Chinascope – Page 575

BBC Chinese: China’s Take-Over of Port Triggered Conflict in Sri Lanka

BBC Chinese recently reported that local residents in port Hambantota, Sri Lanka, clashed with the police. A groundbreaking ceremony triggered the incident. In an agreement, the government granted full management rights of the port to a Chinese company to build an industrial park. The rental agreement is for a period of 99 years. The conflict happened when Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Yi Xianliang, were attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the industrial park. According to the development agreement, thousands of villagers had to move out. The opposition complained that the agreement is turning the port into a “Chinese colony.” However, the government said all impacted villagers will be given new land. China has been investing in Sri Lanka on a large scale since 2009, when the nation’s civil war ended. This recent conflict resulted in 21 injured and 52 arrested. Sri Lanka is strategically located in the so-called “String of Pearls” in South Asia.

Source: BBC Chinese, January 7, 2017
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-38544928

Briefings | | January 16, 2017 | Geo-Strategic Trend

People’s Daily: Bringing Manufacturing Back to U.S.? Dream On.

People’s Daily recently published an analysis article evaluating whether there is a chance that manufacturers in China can be attracted to the United States, which is a critical cornerstone of Trump’s strategy. However, capital always seeks low-cost, high-profit destinations. The most profitable industry for the U.S. is the financial industry instead of manufacturing. The last three projects Trump had before he won the presidency resulted in U.S. manufacturers losing at least US$350 million to low-cost Chinese products. Trump’s campaign T-Shirts were made in China and Honduras. Robots can help, but that won’t add more jobs. The U.S. may be able to improve on the high-end manufacturing as a high-tech power, but that won’t significantly improve employment. The article also identified the lack of blue collar labor resources in the U.S. population as a major problem to re-establish manufacturing on a large scale. Manufactures are more likely to move to India, Vietnam, Myanmar, or Cambodia instead of the U.S. Another immediate obstacle the U.S. will face is that the United States no longer has the full supply chain from the natural resource to supporting parts suppliers. The author concluded that Trump was just bragging – the best case is that he could move manufacturers out of China, but not into the U.S.

Source: People’s Daily, December 31, 2016
http://original.hubpd.com/c/2016-12-31/552491.shtml

Briefings | | January 9, 2017 | Economy/Resources US-China Relations

Taiwan Military Experts Assessed Mainland Carrier Could Reach 30 Percent of Its Capabilities in Actual Combat

The Taiwanese TV station Sanlih recently reported that the Mainland Navy sent the Liaoning carrier to the South China Sea for exercises and sailed past Taiwan during the New Year’s holiday. The Mainland media emphasized that the J-15 fighter jets were the carrier’s biggest highlight. However, the Taiwanese Air Force also sent F-16 jets to monitor the Liaoning carrier’s performance during the exercises. Taiwanese military experts concluded that the carrier could reach 30 percent of its capabilities in real combat. They gave an example that J-15 jets did not participate in night exercises, which is a critical matter for all-time combat conditions. The carrier’s total number of J-15 jets is also too limited. The Mainland does not have the minimally required 40 pilots. The carrier’s runway is also considered an outdated design and is inefficient. The Taiwanese called the carrier a “paper tiger.”

Source: Sanlih News, January 3, 2017
http://www.setn.com/News.aspx?NewsID=212992

Briefings | | January 9, 2017 | Defense/Military

PLA Online Warfare Headquartered in Two Beijing Hotels

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported on an article from Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA). The article indicated that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has its online warfare headquarters hidden in two Beijing hotels. The two hotels are the Jingtang Hotel and the Seasons Hotel in the Haidian District, Beijing. The Fourth Division of the General Staff of the Central Military Committee used to own the hotels, either directly or indirectly. The Fourth Division was once called the Electronic Warfare and Radar Operations Unit. With the latest Chinese military reform, the Fourth Division was assigned new roles to handle Strategic Support, Foreign Electronic and Intelligence Warfare, and Internet Attacks. Network Intelligence assignments are typically highly classified operations. It therefore makes sense to use the hotels as “under cover” headquarters locations. According to sources from the U.S. intelligence community, some guests who stayed at the Jingtang Hotel in 2012 left guest notes there mentioning the Fourth Division’s ownership of the hotel. In 2015, researchers attempted to book rooms in the two hotels and encountered booking system errors or received apologies from the hotel for closures.

Source: Sina, January 5, 2017
http://dailynews.sina.com/gb/news/int/cna/20170105/19597680155.html

Briefings | | January 8, 2017 | Defense/Military Information/Technology

Nikkei: Xi’s Strong Position on Maritime Rights

Nikkei, Japan’s leading economic news provider, reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping used strong words in his 2017 New Year’s speech televised to the nation, “We have adhered to peaceful development while resolutely safeguarding the territorial sovereignty, maritime rights, and interests of China. To whoever wants to take issue with this, the Chinese people’s answer is a resounding No!”

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Briefings | | January 6, 2017 | Defense/Military Government/Politics US-China Relations

Global Times: Why Is the U.S. More Arrogant toward China than toward Russia? China Has Too Few Nuclear Weapons!

Following Trump’s tweet and Putin’s statement about the expanding nuclear capabilities in the U.S. and Russia, China’s state media Global Times published a commentary claiming that China needs to advance its nuclear program to stay relevant as a world power.

The article said, “Russia’s conventional military capabilities have been far less than those of NATO, but the Russian-U.S. equal nuclear balance of power continues to ensure that Russia’s status as a military superpower is almost equal to the United States. Russia dared to confront the United States in Ukraine, in Syria and in other conflicts. The number one reason is the support of its nuclear forces.

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Briefings | | January 5, 2017 | Defense/Military 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