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Briefings - 19. page

CNA: Japanese Companies Reducing Reliance on China

Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that a new survey released by Teikoku Databank, a Japanese data research firm, shows Japanese companies are increasingly scaling back their dependence on China across manufacturing, sales, and tourism. The recent escalation of diplomatic tensions between China and Japan has heightened awareness among Japanese businesses of the risks associated with operating in China.

According to the survey, only 16.2 percent of companies with overseas operations now consider China their most important market, down from 23.8 percent in 2019. Among all respondents, the share viewing China as their top market fell from 25.9 percent to 12.3 percent. The survey gathered responses from 1,908 companies, 59 percent of which employ more than 1,000 people. These findings align with the steady decline in Japan–China trade in recent years.

Data from the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) shows that Japan’s exports to China fell for a third consecutive year in 2024, dropping 24 percent compared to 2021. Some Japanese industries and regions have already begun diversifying and expanding into new markets. In Hokkaido, for instance, tourists from mainland China and Hong Kong accounted for 42 percent of arrivals in August 2019 but only 23 percent this August, while South Korean visitors now dominate the region’s tourism demand.

Source: CNA, November 26, 2025
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202511060374.aspx

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

HK01: Canon’s Zhongshan Factory to Close After 23 Years of Operation

Popular Hong Kong online media outlet HK01 recently reported that Canon (Zhongshan) Office Equipment Co. has issued an online announcement declaring the cessation of its operations. According to the notice, due to “significant changes in the operating environment,” the company has decided to halt all production and business activities and officially shut down.

Canon (Zhongshan), established in 2001, is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise set up by Japan’s Canon Corporation in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province. The company specialized in manufacturing color and monochrome laser printers, with most of its products exported to overseas markets. It was once one of the world’s major production hubs for monochrome laser printers, at one point supplying half of the global market. As of April 2022, its cumulative production volume had reached 110 million units.

In the announcement, the company explained that the global laser printer market has been contracting in recent years, placing increasing pressure on its operations. Despite adopting multiple countermeasures, it was unable to reverse the situation. After careful consideration by headquarters, the final decision was made to close the company. Canon Zhongshan stated that it will formulate a compensation plan exceeding legal requirements to help mitigate the impact on employees.

Source: HK01, November 26, 2025
https://tinyurl.com/58st8n35

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China’s Banking Sector Sees Rapid Growth in Distressed-Asset Sales

By the end of the third quarter of 2025, Chinese commercial banks reported a total of 3.5 trillion yuan (US$490 billion) in non-performing loans (NPLs), an increase of 88.3 billion yuan from the previous quarter. The NPL ratio rose to 1.52 percent, up 0.03 percentage points. Profitability has also continued to weaken: in the first three quarters, the sector’s average return on equity fell to 8.18 percent from 8.77 percent in 2024, while return on assets declined from 0.68 percent to 0.63 percent.

Distressed-loan transfer announcements—banks selling off bad-loan portfolios—have surged to 1,166 so far this year, far exceeding the four-year annual average of about 680. On November 14 alone, eight banks disclosed transfers totaling more than 8.5 billion yuan, mostly involving long-overdue loans, many delinquent for over five years. Some asset packages are extremely large, reaching into the tens or even hundreds of billions. In one case, a bank transferred a portfolio with a principal balance of about 500 billion yuan, which ballooned to nearly 700 billion yuan after including interest and penalties.

The liquidation wave now extends beyond loan portfolios. Banks across China—including major state-owned lenders—are directly selling foreclosed real estate, alcohol inventories, and even small tradable goods, rather than relying on court-organized auctions. Many of these assets are being listed at steep discounts, in some cases just 25–30 percent of market value. For example, a property in Guangzhou that previously sold for over 2.2 million yuan was recently listed for under 800,000 yuan. Yet even with heavy markdowns, many properties still struggle to attract buyers, underscoring the depth of the current demand slump.

Source: Epoch Times, November 15, 2025
https://www.epochtimes.com/b5/25/11/14/n14636104.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Economy/Resources

Pakistani Central Bank Official: “Pakistan Has a Comprehensive Regulatory Framework to Support RMB Use”

At an event marking the 10th anniversary of the renminbi (RMB) clearing bank in Pakistan, Muhammad Malik, Executive Director of the State Bank of Pakistan, said Pakistan has established a comprehensive regulatory framework that fully supports the use and investment of the Chinese currency. He noted that the central bank has been promoting RMB awareness, enhancing transaction-clearing capabilities, and ensuring that local banks and businesses understand the advantages of conducting transactions in RMB.

Zhou Yongkun, Director-General of the Macro-Prudential Management Bureau of the People’s Bank of China, said RMB settlements between China and Pakistan reached 19.4 billion yuan in 2024, accounting for 23 percent of the two countries’ cross-border trade payments.

Source: People’s Daily, November 26, 2025
https://world.people.com.cn/n1/2025/1126/c1002-40611715.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend

Indian Woman From Disputed Border Region Says She Was Detained in Shanghai for 18 Hours

An Indian woman from the disputed border region of Arunachal Pradesh says she was detained for roughly 18 hours in Shanghai after Chinese immigration officers refused to recognize her Indian passport, asserting that it was invalid because China considers Arunachal Pradesh part of its own territory.

The traveler, identified as Pema Wang Thongdok, was en route from London to Japan with a planned three-hour layover in Shanghai. Instead, she says authorities blocked her onward travel, confined her to the transit area, and provided no clear information about her status, access to food, or basic airport facilities.

According to her account, immigration personnel and China Eastern Airlines staff mocked her and suggested she “apply for a Chinese passport.” She says her passport was confiscated, and despite holding a valid Japanese visa, she was prevented from boarding her connecting flight. She was only released late at night after friends in the UK contacted the Indian consulate in Shanghai.

The incident has triggered outrage in India, where many view it as a challenge to Indian sovereignty and an act of discrimination against citizens from Arunachal Pradesh.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), November 24, 2025
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aopl/202511240237.aspx

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Analysis: Chinese Migrant Workers May Revolt if They Experience Poverty En Masse

The Epoch Times reports that China is experiencing an unusually early wave of migrant workers returning to their hometowns – months before the Lunar New Year – reflecting widespread job losses and a deepening economic downturn. In response, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has urgently instructed local governments to prevent a “large-scale return to poverty” and to ensure that those previously lifted out of poverty do not become stranded in rural areas without income. Analysts say this early mobilization underscores the authorities’ awareness of the severity of the unemployment crisis facing China’s nearly 300 million migrant workers.

Experts argue that the problem is rooted in long-standing structural issues: migrant workers were never granted full urban residency rights or social benefits, while rural economies remain chronically depleted. With limited job opportunities in both cities and the countryside, official initiatives are widely viewed as superficial and incapable of addressing the underlying causes.

Some analysts warn that a mass return to poverty among migrant workers could pose a significant political risk. Today’s migrant laborers are more skilled, more informed, and more conscious of systemic injustice; in moments of extreme desperation, they may organize resistance—potentially threatening the stability of the communist regime.

Source: Epoch Times, November 20, 2025
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/25/11/18/n14638607.htm

Briefings | | |   @CS Economy/Resources Social Stability

Members of Chinese Zion Church Arrested Amid Escalating Religious Crackdown

Eighteen pastors and members of China’s Zion Church have been formally arrested, marking the latest casualties in the government’s suppression of urban house churches. Religious observers report that 2025 has brought noticeably tighter religious policies, with increased arrests, interrogations of church personnel, and new regulations making faith propagation more difficult.

Since a large-scale cross-provincial crackdown on Zion Church began on October 9, eighteen of the twenty-three detained pastors and congregants have been formally arrested by prosecutors in Beihai, Guangxi, while five were released on bail. Similar cases have emerged beyond Beijing’s Zion Church, with incidents reported in Linfen, Shanxi; Changsha, Hunan; and Xi’an, Shaanxi. In May, Pastor Gao Quanfu from Xi’an’s Light of Zion Church was detained for “using superstitious activities to undermine law implementation,” and in June, several members of Linfen’s Golden Lampstand Church received prison sentences for fraud.

While Christianity is among China’s five legally recognized religions, only registered Three-Self churches under official supervision are sanctioned. Numerous house churches face mounting pressure since President Xi Jinping took power, as they are considered illegal gatherings. Even credentialed Three-Self church pastors now face restrictions when preaching at other congregations, and government officials have reportedly been transferred after faith-related inquiries, despite religious freedom technically being permitted for non-Party members.

Buddhism, traditionally less persecuted, saw a major case this year when Shi Yongxin, former abbot of Shaolin Temple, was arrested in November following investigations into criminal activities and violations of Buddhist precepts, despite decade-old allegations of misconduct previously going unaddressed. Yiguandao followers, practicing a faith outside the five recognized religions, face heightened exit-entry risks, with ten Taiwanese adherents detained in mainland China over the past year.

New regulations implemented throughout 2025 have systematized religious control, requiring foreigners and Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan residents to obtain special approval for religious activities, and restricting online preaching to licensed organizations only. Despite these measures, some house churches continue operating through small encrypted groups and trusted networks, carefully avoiding official detection.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), November 20, 2025
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202511200360.aspx

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

EVs Used in Norwegian Mines Transmitting Data to Chinese Satellites

Norwegian researchers have found that NIO ES8 electric vehicles operating inside underground mines are repeatedly attempting to connect to China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system instead of Western systems such as GPS. Notably, these connection attempts continue even when the vehicles are powered off.

Data analysis indicates that roughly 90% of the vehicles’ transmitted signals are routed to servers in China. The fact that the cars attempt to connect with BeiDou deep underground – where satellite signals cannot reach – suggests this behavior is deliberately programmed rather than incidental.

Researchers say the purpose of the transmitted data remains unknown. Cybersecurity experts warn that such data could carry intelligence value, raising concerns about privacy, surveillance, and potential national security implications.

Source: Epoch Times, November 19, 2025
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/25/11/18/n14638487.htm

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology