{Editor’s Note: In a recent article titled “U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized” published on Radio Free Asia, Continue reading
US-China Relations
Before Yellen’s Trip to China, Official Mouthpiece Reports on Yellen “Public Opinion Flop”
In the days leading up to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s trip to China, official Chinese state news agency Xinhua published a report titled “Blaming China, U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen Suffers Public Opinion Flop.” The report states that, on March 27th, Yellen visited a photovoltaic battery factory in Norcross, Georgia, and accused China’s renewable energy industry of “overcapacity” only to face a backlash in public opinion.
During her speech at the factory, Yellen expressed concern over “global spillovers from the excess capacity that we are seeing in China,” saying that such excess capacity distorts global prices and production patterns, ultimately harming American firms and workers.
Xinhua reported that Yellen’s comments sparked immediate criticism from netizens. One commenter said that her complaint about China’s rapid development of green energy technology is akin to a weightlifter who doesn’t train but complains that another weightlifter can lift heavier weights. Others questioned why it would be problematic if China increases production to lower prices, suggesting that this would benefit consumers and promote the adoption of renewable energy technologies like solar panels.
Xinhua also quoted netizens who challenged Yellen’s notion of “global prices,” arguing that prices are determined by manufacturing costs, transportation, and profit margins, saying that any manufacturer can set their own prices.
The report added that, on news sites such as the Financial Times, hundreds of netizens overwhelmingly criticized Yellen’s remarks. Reportedly, some commenters called her remarks fallacious, accusing the U.S. of initially claiming that China was not doing enough in green energy, and now reversing course to criticize them for doing too much on the issue. Others pointed out America’s “double standards,” saying that the U.S. talks about free markets when it has a competitive advantage but resorts to protectionism when it doesn’t.
The Xinhua report concluded by quoting a netizen who accused the U.S. of hypocrisy, saying “the U.S. has one set of rules for itself and another for others.”
Source: Xinhua News Agency, March 29, 2024
http://www.xinhuanet.com/world/20240329/dbcaa69345b84253a27bd4c115869d7c/c.html
Xinhua Commentary: Pacific Island Countries Should Not be Anyone’s “Backyard”
Xinhua News Agency published a commentary regarding a statement by Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Thomas-Greenfield made the following statement in an interview on April 1st:
“[The U.S. is] not trying to force countries to choose between us and China. What we’re doing is giving them a choice to make. Many countries will say we’re forced into these relationships because we don’t have other choices. We’re giving them those other choices. And those other choices mean having the U.S. have their backs, having the U.S. standing with them side by side as they address some of the challenges that China is forcing upon them.” [2]
Xinhua called the statement “not only illogical but also a misrepresentation of the facts.” It stated that the Pacific Island countries have the political wisdom to make their own decisions. Below are some translated excerpts from the commentary:
“In recent years, the U.S. has been aggressively promoting the “Indo-Pacific strategy,” from the AUKUS (security partnership among the US, UK, and Australia), to the QUAD (quadrilateral security dialogue among the US, Japan, India, and Australia), and further to the “Blue Pacific Partnerships” initiative (involving the US, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the UK). The United States has gone to great lengths in creating various “circles” to contain China, enticing and utilizing Pacific Island nations as a crucial part of its containment strategy. However, the United States underestimates the political wisdom of the Pacific Island countries in discerning the current situation, as well as their determination to pursue an independent and autonomous development path.”
“In April 2022, China signed a government-to-government security cooperation framework agreement with the Solomon Islands. In July 2023, China and the Solomon Islands formally established a comprehensive strategic partnership based on mutual respect and common development in the new era. During the 2024 Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference, President Lionel Aingimea of Nauru stated that, as a Pacific Island nation and a developing country, Nauru supports “building bridges” rather than “erecting walls” and hopes to construct a more integrated and closely-connected world.”
“Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama recently stated that China’s assistance to Pacific Island nations has played an important role in regional development.”
“The various slanders and smears by the U.S. against China’s pragmatic cooperation with Pacific Island nations will only expose the U.S.’ domineering attitude of judging others by its own standards. Pacific Island nations are independent sovereign states and not anyone’s “backyard.”
Sources:
Xinhua, April 4, 2024
http://www.xinhuanet.com/world/20240404/7934d20bdc9c476c81c1035425ffdc4a/c.html
CSIS, April 1, 2024
https://www.csis.org/analysis/us-ambassador-united-nations-linda-thomas-greenfield-us-diplomacy-pacific-islands
Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”
{Editor’s Note: On each of the three consecutive days March 17th through March 19th, Xinhua News Agency published a commentary criticizing the U.S. from angles of ideology, image, and leadership, respectively. Continue reading
Lianhe Zaobao: China Bans Government Use of Intel and AMD Chips
Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that China is reportedly phasing out the use of U.S. chips and operating systems for government computers.
Following official procurement standards released last year, Chinese officials are winding down the use of Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) components in government computers and servers. At the same time, China is also trying to eliminate the Microsoft Windows operating system and foreign-made database software in favor of domestic software. State-owned enterprises are required to complete the transition to domestic technology by 2027.
China’s Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released seven government procurement standards on December 26 last year. They clearly required that the Communist Party and government agencies at or above the township level comply with the standard of “safety and reliability.” On the same day, China’s Information Security Evaluation Center announced the first list of “safe and reliable” processors and operating systems. All of the recommended processors and operating systems are produced by Chinese companies, including Huawei and Phytium.
In the context of the China-US technology war, China has continuously encouraged government agencies to use domestically produced tech products in recent years. In 2022, government agencies and state-owned enterprises were asked to replace foreign-brand computers with domestic equipment. Mandates for equipment replacement at that time did not include hard-to-replace components such as processors, however. In addition to computers, China is also requiring employees in government agencies and state-owned enterprises to switch to domestically produced mobile phones. As of December last year, at least 10 provinces, including Beijing, Tianjin, Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Jiangsu, had implemented such requirements.
Source: Lianhe Zaobao, March 24, 2024
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/china/story20240324-3209230
Chinese Social Media Celebrates Baltimore Bridge Collapse
The Francis Scott Key bridge, located in Baltimore, Maryland, collapsed on March 26th after being rammed by a cargo ship, the Dali, which lost control of its steering. Much of the bridge sank into the river within seconds of being rammed.
The accident immediately drew attention on Chinese social media. On Weibo, for example, a video of the accident has been viewed more than 1.2 million times. On Chinese social media platforms, where anti-American sentiment is prevalent, many netizens celebrated the incident. A Weibo blogger named “Air Sky Toner” wrote: “This is a really beautiful sight, like watching a movie; this bridge is free from now on.”
The bridge was named after Francis Scott Key, the author of the lyrics of the U.S. national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Some Chinese netizens inferred that the bridge collapse signaled the decline of the United States. “It is not a good sign that this bridge collapsed,” one blogger wrote.
Some social media users also used the bridge collapse to mock American democracy. On the Chinese video website Bilibili, a commentary video with 24,000 likes said that the “a ship of democracy” caused the collapse of “a bridge of democracy.” The video went on to criticize the U.S.’ infrastructure problem.
False information about the accident spread widely on Chinese social media. A number of bloggers with large numbers of followers have claimed that the captain of the Dali was from Ukraine and that the accident was staged by the U.S. government. Some bloggers posted photos of the alleged Ukrainian captain’s credentials. The Associated Press found that a Ukrainian captain did indeed pilot the Dali years ago, from March 19 to July 27, 2016.
Some Chinese bloggers also claimed that CNN incorrectly reported that the collision was an attack from China. They posted screenshots with captions reading “A cargo ship loaded with Chinese goods attacked our bridge!” However, unlike Chinese media that often use the term “our country” to refer to China, American media, including CNN, rarely use that term to refer to the United States. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the screenshot was not from CNN, but from NBC’s local channel in Baltimore. In a statement to AFP, CNN said that it had never run a story like that; the image was fake, and the caption, font, and style are not CNN’s either.
Source: VOA, March 31, 2024
https://www.voachinese.com/a/baltimore-china-disinformation-20240329/7549288.html
“Patriotic” Leader of American Fujian Association Publicly Berates Chinese Consul-General
Radio Free Asia recently published an article on the American Fujian Association’s apparent internal division and conflict with the Chinese Consulate. The American Fujian Association is a U.S.-based organization that has long been regarded as a pro-Communist overseas Chinese organization with extensive ties to the Chinese consulate.
On the evening of March 18th, the American Fujian Association in New York held a swearing-in ceremony for its “Co-President” Liu Aihua at the Junhao Restaurant in Flushing, New York. The honorary chairman of the Fujian Association, Chen Xueduan, a “patriotic overseas leader” for the Chinese community in the U.S., openly berated the Chinese Consul-General in New York, Huang Ping. In an online video, Chen stood on stage with Liu and three other members, holding a microphone and loudly addressing the audience, “President Liu Aihua is now suppressed by someone, by whom? By the Chinese consulate!” “No matter who suppresses him, we are patriots [of China], we will always be patriots. Huang Ping, the Consul-General, is a puppet Consul-General. When he was in power, he was high and mighty; but when he gets put into prison, he can only cry!” Chen also asked the media present to spread his speech.
Chen’s words received enthusiastic response from the audience, both on and off the stage.
The American Fujian Association has a history of 82 years. Recent years have seen internal disputes within the organization, leading to internal division and multiple groups acting independently. It currently has “Co-Presidents.” The Chinese Consulate at New York supports “President” Chen Heng, and on March 16th Consul-General Huang Ping attended an 82nd anniversary celebration hosted by Chen. But Huang didn’t attend “President” Liiu Aihua’s swearing-in ceremony on March 18th.
When it comes to suppressing overseas democratic activists or attacking Falun Gong and other faith groups and ethnic minority groups, the Fujian Association members frequently act as convenient “enforcers” for the Chinese consulate. In recent years, the U.S. has intensified efforts to combat Beijing’s infiltration in the U.S. On April 18, 2023, the FBI arrested two leaders of the Fujian Overseas Chinese Association in New York, Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping, accusing them of operating a “secret police station (for China)” in Manhattan’s Chinatown and attempting to act as agents of China. Both of these individuals are key members of the Fujian Association.
Some commentators have said that Chen Xueduan’s berating of the Chinese Consul-General is a “call to desertion,” indicating that the Communist Party is about to collapse and its days are numbered.
Source: Radio Free Asia, March 27, 2024
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/kw-03272024103015.html
Xi Jinping Directly Invites American Youths to China for Exchange Programs, Circumventing U.S. Federal Government
During Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States in November 2023, he announced a plan to invite 50,000 American youths to study and exchange in China during the next five years. Since then, this five-year program has been highly-publicized in Chinese media.
Xinhua News Agency reported on March 17 that a group of 24 middle school students from Washington state, organized by the U.S.-China Youth and Student Exchange Association, left San Francisco on March 16 for an 11-day visit to China. Other Chinese media have published subsequent reports about their trip. A Yibao article titled “Xi Jinping’s recruitment of America’s youngsters,” published on Feb. 16, 2024, stated that at least five groups of U.S. students completed trips to China as of January 2024. These groups include graduate students from Columbia University; table tennis players from Virginia; undergraduates from California State University, Long Beach; high school students from Muscatine, Iowa; and even elementary school students from Utah.
Political observers have remarked that Beijing likely wants to get something out of this exchange program. Since the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. federal government have taken a bipartisan stance against the CCP, Beijing is trying to gain influence through civil exchange as well as through local governments (e.g. winning over agricultural U.S. states by buying agricultural products from them), circumventing the federal government.
Source: Epoch Times, March 25, 2024
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/24/3/25/n14210335.htm