Mike Pompeo

As the United States searches for a path back to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, it is tiptoeing through a minefield laid by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 14 months in prison while nine other activists received jail time or suspended sentences on Friday for taking part in unauthorised assemblies during mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.

The State Department has announced that it will make it easier for US officials to meet Taiwanese representatives, defying pressure from China at a time of high tensions, and as the US Congress considers sweeping legislation to counter Beijing’s influence.

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai and two pro-democracy activists pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges of participating in an illegal march during mass anti-government protests in 2019.

The United States said Tuesday it would discuss calls to boycott the Beijing Olympics with its allies after growing pressure to shun the Winter Games on human rights grounds.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday lifted the sanctions against International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda that were imposed seven months ago by his predecessor, former U.S. President Donald Trump.

China announced sanctions against two Americans, a Canadian and a rights advocacy body Saturday over their criticism of Beijing’s treatment of Uyghurs, but Washington said the tit-for-tat measure would only intensify the spotlight on Xinjiang.

Former President Donald Trump’s decision to put Cuba back on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism just before he left office threw up fresh obstacles to international banking with the island, according to five Havana-based foreign businessmen and diplomats.

Questioned about recent U.S.-China frictions over Taiwan, Xinjiang and the South China Sea during his annual news conference, Wang said that Beijing “will never accept baseless accusations and smears”, and said the United States had used democracy and human rights as a basis for arbitrarily interfering with other countries’ affairs.

A Hong Kong court said on Tuesday its denial of bail for media tycoon Jimmy Lai, the most high-profile person charged under a new the national security law, was due to the risk of his committing further offences.

U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held their first telephone call as leaders, with Biden saying a free and open Indo-Pacific was a priority and Xi warning confrontation would be a ‘disaster’ for both nations.

Bickering between China and the United States over the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic has continued even after the World Health Organisation, WHO, wrapped up its field work in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

A team of investigators working on behalf of the World Health Organization (WHO) has visited a major virus research laboratory in China’s central city of Wuhan and is scheduled to meet a top virologist, as they continue to seek clues to the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Top U.S. Republicans have urged President Joe Biden to take tougher action against China after Beijing announced sanctions on outgoing American officials just minutes into Biden taking office, reports said on Friday.

China said on Wednesday it wanted to cooperate with President Joe Biden’s new U.S. administration, while announcing sanctions against “lying and cheating” outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and 27 other top officials under Donald Trump.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, congratulated Biden in front of the press in Beijing on Thursday and expressed hope that the relationship would be put back on the right track.

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on a ship involved in building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to take Russian natural gas to Europe, as the Trump administration sought to raise pressure on the project on its last full day in office.

Iran blacklisted U.S. President Donald Trump and several current and former senior U.S. officials on Tuesday over what it called “terrorist and anti-human rights” acts, a move widely regarded as symbolic.

The United Nations and Western nations told Russia to immediately free the opposition politician and some countries called for new sanctions. Moscow told them to mind their own business.

Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the comment in response to a question about U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s decision this month to lift restrictions on contacts between U.S. officials and their Taiwanese counterparts.

The United States on Friday sanctioned companies in Iran, China and the United Arab Emirates for doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and on three Iranian entities over conventional arms proliferation.

The United States announced sanctions on Friday against six Hong Kong or Chinese officials it blamed for implementing a new security law in Hong Kong, following the mass arrests of pro-democracy activists this month.