De Chinese Wouden, donderdag 5 januari 2023: Rusland, covideconomie, covidmaatregelen, coviduitbraak, nieuwe chef buitenlandse zaken
Goedemorgen. Ik hoop dat iedereen goed is bekomen van de nieuwjaarsfestiviteiten. Als prijs voor de mijne moest ik me door hopen nieuwsberichten worstelen om samen te vatten wat er allemaal gebeurd is.
We hebben drie kopjes over covid in China. Europa heeft overleg gehad over maatregelen. Zelf vraag ik me af of testen van reizigers uit China nog nodig is, aangezien we elders ook niet zo veel meer controleren. Samen met kritische berichtgeving in de Westerse pers is het wel reden voor groeiende boosheid bij de Chinese regering. Dat het om politieke redenen gaat, moge duidelijk zijn, want, waar de EU aanraadt om de testen, eist China dat nog altijd van de beperkte groep personen die in kan reizen. Maar, niet alleen wordt de schade aan de geloofwaardigheid van Peking steeds duidelijker, ook over de economische afwikkeling zijn we nog niet uitgepraat. Dan heb ik het nog niet eens gehad over de humanitaire kosten, waarvan we de afgelopen dagen allemaal de beelden op sociale media konden zien. Wat er gaat gebeuren, wanneer mensen aankomend Chinees nieuwjaar naar het nog slechter bedokterde platteland gaan, raadt zich raden.
Belangrijke personele wisselingen op voor mij belangrijke posten. Wang Yi is gepromoveerd van minister van buitenlandse zaken naar de baas van het partijkantoor voor buitenlandse zaken. Qin Gang gaat van ambassadeur in Washington naar Wangs oude stek. Dit is een bevestiging van betrouwbare, capabele, sociale haviken die in het verleden hebben laten zien uitstekend in staat te zijn tot nationalistische uithalen. Ik ben het dan ook oneens met Bloomberg als die kopt, dat dit een betere relatie met de VS kan betekenen. Op Taiwanzaken is Song Tao de nieuwe chef, wier achtergrond binnen Partij en diplomatie een lichte verhoging van het belang daarvan laat zien.
De eerste specialistische sectie gaat echter over het veelzeggende nieuwjaarsgesprek tussen Xi Jinping en Vladimir Poetin. Lees wat ze tegen elkaar zeggen, in plaats van wat Peking tegen ons daarover vertelt!
Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺
Watching China in Europe: January 2023 – Noah Barkin: ‘none of the European diplomats with whom I spoke said that China shows an inclination to budge on issues of substance.’ ‘“No one believes in China’s win-win propaganda anymore. The Chinese have to realize that there will be no return to business as usual,” [one] said.’ 🇪🇺
Geloofwaardigheid is niet alleen verspeeld op het gebied van volksgezondheid…
1 year on, EU alternative to China’s belt and road fails to deliver – SCMP 🇪🇺
Watching China in Europe: January 2023 – Noah Barkin: ‘There is now a plan afoot, I am told, to tackle the ownership problem, through the appointment of a Global Gateway czar, who would have the authority and autonomy to get the project back on track. […] The preferred candidate is Mario Draghi’ 🇪🇺
Chinese techreus Tencent gebruikt Nederland voor sluiproutes langs belasting en wetten – Follow the Money 🇳🇱
Taiwan expands sanctions against Russia and Belarus targeting high-tech items for military purposes – Focus Taiwan 🇷🇺🇧🇾
Taipei blasts Moscow over support of Beijing’s Taiwan claim – Focus Taiwan 🇷🇺
Kyiv receives generators from Taiwan donations – Taipei Times 🇺🇦
Taiwan donates US$2 million [€1,88m] more to Ukraine to battle power outages in Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Kherson – Focus Taiwan 🇺🇦
During Taiwan visit, ex-Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen urges democracies to unite – AFP
Annalena Baerbock: „Die Welt ist kein Wunschkonzert“ – Berlin.Table: „wir haben erlebt, dass China sich in den letzten Jahren nicht nur immer weiter von unseren demokratischen Werten, sondern auch vom internationalen Recht und den Regeln für einen fairen Wettbewerb entfernt hat. Deshalb ist es in unserem ureigenen Wirtschaftsinteresse, uns von China nicht so abhängig zu machen, wie wir das bei Russland gemacht haben.“ 🇩🇪
Finland and the demise of China’s Polar Silk Road – Matti Puranen and Sanna Kopra for Jamestown China Brief 🇫🇮
China en Rusland 🇨🇳🇷🇺
💡 President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 had a virtual meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China: ‘The two presidents exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis. President Xi stressed that China has noted Russia’s statement that it has never refused to resolve the conflict through diplomatic negotiations and China commends that.’
President Xi emphasized that the world has now come to another historical crossroads. To revert to a Cold War mentality, provoke division and antagonism, and stoke confrontation between blocs, or to act out of the common good of humanity to promote equality, mutual respect and win-win cooperation — the tug of war between these two trends is testing the wisdom of statesmen in major countries as well as the reason of the entire humanity. Facts have repeatedly proven that containment and suppression is unpopular, and sanction and interference is doomed to fail. China stands ready to join hands with Russia and all other progressive forces around the world who oppose hegemony and power politics, to reject any unilateralism, protectionism and bullying, firmly safeguard the sovereignty, security and development interests of the two countries and uphold international fairness and justice.
Dit is geen ‘neutraal’ taalgebruik. Nogmaals: China wil geen oorlog en heeft niks met Russisch nationalisme, maar is niet per se politiek gekant tegen Moskous doelen in de wereld. Ze delen de Verenigde Staten (ook wel genoemd: „hegemony and power politics”) als vijand.
Hacked Russian files reveal propaganda agreement with China – The Intercept: ‘Hacked emails show that some journalists working for Russian state media helped amplify Chinese narratives.’
China-Russia relations: 4 takeaways from 2022 – Joseph Webster for The Diplomat
The year that changed the Chinese-Russian relationship – RFE/RL
How China is using Vladimir Putin – Michael Schuman for The Atlantic
Nieuwe buitenlandchef en minister 🇨🇳
China’s ruling Communist Party has named Wáng Yì 王毅 to direct the nation’s foreign policy after he was promoted to the 24-member Politburo following last year’s twice-a-decade party congress – Bloomberg
De directeur van het kantoor van de Commissie voor Buitenlandse Zaken-werk van het Centraal Comité van de Chinese Communistische Partij is de echte hoogste diplomaat, niet de relatief onbelangrijke minister van buitenlandse zaken.
王毅:矢志民族复兴,胸怀人类命运:奋进中国特色大国外交新征程 – 《求是》2023/01
Maintain a Global Vision, Forge Ahead with Greater Resolve: Write a new chapter in major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics – Wang Yi: ‘With regard to the Ukraine crisis, we have consistently upheld the fundamental principles of objectivity and impartiality, without favoring one side or the other, or adding fuel to the fire, still less seeking selfish gains from the situation.’
Bovenstaande opsomming zijn allemaal dingen waar Peking de Verenigde Staten van beschuldigt in deze oorlog.
China’s new top diplomat Wáng Yì calls for ‘dialogue’ and cooperation with US – Reuters
New Chinese Foreign Minister Qín Gāng 秦刚 vows to prioritise US ties, tweets praise for Americans – SCMP
Een tijd terug had POLITICO een verhaal dat de arme ambassadeur Qin buitengesloten zou zijn in Washington DC, een gemiste kans. Daarop commenteerde Bonnie Glaser dat de Chinese kant vooral verbolgen was dat ze niet zo veel ontmoetingen kregen als ze wilden.
Blinken discusses US-China ties in call with new foreign minister Qín Gāng 秦刚 – Reuters
China signals change as it tries to mend ties with the West and deal with Covid surge – Shi Jiangtao for SCMP
Chinese economie na covid
💡 China’s Covid generation: the surging inequality behind Xí Jìnpíng 习近平’s U-turn – FT: ‘the true extent of the damage wrought upon Chinese society by Xi’s hallmark policy is only just emerging.’
Interview Deutsche Post DHL-bestuurder: „China blijft essentieel, maar verliest in pandemie aan belang” – FD
Een snel herstel van de Chinese economie kan wereldwijd gevoeld worden – NRC
Inzakkende Chinese conjunctuur doet alarmbellen afgaan – De Standaard
China stopt met lockdowns. Dat kan goed zijn voor de handel, maar „Dat valt nog te bezien” – Trouw
💡 What the great reopening means for China—and the world – The Economist: ‘After three years of zero-covid, executives have become comfortable with this move away from China.’
Why China’s economy faces a perilous road to recovery – The New York Times: ‘The damage that “zero Covid” inflicted on China’s once-unbeatable attractiveness as a manufacturing hub could be hard to repair.’
‘OK, Mexico, save me’: After China, this is where globalisation may lead – The New York Times
Millions of people worked in China’s mass testing system. Now they’re out of a job – SCMP
How China’s zero-Covid policy triggered a new wave of investor interest in Vietnam – SCMP
China ESG reckoning looms for investors – FT
Er zijn verschillende redenen waarom de binnenlandse en buitenlandse politieke risico’s van investeren in China nog onderschat worden. Maar je kunt je afvragen, of veel Chinese firma’s ooit voldaan hebben aan de standaarden, gezien de gebrekkige transparantie en bekende problemen.
China covidmaatregelen buitenland
EU adviseert negatieve coronatest en mondkapje voor reizigers uit China – NOS 🇪🇺
EU wants Chinese visitors to give negative Covid test and wear mask on plane – SCMP 🇪🇺
Presidency Statement on the Coordination of COVID-19 Travel Measure – Sweden 2023.EU: ‘The IPCR, […], will continue to monitor the epidemiological situation in the EU and developments in China, including the level of data shared, with a view to ensuring EU coordination of any measures considered necessary.’ 🇪🇺
Botsing tussen China en EU om mogelijke inreisbeperkingen om coronapiek – Trouw 🇪🇺
KLM treft extra coronamaatregelen aan boord van vluchten uit China – NU.nl 🇳🇱
In Giethoorn verwelkomen ze de Chinese toerist na drie jaar, maar de botenfiles behoren hopelijk tot het verleden – De Volkskrant 🇳🇱
België gaat uitwerpselen van reizigers uit China testen op coronavarianten: „Goed idee, maar er zijn nadelen” – VRT
China veroordeelt reisbeperkingen en dreigt met tegenmaatregelen – NOS
Around the world: Covid-19 rules for travellers from China – Reuters and Bloomberg via The Straits Times
EU offers free Covid-19 vaccines to China to help curb outbreak – FT: ‘an offer promptly rejected by the Chinese government.’ 🇪🇺
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文 (Cài Yīngwén) offers to help China curb covid surge in New Year address – Focus Taiwan
China covid 🦠
China kan de stroom coviddoden niet meer aan – De Volkskrant
China COVID data shows no new variant but under-reports deaths, WHO says – Reuters
Xinhua Commentary: The bubble of prejudice versus the light of hope in China’s covid fight – Xinhua is woest en gaat er hard in terwijl het volhoudt dat de (onbetrouwbare) cijfers nog altijd gunstig zijn: ‘If only these Westerners could abandon their fault-finding mentality and take a closer look at China’s COVID fight with what the Chinese would call a “seek-truth-from-facts” attitude, they would certainly arrive at a fairer conclusion.’
根深蒂固政治偏见的充分暴露(钟声) – 《人民日报》(2023年01月04日 第03版):“一些西方媒体却罔顾事实真相、背离科学精神,恶意抹黑中国防疫政策调整,完全丧失了媒体的职业操守,毫无公信力可言”
De woede van de Chinese overheid over kritiek op het covidbeleid en de maatregelen van sommige landen voor reizigers uit China neemt toe. Ik kan niet anders dan concluderen dat het te maken heeft met de beschadigde geloofwaardigheid, in binnen- en buitenland.
China’s Covid surge has pushed funeral homes to full capacity, fostering a grey economy for those desperate to cremate loved ones – Bloomberg
Chinese celebrities lost to Covid undercut propaganda minimising outbreak – FT
Analysis: China’s COVID policymaking under scrutiny as infections soar – Reuters
Protesters and public-health experts targeted for country’s sudden about-face as infections explode, but leader Xi Jinping remains unscathed – WSJ
Leading WHO advisers call for ‘realistic’ covid data from China at key meeting – Reuters: Marion Koopmans ‘said some of the data from China, such as hospitalisation numbers, is “not very credible”.’
WHO dringt bij China aan om correcte coronadata te delen, topman Kluge sust: „Momenteel geen andere variant dan die in Europa” – Belga
China’s CDC plans to calculate and release excess mortality data as a record wave of Covid infections engulfs the country – Bloomberg
Covid-19 in China: up to 70 per cent of Shanghai’s population has now been infected, says leading city doctor – SCMP
Nearly a dozen major Chinese cities are reporting a recovery in subway use, a sign that an ‘exit wave’ of Covid infections may have peaked in some urban areas – Bloomberg
China’s vast countryside in rush to bolster covid defences – Reuters
Zeitentechwarwende ⏱️💽
China beware! Europe eyes closer control over how firms invest abroad – POLITICO Europe: ‘The European Commission has promised in its 2023 work program to “examine whether additional tools are necessary in respect of outbound strategic investments controls.”’ 🇪🇺
Nexperia calls in the lawyers to save Welsh chip fab deal – The Register 🇳🇱
💡 Exclusive: China is pausing massive investments aimed at building a chip industry to rival the US, as Covid strains its finances – Bloomberg: ‘Top officials are discussing ways to move away from costly subsidies that have so far borne little fruit and encouraged both graft and American sanctions, people familiar with the matter said.’ ‘they’re seeking alternative ways to assist homegrown chipmakers, such as lowering the cost of semiconductor materials’
Het is lastig en kostbaar om de mondiale keten binnenlands na te bouwen. Vraag is of dat überhaupt mogelijk is, gezien het feit dat de keten misschien mondiaal is, maar wel uit monopolistische schakels bestaat.
Chinese battery makers strengthen grip on global supply – FT
Shortage of STEM students spurs talent drought in Taiwan’s semiconductor industry – Taipei Times
TSMC reaffirms ‘commitment to Taiwan’ despite US chip push – Nikkei Asia
Taiwan chip troubleshooter MA-tek eyes Japan opportunities – Nikkei Asia
Japan seeks to release rare earths and 10 other critical items from China’s grip – Nikkei Asia
US president Biden signs TikTok ban for government devices, setting up a chaotic 2023 for the app – NBC News
Overige
China buitenland en defensie
China hang zijn vuile was niet buiten – Dagblad Suriname
Videos show both sides of US-China aerial encounter—and highlight the risks involved – CNN: ‘it appeared the Chinese jet was firmly in the wrong’ ‘Hopkins also said the US military risked blowing the incident out of proportion’
China promotes General Lǐ Qiáomíng 李桥铭 to commander of PLA ground force – SCMP
‘We better watch out’: NASA boss sounds alarm on Chinese moon ambitions – POLITICO
South Korea unveils details of Indo-Pacific strategy – Yonhap: ‘The presidential office denied, however, that the strategy seeks to exclude or contain a particular nation.’
China offers talks on oil exploration deal with Philippines as presidents Xi Jinping and Ferdinand Marcos meet – SCMP
Nepal’s new PM faces ever trickier China-US-India high wire act – Nikkei Asia
Chinese vice president Wáng Qíshān 王岐山 attends inauguration ceremony of new Brazilian president – Xinhua
Ecuador reaches trade deal with China, aims to increase exports, president Lasso says – Reuters
Japan says it scrambled jets to monitor Chinese aircraft carrier operations – Reuters
Stopping China’s growth cannot be a goal for the West – Gideon Rachman for FT
China’s advanced Fujian aircraft carrier ready to start sea trials this year, a boost for military capacity – SCMP
中国军媒《解放军报》文章:部分部队出现装备等人才问题 – 联合早报
Trolling of female Asian journalists by China on rise as Beijing seeks to discredit media – VOA
China economie
China’s economy ended the year in a major slump as business and consumer spending plunged in December – Bloomberg
Top 100 Chinese developers saw sales plunge 40 per cent in 2022 as property crisis deepened – SCMP
China binnenland
Police in China can track protests by enabling ‘alarms’ on Hikvision software – The Guardian
Fed up with a nationwide fireworks ban, crowds in Henan overturn police car – RFA: ‘people let fly balloons in the eastern city of Nanjing on New Year's Eve, where a large crowd gathered around the bronze statue of 1911 revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen to release balloons in honor of his memory.’
China’s online nationalist army: How social media users weaponised patriotism – Nikkei Asia: ‘Now individuals play a more prominent role, Nikkei Asia data analysis has found.’
WTA niet terug naar China zonder duidelijkheid in zaak-Peng Shuai – RTL Nieuws
Hong Kong
Taiwan en China
Veteran Chinese diplomat Song Tao 宋涛 Sòng Tāo named as new head of Taiwan Affairs Office – SCMP
Chinese official calls for joint efforts for national reunification across Taiwan Strait – Xinhua
Taiwan rejects tonnes of dioxin-ridden hairy crabs from China ahead of Lunar New Year feasts – SCMP
China’s air incursions into Taiwan air defence identification zone doubled in 2022 – AFP
data: Taiwan ADIZ Violations – Gerald C. Brown on Google Spreadsheets
北部飛彈基地警訊大響 共機史無前例迫近 – 聯合報:「疑似史無前例迫近桃竹外海廿四浬鄰接區空域,北部臨海三芝天弓飛彈、愛國者飛彈基地當日『紅點』目標警訊大響」
Verdere escalatie, stapje voor stapje…
Seven soldiers of alleged Chinese spy ring charged in Kaohsiung – Taipei Times
Taiwan buitenland en defensie
US to send delegation of trade and economic officials to Taiwan – FT
Taiwan’s 1st locally built submarine prototype to be tested in September – Focus Taiwan
Schools’ civil defence training plan defended after KMT accusations of ‘child soldiers’ – Taipei Times
💡 We can only kick Taiwan down the road for so long – Tanner Greer with an excellent and convincing critical answer to the recent, rather americentric Hass & Blanchette piece in Foreign Affairs
Taiwan binnenland en economie
President Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文 (Cài Yīngwén) vows to ease people’s financial burdens in New Year address – Focus Taiwan
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文 (Cài Yīngwén) urged Beijing to resume talks with Taipei to help maintain stability in the region – Bloomberg
President Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文 (Cài Yīngwén) delivers 2023 New Year’s Address – Office of the President, Republic of China (Taiwan): ‘President Tsai announced that the government has designated four major goals for the coming year: caring for the public welfare, maintaining our economic momentum, safeguarding our national security, and fulfilling our responsibilities toward the region.’
Tainan City Council speaker Chiu Li-li 邱莉莉 (Qiū Lìlì) (DPP) and deputy Lin Chih-chan 林志展 (Lín Zhìzhǎn) (DPP) released on bail in vote-buying probe – Focus Taiwan
KMT official Hsiao Ching-tien 蕭景田 (Xiāo Jǐngtián) out on bail amid vote-buying allegations – Taipei Times
Premier Su Tseng-chang 蘇貞昌 (Sū Zhēnchāng) announces NT$6,000 [€184] rebate of surplus tax revenue for citizens – Focus Taiwan
Taiwanese investments shifting to US and ASEAN – Taipei Times
Taiwan’s contested vision of its own history – The China Project: ‘Established in 2011, [the National Museum of Taiwan History’s] exhibits present Taiwan’s history as waves of colonization and immigration, drawing a line between that history and the island’s current democratic and diverse society.’
One of Taiwan’s biggest pop stars sings in an Indigenous language – NPR interviewt Abao 阿爆.