Reuters:

The leaders of the United States and Japan will contend with China’s growing might, North Korea’s missiles and Russia’s aims in Ukraine when they hold their first substantial talks since Fumio Kishida became Japanese prime minister in October.

The online meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Kishida, scheduled for Friday Washington time, will build on this month’s so-called “two-plus-two” discussions when their defense and foreign ministers pledged to work together against efforts to destabilize the Indo-Pacific region.

See also: China Warns U.S. Of ‘Serious Consequences’ After Navy Warship Crosses South China Sea

The Guardian:

China has warned the US and Europe against a rapid rise in interest rates that would “slam on the brakes” of the global recovery from the pandemic.

Central banks should maintain the monetary stimulus or risk “serious economic consequences” from the spillover effects with developing markets bearing the brunt.

See also:
–China’s Economy Is Slowing, A Worrying Sign For The World
–China’s Births Hit Historic Low, A Political Problem For Beijing

The Seattle Times:

China on Thursday defended its “historical rights” to virtually the entire South China Sea, following a new U.S. government report saying Beijing’s claims are almost entirely invalid.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin called the State Department report “Limits in the Seas,” issued this month, an attempt to “distort international law, confuse the public, sow discord and disrupt the regional situation.”

“China has historical rights in the South China Sea. China’s sovereignty and related rights and interests in the South China Sea have been established in a long period of history and are consistent with international law,” Wang said.

Wang.

Reuters:

The United States and Japan on Friday voiced strong concern about China’s growing might in unambiguous terms and pledged to work together against attempts to destabilise the region.

The comments from the two allies, in a joint statement that followed a virtual meeting of their foreign and defence ministers, highlight how deepening alarm about China – and growing tension over Taiwan – have put Japan’s security role in focus.

See also: One Reason China Intends To Bulk Up Its Nuclear Arsenal

The Wall Street Journal:

Japan and Australia plan to sign a treaty on Thursday that will allow their militaries to work more closely together, in the latest example of U.S. allies strengthening ties to counter the rising threat from China.

See also: Can Europe Avert A War Between US And China?

Business Insider:

The US Defense Department’s annual report on China’s military, released in November, again illustrated the breathtaking pace and scale of China’s conventional-military modernization.

The report also highlighted several developments that could threaten the US more directly than China’s conventional forces — namely China’s “large-scale expansion of its nuclear forces.”

See also: China Denies Reported Expansion Of Nuclear Arsenal

Voice Of America News:

China’s economy will increasingly rely on state investment, high-tech development and domestic consumption – with less input from its past staple of export manufacturing – as it stands to overtake the United States in the coming decade, analysts predict.

The Wall Street Journal:

With the number of births declining year after year, China is now racing in the opposite direction, closing abortion clinics and expanding services to help couples conceive. But a legacy of the one-child policy, scrapped in 2016, is a dwindling number of women of childbearing age as well as a generation of only children who are less eager to marry and start a family.

Central planning at its finest.