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China Has Second Largest Number of Cultural Centers in Africa

Development Reimagined, a Beijing based consulting Company, announced that China ranked second in terms of the number of cultural centers in Africa, only behind France.

Currently the region has 48 Confucius Institutes, which debuted in 2004. This is the second largest foreign cultural system in Africa. France ranks first with 180 cultural institutions. The others are the United States (40), the United Kingdom (38), Portugal (34) and Germany (21).

What makes the Confucius Institute different is that it is seated inside the campus of universities and its courses are part of the academic programs.

According to Dr. Ishmael Mensah, Dean of the Confucius Institute in Ghana, courses offered by Confucius Institutes are becoming more and more popular, with 2,000 students attending classes during the semester.

Source: Sputnik News, August 14, 2018
http://sputniknews.cn/society/201808141026115441/

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China’s CNPC to replace French Company Total in Iran’s SP11 Project

On August 12, the Islamic Republic of Iran News Agency (IRNA), the official news agency of Iran, quoted the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), which said that China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) purchased shares of the French oil company Total in the Iranian gas project “South Pars 11.”

Mohamad Mostafavi, investment and business manager at Iran’s National Oil Company, said, “CNPC bought shares of the French company Total. Its shares currently account for 80.1 percent of the ‘South Pars 11’ project.”

He added that cooperation with large Chinese companies also carries strategic importance for NIOC. In June, Total of France announced that, if the company could not obtain a sanction waiver from the US government with the support of France and the European authority, it would withdraw from the “South Pars 11” project.

Source: Russian Sputnik News, August 12, 2018
http://sputniknews.cn/china/201808121026105342/

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Open Letter Appeals to Xi Jinping to Stop the Massive Handouts to Foreign Students

A U.S. based blog site – weiquanwang (rights protection site) – recently published an open letter to the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and requested that China stop providing blanket massive subsidies to foreign students in China. The letter stated that millions of ordinary Chinese people have to tighten their belts for their children’s education, while the government hands out disproportionate subsidies to thousands of international students in China.

As of July 31, 2018, 295 people had signed the letter, which was titled, “Citizens’ Opinion on Requesting an End to the “Universal” Fiscal Subsidies to Foreign Students.” Among them were 49 lawyers (not including one lawyer who withdrew under pressure), six journalists, and 240 doctors, professors, teachers, and other activists.

The author Liu Shuqing, a human rights Lawyer and a lecturer from Shandong Qilu University of Technology, has already mailed it to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, Chair of the National People’s Congress Li Lishu; Minister of Education Chen Baosheng, Finance Minister Liu Kun, and Director of Legal Affairs of the NPC Standing Committee Chen Chunyao.

The letter stated, “We are not a group that suffers from xenophobia.  . . . We understand our government’s moderate assistance to poorer countries. We understand the practice of granting scholarships to a small number of outstanding foreign students, but the principle body of doing this should be schools and universities.  . . . What we are opposed to is the ‘universal’ and high amount of fiscal subsidies to foreign students without considering our national conditions. What we oppose is the irrationality of policies and the lack of procedural justice in the process of policy making. What we value is the Chinese national’s equal rights to education and the taxpayer’s rights to have a say on fiscal expenditures.”

The letter pointed to the fact that China’s per capita income in 2017 ranked 69th in the world, a very low level. By China’s own poverty standard, 40 million people are still living in poverty. Without a system that provides the basic guarantees of education and medical care, incidents of poverty related dropouts have occurred from time to time. Chinese university students need to pay a high tuition. Scholarships, assistantships, and work-study programs cannot offset these payments. For an ordinary Chinese family, a university education is a heavy burden.

The letter criticized the handing out of 60,000 to 100,000 yuan annually to almost every foreign student, the number of which has grown dramatically. It is an immoral policy as the government is obligated to have its actions be approved by the tax payers before it makes such policies of foreign aid.

The letter said it understands that there may be strategic considerations related to the “One Belt, One Road” initiative. By increasing the proportion of foreign students in the country, the regime hopes that they will become the backbone of the local people and help to promote strategic implementation. However this way of using fiscal subsidies to attract foreign students is wrong.

Source: Radio France Internationale, August, 9, 2018
http://rfi.my/2zJb.T

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend

Chinese Government Offers Free Re-administrations of Vaccines, but Chinese People Are Skeptical

In July, Chinese vaccine maker Changsheng Biotechnology was found to have fabricated records and arbitrarily changed the process parameters and equipment during its production of freeze-dried human rabies vaccines. Substandard diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (DPT) vaccines that Changsheng produced were administered to 215,184 Chinese children. Another company, Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, produced substandard DPT vaccines and sold 400,520 of them to the public. China’s drug regulator launched an investigation and arrested 15 people from Changsheng Biotechnology, including the chairman.

About a month after the outbreak of the scandal, the Chinese government offered to re-administer the vaccine without charge to people who had been previously vaccinated with Changsheng’s rabies vaccine. However, according to Radio Free Asia, few people have gone to get vaccinated and some no longer trust domestic vaccine manufacturers.

On August 10, a nurse at a hospital in Shenzhen that provides free re-administration of vaccines told the reporter that the hospital uses the vaccine of the Liaoning Chengda Company, a vaccine manufacturer not struck by the scandal. Individuals did go there to get vaccinated, but not many.

A gentleman, Mr. Zhang from Guangdong, had his child vaccinated with Changsheng’s vaccine. He said in an interview that he no longer has confidence in domestically made vaccines. If a company has not been exposed, that does not mean that it has no problem. He would rather choose to use imported vaccine.

“In my situation, I will not dare to get vaccinated again. It is useless. I really worry about domestic vaccinations. I will try as much as possible to get imported vaccines; otherwise there is no guarantee. Companies that have not been exposed may still have a problem. In the case of Changsheng, one employee exposed the problem, right? If he hadn’t done it, we would never have known it. As a matter of fact, they had detected the problem before, but they chose not to publicize it. We don’t have the right to information. So if domestic things are not exposed, it does not mean that they have no problem.”

Some netizens expressed ridicule: Is the vaccine used this time not fake? Will we still have to get vaccinated once again?

Source: Radio Free Asia, August 10, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/huanjing/yf2-08102018100530.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

China to Become the World’s Largest Natural Gas Importer by 2019

Recently, the International Energy Agency (IEA) issued the “Natural Gas Market Report 2018,” which predicts that, by 2019, China will become the world’s largest natural gas importer due to the lack of domestic supply. By 2023, China’s natural gas imports will reach 171 billion cubic meters, most of which will be LNG (liquefied natural gas).

According to the Chinese Ministry of Energy, China and India have become the fastest growing countries in demand for natural gas, especially LNG. Last year, China surpassed South Korea and became the second largest importer of LNG after Japan.

The Report shows that China and emerging Asian markets are promoting global natural gas consumption. Between 2017 and 2023, China will account for 37 percent of the increase in global natural gas consumption, surpassing every other country in the world. Regarding the forecast period, the Report expects the global natural gas market to exceed 4 trillion cubic meters by 2022, while China’s demand will grow at an average annual rate of 8 percent, accounting for more than one-third of the growth in global demand.

At present, the United States is the main producer of natural gas and exporter of LNG, accounting for nearly 45 percent of global production growth and nearly three-quarters of LNG export growth.

Source: Shanghai Security News, July 20, 2018
http://news.cnstock.com/paper,2018-07-20,1029054.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

The Liao River Is an Environmental Nightmare

The Liao River is the principal river in southern Northeast China, and one of the seven main river systems in mainland China. Coursing 1,345 kilometers (836 mi) long, it passes through Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, and Liaoning Provinces.

According to Economic Information Daily, a subsidiary of the official Xinhua News Agency, in recent years, the amount of river water has decreased year by year. In many places, there is no water at all. A major section of the Liao River flows through Chifeng City and Tongliao City in Inner Mongolia, with a total length of 829 kilometers. In Chifeng City, since 2007, most parts of the river have run out of water for most of the year. In Tongliao City, the Liaohe River has experienced 20-years of being cut off.

In addition to the climate drought, the main reason is that there are too many water conservation projects along the river. In Chifeng alone, there are 82 large, medium, and small reservoirs in the upstream portion of the Liao River.

Over the years, with the interruption of water in the middle and upstream areas of the River and with the people living nearby increasing their demand for water consumption, the demand for groundwater has increased. This has resulted in over-exploitation and a decline in the water level. In Chifeng City and Tongliao City, groundwater depletion caused areas of land subsidence as large as 3000 square kilometers, and the water level dropped by about 10 meters.

The water interruptions have caused a large reduction in the area of lakes, wetlands and grasslands. Trees along the banks of the river have declined and died, posing a threat to the ecological environment and ecological security of this area. The grassland area in Tongliao City has been decreasing year by year since 2014. In 2004, the area of lake wetlands in Chifeng City was 60,738.05 hectares. By 2010, it shrank to half that size. Of the 82 reservoirs in Chifeng City, 40 percent have dried up.

Source: Economic Information Daily, August 6, 2018
http://jjckb.xinhuanet.com/2018-08/06/c_137370677.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Russian Newspaper Criticizes China’s “One Belt, One Road”

Russia’s newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta (Independent Newspaper) recently carried a lengthy article that criticized China’s “One Belt, One Road” policy. The article stated that, the more actively China promotes the “One Belt, One Road” policy and the more money it puts in, the more local anti-China protests there are and the louder the anti-China slogans are.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta, a pro-government Russian daily newspaper, quoted from a Kazakhstan sociologist that, in 2007, only 18 percent of local people disliked Chinese immigrants. The figure rose to 33 percent in 2012. By 2017, as many as 46 percent of the local people hated Chinese immigrants.

The article stated that many people in Central Asian countries believe that China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative exhibits the intention to occupy Central Asia. People who hold this mentality are not only concentrated in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan where there is a strong anti-Chinese sentiment. Within a short 10 years, such an attitude has spread throughout Central Asia. It has expanded to different religions and different ethnic groups, becoming a very fashionable part of the public opinion in the region.

Anti-Chinese sentiment is also politicized. The elites in Central Asia have used anti-China sentiment as a tool and actively use it when battling for political power. In the future, political forces that oppose the ruling class will play the Chinese card to accuse the incumbents of selling out national interests. Anti-Chinese sentiment has even turned into a profitable business. Local politicians in Central Asia have learned to use this tool to make a fortune. In the near future, this “commodity” will also be sold internationally to any foreign geopolitical buyer.

The article also said that China’s implementation of the “Belt and Road” and its local business operations have destroyed the ecological environment of Central Asia and have become a hotbed for corruption. The Chinese people are very willing to hand over envelopes filled with money to local officials in order to solve problems, including tax issues.

The article quotes from analysts that China’s expansion of influence in Central Asia is seriously threatening Russia’s interests. However, it is still unclear whether the anti-China sentiment in Central Asia has links with Russia. China and Russia are fiercely competing for influence in Central Asia. China’s “One Belt, One Road” seems almost incompatible with Russia’s “Eurasian Economic Community.”

Source: Radio France Internationale, August, 6, 2018
http://rfi.my/2yj4.T

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

ASEAN-China Single Draft South China Sea Code of Conduct to Weaken U.S. Influence

On August 3, the foreign ministers of the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their Chinese counterpart announced agreement on a Single Draft South China Sea Code of Conduct Negotiating Text (SDNT) that will serve as the basis for the adoption of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

Among the proposals that China made, two of them are notable. The first is on cooperation on the marine economy and states that cooperation is to be carried out by the littoral states “and shall not be conducted in cooperation with companies from countries outside the region.” In contrast, Malaysia proposed that nothing in the Code of Conduct (COC) “shall affect… rights or ability of the Parties to conduct activities with foreign countries or private entities of their own choosing.” The marine economy includes aquaculture and oil and gas cooperation, and marine culture.

Another proposal is about joint military exercises. “The Parties shall establish a notification mechanism on military activities and will notify each other of major military activities if deemed necessary. The Parties shall not hold joint military exercises with countries from outside the region unless the parties concerned are notified beforehand and express no objection.”

China’s move is perceived at an attempt to weaken further any U.S. intervention in the South China Sea as the U.S. is considered as being among “countries outside the region.”

Shen Shishun, a scholar from the China Institute of International Studies, made it very clear in his interview with Russian based Sputnik News. “The so-called interference or factors of uncertainty mainly mean that some countries outside the region, out of a cold war mentality, are worried about the rise in influence of other countries in the region, and the decline of their own. They have adopted cold war tactics to provoke dissension among the countries in the region and to disrupt the situation in the South China Sea. It should be said that the interference of external forces is mainly from the United States. The U.S. global strategy is simple. It is to prevent any country from challenging its hegemonic status. The rise of China naturally has become its greatest threat. In fact, what the U.S. is doing does no good for Sino-U.S. relations, nor for regional peace and stability.”

Source: Sputnik News, August 4, 2018
http://sputniknews.cn/opinion/201808041026048188/

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend