Geo-Strategic Trend - 50. page

According to Masatsugu Asakawa, head of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the organization will take up the issue of new loans to China as early as next year and discuss discontinuing future loans to China.

Analysts claim that because China, now the second-largest economy in the world, has a higher income level and offers financial aid to other Asian countries, it is no longer dependent on outside aid.

Following $9 billion between 2016 and 2020, the ADB intends to lend China up to $7.5 billion between 2021 and 2025. Next year, the bank will decide whether to stop extending new financing to China beyond 2025.

ADB offers loans to nations that meet specific requirements, such as having a gross national income of $7,455 or less per person, having trouble raising funds on the global market, and having economic development indicators that fall below a specified threshold. With a per capita GNI already above $7,455, China has no trouble obtaining financing on the global market.

China was the second-largest borrower after India at the end of 2021, with a balance of ADB loans totaling about $19.6 billion, or 14 percent of the bank’s total outstanding loans.

The ADB has 68 members, including Japan and the U.S., who each have 15.6 percent of the organization’s shares, followed by China coming in with 6.4 percent. To aid in the financing of infrastructure projects in the region, China also established the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Some nations contend that China shouldn’t keep getting loans as its influence in Asia’s infrastructure development grows. Singapore and South Korea are no longer recipients of the loans.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), August 19, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202208190358.aspx percent

On Sunday, August 21, The German newspaper Munchner Merkur (Munich Mercury) published an interview with Kaldemorgen  who saw great danger because of the dependence of German companies on China and called for a realignment.

The dependence of the German economy on China has “reached levels that lead to major dependencies,” warned Kaldemorgen. “The mystification of globalization must come to an end now. … In the future, Germany will have to do a lot of things itself again.”

Kaldemorgen is considered the best-known German fund manager. With a volume of around 13.5 billion euros, the fund he manages, DWS Concept Kaldemorgen, is one of the largest investors in Germany.

Kaldemorgen told Munchner Merkur, “Anyone reading the latest signs correctly should recognize that we need to reduce  our dependence on China significantly, both for exports and imports.”

“The Russian attack on Ukraine has raised many questions, including how we intend to deal with the authoritarian regime in China in the future.”

“Volkswagen makes about 40 percent of its sales in China. BASF is planning a plant there for 10 billion euros. Isn’t there a much greater danger for the German economy here?”

“The German economy must therefore start changing its business model.”

“The USA and Europe are already moving closer together again. This is mutually beneficial. For example, Germany obtains LNG gas from the USA, and Intel is building a semiconductor plant near Magdeburg for 17 billion euros.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, August 22, 2022
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/de-warn-08222022111914.html

Taiwanese news site NewTalk recently reported that China’s ambassador to India, Sun Weidong, warned local media to maintain their commitment to the One-China Principle and not to report on Taiwan. However, the Indian media ignored the CCP’s request and sent reporters to Taiwan for interviews. This is the first time Indian media reported back from Taiwan directly. On the same day, Gaurav C Sawant, a reporter from India Today, also tweeted that every day after he arrived in Taiwan, he sent reports about the CCP’s exercises to India. Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong held a media symposium in India on August 13th due to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, calling on India to reiterate the One-China policy. Since 2020, after the worst military conflict on the Sino-Indian border in 40 years, the Indian people’s favor with China has declined. India traditionally follows the One-China policy, but has not publicly stated this principle for a long time. When asked about the situation in the Taiwan Strait recently, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi called on both sides to exercise restraint, and he still did not mention the One-China policy.

Source: NewTalk, August 19, 2022
https://newtalk.tw/news/view/2022-08-19/803939

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that, starting on August 15th, Germany would hold the “Rapid Pacific 2022” air exercise with Singapore, Australia, Japan and South Korea in sequence. The German Air Force’s primary active-duty fighter jet, the Eurofighter Typhoon, will also participate. This is the first time since World War II that German warplanes have been projected over the Indo-Pacific region, regardless whether they are from West Germany or East Germany. The German government wants to use this exercise to prove that its air force can also operate in Asia and balance the power in that region against China. The German Air Force also dispatched three Airbus A330 MRTT aerial tankers, four Airbus A400M tactical transport aircraft, as well as around 250 soldiers. The spokesperson of the German Ministry of Defense said that Germany hopes to maintain diversity and order in the international community and to demonstrate this value together with security partners. The ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) heavyweight, member of the Bundestag and former Berlin mayor Michael Muller bluntly said that Germany cannot rely on China, which is a lesson from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This view has gradually become the consensus of European politics. The Ukrainian-Russian war has made Europe, which is directly facing the threat of Russia, once again realize the importance of the “Atlantic Alliance” between Europe and the United States.

Source: LTN, August 15, 2022
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/paper/1534449

Taiwan news media New Talk reported that the Philippine Coast Guard released photos on August 2, alleging that Philippine fishermen salvaged a 3-meter long, 2-meter wide rocket with debris weighing 100 kilograms off the coast of Mindoro Island at the northern end of the Sulu Sea. Judging from the appearance and text on the wreckage, it may be China’s “Long March 5-B” carrier rocket launched on July 24.

The rocket debris displayed by the Philippine Coast Guard clearly shows the pattern of the Chinese five-star flag. Philippine media reported that there are also Chinese characters on it. The Philippine Space Agency told the media that debris from a Chinese rocket crashed into the waters off the western part of the Philippines. There was no report of damage caused by the debris. That such a large and heavy piece of wreckage did not cause casualties or damage is perhaps just luck.

Source: New Talk, August 3, 2022
https://newtalk.tw/news/view/2022-08-03/795663