Geo-Strategic Trend - 64. page

According to a joint statement issued Sunday after a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Argentine counterpart Alberto Fernandez, China and Argentina have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Belt & Road Initiative,.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported that Fernandez is paying a visit to China, during which he attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Winter Games.

The MoU is on jointly promoting the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. It is between the government of the People’s Republic of China and the government of the Argentine Republic. It was signed as the two countries marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year.

The statement said that they also studied bilateral trade cooperation and agreed to continue to expand trade, enhance financial support for China’s export settlement to Argentina and actively encourage trade diversification,.

The two sides agreed actively to advance bilateral investment and to expand how they complement each other in economic activity and seek new economic opportunities. The statement added that they agreed to boost green sustainable development, and investment and cooperation in the digital economy.

According to the statement, the meeting outlined the framework of major projects for investment in infrastructure construction in Argentina, discussed the possibility of expanding localized participation in infrastructure investment projects, and identified key areas for investment cooperation to expand Argentina’s exports.

Source: Xinhua News Agency, February 6, 2022
http://english.news.cn/20220206/931db89ad713488e8e1aeece22bff660/c.html

Nikkei Chinese Edition recently reported that the Cabinet Office of Japan just released its World Economic Trends Report, analyzing the trade structure between major countries and China. The numbers showed that Japan relies more on imports from China than from the United States and Germany. The Report sounded alarms. The concern was that, if Japan maintained its current country-specific structure for Japan’s sourcing strategy it would risk supply chain disruptions. The report showed the number of categories with relatively concentrated import sources in three countries: Japan, the United States and Germany. Judging from the ratio of Chinese sourced value in 2019, Japan reached 23.3 percent, the highest ratio, the United States was 18.1 percent, and Germany was 8.5 percent. Among the approximately 5,000 imported categories, looking at the number of categories in which China’s share (in terms of value) exceeds 50 percent, Japan is 1,133 categories (23.0 percent), higher than the US’ 590 categories (11.9 percent) and Germany’s 250 categories (5.0 percent). Japan relies on China for a wide range of categories, including mobile phones and notebook computers, light-emitting diode (LED) related products, game consoles and toys. Among them, 85.7 percent of the import value in the mobile phone field came from China in 2019, an increase of 69.1 percent from 10 years ago. Imports of laptops and tablets from China reached 98.8 percent in 2019.

Source: Nikkei Chinese, February 4, 2022
https://cn.nikkei.com/politicsaeconomy/investtrade/47517-2022-02-04-10-27-18.html

Global Times recently reported that the European Union’s (EU’s) Trade Commissioner, Dombrowski, issued a statement, saying that the EU has filed a lawsuit with the WTO over China’s discriminatory trade practices against EU member Lithuania. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian later responded that China has always acted in accordance with WTO rules. Zhao reminded the EU to distinguish right from wrong and to be wary of Lithuania’s attempt to kidnap China-EU relations. He added, “Lithuania, like other EU member states, should fulfill the political commitments made when establishing diplomatic relations with China.” Some observers expressed the belief that the WTO ruling process is extremely long and that the probability of Lithuania winning is close to zero. Dombrowski said that, since December 1, 2021, Chinese customs has banned the import of Lithuanian products. Also Chinese companies are canceling orders from Lithuania and reducing exports to Lithuania. In addition, China is encouraging multinational companies to ditch the use of Lithuanian components in their production. Otherwise they could face import restrictions. Dombrowski said, “Initiating WTO litigation is not a step we take lightly. However, after many unsuccessful attempts to resolve the issue bilaterally, we believe there is no other way but to request WTO dispute settlement.” The Lithuanian government expressed its gratitude to the European Union on the 27th. “The WTO proceedings will be very long, but this will provide important answers to the question of whether China’s actions are in line with international trade rules,” said Lithuania’s President Nauseda. Lithuania Foreign Minister Landsbergis said the EU’s move “shows the unity and the unity of the EU and sends a clear message to China that the EU will not tolerate any politically motivated economic coercion.”

Source: Global Times, January 28, 2022
https://world.huanqiu.com/article/46ZwTy7yuL7

Also see: “CNA: China Cut Orders: Lithuania’s Century-Old Brewery Switched to Taiwan”

CNA: China Cut Orders; Lithuania’s Century-Old Brewery Switched to Taiwan

As the Beijing Winter Olympics are approaching, the German media is paying more attention to China and is becoming more critical of China.

Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), a public radio company based in Hamburg, criticized the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for playing dirty games and turning a blind eye to forced labor in China. The radio station reported that thousands of ethnic Uyghurs are being held in Xinjiang and the cotton used by the Olympic Committee’s sponsor, Anta sports, also comes from Xinjiang. The IOC has turned a blind eye to this fact. The Beijing Winter Olympics are controversial for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it hardly ever snows where this event is held. Ski areas and related construction projects are built in nature reserves. The second is the widespread concern about human rights in China, especially for the Uyghurs in Xinjiang. According to a months-long investigation by NDR and the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, the IOC plays a dual role here. On the one hand, IOC officials present themselves as supposedly politically neutral. On the other hand, they are in cahoots with the Chinese government and support China’s actions that undermine human rights.

Business Insider in Germany found multiple security vulnerabilities in China’s “My2022” application for the upcoming Olympics. The German Olympic Sports Federation is also concerned about the Chinese government’s surveillance. The University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab reported that all games participants and visitors are required to use the My2022 application. Users are expected to enter personal data, such as health forms and passport data. However, the Lab found major security vulnerabilities in its analysis, including access to sensitive data, such as travel itineraries and medical information. Voice messages and shared files were also not adequately encrypted.

Source: Radio France International, January 25, 2022
https://rfi.my/86zz

As Beijing prepares for its Winter Olympics, countries including the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia have said they will not send government representatives, citing concerns about China’s human rights record, including allegations of the government’s abuses against the Uighurs and other minorities. Different countries reacted differently to the boycott. Some countries joined with diplomatic boycotts, while others quietly downgraded their Winter Olympics delegations. Russia and other countries, on the other hand, have explicitly expressed support for China.

Some countries have clearly declared a diplomatic boycott. They are the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Lithuania, and Denmark.

Some countries decide not to send a delegation for other reasons. Austria, Belgium, Holland, New Zealand, Latvia, and Sweden announced that they will not send ministerial level officials out of concerns about Covid-19. Estonia’s president Alar Karis said he is not attending the games for “political reasons.” Japan will only send a small non-official delegation and refused to call it a diplomatic boycott.

At the same time, some heads of state and some heads of international organizations decided to show up at the event. They include United National General Secretary António Guterres, and the presidents of Russia, Poland, Argentina, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan.

Unlike the leaders mentioned above, North Korea, China’s traditional ally, has expressed strong support for Beijing, but Pyongyang (North Korea) says it will not be able to participate in the Winter Olympics amid a “conspiracy of hostile forces” and the epidemic. That means North Korean athletes will also miss the games.

Source: BBC Chinese, January 25, 2022
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world-60035694