De Chinese Wouden, maandag 5 februari: Rutte belt Li, Indo-Pacific en ASEAN in Brussel
Mark Rutte heeft gebeld met de Chinese premier Li Qiang. Zoals gebruikelijk is er enkel aan de Chinese kant een readout en nieuwsbericht. Geen nieuws. De Chinese oproepen tot wederzijds respect, openheid en het opzij zetten van de verschillen zijn vaste koek.
Nederland zal vast gewoon doorgaan met het nemen van maatregelen wegens het uitblijven van respect van de Chinese kant, het gebrek aan openheid van de Chinese markt en het benadrukken van de Chinese verschillen met het ‘hypocriete’ Westen.
In Brussel waren er twee belangrijke internationale Europese toppen. Op twee februari was er eerst het Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum en daarna de gebruikelijke top tussen de EU en ASEAN. Het was weer moeizaam om de grote lidstaten hun ministers te laten sturen.
Men begrijpt in de regio ook wel dat Europa niet alles kan doen en leveren wat de VS en China doen en leveren. Maar er is wel degelijk een rol die wij kunnen spelen, waar de regio ook op zit te wachten. We hebben ook gewoon keiharde eigen belangen veilig te stellen. Daarbij helpt het niet, als je mensen van ver laat vliegen en dat niet een serieuze eigen aanwezigheid kunt garanderen en vervolgens ook nog een potje maakt van de praktische organisatie o.a. door last-minute change of venue. Dan werkt zo’n top juist omgekeerd – dan besteed je veel pijn en moeite om de regio een duidelijk signaal af te geven hoe weinig je om de landen daar geeft.
Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺
‘📞: Goed om vandaag de Chinese premier Li Qiang te spreken. Allereerst heb ik hem alvast de beste wensen voor het Chinese nieuwjaar overgebracht wat volgende week zaterdag van start gaat. Daarnaast bespraken we de samenwerking tussen onze landen.’ – Mark Rutte, Twitter 🇳🇱
China and the Netherlands agree to deepen cooperation – Xinhua: 🇳🇱
Li said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties more than 50 years ago, China and the Netherlands have always respected each other and treated each other as equals, while bilateral dialogue and cooperation have yielded fruitful results.
Li noted that the two countries are each other’s important economic and trade partners, with bilateral trade volume staying at a high level for many years in a row. The two countries’ cooperation in agriculture, water conservancy, science and technology has been at the forefront of China-EU cooperation, bringing tangible benefits to both countries and their people, he said.
Practice has fully proved that only openness and cooperation can yield a better win-win situation and best serve the fundamental interests of both sides, Li said, expressing the hope that the Dutch side will continue to work with China to seek common ground while shelving differences, so as to uphold the good situation of bilateral cooperation.
China is ready to work with the Netherlands to further deepen practical cooperation, strengthen people-to-people exchanges in education, culture, tourism and at sub-national levels, facilitate exchanges of personnel visits, for the sake of better mutual benefit and win-win results, Li said.
Convocatie commissieactiviteit: Convocatie rondetafelgesprek Taiwan d.d. 28 maart 2024 – Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal 🇳🇱
Opinie: Kabinet moet alerter zijn op spionage met Chinese scanners bij douane – Ad Melkert, Koen Gijsbers en Joris Voorhoeve in de Volkskrant 🇳🇱
Minister Adema blokkeert verhuizing dolfijnen van Dolfinarium naar China: „Ben niet overtuigd” – AD 🇳🇱
China and Germany hold the fifth round of consular consultations – Foreign Ministry of the People’s Republic of China: ‘such issues as […] safeguarding the safety and legitimate rights and interests of overseas citizens and institutions.’ 🇩🇪
Russia and China compare notes on ‘military use of artificial intelligence’ during talks in Beijing – SCMP 🇷🇺
Brusselse toppen 🇪🇺🏔️
EU’s courtship of Indo-Pacific gets cold shoulder from big powers – POLITICO Europe: ‘the EU couldn’t even attract ministers from its own influential countries.’ ’The EU also felt the absence of four of the West’s closest allies in the Indo-Pacific.’
‘The Middle East clearly overshadowed the meeting, as the West has been criticized by developing countries for failing to condemn Israel for the ongoing war in Gaza.’
EU told ‘double standards’ for Ukraine and Gaza hurt relations with Indo-Pacific – SCMP: ‘The [Indo-Pacific] summit, the third of its kind, was attended by more than 70 delegations spanning the Pacific Islands, East Africa, Asia and Europe.’ ‘only 20 of the EU’s 27 foreign ministers showed up’
Joint statement of the 24th EU-ASEAN ministerial meeting – European Council/Council of the EU: ‘We reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety, and freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea, in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.’
Taiwanese export Rusland 🇹🇼🇷🇺
Taiwan says it has tightened export controls after report of Russian arms use – Focus Taiwan: ‘The ministry said the measures it has adopted to prevent similar reoccurrences included placing I Machine Technology, which is accused of re-directing Taiwanese-made precision equipment to Russian arms makers, on a blacklist last month.’ ‘In addition, the penalty for first-time violations of exporting to Russia has been increased by over 15 times to NT$1 million (US$32,055), the MOEA said.’
Typisch Taiwan om alleen te verwijzen naar het verhaal in de Amerikaanse media, terwijl het al lang door Taiwanees journalistiek platform The Reporter was aangekaart. Ook typisch Taiwan dat de boetes nog altijd vrij laag zijn.
Precision equipment for Russian arms makers came from US-allied Taiwan – The Washington Post (2024/02/01): ‘Since January 2023, I Machine Technology has imported over $20 million of sophisticated equipment called CNC machine tools made in Taiwan’ ‘shipments identified by The Post probably violated prohibitions Taiwan and the West imposed last January on the sale of technology to Russia’
The Washington Post had wel duidelijker mogen verwijzen naar de eerdere, gedetailleerdere berichtgeving over dit bedrijf door The Insider en The Reporter.
eerder: Taiwan has become the Russian arms industry’s main source for high precision machine tools – The Insider (2024/01/26): ‘According to Russian customs records from NBD (a platform specializing in international trade data collection), between March and September 2023, Russia imported at least 193 Taiwanese-made machining centers worth a total value of nearly $29 million. Close to 80% of the Taiwanese comprehensive processing machines flowing into Russia are transshipped through third countries, with Turkey and China being the top culprits.’ ‘Among all of the Russian companies that procured Taiwanese machine tools via third countries in 2023, the one with the largest import volume was “I Machine Technology.”’
eerder: 揭開土耳其轉運網絡:出口管制下,台灣高階工具機如何持續流入俄羅斯? – 報導者 (2024/01/23)
Asia’s commercial heft helps keep Russia’s war economy going – The Economist‘s Banyan: ‘The Insider, an online newspaper, recently revealed how Russian military enterprises are getting hold of sophisticated machine tools from Taiwan’ ‘Singapore is one odd case. It condemned Russia’s aggression and was the only member of ASEAN to sanction Russia. Oil, though, is not covered. Singapore is a refining and oil-trading giant, as well as the world’s busiest bunkering port. In the year to May 2023 its imports of Russian oil nearly doubled. Demand for storage has also risen, suggesting that Russian oil products are being blended and sold on as non-Russian oil with a juicy mark-up.’ 🇷🇺
Tech War 💽💥
China’s cull of EV overcapacity will bring little relief to Europe – Yanmei Xie for FT: ‘Overcapacity is a chronic affliction of Chinese industrial policy. Like an adaptable virus, it is difficult to eliminate and requires continuous suppression, which often takes the form of government-orchestrated industry consolidation. The treatment culls the weak. The companies that survive are fitter and meaner and become even more fierce in export markets.’ 🇪🇺
EU mulls emergency aid for collapsing solar producers – POLITICO Europe 🇪🇺
US bill targeting Chinese biotech firms WuXi AppTec 药明康德 and BGI 华大 hits delay – Reuters 🇺🇸
China chip maker YMTC 长江存储 says its tech not for military use after Pentagon list – Reuters 🇺🇸
US officials to brief Taiwanese semiconductor firms about chip export controls in March – Focus Taiwan: ‘In October 2023, the AIT organized similar briefings in Taiwan’ 🇺🇸
China rushes to homegrown AI chips as Nvidia cutoff expands – Nikkei Asia: ‘But as hopes grow for a boom in domestic AI chips, mass production remains a challenge.’
Taiwan government-initiated biomanufacturing company TBMC sets sights on becoming ‘Biotech TSMC’ – Focus Taiwan: ‘TSMC’s foreign partner back then was Philips — which transferred some of its semiconductor patents to TSMC — while TBMC is now working with National Resilience.’
Singapore gears up to ride EV microchips boom – The Straits Times: ‘Asia led the export of electronic integrated circuits in 2022, with Taiwan, China and Singapore taking the top three spots.’ 🇸🇬
Voor meer details over de halfgeleiderindustrie in de stadstaat, zie het door mij geschreven hoofdstuk ‘Singapore’ in LAC-rapport Dutch interests and the politicisation of the Asian semiconductor industry.
China’s Geely 吉利 launches 11 low-orbit satellites for autonomous cars – Reuters
China launches powerful Jielong-3 rocket, paves way for more commercial missions – Reuters
Why China hopes the US won’t touch a century-old trade rule affecting imports under US$800 – SCMP: ‘E-commerce giants Shein and Temu flourish as parcels surpass quarter of a trillion dollars in value annually amid push to tighten de minimis provision’ 🇺🇸
Meta’s ad rebound may depend too much on China – FT Lex
Kantelpunt 🌏⏱️
Fear and ambition propel Beijing’s nuclear acceleration – The New York Times: ‘[Xi Jinping’s] comments behind closed doors, revealed in the speech, show that anxiety and ambition have driven his transformative buildup of China’s nuclear weapons arsenal in the past decade.’
‘Now, as China’s nuclear options have grown, its military strategists are looking to nuclear weapons as not only a defensive shield, but as a potential sword — to intimidate and subjugate adversaries.’
Een belangrijke les voor Peking aangaande Taiwan lijkt de interpretatie dat de Russische nucleaire dreiging Westerse deelname aan de Oekraïense kant in de strijd heeft voorkomen.
China named as hypothetical enemy for 1st time in Japan-US exercise – Kyodo News: ‘The computer simulation exercise, which began on Feb. 1 and is slated to be held through Thursday, envisions an emergency in Taiwan.’ 🇯🇵🇺🇸
Ties Dams: „Ook wij hebben er baat bij dat China sterker groeit dan het nu doet” – De Standaard
Philippines to finally get India-made BrahMos missiles — what does it mean? – Rappler 🇵🇭🇮🇳
‘What’s next’ as China’s Pacific island diplomatic wins mount? – SCMP: ‘“As Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in the Pacific dwindle, there will be fewer obstacles for China’s regional engagement,” Sora said.’
Overige
China buitenland en defensie
Florida law barring Chinese citizens from owning property in state blocked by US court – SCMP 🇺🇸
Chinese foreign friendship chief Yáng Wànmíng 杨万明 seeks to boost relations with tour of US – SCMP 🇺🇸
Trump zal als president China forse importtarieven opleggen – FD 🇺🇸
Insight: How North Korean eyelashes make their way to West as ‘made in China’ – Reuters 🇰🇵
South China Sea: Beijing keeps close eye on Philippine supply mission to Second Thomas Shoal – SCMP 🇵🇭
Xinhua Commentary: Provocations [sic] by the Philippines in South China Sea unwise and futile – Xinhua: ‘in collusion with some countries outside the region’ 🇵🇭
Al decennia maant China tot rust om dialoog met de landen en ASEAN mogelijk te maken, terwijl het ondertussen met eigen acties de controle over de Zuid-Chinese Zee uitbreidt.
South China Sea: how Beijing uses pinyin translations to double down on territorial claims – SCMP
US charges Chinese nationals with smuggling US-made electronics to Iran – Reuters 🇺🇸🇮🇷
The case of Philip Chan 陈文平: Beijing steps up efforts to co-opt diaspora to ‘tell the China story well’ – The Straits Times 🇸🇬
Line crossed under Singapore’s foreign interference law when people promote foreign political interests, experts say – The Straits Times 🇸🇬
De indirect staatsgecontroleerde media in Singapore is in de instructiemodus, na eerdere verhalen over meneer Chan. Het artikel in The Washington Post over de pro-Chinese neigingen in de Singaporese krant Lianhe Zaobao van vorig jaar bevatte ook veelzeggende stukjes over de activiteiten van toenmalig ambassadeur Sun Haiyan (achtergrond in ILD i.p.v. MFA).
Bhutan kan slechts toekijken terwijl China dorpen bouwt op zijn grondgebied – Trouw 🇧🇹
India laat duif die werd verdacht van spionage voor China na acht maanden vrij – NU.nl 🇮🇳
China economie
Pork demand in China remains weak even as Lunar New Year approaches, sending a powerful message about consumer confidence in the world’s second-largest economy – Bloomberg: ‘last year, consumption fell by 1 million tons to roughly 54 million’
‘Uninvestable’: China’s US$2tn stock rout leaves investors scarred – FT: ‘More than 40 per cent of those surveyed while attending a session on Chinese equities held by the US bank [Goldman Sachs] on Wednesday said they believed the country was “uninvestable”’
China’s stock market is in a yearslong slump. Beijing is turning to a familiar solution. – WSJ: ‘China has pushed a group of state-linked companies to buy exchange-traded funds, part of an effort to boost stock prices. So far, it isn’t working.’
Publiek Chinees geld helpt private investeerders te cashen bij het verlaten van de markt op deze manier. Bedankt, Xi Dada, voor de common prosperity!
Uneven path to finish Evergrande 恒大’s abandoned housing in Chinese city Shijiazhuang – Reuters
China’s Country Garden 碧桂园 says over 30 projects have local government support – Reuters
A social media account of the US Embassy in China has become the latest go-to place for Chinese netizens to vent frustration over the economy and recent stock-market rout, as Chinese authorities clamp down on criticism – Bloomberg
Thrifty Chinese consumers flock to discount snack shops – Nikkei Asia
Beijing’s silence is deafening – Logan Wright for the Rhodium Group: ‘This is not normal. It is also far from Beijing’s own past practices.’ ‘economic policymaking is starting to resemble the period of zero COVID, complete with denials, unrealistic messaging, and then finally a mad scramble to adjust to reality.’
China binnenland
Xinhua Headlines-Xi Focus: Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 extends Spring Festival greetings to all Chinese – Xinhua
Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 inspects troops stationed in Tianjin, extends festival greetings to all servicemen – Xinhua
Chinese premier Lǐ Qiáng 李强 urges boosting people’s wellbeing during inspection tour in Shanxi – Xinhua
What is new form of human civilisation Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 has been forging with his cultural vision? – Xinhua: ‘A U.S.-based research institute observed that President Xi is no longer considered merely an inheritor or protector of a great civilization but the creator of one, too.’
‘In his youth, Xi read “One-Dimensional Man” by Herbert Marcuse. Seeing the drawbacks of a "one-dimensional" human existence caused by the encroachment of capital in Western modernization, […]’
How has Xí Jìnpíng 习近平’s cultural upbringing shaped his character? – Xinhua
Chinese nuclear fuel engineer Lǐ Guǎngcháng 李广长 latest in corruption net as clean-up drive in ‘high-risk’ areas continues – SCMP: ‘a member of the science and technology committee of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC)’ ‘a former director of the nuclear fuel division of CNNC’
Briefing held in preparation for upcoming annual top legislature session – Xinhua
A new era for China’s overseas anti-corruption campaign – Chi Yin for The Diplomat: ‘the first publicly reported case of convictions being handed down under a law passed 12 years ago which incorporated the crime of bribing foreign public officials into China’s criminal law.’ ‘Singaporean official tasked with overseeing the construction of a large subway project’ 🇸🇬
China vows to boost farm output, seed research in renewed food security, tech self-reliance push – SCMP
Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s new security law, outlined by John Lee on Tuesday, brings fresh anxiety among business leaders and threatens to exacerbate tensions with the US – Bloomberg
Article 23 then and now: What changed between 2002 and 2024, as Hong Kong’s local security law is resurrected – HKFP
Under China scrutiny Hong Kong media slips into self-censorship – Nikkei Asia: ‘Several newspaper employees told Nikkei Asia that Beijing's top representative office in Hong Kong plays a direct role in the city’s news operations.’
Hong Kong withdraws from esports competition after gaming programme omits ‘China’ from name of team – HKFP
Taiwan buitenland en defensie
Taiwan money laundering trials spotlight Asian cyberscam sector – Nikkei Asia: ‘The charges faced by the pair in the New Taipei District Court underscore the proliferation of regional criminal networks and authorities’ scramble to catch up, said Jeremy Douglas, regional head of the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC).’
China’s Fujian province steps up defence mobilisation reforms in bid to improve war readiness – SCMP: ‘The southeastern province merged its military-civil fusion office, which is tasked with integrating civilian resources as part of China’s military build-up, with its defence mobilisation department in a structural reform this week’
New locomotives capable of transporting HIMARS rocket system, Taiwan Railway Corp says – Taipei Times: ‘The [TRC and the All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency] have set a preliminary schedule on the coordination and special task force meetings, TRC said.’
Military manufacturing work on schedule, government report says – Taipei Times
US has delivered Stinger missiles to Taiwan, sources say – Taipei Times 🇺🇸
US to deliver 50 AGM-154 glide bombs – Taipei Times 🇺🇸
Taiwan financial firms’ exposure to China down 12% at end-2023 – Focus Taiwan: ‘to NT$1.05 trillion (US$33.65 billion)’
Taiwanese businesspeople could face greater risks in China, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council says – Taipei Times: ‘Under the “common prosperity” policy, Chinese governments at all levels might consider personal opinions and business networks of Taiwanese businesspeople to have national security ramifications and press charges, it said.’
Taiwan politiek
指對方先致電!「還好我有留簡訊」 柯文哲將告吳崢、2記者 – 自由時報:「面對民進黨發言人吳崢曝料,柯主動打電話給綠營醫界大老,盼民進黨支持黨內立委黃珊珊擔任院長,柯文哲受訪時痛批,他將針對吳崢、2名媒體記者提告民事侵權,黃珊珊正在寫訴狀,『這種惡風一定要遏止』。」
TPP-leider Ko Wen-je zegt DPP-woordvoerder Justin Wu en twee verslaggevers aan te klagen in verband met claims over onderhandelingen over de verkiezingen van de parlementsvoorzitter.
TPP’s Ko Wen-je 柯文哲 slammed for remarks on voters’ education levels – Focus Taiwan: ‘saying that his party would have won the election if ballot access was limited to [university]-educated voters.’
‘he said the TPP is a party of “elites” similar to the ruling People’s Action Party in Singapore, with a voter base that is disproportionately young, well-educated and politically centrist.’
Klopt niet, in Singapore stemmen kritische hoogopgeleiden en jonge mensen die klagen over te hoge huizenprijzen en te lage salarissen juist vaker op de oppositie. Maar het half-autoritaire half-democratische Singapore blijft in Taiwan een verlokkelijk alternatief voor KMT en nu dus ook TPP.
Ko doet me denken aan het elitairisme van de Vastelanders van de New Party (NP) in de jaren negentig beschreven door Bruce Jacobs (blz. 98).
Fugitive former Kaohsiung councillor Liu Hsin-cheng 劉馨正 (KMT) caught by police – Taipei Times
DPP expels 50 members – Taipei Times: ‘either contravened party rules by campaigning for other political parties during elections or were involved in #MeToo sex scandals.’
From mums to candidates: The journey of ‘obasan’ party in Taiwan’s elections – Focus Taiwan
Taiwan binnenland en economie
Former Yilan County staff member You Chih-hsiao 游志僥 handed prison sentence – Taipei Times
Antidepressant use rising, health ministry data show – Taipei Times