The Solomon Islands received a $66 million loan from the Export-Import Bank of China, which will be used to build telecommunications towers on one of  the islands. Huawei will rtake on the project.

This is the first loan the Solomon Islands has received from China since it switched diplomatic relations from Taiwan to Beijing. With this 20-year loan at a one percent annual interest rate, the pacific government aims to improve telecommunications infrastructure to provide mobile communications and Internet service in its rural areas for the first time in 30 years. 161 mobiles are expected to be built, 48 percent of which will be completed by November 2023, when the Solomon Islands will host the Pacific Games.

Internet penetration in the Solomon Islands is currently below 30 percent. In 2018, Australia became involved after the Solomon Islands government announced it would award the contract for underwater communications cables to Chinese telecom giant Huawei. The excuse was that Chinese companies could not be allowed to intervene in critical communications infrastructure due to national security concerns. The Australian government promised that, in exchange, it would be willing to cover part of the expenses for the cable laying.

Not long ago, during her visit to the Solomon Islands, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman promised that the U.S. will open an embassy in the Solomon Islands within the year.. Earlier Vice President Kamala Harris announced that the United States will provide $60 million in annual assistance to Pacific Islands.

Source: Sputnik New (Russia), August 20, 2022
https://sputniknews.cn/20220820/1043224071.html

Well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) recently reported that the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry just released a report, warning that, in the past 20 years, South Korea’s export dependence on China for semiconductor products has surged nearly 13 times. The report said that, as South Korea is the fourth largest economy in Asia, Seoul needs to act to address associated risks. South Korea’s increasing reliance on China for value-added industries will increase the risk of South Korea being hit harder if the gap in production skills between the two countries narrows further. The report emphasized that the business community and the government must be fully committed to further technological development. They must take steps to diversify our exports so that China cannot take advantage of this dependence. The 2021 data showed that the precision instrument industry has the highest dependence on China’s exports, accounting for 42.5 percent of the overall exports to China, with semiconductors at 39.7 percent. Since 2003, China has surpassed the United States as South Korea’s largest export destination . Chipmakers are under pressure to side with Washington as the U.S. seeks to counterbalance China as a rising tech power. The report also expressed the concern that South Korea’s trade deficit with China is also growing, despite a surge in reliance on Chinese exports.

Source: NetEase, August 23, 2022
https://www.163.com/dy/article/HFDVQ9LJ0511CRN2.html

Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that, in order to avoid increasing its dependence on China, the German government intends to veto the Chinese shipping giant China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO’s) stake in the container terminal of Hamburg, Germany’s largest port. Hamburg is an important trans-shipment station for European and Chinese sea routes. Currently, one third of the containers handled by the Port of Hamburg come from or are about to be shipped to China. A year ago, Hamburg Hafen & Logistics (HHLA), which operates the Port of Hamburg, confirmed that Chinese state-owned  COSCO planned to buy a 35 percent stake in the Tollerort container terminal. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck intends to veto the deal, fearing that COSCO’s stake will increase its reliance on China. In recent years, Germany has become cautious about economic cooperation with China. Political circles generally have doubts about COSCO taking a stake in the Port of Hamburg terminal, and are unwilling to let the terminal and other infrastructure construction fall into the hands of China. The German government that came to power at the end of last year has set a policy goal of reducing its dependence on China. It is expected to announce a new China strategy early next year, reflecting its tough stance on China.

Source: CNA, August 23, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aopl/202208230378.aspx

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that the United States is worried about increased Russian military activity in the Arctic. Therefore, the U.S. plans to appoint its first Arctic Ambassador to drive U.S. policy and strengthen diplomacy in the Arctic. The U.S. State Department chief deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said that Secretary of State Blinken will soon appoint an ambassador-at-large for the Arctic who will engage with Arctic countries and indigenous peoples. Peace and stability in the Arctic is of critical strategic importance to the United States. Media reports also point out that the U.S. move reflects the growing importance of the Arctic region in terms of strategy, commerce and resources. NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg said NATO will strengthen its presence in the Arctic. He pointed out that due to climate change, melting ice will make high latitudes more accessible, and high latitudes will become increasingly important in the future. Stoltenberg also called Russia’s capabilities in the Arctic a “strategic challenge” to NATO, warning that “the shortest path for Russian missiles and bombers to reach North America is to fly over the North Pole.” It is worth noting that, if Finland and Sweden formally join NATO, seven of the eight countries in the Arctic Circle will be NATO members. In March this year, the U.S. military conducted the first air defense integrated operations exercise in the Arctic. In addition, in August, the Russian Northern Fleet announced that it would start military training in the Arctic.

Source: Sina, August 28, 2022
https://news.sina.com.cn/w/2022-08-28/doc-imizmscv8069243.shtml