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China’s Three Major Airlines Sign Contract to Buy Chinese-Made C919 Planes

China is building and promoting a domestically-manufactured commercial airplane, the C919.

On April 29, 2024, China Southern Airlines signed a purchase agreement with Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) to buy 100 C919 aircraft, with deliveries scheduled from 2024 to 2031. Air China signed an agreement on April 26, 2024 for 100 C919 aircraft, with deliveries also scheduled from 2024 to 2031. China Eastern Airlines was the first airline to order C919 planes. It placed an order for 5 aircraft in 2021 and another order for 100 aircraft in September 2023.

Source: Xinhua, May 1, 2024
http://www.news.cn/20240501/94f7e635c5ef4f2eadd721536911f9e2/c.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

People’s Daily: Growing Trade and Transport Links between China and Latin America

“Chilean salmon, Ecuadorian white shrimp, Peruvian blueberries, Argentine beef, coffee from Brazil and Colombia, …, are becoming common treats on Chinese dining tables,” reported People’s Daily.

The newspaper accredited the new development in Chinese culinary fare to the increasing maturity of transport routes linking China and Latin American countries. Sea freight routes between China and Latin America are mature, reported the article, covering most of the important ports in Latin American countries. Air freight routes have developed rapidly over the past five years, mainly in the two major Latin American cargo distribution centers in Mexico City, Mexico, and São Paulo, Brazil.

From 2000 to 2022, the total trade volume of goods between China and Latin America increased by a factor of 35, while the trade volume between Latin America and other parts of the world only increased by a factor of 4 during the same period. China remains the second largest trading partner of the Latin American region as well as the largest trading partner of several Latin American countries including Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay.

Source: People’s Daily, May 2, 2024
http://world.people.com.cn/n1/2024/0502/c1002-40227962.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson on Fatah and Hamas Dialogue in Beijing

At the routine Chinese Foreign Ministry press conference on April 30, a reporter asked: “It is reported that recently, the two factions of Fatah and Hamas in Palestine held consultations in Beijing on internal reconciliation. Could the spokesperson provide some detailed information?”

Lin Jian, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, answered: At China’s invitation, representatives of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) came to Beijing for consultations, engaging in in-depth and candid dialogue on promoting internal reconciliation in Palestine. Both sides fully expressed their political willingness to achieve reconciliation through dialogue and consultation. They discussed various specific issues and made positive progress, unanimously agreeing to continue the dialogue process, striving to achieve Palestinian unity at an early date. Both sides highly appreciated China’s firm support for the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights, thanked China for its efforts to strengthen internal unity in Palestine, and reached consensus on the next steps of the dialogue.

Source: Xinhua, April 30, 2024
http://www.news.cn/world/20240430/bfde49d416f24425ac17ef41a188b193/c.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

Xinhua: Establishment of Nationwide Party Committee Social Work Departments Completed

The Chinese Communist Party established a “Social Work Department” at the 20th National Party Congress. Xinhua News Agency reported that a “Conference of National Party Social Work Department Heads” was held in Beijing on February 22. According to the meeting’s announcement, all provinces have established “Party Committee’s Social Work Departments” and have begun to comprehensively fulfill their responsibilities.

A major responsibility of the Social Work Department is to “lead Party development at the grassroots governance level.” In 2024, “national social work” activities will focus on “developing and enhancing the grassroots-level governance.” It will also “ensure the Party’s comprehensive leadership over industry associations and chambers of commerce, and strengthen the Party work at national industry associations and chambers of commerce.” The plan is to make “solid progress on Party development in mixed-ownership enterprises, private enterprises, new economic organizations, new social organizations, and new employment groups,” and also to “improve the volunteer service system.”

Source: Xinhua, February 22, 2024
http://www.news.cn/politics/20240222/c7ec36396b7740acaaa8b3df2d356452/c.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xinhua: China’s E-commerce Platforms Expanding Rapidly Overseas

Xinhua News Agency reported rapid growth in the “going global” trend of China’s e-commerce platforms. This includes the B2B model of Alibaba International or the B2C models of AliExpress, Temu, and TikTok Shop. According to data from China’s Ministry of Commerce, the imports and exports for China’s e-commerce platforms reached 2.38 trillion Yuan (US$ 330 billion) in 2023, an increase of 15.6 percent from the previous year. Exports, specifically, amounted to 1.83 trillion Yuan, an increase of 19.6 percent year-over-year.

Take Japan as an example. Since its launch [in Japan] in July of 2023, Temu has seen its number of users grow at a rate of 2.2 million per month. In January 2024, its number of users in Japan reached 15.5 million, 52 percent of the combined average of the three major e-commerce platforms in Japan — Amazon, Rakuten Market, and Yahoo! Shopping — which is 29.7 million. The number of users on the clothing e-commerce platform SHEIN has also surpassed that of the well-known Japanese clothing e-commerce platform ZOZOTOWN. TikTok, with its millions of users in Japan, may soon become a big player in the e-commerce field as well.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the latest data released by South Korea’s statistical department shows that, in 2023, imports from China’s e-commerce platforms surged by 121.2 percent year-over-year. For the first time, China surpassed the United States to become South Korea’s largest source of e-commerce imports.

Source: Xinhua, February 23, 2024
http://www.xinhuanet.com/20240223/d2eff099b86441ba8f7f6f45377ef0bd/c.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China Takes Steps to Promote Used Car Exports

To promote used car exports, China’s Ministry of Commerce and four other departments jointly issued a notice on February 5 regarding matters related to the export of used cars. On February 7, they released a “Notice on Further Improving the Practice of Used Car Exports” (the “Notice”), to implement used car export businesses in 10 pilot cities nationwide.

The Notice encourages localities to establish used car export bases, achieving efficient results by integrating functions such as showrooms, handling of transactions, maintenance, inspection and certification, customs clearance, support for exports, warehousing, logistics, and financial services. As after-sales service is the biggest challenge for the used car dealers, the Notice directed companies to establish overseas maintenance service systems through self-construction, resource sharing, or multi-channel cooperation. This means setting up additional after-sales service outlets overseas and ensuring a supply of spare parts through multiple channels. It supports automotive companies further expanding their international marketing networks and fully leveraging brand and channel advantages. It also encourages companies to establish public showroom and sales centers and overseas warehouses in key markets.

China’s customs data shows that the volume of China’s used car exports has repeatedly reached new highs since the used car export pilot launched in 2019. In 2021, China exported 15,000 used cars. This figure soared to 69,000 in 2022. As of 2023, used Chinese cars have been sold in more than 140 countries and regions worldwide. The main markets are the five Central Asian countries, Africa, and some Southeast Asian countries. Since 2022, Russia has also become an important market. Now, the Western and Eastern Europe markets are increasing significantly due to energy shortages; a considerable portion of the used cars exported from China are electric vehicles.

Source: Xinhua, February 27, 2024
http://www.xinhuanet.com/auto/20240227/bee6287a6d464b1faaf7b7cfd04fb1fa/c.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China’s Central Banker: China Will Continue Promoting Currency Swaps with Other Countries

On March 27th, at the 2024 Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference, Pan Gongsheng, Governor of the People’s Bank of China, stated that the People’s Bank of China will continue to promote currency swaps and currency cooperation with Asian economies to maintain regional financial stability.

Currency swap agreements can not only promote the use of a country’s own currency in partner countries, but can also enable reduced reliance on the US dollar. China has signed agreements with ASEAN member states, Japan, and South Korea under the Chiang Mai Initiative. “Currently, the bilateral currency swap scale within ASEAN and the ASEAN+3 (China, Japan, South Korea) framework has exceeded 380 billion US dollars,” said Pan.

According to Pan, the People’s Bank of China has signed bilateral currency swap agreements with central banks or monetary authorities from 29 countries and regions, with a total currency swap scale exceeding 4 trillion Yuan (US$ 553.49 billion).

Source: VOA, March 27, 2024
https://www.voachinese.com/a/pboc-chief-seeks-to-deepen-currency-ties-with-asian-economies-20240327/7545500.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Government/Politics

Chinese Military Attaché Tails Taiwanese Vice President-Elect in Czechia

Several vehicles followed Taiwanese Vice President-elect Ms. Hsiao Bi-khim during a visit to Prague in March. A Chinese Military Attaché, holding a diplomatic passport and working for the military department of the Chinese Embassy in Prague, was driving one of the vehicles. The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs is reportedly “handling” the matter, which is “not yet resolved;” the Czech government has summoned the Chinese ambassador and is considering designating the individual involved as persona non grata, potentially leading to his expulsion from the country.

Czech media outlet Seznam Zpravy reported that several vehicles were seen following Hsiao’s police motorcade when she arrived in the Prague city center. At an intersection, one of the trailing vehicles ran a red light, almost crashing into her convoy. The Czech police stopped the vehicle and found that the driver held a diplomatic passport of the People’s Republic of China. He worked for the military department of the Chinese Embassy in Prague. The Chinese military diplomat denied that he had been following Ms. Hsiao, claiming that he was just going to a nearby Chinese restaurant for a meal. Nevertheless, reports pointed out that the car had been following her all the way to her hotel.

Ms. Hsiao Bi-khim’s visit to Prague was part of a tour of the Czech Republic, Poland, and Lithuania in March.

Source: China Times (Taiwan), April 6, 2024
https://www.chinatimes.com/cn/realtimenews/20240406000948-260408

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend