Geo-Strategic Trend - 122. page

At an interview with Sputnik News on December 18, Kemarsky Andrei Vadimovich, Head of the African Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated that Russia does not rule out the emergence of prerequisites for joint projects with China in Africa.

Kemarsky expressed that the volume of Chinese cooperation with African countries is much greater than the Russian trade and economic cooperation with the continent.

“We are interested in sharing the experience of cooperation with Africans. There is a lot to learn from Chinese partners. In turn, China seems to be interested in our cooperation with Africa, in particular in the field of science and technology, the promotion of high technologies, where we already have some good ideas. Some prerequisites for joint projects cannot be ruled out.”

Source: Sputnik News, December 18, 2018
http://sputniknews.cn/politics/201812181027142092/

On Monday December 17, 2018, a UK defense think tank, The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) published a report, “Armed Drones in the Middle East, Proliferation and Norms in the Region.” A key finding of the report was that, “despite the selective drone export policy that the U.S. upholds, over the past few years, several countries across the Middle East (Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE) have acquired armed drones either by purchasing them from China or (Israel, Iran, and Turkey) by building them domestically.”

“China has often been described as a no-questions-asked exporter of drones, a country that is ‘less encumbered by human rights considerations over its sales of drones.’ The country is not a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR – – an informal and voluntary partnership among 35 countries to prevent the proliferation of missile and unmanned aerial vehicle technology capable of carrying above 500 kg payload for more than 300 km.).”

“Beijing has capitalized on a gap created in the market. Over the past few years, it has supplied armed drones to several countries that are not authorized to purchase them from the US, and at a dramatically cheaper price.”

The report states, “It remains to be seen whether and how the loosening of restrictions that the current U.S. administration has imposed on the exportation of armed drones will alter the dynamics in the region. Nonetheless, the proliferation of armed UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) in the Middle East is unlikely to stop and could, in fact, even accelerate, either through domestic production or through reliance on external suppliers, such as Beijing.”

In recent years, China’s UAV manufacturing technology has improved rapidly, causing widespread concern in the international community. In November, the official Chinese news agency quoted Lei Qiang, a chief drone pilot of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) who stated that, although the Chinese drone started late, it has developed rapidly in recent years. Both technology and production have seen great improvement. China’s “UAV development ranks among the world’s top echelons.”

Source: Royal United Services Institute, December 17, 2018
https://www.rusi.org/publication/occasional-papers/armed-drones-middle-east-proliferation-and-norms-region
Xinhua, November 7, 2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2018-11/07/c_1123679748.htm

Radio France Internationale published an article which stated that, not only did Huawei bribe many Australian politicians and the U.S. think tank, The Brookings Institute, it also gave money to top universities through the “Seeds for the future” project. The universities that received the money include Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, York, Nottingham, Surrey, and other institutions in the UK. Huawei also acknowledged that it has cooperated with over 20 universities in the UK over the past five years. Through the “Seeds for the Future” project, Huawei has established contacts with many universities through the British Council to attract young talent and it has paid travel expenses for UK students to live in China for one month.

In addition, The Daily Telegraph reported that, for many years, Huawei has sponsored technology research projects on mobile and audio networks. Huawei promised to invest 5 million pounds (US$6.3 million) to establish a 5G Innovation Center at the University of Surrey. Huawei also invested more than 1 million pounds (US$1.25 million) in a computer lab at the University of Cambridge to support a Manchester University project to develop graphene. Graphene is the thinnest but hardest material in the world with the lowest resistivity. British physicists developed this nanomaterial in 2004.

Previously, Australian media reported that Huawei had sponsored a number of Australian politicians and family members to travel to China. The list of invitees included former Australian Foreign Minister Bishop. In addition, the Washington Post reported that the Brookings Institute, an authoritative U.S. think tank, was to receive a large donation from Huawei and was to speak favorably about Huawei.

Source: Radio France Internationale, December 14, 2018
http://rfi.my/3RCw.T

Jiemian News, the online news site under the Shanghai United Media Group, recently reported that German robotics giant Kuka AG officially announced the leave of its Global CEO, Till Reuter, who has served the company for the past decade. His original term had been extended to 2022. Sources explained that Reuter did not intend to leave the company. However, he had a major disagreement with the company Supervisory Board Chairman, Gu Yanmin, and decided to move on. Gu is the Deputy President of China’s Midea Group that acquired Kuka in 2016. The Midea Group currently holds 94.55 percent of Kuka. Kuka announced its major investment plan in China this past March. The plan will establish a new manufacturing base in Guangdong China to deliver an annual Chinese operation capacity to make 100,000 industrial robots by the year 2024. Kuka’s latest announcement indicated that there is no change in terms of intellectual property protection agreements it had with China.

Source: Jiemian News, November 27, 2018
https://www.jiemian.com/article/2657485.html

Xinhua reported that, on December 5, at the 33rd Madrid International Dance Festival and upon the invitation of the Ministry of Culture of Madrid, the China Central Ballet performed “Red Detachment of Women.” A total of three more performances are planned, from the 5th to the 7th. This is the first time since its establishment that the China Central Ballet has performed in Spain.

According to Wikipedia, “Red Detachment of Women” is a Chinese ballet which premiered in 1964 and was made one of the Eight Model Operas which dominated the national stage during the Cultural Revolution. It depicts the liberation of a peasant girl from Hainan Island and her rise in the Chinese Communist Party.

Chinascope reported that, in February 2017, prior to the “Red Detachment of Women” performance at the Melbourne Arts Festival, the Australian Values Alliance called for a boycott of the ballet, saying that the ballet promoted hatred and violence using the form of ballet and that Western countries should be alert to China’s use of cultural exchanges to infiltrate Western society.

According to Voice of America, “Red Detachment of Women” was performed in Pyongyang in April 2018. Kim Jong-un and his wife attended the performance.

Sources:
1. Xinhua, December 7, 2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/2018-12/07/c_1123816415.htm
2. Chinascope, February 6, 2017

Duowei: Australian Chinese to Boycott Chinese Ballet “Red Detachment of Women”

3. Voice of America, October 24, 2018
https://www.voachinese.com/a/3709487.html

On December 4 and 5, the 13th Confucius Institute Conference was held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. During the two-day session, the conference held two panel discussions, eight presidents’ forums, and 20 workshops. According Hanban, the global headquarters of the Confucius Institute, more than 1,500 representatives from more than 150 countries and regions attended the conference.

Sun Chunlan, Vice Premier of the State Council and Chairman of the Headquarters Council of the Confucius Institute, attended and delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. Chen Baosheng, the Minister of Education and Vice Chairman of the Headquarters Council of the Confucius Institute, hosted the opening ceremony. Vice Minister of Education Tian Xuejun attended the closing ceremony and delivered a speech. Forums and workshops had 460 participants who made a total of 220 speeches.

At present, 154 countries and regions have established 548 Confucius Institutes, 1,193 Confucius Classrooms in primary and secondary schools, and 5,665 Chinese teaching centers. 46,000 full-time and part-time teachers have been teaching the Chinese language to 11 million students.

Source: Hanban, December 5, 2018
http://conference.hanban.org/pc/news_details.html?main_lan=cn&_id=17

Radio France Internationale reported that, according to The Print, an Indian Media, in order to cooperate with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “One Belt and One Road” project, Beijing formulated a plan to target media in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa. The plan was to set up a “scholarship program” to host foreign journalists in China free of charge, including living in a luxury residence outside Beijing’s Jianguomen which is normally reserved for diplomats. Once these journalists finished the program, they would receive a certificate from a Chinese university and tour other regions in China. A requirement is that they must write positive reports on Beijing’s authorities.

According to The Print, starting from 2016, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has hosted about 100 journalists from Asian and African media to complete a so-called scholarship program which lasted for ten months. These foreign journalists would receive red carpet-style hospitality and live free of charge in the residences reserved for diplomats. The monthly rent for a two-bedroom unit in the area normally is 22,000 yuan (US$3,200). The journalist could travel to other provinces free of charge every month and earn an allowance of 5,000 yuan (US$728) per month. At the end of the program, a Chinese university would issue a certificate in international relations and they would be given the right to interview Chinese government officials and ministers. As part of the program, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Public Diplomacy Association jointly set up the China Africa News Center, the China Southeast Asia News Center, and the China South Asia News Center. These centers granted a press permit to the sponsored foreign journalists. The journalist identity of the original news organization did not work in China. During the 10-month stay, they were not allowed to do interviews about sensitive topics such as human rights, Tibet, and Xinjiang.

According to The Print, in the past three years, journalists participating in the program have come from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and other countries and regions. These journalists’ news organizations published most of their news reports, but those media wouldn’t disclose that China gave their journalists special treatment. India, however, was an exception. According to The Print, the Indian Embassy in Beijing clearly separated these journalists from the rest of the Indian journalists who are independently registered to work in China. Indian Journalists who attended China’s sponsored program were not allowed to participate in official Indian events or obtain official background information. Those China sponsored journalists were told that, when they wrote their reports, they had to bear in mind that China has a friendly relationship with their countries, especially about the “one belt and one road” project. One journalist from a Southeast Asia country told The Print that they were specifically informed that they could not report about the conflicts in the South China Sea. The Print quoted one as saying, “We were told that if we wished to complete the sponsorship program, we must write positive reports about China.”

Source: Radio France Internationale, December 1, 2018
http://rfi.my/3OGW.T