China news roundup / Nachrichten 2024-05-03/04
--- SNAFU. Disruptions will continue.
Xi's trip to Europe may lay bare West's divisions over China strategy
"Xi travels to France, Serbia and Hungary"
--- Notably, Serbia & Hungary are among the most Russia-friendly European countries.
""There's a very strong divide and rule element," Duchatel said of China's strategy towards Europe. "That's not hidden but in plain sight.""
--- Yep. But morons in Europe don't want to see.
"Macron would encourage Scholz to join him and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, for four-way talks with Xi in the French capital, as Paris seeks to present a united front."
--- Scholz won't go. He rather goes east.
Chinese EV makers risk tougher duties over failure to cooperate with EU probe
"The correspondence indicates that the trade investigation, launched by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last year, could be heading toward a harsh outcome"
--- That would be good. But it remains to be seen what the major Chinese tools in Europe - like Scholz - can do to thwart higher tariffs.
"One recurring complaint is that the three companies kept claiming supplying companies didn’t need to fill out a subsidy questionnaire.
In the case of SAIC, Brussels already sent a letter in December complaining about the lack of cooperation. “Nevertheless, your client maintained its approach and continued to refuse access to some key information,” the letter seen by POLITICO reminds the lawyers for SAIC.
The letter to SAIC is particularly testy: “Your client almost systematically presented requests for deadline extensions although it did not use this additional time to provide the necessary information requested by the Commission.”"
--- Seems like the Chinese carmakers feel untouchable. Maybe they are convinced that Scholz et al. can control the EU commission.
Chinese fishing fleets in Indian Ocean accused of abuses
"As a leading fishing nation, China's distant water fishing (DWF) industry is the world's largest in both catch volume and fleet size. And according to the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Index, China ranks as the worst offender among 152 countries worldwide."
--- Surprise?
"Callum Nolan, a senior researcher at the EJF who led much of the study, told DW that "there's real cause for concern" as the Chinese fleet's illegal fishing activity is "systematic."
"This isn't a handful of bad actors or captains. What we're seeing is a fleet-wide issue on the Chinese distant-water fleet,""
--- Almost as if they have government approval & support. But - hey - that's impossible, because China always follows rules & regulations. Right?
"A 2023 government white paper on the development of distant-water fisheries said China holds a "zero tolerance" attitude towards illegal fishing and has "the world's strictest management measures and regulations" on DWF fleets."
Tensions grow as China ramps up global mining for green tech
""The water from the river is undrinkable now, it's so contaminated, and the sea, that is usually clear blue, turns red when it rains," Nur Hayati, a teacher who lives in Kawasi village, says.
Indonesian soldiers have been deployed to the island to protect the mine and when the BBC visited recently, there was a noticeable, increased military presence. Jatam claims soldiers are being used to intimidate, and even assault, people who speak out against the mine. Ms Nur says her community feels the army is there to "protect the interests of the mine, not the welfare of their own people". "
--- The Indonesian government doesn't seem to care too much about Chinese intrusions into territorial waters. As long as the money keeps flowing they even send their own army to defend Chinese interests.
Beijing's political goals drive China's green tech surplus
"Over-investment leads to diminishing returns, forcing companies to engage in life-or-death price wars just to survive, Xie said, adding that many of those companies would never have gotten started in the first place in a market economy.
"The central government comes up with a policy, and subsidies, and everyone wants a slice of the pie," Xie said. "So they rush to production without worrying whether or not these products will sell."
"They don't care about that, because this is a way for local government officials to show off their political achievements,""
--- Even if some of these companies go bankrupt, it doesn't matter. They are told to keep producing. & if necessary, they get government money to do so.
Death toll jumps to at least 48 as a search continues in southern China highway collapse
Philippines summons China envoy over water cannon attack in South China Sea
--- China Uncensored features the usual weekend news variety:
--- China Uncensored: "China Literally Changed the Definition of Authoritarianism. It’s a Good Thing Now!"
Staatsbesuch in Europa: Warum Scholz beim Gespräch mit Xi nicht dabei sein will
"Staats- und Parteichef Xi hat sich bei seiner ersten Europareise seit fünf Jahren die drei Länder, die er besucht, genau ausgesucht. Frankreich steht für Peking durch die von Macron vertretene „strategische Autonomie“ in gewisser Distanz zu den USA. Serbien wird als russlandfreundlich verstanden und ist Teil der chinesischen Seidenstraßen-Initiative. Ähnlich Ungarn, das gemeinsame EU-Beschlüsse zu China öfter blockiert. Durch die gezielte Einflussnahme auf Länder wie Ungarn will Peking einheitliche Positionen der EU untergraben."
--- & solange es Idioten wie Scholz gibt, braucht Kaiser Xi das nicht einmal.
Betrugsverdacht bei Klimaschutzprojekten
Mindestens 48 Menschen sterben bei Teileinsturz von Autobahn
