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US-China Relations - 61. page

JP Morgan to Include China in Its Benchmark Bond Index

Starting on February 28, 2020, Chinese government’s debt will start to be part of the Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM), a benchmark emerging-markets index that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will manage. The process of inclusion will be completed over 10 months.

The total capital of GBI-EM, which tracks global emerging markets, is approximately $226 billion, among which some $202 billion will be tracked in the GBI-EM global diversified benchmark. The Chinese government bonds will be capped at 10 percent of the index.

Earlier in April, Bloomberg Barclays, another index provider, began adding Chinese bonds to its global benchmark.

Source: The Paper, September 4, 2019
https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_4335465

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Mingpao: China Assessing the Level of High-Tech Dependency on the U.S.

Mingpao, one of the primary Hong Kong newspapers, recently reported that the Chinese government is assessing the dependency level that Chinese domestic high-tech vendors have on U.S. technologies. The goal is to evaluate the capabilities China has to sustain the trade war. It is also to be better prepared for a Chinese blacklist of U.S. companies. The China National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Commerce are jointly leading this effort. The process aims to minimize domestic damage while maximizing the strength of the attacks against the United States. Government officials have already contacted many Chinese companies, such as Xiaomi and Oppo, on their supply chain details. Some Chinese companies have already started moving away from U.S. suppliers. According to a June survey that the US-China Business Council conducted, most of the U.S. companies in China did not have the intent to withdraw from China completely.

Source: Mingpao, September 1, 2019
https://bit.ly/32hD7N6

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

VOA Chinese: The Trade War May Impact the Pandas in the U.S.

Voice of America (VOA) Chinese Edition recently reported that the trade war between China and the United States is introducing not only the worry about the future of the world economy, but also the concern for the future of the pandas in the U.S. According to the rental agreements between a number of U.S. zoos and China, upon the expiration of the contracts, unless the contracts are renewed, the pandas have to be returned to China. The agreements also indicate that the U.S. born baby pandas are also property of China. The San Diego Zoo failed to obtain a renewal of their contract. Currently there are only three zoos left in the United States that still have pandas: The National Zoo in DC, the Atlanta Zoo, and the Memphis Zoo. In the past decades, the Chinese government has used pandas as a foreign relationship tool. Sometimes they are leased and sometimes they are given as gifts.

Source: VOA Chinese, August 30, 2019
https://www.voacantonese.com/a/people-worried-china-could-recall-giant-pandas-from-us-because-of-trade-war-20190830/5063011.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson: U.S. Is Liable for Its Fentanyl Problem

At its regular press conference on August 26, 2019, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang blamed the U.S. for its fentanyl problem. From the supply and demand theory, Geng indicated that the fault is the result of the U.S. demand. He argued that implicitly it is not the result of China’s supplying such a drug.

The question asked was: “US President Trump tweeted on August 23 that he has ordered American delivery companies to search for fentanyl in all packages from China and block any deliveries that contain such substances. FedEx, UPS, and the U.S. Postal Service said they began taking measures to prevent drug traffickers from using their services following President Trump’s instruction. I wonder, what is China’s comment?”

Geng gave a lengthy answer, including the statement, “As laws of basic economics tell us, demand and supply come hand in hand. Supply dries up when there is no demand. In the U.S., people tend to abuse prescription painkillers. The American people, accounting for only five percent of the world population, consume as much as 80 percent of the world’s total opioids. The U.S. government can by all means intensify its efforts to reduce the demand for fentanyl.”

Source: China’s Foreign Ministry website, August 26, 2019
https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/t1692042.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Epoch Times: Residents Jam-Packed and Fought over Products at the Opening Day of the Costco Store in Shanghai

On the opening day of the first Costco store in Shanghai, people jam-packed the store and forced it to close early. Despite the escalation of the China-US trade war and the official mouthpiece’s constant high-profile anti-US media campaign, Chinese citizens still  favor the US store. Some scholars even say Chinese people are not anti-U.S.

According to Epoch Times, on the opening day, there was traffic jam and people waited in line in 100 degree weather to get inside the store. Many are in their 70’s or 80’s. People fought over the items in the store. Many products sold out quickly and the store was forced to close early. On the second and third day, the store had to limit the customers to under 2,000 at any given time. Customers told Epoch Times that the overall economy is declining. Things are expensive but wages do not grow. Average people don’t have much savings and live on a tight budget. Everyone wants to spend less. People jam-packed the Costco store because they don’t have trust in the food quality elsewhere. Costco products, on the other hand, are known for their superior quality and low prices. Many people are jokingly asking, “Why aren’t the officials coming out to ask people to embargo U.S. products?” It is not true that the Chinese people are anti-US. Many of the anti-US demonstrations are organized [by the government] and the participants are rewarded with money or monetary items. The authorities have been instilling in the people that the U.S. has launched a trade war. In fact, people know that the U.S. government does not rob the Chinese people and it is the Chinese government (the CCP) that hurts the Chinese people.

Source: Epoch Times, August 29, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/8/29/n11486339.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Defending the Rule of Law in Hong Kong

For the past eleven consecutive weeks, the Hong Kong people have been protesting the proposed extradition bill and later, how the authorities have mistreated people. Beijing has turned a deaf ear to them and even plans to use either the army or police forces from the mainland to bring “order” to Hong Kong. How should the West handle the CCP’s threats?

Before answering that question, let’s first try to understand this question: What do the Hong Kong people really want and what are they defending?

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has called the Hong Kong people “Hong Kong separationists” or “dogs of the British colony.” We all know that is not true; they are not asking for Hong Kong’s independence; they are not asking to go back to the U.K., either.

Are they asking for universal suffrage? Yes, they asked for it in the Occupy Central movement in 2014 and are asking for it now. However, one may wonder, “The Hong Kong people didn’t have universal suffrage under British rule. They didn’t ask for it then. Why now?”

This is because universal suffrage is not their essential appeal. Their essential appeal is for the “rule of law.”

Being a global financial center and trading hub, the rule of law is a must for Hong Kong. It needs that to assure people that they can be at ease doing business in Hong Kong: their personal safety is guaranteed, the security of their assets is protected, contracts are honored, legal processes are trustworthy, and officials’ abuse of power is systematically prevented.

Hong Kong enjoyed the rule of law under the British rule and continued with it under the “One Country, Two Systems” in accordance with Beijing’s agreement after it took over in 1997. However, as the CCP has gradually gained more control over Hong Kong, adherence to the rule of law has been deteriorating and the CCP has been replacing it with “rule by the Communist Party.” Chinascope has published an analysis explaining that in China, it is not the “rule of law” and not even the “rule by law” that has prevailed, but just “rule by the Communist Party.” {1}

Among the five demands that the Hong Kong people have made, four are related to the “rule of law.” They are: the withdrawal of the proposed extradition bill, the government’s retraction of its characterization of the violent clashes as “riots,” unconditional release of arrested protesters and dropping charges against them, and a completely independent investigation of police behavior.

So, what the Hong Kong people are doing is defending Hong Kong’s rule of law. The request for universal suffrage is a means to enable that defense. An executive that the public elects is more likely to honor the public’s interest and the rule of law while an executive that the CCP selects will likely be the CCP’s puppet. This was not an issue during the British rule because the rule of law was already honored under the British, and thus, the Hong Kong people didn’t ask for the governor to be elected.

Now let’s come back to the opening question: How should the West handle the CCP’s threats? Should the world acquiesce to the CCP’s use of force to end the protests in Hong Kong?

No, definitely not. The moment the CCP uses the gun instead of a humane approach to solve the Hong Kong issue, that is when the new era for Hong Kong starts. It will be the era of “rule by the party” in Hong Kong. The rule of law will be gone and Hong Kong will no longer be a global center.

The damage is not just that.

If the world lets Beijing expand its “rule by the party” to Hong Kong, we are telling our companies that they must kowtow to the CCP if they want to do business in China. In fact, many of them have already practiced bowing to the CCP all these years and done it very well.

If the world lets Beijing renounce its promise that “One Country, Two Systems” will not change for 50 years, we are telling Beijing that it can sign any trade deal with any country and any organization, knowing that it can break its promise at any time. Beijing has already done that in many instances. Its WTO promises are just one.

If the world lets Beijing use tear gas, bullets, or tanks to put down protests in Hong Kong, we are telling Beijing that we do not care about human rights and we can tolerate a “Thuggish Regime.” We already made that mistake in responding to the Tiananmen Massacre.

The Hong Kong people have shown the world that they are willing to use their human flesh to defend the rule of law in front of a mighty state machine. If Beijing has its way with Hong Kong who is next?

Now it is time for the U.S., the West, and the whole world to join them, to show that we are committed to defending the rule of law, the spirit of the contract, human rights, and at the moral level, what it means to make a promise and to keep your word! We are also telling the thugs and evildoers that immoral acts have consequences.

Endnote:
{1} Chinascope, “China: Rule of Law or Rule by the Party?” April 5, 2015.
http://chinascope.org/archives/6497.

Perspectives | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics US-China Relations

Beijing’s Representative in Hong Kong Called U.S. Lawmakers “The Black Hand behind the Extreme Violent Elements”

The Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is an office under the PRC’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is in charge of foreign affairs related to Hong Kong. Recently it released a list of statements regarding U.S. politicians and media on Hong Kong.

“On August 17, in response to the erroneous statements made by Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Pelosi, Senators McConnell, Rubio, and Representative Yoho, the National People’s Congress Foreign Affairs Committee spokesman Yu Wenze said that . . .  some Members of the U.S. Congress glamorize violent crimes and call them the fight for human rights and freedom; they distort the Hong Kong police efforts to enforce the law, crack down on crime, and maintain the social order by calling their acts violent suppression, and they threaten to push for a so-called ‘Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act.’ The move is a serious violation of the rule of law, an out-and-out double standard, and a gross interference in China’s internal affairs.”

“On August 15, 2019, the Wall Street Journal published an editorial, ‘The Hong Kong Stakes for Trump.’ The article ignored the facts and turned black into white. It acted despotic about the situation in Hong Kong and made willful comments. The spokesman of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong was the first to raise the issue and express strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition. The spokesperson pointed out that the article, making a series of irresponsible remarks about the situation in Hong Kong, is full of ignorance, prejudice, and arrogance.”

On August 15, the Office of the Commissioner released a statement titled, “The Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong exposed that the U.S. politicians and the extremist violent criminals ganged up and acted in collusion.” The release stated, “In response to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Pelosi and other politicians’ extremely erroneous remarks about the current situation in Hong Kong, the spokesperson of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong said some U.S. politicians are nearly paranoid in reversing black and white, and are addicted to double standards. They colluded with extremist violent criminals and engaged in anti-China sinful business that will bring disasters to Hong Kong.”

On August 14, the Office issued another statement in response to Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Pelosi and Senator Rubio. “In response to Media reports that Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Pelosi and Senator Rubio issued wrong arguments such as ‘The escalating violence and use of force perpetrated against the Hong Kong protestors is extremely alarming,’  ‘The Chief Executive and Legislative Council must withdraw the extradition bill and end police violence,’ the spokesperson of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong said that some U.S. lawmakers confused right and wrong, reversed black and white, and incited violent crimes. They used their words and deeds to show that they are the black hands behind the extreme violent elements.”

Source: Website of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong
http://www.fmcoprc.gov.hk/chn/gsdzywtdbthlc/

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

The U.S. Expanded Scope of Reviews to Include U.S. Students in China

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, after they returned home, the FBI contacted some U.S. students who had graduated from China’s Yenching Academy at Beijing University. The Yenching Academy is an institute mainly for foreign students and around one third are from the United States and Canada. In the past two years, U.S. law enforcement agencies investigated five of the students, asking about their experience with Yenching Academy. Two students from West Point were not allowed to attend Yenching, although Yenching had accepted them. The FBI may be concerned about these scholars receiving Chinese financial sponsorship as they may be asked to help steal U.S. intellectual properties. The previous U.S. administration supported Yenching Academy and Tsinghua University’s Schwarzman Scholars program. Heather K. Gerken, Dean of the Yale Law School, expressed her serious concern about the FBI’s reviews and activities.

Source: Sina, August 9, 2019
http://dailynews.sina.com/gb/international/phoenixtv/2019-08-09/doc-ifzmwyte5774481.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations