Skip to content

Geo-Strategic Trend - 24. page

Xi Asked Chinese Diplomats to Continue Being “Wolf Warriors”

On December 29, 2023, Xi Jinping met with the diplomats attending the 2023 Annual Conference of Foreign Envoys and delivered a speech. Xi urged Chinese diplomats to continue being “wolf warriors”. Some key points from the speech are translated below:

  • “First, remember the original mission of the communist party and be loyal to the party. Loyalty to the Party, loyalty to the country, and loyalty to the people are the glorious traditions of the diplomatic front.”
  • “Second, be a daring and courageous innovator. Actively confront challenges and come up with practical solutions.”
  • “Third, dare to struggle and be skilled in struggles, to be defenders of national interests.”

Source: China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, December 29, 2023
https://www.mfa.gov.cn/web/wjdt_674879/gjldrhd_674881/202312/t20231229_11215237.shtml

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

CCP’s Tactics to Influence People in Taiwan

The director of Taiwan’s Black Bear Institute, Shen Boyang, revealed new Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tactics focused on influencing Taiwan’s elections and shaping public opinion. Shen outlined the CCP’s “raising, enticing, and attacking” strategy, part of the CCP’s united front work, where the CCP first supports individuals financially then pressures them to promote CCP-friendly narratives in Taiwan.

Starting 2014, the CCP changed its strategy to focus primarily on Taiwanese youth. The new strategy is known as “three middles and one youth” (“三中一青”): focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises, middle and low-income groups, central and southern regions, and youth. To target young people, the CCP’s online army (“the 50 cent army”) upload content to each of approximately 200 YouTube channels every day.

For example, during the COVID pandemic, the CCP created a channel to attack the policy and efforts of Chen Shih-chung, then Taiwan’s Minister of Health and Welfare. The channel had 30 million views in Taiwan. The CCP also created the supporting group accounts of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President Lai Ching-teh on Facebook. After attracting a large number of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters there, the CCP started to post messages attacking Taiwanese politicians and policies.

Shen Boyang mentioned two series on TikTok – one called “DPP Resign” and another called “The DPP’s Domestic Policies Are Incompetent”. These two series garnered a total of 52 million views in Taiwan this year. Shen warned that ifTikTok users see that 99% of the news is about one party’s problems, he might think that the party is truly incompetent [being influenced by the Chinese propaganda].

Source: Epoch Times, December 31, 2023
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/12/31/n14147377.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

RFA Report: Korean Students Studying in China Down 80% Over Six Years

A recent report by the Korean Ministry of Education reported that the number of South Korean students going to China for higher education has decreased by nearly 80 percent over the past six years.

In 2017, there was a peak of 732,400 Korean students in China. As of April 1, 2023, there were only 158,570 Korean students in China, a 6.5 percent drop from 2022 and a 78.3 percent plunge compared to 2017. Each of the past six years has seen a declining number of Korean students in China compared with the year before.

The proportion of Korean international students who study in China has also shrunk substantially. In 2017, 30.5 percent of all Korean students abroad were in China. By 2021 the figure fell to 17.2 percent, and it has remained below 20 percent since then.

Analysts cite several reasons for the sharp decline in Korean students opting for Chinese universities. China’s slowing economic growth is likely a major factor discouraging foreign students, as were China’s strict epidemic control policies of recent years. A third potential factor could be Koreans’ declining opinions of China — polls have shown that the percentage of Koreans holding negative views about China has risen in recent years, especially among young Koreans.

Source: Radio Free Asia, December 26, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/3-12262023110441.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Oriental Daily: U.S. Bans Military Use of Seaports that Employ Chinese Logistics Platform LOGINK

Oriental Daily News, Hong Kong’s number one newspaper in circulation since 1976, recently reported that the U.S. 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, just signed into law by President Biden, contains provisions that prohibit the Pentagon from using any seaport that relies on China’s national logistics platform (LOGINK).

LOGINK is a key project sponsored by China’s State Council. Led by the Chinese Ministry of Transportation and the National Development Commission, LOGINK is a Chinese government transportation infrastructure project enabling the distribution and management of logistics information. The system is deployed to more than 20 ports around the world: 6 in Japan, 5 in South Korea, 1 in Malaysia, at least 9 in Europe, and 3 in the Middle East.

Under the new U.S. National Defense Authorization Act, Congress authorized a study of how foreign forces at the 15 largest container ports in the United States affect U.S. national and economic security, and the Secretary of State is to begin negotiations with U.S. allies and partners to have relevant countries to remove LOGINK software from their ports.

Senator Tom Cotton and Representative Michelle Steel, who sponsored the legislation, pointed out that China’s national logistics platform allows Beijing to monitor the U.S. military supply chain, which relies on commercial ports. LOGINK enables such monitoring by tracking the movement of cargo and ships .through a centralized system. Steele said LOGINK operates under the management of the Chinese government and that the threat posed by the software is very serious.

Beijing has invested in about 100 ports in more than 60 countries.

Source: Oriental Daily News, December 24, 2023
https://orientaldaily.on.cc/content/china_world/odn-20231224-1224_00178_003/

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Information/Technology

People’s Daily: China Has Improved Relations With These Countries in 2023

People’s Daily reported that China has elevated its relationship with the following countries in 2023:

  • All Weather Partnerships: Venezuela, Ethiopia
  • Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships: Turkmenistan, Gabon, Kyrgyzstan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Solomon Islands, Georgia, Zambia, Timor-Leste, Uraguy, Vietnam
  • Comprehensive and High-Quality Forward-Looking Partnerships: Singapore
  • Strategic Partnership: Pakistan, Benin, Syria, Columbia, Nicaragua

Source: People’s Daily, December 21, 2023
http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2023/1221/c1001-40144239.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China-Russia Eastern Gas Pipeline Transmitted 20 Billion Cubic Meters of Gas in 2023

China Oil and Gas Pipeline Network Corporation announced that, as of early December, the China-Russia Eastern Gas Pipeline has transmitted over 20 billion cubic meters this year, reaching a historical high. It has transmitted over 50 billion cubic meters of gas since its inception on December 2, 2019.

The China-Russia Eastern Gas Pipeline is the third long-distance cross-border pipeline supplying natural gas into China, following the Central Asian pipeline and the China-Myanmar pipeline. China’s portion of the pipeline starts from Heihe City in Heilongjiang Province and extends south to Shanghai, with a total length of 5,111 kilometers.

Source: Xinhua, December 15, 2023
http://www.news.cn/energy/20231215/2b453f6a1bcc4699abb398bd35a45acc/c.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend

India’s Largest Stock Exchange Surpasses Hong Kong

The combined market capitalization of stocks listed on India’s largest stock exchange, the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), has surpassed that of listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE). Shanghai-based Chinese financial news site East Money recently reported that, as optimism about India’s economic prospects grows, the NSE is now the seventh largest stock exchange in the world.

According to the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), the total market capitalization of stocks listed on NSE was US$3.989 trillion as of the end of November, while the total market capitalization of stocks listed on the HKSE was US$3.984 trillion. In terms of total market value of listed stocks, the NSE currently ranks behind the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stock Exchange, Shanghai Stock Exchange, Euronext, Tokyo Stock Exchange, and Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

India’s main benchmark stock index NSE Nifty 50 hit another high recently. The index has gained nearly 16 percent so far this year and is on track for its eighth straight year of gains.

India currently has the world’s fastest-growing large economy. Despite global economic headwinds, India’s economic growth this year is expected to reach 6.3 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). International ratings agency S&P Global recently said in a report that India will remain the world’s fastest-growing economy for at least the next three years. By comparison, Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index has fallen 18 percent so far this year. The index is on track for this year to be its fourth straight year of losses, the worst among major Asia-Pacific stock markets.

Source: East Money, December 12, 2023
https://finance.eastmoney.com/a/202312122930706147.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Lianhe Zaobao: British Companies in China Expect A Tougher Year Ahead

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported on the latest survey results from the British Chamber of Commerce in China. The business confidence survey of around 300 British companies in China indicated that 60 percent of surveyed companies believe that doing business in China is more difficult this year than last year. The top three reasons that made it more difficult for them are economic factors, geopolitical factors and regulatory factors.

The report pointed out that due to the slow recovery of China’s economy after Covid-19 and the influence of geopolitical issues, British companies in China are in a state of hesitation, and many companies have postponed their investment decisions. About 55 percent of the surveyed companies said they will reduce or maintain investment levels in China operations next year. Around 42 percent of the respondents believe that the uncertainty of other countries’ trade policies towards China in the past year had a negative impact on their business operations.

The report pointed out that 2024 will be a critical year for the development of relations between China and the West, and that China’s relationship with the West is likely to become an important factor driving changes and decisions for companies that are “stagnant.”

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, December 12, 2023
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/china/story20231212-1455731

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend