Skip to content

Briefings - 259. page

Huawei Performed Poorly in First Month after U.S. Sanction

Well-known Chinese news site Tencent News recently reported that Huawei’s smartphone business suffered a significant decline one month after September when the U.S. sanction was fully in place. Based on retail market share statistics, Apple iPhone 11 seized the opportunity and ranked number one in China’s domestic smartphone market. Xiaomi models took the ranks from two to four. Huawei, which used to hold the top sales position, did not make it to the list of the top five. The Huawei P40 Pro model ranked number six. Apple iPhone 11 won the top place with only 4G models when the competition was offering 5G models. It seems that all those patriotic Huawei supporters who refused to touch Apple products disappeared. It is indeed a surprise that Huawei had no product this year that even made it into the top five club. Huawei has already lowered its output forecast for next year.

Source: Tencent News, September 28, 2020
https://xw.qq.com/cmsid/20200927A06LEM00

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

BBC Chinese: Pew Poll Showed Significant Chinese Reputation Decline

BBC Chinese Edition recently reported that the Pew Research Center just released multi-national poll results which indicated a significant decline in China’s reputation among 14 advanced Western countries and Asian countries. The Japanese result showed an 86 percent negative response.  Sweden, the first country in the West that established a formal relationship with China, was second with a poll that showed 85 percent negative. Australia had the third highest negative view about China, with 81 percent of the people surveyed choosing negative. This is a 24 percent expansion from last year. In the United Kingdom 75 percent of the people reported a negative view, which represents a 19 percent expansion from last year. The United States negative number is at 73 percent, which is the highest in 15 years and is a 20 percent increase since President Trump took office. An average of 78 percent among all the people surveyed distrusted Xi Jinping and 61 percent thought China did poorly in dealing with the pandemic. Among nine countries, negative views against Xi increased by 10 percent in the past year.

Source: BBC Chinese, October 6, 2020
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world-54442667

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Global Times: The Pentagon Invoked Defense Production Act for Rare Earths

Global Times recently reported that, in order to make its rare earths supply “self-sufficient,” the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) invoked “without hesitation” the Defense Production Act of 1950. This new decision was to improve and speed up the U.S. domestic rare earths development effort. The U.S. military depends heavily on rare earths for manufacturing weaponry. For example, to build an F-35 fighter jet, the manufacturer needs 417 kilograms (around 919 pounds) of rare earths. To make a Virginia Grade nuclear submarine, the rare earth consumption level is four tons. Presently, direct imports from China fulfill eighty percent of the U.S. rare earths demand. In the meantime, the remaining twenty percent of the U.S. consumption depends on indirect imports from China via other countries. The Defense Production Act allows the U.S. President to require businesses to accept government contracts, to expand production scale, and to prioritize production material pricing and allocation for national defense purposes.

Source: Global Times, October 7, 2020
http://https//world.huanqiu.com/article/40BiMCOb64v

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources US-China Relations

CCP Youth League Hosted Live Video Group Chat on Trump Contracting COVID 19

On October 2, following the news that President Trump and the first Lady tested positive for COVID 19, China’s official Youth League Weibo account organized a live video group chat session titled, “The Virus Finally Found the Person who Understands it the Best” and encouraged the followers to post comments that are related to the word “懂” (“understand”). The live chat used a popular Chinese song titled, “He doesn’t know” to insinuate that Trump doesn’t know China. Trump often says that no one understands China better than he does, so those pro-CCP youths in China have given him the nick name, “King of Understanding” because of it. During the session, there were comments that cheered the news, but there were also comments criticizing the youth league for hosting the chat session. At the same time, the official Weibo account of the Political and Legal Committee also joined the live video chat.

In a 51 second video, a number of comments had the word “understand” in it. There were also people posting comments such as “(Trump contracting COVID 19 is) China’s National Day gift.” Another comment was, “It’s okay, two more bottles of disinfectant please.” At the same time, people posted complaints about the live video comment session. One person wrote, “I hope you can understand the meaning of these things that the CCP Youth League has issued.” “Your cheer on this side of the ocean gave voters on the other side of the ocean a chance to share the same hatred, stupid as a pig” “Once again it challenged the bottom line of my understanding of human moral values.”

Since the news of Trump contracting COVID 19 first appeared, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs basically repeated diplomatic rhetoric. The Ministry openly cheered about the news, also fearing that it would further harm Sino-US relations. So the youth league hosting a live video group chat session became a channel to guide the opinion of the younger generation and let the pro-CCP youths express their hatred against the U.S. The Youth League’s Weibo and Zhihu accounts have gained popularity among young people in China since they use the internet pop culture. They have become a public opinion tool for the CCP to disseminate its propaganda information targeting the country’s youth.

Source: Epoch Times, October 5, 2020
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/20/10/5/n12454878.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Pompeo: If China Attacks Taiwan, Appeasement Is Not the Answer

On October 6, U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo participated the quadrilateral security dialogue, or Quad, with Japan, India and Australia. He also accepted an exclusive interview with the Nikkei. During the interview, the reporter asked whether the United States was prepared to defend Taiwan if China unilaterally attacked Taiwan. Pompeo said that the “U.S. is committed to reducing cross-strait tensions,” the mission of the Trump administration in the world. The United States “looks to bring peace, not conflict.” It is shameful that the Communist Party of China instigates tensions with Vietnam, Japan, as well as a series of incidents in the Himalayas (the Sino-Indian border). “This is the Chinese using coercive power. This isn’t how great nations operate.” Pompeo also stressed that “appeasement is not the answer” and the U.S. is the best partner for security with Taiwan and Japan.

The U.S. has a NATO agreement with European countries but there is no similar agreement with the countries in the Asia Pacific region. Facing China’s rapid increase in military and economic influence, security cooperation among many countries is indispensable. Pompeo said. “When one talks about security, one is talking about economic capacity and the rule of law, the ability to protect intellectual property, trade agreements, diplomatic relationships, and all of the elements that form a security framework. It is not just military.” He also stressed that the democratic countries should unite and strengthen the foundation to “counter the challenge that the Chinese Communist Party presents to all of us.”

Source: Liberty Time News, October 6, 2020
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/breakingnews/3313495

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China’s Instruction to Indian Media on How to Report Taiwan’s National Day Backfired

On Wednesday, October 7, an Indian independent journalist Aditya Raj Kaul posted the full text of a letter from the Chinese Embassy to India on Twitter. The letter gave instructions to Indian media on how to “properly” report the 109th anniversary of the Republic of China’s National Day on October 10th.

The letter started out by saying, “Regarding the so-called forthcoming ‘National Day of Taiwan,’ the Chinese Embassy in India would like to remind our media friends that there is only one China in the world, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the whole of China. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory.”

The letter then claimed these “facts” are recognized by the UN and represent the “universal consensus of the international community.” It went on to mention that countries with diplomatic relations with China, including India, should all honor the “one China” policy.

The Chinese embassy then stressed, “Taiwan shall not be referred to as a ‘country (nation)’ or the ‘Republic of China’ and the leader of China’s Taiwan region (shall not be referred to) as ‘President,’ so as not to send the wrong signals to the general public.” The letter then ended with a thinly veiled threat, “We are willing to maintain communication with media friends on China-related reports.”

The incident invited widespread attention. Nicola Smith, Asian correspondent of the Daily Telegraph also commented on Twitter. “Can’t imagine the Indian media will be told what to do by the Chinese embassy, particularly given the border tensions. (There is) also a factually inaccurate statement. The One China principle, as understood by Beijing, is NOT the ‘universal consensus of the international community.’”

Aditya Raj Kaul asked on Twitter, “Is this an indirect threat to Indian media who cover Taiwan?” He forwarded the letter to the official Twitter accounts of Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Digital Diplomacy Lab.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a response on Twitter saying, “India is the largest democracy on Earth with a vibrant press & freedom-loving people. But it looks like communist China is hoping to march into the subcontinent by imposing censorship.” Digital Diplomacy Lab also posted a cartoon that showed President Tsai Ing-wen and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi were toasting together.

On Thursday October 8, the Indian media responded to the Chinese Embassy with action. The mainstream Indian newspapers Indian Express and The Statesman each published a full-page advertisement for Taiwan’s October 10th National Day, and a notice on a special TV report on Taiwan.

Source: Radio Free Asia, October 8, 2020
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/in-ad-10082020095552.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Germany to Pass Legislation to Conduct “Political Review” of Telecom Equipment Suppliers, Including Huawei

The cabinet of German Chancellor Merkel plans to pass a bill in the coming weeks, which will implement a two-stage approval process for telecommunications equipment suppliers. In addition to technical inspections of various telecommunications equipment components, the manufacturers’ “credibility” will also be under scrutiny.

According to the German newspaper Handelsblatt, the draft bill stated that the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) is responsible for the first stage, where the Chinese telecom giant Huawei will not have too many obstacles to overcome, but the threshold for the second stage of “political review” will be insurmountable. Suppliers must provide a detailed “credibility statement” and go through layers of review and approval processes from multiple government entities including the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Although the new bill does not directly ban Huawei, it will create obstacles to approval. The bill may also include the German intelligence community in the approval process for telecommunications equipment suppliers. Deutsche Welle stated that, in recent years, the Federal Intelligence Agency has repeatedly expressed its worries about Huawei’s participation in German communication networks.

Germany has always been one of Huawei’s main overseas markets. Huawei has entered into deals with Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, and Telefónica Deutschland to provide radio access network (RAN) equipment, the so-called peripheral 5G equipment. However, the scope of approval under the draft bill is not limited to 5G core networks. In other words, if the bill takes effect, German telecom operators may be forced to remove Huawei’s peripheral equipment from the network.

The draft is expected to be discussed at the German federal cabinet meeting in November, and will then be submitted to Parliament for formal legislative procedures.

In an opinion piece, the Wall Street Journal said, “Huawei has longstanding ties to the People’s Liberation Army, and no Chinese company is independent under Communist Party rule.  … China is Germany’s largest trading partner, and Chinese state subsidies make Huawei equipment notably cheaper, but Merkel is finally moving as she faces opposition from across the German political spectrum and within her own party. The Chinese government may retaliate against German companies doing business in China, but that would only validate Berlin’s decision not to trust Beijing.”

Source: Voice of America, October 7, 2020
https://www.voachinese.com/a/germany-to-informally-ban-huawei-5g-20201007/5611834.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

New Course at Chinese Universities: “Introduction to Xi Thoughts”

The Ministry of Education published an article in the Qiushi journal, the Chinese Communist Party’s flagship magazine, and announced that, after the start of school in the fall of 2020, 37 universities, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Nankai University, will launch the course, “Introduction to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese characteristics for a New Era.”

The article proposed to use the third volume of “Xi Jinping: The Governance of China” and the “Lecture Notes on General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Important Speeches on Education” as the new textbooks for the school’s ideological and political courses. It also recommended writing and compiling supplementary teaching materials such as “Readings for Students on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese characteristics for a New Era.”

Japanese media Nikkei Asian Review commented that the purpose of launching Xi Jinping Thoughts as an obligatory course seems to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party next year, and to respond to Chinese intellectuals who recently spoken out bravely against Xi.

Xi Jinping himself even said in one Qiushi article under his name on August 31, “I am very concerned about running ideological and political courses.” “If Ideological and political teachers themselves do not believe it, how can they teach students?”

For example, in Xi Jinping’s alma mater, Tsinghua University, undergraduates in the School of Economics and Management need to take ideological and political courses such as “Outline of Modern Chinese History,” “Basic Principles of Marxism,” and “Introduction to Mao Zedong Thoughts and the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics,” as well as the two-credit course “Introduction to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese characteristics for a New Era.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, October 6, 2020
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/zhengzhi/xx-10062020141252.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics