Voice of America News reports: “The rift between China and the United States looks far from healing as Beijing reiterates its plan to punish U.S. companies following disagreements between the two countries.

Beijing’s anger at Washington over a range of issues from arms sales to Taiwan and the U.S. president’s meeting with Tibet’s exiled leader the Dalai Lama, showed no signs of abating…

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang reaffirmed punitive sanctions against American companies would go ahead, because of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. In addition, China is angry over U.S. positions on a number of issues, including trade, human rights and allegations of Chinese cyber-attacks on U.S. organizations.

He says it is up to the United States to heal relations.

Qin says that China demands that the U.S. seriously regard China’s position and take credible measures to undo the damage done. And, he says, sanctions against U.S. companies will go ahead.

Qin refused, however, to say when sanctions would come into effect…” (There is trouble ahead because America has vowed to protect Taiwan if China moves against their nation – II Timothy 3:1 “perilous [dangerous] times shall come.“)

The London Daily Telegraph reports: “Evidence is mounting that Chinese sales of US Treasury bonds over recent months are intended as a warning shot to Washington over escalating political disputes rather than being part of a routine portfolio shift as thought at first.

A front-page story in the state’s China Information News said the record $34bn sale of US bonds in December was a ‘commendable’ move. The article was republished by the National Bureau of Statistics, giving it a stronger imprimatur.

It follows a piece in China Daily, the Politburo’s voice, citing an official from the Chinese Academy of Sciences praising the move to ‘slash’ holdings of US debt. This was published on the same day that US President Barack Obama received the Dalai Lama at the White House, defying protests from Beijing.

‘There are ongoing spats between the US and China on so many fronts so you have to assume that this is some sort of implicit threat,’ said Neil Mellor, a currency expert at the Bank of New York Mellon, who cautioned that it can be hard to read the complex signals from China.

‘We still think China will have to continue buying US Treasuries by the bucket load. Where else can they invest in a liquid market. The euro has become a tarnished currency,’ he said.

China’s power is growing so fast that it now feels confident enough to raise the stakes on a string of festering conflicts with the US. It has threatened to impose sanctions on any US firm that takes part in a $6.4bn arms deal for Taiwan agreed by the White House. This is a tougher response that on any previous occasion and raises the spectre of a trade war over Boeing, the key supplier.

‘Chinese leaders are deploying their reserves to try and pressure the US to stop haranguing China about its currency and trade policies, and to back off from interference in its domestic issues,’ said professor Eswar Prasad, ex-head of the IMF’s China division…” (The U.S.A. would be in a state of turmoil if China turned in her $2 trillion dollars worth of America’s notes held by them – James 5: 1 – 4; Revelation 18:10, 17, 19.)

Voice of America News reports: “A group of American scientists is expressing alarm at a possible attempt by North Korea to ship portable anti-aircraft missile systems abroad. The missiles were part of an airborne cargo intercepted by authorities in Thailand in December.

The Federation of American Scientists, based in Washington, is urging more vigilance by the international community after the discovery of so-called MANPADS missile systems aboard a cargo plane loaded in North Korea.

The plane was intercepted during a landing in Thailand. The U.S. group cites a report to the United Nations Security Council as saying the plane contained ‘five crates’ of MANPADS, which stands for man-portable air defense system.

‘These are normally shoulder-fired, always man-portable, surface-to-air missiles,’ said Matt Schroeder, the manager of the FAS Arms Sales Monitoring Project.

The missiles are usually built to target the heat signature of airplane engines. Schroeder says when used properly, they can literally empower a single individual to take down an aircraft.

‘They’ve been used in 48 confirmed instances against civilian aircraft, which has resulted in 45 shoot-downs. Recent hotspots for illicit MANPADS activity are Somalia, the horn of Africa, Iraq, and then Russia – that was when the Chechen conflict was heating up,’ he said.

International diplomats say shipping such weapons is a clear violation of United Nations sanctions against North Korea following its second test of a nuclear weapon last May. Schroeder says it presents a unique challenge for global leaders…” (This weapon is exceedingly dangerous as terrorists using it could bring down planes with a simple shoulder fired missile by a terrorist who is lying in a field or any concealed place. “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken” – Luke 21:26.)