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Huawei to Train 50,000 Tech Experts in Russia

According to Russia’s Sputnik News, a February 24 Asia Times article highlighted the challenge  that the cooperation between Russia and China in the field of technology poses to the United States

The article noted, “One of largest research centers of China’s tech giant, Huawei, is located in Moscow. The company plans to train 50,000 technical experts at five research centers in Russia.” “The company is building a mobile broadband system in Russia. Its cooperation with Russia also extends to cloud computing, video surveillance, facial recognition systems, and other artificial intelligence applications.”

Source: Sputnik News, February 25, 2022
https://sputniknews.cn/20220225/1039562275.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Lianhe Zaobao: Scholars Concluded Zero Probability of U.S. Sending Troops to Taiwan

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently published a commentary by its Beijing Commissioner. The commentary referred to comments from Chinese and Hong Kong scholars. Even for Ukraine, which is so important geopolitically to the United States, the United States has made it clear that it will not send troops. Based on this, it is fair to say that in the event of a war in the Taiwan Strait, the United States will provide military assistance and share weapons, but the possibility of sending troops directly is zero. The phrase “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow” has continued to appear in public opinion after the situation in Ukraine heated up. The Ukraine crisis is indirectly related to China because of the psychological expectations caused by the Taiwan issue. In terms of geopolitics, Ukraine is more important to the United States than Taiwan. The United States also psychologically regards Ukraine as a “semi-member” of NATO, but Taiwan does not have such a status. External events are a factor for Beijing to consider, but not a decisive factor. Even if there is a window now, for Beijing, the problem is not the reunification of the two sides of the strait, but how to solve the various governance problems that arise after the reunification. The Ukraine issue also made it clear that Russia and the U.S. cannot really come together, which is critical to China. If Russia is classified as part of the West, under the current relationship between China and the West, China will face a very dangerous situation.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, February 20, 2022
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/china/story20220220-1244522

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

Global Times: Eight Chinese Military Planes Entered Southwest of Taiwan Airspace

Global Times recently summarized and commented on Taiwanese media reports about the event that on February 26th  eight Mainland Chinese military aircraft “harassed” the southwestern airspace of Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone. This occurred while the USS Johnson missile destroyer was passing through the Taiwan Strait. The aircraft from the Mainland  included J-16 and J-11 fighter jets and a Yun-8 anti-submarine aircraft. The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese military has organized troops to monitor the U.S. warship’s passing operations. The U.S. has carried out this provocative act and attempted to support Taiwan by making some gestures. It is both hypocritical and futile. The spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Defense said that, since 2021, the Chinese military has regularly organized bombers, reconnaissance planes, and fighter planes to conduct patrols and combat drills approaching the surrounding area of Taiwan. The actual number of planes dispatched will only be more, not less than the number hyped by the Taiwan media. The goal is very clear, and that is to take decisive action to counter the vicious actions of forces inside and outside of the island who frequently collude and challenge the one-China principle. The Taiwan Air Force claimed on the evening of the 26th that, for the eight Mainland military aircraft, the Taiwan Air Force sent air patrol forces to respond and broadcasted that they would drive them away, and they conducted active monitoring of the anti-aircraft missile system in place.

Source: Global Times, February 27, 2022
https://taiwan.huanqiu.com/article/46z18H1igqE

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend

Hua Chunying: The U. S. Has Been Inciting Tension; the Danger is War; Wang Yi Expressed Understanding of Russia’s Ukraine Action

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a regular press conference on February 24 that the U.S. has been raising tensions to the point of inciting the danger of war. The U.S. has shipped more than 1,000 tons of weapons and ammunition worth at least $1.5 billion to the Ukraine. At this time, if all parties performed the task of persuading others to be peaceful, we could examine the ins and outs of the Ukraine issue together; we could respect and take care of each other’s security concerns, solve them reasonably, and properly make the situation a soft landing. What would that situation be like? . . . It is really not a responsible behavior for those who follow the United States to fan the flames, and then accuse others of not helping after they set up the fire. “As the initiator, the person who started the fire should consider how to put out the fire as soon as possible with practical actions now, instead of blaming others.”

On February 24, 2022, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Wang Yi told him that China always respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. At the same time, we have also seen that the  issue has its complex and special historical latitude and longitude, and we understand Russia’s legitimate concerns on security issues.

Source: Xinhua, February 24, 2022
http://www.news.cn/world/2022-02/24/c_1128413011.htm
http://www.news.cn/world/2022-02/24/c_1128413630.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

Global Times: India Banned 54 More Chinese Apps

Global Times recently reported, based on Indian media coverage, that the Indian government banned 54 more Chinese mobile apps for “threat to Indians’ privacy and security.” Many of these apps are products of large Chinese technology companies like Tencent, Alibaba and NetEase. Since June 2020, India has carried out four rounds of operations against Chinese apps, with a total of more than 270 apps banned. The current one is the fifth round of the Indian government’s crackdown on Chinese apps, and overall, more than 300 apps have been banned. This is the latest step taken by India against the backdrop of tensions between China and India due to border disputes. The latest 54 banned apps are mostly those banned by the Indian government two years ago but have since been repackaged. Many apps owned by Tencent and Alibaba have changed hands to hide ownership and are hosted in regions like Hong Kong or Singapore, but the data ends up being sent to servers in China. A senior Indian official said on condition of anonymity that, the government has taken notice of this. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India issued a statement saying that it had received a request from the Ministry of the Interior of India to implement an emergency blocking of 54 applications in accordance with relevant laws. The statement said the 54 apps gained a number of key permissions and collected sensitive data from users. The Chinese government has stated on many occasions that it firmly opposes India’s repeated use of “national security” as an excuse to ban apps with Chinese backgrounds. Such practices violate the WTO principle of non-discrimination and the principle of fair competition in the market economy.

Source: Global Times, February 15, 2022
https://world.huanqiu.com/article/46osKXPY6dp

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Information/Technology

Lianhe Zaobao: U.S. Has No Intention to Engage with China on Indo-Pacific Economic Framework

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that Daniel Kritenbrink, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said that the U.S. has no intention of engaging with China in the upcoming Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. However, it is in discussions with partners who share the same vision for a free and open region without coercion. The U.S. is in preliminary talks on the Economic Framework and currently does not intend to involve the People’s Republic of China in the Framework. Kritenbrink said that the U.S. is in initial dialogues with partners across the region who share the same vision of living again in a free and open region where nations are free to pursue economic and security interests. The United States released an Indo-Pacific strategy report on the 11th of this month, vowing to invest more diplomatic and security resources in the Indo-Pacific region to resist China, which it accused of trying to expand its influence in the Indo-Pacific region. This is the first regional strategy report of the U.S. Biden Administration. The strategy report said it will focus on the areas from South Asia to the Pacific Islands to strengthen the United States’ long-term position and commitment to the Indo-Pacific region. According to a recent study that the ASEAN Studies Centre – ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore conducted, the U.S. government refocused on Indo-Pacific, boosting Southeast Asian countries’ confidence in U.S. leadership. However, in terms of economic, political and strategic influence, Southeast Asian countries generally believe that China has more influence in the region.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, February 17, 2022
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20220217-1243762

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

Reference News: U.S. Eased Trump-Era Steel Tariffs on Japan

Reference News, a well-known branch of Xinhua, recently reported that the United States said it had agreed to lift the import tariffs it had imposed on Japanese steel under the Trump administration. It was a further move after the United States reached a similar agreement with the European Union last October. This showed that the Biden administration is stepping up its efforts to strengthen economic ties with Asia-Pacific countries to counter China’s growing influence.The Biden administration officials told reporters that the deal would allow Japan to export up to 1.25 million tons of steel annually to the United States duty-free. This is similar to the level of exports in 2018 and 2019. Such arrangements will help reduce the cost for U.S. steel importers. At the same time, it will maintain tariffs that exceed the protocol levels of steel to prevent the imports from increasing. The American Iron and Steel Institute welcomed the government’s announcement. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the deal would “level the playing field against China.” However, the current 10 percent tariff on Japanese aluminum will remain in place, while the new tariffs cover less steel than the 1.8 million tons of steel the U.S. imported from Japan in 2017, according to U.S. Commerce Department statistics. The World Steel Association’s data shows that Japan and the United States are among the world’s top steel producers behind China, the European Union and India.

Source: Reference News, February 10, 2022
http://www.cankaoxiaoxi.com/finance/20220210/2468694.shtml

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

CNA: Taiwan Ranked 8th in the Global Democracy Index

Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) just released its Global Democracy Index 2021 Report. According to the Report, Taiwan ranked 8th out of 167 countries and regions, and is the only “full democracy” regime in Asia to hold a spot in the top 10. According to the Report, the top 10 are Norway, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, Ireland and Taiwan, with Australia and Switzerland tied for the ninth place. Many European and American democracies, including Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, the United States, Canada, and others did not rank as high as Taiwan. Among them, France is 22nd, Spain is 24th, the United States is 26th, and Italy is 31st. They are in the “flawed democracy” category. Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom fall outside the top 10, although they are in the same “full democracy” category as Taiwan. South Korea and Japan are ranked 16th and 17th respectively. China is classified as “authoritarian” and ranked 148th. More than a third of the world’s population lives in authoritarian countries, a large number of which are in China. EIU noted that, “China has become richer, but not more democratic. On the contrary, China has become less free.” Afghanistan, Myanmar and North Korea are the three least democratic countries in the world.

Source: CNA, February 10, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aopl/202202100357.aspx

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend