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China Offers Open-Enrollment Online Courses to International Audiences

To enhance its soft power, Beijing is making efforts to offer Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to international audiences.

People’s Daily reported that China “leads the development of the World MOOCs and Online Education Alliance.” It organizes the World MOOCs and Online Education Conference annually and actively promotes international exchanges and cooperation in online teaching. China has “launched 341 globally-integrated courses and introduced 10 global integrated certificate programs, attracting nearly 25.4 million learners; it has established bilateral communication and exchange channels for course with more than 30 renowned universities and online education institutions worldwide.” Additionally, China has published the “Infinite Possibilities: Report on the Digital Development of World Higher Education” and the “World Higher Education Digital Development Index.”

Another People’s Daily report stated that the World Digital Education Alliance was established at the 2024 World Digital Education Conference, and that China has officially launched the international version of the China National Smart Education Public Service Platform. The platform “offers 780 courses, covering 12 disciplines and 17 major categories including literature, engineering, science, and arts. The instructors for these courses come from over a hundred high-level Chinese institutions such as Tsinghua University.” The platform also provides services for international students to study in China.

The second article says that “in November 2023, UNESCO passed a resolution to establish the UNESCO International STEM Education Research Institute in Shanghai.” Xie Dong, Shanghai Deputy Mayor said that “the Shanghai center will actively focus on strengthening cooperation and exchanges in STEM education with African and island countries.”

Sources:
1. People’s Daily, January 29, 2024
http://edu.people.com.cn/n1/2024/0129/c1006-40168414.html
2. People’s Daily, February 8, 2024
http://edu.people.com.cn/n1/2024/0208/c1006-40175792.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Information/Technology

Xinhua: China Reached 100 GBPS Inter-Satellite Communication Speed

Xinhua News Agency reported that Changguang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd. has successively completed high-speed inter-satellite laser communication tests at rates of 10 gigabits per second (GBPS) and 100 GBPS. During stable link establishment, the communication bit error rate was 0. The satellite also successfully transmitted high-resolution remote sensing images between satellites, marking China’s first achievement of inter-satellite laser communication at a super-high speed of 100 GBPS for high-resolution remote sensing image transmission. According to Xinhua, the satellite company has also developed technology for high-speed communication between satellites and ground stations on earth.

Source: Xinhua, January 11, 2023
http://www.news.cn/20240111/c6a4ea092bec415aaf65fa577df4b576/c.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

CNA: Huawei’s 5G Mobile Phone Production Capacity is Insufficient

Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently ran an article on Huawei and its competitors in the Chinese mobile phone industry. Below are some key points from the article.

Huawei returned to the 5G space with the unexpected launch of its Mate 60 Pro mobile phone in August 2023. Although the mobile phone launch was very topical and triggered a frenzy of consumer activity, multiple data sources show that Huawei’s 5G handset production capacity is quite insufficient. Huawei’s “grand return to 5G” failed to break the pattern seen in China’s mobile phone market in 2023.

According to International Data Corporation (IDC), 28.71 million new smartphones were registered in the Chinese market in November 2023. Among them, Apple ranked first, with a market share of 21.1 percent; Xiaomi ranked second, with 18.3 percent; Huawei rose to 14 percent and ranked third; Vivo and OPPO ranked fifth and sixth with 13.4 percent and 13.1 percent respectively.

Counterpoint Research data showed that, in October 2023, the best-selling smartphone in China was not a Huawei product but rather the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max, with a market share of 5 percent. The Huawei Mate 60 Pro phone ranked second with a 4 percent market share, and the smartphones ranked 3rd through 5th were also iPhones.

Tencent News said that, while players in the industry had regarded Huawei’s return to 5G speed as the biggest variable affecting the mobile phone industry in 2023, Huawei’s insufficient production capacity means that the competitive landscape in China has not shifted as much as anticipated. According to data from research institute Canalys, China’s smartphone market shipped 66.7 million units in the third quarter of 2023, with Huawei not being ranked among the top five in terms of shipments.

Source: CNA, December 29, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202312290278.aspx

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Oriental Daily: U.S. Bans Military Use of Seaports that Employ Chinese Logistics Platform LOGINK

Oriental Daily News, Hong Kong’s number one newspaper in circulation since 1976, recently reported that the U.S. 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, just signed into law by President Biden, contains provisions that prohibit the Pentagon from using any seaport that relies on China’s national logistics platform (LOGINK).

LOGINK is a key project sponsored by China’s State Council. Led by the Chinese Ministry of Transportation and the National Development Commission, LOGINK is a Chinese government transportation infrastructure project enabling the distribution and management of logistics information. The system is deployed to more than 20 ports around the world: 6 in Japan, 5 in South Korea, 1 in Malaysia, at least 9 in Europe, and 3 in the Middle East.

Under the new U.S. National Defense Authorization Act, Congress authorized a study of how foreign forces at the 15 largest container ports in the United States affect U.S. national and economic security, and the Secretary of State is to begin negotiations with U.S. allies and partners to have relevant countries to remove LOGINK software from their ports.

Senator Tom Cotton and Representative Michelle Steel, who sponsored the legislation, pointed out that China’s national logistics platform allows Beijing to monitor the U.S. military supply chain, which relies on commercial ports. LOGINK enables such monitoring by tracking the movement of cargo and ships .through a centralized system. Steele said LOGINK operates under the management of the Chinese government and that the threat posed by the software is very serious.

Beijing has invested in about 100 ports in more than 60 countries.

Source: Oriental Daily News, December 24, 2023
https://orientaldaily.on.cc/content/china_world/odn-20231224-1224_00178_003/

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Information/Technology

People’s Daily Addresses Heavy Mobile Phone Usage in Armed Police

People’s Daily ran a report on heavy mobile phone usage within the armed police unit in Hengshui City, Hebei Province. The piece, titled “Exploring ‘Proper Usage’ of Mobile Phones in Military Camps,” covered efforts to direct soldiers who spend a lot of time watching short entertaining videos or playing video games on their cell phones. Several stories were reported about inspiring soldiers to use their time well in furthering the communist party’s goals.

The Political Instructor of an armed police company noticed that soldiers’ mobile phone usage was heavy, with members of the company watching short videos, playing games, or consuming news. The instructor showed the soldiers several “meaningful” and “inspiring” videos that appeared on his own video feed, e.g. a video titled “Why did the 38th Army of the Volunteer Army become the ‘Best Army’?” (the “Volunteer Army” refers to Chinese forces deployed against US and UN forces during the Korean War) and “Explaining the Ins and Outs of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.” The instructor contrasted these videos with the pop-entertainment videos appearing on the soldiers’ own video feeds, saying that only such “meaningful” and “inspiring” content could leave a deep impression in their minds. Soldiers thus started to watch such genres of video that the instructor recommended.

In another military unit, a soldier shared a picture of his camp life and forgot to blur out the face of his commanding officer (which was considered to be leaking a military secret). Seeing the soldier’s affinity for posting on social media, the commanding officer encouraged the soldier to create reports for the military unit on social media so as to cultivate a “positive” image for the unit.

Source: People’s Daily, December 21, 2023
http://military.people.com.cn/n1/2023/1221/c1011-40143905.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Information/Technology

Xinhua: China’s New Drilling Ship Can Reach 11km Depth at Sea

On December 18, China conducted the inaugural trial voyage of its first domestically designed and constructed ocean drilling ship, “The Dream.” According to Xinhua News Agency, the ship has a total displacement of approximately 33,000 tons, a length of 179.8 meters, and a beam of 32.8 meters. The Dream has a cruising range of 15,000 nautical miles.

According to the Xinhua article, The Dream is capable of self sustaining on the open ocean for 120 days, and it is capable of drilling at sea to a depth of 11,000 meters. “The Dream will provide important equipment support for ocean energy resource exploration and mining … to ensure national energy security.”

Source: Xinhua, December 19, 2023
http://www.gd.xinhuanet.com/20231219/a3e549ebc8c64aec9efab0b031ead55d/c.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

CNA: China’s iPhone Ban Expands

Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that a growing number of Chinese government agencies and state-owned companies are ordering employees not to bring iPhones and other foreign-brand phones to work. The spread of such unprecedented bans is likely to lock out companies like Apple and Samsung from parts of the world’s largest mobile phone market.

In the past couple of months, several state-owned enterprises and several government agencies in at least eight Chinese provinces (including in wealthy coastal provinces) have instructed employees to start bringing only Chinese-brand mobile phones to work. The situation has intensified significantly from September, when only a handful of agencies in Beijing and Tianjin began requiring employees to leave foreign devices at home.

It is unclear exactly how many Chinese government agencies have issued such directives banning foreign phones. The eight province-level governments involved so far are Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shanxi, Shandong, Liaoning and Hebei.

This new round of bans has seen much more extensive and synchronized action, marking a significant acceleration of the Chinese authorities’ shift away from dependence on U.S. technology. The ban could cause a quick and direct hit to Apple’s market share in China. For Apple, which uses China to produce most of its devices, the Chinese market accounts for about 1/5 of its revenue.

An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the new bans. China’s State Council Information Office and the Cyberspace Administration of China, which oversee cybersecurity, also did not respond to the requests for comment.

Source: CNA, December 16, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202312163001.aspx

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

China Will Close Public Access to Court Decision Documents

On November 21, 2023, China’s Office of the Supreme People’s Court issued a “Notice on the Construction of the National Court Judgment Document Database.” It announced that the new “National Court Judgment Document Database” will go live in January 2024. However, it will only offer internal access to court personnel to retrieve judgment documents. Lawyers, legal researchers, and the general public will not have access.

The Supreme People’s Court’s current online system, known as “China Judgments Online,” will stop operation. Many legal practitioners in China view this new development as a big setback for transparency in China’s judicial system. The old system offered legal professionals and the general public to access records during the past 10 years. Since its launch on July 1, 2013, China Judgments Online has accumulated a total of more than 143 million court decisions and has received hundred billion visits.

Source: Radio Free Asia, December 13, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/gt-12132023031651.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Information/Technology