Taiwan

 Top U.S. and Chinese officials offered sharply different views of each other and the world on Thursday as the two sides met face-to-face for the first time since President Joe Biden took office.

The first high-level U.S.-China talks of the Biden administration got off to a fiery start on March 18, with both sides leveling sharp rebukes of the others' policies in a rare display that underscored the level of bilateral tension.

President Joe Biden singled out a "growing rivalry with China" as a key challenge facing the United States, with his top diplomat describing the Asian country as "the biggest geopolitical test" of this century.

Joe Biden had his first call as president with Xi Jinping, pressing the Chinese leader about trade and Beijing's crackdown on democracy activists in Hong Kong as well as other human rights concerns.

The deference shown to the Chinese officials by the party leader of the Czech Communists during a video conference last September is shocking.

Dutch police said on Jan. 23 they had arrested the alleged leader of a sprawling Asian drug syndicate who is listed as one of the world's most-wanted fugitives and has been compared to Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

By way of contrast, Chinese pressure to stop Jaroslav Kubera visiting Taiwan took a more sinister turn when the Senate president keeled over from a heart attack. When his successor, Milos Vystrcil, embarked on the trip anyway in September, Beijing hoped to similarly scare Prague with threats of retaliation.

According to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, this goal was achieved out of ambition, but also out of fear, because even at the beginning of the pandemic, it was concluded that the health system would not be able to cope with the progressive epidemic, the AP reported.

The visit of Eximbank USA President Kimberly Reed to the Cernavoda nuclear power plant on Tuesday will materialize in project implementation options for reactors 3 and 4, which Nuclearelectrica will submit to its shareholders' approval as soon as possible, Cosmin Ghita, CEO of the energy producer, told a press conference on the plant's platform.

China on Tuesday lashed out at the U.S. over new sanctions against Chinese officials and the sale of more military equipment to Taiwan.

The U.S. actions are part of what critics see as an effort by the Trump administration to put in place high-pressure tactics toward Beijing that could make it more difficult for President-elect Joe Biden to steady relations.