US-China Relations - 16. page

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu (NASDAQ: SOHU) recently reported that it has been a year and a half since the fever of Chinese companies going public in the U.S. cooled down. According to Wind Data, in 2022, Chinese companies went public in the United States and raised a total of US$582 million, a decrease of about 96 percent compared with the annual financing amount in 2021. Of the dozen or so companies that went public in the U.S. in 2022, most of them were small companies with a fundraising amount of less than US$50 million. The scale of its financing was significantly lower than the level of the previous two years. In 2021, about 40 Chinese companies went public in the U.S., and 16 of them raised more than US$100 million. In 2020, 18 US-listed companies raised over US$100 million. In 2022, as of December 28, the number of IPOs listed in the United States was only 17, setting a new low for the past six years. At present, data-related technology companies going public in the United States still face strict scrutiny from both Chinese and American regulators. Several companies have even withdrawn their prospectuses for listing in the United States.

Source: Sohu, January 2, 2023
https://www.sohu.com/a/623887838_120814277

China’s state-run media Global Times published an editorial accusing the U.S. of breaking the international rule and forcibly taking Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) to the United States. The article also used the term “TSMC of China’s Taiwan province.” Below is an excerpt from the article:

“On December 6, TSMC held a ‘relocation ceremony’ for its first factory in Arizona. Washington ‘gave a measure of credit’ to this event. U.S. President Joe Biden led Commerce Secretary Raimondo to visit the new factory in Arizona. He also stated in a high-profile speech that day that what happened in Arizona is very important to the country and to the world. However, no matter how Washington plays it, this will be a landmark event [n a dark turning point in the history of the development of the global semiconductor industry].

“Zhang Zhongmou, the founder of TSMC, said at the ceremony that day, ‘Globalization is almost dead and free trade is almost dead.’ Although he may have meant something else, this sentence came from the founder of a highly globalized leading company. It is a meaningful and precise footnote to the event and to what U.S. President Biden said in his speech at the ceremony, ‘Guys, American manufacturing is back,’ It is a huge irony. Why does this show that the American manufacturing industry is‘back,’ Isn’t this TSMC, which has been developing well in the Taiwan Province in China?

“No matter how the U.S. and the Democratic Progressive Party  (a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China) authorities cover it up, it will not change the nature of this matter. That is, the U.S. has forcefully taken the high-quality enterprise from China’s Taiwan, which occupies an important position in the world’s core high-tech industries, to the United States. To welcome the arrival of TSMC, Washington proffered a wealth of compliments, but from the beginning to the end there was only the core of “American interests,” and there was almost no mention of whether the two sides could win-win or whether they would contribute to the global chip industry.

“This is also a wake-up call to the world, and we need to ring the alarm bells louder. The United States is not only doing this to TSMC. It can also use this as an example to attract manufacturing back to the United States, and continue to put pressure on chip companies in other countries that are still hesitant. For Washington, whether it is economically or politically, this is a deal that is sure to make a profit without losing money. The United States used brute force to force its way into the world originally dominated by the laws of the market, just like a bull breaking into a china shop, disrupting rules and order. If it is true, as Zhang Zhongmou said, ‘Globalization is almost dead and free trade is almost dead.’ Then the United States is the culprit according to clear evidence.”

Source: Global Times, December 8, 2022                                                                                                                                                  https://opinion.huanqiu.com/article/4AnFGHFue28

Global Times, which acts under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party‘s flagship newspaper, the People’s Daily, recently published an official commentary on the just announced US B-21 Raider stealth strategic bomber. This is the new generation of bombers that the United States launched after more than 30 years. The U.S. Secretary of Defense declared, “Even the most advanced air defense systems will find it difficult to detect the B-21 in the air.” The CEO of the manufacturer Northrop Grumman boasted that the world “has never seen any technology like the B-21.” Since the US Air Force Secretary has repeatedly stated that he wants to use the B-21 to “deter China,” many US media have focused on the so-called “response to the China’s threat” talking point. Under such a high-profile propaganda campaign, the true face of the B-21 is still mysterious, with no specifications announced. This is in stark contrast to when the B-2 debuted more than 30 years ago. It appears that the B-21 is an important link in the continuation of the U.S. military-industry chain of interests. Only by continuously exaggerating the China Threat can they get a larger budget from the U.S. Congress. In the meantime, the high-profile promotion of the B-21 also has the U.S. military taking the opportunity to build up the tension in the Taiwan Strait, thereby accelerating the transfer of military resources to the Asia-Pacific region and the intention of attracting allies. However, even those who are not professional military personnel or scholars should understand a simple truth: the so-called “deterrence” has always been a combination of military strength and political determination. During the Korean War and the Vietnam War, how much American equipment was reduced to scrap iron on the battlefield? What kind of weapons the United States develops is its own business. However, if the U.S. threatens and intimidates China with this new toy, it will only become a gently falling paper airplane.

Source: Global Times, December 4, 2022
https://opinion.huanqiu.com/article/4AjvyRzujUy