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Dutch Resistance: 2 Provinces and 8 Cities Sever Friendship Ties with China

According to a Dutch media report, in the past two years, several provinces and cities in the Netherlands have ended their sister province and sister city relationships with China . China has been using these relationships as a means of external influence and penetration, but China  is facing increasing resistance.

The investigation by the Dutch newspaper NRC revealed that one-fourth of the sister friendly cooperation relationships, established between local authorities in the Netherlands and China in the past two years, have been canceled. Furthermore, several other municipal institutions are also preparing to end such cooperative relationships, while some municipalities are reevaluating their relationships with Chinese sister cities.

The report states that Dutch municipal authorities often cite China’s persecution of the Uighur ethnic group as the reason for terminating these relationships. Ahmed Marchouc, the mayor of Arnhem, said, “We must respect the principles of democracy, the rule of law, press freedom, and freedom of speech… (but) maintaining (friendly) relations with Chinese cities creates an image that disrespects these principles.” The city ended its relationship with Wuhan in 2021.

Some cities also mentioned that the economic benefits derived from these sister city relationships with China were not significant, which contributed to their decision to end them.

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 8, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/9-05082023154300.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China’s “Belt and Road” Investment Shifts Focus

China’s overseas investments related to the “Belt and Road” initiative are undergoing a shift, with a decrease in large-scale infrastructure projects and an increase in soft investments in areas such as biotech and digital technology. According to data from fDiMarkets, a service that tracks foreign direct investment, China’s greenfield investments in local entities, factories, and sales channels are growing in the digital and biotech sectors. Investments in IT, communication, and electronic components have grown sixfold to $17.6 billion, while biotech investments have surged to $1.8 billion, a 29-fold increase since the start of the then  Belt and Road initiative in 2013.

Etana Biotechnologies, an Indonesian start-up, has acquired the technology for the development of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines from Suzhou Aibo Biotechnology in China. The vaccine plant is to be completed in 2022 with a target of 100 million doses.

The development of digital and biotech sectors represents a shift in China’s overseas investment strategy away from large-scale infrastructure and fossil fuel projects. In the past decade, China has reduced its investment in coal and fossil fuels by 99 percent and has set a goal of decarbonizing by 2060. Meanwhile, China’s investment in metals such as aluminum has also peaked and since 2018, it has declined . The soft investments in digital and biotech sectors are seen as more cost-effective than hard infrastructure investments, and the smaller investment amounts could help to reduce debt risks for emerging market countries.

Source: Nikkei, May 8, 2023
https://zh.cn.nikkei.com/china/ceconomy/52291-2023-05-08-05-00-03.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Guangdong Strengthens Management of Government Officials’ WeChat Groups; Bans Negative Comments

Several government branches in Guangdong Province and other regions have recently required Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members and officials to report activities on the WeChat groups that they are affiliated with, including the content of images, texts, and videos.

Two images circulating on Twitter and WeChat show the cover of a “Personal WeChat Group Registration and Reporting Form” printed in April by the Guangdong Provincial CCP Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Guangdong Provincial Supervision Commission .

One of the attachments to the WeChat Group Registration and Reporting Form, entitled Attachment 4, “Self-Examination Table for the Purification of Moments,” lists seven items that need to be reported promptly, including distorting, negating, and attacking the Party’s and China’s’ National history; vilifying and slandering party leaders and heroic models; advocating Western “constitutional democracy,” “universal values,” and human rights issues; questioning the achievements of poverty alleviation; spreading pessimistic views regarding topics such as employment, housing, education, and the polarization of rich and poor; and attacks and slander against the effectiveness, safety, and fairness of Chinese COVID-19 vaccines.

On September 5, 2019, a university in Hubei Province required teachers and students to register in WeChat groups across the provinces. On March 28 last year, the Wuhan City’s Confidentiality Bureau issued a “Notice on Confidentiality Management of WeChat Work Groups in Government Agencies and Units,” which requires government branches to establish WeChat groups only after obtaining approval. “An application must be submitted as per the work needs, specifying the purpose, time of establishment, and responsible person.” The group leader is then determined as the group administrator and has to sign the “WeChat Group Administrator Confidential Responsibility Statement.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 9, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/gt2-05092023034525.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Russia Authorizes Export of Up to 30 Percent of Enriched Uranium Nuclear Fuel to China

According to a government decree released on May 2nd, Russia has authorized its state-owned nuclear fuel company, TVEL, to export new nuclear fuel to China for the next three years. The fuel to be exported will be enriched with uranium-235 to no more than 30.4 percent purity. The Federal Service for Technological and Export Control (FSTEC) of Russia is responsible for issuing the necessary licenses to TVEL for exporting such nuclear fuel to China, and should do so before April 12, 2026.

Russia and China are actively cooperating in the peaceful nuclear energy sector, including in the field of fast neutron reactors, which use uranium-235 of higher purity than traditional thermal neutron reactors. The two countries are working together to construct a 600 MW CFR-600 fast neutron reactor, which is China’s flagship project in the field of “fast” nuclear energy. In late 2017, China began building its first fast reactor at a nuclear power plant in Xiapu, Fujian Province. In June 2018, Russia and China signed an agreement to cooperate in building and operating the CFR-600 fast neutron reactor, and subsequently signed an agreement to provide nuclear fuel for the reactor.

In addition, the government decree also authorized TVEL to export new nuclear fuel with uranium purity not exceeding 5 percent to India before April 12, 2026, which will be provided to nuclear power plants under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in India, in which Russia is a partner, has already commissioned units 1 and 2, and construction of another four units is underway as part of the plant’s second and third phases.

Source: Sputnik News (Russia), May 3, 2023
https://sputniknews.cn/20230503/1050025294.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Report: China’s Cost of Childrearing the Second Highest in the World

According to a recent report from Chinese think tank Yicai Research, China ranks second only to South Korea as the most expensive country in the world to raise a child. The cost of raising a child in China to the age of 18 is 6.9 times the country’s per capita GDP, which is twice the cost in Germany and three times the cost in France. China’s low birth rate and the now-abandoned one-child policy have resulted in an impending demographic crisis, with India poised to overtake China as the world’s most populous country this year.

The report recommends that China provides more support to families to improve the country’s low birth rate. The measures suggested include cash and tax subsidies, housing subsidies, increasing the number of daycare centers, offering equal maternity leave for men and women, introducing foreign nannies, promoting flexible work arrangements, protecting the reproductive rights of single women, allowing assisted reproductive technologies, and reforming the school and examination system.

A national survey conducted by the National Health and Family Planning Commission in China in 2017 found that 77.4 percent of women of childbearing age felt that the “economic burden is too heavy” is the primary reason for not wanting to have children, except for “being too old” or “having no one to take care of the child.”

Source: Deutsche Welle, May 1, 2023
https://p.dw.com/p/4QjpI

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China Implements New Conscription Regulations

China implemented a revised conscription law as of May 1. It allows for the re-enlistment of retired soldiers and for the conscription of students with high-tech training. According to experts, China’s long-term military preparation is necessary to counter the declining birth rate and prepare for a potential high-tech war. Chen Shih-min, an associate professor at National Taiwan University’s Department of Political Science, stated that manpower is one of the essential resources in warfare. China’s previous one-child policy practice and the high cost of raising children put China into a negative population growth. Facing the conscription difficulty, Beijing tried to revise the relevant laws to bring back retired soldiers. Chen added that a high-tech war requires specialized talent in the field of AI, robotics, and other high-tech areas. Also, conscription should prioritize students with such training. Overall, China is in a state of long-term military preparedness, and any military mobilization serves as a reminder for Taiwan. The Nikkei Asia report directly pointed out that the new conscription law is aimed at the Taiwan Strait conflict.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), May 2, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202305020296.aspx

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

South Korea’s Q1 Exports to China Drop by 28 Percent as Trade Cools Down Between the Two Countries

South Korea’s trade with China has shifted from a surplus to a deficit, drawing attention from various parties. According to the Chinese General Administration of Customs, in the first quarter of this year, South Korea’s exports to China were $38.2 billion, down 28.2% from the same period last year, the largest decline among its major trading partners. The report cites a Bank of Korea (BOK) report, which states that the positive effects of reopening of China’s economy are limited, and the pace of domestic demand recovery has not accelerated, particularly for durable goods such as mobile phones and cars, which have impacted South Korea’s exports.

South Korea remained the second-largest trading partner in China’s import trade for the entire year of 2022. However, in the first quarter of this year, South Korea dropped to fifth place in terms of import trade, following the United States, Taiwan, Australia, and Japan. At the same time, South Korea’s imports from China in the first quarter of this year also fell by 7.1 percent compared to the same period last year.

The BOK report suggests that South Korea’s significant decline in exports to China is largely due to the slump in semiconductor exports. Due to the global decline in semiconductor demand and a sharp drop in memory chips prices, South Korea’s overall semiconductor exports in the first quarter of this year fell by 40 percent compared to the same period last year. In particular to China, South Korea’s semiconductor exports saw a decline of 31.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022 and 44.5 percent in the first quarter of this year.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), April 30, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202304300200.aspx

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Hainan Releases Rules for Overseas Higher Education Institutions, Limiting them to STEM and Agriculture Programs

China has issued regulations allowing foreign universities and vocational schools to establish independent schools in the Hainan Free Trade Port, but only in the fields of science, engineering, agriculture, and medicine, and they must offer courses on the Chinese constitution and the country’s situation. The rules, jointly issued by the Ministry of Education and the Hainan provincial government, allow foreign institutions that have an independent legal personality to set up schools in the region. Unlike existing Sino-foreign cooperative schools, foreign universities and vocational schools are not required to collaborate with Chinese educational institutions to establish schools in the Hainan Free Trade Port. Other organizations or individuals inside and outside China can participate in education by providing resources such as land, buildings, and funds. In terms of governance, the decision-making body of the school, which includes the president of the school, the head of the party organization, and representatives of faculty and the public, is represented by the foreign higher education institution.

According to the regulations, the school should provide courses on the Chinese constitution, law, civic morality, and the country’s situation, as well as comply with China’s public welfare principles and not harm China’s national sovereignty, security, and social public interests. The regulations also require the introduction of foreign high-level education institutions with good academic reputations and high international visibility, as well as with advantages in the fields of science, engineering, agriculture, and medicine, and whose graduates have good employment quality and positive industry evaluations. The school should have Chinese Communist Party activities in accordance with relevant national regulations. The regulations went into effect on March 24, 2022.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), April 23, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202304230097.aspx

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources