贸易停火尚待宣布,中美科技之争已在酝酿

我发现华尔街日报总是跟川普唱反调。

美国和中国本周将在白宫签署一项初步协议,宣布暂停两国之间的贸易战,但围绕技术的持续斗争势必会让这两个超级大国之间的关系继续处于紧张状态。

特朗普政府当前关注的重点是加强对华为技术有限公司(Huawei Technologies Co.)的限制,白宫和国会将这家中国通信设备巨头视为国家安全威胁。知情人士说,美国商务部最近向美国管理及预算办公室提交了新的监管规定,这些规定将在很大程度上消除一个漏洞,美国公司利用这个漏洞通过海外分支向华为出售产品。

一些国会议员和国家安全专家说,华为的设备会让中国领导人得以监视美国人,不过华为已对此多次否认。围绕可能实施的限制,华为发言人没有立即回覆记者的置评请求。

Source: 贸易停火尚待宣布,中美科技之争已在酝酿 – 华尔街日报

美中是如何达成一份双方都不满意的贸易协议的?

这篇文章流水账似的记录了贸易战一年以来的重大事项。

在前往海湖庄园参加新年庆祝活动之前,特朗普向记者们表示,他将在2020年前往北京,就第二阶段协议进行谈判,并暗示习近平也可能会来美国,此前特朗普曾作过这种暗示。

北京方面未证实任何出行计划。中国的外交官表示,他们的首要任务是筹备习近平今年春天对日本的国事访问计划。

美国指望用现存的关税迫使中国继续谈判并同意对经济政策做出调整。如果这一行动宣告失败,美国可能会利用其他施压手段,例如限制中国公司在美国上市的能力。

然而,中方官员认为,旨在迫使中国放松经济管控的第二阶段协议不会给美方带来什么好处,而且特朗普最近表示,第二阶段协议可能要到11月3日大选之后才能达成。中国政府继续规划未来,希望今后降低中美两国经济间的融合度,中国将独立开发技术而不是依赖从美国的进口。

去年11月,习近平在北京的一次论坛上会见了一批外国知名人士,其中包括美国前国务卿基辛格(Henry Kissinger)和前财长保尔森(Hank Paulson)。出席论坛的人士表示,习近平告诉他们,不是中方挑起贸易战,但中国不怕打贸易战。他还称,中国为何要改变行之有效的政策?

Source: 美中是如何达成一份双方都不满意的贸易协议的? – 华尔街日报

美国及盟友认为乌克兰客机是被伊朗误射击落

果然有猫腻啊。

美国、加拿大和英国官员认为,周三一架从德黑兰起飞后不久坠毁的乌克兰客机是被伊朗误射击落的,所用武器是俄罗斯制造的地对空导弹系统。

美国一名官员周四称:“我们高度相信这架客机是被伊朗击落的”,他称,在导弹发射不久前,该飞机被伊朗用来瞄准导弹的雷达追踪。这名官员指击落飞机的武器是一个俄罗斯造的SA-15地对空导弹系统,也被称为Gauntlet。

伊朗否认了这一指控,一名政府发言人称这是个“大谎言”。

美方另外一名官员指出,支持美方看法的一个因素是,残骸散布范围很广。这名官员称,机械故障导致的坠毁事故残骸散布范围较小。

美国总统特朗普(Donald Trump)周四表示,他对这起坠机事故有怀疑。他在白宫发言时对坠机原因可能是机械故障的说法表示怀疑。

Source: 美国及盟友认为乌克兰客机是被伊朗误射击落 – 华尔街日报

Iran Fires Missiles at U.S. Troops at Two Bases in Iraq

一开始的消息说是火箭弹,结果是弹道导弹。
看起来短期停不下来。

Iran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq where American troops are based, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

“It is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran and targeted at least two Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. military and coalition personnel at Al-Asad and Erbil,” Jonathan Hoffman, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said in a statement.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, and the Pentagon said Tuesday evening that it was still assessing the damage.

Iranian officials said the attacks were the start of a promised retaliation for the killing of a top Revolutionary Guards commander. “The fierce revenge by the Revolutionary Guards has begun,” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement on a Telegram channel.

Source: Iran Fires Missiles at U.S. Troops at Two Bases in Iraq: Live Updates – The New York Times

Khamenei Wants to Put Iran’s Stamp on Reprisal for U.S. Killing of Top General

伊朗公开宣称要报复美国,而且是直接以伊朗的部队。
做这个姿态的声明并不奇怪,看后面行动。

In the tense hours following the American killing of a top Iranian military commander, the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, made a rare appearance at a meeting of the government’s National Security Council to lay down the parameters for any retaliation. It must be a direct and proportional attack on American interests, he said, openly carried out by Iranian forces themselves, three Iranians familiar with the meeting said Monday.

It was a startling departure for the Iranian leadership. Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979, Tehran had almost always cloaked its attacks behind the actions of proxies it had cultivated around the region. But in the fury generated by the killing of the military commander, Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, a close ally and personal friend of the supreme leader, the ayatollah was willing to cast aside those traditional cautions.

Source: Khamenei Wants to Put Iran’s Stamp on Reprisal for U.S. Killing of Top General – The New York Times

伊拉克议会通过要求美国撤军的决议

中东不知道会变成怎样。
中国又获得十年发展?反正股市是涨了,东亚仅此一家。

伊拉克国民议会周日投票通过了要求美国军队撤出该国的决议,此前一名伊朗将军被杀事件令伊拉克陷入美国与伊朗不断升级的冲突中心。对伊拉克而言,美国和伊朗都是重要盟友。

这份无约束力的决议敦促伊拉克总理阿卜杜勒-迈赫迪(Adel-Abdul Mahdi)废除当初为打击伊斯兰国(Islamic State)而让美军进驻伊拉克的邀请。2014年,在伊斯兰国占据伊拉克约三分之一国土之后,伊拉克呼吁美国出兵。

阿卜杜勒-迈赫迪在投票前对议会发表的讲话中呼吁议会支持这项动议,称鉴于美国实施针对伊朗将军苏莱曼尼(Qassem Soleimani)和伊拉克民兵组织领导人穆汉迪斯(Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes)的袭击侵犯了伊拉克的主权,伊拉克和美国的优先事项已出现分歧。阿卜杜勒-迈赫迪已在2019年底辞去总理职务,之后一直主持看守政府的工作,这意味着将美军驱逐出伊拉克的决定可能要由其继任者来实施。

Source: 伊拉克议会通过要求美国撤军的决议 – 华尔街日报

伊朗“谍王”遭美袭击殒命 穿梭多方布建伊朗跨境势力

原来是这么重要的“中国人民的老朋友”啊。
估计共产党要高兴得满地打滚了吧。

遭到美军袭击时终年62岁的苏莱曼尼,在伊朗对整个中东地区的外交、军事和情报战略中,发挥着举足轻重的作用。

他一手打造的“圣城旅”部队,几乎承担了伊朗全部的海外情报收集和非正式作战任务。正是通过这支特殊的精锐武装力量,伊朗得以在叙利亚、伊拉克、黎巴嫩、也门、阿富汗和巴勒斯坦等地建立起什叶派的亲伊朗代理人网络,并树立伊朗在中东地区事务中的跨国影响力。

作为伊朗伊斯兰革命和两伊战争的老兵,苏莱曼尼身负多项战功,是许多伊朗人眼中抵御外侮的“民族英雄”。

蓄着整齐短络腮胡须、惯以一身戎装示人的这位伊朗高级将领,也深受伊朗最高领袖哈梅内伊的器重和信赖,还曾被后者褒奖为伊朗“活着的烈士”(a living martyr)。他也因与伊朗最高层的密切关系,被视为伊朗政治安全体系中,地位仅次于最高领袖和总统的第三号人物。

Source: 伊朗“谍王”遭美袭击殒命 穿梭多方布建伊朗跨境势力_世界频道_财新网

Statement From USTR and UST Spokesperson on behalf of Ambassador Lighthizer and Secretary Mnuchin

Interesting.
美国贸易代表办公室否认WSJ关于美国将降低一半关税的报道。

Washington, DC – Bob Davis and Lingling Wei at the Wall Street Journal, based on anonymous sources, have reported at least three times this week that the United States negotiators offered to cut by as much as one half the tariff rates on approximately $360 billion of Chinese imports in exchange for certain purchases.

While we do not comment on the content of negotiations, we have said publicly and on the record that this is totally false, untrue and baseless. It did not happen.

In addition and to be completely clear, we have personally, and on the record, told Mr. Davis and another Wall Street Journal reporter repeatedly that this is utterly false. No such offer was ever made to China by the United States. There is not a single knowledgeable American negotiator who would support this falsehood. Further, there is no Chinese negotiator who could honestly be this source.

We will not speculate on why the Chinese or an American uninvolved with these negotiations would manipulate the story. This is another example of reporting on an important alleged event based on secret sources, some of which may have obvious bias. The Wall Street Journal should make very clear that those actually involved for the United States have so clearly indicated that they are untrue, fabricated falsehoods. It should also expose possible biases of the anonymous source.

Source: Statement From USTR and UST Spokesperson on behalf of Ambassador Lighthizer and Secretary Mnuchin | United States Trade Representative