China news roundup / Nachrichten 2024-12-13

5 days ago

Alleged Chinese spy had 'unusual degree of trust' with Andrew

"In the published ruling, the judge said that the then-home secretary, Suella Braverman, was "entitled to conclude that [H6] represented a risk to the national security of the United Kingdom, and that she was entitled to conclude that his exclusion was justified and proportionate".
The ruling makes clear that the man had been subjected to the highest levels of national security investigation as someone that the UK's intelligence agencies feared was seeking influence over a member of the Royal Family.
The court was told that H6 was invited to Prince Andrew's birthday party in 2020 and was told he could act on his behalf when dealing with potential investors in China."

--- Totally normal business relations, then.

"In a letter found on one of his devices, H6 was told by Dominic Hampshire, an adviser to Prince Andrew: "Outside of [the prince's] closest internal confidants, you sit at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on."
Mr Hampshire adds: "Under your guidance, we found a way to get the relevant people unnoticed in and out of the house in Windsor.""

--- Which innocent business does not try to get people in & out unnoticed. Absolutely no suspicious behaviour here.

"Security chiefs feared Beijing was attempting to run an "elite capture" operation to influence the Duke of York because of the pressure he was under, a tactic which aims to appoint high profile individuals to Chinese businesses, think tanks or universities."

--- Going on all over the world, from German ex-chancellors to US governors.

"In a statement, the Chinese embassy in the UK criticised "baseless 'spy' stories targeting China".
"Their purpose is to smear China and disrupt normal exchanges between Chinese and British personnel," it said.
China supports "normal people-to-people and cultural exchanges with other countries", it added."

China signals readiness to mend ties with U.S. ahead of Trump inauguration

"President Xi Jinping sent a strong signal this week that Beijing was ready to work with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to resolve trade disputes amid risks of a potential trade war.
In a letter to the U.S.-China Business Council on Thursday, Xi said the two sides should “choose dialogue over confrontation, win-win cooperation over a zero-sum game,” while reiterating his commitment to open up the China market for foreign companies, including U.S. businesses.
The remarks echoed his speech at a Tuesday meeting with visiting heads of major international economic organizations, where he said “there will be no winners in tariff wars, trade wars, technology wars,” according to CNBC’s translation of his speech in Mandarin. Xi called both sides to maintain dialogue and manage differences.
The flurry of messages from Beijing reflects “a sense of anxiety” and “these overtures have occurred in a very public way,”"

--- Utter bullshit. What emperor Xi says is just the usual tripe, nothing new there. China just wants the US to stop all restrictions without making any actual commitments of its own.

"While Chinese government tries to project a willingness to negotiate with the incoming Trump government, it does not “necessarily signal China is willing to make the kind of concessions” that Trump seeks"

--- Exactly.

U.S. Prepares New AI Chip Restrictions to Close China’s Backdoor Access

"The latest round of curbs could come this month, weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Among the restrictions, the administration aims to introduce caps on shipments of AI chips to certain countries for use in large computing facilities, people familiar with the plans said.
One grouping of countries—close U.S. allies—would be unrestricted, the people said, while another tier of countries would face limits on the number of chips that can go into data centers used for AI. Chinese companies are banned from purchasing advanced AI chips without a license from the Commerce Department."

--- Finally trying to close some loopholes? Too late, too little, I suppose.

US and China sign new science pact — but with severe restrictions

"The pact is narrower in scope than its predecessor, covering only collaboration on basic science projects between departments and agencies of the two governments and excluding work on ‘critical and emerging technologies’ potentially important to national security, such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors. Unlike its predecessor, the pact does not include any information about collaboration among Chinese and US universities and private companies.
Experts in US–China relations welcome the agreement, saying that it will enable scientists to pursue projects with confidence.
“I am relieved to see this pact renewal,” says Duan Yibing, a science-policy researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, who hopes the pact will do what it’s designed to: promote collaboration in basic research between the two countries."

--- Not a good sign, if the CCP is happy with an agreement.

"The state department will now vet all research projects to ensure that they don’t pose national security concerns before they are approved. Proposals will also be reviewed by other US agencies led by the White House."

--- We'll have to wait & see how that works out when the new government steps in.

Researchers uncover Chinese spyware used to target Android devices

"the spyware has been used by “many” public security bureaus in mainland China to collect “extensive” information from mobile devices. This includes call logs, contacts, GPS coordinates, bookmarks, and messages from third-party apps including Telegram and WhatsApp. EagleMsgSpy is also capable of initiating screen recordings on smartphones, and can capture audio recordings of the device while in use
[...] Lookout notes that EagleMsgSpy currently requires physical access to a target device. However, Balaam told TechCrunch that the tool is still being developed as recently as late 2024, and said “it’s entirely possible” that EagleMsgSpy could be modified to not require physical access."

--- So, if you go to China, keep your smartphone with you at all times. Don't give anyone unsupervised access.

Typhoon-proof blades of ‘world’s most powerful’ wind turbine break off in China

"The ‘world’s largest single-capacity’ wind turbine that was installed in China in August has suffered blade breaks. MySE18.X-20MW prototype offshore wind turbine’s blade reportedly broke off earlier in December.
[...] The company earlier claimed that the turbine was designed to thrive in medium-to-high wind speeds. It was also touted that it can withstand the fury of typhoons and strong winds of 79.8 m/s."

--- Chabuduo.

Myanmar border with China in northern rebel zone to reopen, group says

China jails ex-football head coach for bribery

Apple and Google must prepare to remove TikTok from app stores by Jan. 19, lawmakers warn

--- China Uncensored features the usual weekend news variety:

--- Taiwan Talks: "China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Nepal"

Enger Vertrauter von Prinz Andrew soll für China spionieren

"Der Bruder von König Charles III. hatte den Geschäftsmann zu seinem Berater ernannt und ihm Verbindungen zur königlichen Familie versprochen, wie die Zeitung „Times“ berichtete. Der mutmaßliche Spion sei zur Geburtstagsfeier des 64-Jährigen auf Schloss Windsor 2020 eingeladen sowie ermächtigt worden, in Andrews Namen nach Investoren in China zu suchen."

--- V.a. hat der Chinese, der vermutlich für die Einheitsfront arbeitet, Andrew Zugang zu chinesischen Finanzen versprochen. Im Gegenzug sollte er mit Kontakten in höchste englische Kreise, nicht nur die Königsfamilie, versorgt werden. Andrew hätte eine ähnliche Rolle gespielt wie z.B. auch Ex-Kanzler Schröder.

So will China 2025 die Wirtschaftsprobleme in den Griff bekommen

"China will seine wirtschaftlichen Probleme 2025 energischer angehen. Das hat die chinesische Staats- und Parteiführung zum Abschluss der zweitägigen Zentralen Wirtschaftskonferenz in Peking angekündigt. Sie will den Inlandskonsum ankurbeln und die Binnennachfrage stimulieren, beide leiden unter den Folgen der jahrelangen Immobilienkrise und der anhaltenden Deflationsstimmung.
Zudem will die chinesische Regierung laut der staatlichen Nachrichtenagentur Xinhua das Ziel für das Haushaltsdefizit im kommenden Jahr anheben, um den finanziellen Spielraum zu erweitern."

--- Wunsch versus Realität.