China news roundup / Nachrichten 2023-05-20/21

G7: Taking a stand against China's economic coercion

"They called for "de-risking"- a policy that Ms von der Leyen, who is attending the summit, has championed. This is a more moderate version of the US' idea of "decoupling" from China, where they would talk tougher in diplomacy, diversify trade sources, and protect trade and technology."

--- Either Scholzian bullshittery has had some success among journalists or this particular writer has a rather peculiar understanding of 'decoupling'. Or did I miss something? Did the USA really demand or ask for decoupling?
Biden's idea of decoupling is really hawkish, it seems: Biden says he expects China relations thaw 'very shortly'

"They sought to placate Beijing, saying their policies were "not designed to harm China nor do we seek to thwart China's economic progress and development". They were "not decoupling or turning inwards".
But they also put pressure on the Chinese to cooperate, saying that a "growing China that plays by international rules would be of global interest""

--- If there are still people who believe that China would play by the rules, they are obviously delusional.

"China had clearly anticipated the G7's statements and in the days leading up to the summit, its state media and embassies put out pieces accusing the US of its own economic coercion and hypocrisy.
On Saturday evening, they accused the G7 of "smearing and attacking" China and lodged a complaint with summit organiser Japan.
They also urged the other G7 countries not to become the US' "accomplice in economic coercion", and called on them to "stop ganging up to form exclusive blocs" and "containing and bludgeoning other countries"."

--- Yaaawn.
cf.: Russia and China hit back at a G7 that saw them as a threat

The West must not fall for Xi’s economic delusions

"Statistics tell a variety of tales about how dependent Britain and many of its allies supposedly are on China. They do not show how much of that could be wiped off the slate by better co-operation and co-ordination among them. Few Western economies are really as irrevocably tied to China’s as Xi Jinping would have us believe."

--- Not only emperor Xi. Many Western politicians want us to believe this as well, out of convenience & decadence (or for money).

‘We in the west were blinded’: China crackdown on business has Maoist roots

"There is a line from Mao to Xi, and ‘reform and opening’ [was] an aberration. Xi is working in the system that Mao created – campaign governance, the party being the centre of everything, nationalism, all these resonate with Mao.
[...] While Chinese leaders talk about how they are open for business in public forums, their actions across sectors say they truly believe the opposite,” he says. “Overall, the trend is toward much stronger control of the economy."

--- That's how it looks, but Wall Street (well, much of it) doesn't want to see it.

Just over half of mainland Chinese people back full-scale war to take control of Taiwan, poll finds

"Given the extreme sensitivities around the issue, it was perhaps surprising that some 22 per cent of respondents said they were fine with the two sides keeping separate political systems "with unification not necessarily being the end game", compared with 71 per cent who said this was unacceptable.
Addressing the political taboos around this issue on the mainland, the authors said: "This basically amounts to agreeing to de facto Taiwan independence, a term we refrained from using to ensure survey feasibility in the Chinese context and to avoid inducing social desirability bias."

--- Not really representative, but still interesting. I wouldn't have expected a fifth of Chinese being happy with the status quo.

"The survey could also indicate that armed unification is not Beijing's only choice, Liu said, so the US "should also not design its China policies as if the reunification clock is really ticking"."

--- Nonsense. Even if a majority of Chinese would be against an invasion, there still is one major factor to consider: emperor Xi.

Zoom executives knew about key elements of plan to censor Chinese activists

"While Zoom is an American company, its links to China, where it maintains a sizable development team, has raised concerns about whether it can maintain independence vis-a-vis the Chinese state"

--- It obviously can't.
Sadly, it's also almost impossible to avoid this software. Loads of employers use it as standard conference application. Hard to find a job without using it.

"At their meetings in October, Chinese government officials instructed Yuan and Jin about the steps Zoom needed to take in order to be unblocked in China, according to the complaint. The company drafted a “rectification report” that would be submitted to Chinese authorities detailing the types of content deemed illicit by the CCP and that the company would monitor for. The plan designated Jin as the MPS’s contact person within Zoom to address takedown requests.
On Oct. 25, 2019, Jin wrote to Yuan and a group of other Zoom employees to update them on his work with the MPS to bring the company into compliance with Chinese law, according to the DOJ complaint. Following a meeting he attended at the MPS office in Hangzhou, Jin wrote that the MPS wants “a list of some details on our routine monitoring; such as Hong Kong protests, illegal religions, fundraising, and multi-level marketing.” Jin added that “they will help with the determination of issues that we find difficult to determine whether they are illegal” and that he planned to visit the unit “often” to “give live demonstrations.”
After Chinese authorities lifted the block on Zoom on Nov. 17, Jin wrote to Tian to thank him and the MPS Network Security Bureau for their guidance in resolving access to the service in China, according to emails cited in the complaint. The key to maintaining the availability of Zoom in China going forward, Tian told Jin, was to rigorously enforce know-your-customer rules. Jin said the company planned to strictly follow the rectification report."

--- Great. Another company worthy of your trust...

China Fails Micron's Products in Security Review, Bars Some Purchases

""The review found that Micron's products have serious network security risks, which pose significant security risks to China's critical information infrastructure supply chain, affecting China's national security," the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a statement.
Micron said it had received the CAC's notice of conclusion of its review of the company's products sold in China, and "look forward to continuing to engage in discussions with Chinese authorities"."

--- 'Yeah, sucking up to the CCP hasn't really helped us, but we will just suck harder.'

Surge in strikes at Chinese factories after Covid rules end

"A paradox at the heart of the communist regime is that the party of workers does not tolerate independent unions."

--- Only if you're so naive, not to say delusional, to believe that commie parties actually care about workers' rights. But that's The Guardian writing, which is full of socialist idealists.

Honey Production: China Is the Place to Bee

"In 2021, China produced almost 500,000 tons of natural honey, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Even though its natural properties are being contested by several national and intranational watchdogs scanning for syrup additives to the People's Republic's bee-based commodity, the amount of honey produced still easily outranks every other country.
As our chart shows, Turkey, Iran and Argentina place second, third and fourth, respectively, with neither country crossing the 100,000-ton threshold."

--- Well, considering that 75% of exported Chinese honey is fake, China is not that far ahead in honey production.

Guangdong court jails veteran dissident for 3 years over foreign media reports

INTERVIEW: 'They threatened to arrest us both together'

--- China Uncensored: "China’s WAR Against the West Goes Digital"

Emperor Xi becoming ever more imperial

G7 wollen Abhängigkeit von China reduzieren

"Die G7-Politik ziele nicht darauf ab, China zu schaden oder seinen wirtschaftlichen Fortschritt zu vereiteln. "Ein wachsendes China, das sich an die internationalen Regeln hält, wäre im Interesse der Welt." Die G7-Staaten wollten konstruktive und stabile Beziehungen zu China aufbauen, heißt es in dem Dokument. Es sei wichtig, mit China bei globalen Herausforderungen zu kooperieren - angesichts seiner Rolle in der Weltgemeinschaft und der Größe seine Wirtschaft.
Um nachhaltige Wirtschaftsbeziehungen zu China zu ermöglichen und das internationale Handelssystem zu stärken, will die G7-Gruppe auf faire Wettbewerbsbedingungen für ihre Unternehmen und Beschäftigte in China pochen. Auch müssten Chinas nicht marktkonforme Politik und Praktiken angesprochen werden, die die Weltwirtschaft verzerrten. "Wir werden uns gegen schädliche Praktiken wie unrechtmäßigem Technologietransfer oder Datenoffenlegung wenden", heißt es weiter."

--- Klingt reichlich naiv. Man kann nur hoffen, daß es in der angewandten Politik etwas realistischer zugehen wird.