Geo-Strategic Trend - 149. page

According to an article that Deutsche Welle published, President Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal on May 8. Two days later, China sent a freight train carrying 1,150 tons of sunflower seeds heading to Tehran, the capital of Iran. The article commented that it is hard not to conclude that the timing of the shipment was a signal that China and Iran sent to challenge the decision that the Trump administration made. The article stated that China entered into a trade agreement with Iran two years ago with a trade target to grow to US$600 billion over the next ten years. For China, Iran is a major component of its “One Belt One Road” project in opening up the middle Europe and China – Africa economic corridor. Meanwhile China buys 1/3 of its oil from Iran and is the largest oil buyer for Iran. In the first quarter of 2018, China’s imports from Iran averaged 658,000 barrels of oil each day, up 17.3 percent from the same period in 2017. The article also mentioned that the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that China opposes the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Iran Nuclear Deal.

Source: Deutsche Welle, May 11, 2018
http://www.dw.com/zh/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E7%81%AB%E8%BD%A6%E5%BC%80%E5%BE%80%E4%BC%8A%E6%9C%97-%E5%8F%AB%E6%9D%BF%E5%8D%8E%E7%9B%9B%E9%A1%BF/a-43737441?&zhongwen=simp

Before his visit to Japan, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang published an article with his byline in a Japanese mainstream media. The article was titled, “Let the Sino-Japanese Peace, Friendship and Cooperation Restart.” The article started with mentioning the short distance between China and Japan. Li said he regretted that it took a long time to push the development of a better relationship. As the second and the third largest economies in the world, it will truly benefit Asia and even the world if the two nations have a healthy relationship. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Sino-Japanese Peace and Friendship Treaty. Given the global challenges and the regional situation changes, cooperation among China, Japan and Korea will benefit the regional integration process of establishing the East Asian Economic Community. China is committed to peace and openness, which are required to ensure sustained economic growth. The economic complementarity between China and Japan is very strong. Li expected that his visit would witness the signing of a series of mutual economic cooperation agreements, as well as a local currency swap agreement. China will announce the grant of Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII) status to Japanese investors. Li also called for exchanges in culture, tourism and youth activities.

Source: Official Website of Chinese Central Government, May 8, 2018
http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2018-05/08/content_5289035.htm

Duowei News published an article that stated that Beijing’s suppression of Taiwan is inevitable and that the Tsai Ing-wen administration’s incompetence in handling its domestic affairs will cause it to get into more trouble. The article was referring to the Dominican Republic’s May 1 cutting its ties with Taiwan and its establishment of diplomatic relations with Beijing. This is the third country that has discontinued its foreign relations with Taiwan since Tsai took office. The article stated that it is good news that the number of countries that recognize Taiwan is down from 20 to 19. It claimed that, for Beijing, the two sides of the Strait are still in a state of civil war. The competition between the two sides in the international arena has always been a dispute of who represents China and it is a reasonable and inevitable choice for China to suppress Taiwan. The article further attacked the Tsai administration for its inability to deal with domestic disagreements and the lack of unity among the parties. It reminded Tsai that her administration should focus more on domestic affairs and unity rather than on playing politics.

Source: Duowei, May 1, 2018
http://news.dwnews.com/taiwan/news/2018-05-01/60055249.html

Deutsche Welle Chinese recently reported that German Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy, Peter Altmaier, said not long ago in Berlin that, since more and more Chinese investors have shown an interest in acquiring German companies, the government has been considering tightening up its foreign investment policies. Traditionally, the government would only interfere with a foreign acquisition when the deal was above 25 percent of the total market value of the company. The German government is now considering lowering the veto threshold to 10 percent. In the past, the German government typically stepped in when public security was at risk. Now, more and more consideration is given to the strategic position of the company, as well as whether the buyer is from a European Union member country or not. It is notable that Minister Altmaier picked up on this topic right before German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to the United States.

Source: Deutsche Welle Chinese, April 27, 2018
https://bit.ly/2FpROlk

On April 28, the second day after the historical meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and their signing of the Panmunjom Declaration, Chinese military aircraft trespassed into the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) without notifying Korea ahead of time. According to a YouTube posting from the Korean Television Station Arirang TV, the plane entered the zone at 10:44 am Korean Time. It flew close to Pohang Southeast of Korea and then headed towards Ulleungdo in Northeast Japan. The plane flew out of the zone at 2:33 pm. A Korean fighter jet was forced to monitor the movements. Beijing later claimed it was conducting normal training exercises within legal international air space. Epoch Times reported that this is the third time that Chinese military aircraft trespassed KADIZ in 2018. The last two times were on January 29 and February 27. The one on February 27, in particular, drew 10 Korean fighter jets to monitor the airspace and a complaint that the Defense Ministry of Korea sent to the Chinese Embassy in Korea. The article also mentioned that other than KADIZ, in recent months, Chinese military aircraft did the same trespassing in the southern part of Japan and in the airspace near Taiwan.

Sources:
1. Arirang TV, April 28, 2018
https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h5S4i_4PV4
2. Epoch Times, April 28, 2018
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/18/4/28/n10344780.htm

Huanqiu published an opinion article in which it stated, “A brand-new positive situation is forming around China. Some strategic risks are tending to ease. The possibility of serious conflict between China and individual surrounding forces due to specific disputes has dropped to a historical low. … The stability of China’s peripheral relations will reduce the likelihood that external forces around China will deliberately make a choice and intervene, thereby reducing the risk of conflict between China and the United States in matters concerning China’s major interests.” The article was referring to the recent softening relationship between China and India, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, the Philippines and Vietnam. It stated that Beijing made the effort to adjust its policy with its neighboring countries which has enabled those countries to realize that China’s rise is an opportunity for them rather than a threat. When friction arises, China and the neighboring countries need to appreciate each other and no one can force Asian countries to confront each other. The future of Asian peace and prosperity lies in the hands of Asians.

Source: Huanqiu, April 28, 2018
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2018-04/11941089.html