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

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The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.

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UDN: Amazon E-Book Store Officially Withdraws from China

United Daily News (UDN), one of the primary Taiwanese news groups, recently reported that, Amazon China announced on its official website on June 30 that the Kindle China e-book store has ceased operations on June 30, 2023, and will stop cloud download services on June 30, 2024. After that, undownloaded e-books will not be available for download. Already downloaded e-books will remain readable on the local Kindle device. Kindle customer service will also remain only until June 30, 2024. After the news of Kindle’s complete withdrawal from the Chinese market came out, many Mainland China netizens expressed regrets on “yet another foreign investor leaves China.”

Amazon initially launched Kindle in 2007, setting off a global e-book reading craze. Kindle officially entered the Mainland Chinese market in June 2013. In 2018, the sales of Kindle Readers in China exceeded one million. Amazon announced in 2022 that its e-book business will withdraw from the Chinese Mainland market in three phases.

Source: UDN, July 1, 2024
https://money.udn.com/money/story/5603/8065269

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

RFI Chinese: Germany Banned VW from Selling Gas Turbine Business to China

Radio France Internationale (RFI) Chinese Edition recently reported that, the German government banned the sale of Volkswagen’s gas turbine business to Chinese companies, citing national security concerns. The deal failed due to the German cabinet approved the ban proposed by the Economics Ministry. The reason is that the potential buyer’s parent company, China State Shipbuilding Corporation (Group), has too close ties with China’s military. Therefore, sales are not allowed under the Foreign Trade Act, which allows the government to ban sales to non-EU countries if it could endanger national security. Volkswagen’s MAN Energy Solutions said it would not seek a new buyer but would stop developing new gas turbines and limit its services to only maintenance.

According to anonymous Chinese sources, the potential buyer – CSICL (China Shipbuilding Industry Company Limited) Longjiang Guanghan Gas Turbine Co. – is part of China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s 703rd Research Institute. Both are Chinese defense suppliers. The 703rd Research Institute is also included in the U.S. list of untrustworthy entities. China wants to modernize its largest Naval fleet in the world. In the future, it could run on gas turbines instead of diesel engines.

Source: RFI Chinese, July 3, 2024
https://tinyurl.com/5ddec9zt

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Socioeconomic Factors Behind the Decline in Marriage and Divorce Rates in China

An article circulated on Internet talked about how poor economic conditions in China have caused Chinese people to “freeze” (i.e. to not to make major life-style changes or life-changing decisions).

In the first quarter of this year, the number of marriage registrations nationwide was 1.969 million pairs, a decrease of 178,000 pairs from the same period in 2023. Meanwhile, the divorce registrations also decreased from 641,000 pairs in the same period last year to 573,000 pairs, a reduction of 68,000 pairs

What has caused the decline in both marriage and divorce rates? According to the article, the reason is the decline in people’s income and assets. In China, the most crucial hurdle preceding marriage is the purchase of an apartment. Usually, the three families (the young couple and both of their parents) pool their savings together to buy the “marriage” apartment. However, nowadays, despite government policies heavily incentivizing house sales (aiming to stimulate the stagnant Chinese housing market), people are not buying houses or apartment units (being afraid that the price will fall later).

As far as divorce is concerned, the issue of how to divide assets is pertinent. Here, too the sluggish housing market is at play; couples are unable to sell their houses at high prices, meaning that dividing up the couple’s assets for a divorce is difficult.

According to the article, the root cause of the “freeze” in social activity among Chinese people is the socioeconomic impact of a sluggish Chinese economy. This pertains to employees in various sectors of the economy:

  • Government Sector Employees: Central and state agencies are carrying out uniform 5 percent reductions in staffing.
  • Private Sector Employment: The Internet, semiconductor, and advanced manufacturing industries are all under pressure. Jobs at high-tech companies, which used to be good for job-hopping, are becoming less secure. The electric vehicle industry may seem promising, but in reality many EV companies face financial trouble; fierce competition makes EV companies lose money. Chinese industrial transformation, the impact of AI, and oversupply of talent will all have long-term impacts.
  • Finance Sector: the industry is experiencing widespread salary cuts.

Source: China News, June 29, 2024
https://news.creaders.net/china/2024/06/29/2747232.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Social Stability

Beijing International Book Fair: A Global Platform for Cultural Exchange and Publishing Cooperation

Guangming Daily reported that the five-day 30th Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) recently concluded. The report said that, from “inviting in” to “going out” (i.e. inviting foreign publishers into China as well as publishing Chinese works abroad), this year’s BIBF achieved extensive cross-border and cross-field exchanges and integration in the publishing world. This year’s BIBF resulted in over 2,100 Sino-foreign copyright trade agreements or intentions, attracted 1,600 exhibitors from 71 countries and regions, showcased 220,000 types of Chinese and foreign books, held over 1,000 cultural events, and welcomed nearly 300,000 visitors. More Chinese stories are being widely disseminated around the world through the BIBF platform.

The continuously growing BIBF, together with renowned international book fairs such as the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, the New York Book Fair in the United States, and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy, is building a stage for the exchange and mutual learning of world civilizations. The BIBF, by simultaneously “inviting (foreign publishers) in” and “going out,” provides a platform and build bridges for the global “flow” of cultural achievements. Copyright transactions and international publishing cooperation between China and other countries have also become routine outside the BIBF.

Source: Guangming Daily, June 28, 2024
https://news.gmw.cn/2024-06/28/content_37406609.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

China Launches Access Permission and Road Drive Pilot for Intelligent Internet-Connected Vehicles

Xinhua reported that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the Ministry of Transport recently released the “Basic Information on Access Permission and Road Drive Pilot for Intelligent Internet-Connected Vehicles.” They identified nine consortia composed of car manufacturers and users, including NIO and Chang‘an, which will conduct intelligent Internet-connected vehicle access and road drive pilots in seven cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. The pilot products cover three major categories: passenger cars, buses, and trucks. This signifies a crucial step forward for the large-scale application of high-level intelligent driving in China.

China’s standard on “Automated Driving Classification for Automobiles” divides autonomous driving into six levels from L0 to L5, corresponding to “emergency assistance, partial driving assistance, combined driving assistance, conditional automated driving, high-level automated driving, and fully automated driving.”

High-level intelligent driving has become the focus of competition among major car companies. Previously, multiple car brands, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, IM Motors, Chang’an, Arcfox, Deep Blue, Avita, Seres, and BYD, announced they had obtained L3 autonomous driving test licenses. As of the end of April 2024, China has opened over 29,000 kilometers of intelligent connected vehicle test roads, issued more than 6,800 test and demonstration licenses, and the total road test mileage has exceeded 88 million kilometers.

The new pilot program is the next step, after the vehicle research and testing, to promote mass-produced intelligent models on road drive.

Source: Xinhua, June 25, 2024 http://www.news.cn/tech/20240625/d21252e6ec504019b5a65472192e578f/c.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

CCP Muted Li Qiang’s Statement That China’s Economy Cannot Take Strong Medicine

On June 25, Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered a speech at the 2024 World Economic Forum regarding China’s economy. According to Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao, Li Qiang emphasized the importance of addressing both immediate and fundamental issues in China’s economy, drawing an analogy from traditional Chinese medicine. He likened the Chinese economy to a patient recovering from a serious illness, stating that “according to Chinese medicine theory, this is not the time to apply strong medicine; instead, precise and gradual treatment is needed to slowly restore the foundation.”

Chinese state media, including Xinhua News Agency, only quoted Li’s phrase “restore the foundation” without mentioning the critical point about not “applying strong medicine.” The economic platform Gelonghui briefly published a report titled “Li Qiang: The Chinese Economy Cannot Apply Strong Medicine Now,” but it was quickly deleted.

Commentators noted that Li Qiang’s remarks indirectly acknowledged that the Chinese economy is in a severe and desperate condition and that Beijing may not have the ability to fix it.

Source: VOA, June 28, 2024
https://www.voachinese.com/a/china-s-censors-appear-to-delete-premier-s-strong-treatment-theory-20240628/7677019.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Government/Politics

Two Incidents of Foreigners Being Stabbed in China Occurred in June

In June, two incidents of foreigners being stabbed in mainland China occurred. Chinese authorities claimed both were “isolated incidents,” but some analysts believe this is due to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) fostering and encouraging anti-foreign sentiment among the public.

On June 10, four teachers from Cornell College in Iowa, USA, were stabbed by a 55-year-old local man named Cui while at Beishan Park in Jilin City, Jilin Province. The attacker has been arrested, and the four teachers have returned to the United States. On June 24, at a school bus station in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, a Japanese woman in her thirties and her son were stabbed by a 52-year-old unemployed man named Zhou while waiting for another child to return home from school. A Chinese woman, Hu Youping, who tried to stop the attack, was stabbed multiple times by the assailant and unfortunately died later.

At the time of the Suzhou incident, numerous anti-Japanese comments appeared online, with some even praising the assailant’s actions as patriotic. To preserve its international image, the CCP removed the anti-Japanese comments and shifted the media narrative from “Chinese person stabs Japanese mother and child” to “Chinese person bravely saves Japanese mother and child.”

Source:
1. Epoch Times, June 26, 2024
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/24/6/26/n14277745.htm
2. Radio Free Asia, June 28, 2024
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shehui/hx-06282024045244.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics Social Stability

Foreign Assistant Professor Fired for Commenting on China’s Top Leader

Dr. Björn Alexander Düben, a German assistant professor at Jilin University in China, was dismissed and asked to leave the country within two weeks after an interview with Voice of America. His comments in the interview on China’s foreign policy, particularly regarding Xi Jinping’s visit to Europe. This lead to his sudden dismissal immediately after the interview. Düben, who holds advanced degrees from LSE and Oxford, has worked at the Jilin Univerity for 9 years. He was given the choice to resign or face disciplinary action. After resigning, he was told to leave China in two weeks (by May 30) and warned that he would be denied re-entry in the future. This incident highlights concerns about strict speech control and the arbitrary nature of legal contracts in China.

Source: VOA, June 28, 2024
https://www.voachinese.com/a/dr-d%C3%BCben-s-expulsion-for-engaging-with-foreign-media-06282024/7677656.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics