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Global Times: Alert! Japan Clamors to Use Electromagnetic Guns to Intercept Hypersonic Weapons

Global Times, an English-language Chinese newspaper under People’s Daily recently reported that Japan is working on electromagnetic railgun technology to counter hypersonic missiles. This is because Japan is eager to deal with hypersonic weapons from China, Russia, and North Korea. The country has emphasized the need to strengthen deterrence against China. However, while Japan is exaggerating the threat of hypersonic weapons from other countries and making excuses for its own military spending, Japan is also actively developing offensive weapons including hypersonic missiles. Japan’s Defense Ministry is working on rail-gun technology that can fire artillery shells through electromagnetic acceleration, which means they can be fired faster than conventional interceptor systems and can fire continuously. Along with long-range missiles, this next-generation weapon system will provide Japan with multiple layers of interception capabilities. Hypersonic weapons typically travel at more than five times the speed of sound. In November last year, the Financial Times reported that, in August 2021, China conducted a test of a hypersonic weapon saying that the weapon could launch missiles during flight. North Korea also claimed to have conducted a new test of its Hwasong-8 hypersonic missile in September last year. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously stated that, in 2022, Russia plans to deploy hypersonic cruise missiles.  Japanese policymakers see hypersonic weapons as the next generation of military weapons and believe Japan must immediately strengthen its deterrent capabilities, especially against China.

Source: Global Times, January 5, 2022
https://mil.huanqiu.com/article/46H3xOyIBJS

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend

Global Times Editorial: Washington Set a Fire in the Ukraine; Now the U.S. Should Put it Out

Below is an excerpt from an editorial article that was in China’s state-run media, Global Times::

“U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Nuland revealed at a press conference on (January) 27 that “We are calling on Beijing to use its influence over Moscow” to resolve the Ukraine crisis through diplomatic means.

“Obviously, Washington is trying to create such an impression to influence public opinion. The United States is working very hard to ease the crisis and then kick the ball to Russia and China. The United States is making itself seem like a good person, but it is shifting the responsibility to China and Russia. Washington lit a fire in the Ukraine, posing as a victim, fantasizing that Beijing could ‘persuade’ Moscow to put it out. It must be pointed out that this is a kind of public opinion smoke bomb reversing the cause and the result.

“The root cause of the Ukraine problem is that the United States unrestrainedly promotes NATO’s eastward expansion, forcing Russia into a corner where there is no way to retreat. Washington is the initiator of the crisis. The U.S. hopes that China will come forward to ‘persuade’ Russia. Actually it is hoping that China will persuade Russia to make concessions to the U.S. in order to realize a ‘perfect solution’ which is what the U.S. would like to have. That is, Russia should unconditionally cooperate with the U.S.’s insatiable desires in geopolitical terms. What an absurd logic this is.

“Not only Ukraine, but many major regional crises in recent years have had their roots in Washington, such as the North Korean nuclear crisis, the Iranian nuclear issue, and the chaos caused by the withdrawal of the U.S. military from Afghanistan last year. The United States messed up a region, and finally found that it could not clean up the situation, so it wanted to pull in other countries to pay for it together. Over the years, Washington has wanted China to coordinate in the resolution of almost all major international crises. On the one hand, it is doing its utmost to suppress China, and on the other hand, it looks to China for help. The same is true this time.

“To solve the Ukrainian crisis, if we really need to ‘persuade’ someone, we would like to persuade Washington to give up this zero-sum game and the Cold War mentality as soon as possible and you should put out the fire that you set yourself using the right way.”

Source: Global Times, January 28, 2022
https://opinion.huanqiu.com/article/46aeRs2BVArW

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Global Times: EU Says It Has Sued China in the WTO

Global Times recently reported that the European Union’s (EU’s) Trade Commissioner, Dombrowski, issued a statement, saying that the EU has filed a lawsuit with the WTO over China’s discriminatory trade practices against EU member Lithuania. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian later responded that China has always acted in accordance with WTO rules. Zhao reminded the EU to distinguish right from wrong and to be wary of Lithuania’s attempt to kidnap China-EU relations. He added, “Lithuania, like other EU member states, should fulfill the political commitments made when establishing diplomatic relations with China.” Some observers expressed the belief that the WTO ruling process is extremely long and that the probability of Lithuania winning is close to zero. Dombrowski said that, since December 1, 2021, Chinese customs has banned the import of Lithuanian products. Also Chinese companies are canceling orders from Lithuania and reducing exports to Lithuania. In addition, China is encouraging multinational companies to ditch the use of Lithuanian components in their production. Otherwise they could face import restrictions. Dombrowski said, “Initiating WTO litigation is not a step we take lightly. However, after many unsuccessful attempts to resolve the issue bilaterally, we believe there is no other way but to request WTO dispute settlement.” The Lithuanian government expressed its gratitude to the European Union on the 27th. “The WTO proceedings will be very long, but this will provide important answers to the question of whether China’s actions are in line with international trade rules,” said Lithuania’s President Nauseda. Lithuania Foreign Minister Landsbergis said the EU’s move “shows the unity and the unity of the EU and sends a clear message to China that the EU will not tolerate any politically motivated economic coercion.”

Source: Global Times, January 28, 2022
https://world.huanqiu.com/article/46ZwTy7yuL7

Also see: “CNA: China Cut Orders: Lithuania’s Century-Old Brewery Switched to Taiwan”

CNA: China Cut Orders; Lithuania’s Century-Old Brewery Switched to Taiwan

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Apple Surpassed Vivo in Q4 to Become the Top Brand in China

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu (NASDAQ: SOHU) recently reported that Counterpoint Research just released the Chinese smartphone’s market sales data for the fourth quarter and full year of 2021. Based on the data for the whole year of 2021, Vivo ranks first in the Chinese market, with a market share of 22 percent. OPPO ranked second with a market share of 21 percent. Apple ranked third, with a year-over-year sales growth rate of 47 percent, which was the fastest among the top five manufacturers. Xiaomi and Honor are fourth and fifth respectively. In the fourth quarter of 2021, Apple surpassed Vivo to become the No. 1 brand in China, with a market share of 23 percent, the highest ever. The new iPhone 13 has been a successful thanks to the relatively low starting price it had at its launch in China, as well as its new cameras and 5G capabilities. Also, Apple’s main rival in the premium segment, Huawei, faces declining sales due to ongoing U.S. sanctions. Huawei’s market share dropped from 31 percent to 10 percent. In the fourth quarter, faced with more severe parts shortages, slowing sales channel penetration, and competition from Honor, Xiaomi ranked fifth in the quarter.

Source: Sohu, January 26, 2022
https://www.sohu.com/a/519193877_115565

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Information/Technology

Micron Disbands Shanghai DRAM Design Team

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that the major U.S. storage manufacturer, Micron Technology, is disbanding its Shanghai Research and Development (R&D) center with about 150 employees. It has selected more than 40 core R&D personnel to provide qualifications for immigrating to the United States. These core employees will be able to bring their family members and immigrate to the United States. It is still unclear how many employees will choose the immigration path. Sources confirmed that, instead of disbanding the entire Shanghai R&D center, Micron only took out the DRAM design department, which has more than 100 people in total. In addition to the design team, the Micron Shanghai R&D Center also includes sales, testing and other departments. According to a former Micron employee, Micron’s DRAM design team had previously lost a large number of personnel to Chinese domestic chip design companies and storage manufacturers. Micron’s move is highly likely to prevent technology leakage. Although the number of domestic DRAM companies is relatively small, yet several new DRAM manufacturers may emerge in the next few years and the existing DRAM companies are also looking for talent. Micron is apparently consolidating its product design and R&D capabilities to areas outside Mainland China. Micron has been emphasizing the importance of intellectual property protection for a long time. Micron had previously taken UMC to court for leaking trade secrets. Micron indicated after winning the case that intellectual property protection is an important cornerstone for Micron to remain competitive. Currently, Samsung ranks first in the market with a market share of 41.5 percent, SK Hynix ranks second with a market share of 29.3 percent, and Micron ranks third with a market share of 23.4 percent. The top three manufacturers together account for 94.2% of the global DRAM market.

Source: Sina, January 25, 2022
https://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/2022-01-25/doc-ikyakumy2509223.shtml

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

Kicked out of America! China Unicom Ordered to Stop All Business in the U.S.

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu (NASDAQ: SOHU) recently reported that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 4 to 0 to revoke China Unicom’s subsidiary’s 214 license. The FCC cited national security concerns. The decision means China Unicom (America’s) Operations Limited must stop all services in the United States within 60 days. The company provides mobile services, leased lines, Internet access and cloud services in the United States. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said, “There is growing evidence that Chinese operators pose a threat to the security of our telecommunications networks.”  Rosenworcel also said that the FCC will conduct similar measures against Pacific Networks Corp. and its wholly-owned subsidiary ComNet. This is not the first time the United States has dealt with companies in the Chinese telecommunications industry. Last October, the FCC decided to revoke China Telecom Americas’ authorization to operate in the U.S. In 2019, the FCC also rejected China Mobile’s application to do business in the United States. The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a statement saying that, the U.S. has revoked China Unicom’s license based on subjective speculation and suspicion without listing the specific illegal facts of the company.

Source: Sohu, January 28, 2022
https://www.sohu.com/a/519542752_639898

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

China’s Residential Foreclosures Are Spiking

Chinascope recently reported that 200,000 people in China stopped making their mortgage payments (See:  http://chinascope.org/archives/28823).  On January 14, 2022, Professor Han Fuling from the School of Finance of the Central University of Finance and Economics posted on Weibo, “At the beginning of 2022, the four major banks sued 200,000 owners for defaulting on their mortgages.” Weibo has since removed the posting.  The four major banks are the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China, the Bank of China, and the Construction Bank.

Since the beginning of 2022, there has been more news about defaults and foreclosures of residential houses in China.

All Foreclosure Auctions are well-known online auction platforms in China.  As of January 30, 2022, 1.72 million court-ordered foreclosures of residential houses were placed on the auction list.

In 2017, the number of foreclosure houses was 9,000; in 2018 it was 20,000; in 2019, 500,000; in 2020, more than 1.2 million. As of mid-December 2021, foreclosure houses in China hit a record high at over 1.68 million.

Among them, Jiangsu Province ranked first with 209,900 units, Zhejiang ranked second with 179,300 units, and Henan, Guangdong, and Shandong ranked third, fourth, and fifth.

While these are cumulative numbers, not net annual increases, an unprecedented spike is happening in foreclosures of residential houses.

Source: Xinhua Daily Media Group, January 17, 2022

http://www.xhby.net/fc/xwzx/202201/t20220117_7388962.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Former Wuhan Municipal Party Secretary Ma Guoqiang Held Accountable for Covid-19 Epidemic, Made a High-Profile Comeback

According to the Sound of Hope radio network, on the second anniversary of the lockdown of Wuhan (due to the covid-19 outbreak), Ma Guoqiang, the former secretary of the Wuhan Municipal (Communist) Party Committee, who Xi Jinping dismissed for accountability (for the Wuhan Covid-19 Epidemic), made a high-profile comeback.

At the “two sessions” (the National People’s Congress and the People’s Political Consultative Conference) of Hubei Province on January 23, Ma Guoqiang was elected as the deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People’s Congress. “Beijing News,” “Caixin,” “Phoenix.com” and other official media have reported the news of Ma Guoqiang’s new appointment.

In 2020, Xi Jinping removed Jiang Chaoliang, then secretary of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee, and Ma Guoqiang, Secretary of the Wuhan Municipal Party Committee, to curb the loss of the regime’s reputation and credibility due to Wuhan’s covid-19 outbreak running out-of-control. Xi took the opportunity to replace the top positions with members of his faction to be in charge of Hubei.

Source: Sound of Hope, January 23, 2022
https://www.soundofhope.org/post/587362

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics