Geo-Strategic Trend - 13. page

China’s sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation (CIC), with assets totaling $1.2399 trillion, is targeting Japan’s small- and medium-sized enterprises. The plan is to allow Japanese companies with high-quality services and undervalued corporate value to thrive in China’s massive consumer market. While information disclosed is limited, this move by Beijing could trigger discussions in Japan and abroad around economic security.

In Shenzhen, the Japanese massage parlor “KA·RA·DAfactory” has attracted many Chinese customers seeking out high-quality Japanese services. Priced at 688 yuan for 60 minutes, about 1.7 times higher than in Japan, the parlor requires around 100 hours of training for its therapists to provide consistent, high-quality services. Japanese quality services, honed in years of deflation, are now praised even in the birthplace of massage – China. In the first year since the parlor’s March 2023 opening, around 60% of customers have become regulars, including many customers from Hong Kong who were attracted by the Japanese brand. The company operating the massage parlor is Factory Japan Group, which was 100% acquired by CIC’s Japan-China investment fund in 2022 in partnership with the Nomura and Daiwa Securities groups. Factory Japan Group plans to expand through franchising in China, targeting 53 outlets by 2026 leveraging CIC’s huge influence.

CIC’s Japan fund primarily targets unlisted medium and small enterprises, or businesses that can increase value through joint Chinese-Japanese operations. In April, CIC invested in a Japanese language education institute catering to students aspiring to study in Japan.

Since 2017, CIC has launched overseas funds in collaboration with top financial institutions from the US, UK, Japan, Italy, France and Germany. By 2022-end, they had invested in over 20 companies in advanced manufacturing, healthcare, financial services and consumer sectors.

CIC views Japan’s unlisted medium and small enterprises as highly valuable acquisitions. However, Chinese investments could pose economic security risks for Japan. M&A deals with China as the buyer peaked around 2016 at around 20 annually.

As China enhances sanctions against advanced manufacturing like semiconductors, and as its market matures demanding quality goods and services, Japanese service and manufacturing sectors may become prime acquisition targets.

While CIC has an international advisory board displaying transparency, information on specific investments is limited. Improved transparency and accountability are crucial for CIC’s global acceptance as a trusted investor.

Source: Nikkei, May 15, 2024
https://zh.cn.nikkei.com/china/ccompany/55562-2024-05-16-05-00-14.html

Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that 35 cross-party members of the Japanese-Taiwanese Parliamentarian Symposium will visit Taiwan to attend the inauguration ceremony for Taiwanese President-elect Lai Ching-te on May 20th. This will be the largest Japanese delegation in history.

Japanese Representative Kishi Nobu Chiyo, the nephew of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will be among the visiting Japanese delegates. Akie Abe, the widow of Shinzo Abe, will also make a special trip to Taiwan to attend the inauguration ceremony.

CNA reported that president-elect Lai Ching-te has a profound friendship with the Abe family. Immediately after Shinzo Abe’s assassination, then Vice President Lai Ching-te went to Japan to express his condolences to Abe’s family members and friends. At the time, Lai Ching-te was at the highest-level Taiwanese government official to visit Japan since 1972.

When China banned imports of Taiwanese pineapples, Shinzo Abe made a video of himself eating pineapples, calling on the Japanese people to purchase more of the fruit from Taiwan. The fact Japan is now sending its largest delegation in history to attend the Taiwanese inauguration symbolizes the continued warming of Taiwan-Japan relations. After Lai Ching-te takes office, he is expected to continue supporting Taiwan-Japan friendship, with the hope that the two countries can work together to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Source: CNA, May 14, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aipl/202405140249.aspx

A Radio France International article discussed the great geopolitical game unfolding in Central Asia, not between Britain and Russia as in the 19th century, but among the emerging nations of Central Asia and their powerful neighbors – Russia and China.

The French TV channel interviewed historian Emmanuel Lincot to understand this political and economic struggle. Lincot explains that while China had less influence than Russia and Britain in the 19th century, it sought strategic depth by conquering Xinjiang/East Turkestan.

Lincot argues that Beijing has been more successful than Moscow and the West in opening up Central Asia. Chinese companies have built roads and pipelines across the region under China’s Belt and Road Initiative since 2013. There are local divisions in the region, however, with some groups opposing China’s growing clout.

China has bolstered its influence through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, using it to extradite Uyghurs to China. It is also considering construction of small military bases in Tajikistan aiming to combat drug traffickers and Uyghur militants. For Beijing, economic development in Central Asia goes hand in hand with national security.

Lincot notes that China has failed to win trust among the Muslim populations who increasingly resent the new Chinese order. Protests have been occurring in anti-regime states and support is growing for Turkic Muslim groups like Uyghurs.

Russia will need to contend with China’s new assertiveness in Central Asia. Beijing held a China-Central Asia summit in May 2023, signaling China’s intention to draw former Soviet states away from Moscow and into Beijing’s orbit. The US, EU and Turkey are also aiming to boost their influence in this resource-rich region.

Source: Radio France International, May 14, 2024
https://rfi.my/AbO5

An investigation by Radio Free Europe across nine countries revealed that Eastern European nations have purchased millions of Chinese-manufactured surveillance cameras over the past five years, despite security flaws, lax data management by the manufacturers, and manufacturer ties to the Chinese government.

The report found widespread use across EU and NATO member states or aspiring member states of cameras made by the partially state-owned companies Hikvision and Dahua. Cash-strapped European governments are increasingly opting for products from such low-cost, state-subsidized Chinese firms.

While most countries lack national databases of surveillance cameras, available data and RFE’s reporting showed that Hikvision and Dahua dominate the security camera markets in Hungary, Serbia, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Bulgaria, and Georgia. Experts warn that these companies’ well-documented vulnerabilities make the cameras susceptible to hacking and foreign adversaries, and yet the cameras are in use at sensitive sites like Romanian military bases and Hungary’s counter-terror headquarters.

Such cameras are banned from use in the government by the U.S., the U.K., and Australia. As of now, Europe has not yet implemented similar restrictions. However, with a string of Chinese espionage scandals erupting during President Xi’s recent Europe tour and the EU cracking down on Chinese trade practices, the European foothold of these security camera manufacturing firms could become another flashpoint.

Use of such security devices in countries like Hungary and Serbia is likely to grow as those countries’ relationships with Beijing deepen, heightening concerns over privacy and national security risks from the Chinese-made technology.

Source: Voice of America, May 12, 2024
https://www.voachinese.com/a/china-surveillance-cameras-central-eastern-europe/7605597.html

Well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) reported that, according to calculations based on official data from the German Federal Statistics Office, the United States surpassed China to become Germany’s largest trading partner during the first quarter of this year. Data show that from January to March, the trade volume between Germany and the United States – exports and imports combined – reached 63 billion euros. Meanwhile, the trade volume between Germany and China during the same period was slightly less than 60 billion euros.

In the first quarter, Germany’s imports from China fell by nearly 12 percent year-on-year, while its exports to China fell by just over one percent. Currently, the United States accounts for about 10 percent of German merchandise exports. China’s share  of merchandise exports has dropped to less than six percent.

Vincent Stamer, an economist at Commerzbank, explained that “German exports to the United States are rising mainly due to the strong U.S. economy.” Juergen Matthes, economist at the German Institute for Economic Research (IW) said, “China’s economy performed worse than many expected, while the U.S. economy beat expectations.”

In 2023, China maintained its status as Germany’s largest trading partner for the eighth consecutive year, with total China-German trade reaching 253 billion euros. Meanwhile, US-German trade totaled more than 252 billion euros in 2023.

Source: NetEase, May 9, 2024
https://www.163.com/dy/article/J1P0UH7A05566Z8K.html

According to Major Taiwanese media network Liberty Times Network (LTN), Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance recently announced that the proportion of Taiwan’s exports bound for China (including Hong Kong) in the first four months of this year dropped to 30.7 percent – the lowest level seen in 22 years. LTN reported that global supply chains are diversifying amid China’s economic weakness and tensions between China and the U.S.

For many years, Taiwan’s proportion of exports to China has hovered around 40 percent. It’s worth noting that Taiwan’s exports of semiconductors and other electronic components to China are in particularly steep decline. Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance explained that, in addition to the slow recovery of China’s internal demand, the supply chain for digital electronics and other commodities has shifted outside of China, thus reducing Taiwan’s exports to China.

From January to April of this year, Taiwan’s overall exports increased by 10.6 percent, exports to the United States increased by 64 percent, and exports to ASEAN countries increased by 25 percent. Taiwan’s proportion of exports bound for the United States reached 23.5 percent, while exports to ASEAN countries reached 19.5 percent of Taiwan’s total exports.

Encouraged by U.S. customers, Taiwanese companies have been diversifying their supply chains ever since China-US tensions began to worsen starting in 2010. They have been diversifying their production locations by moving some of their production capacity from China back to Taiwan or to other locations such as the United States, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere.

Source: LTN, May 9, 2024
https://ec.ltn.com.tw/article/breakingnews/4666984

Deutsche Welle Chinese Edition recently reported on the 2024 Business Confidence Survey just released by the European Chamber of Commerce. The survey showed that uncertainty for European companies in China has increased due to China’s economic slowdown as well as the Chinese government’s prioritization of domestic companies over foreign companies and its unclear regulations.

Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said that companies are beginning to realize that low demand [within China] may persist for a long time. He also said that companies saw other countries emerging and becoming competitors that China must take seriously.

More than one-third of survey respondents observed overcapacity within their respective sectors of the Chinese economy. Although China reopened its economy [by lifting COVID controls] in early 2023, the survey results indicate a continued decline in market confidence.

The development of European companies in China is hindered by structural problems in China’s economy. These include weak domestic demand, increasing overcapacity, ongoing real estate difficulties, market access issues, regulatory barriers, and other obstacles. More than half of surveyed companies reported China’s economic slowdown as a top challenge, a significant increase over previous years’ survey results. Around 52 percent of companies surveyed plan to cut costs; about a quarter of such cost cutting will be achieved through layoffs.

The Chinese government has been sending mixed signals to foreign companies as it pursues economic development while simultaneously tightening regulations related to national security and safety.

Source: DW Chinese, May 10, 2024
https://p.dw.com/p/4fhW1