The CHN/ China thread

[Jimbuna]

Exclusive: Evergrande Chairman Hui kept in special detention center in Shenzhen, sources say

HONG KONG, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Hui Ka Yan, the chairman of China Evergrande Group (3333.HK), opens new tab - the company at the centre of the country's property sector crisis - has been moved to a special detention centre in Shenzhen, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Hui, 65, has not been seen in public since he was taken away by Chinese authorities a year ago and his current whereabouts have not been previously reported.
After China's securities regulator found Evergrande's flagship unit had inflated earnings and committed securities fraud, Hui was fined $6.6 million in March and barred from the securities market for life. Evergrande was ordered into liquidation in January.
Hui, who was once China's richest man, is not known to have been formally charged with any crimes and it is unclear how long he will remain in detention or whether he will be tried or set free.
Chinese authorities have detained many former high-flying business executives and some have remained in detention for years with little or no information about their fate.
The property tycoon was initially under house surveillance in Beijing after his arrest, according to one of the sources.
He was transferred to Shenzhen a few months ago to allow him to more easily communicate with top Evergrande executives, said the second source. Evergrande is headquartered in the neighbouring southern city of Guangzhou and its wealth management unit is based in Shenzhen.
The sources declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.
China's Ministry of Public Security and the Shenzhen municipal government did not respond to Reuters requests for comment, nor did Hengda Real Estate, Evergrande's main unit. Evergrande's liquidators, who have been appointed by a Hong Kong court, declined to comment.
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/...ay-2024-09-12/

[Jimbuna]

China's Xi Jinping to visit Russia next month for the BRICS summit

Chinese leader Xi Jinping will visit Russia next month for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi confirmed Thursday, a move that comes as Moscow and Beijing seek to counter the West’s global influence.

Xi's visit to Russia will be his second since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but it has backed the Kremlin’s contentions that Russia's action was provoked by the West, and it continues to supply key components needed by Moscow for weapons production.

Wang Yi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg Thursday and the two hailed ties between the two countries. The Chinese foreign minister said that Xi “happily accepted” Putin's invite to attend the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan in October.
Putin, in turn, announced that the two will also sit down for a bilateral meeting in Kazan and discuss various aspects of the Russia-China relations, which “are developing quite successfully” and “in all directions.”

Xi last visited Russia in March 2023 and Putin reciprocated with his own trip to China in Oct. that year. The two leaders have since also met in Beijing in May, where Putin took the first foreign trip of his fifth presidential term, and in Kazakhstan in July.

After launching what the Kremlin insists on calling a “special military operation” in Ukraine, Russia has become increasingly dependent economically on China as Western sanctions cut its access to much of the international trading system. China’s increased trade with Russia, totaling $240 billion last year, has helped the country mitigate some of the worst blows from the sanctions.

Moscow has diverted the bulk of its energy exports to China and relied on Chinese companies to import high-tech components for Russian military industries to circumvent Western sanctions.

The two countries have also deepened their military ties in the last two years.

The BRICS alliance was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining in 2010. It has recently undergone an expansion and now includes Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has said it’s considering joining, and Azerbaijan and Malaysia have formally applied.

BRICS has a stated aim to amplify the voice of major emerging economies to counterbalance the Western-led global order. Its founding members have called for a fairer world order and the reform of international institutions like the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...aa6d5c9c&ei=25

[Jimbuna]

US House of Representatives approves package of bills to counter China

This week, the US House of Representatives approved a comprehensive package of bills aimed at countering Chinese influence. The initiative received bipartisan support, according to AP.

Technology

Specifically, the House of Representatives supported a bill that prevents federal funds from going to five biotechnology companies linked to China. This measure is deemed necessary to protect American health data and reduce reliance on China for medical supplies.

Another bill bans drones manufactured by the Chinese company DJI, a dominant player in the global market, on national security grounds.

To close an export control loophole, the House supported an amendment intended to block China's remote access — such as through cloud computing services — to advanced US technologies for artificial intelligence development and military modernization.

Espionage

A party-line bill mandates that the Department of Justice address Beijing’s espionage activities targeting US intellectual property and scientific institutions, and prosecute individuals involved in commercial theft, hacking, and economic espionage.

Electric vehicles

The House also approved a measure to exclude Chinese electric vehicles from receiving tax incentives for clean transportation. "America’s working families should not be forced to subsidize a nation whose decades of unfair trade practices and government subsidies have led to lost jobs, shuttered factories, and hollowed-out communities right here at home," said Representative Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican.

Diplomacy

The House backed several measures to strengthen sanctions against China and deepen ties with Asia-Pacific countries to counter Chinese influence.

This could lead to the closure of Hong Kong’s diplomatic missions in the US, stripping them of diplomatic privileges if it is deemed that the territory has lost its autonomy from mainland China.

It is noteworthy that the US and China have not agreed on a specific plan for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

On September 10, the US and China held their first military-to-military talks aimed at stabilizing relations. One of the topics addressed was the tension in the South China Sea.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...e0292d7d&ei=16

[Skybird]

China raises retirement age for the first time since the 1950s.

[Jimbuna]

The top legislative body on Friday approved proposals to raise the statutory retirement age from 50 to 55 for women in blue-collar jobs, and from 55 to 58 for females in white-collar jobs.

Men will see an increase from 60 to 63.

Still a lot better than here in the UK

[Jimbuna]

China accuses Germany of raising security risks with military ships in Taiwan strait

China criticized Germany on Saturday for increasing security risks a day after two German naval vessels passed through the Taiwan Strait, a key waterway that Beijing claims as its territory. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius defended the move, stating that the ships were navigating international waters on the safest route, while Beijing responded by deploying forces to monitor the vessels.

China on Saturday accused Berlin of heightening security risks in the Taiwan Strait, a day after two German military vessels sailed through the sensitive waters.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed on Friday that the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the supply vessel Frankfurt am Main sailed through the strait.
"The German side's behaviour increases security risks and sends incorrect signals," Chinese military spokesperson Li Xi said in a statement.

US military ships as well as those operated by other countries have often sailed through the sensitive waterway.

But the Baden-Wuerttemberg's voyage was the first time in more than two decades that Berlin's navy had done so, according to German media reports.

Beijing views Taiwan as a renegade province and claims jurisdiction over the body of water that separates the island from the Chinese mainland.

Germany and many other countries argue such voyages are usual, citing freedom of navigation.

China's Li said Saturday that the People's Liberation Army had sent sea and air forces to "monitor and warn off" the German vessels.

Beijing's troops in the area would "resolutely counter all threats and provocations", Li added.

The two vessels were headed from South Korea to the Philippines, German defence ministry officials said.

Pistorius said on Friday that the course charted by the vessels was "the shortest route".

"It is the safest route given the weather conditions. And these are international waters, so we are sailing through them."

Freedom of navigation

Though Taiwan has only a dozen diplomatic allies, it maintains strong partnerships with various Western democracies such as the United States, which is its biggest weapons supplier.

Read moreBlinken reiterates to China US concern over ‘provocative’ drills around Taiwan

Beijing has in recent years engaged in an escalating campaign of intimidation against Taiwan, including through large-scale military exercises around the island.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...b284604c&ei=12

[mapuc]

Markus

[Jimbuna]

China’s Coast Guard claims to have entered the Arctic Ocean for the first time as it ramps up security ties with Russia

Hong Kong
CNN
—
China’s Coast Guard claimed it entered waters of the Arctic Ocean for the first time as part of a joint patrol with Russia – in the latest sign of enhanced coordination between the two in a region where Beijing has long wished to expand its footprint.

The statement came a day after the US Coast Guard said it spotted four vessels from the Russian Border Guard and Chinese Coast Guard in the Bering Sea – the “northernmost” location it said it had ever observed the Chinese ships.

The joint patrol “effectively expanded the scope of the coast guard’s ocean-going navigation” and tested their ability “to carry out missions in unfamiliar waters,” the China Coast Guard (CCG) said in a post on its official social media account Wednesday.

The CCG did not release the exact location of the patrol. A banner visible on one of the vessels in accompanying photos read “China Coast Guard devoting its heart to the Party; demonstrating loyalty in the Arctic Ocean,” referring to China’s ruling Communist Party.

The Russian government has not officially acknowledged the patrol, which Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said took place “a few days ago.” Russian state media TASS published a report on the patrol, citing the CCG statement.

The US Coast Guard (USCG) on Monday said it spotted the four vessels from the Russian Border Guard and Chinese Coast Guard “transiting in formation in a northeast direction” in the Bering Sea, some five miles inside Russia’s Exclusive Economic Zone on Saturday.

The Bering Sea stretches between Russia and Alaska and is part of the North Pacific Ocean. It connects to the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Strait, a narrow passage separating Asia and North America.

“This recent activity demonstrates the increased interest in the Arctic by our strategic competitors,” Rear Adm. Megan Dean, commander of the 17th Coast Guard District, said in the USCG statement.

The US has raised concerns about China’s growing role and coordination with Russia in the strategically and environmentally sensitive Arctic region, as the two countries tighten their security and economic ties more broadly.

US and Canadian forces in July intercepted Russian and Chinese bombers flying together near Alaska for the first time, while their two navies operated together in international waters off the Alaskan coast in 2022 and 2023, according to the US military.

Last year, CCG and Russia’s Federal Security Service, which operates its coast guard, agreed to strengthen their “maritime law enforcement cooperation” and China was invited to observe Russia’s “Arctic Patrol-2023” security drills.

Analysts say the new patrol is part of a broader pattern of collaboration – and designed to send a message to Washington, whose maritime activities in the South and East China Seas have longed irked Beijing.

“The significance of the (China) Coast Guard operating farther north than it has ever done implies (China) is extending its Coast Guard into areas the US has traditionally considered its own domain,” said Carl Schuster, a retired US Navy captain and former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center.

“China in particular is signaling that the US Coast Guard is not the only one that (can) operate within and near other countries’ Economic Exclusion Zones from their own home waters,” he said.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/03/c...hnk/index.html

[Jimbuna]

Xi vows ‘reunification’ with Taiwan on eve of Communist China’s 75th birthday

Hong Kong
CNN
—
Chinese leader Xi Jinping reiterated his pledge to achieve “reunification” with Taiwan on the eve of Communist China’s 75th birthday, as Beijing flexed its military might in the run-up to the national holiday.

At a state banquet celebrating the founding of the People’s Republic on Monday, Xi used his address to underscore his resolve to achieve the “complete reunification of the motherland.”

“It’s an irreversible trend, a cause of righteousness and the common aspiration of the people. No one can stop the march of history,” he told the thousands in attendance at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, according to state-run news agency Xinhua.

China’s ruling Communist Party claims Taiwan as its own, despite having never controlled it, and has vowed to “reunify” with the self-governing democracy, by force if necessary.

But many people on the island view themselves as distinctly Taiwanese and have no desire to be part of Communist China.

The two sides have been ruled by separate governments since 1949, after the end of the Chinese civil war. The communists took power in Beijing and founded the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949, while the defeated nationalists fled to Taiwan, moving the seat of the Republic of China from the mainland to Taipei.

Successive Chinese leaders have vowed to one day take control of Taiwan, but Xi, China’s most assertive leader in decades, has ramped up rhetoric and aggression against the democratic island – fueling tension across the strait and raising concerns for a military confrontation.

“Taiwan is China’s sacred territory. Blood is thicker than water, and people on both sides of the strait are connected by blood,” Xi told the banquet attended by more than 3,000 people, including officials, retired party leaders and foreign dignitaries.

He also called for deeper economic and cultural exchanges across the Taiwan Strait and promotion of “spiritual harmony of compatriots on both sides.”

“(We must) resolutely oppose ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activities,” Xi said.

Beijing has labeled Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te a “dangerous separatist,” and tensions have ratcheted up since Lai’s inauguration in May, during which he called on China to cease its intimidation of Taiwan.

Taiwan officials say Beijing has intensified military activities around the island in recent months, including drills in May that the Chinese military said were designed to test its ability to “seize power” over the island.

On Sunday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it was on alert after detecting “multiple waves” of missile firing deep in inland China.

The missiles were fired by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force in the inland regions of Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang, the ministry said in a statement, adding that Taiwan’s air defense forces have “maintained a high level of vigilance and strengthened their alert.”

It comes just days after China fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean for the first time in 44 years, in a rare public test that analysts said was meant to send a message to the United States and its allies amid heightened regional tensions.

The issue of Taiwan has become a major point of contention between China and the US, which maintains close but informal relations with Taipei and is bound by law to supply the island with weapons to defend itself.

On Sunday, US President Joe Biden approved an additional $567 million in military support for Taiwan in the largest aid package America has granted the island. The funding will cover defense articles as well as “military education and training,” the White House said in a statement.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/01/c...hnk/index.html

[Jimbuna]

North Korea, China mark 75 years of close ties as others question relationship

The leaders of North Korea and China marked the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations on Sunday by exchanging messages that expressed hopes for stronger ties.

The message exchange came as North Korea and Russia have been sharply expanding their cooperation while China keeps its distance.

Experts say that the level of exchanges and commemorative programs between North Korea and China in the coming months will provide a clue to the exact status of their ties.

In a message sent to Chinese president Xi Jinping, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his government will “steadily strive to consolidate and develop the friendly and cooperative relations” between the two countries, according to North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency.

Mr Xi, in his message to Kim, said that China is ready to jointly promote “the stable and further advance of the socialist cause in the two countries,” KCNA said.

Since North Korea and China established diplomatic ties on October 6, 1949, their relationship has often been described as being “as close as lips and teeth.”

China, North Korea’s biggest trading partner and main aid provider, has been suspected of avoiding fully implementing UN sanctions on North Korea and sending clandestine aid shipments to help its impoverished neighbour stay afloat and continue to serve as a bulwark against US influence on the Korean Peninsula.

However many observers say China is reluctant to form a three-way, anti-West alliance with North Korea and Russia as it prefers a stable regional security environment to tackle numerous economic challenges and maintain relationships with Europe and its Asian neighbours.

North Korea and Russia have moved significantly closer to each other amid widespread outside suspicions that North Korea has supplied conventional weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine in return for military and economic assistance.

During a meeting in Pyongyang in June, Mr Kim and Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a pact stipulating mutual military assistance if either country is attacked, in what was considered the two countries’ biggest defence deal since the end of the Cold War.

North Korea is locked in confrontations with the US, South Korea and their partners over its advancing nuclear program. Mr Kim has said he was forced to expand both nuclear and conventional capabilities to cope with US-led security threats.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...95c1c164&ei=28

[Jimbuna]

China demands public sector employees hand in their passports

Public sector employees in China are being demanded to hand in their passports as President Xi Jinping's grip on every aspect of society tightens.

The number of public sector workers who face restrictions on their ability to travel abroad has been massively expanded this year to include most staff at schools, universities, local government and other state-owned businesses.

Legislation dating back to 2003 allowed the communist government in China to restrict international travel for mid-to-high level officials. Under the so-called passport collection drive local authorities are able to control and monitor who travels abroad and how often.

As President Xi continues to increase his dictatorship's invasion into people's private lives, he has also intensified his campaign against foreign spies.

This has led many workers to suddenly find they cannot enjoy the freedom to travel in the way they once did not so long ago.

Speaking to the Financial Times, a primary school teacher from Sichuan province said: 'All teachers and public sector employees were told to hand in our passports.'

Educators in other cities from across the country including, Guangdong and Yichang, have reported the introduction of similar restrictions.

Teachers have long faced some sort of restrictions on their travel abroad out of fear of what ideas they might encounter outside of China and then instill inside their pupils.

This has been greatly increased in recent years with many restrictions from during the covid pandemic being lifted and replaced with similar bans.

Teachers in Wenzhou, in east China, being told to hand in their passports back in March and their names would be registered with the public security bureau’s border control unit.

In order to travel abroad, teachers have to file an application with their schools and are typically restricted to one trip a year for less than 20 days a year.

Those who refused to hand over their passport or travelled anyway could face 'criticism and education' or could even be referred to the Chinese anti-corruption authority.

They might also face a travel ban for two to five years.

Other sectors are also being impacted with some workers in state companies needing approval from nine different departments abroad before they can go on holiday - and still then they have not received their passport.

Retirees are also not immune to the clampdown with a former aircraft maker who has been retired for over ten years suddenly having his passport taken away barring him from visiting family living overseas.

The 76-year-old, who described himself as a patriot, said his former employee had no reason to bar him from travelling to see his grandson.

China's foreign ministry told the FT it was not aware of the situation and referred questions to the relevant authorities.

National security has long been used as a pretext by the communist government to clampdown on freedoms. In the 21st century, Chinese citizens face censorship with what they can and can't do both online and offline.

Meanwhile residents in areas such as Tibet have faced oppression for decades. Having lost their freedom to travel abroad more than a decade ago.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...1ee64daf&ei=14

[ET2SN]

[Jimbuna]

China threatens Taiwan with more trade measures after denouncing president's speech

BEIJING, Oct 12 (Reuters) - China is studying further trade measures against Taiwan, China's Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday, two days after Beijing denounced a speech by Taiwan President Lai Ching-te.
The Chinese ministry said in a statement on its website that the Democratic Progressive Party, Taiwan's ruling party, had not taken any practical measures to lift "trade restrictions" on China.
"At present, relevant (Chinese government) departments are studying further measures based on the conclusions of the investigation into trade barriers from Taiwan" against China, it added.

Taiwan's China policy making Mainland Affairs Council said it regretted and "strongly protested" the move.
"Blatant economic coercion will only arouse the resentment of the Taiwanese people and cause the distance between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to grow wider and wider," it said in a statement.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, detests Lai as a "separatist". Lai and his government reject Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan's people can decide their future.

On Thursday at his keynote national day speech, Lai said the People's Republic of China had no right to represent Taiwan, but that the island was willing to work with Beijing to combat challenges like climate change, striking both a firm and conciliatory tone, drawing anger from China.
The Saturday announcement from China's commerce ministry could portend tariffs or other forms of economic pressure against the island in the near future.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office, which on Thursday said that Lai's speech promoted "separatist ideas" and incited confrontation, responded to the announcement by saying the fundamental reason behind the trade dispute was the "DPP authorities' stubborn adherence to the stance of 'Taiwan independence'".
"The political basis makes it difficult for cross-Strait trade disputes to be resolved through negotiation," it added.

In May, China reinstated tariffs on 134 items it imports from Taiwan, after Beijing's finance ministry said it would suspend concessions on the items under a trade deal because Taiwan had not reciprocated.
The Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) between China and Taiwan was initially signed in 2010 and Taiwanese officials had previously told Reuters that China was likely to pressure Lai by ending some of the preferential trading terms within it.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...ts-2024-10-12/

[ET2SN]

^ Just to back that up:

[mapuc]

The different with this exercise is that there isn't an end date where the exercise are over.

Markus