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RFI: Moody’s Under Fire after Negative Rating of China

Radio France Internationale (RFI) recently reported that ratings firm Moody’s faced a barrage of criticism from China after it changed the country’s credit rating outlook to negative. This rating outlook change resulted in a series of similar changes in Moody’s outlook for China’s state-owned banks, insurance companies, and enterprises, including 22 Chinese local government financing vehicles that have issued international bonds. Moody’s also changed the outlook on the credit ratings of China’s two special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau, to negative. In the meantime it downgraded its outlook on a number of other companies as well, including the operator of Hong Kong’s subway system.

Chinese government ministries and officials criticized Moody’s move in various public statements and official media articles, saying that China was “disappointed” and believed that Moody’s rating methodology was “flawed” and that its concerns were “unwarranted.” China’s Ministry of Finance issued a long article rebutting Moody’s rating decision, saying that China’s economy is continuing to recover and that the country’s fiscal revenue has maintained a restorative, positive growth rate.

Eric Chan, the Hong Kong government’s second-ranking figure and Chief Secretary for Administration, said that Moody’s decision to downgrade Hong Kong’s credit rating outlook is being used by Western countries, led by the United States, to discredit Hong Kong and the Mainland. He said in a radio interview that Moody’s “only purpose” in its rating decision on Hong Kong was to suppress the development of the Mainland through Hong Kong.

Source: RFI, December 8, 2023
https://tinyurl.com/5wse2bh8

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources US-China Relations

China’s Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Denounces the U.S.

China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin denounced the U.S. in the routine press conference on November 28, shortly after the Biden-Xi meeting at the APEC Summit in San Francisco. The following is a translation of the transcript published on China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry website:

Reuters Reporter: According to a report from The New York Times, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligence agencies have issued warnings regarding the collaboration between the UAE company G42 and large Chinese enterprises, including Huawei. The U.S. stated that these collaborations pose a security threat. U.S. officials are concerned that advanced technologies may flow to Chinese companies or  the [Chinese] government. The report even suggests that the U.S. is considering imposing sanctions on G42. Has the UAE company [G42] raised these issues with the Chinese side? Have Chinese companies informed the Chinese government about the situation? Does China have any comments on this report?

Wang Wenbin: I am not aware of the specific situation you mentioned. What I want to emphasize is that the U.S. has repeatedly obstructed the cooperation between Chinese companies and other countries with unfounded security reasons. This is a form of economic coercion. When the relevant countries asked for credible evidence of the “security threats,” the U.S. response has been evasive and vague.

China consistently opposes the U.S. generalizing the concept of national security, politicizing, weaponizing, and broadly securitizing economic issues, and hindering normal investment and business activities between industries and companies. The actions of the U.S. seriously undermine the international economic and trade order, and they disrupt the stability of the global industrial and supply chains. They are not well-received, nor will they achieve their agenda.

Source: China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry website, November 28, 2023
https://www.mfa.gov.cn/web/fyrbt_673021/202311/t20231128_11188500.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Number of Chinese Students in U.S. Drops for Fourth Consecutive Year

According to a Caixin.com report, data shows that the number of Chinese international students studying in the United States has declined for four years in a row. In the past academic year, there were 289,000 Chinese students in the U.S., accounting for 27% of all international students in the country. This represents a small 0.2% decrease compared to the previous year.

The data comes from the Open Doors 2023 report recently published by the Institute of International Education (IIE). The report found that the total number of international students in the U.S. reached 1.05 million last year, a 12% increase compared to the year before. Currently, China remains the top source of international students in the U.S., accounting for 27% of all international students. India is next-largest source, accounting for 25% of international students. While the number of Chinese students dropped slightly year-over-year, the number of Indian students rapidly increased, growing by 35%.

The Open Doors report suggested that several factors could be contributing to the decline in Chinese students studying in the U.S., including geopolitical tensions between the two countries and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on international student mobility over the past few years.

Source: Radio Free Asia, November 22, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/5-11222023124233.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Pro-CCP Crowd Attacked Anti-CCP Protesters During Xi Jinping’s Visit to San Francisco

Chinese Embassies and Consulates in the United States organized many Chinese associations and student associations to welcome Xi Jinping when he attended the APEC meeting and the Biden-Xi Summit in San Francisco from November 15 to 17. These pro-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) people outnumbered the anti-CCP protesters by several times. Over a dozen incidents were reported where pro-CCP people attacked anti-CCP protesters and injured them.

A representative of the Chinese Democratic Party, which opposes the CCP and is banned in mainland China, said that 24 of the group’s members were assaulted by individuals associated with pro-CCP overseas groups, resulting in several injuries. The China Democracy and Human Rights Alliance, as well as the Democracy Front, reported that several of their protesters were also assaulted.

Protester Jia Junwei told Voice of America that “They chased me continuously. After surrounding me with the Chinese flag, a woman in her forties or fifties knocked me down. Then, they kicked my head, and used the flagpole to attack my head. Later, I was taken to the hospital.” Hong Kong protester Zhou Qihong, 74, was assaulted twice on November 15 and 17 in different locations by pro-Communist thugs. Topjor Tsultrim, a member of the Free Tibet organization, informed Voice of America, “At least 30 Tibetan protesters were beaten by pro-CCP groups. The attack at the airport protest site on November 17 was the most intense one against the Tibetan protesters. Three young Tibetan university students were attacked by over 20 Chinese individuals with metal rods, resulting in head injuries and broken bones. Eventually, they had to be taken to the hospital. On the same day, several Tibetans were struck with flags, stabbed with iron rods, and women’s hair was pulled. One of our activists was recording everything when her phone was snatched from her and thrown into the river.”

The San Francisco police didn’t arrest any pro-CCP persons. They did arrested protester Jie Lijian, however.

Jie was released from the San Francisco County Jail without bail on November 20. He told Voice of America, “We were peacefully protesting, and people from Chinese overseas groups attacked my back and head with flagpoles and steel pipes. I began vomiting and needed to use the restroom. In the process of finding a restroom, I was isolated and arrested by the police in an alley.” Jie also said, “If I didn’t defend myself in a situation where my head was being attacked with steel pipes, I wouldn’t be here speaking with everyone. I might have been beaten to death by the other party.”

Many human rights activists believe these attacks should not be allowed to happen in the U.S. They show the CCP’s long-armed influence on U.S. soil. Chinese human rights groups and pro-democracy activists have kept tally of beatings and injuries by the pro-CCP groups; they are planning to provide evidence criminal conduct to the FBI and Congress.

Source: Voice of America, November 22, 2023
https://www.voachinese.com/a/congress-urged-to-probe-attacks-on-chinese-dissidents-in-xi-jinping-protest-20231121/7364581.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics US-China Relations

More International Students in the U.S. Come From China Than Anywhere Else

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently published an article highlighting statistics from the Open Doors Report, a publication on international students studying in the U.S. The Open Doors Report is jointly released by the U.S. State Department and the non-profit Institute of International Education

According to the article, the 2022-23 academic year saw the number of international students in the U.S. higher-education system reach 1.057 million, an increase of nearly 12 percent over the year before. This was the biggest annual increase in more than 40 years.

China remains the largest source of international students in the United States. During the 2022-23 academic year, the total number of Chinese students studying in the United States was 289,500. This number has declined for the third consecutive year, although there are still more Chinese students in the U.S. than students from any other non-U.S. country.

Meanwhile, American universities are concentrating on recruiting students from India. In the 2022-23 academic year, the total number of Indian students in the United States reached 268,900, an increase of 35 percent. There are 24 U.S. states in which the number of students from India exceeds the number of students from China, including Illinois, Texas and Michigan. The majority of these Indian students – nearly 166,000 – are pursuing master’s degrees or working toward other advanced credentials.

Among international students in the U.S., graduate enrollment increased by 21 percent and undergraduate enrollment increased by only one percent. This is contrary to the trend of the past decade, which saw greater increases in undergraduate enrollment.

Mathematics and computer science majors, which attract more international students than any other major, saw enrollment increase by 20 percent over the previous year, with Engineering and Commerce following close behind.

After China and India, the other countries that sent the most students to the United States were South Korea, Canada, and Vietnam.

Source: Sina, November 14, 2023
https://edu.sina.com.cn/a/2023-11-14/doc-imzuqpzn9533439.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

CCP Hires “Fans” to Stage Warm Welcome for Xi Jinping in San Francisco

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is known for faking things. Whenever its leader visits a country, the Chinese embassies or consulates arrange for Chinese students and other people to stage “voluntary” welcome scenes at the airport or on the street, meant to look like “grassroots” support for the VIP.

Online information shows that such a welcome was put on when Xi Jinping came to San Francisco for the APEC meeting on November 15. An online screenshot revealed that the leader of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) at the University of Southern California (USC) notified the association’s cadres:

“[I] Just received a notice from the Chinese Consulate at Los Angeles, next week from the 13th to the 17th, Xi Jinping will visit the United States. Students from USC CSSA are invited to go to San Francisco to welcome him. Since it is inappropriate to publicize the schedule, we currently only know the following:

  • Students who sign up will all ride a bus to SF.
  • For everyone’s safety, you are not allowed to arrange your own trip or engage in independent activities.
  • All travel expenses and accommodation for food and board are covered.
  • If you want to participate, please contact me before 4:00! Once you sign up, you cannot withdraw.”

On November 16th, a posting on social media platform X showed that some students complained about not getting what the CCP promised earlier (Note: the Chinese consulate usually brings people from multiple places, so this may not come from the USC CSSA):

“1. The Chinese embassy claimed there would be free meals, but only some people received them, and most ordinary students did not.
2. There was a promise of a $400 subsidy per person, but in the end the CSSA told students it will be only $100.
3. Students who expressed desire to withdraw from the participation were directly warned that it would be recorded in their files in China, making them unable to join the communist party or take civil service exams in the future.”

Source: Epoch Times, November 16, 2023
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/11/16/n14117681.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics US-China Relations

Discipline Inspector: Diplomats Face High Risk of Being Turned by Foreign Forces

The latest issue of “China Discipline Inspection and Supervision” magazine recently published a signed article by Zhang Jiwen (张际文), the head of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Team stationed at the Office of Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Central Foreign Affairs Working Committee. The CCP Central Foreign Affairs Working Committee is the highest CCP organ that oversees China’s foreign affair work, including the work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The article says that Chinese diplomatic and foreign affairs officials are the main workforce of foreign affairs work and are at the forefront of such work. They face a relatively high risk of being turned (i.e. recruited) or bribed by foreign forces.

Some commentators view this as a hint regarding what happened to Qin Gang (秦刚), China’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Source: The Paper, November 4, 2023
https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_25180379

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics US-China Relations

Chinese Automakers to Produce Cars in Mexico

Chinese automakers are eyeing the American car market, making substantial investments in Mexico so that they can take advantage of geopolitical and trade agreement benefits. Since China faces high tariffs and restrictions on exporting cars to the U.S., Mexico’s strategic location and the USMCA trade agreement have made the country a favorable location for Chinese companies to produce electric vehicles (EVs) for export to the U.S.

Beijing’s strong support for China’s domestic electric vehicle industry, along with the prominence of Chinese company CATL as the world’s largest lithium battery producer, has positioned China as a major player in the EV market. Chinese automakers, such as JAC and Giant Motors, have already been assembling cars in Mexico for several years. Recently, Chinese companies Chery and Foton also began setting up factories in Mexico.

Source: Voice of America, November 1, 2023
https://www.voachinese.com/a/focusing-on-the-us-ev-market-chinese-companies-invest-heavily-in-mexico-20231031/7335006.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations