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US-China Relations - 65. page

BBC Chinese: Cut of Game of Thrones Final Episode Caused Major Debate in China

BBC Chinese recently reported that the popular U.S. TV series Game of Thrones is also very popular in China. However, when the Chinese fans were eager to watch the final episode on May 20, the broadcaster Tencent cut the show off one hour before airing citing technical difficulties, without providing a new air time. Tencent is the sole distributor of Game of Thrones in China, and many fans paid extra for the VIP access to watch the show. The cut-off caused nationwide anger online, especially when Tencent’s version of the show had already passed China’s official screening. A large number of Chinese netizens questioned whether this is part of the public opinion war against the United States. Once the trade war restarted recently, China’s media have been engaged in a wave of anti-American activities. Many normal TV broadcasts were replaced by old movies covering the Korean War. Tencent stock dropped 3.88 percent instantly after the event. Both Tencent and HBO refused to respond to this matter. Game of Thrones is very popular among China’s top leadership members as well, including President Xi himself. They typically watch a much-compressed edition called the “diamond version” in order to save time.

Source: BBC Chinese, May 21, 2019
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-48345861

Briefings | | |   Social Stability US-China Relations

Lianhe Zaobao: Google Partially Paused Business Relations with Huawei

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that, with the ban that the U.S. government issued, Google paused the execution of some of its business agreements with Huawei. Other than Google’s open-source version of Android, Huawei can no longer use Google applications on Android, such as Gmail and Google Maps. This will have an immediate impact on Huawei’s cellphones sold internationally. The overseas handsets, even the latest next generation models, are not going to be able to visit Google’s Google Play application store and popular apps. Some of the details are still being discussed internally at Google. This is a direct result of U.S. Department of Commerce’s new rules on controls applied to direct business activities with companies that may threaten the U.S. national security. Huawei is one of the 68 companies in 26 countries that are included on the black list. Reuters reported the news and the chief of the U.S. online tech news site The Verge confirmed it.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, May 20, 2019
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20190520-957941

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

RFA: Will Anti US Korean War Movies and Media Propaganda Incite the Chinese People to Hate the US?

Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that, as the US-China trade war is heating up, China’s CCTV has been changing its original program list and has broadcast anti-US films for three consecutive days. All three films were made in the 60’s with the Korean War as the background. At the same time, People’s Daily published an article saying, “There has never been a savior (for China) and, “The theory that the ‘U.S. has rebuilt China’ should be put to rest.” The article stated that “China’s development, in the end, is that the Chinese people continue to push forward reform and opening up under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and people’s hard work.” The article continued about the observation that there has never been a savior (for China). “Instead of revealing ignorance, it would be better (for the U.S.) to respect the facts, stop the unwarranted accusations against China, have a positive perspective when looking at China’s development, and do more things that are conducive to the normal and stable development of Sino-US economic and trade relations.” RFA quoted several comments. One comment stated that China’s current official propaganda was there to fool the Chinese people. “(The party) shifted the blame for the rising unemployment rate and inflation to the U.S. and used the circumstances to demonize the U.S.” Another comment stated, “On the one hand, the Chinese official media said that there has never been a savior. On the other hand, it seems contradictory and extremely stupid to advocate Mao Zedong as the savior of the Chinese people. The propaganda of the official media does not incite the hatred that is among the Chinese people. … If the United States were not good, why would so many officials send their children to the U.S. to study every year? In addition, many of their children also immigrate to the U.S. to get green cards. Why do they do that?”

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 17, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/yl-05172019113732.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China Times: Top Ten Mainland Export Categories Impacted by the New Tariffs

Major Taiwanese newspaper China Times recently published an article with an analysis of the Mainland China export categories that would be most impacted by the newly raised tariff rate (from 10 percent to 25 percent). The estimates were based on the ITC (United States International Trade Commission) 2018 statistics. The top ten categories (in terms of export value) are: electronic communications equipment (US$19.1 billion), computer circuit boards (US$12.5 billion), processing components (US$5.6 billion), metal furniture (except chairs, US$4.1 billion), computer parts (US$3.1 billion), wooden furniture (US$2.9 billion), static converters (US$2.7 billion), plastic flooring (US$2.5 billion), wooden framed seats (US$2.5 billion), and auto parts (US$2.3 billion). In the meantime, undisclosed sources expressed the belief that the Chinese counter-tariffs will most likely include US exports in the following categories: chemical products, agricultural products, whisky, and soybeans. The Trump administration has already started the preparations for the additional tariffs against the rest of all Chinese goods.

Source: China Times, May 10, 2019
https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20190510002119-260410?chdtv

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources US-China Relations

China Mobile Denied after Eight Years of Waiting

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu recently reported that the U.S. FCC (Federal Communications Commission) unanimously rejected the application that China Mobile submitted in 2011 for it to become a communications service provider. The excuse was still the old-fashioned national security concern. In fact, in July of 2018, the U.S. Department of Commerce had already recommended that the FCC refuse China Mobile’s application. The FCC Chairman pointed out that China Mobile was owned by the Chinese government and it could collect U.S. intelligence for the Chinese government. He identified this as an unacceptable risk. However, in 2011, the China Mobile application only filed for the service scope of international telecommunications, instead of U.S. domestic communications. The U.S. government has since been dragging its feet on the review and approval process. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented on the matter and recommended that the U.S. government give up its Cold War mentality. It appears that this latest development is yet further evidence that shows the Trump administration is trying to make China’s entry into the U.S. market harder.

Source: Sohu, May 10, 2019
http://www.sohu.com/a/313048474_115479

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Responded to Pentagon’s New Policies against Confucius Institute

Reference News, a well-known branch of Xinhua, recently reported that Lu Kang, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commented at a press conference on the new policies the Pentagon established to stop sponsoring colleges that have a Confucius Institute. With more and more people becoming aware of the expansion of Chinese influence via the Confucius Institute, academic freedom has become a U.S. public concern. The Pentagon confirmed that, unless an exception is granted, it will no longer sponsor Chinese language education programs in colleges that have a Confucius Institute. Lu described this policy as a “Cold War mindset.” He said the Confucius Institutes have not done anything unlawful. The pentagon’s decision was baseless and lacked self-confidence. It’s turning a cultural exchange effort into a political fight.

Quite a few U.S. colleges have discontinued or plan to discontinue their Confucius Institute contracts.

Source: Reference News, May 2
http://www.cankaoxiaoxi.com/world/20190502/2379026.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Qualcomm’s Chinese Joint Venture Is Closing Its Doors

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu recently reported that HXT-Semitech, the joint venture between Qualcomm and China’s Guizhou Province, is set to close its doors by the end of April. According to information leaked from within in an internal conference, HXT had already announced the closure  along with the employee layoff compensation plan. HXT CEO Wang Kai had already quietly left the company and many HXT staff had also started looking for other opportunities. HXT did not make any official information available; nor did Qualcomm or Guizhou Province. HXT was founded in 2016 with a joint investment of US$570 million from Qualcomm (with a 45 percent stake) and Guizhou Province (with a 55 percent stake). The company later established three bases in Guizhou, Beijing, and Shanghai. HXT planned to focus on designing ARMv8 64-bit server chips. In May last year, HXT announced the successful design of its Number 1 chip for commercial release. After the news of HXT’s closure was made public, experts expressed the belief that there is no shortcut to take in the field of core chip development.

Source: Sohu, April 21, 2019
http://www.sohu.com/a/309379318_343547?sec=wd

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations