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IBM China Research Laboratory Closed

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDQ: SINA) recently reported that IBM quietly closed its China Research Laboratory (CRL). The IBM CRL was the top one of the 12 IBM global research institutes and was the most influential. CRL was founded in 1995 and hatched numerous famous products like the leading artificial intelligence system Watson. This recent closure sent a shockwave throughout the Chinese technology communities, bringing an end to an era. The CRL was IBM’s first research center in developing countries, headquartered in Beijing. It created a branch in Shanghai in 2008. In the past quarter century, thousands of researchers have worked at IBM CRL. Most of them had doctors or master’s degrees from China’s or the world’s top universities. The CRL focused on research areas of networking, distributed computing and systems management, as well as next generation services. IBM CRL is just the latest exit of the large international high-tech firms. In 2015, Yahoo closed its Beijing Research Center. Amazon closed its centers in 2019, and Oracle closed its Chinese Research Center in the same year. The IBM CRL closure further confirmed the de-linking between China and the United States.

Source: Sina, January 24, 2021
https://finance.sina.com.cn/chanjing/gsnews/2021-01-24/doc-ikftpnny1265832.shtml

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

Ministry of National Defense: “Containing China Is a Mission Impossible”

Starting one week after Biden took office, he and several of his officials repeatedly expressed support for allies in the Indo-Pacific region. This has been interpreted as the Biden administration warning against China’s aggressive stance. On January 28, Wu Qian, director of the Information Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense of China, said during his regular press conference, that, if the United States wants to contain China, it is a “Mission Impossible.”

Wu said that the China and U.S. relationship encountered extreme hardships during the Trump administration. The militaries of both countries faced many risks and challenges. Facts have proven that it is an impossible task for the U.S. to contain China. In the end, the U.S. will only shoot itself in the foot. To Contain China is a Mission Impossible!

On the first weekend after taking office, Biden spoke with the leaders of many European countries, expressing the U.S. interest in working together on China. Many of his senior officials also reaffirmed their support for East Asian countries. In telephone calls with the foreign ministers of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, and Italy, the newly appointed Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged to stand with them in the face of China. State Council Spokesperson Ned Price also criticized the Chinese military’s activities near Taiwan and said that, “the U.S. commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region.”

Sources:
1. Sina, January 28, 2021
https://news.sina.com.cn/c/2021-01-28/doc-ikftpnny2530128.shtml
2. Radio Free Asia, January 28, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/cm-01282021101704.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Military: China Tested the Biden Administration’s Position on Taiwan

On January 23, China sent 13 warplanes into Taiwan’s southwestern air defense zone. China’s planes included eight nuclear-capable bombers, four fighter jets and an anti-submarine patrol aircraft. In response, Taiwan’s air force warned away the Chinese aircraft and deployed missiles to monitor them.

After the incident and on the same day, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command dispatched an aircraft carrier group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt into the South China Sea to promote “freedom of the seas” in the waterway.

Also on the same day, the U.S. State Department released a statement confirming its support for Taiwan. The statement asserted,

“The United States notes with concern the pattern of ongoing PRC attempts to intimidate its neighbors, including Taiwan. We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan’s democratically elected representatives.

We will stand with friends and allies to advance our shared prosperity, security, and values in the Indo-Pacific region — and that includes deepening our ties with democratic Taiwan. The United States will continue to support a peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues, consistent with the wishes and best interests of the people on Taiwan. The United States maintains its longstanding commitments as outlined in the Three Communiqués, the Taiwan Relations Act, and the Six Assurances. We will continue to assist Taiwan in maintaining a sufficient self-defense capability. Our commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region.”

However, on the next day, Beijing sent another 15 aircraft to break into Taiwan’s airspace.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy Framework that the Trump administration declassified stated the following:

“Objective: Deter China from using military force against the United States and U.S. allies or partners, and develop the capabilities and concepts to defeat Chinese actions across the spectrum of conflict.”

One action toward this objective is: “Devise and implement a defense strategy capable of, but not limited to: (1) denying China sustained air and sea dominance inside the “first island chain” in a conflict; (2) defending the first-island-chain nations, including Taiwan; and (3) dominating all domains outside the first island-chain.”

Sources:
1. New York Post, January 23, 2021.
https://nypost.com/2021/01/23/china-sends-warplanes-into-taiwans-airspace-report/
2. State Department, January 23, 2021.
https://www.state.gov/prc-military-pressure-against-taiwan-threatens-regional-peace-and-stability/
3. New York Post, January 25, 2021.
https://nypost.com/2021/01/25/china-sends-warplanes-into-taiwan-airspace-for-2nd-straight-day/

 

Hot Topics | | |   Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

Global Times: U.S. Accused China of Having Missile Tests Despite the Pandemic

Global Times recently reported that the U.S. President’s Special Envoy for Arms Control Affairs accused China of conducting numerous missile tests in year 2020 and that there were over 250 missiles, despite the widespread Covid-19 pandemic. The total missiles used in testing exceeded China’s records in 2018 and 2019. The U.S. and its allies won’t turn a blind eye to it. Global Times requested comments from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry’s spokeswomen, Hua Chunying, responded that China firmly opposes the baseless accusations that frequently come from the United States. China is only conducting activities that sustain China’s minimum national security needs for the sole purpose of self-defense. The United States is in fact the country that has actually been conducting unrestrained military developments, which have posed a threat to regional and global peace.

Source: Global Times, January 19, 2021
https://world.huanqiu.com/article/41a1aC2IE0e

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military US-China Relations

LTN: Beijing Attempting to Open New Dialog with the U.S.

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that, according to some anonymous insiders, Beijing is working hard to re-establish dialogs with high level U.S. officials in order to improve the relationship between the two countries. Another goal of this initial attempt was to explore the possibility of having a summit between Xi and Biden. However, the Chinese Embassy in the United States officially denied this attempt. The anonymous sources also revealed that the Biden Whitehouse is not in a hurry to meet with high-ranking Chinese officials since Biden’s National Security team has not been fully established. Some key cabinet members that China is interested in talking to, such as Secretary of State and Treasury’s Secretary are not yet confirmed. Sources said China intended to send Yang Jiechi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party Central Committee, to visit the U.S. first, and his focus will not be on trade. Instead, it will be climate changes and the pandemic. China plans to work jointly with the U.S. to standardize Covid-19 vaccine certificates, under the umbrella of the WHO (World Health Organization). However, China has been very careful, though Beijing was eager to repair the near frozen relationship under President Trump.

Source: LTN, January 24, 2021
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/paper/1427629

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Twitter Refuses to Delete Hua Chunying’s Fabricated Xinjiang Propaganda

On Thursday, January 14, Hua Chunying, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Communist China, circulated a propaganda video on human rights in Xinjiang on Twitter. The propaganda denied the CCP’s forced labor policy against the Uyghurs and accused the United States government of spreading rumors. In response, a Twitter spokesperson said on Friday, January 15, that the tweets of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not violate their company regulations.

The spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hua Chunying, issued a series of tweets on Thursday that the existence of forced labor in Xinjiang “is the biggest lie of this century. It aimed at restricting and suppressing Chinese (CCP) authorities and Chinese companies and curbing China’s development.”

However, according to reports from multi-party investigations, in recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has intensified its crackdown on Uyghur ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. The actual evidence exposed the mass detention of approximately 1 million people, the mandatory re-education programs, the highly invasive surveillance, the religious suppression, the forced sterilization of women, and the forced labor.

The Associated Press has conducted extensive investigations on this, including first-hand interviews with about 30 former CCP’s detainees, and found that the CCP authorities had conducted pregnancy tests on thousands of Uyghur women and forced them to undergo forced abortions and sterilization.

The Chinese Communist regime has consistently denied these allegations on Twitter and claimed that the place where these detainees were held was a vocational training center aimed at curbing religious extremism and preventing terrorism.

One of Hua Chunying’s tweets on Thursday also accused the United States of fabricating lies and using “bad actions” to violate international trade rules and “damage the interests of global companies and consumers including those in the United States.”

A promotional video was attached to the tweet, with the title of smiling workers working in Xinjiang factories, spreading the message, “Many of our living habits have been changed and improved.” This video became the latest propaganda material that the Chinese Communist regime used to whitewash its repressive actions in Xinjiang.

A Twitter spokesperson told Fox News that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese Communist’s denied having a forced labor policy in Xinjiang, accused the U.S. of disinformation on Twitter and said China did not violate their company’s regulations.

The Chinese Communist Party has banned one billion ordinary people from using Twitter, but it seems that officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the party’s media are not restricted.

Source: China News, January 15, 2021
https://news.creaders.net/china/2021/01/15/2311011.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics US-China Relations