Chinascope – Page 292

Taiwan Kuomintang Cancels Visit to the “Straits Forum” over CCTV Host’s Statement

The Kuomintang originally planned that Wang Jin-pyng, the former legislator, would lead a delegation to Xiamen of Fujian province to participate in the Straits Forum on September 16. However, Li Hong, a CCTV host of “Across the Strait” commented that Wang’s visit to the mainland was “to seek reconciliation.” The statement triggered criticism of the Kuomintang in Taiwan. Johnny Chiang, the Kuomintang chairman demanded an apology from Li Hong. Although Li later on responded that she meant that the visit was to seek “peace” not “reconciliation,” [Editor’s note: “和” in Chinese carries multiple meanings including reconciliation, harmony or peace] she was unable to quell all parties’ doubts. On September 14, the Kuomintang announced that, for the first time since the Straits Forum started 12 years ago, it would not participate in the “Straits Forum” as a political party; however, each party member could decide for himself whether to participate.

China has hosted the “Straits Forum” since 2009. In the past, the chairman of the National Committee of the Political Consultative Conference would attend the opening ceremony. For the past 11 years, the Kuomintang sent a vice chairman to lead a delegation. Hung Hsiu-chu personally led a delegation when she was the Chairman. This year Johnny Chiang was elected the Chairman of the party without a Vice Chairman so Wang Jin-pyng, former legislative member, was selected to attend the “Straits Forum.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, September 14, 2020
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/hx-09142020085643.html

Briefings | | September 21, 2020 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Chinese Investments in Australia Plummeted in 2019

The Australian National University’s (ANU) Chinese Investment in Australia (CHIIA) database reported the total investments from China in 2019 were 2.5 billion Australian dollars (US$ 1.8 billion). This was about half of the 4.8 billion Australian dollars (US$ 3.5 billion) invested in 2018.

The inflow of Chinese money reached its peak of nearly 16 billion Australian dollars (US$ 11.7 billion) in 2016, and has since fallen sharply. Most industries saw dramatic declines in 2019, including real estate, mining and manufacturing. Investment in agriculture declined, but the construction and financial industries rebounded slightly.

ANU professor Peter Drysdale, head of the CHIIA database project, reckoned that there were a multitude of factors behind the plunge.

As Chinese companies are increasingly focusing on developing markets and Beijing is trying to prevent capital outflows, in 2019, foreign direct investment from China fell by nearly 10 percent globally. The decline in Australia was even more severe, partly because of the end of the mining boom (which brought a lot of money from China).

Professor Drysdale added that the government’s new regulatory barriers have also pushed away Chinese investors. In recent years, China’s investments in Australia have attracted heated political debates. The Australian Federal Government has generally strengthened its review of foreign investment. Earlier this year, the Treasurer of Australia, Josh Frydenberg, introduced new restrictions to prevent overseas companies from targeting troubled Australian assets due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The largest transaction that CHIIA recorded in 2019 was Mengniu Dairy’s acquisition of Bellamy, an Australian infant formula manufacturer, at 1.5 billion Australian dollars (US$1.1 billion). Last month, Frydenberg blocked Mengniu’s acquisition of the Australian company Lion Dairy and Drinks, claiming the deal was “contrary to their national interest.”

The political relationship between Australia and China has also turned increasingly hostile. The two countries have seen a series of issues, including foreign infiltration, Australian journalists harassed in China, cyber espionage, trade, Hong Kong issues and the COVID-19 outbreak. Professor Drysdale expected a further decline in Chinese investments in Australia in 2020.

Source: Australian Broadcasting Company Chinese, September 14, 2020
https://www.abc.net.au/chinese/2020-09-14/chinese-investment-in-au-takes-nosedive/12661168

Briefings | | September 21, 2020 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Infection Count: How Severe Is the Infection in Ruili City?

After September 8, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held a commendation conference to declare victory over the novel coronavirus, Ruili, a southern city in Yunan Province, bordering Myanmar, reported cases of the coronavirus infection.

The authorities only announced two infection cases, but it declared that it would conduct nucleic acid testing on all residents in Ruili which is about 210,000 people. Several of its actions, including locking down the city, building thousands of hospital beds, and moving in over 1,000 medical staff from other cities, made people wonder whether the real situation was much worse than what the government reported.

#1: China reported 2 cases on September 12 and 13, claiming the patients were from Myanmar and had illegally entered China. On September 14, the authorities then locked down the city of Ruili. The official WeChat account of the Yunan Provincial government reported that the government learned the mobile hospital concept from Wuhan and had set up several thousand patient beds in a large indoor facility, ready for patients to move in. On Twitter, Chinese netizens also posted pictures of Zhong Nanshan, a high-profile doctor on the coronavirus efforts, who showed up in Yunan. (New Talk)

#2: China sent eight medical teams, with a total of 632 medical staff members, from other cities and provinces, to Ruili. In addition, the Dehong Autonomous Prefecture, Yunan Province, sent another 564 medical staff members to Ruili to support nucleic acid testing. (Xinhua)

Hiding Information: The CCP Held Commendation Conference about Fighting the Novel Coronavirus

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has declared victory over the novel coronavirus. On September 8, 2020, Xi Jinping hosted a Commendation Conference on Fighting against the Novel Coronavirus. At the ceremony, Xi gave a near-10,000 word speech, but he did not mention the truth about the pandemic’s origin, its development, or the infection count in China.

Radio France International reported that people were questioning why the CCP held such a celebration at this time since the pandemic is still spreading in the world. They wondered whether it is trying to cover up something or to make people forget something. Agence France-Presse pointed out that the CCP is trying to rewrite the Wuhan Pandemic story.

Xi gave medals to the “heroes” including Zhong Nanshan, who, on January 20, told the public that the virus can be transmitted from person to person (Editor’s Note: there is much evidence that the CCP knew about the person-to-person transmission much earlier but did not release the information to the public until Zhong’s staged statement), and Chen Wei, a People’s Liberation Army general in charge of developing a vaccine.

However, on the Chinese social media, the public frequently discussed Dr. Li Wenliang who Xi didn’t mention at the award ceremony. Dr. Li is the whistle blower who mentioned the coronavirus on social media in early January. The CCP then reprimanded him and he later died after developing the infection when treating patients who had the virus.

Another highly discussed person, who is a hero in the eyes of the public but who Xi also skipped is Dr. Zhang Wenhong. Dr. Zhang is the lead doctor on coronavirus prevention efforts in Shanghai. He rejected Zhong Nanshan’s claim that the virus might have originated outside of China. He said the facts showed that Wuhan is the first city to have reported the cases and if the virus was coming from overseas, it would spread in several cities in China simultaneously, not just in Wuhan. He also answered the question whether the China-made anti-virus vaccine is better or the imported vaccine will be when the vaccines are available. He said, “You can easily tell if a domestic car is better or an imported car is (Chinese all know imported cars are much better). Why can’t you tell when it comes to a vaccine?”

On social media, people were also asking where the citizens were who went to hospitals to report the true situation (that the official media were not reporting) and then got disappeared.

87 Chinese Cities Showed “Urban Expansion and Population Shrinkage” Between 2014 and 2018

According to the statistics from the Urban and Rural Statistics Yearbook that the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued, between 2014 and 2018, 451 cities had “urban expansion and population growth,” 87 cities had “urban expansion and population shrinkage,” 18 cities had “urban contraction and population growth,” and 13 cities had “urban contraction and population shrinkage.”

In 2018, the total newly constructed urban area was 58,456 square kilometers, an increase of 53.4 percent over 2009, while the permanent urban population was 510 million, only 35.8 percent higher than ten years ago. This indicated a phenomenon in which “land urbanization was faster than population urbanization.”

In comparing the data between 2018 and 2014, one can find that the number of cities with urban population reduction is twice the number of cities with urban area reduction. 122 cities experienced a decrease in urban permanent population during those five years; five cities showed little change; and 507 cities maintained a positive population growth. Among them, Longjing City in Jilin province, Jieyang City in Guangdong province and Honghu City in Hubei province are the only three cities whose population has decreased by more than 50 percent.

Most of those with a declining population are the third and fourth tier cities. Two main types of cities exhibited more urban population losses: cities in northeast China where young people are leaving en masse; and the smaller cities in the Pearl River Delta, whose population is beimg absorbed by the two top-tier cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Source: 21st Century Business Herald, September 12, 2020
http://www.21jingji.com/2020/9-12/1NMDEzNzlfMTU5MDI1NA.html

Briefings | | September 18, 2020 | Economy/Resources

The CCP’s Three Morality Crimes That the World Has Yet to Address

The COVID-19 pandemic served as a wake-up call to the world. Continue reading →

Perspectives | | September 16, 2020 | Opinion US-China Relations

China Economy: Volvo’s Safety Reputation is Challenged Due to Massive Recalls

China Economy recently reported that China-owned Swedish automobile manufacturer Volvo issued multiple recalls for a total of 380,000 cars in the Chinese domestic market in the last month alone. Volvo ranked number one on the recall list in August in China. Volvo made its name in the Chinese market for its quality and safety. However, numerous design mistakes and manufacturing issues caused multiple large-scale recalls and have been eating into the brand’s reputation. Volvo has recalled over half a million cars this year in China. The latest batch of recalls in September impacted 135,316 cars, which is greater than all the recalls issued in the past four years (2016-2019) combined. As the inventor of the safety belt, Volvo’s recent global safety belt recall of 2.2 million cars added to the crisis, as it was the largest recall in the company’s history since its founding in 1927. Chinese multinational automotive company Geely Holding Group acquired Volvo from Ford in 2010.

Source: China Economy, September 8, 2020
http://www.ce.cn/cysc/zljd/gd/202009/08/t20200908_35695591.shtml

Briefings | | September 15, 2020 | Economy/Resources

India Is Coming up with New Trade Barriers for China

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that, according to two anonymous Indian government officials and one industrial official, India will soon ask domestic importers to register. The purpose is to protect domestic manufacturers. The next step will be to impose import restrictions on copper and aluminum so that the government must approve all import contracts. India buys a large amount of copper and aluminum from China. The up-coming plan also includes the implementation of Prime Minister Modi’s strategy to reduce imports and to increase India’s exports of high value-added products. The registration requirement is also designed to track more accurately and to understand the level of metal dumping into the Indian market. The Indian Ministry of Mines and the Ministry of Commerce refused to comment on this matter. India has been creating new anti-China trade policies recently, such as the ban on hundreds of Chinese mobile apps. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce expressed the opinion that India has been violating the legal rights of both Chinese investors and the Indian consumers.

Source: Sina, September 10, 2020
https://dailynews.sina.com/gb/international/phoenixtv/2020-09-10/doc-ifzzxynp3771513.shtml

Briefings | | September 15, 2020 | Geo-Strategic Trend

China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

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

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