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CNA: U.S. and Singapore Held Strategic Dialogue again after Six Years

Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that the United States and Singapore just held a Strategic Partnership Dialogue in Washington to discuss a number of bilateral and regional issues. The joint statement of the two sides after the meeting included the issue of the Taiwan Strait for the first time. The United States reiterated that the differences in the Taiwan Strait must be resolved peacefully and Singapore emphasized the importance  of stabilizing the relationship between the United States and China. The dialogue touched on a number of issues related to bilateral cooperation, including economics and trade, defense, security, and more. The two parties also discussed many regional issues, including tensions in the Taiwan Strait, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the situation in Myanmar. The U.S. emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, called for the peaceful resolution of cross-strait differences, and expressed its opposition to any unilateral changes to the status quo. Singapore stated that stable U.S.-China relations are critical to regional and global peace, stability and prosperity and that the U.S. and China should maintain open channels of communication to reduce the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculation. The first U.S.-Singapore Strategic Partnership Dialogue was held in 2012. It was held for three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016. It was suspended for many years and was not resumed until this year. This is the first time that the two sides have made a joint statement after the strategic dialogue on the Taiwan Strait issue. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited Washington in March for bilateral talks with U.S. President Joe Biden. The joint statement issued by the two sides at that time only emphasized the importance of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and encouraged the peaceful settlement of disputes, without mentioning Taiwan or the Taiwan Strait.

Source: CNA, October 26, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aopl/202210260040.aspx

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

How Did the 20th Party Congress Pick the Central Committee Members?

Radio Free Asia published an article by Cheng Xiaonong, a Chinese political commentator, on how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) selected its Central Committee members for the 20th Party Congress.

Xi Jinping started planning the candidate selection work at the end of 2020. Three months later, Xi held a Politburo Standing Committee meeting and a Politburo meeting to  launch the 20th Party Congress Cadres Evaluation Leading Group officially, with him the head of the group. Xi allocated quotas to each province and ministry.

The CCP Central Organization Department started the cadres evaluations in July 2021. It sent out 45 evaluation teams, in three batches, to 31 provinces, 124 central and state apparatuses and state-owned enterprises. The Central Military Commission also sent eight evaluation teams to 25 central units and theaters.

The evaluation results were presented to the Politburo for review. Xi called six politburo standing committee hearings on the evaluation report. In the end, Xi made the call on candidates.

The list was finalized at the CCP politburo standing committee on September 7. The vote had two steps. First, a 222-member list was given to the 20th Congress representatives to vote for 205 positions. Second, the representatives were given a 205-member list to vote for 205 members.

It is not very clear whether the ballot would still be valid if someone wrote any name on it that was outside the “official” list, but that “off the list” candidate for surely wouldn’t be elected.

Source: Radio Free Asia, October 28, 2022
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/pinglun/chengxiaonong/cxn-10282022121015.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Consulate Calls for Essays on CCP’s Congress from Princeton’s Chinese Students

An anonymous Chinese student at Princeton University told Radio Free Asia that the Association of Chinese Students and Scholars at Princeton University (ACSSPU) had posted a notice on its WeChat group that the Chinese Consulate in New York issued a call for essays from these students. The Consulate organized an essay contest to “welcome the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).” It asked the Princeton students to write a 1000-word essay on their study of the CCP Congress, incorporating their overseas experiences.

According to the screenshot provided by the source, the sender of the essay contest message is Wu Yu. The ACSSPU’s official website hosted the notice on Princeton’s website. Wu Yu is the organization’s Director of Propaganda.

Teng Biao, a law scholar and adjunct professor at the City University of New York, said in an interview with RFA that, in addition to diplomacy, Chinese embassies and consulates have a very important role to play, which is to infiltrate and conduct overseas propaganda. The Chinese Students and Scholars Association receives money from the embassies and consulates in cooperation with the CCP’s United Front work. “The United States has laws targeting these agents. We have been calling for these Chinese Students and Scholars Associations to be declared as foreign agents of the Chinese Communist Party.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, October 24, 2022
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/us-article-10242022112043.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Lianhe Zaobao: U.S. Plans to Ban All Huawei and ZTE Equipment from New U.S. Sales

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that an internal document revealed the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plans to ban approval of new U.S. communications equipment using products from Chinese communications equipment companies Huawei and ZTE. The report cited national security grounds. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel issued the proposed ban to three other commissioners last week for final approval. The ban stipulates that neither Huawei nor ZTE can sell new equipment in the United States without authorization from the U.S. government. Rosenworcel said in a statement that the FCC remains committed to protecting national security by ensuring untrustworthy communications equipment is not authorized for use within the United States. This is the first time the US FCC has banned the sale of electronic devices on national security grounds. The FCC had earlier banned U.S. companies from using federal funds to buy equipment from those companies, but the new order will extend that ban to all purchases. The FCC rules would also explicitly prohibit the sale of video surveillance equipment for public safety in the United States. This will affect U.S. sales by Chinese companies Hydra Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision and Dahua Technology. However, the rule is not retroactive, meaning U.S. companies can still sell FCC-approved Chinese communications equipment. The Chinese embassy in the U.S. earlier this year criticized the FCC for “abusing state power” and again for “maliciously attacking” Chinese telecom operators without a factual basis.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, October 14, 2022
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20221014-1322739

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

The Paper: Indian Nuclear Submarine Successfully Fired a Missile for the First Time

Well-known new Chinese news site The Paper recently reported that India has successfully launched a ballistic missile from its first domestically produced Destroyer-class nuclear submarine, hitting a target area in the Bay of Bengal with very high accuracy. This shows that the India’s nuclear submarine officially has the ability to launch ballistic missiles from a submerged state. India has become the sixth country in the world after the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom to have nuclear strike and counterattack capabilities on land and from the sea and air, enhancing its “trinity” nuclear deterrence capability, while also bringing more instability to the already-complex situation in South Asia. As an important platform for sea-based nuclear forces, nuclear submarines have the advantages of self-sufficiency, endurance, and high raid power. They can stay away from bases and go deep into enemy-controlled areas for long-term patrol and for surveillance activities, which can effectively make up for the lack of range of submarine-launched ballistic missiles. However, India currently has only one strategic nuclear submarine capable of using submarine-launched ballistic missiles. It also has the lowest number of missiles in the world. According to the plan of the Indian Navy, five nuclear submarines are part of its strategic plan. The sea-based nuclear force has always been a weak link in the construction of India’s nuclear force system. This is a major technical challenge for India due to the high technical reserve required to launch missiles from nuclear submarines. This recent success shows that India has made significant progress in the construction of sea-based nuclear forces. However, the number, technical level and range of missiles that are among India’s strategic nuclear submarines are far behind those of the world’s leading nuclear powers.

Source: The Paper, October 22, 2022
https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_20396208

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Apple Suspended Adoption of Chinese Flash Memory Chips

Well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) recently reported that Apple appears to have suspended plans to use YMTC (Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., Ltd.) flash memory chips in its products. Apple had previously confirmed that it was testing NAND Flash chips imported from China’s YMTC in iPhones. Apple’s decision came after the U.S. government imposed a new round of export controls on Mainland China’s tech industry on October 7. Multiple sources said Apple had completed a months-long certification for longevity before the U.S. government announced it would impose stricter export restrictions. Earlier, Apple noted that it did not consider the use of Yangtze memory chips in phones sold outside of China, and said all user data stored on the flash memory chips used by the company was “fully encrypted.” At present, YMTC is the largest domestic NAND Flash supplier in China, and its mass-produced 128-layer NAND Flash chips are also China’s most advanced NAND Flash chips. Apple initially planned to use YMTC NAND Flash chips starting this year because its chips are at least 20 percent cheaper than those from other major rivals, A source from a top supply chain executive said that the reason for Apple’s suspension of the plan to adopt YMTC chips this time was that YMTC actively proposed to Apple to “exit Apple’s supply chain.” It is because it does not want to continue to stimulate the sensitive nerves of the United States at this sensitive time.

Source: NetEase, October 17, 2022
https://www.163.com/dy/article/HJT1F7040511838M.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

China Places Airplane Order with Airbus Despite Big Airline Losses

After ordering 292 Airbus planes in July, China added another 40 planes in September, making the order total 332 planes for US $42.1 billion. The orders were placed by China Southern Airlines, Air China, and China Eastern Airlines.

However, China’s civil aviation industry has accumulated a loss of nearly 300 billion yuan (US $41 billion) since the COVID pandemic, with a loss of 108.9 billion yuan (US $15 billion) in the first half of this year alone. There are 12 Chinese airlines whose total assets are lower than their total debts.

The ordered Airbus planes are the A320NEO series plane, a narrow-body mainline airliner. China has manufactured its own narrow-body mainline airliner, the C919, and started selling it overseas.

Source: Epoch Times, October 15, 2022
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/10/15/n13846316.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend

Concerns about Using China-made Security Scanning Equipment in Strasbourg, France

Three members of the European Parliament, Bart Groothuis, Nathalie Loiseau, and Reinhard Bütikofer, sent a letter to Strasbourg, France regarding the use of China-made baggage scanning equipment at the Strabourg airport. They asked for an independent investigation to see if the technology of the manufacturer Nuctech  caused spy risk. Groothuis also expressed concern that the airport may have to rely on a Chinese company for innovation, maintenance, and technical support.

Nuctech is a partially state-owned security inspection products company in China. Its products include X-ray scanning materials and sensors for use at ports and airports. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) put China on its blacklist in 2020.

The Strasbourg Airport signed a contract with French distributor DETEKT’IN in early October, in which DETEKT’IN will supply and maintain Nuctech’s equipment at the airport.

Some other French airports, such as Bordeaux, have already used Nuctech’s equipment.

Source: Epoch Times, October 15, 2022
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/10/15/n13846264.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend