Geo-Strategic Trend - 40. page

A joint investigation by Deutsche Welle and the German media outlet CORRECTIV reported that Chinese students studying in Germany are being closely monitored by the Chinese authorities. Those who receive scholarships from the China Scholarship Council (CSC) are required to sign an agreement and report to the Chinese embassy. Those who violate the agreement will be punished. According to the report, several German universities have already established cooperation with the CSC, and one Chinese student who signed the agreement said he was afraid to participate in demonstrations in Germany, while other Chinese students also expressed fear of surveillance by the Chinese authorities.

The China Scholarship Council is a unit directly under the administration of the Chinese Ministry of Education and is responsible for organizing, funding and managing Chinese citizens studying abroad and foreign citizens studying in China. The majority of Chinese students currently studying abroad with government support are receiving  scholarships provided by the CSC, which covers the study and living expenses of Chinese students admitted to overseas universities. Overseas institutions that cooperate with the CSC accept Chinese students with government scholarships, and all costs are covered by the Chinese side, without taking away from the foreign school’s own research funds. Therefore, this kind of cooperation is welcomed by overseas institutions, and some of them even provide special quotas for Chinese students with government scholarships. In recent years, the students with government scholarships have tended to be in the fields of science and technology, and some European institutions have found that some Chinese students have military backgrounds, which has increased the suspicion that European countries have toward Chinese students.

Besides Germany, countries such as Sweden have also discovered agreements between Chinese students and the CSC, and some universities have even terminated their cooperation agreements with China as a result. The agreements signed between the students and the Chinese authorities mainly stipulate that the students must return to China to serve for two years after graduation, that the scholarship recipients must have two Chinese citizens as guarantors, that the guarantors who are permanent residents of China should take a single trip abroad not exceeding three months, and that the spouse should not act as a guarantor. If the scholar violates the agreement, the guarantors are jointly and severally liable.

The agreement also stipulates that, during the period of study, the signatory “shall not engage in any activities detrimental to the interests and security of the motherland,” “shall obey the guidance and management of the embassy or consulate abroad during the period of study,” and “shall report regularly on the progress of study and research.” The agreement is not terminated until the signatory returns to China after two years of service.

The agreement requires the scholar not to interrupt his or her studies without cause, or the sponsor, who lives in China, will be liable for the compensation. The agreement came to light earlier this year when a Chinese student at Lund University in Sweden was advised to discontinue his studies due to poor academic performance. The student was concerned that discontinuing his studies would cause his family trouble because of the agreement he had signed with the Chinese authorities. Following reports in the Swedish media, leading universities such as Lund University and Uppsala University in Sweden said that, following reports in the Swedish media, in the future they would stop cooperating with the CSC.

Source: Voice of America, March 18, 2023
https://www.voachinese.com/a/agreement-of-loyalty-exposed-20230318/7011347.html

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that more than 50 defense, pharmaceutical and technology companies, including SpaceX, Netflix and Boeing, will join a delegation organized by the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council to visit Vietnam soon to explore investment and sales opportunities in the country. The U.S.-ASEAN Business Council Vietnam Chief Representative Ngo Thu Thanh said that similar activities organized by the organization have a history of 30 years. However, this time, Vietnam will usher in the largest delegation in history. Ng Thu Thanh pointed out that most of the companies in the delegation already have operations or production bases in Vietnam, such as Apple, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, and some companies are planning on expansion. Ng Thu Thanh revealed that Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Bell will hold meetings with several Vietnamese state-owned defense procurement companies. Boeing said in a statement that its discussions with Vietnam will focus on their growing partnership and ways to strengthen the country’s aerospace and defense capabilities. SpaceX, which is looking to sell satellite internet services to Vietnam and other countries in the region, was also in the delegation. The delegation also includes a number of semiconductor companies, pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, Abbott, Visa, Citibank, Meta and Amazon Web Services, along with other large companies. The trade friction between China and the U.S is in the ascendant, and the trend of staying away from China has allowed Vietnam to benefit. This visit shows that the international community is paying more attention to this rising international manufacturing center. With the expansion of the middle class, Vietnam, with a population of 100 million, has also become a rapidly growing consumer market. After Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s resignation in January, some companies also came to learn more about the local political situation.

Source: Sina, March 17, 2023
https://finance.sina.com.cn/jjxw/2023-03-17/doc-imymczux4277665.shtml

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu (NASDAQ: SOHU) recently reported that, according to three Indian government officials involved in policymaking and two banking sources, India has asked banks and traders to avoid using the Chinese Yuan (RMB) to pay for Russian imports. India is “dissatisfied” with foreign trade settled in Yuan, said a government official directly involved in the matter. Another Indian official said that, until relations between China and India improve, India cannot allow the use of the Yuan for settlement. Analysts believe that India’s motivation comes mainly from political factors. Tens of thousands of Indian troops have been deployed along the disputed Himalayas since 2021, clouding geopolitical ties. Indian officials did not say whether there were economic reasons behind India’s reluctance to accept Yuan settlement. In 2022, UltraTech Cement, India’s largest cement producer, used RMB to purchase a batch of Russian coal. The deal sparked concern among Indian authorities. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), not keen on using Yuan for foreign trade settlements, confirmed that the government has blocked it. The Indian Rupee is partially exchangeable, meaning it must be converted into U.S. Dollars before it can be converted into any other currency, making the rupee an unattractive as a reserve currency for global central banks and settlement of trade.

Source: Sohu, March 15, 2023
https://www.sohu.com/a/654357047_120157