US-China Relations - 52. page

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), headquartered in Shanghai and incorporated in the Cayman Islands, is a Chinese semiconductor foundry company. On May 15, the Hong Kong-listed chip maker announced that two China state-backed funds injected a total of US$22.5 billion into its wafer factory that will help SMIC produce advanced chips.

As the Trump administration has moved to block global chip supplies to blacklisted telecoms equipment giant Huawei Technologies, which is gradually shifting its own wafer design and production from Taiwan based TSMC to SMIC in response to the possibility of more restrictive measures, China is betting the local chip foundry can help reduce the country’s reliance on US technology.

The plant has the capacity to produce 6,000 14-nanometre wafers a month and plans to boost that to 35,000. After the capital infusion, the SMIC plant’s registered capital jumped from US$3.5 billion to US$6.5 billion. The chip maker’s stake in the facility will drop from 50.1 per cent to 38.5 per cent, according to the company.

Source: Central News Agency, May 17, 2020
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202005170185.aspx

Deutsche Welle Chinese Edition recently reported that the U.S. National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the U.S. consulting firm Rhodium Group just jointly published the 2019 report on investment trends between the United States and China. With the background of a continuously worsening U.S.-China relationship, Chinese investments in the United States reached the lowest level since the global financial crisis a decade ago. The newly signed U.S.-China Phase One Trade Agreement brought some brightness to the future. However, the coronavirus is now casting a dark shadow for the near term. In the first quarter of this year, China’s direct investment in the U.S. declined to US$200 million, which is far less than the 2019 average quarterly investment level of US$2 billion. The Chinese investment in the U.S. saw declines before the coronavirus came. The causes were mainly the poor relationship between the two countries, strengthened U.S. regulations, and China’s restrictions on overseas investments.

Source: DW Chinese, May 12, 2020
https://bit.ly/3dQ3gbr

As the 2019 coronavirus epidemic continues its worldwide rampage, China’s official media has concentrated on criticizing the United States. Data collected by a Wechat account, a popular Chinese social media platform, shows that 70 percent of the front page editorials of Global Times, a daily tabloid newspaper under the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper, with a focus on international issues, recently have been  targeting U.S.

According to its May 17 posting, the account, “yuguisuibi” by name, found that among the recent 40 Global Times’ daily front page editorials, titles of 29 articles carry the words “the United States.” The proportion is as high as 72.5 percent. The figure was, however, only 18, or 45 percent, out of 40 editorials over the same time period last year.

Among other titles, the wording “global” shows 3 times, “World” 4 times, and “G20” twice. In addition, “Britain” appeared once due to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s infection.

Source: Central News Agency, May 18, 2020
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202005180030.aspx

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu recently reported that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted a new proposed regulation in the Federal Register which plans to apply further restrictions to the visa duration for reporters from China to 90 days. Extensions will be allowed. The plan is currently in the process of public review. If the plan is implemented, Chinese reporters will have to leave the United States after 90 days unless the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approves an extension. The new proposal does not apply to those with Hong Kong or Macau passports. The new plan was reportedly to enhance U.S. national security. In the recent years, the U.S. government has been “creating trouble” for Chinese media reporters. In 2018, the U.S. government asked the Chinese media branches in the U.S. to register as proxies of a foreign government. In February of this year, five Chinese media companies in the U.S. were classified as “foreign missions.” Later the U.S. government restricted the number of staff members for these five companies. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented that, maybe the U.S. government does not want the world to know how poorly they handled the pandemic.

Source: Sohu, May 9, 2020
https://www.sohu.com/a/393986216_115479

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, right after President Trump suspended legal immigration for 60 days, the U.S. government looked at considering tightening up the policies for the international students to apply for OPT (Optional Practical Training) after graduation. According to a recent Forbes article, the Trump administration may further restrict or entirely eliminate the temporary work opportunities offered by the OPT programs. It is possible that this new development may only apply to Chinese students. This report is not baseless. Acting U. S. Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf said on the radio on April 27 that the OPT qualification for Chinese students will be the new target of the Trump administration. Restricting OPT for STEM majors has always been on the table.

Source: Sina, May 7, 2020
https://k.sina.com.cn/article_2817931122_a7f6377200100vany.html?from=news