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Chinese Scholar: Four Aspects of The US Global Strategy

On January 9, 2024, Xinhua News Agency hosted its 14th “Discussing World Affairs” international seminar with the theme “The Accelerating Evolution of Global Changes: Navigating China’s Diplomacy.” Wang Honggang, the Deputy Dean of the Institute of Modern International Relations of China, delivered a speech titled “Watch Out Four Aspects of the United States’ Global Strategy.” Xinhua released a 4-minutes-and-23-seconds-long video clip of his speech. Below are some translated excerpts from the speech.

“The first aspect is related to industrial policies. The Biden administration focused on the economy last year and will continue to do so this year. The U.S. economy is a hegemonic economy. Domestically, it needs to transform its industries, which means, externally, it will engage in more intense industrial competition with other countries. In the first three years, its actions were defensive, but in the fourth year, it may take more aggressive actions, such as challenging other countries’ external circulation (export) systems.

“The second change involves Russia and Ukraine, and Israel and Palestine. The U.S. politics is most afraid of being looked down by other countries. These two wars are likely to stimulate the U.S. to significantly expand its defense industry’s capacity and maybe even substantially update its military doctrine.

“The third feature is the coordination between geopolitical focal points and geopolitical hotspots. For the United States, both Eurasia and the Middle East are geopolitical hotspots, but not its geopolitical focal points. The Asia-Pacific, or the “Indo-Pacific,” is its true focus. Regarding the Northeast Asia (the Korean Peninsula) issue, the Taiwan issue, the South China Sea issue, and even the Sino-Indian relations, what strategy will the United States adopt? Will it pursue a strategy of letting it get into chaos first and then getting it under control?

“The fourth change is the cognitive warfare. With fewer resources, how can the U.S. achieve its goals? It certainly involves more covert and cost-effective operations: cognitive warfare. Through information manipulation, shaping external perceptions, disrupting opponents, and shaping favorable situations for oneself.”

Source: Xinhua, February 2, 2024
http://www.news.cn/world/20240202/6750fd70be4e462fa8821a32b318703c/c.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics US-China Relations

Xinhua: US Defense Companies Profit from Israel-Hamas War

Chinese state news outlet Xinhua published an article about how U.S. defense companies have benefited from the Israel-Hamas War.

“As of January 30th, Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip have resulted in over 26,700 deaths and more than 65,000 injuries on the Palestinian side. Additionally, around 1.9 million people have been displaced, accounting for approximately 85 percent of the total population in Gaza.

“On the other side of the world, major U.S. defense contractors released outstanding financial reports for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2023. Raytheon Technologies reported sales of nearly $20 billion in the fourth quarter, with a 10 percent increase from the same period last year. Lockheed Martin also performed exceptionally well, with net sales in the fourth quarter of 2023 far exceeding market expectations, reaching $18.9 billion, an increase of $2 billion from the previous quarter. Moreover, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and General Dynamics all indicate record levels of unfilled orders, suggesting strong growth potential in the near future.

“According to data from the US State Department, the amount of military equipment sold by the United States overseas increased by 16 percent in the 2023 fiscal year, reaching a record $238 billion.

“Behind this stark contrast lies the blood-stained profit chain of the U.S. military-industrial complex: defense contractors funding congressional members to achieve personal political goals; lawmakers approving massive military spending to reciprocate and profit; high-ranking officials at the Department of Defense providing a steady stream of arms contracts, profiting through the revolving door between politics and business. Research data shows that over the past decade, 55% of US military spending has ultimately flowed to defense contractors. A US think tank revealed that in 2022, US taxpayers paid an average of $1,087 per person for Pentagon contractors, while the average per capita tax expenditure for U.S. basic education was only $270.”

Source: Xinhua, February 1, 2024
https://app.xinhuanet.com/news/article.html?articleId=cc059649d832d8b766aad7d1bb90d631

Briefings | | |   @CS Defense/Military US-China Relations

Israel Changed from Pro-China to Anti-China During the Israel-Hamas War

Israel had a good relationship with Beijing for the past several decades. It provided many advanced technologies to China, and it seldom criticized the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for its human rights crimes. For example, Israel provided China with military drone technology and air-to-air missiles. It also shared its fighter jet IAI Lavi with China, leading to the development of China’s own J-10 fighter jet.

However, Beijing decided to take a pro-Hamas position in the Israel-Hamas War, keeping to its anti-U.S. ideology. In doing so, Beijing alienated Israel.

On January 23, when the United Nations reviewed China’s human rights record, Israel’s representative stated that the Israeli government is watching developments in Xinjiang and is monitoring the Uyghur human rights situation there. The representative called for China to take measures to improve its human rights record.

Xinhua followed up by publishing an article to counter Israel, saying that “calling attention to China’s human rights record is ridiculous and a ‘double-standard'” since Israel has been killing civilians and creating a humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip.

Source: Epoch Times, February 2, 2024
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/24/2/1/n14171594.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend

Chinese Stock Investors Vent Frustration in Comments on US Embassy Weibo Posts

The Chinese stock market has been continuously declining since mid-2023, reaching new lows as the Shanghai Composite Index fell below 2,700 points on February 2nd. Many investors who suffered heavy losses flooded the comments section on the official Weibo account of the U.S. Embassy in China, venting their frustration or imploring the United States to take over the Chinese stock market. (Weibo is a Chinese social media platform)

A large number of pleas from Chinese stock investors flooded a U.S. Embassy post titled “Science and Technology Help Researchers Protect Giraffes by Increasing Awareness”:

  • “Do you want to protect me? Giraffes are life forms, but so am I.”
  • “Anyway, (the Chinese officials) eventually will take our money (from the stock market) away and immigrate to your country. How about we give you the money directly? Otherwise they will charge us processing fee (in addition).”
  • “We know they are lying, and they know they are lying. They know we know they are lying, and we know they know we know they are lying. But they still keep lying. Can you tell me which ‘glorious era’ this description refers to?”

On the same day, a post by the U.S. embassy titled “Joint Statement on the Third Anniversary of the Military Coup in Myanmar” was flooded with messages from Chinese stock investors asking for help from the U.S.:

  • “America, please come and rescue the hundreds of millions of A-share investors in deep trouble.”
  • “Save the poor Chinese stock investors. I love America.”
  • “I beg the United States to save A-shares.”
  • “America, the Earth needs you! It desperately needs you! God bless America.”
  • “Whoever treats us well, we will love them.”
  • “I love the United States of America.”
  • “The official media doesn’t let us speak. I come here to request rescue.”
  • “Before trading stocks, I was very patriotic.”
  • “Trading stocks has brought hatred to our country. It’s also tragic.”
  • “Get rid of the China Securities Regulatory Commission!”

Source: Epoch Times, February 3, 2024
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/24/2/3/n14172430.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Economy/Resources Social Stability

People‘s Daily: Sullivan Admits that US Efforts to Change the PRC Over the Past Several Decades Have Failed

People’s Daily posted a 17-seconds video clip (with Chinese subtitle) of Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor of the United States, with title “Sullivan’s Admission: the U.S.’ Efforts to Change China over the Past Several Decades Have Failed.” In the video, Sullivan said:

“We realize that efforts, implied or explicit, to shape or change PRC (People’s Republic of China) over several decades did not succeed. We expect that PRC will be a major player on the world stage for the foreseeable future. That means that even as we compete, we have to find ways to live alongside one another.”

{Editor’s Note: The video clip seems to be from Sullivan’s long speech on the future of U.S.-China relations delivered at the Brookings Institution on January 30, 2024. A transcript of the entire speech is available here.}

Sources:
1. People’s Daily, February 2, 2024
http://world.people.com.cn/n1/2024/0202/c1002-40172130.html
2. White House, January 30, 2024
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/01/30/remarks-and-qa-by-national-security-advisor-jake-sullivan-on-the-future-of-u-s-china-relations/

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Retired Military Leaders Saluted Zhang Youxia But Not Xi Jinping

The Chinese Communist Party’s Central Military Commission (CMC, 中共军委) held a cultural performance on January 29 for the retired military leaders who are in Beijing. Xi Jinping led CMC members including Zhang Youxia, He Weidong, Liu Zhenli, Miao Hua, and Zhang Shengmin to attend the event.

The China Central Television’s (CCTV’s) video revealed that, when Xi waved to the retired military leaders, only one saluted him. But those retired military leaders saluted the CMC’s Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia. Zhang also responded back with salutes frequently. CCTV quickly removed this scene.

In CCTV footage from previous years, Xi would enter the venue, shake hands one by one with the retired military leaders in the front row, and many retired military leaders in casual attire would salute him before shaking hands. This year, however, Xi did not shake hands with the retired military leaders; instead, he waved from a distance. Speculation from the public suggests that this change might have been due to the ongoing COVID pandemic.

Source: NTDTV, February 1, 2024
https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2024/02/01/a103848268.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military Government/Politics

Artistically Shaping China’s Image Based on Three Principles

The China Social Science website posted a theoretical article, suggesting that “a beautiful and artistic image of China, organically integrated with profound Chinese wisdom, can better fulfill Beijing’s mission to be a great nation.” The article listed three “cultural principles” by which to craft an artistic image of China:

  • Values: “The image of Chinese people should be trustworthy and sincere.” This image not only comes from the traditional Chinese culture, but also from “the communist revolutionary cultural values and advanced socialist cultural values.”
  • Ethics: “China has developed an ethical concept that ‘family and home country are integrated as one.'” “Patriotism becomes the fundamental political and ethical spirit, giving rise to the individual ideal that one should ‘cultivate oneself, harmonize the family, govern the country, and settle the world.'”
  • History: “Chinese culture is diversified because the vast Chinese territory comprises multiple geographical units, leading to diverse economic forms and nurturing different cultures.”

Source: China Social Science, January 19, 2024
https://www.cssn.cn/skgz/bwyc/202401/t20240119_5729627.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Government/Politics

Xinhua: China Unveils “Thousand Groups Going Abroad” Initiative, Aiming to Boost Overseas Trade

As China’s exports continue to decline, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) announced a new initiative this year called “Thousand Groups Going Abroad.” The plan is to organize over 1,000 batches of business delegations to participate in overseas exhibitions, inspections, and negotiations, aiming to secure export orders and expand China’s overseas markets. The initiative will target China’s key export markets such as the Europe Union, the U.S., Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, and Latin America.

China organized approximately 900 overseas exhibitions in 2023.

Source: Xinhua, January 15, 2024
https://app.xinhuanet.com/news/article.html?articleId=a2b554b08f23afaff0f499798e1b9f74

Briefings | | |   @CS Economy/Resources Government/Politics