China and USA: Friend or Foe

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                

China covers about 9.6 million square kilometers (3.7 million square miles)  It ranks as the 3rd or 4th largest country in the world,  and is very close to the size of the United States.  

Even China has now come under pressure to send military support for the US effort in the Middle East. A highly anticipated summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping was postponed this week, with Trump saying the ongoing war required he remain in Washington.

 Questions about the planned meeting in Beijing began to arise on Monday, following Trump’s threat to delay the summit should China refuse to help the United States reopen the Strait of Hormuz. 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded to the request by reiterating its call “on parties to immediately stop military operations.”   

Earlier this week, President Trump threatened to delay his summit with President Xi unless China sent warships to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz—and then requested that delay after China refused. Where does that leave the US-China relationship? Is this a genuine rupture, or is it a negotiating tactic?  

President Donald Trump with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during his state visit to China in 2026

Let’s say what that means for the US-China relationship more broadly. It seems to some writers that China right now is very keen to get into negotiations with the US side in general and with the president in particular. I think that they feel that there are a variety of areas—Taiwan is one, technology is probably another, and tariffs another—where they will find it extremely useful to be able to sit down with the Americans and talk to them.

                                 TAIWAN           

Military Aid and Sales: The U.S. routinely supplies defensive arms and military equipment to help Taiwan maintain self-defense capabilities, alongside ongoing bilateral military training and defense budget adjustments by Taipei
Strait Operations: U.S. Navy ships and aircraft frequently transit the Taiwan Strait to underscore international navigational rights and ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific, drawing frequent pushback from Beijing. 

Trade and Technology

Semiconductors: Surging global demand for artificial intelligence and advanced tech has made Taiwan a top-tier U.S. trading partner, anchored by massive investments from companies like TSMC in U.S. manufacturing facilities. 
Economic Agreements: Both sides engage through initiatives like the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade and ongoing tariff and reciprocal trade discussions managed through AIT and TECRO
            WAR WITH USA -- IRAN

One of the indications that we have that the Chinese are keen to have the meeting was China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi's statement when the Iran war started. He said this was a war that should never have happened. It was not an outright condemnation of the United States or Israel, or indeed of   Iran. It was a more generalized statement of regret.  

                         CHINA --USA

The first direct high-level political meetings between the United States and the People's Republic of China took place on June 5, 1954, at the Geneva Conference in Switzerland, where delegations from both nations held direct talks regarding detained civilians and regional conflicts, following years of severed ties and the Korean War.

1955 Ambassadorial Talks: Formal, regular bilateral talks between the two countries began on August 1, 1955, held in Geneva and later Warsaw as a substitute for official diplomatic recognition.

1972 Nixon Visit: President Richard Nixon traveled to China in February 1972 for the first summit meeting between a sitting U.S. president and Chinese leadership, leading to the Shanghai Communiqué. 

Key Post-1972 Diplomatic Milestones

Normalization of Relations (1979): The Carter administration and Chinese leadership finalized full diplomatic ties.
Presidential Visits: Subsequent U.S. presidents—including Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden—have held multiple official meetings and summits with Chinese leaders in both countries.
Ongoing Summits: Leaders and high-ranking cabinet officials continue regular geopolitical, economic, and security dialogues.

 Iran. It was a more generalized statement of regret.  

Is Defending Swalwell Accused Sex Offender Hopeless?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                

Born November 16, 1980) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from 2013 to 2026 (13 years). He was first elected from California's 15th congressional district in 2012, and served until 2023 when new maps switched him to the 14th district. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

I'm tired and shouldn't write this, the the story that came out " about Rep. Eric Swalwell is still on my mind settling in there in amazement at today's education of young women. I was born a Democrat with a mother who changed as she saw fit to do, so I guess I take after her.  I am tired of both parties, but independent wins nothing, usually.  I'm a mother of a son and a daughter.  

Suddenly so close to election time, four women appeared from the Democratic side describing sexual misconduct by him including a former staffer who says he even raped her!  

His Democratic competition:  The list of other potentially viable Democrats in the race includes billionaire activist Tom Steyer, who has blanketed the television airwaves by pumping at least $110 million into advertising; progressive former Rep. Katie Porter; former Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra; former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan; California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond; and former state controller Betty Yee, 7 in competition !  

His bad luck in dealing with Republicans was back in May 215.  Given Swalwell's position on the House Intelligence Committee, he played a role in investigating the links between Trump associates and Russian officials during his third term, saying, "It's always smelled like collusion.

In 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice under the Trump administration seized Swalwell's personal data. The record seizure also targeted Adam Schiff, who chaired the House Intelligence Committee.

Swalwell served as an impeachment manager (prosecutor) during President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial.

Clockwise from top left: Fang with then-Dublin City Councilmember Eric Swalwell at an October 2012 student event; undated photo of Fang, now former Fremont Mayor Bill Harrison and Rep. Judy Chu; Fang with then-Rep. Mike Honda and then-San Jose city Councilmember Ash Kalra at a March 2014 event at the Chinese Embassy in D.C. Sources: Renren, Facebook, Facebook

He garnered another incident.  In December 2020, Swalwell was named in an Axios story about suspected Chinese spy Fang Fang (方芳; Fāng Fāng), known as Christine Fang.  Swalwell ended ties with Fang in 2015 after U.S. intelligence briefed him and top members of Congress on concerns that Chinese agents were attempting to infiltrate Congress.  Swalwell had done nothing bad. 

On April 11, 2026, in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations which caused Swalwell to drop out of the 2026 California gubernatorial election, Axios reported that Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna intended to file a bill forcing the expulsion of Swalwell and representative Tony Gonzales, another member of the House of Representatives accused of sexual misconduct. On April 13, Swalwell announced his plan to resign from Congress. That same day, Gonzales announced his own resignation.  These men have dropped out.

What got to me was the report of the one lady most on TV was her telling of trading nude pictures of each other !  Then she told how she drank so much alcohol that she lost control of herself, winding up in his bed feeling like she had had relations with him;  so she winds up causing him to lose what he has been preparing for all these years....and don't say,  copying Bill Clinton !  

Didn't her mother ever tell warn her about such things?  Mine did.  I'm 91 years old, so people of the past were helping their daughters to be safe rather than sorry.  The woman cried briefly when sobbing  that no one protected her.  Well, she is expected to know about such things herself!! Or have schools stopped completely?  I even remember a gross movie we were presented with at the theater showing nude men from the waist down  and what made them different than us women.  It was part of our sex education here in Portland, Oregon.  

Thus, anybody with common sense should know what can happen when you share nude pictures of each other and drink alcohol with that person at any time and what the man might be expecting.  

My mother told me that when a man gets overly exciting smooching, their sexual expectations cannot be changed.  They cannot stop!  

Now, Homo Sapien men go back to Africa approximately 300,000 to 350,000 years ago. The oldest known fossils, discovered in Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, indicate that early, or "archaic," Homo sapiens were widespread across Africa by roughly 300,000 to 315,000 years ago. Anatomically modern humans emerged closer to 200,000–300,000 years ago.  The point is, they have had such hormones for a long long time.  We've had our own hormones to protect our children for the same length.  There was a reason for both;  for men, to procreate, which, if they aren't more careful, could do that when they don't mean to.  

I see Democrats on the View, and they are desperate to get Trump out, as most all Americans want at this point, so sometimes, people create setups to destroy the other party, and Democrats surely thought there was enough of that going on hurting their own party.  All these attacks before election could have been set ups, but no one wants to take on proof of rape or sex when it happened so long ago.  I see no defense. 

Are investigations of Swalwell finished already?  What kind ?

Based on reports from April 2026, the allegations against Representative Eric Swalwell regarding sexual misconduct with four women (including a former staffer) have led to the following investigations and actions: 

• House Ethics Committee: The committee officially announced an investigation to determine if Rep. Swalwell violated the Code of Official Conduct or any laws regarding sexual misconduct, particularly toward an employee under his supervision.
• Manhattan District Attorney's Office: This office confirmed they launched an investigation into the sexual assault allegations against Swalwell.  This doesn't say it has ended.  
• Law Enforcement: A woman who alleged she was assaulted in 2018 (8 years ago)  stated she planned to report the incident to law enforcement.  When?  
• Media Investigation: The San Francisco Chronicle and CNN were primary outlets that published the allegations from the four women, which included claims of sexual assault, unwanted advances, and inappropriate messaging, prompting a chain reaction in the 2026 California governor's race. 

Following these allegations, Swalwell dropped his bid for California governor and announced his resignation from Congress. He has denied the claims, calling them "false" (what does he think he did?)  and "politically motivated". 

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Resource:

https://www.axios.com/2020/12/08/china-spy-california-politicians