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Briefings - 212. page

Beijing under High Security Alert in Preparation for Communist Party’s 100th Anniversary

Beijing has tightened security as the Chinese Communist Party will celebrate its 100th anniversary on July 1. Armed police appear on the streets of Beijing and in the subway. Tiananmen Square is closed. Military soldiers are stationed in the Bird’s Nest Stadium. Petitioners are being arrested. At the same time, Beijing has imposed traffic control and air bans. Multiple videos on the Internet show that dozens of police patrol the streets with dogs and some retired “neighborhood watch guards” are wearing red armbands and are at the doors of some residential buildings watching the residents entering and exiting.

On June 3, the Tiananmen Management Committee announced the closure of Tiananmen Square from midnight on June 23 to July 1 to prepare for the setting up of the celebration.

On June 17, Vice Premier Liu He attended the State Council Security Committee meeting. The committee vowed to contain all forms of incidents or disruptions.

On June 20, the Beijing municipal government announced the blockage of radio signals in certain regions on July 1. Beijing airport announced it has elevated its security screening. All express mail destined for Beijing will go through X-ray security inspections.

Cai Xia, a former communist party school professor tweeted on June 20, “The party is celebrating its 100th anniversary but it looks like it was preparing for a major disaster. The party has guns, money, and high-tech surveillance cameras in its control. It can arrest people and ban anything whenever it wants. What are they afraid of? Is this 100th anniversary celebration a celebration or a funeral?”

Source:
1. Epoch Times, June 23, 2021
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/6/23/n13042826.htm
2. Twitter, June 20, 2021

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Swedish Court Excludes Huawei from 5G Equipment Suppliers

A Swedish court ruled Tuesday, June 22, to uphold an injunction excluding Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei from being a 5G equipment supplier. The court stressed the importance of national security.

Last year, Sweden banned Huawei from participating in the construction of 5G networks on the grounds of national security. Huawei then appealed the decision. The court rejected Huawei’s appeal on Tuesday, stressing that the security of Sweden is of paramount importance and that, if used in the construction of Sweden’s 5G network, Huawei products could threaten Sweden’s national security.

The media said the court ruling dashed Huawei’s hopes of returning to Europe and that the possibility of China’s retaliatory action against Huawei’s rival, Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson, may increase.

Source: Radio France International, June 22, 2021
https://rfi.my/7VlQ.T

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Shortage of Semiconductors in China Boosts Circulation of Fake Chips

The global shortage of semiconductors has increased the number of fake chips circulating in China. According to Chinese media, the illegal chips come from two channels. One source is electronic waste. The companies remove the evidence from the old chips. Then they clean and repackage them and sell the second-hand chips at a lower price. Others are defects directly from the manufacturers’ production line. Compared to the genuine product, the performance and reliability of the fake chips are usually inadequate.

These chips are mainly used in consumer electronic products. Unlike automobiles and other manufacturing industries, some OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) of consumer electronics do not conduct long-term verification and testing of chips and other supplies.

Counterfeit or refurbished components have always been in circulation, but the situation this year is serious. Originally, the price of a used chip was only 50 percent of the market price, but now the price is rising and is even close to the market price.

China’s electronic components trading hub is almost the world’s largest, with many companies dismantling tens of thousands of e-waste items every day. This provides opportunities for counterfeit chips, which have even found their way to overseas supply chains.

Source: Central News Agency, June 22, 2021
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202106220168.aspx

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Sputnik Chinese: China’s Nuclear Arsenal Shows Record Growth

Well-known Russian news agency Sputnik recently reported on its Chinese Edition site that the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) annual report showed the growth rate of China’s nuclear arsenal ranked among the world’s leaders for the second consecutive year. Within one year, China’s existing nuclear warheads increased by 30, reaching 350. In 2019, China surpassed France (which had 290 nuclear warheads) in this regard, and in 2020 it became the world’s third largest nuclear arsenal country. SIPRI pointed out in its annual report that China is building a nuclear-weapon society, which includes solid-fuel ground-based missiles, six nuclear submarines and bombers equipped with ballistic missiles. These strengthen its ability to respond when threatened. The report also indicated that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has resumed the use of H6N bombers on nuclear weapons and has also developed the first H20 strategic bomber that can refuel in the air and has a flying distance of 8,500 kilometers. The major nuclear powers, Russia and the United States, reduced their arsenals of nuclear warheads last year. Russia reduced its arsenal by120 warheads to 6,255, and the United States reduced its arsenal by 150 warheads to 5550.

Source: Sputnik Chinese, June 15, 2021
https://sputniknews.cn/military/202106151033894197/

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

BBC Chinese: Kim Jong-Un Publicly Admitted North Korea’s Food Shortage

BBC Chinese recently reported that, at a meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un officially admitted that North Korea is facing a food shortage crisis. He stated, “The food situation that the people now face is becoming increasingly tense.” Due to the flooding that last year’s typhoon caused, the agricultural sector failed to achieve its food targets. There are reports that North Korean food prices have soared. Due to economic difficulties and tensions with the U.S., North Korea’s imports from China recently surged. However, North Korea has just closed its borders again to control the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic. As a result, trade with China dropped sharply. Generally North Korea depends on China for food, fertilizer and fuel. It has been struggling because of international sanctions over its nuclear program.

Source: BBC Chinese, June 18, 2021
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world-57510711

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Apple Daily HK: HK Government Is Cracking Down on Apple Daily

Major Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily recently reported that the Hong Kong government is cracking down on this newspaper in the name of the Hong Kong National Security Law. On August 10 of last year, the government arrested Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and several senior officials of the news group and conducted a large-scale search of the Apple Daily building. On June 17, nearly a year later, it once again arrested five senior members of the company on similar charges. The government mobilized hundreds of policemen in an attempt to create terror again in order to silence Apple Daily before July 1, when the Chinese Communist Party celebrates its anniversary. Currently the newspaper is operating without management. However, the editors decided at midnight to print half-a- million copies for the next day. The newspaper received wide and warm support from Hong Kong local residents and people were lining up at newsstands starting half an hour after midnight to buy Apple Daily. Many businesses are ordering additional copies to give away to customers. Apple Daily online forums are filled with encouragement and promises to buy Apple Daily even if it were just to publish blank pages.

Source: Apple Daily HK, June 17, 2021
https://hk.appledaily.com/local/20210617/ZOAULPGRPFEOVJUUBKPZKNQBRA/

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Social Stability

UNESCO Science Report 2021: 44 Percent of Increase in R&D Investment is from China

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) publishes its science report once every five years. The report for 2021 shows that the global average science expenditure, as a share of GDP, increased from 1.73 percent in 2014 to 1.79 percent in 2018.

The data show that China is the most aggressive of all countries in the world in increasing its science spending, with 44 percent of the incremental global R&D investment coming from China. In 2018, 24.5 percent of global R&D spending was from China, compared to 21.2 percent in 2014.

The report reads that China’s spending on science increased to 2.19 percent of GDP in 2018, compared with 2.03 percent in 2014. Meanwhile, in absolute terms, the U.S. still spends more on science than China, taking into account purchasing power parity, with $460.6 billion in the U.S. and $439 billion in China. Science spending as a share of U.S. GDP rose to 2.84 percent in 2018 from 2.72 percent in 2014. The country with the largest share of science spending in GDP is Germany, where this share increased to 3.09 percent in 2018 from 2.87 percent in 2014.

In addition, the report notes that the country with the most international patents registered is China (31.7 percent of the global total), followed by the U.S. (21.7 percent), Japan (20 percent) and the EU (13.9 percent).

Source: UNESCO
https://www.unesco.org/reports/science/2021/en/race4smarter-development

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China’s FDI in Europe Fell to a Ten Year Low

According to a joint report by the US-based Rhodium Group and the Mercator Center for China Studies (MERICS) in Berlin, China’s FDI in Europe continued to fall, to a 10-year low: Shrinking M&A activity meant the EU-27 and the United Kingdom saw a 45 percent decline in completed Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) last year, down to EUR 6.5 billion from EUR 11.7 billion in 2019, taking investment in Europe to a 10-year low.

The UK saw Chinese investment plummet by 77 percent, although more than half of total Chinese investment in Europe went to the “Big Three” economies – Germany, the UK and France. Infrastructure, ICT and electronics were the top three sectors, attracting 51 percent of the total investment from China. Poland rose to become a popular destination, though inflows of EUR 815 million were largely concentrated on one acquisition.

Chinese FDI faces greater scrutiny by EU member states: The Covid-19 crisis prompted the EU to issue guidelines stepping up scrutiny of FDI in Europe’s critical assets. 14 EU member states, including Italy, France, Poland and Hungary, updated their FDI screening mechanisms last year. Member states have also moved to block several acquisitions by Chinese firms.

Headwinds against Chinese investment in Europe will grow in 2021: Chinese FDI activity into Europe continued to fall in the first quarter of 2021 and has remained weak elsewhere. Europe remains an attractive investment location. However, continued disruption from Covid-19, high barriers to outward capital flows in China and rising regulatory barriers to foreign investment in Europe have all contributed to low levels of Chinese investments. Deteriorating EU-China relations will create additional headwinds for Chinese investors going forward.

Source: Radio France International, June 16, 2021
https://rfi.my/7Uin.T

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend