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Chinese CCTV: China Asked the U.S. to Drop “Completely” All Sanctions against Iran

Chinese Central Television (CCTV) recently reported that, not long ago, the Iran Nuclear Deal joint committee resumed the negotiations in Vienna. Wang Qun, the Chinese Representative to the negotiations and the Chinese Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Vienna, attended the meeting and explained the Chinese position. Wang said this new round of negotiations had dragged on for 11 weeks already, yet the topic of dropping the sanctions went nowhere. The United States should drop all of its single-sided sanctions against Iran, as well as all of the long-arm sanctions against other countries involved. The U.S. embargo on conventional weapons against Iran should also be discontinued. Since the U.S. has made the political choice of returning to the Iran Deal, the discontinuation of the sanctions should be comprehensive, clean and thorough on all fronts. China also asked all parties to engage deeply and to prevent future random departures. Wang called for “hard work” to reach the resumption of the Iran Nuclear Deal as early as possible.

Source: CCTV, June 13, 2021
http://m.news.cctv.com/2021/06/13/ARTI4RVhrry0ybVpTdxOy4TP210613.shtml

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

China Enacted New Data Security Law

The Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress passed the Data Security Law (DSL) on June 10, elevating government regulation of private sector data. The new law, which will take effect on September 1, regulates the collection, use, processing and transmission of data and demonstrates Beijing’s growing ambition for data control.

The DSL provides that companies that violate the national core data management system, “endanger national sovereignty, security and development interests,” or illegally transfer “important national data” overseas will face fines of up to 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) and may be forced to close down.

The law applies a broad definition of “core data.” It refers to any data “related to national security, the lifeline of the national economy, important people’s livelihoods, vital public interests, and other concerns.”

DSL details how data collected by enterprises inside China should be exported, including operators of “critical information infrastructures,” energy, transportation, finance, public communication and other fields. The cross-border transfer of such data will be subject to the provisions of the Cybersecurity Law.

In the Cybersecurity Law enacted effective in 2017, Chinese regulators formally made data localization a prerequisite for foreign financial institutions attempting to gain a foothold in China. In the same year the U.S. tech giant Apple promised to store its customers’ cloud-based data in a company owned by the Chinese government, and to set up data centers in China.

On May 12, China also released “Certain Regulations on the Security Management of Automobile Data Security (Draft for Public Opinion),” which prohibits the transmission of driving data involving road traffic, vehicle location, images and other data outside China. Soon afterwards, Tesla announced that it would set up several data centers in China. On June 11, the second of the enactment of DSL, Tesla posted on its Weibo account, “(We) will strictly comply with the data security law.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping is increasingly inclined to tighten data control. Radio Free Asia cites sources familiar with internal discussions that Xi once said in a closed-door meeting, “Whoever controls the data has the initiative.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, June 14, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/cm-06142021103254.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

U.S. Dollar Purchasing Power May Face a Permanent Fall

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that, according to the data released by the United States Department of Labor, the U.S. May CPI (Consumer Price Index) arrived at a surprising five percent. Some analysts expressed the belief that, even if next May the U.S. CPI drops to four percent, the lost purchasing power might never recover. Analysts showed that the U.S. dollar purchasing power is declining at a pace never seen in the past 40 years. In the past three months, the U.S. dollar purchasing power declined by 2.4 percent, which was the largest three-month decline since 1982. Calculated at an annual rate, the three-month decline represents a 9.5 percent annually. In May, the U.S. market saw durable goods prices skyrocket year-over-year by 10.3 percent, especially for a 30 percent price increase for used cars. Housing costs, which represent one third of the CPI, increased by 2.2 percent in the past 12 months. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index increased by 13.2 percent year-over-year, which is the highest increase since December 2005.

Source: Sina, June 12, 2021
https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/hkstock/hkstocknews/2021-06-12/doc-ikqciyzi9271144.shtml

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China Times: Chile’s Capital City Closed Again Despite High Vaccination Rate

Major Taiwanese news network China Times recently reported that the authorities from the capital city of Chile, Santiago, announced the closing down of the whole capital region again. In the past two weeks, Chile saw a 17 percent daily increase in confirmed cases of Covid-19. The Santiago capital region, which holds half of the nation’s population, saw a daily increase of 25 percent. The capital region ICU capacity has reached 98 percent. In the meantime, Chile is currently ranked as having the fifth highest vaccination rate in the world. Around 75 percent of the nation’s 15 million population have received at least one shot of the vaccination and 58 percent of the total population have already completed all of the required doses. Chile’s vaccination rate is leading in the Americas. Among the total 23 million doses of vaccine used, 17.2 million were Chinese CoronaVac and 4.6 million were Pfizer-BioNTech. AstraZeneca and the Chinese CanSino were both less than 1 million doses. Medical experts explained that vaccines are not expected to be 100 percent effective and the multiple variants of the Covid-19 virus might also have played a role.

Source: China Times, June 11, 2021
https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20210611004269-260410?chdtv

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

The Grim Truth about Chinese People’s Income

An online article that Sina published suggests that people’s lives in China may not look as glorious as what some of them are posting on wechat, including that they have luxury cars, lavish homes and a beach life.

According to data collected from Tianyancha, a data tech company in China, in the first quarter of 2020, 460,000 companies in China went bankrupt or had their business licenses suspended. Among them, 26,000 are companies in the export industry. According to statistics from a separate survey, there are 780 million people who are living in debt. Of those who have debt, 42 percent have payments that are overdue. That is, 300 million people are late in making the payments on their debts.

In 2020, 67.5 percent of China’s total population or 945 million people were active in the labor force. The reported average income in major cities was over 10,000 yuan (US$1,563) a month. In smaller cities, it was 6,000 yuan (US$938) a month. However, the numbers are deceiving because the number is an average with a small percentage of people being in a high-income bracket. The reality is that in 2020, the median salary in Shenzhen was 5199 yuan (US$813) per month. Shanghai was 6378 yuan (US$997), and Beijing was 6906 yuan (US$1,079). In other major cities, none of them had a median income over 5,000 (US$782) a month.

Here is another set of numbers.
1. For 11 million of those working in the body and foot massage business, their monthly income is 1500 yuan (US$234).
2. The most popular lipstick sold at pinduoduo.com costs 5 yuan (US$0.78). There are over 100,000 tubes of lipstick sold each month.
3. The official unemployment number is 6.2 percent. In other words, there are still 43.4 million people who are of working age who do not have a job. Hence, the officials have had to turn China into a street vendor economy and encourage people to become street vendors.

Source: Sina, May 31, 2021
https://k.sina.com.cn/article_1871596603_6f8e4c3b01901dkpm.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Police Respond to Student Protests with Violent Crackdown

After the educational authorities told independent colleges in Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces about China’s intention that they merge with vocational institutes to form a “vocational and technical college,” unhappy students from several schools staged demonstrations and lodged protests on campus. Some petitioned at the education department of the provincial governments. The police responded with a violent crackdown; some students were beaten and some were arrested. After the outbreak, the local government called a halt to the merger.

The cause of the student’s demonstrations was the Ministry of Education’s mandate to merge independent colleges and vocational institutes into vocational and technical colleges. Because the vocational institutes or colleges are viewed as less prestigious, students from independent colleges fear their degrees will be devalued after the merger.

Some students petitioned at the Department of Education at the Jiangsu Provincial government last Saturday, before the riot police forcibly dragged them into buses. Several thousand students from Xinglin College of Nantong University, Zhijiang College of Zhejiang University of Technology, and Zhongbei College of Nanjing Normal University, have also protested on campus.

The videos circulated online show that a large number of police surrounded the campus. Some students were dragged away, while some were badly beaten. A student from Zhongbei College posted that the school, instead of responding to students’ requests, sent police to block the campus and prevent students and parents from entering and exiting. The student said, “There have been bloody incidents of violent law enforcement in which students on campus were injured.”

One student explained in a post that what they opposed was not the merger, but the downgrading of the college. They worked through the college entrance exam and paid the expensive tuition in order to earn a bachelor’s degree only to see the college downgraded to a vocational school at graduation. This could affect their future if they attend graduate school or it could affect their career in public service.

After the clash between the police and the students, the Department of Education of Zhejiang Province and Jiangsu Province announced a complete suspension of the merger, stressing that they “will seriously listen to the opinions and suggestions from the students and faculty of the independent colleges.”

In mainland China, an independent college is a joint venture between government operated universities and the private sector. Although the tuition fee is three or four times higher than normal universities, they are popular among some students because of the low admission standards and the mention of the university on the graduation certificate. The Ministry of Education issued a notice last year, demanding all independent colleges to make a plan to end the venture. They can either switch to a pure private or public college, or simply terminate operation.

Source: Radio Free Asia, June 8, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/university-06082021082515.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Xinhua’s One-Sided Report on US China Diplomatic Phone Call

On June 11, 2021, Yang Jiechi, China’s top diplomat, had a telephone call with U.S. Secretary of State Blinken.

An AP report, published on June 12, summarized that the phone call was another “sharply worded exchange” between Yang and Blinken. The call revealed a wide clash on a number of contentious issues, including freedom in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

However, the news article Xinhua published presented a one-sided report to its Chinese readers. Below is the summary of the Xinhua article.

The mainstream of Sino-US relations should be dialogue and cooperation. Cooperation should be mutually beneficial to both sides and resolve each other’s concerns in a balanced manner. China urges the U.S. to work with China to bring Sino-US relations back on track.

As to Taiwan, China urges the US to abide by the one-China principle, keep its promises, handle Taiwan-related issues in a prudent and proper manner, and take concrete actions to maintain the overall situation of China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

There is one international system and one type of multilateralism.  They are based on the purposes and principles of the United Nation’s Charter. It is not up to a few countries to advocate their version of the system and order. Respect for sovereignty is a prerequisite for human rights. The U.S. should fix its own serious domestic human rights violations and not use any so-called human rights issues as an excuse to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

China actively participates in and supports the international effort to combat COVID 19 and firmly opposes any despicable acts that use the epidemic as an excuse to slander China and to shift blame. Some people in the United States have fabricated and peddled absurd stories claiming there was a Wuhan lab leak, which China is gravely concerned about. China urges the United States to respect facts and science, refrain from politicizing the tracing of COVID-19’s origin and concentrate on international anti-pandemic cooperation.

China will soon celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. The Chinese people have made great achievements under the strong leadership of the Communist Party. They will unite more closely, work harder and unswervingly follow the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. They will continue to build a more prosperous China and achieve the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Sources:
1. Xinhua, June 11, 2021
http://www.xinhuanet.com/2021-06/11/c_1127556040.htm
2. US News, June 12, 2021
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-06-12/china-us-diplomats-clash-over-human-rights-pandemic-origin
3. Department of State, June 11, 2021
https://www.state.gov/secretary-blinkens-call-with-politburo-member-yang/

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Nigerian Government in Talks with China’s Cyber Regulator to Build Nigerian Internet Firewall

According to a report from the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), a Nigeria based not-for-profit organization, Internet users in Nigeria suddenly found themselves unable to log on to Twitter over the weekend and had to use a virtual private network (VPN) to access it. The report indicated that the Nigerian government is discussing plans with the Chinese government to build an Internet firewall, with the intention of following China’s lead in controlling social networking platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

For the past several years, the Nigerian government has been seeking a way to control online speech. Less than a year after the new president Muhammadu Buhari came to power in 2015, he stepped up legislation to control cyberspace as well as news media.

In November 2017, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) ordered the shutdown of 21 websites that supported anti-government groups. Between 2018 and 2019, the government was exploring the use of Open Source Internet Intelligence (OSINT) to track Internet users on social media who are critical of the government. 2019 saw the introduction of two bills in Nigeria’s parliament: a comprehensive bill to ban hate speech and a bill to prevent fake news and other related crimes on the Internet. Such proposals caused a public outcry in Nigeria and did not receive a final vote in parliament.

The FIJ has learned that the Nigerian government, through the office of the President, reached out to the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) to discuss plans to build an Internet firewall. This would enable the Nigerian government to control the media space and to create laws that would criminalize speech against the government.

The CAC is the central internet regulator, censor, oversight and control agency for China. It answers to the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, headed by Xi Jinping, China’s President. Since it came into existence, the CAC, which also gives approval to the data of Chinese companies outside of China, has been regulating user names on the Chinese Internet, licensing news information services, and banning comments that “harm national security” or “harm the nations honor.”

Nigeria’s surveillance capabilities rank high on the continent. In 2018, the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) was allocated $12.8 million for a surveillance project called Stravinsky Project 2. Other budget allocations intended to increase the surveillance capabilities of both the ONSA and the Department of State Security (DSS) included a ‘Social Media Mining Suite,’ a ‘Wolverine Next Generation SDRIMSI,’ a ‘Surveillance Drone’ and ‘Mobile Surveillance Facilities.’

Freedom House, a US-based advocacy group, revealed that the surveillance projects such as Stravinsky Project 2 still received allocation in the 2019 and 2020 budget proposals.

Source: Radio France International, June 7, 2021
https://rfi.my/7T34.T

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend