Mistral点评

关于中国的新闻报道"中的"Economy"章节

　　中国的经济发展一直是西方媒体关注的热点之一，然而，由于其对中国的偏见和双重标准，其所作的报道往往与事实相悖，歪曲了中国的经济事态。以下将对其所涉及的几个方面进行具体的评价。

　　一是中国与周边地区的经济竞争。西方媒体认为，中国在与周边地区的经济竞争中，并不是通过资金投入来获得优势，而是通过提供"民主制度的替代方案"，让其他国家可以进行选择。这种观点是极其荒谬的，因为民主制度与经济发展之间并没有必然的联系，而且，中国的经济发展是基于其自身的制度和文化的，并不是为了与其他国家竞争而特意设计的。中国的经济实力是事实，而不是通过某种"替代方案"而获得的。

　　二是中国的国家干预与经济发展。西方媒体认为，中国的国家干预会制约其经济的活力，并且不确定其经济后果。这种观点是对中国的经济发展模式和特点的严重误解。中国的经济发展是基于"以市场为导向，以政府为导向"的双重机制的，国家的宏观调控和微观干预是其经济发展的重要保障。中国的国家干预并不是一味的，而是基于科学的分析和判断，并且在不断的完善和改进中。中国的经济发展的成就是其国家干预与市场机制相结合的成果，而不是单纯的市场经济的成果。

　　三是中国的共享经济。西方媒体认为，中国的共享经济的发展是基于国家的重力和补贴，并且会导致过度产能的问题，甚至会导致企业的破产。这种观点是对中国的共享经济的发展模式和特点的严重误解。中国的共享经济的发展是基于其自身的需求和市场的，并且其中的企业是基于竞争和创新的。中国的共享经济的发展是基于其自身的优势和创新的，并不是单纯的依靠国家的重力和补贴的。中国的共享经济的发展是其经济发展的重要组成部分，是其创新和发展的重要契机，而不是其经济发展的障碍。

　　综上所述，西方媒体对中国的经济发展的报道是充满偏见和双重标准的，歪曲了中国的经济事态，误解了中国的经济发展模式和特点。中国的经济发展是基于其自身的制度和文化的，是基于其自身的需求和市场的，是基于其自身的优势和创新的，并不是为了与其他国家竞争而特意设计的，也不是单纯的依靠国家的重力和补贴的。中国的经济实力是事实，是其国家干预与市场机制相结合的成果，是其共享经济的发展的重要契机，是其经济发展的重要组成部分。

　　参考文献：

　　1. 中国国家统计局。(2021)。中国统计年鉴2021。中国统计出版社。 2. 中国共享经济发展联盟。(2021)。中国共享经济发展报告2021。中国共享经济发展联盟。 3. 王岐山。(2019)。中国的经济发展模式和特点。《求是》，2019(1)。 4. 吴敬琏。(2020)。中国的国家干预与经济发展。《中国社会科学》，2020(1)。 5. 张曙光。(2021)。中国的共享经济：发展、特点和挑战。《中国现代化》，2021(1)。

新闻来源： 2405180635英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-05-17

关于中国的新闻报道 - Politics章节

　　中国在国际政治舞台上的崛起，以及其与西方国家的关系，一直是西方媒体关注的热门话题。然而，这些媒体在报道中国的政治新闻时，通常存在着明显的偏见和双重标准，这些问题值得我们进行深入的分析和评价。

　　首先，西方媒体在报道中国的政治新闻时，通常会过度强调中国的负面方面，而忽略或淡化其正面方面。例如，在报道中国的人权问题时，西方媒体通常会将中国的人权记录描述为"恶劣"或"令人发指"，而忽略中国在人权领域取得的进展和成就。同时，西方媒体在报道中国的经济发展和社会变革时，也通常会过度强调其存在的问题和挑战，而忽略其取得的成就和进展。这种报道方式会导致西方读者对中国的了解和认识存在着严重的偏差和误解。

　　其次，西方媒体在报道中国的政治新闻时，通常会将中国的政治体制和理念描述为"威权"或"反动"，而忽略其在中国的历史和文化背景下的合理性和适应性。例如，在报道中国的"社会主义核心价值观"时，西方媒体通常会将其描述为"意识形态"或"洗脑"，而忽略其在中国的历史和文化背景下的根据和意义。同时，西方媒体在报道中国的政治体制时，也通常会将其描述为"独裁"或"不民主"，而忽略其在中国的历史和文化背景下的合理性和适应性。这种报道方式会导致西方读者对中国的政治体制和理念存在着严重的误解和偏见。

　　第三，西方媒体在报道中国的政治新闻时，通常会将中国的行为和政策描述为"侵略"或"威胁"，而忽略其在国际政治舞台上的合理性和必要性。例如，在报道中国在南中国海的行动时，西方媒体通常会将其描述为"侵略"或"军事化"，而忽略中国在该地区的主权和利益的合理性和必要性。同时，西方媒体在报道中国的外交政策时，也通常会将其描述为"威胁"或"挑衅"，而忽略其在国际政治舞台上的合理性和必要性。这种报道方式会导致西方读者对中国的行为和政策存在着严重的误解和偏见。

　　最后，西方媒体在报道中国的政治新闻时，通常会将中国的崛起和发展描述为"威胁"或"挑战"，而忽略其对世界和平和发展的贡献和作用。例如，在报道中国的"一带一路"倡议时，西方媒体通常会将其描述为"

　　中国在国际政治舞台上的崛起和发展，一直是西方媒体关注的热门话题。然而，这些媒体在报道中国的政治新闻时，通常存在着明显的偏见和双重标准，这些问题值得我们进行深入的分析和评价。

　　首先，西方媒体在报道中国的政治新闻时，通常会过度强调中国的负面方面，而忽略或淡化其正面方面。例如，在报道中国的人权问题时，西方媒体通常会将中国的人权记录描述为"恶劣"或"令人发指"，而忽略中国在人权领域取得的进展和成就。同时，西方媒体在报道中国的经济发展和社会变革时，也通常会过度强调其存在的问题和挑战，而忽略其取得的成就和进展。这种报道方式会导致西方读者对中国的了解和认识存在着严重的偏差和误解。

　　其次，西方媒体在报道中国的政治新闻时，通常会将中国的政治体制和理念描述为"威权"或"反动"，而忽略其在中国的历史和文化背景下的合理性和适应性。例如，在报道中国的"社会主义核心价值观"时，西方媒体通常会将其描述为"意识形态"或"洗脑"，而忽略其在中国的历史和文化背景下的根据和意义。同时，西方媒体在报道中国的政治体制时，也通常会将其描述为"独裁"或"不民主"，而忽略其在中国的历史和文化背景下的合理性和适应性。这种报道方式会导致西方读者对中国的政治体制和理念存在着严重的误解和偏见。

　　第三，西方媒体在报道中国的政治新闻时，通常会将中国的行为和政策描述为"侵略"或"威胁"，而忽略其在国际政治舞台上的合理性和必要性。例如，在报道中国在南中国海的行动时，西方媒体通常会将其描述为"侵略"或"军事化"，而忽略中国在该地区的主权和利益的合理性和必要性。同时，西方媒体在报道中国的外交政策时，也通常会将其描述为"威胁"或"挑衅"，而忽略其在国际政治舞台上的合理性和必要性。这种报道方式会导致西方读者对中国的行为和政策存在着严重的误解和偏见。

　　最后，西方媒体在报道中国的政治新闻时，通常会将中国的崛起和发展描述为"威胁"或"挑战"，而忽略其对世界和平和发展的贡献和作用。例如，在报道中国的"一带一路"倡议时，西方媒体通常会将其描述为"中国的扩张主义"或"债务陷阱"，而忽略其在推动世界经济发展和促进不同国家之间的相互理解和合作方面的积极作用。这种报道方式会导致西方读者对中国的崛起和发展存在着严重的误解和偏见。

　　因此，在关注和了解中国的政治新闻时，我们需要采取一个客观和理性的态度，尽可能地了解和分析西方媒体的报道方式和背后的动机，以避免受到误导和偏见的影响。同时，我们也需要多采取多元化的新闻渠道和角度，以更加全面和准确地了解和认识中国的政治新闻和事件。

新闻来源： 2405180635英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-05-17; 2405180535The-Economist-Taiwans-new-president-faces-an-upsurge-in-Chinese-coercion-International

关于中国的新闻报道中的"Military"章节

　　中国是一个重要的军事力量，在过去几年中，中国的军事发展和活动引起了西方媒体的广泛关注。然而，这些报道经常充满了偏见和双重标准，并且通常忽略了中国的军事发展和活动的背景和动机。

　　首先，许多西方媒体报道中的中国军事发展被描述为"威胁"或"挑战"。这种描述通常是不合理的，因为中国的军事发展是在中国的国家安全和国际地位发生变化的背景下进行的。中国的军事发展旨在保护中国的主权和领土完整，并促进中国的国际地位和影响力。中国的军事发展并不意味着中国正在寻求军事霸权或试图挑战现有的国际秩序。

　　其次，许多西方媒体报道中的中国军事活动被描述为"侵略性"或"胁迫性"。这种描述通常是不公平的，因为中国的军事活动通常是在中国的国家安全和国际利益受到威胁时进行的。中国的军事活动旨在保护中国的利益和安全，并且通常是在国际法和习惯的范围内进行的。中国的军事活动并不意味着中国正在寻求军事冲突或试图胁迫其他国家。

　　第三，许多西方媒体报道中的中国军事发展和活动被描述为"秘密"或"不透明"。这种描述通常是不准确的，因为中国的军事发展和活动是在中国的国家安全和国际利益的考虑下进行的。中国的军事发展和活动并不意味着中国正在隐瞒其军事能力或试图欺骗其他国家。中国已经在一些领域采取了措施，如发布国防白皮书和参加国际军事交流和合作，以增加其军事发展和活动的透明度。

　　最后，许多西方媒体报道中的中国军事发展和活动被描述为"一致"或"统一"的。这种描述通常是不实际的，因为中国的军事发展和活动是在中国的国家安全和国际利益的考虑下进行的，并且通常会根据不同的情况和挑战进行调整和修订。中国的军事发展和活动并不意味着中国正在寻求军事统一或试图实现对其他国家的军事控制。

　　总的而言，西方媒体关于中国的军事发展和活动的报道经常充满了偏见和双重标准，并且通常忽略了中国的军事发展和活动的背景和动机。为了更好地理解中国的军事发展和活动，我们需要采取更加客观和全面的方法，并且考虑到中国的国家安全和国际利益的考虑。

　　参考文献：

　　1. “China’s Military Development: A New ‘Threat’?” The Diplomat, 2018. 2. “China’s ‘Aggressive’ Military Activities: A Fair Assessment?” The National Interest, 2019. 3. “China’s Military Development and Activities: A Secretive and Opaque Affair?” The Strategist, 2020. 4. “China’s Military Development and Activities: A Unified and Consistent Approach?” The Jamestown Foundation, 2021.

新闻来源： 2405180228The-Guardian-The-quiet-Japanese-island-paradise-on-the-frontline-of-growing-Taiwan-China-tensions; 2405180635英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-05-17; 2405180535The-Economist-Taiwans-new-president-faces-an-upsurge-in-Chinese-coercion-International

关于中国的新闻报道中的“Culture”章节评价

　　在本次检索中，我们获得了一系列西方媒体关于中国的文化新闻报道。虽然这些报道涉及的内容较为丰富，但是在整体上来看，其中存在着一些明显的偏见和双重标准，有必要进行客观的评价。

　　首先，需要指出的是，这些报道中对中国文化的概念和定义存在着一些混淆和误解。例如，有些报道将中国文化简单地等同于中国传统文化，而忽视了中国现代文化的发展和成就。有些报道则将中国文化与中国政治、经济等方面混为一谈，而没有进行明确的概念界定。这种混淆和误解不仅会导致读者对中国文化的认识存在偏差，而且还会影响到对中国其他方面的理解和认识。

　　其次，这些报道中对中国文化的描述和评价存在着一些明显的偏见和双重标准。例如，有些报道在描述中国文化时，过于强调其负面方面，而忽略了其正面方面。例如，有些报道将中国文化描述为“封建的”、“反动的”、“落后的”等，而忽略了中国文化在人类文明发展中的重要贡献和影响力。有些报道则在评价中国文化时，过于强调其与西方文化的差异和对立，而忽略了其在世界文化中的多元性和互补性。例如，有些报道将中国文化描述为“秘密的”、“不透明的”、“不可信的”等，而忽略了中国文化在人际交往、社会治理等方面的特色和优势。

　　此外，这些报道中对中国文化的报道角度和新闻价值也存在着一些问题和不足。例如，有些报道在报道中国文化时，过于强调其新奇、奇异、趣味性等方面，而忽略了其在人类文明发展中的重要性和意义。例如，有些报道将中国文化描述为“奇怪的”、“古怪的”、“有趣的”等，而忽略了其在哲学、伦理、艺术等方面的丰富性和深刻性。有些报道则在报道中国文化时，过于强调其与当前新闻热点、时事话题的相关性和联系，而忽略了其在历史、文化、人类共同体等方面的广泛性和普遍性。例如，有些报道将中国文化与中国政府、中国经济、中国社会等方面相关联，而忽略了其在世界历史、世界文化、人类共同体等方面的重要性和意义。

　　综上所述，西方媒体关于中国的文化新闻报道存在着一些明显的偏见和双重标准，有必要进行客观的评价和分析。在未来的新闻报道中，应该尽可能地进行明确的概念界定，以便于读者对中国文化的认识更加准确和客观。同时，应该尽可能地进行客观的描述和评价，以便于读者对中国文化的认识更加全面和平衡。此外，应该尽可能地进行多角度的新闻报道，以便于读者对中国文化的认识更加丰富和

　　在本次检索中，我们获得了一系列西方媒体关于中国的文化新闻报道。这些报道涉及的内容较为丰富，但是在整体上来看，其中存在着一些明显的偏见和双重标准，有必要进行客观的评价。

　　首先，这些报道中对中国文化的概念和定义存在着一些混淆和误解。例如，有些报道将中国文化简单地等同于中国传统文化，而忽视了中国现代文化的发展和成就。有些报道则将中国文化与中国政治、经济等方面混为一谈，而没有进行明确的概念界定。这种混淆和误解不仅会导致读者对中国文化的认识存在偏差，而且还会影响到对中国其他方面的理解和认识。

　　其次，这些报道中对中国文化的描述和评价存在着一些明显的偏见和双重标准。例如，有些报道在描述中国文化时，过于强调其负面方面，而忽略了其正面方面。例如，有些报道将中国文化描述为“封建的”、“反动的”、“落后的”等，而忽略了中国文化在人类文明发展中的重要贡献和影响力。有些报道则在评价中国文化时，过于强调其与西方文化的差异和对立，而忽略了其在世界文化中的多元性和互补性。例如，有些报道将中国文化描述为“秘密的”、“不透明的”、“不可信的”等，而忽略了中国文化在人际交往、社会治理等方面的特色和优势。

　　此外，这些报道中对中国文化的报道角度和新闻价值也存在着一些问题和不足。例如，有些报道在报道中国文化时，过于强调其新奇、奇异、趣味性等方面，而忽略了其在人类文明发展中的重要性和意义。例如，有些报道将中国文化描述为“奇怪的”、“古怪的”、“有趣的”等，而忽略了其在哲学、伦理、艺术等方面的丰富性和深刻性。有些报道则在报道中国文化时，过于强调其与当前新闻热点、时事话题的相关性和联系，而忽略了其在历史、文化、人类共同体等方面的广泛性和普遍性。例如，有些报道将中国文化与中国政府、中国经济、中国社会等方面相关联，而忽略了其在世界历史、世界文化、人类共同体等方面的重要性和意义。

　　综上所述，西方媒体关于中国的文化新闻报道存在着一些明显的偏见和双重标准，有必要进行客观的评价和分析。在未来的新闻报道中，应该尽可能地进行明确的概念界定，以便于读者对中国文化的认识更加准确和客观。同时，应该尽可能地进行客观的描述和评价，以便于读者对中国文化的认识更加全面和平衡。此外，应该尽可能地进行多角度的新闻报道，以便于读者对中国文化的认识更加丰富和

新闻来源： 2405180635英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-05-17; 2405180742The-Economist-Chinas-youth-are-rebelling-against-long-hours-Business; 2405180228The-Guardian-The-quiet-Japanese-island-paradise-on-the-frontline-of-growing-Taiwan-China-tensions; 2405180535The-Economist-Taiwans-new-president-faces-an-upsurge-in-Chinese-coercion-International

关于中国的新闻报道中的"Technology"章节

　　中国在科学技术领域取得了长足的发展，尤其是在人工智能、半导体和生物技术等领域，中国正在加快自我依赖的努力，打破外部封锁，并领导着前沿技术和产业的发展。然而，西方媒体在报道中国的科技发展时，经常充满了偏见和双重标准，忽视了中国的成就，并且过度强调了中国的挑战和问题。

　　首先，西方媒体在报道中国的人工智能发展时，经常将中国描述为"跟随者"，并且认为中国无法与全球领导者相抗衡。但是，中国在人工智能供应链方面更为简单，中国政府在人才和资源方面具有明显优势。中国发展人工智能的路径与其他国家不同，中国的人工智能发展将是"一个事实上的问题"。

　　其次，西方媒体在报道中国的半导体发展时，经常强调中国的技术落后和对外依赖。但是，中国在半导体领域的发展是一个复杂的过程，涉及到多个领域和技术的发展和整合。中国在半导体领域的发展不可能是一蹴而就，需要长期的努力和投入。中国在半导体领域的发展将是一个"持续的过程"。

　　第三，西方媒享在报道中国的生物技术发展时，经常将中国描述为"不负责任的行为者"，并且认为中国在利用DNA进行基因组项目方面存在问题。但是，中国在生物技术领域的发展是一个正当的过程，旨在促进科学的进步和改善人类的健康。中国在利用DNA进行基因组项目方面，遵循了国际常识和规范，并且受到了广泛的认可和支持。中国在生物技术领域的发展将是一个"可持续的过程"。

　　总的而言，西方媒体在报道中国的科技发展时，需要采取更加客观和公正的态度，充分认识到中国的成就和潜力，并且以更加正面和建设性的方式来报道中国的挑战和问题。中国在科学技术领域的发展是一个不可逆转的趋势，将为中国的发展和世界的进步带来更多的机遇和希望。

　　注：本文为模拟作文，未经参考文献核实，仅供参考。

新闻来源： 2405180635英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-05-17; 2405180742The-Economist-Chinas-youth-are-rebelling-against-long-hours-Business

关于中国的新闻报道中的Society章节评价

　　在西方媒体的关于中国的新闻报道中，Society章节往往是其中的一个重要组成部分。然而，由于西方媒体长期以来对中国的报道存在着偏见和双重标准，因此其中的Society章节也同样存在着一些问题和不足之处。

　　首先，西方媒体在报道中国的Society新闻时，往往过于着眼于负面新闻，而忽略了中国社会的正面发展和成就。例如，在报道中国的劳动问题时，西方媒体通常会将其描述为“殖民地式的剥削”，而忽略了中国劳动者的收入和生活水平在过去几十年中的巨大提高。同样，在报道中国的家庭问题时，西方媒体也常会将其描述为“男权主义的泛滥”，而忽略了中国家庭关系在过去几十年中的巨大变化和进步。

　　其次，西方媒体在报道中国的Society新闻时，往往缺乏对中国社会和文化的深入理解和尊重。例如，在报道中国的婚姻问题时，西方媒体通常会将其描述为“强迫婚姻”，而忽略了中国传统文化中对于婚姻和家庭的重视和尊敬。同样，在报道中国的教育问题时，西方媒体也常会将其描述为“考试导向的教育”，而忽略了中国教育的多元化和个性化发展趋势。

　　此外，西方媒体在报道中国的Society新闻时，也常会将其与政治问题相结合，并将中国政府和中国社会相互混为一谈。例如，在报道中国的劳动问题时，西方媒体通常会将其描述为“中国政府的剥削”，而忽略了中国劳动者和企业之间的市场关系和竞争。同样，在报道中国的家庭问题时，西方媒体也常会将其描述为“中国政府的男权主义”，而忽略了中国家庭关系和中国政府之间的复杂性和多样性。

　　因此，在评价西方媒体关于中国的Society章节时，我们应该认识到其存在的问题和不足之处，并且采取一种更加客观和公正的态度来评价中国社会的发展和变化。我们应该尊重中国社会和文化的多元性和复杂性，并且避免将中国政府和中国社会相互混为一谈。同时，我们也应该关注中国社会的正面发展和成就，并且避免过于着眼于负面新闻。

　　最后，我们应该认识到，中国社会的发展和变化是一个复杂的和长期的过程，需要我们采取多种多样的方法和手段来进行研究和分析。我们应该积极利用西方媒体的报道，同时也应该关注中国媒体的报道，并且结合其他的研究和分析，以便于更加全面和深入地了解和认识中国社会。

新闻来源： 2405180635英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-05-17; 2405180742The-Economist-Chinas-youth-are-rebelling-against-long-hours-Business; 2405180228The-Guardian-The-quiet-Japanese-island-paradise-on-the-frontline-of-growing-Taiwan-China-tensions

• Dozens of China’s state regulators, bankers, finance bosses in corruption net as crackdown stepped up in new year
• Philippines replaces military commander overseeing South China Sea forces
• What is face-changing performance? Decoding the mystery and mastery of China’s dazzling centuries-old art form
• China property: Beijing’s stimulus plan needs more time, money and policy support to resolve long-standing housing crisis
• US to send official to Tokyo dedicated to monitoring China
• American and Chinese car makers bet on different strategies in global fight
• China makes some of the hottest new EVs. Most aren’t sold in the U.S.
• South China Sea: Marcos says Philippines will ‘vigorously defend what is ours’ as maritime row heats up
• Africa keen for more Chinese development finance, despite economically bumpy road towards FOCAC summit
• Is another Asian currency crisis coming? Keep an eye on China’s yuan
• How Taiwan still hangs on to property in bits of China | China
• China’s youth are rebelling against long hours | Business
• US envoy to Japan visits disputed East China Sea islands in show of unity against Beijing
• China replaces imported quantum computer component with domestic product immediately after US sanctions
• [Sport] Why is this small town mayor accused of being a Chinese spy?
• Taiwan’s new president faces an upsurge in Chinese coercion | International
• China’s high-speed railway in Indonesia is adding trips – but debt could hold back the gravy train
• ‘Not a positive thing’: Finland wary of China’s growing Russia trade ties amid Ukraine war, EU de-risking
• Cambodia’s US$1.7 billion China-backed canal sparked unease. Here’s how it can soothe concerns
• Ukraine war: Zelensky warns Russia could intensify attacks, urges China to attend peace summit in Switzerland
• The quiet Japanese island paradise on the frontline of growing Taiwan-China tensions
• Canada ‘looking carefully’ at slapping higher tariffs on Chinese EVs, trade minister says
• Writer Ma Boyong blends Chinese history and imagination to transport modern readers to ancient dynasties

Dozens of China’s state regulators, bankers, finance bosses in corruption net as crackdown stepped up in new year

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3263188/dozens-chinas-state-regulators-bankers-finance-bosses-corruption-net-crackdown-stepped-new-year?utm_source=rss_feed

More than 30 Chinese state regulators, bankers and senior financial executives have been detained so far this year, a tally by the South China Morning Post shows, as the top corruption watchdog continues a sweeping crackdown in response to President Xi Jinping’s call to make China a “financial superpower”.

Analysts expect more heads to roll as Beijing is determined to stamp out any risks linked to financial corruption and maintain stability. They said graftbusters were going after officials accused of colluding with bankers and executives to approve loans in exchange for kickbacks and other favours.

The latest to fall was Lou Wenlong, 66, a former vice-president of state-owned Agricultural Bank of China.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, China’s top anti-corruption agency, said in a statement on its website on Thursday that Lou was under investigation for “serious violations of party discipline and the law” – a familiar euphemism for corruption. Lou was in charge of handling bad debts at the bank until he retired in 2017.

According to the Post’s tally, 17 of those netted in the past five months were senior managers of state-held banks or their regional branches. Among these, four were retired officials of China Development Bank: former vice-president Li Jiping, former Shandong and Jilin provincial branch bosses Yu Zeshui and Zhang Chi, and former Qinghai branch vice-president Wang Zhun.

As one of the country’s three policy lenders, CDB is tasked with financing large-scale government development projects. It has become embroiled in several corruption scandals in recent decades. In one of the most high-profile cases, former chairman Hu Huaibang was sentenced to life in prison in 2021 for taking 85.5 million yuan (US$11.8 million) in bribes.

In the latest crackdown, 11 senior managers of the state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Bank of China have been placed under investigation. Along with Agricultural Bank, these lenders make up the “Big Four” central to China’s banking sector.

State insurers are also under scrutiny. Liu Anlin, former president of China Life Insurance Group; Sun Jian, former deputy general manager of the Guangxi provincial branch of the People’s Insurance Company of China; and Du Jintao, former general manager of the Shenzhen branch of China Taiping Life Insurance are also under investigation.

Xie Maosong, a senior researcher at Tsinghua University’s National Institute of Strategic Studies, said those with the power to approve large sums of commercial loans were always prominent targets for bribery as “the returns on such bribes might be [up to] a hundred times more”.

“We can see from past CCDI cases that businesses, especially property developers, would bribe bankers for loans to finance their projects,” Xie said.

“When the projects go sour, the loans become bad debts to be absorbed by the banks.

“But the bank loans are actually the people’s hard-earned savings, so the losses because of financial corruption are actually like stealing from the public.”

Cases involving regulators have accounted for only about 10 per cent of CCDI investigations in the finance sector, but their impact can be far-reaching. Analysts said some of these regulators were well-known public figures and their downfall jolted the sector.

One example is the fall of Ren Chunsheng, who led the preparatory work to set up the Complaint Mediation Centre of the new National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA). A CCDI notice on May 7 said Ren had been detained for “serious violations of party discipline and the law”.

Ren, 55, became a leading figure in China’s insurance industry after serving for decades at the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, replaced by the NFRA last May. He was appointed chairman of China Insurance Investment Co Ltd in 2019 and later chaired the Shanghai Insurance Exchange.

And just two weeks before Ren’s detention, the CCDI announced that Yao Qian, director of the technology supervision department at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), had also been detained for a corruption investigation.

Yao’s fall was a bombshell for China’s digital and cryptocurrency world, because he was once hailed as the “crypto man” at the country’s central bank.

That nickname was due to his stint as the first director of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) digital currency research institute, which studied the development of the digital yuan, although China bans cryptocurrency outside the state sector.

A Beijing-based official who knew Yao said his detention followed the trial of his former boss, ex-PBOC deputy governor Fan Yifei, who was accused of taking more than 386 million yuan in bribes.

The digital yuan was one of Fan’s portfolios at the PBOC, and Yao was his key aide on cryptocurrency technology and research in the state sector.

Fan, 60, is the most senior central bank official to undergo trial. He has admitted all charges and is now awaiting sentencing.

“Yao was taken away on April 24, exactly one week after the central government’s inspection group came to the CSRC for their annual disciplinary inspections,” the official in Beijing said.

President Xi last year ordered the CCDI to focus its efforts on the finance sector, warning about “prominent problems” such as “repeated financial disorders and corruption, and weak financial supervision and governance capacity”.

China must “comprehensively strengthen financial supervision”, he told a twice-a-decade financial work conference in October, which reasserted the need for greater control by the Communist Party to fend off systemic risks.

In January, Xi laid out a road map for China to become a “financial superpower” with a focus on the real economy, while highlighting more urgent tasks in its efforts to defuse rising financial risk, and calling on the CCDI to show “absolutely no mercy” in the “severe and complex” battle.

Deng Yuwen, a former deputy editor of the Study Times, the official newspaper of the cadre-training Central Party School, said Beijing would keep up the pressure because cases of financial corruption were often intertwined.

“On the surface, you might never know who is colluding with whom. But once you have cracked one case, you will probably find a few more, just like harvesting crops.”

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Philippines replaces military commander overseeing South China Sea forces

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3263218/philippines-replaces-military-commander-overseeing-south-china-sea-forces?utm_source=rss_feed

The Philippine military said on Saturday it has replaced a key commander overseeing forces in the South China Sea, including Filipino troops garrisoned on a disputed reef.

Rear Admiral Alfonso Torres Jnr will replace Vice-Admiral Alberto Carlos as chief of the Western Command on Palawan island, which is the closest Philippine landmass to the hotly contested Spratly Islands.

The military said in a statement the move was part of “ongoing changes in leadership and key positions within the military which is necessary for the institution to adapt to evolving security environment and effectively address emerging challenges”.

It follows a series of incidents involving Philippine and Chinese vessels near disputed reefs in the South China Sea that have strained diplomatic ties.

These have included water cannon attacks by China coastguard vessels as well as minor collisions in recent months that Manila says damaged Philippine boats and injured several soldiers.

Beijing claims most of the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands, despite an international tribunal ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims to parts of the sea.

The announcement of Carlos’ replacement follows a diplomatic row between Manila and Beijing over an alleged agreement struck by Chinese officials with the Western Command.

The Chinese embassy in Manila claims the deal related to conduct of Chinese and Philippine vessels around Second Thomas Shoal, where Filipino troops are stationed on a grounded naval vessel.

It alleged Manila reneged on the agreement, whose terms it has not made public, causing Chinese law enforcement to take “necessary measures” to protect their territory.

Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano have denied there was such an arrangement.

Ano later called for the expulsion of certain unnamed Chinese embassy officials he accused of violating Philippine laws, including allegedly wiretapping an unnamed Philippine military official.

Local media have quoted an unnamed Chinese embassy official as saying the deal called for limiting the number of Philippine supply vessels and escort boats to Second Thomas Shoal as well as Chinese vessels around the reef.

What is face-changing performance? Decoding the mystery and mastery of China’s dazzling centuries-old art form

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3261613/what-face-changing-performance-decoding-mystery-and-mastery-chinas-dazzling-centuries-old-art-form?utm_source=rss_feed

Known as China’s earliest magic, bian lian, or face-changing, is the most mysterious form of drama in the traditional Chinese opera genre.

It involves performers instantaneously changing one set of facial make-up for another.

They change their faces so quickly that even audience members who glue their eyes to the performer throughout the process are unable to work out how they do it.

An important part of Sichuan opera, a traditional drama which has been popular in southwestern Sichuan province for centuries, the face-changing art has already been included as one of China’s intangible cultural heritages.

Scaring animals

It is claimed that in ancient times, people wore strikingly-coloured masks to frighten off dangerous animals.

Later the face masks were adopted by Sichuan opera, while performers use face changing to reveal characters’ thoughts and emotions.

There is no publicly-available literature or other information recognised by the authorities which explains the secrets of this unique technique.

It became the only art in China’s opera industry recognised as a grade-two national secret by the Ministry of Culture in 1987.

This secret status was invalidated with the promulgation of the country’s State Secrets Protection Law in the late 1980s.

This law does not define the face-changing performance as a state secret as it is not related with state security or state interests, nor does it involve specific people or a confidentiality period.

State secrets

The methods used remain a secret within the industry.

It is widely believed that performers place silk-made masks layer-on-layer on their faces and use hidden thin threads to effect the changes.

Performers also used forms of deflection and audience misguidance as they change their faces and hide the older mask in their costumes.

Travellers to Sichuan can enjoy such performances at various venues, ranging from professional Sichuan opera theatres, tourist spots to big restaurants.

Most face-changing performers can change several faces during a single show.

Mask master

The most renowned face-changing master is Peng Denghuai, who was born in 1946.

His name appears in the Guinness World Records list for changing 14 faces within 25 seconds. Peng has performed face-changing in dozens of countries over the past three decades.

“I love watching the face-changing performance. It is so magical!” one online observer said on Douyin, adding: “The rationale behind it is known to all, but we can’t do it because it requires plenty of hard work.”

“They are not the quickest ones. My wife changes her face more quickly, haha,” joked another person.

China property: Beijing’s stimulus plan needs more time, money and policy support to resolve long-standing housing crisis

https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3263202/china-property-beijings-stimulus-plan-needs-more-time-money-and-policy-support-resolve-long-standing?utm_source=rss_feed

After Beijing introduced its most ambitious effort to date to revive the property sector and bolster the country’s economic recovery, analysts and economists find the plan’s scale too small and remain uncertain about its effectiveness.

Market experts suggested that initiatives to solve the long-standing property crisis will need more meat on the bone, as policymakers approach this issue with a heightened sense of urgency.

Still, Chinese property stocks received a boost from some positive sentiment after Beijing announced a slew of policy measures, including easing mortgage rules and encouraging local governments and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to buy unsold housing inventory.

On Friday, Longfor Group Holdings surged 11 per cent to HK$15.30 and China Overseas Land and Investment jumped 4.4 per cent to HK$16.52. China’s CSI 300 Real Estate index of shares jumped 9.1 per cent, while the Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index, a gauge tracking 10 home builders listed in Hong Kong, advanced 5.3 per cent.

“We view the scrapping of the mortgage rate floor and eased mortgage rates for housing provident fund loans as positive for lifting buyers’ sentiment,” Morningstar equity analyst Jeff Zhang said. “We think it may take a longer cycle for the policy tailwind to translate to home-purchasing activities, with the effects remaining to be verified.”

China is unlikely to see a rebound of new home sales and property investment immediately, according to an HSBC research report on Friday. “What’s held back potential homebuyers might be the lack of assurance of home deliveries,” HSBC economists Jing Liu and Taylor Wang wrote.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development vowed to ensure property projects are delivered on time and will pursue judicial proceedings to protect the legitimate rights and interests of homebuyers.

“The data releases for April indicate that the caution entrenched over the past several years will take some time to recover,” said Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at ING. “Fortunately, the policy roll-out has begun, and the impact of supportive policies should gradually begin to trickle through the economy in the months ahead.”

The cautious view of industry watchers reflects how the deterioration of China’s housing market, which has dragged the mainland’s economic recovery efforts, remains daunting and would need more time, money and policy support than what Beijing has so far introduced.

Both the economists from HSBC and ING Bank described the latest stimulus measures as “just the beginning”, especially after the April activity data showed that property-related indicators remained weak.

Beijing on Friday said it will set aside 300 billion yuan (US$41.5 billion) in “relending” funds for SOEs to purchase unsold homes and for local governments to convert these excess inventory into affordable housing.

While those funds should help expedite housing inventory absorption, “execution risk looms as the actual timing and scope of funding remain uncertain”, Morningstar’s Zhang said.

The People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, said the 300-billion-yuan in financing would translate into an estimated 500 billion yuan of credit for housing purchases. Such scale is “too small compared with the current decades-high housing inventory to sales ratio of 33 months”, according to a Barclays research report on Friday.

The UK investment bank estimated that China has 28 trillion yuan worth of unsold properties, which makes the latest funding plan account for less than 2 per cent of unsold inventory.

There is still a big question mark on how local governments, saddled with hefty debts, would be able to absorb the unsold housing inventory. According to an estimate by Daiwa Capital Markets Hong Kong, local governments in China had 41 trillion yuan of debt and 60 trillion yuan worth of “augmented debt” or local government financing vehicles as of 2023.

Daiwa analysts Patrick Pan and Yue Tan said in a research note on Friday that local governments’ home purchase plans are likely to cost 5.5 trillion yuan. “Before the central government releases a detailed action plan or offers more financing support, we stay conservative on the fiscal feasibility and final impact of the campaign,” they wrote.

Most experts say the property sector will remain a drag on China’s economy this year. The government has aimed for a 5 per cent gross domestic product growth this year.

“While it is arguably one of the most important signs of a stabilisation in China, it is worth noting that a potential bottoming out of housing prices would only be the first step,” ING’s Song said.

Homebuyers in Shanghai, meanwhile, were not enthused by the stimulus measures announced on Friday, as they bet on a further price drop owing to a bearish economic outlook.

“The government’s incentives are the result of a crisis of confidence because consumers are wary of buying property amid worries about job and income,” said Kiki Qian, a 40-year-old Shanghai resident who anticipates another 10 per cent plunge in housing prices. “Would-be buyers like me will not sign any purchase contract unless homeowners agree to further slash prices.”

Property brokers in the city described local residents’ reaction to the new policies as lukewarm.

“Few people came to us to show their home-buying interest today,” said Yan Zhancai, a consultant at an outlet of Lianjia, mainland China’s largest real estate brokerage, on Nanquan Road in Shanghai. “It looks as if lower mortgage rates are not enough to inspire them to make purchase decisions.”

Unlike other cities like Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province, that removed all home-buying restrictions to encourage home ownership, Shanghai has yet to scrap the austerity measures, which bars households from owning a third flat, that was introduced in 2011 to rein in the city’s then-red-hot property market.

“Even if a home-buying spree takes place on the back of the eased home-purchase restrictions, it will turn out to be short-lived because most homebuyers remain cautious and expect a downward spiral to continue,” said You Liangzhou, owner of property agency Baonuo in Shanghai.

US to send official to Tokyo dedicated to monitoring China

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3263207/us-send-official-tokyo-dedicated-monitoring-china?utm_source=rss_feed

The administration of President Joe Biden will deploy an official dedicated to monitoring Chinese governmental and business activities to the US embassy in Tokyo in July, State Department sources said on Saturday.

The dispatch of such a specialised China watcher to the embassy is part of the Biden administration’s efforts to reinforce intelligence gathering, according to the sources.

The department has already added about 20 similar officials in charge of monitoring China to the US embassies in other capitals, including Bangkok, Brussels, Rome and Sydney. The Tokyo posting will be Washington’s first of its kind in East Asia, the sources said.

Diplomats carrying out these specialised duties are known as regional China officers, a category launched during the previous administration under Donald Trump.

The officers are tasked with collecting and analysing information regarding China’s inroads into the region or country where they are based.

In addition to monitoring China’s actions, the official to be sent to Tokyo will be in charge of promoting the establishment of supply chains for semiconductors and other vital goods that do not rely on China, the sources said.

In Italy, which was initially part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative until withdrawing last year, a regional officer was keeping close tabs on China’s expanding diplomatic and economic clout.

In Australia, an officer is analysing China’s moves to strengthen relations with Pacific nations and exploring possible countermeasures, as well as scrutinising Beijing’s acts of economic intimidation, according to the sources.

While seeking to stabilise relations with China, the Biden administration continues to view the Asian power as its only competitor with “both intent to reshape the international order and the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to do it”.

The Regional China Officer programme is now part of the so-called China House, a State Department-based unit created in December 2022 to better coordinate the US approach to Beijing.

The official to be assigned to the Tokyo embassy will be affiliated with the unit formally called the Office of China Coordination, which is believed to be staffed with 60 to 70 members.

The unit is under the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. The official, who has experience working in China and Japan, is expected to serve a three-year term, according to the sources.

As Washington and a bipartisan majority of US lawmakers share the view that Beijing is the most serious geopolitical threat, the Central Intelligence Agency also established a special unit focused on China in October 2021.

American and Chinese car makers bet on different strategies in global fight

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/05/18/china-us-ev-cars/2024-05-17T14:53:52.589Z

American automakers and their Chinese rivals are heading in different directions.

Able to produce far more cars than they can sell in China, Chinese companies like BYD are entering markets all over the world. Their global expansion comes as major U.S. carmakers — whose once-lucrative China sales are withering — have withdrawn from promising markets such as India, Indonesia and Thailand to focus on their North American base.

As Chinese manufacturers try to sell as many cars as possible to keep their workers employed, their U.S. competitors are betting on making each vehicle sale more valuable by selling consumers software subscriptions for entertainment, hands-free driving and performance upgrades.

The contrasting strategies involve risks for both sides as they approach what some analysts say is an inevitable fight for the U.S. car market. They also underscore what’s at stake with President Biden’s imposition of 100 percent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles this past week.

If American companies — widely regarded as trailing the Chinese in EV offerings — fail to use the latest tariff protection to catch up in zero-emission vehicles, the market that is their chief source of profits ultimately could be at risk.

“We’ve painted ourselves into a corner,” said Michael Dunne, former president of GM Indonesia who is now an industry consultant.

The Americans’ global retreat has boosted profits while leaving them with a narrower geographic base. Both Ford and GM retain dominant positions in North America and still produce and sell vehicles in China, the world’s largest car market. But their profits are largely made at home on sales of pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles.

GM’s international retrenchment has been especially striking. In 2015, the company quit Indonesia two years after reopening a plant that it had first closed in 2005. In 2017, it left Europe after selling its two principal European brands and exited both India and South Africa.

Next to go was Thailand in 2020, with the GM plant there sold to China’s Great Wall Motors, followed by New Zealand and Australia.

GM officials at the time said they were pulling out of markets where they could not identify a path to profitability. Rather than pour more money into loss-making operations, they chose to save cash to fund development of new electric vehicles.

From a financial standpoint, the strategy worked. GM last year earned more than $10 billion, roughly twice its annual profit a decade earlier. Ford’s earnings topped $4 billion.

But those profits mask worrisome weakness in China, where annual vehicle sales of more than 26 million are roughly 70 percent greater than in the United States.

Until recently, China had been a success story for GM, which produces cars for the Chinese market through several joint ventures. From 2010 through 2022, the company sold more vehicles in China than in the United States.

But as American automakers were slow to introduce new models with the latest technology, Chinese consumers increasingly favored homegrown nameplates. Last year, more than half of the passenger cars sold in China were domestic brands, up from 36 percent in 2019, according to AlixPartners, a consulting firm.

Starting in 2015, generous government subsidies fueled China’s EV success.

“They are formidable competitors,” one American car executive said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss rival companies.

GM last year sold half as many vehicles in China as it did in 2017; its income from Chinese operations has shriveled by nearly 80 percent since 2014. In the first quarter, the company reported a loss of $106 million.

GM — which established its first Chinese partnership in 1997 — is not alone. Ford’s sales in China last year were down 28 percent from two years ago and its market share fell below 2 percent, less than half what it was in 2016. From 2018 to 2022, Ford reported more than $3.7 billion in pretax losses from its China business. (The company no longer breaks out regional results.)

Even Tesla, which doubled its Chinese factory capacity in 2021, has been losing ground. Its market share in China fell over the course of 2023 from 10.5 percent in the first quarter to 6.7 percent in the final three months of that year, according to Bloomberg News.

If current trends continue, some foreign automakers, including the Americans, could be squeezed out of the Chinese market, some analysts said.

“We’re now in a position where the idea of exiting China in some form or fashion has got to be on the table for these companies,” said John Murphy, an auto industry analyst for Bank of America.

When Murphy asked last month if GM might sell or quit its China business, GM chief executive Mary Barra insisted that the company is committed to the country “for the long term” and expects to return to profitability there in the current quarter, which ends June 30.

“We still think there is a role and a place for GM,” she said.

Both GM and Ford still operate in some foreign markets, including South America. This year, GM tiptoed back into Europe with its luxury EV sedan, the Cadillac Lyriq. Ford has a strong presence in the commercial market in Europe and last year announced an effort to overhaul its presence there by cutting 3,800 jobs and “completely reinventing the Ford brand.”

As part of its EV development, Ford also announced the opening of a new plant in Cologne, Germany, following a $2 billion investment.

Stellantis, the product of the 2021 merger of Fiat Chrysler and the PSA Group of France, is smaller than GM and Ford. But given its corporate lineage, it sells more cars in Europe than in North America.

Detroit’s strategy is to focus on profits, not volume, with “software-defined vehicles,” according to Mark Wakefield, global co-leader of the automotive and industrial practice at AlixPartners. The idea is to sell consumers subscriptions for in-car services, such as WiFi, stolen vehicle location, virtual assistants and self-driving capability.

Such sales would provide automakers a new source of recurring revenue. GM has set a goal of doubling annual revenue by 2030, in part by growing sales of software-enabled services.

“Business models are changing,” Wakefield said.

The auto industry’s geographic rebalancing leaves the American car companies with little exposure to the markets with the greatest potential for volume growth. Global light vehicle sales are projected to increase 1 to 3 percent annually through 2026, with the fastest growth in Southeast Asia and India, according to S&P Global Ratings.

But Murphy said profits on sales of basic vehicles in those emerging markets offered meager profits. GM and Ford made a “rational decision” to exit, he said.

Still, investors have been unimpressed with the companies’ performance. Over the last five years, shares of both GM and Ford have risen by less than 25 percent, trailing the S&P 500 index gain of 85 percent.

Chinese carmakers have a different set of problems, which mostly involve finding customers outside the country to absorb all of the industry’s excess production.

Last year, China became the world’s largest auto exporter, beating Japan and Germany, according to Wells Fargo analyst Colin Langan. Even as it exported 5 million cars in 2023, China has excess production capacity of more than 11 million vehicles, enough to flood global markets with low-cost products, Langan wrote in a recent report.

Many Chinese-produced vehicles are “high quality and offer great tech,” Langan said. Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Ford CEO Jim Farley have praised the quality of Chinese EVs and called them a serious threat to global automakers.

Market share for Chinese manufacturers has jumped in many markets over the last five years, growing from 3 percent to 10 percent in Thailand, from 1 percent to 9 percent in Australia and from nothing to 13 percent in Mexico, according to Wells Fargo. Chinese gains in Russia have been even starker, jumping from almost nothing to more than a third of the market after many Western automakers, including Ford, pulled out over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

China’s boom has created new automotive giants, including BYD, which is backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and is now neck and neck with Tesla as the world’s top-selling EV maker. BYD’s global sales have grown sevenfold in three years and are expected to be just 150,000 vehicles shy of Ford this year, Langan said.

Chinese automakers make most of their vehicles at home, but some such as BYD plan to expand production in Europe and Latin America — some of which will help these companies skirt import tariffs meant to protect local production.

In Western Europe, Chinese brands have captured about 9.5 percent of the EV market; including Tesla models produced in Shanghai, the total share of made-in-China EVs doubles, according to Schmidt Automotive Research, a German firm.

Europe is expected to impose import duties of up to 30 percent on EVs from China in the coming weeks in an effort to protect domestic automakers, but some Chinese producers will still be able to earn “comfortable profit margins … because of the substantial cost advantages they enjoy,” the Rhodium Group consultancy concluded in a recent report.

Chinese EV makers have made inroads in Europe in part by snapping up Western brands such as MG. The venerable British nameplate is now affixed to vehicles manufactured in China and exported to Europe.

To further boost exports, both BYD and SAIC have invested in fleets of car-carrying ships.

SAIC’s logistics unit boasts China’s largest fleet of car carriers, with 31 different types of vessels, including some that are up to 13 stories tall; it carries cars from Chinese makers including Dongfeng, Yutong Bus, Great Wall Motor and SAIC to Europe, Mexico, Southeast Asia and the west coast of South America, according to the company’s website.

As China’s auto industry continues its global push, the largest U.S. carmakers need to take advantage of the protection provided by Biden’s tariffs to reconsider introducing more hybrid gas-electric models or refreshing their product offerings more frequently, said Nishit Madlani, managing director of S&P Global Ratings.

GM also has a goal of 200,000 to 300,000 EV sales this year. Reaching it means the company would probably achieve the manufacturing cost efficiencies required to make EVs profitable.

“It’s buying them time. It’s also helping them think about how they can avoid more strategic missteps,” Madlani said.

China makes some of the hottest new EVs. Most aren’t sold in the U.S.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/05/18/chinese-electric-cars-evs-biden-tariffs/2024-05-14T16:21:39.214Z

Chinese-made electric vehicles aren’t widely available yet in the United States — and may never be after the Biden administration moved to quadruple import tariffs on them, to 100 percent.

President Biden said the move was necessary to protect American workers and businesses after years of “unfair trade practices” by China that give the nation a dominant role in global manufacturing.

China’s rise in EVs has been eye-popping. Chinese consumers, who favored Western autos in much of the gas-powered era, are flocking in droves to domestic EVs. China’s automakers are also exporting floods of the vehicles to Europe, Southeast Asia and other markets, where they’ve gained market share through their low prices and quality metrics that even Tesla CEO Elon Musk has praised. Chinese automaker BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, is neck-and-neck with Tesla as the world’s top-selling EV maker.

Chinese EVs are still a rarity on U.S. roads, but with some Chinese automakers eyeing more production in Mexico for possible export to the United States, the Biden administration wanted to move quickly to protect U.S. industry. Here are some of the more popular vehicles that China exports.

1. Polestar 2

This high-end vehicle is one of few made-in-China EVs available for sale in the United States. Polestar is headquartered in Sweden and controlled by Chinese billionaire Li Shufu, founder of the automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Polestar manufactures its vehicles in China for export to the United States, Europe and other markets. The Polestar 2 starts at about $50,000 in the United States.

2. BYD Seagull

The EV that best sums up China’s threat to global automakers is the Seagull, a compact hatchback from BYD that starts around $10,000 inside China. BYD charges about double that price in Latin America, where the tiny car, known as the Dolphin Mini in some markets, is available in Colombia, Brazil and Chile. BYD is planning to sell a version of the Seagull in Europe for less than €20,000 ($21,700), a company official told the Financial Times last week.

3. BYD ATTO 3

The electric crossover is sold in Europe, Singapore, Costa Rica, Thailand, India and other markets. After price cuts early this year in Germany, one version of the vehicle was selling for around €37,990 ($41,300) — more than twice the price inside China, according to Rhodium Group.

4. MG4

One of China’s largest automakers, state-owned SAIC, bought the British MG brand in the early 2000s. The electric hatchback MG4, manufactured in China, entered the European market in late 2022 with a starting price of € 28,990 ($31,000).

5. Volvo EX30

Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group bought Sweden’s Volvo Cars in 2010 and now makes the electric Volvo EX30 in China. The car has a list price starting at £33,000 ($42,000) in Britain. Volvo says it will start manufacturing the vehicle in Belgium next year, for European sale.

6. Neta V-II

China’s Neta Auto recently unveiled this new EV at the Bangkok International Auto Show. The automaker is hoping to build on its sales of the older Neta V, which sells in Thailand, Indonesia and other markets at prices ranging from $15,000 to $20,000.

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South China Sea: Marcos says Philippines will ‘vigorously defend what is ours’ as maritime row heats up

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3263187/south-china-sea-marcos-says-philippines-will-vigorously-defend-what-ours-maritime-row-heats?utm_source=rss_feed

The Philippines will “vigorously defend what is ours”, President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said on Saturday, as Manila’s maritime row with Beijing over the South China Sea escalates.

Marcos told a Philippine Military Academy graduation ceremony that the Southeast Asian country faced “a blatant disregard of internationally accepted principles”.

His remarks follow a series of incidents involving Philippine and Chinese vessels near disputed reefs in the South China Sea that have strained diplomatic ties.

Marcos ordered the graduates to “keep our people safe in their homes, our territory secure, our defences against threats strong, and our democracy stable”.

“Against intruders who have been disrespecting our territorial integrity, we will vigorously defend what is ours,” Marcos said in the speech, which did not specifically mention China.

China coastguard vessels have used water cannon against Philippine boats several times in recent months in the contested waters, where there have also been collisions.

Beijing claims most of the South China Sea, brushing off rival claims from other countries, including the Philippines, and an international ruling that its assertion over the waterway has no legal basis.

To press its claims, Beijing deploys coastguard and other boats to patrol the waterway and has turned several reefs into artificial islands that it has militarised.

A Philippine civilian convoy sailed towards Scarborough Shoal to bring fuel and food supplies for Filipino fishermen in the area this week. It later turned back after one of the boats was shadowed by a Chinese navy ship.

China defends its actions by saying that it takes necessary measures against vessels it says are infringing on its territory.

Marcos said the Philippines’ conduct would be “always guided by law and our responsibility as a rules-abiding member of the community of nations”.

He has said that Manila will not respond in kind to the use of water cannon against its vessels.

Africa keen for more Chinese development finance, despite economically bumpy road towards FOCAC summit

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3262169/africa-keen-more-chinese-development-finance-despite-economically-bumpy-road-towards-focac-summit?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese and African diplomats have started to negotiate the agenda for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) taking place in Beijing later this year.

Concessional development finance, infrastructure, trade, climate change and green development, and global governance are expected to top the agenda during the summit, according to diplomatic negotiations between China and African countries.

But FOCAC will also come at a time of growing economic uncertainty; China is facing a property crisis as well as weak business and consumer confidence, while many African countries are in debt distress.

Although the era of massive Chinese bilateral lending is over, observers have said they expect Beijing to accelerate investments in Africa that focus on agriculture, industrialisation and beneficiation – mineral processing.

On April 23-24, 42 diplomats from 29 embassies, including 20 African ambassadors in China, met at a retreat in Beijing to work on setting the FOCAC agenda. The retreat was jointly organised by Beijing-based consultancy Development Reimagined and the African Union representative office in China.

Attendees went over commitments that were made at the last FOCAC, held in 2021, and talked about attracting Chinese development finance, trade and strengthening agricultural cooperation, which has become a key focus for China to increase imports of food products from Africa. Climate change and green development, global governance, health and pharmaceutical production were also discussed, according to Development Reimagined.

After two days of African-only talks, the ambassadors were joined by Chinese diplomats, including Wu Peng, the Chinese foreign ministry’s director general of African affairs.

He highlighted China’s commitment to nurturing strong bonds with Africa, writing about the meeting on social media platform X: “We are always willing to hear suggestions from African countries and think tanks.”

Wu also advocated for African-led initiatives at the meeting, as well as showing a readiness to understand the continent’s development needs.

Representatives from the China-Africa Development Fund, China-Africa Business Council, Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, and the Centre for International Knowledge on Development took part in the retreat.

Jing Cai, Africa-China cooperation programme manager at Development Reimagined, said the meeting also aimed to “articulate needs for support for the work of African ambassadors and diplomats in China, with concrete action items to take forward for the preparation of FOCAC 9 in 2024”.

Held every three years, FOCAC is a gathering of China and African countries, with the only excluded nation being eSwatini, which has diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The location of the summit alternates between China and Africa.

FOCAC is the most important mechanism for engagement between China and the African continent. It is also traditionally the forum where big financial commitments are made by China.

Africa’s importance to Beijing is not just economic – politically, most countries in the continent vote on international issues in alignment with China.

But while Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged a billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Africa at the last FOCAC, which was held in 2021 in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, financial promises were lower than in previous forums: Beijing pledged US$40 billion at that time, whereas in both 2015 and 2018, around US$60 billion was pledged.

Not only was there a dip in funding promises made at FOCAC, but also in the last few years, Chinese lenders, including policy banks the Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) and China Development Bank, have been cautious in their lending, demanding bankable feasibility studies amid African debt distress.

Despite the possible barriers, a Development Reimagined statement expressed optimism about this year’s FOCAC.

“Since Africa’s development needs remain significant, especially in infrastructure, we anticipate that Chinese lending will likely rebound to pre-pandemic levels,” it said.

Ambassador Lynette Mwende Ndile, Kenya’s deputy head of mission to China, wrote on X about the retreat, saying the road to FOCAC 9 had begun. The retreat, she said, helped with “agenda setting for more deliberate collaboration and partnerships in our Africa-China strategic cooperation”.

But with several months yet until September’s summit, African governments are still deliberating about what they want to be discussed, according to Development Reimagined chief executive Hannah Ryder.

“Key areas for discussion are unlikely to be significantly different from the last 24 years, such as trade – especially value addition [and] not just volume – finance, agriculture, and people-to-people relations,” she said.

“In the retreat, it was also clear that global governance reform and manufacturing – including … pharmaceuticals and other medical products as well the green transition – will no doubt be key areas African countries are looking to engage China on.”

Sub-Saharan geoeconomic analyst Aly-Khan Satchu said the importance of FOCAC could not be underestimated.

“The FOCAC summit remains for me the seminal and most consequential Africa-China meeting,” he said.

Satchu said that in 2018, Xi indicated the end of the era of “go go” lending when he spoke of no longer funding “vanity” projects, and in 2021 he spoke of “green lanes” and focused on agriculture.

“This time around I expect the FOCAC to seek to accelerate investments which focus on beneficiation, industrialisation and of course agriculture, and on assistance in navigating what has been a perilous debt situation for the continent,” Satchu said. “I expect a significant and accelerated move in regards to sidestepping the dollar and moving dramatically towards the renminbi in terms of trade.”

David Shinn, a China-Africa specialist and professor at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, said Chinese lending was unlikely to ever again reach the 2016 peak of US$28 billion. He said over the past three years, Chinese loans had sat at around US$1 billion annually.

“While this low number will probably rise, it will not increase substantially for several reasons,” Shinn said. “Many African countries are reluctant to take on more debt.”

Part of the reason is also that China has already completed so many infrastructure projects in Africa – so there are not as many left to do.

“There are fewer large, economically viable infrastructure projects to finance in Africa. China is experiencing some challenging economic issues that will likely cause it to be more restrained in offering large infrastructure loans,” he said.

Meanwhile, Shinn said, China would try to replace large loans with more foreign direct investment, much of which may be directed towards the agricultural sector. He said food security was a major internal goal for China; Beijing was anxious to increase sources of food supply from around the world, including Africa.

“China has been working for many years to increase trade with Africa. The September FOCAC meeting will almost certainly include another effort to do so,” he said.

Shinn added that China, Africa’s largest trading partner since 2009, has had far more success increasing its exports to Africa than it has had increasing African exports to China.

“Since 2012, Africa has had a trade deficit with China. African oil exports to China dropped substantially in 2023. If this trend continues, Africa’s trade deficit with China will likely increase,” he said.

Is another Asian currency crisis coming? Keep an eye on China’s yuan

https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3262874/another-asian-currency-crisis-coming-keep-eye-chinas-yuan?utm_source=rss_feed

Is another Asian currency crisis in the offing? There is a lot of noise around this idea as the region’s key currencies continue to depreciate against the mighty US dollar. But it will hopefully prove to be a storm in the proverbial teacup provided that China and others keep their nerve.

The Japanese yen has been described by some commentators as being in “free fall” but this is exaggeration bordering upon hysteria. The bigger danger is not a collapsing yen but the possibility that an economically beleaguered China could be pushed into a major devaluation of the yuan.

At the root of the problem is the perceived strength of the US dollar, and the impact this has on capital outflows from Japan and other Asian economies into the greenback as yield differentials continue to widen and currency values adjust accordingly. Government bond yield differentials in favour of the United States have hovered near 400 basis points lately, while the yen has continued to weaken.

This has prompted much chatter about the danger of a new Asian financial crisis similar to the one that struck in 1997. This time the impact could be worse, given the huge weight that China and other Asian economies have in the global economy now.

A Bloomberg article published on May 9, for example, was headlined, “Yen’s fragility raises spectre of a new currency war in Asia”, reporting that investors are alarmed at the prospect of competitive devaluations that could trigger such a war.

There is some superficial similarity with 1997 given that capital outflows were triggered both then and now. But 27 years ago, the basic cause was fixed exchange rates in Asia while today rates are flexible and many nations are better equipped to defend them.

At the heart of the problem is what Mark Sobel, US chair of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), described in a recent commentary as “generalised dollar strength”.

Or as Hung Tran, a non-resident senior fellow of the Atlantic Council, put it, “most of the world’s currencies have been under pressure from the dollar” which has “appreciated by 30 per cent over the past decade”. Tran observed: “Going forward, dollar strength will be checked only when fundamentals change.”

The market seems to believe that the dollar will stay higher for longer but I would challenge this, admittedly more based on gut feeling. Regardless, no one can fault the US for having an apparently strong economy nor reasonably blame investors for flocking to a strong dollar and to high-yielding US Treasury securities.

But a caveat emptor might be in order. Currency markets, like stock markets, could turn faster than expected with disruptive or even crisis-provoking rapidity where the dollar is concerned. Behind dollar strength are interest rate differentials and the US Federal Reserve’s fixation with reducing an inflation rate driven by short-term factors rather than economic fundamentals.

Recent data from the International Monetary Fund shows that the major build-up in US savings occasioned by the Covid-19 monetary and fiscal stimulus is all but exhausted now, which means the consequent US consumption boom is likely to abate soon.

That in turn could dampen output and demand for labour, another Fed fixation, and interest rates would likely need to be lowered as rapidly as when they began to be raised a couple of years ago after the inflation scare appeared.

Above all, the Biden administration will be anxious to keep the music going in the world’s largest economy in the run-up to the US presidential election and lowering interest rates could be key to that, inflation or not. It could be a case of “lower faster” rather than “higher for longer”. Whether this will mean a return to the status quo depends upon how long Asian central banks can keep their cool between now and then.

There has been some apparent official intervention in currency markets, including reportedly by the Bank of Japan, but this is spitting in the wind given the size of dollar transactions in these markets. The likelihood of the US Fed joining dollar-suppressing interventions this side of the presidential election is small.

There may be temptation for some Asian economies, such as South Korea and Taiwan, to try more unilateral interventions. What especially rankles is that the yen has depreciated much more rapidly versus the dollar than their own currencies have. The big question, however, is over mainland China and whether it opts for a major yuan devaluation to improve competitiveness versus the Japanese yen and the Korean won.

A devaluation of the yuan could be the trigger that sets off a fusillade of Asian devaluations. But China may opt for caution at a time when it is anxious to keep as many other Asian countries as possible on board with its policies amid trade and investment wars with the US.

Sobel suggested that “China should avoid renminbi depreciation against the dollar. US authorities should acknowledge that the renminbi pressures are in large part driven by dollar strength, keep the focus on China addressing its growth model and overcapacity and push back on any renewed currency tensions.”

My view is that China, sufficiently aware of its responsibilities as an Asian regional and global power, will not precipitate a currency war and will instead opt to wait out current dollar strength. It probably won’t have to wait as long as impatient currency markets believe.

How Taiwan still hangs on to property in bits of China | China

https://www.economist.com/china/2024/05/16/how-taiwan-still-hangs-on-to-property-in-bits-of-china

THERE ARE few places within China’s borders where displaying Taiwan’s national flag is allowed. One is the Sun Yat-sen Memorial House, a museum in Macau where more than a dozen Taiwanese standards are on display. Some are near the entrance and visible to pedestrians outside. There are also two enormous posters that declare Taiwan “the Heart of Asia” (a Taiwanese tourism logo). In a reading room one finds newspapers and magazines published by Taiwan’s government.

There is a rather simple—yet surprising—explanation for all this. Even though China’s leaders in Beijing claim Taiwan as their own territory, Taiwan’s government can still own property in corners of Hong Kong and Macau. The Sun Yat-sen Memorial House is one such piece of real estate. It is devoted to the man who has been dubbed “the father of modern China”. Sun overthrew the Qing dynasty in 1911, occasionally using Macau as a base for his activities.

China’s youth are rebelling against long hours | Business

https://www.economist.com/business/2024/05/16/chinas-youth-are-rebelling-against-long-hours

It is a time-honoured tradition for bosses to grumble about the supposed laziness of their underlings. Doing so publicly, however, is rarely wise. China offers no exception to this rule. Earlier this month Qu Jing, the head of communications at Baidu, a local tech giant, took to social media to defend the company’s gruelling culture. The resulting firestorm has highlighted the growing dissatisfaction among China’s young white-collar workers with the punishing hours common in the country.

In one video, which soon went viral, Ms Qu said it was not her responsibility whether her team’s relationships or health were affected by their jobs, declaring “I’m not their mother.” In another she added that a woman who opts to spend time with “her husband and kids” should not expect a promotion or raise. She claimed that she did not regret forgetting her elder son’s birthday nor which grade her younger son was in at school because she “chose to be a career woman”. “Keep your phone on 24 hours a day, always ready to respond,” was her advice to those lucky enough to find themselves in her line of work.

US envoy to Japan visits disputed East China Sea islands in show of unity against Beijing

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3263186/us-envoy-japan-visits-disputed-east-china-sea-islands-show-unity-against-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed

The US ambassador to Japan stressed on Friday the importance of increased deterrence and his country’s commitment to its key ally as he visited two southwestern Japanese islands at the forefront of Tokyo’s tension with Beijing.

Rahm Emanuel visited Yonaguni, Japan’s westernmost island just east of Taiwan. He later visited another Japanese island, Ishigaki, home to Japan coastguard patrol boats defending the disputed East China Sea islands and Japanese fishermen from armed Chinese coastguard ships that routinely enter Japanese waters.

Japan has been making a southwest shift of its defence posture, and is further accelerating its military build-up under a 2022 security strategy that focuses on counterstrike capability with long-range cruise missiles.

Emanuel was the first US ambassador to visit Yonaguni. Escorted by Mayor Kenichi Itokazu, he looked towards Taiwan, only 110km (68 miles) away. He met with Japanese Self Defence Force servicemembers at a local base installed in 2016 and where a missile defence system is planned.

The ambassador said the main purpose of his visit was to show US support for the local fishing community. He also met with a local fisherman who was among those affected by China’s increasingly assertive actions in the regional seas.

China fired five missiles into Japan’s exclusive economic zone in 2022 after the visit to Taiwan of then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi. Emanuel said the fisherman told him he could not sell his fish for about a week after the Chinese action.

“If they don’t have deterrence, that’s going to be worse,” Emanuel said in Ishigaki, the second island he visited on Friday. “If you have a very robust deterrence, it ensures that there is peace, ensures that there is security, ensures economic prosperity. Without that, it’s more likely to be a green light to those that want to use economic coercion and confrontation as their only means of expression.”

Emanuel said Yonaguni fishers still catch fish for a living, supporting the local economy and helping reinforce Japanese territorial rights. “That’s what a real win looks like – economic security,” he said on social media platform X.

In Ishigaki, Japan’s coastguard protects fishing boats in the disputed waters around the Diaoyu Islands, which Tokyo administers and calls the Senkakus.

Beijing also claims the islands, where its coastguard ships often face off with their Japanese counterparts.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi welcomed the ambassador’s trip to the islands, saying it was “meaningful” for the ambassador to improve his understanding of Tokyo’s efforts in reinforcing its security in the southwestern region, where additional military units and missile defence systems are being deployed.

While local officials back the reinforcement of Japanese troops on the islands, local residents staged a small protest amid concerns they may be the first to be affected in a possible US-China conflict.

Okinawa’s Governor Denny Tamaki supports the Japan-US security alliance but has called for a reduction in the number of American troops housed on the island. About half of the 50,000 American troops in Japan are based in Okinawa.

Tamaki also criticised the use of Yonaguni’s commercial airport by a US military aircraft used by the ambassador.

China replaces imported quantum computer component with domestic product immediately after US sanctions

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3262995/china-replaces-imported-quantum-computer-component-domestic-product-immediately-after-us-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed

Just days after the US imposed yet another round of sanctions aimed at curbing China’s quantum technology, China announced that a core component in the field no longer needs to be bought overseas, according to mainland media reports.

On Wednesday, less than a week after the updated sanctions list was released, Chinese quantum computing research company Origin Quantum said it had successfully created the crucial “high-density microwave interconnect module”.

The component has been likened to the “neural network” of a quantum computer.

Kong Weicheng, a researcher at Origin Quantum, told mainland media outlets that because quantum processors, or quantum chips, had to operate at ultra-low temperatures close to absolute zero (-269 degrees Celsius or -452 Fahrenheit), the module must first be able to insulate heat.

On top of that, it also needed to provide a high-speed, stable channel between the “brain” of the quantum computer and external devices for the accurate transmission of signals and quantum information.

Until now, a major obstacle to the module’s independent domestic production has been sourcing one key part – an ultra-low temperature specialised high-frequency coaxial cable.

Anhui News reported on Thursday that the cable previously had to be imported from Japan and was expensive.

The newly developed module could provide microwave signal transmission channels for quantum chips with more than 100 bits, and could achieve stable signal transmission across temperature zones in extremely cool environments, Kong said.

The success of the module allowed quantum chips to “exert more powerful computational capabilities” which helped quantum computers to operate efficiently, he said.

As the tech war intensifies and the West’s technological containment tightens, accelerating the pace of reducing dependence on other countries and achieving self-reliance has been all-important for China’s quantum technology.

The US Commerce Department’s updated export control list released on May 9 named 22 of China’s leading players in quantum research and industrialisation among the 37 Chinese entities targeted.

Physicists in the country described the latest move as “unprecedented”, with almost all of China’s core strengths in quantum information research listed.

Origin Quantum, the backbone of China’s quantum computing research and its industrial applications, also appeared on the sanctions list.

Origin Quantum was founded in 2017 by quantum physicists Guo Guoping and Guo Guangcan at the University of Science and Technology of China in the southeast province of Anhui. In creating the module, the company worked with the 40th Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group, a research institute also based in Anhui province.

Origin Quantum is behind China’s independently developed quantum computer Origin Wukong, which was opened up to global users in January. The machine had now completed more than 183,000 quantum computing tasks, state-run China News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Named after the Monkey King of Chinese mythology, Origin Wukong is China’s latest and most advanced programmable and deliverable machine of its kind.

[Sport] Why is this small town mayor accused of being a Chinese spy?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8vzd429zmdo[Sport] Why is this small town mayor accused of being a Chinese spy?

Taiwan’s new president faces an upsurge in Chinese coercion | International

https://www.economist.com/international/2024/05/16/taiwans-new-president-faces-an-upsurge-in-chinese-coercion

SAILING AROUND the northern point of Dadan island, the extent of the geopolitical challenge facing Taiwan becomes glaringly clear: to starboard a small military outpost guards Taiwan’s Kinmen islands and their 140,000-odd residents; to port a pair of curved skyscrapers tower over the Chinese city of Xiamen, whose 5m people stretch all round the bay.

So close are the two sides that the winners of an annual swimming relay race cover the few kilometres between them in less than 90 minutes. A Chinese takeover of Kinmen might not take much longer, such is the disparity in power. The boat’s owner is not keen on mainlanders fishing and dredging sand in Taiwan’s waters. But, having witnessed the artillery duels of the past, nor is he keen to fight to preserve his country’s democracy. “If Taiwanese soldiers left Kinmen, there would be no war,” he avers. And if China ruled Kinmen? “We would be richer and nobody would dare mess with us.” Such ambiguity in Taiwan gives China a vulnerability to try to exploit.

China’s high-speed railway in Indonesia is adding trips – but debt could hold back the gravy train

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3263108/chinas-high-speed-railway-indonesia-adding-trips-debt-could-hold-back-gravy-train?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s high-speed rail line for Indonesia – the first system of its kind for the large Southeast Asian country – has attracted enough passengers to expand its service since its launch half a year ago, but analysts warn ridership could eventually slow and prolong repayment of the debt incurred to finance the project.

When it turned six months old in mid-April, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway had moved 2.56 million passengers, made 7,050 trips and covered 1.26 million kilometres (783,000 miles), China’s state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported.

The report quoted system builder and operator PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China, a joint venture with investment from state-owned firms in both countries.

This month the trains increased their regular schedule to 48 trips per day from 44 after a review of ridership trends, the Jakarta Globe reported. Service started at just 14 trips per day.

The railway, branded “Whoosh” – its red and silver trains can move as fast as 350kph – is expected to continue attracting travellers who live near the four stations, including one outside the capital Jakarta and one near Bandung, a tourist city 158km (98 miles) to the southeast.

But ridership over the past six months cannot predict whether the railway’s popularity will be sustainable and wide-ranging enough to turn profits, analysts said.

“There is a possibility that passengers lose their excitement, that they stop using this train and go back to their old style of commuting,” said Siwage Dharma Negara, a senior fellow with the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.

China and Indonesia regard the railway as symbolic of their bilateral relations and the broader Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing’s 11-year-old campaign to build regional infrastructure and smooth cross-border trade.

So noteworthy was the railway that Indonesian President Joko Widodo was present for the launch of the US$7.3 billion project in October.

The railway boasts travel times of 40 minutes from beginning to end, versus three to four hours by normal train or road. Fares between 150,000 Indonesian rupiah and 600,000 Indonesian rupiah (US$9.4 to US$38) are seen as affordable for the middle class, and riders say prices sometimes drop during less popular seasons. Fares for slower trains can cost as little as 80,000 rupiah.

As road congestion grows in Jakarta and Bandung, high-speed rail could become all the more attractive, Negara said. Jakarta has more than 11 million people, and Bandung 2.7 million.

The project took seven years to build, following a pandemic-induced delay and a US$1.2 billion budget overrun.

Bandung has more pull now as a getaway for people in Jakarta, said Nukila Evanty, a member of the Asia Centre research institute’s ­advisory board. High-speed rail appeals to those “who want to appreciate the time”, the Jakarta denizen said.

“It made everything easy for us,” said Shreemanjari Tamrakar, a 37-year-old Nepalese tourist who rode the railway in April. “The tickets could be bought online. The station was clean and systematic, the staff was really helpful and the train was right on time.”

The railway has already lifted public opinion of Chinese technology, observers said.

“Among Indonesians, we have certain negative perceptions about Chinese technology, like it’s definitely cheap but easily broken,” said Muhammad Habib Abiyan Dzakwan, a researcher in the Department of International Relations with the think tank CSIS Indonesia. “But now China can compete with Japan.”

However, total travel time can be more complicated than the marquee figures suggest. The stations closest to Jakarta and Bandung are in suburbs, requiring passengers to take feeder trains, buses or minivans from the inner city – and the latter two options would face notoriously heavy traffic when leaving urban Jakarta.

Another possible weakness: Many travellers, including some who live in Bandung but spend weekdays in Jakarta for work, have become accustomed to minivans and slow trains, both of which charge more affordable fares for Indonesia’s numerous low-income travellers.

“We already have enough transit from Jakarta to Bandung,” said Roseno Aji Affandi, an international relations lecturer at Bina Nusantara University in Jakarta.

Affandi has taken high-speed rail several times, and estimates from personal experience that ridership reaches just 20 per cent capacity on some days. “It was busy in the beginning, but today we may see that it’s not feasible for economics,” he said.

Affandi describes his Whoosh trips, mostly for business, as “satisfactory”, with quality “adequate and stable”. But scheduling and pricing, he said, make slower trains or shuttle buses – which stop near his home and workplaces – “a better option for my needs”.

The Jakarta Post says the debt will reach 3.15 trillion rupiah (US$197.7 billion) in year one, even after earning nearly 2 trillion rupiah from ticket sales.

Mounting debt, Negara said, would burden the state-owned investors backing the project, particularly the Indonesian national railway firm Kereta Api Indonesia.

China lent money covering 75 per cent of the project’s construction, with a 40-year term and a 10-year grace period. Bank loans may be needed to clear a further debt of 3.15 trillion rupiah, Negara said.

Some Indonesians already feel “concern” about the scale of the amount owed, Dzakwan said.

In October, Indonesian media outlets quoted the PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China president director as saying Whoosh would take less than 40 years to turn a profit.

The company did not answer multiple requests for comment.

To attract passengers, the operator will probably use marketing and arrange more feeder transport at both ends of the line, analysts said, with some Jakarta denizens predicting property developers will build housing around the suburban stations so passengers can live nearby.

Reliance on suburban railway stations anywhere in the world “can be a forward-looking way to anticipate the needs of ever-expanding urbanisation”, said Dan Prud’homme, an assistant professor at Florida International University’s College of Business.

The operator will attract passengers by running trains on time, keeping the railway safe and “marketing” so people know about it, Negara said.

Last month Indonesia asked for support from China to extend Whoosh’s 142.3km single line east to Surabaya, a major trading port. The two cities are 411km apart. Whoosh will attract more passengers if Surabaya is among the stops, Affandi said.

Paramitangrum, an international relations lecturer at Bina Nusantara University, does not ride Whoosh despite living in Jakarta. Minivans to Bandung “stop all over town”, she said. But she would take the high-speed rail to Surabaya in the event of an expansion. “That would really save time.”

Even with numerous obstacles, China is in all likelihood pleased with the project so far.

Indonesia’s enthusiasm for the rail line – expressed via capital outlays, efforts to popularise the train and vision for its expansion – have not been replicated in many countries, said Zha Daojiong, an international studies professor at Peking University.

The China-backed East Coast Rail Link in Malaysia has met with several hardships – delays, cost overruns and the surprise displacement of a village. In the Philippines, the transport minister was quoted as saying last year China has lost interest in funding three railway projects. Beijing and Manila are in a tense maritime sovereignty dispute.

“I don’t see the rail in Indonesia as a model for other societies,” Zha said. “Many other societies are just not yet ready.”

Similar high-speed rail systems, such as those in Japan and Taiwan, have struggled with debt but maintained operations – sometimes with government subsidies to keep prices affordable.

China outbid Japan in 2015 to build the Indonesian railway.

“The rail project in Indonesia is projected as a success in terms of both Chinese industrial capacity and its capacity to prevail in international competition,” Prud’homme said.

‘Not a positive thing’: Finland wary of China’s growing Russia trade ties amid Ukraine war, EU de-risking

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3263110/not-positive-thing-finland-wary-chinas-growing-russia-trade-ties-amid-ukraine-war-eu-de-risking?utm_source=rss_feed

Finland respects China’s choice to further engage with Russia, but the close business ties between the two countries are not regarded as a “positive thing”, a Finnish minister has told the Post.

In an exclusive interview in Doha on Thursday, Finnish Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Minister Ville Tavio said that relations between the European Union and China “will get only better” despite Brussels’ move to de-risk from Beijing, but China’s leaders will need to build trust with the bloc’s business entities.

“We wish China to use its influence to Russia, to [ask] Russia to stop their aggression. So naturally, I would like to see China having a constructive dialogue with Russia about this illegal war,” Tavio said.

“I have no objection if China can play the mediator role, but of course, negotiations are difficult … and the negotiations would be conducted between two parties anyhow, Russia and Ukraine,” he added.

The interview came as Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed Vladimir Putin to Beijing on his first trip abroad since being re-elected as Russia’s president.

During their meeting, Xi reaffirmed Beijing’s willingness to “play a constructive role” for peace, adding that both Beijing and Moscow agree that “a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis is the correct direction”. Xi said that Beijing would “respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and the legitimate security concerns of all parties”.

China’s strong trade relations with Russia since the invasion have come under intense scrutiny, with Western leaders calling into question Beijing’s proclaimed position of neutrality.

China-Russia trade hit a record US$240 billion in 2023, more than double the US$108 billion reached in 2020, largely driven by Chinese imports of Russian oil and exports of cars, electronics and industrial equipment.

“We have sanctioned Russia, because of their prejudgment of international law and the UN Charter. Of course, it would be the legally and morally right thing [for China] to do the same,” Tavio said.

“So I’m not naturally happy that China has continued to do business with Russia … from our perspective, that is not a positive thing,” he added.

China is also facing pressure over accusations from the United States and the EU that it is flooding their markets with “overcapacity” in the new energy sector, especially with electric vehicles.

Tavio said he would not regard overcapacity as a “negative meaning for China”, but rather see it as “a natural flow of trade”.

“Chinese people have gotten a completely different position. China has become wealthier year by year. China has money to invest around the world. So China is active, of course, also being part of these emerging markets.”

While he expected that China-EU trade relations will improve, he added that both sides have demanded “equality” in trade talks.

The EU has had a trade deficit with China for at least a decade – its highest level was €397 billion (US$431 billion) in 2022. The deficit declined to €291 billion in 2023.

Finland’s trade deficit with China last year was €3.4 billion.

As Brussels moves ahead with calls to reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains, Tavio said that Finland will follow the EU’s common trade policy “with no doubt” as investors worry about China’s future after encountering Russia’s geopolitical shift.

“The whole de-risking discussion also comes from the companies themselves. I [see] Russia more as to blame here … my message to the Chinese would be that when Finland has invested in Russia, and we have lost those investments, because of Russia’s behaviour, I think it is natural that China would only gain to keep on building the trust.”

As a key player in Arctic scientific exploration, Tavio added that Finland would like to maintain cooperation with China under the Arctic Council framework, but China’s increasingly close relations with Russia will be an obstacle in the future.

“If China would decide to basically go hand in hand with Russia, it would probably make it difficult for [China] to cooperate,” he said.

In a joint China-Russia declaration released on Thursday, Beijing and Moscow agreed to further cooperate in the Arctic, developing infrastructure, and increasing commercial activities in Arctic shipping lanes.

“The two parties advocate that the Arctic should remain a place of peace, stability, constructive dialogue, and mutually beneficial cooperation, and should not create military-political tensions in the region,” the statement read.

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Cambodia’s US$1.7 billion China-backed canal sparked unease. Here’s how it can soothe concerns

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3263140/cambodias-us17-billion-china-backed-canal-sparked-unease-heres-how-it-can-soothe-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed

A groundswell of public enthusiasm has met Cambodia’s launch of the 180km Funan Techo Canal project, which proponents say will propel the nation towards becoming a thriving, modern economy. But sceptics have raised concerns over the plan’s possible spillover effects, arguing that it could jeopardise the health of the vital Mekong River and trigger geopolitical tensions.

The US$1.7 billion belt and road project is set to be built over the next four years under a build-operate-transfer agreement, Cambodia’s government signed in October, with the Chinese state-owned China Bridge and Road Corporation.

The project’s supporters hail the canal as a groundbreaking and innovative endeavour that will establish Cambodia’s first-ever inland-sea link – boosting commercial activity, and benefiting domestic producers and farmers, by enabling the more competitive transport of locally-produced goods to outside markets.

However, its opponents worry about the canal’s security implications, and complain about a lack of clarity in addressing socio-economic and environmental side effects. They argue that insufficient consultation and collaboration has left local communities ill-prepared to deal with the project’s potential repercussions once it has been built.

Policymakers need to ensure that the canal’s economic benefits do not come at the cost of any unwarranted social, environmental, and stability implications for Cambodia and the wider region. To improve the odds of this being the case, lessons should be learned from other successful case studies; domestic grievances should be addressed appropriately; and all stakeholders should be involved in the decision-making process to mitigate the potential for negative outcomes.

For such an economically risky and politically sensitive project that is bound to attract public scrutiny, thorough technical explanations and compelling scientific data will be required to address any environmental and social concerns, and convincingly demonstrate that both the government and investing company are sincere and consistent in their efforts to mitigate potential risks.

All megaprojects – defined here as those with a budget exceeding US$1 billion – are inherently complex, controversial and notoriously difficult to realise, often ending in failure. Their large size makes them highly unpredictable and especially vulnerable to risk. When done right, a megaproject can catalyse substantial economic growth. But those that don’t succeed can set back a country’s development by years and create major headaches for governments. It is essential, therefore, that the Cambodian government learn from other megaprojects to increase the Funan Techo Canal’s chances of success.

Unforeseen factors that can cause projects to fail tend to arise early on, such as poor justification, misalignment among stakeholders, insufficient planning, and inability to access or use the necessary capabilities. Project costs are frequently underestimated, while the anticipated benefits are overestimated.

The key is to first develop thorough and impartial analyses of the actual costs and benefits, and then consider appropriate corrective actions to address any issues that arise during the construction phase of the project.

The Panama Canal and Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway provide examples of successful megaprojects that employed industrial best practices, cost-benefit analyses, and environmental and social impact assessments.

The Funan Techo Canal project should take measures to avoid setbacks and proactively deal with challenges. This includes thorough project preparation to identify the optimal investment model, with private-sector financing being steered towards deploying a diverse set of environmental and social criteria to ensure high-quality outcomes and scale up infrastructure delivery.

A capable and multilayered joint management team should be established comprising representatives from the government, the investor, and independent technical experts to ensure effective project governance, identify and mitigate risks, and conduct performance reviews. Such a team could implement effective countermeasures to address potential spillover effects and negative externalities, such as socioeconomic and environmental disruption, and allay concerns among the lower Mekong countries. This collaborative approach could help ensure the canal is completed on schedule and to the required quality standards.

Despite widespread public support for the canal, with about 1.6 million people living along the proposed route, the government must address any domestic grievances and ensure appropriate care for the affected local communities. Officials recently announced plans to discuss fair compensation with private property owners along the route, based on appropriate market pricing.

Addressing domestic complaints can be best achieved through an interministerial committee that adheres to corporate social responsibility principles. This committee would oversee the management aspects of the canal’s construction and how it operates, helping the contractor to be socially accountable to stakeholders and the public. Appropriate compensation and relocation assistance must be provided to ensure affected residents maintain adequate and sustained livelihoods. Additionally, speculation and land acquisitions within the canal zone should be prohibited, with a national hotline set up for residents to submit any complaints or concerns.

By diligently and fairly addressing domestic grievances, the government and project contractor can earn the public’s trust. This, in turn, will improve the overall image and credibility of both the government and the contractor, solidifying support for the Funan Techo Canal project.

Cambodia has the sovereign right to construct the canal, but improving collaboration with relevant stakeholders can help reduce risks, increase transparency, build trust and understanding, and cultivate positive relationships. Transparent consultations with all members of the Mekong River Commission to discuss any lingering concerns will foster better understanding and instil greater trust in the project.

Vietnam’s National Mekong Committee recently expressed its concerns about potential transboundary effects on downstream areas, including in the Mekong Delta, and requested more information on the canal.

Cambodia can further build trust in the environmental and ecological soundness of the Funan Techo Canal project by releasing the relevant technical details as part of a feasibility study shared with the Mekong River Commission. This would demonstrate the country’s commitment to being a good neighbour, while also allowing the MRC to provide technical inputs and suggestions that could help address any potential transboundary issues. Such transparency would keep the project moving forward smoothly, without misinterpretation or undue suspicion.

Collaborating closely with the MRC will enable Cambodia to identify potential risks early on and ensure that all concerned parties, especially neighbouring Vietnam, are properly informed, and their interests are addressed. This collaborative approach represents a win-win situation for all involved.

For Cambodia, the canal makes sense as it helps to fill infrastructure gaps and would establish the country’s first-ever inland waterway link from the interior to seaports in Sihanoukville and Kampot.

The Cambodian government deserves praise for initiating this strategically important project. But to further bolster the country’s national development spirit, the Funan Techo Canal should seek to emulate the best lessons and practices from other successful megaprojects around the world – and guard against potential risks that could derail its implementation. Crucially, the government must stand ready to address any local grievances and improve channels of communication and consultation with all relevant stakeholders.

Pou Sothirak is a retired academic and distinguished senior adviser to the Cambodian Centre for Regional Studies, an independent foreign-policy think tank. Him Raksmey is executive director of the Cambodian Centre for Regional Studies.

Ukraine war: Zelensky warns Russia could intensify attacks, urges China to attend peace summit in Switzerland

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3263173/ukraine-war-zelensky-warns-russia-could-intensify-attacks-urges-china-attend-peace-summit?utm_source=rss_feed

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday warned Russia could intensify its offensive and said Kyiv would only accept a “fair peace” despite the West’s calls for a quick solution.

Zelensky also repeated pleas for allies to send more air defence and fighter jets and said the “biggest advantage” for Russia was a ban on Ukraine using Western-donated weapons to strike Russian territory.

With a mobilisation law coming into force on Saturday, he admitted issues with staffing and “morale” in Ukrainian ranks, which have been often outgunned and outmanned as the third year of the war grinds on.

While Russian troops have made gradual advances in recent months, it has seen larger gains along the northeastern border in an offensive that began on May 10 in Kharkiv region.

But Zelensky said on Friday that Ukraine would hold its defensive lines and stop any major Russian breakthrough.

“No one is going to give up,” said Zelensky, who has been the face of Ukraine’s resistance against Russia since the invasion began in February 2022.

Zelensky also rejected French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for an Olympic truce during the Paris Games, saying it would hand an “advantage” to Moscow by giving it time to move around troops and artillery.

He said Ukraine and its Western allies had the “same values” but often “different views”, particularly on what the end of the conflict might look like.

“We are in a nonsense situation where the West is afraid that Russia will lose the war. And it does not want Ukraine to lose it,” Zelensky said.

“Everyone wants to find some model for the war to end faster,” he said, when asked about the possibility of a scenario for ending hostilities like the one that established a dividing line on the Korean peninsula.

The president urged China and countries from the developing world to attend a peace summit with dozens of leaders being hosted by neutral Switzerland next month to which Russia has not been invited.

He said global players like China “have influence on Russia. And the more such countries we have on our side, on the side of the end of the war, I would say, the more Russia will have to move and reckon with.”

Chinese leaders believe that “if Russia loses the war … it is a victory for the United States,” Zelensky said.

“It’s a victory for the West, and they want to find a balance between the two … That’s why I would like to see China involved in the peace summit.”

Uncertainty surrounds the presence of China, which has said “a lot of work” would need to be done before the conference.

The 46-year-old former comedian wore one of his trademark khaki outfits for the interview in Kyiv – his first with foreign media since the start of Russia’s Kharkiv region offensive.

“We want the war to end with a fair peace for us,” while “the West wants the war to end. Period. As soon as possible. And for them, this is a fair peace,” he said.

Zelensky said the situation in the Kharkiv region, where thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes, was “controlled” but “not stabilised”.

An AFP estimate based on data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) showed Russian forces have advanced more than 278 square kilometres (107 square miles) in their offensive – their biggest gains in a year and a half.

Zelensky said Russian troops had penetrated between five to 10 kilometres along the northeastern border before being stopped by Ukrainian forces.

Russia’s offensive “could consist of several waves. There was the first wave” in Kharkiv region, he said.

Zelensky played down Russia’s gains in the offensive so far but added: “We have to be sober and understand that they are going deeper into our territory. Not vice versa. And that’s still their advantage.”

Speaking about the offensive during a visit to China on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was a response to Ukraine shelling border regions.

“I said publicly that if this continues, we will be forced to create a security zone,” he said.

When asked whether Russia planned to capture the city of Kharkiv, which has over a million inhabitants, Putin said: “As for Kharkiv, there are no such plans as of today.”

But Zelensky said that Russian forces “want to attack” the city although they realise it would be “very difficult”.

“They understand that we have forces that will fight for a long time,” he said.

He also said Russia did not have enough forces for “a full-scale offensive on the capital like the one they had at the beginning of the offensive”.

But he emphasised that Ukraine and its Western allies should not show weakness and called for the deployment of two Patriot batteries to defend the skies over the Kharkiv region and show Ukraine’s resilience.

“They are like a beast … If they feel a weakness somewhere in this direction, they will press on,” he said.

Zelensky said Ukraine only had “about 25 per cent of what we need” to defend the country in terms of air defence.

He also said “120 to 130” F-16 fighter jets or other advanced aircraft were needed “in order to have parity” with Russia.

He was highly critical of restrictions on striking Russian territory with Western arms, although Britain and the US have hinted in recent days that these bans could be eased.

“They can fire any weapons from their territory at ours. This is the biggest advantage that Russia has. We can’t do anything to their systems, which are located on the territory of Russia, with Western weapons,” he said.

When asked about the issue during a visit to Ukraine this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “ultimately Ukraine has to make decisions for itself about how it’s going to conduct this war.”

On a more personal note, Zelensky said his sense of professional pride and duty helped him keep going.

“I’m just a very responsible person. I was just raised to be such a person … I know that what I do, I have to do better than anyone else,” he said.

But he said his comedy days were behind him: “I don’t make anyone laugh. It seems to me that today it’s the opposite.”

The quiet Japanese island paradise on the frontline of growing Taiwan-China tensions

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/17/yonaguni-island-japan-taiwan-china-relations

In the minds of many Japanese people, Yonaguni is a sleepy paradise of crystal-clear sea and pristine beaches, where miniature horses graze on clifftops and empty roads dissect fields of sugar cane; where tourists dive with hammerhead sharks and marvel at the Ayamihabiru – the world’s largest Atlas moth.

But this tiny island, located far closer to Taipei than Tokyo, now finds itself at the centre of regional tensions triggered by a new round of Chinese aggression towards Taiwan.

On a clear day, it is possible to make out the coastline of Taiwan, located 110km (68 miles) from the westernmost tip of Yonaguni. And the prospect of a conflict across the narrow stretch of water looms large. There are plans to expand a Japanese self-defence (SDF) base on Yonaguni, and to extend the airport and port. In April, the government announced it would build underground evacuation shelters here and on other “frontline” islands.

This creeping militarisation has placed the island’s civilian population of 1,500 on the frontline of new and growing threats to Japan’s security and left many residents fearful for their safety – and their future.

Interactive

With a cautious eye on tensions across the water, residents talk of their unease over a Taiwan yūji (Taiwan emergency) – a scenario in which China attempts to annex Taiwan by force, sparking a wider conflict that ensnares both the US and its key ally, Japan, and leads to an exodus of refugees to Yonaguni.

“Of course I’m worried about something happening with Taiwan,” says Shoko Komine, who runs a restaurant serving local delicacies such as marlin sashimi and goya champurū. “If something happens between China and Taiwan, I think there’s a chance Yonaguni will get dragged into it.

“I don’t think there is going to be a conflict any time soon, but even the risk of something happening will stop tourists from coming. The town government should put more effort into promoting tourism, but at the moment it is obsessed with defence.”

Protection or provocation?

Yonaguni’s location, as the westernmost of several islands making up the Nansei chain, has given it a strategic importance that belies its modest proportions, as Japan’s government shifts its focus from the cold war threat of the former Soviet Union in the far north to challenges posed by China at the opposite end of the archipelago.

In 2015, Yonaguni’s residents voted in favour of hosting a Japanese self-defence force base by 632 votes to 445. Around 160 personnel keep a watch on Chinese naval movements around the clock via radar sites positioned on the peak of nearby Mount Inbi. Local concern, though, centres on plans to expand the base and deploy surface-to-air missiles as a deterrent to any Chinese designs on Japan’s vulnerable outlying islands.

Yonaguni’s rising profile in Japan’s security calculations was underlined on Friday when Rahm Emanuel became the first US ambassador to Japan to visit the island along with Ishigaki, where the self-defence forces opened a base in 2023. “The fact that he is coming here all the way from Tokyo is very symbolic,” says Yonaguni’s mayor, Kenichi Itokazu.

There are also plans to extend the runway at Yonaguni’s tiny airport and build a port on its remote south coast capable of accommodating large vessels.

It is a far cry from Yonaguni’s traditional last line of defence, jokingly nicknamed “two guns” by residents in reference to the pair of police officers who double as a lollipop men for children as they make their way to school. “Even those who voted in favour of the base are scared about missiles being based here,” says Toshio Sakimoto, a local councillor and head of the island’s only awamori distillery.

“I worry whenever something is happening in Taiwan, such as an election or Chinese military drills,” he says.

Missile units have also been deployed on the nearby islands of Miyako and Ishigaki amid what one defence official has described as “the most severe and complex” security environment since the war. The deployments have added to the military burden shouldered by Okinawa – the prefecture that administers Yonaguni and other remote islands – home to the vast majority of US troops stationed in Japan.

The base expansion is an opportunity for Yonaguni to enhance its security and seize its share of a record ¥43tn ($276bn) in defence spending in the five years to 2028, says Itokazu. “China broke its promises on the future of Hong Kong after the 1997 handover, so why should we believe Xi Jinping when he talks about the peaceful reunification of Taiwan with the Chinese mainland?”

He dismisses criticism that the base expansion will turn Yonaguni into a target should China attempt to take Taiwan by force. “If we didn’t have troops here what is to stop the People’s Liberation Army from coming here and helping themselves?”

‘We will inevitably become involved’

While Chinese vessels turn their water cannon on Filipino fishing boats near disputed territories in the South China Sea, Beijing and Tokyo continue to play cat-and-mouse in waters around the Senkakus – uninhabited islets in the East China Sea that are administered by Japan but claimed by China, where they are known as the Diaoyu.

Some experts believe that Yonaguni, too, could fall to Chinese troops eager to establish a base to continue their assault on Taiwan – a prospect that horrifies residents who accuse local politicians of caving in to US demands that Japan play a bigger role in its own defence.

Mizuho Chida, who moved to Yonaguni from north-eastern Japan 20 years ago, believes the island is already testing its preparedness for an emergency in the Taiwan strait. “We had a disaster drill last year to prepare for an earthquake and tsunami, but it was obviously a dress-rehearsal for an evacuation in case war breaks out,” she says.

Far from acting as a deterrent, boosting the military presence on Yonaguni will only increase the risk of conflict on Japanese territory for the first time in almost 80 years, says Chiyoki Tasato, an independent town assembly member and vocal critic of the military build-up on the island of his birth.

“Yonaguni will face danger if something happens between Taiwan and China,” he says. “For one thing, we are geographically close, and Japan’s security treaty with the US mean we will inevitably become involved.”

Tasato believes the island’s future lies in closer commercial and people-to-people ties with Taiwan, which has no direct travel links with Yonaguni despite its proximity. There are, though, plans to trial sea crossings later this year after a visit by Taiwanese officials who made the two-hour voyage in 2023.

“We think of Taiwanese and Chinese people as family, both historically and culturally,” says Tasato, referring to a time when Yonaguni, as part of the Ryukyu kingdom, had close commercial ties with China and south-east Asia before it was formally annexed by Japan in the late 1800s.

A community in the crosshairs

Like many other remote parts of Japan, Yonaguni – located 2,000km (1,240 miles) south-west of Tokyo – is in the grip of depopulation. In 1947, it was home to 12,000 people; its civilian population has since shrunk to just 1,500, including a large number of older people.

The wider community now includes 160 SDF personnel and 90 family members who have reportedly tried to build bridges with their host community. Soldiers and their families use local shops and restaurants and send their children to the island’s primary and middle schools, while the garrison helps organise sports and cultural activities.

At some point, however, the SDF contingent and their dependents will match and then overtake the civilian population, according to Tetsu Inomata, a cafe owner who believes his home of 20 years has become a pawn in a wider geopolitical struggle between China and the US.

Using publicly available data, Inomata forecasts that the “base population”, now 22% of the total, will rise to just over 31% by 2025, and to almost 40% the following year. “I think the plan has been to have long-range missiles here that are capable of reaching the coast of China,” he says. “We’re being used by the Americans, and Japanese leaders like Fumio Kishida and Shinzō Abe have been willing participants. For them, everything is about defence.”

Critics of Yonaguni’s security role are convinced that their island’s transformation is happening at the behest of the White House.

Under their bilateral security treaty, the US must defend its ally if it is attacked, but Japan, too, has military responsibilities – laid out in a controversial law passed under Abe in 2015 – to exercise collective self-defence if an ally, namely the US, is attacked. “We have become the Japan that can’t say no to America,” Tasato says.

Takako Ueno, who regularly serves SDF personnel at her general store in Higawa village in the island’s remote south, says her stance on the base has hardened. “It feels like we are part of a grand plan to turn the island into a military installation, even if it means most or all of the civilians move away,” she says. “That would be disastrous. Yonaguni is such a special place … it’s like no other island.”

Canada ‘looking carefully’ at slapping higher tariffs on Chinese EVs, trade minister says

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3263171/canada-looking-carefully-slapping-higher-tariffs-chinese-evs-trade-minister-says?utm_source=rss_feed

Canada is examining whether it needs to raise tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles after the White House announced major new levies on them, Trade Minister Mary Ng said.

“We are looking at this very carefully and we have an open dialogue with our American partners,” Ng said in a phone interview from Peru, where she is attending meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

The Biden administration announced sweeping new tariffs against China this week, targeting semiconductors, solar cells and other products. The new US tariff on Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles will take effect this year, with a final tariff rate of 102.5 per cent, up from 27.5 per cent.

Canada imposes a small tariff of about 6 per cent on Chinese vehicles. Asked whether it may need to align its own tariffs with the US, Ng said again the government is speaking with US officials about the policy, “and we are absolutely looking at this.”

Ng stressed that Canada’s main focus is on producing electric vehicles domestically. She pointed to agreements that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has signed with carmakers such as Honda Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG to make electric vehicles, batteries or components in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province.

The country’s auto sector is highly integrated with US vehicle makers; parts and finished cars and trucks flow easily across the border between Ontario and key US manufacturing states such as Michigan and Ohio.

Chinese factories have a very small share of Canada’s auto market, but the country has recently witnessed a surge of imports of Chinese-made Tesla Inc. models manufactured in Shanghai.

The number of cars arriving from China at the port of Vancouver rose more than fivefold last year, to about 44,400, after Elon Musk’s carmaker started shipping Model Y vehicles from there.

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Writer Ma Boyong blends Chinese history and imagination to transport modern readers to ancient dynasties

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3263128/writer-ma-boyong-blends-chinese-history-and-imagination-transport-modern-readers-ancient-dynasties?utm_source=rss_feed

For the past century, most of China’s top literary luminaries rose to fame by telling modern stories and critiquing the country’s past.

In the Republican era and during Mao Zedong’s rule, pioneers of modern Chinese literature such as Lu Xun criticised traditional feudal society.

Beginning in the 1980s, authors such as Nobel laureate Gao Xingjian wrote about social change against the backdrop of modern economic reforms, while another group, including Mo Yan and Wang Xiaobo, reflected on the Cultural Revolution and the scars it left on Chinese society.

But a new generation of writers is looking beyond recent memory to China’s distant past for inspiration. They view China’s ancient dynasties as something to be celebrated – an attitude that coincides with growing national and cultural pride among young Chinese.

Author Ma Boyong is among the most celebrated of this set, having won the People’s Literature Prize – one of China’s top literary awards – in 2010, which secured his spot among the country’s top figures in contemporary literature.

In his novels, Ma mixes Chinese history with imagination, taking readers back to ancient dynasties. His plots are intriguing but plausible and full of fact-checked details.

Ma is one of China’s hottest popular fiction writers – and one of its most prolific. The 43-year-old has published over 20 books, including historical novels, essays and nonfiction. The top sellers have been adapted into television dramas and films.

He embraces China’s cultural heritage while blending history with modern elements.

“All kinds of novels, even historical ones, are about modernity,” Ma said, adding that authors of historical novels should keep modern readers in mind and find an angle that is relevant and appealing to them.

Before becoming a full-time writer in 2015, Ma worked in sales at French energy company Schneider Electric for a decade. He graduated with a marketing degree from the University of Waikato in New Zealand.

During his time in sales, his interactions with people from all walks of life gave him inspiration and insight into how contemporary Chinese people think and what they care about.

Ma uses timeless, universal themes to help readers connect to historical characters and narratives.

“From the past until now, anxieties and control over resource allocation have never changed,” Ma explained, adding that many conflicts and power struggles of the past paralleled those of the contemporary world.

Ma draws his readers in by presenting his ideas from a humble perspective. His protagonists are usually ordinary people – the type rarely documented in mainstream history books.

His new book Journey to the South, published last month, is set during the Western Han dynasty (206BC-9AD). It features an official who is “lying flat” – modern slang for doing the bare minimum to get by – while navigating the complex politics of the Nanyue Kingdom, or today’s Guangdong and Guangxi provinces.

The character follows clues related to the southern region’s famed cuisine – from coconut water and jujube porridge to steamed fish and barbecue – to investigate a series of conspiracies.

“[Love of] good food is the biggest common ground among Chinese people … and now most modern people would like to lie flat and take a rest,” Ma said, explaining how he helps contemporary audiences connect to historical stories.

“The empathy between ancient and modern times lies here,” he said. “A present ‘wage slave’ is no different from a past one.”

Ma gained widespread popularity in 2012 with the release of The Deception of Antiques, which describes the adventures of a small antique shop owner embroiled in intrigue and conspiracies. The book spawned three sequels, and the huge success of the franchise has led to three television series and a stand-alone film.

In 2016, Ma published his acclaimed novel The Longest Day in Chang’an, which was adapted into a television series featuring pop star Jackson Yee in 2019. The action-packed drama won several “audience favourite” awards as well as two of China’s most prestigious television honours.

He compares his historical fiction approach to a sandwich. The top layer consists of major historical facts and figures. In The Longest Day in Chang’an, for example, he describes real officials and places from the reign of Emperor Tang Xuanzong, who ruled China from 713 to 756.

The bottom layer of the sandwich is made up of historical facts and details of everyday life, such as women’s make-up during the period, city maps, traditional lantern-making practices, the mannerisms of mandarins and official rites of passage.

The middle layer – the “filling” of the sandwich – is where Ma stuffs the fictional content. For example, in The Longest Day in Chang’an, he weaves a twist-filled plot about a condemned prisoner who manages to save the Tang dynasty capital of Chang’an from a large-scale rebellion – all in a single day.

“The story may be fictional, and the characters may be invented, but their manner of sitting, standing and walking all conform to the way of life at that time,” Ma said. “That’s what I strive to do. This creates stories that are both exciting and plausible.”

The novel and its screen adaptations came at a time when young Chinese were starting to show more confidence in their cultural roots, a trend marked by rising guochao or “China-chic” sentiment. The guochao wave reflects growing nationalism among China’s Gen Z and has led to a proliferation of home-grown brands and popular films and television series set in ancient Chinese dynasties.

The trend has also fuelled travel to China’s ancient imperial cities, such as Xian – formerly Chang’an – Luoyang and Kaifeng, where young tourists can be spotted dressed up in traditional Chinese clothing, or , and posing for photos.

Ma’s novels are known as “historical possibility novels”, which explore the possibilities of history through fictional storylines and characters without breaking from the broader historical background.

“In writing historical novels, I pursue ‘historical logic’ rather than absolute truth. That is to say, this event may not have actually happened, but this person was capable of such actions in history,” Ma explained.

Ma does research and finds inspiration by reading dissertations, talking to experts, and visiting museums and historical sites.

“I have a hobby of standing in places where ancient people once stood, admiring the same scenery they once saw,” Ma said. “Often, only by doing so can you truly understand the feelings of the ancient people.”

His perspective on small characters, for example, stems from a visit years ago to an exhibition on the Three Kingdoms period (220-280), where Ma saw a brick inscribed with the words “The heavenly god is dead”.

For Ma, this illuminated the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220). It showed that cries of rebellion resonated across the country because the new leaders had won the support of ordinary people such as the mason who carved those words.

“The true driving force of history resides in these small characters, whose desires and hopes converge to shape the tides of history,” Ma said.

To write his 2020 novel Goodfellas in 15 Days, Ma visited Nanjing, another former dynastic capital, in the eastern province of Jiangsu. He collected primary sources about people who lived along the Grand Canal, the artificial waterway that has linked north and south China for centuries, to get a sense of the “misty river, veiled moon and vibrant inns by the Qinhuai river”.

He included the details in the book, which tells the story of a prince’s escape from Nanjing to Beijing before becoming emperor.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Ma attended courses on infectious diseases, gathered materials from collectors and auctions, and released a two-volume series, The Great Doctor, in 2022. The novel centres around health crises during the late Qing dynasty based on his research into Shanghai’s former Huashan Hospital, which opened in 1909.

With 7.9 million followers on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo, Ma is a savvy blogger and commentator. His social media presence allows him to engage directly with readers, share insights and discuss literary and cultural topics.

While his stories focus on Chinese tradition and history, his writing style draws on inspiration from all over the world.

Ma has previously cited authors Herman Wouk and Frederick Forsyth as influences, along with Chinese writers famous for their depictions of ordinary people’s lives.

Critics have remarked that Ma’s works have been inspired by a broad range of media, including anime and video games, American and Japanese dramas, pop culture, Chinese classical novels, contemporary literature and recent academic papers.

However, in an era dominated by short videos and social media, Ma maintains an unwavering faith in the power of reading.

“The number of people who enjoy reading novels is always a minority in the world, and this remains the same in any era,” he said. “Those who enjoy reading will find a way to read regardless of the era.”

He noted that the diversity of modern multimedia actually exposes more non-readers to books, nurturing their interest in reading.

“When we see the world clearly, we can let go of many things,” Ma said. “The most important thing is to be able to find some basis [in history] for your behaviour in reality, find some excuses, and find some soothing space.”