Skip to content

US-China Relations - 79. page

Duowei: China’s State Media Comments on U.S. Sanctions Proposal against North Korea

Duowei reported that, after the U.S. Treasury Department recently announced its program to institute, “the largest sanctions against the DPRK in history,” the Chinese government media (Xinhua) published an article commenting that the sanctions that the United States imposed are inappropriate and that the United States has the aim of safeguarding Washington’s dominance over the Korean Peninsula issue. However, the unilateral strengthening of sanctions will only make the situation more complicated and cause negative effects.

This is the (Xinhua) issue: The article, entitled “The Heaviest Sanctions in History, which the United States Imposed, Are Not Appropriate,” points out that since the start of this year, North Korea and South Korea have taken the opportunity of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics to resume a dialogue, to seek cooperation; as a result the situation has seen a rare easing. However, the “long-arm” sanctions that the United States has imposed, have shown the U.S.’s always arrogant attitude and have also shown how the United States is playing an inharmonious and destructive role. The article mentions that it is incontrovertible that Washington’s intensification of sanctions on the ebb of the peninsula tensions will have a negative effect on the situation on the peninsula. Strengthening sanctions is inconsistent with the UN Security Council’s resolution to promote the fundamental spirit of peace talks and cannot close the differences between the two countries as a prerequisite for dialogue and appeal. The commentary pointed out: Not only does North Korea not accept the aggressive posture of the United States, but it also will not solve any substantive issue.

Source: Duowei, February 24, 2018
http://news.dwnews.com/china/news/2018-02-24/60042188.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics US-China Relations

Global Times: The U.S. Blocked China’s Acquisition of U.S. Company again

Global Times recently reported that the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) once again blocked the deal for China’s Hubei Xinyan Investments to acquire the U.S. semiconductor test equipment vendor Xcerra. It seems the U.S. government continues to worry about Chinese companies. CFIUS blocked the US$580 million acquisition on the basis of the funding sources being “supported by the Chinese government.” Hubei Xinyan reached the merger agreement with Xcerra in April 2017. Now Xcerra, headquartered in the state of Massachusetts, has ended the agreement following the CFUIS rejection. Xcerra’s CEO told the media that his company tried its best to obtain the approval but “apparently” the Committee did not intend to give the green light. Last September, CFIUS also rejected a $1.3 billion Chinese acquisition deal in the semiconductor industry. The CFIUS approval process has been getting slower and more and more Chinese investment projects are on hold.

Source: Global Times, February 23, 2018
http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2018-02/11618272.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

CNA: Florida University Discontinued Contract with Confucius Institute

Primary Taiwanese news agency CNA (The Central News Agency) recently reported that the University of West Florida just released a statement that it would discontinue its contract with China’s Confucius Institute in May when the contract expires. The spokesperson for the university said the school made the decision last fall. The decision was based on a formal review that the university had done. The review process did not receive sufficient positive feedback from the student body. The university has informed its Chinese partners of the decision. Dr. Joseph Nye, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, former Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, and former Dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, who initially introduced the concept of “Soft Power,” recently expressed his belief that the Confucius Institute interfered with academic freedom. Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out in a conference not long ago in January that the Confucius Institute should, “serve the purpose of strengthening national power with the socialist culture and serve the mission of establishing a powerful diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.”

Source: CNA, February 7, 2018
http://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201802070407-1.aspx

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China Strikes Back on the Trade Front against the U.S.

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that China started taking steps to strike back after several U.S. anti-China trade investigations took place. On February 4, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced its anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations against U.S. sorghum exports to China. China is the biggest buyer of U.S. sorghum and soybeans. About three thirds of the U.S. sorghum exports go to China, which is around 4.8 million tons of sorghum, worth of US$1 billion. This is a high-profit item in the portfolio of U.S. exports to China. The investigation is expected to hurt the business of some American farmers who are considered one of the “cornerstones” of the Trump voter base. The Chinese investigation may take around one year and some bad news may be right in time for the up-coming mid-term election in November. It is possible the Trump administration may react strongly against this Chinese move. However, the total dollar amount of the sorghum investigation is a very small percentage in the US-China trade volume. China is just taking this opportunity to remind the U.S. of the mutual dependency relationship in trade.

Source: Sina, February 6, 2018
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/nd/2018-02-06/doc-ifyrhcqz3042688.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Research Showed More Economic Freedom in the U.S. under Trump

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported on the Index of Economic Freedom that the U.S. Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal just released. The Index showed that Hong Kong won the highest score of 90.2, up 0.4 from last year. It was the only region with a score over 90. The United States was ranked at number 18, with a 0.6-point increase in its score. The U.S. score had been on the decline for the past decade. According to Edwin Feulner, founder of the Heritage Foundation, only 12 years ago, the United States was ranked number five among nearly 180 regions. The past ten years have been very tough. Now finally the free-fall has stopped and the U.S. is actually heading in the right direction. Feulner pointed out that the U.S. rebound should be credited to Trump’s deregulation push. Since the Index data did not include the recent U.S. Tax Cut, he expects a much better U.S. score next year.

Source: Sina, February 1, 2018
http://finance.sina.com/gb/usstock/sinacn/20180201/21531708070.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China News: China’s Rating Agency Lowered the Sovereign Rating of the U. S. Dollar

China News recently reported that China’s rating agency, the Dagong Global Credit Ratings, just lowered the sovereign rating of the U.S. Dollar from A- down to BBB+. The outlook for the U.S. sovereign rating was marked as negative. Dagong explained that this move was due to the fact that the U.S. capability of paying back debts significantly weakened after the newly passed tax cut bill. The U.S. government’s credit is directly associated with the amount of tax it collects, which is the primary source for backing its debts. Dagong expressed its belief that the U.S. Federal government’s income will decline due to the tax cut, while defense spending and infrastructure investment will see massive increases. The U.S. deficit is expected to climb higher in the foreseeable future. Also, the promised upcoming U.S. interest rate hikes will further worsen the situation. The Chinese government certified Dagong’s rating qualifications.

Source: China News, January 16, 2018
http://www.chinanews.com/cj/2018/01-16/8425496.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Global Times: The U.S. House Just Passed a Bill to Destroy Taiwan

Global Times recently published a commentary right after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Taiwan Travel Act. The Act encourages exchange visits between the United States and Taiwan on “all levels.” If this Act were to be signed into law, it would signal a fundamental change in U.S. Taiwan policies. It would allow high ranking Taiwanese government officials, such as the President, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Minister of Defense to visit the United States. The current law in effect, the Taiwan Relations Act, has governed the flexible relationship between the States and Taiwan for decades. It does ban the high-level exchange visits of government officials. Although the Senate has not yet passed the Taiwan Travel Act, the fact that it was even discussed in the House used to be flat out unimaginable. A lot of “power players” in the U.S. wish they could reactivate the Taiwan issue to gamble with China. However, the time for the U.S. to dominate Taiwan Strait affairs has long ended. The new law could lead to a broken balance that would force China to take actions big enough to cause the same level of damage to the U.S. In fact, a potential military move could destroy Taiwan.

Source: Global Times, January 10, 2018
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2018-01/11512000.html

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

Global Times: To Rise, China Needs to Fight another 30 Years of “Protracted Battle”

Wang Wen, Executive Dean of the Chongyang Finance Institute at Renmin University of China, published an article evaluating China’s rise relative to the current world powers. The article said, “Over the past decade, the most popular academic view of the world’s changing situation is the rise of emerging countries and the decline of established developed countries. However, judging from the share of the total national economy in the global total, the actual situation is more complicated and subtle.”

“The so-called ‘readjustment of the global economic and financial structure’ in the past decade is actually a structural adjustment between China and the established powers of Western Europe and Japan. It has not shaken the status of the United States.”

“Although there is no real shake-up of the U.S. economic status, it is undeniable that the global financial crisis has hit the soft power of the United States. Over the past decade, the world has constantly criticized the loopholes in the U.S. financial regulatory system and reflected on the shortcomings of the democratic and liberal system in the United States. In the course of criticism and reflection, the self-confidence of the Chinese society has gradually recovered. Especially in recent years, China has hosted the G20 Summit, the Summit on the International Cooperation of the Belt and Road Initiative, the BRIC Leaders’ Summit, and the Summit of the Chinese Communist Party and the World Political Parties, prompting more and more countries to recognize and adopt the ‘China proposal.’ There are even many countries that try to follow China’s example.”

“However, the Chinese people must be soberly aware that the gradual recognition of the ‘China proposal’ is only the first step toward the ‘great march of longevity’ for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and does not mean that the road to rejuvenation has come to an end. China’s overall strength is still far behind the United States, the only superpower in the world. It will still take a long time to catch up and surpass it. It will take time for China’s rise to be convincing to the world.”

“The real remodeling of the international system is subtle and difficult and is entering a long ‘protracted battle,’ meaning that the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has also entered into a ‘protracted battle’ that will go on for about 30 more years.”

Source: Global Times, January 9, 2018
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/hqpl/2018-01/11506801.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations