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US-China Relations - 18. page

Global Times: Multiple US Colleges Advised International Students to Return Early

Global Times, a tabloid under the CCP’s flagship newspaper People’s Daily, recently reported that multiple universities in the United States have issued notices recommending that international students return to school as soon as possible before President-elect Trump officially takes office, citing the “uncertainty” regarding Trump’s immigration policies. Below are some key excerpts from the Global Times report.

Universities such as the University of Southern California, Quinnipiac University, Cornell University, Pennsylvania State University and Wesleyan University have issued warnings for students and faculty holding study visas and exchange visitor visas. In 2017, during his first presidential term, Trump signed an executive order banning travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. Although that ban did not target student visas, many international students from relevant countries have encountered obstacles when trying to return to the United States.

In April this year, Trump stated that he would reinstate the travel ban to “prevent radical terrorists from entering the United States.” Cornell University warned that such bans “could go into effect” after Trump is sworn in. The university’s official website issued an announcement stating that countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Myanmar, Sudan, Tanzania, Iran, and Libya may become targets, and countries such as China and India may also be included in the ban list.

Source: Global Times, December 8, 2024
https://world.huanqiu.com/article/4Ka3If7rtY9

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

LTN: Investment Banks Dissatisfied with the Difficulty in Remitting Money Out of China

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that Goldman Sachs Chief Executive David Solomon said global investors are still “holding a wait-and-see attitude” about deploying funds in China due to weak consumer confidence and difficulties in remitting funds out of China.

Solomon made the comment attending the annual “International Financial Leaders Investment Summit” in Hong Kong. He pointed out that investors have been worried about how to convert their investments in China into cash. “It has been very difficult to remit funds out of China in the past five years. I think there are a series of problems,” said Solomon.

Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick, who attended the same event, said he agreed with Solomon. He also expressed the belief that policy transparency is important. Jeffrey Perlman, CEO of U.S. Warburg Pincus, attended the AVCJ Private Equity Forum also held in Hong Kong. He echoed the sentiment that after his company withdrew from investment last year, it was “very challenging” to move US$1 billion out of China.

Source: LTN, November 21, 2024
https://ec.ltn.com.tw/article/paper/1678213

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources US-China Relations

RFA Chinese: U.S. Congress Proposes Bill to Terminate China’s PNTR Status

Radio Free Asia (RFA) Chinese Edition recently reported that John Moolenaar, chairman of the U.S. Congress’s special committee on China, just proposed the Restoring Trade Fairness Act, recommending that the United States revoke the Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) for all imported goods from China. Earlier this year, Senators Marco Rubio, Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley also introduced a similar bill in the Senate.

The same proposal includes the ending of China’s “De Minimis” treatment for low-value goods from covered countries and requires small-value parcels from China to clear U.S. customs.

In addition, the bill proposes the use of tariff revenue to compensate American farmers and manufacturers who may be harmed by Chinese retaliation.

A few days prior to Moolenaar’s introduction of the new act, the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented that, according to an agreement reached between China and the United States on China’s accession to the WTO, the United States announced in 2001 that it would grant China PNTR status. He said, “Some U.S. politicians are trying to reverse history and bring China-U.S. economic and trade relations back to the Cold War period.”

Sources:
(1) RFA Chinese, November 14, 2024
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/us-china-trade-war-tariff-rubio-11142024150146.html?encoding=simplified
(2) East Money, November 11, 2024
https://finance.eastmoney.com/a/202411113235931318.html
(3) The Select Committee on the CCP (house.gov), Nov 14, 2024
https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/media/bills/restoring-trade-fairness-act

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokesperson: US’ Malicious Intent Well Understood Globally

According to Chinese state media outlet Xinhua News Agency, on November 11 a reporter at the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s regular press conference asked: “According to reports, on November 8th, the U.S. State Department issued a statement supporting the Philippines’ enactment of the ‘Maritime Zones Law,’ stating that this law aligns Philippine domestic law with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 South China Sea arbitration ruling. The U.S. values the Philippines’ leadership in upholding international law, particularly in the South China Sea, and urges countries to align their maritime claims with international maritime law as reflected in UNCLOS. What is China’s response to this?”

Lin Jian, the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s spokesperson, responded that “the U.S., motivated by its geopolitical interests, has continuously instigated and encouraged the Philippines to provoke disputes and infringe on China’s rights in the South China Sea for many years,” and that “the U.S. has the malicious intent of sowing discord – a motive well understood by the world.”

“The U.S. repeatedly demands that other countries abide by UNCLOS, yet it refuses to join the convention itself. This is a classic example of hypocritical ‘double standards,’” Lin said. He added that the South China Sea arbitration case itself violates UNCLOS and is nothing more than a political farce; its so-called ruling is illegal and invalid.

Source: Xinhua, November 11, 2024
http://www.news.cn/world/20241111/971595e582a14647a174547196b585aa/c.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

Chinese State Media Mocks US Election as ‘Battle of Five Presidents’ While Analysts Warn of Propaganda Motives

On the eve of the US presidential election, China’s state television CCTV posted a topic on Weibo about “Five US Presidents in a Chaos Battle,” which quickly became a trending topic. Chinese netizens reacted to the post with mockery and criticism of the US electoral system by Chinese netizens. The five presidents mentioned in the post were Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Barak Obama, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter, all of whom were politically active during this last election cycle.

CCTV’s post described President Biden as “out,” Trump as “nearly physically eliminated due to assassination attempts,” and claimed former presidents Obama, Clinton, and Carter were “interfering” (in the election cycle), turning the election into a “battle of five kings.” The post garnered 150 million views and sparked extensive discussion.

Chinese social media users criticized the US election process, with some describing it as lacking civility and democratic atmosphere, comparing it to a marketplace quarrel or gang fight. The topic “#USElection” attracted nearly 15.3 billion views on Weibo.

Analysts note that this coverage is part of China’s internal propaganda strategy to shape public opinion against the US democratic system. An anonymous source from Chongqing stated that Chinese state media regularly crafts anti-US narratives to control public opinion while avoiding any mention of internal political conflicts within the CCP.

Dr. Du Shengcong, a media expert from Taiwan’s Ming Chuan University, describes the Weibo post as “gaseous language” – low-brow statements meant to reach mass audiences. He said that “state media should be more responsible in their reporting” to avoid misinterpretation. He noted,
despite pre-election chaos, US democratic institutions continue to function normally after elections.”

Source: Voice of America, November 5, 2024
https://www.voachinese.com/a/cctv-paints-the-us-elections-in-a-bad-light/7852130.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Lianhe Zaobao: Chinese Military Developed AI Tools Based on Meta’s AI Models

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that, in a paper published in June this year, six Chinese military researchers detailed how they used an early version of Meta’s Llama large language model (LLM) to build their ChatBIT model. These researchers named on the publication are from the Military Scientific Information Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences, the National Defense Science and Technology Innovation Institute, the Beijing Institute of Technology, and the Minzu University of China.

The Chinese researchers utilized the Llama 2 13B large-scale language model released by Meta in February 2023. Combined with their own parameters, they built a military-focused artificial intelligence tool for collecting and processing intelligence to provide accurate and reliable information for combat decision-making. The paper states that, after fine-tuning, ChatBIT was optimized for question-and-answer tasks in the military field and that its performance exceeded other artificial intelligence models.

Reportedly, the Chinese models are approximately 90 percent as capable as OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4. The Chinese researchers did not elaborate on how they measured performance or on whether the AI model is already in use in the field.

Meta has publicly released many AI models, including Llama, and has imposed licensing restrictions on the use of these models. Specifically, Meta prohibits the use of its models for “military, war, nuclear industry and espionage.” Meta’s public policy director Molly Montgomery said “Any use of our model by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is unauthorized and violates our acceptable use policy.”

A fierce debate is ongoing in the U.S. national security and technology community over the consequences of technology companies such as Meta making their models public.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, November 1, 2024
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/china/story20241101-5283840

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

RFI Chinese: TSMC Stops Supplying China’s SOPHGO

Radio France Internationale (RFI) Chinese Edition recently reported that TechInsights, a technology research company, discovered TSMC chips when disassembling Huawei’s Ascend 910B processor (which contains multiple chips). TSMC notified the United States after learning of the news. The chips ordered from TSMC by Chinese company SOPHGO are consistent with the chips found in Huawei’s Ascend 910B multi-chip processor. To protect U.S. national security, Huawei was banned from purchasing this technology. TSMC decided to stop supply after discovering that the chips supplied to this customer were ultimately used in Huawei products.

The U.S. Department of Commerce said it was aware of reports of possible violations of U.S. export control regulations but did not comment on whether there were related investigations underway. SOPHGO, which is affiliated with cryptocurrency mining equipment manufacturer Bitmain, did not respond to a request for comment. Huawei did not respond to a request for comment either. TSMC declined to comment.

Source: RFI Chinese, October 26, 2024
https://tinyurl.com/2uwaw84r

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations