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China’s New Equipment Manufacturing State Giant

China Electrical Equipment Group Co., Ltd. (CEEG) was established in Shanghai on the 25th. CEEG is a state-owned company which the central government manages directly. It is based on the restructuring of a few electric equipment companies including China XD Group Co. Ltd, XJ Group Corp, Pinggao Group Co. Ltd and Shandong Electric Engineering & Equipment Group Co. Ltd.

China aims to move its electrical equipment manufacturing industry up to the high-end of the global value chain. It is viewed as being of strategic importance to the implementation of China’s energy security.

After the completion of the reorganization, CEEG’s business will produce equipment related to power generation (including new energy), power transmission, transformation, and distribution. It may also be involved in energy storage, rail transportation, industrial automation, and energy grid. It vows to be the most capable and comprehensive manufacturer of AC and DC electrical equipment.

Source: SASAC, September 25, 2021
http://www.sasac.gov.cn/n2588025/n2643314/c20909163/content.html

Government & Leadership: After Meng Wanzhou, China Wants U.S. to Fix All Its Wrongs on Two Lists

Hua Chunying, the spokeswoman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, during a press conference on September 28, that Xi Jinping, himself, gave directions on Meng Wanzhou’s case and requested the United States to resolve it properly.

Hua stated that Xi Jinping has given his personal attention to Meng’s case since she had been detained in early December 2018. The Chinese government representatives at all levels have worked to their full strength in every situation to help Meng.

Hua pointed out, in the recent China-U.S. diplomat meeting at Tianjin, that China gave the U.S. two lists. One list included the wrong talks and actions that the U.S. must stop. The other one included the key cases to which China pays attention. Both lists clearly requested that the U.S. should cancel its wrong accusation against Meng and let her return to China quickly.

“When the two state heads talked (Editor’s Note: referring to the Biden-Xi talk on September 9),  … Meng said, “President Xi Jinping clearly made an effort on Meng’s case. He stated China’s stand and requested the U.S. to resolve the situation properly.”

Hua said that she has noticed that some media commented on how the resolution of Meng Wanzhou’s case helped to pull out a thorn that was deeply embedded in Sino-U.S. relations. “Due to the fact that the U.S. side has carried out a wrong China policy in the past period, there are many other thorns, big and small, in the Sino-U.S. relations. China hopes the U.S. will pay high attention (to them) and take substantive actions, to clear all items on the two lists.”

Sources:
1. China Press, September 28, 2021
https://www.chinapress.com.my/20210928/华春莹答覆孟晚舟事件-习近平明确部署工作!/
2. China Youth Daily, September 29, 2021
http://news.cyol.com/gb/articles/2021-09/29/content_Xx507fpEJ.html

After Biden-Xi Talk, CCP Held a Party Dialog with the U.S.

China reported that, on September 13, the Chinese Communist Party held its 12th Sino-U.S. party dialog in an online video conference. The CCP Foreign Liaison Department along with the Democratic Party and the Republican Party in the U.S. organized the dialog.

Song Tao, the Minister of the CCP Foreign Liaison Department spoke for China.

Howard Dean, former Chair of the Democratic National Committee and former Vermont Governor represented the Democratic Party.

Carla Hills, former U.S. Trade Representative and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development represented the Republic Party.

Around 50 representatives, from the ministries and universities of China, the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and key think tanks in the U.S., attended the dialog.

Source: China News Agency, September 14, 2021
https://www.chinanews.com/gn/2021/09-14/9564748.shtml

LTN: For Seven Consecutive Years China Ranked Worst Abuser of Online Freedom in the World ; Taiwan Is Number One in Asia-Pacific

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that the U.S. human rights organization Freedom House just released its annual Freedom on the Net Report. For the seventh consecutive year China has been ranked as the country with the worst Internet freedom in the world. Meanwhile, Taiwan was included in the appraisal for the first time. It ranked the fifth out of 70 countries,  taking the top spot in the Asia-Pacific region. Freedom House’s evaluation criteria include three indicators: obstacles to access, limits on content, and violations of user rights. China has been ranked at the bottom of the list for seven consecutive years, behind Cuba, Myanmar and Iran. The Chinese government remains the world’s worst online freedom violator. The Report pointed out that now, in 2021, one of the most censored topics in China is still content related to the Covid-19 virus. China’s official media, its official social media accounts, and other government-related accounts are flooding cyberspace with false claims on the dangers of U.S. vaccines as well as the source of the coronavirus. The highest ranked countries are Iceland and Estonia; Canada and Costa Rica are tied for the third place.

Sources: LTN, September 21, 2021
https://ec.ltn.com.tw/article/breakingnews/3678934

world’s worst abuser of internet freedom for the seventh consecutive year

Xiaomi Cellphones Found to Have Security Issues

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu (NASDAQ: SOHU) recently reported that, in July, the Baltic State of Lithuania allowed Taiwan to set up a “representative office” under the name “Taiwan,” leading to a sudden escalation of diplomatic tension between the two countries, Lithuania and China. Now the Ministry of National Defense of Lithuania released an investigation report, claiming that content censorship “features” have been found in mobile phones produced by some Chinese companies like Xiaomi. The Ministry even advised consumers to avoid buying Chinese mobile phones or to trash them if they currently own such equipment. The National Cyber Security Center of the Ministry of Defense of Lithuania indicated that Xiaomi’s flagship phones have built-in detection and censorship functions which can be turned on remotely. Xiaomi’s encrypted mobile phone usage data is transmitted to a server in Singapore. Similar loopholes have also been found on one Huawei model. According to Deutsche Welle Chinese Edition, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) confirmed that, based on the Lithuania Report, it has launched an investigation into allegations of security vulnerabilities in Chinese mobile phones such as Xiaomi.

Sources:
(1) Sohu, September 22, 2021
https://www.sohu.com/a/491346708_115479
(2) DW Chinese, September 25, 2021
https://p.dw.com/p/40qBc

Power and Production Restrictions Impact an Expanded List of Publicly Traded Companies

Shanghai Securities News recently reported that the Chinese government’s “dual energy consumption control” policy has been implemented across the country. In many provinces, the government has introduced intense restrictions on the consumption of electrical power and on manufacturing production; high energy consumption companies have received production restriction notices. These companies and related industrial chains have all been affected. On the upstream side, the prices of raw materials such as steel, cement, aluminum, and yellow phosphorus have risen due to limited production which stimulates short supply. The prices of some products have been setting record highs. On the downstream side, in addition to the ripple effects of price increases raising production costs, the supply cycle has begun to lengthen and the pressure on order delivery has increased. This round of electricity and production restrictions may force many high-energy small-and-medium-sized companies either to withdraw from the market or to transform and upgrade. The New Energy industry chain, including many photovoltaic industrial manufacturers as well as the vehicle battery industry, have also been affected by the power curtailment. Tens of the publicly traded companies issued announcements on the impact of the new government policies; some have had to pause production.

Source: Shanghai Securities News, September 24, 2021
https://paper.cnstock.com/html/2021-09/24/content_1522765.htm

Local Governments Face Fiscal Constraint as Land Sales Slow Down

Since Beijing introduced policies to curb the overheated housing market, land sale activities have also been slowing down. This is happening in Hangzhou, Shenyang, and Hefei where, last week, there was a significant drop in transactions involving the sale of land. According to statistics, in June and July of this year, nearly 500 parcels of land that were for sale in small to mid-sized cities, had no buyers. If this trend continues, local governments, which have been relying on land sales as part of their fiscal income, will face financial constraints.

Since the 1990s, China has embarked on large-scale construction in urban areas. Most of the land resources have come from rural areas. Local governments have benefited the most from it. In 2020, local governments received 8.4 trillion yuan (US$1.3 trillion) from selling land, up 16 percent from a year earlier. However, in June, all local governments were required to transfer the power for collecting land sales revenue to the tax authorities under the State Taxation Administration (STA). This has allowed the central government to take control over local finance.

Source: Radio Free Asia, September 20, 2021
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/ql1-09202021051803.html

Party Branches Established in China’s Film and Television Production Center

Hengdian World Studios in Zhejiang Province is China’s film and television production center; it is also known as China’s Hollywood. Temporary Chinese Communist Party (CCP) branch offices have been established in 11 cast teams that are currently filming TV and movie dramas. One of the party branches consists of the party members from the production, photography, editing, sound and explosion visual effects departments. Each of the 11 teams will conduct a regular study session on the party’s history and an understanding of the recent cultural and entertainment industry rectification directives from the central administration. Their goal is to further strengthen the party’s  leadership, plan party building activities and recruit more party members.

Source: China News, September 21, 2021
http://www.zj.chinanews.com/jzkzj/2021-09-21/detail-iharhwxc3213830.shtml