De Chinese Wouden, vrijdag 22 maart: Handel Europa-China, Artikel 23, TikTok
De Chinese ambassade in Den Haag waarschuwt de ‘relevante’ Nederlandse media op te houden de nieuwe Hongkongse nationale veiligheidswetgeving te besmeuren. Dit is de tweede keer in korte tijd dat Pekings diplomatieke vertegenwoordiging in Nederland klaagt over de Nederlandse pers – hiervoor over een interview met een Taiwanese functionaris in Nieuwsuur.
De Europese Kamer van Koophandel (EUCCC) in China heeft een rapport gepubliceerd over de penibele staat waarin bedrijven uit de EU zich nu in bevinden. In een wereld van de-risking en Chinese industriepolitiek is het lastig om je staande te houden.
Chinese overproductie is voor veel landen een probleem. Recente nieuwsbrieven spraken al van alarmkreten uit o.a. de Europese zonnepanelenindustrie. Zelfs BRICS-lid Brazilië is nu met dumpingonderzoeken Chinese import onder een vergrootglas aan het leggen.
De huidige situatie is niet houdbaar – EUCCC-voorzitter Jens Esklund spreekt beeldend van een ‘slow-motion train accident’. Hij stelt dat Europa niet rustig gaat zitten kijken hoe Europa deïndustrialiseert door Pekings externalisatie van het Chinese productieoverschot.
Of Brussel wat kan doen of niet, deze economische verhoudingen zijn een nieuwe structurele spanning in de relatie tussen Europa en China. Waar de houding van Peking t.o.v. Rusland en Oekraïne vooral politieke leiders en diplomaten heeft geraakt, gaan de economische uitdagingen alle burgers aan. Er is al onrust over staal in Gent. Massaontslagen in de Europese autoindustrie zouden ‘het probleem China’ tot massapolitiek maken.
Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺
Kabinet onderzoekt mogelijke aanwezigheid verdachte Chinese kranen in Rotterdamse haven – BNR 🇳🇱
China and EU financial regulators embark on voyage through choppy waters in search of common ground – SCMP: ‘the China-EU Working Group on Financial Cooperation laid the foundation for a new communication channel in which grievances can be hammered out.’ 🇪🇺
‘Taiwan’s friends in the European Parliament today met with Vice-President elect Hsiao Bi-khim. I wish Taiwan every success!’ – Andrus Ansip, Twitter 🇪🇺
Exclusive: Pressure mounts on Ukraine to scrap ‘sponsors of war’ blacklist – Reuters: ‘“It’s China, but not only China,” said one person with direct knowledge of the matter, also alluding to pressure from France’ ‘The second source said that Austria, China, France and Hungary had all exerted pressure on Kyiv’ 🇺🇦
China is under unprecedented US and EU pressure over Russian payments, says Kremlin – Reuters 🇷🇺
UK secretly softens policy on Chinese firms accused of human rights abuse – i 🇬🇧
European travel companies asked to drop East Turkistan tours, as UHRP calls for an end to organised tourism amid crimes against humanity – Uyghur Human Rights Project
Handel Europa-China 🇪🇺🇨🇳
EU chamber warns of ‘slow-motion train accident’ with China, says something needs to change – SCMP: ‘“It is hard for me to imagine that Europe will sit by quietly and witness the accelerated deindustrialisation of Europe because of the externalisation of low domestic demand in China,” Eskelund said.’ 🇪🇺
EU firms in China skewed ‘disproportionately’ towards risk management rather than market share, business group says – Reuters 🇪🇺
European Chamber advocates for targeted and precise approach to risk management and economic security – The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China 🇪🇺
Internationale vakbond vraagt Europese maatregelen om jobs in Gentse staalsector te beschermen – VRT NWS 🇧🇪
China’s bumper steel exports fuel oversupply concerns – FT
China ups the ante in hunt for foreign investment, hi-tech firms, but will Beijing follow through with actions? – SCMP: ‘Xi visited BASF Shanshan Battery Materials – a Chinese-German joint venture producing lithium battery materials’ 🇩🇪
EU sees 200% surge in imports from China’s Xinjiang region despite human rights concerns – SCMP: ‘The biggest buyers of goods from Xinjiang were in Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands.’ 🇪🇺🇳🇱
Trade will be high on agenda during Xí Jìnpíng 习近平’s visit to Paris in May, sources say – Reuters: ‘“There will be a firm message on trade,” a French diplomatic source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.’ 🇫🇷
China EV exports, slammed by West’s trade barriers, find greener pastures with free-trade partners – SCMP: ‘The EU and RCEP are China’s major EV buyers, with each accounting for around 30 per cent of China’s total EV exports by volume’
Artikel 23 Hong Kong 🇭🇰🚫
Comments of the Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands on some Dutch media’s negative reports on Hong Kong – Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Kingdom of the Netherlands: ‘We urge the relevant Dutch media to cease its biased reporting on the Safeguarding National Security Bill, and conduct Hong Kong-related reporting in an objective and just manner.’ 🇳🇱
Article 23: UN rights chief slams new Hong Kong national security law as ‘regressive, rushed’ – AFP 🇺🇳
Taiwanese travellers urged to be cautious after Hong Kong passes tough security law – Focus Taiwan 🇹🇼
Hong Kong Article 23 law marks its ‘darkest day’, says DPP – Taipei Times: ‘KMT […] said that the passage of the legislation underscored “the preciousness of freedom and democracy enjoyed in the Republic of China, Taiwan.”’ 🇹🇼
Chinese state TV reports passage of Hong Kong security law before vote – RFA
Wary of new security law, foreign firms in Hong Kong bolster contingency plans – Reuters
Ban TikTok 🚫🇺🇸
Senators push to declassify TikTok intel and hold a public hearing ahead of ban vote – NPR: ‘Many senators emerging from the session argued it was time to take up House-passed legislation that would force the Chinese owner of TikTok to divest or face a ban in the United States.’
TikTok’s lobbying firms may be next target of blacklist by US lawmakers – POLITICO Influence
Republican trading firm owner and TikTok investor Yass emerges as top donor in US election – Reuters: ‘Yass, 65, was thrust into the spotlight this month after Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, reversed course on his preference for banning TikTok’ ‘Trump made the comments days after he met Yass’
Critics of the TikTok Bill Are Missing the Point: America has a long history of shielding infrastructure and communication platforms from foreign control – Zephyr Teachout for The Atlantic: ‘A U.S.-owned TikTok would not inherently be better for public dialogue, data privacy, or teen mental health than the current version.’ ‘It would address one specific issue: control over a dominant communication platform by a hostile foreign superpower with a well-documented interest in influencing domestic politics in the U.S. and other countries.’
Opinie: Een Europees verbod gaat de problemen met TikTok niet oplossen – Vincent Brussee in de Volkskrant: „Het enige probleem dat uiteindelijk overtuigend terug te leiden is naar het Chinese eigendom van TikTok is de dataveiligheid. Echter, de vraag is of er niet betere oplossingen zijn dan een ban.”
When the ByteDance CEO grovelled – China Media Project: ‘One of the best answers to the question of whether and how ByteDance is beholden to the Chinese leadership came six years ago when its founder and CEO Zhang Yiming (张一鸣) was forced to issue a painfully abject political apology, which at the time we translated in full at CMP.’ ‘When push comes to shove, Xi Jinping, as the chairman of China Inc., is the only CEO whose agency matters.’
Opinion: Is TikTok’s parent company an agent of the Chinese state? It’s complicated. – Shaomin Li for the Detroit Free Press: ‘Simply put, there’s no clear line between the state and society in China in the same way that there is in democracies.’
Ook het punt dat ik altijd probeer te maken als ik bij Clingendael les geef voor Academy: als de partijstaat de grenzen tussen staat en bedrijven vervaagt, dan werkt de verstrengeling van belangen natuurlijk beide kanten op.
America is concerned about social media. China is, too – The Economist
Tech War 💽💥
The US is considering blacklisting a number of Chinese semiconductor firms linked to Huawei 华为 after the telecom giant notched a significant technological breakthrough last year, sources say – Bloomberg 🇺🇸
Chinese chipmaker SMIC 中芯 ‘potentially’ broke American law if it manufactured a processor for sanctioned telecom giant Huawei 华为, a senior US official said – Bloomberg 🇺🇸
Arrested China-based Canadian stole Tesla secrets, say US prosecutors – Reuters 🇺🇸
China chip expo shows investment buildup amid plans for huge new fund – Nikkei Asia: ‘Bloomberg reported this month that China was raising more than $27 billion for its biggest chip fund ever.’
Apple CEO Tim Cook goes on a charm offensive in China amid weak iPhone sales in the world’s largest smartphone market – SCMP
Apple CEO: China's supply chain is most critical to firm – China Daily
Hon Hai 鴻海 says it is planning AI cooperation with Nvidia – Focus Taiwan
China’s Geely 吉利 says auto price war 'normal' after posting profit – Nikkei Asia
Kantelpunt 🌏⏱️
Australia and Britain sign defence pact in face of rising Chinese power – FT 🇦🇺🇬🇧
CCP-organised democracy forum: Democracy takes many forms – China Daily: ‘Massimo D’Alema, the former prime minister of Italy, said that […] the pursuit of democracy in the West has been a long and unique historical process, such an approach cannot be exported or imposed on other parts of the world.’
Een antwoord op het democratieforum van de VS dat recent werd gehouden in Zuid-Korea.
Weekend 🏖️📚
Longreads en achtergrond
Economische tegenslag is een kopzorg voor Chinese jongeren – NRC
David Benioff over ‘3 Body Problem’: „Op goede sciencefiction kan iedereen zijn eigen zorgen projecteren” – NRC
‘3 Body Problem’ moet het niet hebben van de logica, wel van spectaculaire scènes – de Volkskrant
RO-RO ferries may be China’s route to ‘reunification’ with Taiwan – Suyash Desai for East Asia Forum: ‘While these ships are predominantly used for delivering electric vehicles to various parts of the world, their use by the PLA in military exercises during 2023 indicates their potential to be an important enabler of China’s reunification campaign.’
The Sunflower Movement, ten years on – New Bloom: ‘ the movement reversed the sense of inevitability that one could only “say goodbye to Taiwan”—that Taiwan had already acquiesced in the face of China’s rise, and that annexation was all but inevitable.’
Activists mark 10th anniversary of Sunflower Movement opposition to PRC service trade pact – Taipei Times
Ik raad iedere sociologisch geïnteresseerde abonnee aan om het boek Challenging Beijing’s Mandate of Heaven: Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement and Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement van Ho Ming-sho te lezen.
Ook in zijn eetcultuur neemt Taiwan afstand van China: „De Taiwanese keuken staat op zichzelf” – de Volkskrant
2024Z04363 Position paper d.d. 15 maart 2024 - , Position paper S. Hofstede t.b.v. rondetafelgesprek Taiwan d.d. 28 maart 2024 – Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal
Podcasts
China’s diplomacy in the Israel-Hamas war and Red Sea crisis – Bonnie S. Glaser for China Global interviews Ahmed Aboudouh 🍎 🤖
Science and technology at the NPC, with Barry Naughton and Jeroen Groenewegen-Lau – MERICS China Podcast 🍎 🤖
Author Jeremy Garlick on China’s strategic advantage in the Global South – The China-Global South Podcast 🍎 🤖
What TikTok tells us about China’s soft power – Bloomberg The Big Take 🍎 🤖
Overige
China buitenland en defensie
Houthi’s sluiten deal met Rusland en China en beloven hun schepen niet aan te vallen – de Volkskrant 🇷🇺🇾🇪
The Yemen-based Houthis have told China and Russia their ships can sail through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden without being attacked, sources say – Bloomberg 🇷🇺🇾🇪
China’s MSS warns foreign hackers are infiltrating ‘hundreds’ of business and government networks – SCMP
China’s Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 plans to meet a group of US business leaders in Beijing next week, following a government-sponsored forum – WSJ 🇺🇸
Afgelopen 12 maart berichtte Reuters juist dat premier Li Qiang tegen de gewoonte in geen zakenlieden zou treffen bij dit forum.
Land purchases by Chinese ‘agents’ would be limited under Georgia bill; Democrats say it’s racist – AP 🇺🇸
China urges Australian caution on ‘third-party’ disruption of relationship – FT: ‘Wang’s rhetoric on Australian “independence” from US policy echoes China’s approach to European countries, which it often urges to follow their own interests and not be influenced by alleged American pressure.’ 🇦🇺
China considers launching maritime talks with Australia – Reuters 🇦🇺
China’s Wáng Yì 王毅 has ‘big picture’ talks with former Australia PM Keating – Reuters: ‘stirred domestic political controversy, because of Keating’s past attacks on Australia's intelligence agencies and his opposition to the AUKUS defence agreement’ 🇦🇺
Philippine Coast Guard denies its Chinese-national auxiliary members are spies – The Inquirer 🇵🇭
Beijing says Philippines made ‘illegal landing’ on disputed reef in South China Sea – SCMP 🇵🇭
Fifteen Chinese ships crowd Philippine outpost at Thitu Island – SeaLight 🇵🇭
China begins process on whether to indict detained Japanese man – Kyodo News 🇯🇵
Singapore-China party and government exchanges allow for deeper cooperation, says senior minister Teo Chee Hean 张志贤 – The Straits Times: ‘Speaking with China’s Central Party School president Chen Xi on March 21’ 🇸🇬
China economie
China youth unemployment edges up in February, according to official data – AFP
China plans to ease visa rules to attract foreign talent and money – Nikkei Asia
China’s Shenzhen sees trade swell, with ‘impressive’ volumes to the US amid tech war – SCMP
Chinese developer Aoyuan 奥园 completes offshore debt restructuring – Nikkei Asia
China’s central bank has named 2 new academic advisers, who are they? – SCMP
China binnenland
Ja, de Chinezen trouwen weer iets vaker. Maar kinderen krijgen? – Trouw
Hoe China probeert een demografisch doemscenario af te wenden – FD
China’s Tibet offers college exam takers a spot if their parents invest US$400,000 – Reuters
Hong Kong
Taiwan’s Academia Sinica criticised over code of conduct delays – Taipei Times: ‘following allegations that two [academicians] cooperated with authorities [as university presidents] to persecute students during democracy protests in Hong Kong.’
Taiwan buitenland en defensie
Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation poll reveals ‘big gap’ between defence chief and Taiwanese public over military threats – Alibaba’s SCMP: ‘In the island-wide survey released on Tuesday, only 37.1 per cent of the respondents shared Chiu’s concerns compared with 50.4 per cent who did not. The remaining participants said they were not aware of the comments.’ 🇨🇳
TPOF is al een tijdje enigszins anti-Tsai en is de laatste jaren steeds politieker. Tegelijkertijd zijn ze nooit erg ver naast geweest en is dit niet de eerste peiling die laat zien dat veel Taiwanezen zich geen grote zorgen maken.
Taiwan detects 32 Chinese warplanes around island in 24 hours, defence ministry says – AFP 🇨🇳
Taiwan calls for speedy return of 2 Kinmen anglers rescued by China – Focus Taiwan: ‘Apparently, China intends to return the two individuals through non-official channels, he added.’ 🇨🇳
Taiwan donates NT$15.9 million [€460,000] to local government agencies in Israel – Taiwan News: ‘Taiwan’s foreign ministry told Taiwan News the donation would be used to sponsor medical emergency response patrol teams in 12 Israeli cities.’ 🇮🇱
Timing inappropriate for President Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文 to visit Itu Aba/Taiping Island due to China-Philippine skirmishes, foreign minister says – Focus Taiwan
NSB head against Tsai visiting Itu Aba/Taiping – Taipei Times
US admiral John Aquilino refutes report of special forces permanently stationed in Kinmen – Focus Taiwan 🇺🇸
China is building its military and nuclear arsenal on a scale not seen since World War II and all signs suggest it’s sticking to ambitions to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027, a top US admiral testified – Bloomberg 🇺🇸
Taiwan to receive US SkyGuardian drones from 2026, official says – Focus Taiwan 🇺🇸
Military experts challenge official’s assertion of Taiwan’s ‘absolute’ air superiority – Focus Taiwan: ‘The range of surface-to-air defense missiles on both sides covers the entire Taiwan Strait, [Lin] explained. As such, he argued, Taiwan's command of the air, just like China’s, is not “absolute,” but “partial,”’
Orchids and advanced chips: How Taiwan’s soft power is evolving – The Straits Times
Taiwan binnenland en economie
Indian workers to be introduced gradually, official says – Taipei Times
Labor Ministry mulls guidelines on rights of pregnant migrant workers – Focus Taiwan
Government to give Taipower 台電 NT$100bn [€2.88bn] – Taipei Times: ‘The funding that would be used to support debt-ridden Taipower is to come from last year’s budget surplus, Lin said.’
President Tsai meets proponents of White Terror memorial day – Taipei Times