De Chinese Wouden, maandag 22 april: Volkswagen gehackt, militaire reorganisatie, overcapaciteit
Ik verwijs naar een interessant twitter-draadje van Howard Wang over de militaire reorganisatie. Weer lijkt dit een geval waar Xi Jinping naar hightech grijp om de tegenstelling op te lossen tussen de drang naar volledige centrale controle en de onmogelijkheid om het detailniveau te beheersen.
Fijne week.
Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺
Duitse media: hackers zaten jarenlang in systemen van Volkswagen – NOS: „Een andere bron zegt tegen ZDF en Der Spiegel dat het IP-adres van de hackers ,te herleiden was naar de Chinese hoofdstad Peking’ en het Chinese leger. Deskundigen en inlichtingenbronnen zeggen er vanuit te gaan dat het hoogstwaarschijnlijk gaat om Chinese staatshackers.” 🇩🇪
Datendiebstahl: VW-Konzern wurde jahrelang ausspioniert — von China? – Der Spiegel: „Die Angreifer hatten es auf deutsches Know-how zu Motoren und Getrieben abgesehen.“ 🇩🇪
Industriespionage im großen Stil: Der große Hack bei VW — China im Fokus – ZDF Heute 🇩🇪
Friedrich Merz (CDU) hält China für Bedrohung der deutschen Sicherheit – Zeit 🇩🇪
Lufthansa evaluates new China routes amid slow recovery in capacity – Reuters 🇩🇪
Western pharmaceutical groups warn of supply crunch over China spying law – FT: ‘“A large number” of inspectors from Germany, Europe’s largest inspectorate, are refusing to visit China for fear of arrest, according to the German Medicines Manufacturers’ Association (BAH).’
‘Meanwhile, official data seen by the Financial Times shows some US Food and Drug Administration inspectors have been refused entry to Chinese production sites since the pandemic.’
Eerder ook al bericht in Handelsblatt.
Rusland 🇷🇺
Blinken to warn China over weapons-related exports to Russia – FT: ‘the US will take punitive steps unless it stops sending weapons-related technology to Russia’ 🇷🇺
Bevestigt door Reuters en Bloomberg, dus klinkt als gecoördineerde persinteractie.
Blinken says China is Russia’s primary military complex supplier – Reuters: ‘He said this effort was fueling “the biggest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War.”’ 🇷🇺
China sees ‘opportune moment’ as it pushes for direct Russia-Ukraine talks – SCMP: ‘Düben said China’s efforts in Europe could also be seen as “signalling” to the Global South that it is a responsible power.’ 🇷🇺🇺🇦
China’s imports of Russian oil near record high in March – Reuters: ‘jumped 12.5% on the year to 10.81 million metric tons’ 🇷🇺
Militaire hervormingen 🪖🇨🇳
China will terminate the Strategic Support Force, which was created more than eight years ago to enhance capabilities in space, cyber, political and electronic warfare – Bloomberg: ‘amounts to the biggest reorganization of the nation’s military since 2015’
Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 tightens grip on China’s military with new information warfare unit – FT: ‘Under the SSF, the information forces had been in charge of collecting technical intelligence and providing intelligence support to regional military chiefs.’
Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 presents flag to PLA’s information support force – Xinhua: ‘Xi stressed that the information support force is a new, strategic branch of the military and a key pillar in coordinating the construction and application of the network information system.’
PLA Embraces a New System of Services and Arms – Ministry of National Defence of the People’s Republic of China: ‘With the latest reform, the PLA now has a new system of services and arms under the leadership and command of the CMC. There are four services, namely the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Rocket Force, and four arms, including the Aerospace Force, the Cyberspace Force, the Information Support Force and the Joint Logistics Support Force.’
Overcapaciteitencalamiteiten 🇪🇺🏭
‘Shocked to hear that. This teaches us one thing: There are some people who cannot accept being outcompeted. When they have got the upper hand, rules are rules; when things change, they play dirty.’ – 王鲁彤 Wang Lutong, Twitter 🇪🇺
De boze reactie van de directeur-generaal Europese zaken van het Chinese ministerie van buitenlandse zaken op een interview van eurocommissaris Margrethe Vestager met Bloomberg.
US ‘overcapacity’ narrative aims to hit Chinese industries, foreign ministry spokesperson says – Xinhua 🇺🇸
De Europese havens staan vol met elektrische auto’s — maar wie wil ze nog? – NRC: „Vlissingen is één van de Europese havens die verworden zijn tot grote parkeerterreinen. Want terwijl Chinese merken aan een groot exportoffensief zijn begonnen, is de markt voor elektrische auto’s in Europa juist gestagneerd – met grote gevolgen voor havens, fabrikanten en, potentieel, voor het klimaat.” 🇪🇺
With China’s EV sector at top speed, Beijing eyes ‘economical’ hydrogen-power vehicles amid green energy transition – SCMP
Spain’s Ebro-EV Motors and China’s Chery 奇瑞 join hands to develop new cars – Xinhua: ‘Under the alliance, Chery will become the first Chinese automaker to produce vehicles in Europe, from Ebro's facilities located at a former Nissan plant that closed in 2021.’ ‘Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez […] at an official event marking the alliance.’ 🇪🇸
Chinese exports are threatening Biden’s industrial agenda – The New York Times 🇺🇸
China’s steel sector has bigger worries than Biden tariff hike – Reuters: ‘Steel consumption in the world’s second-largest economy is poised to shrink again this year as a protracted property crisis has yet to find bottom and as infrastructure demand growth slows after 12 indebted regions were ordered to halt certain projects.’
Tech War 💽💥
‘Noted that #ASML CEO said there was CURRENTLY no reason the company could not provide servicing for equipment it has sold to Chinese customers. The #US is trying to restrict ASML’s ability to do that. No better example of US hegemony and bullying.’ – 王鲁彤 Wang Lutong, Twitter 🇳🇱🇺🇸
Interview eurocommissaris Thierry Breton: Achterstand? Europa is juist „goed voorbereid op de digitale toekomst” – NRC: „Allereerst moeten we werk maken van een Europese kapitaalmarktunie. Het is nog altijd veel makkelijker in de VS geld te vinden voor de ontwikkeling van een nieuw bedrijf dan in Europa.” 🇪🇺
Europese leiders deinzen terug voor maatregelen om interne markt te moderniseren – de Volkskrant 🇪🇺
Subsidy race with US and China would harm Europe’s ailing economy, IMF warns – FT: ‘policymakers should focus instead on reaping gains from lifting internal barriers to EU trade’ 🇪🇺
Interview: incoming president Lai Ching-te 賴清德’s manpower and energy policies are top industry concerns, display panel maker AUO 友達光電 chairman says – Focus Taiwan: ‘the TCA chairman proposed changing the country’s existing immigration policy.’
Building fabs abroad would not forsake Taiwan’s tech lead, expert says – Taipei Times: ‘Taiwan produces 90 percent of the world’s high-end chips and has more than 50 percent of the global pure-play foundry market.’
Wij zijn misschien blij met een TSMC-fabriek in Europa, in Taiwan is men dan bang wat een afnemend belang in de leveringsketen betekent voor de veiligheid van het eiland.
SK Hynix and Taiwan’s TSMC 台積電 to collaborate on next-gen chips – AFP 🇰🇷
China’s king-of-the-hill status shaky as offshore exploration diversifies rare earth supply chain – SCMP: ‘Countries such as Australia, the United States and Myanmar are unearthing enough of the valuable minerals that the world’s buyers need not rely solely on China, analysts said. Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam are starting to explore their own stores, as well.’
‘China’s share of total rare earth exports has dropped from about 90 per cent a decade ago to roughly 70 per cent in 2022, the US Geological Survey said.’
China-Africa trade gets a boost from critical minerals needed for EV battery production – SCMP
Chinese team makes quantum leap in chip design with new light source – Alibaba’s SCMP
US House passes bill that could lead to total TikTok ban – The Observer
China’s drugmakers can’t sell mRNA shots but haven’t quit yet – Reuters
Hoe Temu je laat kopen wat je niet eens wist dat je wilde hebben – de Volkskrant: „Maar waar stopt marketing, en begint misleiding?”
Na NRC schrijft nu ook de Volkskrant over de Chinese webwinkel Temu. Weer gaat het over mogelijk niet helemaal nette/eerlijke praktijken. Dit is een terugkomend probleem met Chinese bedrijven, waar veel zorgen niet stammen uit snode plannetjes van de Partij om de wereld over te nemen waar komen door gebrekkige rechtstaat en focus op beschermen partijstaat i.p.v. burger.
Kantelpunt 🌏⏱️
Philippines and Japan to sign Reciprocal Access Agreement before 2024 ends, NSC official says – ABS-CBN 🇵🇭🇯🇵
China building new outpost on US doorstep, leaked documents reveal – Newsweek: ‘expanding rapidly in the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda and in other Caribbean countries’ ‘Its new embassy in St. John’s—dubbed The Fortress by Antiguans for its large size and tight security—may be a regional intelligence center alongside decades-old facilities that the U.S. says Beijing uses to spy from Cuba.’ 🇦🇬
Overige
China buitenland en defensie
Prompt admission of Palestine into UN is a move to rectify historical injustice, says Chinese foreign minister Wáng Yì 王毅 – Xinhua: ‘the United States once again openly stands opposite to international morality, and to the international community’ 🇵🇸
Explanation of Vote by Ambassador Fù Cōng 傅聪 on the UN Security Council Draft Resolution on the Admission of Palestine as a Full UN Member State – Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the UN 🇵🇸
Chinese zwemmers mochten meedoen aan Spelen in Tokio ondanks positieve dopingtests – NOS
WADA confirms 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive before Tokyo Games, accepted contamination finding – Reuters: ‘China’s 30-member swimming team won six medals at the Tokyo Games, including three golds. Without mitigating circumstances, athletes who fail doping tests are usually subject to bans of two to four years for a first offence and life for a second.’
Top Chinese swimmers tested positive for banned drug, then won Olympic gold – The New York Times
Massendoping-Verdacht in China - WADA handelt nicht – ARD Sportschau
Het blijft bijzonder hoe Peking er keer op keer in slaagt om speciale behandeling te regelen voor China in allerlei internationale organisaties.
China uses UN against Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, ex-staffer testifies – Taipei Times: ‘China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday.’ 🇺🇳
China zit echt heel diep in de internationale organisaties.
Solomon Islands’ pro-China PM retains seat as election count continues – Reuters 🇸🇧🇹🇼
Maldives votes in election key to its India and China relations – Reuters 🇲🇻🇮🇳
China’s Wáng Yì 王毅 touts South Pacific ties in Papua New Guinea visit – Nikkei Asia 🇵🇬
Singapore gives top-level briefings to reassure foreign banks on stability – FT: ‘One attendee said the US-China tensions “featured heavily” in the talks and officials sought to correct a “misperception” that Singapore is tilting towards China.’ 🇸🇬
19th Western Pacific Naval Symposium set to take place in east China – Xinhua
US Pacific Fleet commander to attend as Chinese Navy hosts Western Pacific symposium – SCMP 🇺🇸
Russian navy chief to participate in Chinese naval conference – Reuters 🇷🇺
Verenigde Staten 🇺🇸
China slaps anti-dumping levy on import of a US chemical, propionic acid, amid rising trade tensions – Reuters 🇺🇸
China’s PLA accuses US of ‘militarising space’ with Elon Musk’s Starshield satellite network – SCMP 🇺🇸
Chinese students in US tell of ‘chilling’ interrogations and deportations – The Observer: ‘The number of people affected is a tiny fraction of the total number of Chinese students in the US.’ ‘The refusals appear to be linked to a 2020 US rule that barred Chinese postgraduate students with links to China’s “military-civil fusion strategy”, which aims to leverage civilian infrastructure to support military development.’
FBI ‘did not intend negative impact’ of prosecuting Chinese academics with ties to Beijing under Trump-era China Initiative – SCMP 🇺🇸
US returns cultural relics to China as part of antiquity repatriation deal – SCMP 🇺🇸
The Hypocrisy and Facts of the United States Foreign Aid – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China: ‘this report exposes the hypocritical nature and baneful influence of U.S. foreign aid’ 🇺🇸
Zuid-Chinese Zee
South China Sea: will Beijing hold back during the US-Philippine Balikatan military drills? – SCMP 🇵🇭🇺🇸
Philippines to probe ‘creeping invasion’ of Chinese students in province near Taiwan – SCMP: ‘“[…] it also is a police concern given the already mentioned links of crime groups both Filipino and Chinese.”’ 🇵🇭
Dit lijkt meer te maken hebben met het grote probleem in Zuidoost-Azië van georganiseerde Chinese misdaad en de bijbehorende mensensmokkel en illegale gok- en oplichterijoperaties.
‘My hell in Myanmar cyber slavery camp’ – BBC News 🇲🇲
China economie
Former China central bank official Sheng Songcheng warns against miscategorising ‘virtual economy’ – SCMP: ‘With Beijing keen on developing China’s advanced manufacturing sector while shifting away from Washington’s service-centric growth model, a former official has warned against miscategorising what the “virtual economy” really entails.’
Veldwerk van socioloog Lei Ya-wen in fabrieken in China, gepubliceerd als The Gilded Cage, laat ook zien hoe obsessie met robotisering tweedeling in de arbeidsmarkt versterkt en negeert hoe belangrijk handenwerk is voor de Chinese industrie en hoeveel laagopgeleide mensen nog werk nodig hebben. Je kunt ook hetzelfde zien in de obsessie van Xi Jinping met hoogwaardige maakindustrie: dienstensector en ‘laagwaardige’ productie zijn en blijven essentiële onderdelen van de economie als je een duurzame, evenwichtige en inclusieve ontwikkeling voorstaat.
Deutsche Bank trims private banking roles in Asia, adding to dozens of cuts in recent quarters – Bloomberg
In Depth: Why China’s project whitelists can’t cure real estate slump – Caixin Global
China binnenland
China accelerates purge at state-owned companies to fight graft – Nikkei Asia: ‘China has replaced more than three times as many top executives at state-owned companies so far this year as it did in the same period in 2023’
China’s draft energy law finally sees the light after 18 years in the making – SCMP: ‘A law professor from Tsinghua University in Beijing said the process was drawn out because it faced staunch resistance from the energy sector’
China’s diplomats working abroad given a ‘very rare’ pay rise, sources say – SCMP: ‘in what is seen as a vote of confidence after the abrupt departure of the country’s former foreign minister.’
China bans Uyghurs from using social media apps – RFA: ‘A video notice about the ban was released April 8 by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a state-run economic and paramilitary organization’ ‘could be the beginning of another major crackdown’
Apple removes WhatsApp and Threads from Chinese App Store – The Guardian: ‘after the Chinese government ordered it to do so for “national security” reasons.’
China issues ‘once in a century’ flood warning for Guangdong’s Bei River zone – SCMP
Fact-checker on China’s Weibo targets US Embassy and Russian state media – VOA
Hong Kong
Hong Kong regulator set to launch new probe into PwC Evergrande audits – FT
Hong Kong police check IDs during ‘crowd control’ operation outside event for pro-democracy singer – HKFP
Press release: HKSAR Government District Officers continue duty visit to Zhejiang Province (with photos) – The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: ‘The delegates visited the Fengqiao Experience Exhibition Hall in Zhuji City today.’
Taiwan buitenland en defensie
China air routes panned as safety risk by Taiwan – Taipei Times 🇨🇳
China to impose anti-dumping duties on Taiwan polycarbonate – Taipei Times: ‘exports of polycarbonate to China last year amounted to about US$830 million, making it the largest market for Taiwan’s polycarbonate exports’ 🇨🇳
Taiwan Strait may face ‘political tsunami’ in 2025 but young hearts can save the day, says article in Chinese journal for Taiwan studies – SCMP: ‘but younger Taiwanese could still be won over on social media’
Ik betwijfel het, maar laat ze in China er vooral in blijven geloven.
Taiwan to discuss new funding with US as Chinese warplanes get close to island – Reuters: ‘The defence ministry expressed thanks to the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the package on Saturday, saying it demonstrated the “rock solid” U.S. support for Taiwan.’ 🇺🇸
G7 reiterates call for peace in Taiwan Strait – Taipei Times
US Mississippi and Connecticut pass Taiwan resolutions – Taipei Times 🇺🇸
Taiwan’s Lai poised to build on Tsai’s Southeast Asia outreach – Nikkei Asia
Taiwan binnenland en economie
KMT legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin 徐巧芯 questioned by critics over income surge – Taipei Times: ‘Hsu’s personal assets and income sources came under scrutiny after her sister-in-law, Liu Hsiang-chieh (劉向婕), and her husband, Tu Ping-cheng (杜秉澄), were detained on money laundering charges involving an alleged scam operation.’
朱立伦证实国民党智库经费不足要大裁员 – 联合早报: “蓝营因为经费不足,将精简智库‘国政基金会’三分之二人手。”
Premier-designate Cho picks labor, health, environment ministers (update) – Focus Taiwan
Hotels shuttered and restaurants emptied in Taiwan’s Hualien as tourism takes hit after quake – The Straits Times
Cabinet to allocate more than NT$20 billion [€577m] for Hualien – Taipei Times
Think tank raises Taiwan 2024 GDP growth to 3.38% amid export optimism – Focus Taiwan
Draft measures targeting telephone fraud passed – Taipei Times
TSMC founder Morris Chang 張忠謀 honoured by President for representing Taiwan at APEC – Focus Taiwan
Cannabis decriminalisation advocates hold annual 4.20 rally outside Taiwan’s legislature – New Bloom