Chinascope – Page 318

China’s Spy Activities in Belgium

The State Security Service, the Veiligheid van de Staat (VSSE), a Belgian state intelligence agency, recently spoke out about China’s spy activities in the military and scientific arena posing threats to EU security.

In October 2019, Belgium declared Song Xinning, the Confucius Institute president of the Free University of Brussels (VUB), as persona non grata, revoking his visa and banning his entry into the 26 European Schengen states for 8 years. During his ten-year tenure at VUB, Song had engaged in espionage activities for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and was regarded as “sabotaging national security.”

“As part of the ambitious ‘Made in China 2025’ project, which provides for rapid development of know-how in China itself, all available means must be used to import as much knowledge as possible into China,” the VSSE told the EUobserver, a not-for-profit online newspaper based in Brussels, when it was describing China’s goal of siphoning information from abroad. “These include formal knowledge transfer programmes, such as exchanges between researchers, joint ventures, and takeovers of companies. In some cases, China also does economic espionage.”

On May 7, the EUobserver disclosed some details of some confidential VSSE reports dated from 2010 to 2016, which stated that Chinese spies have targeted Belgian biological warfare and vaccine experts, British pharmaceutical giant and vaccine-maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in Belgium and Belgian high-tech firms.

VSSE is also concerned about the China Belgium Technology Centre (CBTC), a Chinese-funded “smart valley” in Louvain-la-Neuve. It houses 23 Chinese and Belgian firms in the life sciences, IT, and high-tech manufacturing sectors, and will house up to 800 Chinese high-tech specialists and entrepreneurs when it is completed in late 2021. “And even if the CBTC itself was not a front for Chinese intelligence, it could be used by the MSS (Ministry of State Security) as a back door in the future, the VSSE warned.”

On May 15, the French newspaper Le Monde, also reported on long-held VSSE suspicions that Chinese intelligence had installed surveillance equipment in Malta’s EU embassy in Brussels in 2007, when a Chinese firm renovated the building.

Source: Radio Free Asia, May 15, 2020.
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/cl-05152020125714.html
EUobserver, May 6, 2020
https://euobserver.com/science/148244

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

World against the CCP: China Became the Target at the World Health Assembly

An article from Radio Free Asia stated that Beijing was isolated at the World Health Assembly (WHA) that was held on May 18 and 19, 2020. It mentioned several points:

1. A proposal, initiated by Australia, drafted by the European Union, and signed by 122 countries including Russia, Japan, and Nigeria requested an “independent investigation” into the origin and spread of the novel coronavirus. All 194 member countries, including China, voted yes and passed the resolution. The article commented that the reason the Beijing supported the resolution was that it changed its strategy after failing in a direct confrontation against the world. It will now join the investigation team, with the hope to alienate and instigate member countries and to muddle the investigation by changing the investigation site, the objectives, and the methods, to get itself out of having any accountability.

2. Xi Jinping promised to donate 2 billion dollars to the World Health Organization (WHO) in the next two years. John Ullyot, the Spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement that China’s commitment “is a token to distract from calls from a growing number of nations demanding accountability for the Chinese government’s failure to meet its obligations.”

3. The article also stated that, despite the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) global propaganda campaign, it has ended up being in a worsened situation of isolation. It mentioned a few things that the CCP didn’t anticipate:

The entire world, including countries that used to have a good relationship with Beijing, aligned with the U.S. (against the CCP) as one side.
Russia joined the alliance despite China’s offer of substantial financial support to Russia when it was boycotted by the U.S. and Europe.
African countries, who used to be the CCP’s good friends, jumped uniformly to the opposite side, with Nigeria being the leader and demanding 200 billion dollars in compensation. The African League also asked for compensation.
WHO Director-General Tedros had a dramatic change. He supported the “investigation” request and even proactively requested a review of whether to invite Taiwan to attend the assembly.

China’s Revenue Hit Hard in First Four Months of This Year

According to the statistics released by China’s Ministry of Finance on May 18, in the first four months of this year, Mainland China’s general public budget revenue fell by 14.5 percent year-on-year, indicating that the Chinese economy has been hit hard by the Wuhan virus and its fiscal revenue has also declined. The general public budget revenue is a tax-based revenue according to Article 6 of China’s Budget Law.

The statistics further show that the revenue of the central government and local governments decreased by 17.7 percent and 11.5 percent year-on-year, respectively. The national government fund budget revenue decreased by 9.2 percent year-on-year. According to Article 9 of China’s Budget Law, the government fund budget revenue is revenue collected, charged or raised from specific targets and exclusively used for the development of certain public undertakings.

Tax revenue from industry sectors affected by the Wuhan virus has been hit the hardest. From January to April, hospitality and restaurants, transportation, and sports and entertainment declined by 46.8 percent, 29.8 percent, and 28.2 percent, respectively.

On a monthly basis, the national fiscal revenue from January to April decreased by 3.9 percent, 21.4 percent, 26.1 percent, and 15 percent respectively. The national fiscal revenue includes both tax and nontax revenues.

Source: People.com, May 18, 2020
http://finance.people.com.cn/n1/2020/0518/c1004-31713705.html

Briefings | | May 21, 2020 | Economy/Resources

DW Chinese: Chinese Investments in the U.S. Dropped Sharply

Deutsche Welle Chinese Edition recently reported that the U.S. National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the U.S. consulting firm Rhodium Group just jointly published the 2019 report on investment trends between the United States and China. With the background of a continuously worsening U.S.-China relationship, Chinese investments in the United States reached the lowest level since the global financial crisis a decade ago. The newly signed U.S.-China Phase One Trade Agreement brought some brightness to the future. However, the coronavirus is now casting a dark shadow for the near term. In the first quarter of this year, China’s direct investment in the U.S. declined to US$200 million, which is far less than the 2019 average quarterly investment level of US$2 billion. The Chinese investment in the U.S. saw declines before the coronavirus came. The causes were mainly the poor relationship between the two countries, strengthened U.S. regulations, and China’s restrictions on overseas investments.

Source: DW Chinese, May 12, 2020
https://bit.ly/3dQ3gbr

Briefings | | May 21, 2020 | US-China Relations

HKET: A Large Number of Chinese Mask Makers Went Bankrupt

Hong Kong Economic Times (HKET), the leading financial daily in Hong Kong, recently reported that a large number of Chinese mask manufacturers have filed for bankruptcy. With the spread of the coronavirus, the global demand for masks fueled a rush in China to manufacture more masks. However, most of the international customers have high quality requirements. This has led the Chinese government to enforce manufacturing standards that are much more strict in order to battle massive international returns. Tougher quality checks in China resulted in a sudden widespread bankruptcy of mask makers in China. An online video showed a huge pile of low-quality masks left in front of a factory in the city of Anqing, which is China’s primary manufacturing base for protective masks. Many mask companies in Anqing also stopped manufacturing because of the dramatic increase in the price of raw materials and manufacturing machinery. Now the masks produced there are very hard to export.

Source: HKET, May 6, 2020
https://bit.ly/2X3wqx5

Briefings | | May 21, 2020 | Economy/Resources

ABC News Chinese: China Banned Imports from Four Australian Meat Providers

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News, Chinese Edition, recently reported that China just announced a new import ban on four Australian meat providers, three of which are from Queensland and one from New South Wales. Most analysts expressed the belief that this new trade barrier is obviously retaliation against Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who insisted on an independent investigation into the source of COVID-19. The four companies banned are Kilcoy Pastoral, Beef City, Dinmore, and Northern Cooperative Meat. These four companies hold a 35 percent share of the total Australian beef exports to China, which is expected to be AU$3.5 billion (around US$2.25 billion) this year. The Australian government explained that the new ban is related to “highly technical” issues. Last month, the Chinese ambassador to Australia threatened that, if Australia were to investigate China’s handling of COVID-19, Chinese consumers might strongly resist Australian goods. Ironically, one of the companies, Kilcoy, is funded by Chinese investments. China is Australia’s largest trade partner.

Source: ABC News Chinese, May 12, 2020
https://www.abc.net.au/chinese/2020-05-12/china-trade-escalation-as-beef-farmers-are-targeted/12239690

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

70 Percent of Recent Global Times Front Page Editorials Target the U.S.

As the 2019 coronavirus epidemic continues its worldwide rampage, China’s official media has concentrated on criticizing the United States. Data collected by a Wechat account, a popular Chinese social media platform, shows that 70 percent of the front page editorials of Global Times, a daily tabloid newspaper under the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper, with a focus on international issues, recently have been targeting U.S.

According to its May 17 posting, the account, “yuguisuibi” by name, found that among the recent 40 Global Times’ daily front page editorials, titles of 29 articles carry the words “the United States.” The proportion is as high as 72.5 percent. The figure was, however, only 18, or 45 percent, out of 40 editorials over the same time period last year.

Among other titles, the wording “global” shows 3 times, “World” 4 times, and “G20” twice. In addition, “Britain” appeared once due to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s infection.

Source: Central News Agency, May 18, 2020
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202005180030.aspx

Briefings | | May 20, 2020 | US-China Relations

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