China news roundup / Nachrichten 2024-11-15

6 days ago

EU to press China over drones for Russia, warns of ‘consequences’

"The official said that the EU has to determine whether Beijing knew about the firm's activities and whether the production of drones amounted to "direct cooperation on military equipment between China and Russia.""

--- Well, since this has been public knowledge for quite a while now, it is rather unlikely that the CCP doesn't know what's going on.

""If we finally confirm there is a transfer of drones [from China to Russia], then that will have consequences," added the official, who declined to spell out what those consequences could be.
[...] While EU officials and diplomats didn't spell out what action could be taken, one option being examined is adding more Chinese companies to a list of third-country firms facing EU sanctions"

--- The old EU would simply have uttered its 'concerns', but nowadays we can actually hope for some real action.

China's Oct data shows soft economic underbelly, Trump threat looms large

"October industrial output grew 5.3% from a year earlier, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed on Friday, slowing from September's pace of 5.4% and missing expectations for a 5.6% increase in a Reuters poll.
However, retail sales, a gauge of consumption, rose 4.8% in October, accelerating from the 3.2% pace in September and marking the quickest growth since February.
Retail growth was boosted by a week-long holiday and the annual Singles' Day shopping festival, which kicked off on Oct. 14, ten days earlier than last year."

--- Phhh... So, reality is still stagnation.

""Changes in economic operations in September and October have strengthened China's confidence in achieving its 2024 target for economic growth" of around 5%"

China faces crucial decisions on climate policy during second Trump term

"countries seeking concrete action from Beijing may face an uphill task as China could now be more wary of converting its previous intentions into robust policy measures until the incoming US president has revealed more of his plans.
Under Biden, the US and China have had a testy relationship on most issues, particularly trade and tariffs, but on the climate they have enjoyed rare accord, fostered carefully since Biden took office. At a series of meetings, the two countries have reaffirmed joint commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially methane, a particularly potent gas whose emissions have risen rapidly."

--- Utter bullshit. China making empty promises while the US looks away as it breaks them is not co-operation.

"While China has offered absolutely no commitments to methane reductions or even phase-downs of any type, they have routinely put out self-serving communiques about their methodologies and metrics. It’s been infuriating."

--- Yep, but it's so nice for the Guardian to blame Trump.

'A bullet train for power': China's ultra-high-voltage electricity grid

"This oddly out-of-place building is the Fengxian Converter Station, a hub for receiving electricity that has travelled some 1,900km (1,200 miles) before it is routed to power Shanghai's homes, offices and factories. At the other end of the transmission line lies the Xiangjiaba Hydropower Station in south-west China, which harnesses the energy of the mighty Jinsha River, the upper stretches of the Yangtze River."

--- As if this was 'green' energy. Dams produce a lot of methane & destroy river ecosystems.

"Electricity travels nearly as fast as light and is expensive to store. "As soon as it is generated, it needs to be sent out. That's why we need such a network, the Shinkansen for power, to ensure its transmission""

--- & there is your problem with wind & solar energy. They need to be stored, because they are not on a constant level. Hence, these UHV power lines are pretty useless for renewables.

"Because wind and solar power is intermittent, UHV lines still rely heavily on coal or gas-fired power to ensure that their transmission is stable"

--- Yep.

Xi inaugurates South America's first Chinese-funded port

""Considerable income and enormous job opportunities will be generated for Peru," Xi spoke in Lima with Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.
Xi said the Chancay project would generate $4.5 billion in annual revenues, create more than 8,000 jobs and reduce the logistics costs of the Peru-China route by 20%"

--- Ah, Chinese promises. Never to be broken, of course...

"Meanwhile, local fishermen and residents voiced concerns about the environmental impact and loss of traditional fishing zones due to the port.
"Our fishing spots no longer exist here. They destroyed them," said 78-year-old fisherman Julius Caesar. "I don't blame the Chinese for trying to mine this place for all it's worth. I blame our government for not protecting us.""

--- That's what you get when your government invites China in.

Europe's flying taxi dreams falter as cash runs short

"Volocopter was urgently trying to raise fresh investment to keep the firm going.
Talks to borrow €100m (£83m; $106m) from the government failed in April.
Now hopes are pinned on China's Geely, which is in talks to take an 85% stake in Volocopter in return for $95m of funding, according to a Bloomberg report. The deal could mean that any future manufacturing would be moved to China."

--- Welcome to Germany, where they like to spend money on research & development & then sell (or give away) the product for others to make money off it.

"As recently as the Farnborough Airshow in July, Lilium’s COO Sebastian Borel was sounding confident.
“We are definitely burning through cash," he told the BBC. “But this is a good sign, because it means we are producing the aircraft. We’re going to have three aircraft in production by the end of the year, and we have also raised €1.5bn”.
But then the money ran out.
Lilium had been attempting to arrange a loan worth €100m from the German development bank, KfW. However, that required guarantees from national and state governments, which never materialised.
In early November, the company put its main operating businesses into insolvency proceedings, and its shares were removed from the Nasdaq stock exchange."

--- Because the German government likes to say how it supports the economy, but nothing really happens.

China says Philippines sent supplies to disputed shoal

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

--- CNA: "A look at BRP Sierra Madre, the vessel involved in the South China Sea dispute"

Einzelhandel in China legt im Oktober zu

"Der Einzelhandel in China hat im Oktober so stark zugelegt wie seit Beginn des Jahres nicht mehr. Die Umsätze wuchsen um 4,8 Prozent im Jahresvergleich, wie das Nationale Statistikamt in Peking am Freitag mitteilte. Im September hatte es einen Anstieg von 3,2 Prozent gegeben. Die nun veröffentlichten Zahlen lagen über den Erwartungen von Analysten und lassen auf eine Erholung des Binnenkonsums schließen."

--- Gähn. Da nimmt mal wieder jemand offizielle chinesische Zahlen für bare Münze.

Russische Kampfdrohnen aus China schrecken die EU auf

"Der EU liegen nach Angaben von Diplomaten erstmals verlässliche Informationen darüber vor, dass in China Kampfdrohnen für das russische Militär hergestellt werden. Es gebe dafür „schlüssige“ und „glaubhafte“ Belege, hieß es am Freitag in Brüssel. Bei den unbemannten Fluggeräten handele es sich um „bewaffnete Drohnen“, die allein militärischen Zwecken dienten.
[...] Die in China hergestellten Drohnen, so argumentieren Diplomaten in Brüssel, stellten „eine neue Qualität“ in Chinas Unterstützung für Russland dar. „Es geht da nicht mehr um halb zivile Sachen, sondern klar um rein militärische Dinge“, sagt ein Regierungsvertreter in Brüssel. „Das ist inakzeptabel, und darauf müssen wir antworten.“"

--- Aber:

"Zunächst wollen die Europäer allerdings mit Peking reden. Denn da die Drohnen offenbar von einem russischen Unternehmen in China hergestellt werden, ist man sich in Brüssel noch nicht hundertprozentig sicher, ob die Zentralregierung in Peking davon weiß und die Arbeiten gebilligt hat."

--- Das ist seit Wochen bekannt. Selbst wenn es nicht von der KPCh erlaubt wurde, weiß man schon lange darüber Bescheid.
Mal sehen, ob die EU dann tatsächlich etwas unternimmt.