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The Taiwan crisis: What does the Chinese media say?

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The effects of the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan is still resonating. Although it was already well-understood that Beijing will not give an immediate response out of temper, it is still a topic of debate what measures will it take and what kind of responses will China give in the long run.

The Chinese media continues to discuss the policies of the Beijing administration and the position of the United States regarding Pelosi’s visit. There is an expectation within the Chinese public opinion, to deliver a strong response to Pelosi’s action in order to protect Chinese national reputation. Political scientists and academics on the other hand, are in favor of some more inclusive policies that would accelerate the reunification process with Taiwan. There are even comments that Beijing can turn this crisis into an opportunity.

The analysis column published by the Global Times has described Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan as a provocation, while being said that the US has now undermined the peace and stability and changed the status quo within the Taiwan Strait. The article reminds that the US and Western public opinion often targets China over the concepts of peace, stability and status quo, the article describes Pelosi’s visit as a “serious and destructive change” to the status quo in the Taiwan Straits, while calling this move as a “betrayal of the US political commitment to China”. The visit was described to have violated the One-China Principle and the Three Joint Communiques, which form the basis of Beijing-Washington relations, as well as violating the United Nations Resolution No 2758. The article argues that any countermeasures to be taken by China as a sovereign country, to defend its national interests, are both legitimate and necessary.

Intimidating Pelosi

The countermeasures taken by China in this context are summarized as follows; First to define Pelosi as the main target. The main objective in this is to ensure that this risky move by Pelosi backfires at her, so that other American politicians like Pelosi can grasp that Taiwan is not a place they can visit at any instance. An example of China’s military countermeasure that has made Pelosi feel the intimidation was when her plane circled over the South China Sea, fearing the Chinese military firing drills with live ammunition could hit the plane, during Pelosi’s flight on last Tuesday.

Military countermeasures

Secondly, it is being argued that China’s countermeasures should not be a one-time intimidation, but a combination of long-term, decisive and steady actions. The importance and deterrence of the Chinese military’s drills around the island of Taiwan are once again underlined, with joint naval and air exercises in the north, southwest and southeast of the island starting Tuesday night, by long-range artillery firing in the Taiwan Straits and by conventional missile tests in the maritime zones east of the island. It is stressed that these exercises will provide a better understanding that the Strait of Taiwan is not an international water.

This will accelerate the unification process with Taiwan

Third, it is told in the article that China’s countermeasures are fundamentally aimed at promoting the process of national re-unification. And it is told that some actors like Pelosi cannot change “the historical and legal fact that Taiwan is a part of China” and cannot thwart China’s ascension to achieve a full reunification. The article argues that these moves from the USA, will further accelerate the process of reunification: “Every step taken by the foreign powers to escalate the provocations and to implement secret agreements will only further accelerate China’s realization of a full reunification.”

The entire Asia-Pacific theatre will be affected by this

On the CGTN, Pelosi’s visit was published with the headline ” Pelosi lit a fire that could consume the Asia-Pacific.”  Describing this action from the US as a “brazen violation of China’s most sacred principle” and a “challenge to internationally recognized legal facts,” the article states that a strong public opinion has been formed in the country, against this message that is intended to be sent with the Taiwan visit.

Emphasizing that China has ” no option but to retaliate to this blatant challenge to its national sovereignty and territorial integrity”, the article refers to the Chinese military exercises around the island of Taiwan. At the conclusion of the article, Beijing-Washington relations are mentioned, and was stated that If the United States can’t find a rational approach to its relationship with China, it will “have to face a dangerous conflict of its own making again”.

Pelosi in the front, Washington in the back

In another analysis article also published by the CGTN with the editor signature of Chen Wenling, the  chief economist of the China Center for International Economic Exchange (CCIEE), it was argued that while this action could at first glance thought to belong to Pelosi personally, it is essentially a continuation of the US policy of containment of China. The article implies that Pelosi acts just as a side-actress: “Some American politicians seem to try persuading Pelosi to give up her trip to the island at first glance, but in fact they are secretly bringing Pelosi to the front stage”.

In the article it was emphasized that although the US has declared that it respects to the one-China principle, but has not acted accordingly, while giving examples of Washington’s actions: the US Congress has supported the “independence of Taiwan” by legislation; The State Department of the US has removed phrases such as “Taiwan as a part of China” from its official website; Taiwan was officially included in the “American Indo-Pacific Strategy”; Washington has intensified its arms sales to Taiwan to increase the region’s “asymmetric fighting capability” and to support the separatist activities such as the “Taiwanese independence movement”.

As for China’s countermeasures, sanctions are indicated: Taiwan has banned citrus fruits such as grapefruit, lemon and orange, as well as fish types such as grouper and mackerel, from being imported to the mainland. The decision also covers the import of natural sand. Chen Wenling’s analysis article ends with an emphasis on Chinese reunification, like the other articles.

Let us focus on the process, and not on the outcome

The analysis article published at China Daily, blames the Washington administration for the visit and indicates the internal conflicts and political fractures within the United States.

The article states that the main point to be analyzed about Pelosi’s visit is not the outcomes of this visit, but the process that has led to it, and that if these issues are not properly addressed, it is argued that “the flawed US political system will put the world in a constant trouble”. It is commented that Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan does not serve the American national interests, while the US will continue to pay the price for the rise of populism within its political elite. It is also noted that Beijing will take the initiative to turn this event over the Taiwan Strait into an opportunity, and “will not waste this opportunity in any possible way”.

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China launches patrols east of Taiwan after Japan and Philippines open maritime boundary talks

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01/06/2026

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Beijing said it had conducted law enforcement patrols in waters east of Taiwan in response to a decision by Japan and the Philippines to launch talks on maritime boundary delimitation.

According to a statement from the China Coast Guard, a flotilla led by the vessel Daishan carried out law enforcement patrols “in accordance with the law” on Monday.

China Coast Guard spokesperson Jiang Lue said the operation was “a necessary action” in response to Japan and the Philippines “unilaterally announcing the start of negotiations on maritime delimitation in waters east of China’s Taiwan Island.”

“Such an announcement seriously infringes upon China’s territorial sovereignty and its maritime rights and interests,” Jiang said.

“We urge Japan and the Philippines to immediately cease all illegal actions that violate China’s sovereignty and rights,” he added.

Jiang also said the coast guard would continue strengthening its control and management of the relevant waters and that China would take concrete measures to “resolutely safeguard territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.”

The United States and most of its allies, including Japan and the Philippines, do not recognize Taiwan as an independent state and acknowledge it as part of China. The United Nations has also adopted resolutions reflecting this position. However, Washington continues to provide arms to Taiwan as part of its broader efforts to counter China and encourages its allies to do the same.

Following a summit in Tokyo between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the two countries said in a joint statement issued on Thursday that they had agreed to begin “formal negotiations” to delimit their exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and continental shelves.

Beijing condemned the planned talks as “completely illegal and invalid” and swiftly lodged formal diplomatic protests with both Tokyo and Manila.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday: “The so-called delimitation negotiations are entirely illegal, invalid and void. They will have no impact whatsoever on China’s claims or on China’s exercise of its legitimate rights in the area east of Taiwan Island.”

The latest escalation comes at a time when relations between Beijing and both Tokyo and Manila are already strained. Japan and the Philippines are treaty allies of the United States, while China remains engaged in separate territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea and with the Philippines in the South China Sea.

As US attention and resources have increasingly shifted toward the war involving Iran, and as the White House has made the Western Hemisphere a strategic priority, Japan and the Philippines have stepped up diplomatic engagement in the region commonly referred to as the Indo-Pacific.

That effort has included building closer security and defence ties with other countries, prompting Beijing to accuse them of encouraging bloc confrontation in the region.

Japan and the Philippines do not share a maritime boundary. However, their seabed claims could overlap because both countries seek to extend their legal continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles, equivalent to 370 kilometres or 230 miles.

The overlapping area lies east of Taiwan, southwest of Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and north of the Philippines’ Batanes Islands.

Yang Xiao, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China’s highest-ranking state-affiliated think tank, said Taiwan’s EEZ and continental shelf are part of the area under discussion.

“These are China’s rights and are not something that the two sides can negotiate among themselves,” Yang said.

In an interview published on Sunday by Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV, before the China Coast Guard announced the patrols, Yang said Beijing would take “historic and unprecedented” countermeasures against Tokyo and Manila.

“Since they are negotiating in a three-party overlapping zone, we can also take further steps to advance our jurisdiction in the waters east of Taiwan,” Yang said.

“If the other side insists on reckless and destructive actions, we will inevitably introduce new countermeasures.”

Yang described the waters east of Taiwan as a vital maritime area for the island’s economic activities.

“If these waters are divided between Japan and the Philippines, that would clearly harm the interests of the people living on Taiwan Island,” he added.

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SoftBank overtakes Toyota to become Japan’s most valuable company

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01/06/2026

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As artificial intelligence reshapes industrial structures in Japan and South Korea, stock market rankings are being redrawn. SoftBank Group has overtaken Toyota Motor to become Japan’s most valuable listed company.

SoftBank shares have surged as the global artificial intelligence rally gathers momentum, lifting the technology conglomerate’s market capitalisation above that of Toyota for the first time in more than two decades.

The shift reflects a broader reordering of Japan’s equity market. Automakers, alongside banks, steelmakers, energy companies and other traditional heavy industries, are losing ground to chipmakers and companies linked to artificial intelligence.

SoftBank shares jumped 14% on Monday, reaching a new record high. The company’s market value climbed to 48 trillion yen, or $301 billion, making it the most valuable company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Toyota had long held the top position, with a market capitalisation of approximately 45 trillion yen. The last time SoftBank surpassed Toyota was in March 2000, at the peak of the dot-com bubble.

SoftBank’s rapid rise has been driven by strong earnings performance and its substantial investment in ChatGPT developer OpenAI.

The Japanese company reported net profit of 1.82 trillion yen, or $11.4 billion, for the first three months of 2026, 3.5 times higher than in the same period a year earlier. The group is also increasing its investment in OpenAI, completing a $10 billion investment in April and committing to invest an additional $20 billion later this year. Total investment is expected to reach roughly $65 billion.

According to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI plans to file for an initial public offering and aims to list in the United States as early as September. Some media reports suggest the company could seek to raise $60 billion through the offering, potentially valuing it at more than $1 trillion. Such a transaction could become the largest initial public offering in history.

Investors expect the IPO to significantly boost SoftBank’s investment gains. Those expectations have helped drive the technology group’s share price higher. SoftBank shares have risen about 127% since early April.

The company is also planning to invest up to 14 trillion yen in the construction of data centres in France.

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China and Serbia agree to expand cooperation in emerging sectors

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26/05/2026

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Chinese President Xi Jinping met Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Beijing, where the two leaders discussed bilateral ties and oversaw the signing of multiple cooperation agreements. Xi also awarded Vucic the Friendship Medal of the People’s Republic of China.

The meeting between Xi Jinping and Aleksandar Vucic began with an official welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

The two leaders then proceeded to formal talks. Xi said China and Serbia had achieved “positive results” since jointly launching the construction of a “China-Serbia community with a shared future in the new era” in 2024.

Xi said the partnership had not only benefited the two peoples but had also set an example for international relations.

The Chinese president described relations between China and Serbia as an “iron friendship” based on deep historical ties and mutual trust.

Calling on both sides to strengthen exchanges, deepen practical cooperation and continue supporting each other on issues concerning their core interests, Xi also said the two countries should align their development strategies and advance cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. In this context, he pointed to transport, energy and infrastructure projects.

Xi also called for expanding cooperation in emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, the digital economy, green energy and advanced manufacturing.

Aleksandar Vucic congratulated China on the start of implementation of its 15th Five-Year Plan. Vucic also expressed confidence in China’s future development under Xi Jinping’s leadership.

The Serbian president said Belgrade attached great importance to relations with China and firmly supported Beijing on issues concerning China’s core interests.

Vucic thanked Chinese companies for their contributions to Serbia’s economic development and infrastructure construction.

Saying the two countries had made notable progress since establishing their comprehensive strategic partnership, Vucic added that cooperation had expanded across numerous sectors.

The Serbian president also praised China’s role in international affairs, saying Beijing approached smaller countries on the basis of equality and respect and defended international law.

Following the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of more than 20 cooperation agreements covering politics, trade, science and technology, education, legal affairs and culture.

The two sides also issued joint statements on steadily advancing the construction of a China-Serbia community with a shared future in the new era and jointly supporting the implementation of four global initiatives.

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