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U.S. Claims Chinese-Made Ammunition Used at Ukrainian Battlefield

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that, at a press conference, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry,  addressed a question on Chinese ammunition used in Ukraine. A reporter asked, “According to reports, a U.S. government source said that it had been confirmed that Chinese-made ammunition has been used at the Ukrainian battlefield many times. It may have been fired by the Russian army. Once confirmed, the US side will be ready to take action. The United States has notified its partner countries of the relevant information. What is China’s comment on this matter?” Wang responded, “China has always stood on the side of peace, dialogue and historical correctness, and will continue to play a constructive role in the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.” He emphasized that it is not China that provides weapons to the Ukrainian battlefield, but the U.S. The United States should stop fanning the flames and pointing fingers at other countries. Instead, the U.S. should play a constructive role in resolving the Ukrainian crisis politically, not the other way around. (Chinascope notes: According to a Kyodo News’ March 18 report, the United States found that a large amount of Chinese ammunition was suspected to have been used on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield. It was a/so suspected that the ammunition was fired by the Russian army. After the U.S. government analyzed the ammunition and other factors, it has been determined that China produced some of the ammunition, but the specific model of the ammunition has not been disclosed.)

Source: Sina, March 20, 2023
https://news.sina.cn/2023-03-20/detail-imympcpw3413218.d.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

Global Times: Taiwan’s Chip Exports to the Mainland and HK Fell for Four Consecutive Months

Global Times recently reported that, in February, under the influence of the international political and economic situation, Taiwan’s exports of integrated circuit chips to the Mainland and Hong Kong fell for the fourth consecutive month. According to data from Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance, the exports fell by 31.3 percent in February year-over-year. This was the most serious decline since 2009, surpassing the 27.1 percent drop in January this year. China’s market share of Taiwan’s chip exports fell to its lowest level since February 2019. Meanwhile, total semiconductor shipments from Taiwan to the world  fell 17.3 percent in February from a year ago.

In the meantime, Singapore’s primary Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao also reported on this matter. However, Taiwan’s statistics also showed that, in February, its exports to the United States jumped 22.3 percent. Taiwan is the world’s largest producer of high-end chips, but Taiwan’s status as a geopolitical hotspot contributed to the decline of its global chip exports. Mainland China has been seeking to increase its self-sufficiency in semiconductor technology, countering U.S. sanctions. The Biden administration reached an agreement with the Netherlands and Japan in January to limit the export of some advanced chip-making machines to China.

Sources:
(1) Global Times, March 20, 2023
https://m.huanqiu.com/article/4CA2kkoaqS5

(2) Lianhe Zaobao, March 20, 2023
https://www.kzaobao.com/guping/20230320/135497.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend

Beijing Interfered in the Canadian 2022 Local Election

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) reported that, last year, China’s Vancouver Consulate interfered in the election of Vancouver’s mayor and the election of its city council .

A CSIS report on January 10, 2022, summarized that Tong Xiaoling, then China’s Consul-General, discussed how to “groom” the Chinese diasporas to get political positions in order to advance Beijing’s interests. In the middle of November 2021, Tong said they needed to try all of their efforts to increase the minority’s vote ratio. She stressed this was necessary because candidates would rely on those votes (to be elected). Tong also expressed that they needed to get a specific person (Tong had her eyes on who to select, but the CSIS report didn’t disclose his name) to enter the Vancouver city council.

It appeared that the CCP had also interfered in the election of Vancouver’s mayor. After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sanctioned Member of Parliament Michael Chong for criticizing Beijing, then Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart cancelled his meeting with the CCP diplomats and strengthened ties with Taiwan. Both Tong and the Chinese language media criticized Kennedy. Some Chinese language media called him the “Cold War Mayor.” In the  election for mayor, Kennedy lost to Chinese diaspora candidate Ken Sim by a small margin – 37,000 votes.

Source: Epoch Times, March 16, 2023
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/3/16/n13951845.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

Ecuador’s Former President Accused of Accepting the CCP’s Bribes

Lenin Moreno, who was the President of Ecuador until he was succeeded by the incumbent on May 24, 2021,  was sued by prosecutors on March 5 for accepting bribes amounting to US $76 million from China’s state-owned enterprise Sinohydro between 2009 and 2018. The government of Ecuador contracted Sinohydro to build the Coca Codo Sinclair Dam under China’s “Belt & Road Initiative.” Construction started in 2010 and the dam was put in use in 2016. However, by 2018, 7,648 large and small cracks had been identified on the dam’s wall.

Source: Aboluo, March 8, 2023
https://www.aboluowang.com/2023/0308/1875096.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend

European Media Expose “Loyalty Contracts” for Chinese Students Studying Abroad

A joint investigation by Deutsche Welle and the German media outlet CORRECTIV reported that Chinese students studying in Germany are being closely monitored by the Chinese authorities. Those who receive scholarships from the China Scholarship Council (CSC) are required to sign an agreement and report to the Chinese embassy. Those who violate the agreement will be punished. According to the report, several German universities have already established cooperation with the CSC, and one Chinese student who signed the agreement said he was afraid to participate in demonstrations in Germany, while other Chinese students also expressed fear of surveillance by the Chinese authorities.

The China Scholarship Council is a unit directly under the administration of the Chinese Ministry of Education and is responsible for organizing, funding and managing Chinese citizens studying abroad and foreign citizens studying in China. The majority of Chinese students currently studying abroad with government support are receiving  scholarships provided by the CSC, which covers the study and living expenses of Chinese students admitted to overseas universities. Overseas institutions that cooperate with the CSC accept Chinese students with government scholarships, and all costs are covered by the Chinese side, without taking away from the foreign school’s own research funds. Therefore, this kind of cooperation is welcomed by overseas institutions, and some of them even provide special quotas for Chinese students with government scholarships. In recent years, the students with government scholarships have tended to be in the fields of science and technology, and some European institutions have found that some Chinese students have military backgrounds, which has increased the suspicion that European countries have toward Chinese students.

Besides Germany, countries such as Sweden have also discovered agreements between Chinese students and the CSC, and some universities have even terminated their cooperation agreements with China as a result. The agreements signed between the students and the Chinese authorities mainly stipulate that the students must return to China to serve for two years after graduation, that the scholarship recipients must have two Chinese citizens as guarantors, that the guarantors who are permanent residents of China should take a single trip abroad not exceeding three months, and that the spouse should not act as a guarantor. If the scholar violates the agreement, the guarantors are jointly and severally liable.

The agreement also stipulates that, during the period of study, the signatory “shall not engage in any activities detrimental to the interests and security of the motherland,” “shall obey the guidance and management of the embassy or consulate abroad during the period of study,” and “shall report regularly on the progress of study and research.” The agreement is not terminated until the signatory returns to China after two years of service.

The agreement requires the scholar not to interrupt his or her studies without cause, or the sponsor, who lives in China, will be liable for the compensation. The agreement came to light earlier this year when a Chinese student at Lund University in Sweden was advised to discontinue his studies due to poor academic performance. The student was concerned that discontinuing his studies would cause his family trouble because of the agreement he had signed with the Chinese authorities. Following reports in the Swedish media, leading universities such as Lund University and Uppsala University in Sweden said that, following reports in the Swedish media, in the future they would stop cooperating with the CSC.

Source: Voice of America, March 18, 2023
https://www.voachinese.com/a/agreement-of-loyalty-exposed-20230318/7011347.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China’s Local Government Finances Are under Severe Pressure

Statistics from China’s Ministry of Finance show that from January through February of this year, the public budget revenue of local governments was RMB 2.38 trillion, an annual growth rate of only 2 percent; national tax revenue decreased compared to the same period last year. Revenue from the sale of state-owned land use rights was 562.7 billion yuan, down 29 percent from the same period last year.

A professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics said that local governments have been in financial trouble for a long time and that the three-year epidemic has deepened the crisis. The economic slowdown has reduced local government revenues and property market adjustments have caused a sharp decline in local government finances. Some local governments are in financial distress.

This year’s central government work report mentioned that, “Some grassroots governments have large deficits.” The budget report emphasized the requirements of living a tight life and keeping a firm grip on budget management, asset allocation, and government procurement.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), March 21, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202303210283.aspx

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Official Media on Xi Jinping’s Visit to Russia: China Should Say Four “Don’ts” to the West

During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia, the official Xinhua News Agency published a commentary saying that Western countries were worried about the Chinese leader’s trip to Russia and that China needed to say four “don’ts” to the U.S. and the West.

“Don’t make irresponsible remarks about the normal interactions between sovereign states.” The article said, “Friendship and cooperation between China and Russia are growing. Since 2013, the top leaders of China and Russia have met 40 times; Chinese leaders have visited Russia eight times. Whether the United States and the West like it or not, whether there is a crisis in Ukraine or not, normal contacts between the two countries should not be interrupted.”

“Don’t compare China-Russia relations with those between small groups of U.S. allies.” He added, “The U.S. is stuck in the Cold War mentality, drawing in one faction and isolating the other, forming various alliances and coterie. China and Russia,however, are not allies. It makes no sense for the U.S. and the West to tie China and Russia together at every turn.”

“Don’t undermine China’s efforts to promote peace talks on Ukraine.” The article boasted, “China has recently brokered a successful resumption of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, two of the Middle East’s oldest enemies. This has drawn waves of praise from the international community and made the United States envious and jealous. It is now worried that the Ukraine issue will be turned around in the same way.”

“Stop using the Ukraine crisis as an excuse to attack and sanction China. The writer criticized, “The U.S. has the military, financial and technological hegemony to slander and oppress China. The Russia-Ukraine conflict is another ‘China containment card’ in the hands of the U.S., which links China and Russia and labels them as authoritarian states and an axis of evil in an attempt to tarnish China’s image. The U.S. has also sanctioned some Chinese companies for suspected support of terrorism.”

Source: Central News Agency, March 21, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202303210125.aspx

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Chinese Peasant Retirees Receive $324 a year as Pension

A posting about a Chinese peasant’s income has been spreading widely over the Internet. The author said that her mother-in-law, a migrant worker (a peasant who came to the city to work) in Chengdu City, Chongqing Province, where she has been since 2005, receives a pension of107 yuan (US$16) each month. However, only one single grocery shopping trip (she avoided the expensive items) had cost her 110 yuan. She was not the worst though. The author’s mother, a peasant in Henan Province, received only 240 yuan (US$35) pension – in the whole year.

With such a small amount of money, medical treatment is nothing but a remote concept. After a villager was diagnosed with cancer at a county’s hospital, he ended his life by drinking pesticides. He didn’t bother with a re-check at a provincial level hospital (which has better medical resources and whose diagnosis could be more reliable), because the travel expense (to the city) was too high.

In another report, the Yicai Media Group reported that the average pension for peasants in China is 188 yuan ($27) per month, which is only 5.26 percent of the pension for urban employee retirees (3,577 yuan per month). The communist regime in China has long treated peasants as second class citizens and provided them with inferior services as compared with the city dwellers.

Though China defined the male retirement age as 60 and female as 50 or 55 depending on their work type, 510 million, or one-third of the young elderly (people of Age 60-69) are still working. Based on the statistics of the young elderly, they accounted for 6.8 percent of the worker population in China in the “China’s Census – 2020” report. Among them, 62.44 percent are working in the agricultural fields.

Source:
1. Secret China, March 17, 2023
https://www.secretchina.com/news/gb/2023/03/17/1031202.html
2. Sina, March 17, 2023
https://finance.sina.cn/chanjing/gdxw/2023-03-17/detail-imymayim4479732.d.html?oid=3819239134138970&vt=4&cid=79649&node_id=79649

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources