China’s state-run media Global Times published an editorial commenting on the Biden Administration’s China Policy after Biden had taken over the White House for one year. Below in an excerpt from the editorial.
On Jan 19th, “Rosenberg, the senior director of China affairs at the White House National Security Council, made a special elaboration on the United States’ China policy. She said that the United States will strengthen its deterrence against China in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region to ensure victory in the competition with China. At the same time, it will strive to manage competition with China, maintain communication channels with China, and set up guardrails to restrain competition and manage potential risks.”
“We have heard this many times over the past year. ‘Competition’ is a key word repeatedly emphasized by the Biden administration in its relations with China. U.S. Secretary of State Blinken once proposed the ‘3C’ policy, that is, ‘competition, confrontation, cooperation.’ Among these ‘3Cs,’ ‘cooperation’ has been increasingly marginalized, and “competition” has become more and more prominent, dominating the C position. But what exactly does Washington mean by ‘competition’?”
“Rosenberg revealed that the United States is about to launch a so-called ‘Indo-Pacific Economic Framework’ with regional partners. Obviously, this ‘Indo-Pacific Economic Framework’ is aimed at China. It wants to create a small economic and trade circle that surrounds China but excludes China, and aims to poach the foothold of economic and trade cooperation between China and foreign countries (including China and the United States). Rosenberg specifically mentioned the Taiwan Strait, where the U.S. has continued its unabated actions. This is a provocation to China’s core interests and continues to undermine the political foundation of China-U.S. relations.”
“Rosenberg also said that the United States is committed to working with its allies to shape the strategic environment encircling China. As soon as the words were out, we immediately saw them in action. On the 20th, Japan and France held the ‘2+2’ talks between foreign ministers and defense ministers. On the 21st, Biden held online consultations with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. On the same day, Britain and Australia held ‘2+2’ talks between foreign ministers and defense ministers. The three events have a common theme: ‘countering Chinese influence.'”
“Through ‘listening to the words and watching the deeds’ of the United States in the past two years, “it is not difficult for the Chinese to come to the judgment: In Washington’s mind, confrontation and containment are the essence, cooperation is an expedient measure, and competition is a discourse trap. The White House has changed owners, but its China policy has not changed. President Biden has repeatedly said that he does not want to mess up the U.S.-China relationship and does not want a conflict between the two countries; but the actual actions of the United States are constantly weakening the foundation of China-U.S. cooperation, while creating and accumulating the risk of Sino-U.S. conflict.”
Source: Global Times, January 20, 2022
https://opinion.huanqiu.com/article/46TyxitXGcW
Briefings - 169. page
German Media: IOC Supports China’s Violation of Human Rights
As the Beijing Winter Olympics are approaching, the German media is paying more attention to China and is becoming more critical of China.
Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), a public radio company based in Hamburg, criticized the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for playing dirty games and turning a blind eye to forced labor in China. The radio station reported that thousands of ethnic Uyghurs are being held in Xinjiang and the cotton used by the Olympic Committee’s sponsor, Anta sports, also comes from Xinjiang. The IOC has turned a blind eye to this fact. The Beijing Winter Olympics are controversial for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it hardly ever snows where this event is held. Ski areas and related construction projects are built in nature reserves. The second is the widespread concern about human rights in China, especially for the Uyghurs in Xinjiang. According to a months-long investigation by NDR and the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, the IOC plays a dual role here. On the one hand, IOC officials present themselves as supposedly politically neutral. On the other hand, they are in cahoots with the Chinese government and support China’s actions that undermine human rights.
Business Insider in Germany found multiple security vulnerabilities in China’s “My2022” application for the upcoming Olympics. The German Olympic Sports Federation is also concerned about the Chinese government’s surveillance. The University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab reported that all games participants and visitors are required to use the My2022 application. Users are expected to enter personal data, such as health forms and passport data. However, the Lab found major security vulnerabilities in its analysis, including access to sensitive data, such as travel itineraries and medical information. Voice messages and shared files were also not adequately encrypted.
Source: Radio France International, January 25, 2022
https://rfi.my/86zz
Who Will and Won’t Attend the Beijing Winter Olympics?
As Beijing prepares for its Winter Olympics, countries including the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia have said they will not send government representatives, citing concerns about China’s human rights record, including allegations of the government’s abuses against the Uighurs and other minorities. Different countries reacted differently to the boycott. Some countries joined with diplomatic boycotts, while others quietly downgraded their Winter Olympics delegations. Russia and other countries, on the other hand, have explicitly expressed support for China.
Some countries have clearly declared a diplomatic boycott. They are the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Lithuania, and Denmark.
Some countries decide not to send a delegation for other reasons. Austria, Belgium, Holland, New Zealand, Latvia, and Sweden announced that they will not send ministerial level officials out of concerns about Covid-19. Estonia’s president Alar Karis said he is not attending the games for “political reasons.” Japan will only send a small non-official delegation and refused to call it a diplomatic boycott.
At the same time, some heads of state and some heads of international organizations decided to show up at the event. They include United National General Secretary António Guterres, and the presidents of Russia, Poland, Argentina, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan.
Unlike the leaders mentioned above, North Korea, China’s traditional ally, has expressed strong support for Beijing, but Pyongyang (North Korea) says it will not be able to participate in the Winter Olympics amid a “conspiracy of hostile forces” and the epidemic. That means North Korean athletes will also miss the games.
Source: BBC Chinese, January 25, 2022
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world-60035694
Scholar: Chinese College Students Born in the 2000’s Hold Dichotomous World View
Yan Xuetong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of Tsinghua University, recently pointed to the intergenerational differences between college students born in the 2000’s and the previous generations. Yan highlighted their idiosyncrasies in terms of ideology, aesthetic standards, values and moral concepts.
Yan observed that Chinese college students born in the 2000’s often look at the world with a dichotomous view, treating countries other than China as the same group, and regarding universal values such as peace, morality, fairness and justice as unique Chinese traditions. They tend to believe that only China is righteous and innocent, while all other countries, especially those in the West, are “evil,” and that Westerners have a natural hatred toward China. In addition, Yan believed that this generation is deeply influenced by the Internet and they take what they have learned from cyberspace, such as economic determinism and conspiracy theory as common sense.
Yan pointed out at a conference that contemporary students often have a strong sense of superiority and self-confidence, and they are easily influenced by the Internet. He suggested that teachers should help students understand the twists and turns of history and the diversity of the world; they should also help them enhance their ability to think logically and critically.
Source: Mingpao, January 14, 2022
https://news.mingpao.com/pns/%e4%b8%ad%e5%9c%8b/article/20220114/s00013/1642097061362
Chinese Real Estate Developer Aoyuan Announced USD Bond Default
Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that China’s Aoyuan Group, the 25th largest real estate developer in China, announced in advance that it will default on its U.S. dollar based bonds. It will not pay the interest in the next few years for its over US$1 billion U.S. Dollar debts. The announcement somewhat caught the market and investors by surprise. Not only did it not initiate any tender offer for the dollar bonds due this week, but it also announced a default before the expiration date. This practice is obviously different from other real estate companies. After the official announcement of default, Aoyuan will enter the stage of debt restructuring. In its announcement, Aoyuan stated that it is working with advisors (including legal, financial and other advisors) to evaluate its capital structure and liquidity and to conduct due diligence. In terms of operations, affected by the tight liquidity, the performance of Aoyuan has continued to be sluggish. Aoyuan said that the continued downturn in the market has dampened consumer confidence and made it difficult for the Group to realize inventories and sell assets on reasonable terms. The company pointed out that the management team of the group, including the senior management, remains stable and is committed to improving the firm’s operations.
Source: Sina, January 20, 2022
https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/s/2022-01-20/doc-ikyamrmz6322579.shtml
Samsung Overtakes Intel as Global Chip Leader
Well-known Chinese news site Sohu (NASDAQ: SOHU) recently reported that the U.S. research firm Gartner just revealed data showing that, in 2021, Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor revenue increased by 31.6 percent to US$75.9 billion, surpassing Intel to become the world’s highest-revenue chipmaker. The second-ranked Intel’s semiconductor revenue was $73.1 billion last year, with an increase of only 0.5 percent. It was the slowest sales growth among the top 25 chip manufacturers. Intel’s competitor AMD, in the server processor segment, market share has soared from 14th to 10th. However, Gartner’s ranking does not include foundry companies such as TSMC. It is worth mentioning that, in order to consolidate its position as the world’s number one, Samsung intends to return to China to seize more market share. Recently, it has established a new team called the “China Market Innovation Group,” which directly reports to the co-CEO. In 2018, 60 percent of Samsung’s chip revenue came from the Chinese market. Each year in China, it has easily earned RMB 300 billion (around US$47.3 billion) a year. It is fair to say that Samsung becoming the chip king in that year definitely had help from the Chinese market. In 2021, the global semiconductor industry sales surged 25.1 percent to $583.5 billion. This is the first time the industry exceeded the $500 billion revenue mark. As chip demand continues to surge, chipmakers such as Intel and Micron have expressed the belief that the global semiconductor boom will continue into 2025.
Source: Sohu, January 20, 2022
https://www.sohu.com/a/517898283_334198
Global Times: Japanese Media Complained about Chinese EV Dumping
Global Times recently reported that Japanese media have been covering how Chinese electric vehicles are gaining momentum in Japan, entering the Japanese public transportation and logistics industry with a “crushing price advantage.” They claim that the momentum has the potential to lead to China’s deeply mining Japan’s information. The Japanese people should not be careless. The media urged the Japanese government to respond. At the end of last year, there was a “shocking” news report that four electric buses made by China’s BYD began to operate on the Keihan bus line in Kyoto city. Japan-made electric buses cost JPY 70 million each, while China-made buses cost JPY 19.5 million. BYD plans to sell 4,000 electric buses to Japan by 2030. Japanese media also indicated that electric vehicles made in China are also making their way into the Japanese logistics industry. For example, leading logistics company “Sagawa Express” plans to introduce 7,200 Chinese electric vehicles. And SBS Holdings, the parent company of “same-day delivery,” also plans to replace 2,000 current vehicles with Chinese electric trucks. Even with Japanese government subsidies, Nissan and Mitsubishi’s EVs are priced much higher. Japanese media speculated that the strong momentum of China’s electric vehicles is due to the large subsidies from the Chinese government. They also urge the Japanese government to follow China’s example and introduce laws to prohibit the transfer of EV driving data abroad.
Source: Global Times, January 21, 2022
https://world.huanqiu.com/article/46UdoIgp1Zp
China Is Improving Cambodia’s Navy Base
The think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies reported that, in photos released by the Cambodian government and commercial satellite images, Chinese dredgers can be seen near Cambodia’s Ream naval base.
The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) said deepening the port is necessary for big warships to use it and that this is part of a secret agreement between China and Cambodia. It quoted a Wall Street Journal report in 2019 that this agreement would allow the People’s Liberation Army to use the Ream naval base in exchange for Beijing providing money to improve the base’s infrastructure.
Source: Epoch Times, January 22, 2022.
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/1/22/n13522623.htm.