De Chinese Wouden, maandag 10 juni: Zr.Ms. Tromp gewaarschuwd, Volvo naar Europa
Waarom wil de Europese Commissie importheffingen opleggen aan auto’s uit China? Uiteindelijk is een belangrijke reden het beschermen van Europese banen. Dit lijkt nu al effect te sorteren. Volvo, grotendeels in handen van het Chinese Geely, zou volgens The Sunday Times de productie van twee elektrische modellen van China naar het Belgische Gent gaat verplaatsen.
Dat dit ook gelijk effect heeft op de buurlanden, blijkt uit het feit dat hetzelfde Britse krantenartikel meldt dat Volvo-productie die eerst naar het Verenigd Koninkrijk zou gaan nu misschien ook naar de Europese Unie zou komen. Ondertussen blijkt het heffingseffect ook uit plannen, bericht door Caixin Global, van twee Chinese batterijfabrikanten om productie op te starten in de Verenigde Staten.
In deze nieuwe wereld verschuift er veel. Turkije kondigt nu ook importheffingen op Chinese elektrische auto’s aan. Het Amerikaanse persagentschap AP heeft een interessant verhaal over de opkomende autoindustrie in Marokko, dat nu meer auto’s exporteert naar Europa dan China, India of Japan.
Geopolitiek laat Zuid-Korea ook van zicht horen. Met meer dan vijftig miljoen inwoners is het ook groter dan de meeste Europese landen. Nederland hield een veiligheidsdialoog met het land. President Yoon bezoekt Centraal-Azië, nadat hij eerder al Afrikaanse leiders ontving. RTI schrijft over de groeiende maar stille aandacht in Zuid-Korea voor de noodzaak om met Taiwan samen te werken op techgebied.
Maar de gebruikelijke spelers laten ook nog van zich horen. Defensie schrijft dat Zr.Ms. Tromp is lastig gevallen door China. Volgens het ministerie is het schip omcirkeld door twee Chinese gevechtsvliegtuigen. Ook zou de NH90-boordhelikopter benaderd zijn door twee Chinese gevechtsvliegtuigen en een helikopter.
Veel pers schrijft over de doorvaart van de Tromp door de Straat van Taiwan. Dat is echter al weer een tijd geleden – het schip was zojuist al in Busan. Net als de Nederlandse diplomaten op gesprek in Seoul hield ook het Nederlandse marineschip zich bezig met Pyongyang. De Tromp was de sancties op Noord-Korea opgelegd door de VN-veiligheidsraad aan het monitoren. Dit is precies dezelfde activiteit waarmee de Australische en Canadese marines bezig waren toen zij ook werden lastig gevallen door de Chinese strijdkrachten.
Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺
Marineschip Zr.Ms. Tromp benaderd door Chinese helikopter en gevechtsvliegtuigen – Defensie: „Dit zorgde voor een potentieel onveilige situatie. Het voorval vond plaats in het internationale luchtruim.”
„Zr.Ms. Tromp voerde patrouilles uit in de Oost-Chinese Zee ter ondersteuning van een multinationaal VN-verband dat toeziet op het handhaven van de maritieme sancties tegen Noord-Korea zoals gedefinieerd in de resoluties van de VN-Veiligheidsraad.” 🇳🇱
Chinese gevechtsvliegtuigen omsingelen Nederlands marineschip en helikopter: „Potentieel onveilige situatie” – de Volkskrant 🇳🇱
De Volkskrant geeft wel de relevante achtergrond, maar veel andere nieuwsberichten verwijzen enkel naar de recente doorvaart van de Straat van Taiwan. Maar de context wijst niet direct daar naar. Het schip was bezig met het monitoren van de VN-sancties op Noord-Korea. Eerder werden ook al de Australische en Canadese marines door China lastig gevallen tijdens zulke bezigheden.
‘[…] Zo’n gevaarlijke situatie mag niet worden geaccepteerd en vereist een kritische diplomatieke reactie. […]’ – Ruben Brekelmans (VVD), Twitter 🇳🇱
EU officials headed to China for human-rights dialogue as rare Tibet field visit planned – SCMP: ‘The dialogue will take place on June 16 in Chongqing, an EU spokeswoman confirmed.’ 🇪🇺
European firms in southern China have less confidence than in any other region, EUCham survey says – SCMP: ‘analysts expect that the disparity is a direct result of production-capacity shifts and Hong Kong’s falling re-export role.’ 🇪🇺
US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on the need to better cooperate to counter China’s economic practices – Bloomberg: ‘Reporters heard Biden tell Macron about his last discussion with Chinese President Xi Jinping’ 🇫🇷
Rusland 🇷🇺
Exclusive: G7 plans to warn small Chinese banks over Russia ties, sources say – Reuters: ‘Negotiations were still ongoing about the exact format and content of the warning, according to the people, who declined to be named discussing ongoing diplomatic engagements.’ 🇷🇺
In the new cold war, Europe’s approach to China is already outdated – Maximilian Mayer and Emilian Kavalski for The Diplomat: ‘The joint statement between Putin and Xi is quite unambiguous that the strategic infrastructure of Western “military alliances” is perceived as a threat to both China and Russia. The call for the establishment of loosely defined buffer zones in the peripheries of nuclear powers’ 🇷🇺
Handel 🇪🇺🇨🇳
Chinese exports threaten Europe even more than the US – Sander Tordoir for POLITICO Europe: ‘this second China shock will shrink Europe’s most productive sectors.’ ‘failing to act forcefully could mean significant deindustrialization’ 🇪🇺
Europe has fallen behind the US and China. Can it catch up? – The New York Times: ‘what has been called the “competitiveness crisis”’ 🇪🇺
De Amerikanen doen het niet beter dan Europa – Marike Stellinga in NRC: „de EU hoeft zich geen minderwaardigheidscomplex aan te praten. Maar de VS en China lopen wel degelijk voorop in de bedrijfstakken waar het gebeurt, zoals kunstmatige intelligentie en groene technologie. De EU móét dus reageren op de economische machtspolitiek en het subsidiegeweld van de VS en China. En in sommige sectoren minder afhankelijk worden van China en de VS.” 🇪🇺
elektrische auto’s
‘Goedkope Chinese elektrische auto’s overspoelen de Europese markt. In principe niks tegen Chinese elektrische auto’s mits er maar een gelijk speelveld is en ze veilig zijn. Samen met @HanTenBroeke en @RonStoop1 in een item van @EenVandaag hierover en gelijk een draadje👇🏼’ – Derk Boswijk (CDA), Twitter 🇳🇱🇪🇺
Geely 吉利’s Volvo to shift EV production to Europe to escape China tariffs – The Sunday Times: ‘Diverting production of Volvo’s EX30 and EX90 models from China to Belgium […]. The manufacturing of certain Volvo models bound for the UK could also be moved to Belgium.’ 🇪🇺🇬🇧
Two Chinese battery parts firms to build factories in US as tariffs soar – Caixin Global 🇺🇸
Morocco’s automotive industry shifts gears to prep for electric vehicle era – AP: ‘The North African kingdom supplies more cars to Europe than China, India or Japan, and has the capacity to produce 700,000 vehicles a year.’ ‘The government offered subsidies of up to 35% for manufacturers to put factories in the rural hinterlands outside of Tangiers’ 🇲🇦🇪🇺
Turkey will raise tariffs on all vehicle purchases from China by 40%, in a bid to curb imports – Bloomberg: ‘a minimum of $7,000’ 🇹🇷
Foreign countries are ‘afraid’ of Chinese EVs, BYD 比亚迪’s chairman said in a swipe to Europe and the US – Bloomberg: ‘In recent months, BYD has led a new price war in China, slashing the cost of its EVs and plug-in hybrids across the board.’
Chinese reactie
China’s commerce ministry calls for win-win cooperation and healthy competition between China and EU – Xinhua: ‘It has held symposiums with Chinese-funded enterprises and business associations in countries such as Spain, Portugal and Greece.’ 🇪🇺
Interview: EU-China EV trade needs no more walls, but collaboration, says former EU commissioner Violeta Bulc – Xinhua 🇪🇺
Chinese industry to seek probe into EU dairy imports, Global Times reports – Reuters: ‘The report, carried in a post on X, gave no other details.’ 🇪🇺
‘#Exclusive: The Global Times has learned from a business insider that relevant #Chinese industries are preparing evidence, as they plan to apply to competent authorities to launch an anti-subsidy investigation into imports of relevant dairy products from the #EU.’ – Global Times, Twitter 🇪🇺
overige
European companies step up efforts to decouple from China – FT: ‘unlike US companies, which have aggressively sought new suppliers following Washington’s imposition of a stringent regime of tariffs and other restrictions, Europeans are focused on reducing their dependence in specific areas where they believe they have become over-reliant on Chinese goods.’ 🇪🇺
Noem het ontkoppeling of de-risking, het is al aan de gang.
Latin American anger grows over China’s economic clout – DW: ‘Various Latin American societies are increasingly feeling that it’s predominantly Beijing which has profited from the region’s economic relations with China, said Hauser. Therefore, he said, current criticism of China’s trade practices could become even more pronounced.’
Shein 希音’s pre-IPO charm offensive hits roadblocks in Europe – Reuters: ‘European manufacturers of fabric, clothes, leather goods and shoes this week called on future EU policymakers to protect the 1.5 million jobs in the sector from low-cost products being “dumped” on the market.’ 🇪🇺🇬🇧
Stop Shein 希音 listing on the FTSE, workers’ rights campaigners urge – The Guardian 🇬🇧
China exports jump 7.6% in May as trade curbs loom – Nikkei Asia: ‘China’s manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in May.’
China’s exports rise solidly, but slower imports temper outlook – Reuters: ‘imports increased at a slower 1.8% pace, from a 8.4% jump in the previous month, highlighting the fragility of domestic consumption.’
Tech War 💽💥
China is losing the chip war: Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 picked a fight over semiconductor technology—one he can’t win. – Michael Schuman for The Atlantic: ‘Xi gambled that he could partner with Russia and Iran, undermine the U.S.-led global order, and build a military designed to challenge American power—do all that and still benefit from the U.S. technology the Chinese economy needs to advance his ambitions.’
‘Now China faces the daunting task of building a single-nation chip supply chain in an otherwise highly globalized industry.’ 🇺🇸
TSMC 台積電 believes it’s impossible for Huawei ‘China’ to catch up in the Semiconductor race – Wccftech
Misschien, maar wel waakzaam blijven.
Huawei 华为 [claims] its AI chip better than Nvidia’s A100 amid China’s self-reliance drive – SCMP: ‘Huawei’s Ascend 910B AI chip has been found in some tests to deliver 80 per cent of the efficiency of an Nvidia A100 when training large language models, but “in some other tests, Ascend chips can beat the A100 by 20 per cent”, said Wang Tao’ 🇺🇸
Met welk materiaal en welke machines zijn deze chips gemaakt? Hoe kostenefficiënt is de productie? China maakt inderdaad enorme vorderingen gemaakt. Maar je moet altijd in je achterhoofd houden, dat Peking een enorme campagne heeft opgetuigd om ons te overtuigen dat de exportcontrolemaatregelen afgeschaft moeten worden. Ook is SCMP steeds minder betrouwbaar op gevoelige onderwerpen.
China’s Guangdong province unveils initiatives to boost AI industry – SCMP: ‘stipulate that the value of Guangdong’s artificial intelligence industry should reach 300 billion yuan (US$41.4 billion) by next year and 440 billion yuan by 2027.’
Germany’s embarrassing dance around China’s Huawei 华为 – Reinhard Bütikofer (EGP) for CEPA 🇩🇪
US tech sector pressures Chinese venture capital to divest – FT: ‘The trend to push Chinese VC firms to divest or reduce ownership in US tech comes as they are facing difficulties with investments at home as well’ 🇺🇸
The graphite fight: US tariffs trigger race to build non-Chinese supply chain – FT: ‘almost all natural graphite processing and 98 per cent of synthetic graphite production for battery-grade anodes is presently conducted in China.’ 🇺🇸
SK Group/SK Hynix joins forces with TSMC 台積電 to boost AI semiconductor competitiveness – Chosun Ilbo 🇰🇷
TSMC 台積電-backed US fund targets chip, robotics, and other hardware startups – Nikkei Asia 🇺🇸
Taiwan’s education ministry planning Mandarin language programme for semiconductor sector – Taipei Times: ‘to help facilitate international exchanges with Taiwan’s tech sector.’
Singapore and US deepen economic ties and launch AI talent grooming scheme – The Straits Times: ‘The new AI Talent Bridge programme is expected to deepen collaboration between the US and Singapore on critical emerging technology’ 🇸🇬🇺🇸
China’s top science institute CAS restructured to focus on research frontiers – SCMP
What has China’s mysterious Shenlong space plane released 600km above the Earth? – SCMP
Net als mijnwerkers kunnen planten nikkel uit de grond halen – en zo meewerken aan de energietransitie – NRC: „Fytomijnbouw”
ASML gaat van groot-groter-grootst: Maar hoeveel groei kan Veldhoven nog aan? – de Volkskrant 🇳🇱
Kantelpunt 🌏⏱️
South Korea and the Netherlands discuss North Korea’s spy satellite launch in security talks – Yonhap News 🇳🇱🇰🇷
President Yoon to pay state visits to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan next week – Yonhap News 🇰🇷🇹🇲🇰🇿🇺🇿
South Korea’s silent turn towards Taiwan – RTI 🇰🇷
China and Japan vie for influence over Southeast Asia’s decarbonisation – Nikkei Asia: ‘With an eye on the strategically important shipping lanes in the Strait of Malacca, South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, China is making a number of moves to secure its [energy] supply chain [over land].’ 🇱🇦🇯🇵
Commentary: Deforestation law risks pushing Indonesia toward China – Anchal Vohra for POLITICO Europe: ‘left Jakarta feeling belittled and angry.’ 🇪🇺🇮🇩
Japan and Ukraine to sign bilateral assistance document; will include promises of continued economic and information support – The Yomiuri Shimbun: ‘The Japan-Ukraine document will include the provision that in the event of new aggression by Russia, either country may call for bilateral talks to be held within 24 hours so that assistance can be provided as quickly as possible, sources said.
It will also specify that the two countries will deepen cooperation on intelligence collection and analysis and accelerate negotiations to conclude an agreement that will allow for the exchange of classified information on security matters, they said.’ 🇯🇵🇺🇦
Biden aide raises possible increased deployments of US strategic nuclear weapons – Reuters 🇺🇸
Overige
China buitenland en defensie
China and US security chiefs agree to keep talking on anti-narcotics cooperation – SCMP 🇺🇸
Russia and China wrangle with US over UN resolution on Gaza ceasefire plan – Reuters: ‘Biden laid out a three-phase ceasefire plan for the Gaza Strip a week ago that he described as an Israeli initiative.’ 🇵🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸
China urges US to ‘reflect’ on nuclear arms policy in Russian state media – SCMP: ‘Pranay Vaddi, senior director for arms control disarmament and non-proliferation at the [US] National Security Council, recently warned that Russia, China and North Korea were expanding their nuclear arsenals at a “breakneck pace” and showed “little or no interest in arms control”.’ 🇺🇸
Chinese vice foreign minister Sūn Wèidōng 孙卫东 says US provoking arms race in moves into South China Sea – Reuters: ‘after attending a high-level meeting on East Asian cooperation in Laos.’ 🇺🇸
Philippines says China disrupted medical evacuation in South China Sea – Kyodo News 🇵🇭
The Philippines said it will continue to maintain and supply its South China Sea outposts without seeking permission from any other nation – Bloomberg 🇵🇭
The Philippines bats for Asean coast guard protocol amid South China Sea woes – The Inquirer 🇵🇭
30 Chinese maritime militia vessels spotted in Iroquois/Rozul Reef; Vietnam dredging continues in Spratley Islands – GMA News 🇵🇭🇻🇳
Vietnam speeding up South China Sea island-building pace, US researchers say – Reuters 🇻🇳
Hanoi in high gear: Vietnam’s Spratly expansion accelerates – CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative 🇻🇳
Việt Nam opposes China’s illegal deployment of survey ship in Vietnamese waters – Viet Nam News 🇻🇳
Japan Coast Guard plans construction of largest-ever patrol vessel as deterrence to Chinese incursions in [East] China Sea – The Yomiuri Shimbun 🇯🇵
Chinese armed vessels patrol waters around disputed islands, angering Japan – Reuters 🇯🇵
Peru amends law allowing Cosco Shipping to retain exclusive rights to operate Chancay Port – Caixin Global 🇵🇪
Xi Jinping asks Pakistan to guarantee ‘safety of Chinese personnel and projects’ – SCMP 🇵🇰
Terror attacks dampen Chinese interest in key corridor project with Pakistan – The Straits Times 🇵🇰
22 Chinese nationals sentenced to long prison terms in Zambia for multinational cybercrimes – AP 🇿🇲
Canada’s democracy ‘under attack,’ ex-China envoy Guy Saint-Jacques warns after NSICOP report – Global News: ‘Earlier this week, a report from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) alleged that sitting federal politicians are “witting” participants in foreign interference schemes.’ 🇨🇦
Editorial: Name those parliamentarians who collude against us – The Globe and Mail 🇨🇦
China economie
China probes vice-president Xú Zuǒ 徐佐 at US$1.5 trillion state-backed investment firm China Citic Group 中信集团 for graft – AFP: ‘Anti-graft bodies have trained their sights on the financial sector in recent months, including banking, insurance and state-owned enterprises.’
Chinese premier chairs State Council executive meeting – Xinhua: ‘to study policies on promoting the high-quality development of venture capital and hear a report on the current situation of the property market and the consideration on related work in the next step.’
China binnenland
Colleagues of VOA Uyghur journalist jailed for their links to him – RFA: ‘Authorities in Xinjiang have sentenced five Uyghur former colleagues of a Voice of America journalist to at least seven years in prison because of their links to him, said Kasim Kashgar’
China warned to prepare for hotter than average summer – SCMP
Chinese civil servant’s complaint about life in remote desert posting stirs debate about public service versus personal freedom – SCMP
Stanford PhD physicist applies for rural clerk job in central Chinese town – SCMP
Hong Kong
3 arrested in Hong Kong over allegedly insulting China’s national anthem during World Cup qualifier – HKFP: ‘suspected of turning their backs to the field and not standing when the Chinese national anthem was played at the beginning of the match.’
5 years after first 2019 Hong Kong protest arrests, fate of over 7,300 arrestees, 72% of total, remains unclear – HKFP: ‘only 28 per cent of the more than 10,000 people arrested have been prosecuted’
Protest song ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ removed from streaming platforms again – HKFP
Hundreds take to Taipei streets to support Hong Kong on protest anniversary – Focus Taiwan 🇹🇼
Taiwan buitenland en defensie
Consider travel to China carefully and be vigilant of personal safety, Taiwan’s MAC says – Focus Taiwan: ‘confirmed a day earlier that a member of a Taiwanese tour group traveling in China had been detained for several days.’ ‘the first time a tour group member had been detained.’
‘In a separate case, a user posted on the social media platform “Threads” on Wednesday, saying he traveled to Nanjing for an arts and books exhibition but was taken away by Chinese police for interrogation, during which he was forced to remove all his clothing for checks.’ 🇨🇳
Kinmen County government urges restraint amid China drone incident – Focus Taiwan: ‘urged the Chinese authorities to stop its citizens from flying civilian drones and dropping flyers or other unidentified objects across the Taiwan-controlled islands.’ 🇨🇳
Chinese maritime expansion must be countered, says ocean affairs minister at forum – Taipei Times 🇨🇳
Japanese ex-admiral warns of China’s activities – Taipei Times 🇨🇳
Online backlash in China over Taiwan ‘country’ comment by Nvidia’s Jensen Huang 黃仁勳 – SCMP 🇨🇳
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang 黃仁勳 clarifies ‘country’ remark – Taipei Times
Verder niks. Kun je zien waar je mee weg komt als China je nodig heeft.
China Airlines ex-employee implicated in diabolo instructor spy case – Focus Taiwan: ‘is believed to have leaked confidential information […], including the itineraries of former President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) overseas visits, and lists of “important visitors” arriving in Taiwan.’ 🇨🇳
New defence minister Wellington Koo 顧立雄 (DPP) ends decades-long ‘formalities’ in armed forces – Focus Taiwan: ‘among the practices he wants to abolish soon are bayonet training and goose-stepping’
‘Koo also announced changes to military regulations including lifting restrictions on commanding officers and their deputies taking leave at the same time, and allowing military personnel to freely travel abroad.’
Maatregelen om de strijdkrachten van de ROC meer Taiwanees te maken zijn een belangrijk onderdeel de versteviging van het lang verwaarloosde leger.
Taiwan donates BR$1 million [€175k] to support Brazil flood victims – Focus Taiwan 🇧🇷
Taiwan’s investments in New Southbound countries over 90% in Q1 – Focus Taiwan: ‘The OTN said Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand were the recipients of most investment from Taiwan among the 18 countries in the three month period.’
Taiwan binnenland en economie
DPP and KMT to discuss bills with public – Taipei Times: ‘slated to organize town hall meetings across Taiwan’
Budget boost expected to reduce Taipower 台電’s deficits to NT$9.3 billion [€266mn] – Focus Taiwan
Keelung seeking a status upgrade – Taipei Times: ‘Taipei and New Taipei City have adopted a reserved stance on Keelung’s bid to be upgraded to a special municipality.’