China news roundup / Nachrichten 2024-07-19

about 2 months ago

China's Third Plenum concludes without major breakthroughs

"Wang believes that Beijing is essentially maintaining the policy direction set since the 20th Party Congress in 2022, with Xi Jinping "firmly grasping the dominant role in overall policy-making" and that by adding 2029 to the timeline, Xi could be implying "he would still be in power by then."
"He's setting the stage, suggesting that he may indeed have a fourth term,""

--- You don't say! Might that be related to the fact that emperor Xi essentially already made it possible to be emperor for life? Great insight...

Von der Leyen is 'playing with fire' over Taiwan, China warns after her re-election

""Playing with fire on Taiwan is highly dangerous," Wang Lutong, the director general for European affairs at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Friday, one day after the Commission chief clinched a majority in Strasbourg.
"Meddling and even trying to join forces is by no means a right choice for Europe."
[...] Lutong's recriminations refer to a small passage in von der Leyen's re-election manifesto that commits her executive to work closely with Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Australia to address "common challenges in cyber, space and in the secure supply of critical minerals and technologies."
"This includes our collective efforts to deploy the full range of our combined statecraft to deter China from unilaterally changing the status quo by military means, particularly over Taiwan,""

--- 'The meddling! The interference! How dare you trying to deter China from peacefully invading an evil, aggressive little island!'

What are China's goals in hosting Palestinian summit?

"A recent report in the Washington Post on the latest round of cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas indicated both sides have agreed in principle to an "interim governance" plan for control of Gaza, with a security control force "drawn from a core group of about 2,500 supporters of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza who have already been vetted by Israel.""

--- So, Hamas & Fatah are already quite close to an agreement (no matter how shortlived such an agreement might be). Looks like China wants to jump on the bandwagon & take credit.

"Any breakthrough in bringing Hamas and Fatah closer, however far-fetched, would be a major diplomatic victory for China"

--- Or so the CCP propaganda will spin it.

"Sinologist Alpermann said that in the case of Israel and the Palestinians, China "is never completely neutral, but very clearly on the side of the Palestinians."
"The Chinese government traditionally sees itself as being on the side of the oppressed in such conflicts,""

--- Bullshit. China is very clearly on China's side. Palestinians are just pawns in China's big game against the USA.

Laos and China Use BRI-funded Railway to Bring Their Armies Together

"Xi said that the China-Laos Railway, built by a Chinese company with Chinese money, should become a template for Belt and Road cooperation in the region. At the time, the railway was hailed as a boost for trade and an opportunity to facilitate more people-to-people exchanges. It has now also taken up an important role in China’s military strategy in the region"

--- Civil-military fusion in the BRI? Another big surprise.

Super cheap robotaxi rides spark widespread anxiety in China

"A major selling point is the price. Base fares start as low as 4 yuan (55 cents), compared with 18 yuan ($2.48) for a taxi driven by a human, state media Global Times reported on Wednesday.
The service launched in 2022 and started to gain traction during the first half of the year. The company aims to double its fleet to 1,000 cars by the end of 2024. Wuhan currently has around 17,000 regular cabs, according to the city’s transport bureau.
But the rapid adoption of the driverless taxis has rattled China’s gig economy workforce, which has suffered from stagnant wages because of deflationary forces stalking the economy following years of tight coronavirus restrictions and a real estate crisis.
[...] Backlash against the service, particularly against Apollo Go’s allegedly predatory pricing tactics, became the second top trending topic last week on Chinese microblogging site Weibo, with more than 75 million users chiming in on the discussion last week.
“Disrupting the market is the least of their worries. They will steal your rice bowl,” one user wrote, referring to the ability to make a living.
“Driving schools, road inspectors, and taxis are all going to shut down,” another user said.
An Apollo Go spokesperson disputed that characterization. The person told CNN that discounts and subsidies from local governments are commonly used during the initial launch period to get people to try the service. The “extremely low” pricing was a temporary strategy, they added. "

--- & that's how China works. The CCP doesn't care about the well-being of its citizens, it's all about strategic competition with the West to dominate technology & sooner or later: the world.

Heavy seasonal rain causes widespread flooding in China

Censorship slows China's AI advances

EU to set tariffs on Chinese biodiesel in anti-dumping probe

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

Ökonomin Claudia Kemfert - Deutschlands schwieriger Serbien-Deal ist nicht die Lösung unseres Problems

"Aus zwei Gründen ist dieses Abkommen aber dennoch problematisch: Erstens können die potenziellen Umweltschäden gravierend sein."

--- Grmpf. & die Dame glaubt, wenn China die Rechte bekommen hätte, wäre es der Umwelt besser ergangen?

"Zweitens müssen wir uns fragen: Von wem machen wir uns da eigentlich abhängig? Serbien will zwar in die EU, die EU-Beitrittsgespräche laufen seit dem Jahre 2012. Serbien ist EU-Beitrittskandidat, trägt aber die EU-Russland-Sanktionen nicht mit und hat ein Freihandelsabkommen mit China geschlossen."

--- Immerhin ist der Einfluss in & auf Serbien wesentlich größer, als im Falle von China. Aber wie man im weiteren Text sieht, geht es der Autorin sowieso nicht um China oder Außenpolitik, ihr ist die Mobilität ein Dorn im Auge.