De Chinese Wouden, woensdag 7 december
Vandaag wat minder commentaar. Het is druk met nakijken en solliciteren. De links spreken voor zich. Versoepeling zet zich door in China. Aandacht in de Nederlandse pers voor de druk op de halfgeleiderindustrie. Iedereen wil wel zo’n mooie Taiwanese fabriek. De autoindustrie blijkt betrokken bij dwangarbeid in Xinjiang.
Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺
Asia’s ‘El Chapo’ Tse Chi Lop 谢志乐 (Xiè Zhìlè) to be extradited from the Netherlands to Australia in weeks, according to lawyer – Nikkei Asia
Techzeitenwendewar ⏰💽
Nederlandse hightechbedrijven slaan alarm over nieuwe wet Vifo die geavanceerde technologie uit handen van China en andere autoritaire staten moet houden – FD: „Volgens Haagse bronnen zijn de Nederlandse inlichtingendiensten tegen een soepele aanpak.” 🇳🇱
Vermalen in de strijd tussen het Westen en China: hoe Nederlandse bedrijven in een chipstorm belandden – De Volkskrant over Nowi en de overnamepoging van Nexperia 🇳🇱
Nexperia vecht besluit Britse regering aan – FD 🇳🇱
EU courts Western Balkans as Russia and China loom – POLITICO Europe
Europe First: Brussels gets ready to dump its free trade ideals – POLITICO Europe
Germany struggles to get parts from China to replenish ammo stockpile – Nikkei Asia
Germany confronts a broken business model – FT
America’s Asian allies dislike its tech war on China – The Economist
Vooral Zuidoost-Azië is al tijden bezig met wat je op z’n Brits ‘cakeism’ zou kunnen noemen: profiteren van zowel de Chinese als de Amerikaanse kant, zonder dat de realisatie doordringt dat bijvoorbeeld Washington straks politieke betaling komt vragen voor de militaire diensten die graag aangenomen worden. Peking ziet Chinese economische groei ook graag als gift waarvoor dankbaarheid op zijn plaats is.
US and EU indicate plan to end electric vehicles subsidies dispute, both wary of China and Russia – SCMP
The Tech and Trade Council: An accident report – Hosuk Lee-Makiyama for ECIPE: ‘Ultimately, the U.S. cannot expect the EU to impose bans which the U.S. itself has not done; Nor can it expect the Netherlands to cede its sovereign decision-making power. Both O-RAN and export controls are just two examples of how successive U.S. administrations have used the China threat as a pretext to neutralise European technology while promoting its own (and often inferior) alternatives. Rightly or wrongly, the U.S. narrative portraying a “common China threat” suffers from severe credibility issues in European capitals as a result.’]
De Chinese fabrikant van elektrische auto’s BYD is bezig aan een onstuitbare opmars – De Volkskrant
ASML may bring its European suppliers to Taiwan, vice premier says – Taipei Times 🇳🇱
TSMC unveils plan for second fab in Arizona – Taipei Times
US President Joe Biden visits TSMC plant in Arizona, a symbol of his chip-making agenda – SCMP
Taiwan and Idaho ink pact to promote industrial cooperation – Focus Taiwan
Poland eyeing closer partnership, President Tsai told by delegation – Taipei Times: ‘The visit also occurs as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co is looking for sites to build new fabs in Europe.’
China covid 🦠
Plots meldt de Chinese propaganda dat het virus niet zo gevaarlijk is – Trouw
China considers downgrading Covid’s status to remove need for strict controls, an official with knowledge of the situation has said – SCMP
Volgt hetzelfde bericht van Reuters eerder deze week.
China is dismantling its zero-covid machine – The Economist
Beijing City drops Covid testing burden as wider easing beckons – Reuters
China braces for Covid outbreaks among medical staff and migrant workers – FT #chūnyùn
Students protest Nanjing Tech University campus lockdown last Monday as China eases Covid curbs – AFP
Underground restaurants, secret bars: Beijing residents dodge covid curbs – AFP
China’s restive middle class will be Xi’s greatest test yet – Howard W. French for Foreign Policy ‘It was sheer desperation that forced the tens of thousands of people to turn the memorial to Zhou [Enlai] into a political protest.’
Protesten China: Politici niet bang voor bevolking, wel voor collega’s – Frank Pieke voor Universiteit Leiden
Correctie: het artikel zegt dat studenten de protesten begonnen. De eerste protesten braken echter uit onder bewoners die lockdowns van hun woongemeenschappen tegengingen.
Overige
China buitenland en defensie
Golfstaten willen banden met China aanhalen – BNR
Saudi Arabia says Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit the kingdom from Wednesday for a summit that will showcase growing ties – Bloomberg
Gulf states, looking East, to reinforce economic ties with China as Xi visits Saudi Arabia – Reuters
Groei van geldschieter China maakt schuldenverlichting arme landen lastig – FD
US and Australia invite Japan to step up troop rotations in response to China – AFP
Amnesty International Canada says it was hacked by Beijing – AP
Chinese students pay for ‘guaranteed acceptance’ into elite US universities – SCMP Magazine
Mongolians protest alleged theft of coal sold to China – AP
Inheriting the storm: Beijing’s difficult new relationship with Kabul – Raffaello Pantucci for The Diplomat
China economie
China’s debt ratio hits record high at 3 times GDP – Nikkei Asia
Chinese overheidsschulden lijken relatief laag, omdat er veel verplichten verborgen zitten bij lokale overheden en staatsbedrijven. Daarnaast is er nog de privésector met zijn eigen uitdagingen.
China binnenland
Global car supply chains entangled with abuses in Xinjiang, report says – The New York Times: ‘raising the likelihood that automakers like Volkswagen, Honda, Ford Motor, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz Group, Toyota and Tesla have sold cars containing raw materials or components that have at some point touched Xinjiang.’
Driving Force: Automotive supply chains and forced labour in the Uyghur region – Sheffield Hallam University
China’s Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 thanks late leader Jiāng Zémín 江泽民 for ensuring Party’s survival from ‘storms’ – Reuters
Hú Jǐntāo 胡锦涛 reappears as China comes to standstill for late leader Jiāng Zémín 江泽民 – The Guardian
Full text of Xí Jìnpíng 习近平’s speech at memorial meeting for Comrade Jiāng Zémín 江泽民 – Xinhua: ‘When preparing for the 16th CPC National Congress, he proposed that he would no longer serve in the central leading posts and that he would retire from the CPC Central Committee to facilitate the leadership transition of the Party and the state. The CPC Central Committee accepted his proposal. In 2004, he offered to retire from his posts as chairman of the CMC of the CPC and chairman of the CMC of the PRC, which fully displays his great foresight for the development of the cause of the Party and the state.’ ‘the 1992 Consensus embodying the one-China principle’ 中
The AI myth Western lawmakers get wrong – Melissa Heikkilä for MIT Technology Review
Taiwan buitenland en defensie
European institutional complexities and EU-Taiwan relations – David Camroux and Earl Wang for East Asia Forum
NB: in het bericht over het afgezegde ‘bezoek’ van de INTCEN-baas zegt een bron dat het slechts om een telefoongesprek zou gaan.
“九二共识”三十周年论坛在港举办 – 中国新闻网:“海峡两岸关系协会会长张志军在视频致辞中表示,‘九二共识’的核心要义是海峡两岸同属一个中国,共同努力谋求国家统一。30年的时间充分证明,坚持‘九二共识’、赞成一个中国原则[sic],两岸关系就能改善发展,台湾同胞就能受益;……”
Taiwan binnenland en economie
Taiwan politicians accused of plagiarism in university ‘thesis gate’ – The Straits Times
KMT accuses government of hypocrisy over use of ‘Taiwan, China’ in Chinese patent requests – Focus Taiwan