Geo-Strategic Trend - 53. page

Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that, in order to avoid increasing its dependence on China, the German government intends to veto the Chinese shipping giant China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO’s) stake in the container terminal of Hamburg, Germany’s largest port. Hamburg is an important trans-shipment station for European and Chinese sea routes. Currently, one third of the containers handled by the Port of Hamburg come from or are about to be shipped to China. A year ago, Hamburg Hafen & Logistics (HHLA), which operates the Port of Hamburg, confirmed that Chinese state-owned  COSCO planned to buy a 35 percent stake in the Tollerort container terminal. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck intends to veto the deal, fearing that COSCO’s stake will increase its reliance on China. In recent years, Germany has become cautious about economic cooperation with China. Political circles generally have doubts about COSCO taking a stake in the Port of Hamburg terminal, and are unwilling to let the terminal and other infrastructure construction fall into the hands of China. The German government that came to power at the end of last year has set a policy goal of reducing its dependence on China. It is expected to announce a new China strategy early next year, reflecting its tough stance on China.

Source: CNA, August 23, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aopl/202208230378.aspx

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that the United States is worried about increased Russian military activity in the Arctic. Therefore, the U.S. plans to appoint its first Arctic Ambassador to drive U.S. policy and strengthen diplomacy in the Arctic. The U.S. State Department chief deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said that Secretary of State Blinken will soon appoint an ambassador-at-large for the Arctic who will engage with Arctic countries and indigenous peoples. Peace and stability in the Arctic is of critical strategic importance to the United States. Media reports also point out that the U.S. move reflects the growing importance of the Arctic region in terms of strategy, commerce and resources. NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg said NATO will strengthen its presence in the Arctic. He pointed out that due to climate change, melting ice will make high latitudes more accessible, and high latitudes will become increasingly important in the future. Stoltenberg also called Russia’s capabilities in the Arctic a “strategic challenge” to NATO, warning that “the shortest path for Russian missiles and bombers to reach North America is to fly over the North Pole.” It is worth noting that, if Finland and Sweden formally join NATO, seven of the eight countries in the Arctic Circle will be NATO members. In March this year, the U.S. military conducted the first air defense integrated operations exercise in the Arctic. In addition, in August, the Russian Northern Fleet announced that it would start military training in the Arctic.

Source: Sina, August 28, 2022
https://news.sina.com.cn/w/2022-08-28/doc-imizmscv8069243.shtml

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