Chinascope – Page 196

India Says China Is its No. 1 Security Threat

On Thursday, November 11, multiple Indian media reported that the Indian government told the country’s Supreme Court that the Indian military needs to expand the roads along the India-China border to meet the need to transport the army’s current state-of-the-art BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and other military equipment. Earlier India’s Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat told a forum that China has become India’s number one security threat.

The move came after India unveiled an INR120 million strategic project to connect four pilgrimage sites in North Akhand with a 900-kilometer highway. The government on Thursday petitioned the Supreme Court to revise the plan, as Attorney General K. K. Venugopal reportedly claimed that local terrain conditions were harsh and that the 5.5-meter-wide road was insufficient to transport the 12.8-meter-long BrahMos missile and its launcher. If the Indian military cannot transport the device and other heavy mechanical equipment to the northern border of India and China, it will be difficult for India to respond in the event of war.

The BrahMos missile is the most advanced long-range supersonic missile of the Indian military. Rawat said that the Indian military has prepared for “any misadventure.” “If a Galwan [Editor: referring to the place of a previous clash] were to happen again, it would not be in our hands; it is up to the Chinese. They can carry out a Galwan again but should they do it, they will get in the same coin they got last time.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, November 13, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/7-11132021171839.html

Briefings | | November 17, 2021 | Geo-Strategic Trend

China Bans State-owned Entities from Virtual Currency Mining

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic policy agency under the State Council, recently issued a press release, which requested local governments to punish virtual currency mining activities and to investigate the mining activities that involve state-owned entities.

In late September, NDRC and other cabinet agencies issued a notice on regulating virtual currency mining. Virtual currency mining projects were forbidden from participating in the electricity market, and the projects that were already in the electricity market were to withdraw.

In July, China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), issued a “Risk Alert on Preventing Virtual Currency Transactions.” The notice warned that institutions should not provide business venues, commercial exhibitions, marketing, promotion, payment and other services for virtual currency-related activities. Financial institutions were not to provide virtual currency-related services directly or indirectly to customers.

China is a major cryptocurrency mining country. About 70 percent of the world’s bitcoin mining takes place in China. Some of these “miners” had already considered leaving after the authorities showed their determination to eliminate virtual currency mining.

Source: Central News Agency, November 13, 2021
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202111130086.aspx

Briefings | | November 17, 2021 | Economy/Resources

Chinese Ambassador Gave Speech to a United Front Work Department-controlled Organization

On Saturday November 13, the annual meeting of the National Association for China’s Peaceful Unification (NACPU) was held in San Francisco. Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang delivered a speech using video conferencing. Qin said that the United States is “manipulating” the Taiwan issue and attempting to “contain China using Taiwan,” a move that seriously endangers peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. He urged the United States to adhere to the one-China principle, properly handle the Taiwan issue, and prevent the Taiwan issue from leading to conflict and confrontation between the United States and China.

The NACPU is a U.S.-registered umbrella organization with branches in multiple cities including Washington DC, New York, and Houston. In mainland China, there is a corresponding government-controlled China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification (CCPPR, 中国和平统一促进会), a senior Chinese Communist Party leader is almost always its head. The U.S.-based NACPU and its branches routinely carry out the tasks of mobilizing the local Chinese American community and advancing Beijing’s agenda on the Taiwan issue at the federal, state, and local governments.

In October 2020, the U.S. State Department issued a statement, “The Designation of the National Association for China’s Peaceful Unification (NACPU) is a Foreign Mission of the PRC.” It said, “The United Front Work Department (UFWD) is the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) organ that is tasked with co-opting and neutralizing threats to the party’s rule and spreading its influence and its propaganda overseas. The CCP regards this party apparatus as a ‘magic weapon’ to advance Beijing’s policies.”

“… the Department of State designated a UFWD-controlled organization – the National Association for China’s Peaceful Unification (NACPU) – as a foreign mission of the PRC under the U.S. Foreign Missions Act. The goal of this action is to shine a light on this organization and make clear that its messages come from Beijing, as we did when, in August, we designated the Confucius Institute’s U.S. Center (CIUS) as a foreign mission.”

The recent speech by Qin Gang to the NACPU annual meeting is a recent example of Beijing’s message to this organization.

Source: Radio Free Asia, November 14, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/4-11142021115124.html

Briefings | | November 16, 2021 | US-China Relations

Oriental Daily: White House Opposes Intel’s Plan to Increase Chip Production in China

Popular Hong Kong newspaper Oriental Daily recently reported that sources familiar with the matter revealed that the U.S. Biden administration rejected Intel’s plan to increase chip production in China on the grounds of security concerns. The world’s largest chip maker has proposed to use a factory in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, to produce silicon chips. The discussion was conducted in private. The production line may be launched by the end of next year, helping to ease global supply tensions. At the same time, however, Intel has been seeking federal assistance to strengthen research and production in the United States. Officials in the Biden administration strongly opposed the plan. The government is working hard to solve the chip shortage problem. It is especially working hard to bring the production of important components back to the States. Intel said its focus is on the continued significant expansion of its existing semiconductor manufacturing business. The plan is to invest tens of billions of dollars in new wafer manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Europe. A White House representative declined to comment on specifics but stated that the government is “very much focused” on preventing China from using U.S. technology, to develop first-class capabilities.

Source: Oriental Daily, November 13, 2021
https://www.orientaldaily.com.my/news/international/2021/11/13/449762

Briefings | | November 16, 2021 | Information/Technology US-China Relations

Lianhe Zaobao: China’s 003 Aircraft Carrier Expects Earliest Launch Date to Be in February

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that the U.S. think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released its satellite image analysis, showing that the Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard is completing the installation of the main external and internal components of China’s 003 aircraft carrier. Before the carrier sails into the Yangtze River, it only needs to install some additional items such as radar and weapon systems. CSIS estimated that the 003 aircraft carrier will be launched in about three to six months. Once ready, this will become China’s third aircraft carrier and the second domestically-made carrier. Unlike the first two, experts expressed the belief that the 003 model will use more advanced aircraft ejection technology, similar to the ejection system used by American aircraft carriers. According to Matthew Funaiole, senior researcher of CSIS China Project, the 003 carrier will be the Chinese military’s “first foray into a modern aircraft carrier.” This is a major step forward for China. However, all U.S. aircraft carriers are nuclear-powered. The Chinese 003 carrier is believed to use conventional steam-powered propulsion, which will limit its range.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, November 10, 2021
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/china/story20211110-1212155

Briefings | | November 16, 2021 | Defense/Military

At a State Think Tank Conference, China’s Real Estate Companies Asked for Help

The Development and Research Center of the State Council is a policy research and consultation institute under the State Council. On November 9, it held a conference with several real estate developers and banks in Shenzhen in order to talk about the real estate situation in China.

At the meeting, a representative of the Kaisa Group (佳兆业集团) asked for help stating that the company is facing great difficulties, including a tight cash flow, a complete loss of investment capability, continuous credit downgrading, and the fact that Chinese banks’ have stopped providing loans.The Kaisa representative expressed that, without external help, the company may cause a chain reactions of work stoppage and unfinished construction.

(Editor’s Note: Several Chinese media, including the communist party controlled Ta Kung Pao in Hong Kong, reported this news, but they later removed their articles.)

Source: Secret China, November 9, 2021
https://www.secretchina.com/news/gb/2021/11/09/989065.html

Briefings | | November 12, 2021 | Economy/Resources

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.”

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