De Chinese Wouden, woensdag 12 februari: nog altijd Trump
Excuses voor het uitblijven van de nieuwsbrief maandag. Tot gisteren was ik even in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh-stad). Vietnam profiteert veel van de industrie die uit China verdwijnt. China heeft te kampen met stijgende lonen en toenemende geopolitieke zorgen. Vietnam biedt niet alleen goedkope arbeid, maar is ook een communistische land dat nauwe banden heeft met Peking en tegelijkertijd ook een traditie van anti-Chinees nationalisme en samenwerking met de rest van de wereld.
Net als elders in Zuidoost-Azië neemt productie in Vietnam dan ook rap toe. Binnenlandse consumptie blijft echter laag. Het risico is dat Hanoi dezelfde fout maakt als China en de economie te afhankelijk maakt van alsmaar groeiende export en bouw. Alleen zal het vanwege de kleinere schaal wel minder snel de wereldwijde tegenstand oproepen waar Peking nu mee te stellen heeft.
Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺
Waarom de Brabantse Brainport een broertje in China bouwt – NRC: „Er komen meer van deze hubs in Azië, om het oplaaiende handelsconflict en de technologische wapenwedloop tussen de VS en China te omzeilen.” 🇳🇱
Fan cult: Why AfD election frontrunner Alice Weidel is celebrated like a star in China – Table Briefings 🇩🇪
EU to blacklist 25 more Chinese entities for flouting Russia sanctions – SCMP 🇪🇺🇷🇺
European Commission asks Shein 希音 for information on illegal goods – Reuters 🇪🇺
UK urged to follow EU and US closing tax loophole to prevent ‘massive influx’ of Shein 希音 and TEMU goods – The Guardian 🇬🇧
China’s foreign minister to visit Britain on Thursday for talks – Reuters: ‘Lammy and Wang will revive the UK-China Strategic Dialogue, a forum last held in 2018 to discuss bilateral issues.’ 🇬🇧
China refuses to bow to UK request over fence for London embassy – FT 🇬🇧
China-Russia ties: Xi to visit Moscow to mark Soviet WWII victory over Germany – SCMP: ‘Tass quoted Morgulov telling Russia-24 television that Xi had also invited Putin to attend Chinese celebrations in September to mark the end of the second Sino-Japanese war in 1945.’ 🇷🇺
Wereldhandelsoorlog 📊💥
Chinese officials are identifying US tech companies that can be targeted with antitrust probes and other tools, hoping to influence executives heavily represented in Trump’s orbit – WSJ: ‘People familiar with Beijing’s strategy said the goal was to collect as many cards as possible to play in expected negotiations’ 🇺🇸
Xi Jinping swings his ‘assassin’s mace’ of economic warfare – The Economist: ‘Nevertheless, China’s growing embrace of export restrictions and bans signals its intent to use its economic power to weaponise supply chains and punish foreign firms and countries.’
China is racing to make itself less reliant on the outside world’s products and technology as tensions with the US rise – WSJ: ‘part of a yearslong effort by leader Xi Jinping to make China more self-sufficient and impervious to Western pressure as tensions with the U.S. rise.’ ‘In many ways, the effort is succeeding.’ ‘Beneath those wins, however, Xi’s industrial policy is hugely expensive’ 🇺🇸
Trump signs order delaying tariffs on de minimis imports from China – SCMP
Chinese TEMU sellers use fake US postage labels to boost their profits – Rest of World 🇺🇸
Von der Leyen labels Trump’s VP an ally after first meeting – POLITICO Europe: ‘Von der Leyen also hinted at cooperating over global overproduction of steel, mainly coming from China.’ 🇪🇺
Amid tariff crossfire, China set to widen trade with Colombia – Nikkei Asia 🇨🇴
China sends trade mission to Central Asia as it braces for US tariff war – SCMP
TSMC 台積電 to hold first US board meeting – Focus Taiwan: ‘Industry insiders believe TSMC will likely engage in discussions with the U.S. government to mitigate the impact of potential tariffs.’ 🇹🇼
Taiwanese economics officials to meet with Trump’s team to avoid 100% tariff on chips – Focus Taiwan 🇹🇼
Taiwan’s economic affairs ministry asks CPC to buy US gas in show of goodwill – Taipei Times 🇹🇼
Trump 🇺🇸🟠
Trump, Putin, Xi and the new age of empire – Gideon Rachman for FT
Trump says he has spoken to China’s Xi since inauguration – Reuters 🇺🇸
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun’s Regular Press Conference on February 11, 2025 – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China: ‘President Xi Jinping took a phone call from U.S. President Donald Trump on January 17. There is a public readout on that call.’
Dus wie spreekt de waarheid?
Trump’s FBI pick Kash Patel took up to US$5m in stock from Chinese ecommerce giant Shein 希音 – Wired: ‘Patel began consulting for Shein one month before the company also retained the services of a lobbying firm where Pam Bondi, Trump’s newly confirmed US attorney general, worked at the time.’ 🇺🇸
Kash Patel took US$25,000 from Russia-linked firm to appear on an anti-FBI TV series – Mother Jones 🇺🇸
A group of 200 former national security officials urged congressional leaders to investigate the motive behind the CIA’s buyout offers to staff – Bloomberg 🇺🇸
New attorney general’s orders include dissolving teams focused on foreign influence – The Washington Post 🇺🇸
Top Republican Tom Cotton condemns Elon Musk for ‘supplication’ to China in new book – The Guardian 🇺🇸
Elon Musk, China’s ‘top puppet’, poses US national security risks, House Democrats say – SCMP 🇺🇸
Elon Musk’s Tesla opens Megapack battery factory in China amid nascent trade war – The Washington Post: ‘in Shanghai on Tuesday, near its carmaking Gigafactory’ 🇺🇸
China builds space alliances in Africa as Trump cuts foreign aid – Reuters 🇺🇸
US cedes ground to China with ‘self-inflicted wound’ of USAid shutdown, analysts say – The Guardian 🇺🇸
China provides US$4.4 million more in demining aid amid USAID funding freeze – The Khmer Times 🇰🇭
Techoorlog 💽💥
Opinie: Onze amorele houding geeft China groot militair voordeel – Casper Wits en Jeroen Groenewegen-Lau in Trouw: „De Nederlandse houding rond ASML laat echter zien dat we hier nauwelijks bezig zijn met deze Europese strategische belangen, en nog minder met de Chinese ‘geopolitieke strijd’.” 🇳🇱
Europese AI-top is balanceeract tussen meer regels en meer investeringen – de Volkskrant 🇪🇺
Ook in Europa gaat het AI-debat nu over investeren, investeren, investeren – NRC 🇪🇺
US chip curbs hit China harder than expected as TSMC 台積電 treads carefully – Nikkei Asia: ‘has been informing Chinese customers that use the company's 16-nanometer or better production technologies that it cannot ship orders to them unless they use chip packaging services from a supplier on a U.S. “white list” of approved businesses, two people told Nikkei Asia.’ 🇺🇸🇹🇼
SMIC 中芯 profit plunges 45% on US-China trade tensions – AFP 🇺🇸
Top China chipmaker SMIC says tariff war sparking ‘rush orders’ – Nikkei Asia
China’s purchases of chipmaking equipment to decline in 2025, consultancy says – Reuters: ‘“We can see some slowdown in Chinese spending due to export controls and overcapacity,” he said.’
China launches new rocket designed to carry more satellites – Reuters
BYD 比亚迪 takes lead in China auto market once driven by state-backed players – Nikkei Asia: ‘BYD led China’s passenger vehicle market in sales for the first time in 2024’
Chinese automakers Changan and Dongfeng seen weighing merger – Nikkei Asia
China’s CATL files for Hong Kong listing – FT
Taiwan’s Foxconn 鴻海 says its aim is cooperation with Japan’s Nissan 日産, not acquisition – Reuters: ‘as the Japanese automaker's future hangs in the balance after stepping back from merger talks with Honda.’ 🇯🇵
The start-ups seeking to challenge China’s stranglehold on rare minerals – FT
Justin Trudeau told executives gathered at an economic summit that he believes Donald Trump genuinely wants to annex Canada due to its abundance of critical minerals, a senior government official said – Bloomberg 🇨🇦🇺🇸
Kantelpunt 🌏⏱️
Polen löst China als wichtigstes Ziel deutscher Exporte ab – FAZ 🇩🇪
Chinese companies’ new tactic to stop damaging research: legal threats – The New York Times: ‘The preliminary finding in the case against the [Sheffield] university is the latest in a series of legal challenges roiling the think tanks and universities that research human rights abuses and security violations by Chinese companies.’
Overige
China buitenland en defensie
Canada task force says Freeland, running to replace Trudeau, targeted by China-linked campaign – Reuters 🇨🇦
Chinese spy balloon was packed with American tech – Newsweek 🇺🇸
Boston man cleared of US charges he acted as Chinese agent – Reuters: ‘His lawyer during the trial called the charges […] an effort to chill the free speech of a local community activist who advocated for the “reunification” of democratically governed Taiwan with China’ ‘Prosecutors said Mr Liang from 2018 to 2022 provided Chinese officials with information on individuals’ 🇺🇸
Beijing resumes disputed installations in West Sea (Yellow Sea) amid South Korea's turmoil – The Chosun Daily: ‘a disputed area where the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of South Korea and China overlap’ 🇰🇷
China and ROK should consolidate ties amid rising uncertainties, Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 says – Xinhua: ‘Xi made the remarks while meeting with ROK National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik in Harbin’
China launches patrols near disputed Senkaku/Diaoyutai Islands after removing contentious buoy – SCMP 🇯🇵
China Coast Guard patrols around Diaoyutai/Senkaku Islands – Xinhua 🇯🇵
China removes buoy near Japan-controlled Senkaku/Diaoyutai Islands as relations improve – Nikkei Asia 🇯🇵
Maritime rivals China and Brunei vow to work together on oil and gas in disputed waters – SCMP 🇧🇳
Taipei protests China-Brunei statement on Taiwan – Focus Taiwan: ‘MOFA said it “strongly condemns” the two governments’ claims that “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China”’ 🇧🇳
Interview: Thailand ready to continue traditional friendship with China, says PM – Xinhua 🇹🇭
New Zealand Government concerned regarding Cook Islands-China agreements – RNZ 🇨🇰🇳🇿
New freight train route links China’s Chongqing with Afghanistan – Xinhua 🇦🇫
China economie
Big companies see no China recovery soon, adding to trade tensions gloom – Reuters
China’s long-running property crisis that’s hobbled its economy and created a near US$160 billion pile of distressed debt is sliding into a dangerous new phase – Bloomberg: ‘Signs of trouble are now popping up everywhere.’ ‘The pain is also spreading to Hong Kong as Chinese homebuyers and tourists pull back.’
Chinese authorities are working on a proposal to help China Vanke 万科 plug a funding gap of about US$6.8 billion this year, sources say – Bloomberg
China’s property market still needs more support, Goldman Sachs says – SCMP
Chinese developer backs its own winding up in sign of relentless pressure – Nikkei Asia
China’s record mergers in US$8 trillion small banking sector raise future risks – Reuters: ‘Many of the roughly 4,000 small Chinese banks are backed by indebted provincial governments and largely funded via short-term money market and interbank borrowings’
China goes all-out to keep foreign investors onshore amid Trump threats – SCMP
AstraZeneca CEO says company has no access to executive Wang, in detention in China – Reuters
China’s rust-belt regions at risk of being left behind as coastal economies surge – SCMP
China binnenland
Xinhua Headlines: Asian Winter Games opens in China’s ‘Ice City’ – Xinhua
Full text: Remarks by Chinese President Xi Jinping at welcoming banquet of opening ceremony of 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin – Xinhua
China’s PLA targets top brass in education campaign touting political loyalty to Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 – SCMP
China tightens rules on publishing information about the military online – SCMP
China’s food security is a ‘political responsibility’ for agricultural areas, Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 says – SCMP
Chinese animated blockbuster Ne Zha 2 breaks records, prompts patriotism – AFP
China has met most of its 5-year goals. It hasn’t done so well on emissions – SCMP
China’s health regulator defends quality of local generic drugs – Reuters
Tientallen vermisten in China na aardverschuiving, twee mensen gered – NOS
Xi orders all-out rescue of people buried in southwest China landslide – Xinhua
Hong Kong
Taiwan buitenland en defensie
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council denies Shanghai delegation application to visit Taiwan – Focus Taiwan: ‘The MAC said the application was rejected because, as well as the festival which is considered a cultural exchange, the group's itinerary involved tourism-related activities.’ 🇨🇳
China’s TAO slams Taiwan’s DPP [sic] for obstructing cross-Strait tourism – Xinhua 🇨🇳
CCP using Kinmen as ‘united front’ unification model CCP using Kinmen as ‘united front’ unification model, academic says – Taipei Times: ‘Sources have said that the CCP, in a bid to accelerate progress toward integration and unification with Taiwan, has permitted Taiwanese to apply for Chinese ID cards in its Fujian Province without needing to turn in their Taiwan passport or ID card, with the Chinese province allowing Taiwanese to retain both documents.’ 🇨🇳
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council warns of legal consequences over possessing Chinese IDs – Focus Taiwan: ‘active military personnel and civil servants who apply for Chinese identity documents will face the full force of the law, including potentially being stripped of citizenship, after a soldier was found to hold a Chinese ID card.’ 🇨🇳
Academic warns over cultural tactics by China – Taipei Times 🇨🇳
Taiwan Strait: Chinese military branches share resources in joint air training – SCMP 🇨🇳
US military vessels make first Taiwan Strait transit of Trump’s 2nd term – Focus Taiwan: ‘The U.S. 7th fleet, however, did not publicize the passage via press release, as was standard during the previous Joe Biden administration.’ 🇺🇸
Taiwan signs US$761 million deal for US NASAMS defence package – SCMP 🇺🇸
President Lai meets Eswatini delegation – Focus Taiwan 🇸🇿
Taiwan binnenland en economie
Mirror Media report party founder Ko Wen-je 柯文哲 had Chinese contacts false, says TPP’s acting chair Huang Kuo-chang 黃國昌 – Taipei Times: ‘the magazine saying that the connections extended up to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) office. Chinese officials allegedly had a favorable view of Ko’s candidacy, the report said.’
Mirror Media heeft een vierdelige serie online staan, suggereert onder andere een Chinese rol in de machinaties rond de pogingen tot één anti-DPP kandidaat te komen.
Groups submit recall vote proposals for 12 opposition lawmakers – Focus Taiwan: ‘bringing to 44 the number of lawmakers facing potential recall votes.’
‘Once a proposal is verified, however, another round of campaigning is required in which the valid signatures of at least 10 percent of eligible voters in each district need to be collected within 60 days and then verified for a recall vote to take place.’
DPP cautions on China intervention in recall drives – Taipei Times
Legislature votes to uphold bill tightening recall petition rules – Focus Taiwan: ‘Tuesday’s result marked the third time that the Cabinet has failed to overturn legislation passed by the current Legislature it deemed “difficult to implement” through a revote by lawmakers.’
Government branch heads agree to establish communications platform – Focus Taiwan: ‘The meeting of the five government branch heads was called by [President] Lai’
Military criminal cases are increasing – Taipei Times
Taiwan’s exports rise for 15th straight month on AI boom – Focus Taiwan
Chunghwa Telecom to lay new undersea cables – Taipei Times