Pak Arms Sales - Energy Policy Direction - Central Asia Summit - China-US Ties - EU Sues China - Space White Paper - Market Supervision - Fang Xinghai: Ready 'to Tolerate Pains' - Xi-Putin Surprise?
Dear subscribers,
I hope this finds you well. I wanted to put a quick note here to recommend a must read document and a must-listen podcast.
First, Neil Thomas’ testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission this week. I thought this was excellent.
Second, this episode from the China Whispers podcast featuring Rana Mitter and Bill Bishop, discussing CCP communication, propaganda and documents in general, and offering deep insights into the history resolution.
i. India-China Ties
It’s been a slow news week in terms of the bilateral relationship. But there were a couple of interesting reports to note.
First, let’s begin with the Chinese defense ministry’s comments on the 14th Corps Commander-level talks. Actually, the spokesperson, Wu Qian, appeared to be irked by comments from Washington around the boundary issue.
Regarding to the recent 14th Round of the China-India Corps Commander Level Meeting, the White House spokesperson claimed that the US was closely monitoring the situation at the China-India border and concerned about China’s attempt to coerce India and other neighbors. Defense Spokesperson Senior Colonel Wu pointed out that some American politicians are so fond of using the word “coerce”, they seem to have forgotten that the US is the inventor and master player of “coercive diplomacy”. The spokesperson reaffirmed China’s clear-cut position that China neither “coerces” nor is “coerced” by others, and strongly opposes the US forcing “coercive diplomacy” on other countries. As for the China-India border issue, Wu stressed that the Chinese side believed this round of talks were positive and constructive, and China will work closely with the Indian side to properly handle the border issue through negotiation and consultation.
Anyway, there’s still no clarity on when the next round of talks will be held. I would assume the earliest that this would be is mid-February, given the Chinese New Year break and focus on the Olympics.
Second, the Chinese side formally returned 17-year-old Miram Tarom, an Indian national from Arunachal Pradesh, who had gone missing earlier this week. The Chinese side said that the boy had “illegally entered Chinese territory.” Global Times reports that Senior Colonel Long Shaohua, a spokesperson for the Chinese People's Liberation Army Western Theater Command, said that:
The Indian military sent a request to the Chinese side for assistance in searching for the person through the border defense hotline. The two sides communicated through border defense meeting channels, Long said, noting that the person has already been turned over to the Indian side. “We urge the Indian side to strictly abide by bilateral protocols and agreements, enhance personnel management and control, and practically safeguard normal order in the border region,” Long said.
On the Indian side, there had been much controversy over Tarom’s disappearance. As this report in The Hindu explains:
The matter came to light after BJP MP from Arunachal Pradesh Tapir Gao tweeted on January 19 that the youth was allegedly “abducted” by the PLA from inside Indian territory. He cited locals as saying Mr. Taron and his 27-year-old friend Jhonny Yaying had gone hunting in the Lungta Jor area near Bishing village in the Upper Siang district and it was almost dark when the Chinese soldiers surrounded them. Mr. Yaying escaped from the PLA soldiers and related the incident to the villagers, who in turn informed the local authorities. “His friend escaped from the PLA and reported to the authorities,” he had tweeted. Similar incidents have occurred in the area as the locals go for hunting in the thick forest cover and demarcated boundary.
Third, note this report by Shishir Gupta in HT. He writes that
“Islamabad has received first batch of Chinese manufactured vehicle mounted howitzers to counter the Indian K-9 Vajra howitzers. Beijing is also supplying NORINCO AR-1 300 mm multi barrel rocket launchers to Rawalpindi so that the Pakistan Army has a reply to Indian rocket launchers. The total contract worth is around USD 512 million. The supply of conventional weapon systems, fighter aircraft, destroyers and even the inclination to give DF-17 hypersonic missile to counter India’s latest acquisition, the S-400 air defence system, are all part of Beijing long strategy to keep Rawalpindi GHQ in a state of permanent confrontation with India.”
Finally, take a look at this rather intriguing piece by Sanjay Kathuria and T.G. Srinivasan on how countries in the Indian subcontinent and East Asia gained from the US-China trade war. They argue that:
“Our results show that, contrary to expectations, India’s gains from trade diversion in manufactures over 2017-19 were only $1.2 billion, while Bangladesh’s were only $390 million. Pakistan’s gains were as low as $80 million. Vietnam, on the other hand, gained a much larger $8.5 billion. Vietnam’s market share in the US had already been rising prior to 2018, and accelerated further after the trade war. However, India has more diversified exports than Vietnam’s, and a much greater overlap than Vietnam with the Chinese export basket to the US – hence, the prior was that India should have gained more than Vietnam from trade diversion in manufactures. Finally, apart from Vietnam, Cambodia also outperformed both Bangladesh and Pakistan. Overall, South Asian countries did not match the trade diversion gains of their East Asian counterparts. The evidence is clear. Unless a country was already a strong competitor in 2017 in critical products which witnessed the sharpest decline in imports from China, there was less likelihood that it could scale up its supply to take sufficient advantage.”
Also Read:
ii. Inside China
There were a bunch of noteworthy events and publications this week heading into the Spring Festival break.
a. Pre-CNY Meetings
First, Xi Jinping traveled to Shanxi, while state media pushed the narrative of how over the past 10 years, Xi has spent time with ordinary people during Spring Festival. The Chinese President also carried out an inspection of the Central Theatre Command. State media had pictures of Xi engaging with Chinese peacekeepers abroad. Also, he met with non-CPC members in Beijing, telling them that:
The year 2021 was of milestone significance, Xi said. He noted that China has accomplished a number of major and important tasks, overcome many risks and challenges, and prompted significant progress in the endeavors of the Party and the country…The year also saw China regulate the order of its socialist market economy, promote core socialist values, and create a positive, healthy and vital development environment, Xi noted…He stressed that the 20th CPC National Congress will be convened this year. It is an event of great political significance for both the Party and the country. All fields of work should be planned and conducted with an eye on the preparation for and convocation of the congress, Xi said. Efforts should be made to uphold and improve the system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC, maintain the correct political orientation and strengthen guidance work, Xi said. Noting that non-CPC political parties and the ACFIC will complete their leadership changes at the central and provincial levels this year, Xi called on them to pass on older generations' political conviction, moral integrity and close bonds with the CPC, and ensure that the cause of the CPC-led multiparty cooperation will be carried forward.
Finally, there was also an exchange of greetings between the current leadership and veteran leaders. Xinhua reports (English report) that the veteran leaders said that the “the course of development of the Party and the country in the recent past, since since the 18th Party Congress, had been “extremely unusual and extraordinary.” They hailed the achievements “made by the whole Party, the military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at the core. They expressed wholehearted support to Xi's core position on the CPC Central Committee and in the Party as a whole.”
Furthermore:
“They also expressed the hope that the entire Party, the military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups would rally even closer around the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at the core, follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, draw wisdom and strength from the endeavors of the Party over the past century, and strive vigorously in high spirits to accomplish the Second Centenary Goal and to realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.”
b. China-Central Asia Summit
Second, let’s look at the key outcomes of the China-Central Asia summit meeting. You can read my full breakdown of Xi’s comments and the joint statement that was issued here in my People’s Daily tracker.
Xi proposed a bilateral trade goal of $70 billion by 2030, a dialogue mechanism on e-commerce cooperation, and holding a forum on industrial and investment cooperation. He also spoke of speeding up the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, and developing more transport corridors. He spoke about the need for the steady operation of oil and gas pipelines, and to speed up the construction of Line D of the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline. He also spoke about the need to strengthen cooperation in artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and other high-tech sectors.
Xi promised 50 million more doses of vaccines to Central Asian countries in 2022.
China will provide 1,200 government scholarships to the five Central Asian countries, with priority on opening Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms.
In the next three years, the Chinese government will provide a grant assistance of US$500 million to Central Asian countries in support of livelihood programs, and offer 5,000 seminar and workshop opportunities to help Central Asian countries train professionals in health, poverty reduction for agricultural development, connectivity, information technology and other fields
The joint statement said that all parties agree that it is of great significance to safeguard national security and constitutional system, and resolutely oppose the destruction of legitimate political power and instigation of ‘colour revolution.’
The statement also supported the “construction of a peaceful, open, secure, cooperative and orderly cyberspace within the framework of the Global Data Security Initiative.”
c. Carbon Peak & Neutrality & Two Establishments
There was a Politburo study session on Monday. This too was covered in PD on Wednesday. This focused on the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality work. Interestingly, there were no outside experts invited. Instead, Politburo members Liu He, Li Qiang, Li Hongzhong and Hu Chunhua spoke at the meeting. Xinhua English has a detailed report on Xi’s comments.
“Stressing the country’s green pursuit is no easy job, Xi said strategic thinking must be improved as people should bear in mind the big picture throughout the whole process of delivering the carbon peaking and neutrality goals. The relations between development and emission reduction must be properly handled, Xi said. Cutting emissions is not aimed at curbing productivity or no emissions at all, Xi said, stressing that the economic development and green transition should be mutually reinforcing. While bringing down carbon emissions, efforts should be made to safeguard energy security, industrial and supply chain security, and food security, as well as ensure people's normal daily lives, Xi said. Xi stressed national and regional policy coordination and said the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach should not be adopted. Both goals in the long run and short-term targets should be taken into account, Xi said, stressing efforts to get the right tempo and strength in carbon cut. He also urged the alignment of a capable government and an effective market.”
It further adds:
“Coordination should be strengthened to take concerted moves in reducing carbon emissions, cutting pollution, expanding green efforts and promoting growth, Xi said. On advancing energy revolution, Xi noted that the gradual exit of traditional energy sources should be based on the safe and reliable substitution of new energy sources. China should resolutely control fossil fuel consumption, especially regulating the growth of coal consumption in a strict and reasonable manner, Xi said. China should consolidate the foundation for domestic energy production, ensure coal supply security, and keep steady growth of crude oil and natural gas output, according to Xi. It is necessary to accelerate the development of new energy sources such as wind, solar, biomass and hydrogen energy that have scale and benefits, coordinate hydropower development and ecological protection, and actively develop nuclear power in a safe and orderly manner, according to Xi.”
In the PD report, Xi also talks about the need to “strengthen the Party’s leadership over the ‘double carbon’ work, strengthen overall coordination, strictly supervise and assess, and promote the formation of synergy. It is necessary to implement the responsibility of the Party and government…incorporate the relevant indicators of ‘double carbon’ work into the comprehensive evaluation system of regional economic and social development, increase the assessment weight and strengthen the constraint of indicators.” 要加强党对“双碳”工作的领导,加强统筹协调,严格监督考核,推动形成工作合力。要实行党政同责,压实各方责任,将“双碳”工作相关指标纳入各地区经济社会发展综合评价体系,增加考核权重,加强指标约束.
My brief take on this is as follows:
The fact that we had four administrators rather than experts speak at the meeting points to the fact that this session wasn’t really about the technical aspects of pollution, emissions and resource capacities, etc. Rather, this was about policy design, implementation, and bureaucratic interpretation, given the experience of late last year. I also think that it’s important not to see this as a fundamental policy reversal in favour of coal and fossil fuels. Remember, pollution is also a significant political issue, which Xi has repeatedly emphasised as a priority. So I think the long-term objectives remain, but there’s a realisation that the road to getting there is not going to be smooth at all, and making an aggressive shift can not only have economic but also political costs. To me, this meeting seems like an effort in figuring out lessons from the winter chaos in order to adapt and balance the goals of emissions reduction with meeting energy needs, and figuring out how best to structure bureaucratic incentives. Of course, in the short-term, there is likely to be some easing of the approach towards fossil fuels. Xi specifically talked about “regulating the growth of coal consumption in a strict and reasonable manner.”
Also on Monday, the Politburo meeting a Politburo meeting (English report) reviewed reports by key Party-state organs, affirming their work. The readout after the meeting called for these organs to:
adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, deeply understand the decisive significance of the ‘two establishments,’ strengthen the ‘four consciousnesses’, strengthen the ‘four self-confidences’ and achieve the ‘two safeguards’, be mindful of the overall strategic situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the profound changes unprecedented in a century and prepare to convene the 20th Party Congress, adhere to the general tone of seeking progress while maintaining stability, firm up historical self-confidence and take initiative and make concrete progress in all of their work.
The two establishments is increasingly becoming a key part of Party propaganda. Expect this to get greater weightage as the year goes on.
Also Read:
iii. China-US Ties
There were a couple of interesting developments this week. First. there was a call between Wang Yi and Antony Blinken.
Xinhua English reported that Wang said:
The top priority for China and the United States at present is to truly implement the important consensus reached by Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden during their video meeting in November last year, said Wang. During the video meeting, Wang recalled, Xi summarized the experience and lessons of China-U.S. exchanges over the past more than half a century, and put forward three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, charting the course for the healthy development of China-U.S. relations. Biden responded positively by then, and said that the United States neither seeks a "new Cold War" with China, nor pursues a change in China's system, the revitalization of its alliances is not anti-China, and the country does not support "Taiwan independence," and has no intention to have conflict and confrontation with China, sending a positive signal which is different from the previous U.S. administration, said the Chinese foreign minister. However, Wang said, what the world has seen is that there has been no substantive change in the tone of the U.S. policy towards China and Biden's pledges have not been fully delivered. The U.S. side is still making erroneous words and deeds related to China, which have dealt a new blow to bilateral relations, Wang added.
Then Wang offered a bit of a lecture, it seems.
“Competition between major countries is not the theme of a post-pandemic world that will encounter new situations and challenges, nor will it address the problems facing the United States and countries worldwide, Wang said. China and the United States, as the world's two largest economies and permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, should bear in mind the fundamental interests of the people of both countries, follow the trend of global development, and well implement the important consensus reached between the two heads of state, he said. Wang said the two countries must have a good grasp of the general direction of bilateral ties, take concrete actions to fulfill commitments, expand the positive aspects of bilateral cooperation, and manage differences constructively. Pressure will only make the Chinese people more united, and confrontation will not stop China from becoming stronger, he stressed. At present, the top priority for the U.S. side is to stop interfering in the Beijing Winter Olympics, stop playing with fire by playing the "Taiwan card," and stop forming all kinds of small cliques aimed at working against and containing China, he said.”
The piece quotes Blinken as having said: “The United States and China have shared interests as well as differences, Blinken said, noting the United States is ready to manage differences responsibly. The U.S. stance on the one-China policy remains unchanged…”
The two also talked about the Ukraine-Russia issue. Wang said:
it is necessary to return to the 2015 Minsk Agreements approved by the Security Council, which is a fundamental political document recognized by all parties and should be implemented in earnest. China will support any effort that conforms to the direction and spirit of the agreements
China calls on all parties to remain calm and refrain from inflaming tensions or hyping up the crisis.
He added security of one country should not be at the expense of the security of others, and regional security should not be guaranteed by strengthening or even expanding military blocs.
He called for forming “a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through negotiations.”
He added that “Russia’s legitimate security concerns should be taken seriously and addressed.”
The US readout says that:
“Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with PRC State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Secretary Blinken underscored the global security and economic risks posed by further Russian aggression against Ukraine and conveyed that de-escalation and diplomacy are the responsible way forward. The Secretary and Councilor Wang also exchanged views on how to advance work together following President Biden’s virtual meeting with President Xi on November 15, 2021, including on managing strategic risk, health security, and climate change.”
Also note that on Friday, Tass asked this question of Zhao Lijian during the daily press briefing:
TASS: Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said that the United States on Thursday called on China to use its influence with Russia to urge a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis. Do you have any comments on this?
Zhao Lijian: China’s position on Ukraine is consistent and clear and stays unchanged. To solve the Ukrainian issue, it is necessary to return to the starting point of the Minsk-2 agreement, which is endorsed by the UN Security Council. As a fundamental political document recognized by all sides, the agreement should be earnestly implemented. China will support all efforts in keeping with the direction and spirit of this agreement. In the meantime, we call on all sides to stay cool-headed and avoid doing things that will escalate the tensions and hype up the crisis.
The final bit to note on the Ukraine situation are comments by the Russian envoy to Beijing this week. Andrey Denisov said that Moscow constantly updates Beijing on progress in security talks between the US and Russia, even though China is not related to the talks. “Russia has recently started talks and meetings with the United States and Nato countries about giving Russia security assurances, but these talks are not related to China.” Denisov said the Chinese side was regularly informed of the talks’ content and progress, and “our Chinese friends are paying close attention to the talks”. “There’s no need to hide any content or subjects in these diplomatic efforts,” he said. The envoy also said there would be a “surprise” gift for China-Russia ties during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trip to the Chinese capital for the Winter Olympics next month.
The report adds that Denisov did not offer details, but said the two sides were getting close on energy trade and would cooperate on space exploration. “We think President Xi might have prepared a surprise for President Putin, and we don’t know what that surprise is at the moment,” he said. “But I think there will be one.”
Anyway, China’s ambassador to the US Qin Gang spoke to NPR this week. Here are some of his comments on key issues:
“The Taiwan issue is the biggest tinderbox between China and the United States. If, you know the Taiwanese authorities, emboldened by the United States, you know, keep going down the road for independence, it most likely will involve China and the United States, the two big countries, in the military conflict.” — I guess Qin would have been unimpressed by US Vice President Kamala Harris greeting Taiwanese Vice President William Lai at the inauguration of Honduran President Xiomara Castro, and neither would Beijing have appreciated Lai’s video call with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Also note that speaking to China Daily, Qin’s predecessor Cui Tiankai said this about the Taiwan issue: it is “a matter of life and death” for China because the Taiwan question concerns its sovereignty and territorial integrity. There's no room for compromise and concession for China…“The country will be reunified someday, of course, sooner better than later…So I think American policymakers should have a better understanding of the importance and sensitivity of this Taiwan question.”
On the issue of Uyghurs, the report on the interview with Qin says this: “The U.S. announced the boycott in protest of what it terms the ‘ongoing genocide’ of Uyghurs, a mostly Muslim minority in western China. Qin rejected such accusations as ‘fabrications, lies and disinformation. He nonetheless asserted that some Uyghurs were terrorists. ‘The destination for them is prisons,’ he said, while asserting that others had inappropriate thoughts that they were being taught to change in ‘vocational schools’.”
“Nobody in China bet(s) against the United States. Everybody in China, including the Chinese leadership, believe(s) that the United States is one of the most important countries. And the relationship between China and United States is the most important relationship. We must work well at ‘don't mess it up.’”
Moving on, Reuters reports that speaking at a National Bureau of Asian Research event this week, White House senior director for China Laura Rosenberger said that the Biden administration was working on an Indo-Pacific economic framework. She said that “our initial ideas on proposed areas of economic cooperation include trade facilitation, digital economy standards, supply-chain resiliency, infrastructure, decarbonization and clean energy, export controls, tax and anti-corruption.”
Also Read:
Senior U.S. official to visit Lithuania in show of support over Chinese 'coercion'
US House finalises bill to confront China, including provisions on semiconductors and Taiwan ties
iv. EU Sues China & Slovenia’s Taiwan Push
by Shrey Khanna
On January 27, EU launched a World Trade Organization (WTO) case against China over its discriminatory trade practices against Lithuania. Speaking at the press conference, EU’s Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, said:
“Launching a WTO case is not a step we take lightly. However, after repeated failed attempts to resolve the issue bilaterally, we see no other way forward than to request WTO dispute settlement consultations with China. The EU is determined to act as one and act fast against measures in breach of WTO rules, which threaten the integrity of our Single Market. We are in parallel pursuing our diplomatic efforts to deescalate the situation.”
According to a report in Reuters, Dombrovskis expressed hopes that the EU and China can find a diplomatic solution to the dispute. He was quoted as saying, “Certainly, there can be a diplomatic solution. From the EU side (...) we are trying to solve the dispute amicably, there are two parallel tracks".
In response, Zhang Lijian in his press conference on January 27 stressed that the claims about Chinese coercion of Lithuania are “groundless and distorts facts.”
He further stated that:
“The problem between China and Lithuania is a political not an economic one. They were caused by Lithuania's acts in bad faith that hurt China’s interests, not China’s pressure on Lithuania. They are issues between China and Lithuania, not China and the EU. We urge the Lithuanian side to immediately mend its ways, avoid willingly act as a pawn for “Taiwan independence” separatist forces and anti-China forces, and return to the right track of adhering to the one-China principle. We would also remind the EU to tell right from wrong, stay wary of Lithuania’s attempts to take China-EU relations hostage and advise Lithuania to follow other EU members in fulfilling the political commitment made upon the establishment of diplomatic ties with the PRC.”
On January 28, Reuters reported that the US Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose Fernandez will visit Vilnius on January 30. In Lithuania, he will express his “strong support for Lithuania in the face of political pressure and economic coercion from the People’s Republic of China”. The report added that
“Fernandez will be accompanied by U.S. Export-Import Bank officials to discuss implementation of a $600 million memorandum of understanding to expand opportunities for U.S. exporters and Lithuanian buyers in areas such as high-tech manufacturing, business services and renewable energy”.
The US official will also travel to Brussels where “he will also discuss efforts to counter economic "coercion" with EU officials”, the report added.
Meanwhile, on January 29, Reuters reported that Australia will seek to be included in consultations about a trade dispute between the European Union and China launched by the EU at the World Trade Organisation”. It is interesting to note that Australia has already filed two WTO complaints in the past 18 months over China’s duties on imports of bottled wine and barley.
Closely following the Lithuanian footsteps, Slovenia has started talks with Taiwan to open representative offices on each other’s soil. This has followed the January 17 Doordarshan interview of Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša who had explained the logic behind his support for the Lithuanian decision to open a representative office to the Indian broadcaster:
“We firmly supported the government of Lithuania and we are still supporting it during this pressure happening, because, frankly speaking, there is a vast majority of the EU member countries holding some kind of representative offices with Taiwan. Lithuania is not an exception. There are some slight differences in naming the missions, but this is not important. I think that China changed this … China protested every time some European countries established such offices, but they never went as far as they did in this case. It’s terrifying trying to isolate a small country that also fought for its independence 30 years ago. I mean, that … Well, formally the European Union backed Lithuania, and I think that any kind of proceeding pressure on Lithuania and some other countries in Europe will not benefit China’s government. Good trade relations are a common interest. If one side is trying to hurt these relations, maybe they could benefit short-term, but long-term we are all losers.”
He shared his assessment on Taiwan:
“I think that for everybody, who knows the history and knows that the legitimate successor of China, what was the rest of China, escaping to Taiwan, knows that we support the sovereign decision of Taiwanese people. If they want to join China, if it’s their free will without any pressure, without any military intervention and without any blackmailing, without strategic cheating as it is happening in Hong Kong currently, then we will support it. But if Taiwanese people want to live independently, we are here to support also this position. And I think this is the main issue. All division regarding the question of Taiwan is focused on this issue and I think we are to be principal and I think that we have to work together.”
He also stated:
“I [have] personally visited Taiwan four or five times so far. They are a democratic country. It’s difficult to listen to a capital with a one-party system lecturing about democracy and peace around the world. You know, a country which is democratic and respects all international democratic standards, international law included. And it’s such a pity that China is opposing the membership of Taiwan in the World Health Organisation.”
Janša blamed China for the lack of good faith in releasing information about the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020. He said:
“I think that we will never 100 % know what is the origin of this virus. Was it artificially developed in laboratory or it was some kind of accident or it was of natural origin. But we surely know that China didn't behave in good faith in the beginning. We were not informed, what's really happening. We knew that they cancelled internal flights from Wuhan to other cities in China, but at the same time the international flights went on.”
Janša shared his views on India and the Indo-Pacific. Referring to S. Jaishankar’s September 2021 visit to Slovenia, he said that “we agreed on the picture that [Jaishankar] delivered on the situation in South China Sea and in the Indo-Pacific region”. He also commented that:
“[it is] my belief and this is also the majority belief inside of the European politics is that…despite all these problems happening between Russia, Ukraine and other things, but the key issue is Pacific or Indo-Pacific region now. And India is a crucial factor here to guaranty the balance of power and with this, the very foundation of possible peaceful solutions.”
In response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that:
“The Chinese side is shocked by and strongly opposes the dangerous remarks by the Slovenian leader who flagrantly challenged the one-China principle and voiced support for “Taiwan independence”. There is but one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The PRC government is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. The one-China principle is a universally-recognized norm governing international relations and common consensus of the international community. It is also the political foundation of China-Slovenia and China-EU relations. China must be and will be reunified. Nobody should underestimate the Chinese people’s strong resolution, will and capability to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
An article in the Global Times quoted the Chinese experts to say that “Jansa is playing the Taiwan card to cover his troubled resume, at the cost of dragging down the EU and complicating China-EU relations”.
The article quoted Zhang Hong, an Eastern European studies expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to argue that “Jansa's political profile has something in common with former US President Donald Trump, an icon of right-wing politicians around the world. He adopts the 'Slovenia first' motto and slams the media he dislikes as fake news. He also has many anti-immigrant remarks”.
It also quoted Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, to suggest that
“Lithuanian and Slovenian politicians are using the EU's existing mistrust of China to disturb cooperation. This is why China needs to deal with Lithuania's mistakes reasonably and forcefully, and draw a "red line" clearly, which will serve as a warning to others who want to follow suit.”
An article in South China Morning Post quoted Long Jing, deputy director of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies’ Centre for European Studies, to say that “the Chinese government is likely to react to Slovenia the same way it did to Lithuania”.
Long said that:
“The Chinese government will surely make corresponding moves on Slovenia if their plan goes ahead as announced. The reason the Chinese government made quick and sharp moves regarding Lithuania was because of not wanting other countries to follow suit. As China has already made it clear that this issue is stepping on China’s red line, there will be follow-up reactions [from Beijing].”
Also Read:
WTO Arbiter Sides With China in Tariff Fight With U.S.
v. New Space White Paper
by Megha Pardhi
State Council Information Office of China released a white paper of its space program recently (Full text available here). This is the fifth such white paper by China. Previously, China had released white papers on space in 2000, 2006, 2011, and 2016.
The document titled “China’s Space Program: A 2021 Perspective” highlights major achievements of China's space program from 2016 to Dec 2021. One of the reasons for releasing these white papers is so that the international community can understand China's objectives and actions in space. That’s why it is released in English, unlike most documents that are released in Chinese first. Another is to show the international community that China is a responsible and growing space power. The first line of the document itself quotes Xi Jinping saying, “to explore the vast cosmos, develop the space industry and build China into a space power is our eternal dream.” Moreover, the activities highlighted in the document like handling of space debris and governance norms are something other space powers including the US are also grappling with.
The Paper also mentions the building space industry and applications of space exploration for businesses. The new business models for the industry include avenues like travel, biomedicine, debris removal, and experiment services.
Unlike previous white papers, the latest white paper does not separate milestones and goals for the next five years in separate sections. Instead, the paper is divided into sections based on focus areas. Milestones and future activities are divided into the space transport system, space infrastructure, manned spaceflight, deep space exploration, space launch telemetry and tracking, space environment governance, and experiment on new technologies.
Some of the projects mentioned in the document are already set in motion. For example, China and Russia have agreed to cooperate and build International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). ILRS is expected to be in operation by 2035. The legally binding intergovernmental agreement on this project is expected to be signed this year. 2021 guidelines on the ILRS project can be found here.
The white paper does not go into the military applications and activities in space.
Breakdown of first two areas from the white paper is given below (Also check out this infographic released by CNSA):
For additional breakdown of the white paper, refer to upcoming issue of China Tech Dispatch.
vi. Region Watch
by Shibani Mehta
Beijing announced that it would assist Islamabad in constructing a space centre. The vision of Pakistan Space Centre, likely to build satellites, was revealed in the white paper 'China’s Space Programme: A 2021 Perspective'. Released on Friday by the State Council, the paper states:
China will ‘give priority to developing communications satellites for Pakistan and to cooperating on the construction of the Pakistan Space Centre’
While defence cooperation forms much of the technology element of the bilateral association, usually a transfer from China into Pakistan, the plan for a space centre has unlocked new avenues of socio-economic and scientific cooperation. Politically, the move is towards limiting Pakistan's reliance on US satellite navigation statement, GPS. China’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System would connect BRI countries under Space Silk Road. The official English-language BRI website states that Beidou:
‘is of significant importance for China’s Going Global strategy and the (BRI)… Within the BRI, (Beidou) is a part of China’s Space Silk Road (which) aims at creating an entire range of space capabilities including satellites, launch services, and ground infrastructure and at supporting related industries and service providers going global’.
The Space Silk Road aims at creating a wide and deep range of space capabilities including satellites, launch services, and ground infrastructure. Additionally, it will support related industries and service providers. China has offered prioritised (and free) access to satellite data and services to BRI member nations. While Pakistan’s space program is argued to benefit from advanced Chinese technology, experts claim,
‘that the successful completion of the network has significant implications for Chinese military capabilities, commercial competitiveness, and geopolitical freedom of movement vis-à-vis the United States and Europe.’
If Space competition is seen as an extension to territorial politics, domination of Space and data flow will not only impact the information industry but also influence geopolitics.
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vii. Modernising Market Supervision
by Swayamsiddha Samal
The Party Central Committee and the State Council released a new plan (English report) for modernising market supervision this week.
The plan document identifies major goals as “optimizing the business environment, regulating market operations, guaranteeing consumer security, enhancing product and service quality, and comprehensively improving market management efficiency.”
It adds that “by the end of 2022, simple, efficient, fair and transparent rules for licensing industries with easy access and strict regulation will be established. By 2025, the average time to open a business will be further reduced from less than four working days to about two working days.”
The key tasks identified in the document are:
Implement the “People’s Republic of China Regulations on the Administration of Market Entity Registration.” Deepening the reform of market entity entry and exit system, as well as the use of the “One-stop Service” platform for business establishment.
Improve online market access, product quality, and safety by strengthening anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition law enforcement in key areas.
Improve the domestic unified market by strengthening institutional guarantees for equal treatment of various market entities.
Strengthen oversight of key industries and areas that affect people’s health, life and property, as well as public security, especially food and drugs.
Towards the end, the document calls for increasing the Party overall leadership in market supervision.
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France snubs China with its Indo-Pacific forum: “As France prepares to roll out the red carpet in Paris next month for a forum where EU ministers will meet 30 Indo-Pacific foreign ministers, the absence of China will be all too conspicuous.
France's guest list for the event on February 22 runs from regional heavyweights like Japan, India and South Korea through to archipelagos like Comoros and Micronesia, but Beijing isn't there.”
The former Party Secretary of Hangzhou has been taken down. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said that following an investigation, it has found Zhou Jiangyong of having colluded with the capital and supported the disorderly expansion of capital. Zhou is also accused of having “lost his ideals and beliefs” and deviating from the ‘two safeguards’. He is also accused of violating the rules by interfering in the market economy and engaging in corrupt activities with family members. - Also read: Chinese documentary prompts rare criticism of Xi’s corruption crackdown/ Former top Chinese anti-graft inspector gets suspended death sentence for corruption
China Jails Almost 50 Steel Executives for Faking Emissions Data
Chinese drones in demand as Algeria and Egypt eye orders from world’s leading UAV exporter
Ministry Warns China’s Export Growth Faces ‘Unprecedented Difficulties’
Exclusive: China securities regulator met foreign banks to soothe economic concerns - sources: CSRC Vice Chairman Fang Xinghai hosted the virtual meeting with more than a dozen foreign financial institutions on Tuesday. Senior executives from firms including BlackRock, Credit Suisse, Fidelity International, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and UBS attended the meeting, said two of the sources. Fang reassured the meeting participants that China will achieve “respectable growth” in 2022, one of the people said. Fang also said that China's leadership understood that the regulatory changes Beijing introduced in 2021 would affect economic growth but was determined to tolerate the pains, the person said. However, 2022 will be different year as it will have a series of significant events, including the key once-in-five-years Communist Party congress later this year, Fang said, according to that person.
China’s Local Government Bond Sales Fall Short of Expectations: “Local authorities are scheduled to issue 516.8 billion yuan ($81.8 billion) of new general and special bonds by the end of January, which accounts for 12% of estimated annual quota for 2022, according to Bloomberg data. The bonds are mainly used for infrastructure spending, a key way for policy makers to deliver stimulus to the economy. The increase in bond sales is slightly faster than the 9% growth at the same time in 2019, but slower than the 17% pace in 2020, the figures show.”
China's spending on R&D reaches new high in 2021: R&D spending is now at 2.44 percent of GDP in 2021, up 0.03 percentage points from the previous year. Total country’s R&D expenditure is at 2.79 trillion yuan (about $441.13 billion.)
China targets deepfakes in proposed regulation governing deep learning AI technologies. Do check out this thread on the proposed rules:
Yup, I've looked at them in some detail. Here are some takeaways. Deep synthesis technology refers to technological ways to generate or edit all kinds of content, text, images, audio, video, etc. These regulations refer to the providers of such services, as well as...China coming out with regulations & guidelines for AI & emerging tech on a regular basis. Yesterday CAC released draft rules for "deep synthesis technology," which is "generative synthesis algorithms represented by deep learning and VR to produce text, images, audio, video, etc"Rui Ma 马睿 @ruimaSeparately, note the thread below: