔心日本正在變成一個具備戰爭能力的國家。在他們看來，高市在憲法改革問題上的立場可能意味著日本將被捲入軍事衝突。

So, Japan has relaxed decades-old restrictions on its arms exports. The announcement marks a milestone in Tokyo's shift away from the pacifism that has dominated its post-war defense policy. Apparently, Japan feels that old rules no longer apply for her country that is surrounded by China, Russia, and North Korea. On top of that, the US is asking its partners to beef up their defense capabilities.

日本放寬武器出口限制，打破二戰後和平主義政策（1/2）

Recently BBC on-line reported the following:

Japan loosens arms export rules in break from post-WW2 pacifism (1/2)

 BBC - Kurumi Mori,Tokyo correspondent and Koh Ewe

21 Apr. 2026

Japan has relaxed decades-old restrictions on its arms exports, clearing the way for it to sell weapons to more than a dozen countries.

The announcement on Tuesday marks a milestone in Tokyo's shift away from the pacifism that has characterised its post-war defence policy. It also comes at a time of heightened tensions in the region.

Restrictions that limit arms exports to just five categories - rescue, transport, warning, surveillance and minesweeping - will be lifted.

This means Japan can now sell lethal weapons to the 17 countries with which it has defence agreements, including the US and the UK.

A ban on arms sales to countries involved in conflict will stay, although it does not cover those that have defence pacts with Japan. Authorities in Tokyo say they will allow for exceptions "in special circumstances".

"In an increasingly severe security environment, no single country can now protect its own peace and security alone," Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi wrote on X on Tuesday.

However, she also said there was "absolutely no change in our commitment to upholding the path and fundamental principles we have followed as a peace-loving nation for over 80 years since the war".

"Under the new system, we will strategically promote equipment transfers while making even more rigorous and cautious judgments on whether transfers are permissible," she wrote.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said in a press briefing that the move was "intended to safeguard Japan's security and further contribute to the peace and stability of the region".

China has said it is "seriously concerned" about what it described as Japan's "reckless militarisation".

"China will remain highly vigilant and resolutely opposed [to the move]," Beijing's foreign ministry said in a routine media briefing on Tuesday.

(to be continued)

Translation

日本放寬武器出口限制，打破二戰後和平主義政策（1/2）

日本放寬了實施數十年的武器出口限制，為其向十幾個國家出售武器掃清了障礙物。

週二的這項宣布標誌著東京在擺脫其戰後國防政策中所奉行的和平主義方面邁出了重要一步。此外，這宣佈也正值該地區局勢高度緊張之際。

先前將武器出口限制在五類 - 即救援、運輸、預警、監視和掃雷 - 將被取消。

這意味著日本現在可以向與其簽訂了國防條約的17個國家出售致命性武器，其中包括美國和英國。

禁止向捲入衝突的國家出售武器的禁令仍然有效，但禁令不適用於與日本簽訂了國防條約的國家。東京當局表示，他們將在「特別情況下」允許例外出售。

日本首相高市早苗週二在X網站上撰文指出:「在日益嚴峻的安全環境下，任何國家都無法獨自維護自身的和平與安全」。

然而，她也表示，“我們作為80多年來始終承諾堅持愛好和平的國家的道路和基本原則絕對沒有改變。”

她寫道：“在新體制下，我們將戰略性地推進裝備轉讓，同時對轉讓是否合法做出更加嚴格謹慎的判斷。”

內閣官房長官木原稔(Minoru Kihara) 在記者會上表示，此舉「旨在維護日本的安全，並進一步為該地區的和平與穩定作出貢獻」。

中國對日本的决定稱之為「魯莽軍事化」並表示深表「關切」。

北京外交部週二在例行記者會上表示，“中方將保持高度警惕，堅決反對（這一舉動）。”

（待續）

美國制裁中國「茶壺」煉油廠，原因是它購買伊朗石油

Recently Aljazeera.com reported the following:

US sanctions China’s ‘teapot’ refinery for buying Iranian oil

The Hengli refinery, China’s second-largest, has generated hundreds of millions of dollars for Iran’s military, the US Treasury says.

By Al Jazeera Staff and Reuters

Published On 25 Apr 2026

25 Apr 2026

The United States has sanctioned a Chinese oil refinery for buying hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian oil.

Ahead of potential new talks on ending the US-Israeli war on Iran, the US Treasury Department on Friday said that it was targeting Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery, China’s second-largest “teapot” or independent refinery.

Hengli is “one of Tehran’s most valued customers” and has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the Iranian military through crude oil purchases, the Treasury added.

It also imposed new sanctions on about 40 shipping firms and vessels alleged to be operating as part of Iran’s shadow fleet.

The Chinese embassy in Washington, DC pushed back against the move.

“We call ‌on the US to stop politicising trade and sci-tech issues and using them as a weapon and a tool and stop abusing various kinds of sanction to hit Chinese companies,” a spokesperson said.

China gets more than half of its oil from the Middle East, and last year purchased more than 80 percent of Iran’s shipped oil, according to analytics firm Kpler.

The US Navy has blockaded Iranian ports since April 13, in what President Donald Trump claims is a bid to further choke Iran’s proceeds from oil and gas exports.

Teapots under pressure

China’s “teapot” refineries are small, privately owned refineries, mostly based in Shandong province and nicknamed for their teapot-like shape.

They play a key role in beefing up China’s oil supplies by importing and stockpiling discounted Iranian and Russian oil – while allowing state-owned enterprises to remain more insulated from politically risky oil trading.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pledged Friday to continue targeting the “network of vessels, intermediaries, and buyers Iran relies on to move its oil to global markets”.

“Any person or vessel facilitating these flows – through covert trade and finance – risks exposure to US sanctions,” he said.

Aside from the prospect of sanctions, the US-Israel war on Iran has increased financial pressures for teapot refineries, which are facing “high replacement prices in a market already strained by global tensions”, Brussels-based economic think tank Bruegel reported last month.

Even before the war began, the Trump administration was targeting China’s independent refineries.

Last year, the Treasury sanctioned Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group, Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical and Shandong Shengxing Chemical.

Translation

美國制裁中國「茶壺」煉油廠，原因是它購買伊朗石油

美國財政部稱，中國第二大煉油廠恆力煉油廠已為伊朗軍方創造了數億美元的收入

美國已對一家中國煉油廠實施制裁，因為其購買了價值數億美元的伊朗石油。

在美國-以色列以可能就結束對伊朗的戰爭舉行新一輪談判之前，美國財政部週五表示，將制裁目標鎖定在中國第二大「茶壺」或獨立煉油廠 - 恆力石化（大連）煉油廠。

財政部補充說，恆力是“德黑蘭最重要的客戶之一”，並透過購買原油為伊朗軍方創造了數億美元的收入。

美國也對約40家航運公司和船隻實施了新的製裁，這些公司和船隻被指控隸屬於伊朗的「影子艦隊」。

中國駐華盛頓大使館反對這項舉措。

中國一位發言人表示：“我們呼籲美國停止將貿易和科技問題政治化，停止將其作為武器和工具，停止濫用各種制裁手段打擊中國企業。”

根據分析公司Kpler的數據顯示，中國超過一半的石油來自中東，去年購買了伊朗石油出口量的80%以上。

自4月13日起，美國海軍封鎖了伊朗港口。美國總統特朗普聲稱，此舉旨在進一步切斷伊朗的石油和天然氣出口收入。

「茶壺煉油廠」面臨壓力

中國的「茶壺煉油廠」是指規模較小、私營的煉油廠，大多位於山東省，因其外形酷似茶壺而得名。

它們在增強中國石油供應方面發揮關鍵作用，透過進口和囤積價格低廉的伊朗和俄羅斯石油，使國有企業能夠更好地免受到有政治風險的石油交易的影響。

美國財政部長貝森特週五承諾，將繼續打擊「伊朗賴以將其石油運往全球市場的船隻、中間商人和買家的網絡」。

他表示：“任何透過秘密貿易和融資促成這些石油流動的人或船隻，都將面臨美國制裁的風險。”

除了制裁的可能性之外，美以對伊朗的戰爭也加劇了小型煉油廠的財務壓力。總部位於布魯塞爾的經濟智庫Bruegel研究所上個月報告稱，這些煉油廠正面對「高昂的替代價格，而全球局勢已經令市場緊繃」。

甚至在戰爭爆發之前，特朗普政府就已經開始將目標對準中國的獨立煉油廠。

去年，財政部對河北新海化工集團、山東壽光魯清石化和山東盛興化工進行了制裁。

              So, ahead of potential new talks in ending the US-Israeli war on Iran, the US says that it is targeting Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery, China’s second-largest “teapot” refinery, accusing that it generates hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the Iranian military through crude oil purchases. Apparently, this may be one of the topics of discussion when President Trump visits China this month.