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Briefings - 230. page

China to Push a New Policy to Attract Overseas High-end Talent: The “Thousand Talents Plan” 2.0?

China’s 13th National People’s Congress (NPC), which concluded on Thursday March 11, adopted the resolution on the 14th Five-Year Plan and the long-range objectives through the year 2035. The second part of the resolution indicates that China will bring in more high-end talent from overseas to help the development of cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, life sciences, aviation and aerospace. The purpose is to achieve the goal of making China a science and tech super power.

The resolution also mentions that, in the next five years, China will “implement a more open talent policy and build a research and innovation highland that gathers outstanding talent from home and abroad.” At the same time, China will “improve the policies for foreign high-end talent and professionals to reside in China while doing work, research and exchanges and it will improve the policies on permanent residency for foreigners and explore its technical immigration policy.” The policies include a sound system of remuneration and benefits, children’s education, social security, and tax concessions that will attract foreign talent. In addition, the document also considers establishing an international technical organization and allowing foreigners to work in China’s state-run technology institutions.

Cheng Xiaonong, a Chinese economist living in exile in the U.S. told Radio Free Asia that the new policy of introducing talent in the new five-year plan is an extension of the “Thousand Talents Program” that China has done. The essence is to steal foreign intellectual property and advanced technology by poaching talent from other countries.

China’s Thousand Talents Program (TTP) was launched in China in 2008. Afterwards, some TTP scholars have come under the scrutiny of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for alleged espionage in the U.S. Since 2018, the FBI has been increasing the number of arrests and prosecutions of TTP scholars. At the same time, the U.S. Department of State began applying tougher restrictions on Chinese students by shortening from 5 years to 1 year the duration of visas for those planning to study aviation, robotics, and advanced manufacturing.

In September 2018, a working group for the Thousand Talents Program asked related Chinese organizations not to mention the wording “Thousand Talents Program” to the public in order to protect the safety of overseas talent. The word “Thousand Talents Program” and other related words have long been blocked on the Internet in mainland China.

Source: Radio Free Asia, March 11, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/kejiaowen/bx-03112021113226.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Chinese Scholar Expressed Concerns over Facial Recognition Technology

China’s state media Science and Technology Daily Quoted Cai Xiaohong, a researcher with the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who criticized the widespread abuse of facial recognition technology. The problem prevails in shopping malls, scenic spots, and office buildings, where people unknowingly have their facial information collected.

It has been reported that China’s facial recognition market has been growing at an average annual rate of 50 percent over the past few years, and is expected to break $50 billion this year.

The theft of facial information, which cannot be changed or replaced, triggers multiple risks and problems in technology ethics, public safety and law. In December last year, the official Xinhua News Agency reported that real estate agents scanned the faces of a number of homeowners in Guangxi province in southwest China. These homeowners later found out that their properties had been transferred to others without their knowledge.

In other news that the official China Central Television reported, an artificial intelligence security research team at Tsinghua University revealed a security vulnerability of facial recognition. The team invented a special eyeglass that can break the algorithm of facial recognition devices, and were quickly able to unlock 19 cell phone models on the market.

Source: Central News Agency, March 7, 2021
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202103070051.aspx

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

China Quietly Expands its Military Influence in Africa

On March 9, 2021, Duowei, a pro-Beijing news media based in North America, published an article stating that China has quietly been expanding its military influence in Africa.

In the past several decades, Chinese military academies represented by Shijiazhuang Army Command College, the National Defense University PLA China and Nanjing Army Command College have trained a large number of military officers for many African countries. Since the Cold War, there have been long-standing military exchanges between China and Africa, including arms trade, military personnel training and military aid.

During the Uganda-Tanzania War in 1979, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) sent military advisors to support the Tanzanian Army, which subsequently overcame the Ugandan army and took over the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

In the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983 – 2005), the National Defense University PLA China trained the North Sudanese army, while almost all the middle-level and senior generals in South Sudan were graduates of the Shijiazhuang Military Academy, including the commander-in-Chief.

The Nanjing Army Command Academy alone provided military training to 5 African presidents: former Namibian President Samuel Nujoma (1990-2005), former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete (2005-2015), former Congolese (DRC) President Laurent Kabila (1997-2001), Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki (since 1993), and former Guinea-Bissau President Joao Bernardo Vieira (1980-1999, 2005-2009).

Among them, in 1964, Samuel Nujoma went to the Nanjing Army Command Academy for advanced studies. After returning home, he led the local people to become independent from South Africa by applying PLA tactics such as guerrilla warfare and encircling the city from the countryside.

The National Defense University PLA China, Shijiazhuang Army Command Academy, Shijiazhuang Mechanized Infantry Academy and Nanjing Army Command Academy, serve as a training base for military or government leaders across Africa.

In February 2019, the State media, Global Times, had a similar report on the PLA training of African military officers .

Sources:
1. Duowei, March 9, 2021
https://www.dwnews.com/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD/60232262
2. Global Times, February 1, 201
https://world.huanqiu.com/article/9CaKrnKhDe1

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Gallop: Americans’ Favorability towards China and Russia Reached New Low

Deutsche Welle Chinese Edition recently reported that Gallop just released the results of a poll conducted a month ago which surveyed over one thousand adult Americans. The poll covers the favorability towards 18 countries. Only 20 percent of those polled had a favorable attitude toward China. This is a 13 percent decline from just last year. In the past decades, the same poll had its highest Chinese favorability rate at 72 percent, right before the Tiananmen Square Massacre. The number suffered a quick decline after that. The Gallop poll showed that the Chinese favorability decline is across party lines, though the Republicans had a lower number. In the past six months, favorability towards Russia also declined to its new record low, at 22 percent. According to Gallop, the deepest impact was caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Iran and North Korea sit at the bottom of the results.

Source: DW Chinese, March 3, 2021
https://bit.ly/3rpLpj0

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China to Increase Military Budget by 6.8 Percent in 2021

On March 7, at the 4th Session of the 13th National People’s Congress, Wu Qian, spokesperson for the PLA and the Armed Police Force delegation said that China’s defense expenditure would be 1,379.544 billion yuan (US$212.4 billion) in 2021, an increase of 6.8 percent over the previous year.

In explaining the reason for the steep increase in the military budget, Wu said, ”A strong country must have a strong army, and a strong army can ensure national security. National defense is as important as sunlight and air. At present, the instability and uncertainty of international security have become more prominent. The Covid-19 epidemic is raging around the world. Hegemonism, power politics, and unilateralism are on the rise from time to time. Regional conflicts and local wars exist continuously. The international security system and order are under attack. The risks and challenges in homeland security that China is facing cannot be ignored. Land border disputes have not yet been completely resolved; island territorial issues and maritime delimitation disputes still exist; the DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) authorities stubbornly adhere to the separatist stand of “Taiwan independence,” which is the biggest real threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. In view of the current complex situation, it can be said that the world is not peaceful, and national defense must be strong.”

Source: website of Chinese Defense Ministry, March 8, 2021
http://www.mod.gov.cn/topnews/2021-03/08/content_4880597.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Lianhe Zaobao: Hong Kong Removed from Economic Freedom Ratings Index

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that the U.S. Heritage Foundation just released its 2021 Economic Freedom Index Report. For the first time in history, Hong Kong was kicked out of the ranking system. Singapore replaced Hong Kong last year to hold the top of the world position. This year, Singapore remains at the top. Before last year, Hong Kong had been sitting at the top of the list continuously for a quarter century. However, this year, the city didn’t even make it to the list. Macau, which ranked number 35 last year, was removed from the list this year as well. The Heritage Foundation used to praise Hong Kong for its independent legal system, freedom of the press and deep financial market. However, with the Hong Kong National Security Law, Beijing’s influence on Hong Kong’s policies has vastly deepened. The Wall Street Journal, which participated in the forming of this Index, explained that Hong Kong is now essentially the same as other Mainland cities like Beijing and Shanghai due to the level of policy control Beijing has, although Hong Kong residents have more economic freedom than average Mainland citizens.

Sources:
(1) Lianhe Zaobao, March 4, 2021
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20210304-1128662

(2) Heritage Foundation Official Site
https://www.heritage.org/index/

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Following Trump’s Executive Order, FTSE Russell Removes Xiaomi and Luokung from FTSE Russell Index

On March 5, Global Index publisher FTSE Russell announced that it will remove the Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi and tech data company Luokung Technology Corporation from its global indexes. FTSE Russell stated that the decision will take effect on March 12. The decision follows the executive order that the Trump administration signed.

This is the latest development on the issue of Chinese companies that have been delisted from the US and European markets. Earlier this year, the US NASDAQ Index dropped China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom. These are China’s three largest telecommunications companies. On February 26, the New York Stock Exchange also announced the initiation of the delisting of China National Offshore Oil Co., Ltd. (CNOOC), a large Chinese state-owned enterprise, following an executive order that the Trump administration issued.

On November 12, 2020, the Trump administration issued an executive order banning the U.S. investment in Chinese companies that have a Chinese military background or that the military controls. This order went into effect on January 12 this year. Nine Chinese companies, including Xiaomi, Luokung, and Commercial Aircraft of China, have been included in the sanctions list.

Xiaomi argued that it has nothing to do with the Chinese military, and filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Treasury in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia. The lawsuit argues that their decision to include Xiaomi on the sanctions list was procedurally unfair and they seek to have these decisions withdrawn.

However, the public information suggests that Xiaomi does have a close relationship with the Chinese military. The founder Lei Jun himself is a PLA veteran. Lei is also an investor in the Yinhe Space Company, whose chief scientist is closely involved in military equipment and technology development.

Source: Voice of America, March 5, 2021
https://www.voachinese.com/a/ftse-russell-to-delete-luokun-tech-fromindexes-20210305/5803364.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Global Times: The Germans are Coming to the South China Sea Too, Why?

Global Times recently reported that multiple officials from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense revealed that a German frigate will set off for the Indo-Pacific region in early August this year. On its way returning to Germany six months after that, the warship will take the route of the South China Sea. This will be the first time for a German warship to pass through the South China Sea since 2002. The intent of this move is to increase the influence of Germany in the Indian-Pacific region, and to demonstrate its determination to participate in the construction of the new world order. German local news media thought this showed that Germany is against China’s position on sovereignty claims in the South China Sea region. The spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented that all countries have their freedom of navigation under international laws. However, no one can use this as an excuse to endanger the sovereignty and security of the countries along the coast. In recent years, European countries have tended to cooperate with the United States on this front, especially for Great Britain, Germany and France. They want to obtain the “sense of existence” by doing something “tangible.”

Source: Global Times, March 4, 2021
https://world.huanqiu.com/article/42AFGOr1E3w

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend