De Chinese Wouden, woensdag 17 april: Scholz bij Xi, Iran-Israël, overcapaciteit
De verklaringen rondom het bezoek van de Duitse bondskanselier Scholz geven een heel ander gevoel dan bij Frankrijk of de VS of de Europese Commissie. Berlijn, Scholz, lijkt nog altijd moeite te hebben om China als rivaal te zien. De uitspraken zijn gericht om alsjeblieft de obstakels Oekraïne en economie uit de weg te ruimen, opdat de handel weer voortgang kan vinden en de geopolitieke verhouding stabiel blijven.
Dit is niet alleen tegenspraak met de trend in Brussel, maar ook met de meer normatieve houding t.o.v. China die we zien bij Duitslands minister van buitenlandse zaken Annalena Baerbock (Grünen). Zeit merkte op dat Duitsland als grote vriend van China in Europa meer had kunnen bereiken met zijn invloed. Maar, of je het diplomatieke spel nu slim speelt of niet, als je tegen de stroom in zwemt gaat je afstand tot de anderen sowieso toenemen.
Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺
China supports strengthened nuclear safety measures in Ukraine, lauds IAEA’s role – Xinhua: ‘Geng reiterated China’s call for calm and restraint from all involved parties.’ ‘Geng stressed that the safety issues at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are part of the larger Ukraine crisis, which requires a political resolution.’ 🇺🇦
Blinken to raise China’s support for Russia’s defence industrial base during visit – Reuters 🇺🇸🇺🇦
Scholz in China 🇩🇪🇨🇳
Scholz wants Xi to stop Russia’s war. Xi wants Europe to stop trade war. – POLITICO Europe: ‘Xi has not offered any fresh commitments on Ukraine’
Xi Jinping tells Germany’s Scholz to look at industry overcapacity ‘objectively’ – Nikkei Asia: ‘Later in the day, ahead of a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Scholz said he wanted to work to create the “right framework conditions” for German companies in China’
Xi tells Germany’s Scholz co-operation not a risk amid EU trade tension – Reuters: ‘Both Scholz and Xi, who met for more than three hours in Beijing, highlighted the scope to intensify economic exchange between Asia and Europe’s largest economies.’
German chancellor urges Chinese industry bosses to play fair in EU market – The Guardian: ‘Olaf Scholz said he, in turn, would encourage the European Union not to be driven by self-interested protectionism’
Germany is pushing China to scale back economic support for Russia and to pressure it to take part in peace talks on Ukraine – WSJ 🇺🇦
Ukraine’s Zelenskiy thanks German chancellor for diplomacy in China – Reuters 🇺🇦
Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 puts forth four principles to resolve Ukraine crisis – Xinhua: ‘“First, we should prioritize the upholding of peace and stability and refrain from seeking selfish gains. Second, we should cool down the situation and not add fuel to the fire. Third, we need to create conditions for the restoration of peace and refrain from further exacerbating tensions. Fourth, we should reduce the negative impact on the world economy and refrain from undermining the stability of global industrial and supply chains,” Xi said.’ 🇺🇦
Terwijl Scholz probeert om Peking minder steun aan Rusland te laten geven, herhaalt Xi weer de verkapte oproep om wapenleveranties aan Oekraïne te stoppen.
Deutschland und China unterzeichnen gemeinsame Absichtserklärung über den Dialog und die Zusammenarbeit im Bereich automatisiertes und vernetztes Fahren – Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz
‘[…] Even if the German-Chinese declaration is aimed at addressing problems in the area of data transfers, this move takes Germany down a very different path than Brussels and Washington. […]’ – Noah Barkin, LinkedIn
Olaf Scholz in China: Keine Annäherung, keine Konzessionen – Zeit Online: „Olaf Scholz hat bei den Gesprächen außerdem Chinas Unterstützung für Russland angesprochen. […] Als Scholz diese Lieferungen anspricht, soll Xi abwehrend reagiert haben, war aus Delegationskreis zu hören.”
„In der Europäischen Union ist Deutschland Chinas engster Freund, China ist auf Deutschlands politischen Beistand angewiesen. Hat Deutschland das ausreichend genutzt? Es hätte, so der Eindruck, mehr erreichen können.”
Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 meets German chancellor, calls for achieving mutual success – Xinhua: ‘As China and Germany are respectively the second and third largest economies in the world, the consolidation and development of their relations carries significance that goes beyond the bilateral scope, and has a major impact on the Eurasian continent and the entire world, Xi said, calling on the two countries to view and develop bilateral relations from a long-term and strategic perspective, and work together to inject greater stability and certainty into the world.’
Chinese premier Lǐ Qiáng 李强 holds talks with German chancellor, calling for new level of bilateral relations – Xinhua: ‘On the issue of production capacity, Li stressed that the issue should start from economic laws and be viewed objectively and dialectically from a market viewpoint and a global perspective.’ ‘From a global perspective, the production capacity of different countries is determined by their comparative advantages.’
Chinese vice premier Hé Lìfēng 何立峰 welcomes more German investment – Xinhua
China lifts ban on some German beef imports as Germany’s Scholz visits Beijing – Reuters
Iran-Israël 🇮🇷🇮🇱
Iran tells China it will not escalate violence against Israel after air attacks as Wáng Yì 王毅 holds Middle East calls – SCMP: ‘Wang also later called his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and pledged China would work with Saudi Arabia to avoid “further escalation of confrontation” in the Middle East.’ 🇮🇷🇸🇦
Chinese, Saudi FMs hold phone talks on Middle East’s regional situation, bilateral ties – Xinhua: ‘The current situation entails a choice [according to Beijing, for Israel?] between deterioration and a return to normalcy, Wang noted.’ ‘The Palestinian people have long been unable to realize their legitimate national rights, which constitutes the most enduring injustice in modern times’
Chinese and Iranian foreign ministers hold phone talks on Israel-Iran tensions – Xinhua:
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China strongly condemns and firmly opposes the attack on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, regarding it as a serious violation of international law and unacceptable.
China has noted Iran’s statement that its action taken was limited and was an act of self-defense in response to the attack against the Iranian consulate in Syria, Wang said.
China appreciates Iran’s stress on not targeting regional and neighboring countries as well as its reiteration on continuously pursuing a good-neighborly and friendly policy, he said.
It is believed that Iran can handle the situation well and spare the region further turmoil while safeguarding its own sovereignty and dignity, he added.
Ik zeg niet dat China zo kritisch is op Iran, maar het is wel de zaak om bovenstaande te lezen met in het achterhoofd dat Peking vaak beschrijvend i.p.v. voorschrijvend kritiek uit, door bijvoorbeeld met lofuitingen voor gewenst gedrag de richting aan te geven die het volgens Peking uit moet.
China at UN urges restraint in Red Sea, calls for end to attacks on commercial shipping – Xinhua: ‘Moreover, Geng reiterated China’s position that “the Security Council has never authorized any country to use force against Yemen,” and warned against the misuse of international law and UN Security Council resolutions by any country.’
‘The envoy also linked the tension in the Red Sea with the ongoing conflict in Gaza, criticizing the continuation of hostilities despite UN Security Council Resolution 2728’s explicit demand for a ceasefire. “Israel should fulfill in good faith its obligations as a member state of the UN,” he said, urging Israel to cease its military attacks on Gaza and its collective punishment of the Palestinians.’ 🇾🇪
Taiwan hopes to continue building Israel friendship – Taipei Times: ‘Tsai made the remarks in a meeting with a delegation from the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, at the Presidential Office in Taipei.’
‘In reference to Iran launching an unprecedented large-scale drone and missile attack on Israel on Saturday evening, [President] Tsai also expressed her sincere concern and condolences, and condemned the use of violence to destroy world peace.’ 🇹🇼
Overcapaciteitencalamiteiten 🇪🇺🏭
EU to launch first-ever procurement probe over China’s medical devices sector, sources say – SCMP: ‘The probe would mark the first case under the EU’s international procurement instrument, or IPI — a new economic weapon.’ 🇪🇺
Liever een Chinese scanner dan een van Philips of Siemens, zegt China; EU start concurrentieonderzoek – Eindhovens Dagblad 🇪🇺🇳🇱
Motie van het lid Boswijk c.s. – Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal: ‘Verzoekt de regering op korte termijn een analyse te doen naar de risico’s van Chinese elektrische auto’s voor de nationale veiligheid;’ 🇳🇱
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is unleashing a barrage of trade restrictions against China – Bloomberg: ‘The deluge of investigations is a reflection of the EU’s increasingly assertive approach to China’ ‘But for some, it’s a matter of the EU finally taking steps to make international trade fair again.’ 🇪🇺
Xi Jinping says China’s exports are helping ease global inflation: Chinese president warns German Chancellor Olaf Scholz against ‘rise of protectionism’ – FT 🇩🇪
Erstarkende Volkswirtschaft: BMW und Mercedes warnen vor Handelsstreit mit China – Der Spiegel: „Beide Hersteller sind breit auf dem chinesischen Markt vertreten.“ 🇩🇪
‘A lot of political reporting still casually equates the interest of (German) business operating in China with the interest of the Germany economy. Politico for example ... 1/’ – Brad Setser, Twitter 🇩🇪
Time for a European single market ‘with teeth’ to take on China and India, leaders told – POLITICO Europe: ‘Letta’s report is wide-ranging and, in some places, radical.’ 🇪🇺
Manufacturers need to face up to new wave of Chinese competition – FT: ‘Both old and new industrial companies repeatedly emphasise the need to be in China for research purposes as well as to access its vast market.’
China’s rapidly expanding petrochemicals industry is making life increasingly difficult for producers in South Korea – Bloomberg 🇰🇷
China’s overproduction of clean energy goods needs to be mitigated, Yellen says – Reuters 🇺🇸
US trade chief Tai says taking ‘serious look’ at tools to deal with China – Reuters 🇺🇸
China’s excess capacity is very real, and could be damaging to the country itself – WSJ :manufacturing capacity utilization plummeted to 73.8% in the first quarter—its weakest, excluding the pandemic-affected first quarter of 2020, since at least 2015. In volume terms, China’s exports hit a nearly 10-year high in March. But in value terms they were barely above where they sat in October.’
‘Falling run rates were especially obvious in Beijing’s favorite sectors like automobiles and electrical equipment’ ‘China’s traditional export sectors, on the other hand, have actually held up relatively well.’
Tech War 💽💥
China’s semiconductor output jumps 40% in first quarter amid growing dominance in legacy chips – SCMP
Europe restarts magnesium mining to counter reliance on China – FT: ‘EU member Romania on Friday awarded a mining concession to Verde Magnesium, a Bucharest-based company backed by US private equity investor Amerocap.’ 🇷🇴🇪🇺
China’s state-owned Chery 奇瑞 to make cars in Spain – Caixin Global 🇪🇸
Electric vehicles: China’s Chery 奇瑞 Automobile enters UK’s car rental business as its Omoda EVs are leased out by Octopus – SCMP 🇬🇧
Tesla laying off more than 10% of staff globally as sales fall – Reuters 🇺🇸
Intel to launch two AI chips for China with reduced capabilities – Reuters 🇺🇸
Some ex-TikTok employees say the social media service worked closely with its China-based parent ByteDance 字节跳动 despite claims of independence – Fortune: ‘The stealth chain of command contradicted what TikTok’s executives had said about the company’s independence from ByteDance, Turner says.’ ‘he emailed spreadsheets filled with data for hundreds of thousands of U.S. users to ByteDance workers in Beijing.’ 🇺🇸
China is widening its manufacturing lead in clean-energy technologies despite President Biden's landmark IRA climate law – Bloomberg 🇺🇸
Kantelpunt 🌏⏱️
Western banks are vacating the Pacific, and Nauru is turning to China – The Lowy Interpreter
China’s Gen Z turns frugal as economy doubts linger: Youth disillusionment raises alarm over ‘degradation of consumption’ – Nikkei Asia
US Army’s Mid-Range Capability makes its first deployment in the Philippines for Salaknib 24 – US Army Pacific 🇺🇸🇵🇭
NATO could be drawn into Taiwan conflict, affiliated report finds – Nikkei Asia
Overige
China buitenland en defensie
China is funding the US fentanyl crisis with incentives, House panel says in new report – NBC News: ‘The committee said in its report it has “found no evidence of new criminal enforcement actions” to curb the flow of fentanyl chemicals into the U.S.’ 🇺🇸
Dit hoeft niet te betekenen dat het bewust Chinees beleid is de drugscrisis in de VS aan te wakkeren – het kan ook gewoon egoïstisch economisch eigenbelang zijn van onverschillige lokale overheden. Het fentanylprobleem is echter zo’n groot politiek ding in Amerika, dat het alsnog explosief is.
Vijftig keer sterker dan heroïne: Europa probeert zombiedrug fentanyl met actieplan te beperken – Trouw: „In november vond de Italiaanse politie een distributiecentrum met 100.000 doses uit China, bedoeld voor de Amerikaanse markt.” 🇪🇺
US and Chinese defence ministers talk for first time in more than two years – SCMP 🇺🇸
Top Chinese diplomat Wáng Yì 王毅 to visit Indonesia, Cambodia, and Papua New Guinea – Xinhua 🇮🇩🇰🇭🇵🇬
Japan vows to promote strategic, mutually beneficial ties with China in annual foreign policy report – Kyodo News 🇯🇵
Zuid-Chinese Zee
US and China diplomatic officials discuss Middle East, Taiwan, and the South China Sea – Reuters 🇺🇸
Xinhua Commentary: Unveiling the realities of mutual defence between Washington and its allies – Xinhua: ‘NATO serves as a glaring example. Calling itself a regional and defensive organization, the bloc, which Washington pieced together to counter the Soviet Union, did not dissolve at the end of the Cold War. Instead, it has incited global conflicts.’ ‘The ongoing Ukraine crisis can be directly attributed to NATO's relentless eastward expansion, which has squeezed Russia's strategic space.’ 🇺🇸
On a remote island, a test of wills between the Philippines and China – NPR 🇵🇭
South China Sea claimants should settle dispute peacefully, says Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan – The Straits Times: ‘He is in the Philippines for a four-day visit’ 🇸🇬
China’s new South China Sea oil rig helps it drill deep for energy security – SCMP
China economie
China’s clampdown on data spreads to real-time stock information – Nikkei Asia: ‘Real-time data on the buying, selling and total turnover of A-shares in Shenzhen and Shanghai by foreign investors will no longer be available to the public market during trading hours.’
China Evergrande 中国恒大: PwC refutes letter claiming fraud tied to indebted developer, vows to investigate ‘fabricated’ claims – SCMP
Developer Times China 时代中国 faces winding-up case from HSBC unit Hang Seng – Nikkei Asia
Exclusive: Chinese insurer New China Life 新华保险’s ex-chairman disappears from public view, sources say – Caixin Global
China binnenland
Chinese police says it has arrested over 1,500 for online rumours in campaign targeting influencers, bloggers, and live-streamers – SCMP
China schort accounts van bekende influencer op na viraal nepverhaal – VRT NWS
Taiwan buitenland en defensie
Indigenous submarine programme chief Huang Shu-kuang 黃曙光 reportedly offers resignation – Focus Taiwan: ‘It is about his career choices and he has completed the tasks assigned to him in the current phase with a new government set to be inaugurated, [his sister, a] TPP lawmaker said.’
Tien Chien II mobile air defence system makes successful debut at Pingtung drill, source says – Focus Taiwan
US House Speaker Mike Johnson pushes towards a vote on military aid for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan – AP 🇺🇸
Taiwan binnenland en economie
Foreign minister Joseph Wu 吳釗燮 to lead National Security Council under Lai – Taipei Times: ‘Presidential Office Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is to be the next minister of foreign affairs’
New economics and national development heads tapped from private sector – Focus Taiwan: ‘Premier-designate Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) announced tech company leader J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) and veteran business consultant Paul Liu (劉鏡清) as the new heads of the MOEA and NDC, respectively.’
‘Lai said during his presidential campaign last year that he would aim to make sure that at least one-third of his Cabinet leaders would be female. But with the six Cabinet heads announced Tuesday all being male, only two of the 15 members of Cho's Cabinet named to date have been female’
Incoming appointed digital minister Huang Yen-nun 黃彥男 to ramp up country's information security – Focus Taiwan
KMT legislators propose natural disaster leave – Taipei Times
Legislature passes new pedestrian sidewalk safety rule – Focus Taiwan
Taroko park post-quake restoration estimated at NT$1b [€29m], minister says – Focus Taiwan