Skip to content

US-China Relations - 69. page

VOA Chinese: Mayor of Quebec City Cancelled Trip to China

Voice of America (VOA) Chinese recently reported that Régis Labeaume, the mayor of Quebec City, cancelled his trip to China originally planned for March. The mayor explained that he cancelled the scheduled trip due to the political tension between China and Canada. The Canadian government recently and repeatedly has issued travel warnings asking travelers to China to use extreme caution. The government warning indicated that travelers may face arbitrary enforcement of local laws and other culture related punishments on issues concerning death penalties and drug dealing. The mayor originally planned to visit Shanghai and Xi’an. Quebec City became a sister city with Xi’an in 2001. Ever since Canada arrested Huawei’s CFO last December based on a U.S. request, the Canada-China relationship has suffered a free fall. China has thus far arrested multiple Canadian citizens travelling or working in China.

Source: VOA Chinese, January 20, 2019
https://www.voachinese.com/a/canada-quebec-china-20190119/4750260.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

Xinhua Finance: Chinese Acquisitions in the U.S. Saw Sharp Decline

Xinhua Finance, a Hong Kong financial news branch of the Xinhua News Agency, recently reported that the market research institute, Mergermarket, just released its report on global mergers in 2018. The report showed that 2018 had a decline in the number of mergers in the global market and that this was the first decline since 2010. The research found that geopolitical tension has started demonstrating its impact. A noticeable example is that the Chinese acquisition activities in the U.S. suffered a dramatic year over year decline in 2018 of 94.6 percent. The Chinese acquisition volume (in the U.S.) had a free fall from the US$55.3 billion peak in 2016 to US$3 billion in 2018. Data also showed that the Chinese shifted their focus to Europe and the acquisitions increased by 81.7 percent to US$60.4 billion. Global mergers in 2018 mainly occurred in the areas of energy, mining, construction, and defense.

Source: Xinhua Finance, January 4, 2019
http://sc.xfafinance.com/html/Dont_Miss/2019/281013.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

PLA Strategist: What Is the Sino-US Trade War?

Luo Yuan, a Rear Admiral and military strategist for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), gave a speech recently on the Sino-US Trade War, analyzing it from the angle of China’s national strategy, why it happened, and how China should respond to it.

Luo’s speech was in three parts: What is it, why did it happen, and how to deal with it? The following are his main points:

What is it?

The U.S. has recently made six strategy changes: One, “America First” is officially a part of its national security strategy. Two, the U.S. has taken China as its number one threat and main competitor. Three, the Trump administration has adopted a “competition strategy” instead of Obama’s “engagement strategy.” Four, the U.S. has been following the “Indo-Pacific” strategy instead of the “Asia-Pacific Rebalance” strategy. Five, the Trump administration uses “Rebuilding America’s Military” strategy to replace the automatic reduction approach. Six, the U.S. has changed its nuclear weapons strategy.

Therefore, the trade war between China and U.S. is not a simple trade conflict but rather a major strategic issue, due to the U.S. national strategy change.

Why did it happen?

Luo said that he has had many discussions with other Chinese experts and concluded that the entire U.S., from top to bottom, has some strategic worries about China: One, China is likely to surpass the U.S. in GDP output someday. Two, China’s socialist model will surpass the U.S. model which is based on free, capitalist-styled competition. Thus, the Americans are concerned about the ideology and system rules. The Sino-U.S. trade war is the competition for national interest, system structure, and ideology.

How to respond?

One school of thought is for China to go back to the previous taking-a-low-profile approach. However, Luo argued that this won’t work any longer. The U.S. is demanding a full opening up, including the Internet. Luo warned that the communist party won’t be able to protect its ideology if the Internet is fully open.

The second school of though is to fight back. Luo argued that the symmetric counterattack approach (if the U.S. imposes tariffs on US $50 Billion worth of goods and if China imposes tariffs on an equal amount) will not work for China. He advocated the asymmetric counterattack, that is, to attack the enemy’s weak points.

Luo further stated that it may not be easy to find the U.S.’ weak points, but it can start from the U.S.’ strong points. Once China breaks the U.S.’ strong areas, the U.S.’s weak areas will be exposed. Luo listed the five strong areas of the U.S. and China’s counter measures:

  • One, a strong military power. China can increase military spending and develop its own killer weapons. The U.S. has 11 aircraft carriers. China does not need to match that number to compete with it. Instead, China can use its missiles to sink one or two, which will totally change the game play.
  • Two, the US dollar’s dominance in international trading. China should make the renminbi an international currency.
  • Three, a great pool of talent. China should develop its own high-tech industries.
  • Four, a vote-based system. China can target U.S. politicians’ voter bases by restricting the import of certain goods produced in some particular regions. There are three product lines in which China can have a good leverage: soil beans, cars, and airplanes.
  • Five, creating an enemy to keep itself strong. Since the U.S. takes China as its enemy, China can just be an “enemy” that it cannot defeat. China should also make more and more friends so as to leave the U.S. with fewer and fewer allies.

Source: Kunlunce.com, December 24, 2018
http://www.kunlunce.com/gcjy/quanqiuzhanlue/2018-12-24/130131.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military US-China Relations

Chen Yun’s Thoughts in the 1970s on Research, Utilization, and the Vigilance against Capitalism and Its Contemporary Value

{Editor’s Note: For years, the U.S. government, media, and scholars have characterized the U.S. China policy as a process of engagement. The thinking was that, through contact and exchanges, the U.S. would gradually transform China into a free and democratic society under the rule of law. Continue reading →

Reports | | |   Government/Politics Report US-China Relations

Luo Yuan on the “Military Attitude in the South China Sea”

At the 2019 Annual Meeting of Global Times on December 8, Luo Yuan, Executive Vice President and Secretary General of the China Strategic Culture Promotion Association, dismissed the opinion that (China’s) “military stance in the South China Sea is too weak.” He stated that China must have the strategic calmness to safeguard the sovereignty of the country. Luo implied that one shouldn’t look at what’s going on right now; the key is what will happen in the future.

Luo Yuan said that the situation in the South China Sea has changed a lot. China has built airports on the reefs and deployed defensive weapons and equipment. This was unimaginable 20 years ago.

Luo Yuan also analyzed the case of the Southern Combat Region’s spokesperson’s statement on November 30 regarding the U.S. ship’s intruding into of the Xisha territorial waters. Luo Yuan said that the Ministry of National Defense previously voiced “the South China Sea issue.” Now it is the local combat region that issues a statement. What is the function of the combat region? The combat region is established mainly to fight, that is, in the state of preparation for war. Our warships and planes have conducted evidence-collecting, warning, and expelling activities. This was absolutely impossible 20 years ago. Don’t talk about ‘avoiding the Sino-U.S. crisis.’ The best way to ‘avoid a crisis’ is if the U.S. warships don’t go into China’s territorial waters. To the United States, also, don’t talk about ‘freedom of navigation’ all day long. It is also time for China to say to the United States that China also needs to maintain ‘freedom of navigation.’”

Luo Yuan concluded, “So many people have questioned why the U.S. warships went to the Taiwan Strait and went to the South China Sea. Why hasn’t the army taken any measures? We advise everyone that we must have confidence in national defense; we must have strategic calmness; and we are gradually gaining strategic controlling power, accumulating the capability of a ‘must-win in fight.’”

Source: Global Times, December 8, 2018
http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2018-12/13752537.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military US-China Relations

Major General Qiao Liang: Controllable Non-War Military Action Is the Best Way to Handle South China Sea Issue

How can China arrange a reasonable and favorable response to the frequent U.S. warship’s entry into and exit from the South China Sea? How to solve the South China Sea problem? At the 2019 Global Times Annual Meeting “China-U.S. Competition and the Changing World” on December 8, Qiao Liang, Major General and Professor at The National Defense University, said in an interview with a Global Times reporter that, “military operations without war” is the most feasible and best way to handle the South China Sea issue.

Regarding U.S. warship’s frequent entry into and exit from the South China Sea, Major General Qiao Liang expressed that China’s appeal in the South China Sea is the “nine-segment line” rather than the 12 nautical miles mark around the small islands in Nansha. “So, we certainly cannot talk about this issue from the perspective of an infringement of sovereignty. Protesting against a sovereignty violation is not the best way.”

In Qiao Liang’s view, China should neither enter war with the opponents nor merely protest in response to the South China Sea issue. Once a war breaks out, the consequences will be unpredictable. Therefore, the controllable non-war military action is the “arms wrestling game” between the big countries. Namely, within a controllable scope, taking “limited, low-intensity military operations that do not pass the threshold of war” is the best way.

Source: Global Times, December 8, 2018
http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2018-12/13755372.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Chinese Hawk Admiral: Strike at What the U.S. Fears

Luo Yuan, rear admiral in the People’s Liberation Army Navy, the deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences, and a well-known hawk, was invited to attend a meeting in Shenzhen on December 20 and delivered a speech regarding the current Sino–U.S. relationship.

Luo Yuan claimed that the US-China trade war “is definitely not a simple economic and trade friction” but an “important strategic issue.” The origin of the conflict is that “the U.S. national strategy has changed.” In the United States, there are many differences between the two parties, between the House and Senate, and among the White House, the Department of Defense, and the Department of State. The only consensus they have is the China issue.

In his speech, Luo Yuan strongly advocated that China should respond with “asymmetric counterattacks.” That is, “use my strength to attack the enemy’s shortcomings. Strike at what the enemy fears. Focus our development on the enemy’s soft spot.”

Luo Yuan said that the “five fundamental foundations of the United States” are the military, the dollar, talent, the ballot, and the creation of enemies. Among them, in the military, “the United States is most afraid of death.” Luo suggested using a missile to sink one U.S. ship and cause 5,000 casualties, and two with 10,000 casualties. “Let’s see if the U.S. is afraid or not.”

On the ballot, Luo Yuan claimed that playing the U.S. soybeans card would particularly hurt Iowa, a stronghold of the Trump campaign. Targeting American made cars would make GM, Ford, and Chrysler “second-rate companies.” Luo also suggested playing the airplane card, as one out of every three Boeing’s 737 passenger jets are sold to China. These three items are China’s “bargaining chips with the United States.”

Source: Central News Agency, December 23, 2018
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201812230157.aspx

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

On Structural Reform: “What Cannot be Changed Will Not Be Changed”

At the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s regular press briefing on Tuesday, December 18, a reporter asked, “It is reported that Peter Navarro, Director of the White House National Trade Council, said that the purpose of the US-China trade negotiations is not only to ask China to buy more American products. More importantly, China needs structural reforms. What is your response?”

Spokesperson Hua Chunying started with a vague statement, “It is hoped that teams on both sides can earnestly implement the consensus reached at the meeting of the two heads of state … seeking mutually beneficial and win-win results.”

In response to Navarro’s, “China needs structural reforms” question, Hua then suggested that Navarro and “officials or people who hold these thoughts” should “carefully read and study” Xi Jinping’s speech at the celebration of the 40’s anniversary of China’s “Reform and Opening Up” policy earlier that day. Hua continued and repeated paragraphs from Xi’s speech.

In particular, he said, “To advance reform and development in a large country like China with more than 5,000 years of civilization and more than 1.3 billion people, there is no textbook that can be regarded as a golden rule and there is no one who can boss us around like a master teacher.”

“We will resolutely change what should be and can be changed and will resolutely not change what should not and cannot be changed.”

These words were much tougher than the 45-hour speech of Xi Jinping at the Trump-Xi meeting on December 1. At that meeting, Xi Jinping personally promised China would carry out structural reforms; Xi’s promise clearly played an important role in the agreement of the 90-day trade truce.

Source: Radio France International, December 18, 2018
http://rfi.my/3Wy.T

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations