De Chinese Wouden, vrijdag 19 mei: Hoekstra naar Peking, Li Hui in Oekraïne, KMT kiest Hou You-yi
De afgelopen dagen was ik er even tussenuit. Dan zul je net zien dat na terugkomst er veel te veel nieuws wacht. Daarom – voordat ik me weer wend tot het becommentariëren van de kladscripties van mijn studenten – een overdagse update voor het weekend.
Nederland 🇳🇱
China’s premier Lǐ Qiáng 李强 calls on Netherlands to ‘adhere to strategic autonomy’, as US restrictions weigh on trade – SCMP
Premier Lǐ Qiáng 李强 has a phone call with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China: ‘China regards the Netherlands as a priority partner of cooperation within the European Union, and is ready to work with the Netherlands to jointly promote cooperation in various fields to achieve new results.’
‘Li Qiang pointed out that China and the Netherlands have benefited from and supported economic globalization and free trade, and expressed his hope that the Netherlands will uphold the spirit of contract, adhere to market principles and WTO rules, safeguard the common interests of China and the Netherlands and their enterprises, and defend the smooth and unimpeded global industrial and supply chains.’
Dutch Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra to pay official visit China from May 23 to 24 – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China
‘Had a fruitful conversation with Dutch Foreign Minister @WBHoekstra on shared security concerns in the Indo-Pacific, unwavering support for Ukraine, and gratitude for Dutch assistance evacuating U.S. citizens from Sudan.’ – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Twitter
Europa 🇪🇺
Wagner-linked group buys helmets from China despite sanctions – FT 🇺🇦
EU gets more cautious on hitting third countries over Russia sanctions – Reuters 🇪🇺
EU on Chinese spy balloons: Nothing to see (up) here – POLITICO Europe 🇪🇺
President Ursula von der Leyen on our policies towards China at Session III of the G7, Foreign and Security Policy – European Commission: ‘China has moved from “reform and opening” to “security and control”.’ 🇪🇺
EU’s Charles Michel calls for ‘stable and constructive’ cooperation with China – Reuters 🇪🇺
G7 draft communique on China relationship: ‘We act in our national interest’ – Reuters
G7 prioritises ‘de-risking’ China links over ‘decoupling’ – FT
Oekraïne, Azië en kernwapens op agenda G7-top in Hiroshima – NOS
How to deal with China – Josep Borrell: ‘In this context the EU has to recalibrate its policy towards China for at least three reasons: the changes inside China with nationalism and ideology on the rise,; the hardening of US-China strategic competition; and the rise of China as a key player in regional and global issues.’ 🇪🇺
Dit opiniestuk van de Europese buitenlandschef verscheen in de SCMP, Le Soir, Die Welt, en La Repubblica.
Belgium senators on five-day visit in Taiwan – Focus Taiwan 🇧🇪
Italy prepares to quit Xi’s global building megaplan – POLITICO Europe: ‘the discussion in Rome is focused on how to exit Belt and Road, rather than whether to do’ 🇮🇹
President Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文 [Cài Yīngwén] reiterates interest in trade and investment pact with UK during Liz Truss meeting – Focus Taiwan 🇬🇧
Russian PM to visit China next week – AFP
Li Hui in Oekraïne 🇺🇦
Chinese envoy Li Hui says Ukraine and Russia must ‘start with themselves’ to create space for peace talks – SCMP
Ukraine war: China’s special envoy Li Hui adds Brussels to his European tour after meeting in Kyiv – SCMP
The Office of the President held a briefing on the current security situation in Ukraine for the Chinese delegation headed by the Special Representative of the Chinese Government – President of Ukraine
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s Regular Press Conference on May 18, 2023 – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China: [De Oekraïense readouts leken te suggereren dat Li niet had gesproken met Zelensky zelf.]
Bloomberg: Can you clarify did Li Hui meet with President Zelenskyy?
Wang Wenbin: As I said, during Special Representative Li Hui’s visit to Ukraine, President Zelenskyy met with him and the Special Representative also had meetings with other Ukrainian officials.
Centraal-Azië
In Centraal-Azië groeit de argwaan voor Rusland, China ziet zijn kans – NRC
China looks to strengthen ties in Russia’s Central Asian backyard – Reuters
China’s Xi pledges billions in loans to Central Asian nations – Nikkei Asia
China seeks to cement ties with Central Asia as G7 discusses plans to counter Beijing’s ‘economic coercion’ – SCMP
Xi Focus: Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 chairs milestone summit and hails new era of China-Central Asia ties – Xinhua
Presidentsverkiezingen Taiwan
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi 侯友宜 [Hóu Yǒuyí] vows to propel KMT back to power as presidential candidate – Taipei Times
Expected revolt in Taiwan’s KMT that just fizzled out overnight – Courtney Donovan Smith: ‘By my count, Chu has faced three major revolts, and several minor ones in the party over unpopular decisions by Chu, but every time he has faced his critics down and prevailed.’
Opposition party cooperation in 2024 elections still possible, according to KMT sources – Focus Taiwan
Lijkt me deels wensdenken van de KMT om te verwachten dat Ko Wen-je en zijn TPP deze kans laten varen.
Taiwan’s presidential slate is Set for 2024 – Brian Hioe for The Diplomat
Tech War 💽💥
ASML-leverancier KMWE omzeilt handelsoorlog door Chinees filiaal te openen – AD
Volkswagen talks to Huawei about licensing software for cars in China – FT
The five EU research projects involving China’s military-linked universities – Science|Business
US considers screening outbound investment amid China competition, leading experts to urge caution – SCMP
TSMC chairman invited to meet with Japanese prime minister – Focus Taiwan
Kantelpunt 🌏⏱️
Behind Beijing’s crackdown on US companies: ‘Securocrats’ are taking charge of Chinese economic policy – WSJ: ‘Putting Chen [Yixin] in charge is part of a broader push by Xi to displace technocrats’
Volgens WSJ ging een eerdere campagne gericht op buitenlandse consultancies in 2020 niet ver genoeg voor Xi Jinping en heeft hij er daarom deze keer de staatsveiligheidsmensen op gezet.
US-based Forrester Research to close China office amid Beijing’s crackdown of foreign advisories – SCMP
US consultancy Mintz’s executives leave Hong Kong after China raid – Reuters
Fund manager Amundi shifts assets from US to China – FT
Russia denounces Macron over China subservience comments – Reuters
Russia opening Vladivostok port to China after 163 years – Lianhe Zaobao via ThinkChina
Weekend
Longreads en achtergrond
What’s happened to China’s Uyghur camps? – Sky News
How Beijing forces Uyghurs to pick cotton: Coercive labour is getting less visible, but more intense – Adrian Zenz for Foreign Policy
Can China Thread the Needle on Ukraine? Beijing Struggles to Balance Its Ties to Russia and Europe – Bonny Lin for Foreign Affairs
Comedy, under the watchful eye of the state – China Media Project
Is China’s recovery about to stall? The country appears to be stuck in a confidence trap – The Economist
Surge of manufacturing protests in China deserves international attention – China Labour Bulletin
Podcasts
Drum Tower: Outbreak of bossiness – The Economist op het platteland. 🍎🤖
Overige
China buitenland en defensie
💡 China’s loans pushing world’s poorest countries to brink of collapse – AP: ‘Behind the scenes is China’s reluctance to forgive debt and its extreme secrecy about how much money it has loaned and on what terms, which has kept other major lenders from stepping in to help. On top of that is the recent discovery that borrowers have been required to put cash in hidden escrow accounts that push China to the front of the line of creditors to be paid.’
‘“There is no single person in charge,” said Teal Emery, a former sovereign loan analyst who now runs consulting group Teal Insights. Adds AidData’s Parks about Beijing, “They’re kind of making it up as they go along. There is no master plan.”’
Het grote nadeel van de Chinese gewoonte van beleid per slogan is dit soort rotzooi.
America’s Coercive Diplomacy and Its Harm – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China: ‘All-round sanctions on Russia.’
US not allowed to turn back wheel of history on Taiwan question, says Chinese defence spokesperson – Xinhua
Vietnam rebukes China and Philippines over South China Sea conduct – Reuters
China banks on stability with Afghanistan belt and road agreement: experts – SCMP
China revs up agricultural diplomacy post-Covid – Dim Sums
China economie
In Guangdong zie je de Chinese economie haperen: „We doen het licht uit om kosten te besparen” – de Volkskrant
China’s urban youth unemployment hits record high in April amid mixed economic recovery – SCMP
China’s urban youth jobless rate rose to a record 20.4% in April, showing the economy is still struggling to absorb new workers even as the overall labor force declines – Bloomberg
Chinese graduates are asking where all the good jobs went – Cindy Yu for Foreign Policy
Officials called for market stability and for drastic moves in the exchange rate to be reduced – Bloomberg
Signs mount that China’s recovery is losing momentum with consumer spending and industrial activity growing slower than expected in April – Bloomberg
China’s April data show economic recovery losing steam, testing policymakers – Reuters
China binnenland
China Focus: China establishes national financial regulatory administration – Xinhua
Xi Focus: Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 calls on Shaanxi to write new chapter in advancing Chinese modernisation – Xinhua
Hong Kong
Hong Kong security chief evades question over legality of Tiananmen crackdown mourning – HKFP
Hong Kong mulls legislation to extend land leases by 50 years without owner execution – HKFP
Taiwan buitenland en defensie
China says it will resume group tours for Taiwan residents to China – Reuters
KMT officials propose ‘four small links’ plan at Fuzhou meeting in China – Taipei Times
Taiwan and US finalise first agreement under trade initiative – Focus Taiwan
Hoping for invitation to WHO meeting, Taiwan gathers more support – Reuters
Like-minded partners ‘most effective defence’ against China, President Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文 [Cài Yīngwén] tells Copenhagen Democracy Summit – Focus Taiwan
Taiwan binnenland en economie
Still no consensus on pension reform, says deputy labour minister – Taipei Times