The Bluebook reportedly criticises China’s actions in the South China Sea and its efforts to alter the status quo in the East and South China Sea…reports Asian Lite News
China is challenging Japan’s recent evaluation of the threat posed to the Indo-Pacific region by Beijing, dismissing it as a hyped-up threat and a false accusation, Voice of America reported.
According to Japanese media reports and the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s annual Diplomatic Bluebook (an annual report on Japan’s foreign policy and international diplomacy published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan), released on Tuesday, China’s military activities are described as the “greatest strategic challenge.”
However, an official English version of the report has not been made public, as per Voice of America.
The Bluebook reportedly criticises China’s actions in the South China Sea and its efforts to alter the status quo in the East and South China Sea.
Following this, Japanese media says that for the first time since 2019, Japan seeks to build “a mutually beneficial relationship” with China “based on common strategic interests.”
According to Voice of America, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian rebuffed Japan’s criticisms during a news briefing on Tuesday. Lin stated, “Japan has resorted to the same old false accusations against China and hype of the ‘China threat’ in its 2024 Diplomatic Bluebook.”
Further, he affirmed, “We urge Japan to change its wrong course of action, stop stoking bloc confrontation, truly commit itself to advancing a strategic relationship of mutual benefit with China and work to build a constructive and stable China-Japan relationship fit for the new era.”
Director of the Japan Programme at the Washington-based Stimson Centre, Yuki Tatsumi, said, “Japan’s concerns about Chinese behaviour, both military and paramilitary, have been intensified for the last few years due to the acceleration of Beijing’s aggressive behaviour in the East and South China Sea.”
“In addition, Tokyo has been put on alert about Beijing’s increasingly hostile and aggressive rhetoric and behaviour towards Taiwan.” she added.
According to a Thursday report by The Japan Times citing unnamed Japanese officials., Japanese Defence Minister Minoru Kihara and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin could meet in early May in Hawaii.
According to the report, Kihara and Austin would discuss setting up a proposed allied command and control structure and a body to identify the kinds of weapons the two countries will develop and produce together.
These plans were announced on April 10 at a bilateral summit in Washington.
The Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) announced on Tuesday that it will conduct a naval deployment including six surface ships, submarines, and two air units starting May 3 to support a free and open Indo-Pacific.
The deployment includes visits to more than a dozen countries, including the U.S., the Philippines, India, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, the Marshall Islands, Fiji and Palau. It is meant “to strengthen cooperation with the allied partner navies through conducting exercises,” said JMSDF.
Daniel Sneider, lecturer in international policy and East Asia Studies at Stanford University, said even as Tokyo is building its defences and is concerned about Beijing’s assertiveness and especially its relations with Moscow, its mention in the Diplomatic Bluebook of wanting to build relations with Beijing reflects Tokyo’s balanced approach towards China.
“The Bluebook reflects a balance between, on one hand, some degree of warning the Chinese off doing things that disrupt the order” in the region “and, on the other hand, making it clear that Japan really is not interested in some type of full-scale confrontation with China,” including economic warfare, said Sneider.
As to China, it tends to see “any attempts on the part of the Koreans and the Japanese to engage and improve relations as a sign of weakness,” continued Sneider.
China, Japan and South Korea plan to hold trilateral talks in May for the first time since 2019. They will meet in Seoul ahead of a Washington-Seoul-Tokyo trilateral summit expected in July. (ANI)
The statement clarifies that entities with 50% or more ownership by blocked persons are also subject to sanctions….reports Asian Lite News
The US has imposed sanctions on three Chinese companies and one from Belarus for supplying missile‐applicable items to Pakistan’s ballistic missile programmes, including its long-range missile programme.
“The entities we are designating today, Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant; Xi’an Longde Technology Development Company Limited; Tianjin Creative Source International Trade Co Ltd; and Granpect Co. Ltd., have engaged in activities or transactions that have materially contributed to, or pose a risk of materially contributing to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or their means of delivery, including any efforts to manufacture, acquire, possess, develop, transport, transfer or use such items, by Pakistan,” the US State Department said.
The United States, in close cooperation with other partners, is committed to strengthening the global non-proliferation regime by deterring and disrupting proliferation networks of WMD (weapons of mass destruction) wherever they occur, the statement said.
According to the factsheet provided by the State Department:
• China-based Xi’an Longde Technology Development Company Limited has supplied missile-related equipment, including a filament winding machine, to Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile programme that we assess was destined for NDC. Filament winding machines can be used to produce rocket motor cases.
• China-based Tianjin Creative Source International Trade Co Ltd has supplied missile-related equipment to Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile programme, including stir welding equipment (which the United States assesses can be used to manufacture propellant tanks used in space launch vehicles), and a linear accelerator system (which the United States assesses can be used in the inspection of solid rocket motors). Tianjin Creative’s procurements were likely destined for Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), which develops and produces Pakistan’s Missile Technology Control Regime Category (MTCR) Category I ballistic missiles.
• China-based Granpect Company Limited has worked with Pakistan’s SUPARCO to supply equipment for testing large diameter rocket motors. Additionally, Granpect Co. Ltd. also worked to supply equipment for testing large diameter rocket motors to Pakistan’s NDC.
• Belarus-based Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant has worked to supply special vehicle chassis to Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile programme. Such chassis are used as launch support equipment for ballistic missiles by Pakistan’s National Development Complex (NDC), which is responsible for the development of MTCR I ballistic missiles.
Elaborating on the sanctions, the statement explains that “All individuals or entities that have ownership, either directly or indirectly, 50 per cent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. All transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons are prohibited unless authorised by a general or specific license issued by OFAC or exempt.”
The G7 meeting is being held on the Italian Mediterranean island of Capri….reports Asian Lite News
The spring meeting of the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) economically strong democracies is set to end on Friday with discussions on the situation in the Indo-Pacific region and global issues such as food, energy and cybersecurity.
In view of China’s increasingly aggressive behaviour in the Indian Ocean and Pacific region, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had already stated at the start of the meeting that the effects are not only being felt by the G7’s Pacific countries – the United States, Canada and Japan – but also in Europe.
The G7 meeting is being held on the Italian Mediterranean island of Capri.
Italy currently chairs the G7 group. Other members are the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Japan and Germany.
The discussions at the meeting on Capri, which has been running since Wednesday evening, were dominated by concerns about the threat of a conflagration in the Middle East following the Iranian attack on Israel last weekend.
It is eagerly awaited how far the G7 ministers will go in their final declarations on the isolation of Tehran, as demanded by Baerbock and others.
The second major G7 topic was the intensified Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and the efforts to strengthen the air defence of the embattled country.
The host of the meeting, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, plans to comment publicly on the results after the end of the consultations.
Wray underscored the expansive nature of China’s agenda, asserting that the People’s Republic of China views every facet of American society as fair game in its quest for global dominance….reports Asian Lite News
FBI Director Christopher Wray recently sounded the alarm on the looming threat posed by Chinese-linked hackers, cautioning that they are poised to strike US infrastructure when the opportunity arises. Speaking at the 2024 Vanderbilt Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats, Wray emphasised the gravity of the situation, highlighting efforts by federal authorities to mitigate the risk.
Wray underscored the expansive nature of China’s agenda, asserting that the People’s Republic of China views every facet of American society as fair game in its quest for global dominance. He emphasized that China’s strategy entails targeting civilian infrastructure to sow panic and undermine America’s resilience. This sentiment aligns with the broader geopolitical context, where tensions between China and the US, particularly regarding Taiwan, have escalated.
In his remarks, Wray outlined the multifaceted approach employed by Chinese hackers, including the theft of intellectual property, technology, and research from various sectors of the American economy. He cited alarming instances where Chinese hackers infiltrated infrastructure controls with remarkable efficiency, bypassing financial data to access critical systems swiftly. This tactical maneuver suggests malicious intent beyond mere economic gain, indicative of a broader agenda aimed at destabilizing vital infrastructure.
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Highlighting the collaborative efforts of law enforcement, military, and intelligence agencies, Wray stressed the importance of proactive engagement from private entities. He emphasized the significance of companies maintaining close communication with their local FBI field offices, fostering a culture of readiness and enabling swift responses to potential threats.
This warning echoes previous alerts issued by Wray, including his testimony before the House Select Committee, where he cautioned against the vulnerability of essential sectors such as the electrical grid, oil and gas pipelines, transportation networks, and water treatment facilities.
Recently, US President Joe Biden said that he would urge US Trade Representative Katherine Tai to consider tripling the tariff rates for steel and aluminium imports from China if the investigation into the Chinese government’s trade practices confirms ‘anti-competitive practices.’
During his address at the United Steelworkers Headquarters in Pittsburgh, Biden said, “Look, right now, my US Trade Representative is investigating trade practices by the Chinese government regarding steel and aluminium. If that investigation confirms these anti-competitive trade practices, then I’m calling on her to consider tripling the tariff rates for both steel imports and aluminium imports from China.”
He accused the Chinese government of funnelling state funds into Chinese steel companies and pushing them to increase steel production subsidised by the government. He described how Chinese steel companies were dumping surplus steel into global markets at low prices because they needed not to worry about profit.
President Joe Biden accused the Chinese government of funnelling state funds into Chinese steel companies and pushing them to increase steel production subsidised by the government….reports Asian Lite News
US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he would urge US Trade Representative Katherine Tai to consider tripling the tariff rates for steel and aluminium imports from China if the investigation into the Chinese government’s trade practices confirms ‘anti-competitive practices.’
During his address at the United Steelworkers Headquarters in Pittsburgh, Biden said, “Look, right now, my US Trade Representative is investigating trade practices by the Chinese government regarding steel and aluminium. If that investigation confirms these anti-competitive trade practices, then I’m calling on her to consider tripling the tariff rates for both steel imports and aluminium imports from China.”
He accused the Chinese government of funnelling state funds into Chinese steel companies and pushing them to increase steel production subsidised by the government. He described how Chinese steel companies were dumping surplus steel into global markets at low prices because they needed not to worry about profit.
“American steelworkers can outwork, outcompete as long as they have fair competition. But for too long, the Chinese government has poured state money into Chinese steel companies, pushing them to make so much steel, as much as possible subsidized by the Chinese government,” Biden said.
“Because Chinese steel companies produce a lot more steel than China needs, it ends up dumping the extra steel into the global markets at unfairly low prices. And the prices are unfairly low because Chinese steel companies don’t need to worry about making a profit, because the Chinese government is subsidising them so heavily. They’re not competing. They’re cheating. And we’ve seen the damage here in America,” he added.
Reflecting on the impact of Chinese steel imports on American workers, Biden recalled the loss of over 14,000 jobs in steel towns across Pennsylvania and Ohio between 2000 and 2010. He vowed to prevent a recurrence of such losses.
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Biden noted that Chinese steel and aluminium were being imported into the US through Mexico, which avoids the tariff. He announced that he has sent a delegation to Mexico to hold a meeting with AMLO, the Mexican president, to address this issue. He stated that Mexico and the US are going to work together to address the issue.
“My administration is also taking a real hard look at the Chinese government’s industrial practices when it comes to global shipbuilding, which is critical to our economy. We depend on a fleet of commercial shipping vessels that carry American products around the world,” he said.
“Shipbuilding is critical to our national security, including the strength of the United States Navy. That’s why my administration takes it very seriously that US steelworkers, along with four other unions, have asked us to investigate whether the Chinese government is using anticompetitive practices to artificially lower prices in the shipbuilding industry,” he added.
He stressed that the US government will take action if the Chinese government is using unfair tactics to undermine free and fair trade competition in the shipping industry.
“And if the Chinese government is doing that and the unfair tactics to undermine free and fair trade competition in the shipping industry, I will take action. That investigation is going on. Taken together, these are strategic and targeted actions that are going to protect American workers and ensure fair competition,” he said.
Biden said that US Steel should remain totally American-owned and American-operated. He noted, “US Steel has been an iconic American company for more than a century. And it should remain a totally American company–American owned, American operated, by American union steelworkers–the best in the world. And that’s going to happen. I promise you.” (ANI)
The NASA chief said he hoped “the Chinese space programme would come to its senses and understand that civilian space is for peaceful uses…reports Asian Lite News
The chief of US space agency NASA has told lawmakers in Washington that China is using civilian programmes to hide military objectives in space.
“China has made extraordinary strides [in space] especially in the last 10 years, but they are very, very secretive,” Bill Nelson told the appropriations committee of the US House of Representatives as he testified on the US space agency’s 2025 budget request.
“We believe that a lot of their so-called civilian space programme is a military programme. And I think, in effect, we are in a race.”
Nelson also stressed that it was “incumbent on us” get to the moon, first as he warned: “my concern is if China got there first and suddenly said ‘ok this is our territory, you stay out’.”
The NASA chief said that the US was not going to lose its “global edge” in space, “but you got to be realistic that China is really throwing a lot of money at it and they’ve got a lot of room in their budget to grow.”
“I think that we just better not let down our guard,” Nelson added.
The NASA chief said he hoped “the Chinese space programme would come to its senses and understand that civilian space is for peaceful uses,” but added: “We have not seen that demonstrated by China.”
With the Artemis programme NASA wants to put humans on the moon again after more than 50 years. The moon landing mission Artemis 3 was recently postponed to September 2026.
The long-term goal of Artemis is to establish a permanent lunar base as a foundation for missions to Mars.
The national flags of China and Russia are seen on Red Square, Moscow.(Xinhua/IANS)
There is now a concerted message from US government officials alleging that China is largely responsible for the build-up in Russia’s defence industry. As one example, Moscow is now able to produce three times the artillery ammunition that the USA and Europe combined can….reports Asian Lite News
China insists it “has always maintained an objective and impartial position” on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Yet, contrary to these words of assurance, China is aiding and abetting Russia’s war of aggression against the Ukrainian people.
The rhetoric from China is sharply at odds with its actions. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman claimed last year that “As for military item exports, China has throughout adopted a prudent and responsible attitude”. However, such statements are laughable in the face of mounting evidence that says otherwise.
As violence flares in the Middle East, exacerbated by Iran’s barrage against Israel, some are naively suggesting that China should help mediate there too. As J. Michael Cole, Senior Advisor, Countering Foreign Authoritarian Influence at the Washington DC-based International Republican Institute, commented: “That sure hasn’t worked with Russia over its war of aggression against Ukraine. Nor did it work with North Korea. When will the world stop living under the illusion that Beijing will be a partner for peace?”
Disclosing previously classified intelligence, senior US officials have claimed that China is helping bankroll Russia’s resurgent military-industrial complex. After starting cautiously after Vladimir Putin’s invasion, China has been gradually ramping up clandestine support for Russia. It is helping plug gaps by rebuilding Russia’s defence industrial base. Indeed, there is alarm that Russia is now achieving its most massive military-industrial expansion since the end of the Cold War. For instance, General Chris Cavoli, commander of the US European Command, recently testified that Russia has been “quite successful” at reconstituting its military.
Indeed, its capacity has largely “grown back” to what it was pre-invasion despite Western sanctions. President Joe Biden raised precisely this issue with Chairman Xi Jinping in a phone call on 2 April. According to a US readout of the conversation, Biden “raised concerns over the People’s Republic of China’s [PRC] support for Russia’s defence industrial base and its impact on European and transatlantic security”.
There is now a concerted message from US government officials alleging that China is largely responsible for this build-up in Russia’s defence industry. As one example, Moscow is now able to produce three times the artillery ammunition that the USA and Europe combined can.
Last week, US officials divulged some of the ways that China is lending support. For instance, Chinese and Russian groups are working to jointly produce drones inside Russia. They also mentioned cruise missile and drone engines, as well as machine tools that are needed to manufacture ballistic missiles. Moscow used to get its machine tools from Europe, but sanctions turned off that conduit. Regardless, it has found alternative and willing suppliers, and nearly 70 per cent of Russia’s USD 900 million worth of machine tool imports in the last quarter of 2023 emanated from China.
The USA has complained that Dalian Machine Tool Group has provided tooling to Russia. Other guilty parties for items used in military equipment include Wuhan Global Sensor Technology, Wuhan Tongsheng Technology and Hikvision, which are providing optical components that can be used on armored vehicles, for instance. iRay Technology and the North China Research Institute of Electro-Optics have also supplied military optics.
Electronic components are flowing Russia-ward from China too. Where Western companies have stopped supplying items like semiconductors, China has stepped in to fill the gap. Hong Kong, for instance, is a vital conduit of computer chips to Russia. So much so, that China supplied 90 per cent of computer chips imported by Russia last year. These are critical for things such as targeting systems and radars. Additionally, Russian semiconductor imports from China soared from USD200 million in 2021 to more than USD500 million in 2022.
Chinese entities are also helping boost Russia’s satellite and other space-based capabilities. Media have reported that China has supplied Russia with propellant for use in missiles, nitrocellulose (used to make gunpowder for artillery rounds, for example), avionics and fighter jet engine parts too. Another widely reported export from China to Russia is drones and associated spare parts.
Xi Jinping with Russian President Vladimir Putin.(photo:instgaram)
Molfar, a Ukrainian business intelligence consultancy, has reported that devices from DJI – the world’s largest maker of consumer market drones – continue to flood into Russia, despite DJI’s promise in 2022 to stop doing business there. Molfar alleged that low-cost DJI drones are being sold to Russian companies such as Skymec, SHUBBA-Octagon and Pustelga to train government and military personnel on how to fly drones. These are not lethal weapons, but they are militarily useful to Russia.
Molfar also reported that Chinese companies sent USD200,000 in drone shipments to Ukraine in the first half of 2023, compared to at least USD14.5 million to Russia in the same period. The London-based Royal United Services Institute estimates that Ukraine goes through something like 10,000 drones a month. Other Russian imports from its eastern friend include trench-digging equipment and unusually high numbers of tractors. Chinese ball-bearing exports have surged to countries like Kyrgyzstan, which then find their way onto Russian tanks.
A year ago, a senior adviser in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office told Reuters that in “weapons recovered from the battlefield, we continue to find different electronics. The trend is now that there are fewer Western-made components but more- not hard to guess which country – components. Of course, China.” They have been found in navigation systems in Russian Orlan drones, for instance. Or instead of French-made fire control system components in Russian tanks, they now feature Chinese parts.
The Ukrainian official also listed Norinco and Xinxing Guangzhou Import & Export Co as suppliers to Russia’s military. Ukraine has imposed sanctions against Comnav Technology for supplying navigation and radar equipment to Russia, but it is just one of 14 Chinese companies sanctioned by Ukraine so far.
There is no hard evidence that China has provided Russia with lethal aid like missiles, munitions or weapons. The same cannot be said of North Korea and Iran, of course, which are actively supplying Russia with missiles and loitering munitions. However, China is providing copious amounts of “dual-use” items used by Russia’s industrial-military complex to produce weapons for use against Ukraine. By doing so, Beijing is supporting Russian aggression and prolonging the war.
In one of the clearest allegations yet, David O’Sullivan, who is International Special Envoy for the Implementation of EU Sanctions, claimed last September that up to 70 per cent of sensitive, high-tech products used to kill Ukrainians are reaching Russia’s military via China. O’Sullivan asked, “Now we need to understand better exactly what that means. How much of this is actually produced by China copying our technology, how much of it is produced in China but with Western technology, and how much is coming directly from other sources and then re-exported via China.”
Speaking of components like microchips, integrated circuits, optical readers and flash memory cards, the EU sanctions leader pointed out: “…Once they go to Russia, we know they’re not going into consumer goods or innocent activities. They will go straight to the military-industrial complex and produce weapons that are more lethal and more deadly.”
China approaches, but attempts not to blatantly overstep, the red lines painted by the West right after Putin invaded Ukraine. China has been cautious in its support for Putin, as shown in the wake of the original invasion and the rebellion of Wagner’s head Yevgeny Prigozhin in mid-2023. However, Xi remains in close communication with his Russian comrade, and has personally met him several times since the outbreak of war, as well as multiple telephone calls. In the same timeframe, Xi managed just one phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Indeed, Xi’s government still cannot bear to call Russia’s action an invasion or war. When Putin met Xi in March, it was educational that more than half his team attending were officials involved in Russian weapon and space programs. Since the Ukraine war broke out, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has actually increased its joint training activities with Russia.
China has bolstered Russia in other ways too. Xi and his officials diplomatically blame the West for provoking Putin into launching this “operation”. Xi also foisted a comprehensive propaganda campaign on Chinese educators, whereby an official narrative supporting Russia’s reasons for invading Ukraine were promulgated nationwide. Bilateral trade has reached record levels too, worth USD240 billion last year. Revenue achieved by Russia can be funneled to fund Moscow’s war effort, and Beijing has also forged closer relations with Iran, who is a key Russian ally not shy about directly supplying weapons to Moscow.
Xinhua reported this month that Sino-Russian ties are at the “highest historical level of comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era”. Significantly, there is an effort to deepen institutional links between the two countries, rather than rely on just the respective leaders’ personal friendship.
There are occasional but prominent Chinese voices that express opposition to Russia’s war. As an example, Feng Yujun, deputy dean of Fudan University’s Institute of International Studies, argued that the war “as a strategic opportunity for China would be wrong”. Not everyone is enamored with Xi’s direction, and some intellectual elite have expressed their private opposition. Nonetheless, Arran Hope, writing for The Jamestown Foundation, concluded: “Xi
Jinping is unlikely to be persuaded by any of the arguments presented by dissenting voices. Cracks that exist in the Sino-Russian relationship are minimal next to the overwhelming support with which the PRC buttresses the Russian war machine.
Many PRC experts refer to the conflict as a ‘proxy war’ or ‘avatar war’, referring to US and Western support for Ukraine. But the level of PRC support for Russia suggests that the PRC is every bit as involved on the other side of the conflict.”
During a trip to Beijing in early April, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Chinese companies about providing support for Russian violence. She told reporters: “We continue to be concerned about the role that any firms, including those in the PRC, are playing in Russia’s military procurement. I stressed that companies, including those in the PRC, must not provide material support for Russia’s war and that they will face significant consequences if they do. And I reinforced that any banks that facilitate significant transactions that channel military or dual-use goods to Russia’s defence industrial base expose themselves to the risk of US sanctions.”
In recent weeks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has raised concerns in European capitals about China’s quiet involvement in the war, and he is redoubling efforts to prevent such exports. It is believed that Europe has sanctioned only three Chinese entities since the war broke out, compared to more than 100 by Washington, DC.
The US campaign is understandable, since Beijing does not feel that its relations with Europe have been unduly affected by its latent support for Russia’s war. If Europe does tighten sanctions, this could affect China’s calculus. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is visiting Xi in Beijing this week, and he is expected to raise this issue. With China slow to emerge from its economic malaise, to which COVID-19 contributed, it is more vulnerable to pressure from Europe. A senior US official said, “One of the most game-changing moves available to us at this time to support Ukraine is to persuade the PRC to stop helping Russia reconstitute its military industrial base. Russia would struggle to sustain its war effort without PRC inputs.”
In complete denial of support for Moscow, but fearing sanctions, the Chinese Embassy in the USA said, “The normal trade between China and Russia should not be interfered [with] or restricted. We urge the US side to refrain from disparaging and scapegoating the normal relationship between China and Russia.” A spokesperson affirmed that China had “not provided weaponry to any party”.
China officially advocates that “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected”. Yet it has broken its own premise in its dealings with Russia and Ukraine. As Beijing watches all the Western aid going to Ukraine, it perhaps sees its efforts as a necessary counterbalance. It must know, however, that it is treading a very fine line and that there is great risk in providing more tacit support to Moscow. (ANI)
“China remains a really important economic partner,” Scholz told journalists on Friday, adding that he would try to level the playing field for German companies in China…reports Asian Lite News
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in China on Sunday, kicking off a trip in which he faces a tough balancing act as he aims to shore up economic ties with Berlin’s biggest trading partner.
Scholz touched down in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing on Sunday morning, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said, accompanied by a large delegation of ministers and business executives.
As Western allies are cranking up pressure on Beijing, Scholz is expected to underline that Germany remains committed to doing business with the world’s second-largest economy and rejects US-led calls for “decoupling.”
His friendly overtures toward China risk sparking ire among Washington and EU partners, which have been pushing back against Beijing’s heavy subsidies for industries.
“China remains a really important economic partner,” Scholz told journalists on Friday, adding that he would try to level the playing field for German companies in China.
On the geopolitical front, Scholz will also use his visit to persuade Chinese President Xi Jinping to exert his influence to rein in his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and help bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
“Given the close relations between China and Russia, Beijing has the possibility to exert its influence on Russia,” said a German government source in Berlin.
The three-day tour through Chongqing, Shanghai and Beijing is Scholz’s second trip to China since he took office.
His first in November 2022 took place under intense scrutiny, as it came swiftly after Xi strengthened his grip on power, and marked the first post-pandemic visit by a G7 leader to China.
Stung then by painful supply chain disruptions during the health crisis as well as by China’s refusal to distance itself from Russia despite Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Western allies had been scrambling to reduce their reliance on Beijing.
Scholz’s visit comes as many of Germany’s Western allies confront China on a range of trade issues.
A slew of probes into state aid for Chinese solar panels, electric cars and wind turbines are ongoing in Brussels.
The United States is meanwhile investigating national security risks posed by Chinese technology in cars.
With tensions rumbling over Taiwan, US President Joe Biden this week made defense pledges to Japan and the Philippines, while describing behavior by Beijing in the South China Sea as “dangerous and aggressive.”
Two days before his visit, Scholz held talks with France’s President Emmanuel Macron, whose office said the leaders “coordinated to defend a rebalancing of European-Chinese trade relations.”
But China is a vital market for Germany, where many jobs depend directly on demand from the Asian giant.
Both economies also badly need a boost.
The German economy shrank by 0.3 percent last year, battered by inflation, high interest rates and cooling exports, and for this year, the economy ministry expects just an anaemic growth of 0.2 percent.
Beijing has set an annual GDP growth target of around five percent for this year, but exports plunged more than expected last month.
German MPs and analysts urged Scholz to take a firm line.
The Green party’s Deborah Duering warned Scholz against viewing China just as an economic opportunity.
“Those who ignore long-term risks for short-term profits risk repeating the mistakes of the past, misguided Russia policy,” said Duering, in reference to past dependency on Moscow for cheap energy supplies.
Max Zenglein of the Mercator Institute for China Studies said Germany should not hesitate to be more assertive.
“As countries such as the USA and Japan are positioning themselves much more sharply against China, Germany has an important role to play,” he said, adding that Germany was “in a position of strength.”
The US official, Kritenbrink, will be on his visit to China from April 14 to 16…reports Asian Lite News
Assistant State Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel J. Kritenbrink is set to begin his visit to China today (Sunday) to meet Chinese officials as part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication between the two countries.
The US official, Kritenbrink, will be on his visit to China from April 14 to 16.
“Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel J. Kritenbrink will travel to the People’s Republic of China on April 14-16,” the US State Department said in an official release.
Kritenbrink will be joined by National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs Sarah Beran, and the two will meet with the Chinese officials.
“Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink will be joined by National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs Sarah Beran. The two will meet with PRC officials as part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and to responsibly manage competition,” the statement added.
As reported on Saturday, amid growing tensions in the South China Sea between Beijing and Manila, the presidents of the United States, Japan, and the Philippines formed an unprecedented level of collaboration to counter China, according to Al Jazeera.
While US President Joe Biden and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have stressed the security aspects of their cooperation, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has highlighted its potential economic rewards, touting the partnership with promised investments of some USD 100bn as a friendship with benefits.
Last week, US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held a telephonic conversation, the White House confirmed.
This comes amid increasing tensions between the two countries on a range of thorny issues, from trade to tech to investment.
According to the White House statement, the two leaders held a candid and constructive discussion on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues, including areas of cooperation and areas of difference.
President Biden further emphasised the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. (ANI)
Moves by India to fortify its kinetic capabilities vis-à-vis China are being closely followed within Southeast as well as East Asia, writes Prof. Madhav Das Nalapat
On land, sea, air and cyberspace, the Narendra Modi government is scaling up capabilities designed to halt and reverse efforts by the CCP leadership to grab territory and other rights at India’s expense. Since 2020, the buildup has succeeded in preventing another effort at land grabs of the kind that routinely took place in past times.
At the same time, largely as a consequence of the overreach and overload into society and governance by the Pakistan military, that country is slipping into a state of chaos and unrest. The change is that the people (as distinct from the elite) in several countries including Nepal and the Maldives are beginning to understand the predatory nature of the activities of the PRC on their soil.
Both External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh have now explicitly called out the Peoples Republic of China for its aggressive designs, a manner that has thus far been avoided by ASEAN members, with the exception of the Philippines under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. New Delhi’s countervailing buildup of military and other defences against PRC expansionism.
In the same way, Manila has been standing up to Beijing after having earlier (under President Obama) been abandoned by the US in the matter of control over its own islands and waters in the ASEAN Sea or ensuring that the PRC respect the international law of the seas.
Within the US, UK and the EU, a growing chorus of public concern about the activities of the PRC is forcing several CCP-leaning leaders (known for a combination of tough talk against China but meekness where action is concerned) into hardening their stances in public. This has not, however, stopped US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen from reportedly asking President Biden to abolish or at least substantially lower the Trump tariffs on China, or the placatory calls of US and EU leaders on the CCP leadership.
Amidst the dust and doubt of the intentions as distinct from words of the leaders of countries towards China in the Atlantic Alliance, what is clear is that public opinion is moving away from those who meekly accept PRC expansionist actions rather than take substantive action against such aggressive moves.
Moves by India to fortify its kinetic capabilities vis-à-vis China are being closely followed within Southeast as well as East Asia. Whether it be Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia or Indonesia, countries on the Indo-Pacific are bracing for a probable kinetic confrontation with the PRC.
The world’s second largest economy has not just discarded Deng Xiaoping’s economic policies, but has reversed his preferred foreign policy of “speaking softly while carrying a big stick”. Under CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping, the People’s Republic of China is speaking loudly and assertively, and not just carrying but frequently using a bigger and bigger stick. As a consequence, the question facing its neighbours is no longer whether a confrontation is at hand, but when.
The Xi doctrine is to secure by bullying and intimidating where possible, and by force wherever necessary chunks of territory and other sovereign spaces of countries that the CCP General Secretary is targeting in his bid to expand the land, sea and other spaces that in the CCP view should constitute the PRC.
Once another bite into the territorial and other rights of a neighbouring country has been swallowed and digested, there follows a burst of sunshine diplomacy, designed to make the target country believe that the PRC has no interest in securing any further gains. Unfortunately for that country and for the stability of the Indo-Pacific in general, after a while, a fresh bite into the same country is made in the same way. Each such act of expansionist aggression and salami slicing gets followed after a while by soothing gestures that seek to mask the reality of.
The change in tone from wolf to lamb is to once again make the victim country believe the fiction that this would be the PLA’s last bite, and henceforwards, relations could resume on a cooperative track. Of course, such an illusion only until the next bite gets taken by the CCP. In the 1940s and the 1950s, Mao Zedong incorporated Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang into the PRC. Xi would like to emulate the CCP’s founder in his incorporation of territory and other assets into the PRC.
While looking at grabbing more land from countries such as Bhutan, Nepal and India, Xi has already established near-total PLA occupation of the ASEAN Sea (incorrectly known as the South China Sea). As was the case with Germany in the early part of the 20th century, the vast lands of Russia are being looked at for future conquests of land. Since 2021, an increasing number of netizens in the PRC have been mentioning what they term as the “historical injustice of losing lands to then Czarist Russia” in what is presently Siberia, and about the need for “rectification” of frontiers, including the incorporation of Vladivostok into the PRC.
Given that such posts could not be going online, or even get composed, without a nod from elements in the CCP, it is clear that expansion to the north and not just to the south and east is the aim of PRC strategists. From 2016, more than three million PRC citizens, almost all of them Han, have moved across the PRC border into Russian territory. Over 600,000 of them have secured citizenship or long-term resident rights, many through marrying Russian women, and thereafter divorcing them for Chinese spouses once citizenship or long-term residency is obtained.
The PRC is the only major gainer in the proxy war between Russia and NATO that was ignited in 2022 by the entry of Russian troops into parts of Donetsk and Lugansk that had shaken off the hold of Kiev in 2014.
Leh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Ladakh to review the ground security situation, amid ongoing tension at borders with China in Eastern Ladakh; on July 3, 2020. The Prime Minister reached Ladakh early morning and was briefied by the Army, Air Force and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police in Nimu. Located at 11,000 feet above sea level, Nimu is among the tough terrains, surrounded by the Zanskar range and on the banks of the Indus. (Photo: IANS/PIB)
A forensic study of anti-Russian memes in countries that are members of NATO would show that several have their origins in groups that assist the CCP in gaining through disinformation its strategic objectives. In the case of Russia, this is to ensure that the US, UK and the EU continue on the Russia track set by the previous Cold War, in the process ignoring the onset of the second, which is with China.
Next is to ensure through strategic moves by western powers that the Russian Federation and its leadership be constantly in a state of destabilisation where external relations are concerned, such that a weakening of the governance structure takes place on a scale that would replicate the events of 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed.
It is clear from his continued outreach to India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi that President Vladimir V. Putin is aware of such designs, and hence his refusal to join hands with Beijing in making moves that are unfriendly to India.
Within the Atlantic Alliance, over the decades the CCP has nurtured an influencer network that regards China in a what may be called an admiring Gung Ho manner, while reserving for India the condescending Gunga Din approach of Rudyard Kipling. Even US envoy to India Eric Garcetti began making remarks that seemed designed not to make US-India ties stronger but more shaky, although he seems to have walked away from such remarks subsequently.
Meanwhile, events on sea, land and air in West, South, East and Southeast Asia are making clear the essentiality of the Quad developing into a full-fledged security alliance. And that the central role within the western Indo-Pacific in a grouping designed to deter further acts of expansionism will be played by India under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi.
