Geo-Strategic Trend - 40. page

Two Chinese exiled dissidents protested in front of the Chinese Embassy in Finland and were subsequently arrested and detained for two days after the embassy staff reported them to the police for “multiple serious crimes.”

Last Friday, Wang Jingyu arrived in Finland and joined another exiled dissident, Zhao Yunting, in protesting in front of the Chinese Embassy. The embassy filed a complaint stating that the protesters were disrupting their normal operations, but the police released the two protesters after questioning them. On the following day, Wang Jingyu and Zhao Yunting continued their protest in front of the embassy. Subsequently, police officers arrived and arrested them. The next day, they were officially detained and informed that they were suspected of serious crimes. During the interrogation, Wang Jingyu was informed that a Chinese Embassy staff member named “Zhang Kui” had reported them for carrying explosives, extortion, and robbery. Based on these charges, Wang Jingyu and Zhao Yunting could potentially face a one-year prison sentence.

With the assistance of their lawyers and the Finnish Central Criminal Police, Wang Jingyu and Zhao Yunting were released after being detained for two days. On Wednesday, Wang Jingyu recounted the events and said, “On May 7th, the Finnish police formally arrested and detained us.. A police officer said that Zhao Yunting and I were suspected of serious criminal offenses. On May 8th, the Finnish police interrogated me again and told me that a person named ‘Zhang Kui’ from the Chinese Embassy had called them and accused us of planting bombs in Helsinki and robbing their diplomatic property, as well as extortion. After investigating, the Finnish police confirmed that we did not commit these acts.”

Wang Jingyu also mentioned that he had been subjected to death threats and harassment for over a year, with Chinese overseas police officers falsely reporting him numerous times. He believes this incident follows the same pattern and indicates a connection between the Chinese Embassy and illegal Chinese overseas police agencies.

The Chinese Embassy in Finland was contacted multiple times by the media, but they stated that there is no person named “Zhang Kui” in the embassy. Currently, Finnish lawyers are preparing to seek state compensation for the actions of the police. Wang Jingyu urged the police to  disclose the information about  the individual who made the false bomb threat publicly and called for a public condemnation statement.

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 11, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/bomb-05112023112424.html

According to a Dutch media report, in the past two years, several provinces and cities in the Netherlands have ended their sister province and sister city relationships with China . China has been using these relationships as a means of external influence and penetration, but China  is facing increasing resistance.

The investigation by the Dutch newspaper NRC revealed that one-fourth of the sister friendly cooperation relationships, established between local authorities in the Netherlands and China in the past two years, have been canceled. Furthermore, several other municipal institutions are also preparing to end such cooperative relationships, while some municipalities are reevaluating their relationships with Chinese sister cities.

The report states that Dutch municipal authorities often cite China’s persecution of the Uighur ethnic group as the reason for terminating these relationships. Ahmed Marchouc, the mayor of Arnhem, said, “We must respect the principles of democracy, the rule of law, press freedom, and freedom of speech… (but) maintaining (friendly) relations with Chinese cities creates an image that disrespects these principles.” The city ended its relationship with Wuhan in 2021.

Some cities also mentioned that the economic benefits derived from these sister city relationships with China were not significant, which contributed to their decision to end them.

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 8, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/9-05082023154300.html

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

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