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China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

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

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

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

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Apple Is Very Glad to Make the iPhone 14 in India

Well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) recently reported that Apple said, not long ago, that the iPhone manufacturers are “excited to produce the iPhone 14 in India.” In order to diversify the supply chain and avoid over-reliance on China, it is reported that Apple plans to transfer a quarter of iPhone production to India by 2025. J.P.Morgan Chase analysts said they believe Apple will move about 5 percent of the iPhone 14 production to India by the end of this year. The iPhone 14’s mass production progress in India this year is still about six weeks behind China, and it has generally been behind by a quarter or more in the past. Apple first started producing the iPhone SE in India in 2017. This April, Apple announced that it had started production of the iPhone 13 smartphone in India. Previously, some iPhones were assembled at Foxconn’s local Indian  factories, while others were assembled at Wistron’s Indian factories. Bloomberg revealed earlier in September that the Tata Group, a leading Indian company, is in talks with Taiwanese supplier Wistron, hoping to establish a joint venture to assemble Apple’s iPhones in India.

Source: NetEase, September 26, 2022
https://www.163.com/dy/article/HI6PD4OP0511B8LM.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

Caixin: September Manufacturing PMI Showed Significantly Weakened Market Confidence

Caixin just released its official Chinese Manufacturing PMI numbers for September. Caixin PMI is a well-respected economic indicator monitored globally by financial institutions. Caixin’s China Manufacturing PMI recorded 48.1 for last month, the lowest point in five months. Mainly affected by the rebound of Covid and its related government control measures, China’s manufacturing production and demand weakened in September and the industry’s prosperity continued to decline in the contraction range. The numbers dropped on both supply and demand sides. The surveyed companies reported that the Covid prevention controls have restricted production arrangements and supply chains. In particular, travel and business restrictions have led to setbacks in demand. Among the three major manufacturing categories of products, the output of the investment category declined the most, while the sales in the consumer goods category declined the most. Demand for Chinese-manufactured products in overseas markets has declined at an accelerating rate. The manufacturing employment index is falling into contractionary territory in September. Considering the decline in costs and sluggish demand, companies have generally cut prices, thus driving the factory price index to the newest low since 2016. The overall performance of the supply chain remains poor. In September, the manufacturing purchasing volume index and the raw material inventory index continued to decline below the line of prosperity and decline. At present, the main contradiction in economic operation lies in insufficient employment, sluggish demand, and unstable expectations.

Source: Caixin, September 30, 2022
https://pmi.caixin.com/2022-09-30/101946693.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Lianhe Zaobao: China Plans to Require Online Concerts to Be Licensed

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism has issued a draft of a new regulations about online concerts and performances. The plan will tighten up requirements for online live broadcasts and will mandate delayed live programs so that inappropriate moments can be blocked in a timely fashion. The planned regulations require that those engaged in the business activities of online performances (or programs) should apply to the local provincial cultural and tourism administrative department for an online cultural business license. To provide imported or international online performances, they should report to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for content review. They can provide content to consumers only after the content review has passed. For domestic online performances, the provider should report to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for record, within 30 days from the date of providing them to consumers. The plan also requires the online business to establish and improve the content management system, setting up a dedicated content management unit, and assign professional content reviewers to monitor the content as well as the consumer comments.

Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) also reported that the licensing, content review and monitoring with delayed broadcasting requirements triggered a widespread criticism among Chinese netizens. With the Covid controls in place for the past three years, online performances and live programming became really popular among Chinese viewers. Many netizens complained, saying, “It will be too difficult just to listen to concerts.” “Live shows will no longer be live.” “Foreign enemy penetration is too strong. Why don’t we cancel everything.” and “As usual, gradually regulate first, then completely ban.”
Sources:
(1) Lianhe Zaobao, September 26, 2022
https://www.kzaobao.com/shiju/20220926/125029.html
(2) CNA, September 26, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202209260103.aspx

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Tibetan Student Organization at Columbia Received Warning Letter from China; China Even Destroyed Posters

Columbia University recently saw the launch of Students for a Free Tibet at Columbia University, its first Tibetan student organization and an offshoot of the international organization Students for a Free Tibet (SFT). The association hopes to provide a platform for the students to communicate and engage in activities in solidarity with the people of Tibet who are under the oppressive rule of the Chinese Communist Party.

The organization has put up posters in several academic buildings, inviting students interested in Sino-Tibetan studies and Sino-Tibetan relations to learn about Tibetan culture and participate in campus activities. Examples include such as topics as Tibetan food, movies, and cultural festivals.

On Wednesday September 21, a number of SFT posters “disappeared.” In their place someone scrawled the words “Tibet is an inseparable part of the People’s Republic of China.”

A letter in Chinese appeared next to a poster at Columbia’s School of International Public Affairs (SIPA), warning students that, as Chinese, they should not tolerate but should back down from this “separatist act” and should not be silent or appeased. The letter also stated that SIPA adheres to the spirit of the UN, that the United States does not recognize Tibetan independence, and that students were urged  to say no to “separatist forces” and to protect their own country.

Sveta Li, one of the founders of SFT Columbia, suspected that the Chinese embassy was behind the incident and that the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) played the role of collecting information from the campus and reporting to the Chinese Embassy.

Li said, “Maybe there are individual students who are spontaneously patriotic, but I think it is more organized.  . . . The Chinese Consulate will certainly not see the emergence of a ‘Tibetan independence’ organization at such an American university.  . . . The Chinese Students and Scholars Association is funded by the Chinese Consulate, and this is a Chinese Communist spy organization.”

In 2017 when the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) invited the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetans, to speak at its graduation ceremony, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) organized a protest. At a memorial event of the Tiananmen Massacre on June 4 this year, also at UCSD, Chinese students violently tore down posters and sabotaged candles on campus.

Source: Radio Free Asia, September 23, 2022
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/us-poster-09232022114430.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Over 5 Million Chinese Students Will Apply for Graduate Programs

As China’s enrollment examination for a 2023 Master’s degree has just opened for registration, it is estimated that the number of applicants will approximate or even exceed 5.2 million. Due to the Covid-19 epidemic and economic slowdown, many college graduates are considering further education as an escape from the tough job market.

Chinese students take a nationwide enrollment examination so as to apply for the Master’s program. Last year, the number of applicants for the 2022 Master’s program was 4.57 million. Li Lin, the director of the graduate programs at the New Oriental Education & Technology Group, a provider of private educational services in China, recently said that, out of the 5.2 million applicants, 1.3 million will be admitted. The number of applicants for the 2017 Master’s program was only 2 million.

According to the Ministry of Education, this year, the number of fresh graduates from China’s colleges and universities set a record, reaching 10.76 million. It is the first time that the number has exceeded 10 million.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), September 25, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202209250088.aspx

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Cooperation between China and Mexico

According to the Mexico News newspaper, China’s investment in Mexico has continued to grow, while Chinese companies engaged in exporting to the United States are also showing interest in Mexico. Last year, China invested a record of almost $500 million in Mexico, compared to less than $300 million in 2020 and less than $200 million in 2019. Within two years, “Hofusan Industrial Park,” the first industrial park built by the Chinese in North America, expects to have 35 companies from China. In a recent report, Bloomberg noted that the industrial park has become a haven for China to bypass U.S. tariffs and restart supply chains in the wake of the epidemic. In this way, it takes advantage of the tax exemptions between Mexico and the United States under the framework of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Victor Jeifets, a professor at St. Petersburg State University, told Sputnik News: “The Americans have leverage on Mexico, which is very interested in the U.S. market. At the moment, with the growth of Chinese companies’ influence there, the United States will not go down the road of intensifying conflict with Mexico. The United States needs allies when dealing with China-related issues, and will not take the risk of forcing Mexico to make a choice. Therefore, if the cooperation between China and Mexico does not undermine the USMCA, the United States will not set up obstacles.”

According to Mexican media reports, some new Sino-Mexican cooperation projects have been announced. They include a $1 billion investment over four years by Chinese solar panel maker Solarever Group in a Chinese-owned automotive battery plant in Jalisco. China’s Lingong Machinery Group announced plans to build a $140 million manufacturing plant in Nuevo León, on Mexico’s northern border.

Source: Sputnik News (Russia), September 24, 2022
https://sputniknews.cn/20220924/1044226872.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Lianhe Zaobao: Pressure of Foreign Capital Withdrawing from China Increased Again

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that the uncertainty of the Chinese Covid control as well as the crisis in the Taiwan Strait has had an effect. It has made the voice of “foreign capital withdrawing from China” increase again. The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China released a report not long ago saying that China’s attractiveness as an investment destination is eroding and its strict Covid control measures have made EU companies in China lose confidence. Nearly a quarter of EU companies surveyed are considering moving existing or planned investments out of China. This is the highest number in the past ten years. Just about a month ago, a survey report released by the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBS) showed that optimism about the outlook for China’s business environment among U.S. companies in China fell to a record low. Around 96 percent of the U.S. companies surveyed say that their business in China has been negatively affected by the Covid control measures. More than half of the U.S. companies have suspended, postponed or canceled their investment plans in China due to the Covid measures. Citigroup chief Jane Fraser also said a few days ago that if China attacks Taiwan, the bank could significantly reduce its presence in mainland China. The latest EU Chamber of Commerce report, which collected data from 1,800 members, pointed out that China’s Zero-Covid policy has created “enormous uncertainty” and caused a “negative shock” to the operations of 75 percent of its members. The total number of EU citizens living in China has halved since the outbreak began. By the end of the summer of 2022, this number may be halved again. Not just Covid, the report also mentioned that the predictability, reliability and efficiency of the Chinese market are all decreasing. For example, the sudden power outage in 2021, the government’s sudden rectification of the technology and education/training industries, and other incidents all brought great uncertainty.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, September 22, 2022
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20220922-1315713

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources