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RFI: Chinese Tourist Arrivals to Japan Continued to Grow Despite Travel Warnings

Radio France Internationale (RFI) recently reported that the Japan Tourism Agency said the ongoing diplomatic crisis between Japan and China has had little impact on overall inbound tourism, with the number of tourists visiting Japan in November increasing by 10.4 percent compared to the same period last year. The growth rate of tourists from mainland China still reached three percent in November.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks about “Taiwan in trouble” have drawn the ire of the Chinese government, and the current diplomatic dispute between China and Japan continues. Subsequently, in mid-November, the Chinese government issued travel warnings to its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan. China’s three major airlines cooperated with the government’s measure, reducing the number of flights to Japan until the end of March 2026.

Since the beginning of 2025, tourists from mainland China have been the largest group of visitors to Japan, accounting for nearly a quarter of the total number of tourists entering Japan. Currently, the growth in the number of tourists entering Japan is mainly brought by tourists from South Korea, Taiwan and the United States.

Source: RFI, December 17, 2025
https://tinyurl.com/48sp6yxf

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Media Reports Beijing Sets “Three Conditions” for a KMT–Xi Jinping Meeting

Singapore-based Lianhe Zaobao reported that Taiwan’s Liberty Times, citing sources from Beijing’s Taiwan affairs system and within the Kuomintang (KMT), said Song Tao, director of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Taiwan Affairs Office, stated that if the KMT seeks a “Zheng–Xi meeting” — a summit between the KMT and the CCP’s top leader — it must demonstrate a “firm commitment to following the correct course of history” and meet three specific conditions.

These three demands, privately referred to within the KMT as the “three tickets,” reportedly include:

  1. Blocking the military procurement budget proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government to purchase U.S. weapons. Commentators noted this has already happened, as the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) in the Legislative Yuan have twice blocked a NT$1.25 trillion (US$40 billion) special defense budget.
  2. Immediately halt legislative efforts framed as national security measures that restrict or discriminate against mainland Chinese spouses, as well as mainland Chinese business and investment in Taiwan. Commentators said this has also occurred, noting that KMT legislators recently proposed amendments to the Nationality Act that would allow mainland Chinese spouses holding PRC nationality to run for public office in Taiwan without renouncing their Chinese citizenship. Critics argue that family-reunification channels for mainland spouses have become an important avenue for CCP agents to infiltrate Taiwan’s political system.
  3. Beijing would welcome the KMT firmly restating unification with China as its central strategic goal, while also proposing institutional reforms and concrete actions to eliminate systems deemed unfriendly or harmful to that objective.

According to the report, KMT vice chairpersons visited mainland China several times in recent months to discuss these issues with Song Tao, ultimately securing Beijing’s agreement to hold the “Zheng–Xi meeting” around the Lunar New Year. The KMT rejected the “three tickets” report, denouncing it as fabricated.

Sources:
1. Lianhe Zaobao, December 8, 2025
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/china/story20251208-7932502
2. Epoch Times, December 13, 2025
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/25/12/12/n14654310.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

Japan Reports Foreign Purchases of Land in National Security–Sensitive Areas, China Leads

The Japanese government has released data on land and building acquisitions in areas deemed critical for national security in fiscal year 2024. Approximately 3 percent of these properties were acquired by foreign individuals or entities, with nearly half coming from mainland China.

Under Japanese law, land surrounding key facilities—such as Self-Defense Forces bases and nuclear power plants—is strictly regulated due to national security concerns.

In fiscal 2024, there were 113,827 newly acquired properties in these sensitive areas, of which 3,498 (3.1 percent) were obtained by foreign individuals or corporations. By region, mainland China accounted for 1,674 acquisitions, the highest number, followed by Taiwan with 414 and South Korea with 378.

Source: NHK, December 16, 2025
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/zh/news/20251216_ML04/

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China Builds Installations in China–South Korea Joint Waters, Raising Security Concerns

A December 9 report by Beyond Parallel, a Korea-focused website run by the U.S. think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), revealed photographs of 16 Chinese installations constructed within the China–South Korea Interim Measures Zone in the Yellow Sea. Under the 2001 China–South Korea Fisheries Agreement, the overlapping exclusive economic zones in the Yellow Sea are designated as jointly managed waters. The report notes that the construction of permanent facilities in this area violates the agreement.

According to the report, China has repeatedly refused South Korea’s requests to remove the installations and has unilaterally declared no-navigation zones around them. Since 2020, South Korean vessels have attempted to monitor Chinese activities 135 times, with 27 of those attempts intercepted by Chinese coast guard ships. Analysts also note that China has deployed 13 multifunctional buoys capable of collecting oceanographic data but potentially usable for underwater surveillance, including monitoring submarine activity—underscoring their dual civilian-military purpose.

Experts argue that these deployments reflect China’s broader “gray-zone” strategy, in which ostensibly civilian facilities are used to advance military objectives and strengthen maritime control. The Yellow Sea is considered strategically vital for Chinese naval operations moving south from bases in Shandong Province and the Bohai Gulf. The report urges the United States and South Korea to consider publicizing the coordinates of the installations. Meanwhile, South Korean media have called for reciprocal measures, citing similar responses by Vietnam, and South Korea has already begun countermeasures, including deploying its own floating platform in disputed waters—officially for environmental research—to monitor Chinese activities.

Source: Epoch Times, December 14, 2025
https://hk.epochtimes.com/news/2025-12-14/16128304

Briefings | | |   @CS Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend

Huanqiu Times: Defending Peace in a Language the Enemy Understands

Huanqiu Times published an article justifying China’s recent military actions toward Japan. On the night of December 9, a joint China–Russia bomber patrol was conducted over international airspace east of the Kuril Islands, approximately 700 kilometers from Tokyo. Commentators noted that the patrol placed Tokyo within the potential strike range of the bombers, which are capable of carrying long-range cruise missiles and hypersonic weapons.

Separately, China stated that its Liaoning aircraft carrier group, operating east of the Miyako Strait in accordance with previously announced schedules, was repeatedly approached and harassed at close range by Japanese F-15 fighter jets. According to China, the Japanese aircraft deliberately attempted to interfere with flight paths and communications, prompting Chinese aircraft to activate fire-control radar in response.

Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te publicly condemned China’s actions as inappropriate.

The article criticized Lai Ching-te and Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi, describing them as figures promoting division and militarism. It concludes by stating that China is issuing a calm, firm, and reasoned warning in terms its adversaries understand: China’s sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity are inviolable and will not be compromised.

Source: Huanqiu Times, December 11, 2025
https://taiwan.huanqiu.com/article/4PV6wsMoV9N

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military Geo-Strategic Trend

RFI: EU Raids Temu’s European Headquarters

Radio France Internationale (RFI) recently reported that the European Union has intensified its oversight of Temu, a Chinese e-commerce platform. Multiple sources confirmed that the European Commission carried out a surprise inspection of Temu’s European headquarters in Dublin, focusing on whether the company has received subsidies from the Chinese government that could constitute unfair competition in the EU market.

A European Commission spokesperson confirmed that “the Commission conducted an unannounced on-site inspection of a company operating in the EU e-commerce sector, pursuant to the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR),” though the Commission did not disclose the company’s name or location.

The FSR is designed to curb market distortions in the EU caused by subsidies granted by non-EU governments. Companies found in violation may face fines of up to 10 percent of their annual global turnover. The inspection comes as the EU tightens regulation of low-cost goods from China, with a surge of inexpensive parcels—most originating from China—entering the European market through cross-border e-commerce channels.

According to Temu’s latest transparency report, the platform has approximately 116 million monthly active users in the EU. As the EU continues to strengthen digital regulation and fair-trade enforcement, the legal and commercial environment facing Temu is becoming increasingly restrictive.

Source: RFI, December 10, 2025
https://tinyurl.com/cum9fdtv

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Lianhe Zaobao: China’s November Exports Rebound as Shipments to the U.S. Continue to Slow

Singapore’s leading Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported that newly released data from China’s General Administration of Customs show China’s exports grew 5.9 percent year over year in November, exceeding market expectations.

By product category, exports of machinery, electronics, and high-tech goods accelerated. Shipments of integrated circuits and automobiles posted particularly strong growth, rising 34.2 percent and 53.0 percent, respectively, from a year earlier. By destination, exports to the European Union surged 14.3 percent, the fastest pace since July 2022, with France, Germany, and Italy all recording double-digit increases. Exports to Africa and Latin America also rose sharply, up 28.2 percent and 14.1 percent, respectively. In contrast, export growth to ASEAN slowed to 8.4 percent, the weakest increase since February.

Exports to the United States declined further, plunging 28.6 percent year over year in November, marking the eighth consecutive month of double-digit drops. Analysts cited by Lianhe Zaobao said the overall rebound suggests Chinese exporters are making significant progress in expanding into non-U.S. markets. They added that the slowdown in exports to ASEAN may be linked to a retreat in re-export trade following higher U.S. tariffs on Southeast Asian countries.

China’s export growth outpaced import growth in November, pushing the country’s cumulative trade surplus to a record high exceeding US$1 trillion.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, December 8, 2025
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/china/story20251208-7933064

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

China’s Steel Industry Faces Challenges; Analysts Warn Exports Could Halve Over Five Years

In 2025, China’s crude steel production and apparent steel consumption both declined. From January to October, the country produced 818 million tons of crude steel, down 3.9 percent year-on-year, while domestic apparent consumption fell from a 2020 peak of 1.04 billion tons to 890 million tons in 2024, averaging a 3.8 percent annual decline. In the first three quarters of 2025, apparent consumption dropped 5.7 percent year-on-year to 649 million tons. Profitability in the steel sector also weakened, with October profits down 41 percent month-on-month and 25.9 percent year-on-year, leaving a profit margin of just 1.2 percent.

The China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) noted a severe imbalance between supply and demand, driven by structural economic shifts such as the cooling real estate market and slower infrastructure spending, signaling the end of China’s steel-led growth era. Although steel exports increased 9.2 percent to 87.96 million tons in the first three quarters, future exports face significant headwinds. Analysts warn that China’s direct steel exports could be halved over the next five years, potentially reducing apparent consumption to around 750 million tons and fundamentally reshaping the industry.

Trade tensions are intensifying these challenges. Vietnam, China’s largest overseas steel market, imposed anti-dumping duties of 23.1 – 27.83 percent on Chinese hot-rolled steel in July, followed by an anti-circumvention investigation. Consequently, China’s steel exports to Vietnam fell 24.8 percent in the first three quarters of the year. Beyond Vietnam, at least 11 countries have implemented anti-dumping or safeguard measures against Chinese steel since early 2024, causing overall exports to affected markets to decline nearly 30 percent year-on-year through July 2025.

Source: Epoch Times, December 3, 2025
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/25/12/3/n14647861.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Geo-Strategic Trend