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Briefings - 45. page

RTI: Japanese Company Bridgestone Closes Shenyang Factory

Radio Taiwan International (RTI) recently reported that Bridgestone, Japan’s largest tire manufacturer, announced the closure of its factory in the Chinese city of Shenyang. The company also plans to terminate the production and sales of commercial vehicle tires in China during the first half of 2024. The Bridgestone Group has been operating in China for more than 20 years. Bridgestone closed its tire factory in Huizhou, Guangdong Province at the end of 2021 and transferred production capacity and equipment to Shenyang.

Japan was the first country to have foreign businesses enter China during the modern era. In recent years, foreign companies, including many from Japan, have withdrawn from the Chinese market. Experts have said that Japan is a “weathervane” for foreign investment in China, and that foreign business withdrawals from China are now accelerating. This is quite inconsistent with the Chinese government’s messaging around business-friendliness. Since last year, world-renowned companies including Japan’s Canon, SONY, Toshiba, Nikon and South Korea’s Samsung have withdrawn from China, affecting tens of thousands of Chinese employees.

Source: RTI, March 15, 2024
https://www.rti.org.tw/news/view/id/2199093

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend

China Threatens Paraguay Over Diplomatic Relations with Taiwan

At the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s press conference on March 25, a reporter asked: “According to reports, Paraguayan President Peña said on March 23 in a social media post that the 66 years of diplomatic relations between Paraguay and Taiwan have been ‘deep’ and ‘friendly.’ And this has not hindered Paraguay’s trade with China, as the country is still exporting soybeans to China. What is China’s comment on this?”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian stated that there is only one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing all of China. “China is the world’s top soybean importer. According to official Chinese statistics, China has imported zero soybeans from Paraguay in recent years. If the Paraguayan government truly wants to work for the development of the country and the wellbeing of its people, it should see the big picture and choose to stand on the right side of history, instead of putting its mind on ‘playing smart’ and ‘exploiting loopholes.'”

Source: Xinhua, March 25, 2024
http://www.news.cn/world/20240325/8d6027121dd741cf92f016423ca23259/c.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Xi Jinping Directly Invites American Youths to China for Exchange Programs, Circumventing U.S. Federal Government

During Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States in November 2023, he announced a plan to invite 50,000 American youths to study and exchange in China during the next five years. Since then, this five-year program has been highly-publicized in Chinese media.

Xinhua News Agency reported on March 17 that a group of 24 middle school students from Washington state, organized by the U.S.-China Youth and Student Exchange Association, left San Francisco on March 16 for an 11-day visit to China. Other Chinese media have published subsequent reports about their trip. A Yibao article titled “Xi Jinping’s recruitment of America’s youngsters,” published on Feb. 16, 2024, stated that at least five groups of U.S. students completed trips to China as of January 2024. These groups include graduate students from Columbia University; table tennis players from Virginia; undergraduates from California State University, Long Beach; high school students from Muscatine, Iowa; and even elementary school students from Utah.

Political observers have remarked that Beijing likely wants to get something out of this exchange program. Since the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. federal government have taken a bipartisan stance against the CCP, Beijing is trying to gain influence through civil exchange as well as through local governments (e.g. winning over agricultural U.S. states by buying agricultural products from them), circumventing the federal government.

Source: Epoch Times, March 25, 2024
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/24/3/25/n14210335.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS US-China Relations

Alibaba to Invest $1.1 Billion Expanding Business Footprint in South Korea

According to exclusive information obtained by the South Korean news agency Yonhap News Agency, Alibaba Group plans to expand its business footprint in South Korea over the next three years with $1.1 billion in new investment.

Alibaba recently submitted its business plan to the South Korean government. According to the plan, Alibaba will begin construction of a comprehensive logistics center in South Korea this year. The logistics center will comprise an area of 180,000 square meters, equivalent in size to 25 soccer fields.

Alibaba will invest $100 million to help South Korean sellers bring their products to foreign markets. In June, Alibaba will establish a procurement center to source high-quality Korean goods for resale via global sales channels. Alibaba plans to utilize its various e-commerce platforms to sell Korean products, including AliExpress, Lazada (one of the largest e-commerce operators in Southeast Asia), and Spanish e-commerce platform Miravia. Over the next three years, Alibaba aims to support 50,000 South Korean small- and medium-sized enterprises in exporting their products.

Source: Yonhap News Agency, March 14, 2024
https://cn.yna.co.kr/view/ACK20240314000300881

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Li Qiang: Resolving Local Government Debts Will be a Protracted Battle

On March 22, the Chinese State Council held a video conference on Preventing and Resolving Local Debt Risks. People’s Daily reported that “Premier Li Qiang gave a speech emphasizing that the work of preventing and resolving local debt is both an offensive assault and a war of attrition. All regions and departments should improve their political stance, strengthen their sense of responsibility and systems thinking, properly resolve risks from existing debts, and strictly prevent new debt risk. We must continue in-depth work to resolve risks from local government debt and resolutely implement requirements regarding tight budgets.”

Source: People’s Daily, March 23, 2024
http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2024/0323/c1024-40201534.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Government/Politics

Chinese Ambassador to Russia: In Principle There is No Problem With Russia Borrowing Money From China

Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik reported that Zhang Hanhui, China’s Ambassador to Russia, told Sputnik that in principle there is no problem with Russia borrowing money from China by issuing bonds or taking out loans; only technical matters of how to implement such borrowing remain.

Zhang said, “More than 90% of bilateral settlements [between China and Russia] are now denominated in RMB. The percentage may grow even higher in the future. Both sides conduct settlements in RMB as well as in other currencies, including the Ruble. Regarding [Russia] issuing Bonds in China and borrowing money in China, this matter is open for discussion. There is no problem in principle [with Russia taking out debt from China], though the technical matter of how specifically to accomplish this requires further discussion among [financial] professionals.”

Zhang also said that the recent obstacles to cross-border transfers between Russia and China have to do with interference from third-party countries. He said “The obstacles occurred because some countries created troubles for us, but I believe we can find ways to overcome them.”

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in an earlier interview with Sputnik that he had been in discussions with his Chinese counterpart about the feasibility of RMB borrowing, with the two countries’ finance ministries touching on the topic near the end of 2023, but as of yet no final decision has been made.

Source: Sputnik, February 28, 2024
https://sputniknews.cn/20240228/1057339595.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend

Lu Shaye: China Should Play Bigger Role on Global Stage; It Has Become an Elephant and Can No Longer Hide

Lu Shaye, China’s Ambassador to France, returned to China to attend the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. During an interview on March 6th with China Youth Daily, Lu Shaye said, “If a country (China) wants to expand its position and influence internationally, it must actively participate in global governance and multilateral affairs.” He said that in the past, during the period when China was relatively poor, Western countries would “look down” while dealing with China, but now they are basically “looking straight ahead,” and in some cases they may in fact be “looking up” at China.

Again referring to China, Lu Shaye stated that a big country should act like a big country, and it cannot simply “hide its light (capabilities) and bide its time” as it did in the past. “This light cannot be hidden, and time cannot be bidden. You have become an elephant; you are no longer able hide behind a tree.”

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), March 8, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202403080300.aspx

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend

All Levels of Government Must Maintain a Tight Budget, Top Chinese Officials at National People’s Conference Repeatedly Emphasize

During China’s National People’s Conference, Premier Li Qiang delivered the annual “Government Work Report” on March 5th. His report stated that “governments at all levels should get used to living with a tight budget, truly tighten their belts, and effectively use fiscal funds where they are most needed and can produce real results.”

At a press conference on March 6th, Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fo’an answered a question about tight budgets, saying that “the Party Central Committee has set the clear requirement that party and government organs must live under a tight budget. Governments at all levels should take the lead in implementing [such financial constraint] and be thrifty in all undertakings. This year’s government work report emphasizes [such restraint] again, further highlighting that this is not just a temporary need but rather a long-term strategy.”

At the Guizhou provincial delegation’s discussion on March 6, Li Bingjun, Governor of Guizhou Province, said, “At the end of last year, [Party] General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the Central Economic Work Conference that Party and government organs should get used to ‘living within a tight budget.’” He added, “In my understanding, ‘living with a tight budget’ is not a temporary measure, but rather the new norm.”

Sources:
1. Chinese Government Website, March 5, 2024
https://www.gov.cn/yaowen/liebiao/202403/content_6936325.htm
2. Guancha, March 6, 2024
https://www.guancha.cn/politics/2024_03_06_727443.shtml
3. Phoenix, March 6, 2024
https://news.ifeng.com/c/8XjUlPgYsXM

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Government/Politics