De Chinese Wouden, woensdag 4 juni
Fijne woensdag.
Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺
China’s foreign ministry rejects Dutch defence minister’s spying accusation, says tech achievements not ‘stolen’ – Reuters 🇳🇱
Shein 希音 steps up Europe charm offensive to offset US tariff fallout – Nikkei Asia: ‘Several leading charity shops, labor-rights associations and second-hand retailers published satires of Shein’s campaign, with slogans like “fashion is not a right, decent work is.”’ 🇫🇷🇪🇺
Liverpool university’s China joint venture has links to sanctioned entities, report says – FT: ‘includes a Russia-China co-operation centre whose co-director is affiliated with a Russian government agency targeted by the US. It has also engaged in semiconductor research with companies blacklisted by Washington.’ 🇬🇧
Taiwan’s President Lai congratulates Polish President-elect Nawrocki – Focus Taiwan 🇵🇱
4 juni
Books about June 4 Tiananmen Square crackdown grow scarce in Hong Kong – SCMP: ‘sellers citing widespread self-censorship fuelled by legal uncertainties’
‘None of the titles are available on the public library’s online catalogue’
Hong Kong activist challenges China’s Tiananmen taboo from exile in Taiwan – Reuters
Museum commemorating Tiananmen Square protests opens in Los Angeles – Focus Taiwan
Heavy police presence on eve of Tiananmen anniversary, performance artist escorted away by officers – HKFP
Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥
Watching China in Europe—June 2025 – Noah Barkin: ‘China’s decision in early April to restrict exports of rare earths and permanent magnets that are vital for the production of electric vehicles, medical equipment, chipmaking tools, and military hardware, is affecting Europe to a greater extent than has been publicly acknowledged by governments and companies. I was told that European leaders have held crisis talks on the issue, and that major firms in the medical equipment and car sectors have already been forced to shut production lines. Hundreds of smaller companies are also reeling.’
‘it has become clear over the past weeks that Europe is not the victim of unintentional collateral damage. Rather, officials say, Beijing is sending an unmistakable message to Europe and other developed countries about the consequences of erecting trade and technology barriers against China. “It is the most extreme case of economic coercion that I’ve ever seen from China,” a veteran diplomat from a large European country told me.’
‘“[Maroš] Šefčovič wants to believe the Chinese will deliver,” said one official, referring to the EU commissioner for trade and economic security. “But others are pretty sure they won’t.”’
‘we learned that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is creating an “Office of Natural Rights” whose main objective will be to counter “free speech backsliding in Europe”. Not free speech backsliding in China, in Russia, in Saudi Arabia, in Iran or in North Korea—in Europe.’ 🇪🇺
Global alarms rise as China’s critical mineral export ban takes hold – Reuters: ‘German automakers became the latest to warn that China's export restrictions threaten to shut down production and rattle their local economies’ 🇩🇪
Exclusive: Germany lobby group says China's rare earth curbs could halt auto output – Reuters: ‘The comments mark the first time the lobby group has said output was at risk of being halted as a result of China’s decision to limit exports of rare earth magnets. It did not specify a timeframe.’ 🇩🇪
Diplomats and automakers push Beijing to loosen rare earth magnet export restrictions – Reuters: ‘Diplomats, automakers and other executives from India, Japan and Europe were urgently seeking meetings with Beijing officials’ 🇪🇺🇮🇳🇯🇵
China to be frozen out of big EU medtech tenders for five years – SCMP: ‘marks the first use of the bloc’s international procurement instrument (IPI).’ ‘after fruitless negotiations on market access with the Chinese government’ 🇪🇺
A Chinese business lobby group warned that EU actions to curb access of the country’s medical device makers to government contracts will hurt trade ties – Bloomberg: ‘Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao is due to meet with EU trade officials early this month in Paris’ 🇪🇺
China slams EU’s protectionist move targeting Chinese medical device firms – Xinhua 🇪🇺
France’s trade minister says he believes Beijing and Paris can resolve a spat over duties on Cognac – Bloomberg 🇫🇷
Chinese e-commerce companies want to diversify to Europe after Trump’s tariffs, but for now, the merchants that sell on the platforms are still focused on the US – Bloomberg: ‘these subsidies aren’t enough to convince them to devote significant resources to Europe yet.’
Topman rederij Hapag-Lloyd: „Covid-19, de Rode Zee-blokkade, Oekraïne – we hebben geleerd dat je snel moet reageren” – NRC: „In Rotterdam bezit Hutchison de twee belangrijke containerterminals van ECT.”
We should fear a Donald Trump whose tariffs are taken away – FT Trade Secrets: ‘He loves tariffs, but I’ve long suspected that if that weapon turns out to be ineffectual or gets blocked, he will quite quickly turn to other tools of international economic warfare.’ 🇺🇸
VS-China 🇨🇳
US seriously undermines consensus reached during talks in Geneva, China’s commerce ministry says – Xinhua: ‘by successively introducing multiple discriminatory restrictive measures against China’
‘If the U.S. side insists on going the wrong way and continues to harm China’s interests, China will resolutely take forceful measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, according to the spokesperson.’ 🇺🇸
China rejects US claims of violating consensus in Geneva talks – Xinhua 🇺🇸
Trade negotiator Hé Lìfēng 何立峰, Beijing’s economic gatekeeper, has a clear mandate from Xi Jinping: China won’t be catering to the US – WSJ: ‘In Xi’s view, […], China overall is more prepared and self-sufficient than during the trade war the two countries fought in 2018 and 2019. And the Chinese leader has readied a team to take a tougher stance this time.’
‘The two bonded during their time as Communist Party officials in the southeastern port city of Xiamen in the mid-1980s, and share a belief in state planning and control. Since He became vice premier in early 2023, Xi has essentially put him in charge of fortifying China’s economy against the effects of U.S.-led Western tariffs and export controls.’
‘Within China, Phase One is seen as the modern-day version of the unequal treaties the country signed during the mid-19th century, part of what China terms its “Century of Humiliation” at the hands of foreign powers. The Chinese chief negotiator who signed Phase One, English-speaking and U.S.-trained Vice Premier Liu He, has fallen into obscurity since his retirement in 2023. China never fulfilled the purchase commitments he negotiated.’ 🇺🇸
US efforts to coerce China into trade concessions ‘will not work’, analysts say – SCMP 🇺🇸
Trump and Xi will likely speak this week, White House says – Reuters 🇺🇸
Exclusive: Trump set to waive some legal requirements to boost critical minerals – Reuters 🇺🇸
Boeing’s China hopes face trade war headwinds, supply chain risks, analysts say – SCMP 🇺🇸
‘Made in Mexico’ krijgt een steuntje in de rug door Trumps handelsoorlog – NRC 🇲🇽
Techoorlog 💽💥
‘Full of gunpowder’: new price wars among China carmakers mask hidden dangers, Beijing warns – SCMP: ‘The fresh calls to combat involution came just over a week after Chinese carmakers started offering big discounts.’
Chinese car dealers urge automakers to stop dumping inventory on them – Reuters: ‘Conditions facing car dealers have become “even more severe” amid a new round of hefty discounting since the second quarter, the China Auto Dealers Chamber of Commerce said in a statement.’
China EV war turns uglier as pricing and inventory tactics draw scrutiny – Nikkei Asia
China’s Xiaomi 小米 founder expects EV business to turn profitable in H2 – Reuters
Xiaomi 小米 among Chinese tech groups set to be hardest hit by US chip software ban – FT: ‘Chinese tech companies designing their own advanced chips for manufacturing in Taiwan are set to be the hardest hit by new US restrictions on software tools.’ 🇺🇸
TSMC 台積電 says US tariffs have some impact but AI demand robust – Reuters 🇺🇸
TSMC 台積電’s Chief Executive Officer C.C. Wei blamed worsening traffic snarls for slight delays in expanding its base in southwest Japan – Bloomberg: ‘reaffirmed TSMC’s commitment to spend another $100 billion to ramp up manufacturing in Arizona’ 🇺🇸🇯🇵
TSMC 台積電 CEO C.C. Wei 魏哲家 dismisses reports on Middle East fab – Focus Taiwan 🇦🇪
Acht maanden geleden ontkende TSMC al berichten van WSJ over een fab in de VAE. Nu Bloomberg.
Chinese battery glut plugs into solar boom to power Pakistan – FT: ‘The combination of a glut of lithium, a key battery material, and overcapacity of lower-tier China-made batteries has created a flood of cut-price battery energy storage systems for lower-income countries such as Pakistan.’
‘Pakistan’s grid, meanwhile, faces what analysts have called a “death spiral” as usage falls and more bills go unpaid by poorer customers who cannot afford the jump in costs. Households that can afford solar panels are switching off.’ 🇵🇰
Kantelpunt 🌏⏱️
Philippines and EU to set up security and defence dialogue, foreign minister Enrique Manalo says – Reuters: ‘during the visit to Manila of EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas’ 🇪🇺🇵🇭
Das ist die interne Anti-Trump-Agenda von Merz und Macron – Handelsblatt 🇩🇪🇫🇷
It’s in Europe’s interest to put sanctions on Israel – Martin Sandbu for FT: ‘Preparing for sanctions is important beyond the immediate moral and political imperative of reacting to violations of international law. The EU, in particular, needs to upgrade sanctions decision-making.’ 🇪🇺🇮🇱
EU approves fighter jet joint venture between Japan, UK, and Italy – The Japan Times 🇪🇺🇯🇵
China lifts in public opinion around the world as US drops in Trump 2.0, survey data shows – SCMP 🇺🇸
Overige
China buitenland en defensie
China’s top diplomat Wáng Yì 王毅 meets US ambassador to China, hopes the latter promotes healthy, steady, and sustainable bilateral ties – Xinhua: ‘Wang said the U.S. side should meet China halfway’ 🇺🇸
China paints road on unused bridge to North Korea in sign of prep for opening – NK News 🇰🇵
Two Japanese killed in China’s Dalian, Chinese suspect detained – Kyodo News
China’s westernmost border port Irkeshtam goes 24/7 to boost Central Asia trade – Xinhua 🇰🇬
China economie
China’s manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in May, according to a private survey – Bloomberg: ‘as higher US tariffs took a toll on smaller exporters despite a truce in the trade war with the US.’ ‘far weaker than the official PMI reading released Saturday’
China binnenland
Former senior Chinese military official Xǔ Qíliàng 许其亮 passes away – Xinhua: ‘died of illness at the age of 75 in Beijing’
‘served as […] vice chairman of the Central Military Commission’ ‘a time-tested and loyal communist soldier, a proletarian military strategist’
China unveils new regulations on government data sharing – Xinhua
Werpt China zich op als klimaatleider? – NRC
More and more Chinese trucks are being powered by batteries, another sign that oil-based fuels are getting shoved to the sidelines in an increasingly electrified economy – Bloomberg
Hong Kong
Hong Kong leader says sudden removal of China’s top official in the city was ‘normal’ – Reuters: ‘Zheng Yanxiong, the director of China's Liaison Office in Hong Kong’
‘also stripped of his role as China's national security adviser on a committee overseeing national security in Hong Kong.’
‘According to a person with knowledge of the matter, Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison’s proposed sale of its global port network […] had caught senior Chinese leaders “by surprise” as they had not been informed beforehand and Zheng was partly blamed for that.’
National security police arrest 5 over alleged bomb threats, promoting Hong Kong independence – HKFP
Hong Kong illustrator’s art fair stall closes after police inspect drawings – HKFP
Taiwan buitenland en defensie
Taiwan said China escalated military pressure around the region in May, deploying dozens of warships and government vessels daily in what it described as an extreme pressure campaign – Bloomberg: ‘China sent an average of 50 to 70 vessels per day across the first island chain’ 🇨🇳
PLA escalates ‘gray zone’ tactics near island chain – Taipei Times 🇨🇳
Presidential Office vows severe punishments for spying – Taipei Times: ‘The statement follows a report yesterday by the Chinese-language Mirror Media magazine that prosecutors found a specially developed app used to communicate with Chinese intelligence operatives on the cellphone of former DPP staffer Huang Chu-jung’ 🇨🇳
How the US plans to fight off a Chinese invasion of Taiwan – The Telegraph 🇺🇸
Suspected Taiwanese trafficking victims caught in Cambodia’s ‘deficient’ scam crackdown – Coby Hobbs for The Diplomat: ‘Cambodian authorities deported nearly 180 Taiwanese nationals to China’
‘many of those sent to China were likely trafficking victims rather than willing participants in a fraud ring […] sources suggest that there have been hundreds more instances over the years.’
‘According to figures from Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, at least 600 Taiwanese citizens accused of scamming in Cambodia, Kenya, and Spain have been deported to China since 2016. But officials are hard pressed to track whether any of them ever return home.’ 🇰🇭🇰🇪🇪🇸
President Lai welcomes Marshallese president – Taipei Times 🇲🇭
Guatemala president to be in Taiwan Wednesday before heading to Japan – Focus Taiwan 🇬🇹
Taiwan binnenland en economie
Senior Control Yuan official resigns over misuse of government vehicle – Focus Taiwan: ‘the watchdog body will follow up on similar accusations made by the opposition Kuomintang and will conduct an investigation into the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members’
DPP Taipei City councillor Chen E-jun 陳怡君 indicted for misuse of funds – Taipei Times: ‘allegedly accepted bribes from Pinchia Construction Co between August 2023 and February’
Former DPP lawmaker Chen Ou-po 陳歐珀 questioned in shipping company bribery probe – Taipei Times
Recall movement not a conspiracy – Julien Oeuillet for Taipei Times: ‘The DPP did not believe the recall would work. They are now taken by surprise at its success.’
Opposition proposes 2028 coal exit at Taichung Power Plant – Focus Taiwan