Interesting look at how the new administration describes the relationship

 

U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission New Report China-Iran Relations: A Limited but Enduring Strategic Partnership Today the U.S.-China Commission released a new staff report entitled, “China-Iran Relations: A Limited but Enduring Strategic Partnership.” Key Highlights The China-Iran relationship has evolved in recent years into a partnership more pointedly opposed to the U.S.-led international order. Beijing views Tehran’s opposition to the United States as augmenting China’s global influence. The Iranian regime’s destabilizing actions in the Middle East complicate U.S. efforts to shift its focus to the Indo-Pacific. China has boosted its diplomatic engagement with Iran since 2015, coinciding with the signing of the Iran nuclear deal, or JCPOA, and the gradual easing of international sanctions on Iran. Following U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, China has continued to engage Iran—including through violation of U.S. sanctions—and used bilateral summits to demonstrate the two countries’ opposition to Washington. Iran views China as a critical economic lifeline and diplomatic supporter against pressure from the United States. A 25-year bilateral cooperation agreement signed in March 2021 is the latest indication of the two sides’ willingness to coordinate more closely. The agreement also signals China’s capacity to work with U.S. adversaries to undermine U.S. influence in the region.  China has remained Iran’s top economic partner despite significantly reducing its economic engagement through partial compliance with U.S. sanctions. As Iran’s primary oil customer, China is a valuable asset to the Iranian regime while deepening its leverage over the country. By also investing in Iran’s energy infrastructure and regional integration, China seeks improved access to Iranian energy and raw materials.  China and Iran maintain modest defense cooperation and share intelligence, reportedly including information that led to the dismantling of much of the U.S. espionage network in both countries. China has supported Iran’s cruise and ballistic missile programs for decades, including through technology likely utilized in at least one of the missile systems used in Tehran’s 2020 attack on U.S. forces in Iraq. Despite Tehran’s interest in procuring advanced weapons from China, Beijing may hesitate to sell the requested arms out of concern over jeopardizing relations with its Gulf partners. China’s deepening ties with Iran’s regional adversaries, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, force China to strike a balance between its relationship with Iran and these emerging partners. Meanwhile, the Iranian regime eagerly seeks Chinese trade and investment but remains wary of becoming overly reliant on China economically.    Read the full report here. Thank you,  Jameson Cunningham Congressional Affairs and Communications Director U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission 202-624-1496

U.S.-China Commission | 444 North Capitol St. NW, Washington, DC 20002 uscc.gov

Verizon Connection Speeds

 Just about everyone knows that Verizon only says it will get your service to the router at a certain speed.  In my case it is a gig connection, but the fastest I have ever gotten on any device, including a wired connection, is 350 Mbs.  So, I started looking into this from a user standpoint.  

I have been a Verizon customer for all of my time in this house, twenty years.  I pay more for a gig connection, but I don't get gig service.  I have heard of people suing Verizon over this but not recently because Verizon changed its policy to prohibit a customer from filing or joining a class action lawsuit (https://fairshake.com/verizon-wireless/lawsuit/).  They say the service is only to the router, not to any device in the house.  I even understand that, but it isn't that part that irritates me. 

I pay a good bit of money to Verizon each month for a gig connection using a router that I pay them for.  That router is not configured for IPV6 even though it is a IPV6 device.  The one I have is two generations old, because Verizon does not update their routers even though you are paying for the service.  So I don't have the speed I pay for, and Verizon wants me to pay for a faster router to get a faster speed.  If this sounds ridiculous, that's because it is.  

My speeds drop off every day, around mid day and at night.  That has nothing to do with the router speed.  My cameras were dropping signal every day for a month until I had my security provider look into why.  They recorded when it happened and the speed it lost connection.  Good information for me.  I asked Verizon why this would happen and it stopped for a few weeks, but continues to occur.  So it is not just the router that is involved.  

This county is growing like crazy with many new people coming here every day.  They all want broadband and Verizon has actually tried to expand their service to the area, but they are not keeping up.  Covid hasn't helped either.  Now everyone is home or just starting back to work.  My system crawls at breakfast and in he evening when kids come home from school.  Verizon is a victim of their own success, but the users are the ones who get the hit.  

When my contract is up, Verizon will end, but until then, I have adapted.  I'm not going to pay for extra speed I don't get and will test out a few vendors to find out who does it best.