De Chinese Wouden, woensdag 27 september: elektrische auto’s
Eurocommissaris voor handel Valdis Dombrovskis heeft zijn gesprek met Chinese tegenhanger Wang Wentao gehad. De aandacht gaat in de pers vooral uit naar de elektrische auto’s. Volgens Bloomberg is er een belangrijke rol voor Frankrijk, waar men al sinds de Amerikaanse Inflation Reduction Act mogelijkheden ziet om ook Europa wat meer industriepolitiek te laten voeren. Nu is het de zaak om een gelijker speelveld te creëren met China.
Ondertussen is het officiële commentaar in China zoals altijd dat er geen fundamentele tegenstellingen tussen Europa en China zouden zijn en kijk eens hoeveel geld er te verdienen valt, moet je zien hoeveel bedrijven hierheen willen komen!
Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺
„China heeft sleutels Europese havens in handen”, aldus europarlementariër Tom Berendsen (CDA) – Dagblad van het Noorden: „Inmiddels zijn veel containerterminals in handen van bedrijven uit China en Hongkong en worden inkomende goederen geïnspecteerd met Chinese scans.” „De Europarlementariër maakt zich verder zorgen over steeds strengere cabotagewetgeving in China. Europese reders hebben daardoor steeds meer moeite om te varen tussen Chinese havens. Ondertussen hebben enkele Chinese bedrijven er wel een verdienmodel van gemaakt om tussen EU-havens te varen.” 🇪🇺
How China’s propaganda infiltrated radio stations in Europe – Ivana Karásková for The Diplomat
Germany’s KfW bank will no longer grant promotional loans to China from 2026 – Reuters: ‘“We are no longer treating China as a developing country,” German Development Minister Svenja Schulze said.’ 🇩🇪
THREE MINUTES WITH… ALEXANDER TAH-RAY YUI, Taiwan’s new top envoy to the European Union – POLITICO China Watcher 🇪🇺
UK eyes deeper and broader trade relations with Taiwan, visiting trade envoy Richard Faulkner tells President Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文 – Taipei Times 🇬🇧
Elektrische auto’s 🚗🇪🇺
EU talks tough on trade in China as it looks to play defence – POLITICO Europe
The European Union’s new, tougher approach to China is being shaped by French concerns that Beijing’s trade practices have started to pose a critical threat to core industries – Bloomberg: ‘French President Emmanuel Macron wants his EU partners to see Europe as a balancing force between the world’s two economic superpowers’
China Focus: China-EU economic and trade dialogue was productive, says commerce ministry – Xinhua
Tesla’s Chinese exports are a target of the EU’s anti-subsidy probe, sources say – Bloomberg
EU trade chief says Tesla to face anti-subsidy probe over China exports – FT
China’s ‘unfairness’ warrants a more assertive EU approach, warns trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis – SCMP
The European Union’s chief trade negotiator Valdis Dombrovskis warned China during his trip to the nation that the bloc will be more forceful in defending its interests – Bloomberg: ‘Dombrovskis also cited challenges related to Russia’s war in Ukraine, saying that differences over the conflict could cause a rift between Brussels and Beijing.’
Why Beijing’s stance on Russia is a ‘path that will slowly move EU and China apart’ – The Straits Times
Xinhua Commentary: Cooperation remains mainstream of China-EU ties – Xinhua
Chinese EV makers ramp up European production amid subsidy row – Nikkei Asia
China boosts rare earths production to bolster booming EV industry – Nikkei Asia
China’s stranglehold on EV supply chain will be tough to break – Bloomberg
Verkiezingsprogramma’s staan vol ronkende taal over China, maar in het echt is het anders – Romana Abels in Trouw
Tech War 💽💥
Huawei disappoints viewers by not discussing Mate 60 phones at product launch – US News
Nato’s €1bn venture fund offers defence start-ups an alternative to China – FT: ‘The Netherlands-based fund will focus on areas including artificial intelligence, space and biotechnology, and faces restrictions on investing in weapons.’
Kantelpunt 🌏⏱️
China issues White Paper on global community of shared future, presses on with green BRI projects – The Straits Times
China Focus: China issues white paper on global community of shared future, a decade after vision proposed – Xinhua
Full Text: A Global Community of Shared Future: China's Proposals and Actions – Xinhua
Western companies take slow steps towards China ‘de-risking’ – FT: ‘the most contemplated strategy is “China for China”, whereby China operations are reorganised so that they produce goods only for domestic consumption.’ ‘“China for China” also involves localising supply chains.’
Decoupling from China: the only question is how far the West will go – Viking Bohman for SCMP
No, the world is not multipolar: The idea of emerging power centers is popular but wrong—and could lead to serious policy mistakes – Jo Inge Bekkevold for Foreign Policy:
First, for many people who advance the idea of multipolarity, it is a normative concept.
[…]
A second reason that the idea of multipolarity is in vogue is that, […], there is a great deal of reluctance […] to accept the realities of an intense, all-encompassing, and polarizing bipolar rivalry between the United States and China.
[…]
Third, talk about multipolarity is often part of a power play. Beijing and Moscow see multipolarity as a way of curtailing U.S. power and advancing their own position.
ASEAN courts Africa amid China slowdown: business council chief – Nikkei Asia
US envoy’s Gwadar tour shows Pakistan’s evolving China strategy – Nikkei Asia
Overige
China buitenland en defensie
China remains uncommitted to Xí Jìnpíng 习近平’s attendance at Apec summit in US as tensions persist – SCMP
China’s top diplomat Wáng Yì 王毅 calls on US to host an APEC summit that is cooperative, not confrontational – AP
US restricts imports from three more Chinese companies tied to forced Uyghur labour – Reuters
Philippines vows not to back down as China warns against ‘trouble’ at disputed shoal – Reuters
Philippines removes Chinese barrier at contested South China Sea shoal – SCMP
Vietnam protests against China’s vessel identification stations in Paracel Islands – Bloomberg
South Korea proposes trilateral summit with Japan and China in December, according sources – Kyodo News: ‘The annual three-way summit has been suspended since December 2019.’
China economie
Some Evergrande 恒大 creditors plan to join winding-up petition if no new debt plan by October 30 – Reuters
China Evergrande 中国恒大 has ‘no bullets’ left as crisis lights up Mainland social media about end-game for fallen billionaire Hui Ka-yan 许家印 – SCMP
China binnenland
Chinese TV presenter Fù Xiǎotián 傅晓田 linked to missing foreign minister Qín Gāng 秦刚 had surrogate child in US – FT: ‘Fu Xiaotian, 40, was in a relationship with Qin Gang, according to six people close to Fu and China’s foreign policy establishment. She told a close associate about the surrogate pregnancy last year, the person told the Financial Times. Two other people familiar with the matter also said she had a child via a surrogate.’
Senior Nomura banker, chair of investment banking for China at the Hong Kong arm, barred from leaving mainland China – FT: ‘a move connected to a long-running investigation into the country’s top tech dealmaker Bao Fan’ ‘in relation to his time at ICBC’
Xi Focus: Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 calls on Zhejiang to write new chapter in advancing Chinese modernisation – Xinhua
Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 stresses construction of higher-level pilot free trade zones – Xinhua
Dat China nog altijd zoveel speciale vrijhandelszones nodig heeft, is toch wel een beetje een symbool van het failliet van het modernisering en openen van het hele systeem.
Hong Kong
Head of Hong Kong journalist group Ronson Chan 陳朗昇 sentenced to 5 days' jail over obstructing police officer while reporting – HKFP: ‘stopped by a plainclothes police officer’ ‘allegedly not complying with requests to present his identification despite multiple warnings.’
China urges countries to boycott Hong Kong media freedom event at UN, according to document – Reuters
Taiwan buitenland en defensie
Taiwan expects to deploy two new submarines by 2027, security adviser says – Reuters: ‘expected to launch the first of eight new submarines on Thursday’
6 Australian parliamentarians begin 4-day Taiwan trip – Focus Taiwan
Taiwan verkiezingen
China is flooding Taiwan with disinformation: With elections looming, China wants Taiwanese voters to think America is their greatest threat – The Economist: ‘The opposition Kuomintang has called the vote a choice between “war and peace”, implying that the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s hostility towards China will provoke it to attack. Chinese state actors have backed that framing, spreading narratives that portray America, not China, as the island’s biggest threat. Much of the disinformation is intended to reinforce that false message.’
DPP not taking egg death threats seriously, says KMT – Taipei Times
KMT nominee Hou You-yi 侯友宜 vows to boost farmers’ monthly pension – Taipei Times
TPP calls for firefighter unions and more funds after factory fire deaths – Taipei Times
Taiwan binnenland en economie
Taiwanese military tightening efforts to prosecute security cases – Taipei Times: DPP legislator complained ‘the average sentence handed out to people convicted of betraying secrets to Beijing was 6.18 months in prison’
Interior ministry approves hiring of over 9,000 migrants for construction – Taipei Times