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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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Xi Urges Politburo Members to Report Issues Objectively, Not Just the Positives

At a recent Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Politburo meeting, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need for top leaders to “maintain high political sensitivity and unity under the centralized leadership of the CCP’s Central Committee.” He warned about “transforming non-political risks into political ones” and called for “objective and timely reporting of issues.” The CCP Politburo is a top decision-making body of the Chinese Communist Party, consisting of 24-members.

Xi said that members should uphold the authority of the CCP Central Committee, strengthen the “Four Awarenesses,” “Four Confidences,” and “Two Upholds.” Amid complex domestic and international environments, leaders must “grasp the strategic initiative” and “enhance foresight to see essence through phenomenon and understand situations politically.”

He stressed the importance of preventing and resolving political risks, promptly blocking various hidden dangers from turning into political ones. Leaders should “reflect real-life situations objectively, not just reporting good news.” Xi stated that members should adhere to “high-quality development over blind expansion, seek practical results rather than falsified data, and build long-term foundations instead of damaging finances.”

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), December 23, 2023
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202312230031.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Lianhe Zaobao: U.S. May Increase Tariffs on Some Chinese Goods

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that, according to sources familiar with the matter, the U.S. government recently resumed discussions on Trump-Era tariffs imposed on about US$300 billion of Chinese goods.

The Biden administration may raise tariffs on clean energy products. Tariffs on electric vehicles may increase. Chinese electric vehicles already face 25 percent tariffs, which limits the number of vehicles Chinese automakers can export to the United States. Other potential targets for higher tariffs include Chinese solar products and electric vehicle battery packs. The administration may also consider lowering tariffs on Chinese consumer products that officials consider not strategically important.

As China’s domestic economy declines, clean energy commodities are flooding into the global market at low prices. As a result, U.S. officials worry that U.S. companies will not be able to compete with Chinese products, even given the protection of existing tariffs and new subsidies. Some analysts have also pointed out that the United States government is preparing for next year’s presidential election, saying that the U.S. political parties may be motivated to take a tough stance against China in order to win votes.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented that “The U.S.’s unilateral increase in tariffs violates the principles of the market economy and fair competition, and it threatens the security of global industrial and supply chains”.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, December 21, 2023
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/world/story20231221-1457395?amp

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

LTN: Air Pollution Has Worsened in China

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) ran an article saying that China’s air pollution has worsened this year. The article cited a recent report by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), an independent research organization based in Finland.

This is the first time since China began to combat air pollution in 2013 that China’s national average concentration of PM2.5 is higher than the previous year. Including Beijing, around 80 percent of China’s provincial capital cities have detected this year an increase in PM2.5 concentrations compared with last year. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “PM2.5 describes fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller.”

Fossil fuel energy use in China has increased in the last year. Moreover, increased anthropogenic emissions have been a major factor pushing up pollution levels in China. In areas where PM2.5 levels do not meet World Health Organization safety standards, coal production and thermal power generation increased by 4.4 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively.

In a separate study published earlier this month, an international coalition of climate scientists noted that China’s coal, oil and natural gas emissions increased as the Covid-19 pandemic slowed. Although China stepped up its pollution control efforts in 2015 after bidding to host the Winter Olympics, the country’s air quality is still below World Health Organization standards.

Source:

LTN, December 24, 2023
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/4529554

EPA, November 1, 2023
https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/particulate-matter-pm25-trends

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Oriental Daily: U.S. Bans Military Use of Seaports that Employ Chinese Logistics Platform LOGINK

Oriental Daily News, Hong Kong’s number one newspaper in circulation since 1976, recently reported that the U.S. 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, just signed into law by President Biden, contains provisions that prohibit the Pentagon from using any seaport that relies on China’s national logistics platform (LOGINK).

LOGINK is a key project sponsored by China’s State Council. Led by the Chinese Ministry of Transportation and the National Development Commission, LOGINK is a Chinese government transportation infrastructure project enabling the distribution and management of logistics information. The system is deployed to more than 20 ports around the world: 6 in Japan, 5 in South Korea, 1 in Malaysia, at least 9 in Europe, and 3 in the Middle East.

Under the new U.S. National Defense Authorization Act, Congress authorized a study of how foreign forces at the 15 largest container ports in the United States affect U.S. national and economic security, and the Secretary of State is to begin negotiations with U.S. allies and partners to have relevant countries to remove LOGINK software from their ports.

Senator Tom Cotton and Representative Michelle Steel, who sponsored the legislation, pointed out that China’s national logistics platform allows Beijing to monitor the U.S. military supply chain, which relies on commercial ports. LOGINK enables such monitoring by tracking the movement of cargo and ships .through a centralized system. Steele said LOGINK operates under the management of the Chinese government and that the threat posed by the software is very serious.

Beijing has invested in about 100 ports in more than 60 countries.

Source: Oriental Daily News, December 24, 2023
https://orientaldaily.on.cc/content/china_world/odn-20231224-1224_00178_003/

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Information/Technology

People’s Daily: China Has Improved Relations With These Countries in 2023

People’s Daily reported that China has elevated its relationship with the following countries in 2023:

  • All Weather Partnerships: Venezuela, Ethiopia
  • Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships: Turkmenistan, Gabon, Kyrgyzstan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Solomon Islands, Georgia, Zambia, Timor-Leste, Uraguy, Vietnam
  • Comprehensive and High-Quality Forward-Looking Partnerships: Singapore
  • Strategic Partnership: Pakistan, Benin, Syria, Columbia, Nicaragua

Source: People’s Daily, December 21, 2023
http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2023/1221/c1001-40144239.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

People’s Daily Addresses Heavy Mobile Phone Usage in Armed Police

People’s Daily ran a report on heavy mobile phone usage within the armed police unit in Hengshui City, Hebei Province. The piece, titled “Exploring ‘Proper Usage’ of Mobile Phones in Military Camps,” covered efforts to direct soldiers who spend a lot of time watching short entertaining videos or playing video games on their cell phones. Several stories were reported about inspiring soldiers to use their time well in furthering the communist party’s goals.

The Political Instructor of an armed police company noticed that soldiers’ mobile phone usage was heavy, with members of the company watching short videos, playing games, or consuming news. The instructor showed the soldiers several “meaningful” and “inspiring” videos that appeared on his own video feed, e.g. a video titled “Why did the 38th Army of the Volunteer Army become the ‘Best Army’?” (the “Volunteer Army” refers to Chinese forces deployed against US and UN forces during the Korean War) and “Explaining the Ins and Outs of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.” The instructor contrasted these videos with the pop-entertainment videos appearing on the soldiers’ own video feeds, saying that only such “meaningful” and “inspiring” content could leave a deep impression in their minds. Soldiers thus started to watch such genres of video that the instructor recommended.

In another military unit, a soldier shared a picture of his camp life and forgot to blur out the face of his commanding officer (which was considered to be leaking a military secret). Seeing the soldier’s affinity for posting on social media, the commanding officer encouraged the soldier to create reports for the military unit on social media so as to cultivate a “positive” image for the unit.

Source: People’s Daily, December 21, 2023
http://military.people.com.cn/n1/2023/1221/c1011-40143905.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Information/Technology

Wang Huning’s Directive: Manipulate Taiwan’s Election Through Fragmented Grassroots Infiltration

Top Chinese government official Wang Huning reportedly held a meeting in Beijing in early December to coordinate efforts to intervene in Taiwan’s upcoming presidential election, which is scheduled for January 13, 2024. A number of different Chinese government departments and agencies were reportedly assigned specific tasks with the aim of subtly influencing Taiwan’s presidential election without attracting international scrutiny. Agencies with representatives attending the meeting include the CCP’s Department of Propaganda, the Department of Taiwan Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of National Security, and the CCP’s United Front Work Department.

The key strategy of China’s cognitive warfare against Taiwan has been to present voters with a “choice between war and peace.” Although Xi Jinping recently stated in public that China does not have plans to attack Taiwan in 2027 or 2035, Beijing still wants Taiwanese voters to feel that there is a threat of war if Taiwan refuses to peacefully integrate with Mainland China.

Beijing’s layered, multi-channel information campaign aims to manipulate Taiwanese public opinion while avoiding the most overt forms of interference that could provoke international condemnation.

The shift from overt influence strategies of the past to a more subtle, distributed approach may reflect China’s current economic weakness, which limits its ability to spend large amounts of money on influence campaigns. Beijing’s continued efforts to influence the politics of Taiwan despite current economic headwinds demonstrates the importance that China places on its Taiwan unification objective.

One specific tactic employed by Beijing is to offer visits or discounted tours in China for Taiwanese representatives from the media, businesses, and government. Local officials are taken on exchanges and given discounted tours with the hope that Beijing can win influence and change these representatives’ perceptions and voting behavior. Other tactics includes using China’s propaganda departments to amplify Beijing’s criticisms of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government, as well as distorting media reports coming out of Taiwan before disseminating them through Chinese social media to sway public opinion.

Taiwan has implemented safeguards against electoral interference, and analysts say that China’s influence / incentives may have limited impact on voting behavior. However, the high-level coordination led by a senior Chinese leader demonstrates the priority Beijing places on covertly intervening in the Taiwanese democratic process to serve its political agenda of asserting control over the island.

Source: Voice of America, December 8, 2023
https://www.voachinese.com/a/china-keeps-interfering-in-taiwan-s-elections-ignoring-biden-s-warnings-20231208/7389984.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xinhua: China’s New Drilling Ship Can Reach 11km Depth at Sea

On December 18, China conducted the inaugural trial voyage of its first domestically designed and constructed ocean drilling ship, “The Dream.” According to Xinhua News Agency, the ship has a total displacement of approximately 33,000 tons, a length of 179.8 meters, and a beam of 32.8 meters. The Dream has a cruising range of 15,000 nautical miles.

According to the Xinhua article, The Dream is capable of self sustaining on the open ocean for 120 days, and it is capable of drilling at sea to a depth of 11,000 meters. “The Dream will provide important equipment support for ocean energy resource exploration and mining … to ensure national energy security.”

Source: Xinhua, December 19, 2023
http://www.gd.xinhuanet.com/20231219/a3e549ebc8c64aec9efab0b031ead55d/c.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology