China news roundup / Nachrichten 2023-07-22/23

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Beijing Offers Love, but Chinese Entrepreneurs Aren’t Buying It

"Some entrepreneurs rushed to praise the guidelines in official media. But in private, others I interviewed dismissed the party’s pep talk in words that can be best translated as, “Save it for the suckers.”
[...]Most Chinese businesspeople support the government and willingly follow what it says. Still, the comments from some entrepreneurs on state media read more like pledges of loyalty to the party than authentic expressions of confidence.
[...] Ben Qiu, a lawyer who practices law in Hong Kong and the United States, summed up the executives’ comments in a social media comment: “The emperor’s clothes look fabulous.”"

--- They always do.

"In the past few years, China’s leadership went after the country’s biggest private enterprises, vilified its most celebrated entrepreneurs, decimated entire industries with arbitrary regulation, and refused to budge on Covid policies when many businesses were struggling."

--- & all while promising a healthy & friendly business environment. That breeds trust.

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China’s race for growth is fading. So too is its dream of middle-class security

"In fact, there are plenty of jobs for those who want them. China has a severe shortage of teachers in the countryside, meaning that rural children tend to have a patchy education. But few urban graduates want to live in a village where running water is still a luxury, and China’s strict “residence permit” (hukou) system means young people who move to the countryside may never be allowed back to the big city."

--- That hukou system is a major hindrance for social (& geographic) mobility. Not really good for the economy. But don't think that the CCP would actually do something about it. That would mean losing a major source of social control.

"Any military confrontation in the region would crash supply chains, lead investors to flee, and result in huge mutual sanctions between China and its western business partners. Economic realities don’t rule out conflict. But a middle-class Chinese professional waking up in the morning wants financial security, a cheaper mortgage, a secure pension and subsidised healthcare, including cheaper healthcare for their parents. A nationalistic war that impacts their lifestyle would be deeply unpopular."

--- Typically naive thinking by a lot of Western journalists. For one, it underestimates the influence of CCP propaganda inside China. & then, it assumes that the middle class actually has major political influence. In China, it hasn't.

Blinken says US is ‘working to put some stability’ into relationship with China

"“We weren’t doing a lot of talking before. Now we are. We have different groups that are engaged, or about to engage, on discrete issues … that are problems … in the relationship where I believe we can, I think, get to a resolution,” Blinken said. “Now these are early days. The proof will be in the results.”"

--- Phhh... I doubt that there will be a lot of results. Emperor Xi wants a kowtow, & Biden seems not quite prepared to go as far as Scholz or Macron.

African exports to China plunge amid property market slowdown and sluggish economic recovery

"China’s push to promote imports from Africa has yet to boost trade numbers, with shipments from the continent falling 12.4 per cent to US$53 billion in the first half of this year, according to data from China’s General Administration of Customs.
Meanwhile, Chinese exports to Africa rose by 15.4 per cent to US$87.88 billion in the same period"

--- That's what you get from Chinese friendship (& Chinese promises to improve trade).

Underground market thrives for high-end chips in China after US export ban

"Vendors at electronics malls in the Huaqiangbei shopping street in tech hub Shenzhen were quick to tout locally made alternatives when asked about the A100. Sellers told ST that users with the A100 run a high risk of being left without a warranty if there are any problems with the chips, adding that it is a safer bet to buy locally made alternatives. But they conceded that the raw processing power of the local alternatives fall short of the A100’s, even though “many of our customers find them good enough”."

--- Chabuduo + CCP censorship = AI with Chinese characteristics

"“The Chinese government is throwing everything and the kitchen sink at semiconductor development,” said Prof Liow, who is dean of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. “No amount of money is too large… and at some point, breakthroughs are going to come.”"

--- Well, breakthroughs or giant parties by people who milked the system.

US-China cultural exchange at low point after tensions and Covid, data shows

"rapid increases witnessed under Obama tapered off during Trump’s stint in the White House. The Covid-19 pandemic led to the first drop in numbers since 2003-04."

--- The Guardian showing its own political bias again, by implying that Trump is to blame for all the bad, while at the same time showing that under Trump not that much actually changed. Eg.:

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In northeastern China, farmers reclaim ghost town of mansions abandoned by housing developer

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Seasonal floods hit eastern China and leave at least 5 dead and over 1,500 evacuated

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--- China Uncensored: "How To BANKRUPT China"

--- 60 Minutes (AUS): "Anti-China dissidents “pursued for life” with a $200,000 bounty"

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Kein Konsens in Goa

"Keine Einigung gebe es hingegen auf eine Verdreifachung der Erneuerbaren Energien bis 2030, wie sie alle G7-Staaten bereits beschlossen hätten.
Eine Blockade "einiger weniger Länder, vor allem fossiler Energien produzierender Länder", habe das Treffen erschwert, so Habeck. "Das ist eine gewisse Enttäuschung, aber sie ist erwartet gewesen." Nach Informationen der Nachrichtenagentur Reuters lehnten Russland, China, Saudi-Arabien, Indonesien und Südafrika den Vorstoß ab."

--- Wer hätte das gedacht? China, unser Weltmeister im Umweltschutz mal wieder als Bremser.

China drängt Russland zu neuem Getreidedeal

"Chinas stellvertretender Ständiger Vertreter bei den Vereinten Nationen, Geng Shuang, forderte eine baldige Wiederaufnahme der Ausfuhren von Getreide und Düngemitteln aus Russland und der Ukraine."

--- Eine extrem harsch vorgetragene "Forderung":

"Die Regierung in Peking hoffe, dass die Betroffenen mit den zuständigen UN-Gremien zusammenarbeiteten, um eine ausgewogene Lösung für die berechtigten Anliegen aller Parteien zu finden, sagte Geng"

--- & schon riechen diverse deutsche Medien wieder Risse im Verhältnis zwischen Rußland & China. Die wollen einfach nicht lernen.

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