De Chinese Wouden, woensdag 3 juli: Chinese aanvalsdrones voor Rusland?, handel, SCO, Taiwan
Bloomberg schrijft dat Europese bronnen melden dat Russische en Chinese bedrijven zouden samenwerken aan aanvalsdrones gebaseerd op de Iraanse Shahed-drones die zo effectief blijken in Oekraïne. Twee landen zouden volgens de bronnen van mening zijn dat als na de proefmodellen tot levering aan Rusland over wordt gegaan, de grens van ‘lethal aid’ overschreden wordt. Dat zou grote gevolgen hebben voor de betrekkingen tussen de EU en China.
Die worden al geteisterd door het handelsconflict. Maar Europa en de VS zijn niet de enige die zich zorgen maken over de overweldigende productiecapaciteit in China. Landen als Turkije, Brazilië, en Zuid-Afrika nemen ook al maatregelen. De South China Morning Post kijkt naar de onmiddellijke buurlanden in Zuidoost-Azië. Indonesië heeft al importheffingen op producten uit China aangekondigd. Hiervoor geeft het als expliciete reden dat het wil voorkomen dat Chinese producten die nu moeilijker terecht kunnen in het Westen naar de Indonesische markt verschuiven.
Maatregelen tegen het verdrukkingseffect zijn slechts een van de manieren waarop verdere escalatie ingebouwd zit in de handelsstrijd. De andere reden zal bestaan uit Chinese vergelding. Ook zullen industrieën volgen met oproepen tot maatregelen als het hek eenmaal van de dam is. Europese industrie roept nu ook al op tot maatregelen voor het beschermen van ‘hydrogen equipment’ terwijl de nood in de windenergie-industrie hoog blijft.
Naas steun voor Rusland en exportmacht heeft China nog een andere factor die verslechtering van de betrekkingen met de rest van de wereld betekent. Hoewel er recent geen grootse signalen zijn geweest, blijft Peking de druk op Taiwan nog altijd langzaam opvoeren. Het meest recente escalatietje is de ontvoering van een Taiwanees vissersschip uit wateren tussen Kinmen en de Chinese kust.
Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺
Chinese fabrikant van stekkerwagens BYD 比亚迪 wil Europa veroveren, maar krijgt zijn jaarrekeningen niet op orde – Follow The Money: „Dat is in strijd met de wet: bedrijven moeten binnen twaalf maanden na afloop van een boekjaar de jaarrekening bij de Kamer van Koophandel inleveren.”
„Samengevat: de gedeponeerde jaarrekeningen over de jaren 2016 tot en met 2019 zijn niet door de accountant goedgekeurd. En over 2020, 2021 en 2022 deponeerde BYD Europe bv helemaal geen jaarrekeningen.”
„In een eerder artikel over de slechte kwaliteit van de bussen die BYD aan vervoerder Keolis leverde (‘blunderbussen’), beschreef Follow the Money een bijzondere passage in de jaarrekening 2017. De toenmalige accountant had in de boekhouding een commissiebetaling van 2,6 miljoen euro ontdekt. Documenten over het hoe en waarom van die betaling had hij niet kunnen vinden. […] Een half jaar later, in januari 2023, verscheen een herziene versie van de jaarrekening 2018. Daarin komt BYD terug op die commissiebetaling.” 🇳🇱🇪🇺
Chinese bedrijven willen met reclames op EK ‘het nieuwe China’ laten zien – NOS: „Volgens [Van der Putten] […] er is ook een andere reden: voetbal is simpelweg erg populair onder Chinezen. ‘Ze volgen graag het Europese voetbal, wat de vele reclame in het Chinees verklaart.’” 🇪🇺
China und die Fußball-EM: Was Alipay, BYD, Vivo oder Hisense wollen – Der Spiegel 🇪🇺
Editorial: Western media absurd for political interpretation of Chinese companies’ ‘dominance’ at UEFA Euro – The Global Times 🇪🇺
China rebuilds ties with Central Europe – POLITICO China Watcher: ‘“China is again on a charm offensive in Central and Eastern Europe,” Matej Šimalčík, executive director of the Central European Institute of Asian Studies, told China Watcher.’ 🇪🇺
Norwegian man accused of spying for China appears in court – Reuters: ‘was arrested on Monday by the Norwegian Security Police Service (PST) at Oslo’s Gardermoen airport upon his return from a trip to China, PST said.’ 🇳🇴
Norway blocks sale of last private land on Svalbard after Chinese interest – AFP 🇳🇴
Geopolitieke strijd om Spitsbergen: Noorwegen blokkeert verkoop stuk land aan China – De Standaard 🇳🇴
China and Switzerland to start talks for FTA upgrade ASAP – Xinhua 🇨🇭
Rusland 🇷🇺
Chinese and Russian companies are developing an attack drone similar to an Iranian model deployed in Ukraine, European officials familiar with the matter said – Bloomberg: ‘Some nations believe that providing Russia with drones for attack purposes would cross the line into lethal aid, two of the officials said.’ 🇷🇺
Chinese and Russian troops hold joint drill targeting cross-border terrorism – SCMP: ‘It was the neighbouring countries’ first joint anti-terrorism exercise since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.’ 🇷🇺
Handel 🇪🇺🇨🇳
China ‘at risk’ of wider decoupling after US and EU as Asean trade partners balk at imports flood – SCMP: ‘Dalian Infobank’s clients include the Chinese commerce and agricultural ministries and customs authorities.’
Indonesië overweegt importtarieven op Chinese textielproducten – FD 🇮🇩
China’s BYD 比亚迪 posts 21% jump in quarterly EV sales, closes gap with Tesla – Reuters: ‘Tesla is expected to report a 6% drop in April-June quarter vehicle deliveries on Tuesday’
European industrial groups urge action to stop threat of cheap Chinese hydrogen equipment imports – FT: ‘They want “made in Europe” criteria to protect the home industry’ 🇪🇺
Are Chinese green tech manufacturers ‘Europeanising’ their products? – FT: ‘In the past year, two Chinese companies have announced their intentions to manufacture electrolysers, a technology needed to produce green hydrogen, in Europe.’ 🇪🇺
China EV makers Neta 哪吒 and Xpeng 小鹏 turn to Africa amid European backlash – Nikkei Asia
China grows strength in wind turbines, takes top spot in key patents from Denmark – Nikkei Asia: ‘looking to further expand its 60% global market share with bigger and cheaper turbines as the U.S. and Europe move to protect their industries.’
Tech War 💽💥
Berlin to block sale of MAN Energy Solution’s gas turbine unit to China, sources say – Reuters: ‘GHGT belongs to the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), which dominates the Chinese shipbuilding industry.’ 🇩🇪
Berlijn zet vanwege zorgen over veiligheid streep door Chinese deal – FD 🇩🇪
Biden revoked 8 licenses for China’s Huawei 华为 in 2024, document shows – Reuters 🇺🇸
US adds six companies to trade restriction list, four for training China’s military – Reuters 🇺🇸
China to buy another African mine, in Zambia, as it elbows in to lead global green energy revolution – SCMP 🇿🇲
China’s commercial space hub opening in Hainan clashes with exploding rocket mishap in Henan – SCMP
UNGA adopts China-proposed resolution to enhance international cooperation on AI capacity-building – Xinhua: ‘most countries, especially developing ones, have yet to truly access, use, and benefit from AI, and the global digital divide continues to widen’ 🇺🇳
Chinese UN envoy says US targeting of AI investment in China not helpful to healthy development – Reuters: ‘will be divisive when it comes to global governance’ 🇺🇸
Geoloog Hein Raat zoekt zeldzame metalen. Van zulke speurneuzen heeft Europa er meer nodig – Trouw 🇪🇺
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
Xinhua Commentary: SCO champions connectivity and cooperation for shared future – Xinhua: ‘As a trans-regional cooperation mechanism, the SCO not only focuses on security but also on economic connectivity.’
Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 hails uniqueness of China-Kazakhstan partnership – Xinhua 🇰🇿
Full Text of Chinese president's signed article in Kazakh media – Xinhua: ‘Over 2,000 years ago, Zhang Qian, a royal emissary from China [sic] led a diplomatic mission to the Western Regions, opening the door to friendship and exchanges between China and Central Asia.’ 🇰🇿
Kyrgyzstan and EU sign Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement – The Diplomat 🇪🇺🇰🇬
Kruipende druk op Taiwan 🇨🇳🇹🇼
Taiwan says China’s coast guard has detained a Taiwanese fishing vessel and demands its release – AP: ‘Taiwan said the Chinese coast guard boarded a Taiwanese fishing boat Tuesday before steering it to a port in mainland China, […]. The Tachinman 88 was intercepted by two Chinese vessels Tuesday evening near the Kinmen archipelago’
‘Taiwan dispatched three vessels to rescue the Tachinman 88, but the one that got close to the fishing boat were blocked by three Chinese boats and told not to interfere, the statement said. The pursuit was called off to avoid escalating the conflict after Taiwan’s maritime authorities detected that four more Chinese vessels were moving closer, the statement added.’
獨家》中國海警船闖金門外海 強行登檢澎湖漁船硬帶回中國 – 自由時報:「今日晚間8時10分在金門東北角海域(東經118度52分、北緯24度31分)捕撈小管,2艘中國海警船突然靠近拍照,並強行登檢澎湖漁船,最後又控制澎湖漁船進入中國,〔⋯⋯〕。據悉,目前澎湖漁船已被拉進中國福建圍頭軍港。」
澎湖漁船遭中國海警船扣押 海巡署:交陸委會協調 – 中央社 :「海巡署說,晚間9時14分〔海巡〕10081艇遭3艘中國大陸海警船攔阻,〔⋯⋯〕,海巡署立即向海警船廣播,要求立即釋放『大進滿 88』漁船,中方也廣播喊話,要求勿干擾。」
Chinese drone seen at Matsu Nangan Airport, disrupts 2 flights – Focus Taiwan
China pressures Taiwan’s Lai with most military flights per month in nearly 2 years – Nikkei Asia
Mainland Affairs Council defends President Lai’s statement on China – Taipei Times: ‘Liang cited the preface to the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (中華民國憲法增修條文), which state that the additional articles were enacted “to meet the requisites of the nation prior to national unification,” meaning that as the situation stands, neither side has jurisdiction over the other.’
Kantelpunt 🌏⏱️
North Korea switches state TV transmission to Russian satellite from Chinese – Reuters: ‘making the monitoring of such broadcasts a challenge for the South’s government agencies and media.’ 🇰🇵🇷🇺
Miljarden zijn venster op Noord-Korea kwijt nu diens staatstelevisie is ondergebracht bij een Russische satelliet – de Volkskrant 🇰🇵🇷🇺
Japan commits to ASEAN power grid project to counter China – Nikkei Asia 🇯🇵🇮🇩
In Okinawa, 2 new sexual assault cases implicating US soldiers fuel public anger – The Diplomat 🇯🇵🇺🇸
Overige
China buitenland en defensie
Despite own China tightrope, Vatican backs international law in Manila-Beijing row – Rappler: ‘Gallagher and Manalo’s discussion on the West Philippine Sea was significant, however, because it was the first time the Vatican publicly addressed the Asian maritime dispute.’ 🇵🇭🇻🇦
Philippine says to be ‘relentless’ in protecting interests in South China Sea – Reuters: ‘But both countries recognised the need to “restore trust, rebuild confidence, and create conditions conducive to productive dialogue and interaction,” the Philippine foreign ministry said’ 🇵🇭
Philippines ready to discuss with Vietnam South China Sea issues – Reuters 🇵🇭🇻🇳
Satellite images show growth of Cuba’s electronic eavesdropping sites that are believed to be linked to China, including new construction about 70 miles from US naval base at Guantanamo Bay – WSJ 🇨🇺🇺🇸
Volgens Chinese spionage-expert Roger Faligot nam Peking de voormalige Sovjet luisterposte in Cuba een kwarteeuw geleden al over.
Xi sends message to US youth exchange delegation – Xinhua: ‘Xi said in the message that for the China-U.S. relationship, the hope lies in the peoples of the two countries, the foundation is laid by the two peoples, the future depends on the youth, and the vitality comes from exchanges at subnational levels.’ 🇺🇸
‘People’s diplomacy’, gericht op vriendelijke individuen en lagere overheden in afwezigheid van welwillende officiële diplomatie is dé klassieke verenigd front-aanpak.
Chinese student targeted in ‘racially motivated’ attack in New Zealand – SCMP 🇳🇿
China urges ‘severe punishment’ for killers of citizen in Philippines – SCMP 🇵🇭
Italy seizes Chinese-made military drones destined for Libya – Reuters 🇱🇾🇮🇹
China builds new presidential palace in Pacific’s Vanuatu – AFP 🇻🇺
China economie
Chinese exporters raise fears of Christmas freight crisis – FT: ‘As the Houthi attacks […] enter their ninth month, ships are taking longer routes to avoid the Red Sea.’
Global investment banks cut jobs in China retreat – FT: ‘as five of the seven Chinese securities units that are part of Wall Street and European banks either made a loss or reported tumbling profits’
Bankers at China’s top investment bank are saying goodbye to fat paychecks and hello to Communist Party membership, in a shift away from its Wall Street-style playbook – Bloomberg Businessweek
Chinese shadow bank Zhongzhi 中植’s liquidation prompts fallout fears – Nikkei Asia
Troubled Chinese developers face unprecedented wave of liquidation suits in Hong Kong – SCMP
China’s property crisis forces local hùkǒu 户口 reform, laying groundwork for national change – SCMP: ‘More than 20 cities have allowed people from any region of the mainland to change their official residency’
China’s central bank to borrow government bonds, with sale seen possible – Nikkei Asia
China binnenland
China’s Communist Party on track for 100 million members by year’s end – SCMP
China begins smartphone inspections as part of stronger espionage law – Nikkei Asia: ‘Operational guidelines permit authorities to examine such phones and personal computers by showing a police ID or other identification.’
German assistant professor fired from Chinese university after interview with VOA – VOA: ‘Düben’s troubles began shortly after he commented on Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to Europe in an article published by VOA Mandarin on May 11.’
China upgrades emergency response to heavy rainfall and flooding in Hunan – Xinhua
China has grappled with dry conditions in the north, damaging its wheat harvest and delaying planting of corn and soybeans – Bloomberg
China to meet its 2030 renewable energy target by end of this year, state-owned researcher – SCMP
Cover Story: School’s out for China’s rural students as classrooms close – Caixin Global
Xi Story: Self-reform, the CCP’s new answer to ‘rise and fall question’ – Xinhua
Hong Kong
Solo demos and heavy police presence as Hong Kong sees 5th year without protest march on Handover anniversary – HKFP: ‘[one] was warned by officers not to display any slogans or she would face potential arrest.’
Hong Kong dentist who was one of first arrested under Article 23 law taken away by officers on Handover anniversary, according to report – HKFP
Het zou een arrestatie of onderzoek kunnen zijn naar mogelijke ‘protesten’ op 1 juli, maar het is ook belangrijk om in het achterhoofd te houden dat op het Chinese Vasteland het heel gebruikelijk is dat gevoelige personen op gevoelige dagen eventjes door de politie opgehaald worden.
Online gig by Hong Kong singer-activist Denise Ho 何韻詩 interrupted by a dozen police officers citing noise complaint – HKFP: ‘Ho ended up performing online after venues repeatedly shunned her efforts to book space.’
Taiwan buitenland en defensie
Investors shy away from China’s ‘Taiwan Town’ as tensions rise – FT: ‘Taiwanese investment in Fujian fell 80 per cent year on year to just $220mn last year. Across the whole of China, Taiwanese investment fell 40 per cent to just over $3bn.’ 🇨🇳
Beijing pressed Laos to include Taiwan in visa policy for Chinese visitors, Taipei says – RFA 🇨🇳🇱🇦
CNA and PTI sign news exchange agreement – Focus Taiwan 🇮🇳
Taiwan’s new ‘carrier killer’ ships are ready to boost island’s asymmetric war plan – SCMP
GCTF hosts civilian training workshop – Taipei Times
Taiwan binnenland en economie
TPP to propose invitation for Lai to deliver state of nation address under new act – Taipei Times: ‘The amended act gives lawmakers the authority to launch investigations and hold hearings, so the TPP caucus is to apply the new powers to scrutinize the National Development Fund’s investment choices and the Mirror TV case, Huang said.’
Man arrested for driving car with slogans into flower bed at Presidential Office Building – Taipei Times
Taiwan reports slower manufacturing activity growth in June – Focus Taiwan
Taiwan’s daily power usage hits record high – Taipei Times: ‘as scorching hot weather continued across the country’