De Chinese Wouden, woensdag 14 juni: Duitsland, Zuid-Korea, Verenigde Staten
Het Europese nieuws vandaag lijkt vooral op Duitsland betrekking te hebben. De regeringsconsultaties met China lijken nu alsnog af te worden geslankt, nadat er eerder sprake was een delegatie van 100 met 15 ministers in 3 vliegtuigen. Tegelijkertijd komt de Duitse Chinastrategie er blijkbaar ook echt aan in juli. Ondertussen voorspelt Reuters dat de Europese Commissie Berlijn de oren gaat wassen over Huawei.
Er is vandaag een apart kopje om de schade te bevatten die de Chinese ambassadeur in Seoel heeft aangericht in de betrekkingen met Zuid-Korea. Met zijn onhandige uitspraken en het imperiale gedrag dat daarop volgde richting de voormalige vazalstaat vanuit Peking heeft de conservatieve president Yoon Suk-yeol – die al minder ophad met de China-vriendelijkere koers van zijn linksere voorganger Moon Jae-in – nu een goede reden om een stevigere koers in te zetten op China. Het lijkt dat de betrekking dus niet snel beter wordt.
Met het aankomende bezoek van Blinken naar Peking is de Chinese relatie met de Verenigde Staten niet per se aan het verbeteren. Het lijkt erop dat aan de Chinese kant Peking al afscheid heeft genomen van een constructieve relatie. De voornaamste doelen die Chinese oproepen tot dialoog nog lijken te dienen, is om de VS te overtuigen zich in te houden en de mondiale publieke opinie te bespelen. Er is geen echte wens tot substantiële dialoog meer aan de top in Peking nu de kringen rond Xi Jinping van oordeel lijken te zijn, dat China toch uit de houdgreep van ‘containment’ door de VS moet breken.
Tegelijkertijd heeft het taalgebruik in Peking mijns inziens ook te maken met de grote zorgen over de staat van de binnenlandse economie. Het nieuws op dat vlak is ook niet zo positief.
Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺
Speech by Wopke Hoekstra, Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the Brightlands Smart Services Campus – Government of the Netherlands: ‘Countries like Russia and China are trying to gain control over the way the internet is governed.’ 🇳🇱
Dutch government to screen Chinese tech students on security risks – FT: ‘The universities have concerns over students funded by the China Scholarship Council.’ 🇳🇱
Germany mulls downsizing cabinet summit with China, aims to publish China strategy in July – POLITICO Europe 🇩🇪
Brussels Playbook: VdL’s Brazilian beef — Berlusconi’s legacy — Huawei won’t be banned – POLITICO Europe: ‘According to a senior official and our POLITICO Pro Cybersecurity colleagues, the Commission isn’t actually planning a full-on ban against Chinese telecoms supplier Huawei, […].’ ‘Instead of a full ban, Brussels is considering a “transparency requirement” that would make governments disclose how much Huawei is within their infrastructure to the Commission and consumers.’ 🇪🇺
Analysis: Germany to face EU ire over Huawei supplies ahead of China talks – Reuters: ‘two sources familiar with the matter said.’ 🇪🇺
Pirelli-topman vraagt Italiaanse regering om macht van Beijing in te perken – NRC 🇮🇹
Germany barred Chinese solar industry executive from leaving amid criminal probe – Bloomberg 🇩🇪
Ukraine declares Chinese surveillance companies Hikvision and Dahua ‘sponsors of war’ – IPVM 🇺🇦
Experts warn that China could influence EU parliamentary elections – EURACTIV 🇪🇺
駐法大使盧沙野將返國 接掌對外友協 – 星島網 🇫🇷
Ambassadeur Lu Shaye zou alsnog worden teruggeroepen naar Peking, om daar de Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries te gaan voorzitten, volgens Hongkongse krant Singtao Daily.
Taiwan
Taiwan minister Joseph Wu 吳釗燮 [Wú Zhāoxiè] meets Czech Senate speaker on trip that has angered China – Reuters: ‘Wu was also expected to visit Brussels, headquarters of the European Union.’ 🇨🇿🇪🇺
Polish office responds after ex-envoy not charged in sexual assault case – Focus Taiwan 🇵🇱
Hong Kong protesters allegedly attacked by Chinese activists in Southampton – The Guardian 🇬🇧
Tech War 💽💥
Een Chinese batterijenfabriek? Nee bedankt, zeggen deze Hongaren – de Volkskrant
How the US is pushing China out of the internet’s plumbing – FT: ‘Increasing hostility between China and the west is already pushing companies to forge new routes along which to send data traffic.’
Volkswagen snoeit in de kosten om concurrentie uit China aan te kunnen – de Volkskrant
Kantelpunt 🌏⏱️
💡 Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 prepares China for ‘extreme’ scenarios, including conflict with the West: Beijing plays up possibility of worsening ties as the U.S. and China set plans for Blinken visit – WSJ
CCTV-affiliated social media account Yuyuan Tantian says US eagerness to engage is an ‘illusion’ – Reuters (Chinees origineel.)
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s Regular Press Conference on June 13, 2023 – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China: ‘Compared with its aggressive response on Syria, the US’s inaction on the Nord Stream pipeline explosions seems quite intriguing. Why has the US been silent? What cannot the US say about this? When exactly will the US respond to international doubts and concerns? The US owes the international community an explanation.’
NATO to upgrade ties with Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea – Nikkei Asia: ‘One idea floated among NATO members is to characterize the proposed office [in Tokyo] as a facility for smooth implementation of the four ITPPs.’
Die rechtvaardiging zou moeten helpen bij het tegengaan van het vermeende Franse verzet tegen het kantoor in Japan.
VS willen zich na jarenlange afwezigheid opnieuw aansluiten bij Unesco – NRC: „Waarschijnlijk speelt de Chinese invloed binnen Unesco ook een rol bij de aanstaande terugkeer van de VS.”
China chides US over plan to rejoin Unesco 6 years after quitting under Trump – SCMP
Chinese tech groups suffer as foreign investors take flight – FT: ‘Overseas investors are selling shares even in profitable internet giants such as Tencent and Alibaba, while becoming reluctant to back the country’s most promising start-ups.’
Demand grows for Asian investment products that exclude China – FT
Is doing business in China becoming impossible for foreigners? Selective enforcement of draconian data and spying laws is scaring Western companies – The Economist: ‘The boss of a Swiss asset manager whispers, “I don’t think [China] is investible, honestly.” Many foreigners concur. Still, for most of them China remains too big a prize to forsake.’
Shunned by US, China investors use Mexico to keep grip on North American market – SCMP
Exclusive: Pakistan paid in Chinese currency for discounted Russian oil, minister says – Reuters
China vs Zuid-Korea 🇨🇳🇰🇷
💡 South Korea is pivoting to a ‘hard-line stance’ in its relations with China following meetings between the two where Beijing used ‘high-handed’ diplomatic rhetoric, the DongA Ilbo newspaper cited a ‘key’ government official as saying – Bloomberg: ‘Seoul will seek to reduce dependence on China’s supply chains and if needed could change how South Korea defines the “three nos” security understanding with China, DongA reported’
China’s pressure on ‘weakest link’ South Korea falls flat amid tensions with US – FT: ‘Tokyo and Seoul sealed an agreement to share real-time information on North Korean missile launches along with the US at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore this month.’
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol 尹錫悅 questions whether China envoy showed mutual respect, Yonhap reports – Reuters
South Korea waiting for ‘appropriate measure’ from China over ambassador Xing Haiming’s remarks – Yonhap
Editorial: South Korea’s diplomacy drifting further away from being ‘confident’ – The Global Times: ‘Only by correcting its attitude toward China, can Seoul avoid being “overly sensitive” and constantly proving its petty mind like a small country.’
Overige
China buitenland en defensie
The last Indian journalist in China has been asked to leave, as Beijing and New Delhi eject each other’s reporters in a tit-for-tat row deepening a rift between the Asian economic powerhouses – Bloomberg: ‘The visa spat started a few months ago over Indian journalists hiring assistants in China to help with reporting’
Flight training for Chinese military pilots targeted in latest US export crackdown – Reuters
Canadian police probing China’s alleged targeting of lawmaker – Reuters
Regering positief gestemd over sluiten herschikkingsdeal met China, maar overleg verloopt moeizaam – Dagblad Suriname
China and South Korea race to recover North Korean satellite debris – Nikkei Asia
China expands nuclear arsenal as global tensions grow: study – AFP
💡 China creates a coast guard like no other, seeking supremacy in Asian seas – The New York Times: ‘More militarized, more aggressive in international disputes and less concerned with the usual missions of policing smugglers or search and rescue, the Chinese force has upended 200 years of global coast guard tradition.’ ‘Coast guards that once acted as watchful eyes and helping hands have become more like navies, drawn into Asia’s geopolitics and deployed as military muscle in waterways that are vital for shipping and natural resources.’
China sends new patrol ship Haixun 03 on South China Sea mission – SCMP
China and Honduras sign memorandum of understanding on Belt and Road cooperation – Xinhua
China economie
China poogt met onverwachte renteverlaging economie een slinger te geven – FD
China’s central bank cuts a short-term rate, easing monetary policy to help the economy and sparking a further decline in the yuan – Bloomberg
China state planner rolls out measures to lower costs for firms – Reuters
A top-performing Chinese macro hedge fund has slashed its holdings in property stocks – Bloomberg
China binnenland
China’s southern cities call for power saving as grid stress increases – Reuters
As climate change hits, China weighs new water megaprojects – Reuters
China marriage registrations hit record low of 6.83m in 2022 – Nikkei Asia
Hong Kong
Bit by bit, US tech titans are cutting off their users in Hong Kong in response to national security law, raising concerns about open access to the internet in the global financial centre – WSJ
‘Too early’ to say if ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ ban would result in Google withdrawal, data scientist says – HKFP
Taiwan buitenland en defensie
China spinning a ‘web’ of influence campaigns to win over Taiwan – Al Jazeera
Taiwan civil defence handbook includes tips on identifying Chinese soldiers – Reuters
Taiwan conducting anti-blockade drills amid recent PLA manoeuvres – Focus Taiwan
US legislative committee eyes joint weapons manufacturing with Taiwan – Taipei Times
Taiwan binnenland en economie
DPP legislative nominee Lin Fei-fan 林飛帆 [Lín Fēifān] withdraws over handling of sexual misconduct claims – Focus Taiwan
Legislators seek to update laws amid #MeToo movement – Taipei Times
立委傅崐萁縣長任內涉性騷 花蓮議長籲縣府介入調查 – 自由時報
Inflation erodes wage growth during January-April period – Focus Taiwan
Ma Ying-jeou-sponsored China student exchange faces scrutiny – Taipei Times