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Geo-Strategic Trend - 37. page

China Times: Austria Joins Countries Banning TikTok from Business Phones

Major Taiwanese newspaper China Times recently reported that the Austrian Federal Interior Minister, Gerhard Karner, announced that the government will ban civil servants from using the Chinese-owned short video sharing application TikTok on their official mobile phones. This means another country joins the growing list of those who have banned the use of TikTok, Including the United Kingdom, the United States and several European Union (EU) member states. Many Western countries have banned the use of TikTok on official devices based on national security concerns. The EU’s two largest decision-making bodies also imposed a ban on TikTok in March. When Gerhard Karner was interviewed before the regular weekly cabinet meeting today, he was asked whether Austrian government officials could continue to use TikTok. He told reporters that official mobile phone use will be banned. However, using TikTok with private mobile phones outside the federal network is still possible. TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It is under scrutiny from a number of governments and regulators amid concerns that the Chinese government could use the app to collect user data or advance its own interests.

Source: China Times, May 11, 2023
https://www.chinatimes.com/cn/realtimenews/20230510006402-260408?chdtv

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Information/Technology

The U.S. and Europe to Take Joint Action against China

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that Western countries continue to hype the topic of so-called “economic coercion” by China. Following the Group of Seven (G7), the United States and the European Union also plan to repeat some old expressions of “concern” about China at a meeting at the end of this month, promising to take “joint actions” against China in a number of different fields such as the economy and trade. U.S. Secretary of State Blinken, European Commission Executive Vice President Vestager and other senior officials will attend the fourth ministerial meeting of the U.S.–EU Trade and Technology Committee (TTC) in Luleå, Sweden from May 30 to 31. According to a draft statement about that meeting, the United States and the European Union intend to commit to continued coordination and cooperation in the field of export control and investment review, and to address the challenges posed by issues such as non-market policies and practices and economic coercion. The U.S. and the EU have expressed the concern that “certain countries” use economic coercion to “induce or influence” foreign government decisions or actions for their own strategic political or policy goals. The parties committed to holding regular talks to discuss how to prevent companies in their regions from using knowledge related to foreign investment to support the technology advancement of their strategic competitors. The announcement draft also includes a bilateral commitment by Washington and Brussels to coordinate export controls on “sensitive items,” including items with military uses and semiconductors. The Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said, in response to an inquiry, that the U.S.-led groups are not only “suppressing China,” but also depriving developing countries of their right to scientific and technological progress, hoping to forever suppress these countries at the low end of the industrial chain.

Source: Sina, May 14, 2023
https://k.sina.com.cn/article_1887344341_707e96d502001dd6d.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

Departing World Bank President: China Refused to Restructure Debts for Developing Countries

David R. Malpass, the departing President of the World Bank, told Bloomberg that, though the World Bank provided super-low interest rate loans to the developing countries facing debt payment challenges, those countries’ debt problems have not been resolved since China refused to restructure their debts.

Over seventy low-income countries accumulated US$326 billion worth of debt in total. Half of these countries, including Zambia, Ethiopia, and Ghana, are already unable to pay their debts or are about to be in that state soon. Zambia’s debt must be restructured (as it could not pay it back following the current terms), Seventy-five percent were from Beijing.

Source: Epoch Times, May 9, 2023
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/5/9/n13991783.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend

Chinese with CCP Ties Are the Top Donors to New Zealand’s National Party

Two agents working for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are among the top donors to New Zealand’s National Party, a major opposition party, according to donation records in 2022 that were released by the New Zealand Electoral Commissions in late April.

Lu Xinyan (Vicky Lu), donated $18,750 to New Zealand  and ranked 31st among the top donors. Lu is the acting head of the Australian and New Zealand offices of People’s Daily Overseas Edition. People’s Daily is the CCP’s main mouthpiece. Lili Wang donated $17,110 to New Zealand  to the National Party. Wang is the head of the Chinese Language Herald newspaper in New Zealand, which has been run by a company owned by the CCP’s state-run China News Service.

Steven Wong also donated $16,161. He is the former President of the New Zealand branch of the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification (中國和平統一促進會), which targets Taiwan and runs under the CCP’s United Front Department.

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 8, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/nz-donate-05082023105346.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend

China’s “Belt and Road” Investment Shifts Focus

China’s overseas investments related to the “Belt and Road” initiative are undergoing a shift, with a decrease in large-scale infrastructure projects and an increase in soft investments in areas such as biotech and digital technology. According to data from fDiMarkets, a service that tracks foreign direct investment, China’s greenfield investments in local entities, factories, and sales channels are growing in the digital and biotech sectors. Investments in IT, communication, and electronic components have grown sixfold to $17.6 billion, while biotech investments have surged to $1.8 billion, a 29-fold increase since the start of the then  Belt and Road initiative in 2013.

Etana Biotechnologies, an Indonesian start-up, has acquired the technology for the development of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines from Suzhou Aibo Biotechnology in China. The vaccine plant is to be completed in 2022 with a target of 100 million doses.

The development of digital and biotech sectors represents a shift in China’s overseas investment strategy away from large-scale infrastructure and fossil fuel projects. In the past decade, China has reduced its investment in coal and fossil fuels by 99 percent and has set a goal of decarbonizing by 2060. Meanwhile, China’s investment in metals such as aluminum has also peaked and since 2018, it has declined . The soft investments in digital and biotech sectors are seen as more cost-effective than hard infrastructure investments, and the smaller investment amounts could help to reduce debt risks for emerging market countries.

Source: Nikkei, May 8, 2023
https://zh.cn.nikkei.com/china/ceconomy/52291-2023-05-08-05-00-03.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Russia Authorizes Export of Up to 30 Percent of Enriched Uranium Nuclear Fuel to China

According to a government decree released on May 2nd, Russia has authorized its state-owned nuclear fuel company, TVEL, to export new nuclear fuel to China for the next three years. The fuel to be exported will be enriched with uranium-235 to no more than 30.4 percent purity. The Federal Service for Technological and Export Control (FSTEC) of Russia is responsible for issuing the necessary licenses to TVEL for exporting such nuclear fuel to China, and should do so before April 12, 2026.

Russia and China are actively cooperating in the peaceful nuclear energy sector, including in the field of fast neutron reactors, which use uranium-235 of higher purity than traditional thermal neutron reactors. The two countries are working together to construct a 600 MW CFR-600 fast neutron reactor, which is China’s flagship project in the field of “fast” nuclear energy. In late 2017, China began building its first fast reactor at a nuclear power plant in Xiapu, Fujian Province. In June 2018, Russia and China signed an agreement to cooperate in building and operating the CFR-600 fast neutron reactor, and subsequently signed an agreement to provide nuclear fuel for the reactor.

In addition, the government decree also authorized TVEL to export new nuclear fuel with uranium purity not exceeding 5 percent to India before April 12, 2026, which will be provided to nuclear power plants under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in India, in which Russia is a partner, has already commissioned units 1 and 2, and construction of another four units is underway as part of the plant’s second and third phases.

Source: Sputnik News (Russia), May 3, 2023
https://sputniknews.cn/20230503/1050025294.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

CNA: China’s Foreign Investment Fell to A Five-year Low Last Year

Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that, as China strengthens its pressure on foreign capital, foreign direct investment in China only reached US$180 billion in 2022, an annual decrease of 48 percent, a new low since 2017. Economists say new investment into China has slowed and will be hard to recover. The outlook for foreign investment in China has become murkier as China revises its anti-espionage law, broadening its scope to potentially cover day-to-day business activities of foreign investors, as well as targeting foreign consulting firms that provide services to multinational corporations. At the same time, growing tensions between China and the United States may also limit investment, and the U.S. government is also preparing to impose new restrictions on U.S. companies investing in China. This may put foreign capital, which can bring innovative ideas and cutting-edge technology to China, at particular risk. The entry of these companies into China is an important channel for China to learn to improve production efficiency and people’s living standards. China’s appeal as a destination for foreign direct investment had waned ahead of recent Chinese pressure on foreign capital, due to China’s clashes with the West over trade, technology, and national security. In the meantime, low-cost manufacturing destinations such as India and Vietnam are growing. Economists say the fragile political environment means foreign capital in China is likely to remain concentrated in only a few big companies willing to maintain or expand existing businesses, especially those eager to tap China’s consumer market, such as McDonald’s and Starbucks.

Source: CNA, May 5, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202305050174.aspx

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend

South Korea’s Q1 Exports to China Drop by 28 Percent as Trade Cools Down Between the Two Countries

South Korea’s trade with China has shifted from a surplus to a deficit, drawing attention from various parties. According to the Chinese General Administration of Customs, in the first quarter of this year, South Korea’s exports to China were $38.2 billion, down 28.2% from the same period last year, the largest decline among its major trading partners. The report cites a Bank of Korea (BOK) report, which states that the positive effects of reopening of China’s economy are limited, and the pace of domestic demand recovery has not accelerated, particularly for durable goods such as mobile phones and cars, which have impacted South Korea’s exports.

South Korea remained the second-largest trading partner in China’s import trade for the entire year of 2022. However, in the first quarter of this year, South Korea dropped to fifth place in terms of import trade, following the United States, Taiwan, Australia, and Japan. At the same time, South Korea’s imports from China in the first quarter of this year also fell by 7.1 percent compared to the same period last year.

The BOK report suggests that South Korea’s significant decline in exports to China is largely due to the slump in semiconductor exports. Due to the global decline in semiconductor demand and a sharp drop in memory chips prices, South Korea’s overall semiconductor exports in the first quarter of this year fell by 40 percent compared to the same period last year. In particular to China, South Korea’s semiconductor exports saw a decline of 31.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022 and 44.5 percent in the first quarter of this year.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), April 30, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202304300200.aspx

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend