De Chinese Wouden, maandag 11 november
De grote aandacht voor de Amerikaanse verkiezingen heeft de hoorzittingen van de nieuwe eurocommissarissen misschien wat doen vergeten. Toch is het de moeite waard om notie te nemen van het feit, dat er in hun bijdragen aan het Europees Parlement een consensus lijkt te bestaan, dat China een uitdaging vormt voor de EU. De nieuwe Commissie heeft waarschijnlijk meer ruimte dan ooit om hier mee aan de slag te gaan.
The Wall Street Journal bericht dat Peking al plannen maakt voor prikkels om bondgenoten en partners van de Verenigde Staten weg te lokken, nu het exportafhankelijke China hoge invoerheffingen voor de belangrijke Amerikaanse markt te wachten staat. Het zou hierbij gebruik willen maken van de economische en diplomatieke schade die Trump waarschijnlijk aan gaat richten.
Natuurlijk zou Europa grote problemen hebben met Amerikaanse invoerheffingen, afbrokkelende NAVO en de noodzaak om miljarden aan steun voor Oekraïne over te nemen van Washington. Toch betekent dat niet, dat de EU per se zwak staat tegenover China.
In maart 2021 schreef ik al over de handelingsruimte die Europa heeft, dankzij de verenigd front-tactiek van Peking om de Verenigde Staten te isoleren. Deze tactiek bestaat uit het verzwakken van de belangrijkste tegenstander door zich te richten op het overhalen van middenkrachten (zie ‘China buitenland’ voor de recente bezoeken aan China van de Indonesische en Maleisische leiders) en het laten wankelen van mogelijke medestanders. Onder Trump zal dit weer sterker van toepassing zijn – omdat alles extremer wordt.
Europa zal waarschijnlijk meer geboden worden en ook met meer wegkomen. We leven nu wel in een andere tijd – Xi prioriteert overduidelijk economische veiligheid boven economische groei. Gezien Pekings duidelijke strategie om zichzelf onafhankelijk te maken van ons en ons afhankelijk van China, is het dus de zaak die ruimte te gebruiken voor het versterken van de Europese strategische autonomie, in plaats van het verdiepen van onze afhankelijkheid.
Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺
Italy ‘cherishes’ Chinese investment, wants more – POLITICO Europe: ‘Chinese investment in Italy is “below potential” and should increase, Italian President Sergio Mattarella said on a visit to Beijing.’ 🇮🇹
Chinese leader Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 gives moon dust taken by Chang'e-5 lunar probe to visiting Italian President Sergio Mattarella – SCMP 🇮🇹
Commission and national authorities urge Temu to respect EU consumer protection laws – European Commission: ‘The CPC Network identified several types of problematic practices on Temu, which they consider to be in breach of EU consumer protection laws’ 🇪🇺
How Chinese nationalism is sending jitters through the Arctic – RFA & NRK: ‘Military function and symbolism on Svalbard is highly restricted, and a treaty […] forbids military activity. Yet Chinese interests have blatantly disregarded these prohibitions’ 🇳🇴
Ruslands oorlog
Taiwanese businessman Pai Tsan-jung 白璨榮 donates another 60 disaster relief trucks to Ukraine – Focus Taiwan: ‘had previously donated 140 service trucks in three shipments over the past two years’ 🇺🇦
Handel 🚗🇪🇺
Donald Trump has promised to inflict pain on the Chinese economy—and Beijing is looking at ways to peel American allies away from Washington in response – WSJ: ‘the Xi leadership is considering plans to shower American allies in Europe and Asia with tariff cuts, visa exemptions, Chinese investments and other incentives, according to people close to Beijing’s decision-making.’ 🇺🇸
Discussions on undertakings for electric vehicles in Beijing – European Commission DG Trade: ‘The EU side also emphasised that according to WTO rules the possibility to offer price undertakings is open to the different companies participating in investigation, and therefore the Commission’s negotiations with the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME) do not exclude discussions with individual exporters.’ 🇪🇺
Europe seeks ‘normal, fair’ China trade ties in wake of Trump win, EU envoy Jorge Toledo says – SCMP 🇪🇺
Caixin Summit: ‘Level playing field’ an alternative to EU’s EV tariffs, Ambassador Toledo says – Caixin Global 🇪🇺
EU and Taiwan reach understanding on WTO dispute over Taiwan’s offshore wind auctions – European Commission: ‘Taiwan’s commitment to no longer include localization requirements in future allocation rounds’ 🇪🇺
Donald Trump asks arch protectionist Robert Lighthizer to run US trade policy – FT 🇺🇸
Weerslag zege Trump in Den Haag: steun in de rug voor populisten, confronterende vragen bij progressieven – NRC: „Minister Dirk Beljaarts (Economische Zaken, PVV) […] was voor de verkiezingen op bezoek in de VS, en had daar onder meer gepraat met de conservatieve Heritage Foundation, een ideologische motor achter het trumpisme. Ook was hij op bezoek geweest bij Robert Lighthizer, die grote kans maakt minister van Financiën te worden.” 🇳🇱🇺🇸
Chinese EV makers look to Africa as rivalry with US and Europe heats up – SCMP
Toyota 豊田 aims to ramp up China production in a strategy pivot, sources say – Reuters: ‘an overhaul that will see it bring its Chinese sales and production operations closer together and allow local executives a freer hand in development’ 🇯🇵
Hyundai 現代 takes on BYD 比亚迪 in Japan with sub-US$26,000 compact EV – Nikkei Asia 🇰🇷🇯🇵
China’s CATL takes on BYD 比亚迪 with long-range hybrid battery – Nikkei Asia
Tech War 💽💥
EU trekt 380 miljoen euro uit voor proeffabriek fotonische chips, productielijnen komen in Twente en Brabant – NRC: „Het doel is om de complete toeleveringsketen voor fotonische chips in de EU op te bouwen” 🇪🇺🇳🇱
US lawmakers eye China technology as they target semiconductor equipment makers – SCMP: ‘sent letters to five American, Dutch and Japanese companies, requesting detailed information about the companies’ sales volume and customer base on the mainland and highlighting national-security concerns over China’s technological development.’ 🇳🇱🇯🇵🇺🇸
De mensen die Bidens regering al hard vonden voor ASML gaan haar nog missen.
US ordered TSMC 台積電 to halt shipments to China of chips used in AI applications – Reuters: ‘The Department of Commerce sent a letter to TSMC imposing export restrictions on certain sophisticated chips, […], the person said.’ 🇺🇸
TSMC 台積電 to suspend production for some Chinese AI and high-performance computing chip customers – Nikkei Asia 🇹🇼
Biden rushes to finalise Chips Act deals with Intel, Samsung, and other firms before Trump enters the White House – Bloomberg 🇺🇸
Both Trump and Biden expected to attend TSMC 台積電’s Arizona fab grand opening ceremony — Fab 21 opens in December – Tom’s Hardware 🇺🇸
US chip restrictions hinder AI ambitions of China’s top chip foundry, SMIC 中芯 CEO says – SCMP: ‘US sanctions have prevented the Shanghai-based foundry from importing advanced tools needed to upgrade its processing and narrow its technological gap’ 🇺🇸
Why Trump’s 2nd withdrawal from the Paris Agreement will be different – POLITICO Europe: ‘a U.S. withdrawal could leave the country sidelined from international discussions about the expansion of clean energy’ 🇺🇸
Fresh off a feud with Elon Musk over his social media platform X, Brazil is now courting a Chinese company to compete with the US billionaire’s Starlink internet service – Bloomberg: ‘has offered the use of a military space base in Brazil’s northeast’ 🇧🇷
ASE 日月光 to invest in IC packaging and testing in Mexico – Focus Taiwan 🇲🇽
Kantelpunt 🌏⏱️
Southeast Asia prepares for factories fleeing Trump tariffs on China – Reuters: ‘Developers of industrial parks are adding Chinese speakers and preparing land tracts for factories’ 🇺🇸
ByteDance 字节跳动’s TikTok sees Trump victory as app’s best hope in US – The Information 🇺🇸
The Maga court: inside Donald Trump’s new White House – FT: ‘The 78-year-old Republican appears to be even more influenced by his billionaire donors and allies than he was during his first term in office — particularly Musk. He is also more willing to embrace the ideology of the politically ascendant new American right, and more determined to press ahead with his aggressive agenda from his very first day in office.’ 🇺🇸
Is the return of Donald Trump China’s dream or nightmare? – The Economist 🇺🇸
Ukraine says reports it was informed in advance of Trump-Putin call are false – Reuters: ‘The Washington Post, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that Trump and Putin spoke by phone on Thursday and discussed the war in Ukraine.’ 🇺🇦
JD Vance says US could veto NATO if Europe tries to regulate Elon Musk’s platforms – The Independent 🇺🇸🇪🇺
Japan to boost defence capabilities amid security concerns, PM Ishiba says – Kyodo News: ‘said a recent violation of Japanese airspace by Chinaand Russia was “utterly unacceptable,” adding the two countries along with repeated ballistic missile tests by North Korea pose complex security challenges.’ 🇯🇵
Overige
China buitenland en defensie
Spanning verwacht op klimaattop in Bakoe: westerse landen willen dat China meebetaalt – AD 🇦🇿
Biden and Xi to hold summit meeting in Peru; Xi also likely to meet Ishiba in Rio de Janeiro – The Yomiuri Shimbun 🇺🇸
Ready or not? How China scrambled to counter the second Trump shock – Reuters: ‘China will focus on exploiting rifts between the U.S. and its allies, experts say, and aim to lower the temperature to help strike an early deal to cushion the blow from trade friction.’ 🇺🇸
Tariffs, tech and Taiwan: how China hopes to Trump-proof its economy – The Guardian: ‘One approach has been to increase China’s trade volumes with global south countries.’ 🇺🇸
No room for Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley in Trump 2.0 White House – SCMP 🇺🇸
Weibo ‘manosphere’ and Chinese nationalists celebrate Trump’s victory – China Digital Times: ‘Chinese state media denigrated the election as yet another sign of American chaos.’ 🇺🇸
China and US law enforcement join hands to probe chemical trafficking case – Xinhua 🇺🇸
China and US militaries hold fresh talks to manage risks as South China Sea tensions grow – SCMP: ‘held in the coastal Chinese city of Qingdao from Wednesday to Friday’ 🇺🇸
Philippine President Marcos enacted on Friday two laws bolstering his nation’s maritime claims and pushed to tap energy resources, as tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea persist – Bloomberg: ‘Maritime Zones Act’ ‘Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act’ 🇵🇭
China summons Philippine ambassador over new maritime laws – Reuters 🇵🇭
China releases baselines of territorial sea adjacent to Huangyan Dao/Scarborough Shoal – Xinhua 🇵🇭
China Coast Guard vows to strengthen patrols, law enforcement in territorial waters off Huangyan Dao/Scarborough Shoal – Xinhua 🇵🇭
Philippines aims to buy US missile launcher in move likely to anger China – FT 🇵🇭
China and Indonesia enhance ties with key deals on lithium, green energy, and tourism – Reuters 🇮🇩
Chinese and Indonesian presidents pledge joint efforts to build community with shared future – Xinhua: ‘as […] major members of the Global South, China and Indonesia should […] steer global governance in a fairer and more equitable direction.’ 🇮🇩
PM Anwar promotes Asean as gateway on third visit to China, ahead of Malaysia’s chairmanship of group – The Straits Times: ‘Mr Anwar has also promoted Asean as a conduit through which China can foster closer ties with the Middle East. […] Mr Anwar invited Mr Xi to attend the Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Kuala Lumpur in May 2025.’ 🇲🇾
Peru and China to sign strengthened free-trade agreement in Xi’s APEC visit – Reuters 🇵🇪
China economie
China announces a CN¥10 trillion [€1.3trn] programme to refinance local government debt, as Beijing rolls out more measures to support a slowing economy facing new risks from the reelection of Donald Trump – Bloomberg: ‘close to the upper range of forecasts by most economists’
China’s latest stimulus falls short of expectations – Reuters: ‘“It is going to disappoint the market because China needs more essentially,” said UBP’s Asia senior economist Carlos Casanova.’
China’s stimulus strategy, while not ‘whatever it takes’, is seen as long and intact – SCMP: ‘the current round of stimulus did signal a major shift in terms of its scale and proactive use of tools’
China consumer prices rise slowest in 4 months, despite stimulus – Reuters: ‘The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.3% from a year earlier last month, slowing from September's 0.4% rise and marking the lowest since June’
China suffers foreign investment deficit for 2nd straight quarter – Nikkei Asia: ‘Outflows of foreign direct investments exceeded inflows by $8.1 billion in the third quarter’
Foreign investors pulled a record amount of money from China last quarter, with the second-only fall on record likely reflecting deep pessimism about the economy – Bloomberg
China’s property developers from Vanke to Longfor see October sales surge – SCMP
Economic woes sour prospects for China’s dairy farmers – AFP
China binnenland
Chinese internet censors ban ultranationalist anti-West firebrand Sīmǎ Nán 司马南 for a year – SCMP: ‘Both sources declined to comment on the reason for the ban.’
Dit is wel een signaal.
China’s top legislature concludes standing committee session – Xinhua
Sting operations, whistle-blowers and detailed menus: China doubles down on food safety – The Straits Times
Chinese city Kaifeng forced to back pedal over night-time cycling after streets become gridlocked – SCMP
Taiwan buitenland en defensie
Taiwan considers big US defence purchases as overture to Trump – FT: ‘including the Aegis destroyer’ ‘and Northrop Grumman’s E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, an airborne radar system. It also wants more Patriot missiles and may request F-35 fighter jets’ 🇺🇸
Reuters schreef al in algemene termen over mogelijke zulke plannen op 7 november. Zulke grote, dure systemen gaan in tegen de asymmetrische aanbevelingen van de ‘Overall Defence Concept’ van voormalig CDS admiraal Lee Hsi-min en de pogingen van de Biden-regering om Taiwan te dwingen zich meer te richten op het kleinere, meer betaalbare wapentuig dat geschikt is voor de visie van Lee.
Taiwan prepares for Trump scrutiny of defence and supply chains – Nikkei Asia 🇺🇸
Taiwan’s representative to the US delivers letter to Donald Trump – Taipei Times: ‘during a meeting with a former Trump administration official’ ‘former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien’ 🇺🇸
Dus waarschijnlijk geen telefoongesprek.
First batch of 300-km range US missile system ATACMS arrive in Taiwan, source says – Focus Taiwan: ‘The recent shipment is part of the ATACMS and HIMARS M142 launchers the U.S. approved for sale in late 2020.’ 🇺🇸
Chinese incursions around Taiwan soar 300% since May inauguration of President Lai, US general says – Taipei Times: ‘US intelligence officials have said that 2027 could be an inflection point for a cross-strait conflict, which would come during Trump’s second term in office, but the returning president has not committed to defending Taiwan during a Chinese invasion’ 🇨🇳
Videos about Taiwan upset China, source says – Taipei Times: ‘Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday.’ 🇨🇳
Taiwan coast guard to harness ‘people power’ to report Chinese activity – Reuters: ‘would offer rewards worth thousands of dollars’ 🇨🇳
Taobao 淘宝 returns to Taiwan with illegal advertisements in Taipei metro – RTI 🇨🇳
Taiwan, excluded from climate summit, sets up ‘war room’ to watch talks – Reuters 🇦🇿
Taiwan binnenland en economie
Budget impasse at Legislature nears end[s] as Cabinet cedes to KMT and TPP demands – Focus Taiwan
Legislative review of 2025 government budget plan to commence – Focus Taiwan: ‘The central government’s budget plan for the fiscal year 2025 will now be sent to various legislative committees for more detailed deliberation.’
Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je 柯文哲 (TPP)’s wife posts income to rebut alleged corruption – Focus Taiwan: ‘It was the second time Chen was questioned by prosecutors’
Taiwan’s foreign ministry’s secret budget highest in 6 years – Taipei Times: ‘The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should, in accordance with the freedom of government information principle, list the expenditures of its confidential budget proposal, […], the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said.’
Taiwan posts record high October exports driven by strong demand for AI – Focus Taiwan: ‘grew 8.4 percent in October from a year earlier to hit US$41.3 billion’ ‘China and Hong Kong remained the top export destination [with] 33.6 percent’
Taiwan’s cabinet plans to boost key industry sectors’ funds by 40.6 per cent – Taipei Times
Taiwan to bring in 1,000 Indian workers for manufacturing – Focus Taiwan: ‘It will be the first batch of Indian workers brought to Taiwan under the Memorandum of Understanding inked between the two governments in February.’ 🇮🇳