China news roundup / Nachrichten 2024-11-05
China is building new villages on its remote Himalayan border. Some appear to have crossed the line
"High in the mist-shrouded Himalayas, a winding mountain road opens to a clearing in the pine forested valley, revealing rows of uniform Tibetan-style houses, each topped with a Chinese flag."
--- Which private company building private houses on private land does not put Chinese flags on their houses? Totally normal.
"It is one of a string of Chinese settlements that also fall well within the border shown on official maps of Bhutan – a Buddhist kingdom of fewer than 1 million people that’s never agreed on a formal international border with China."
--- Must be that Bhutan was trying to bully little, innocent China & now gets what it deserves.
"In response to a request for comment from CNN about the construction and its territorial claims, Bhutan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade said there were “no Chinese settlements” in its northern district of Lhuntse, where CNN identified the villages."
--- 'Nothing to see here, because we don't want to see anything.'
"China’s foreign ministry did not deny building villages in disputed territory when approached by CNN for comment on the construction. “China’s construction activities in the border region with Bhutan are aimed at improving the local livelihoods,” a ministry statement said. “China and Bhutan have their own claims regarding the territorial status of the relevant region, but both agree to resolve differences and disputes through friendly consultations and negotiations.”"
--- Hmm, building settlements in disputed territory must be friendly consultation with Chinese characteristics.
Updating the EU strategy on China: Co-existence while de-risking through partnerships
"While there is no need to change the EU’s overall strategy, it seems important to shape expectations as to what our relationship with China should aim at, namely co-existence while preserving the EU’s values and interests. Cooperation will still be needed to address global problems, in which China plays an important role but the EU cannot offer a blank cheque in exchange for China’s cooperation."
--- Most importantly: Every agreement with China needs to have proper ways of assessment & enforcement. There must be enforceable penalties in case China cheats again.
China blocking UK plans in Beijing amid east London mega-embassy dispute
"The Chinese government has resisted UK requests to carry out a major reconstruction of the British embassy in Beijing for at least a year on the basis that its own proposals in east London had been blocked.
Three UK sources with knowledge of the negotiations said the embassy had become a top issue for China in its relations with Britain.
China wants to build a giant complex on 20,000 sq metres of land at Royal Mint Court, a historic site near the Tower of London that it bought six years ago.
[...] If approved, the new embassy would be China’s biggest in Europe and almost twice the size of its embassy in Washington."
--- Another example of the typical Chinese tit-for-tat. Only that the tit is very different from the tat.
"After Tower Hamlets declined planning permission and the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, chose not to intervene, China refused to appeal and made it clear to Conservative ministers it wanted them to step in and give assurances they would back a resubmitted application."
--- 'Why don't you Brits have a dictatorship like we have? Do it our way!'
China’s New Heavy Lift Rocket Looks a Whole Lot Like SpaceX’s Starship
"When Chinese space officials unveiled the design for the country's first super heavy-lift rocket nearly a decade ago, it looked like a fairly conventional booster. The rocket was fully expendable, with three stages and solid motors strapped onto its sides.
Since then, China has been revising the design of this rocket, named Long March 9, in response to the development of reusable rockets by SpaceX.
[...] Now, based on information released at a major airshow in Zhuhai, the design has morphed again. And this time, the plan for the Long March 9 rocket looks almost exactly like a clone of SpaceX's Starship rocket."
--- 'That's a lie! SpaceX obviously copied China's designs, which China took decades to develop. Just because China is so focused on security & technological perfection, SpaceX was able to fly its inferior copy much earlier. It's sooo obvious.'
"In related news, last week, a quasi-private Chinese space startup, Cosmoleap, announced plans to develop a fully reusable "Leap" rocket within the next few years. An animated video that accompanied the funding announcement indicated that the company seeks to emulate the tower catch-with-chopsticks methodology that SpaceX successfully employed during Starship's fifth flight test last month."
--- 'Another lie. Chinese companies are famous for their superior independent creativity & innovation. That SpaceX called it chopsticks shows clearly who copied whom.'
"At this point, China's launch industry is basically hanging out in the SpaceX waiting room to see which ideas it should swipe next."
--- 'Defamation! We don't have people in the SpaceX waiting room. Our hackers & spies don't need to be physically in the USA to ... er ... wait ... er ...'
AstraZeneca shares tumble after reports China unit is linked to insurance fraud
--- China Unscripted: "Censorship Is Good! China Understands"
China und die USA schützen ihre Wirtschaft mit allen Mitteln. Auch wir in Europa sollten konsequent sein – und das Gegenteil tun
"Warum sollte China die Lieferung von Solarzellen verweigern? Wirtschaftlich wäre das Irrsinn. Doch in Autokratien herrscht der Primat der Machtpolitik; der freie Güterverkehr steht unter Vorbehalt. Vor dem Ukraine-Krieg wollte sich auch niemand vorstellen, dass Wladimir Putin Erdgas, den wichtigsten russischen Rohstoff, als Waffe gegen Europa einsetzen würde. Man hatte ja Verträge.
Dennoch wäre es ein Fehler, das Heil in erzwungenem Heimatschutz für gewisse Branchen zu suchen."
--- Die Idiotie Europas. Man erkennt, daß China eben nicht marktwirtschaftlich sondern machtpolitisch entscheidet, aber argumentiert dann doch, daß man darauf nicht reagieren soll. Wenn man in Europa offen bleibt & sich weiter abhängig macht, dann ist das egal. Hauptsache, man bleibt prinzipiell offen. Alles wird gut. Wie, wissen wir nicht, aber es wird schon. Wir müssen nur dran glauben.
"China subventioniert die europäische Energiewende."
--- Hirnriss. Geld & Arbeitsplätze verschwinden nach China. Wir haben dafür eine Energiewende, bei der China die Europäer digital ausspionieren kann & schlimmstenfalls einen Killswitch hat. Toller Deal.
!PIZZA