China news roundup / Nachrichten 2025-02-20/21

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China issued 'disconcerting' warning of live-fire exercises to planes flying above, Australia says

"“To be clear, we weren’t notified by China,” Marles told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio in Perth.
“What China did was put out a notification that it was intending to engage in live firing. By that, I mean a broadcast that was picked up by airlines or literally ... commercial planes that were flying across the Tasman,” Marles said.
“This was very disconcerting for the planes that were flying,”"

--- When China rules the world ...
Imagine the giant tantrum by the CCP, if Western countries would act similarly in, say, the Taiwan Strait.

"spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China’s military had organized its fleet to conduct high seas exercises. “The drill was carried out in a safe, standard and professional manner in compliance with relevant international law and international practice”"

--- & we know how safe & professional the PLA usually acts.

China's new home prices stagnate in January as demand struggles

"declining demand in the crisis-hit property sector is struggling to find a floor despite continued government efforts to prop up sentiment
[...] On a year-on-year basis, new home prices fell 5.0%"

--- Funny, how that goes. We've heard several times last year that the bottom has been reached. & yet, the downward trend continues.

Starmer to tell Trump that UK’s Chagos deal will avoid tensions with China

"If no deal was struck, the UK argues the Chinese could use the legally disputed status of the islands to start building listening posts or bases on the outer islands, creating a contested security environment in the Indian Ocean analogous to the current tensions in the South China Sea."

--- As if the CCP really cares about the legal status. We've seen in the South China Sea that legality doesn't matter for Chinese actions.

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Philippine police arrest over 450 in ‘Chinese-run’ scam centre raid in Manila

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‘No other choice’: Hong Kong Democratic Party veterans divided over move to disband

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

--- DW News: "China is set for its biggest economic strategic shift in decades"

--- ABC News (AUS): Chinese military actions in Tasman sea "unprecedented" and "provocative"[

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Der China-Freund im Weißen Haus

"Berater Wuttke sagt aber auch, dass in China-Fragen selbst Musk möglicherweise auf kein Gehör bei Trump stößt: "Trump ist immun gegen Politikberatung. Er guckt auf die Aktienkurse und den Inflationsindex. Und er hört drauf, ob seine republikanischen Kongressmitglieder ihn da scharf kritisieren werden. Das sind die drei Entscheidungsmechanismen."
Auch Kennedy meint, was Musk in Sachen China bei Trump ausrichten könne, sei derzeit so unwägbar wie die Entwicklung der US-China-Beziehungen insgesamt. Und sollten die USA die Zollschraube doch noch stärker anziehen, dann könnte auch Tesla ein Angriffsziel der Chinesen werden.
Beide Seiten seien im Moment unberechenbar - Trump und die chinesische Führung. Und ob Trumps Vorliebe für Musk von Dauer ist, auch das ist schwer vorhersehbar."

--- Bei Trump ist grundsätzlich recht wenig vorhersehbar.

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Chinesische Kriegsschiffe vor Australien – Flüge ändern Kurs

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