New Xi book; India-China border tensions; US cancels visas, People’s Daily rejects OpEd from US Ambassador
The Essential Eight:
New Xi book on preventing risks and challenges and responding to emergencies
India-China border tensions
Europe-China
US cancels visas, People’s Daily rejects OpEd from US Ambassador
A defense of US-China engagement
TikTok running out of time in the US
Algorithms and underpaid, overstressed food delivery riders
Disney’s Mulan mess
Thanks for reading.
1. New Xi book on preventing risks and challenges and responding to emergencies
A new book of Xi speeches and directives has been published, including many previously unpublicized - “Excerpts from Xi Jinping's Discourses on Preventing Risks and Challenges and Responding to Emergencies 习近平关于防范风险挑战、应对突发事件论述摘编》出版发行--时政--人民网
党的十八大以来，面对波谲云诡的国际形势、复杂敏感的周边环境、艰巨繁重的改革发展稳定任务，以习近平同志为核心的党中央坚持底线思维，增强忧患意识，提高防控能力，着力防范化解重大风险，保持了经济持续健康发展和社会大局稳定。习近平围绕防范风险挑战、应对突发事件发表的一系列重要论述，立意高远，内涵丰富，思想深刻。认真学习习近平关于防范风险挑战、应对突发事件的重要论述，对于我们切实做好防范化解风险挑战各项工作，战胜前进道路上各种艰难险阻，实现“两个一百年”奋斗目标、实现中华民族伟大复兴的中国梦具有十分重要的意义。
《论述摘编》分6个专题，共计404段论述，摘自习近平2012年11月15日至2020年7月17日期间的讲话、报告、谈话、演讲、指示、批示等180多篇重要文献。其中许多论述是第一次公开发表Since the 18th CPC National Congress, in the face of the treacherous international situation, the complex and sensitive surrounding environment, and the arduous and onerous task of reform, development and stability, the CPC Central Committee, with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, has adhered to bottom-line thinking, enhanced awareness of risks, improved prevention and control capabilities, and worked to prevent and resolve major risks, thereby maintaining sustained and healthy economic development and social stability. The series of important discourses issued by Xi Jinping on preventing risks and challenges and responding to emergencies are far-reaching, rich in connotation and profound in thought. Studying Xi's important discourses on preventing risks and challenges and responding to emergencies is of great significance for us to do a good job in preventing and resolving risks and challenges, to overcome all kinds of difficulties and obstacles on the way, and to realize the goal of "two centuries" and the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
The "Digest of Discourses" is divided into six topics, with a total of 404 paragraphs of discourses taken from more than 180 important documents such as speeches, reports, talks, speeches, directives and instructions of Xi Jinping during the period from November 15, 2012 to July 17, 2020. Many of these were published for the first time.
South China Morning Post reporter Jun Mai got a copy:
From the above page "两种意识形态的较量更加激烈 a contest of two types of ideology is intensifying”. In 2014, Obama was president. The documentary Silent Contest 较量无声 had been made a year or so earlier. That film now looks not like an anomaly but a playbook for Xi.
This is not directly related to the book, but it speaks to the current environment:陈一新：以“七个坚持”把习近平总书记在全国抗击新冠肺炎疫情表彰大会上的重要讲话精神落到实处--法治--人民网
On September 10, Chen Yixin, secretary general of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, chaired a study meeting of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission Theoretical Center Group to study and understand the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech at the National Commendation Conference for Fighting the COVID pandemic, and to study and implement preliminary opinions.
We should dialectically understand and grasp the overall situation at home and abroad, remain cautious as if walking on thin ice, be keen as to see a leaf and know Autumn is coming, study the law of risk development in depth, be prepared to deal with major risks in a normal way, focus on fighting the "three major wars" from an overall and strategic perspective, and firmly grasp the strategic initiative to prevent and resolve risks.
辩证认识和把握国内外大势，时刻保持如履薄冰的谨慎、见叶知秋的敏锐，深入研究风险发展规律，常态做好应对重大风险的思想准备和工作准备，从全局和战略的高度，聚焦打好“三大战”，牢牢掌握防范化解风险的战略主动权。
--To fight the battle of political security, the focus should be on building an iron wall against infiltration, subversion and sabotage, and eradicating the soil that affects political security, with particular emphasis on preventing and controlling those global risks that may delay or interrupt the process of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
——打好政治安全防御战，重点要构筑防范渗透颠覆破坏的铜墙铁壁，铲除影响政治安全的土壤，尤其要重点防控那些可能迟滞或中断中华民族伟大复兴进程的全局性风险。
--To fight the battle to maintain social stability, the focus should be on preventing and resolving potential security risks of a phased or regional or industrial nature, reducing stock, controlling increment and preventing variables, and focusing on solving outstanding problems affecting social stability to ensure the overall stability of society.
——打好维护社会稳定攻坚战，重点要放在防范化解阶段性或区域性、行业性的潜在安全风险上，在减存量、控增量、防变量上下功夫，着力解决影响社会稳定的突出问题，确保社会大局持续稳定。
--Fighting the protracted war of strict Party control over the police, the focus should be on insisting that the overall strict Party control is always on the road, deeply promoting the construction of the Party's politics, ideology, organization and work style, and carrying out the construction of Party integrity and anti-corruption struggle to ensure the absolute loyalty, purity and reliability of the political and legal teams.
——打好从严管党治警持久战，重点要坚持全面从严治党永远在路上，深入推进党的政治、思想、组织、作风建设，深入开展党风廉政建设和反腐败斗争，确保政法队伍绝对忠诚、绝对纯洁、绝对可靠。
“人民英雄”国家荣誉称号获得者 湖北省卫健委副主任 武汉市金银潭医院院长 张定宇：我说我们胜利了，总书记亲切地关心我，还说你要注意身体，站在我们的人民领袖的身边，我们感到非常的温暖，也感到身上有无比的这种力量和责任。对我们的这种尊重，实际上是对我们英雄人民的尊重，我们中国从来不缺英雄的人民在推动我们的祖国的进步和发展。
"The People's Hero national honorary title winner Hubei provincial health committee deputy director and head of the Wuhan Jinyin Tan Hospital President Zhang Dingyu: I said we are victorious, the General Secretary kindly cared for me, and also said you should pay attention to your health. Standing next to our People's Leader, we feel very warm and also feel the incomparable strength and responsibility he carries. This respect for us is, in fact, a respect for our heroic people, of whom China has never lacked for the progress and development of our homeland.
2. India-China border tensions
The Indian and Chinese foreign ministers met in Moscow but there is no word of progress in resolving the current tensions.
India-China Foreign Ministers Meet In Moscow Amid Border Tension
Foreign minister S Jaishankar had a meeting this evening with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in an attempt to defuse tension after a spike in hostilities along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border between the two nations. The meeting, whch went on for nearly two-and-half hours, was held on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet in Moscow. There are no details yet on what transpired at the meeting.
China appears to be preparing thousands of its elite special forces to face off against their Indian counterparts in the troubled Himalayan border region as the military build-up on both sides of the frontier continues.
According to a report on Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Wednesday, a special operations brigade from the Tibet Military Area Command and an army aviation brigade jointly organised the first parachute training “in an unfamiliar area which is over 4,000 metres above sea level recently”.
Talks with India come with war preparedness: Global Times editorial - Global Times
If Indian troops open fire at the PLA and provoke a war, the confrontation will become a quick battle. Whether India seized commanding heights on the southern bank of Pangong Tso Lake, or commissioned French Rafale fighter jets, they will be meaningless by then. The PLA will quickly deal a heavy blow to Indian troops, and they will be all annihilated.
China used to care too much about India's dignity. Such dignity has eventually been taken advantage by Indian nationalist forces. They have forgotten who they are. This time, everything should be put on the table. If India wants peace, China and India should uphold the LAC of November 7, 1959. If India wants war, China will oblige. Let's see which country can outlast the other.
India should take a good look at the world and at China. It should also look back at history. India has an abnormal confidence in confronting China. It does not have enough strength. If India is kidnapped by extreme nationalist forces and keeps following its radical China policy, it will pay a heavy price...
India is releasing information on the border region every day, and fabricating news about the PLA. China cannot let India control the narrative on the border situation. Once a war starts, the world's judgment on the war will largely depend on previous information and battle of public opinion is a prelude.
Dorjay, and others whose families fled Tibet after Beijing sent troops into the region in 1950, now live in the villages of Chushul, Merak and Man Pangong around Pangong Tso. Almost every day, they wake up at 3.30am, trudge to the nearest Indian army base and present themselves as willing volunteers. Their job, he said, was straightforward – help the army get supplies to its forward posts. The tricky part is the journey through inhospitable terrain.
Rethinking the defence doctrine - The Hindu - Arzan Tarapore
China has no interest in launching a major conventional invasion, but this is not just a typical probe either. Rather, its quick land grab looks increasingly permanent, like an attempt to change the border without triggering war. This fait accompli leaves India with two awful choices: either start a war by launching its own reprisal attack, or do nothing and accept a new status quo.
3. Europe-China
China, EU to Hold ‘Decisive’ Summit on Monday, European Chamber President Says - Caixin
“We have a (EU-China) summit on Monday. The summit will be conducted by (German Chancellor) Angela Merkel who sits in the chair of the European Council, (President of the European Council) Charles Michel and (President of the European Commission) Ursula von der Leyen on the European side, as well as President Xi Jinping on the Chinese side,” Joerg Wuttke said during a press conference releasing the chamber’s annual position paper.
Wuttke said the summit will be “decisive in order to see how far and how much political capital can be spent in order to get this investment agreement to conclusion before the end of the year.”
Question: Is anyone confident an investment agreement can get done now?
Although European companies remain committed to the market, a number of ‘dichotomies’ that have emerged in recent years raise questions over which direction China will eventually decide to move in:
The ‘one economy, two systems’ model, which divides the private and state-owned economies
The country’s economic potential versus its market access regime
The persistent divide between China’s rhetoric and the reality on the ground
The clash of China’s charm offensive towards European business and its ‘wolf warriors’ in Europe
The annual report of the European Chamber of Commerce in China also highlighted concerns about travel restrictions imposed on foreign workers because of the coronavirus pandemic and the exclusion of foreign businesses from key sectors of the economy.
“Companies are left navigating a political minefield during a health crisis of truly overwhelming proportions,” chamber president Joerg Wuttke said in comments attached to the report, which draws on contributions from working groups, surveys and comments from its more than 1,700 members.
The report warned that the risk of deteriorating relations between China and Europe - over issues like Beijing’s treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority and new national security legislation for Hong Kong - could seriously impact European companies doing business in China.
China to strengthen communication with EU at upcoming meeting: FM spokesperson - Xinhua
"We hope that through this meeting, we will further send a positive signal that China and the EU are committed to strengthening communication and cooperation, jointly safeguarding multilateralism and free trade, and maintaining world peace, stability and prosperity," spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a press briefing.
He said at this important meeting, President Xi will have in-depth communication with the EU and German leaders on the China-EU relations and issues of common concern.
Chinese vice premier stresses digital cooperation with EU - Xinhua
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Thursday called on China and the European Union (EU) to pool wisdom and gain consensus in the digital area so as to jointly address challenges and promote the construction of a community with a shared future for humanity.
Liu made the remarks during a China-EU high-level dialogue in the digital area, co-chaired via video link by Liu and European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager.
The two sides had substantial and constructive discussion on issues including standards of communications technology, AI and the safety of non-food products, and made preparations for the China-Germany-EU leaders' meeting scheduled next Monday.
The relationship between EU member states and China is undergoing a transformation that the coronavirus crisis has accelerated. While efforts to enhance trade and other economic links continue to play a major role in the relationship – especially due to the financial impact of the pandemic – countries across Europe are becoming increasingly sceptical of Beijing’s intentions. They are debating reducing their dependency on China for supplies of critical goods, and are ever more concerned about the future of the relationship in a rapidly shifting geopolitical environment marked by growing US-China rivalry. The pandemic has moved the debate about China, which is heavily influenced by EU member states’ domestic political constellations and considerations, much closer to the centre of national and European policymaking.
The EU and Canada will continue to stand up for our interests and values vis-à-vis China, including human rights and fundamental freedoms. China is a trade and economic partner as well as an essential partner at the global level on issues such as climate change and the Paris Agreement implementation, and the fight against COVID-19. The EU and Canada will continue to call on China to respect the rule of law and international governance standards, including on issues related to trade, investment, and science and technology. The EU and Canada express deep concern about the continued arbitrary detention of the two Canadian citizens, the use of the death penalty, the treatment of minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet, and the situation in Hong Kong.
Germany debates China policy ahead of EU talks | News | DW | 09.09.2020
Ahead of next week's EU-China talks, German lawmakers have spelled out what they expect for Europe's relationship with Beijing. They also called for human rights violations to have consequences.
China’s Story Comes to Brussels | China Media Project
Politico reported this week that China Media Group (CMG), the state media super-conglomerate created in March 2018 through the merger of three major media groups, including China Central Television, China National Radio and China Radio International, is now planning to open a European office in Brussels. CMG, which is also known as “Voice of China” (中国之声), has been portrayed by state media sources as a key step in “advancing [China’s] international transmission capacity and telling China’s story well,” both demands that Xi Jinping made in his political report to the 19th National Congress of the CCP in October 2017.
The establishment of the Brussels office almost certainly signals China’s intention to bolster its media presence and deployment of CCP narratives in Europe, and perhaps to seek partnerships that can help to advance coverage in the region that is favorable to China’s interests. The move comes as the CGTN, part of the group, faces possible sanctions in the UK over its broadcasting in 2013 of a forced confession by British national Peter Humphrey.
4. US cancels visas, People’s Daily rejects OpEd from US Ambassador
US revokes visas for 1,000 Chinese students deemed security risk - BBC News
According to an online spreadsheet collecting self-reporting information from affected students, Washington's scope of visa revocation appears to go beyond Chinese graduate students in advanced scientific fields, also targeting undergraduate students and those studying economics and finance.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on September 10
AFP: The US has revoked recently visas of more than 1,000 Chinese students and researchers. The US president is accusing some of these Chinese nationals of spying. Does China plan on any countermeasures?
Zhao Lijian: For some time, the US negative words and deeds in the field of cultural and people-to-people exchange have run counter to its self-proclaimed openness and freedom, to the public opinion of the two countries and to the trend of international personnel exchange today. They have caused serious negative impacts to the normal cultural and people-to-people exchange between the two sides and severely damaged the social basis of the bilateral relations. The measures taken by the US government blatantly harm the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students studying in the US, which are outright political persecution and racial discrimination and seriously violate the human rights of these Chinese students.
The US side should immediately stop its unreasonable restrictions and suppression of Chinese students studying in the US under various excuses. We support the Chinese students in safeguarding their legitimate and legal rights and interests in accordance with law. China reserves the right to make further reaction.
Zhao’s comments - 美方撤销超1千名中国留学生及研究人员签证 外交部回应 - 国内 - 新京报网
美国政府公然采取损害中国在美留学人员合法权益的措施，是赤裸裸的政治迫害和种族歧视，严重侵犯了中国留学人员人权。美方应立即停止利用各种借口对在美中国留学生的无端限制和打压，我们支持中国留学人员依法维护他们的合法正当权益，中方保留对此事作出进一步反应的权利。
The Hypocrisy of the PRC’s Propaganda System - United States Department of State
Today, the Chinese Communist Party’s main propaganda newspaper, the People’s Daily, refused to run an Op-ed written by our Ambassador in Beijing, Terry Branstad, citing a litany of grievances. Ironically, the Op-ed called for more positive relations between our two countries and asked to “build relationships through unrestricted engagement and uncensored discussion.” The People’s Daily’s response once again exposes the Chinese Communist Party’s fear of free speech and serious intellectual debate – as well as Beijing’s hypocrisy when it complains about lack of fair and reciprocal treatment in other countries.
In contrast, in our vibrant and confident democracy, Chinese government officials have enjoyed the ability to talk directly to the American people and provided its government’s views through our free media. China’s Ambassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai alone has published five Op-eds this year in prominent U.S. news outlets such as the Washington Post and Politico, and given exclusive interviews to the likes of CNN and CBS. China’s Foreign Ministry and state-owned propaganda organs like the Global Times and China Daily regularly use free access to American social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to attack our policies, our way of life, and the very system that protects their ability to speak freely. They do this in other democratic countries, too.
If Communist China is sincere about becoming a mature power and strengthening relations with the free world, General Secretary Xi Jinping’s government would respect the right for Western diplomats to speak directly to the Chinese people, allow foreign journalists back into China, and stop the intimidation and harassment of investigative journalists, foreign and Chinese, who strive to uphold the integrity of the fifth estate to serve the public good. Their refusal to do so shows just how much China’s unelected Party elites fear their own people’s free-thinking and the free world’s judgment about their governance practices inside China.
The OpEd, obvious why no one at the PD would dare to publish it:
President Trump came to office vowing to make the overall relationship more balanced and reciprocal. The phase one trade deal and recent U.S. policy actions are an important step in our quest to create a genuine level playing field for American stakeholders. Many claim this is an effort to thwart China’s legitimate development aspirations, to “contain” China’s rise, or to “decouple” from China. This is categorically false. The root cause of the current tensions in the relationship is China’s longstanding strategy of only selectively “coupling” with the United States and systematically controlling the access of Americans to Chinese society.
特朗普总统上任，发誓要让整体关系更加平衡和对等。 第一阶段贸易协议和 美国最近的政策行动是我们寻求为美国利益攸关方创造真正的公平竞争环境 的重要一步。 许多人声称，这 为了阻挠中国合理的发展愿望，为了 "遏制 "中国的崛起或者为了与中国 "脱钩"。 这完全是 误的。 当前美中关系紧张 的根本原因，是中国长期以来的策略只选择性地与美国 "挂钩" 系统性地控 制美国人进入中国社会。
We are two different nations with different pasts. The United States continues to learn from its mistakes and push forward to forge a better future. We hope that China can do the same. In this endeavor, we will need to build a foundation for understanding and true reciprocity. It must start with the Chinese government being willing to address our concerns about the imbalance in the relationship and allowing our two peoples to build relationships through unrestricted engagement and uncensored discussion. Only then will I enjoy the freedoms to engage the Chinese people that we guarantee Ambassador Cui in the United States, and only then will we have genuine reciprocity and a genuinely balanced relationship.
我们是两个不同的国家，有着不同的历史。美国继续从自己的错误中吸取教训，为创造更好 未来继续前行。我们希望中国也能如此。在这一努力中， 我们需要建立相互理解和真正对等的基础。这必须从中国政府愿意解决我们 对两国关系失衡的关切开始，并允许我们两国人民通过 受限制的交往和未 经审查删除的讨论来建立关系。只有到那时，我才能享有与中国人民交往的 自由，就像我们保证崔大使在美国所做的那样，也只有到那时，我们才能拥 有真正对等和真 平衡的关系。
The People's Daily response《人民日报》发言人强烈抗议蓬佩奥相关声明--国际--人民网
People's Daily spokesperson strongly protests Pompeo's statement - People's Daily Online
People's Daily responded to the US embassy, and stated that the article sent by the US embassy in the name of Ambassador Branstad was full of loopholes and seriously inconsistent with the facts. It also did not meet the standards of People's Daily, a prestigious, serious and professional media, for selecting and publishing articles. If the US still hopes to publish it in People's Daily, it should make substantive revisions based on facts in the principle of equality and mutual respect. On this basis, we are willing to maintain contact and communication with the US embassy.
Just like any other US media outlet, People's Daily has the right to decide whether or not to publish any submitted article and when to publish it, and is entitled to make necessary changes and edits to any article. It’s also entitled to reject publishing an article with factual mistakes and filled with prejudice. This is in line with the professional practice of the journalistic industry, as well as international norms...
The US, on the one hand, claims that People's Daily and other Chinese media are the CPC’s "propaganda machines", but demand that the "propaganda machines" do propaganda for the United States, which is illogical, overbearing and unreasonable. The US side also spreads rumors to confound the public, playing the guilty party blaming the victim by distorting facts.
People's Daily strongly opposes provocations made by the US, and is urging it to stop harming the safety and rights of Chinese journalists in the US, and attacking the Chinese press.
China urges Pompeo to respect press freedom - Xinhua
Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a news briefing when answering a question regarding U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's complaint that People's Daily, one of the major media groups in China, refused to post an article written by U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad.
Zhao pointed out that the content of the article was seriously inconsistent with basic facts, and was full of loopholes and filled with malicious smears and attacks on China.
"If the Chinese government, as the U.S. did, provided you with an article that seriously distorted the facts and attacked your country, and requested you to reply the next day and promise to post it without any changes, could you do it?" Zhao asked reporters attending the news briefing.
He said that what the United States did "had nothing to do with freedom of the press, but was a well-designed frame-up."
Question: Did the US Embassy in Beijing try to post to Weibo and WeChat the Ambassador’s OpEd?
Secretary Pompeo joined several ASEAN countries and many other partners in raising concerns over the PRC’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea. He reiterated that the United States, in line with the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal Award, regards Beijing’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea as unlawful. Secretary Pompeo also joined several countries in raising concerns over the imposition of sweeping national security legislation on Hong Kong, the arrests of pro-democracy students, the year-long postponement of elections, and disqualification of pro-democracy electoral candidates.
Pompeo tells Southeast Asia to stand up to China, shun its firms - Reuters
ASEAN has said it does not want to take sides amid friction over a recent spike in military activities by both powers in the South China Sea and ahead of a November election in which U.S. President Donald Trump will trumpet his tough stand against China.
Asked about China-U.S. tensions on Tuesday in an interview with Reuters, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said: “We don’t want to get trapped by this rivalry.”
U.S. Spy Plane Impersonates Malaysian Aircraft, Flies Near China - Popular Mechanics
A U.S. Air Force aircraft electronically impersonated a Malaysian plane while flying over the South China Sea this week. The RC-135W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft flew off China’s Hainan island on Tuesday, coming within 55 miles of the Chinese mainland.
Question: How would a repeat of the 2001 air collision play out in this New Era of US-China Relations?
New cyberattacks targeting U.S. elections - Microsoft Blog
Zirconium, operating from China, has attempted to gain intelligence on organizations associated with the upcoming U.S. presidential election. We’ve detected thousands of attacks from Zirconium between March 2020 and September 2020 resulting in nearly 150 compromises. Its targets have included individuals in two categories.
First, the group is targeting people closely associated with U.S. presidential campaigns and candidates. For example, it appears to have indirectly and unsuccessfully targeted the Joe Biden for President campaign through non-campaign email accounts belonging to people affiliated with the campaign. The group has also targeted at least one prominent individual formerly associated with the Trump Administration.
Second, the group is targeting prominent individuals in the international affairs community, academics in international affairs from more than 15 universities, and accounts tied to 18 international affairs and policy organizations including the Atlantic Council and the Stimson Center.
5. A defense of US-China engagement
This is long history and defense of engagement by James Green, based on his excellent US-China Dialogue Podcast series of interviews with former US officials involved in China policy since the early 1970s.
James and I were classmates at SAIS too long ago to mention.
My simplistic view on engagement, as a child of and beneficiary of the engagement era, is that it was the right approach to take at the time, as was "responsible stakeholder" concept, but there were not enough reevaluations and course corrections and attempts to impose costs as China "disappointed", and there did not appear to be much of a long-term strategy behind it. So now we have to go through this very painful reset, and hope we can come out with a better and more realistic version of "engagement", and a long-term strategy. I also think we should not underestimate how much Xi and the CCP question "engagement" and what they see as its evil underlying intentions of peaceful evolution, another sign that the original approach made sense.
It almost feels like we are in the painful and destructive process of hitting bottom and now we have to figure out the 12 step approach for the US-China relationship.
I hope we can discuss this more in the Friday open thread.
In Defense of Diplomacy with China | ChinaFile
While Beijing’s own choices have largely driven a need for a coordinated global response, the move to a more confrontational U.S. approach often rests in part on a critique of the past four decades of U.S. policy towards the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a criticism broken down into three intertwined elements. First, the previous policy of bringing China into international institutions through diplomacy has failed, and the act of “engagement” has somehow ceded U.S. leverage. Second, U.S. leaders and policymakers were ignorant of, or naive about, the true nature of the repressive Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Third, that misunderstanding led to policies that endangered U.S. security, prosperity, and open society—threats which could have been mitigated or avoided with different policies.
This is simply historical revisionism.
How would I know? For two decades, I served inside the U.S. Government, over in the meeting rooms at the Diaoyutai State Guest House, preparing outcomes documents for release to the press, and arranging presidential and ministerial meetings on both sides of the Pacific. From the mid-1990s until 2018, I worked in number of different parts of the U.S. Government, including the White House National Security Council, the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the State Department, and the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. In these positions, I worked on everything from China’s disruptive foreign aid policies to Asia-Pacific regional architecture, from the Missile Technology Control Regime to discriminatory investment policies. From the mechanics of President Jiang Zemin’s state visit in 1997 to top strategic planning with the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff in the Bush and Obama administrations to the brass tacks job of informing counterparts at the Ministry of Commerce that, indeed, the Trump administration would be placing tariffs on Chinese exports after a Section 301 investigation of forced technology transfers. But you don’t have to believe me. Over the last two years, I have interviewed two dozen former U.S. officials about how they handled a rising China, how they assessed U.S. interests, and what they saw as lessons for future generations of officials, soldiers, and negotiators for an oral history podcast aimed at guiding the United States’ approach to dealing with China going forward...
On issues from armed conflict to cybersecurity, from climate change to market access, working in conjunction with allies to challenge, engage, and shape Beijing’s choices can lead to better outcomes for Americans and the world. Many around the globe are looking to U.S. leadership in this endeavor; would that we are wise enough to accept the challenge.
Since Nixon’s breakthrough trip to Beijing in 1972, the world has changed. China has changed. The United States has changed. But as long as the CCP leadership sits in Zhongnanhai, the U.S. should harness those decades of experience to assemble the right set of policies to advance American and global interests. In the end, that will prove more fruitful than decisions made to make ourselves feel good—or even righteous—but that actually diminish our ability to rally allies and limit CCP assertiveness.
6. TikTok running out of time in the US
TikTok, U.S. Discuss Ways to Avoid Sale - WSJ $$
In making its case for an alternative to a sale, ByteDance is trying to illustrate to the Trump administration that shutting down the app also carries risks—including by arguing that a sizable percentage of its users skew politically conservative, some of the people said. That runs counter to a perception of TikTok as a progressive bastion that took hold after a group of teenagers used the platform to try to undercut attendance at Mr. Trump’s June campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla., which drew a smaller-than-expected crowd.
A group including a representative from at least one of TikTok’s major investors—Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic and Coatue Management LLC—met last week in Virginia with representatives from the Central Intelligence Agency to discuss data security, a person familiar with the matter said.
Comment: If the US government is swayed by the argument that “a sizable percentage of its users skew politically conservative” that would be an admission that the moves against TikTok were never really about national security.
ByteDance Is Poised to Miss U.S. Deadline for TikTok Sale - Bloomberg
ByteDance Ltd. is increasingly likely to miss a Trump administration deadline for the sale of its TikTok U.S. operations after new Chinese regulations complicated negotiations with bidders Microsoft Corp. and Oracle Corp., according to people familiar with the matter.
ByteDance probably needs beyond the U.S. executive order ban on Sept. 20 to nail down an agreement with either party because of the regulatory review, said the people, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. In preliminary talks with Chinese officials, ByteDance has been told any proposal must be submitted for approval with detailed information about technical and financial issues, and the review will be substantial and take time, one of the people said. The officials haven’t been willing to give specific guidance on what kind of deal would work, the person said.
7. Algorithms and underpaid, overstressed food delivery riders
Driven by Algorithms, Food Giants’ Delivery Riders Win Small Reprieve - Caixin
China’s food delivery giants are facing a reckoning after a viral article highlighted the grueling lot of their delivery riders, and the tyranny of the algorithms that control their lives.
The six-month investigation by Chinese-language magazine People lays out in grim detail the human cost of a delivery system run by machines calibrated to maximize efficiency and profit.
In 2017, Meituan and Ele.me both gave up building their own rider workforces, and began outsourcing. While riders from both companies may wear different colored uniforms, the prospectus of newly-listed labor hire company Quhuo Ltd., which raised $33 million with a Nasdaq IPO in June, shows they’re often provided by the same firm.
It is companies like Quhuo that actually manage the riders, at arm’s length of the delivery firms, reducing their liability and taking a cut in return. The “rider wages” section of Meituan’s financial report is not money paid to riders, but to firms like Quhuo.
People magazine interviewed Sun Ping, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who said the shrinking time targets set for delivery riders encourages them to speed, run red lights, and engage in the sort of hazardous behavior that causes road accidents.
Data from Shanghai Public Security Bureau bear this out. In the first half of 2019 alone, express delivery and food delivery drivers were involved in 325 road accidents, with five deaths and 324 injuries. Ele.me and Meituan drivers accounted for around a third each.
The original expose. In a different Era these delivery folks would be fertile recruiting ground for an underground Communist Party
People's Daily Xiake Dao interviews delivery driversm weighs in on the controversy. Sounds like there is going to be a push to modify the algorithms
The algorithm only cares about the most extreme piece of data, with no regard for the complexity of reality, such as red lights, road conditions, or the time it takes for an elevator to lift in a residential building. What the technology addresses is how to capture the most perfect limit, and the rider becomes a test subject for every limit of data.
算法只关心最极限的那个数据，毫不顾忌现实的复杂，比如红灯、路况，以及居民楼里电梯升降的时间。技术所要解决的是如何抓到最完美的极限，而骑手则变成了每一个极限数据的试验品。
a food delivery worker can deliver 20 to 30 orders per day on average, and from which they can earn 5 to 6 yuan per order. If customers cannot have their food on time, the platform will deduct 200 to 300 yuan from food delivery workers. Therefore, workers earn almost nothing that day.
In 2018, local newspaper Nanchang Evening News reported that in July that year, the traffic accident rate of food delivery workers increased by about 18% from the previous month. And the most common traffic violations were running red lights, riding in car lanes and driving in the opposite direction. Speeding was also common.
8. Disney’s Mulan mess
Exclusive: China bars media coverage of Disney's 'Mulan' after Xinjiang backlash - sources - Reuters
But mixed reviews online and capacity limits in theatres due to coronavirus prevention measures were likely to weigh on its box office performance, even before major media outlets received a notice telling them to refrain from covering the movie.
Three sources told Reuters media outlets had received the notice, two of whom said it was sent by the Cyberspace Administration of China. A fourth source at a major Chinese newspaper said he received a text message with a similar order from a senior colleague.
No reason was given in the notice, but the sources said they believed it was because of the overseas backlash over the film’s links to Xinjiang.
‘Mulan’ Braces for Tepid China Debut Amid Controversies - Bloomberg
Dogged by political controversies and hit by piracy and negative reviews, Walt Disney Co.’s $200 million live-action remake “Mulan” is heading for a weak premiere Friday in China, a crucial market.
On Thursday, pre-sales for tickets stood at about 9.5 million yuan ($1.4 million), according to Maoyan Entertainment, which operates China’s largest online ticketing platform. That’s less than one-fifth of the opening day local box-office collections for “Tenet,” the Warner Bros. sci-fi thriller that started showing last week in the country.
Business, Economy and Trade
Exclusive: Goldman Sachs to Buy Out Partner in China Securities Venture - Caixin U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is planning to take full ownership of its Chinese securities joint venture and has appointed a new chair to lead the company, sources with knowledge of the matter told Caixin, the latest foreign financial institution to take advantage of China’s market opening policies. Goldman Sachs, which already controls 51% of Goldman Sachs Gao Hua Securities Co. Ltd., is buying the remaining 49% it doesn’t own from its partner, Beijing Gao Hua Securities Co. Ltd., the sources said. The price has been agreed and work is now underway to complete the deal, they said
Wall Street brushes off political tensions to dig deeper into China | Financial Times $$“Everywhere you look [in China], there’s a lot of money, and where else in the world is there an opportunity like this to go and get that sort of money for management?” said Stewart Aldcroft, Asia chairman of Cititrust, an arm of Citigroup. “There isn’t anywhere, frankly”. // Can China leverage Wall Street to have a Biden Administration ease off? That seems to be the hope, in some quarters
China 5-Year Plan to Boost Crude, Metal, Farm Goods Reserves - Bloomberg China’s next five-year plan beginning in 2021 will call for increases to its mammoth state reserves of crude, strategic metals and farm goods, said officials familiar with the discussions. Beijing is keen to heed the lessons of the coronavirus crisis and deteriorating relations with the U.S. and its allies, according to the officials, who participated in the drafting of the plan.
U.S. senator asks for CFIUS review of GNC purchase by Chinese company - Reuters U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican and a China hawk, asked for a national security review of plans by General Nutrition Centers (GNC.N), or GNC, to sell itself to Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd
China tech firms embrace inward economic pivot, but some wary of ‘technological isolation’ | South China Morning Post Authorities in recent months have begun hammering home the concept of “independence and controllability” in the fields of science and technology, said Dr Frank Cui, a specialist consultant for both state-run and private companies and researcher with the Hong Kong-based International New Economic Research Institute. “The aim is to create an internal system in the next six to seven years for the ‘three domestics’: domestic research and development, domestic manufacturing, and the domestic market,” he said.
China to further business system reform - State Council China will deepen the reform of its business system and relieve burdens on enterprises, according to tasks set out in a circular released by the General Office of the State Council on Sept 10. The move is part of efforts to unleash potential for innovation and entrepreneurship and spur business vitality in a market-oriented, law-based international business environment, as the country seeks to advance social and economic development while implementing COVID-19 prevention and control measures. // http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2020-09/10/content_5542372.htm 国务院办公厅印发《关于深化商事制度改革进一步为企业松绑减负激发企业活力的通知》
Game Over? Lessons from China: Big Tech May be Less Invincible Then We Think - Christopher’s Newsletter I had tea with a former fin tech startup entrepreneur whose company was acquired – or as he noted “kind of squashed” -- by a big player that left him with little choice. I asked him if he saw opportunities that would encourage him to start or back a new fin tech enterprise today. “No chance,” he noted. “Game over.” He paused and added, “At least for the next three to five years. Something can change in tech; perhaps 5G will offer new opportunities in “video banking.” But who knows.”
中国百强区发布：全国0.6%国土创造16.8%GDP 深圳南山区居首 - CAIJING On September 10, the "2020 China Urban High-quality Development White Paper" compiled by CCID Consulting Urban Economic Research Center was released in Beijing. The white paper shows that China's top 100 districts only use 0.6% of the country's land area and 7.6% of the population to create 16.8% of the country's GDP. The economic resources are clearly concentrated in the main urban areas. At the same time, the per capita GDP is as high as 2.2 times the national average, and the average GDP of selected urban areas exceeds 160 billion yuan.
Caixin Insight: Focus on Consumption - Caixin How should policy respond to this? Beyond the obvious suggestions to protect employment, provide social security, and relieve pressure on companies, Wang [Xiaolu] rails against governments’ myopic focus on investment. “In Beijing, for example, many otherwise intact roads are being dug up and repaved. Investments like this are inefficient and a waste of resources and should be stopped as soon as possible.”
除郑州中心城区外，河南全面取消落户限制_中国政库_澎湃新闻-The Paper Henan gets rid of Hukou restrictions in the entire province except for the central area of Zhengzhou
中国人民银行与俄罗斯联邦中央银行举行中俄总理定期会晤委员会金融合作分委会第二十一次视频会议_监管动态_中国金融新闻网 On September 8, 2020, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR) held the 21st video meeting of the Sub-Committee on Financial Cooperation of the Commission for Regular Meetings of the Prime Ministers of China and Russia, which was co-chaired by the Chinese Chairman of the Sub-Committee, Chen Yulu, Deputy Governor of PBOC, and the Russian Chairman of the Sub-Committee, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Skobelkin.
The meeting further discussed the promotion of bilateral local currency settlements, the deepening of interbank cooperation, and cooperation in the areas of payment systems, financial markets and insurance.
Yicai - China Renaissance Adds USD600 Million to Its Huaxing Growth Capital Fund Investors are mainly investment institutions and individual investors from Europe, Asia and the Middle East, including sovereign funds, banks, fund of funds and family offices, China Renaissance said on its WeChat account without going into any further details. The Huaxing Growth Capital fund will focus on the three main areas of technological innovation, consumption classification and industrial upgrading,
正在考虑购房提供更大折扣？碧桂园回应：完全不属实 - CAIJING In response to media reports that Country Garden is considering offering larger discounts on house purchases, but that the plan has not yet been finalized, Country Garden responded that it is completely untrue. Evergrande, which just launched a national 25% discount to "detonate the Golden Week early", in a few days, once again increased the discount, from 25% to 30%. // Golden week is the 10.1 National day holiday week, and usually a very important period for housing sales
Politics and Law
天津日报数字报刊平台-区委理论学习中心组开展集体学习 充分彰显了习近平总书记作为党的核心、军队统帅、人民领袖的非凡理论勇气、卓越政治智慧、强烈使命担当、真挚为民情怀和大国领袖风范。 This fully demonstrates the extraordinary theoretical courage, outstanding political wisdom, strong sense of duty, sincerity for the people and leadership of a great nation of which General Secretary Xi Jinping is the core, commander of the army and the People's Leader. // Tianjin is in the lead when it comes to calling Xi People's Leader, makes sense given the Party Secretary is Li Hongzhong
天津市召开“贯彻落实习近平总书记重要讲话精神 祝贺张伯礼同志荣获‘人民英雄’国家荣誉称号”大会 李鸿忠讲话--新闻报道-人民网 李鸿忠强调，习近平总书记作为人民领袖亲自为人民英雄颁授奖章，是张伯礼院士的骄傲，是对我们每一位亲身经历这场大战的干部群众的鼓舞和激励 Li Hongzhong stressed that General Secretary Xi Jinping, as the People's Leader, personally awarded medals to the people's heroes, is the pride of Academician Zhang Boli, is an inspiration and motivation to each and every one of our cadres and masses who personally experienced this [People's] war [on the virus].
China detains publisher who voiced support for Communist Party critic Xu Zhangrun | South China Morning Post Geng Xiaonan and her husband Qin Zhen, who run Ruiya Books, are being held in Beijing, accused of operating an ‘illicit business’, their lawyer says But dissident academic Xu believes they have been detained because Geng ‘has spoken out against the injustice I have suffered’
Late Chinese military leader commemorated - Xinhua A symposium was held in Beijing on Wednesday to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of late Chinese military leader Yang Baibing. Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, attended the symposium and met with Yang's family.
在纪念杨白冰同志诞辰100周年座谈会上的讲话 Zhang Youxia's speech at the symposium celebrating 100th anniversary of Yang Baibing's birth published in the Thursday People’s Daily “他在重大原则问题上立场坚定、旗帜鲜明，始终同党中央、中央军委保持高度一致 He took a firm and unambiguous stand on major issues of principle and always maintained a high degree of consistency with the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission.” I assume is a reference to his role in the 1989 crackdown.
China starts producing documentary for CPC's 100th founding anniversary - China Military The documentary has selected 100 historical events over the course of China's revolution, modernization, reform, and rejuvenation to showcase the glorious history and achievements of the CPC. Jointly produced by the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, National Radio and Television Administration, and Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the CPC, the documentary is scheduled to be broadcast in April 2021. The production is expected to inspire the audience, especially the younger generation, to strive to realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation, said Qu Qingshan, head of the institute.
Senior official stresses building non-CPC parties under socialism with Chinese characteristics - Xinhua Senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official You Quan has called on the nation's non-CPC parties to strengthen the building of parties participating in state affairs under socialism with Chinese characteristics. You, a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks at a symposium on Thursday. 中国特色社会主义参政党建设研讨会在京举行 尤权出席并讲话--中国统一战线新闻网--人民网
新主播潘涛亮相《新闻联播》，4年前从东方卫视进入央视 CCTV Evening News add a new male news reader - Pan Tao 潘涛
习近平和他的老师_央视新闻客户端_央视网(cctv.com) On the occasion of Teachers Day CCTV runs a touching video of Xi showing respect and affection for his teachers
Second Tale Emerges of Killer Avoiding Prison Via Medical Parole - Caixin The killer, referred to only by the surname Wang in legal documents, was a hired hit man sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment in 2005 for murdering a teacher in the regional capital Hohhot in return for 200,000 yuan ($29,242). Lawyers subsequently told Caixin the man is Wang Yunhong, whose case was widely covered in the Chinese media that year. Wang, who is in his mid-40s and hails from East China’s Shandong province, conspired with prison hospital officials to secure a series of medical paroles allowing him to spend more than seven years outside jail, during which time he worked, traveled and started a family. He returned to prison last year.
有力有效推动新时代党的组织路线落实落地--时政--人民网 The Organization Department of the Central Committee held a teleconference in Beijing on the 9th to make specific arrangements for the organization departments to thoroughly study and implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech during the 21st collective study session of the Politburo, and to fully implement the party’s organizational line in the new era.
The red front-line - China’s Communist Party is splurging on new local drop-in centres | China | The Economist The building is known as a “party-masses service centre”. In recent years they have proliferated in cities, towns and villages across the country. It has been the biggest effort by the party to develop its physical infrastructure at the grassroots in decades. They are partly intended to be “one-stop shops” at which locals can get access to a wide variety of bureaucratic services that hitherto may have required visits to distant government offices. In Shenzhen, where they are called “community service centres” in English (perhaps to obscure their Communist links to politically sensitive foreigners), there are more than 1,000 of them. One is at the city’s airport. It offers karaoke, a flight simulator and a library of more than 3,500 books.
开启建设教育强国历史新征程（人民要论·“十三五”辉煌成就·教育） 陈宝生 《 人民日报 》（ 2020年09月10日 第 09 版） 教育是国之大计、党之大计。“十三五”时期，以习近平同志为核心的党中央高度重视教育工作，始终把教育摆在优先发展的战略地位，开启了加快教育现代化、建设教育强国的历史新征程。教育系统以习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想为指导，深入学习贯彻习近平总书记关于教育的重要论述，增强“四个意识”，坚定“四个自信”，做到“两个维护”，全面落实党中央决策部署，教育总体发展水平进入世界中上行列，人民群众教育获得感明显增强，中国教育国际影响力和竞争力明显提升。// Chen Baosheng, Minister of Education, on page 9 of today’s People daily on building China into an education power
Foreign and Defense Affairs
Australia considered foreign policy implications of move on Chinese journalists - Sydney Morning Herald Australia considered the foreign policy consequences of raiding the properties of Chinese journalists before counter-espionage agency ASIO undertook the operation. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Foreign Minister Marise Payne and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade were all aware of the ASIO operation before it took place.
China says Australian embassy obstructed law enforcement in case of evacuated journalists - Reuters “The Australian embassy in China gave shelter to the relevant journalists [allowing them to] avoid China’s investigation. This was blatant obstruction and interference in China’s normal law enforcement,” said Zhao Lijian, China’s foreign ministry spokesman. The pair were eventually questioned by China’s state security ministry prior to their departure. // Comment: So is the message that next time those wanted for questioning will just be taken away?
Chinese developer goes cold on Lendlease deal - The Australian Financial Review One of China's most voracious property developers Poly Global is shedding staff in Australia and has suddenly abandoned a late-stage deal with Lendlease, as tensions between the two countries escalate.
University of New South Wales refuses to release internal investigation into Chinese influence - ABC News The ABC obtained basic details of the report under freedom of information laws, however, the university blocked its release, saying it contained "sensitive" information relating to China that would "put the university at a competitive disadvantage". The revelation comes as the Federal Government prepares to announce the terms of reference for an inquiry into universities.
China issues position paper on UN's 75th anniversary - Xinhua The paper points out that the 75th anniversary of the UN presents important opportunities, and the international community should jointly uphold the outcome of World Anti-Fascist War and reject unilateralism, hegemonism and power politics. Rather, the international community should champion multilateralism, safeguard the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and defend the UN-centered international system and the international order based on international law, according to the paper. China is ready to work with all countries to build a community with a shared future for humanity, the paper says
China, others to join military exercises in Russia - AP Chinese and Russian forces will take part in joint military exercises in southern Russia later this month along with troops from Armenia, Belarus, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan and others, China’s defense ministry announced Thursday. The “Caucasus 2020” drills will deploy wheeled vehicles and light weaponry to be flown to the drill location by China’s latest transport aircraft, the ministry said in a statement.
India and Japan sign military supply pact as China flexes muscle - Nikkei Asian Review India and Japan have signed a pact for the reciprocal provision of supplies and services between their armed forces, a move that comes as China grows increasingly assertive in the Indo-Pacific region. The countries announced the deal, inked on Wednesday, after a phone call on Thursday between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan's Shinzo Abe.
Chinese military to participate in Kavkaz-2020 multinational anti-terror drills - CGTN "At this moment when the world is joining hands to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, China's participation in drills aims to move forward the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era, deepen practical cooperation in military training between the two militaries, and enhance the capacity of multinational forces to jointly respond to security threats and safeguard regional peace and stability," the statement said.
Vatican, China Set to Renew Deal on Long Path to Diplomatic Ties - Bloomberg The accord, first signed in September 2018, is due to be rolled over, possibly for another two years in the coming weeks, according to two people familiar with the matter who declined to be named discussing confidential talks.
Myanmar moves step closer to new bids on China-backed belt and road project | South China Morning Post Myanmar has opened the door for new bids against China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) for construction of the New Yangon City project The so-called Swiss challenge will be an opportunity for Myanmar to demonstrate transparency and comes after CCCC was blacklisted by the US last month
有人抱怨“怎么全世界都是中国敌人啊”？--今日热点--国际--首页 Hu Xijin pushes back on people who complain that the entire world is now China's enemy
What Is China’s Strategy in the Senkaku Islands? - War on the Rocks What is new then about these recent events, and why do they matter to the stability of the East China Sea and, more broadly, to the wider Indo-Pacific? They matter because they highlight a shift toward what I would argue is the second phase of Beijing’s three-pronged attrition strategy toward the Senkakus: normalizing Chinese presence; exercising law-enforcement rights; and taking over exclusive control. China’s objective is to reverse the current situation — controlling the islands at Japan’s expense — while trying to avoid, if possible at all, an armed conflict. This, in turn, matters because it sets a precedent on dispute management that undermines the law of the sea and the maritime order it represents. Since the islands remain uninhabited, the main focus of Chinese action is the ability to exercise maritime law-enforcement rights inside the islands’ territorial waters, especially in regards to the monitoring of fishing activities
Amid Chinese presence, Navy wants to stay in Sangley Point | Global News The Philippine Navy is opposing a plan by the Cavite provincial government to boot the military service command out of Sangley Point in Cavite as part of a P500-billion airport project that is expected to ease congestion at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in neighboring Manila. Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, the Navy’s flag officer in command, cited particularly the involvement in the project of China Communications Construction Co. Inc. (CCCC), one of the Chinese companies recently banned by the United States for its alleged role in the illegal construction of artificial islands on maritime features in the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
How China Is Weaponizing the Belt and Road Initiative | Asia Society September 8, 2020 — Asia Society Policy Institute Vice President for International Diplomacy and Security Daniel Russel examines some of the findings of ASPI's new report Weaponizing the Belt and Road Initiative. The report explores relevant Chinese doctrine, highlights the involvement of China's People’s Liberation Army with the BRI, and assesses the potential military and geostrategic advantages China accrues from BRI ports and other projects.
Is China Really Embracing ‘Wolf Warrior’ Diplomacy? – The Diplomat - Chen ingding Second, tweeting by career diplomats (represented by Zhao Lijian) is a personal political act that does not reflect a departure in China’s official foreign policy pattern. In the face of the U.S. attack against China, Zhao has every right to defend his political institution and country, regardless of the poor effects. What is structurally divergent between the two countries is that the discourse of the United States in the international arena is more diverse. Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s public statements on Twitter are often criticized by U.S. mainstream media and the Democrats, thus making it clear they are not universal shared. On the contrary, China’s voice overseas remains relatively muted; most officials themselves are cautious about what they say because of government rules and discipline. Accordingly, the country’s position is judged narrowly based on merely one or two channels. It is easy to take the statements of individual diplomats or spokespeople as a whole, misperceiving them as the unitary official attitudes from the leadership.
Hong Kong and Macao
China’s popular review site Douban hides reviews for book on Hong Kong’s national security law after a slew of negative comments | South China Morning Post “I can’t forget the despair on the night of June 30,” said one reviewer, giving the book one out of five stars. “One stab followed by another, slicing up the Pearl of the Orient,” wrote another person who also left a one-star review, using a romantic moniker commonly associated with Hong Kong.
Hong Kong police detain 15 over multimillion-dollar manipulation of Next Digital stock after Jimmy Lai arrest, cite heavy losses for investors | South China Morning Post Suspects accused of posting messages on social media to boost trading volume and attract other buyers As the price swung between 7.5 HK cents to nearly HK$2, alleged fraudsters raked in nearly HK$38.7 million in profit over three days
Pro-China tycoon wins US government site in Hong Kong at discount - Nikkei Asian Review The U.S. government has sold one of its largest properties in Hong Kong for 2.57 billion Hong Kong dollars ($331.6 million) to developer Hang Lung Properties, led by pro-Beijing billionaire Ronnie Chan, an advocate of U.S.-China collaboration, amid deteriorating relations between the two countries.
Taiwan
Taiwan: China planes entered its airspace twice in 2 days - AP Taiwan says Chinese warplanes entered its airspace on Wednesday and Thursday during large-scale war games that it called a “serious provocation to Taiwan and a grave threat to regional peace and stability.” Taiwan’s foreign ministry said Thursday that its military is fully aware of actions by China’s military aircraft and “responds effectively,” without giving details.
POLITICO Pro Q&A: Taiwan's top U.S. diplomat presses for free trade agreement - POLITICO Taiwan President President Tsai Ing-wen laid out her hopes for the countries to finally begin negotiation on the long-sought agreement in a speech last month. She has dispatched her former national security adviser, Bi-Khim Hsiao, to Washington as the country’s top diplomatic representative. Hsiao is the first woman to head up Taiwan's unofficial embassy, which is known as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office.
On China's front line, emerging Cold War haunts Taiwan's Kinmen islands - The Washington Post a half-century after the Chinese guns fell silent, the prevailing sentiment of Kinmen residents toward their massive neighbor isn't historical enmity or fear. It's fraternity, said Xu Jicai, a 45-year-old lion dancer and village chief.
Tech and Media
Top China Memory Chipmaker Still Can’t Wean Itself Off U.S. - Bloomberg Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. gets over 80% of its equipment from the U.S. and Japan now, said Zheng Jiuli, vice president in charge of supply chain management. While some Chinese suppliers have made breakthroughs in areas including etching, cleaning and coating, there aren’t enough local alternatives to replace everything, he added.“Long-term investments in innovation and R&D have led to technological advantages” at U.S. and Japanese suppliers, Zheng said. “This is also the reason why their products are currently in the mainstream and are difficult to replace.”
China's Huawei unveils updated HarmonyOS, to be used in mobile phones in 2021 - Global Times Richard Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei's consumer business, unveiled at HDC2020 in Dongguan, South China's Guangdong Province, on Thursday the latest development in HarmonyOS, EMUI 11 and its own ecosystem Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) Core 5.0, which will enable its products to seamlessly connect to others. Huawei released testing version of its updated self-developed operating system HarmonyOS 2.0 to developers, and it is scheduled to release a version for mobile phone in December, Yu noted. "HarmonyOS will be used in smartphones in next year," he said.
Pairing Up on 5G Saves China Telecom and Unicom 60 Billion Yuan - Caixin China Unicom and China Telecom Corp. Ltd., two of China’s three biggest state-owned telecommunications operators, now have 300,000 5G stations up and running across China, they announced at a press conference Wednesday. Wang Xiaochu, China Unicom’s chairman, said that the pair’s collaboration on 5G construction has saved the two companies some 60 billion yuan ($8.8 billion) in investment.
As Washington Restricts Tech, State-Owned Giant Gets Into Cloud Computing - Caixin Amid fears of further restrictions on Chinese firms’ access to U.S. technology, centrally-controlled state-owned enterprise China Electronics Corp. (CEC) has entered the country’s vast cloud computing market. The company unveiled its “China electronics cloud” services on Wednesday in the Hubei province city of Wuhan, where the business will be headquartered. The services will use hardware developed by CEC’s chipmaking subsidiary Tianjin Phytium Information Technology Co. Ltd., and will run the domestically developed Kylin operating system.
China Gamers Report – Niko There are approximately 720 million gamers in China More than 97% of gamers ages 18-24, and more than 90% of gamers ages 25-35 in China are gamers. 48% of gamers in China are female. Gamers in China spend more time playing games than on any other activity surveyed. More than 18% spend more than 30 hours per week on games.
Patents and Artificial Intelligence - Center for Security and Emerging Technology While the quality of Chinese patents has been repeatedly called into question, there are signs that the situation may be improving. Large companies—notably IBM, Microsoft, and Google—dominate AI patenting among U.S. organizations. Meanwhile, Chinese AI patenting is distributed much more broadly across companies (e.g., Ping An, Baidu, Tencent), government organizations (e.g. State Grid), and universities (e.g., Electronic Sci/Tech, Zhejiang, Xidian). China focuses AI patenting on Computer Vision, Japan on Control Systems, and Korea on Speech Processing. The United States is more evenly distributed across research fields.
Society, Arts, Sports, Culture and History
IOC president: Beijing 2022 preparations 'on track and going well' - Xinhua As September 21 marks the 500-day countdown of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Game, International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach said Wednesday that preparations for Beijing 2022 are "on track and going well". "We heard a very encouraging technical report from the Coordination Commission who informed us the technical preparations are on track and going very well," the IOC president said in a video conference after the IOC Executive Board meeting on Wednesday.
你所知道的陈薇还有另外一面--上观 The "Voice of Women" runs a profile of PLA Dr. Chen Wei
Lord Macartney, China, and the convenient lies of history - James Carter But if Qianlong was not offended by a breach of etiquette, why did he turn George III down? It took a few days after the audience for George’s missive to be translated, and once it was, Qianlong saw that he was being asked to reduce tariffs, cede to Britain two territorial bases (colonies?) in China, and receive an ambassador at the capital, circumventing the established Qing hierarchy. These were significant concessions, and rejecting them was hardly the action of a deluded autocrat.
"Offensive to Chinese Language" - USC Controversy over Chinese Filler Word 那个 (Nèigè) Discussed on Weibo | What's on Weibo News of the incident blew over to Chinese social media this week, where it was discussed under hashtags such as “US Professor Suspended for Saying Chinese Word Nage” (#美国教授课上说中文词那个被停课#, 1.4 million views) and “US Professor Saying the Chinese Nage Suspended over Racism” (#美国大学教授说中文词那个因种族歧视被停课#, 7.5 million views). On Weibo, netizens had little sympathy for the students feeling offended over the Chinese words. Many called them “ignorant” or “uncultured” for mistaking the Chinese words for a racial slur.
There Never Was a Cold War China | Wilson Center In the debate over whether the United States and China are now in the midst of a "new Cold War," Covell Meyskens writes that pundits often forget that China experienced the Cold War in a drastically different manner than the United States. // Dr Meyskins wrote the excellent new book Mao's Third Front: The Militarization of Cold War China
Energy, Environment, Science and Health
Nanjing Man Tests Positive for Coronavirus Weeks After Quarantine Ends - Caixin The Chinese national, surnamed Zhou, flew to Nanjing from the United States on Aug. 11 and subsequently completed mandatory 14-day medical isolation, during which he returned two negative virus tests, according to a notice issued Thursday by the district-level command office in charge of monitoring Covid-19 infections imported from overseas.
Yicai - CanSino’s Vaccine Candidate Has Had No Bad Side Effects, Chief Scientist Says The adenovirus type-5 vectored Ad5-nCoV vaccine had not led to any serious adverse reactions as of Sept. 8, The Paper reported, citing Dr. Zhu Tao, who spoke at an investor forum yesterday. Zhu’s comments came as late-stage clinical trials of an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University were halted yesterday after a participant fell ill.
Jobs and Events
The International China Studies Virtual Events Clearing-House › About The International Chinese Studies Virtual Events Clearing-House In spring 2020, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, China Studies around the world moved online. One unanticipated consequence of this unfortunate situation is that it is now possible to attend events regardless of one’s location. The China Studies Virtual Events Clearing-house has been created to share information about upcoming online events with the broader China studies community. The clearing-house was created and is maintained by the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University. We rely on our colleagues around the world to include their upcoming events; the catalog is not intended to be comprehensive.