Chinascope – Page 112

Ukraine Listed Xiaomi as Russia’s “International Sponsor”

Well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) recently reported that, the Ukrainian National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption issued an announcement, adding Xiaomi to the list of so-called “war sponsors” and imposing sanctions. The “Sponsors of International War” list includes a number of foreign companies that Ukraine believes have been “funding” Russia since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Most of these companies did not withdraw from the Russian market after February 24 last year. The reason for Xiaomi’s inclusion on the list is that “the company continues to operate in Russia and maintains a leading position in the Russian smartphone market.” The announcement also cited some of Xiaomi’s efforts to increase the size of its Russian office staff. Since 2018, Xiaomi has ranked first in the sales of online stores in Russia, and has a large offline official authorized retail network throughout Russia. Based on the data for the third quarter of 2022, compared with the previous quarter, Xiaomi’s supply to Russia has increased by 39 percent. Currently, Xiaomi ranks third in the global smartphone shipment rankings, with a global market share of 12.8 percent.

Source: NetEase, April 15, 2023
https://www.163.com/dy/article/I2ATRES80512B07B.html

Briefings | | April 19, 2023 | Geo-Strategic Trend Information/Technology

North Korea Successfully Launched Solid-fuel Ballistic Missile

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that, according to the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea successfully test-fired a ballistic missile using solid fuel. General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and Chairman of the State Council Kim Jong-un guided the test launch. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the North Korea missile launch into the eastern waters of the Korean Peninsula that day, and the South Korean military is analyzing specific parameters such as the missile type and flight distance. This is North Korea’s first launch of a ballistic missile 17 days after it launched a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) on March 27, and it is also the ninth ballistic missile launch this year. It is worth noting that Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of North Korea, presided over the Sixth Enlarged Meeting of the Eighth Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea on the 10th, emphasizing the necessity of expanding the “war deterrent force.” Also, according to NHK, the Japanese government issued a nationwide instantaneous warning around the same time, indicating that North Korea was suspected of launching a ballistic missile. Later, Japan’s Defense Ministry announced that a ballistic missile launched by North Korea had landed, but did not say where it landed.

Source: Sina, April 4, 2023
https://news.sina.com.cn/w/2023-04-14/doc-imyqhyiq6569030.shtml

Briefings | | April 18, 2023 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Chinese Scholar: Deflation is Here

According to Liu Yuhui, a Professor at the Institute of Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China’s economy has fallen into recession.

“In a word, the current economic situation in China is that deflation has begun, and the economy has fallen into the recession,” Liu wrote in an article published recently. The following summarizes his view on the issue of debts.

In the previous 15 months, China’s M2 has increased by more than 40 trillion. But it has not stopped the economy from sliding into deflation.

There are 1.4 billion people in China. According to the statistics of China’s central bank, 700 million people are now in debt. If children and older people are excluded, almost everyone in the country is in debt.

The total debt of the household sector accounts for as much as 137.9 percent of its disposable income, and the debt ratio of American households is about 90 percent in the same period. There is a more than 40 percentage points gap between China and the United States.

The ability of households to pay is constrained significantly. The annual interest payment accounts for nearly 15% of disposable income to cope with such debts. In the same period in the United States, this figure was 7%. From January to February 2023, the total amount of credit in China’s household sector was only 290 billion, less than 300 billion.

The high debt ratio of 137.9 percent today is much worse than the below 80 percent in 2015. This radio doubled in seven years. As a result, the ability and willingness to spend and borrow in the entire economy are rapidly collapsing.

Liu believed a breakthrough leading to China’s economic recovery in 2023 is indeed difficult.

Source: iNewsDB, April 12, 2023
https://bit.ly/3UJVnew

Briefings | | April 18, 2023 | Economy/Resources

RFI Chinese: Chinese Local Officials Flock Abroad to Seek Investments

Radio France Internationale (RFI) Chinese Edition recently reported that, since December, large delegations of officials from across China have already made hundreds of visits to Asia and Europe. Local governments have been scrambling to meet growth and employment targets. According to three sources, local officials, along with their municipal and provincial supervisors and local businesses, have been traveling abroad more than ever before. The Chinese economy has paid a huge price due to China’s strict Zero Covid policy. After three years behind closed borders, officials have traveled to Hong Kong, Paris and the like within days of the restrictions being lifted. Their urgency underscores the pressure on local governments to boost growth while saddled with a cumulative US$9 trillion in debt. A video that was posted online by the government of the eastern province of Jiangsu showed a 200-member Chinese delegation even chanting slogans like “grab new orders” as they boarded a private jet bound for Europe at 1 am. Just two days after China abruptly lifted the Zero Covid restrictions, that delegation alone was said to be scheduled to hold more than 230 business meetings in Europe. Wuxi, which is close to the commercial center of Shanghai, held 85 signing ceremonies during a 7-day trip to Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen, with a total transaction value of RMB 156 billion yuan (around US$22.7 billion). However, many foreign investors are still complaining about the unfair playing field, intellectual property theft and unpredictable rules for overseas companies.

Source: RFI Chinese, April 7, 2023
https://bit.ly/3KFecLp

Briefings | | April 18, 2023 | Economy/Resources

People’s Daily Urgently Destroyed Papers due to Missing Xi Jinping’s Name

On the evening of March 30, officials responsible for the distribution of the Communist Party’s mouthpiece, People’s Daily, issued an urgent notice to stop delivering and destroy the newspaper immediately, according to Hong Kong-based Ming Pao. Although the notice was harshly worded, no explanation was given for the action. Screenshots of the notice were circulated on social media.

Sources familiar with the situation have pointed out that the incident was a result of the omission of the three characters of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s name in an opinion article published in the newspaper. Ming Pao reported that on March 30, page 5 of People’s Daily contained a commentary article titled “Unity and struggle is the only way for the Chinese people to create greatness in history”. In the article, Xi Jinping’s name was erroneously missed from the sixth line of the seventh paragraph before the word “comrade.” The sentence, which should have started as “the Party Central Committee with comrade Xi Jinping as the core…”, was instead misprinted as “the Party Central Committee with comrade as the core….”

According to the same source, the notice to stop delivering and destroy the newspaper was issued after an internal investigation. As the incident was made public and could cause adverse effects, it is expected that the editor and other responsible persons will be punished.

Source: Liberty Times (Taiwan), April 4, 2023
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/4260403

Briefings | | April 17, 2023 | Government/Politics

New Births in China’s Six Largest Provinces Fell in 2022

On March 31, The Paper, a Chinese media outlet, reported that the six major economic provinces in China, namely Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Henan, and Sichuan, which are also major population provinces, experienced a decrease in the number of births last year. In fact, Shandong and Henan even reported negative population growth.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported in January that there were 9.56 million new births last year, which is 1.06 million fewer than in 2021. This marks the first negative growth in 61 years.

The six large provinces saw varying degrees of decreasing birth rates, with Guangdong, the most economically developed and most populous province, experiencing the largest decrease of 131,100 births.

These six provinces collectively have a population of about 562 million, accounting for nearly 40% of China’s total population. While Guangdong and Zhejiang registered a slight positive population growth rate of only 0.04 per thousand, the remaining four provinces showed negative population growth.

Source: The Paper, March 31, 2023
https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_22527853

Briefings | | April 17, 2023 | Economy/Resources

Forty-Eight Taiwan’s Retired Generals Involved in Beijing Espionage Case

The District Prosecutor’s Office in Kaohsiung city of Southern Taiwan has indicted former retired navy Rear Admiral Xia Fuxiang (夏复翔) and former Kuomintang (KMT) legislator Luo Zhiming (罗志明) for their involvement in introducing retired military generals to visit China and receive United Front ideology, with the aim of developing spy organizations in China. The number of retired officers introduced over the past six years reached 48, with 13 missions and 194 trips.

The retired generals involved in this espionage case came from all military branches, with ranks of lieutenant colonel or higher. Major General Guan Benkun (官本鲲), former senior official of the National Security Council, was invited to China 10 times, while Chen Shengwen (陈盛文), former head of Heng Shan Military Command Center, visited nine times. Even high-ranking naval officers, including the former Vice Commander-in-Chief, former Chief of Operations, former Lieutenant General Commander of the Department of Corrections, and former Vice Admiral of the Naval Command, have been invited to mainland China.

The indictment reveals that these retired generals claimed that China used the visits to promote “one country, two systems,” “armed reunification,” “peaceful reunification,” and other content with the intention of turning them against Taiwan. Moreover, Beijing collected intelligence on Taiwan’s missile defense, military buildup, defense technologies, as well as the personalities of defense officials and military leaders.

The indictment suggests that restrictions on retired military personnel visiting China were relaxed during Ma Ying-jeou’s presidency, following former KMT Chairman Lien Chan’s ice-breaking trip to China, enabling high ranking officers to visit China. This has given the Chinese Communist Party a window of opportunity to engage in United Front work.

Source: Radio Free Asia, March 30, 2023
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/hx1-03302023115918.html

Briefings | | April 16, 2023 | Defense/Military

Xinhua Commentary Series: Spotlight on the U.S. Presidential Election

Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”