Geo-Strategic Trend - 59. page

China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, visited the Pacific Islands from May 26 to June 4. However, Beijing failed to convince the island countries to sign key cooperation treaties at the Second China-Pacific Islands Foreign Minister Meetings on May 30.

Reuters reported that China drafted two treaties for the meeting. One was the “China-Pacific Islands Countries Common Development Vision.” The second was a five-year development plan. China said it will provide millions of dollars in aid to the ten island countries and establish a free trade agreement (FTA) to let them enter China’s market of 1.4 billion people. In return, China will have a big influence over these countries. China will train police for these ten countries, set up forensic labs, participate in local network security work and intelligent customs, develop political connections, conduct sensitive marine mapping, and obtain more local natural resources.

On May 20, Micronesia’s President Panuelo sent a letter to state heads of 21 countries in the Pacific. He said that his cabinet asked him to carefully consider Beijing’s suggestion and considered that China’s FTA recommendation was dishonest. President Panuelo warned in his letter that China’s recommendation will in essence tie the economy and the society of the island countries to Beijing.

The foreign ministers of these islands countries didn’t sign China’s two documents on May 30.

In the past, China has been working on the Pacific Islands:

1. In 2002, China convinced Nauru to cut its diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
2. China set up an economic office in the Pacific Islands to secure economic and trade relations, as well as its fishing business with these countries.
3. China, through the military medical system, gradually provided equipment and built medical facilities in the name of military medical humanitarian aid in the three countries that have defense departments: Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and the Kingdom of Tonga.
4. China has built a large number of tourist hotels in the Federated States of Micronesia and Fiji.
5. China has gradually taken control the mines in these countries.
6. In April this year, China signed a secret treaty with the Solomon Islands which allowed China to have police exchanges and a possible naval base on the Solomon Islands.

Sources:
1. BBC, June 1, 2022
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-61651994
2. Epoch Times, June 4, 2022
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/6/4/n13752471.htm

Well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) recently reported that, according to Indian government data, India is now the world’s third-largest pharmaceutical manufacturer based on production rankings. At the same time, India is also one of the countries with the lowest pharmaceutical manufacturing costs in the world. As the world’s number one generic drug manufacturer, India’s share of generic drug exports accounts for 20 to 22 percent of the world’s total. In the U.S., one third of the tablets are made in India, while in the U.K., a quarter of the tablets are produced in India. However, before becoming the pharmacy of the world, India still needs to remove its dependence on China. India has embarked on an ambitious plan to reduce its dependence on China for key ingredients in its pharmaceutical industry. India wants to be self-sufficient in its journey to become the pharmacy of the world. Since the outbreak of COVID, India has become a key player in the world’s anti-epidemic action with its pharmaceutical production capacity. According to the Indian government, as of May 9, India has provided more than 201 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to about 100 countries in Southeast Asia, South America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East through government projects and the COVID-19 Vaccine Access Facilities (COVAX). India leads the world in drug production, yet relies heavily on China for key active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). For cost reasons, about 68 percent of India’s APIs are imported from China. In terms of life-saving antibiotics such as penicillin, cephalosporins and azithromycin, India’s dependency on China is even as high as 90 percent. According to a policy called the “production linked incentive scheme” launched by the Indian government two years ago, starting in March this year, 32 factories across India have been producing 35 APIs. The plan aims to incentivize companies in various industries in India to boost their domestic manufacturing output by $520 billion by 2025. India’s pharmaceutical industry sees weaning its dependence on China as a priority. Blind “offshoring” has now become “friendshoring.” One country today will outsource operations to other countries with a similar political system and with whom it has historically had good relations.

Source: NetEase, May 27, 2022
https://www.163.com/dy/article/H8DIAAMQ051481US.html

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin announced on May 24 that State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will pay official visits to the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and Timor-Leste.  The visits will take place from May 26 to June 4. He will pay a “cloud visit” to the Federated States of Micronesia, hold a video meeting with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Cook Islands and the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Niue, and host the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Fiji.

China has recently disclosed that it signed a security treaty with the Solomon Islands, which includes police training,  a possible military exchange and setting up a naval base in the Solomon Islands for the People’s Liberation Army.

An intelligence officer for a U.S. ally said that Beijing is negotiating with Kiribati and at least one other Pacific island on a treaty similar to the Solomon Islands’ treaty.

Sources:
1. People’s Daily, May 26, 2022
http://cpc.people.com.cn/n1/2022/0526/c64094-32430646.html
2. Radio France International, May 21, 2022
https://www.rfi.fr/cn/国际/20220521-中国寻求与基里巴斯签协议-美澳担忧

Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and former President of Chile, began a high-profile visit to China’s Xinjiang China on May 24. Beijing is accused of a brutal crackdown on Uighur Muslims.

The Chinese government has isolated Bachelet’s delegation from Western media on the grounds of the epidemic. As details of the exact locations of the visit have not been released, questions have been raised as to whether such a visit is a controlled tour.

According to the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the Chinese government made its goals clear before Bachelet entered Xinjiang. At a one-on-one meeting with Michelle Bachelet on Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed hope that this visit would help clarify the “misinformation” about China.

To that end, Wang gave Bachelet a copy of Xi Jinping’s book. According to China’s state media, it was an English translation of “Excerpts from Xi Jinping’s Discourses on Respecting and Safeguarding Human Rights,” .

Source: Radio France International, May 24, 2022
https://rfi.my/8RYY

“One person was dead and several others injured during a shooting that took place at a California church on Sunday,” the police said.

Sheriff’s deputies in Orange County responded to a report of a shooting at the Geneva Presbyterian Church on El Toro Road in Laguna Woods at around 2 p.m. local time. “Four victims have been critically wounded, one with minor injuries,” the Orange County Sheriff’s Department wrote on Twitter. “All victims are adults and are en-route to the hospital. One victim is deceased at the scene.”

The suspect David Wenwei Chou was arrested and charged with one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder. Chou is a second-generation waishengren – born in Taiwan to those who had evacuated from mainland China during the ROC’s retreat in 1949.

County sheriff Don Barnes suspects it to be a politically motivated hate crime regarding Taiwanese-Chinese tensions. According to his statements, there were notes in Chou’s vehicle alluding to “his hatred of the Taiwanese people,” which is believed to stem from his past residence there, possibly during his youth. The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan has played a significant role in Taiwan’s democratization.

Chou was not affiliated with the Taiwanese church. He was pictured as a retired professor in a 2019 local news story on the founding of the Las Vegas chapter of the National Association for China’s Peaceful Unification (NACPU), also known as The China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification (CCPPNR). CCPPNR is an umbrella organization, founded in 1988, by the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to promote unification between mainland China and Taiwan on terms defined solely by the People’s Republic of China. In September 2020, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that the State Department had begun reviewing the activities of the CCPPNR in the U.S. In October 2020, the State Department designated the NACPU a foreign mission of the People’s Republic of China.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), May 17, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202205170148.aspx

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that the latest survey report of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China showed that China’s strict COVID control measures have brought huge uncertainty to European companies in China. Nearly 60 percent of the companies have lowered their annual revenue forecasts as a result. China’s image as an investment destination has also been affected. More than half of the companies lowered their revenue forecasts by 6 percent to 15 percent, and more than 30 percent of companies lowered their revenue forecasts by more than 16 percent. Around 77 percent of the respondents expressed the belief that China’s attractiveness as an investment destination has declined. Around 23 percent are considering moving current or planned investments out of China. As many as 75 percent of the companies surveyed said that their operations were negatively affected. This negativity was reflected in three main aspects. These are logistics and warehousing pressure, business travel, as well as the cancellation of offline meetings. What these businesses need is a time frame for reopening. Compared with the impact of the lockdown measures, the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war on European companies in China is much less.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, May 7, 2022
http://www.kzaobao.com/shiju/20220507/116457.html