China news roundup / Nachrichten 2020-11-19

English news:

Hong Kong: 'Eyes will be plucked out,' China warns West

"They urged Beijing to reverse course.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman warned countries to stay out of China's affairs saying: "They should be careful or their eyes will be plucked out.""

--- It's always nice to see a regime show off its real mindset.

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Hong Kong breached bill of rights over police scrutiny, court rules

"The judge Anderson Chow said the police complaints department (Capo) was an unsegregated part of the police force, and could not be regarded as practically independent. The IPCC was practically independent but lacked the powers to investigate and could not overturn Capo’s decisions"

--- Which means, the CCP very soon will introduce some regulation to limit the court's ability for independent decision making. I mean, we can't have judges who actually rule according to the law. Right?

"A research study published on Wednesday led by Stott on the dynamics of last year’s protests found that the actions of Hong Kong police amplified perceptions of their illegitimacy and radicalised pro-democracy protesters"

--- Which was pretty obvious to see for anyone who watched.
cf.: Hong Kong police played pivotal role in radicalising protests in build-up to Poly-U seige, policing expert report says

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President Xi at Apec: China pledges to open up its 'super-sized' economy

"Chinese president Xi Jinping has said China will open up its "super-sized" economy"

--- Oh, how nice of emperor Xi! Another pledge. It's not as if we heard the same pledge for more than 20 years.

"However, China is involved in a number of trade disputes with rival economies, including Australia which it has imposed import tariffs of up to 80% on barley."

--- Which can hardly be called a trade dispute. Australia criticised Chinese policies & China reacted with trade restrictions.
So much for Chinese pledges about free trade.

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Pro-China TV station in Taiwan ordered off air over disinformation

"CTi’s biggest shareholder had directly interfered in CTI’s newsdesk – a reference to the Beijing-friendly tycoon Tsai Eng-meng, who runs CTi’s parent company Want Want China Holdings"

--- Hmm, don't know about Taiwanese laws, but a broadcaster which virtually only produces content favouring one political party has not much of a standing when it claims independence.

"removing dissenting voices from media was “one of the hallmarks of an authoritarian country”"

--- Well, yes. But if you are making propaganda for a foreign country, you don't need to be in an authoritarian country to be shut down.

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China borrows at negative interest rates for the first time

"5-year debt priced with a yield of minus 0.152%. China also sold 10-year and 15-year bonds with yields below 1%
[...] European investors accounted for 85% of the 15-year debt and about two thirds of the shorter-dated bonds"

--- I don't get it. There are still other investment opportunities with better 'yield'. Maybe with higher risk, but still...

"Yields on five-year German government bonds were around minus 0.75% on Thursday"

--- Which obviously means that the trust in the German economy & state is still higher than in the case of China. So, it can't be that bad in Europe.

"The issuance demonstrates that international investors are "full of confidence in China's strong economic rebound and its future developments despite the lingering global Covid-19 pandemic,""

--- Yeah, well, or they are simply looking for fairly safe investments where they don't lose too much money?
Meanwhile, there are signs of growing problems in China's economy:

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The fault lines in China's economy have been exposed

"Chinese banks and investors are reducing their bond holdings for fear that there will be more defaults as non-performing loans hit record levels.
[...] Even China’s sovereign bonds have been impacted, with 10-year government bond yields reaching their highest levels in nearly 18 months."

--- But everything is find under the mandate of heaven.

"The state-owned miner’s bonds were AAA-rated by domestic credit ratings agencies because of its state-owned status, the creditworthiness of Henan province and because it had appeared to be holding ample liquidity ahead of the default"

--- Well, that's probably due to creative accounting. Very common in China. New is that the local government didn't bail them out.

"China’s banks have provided interest and repayment deferrals until March next year, which might be disguising the extent of the problems within its corporate sector, particularly the state-owned sector and the local governments that support the SOEs"

--- The worst is yet to come.

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How Xi Jinping Blew It

"Beijing is undoubtedly more powerful than it was in January 2017, when Trump entered the Oval Office, yet what is perhaps not fully understood is how much stronger it could have been."

--- Influential might be a better word than powerful here. Anyway, just like wannabe-dictator Trump stumbled in international diplomacy, so did actual dictator Xi.

"China has more recently defaulted largely to coercing rather than coaxing, imposing its terms abroad, and leaving a bitter taste for those who are forced to agree to Beijing’s demands
[...] the leadership in Beijing, which so badly desires international respect and acclaim, would pursue a foreign policy so obviously not winning friends and influencing people"

--- For the commies, friends are people who fear them & do what they want them to. Respect is fear, friendship is submission. Somehow they have similar ideas like the old Chinese emperors. (With emperor Xi & his love for Chinese 'tradition', that's probably no wonder.)

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China's first stealth jet looks an awful lot like the US's first stealth fighter — here's how the J-20 and the F-22 stack up

"Its exact specifications are not known, but it is believed"

--- Hence, much of this article is mere speculation.

"They can develop technology cheaper. They can steal from about anybody with impunity, and they've got mass advantage that we don't have"

--- True. But never underestimate Chinese corruption, lacking maintenance & training. We will only see how they fare when there is a proper conflict.

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Video News:

--- Hoover Institution: "The End Of "One Country, Two Systems" And The Future Of Freedom In Hong Kong"

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--- 9 News (AUS): "PM refuses to back down to China over leaked dossier of 'grievances'"

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--- Sky News (AUS): "China won't gain global traction by wielding trade as a 'tool of punishment'"

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Deutsche Nachrichten:

Ericsson-CEO gegen Ausschluss von Huawei: "Wettbewerb ist wichtig"

"Beobachter gehen deshalb davon aus, dass Ericsson mit der klaren Positionierung des CEOs auch das Geschäft in China schützen will."

--- Das dürfte der Hauptgrund sein.

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Mit China jetzt auf die Zukunft setzen

"China gehört damit langfristig die Zukunft, und es gehört daher auch in die Portfolios von langfristig orientierten Anlegern."

--- Puh. Ziemlich naiver Artikel. Klingt, als kennen die Schreiberlinge nur Berichte über chinesische Metropolen wie Peking, Shanghai & Shenzhen & glauben, so funktioniere China. Noch dazu werden die politischen Verhältnisse völlig außer Acht gelassen. Den Versprechungen der KPCh kann man nicht einfach Glauben schenken. Spätestens, wenn Kaiser Xi versucht, Taiwan zu erobern (hohe Wahrscheinlichkeit,daß das in den nächsten 10 Jahren passiert, wenn er an der Macht bleibt), wird es zu gewaltigen wirtschaftlichen Problemen kommen.

"Der chinesische Aktienmarkt ist bis heute einer der ineffizientesten Märkte Asiens. Zum Teil ist dies auf die bedeutende Rolle von Kleinanlegern zurückzuführen. Sie machen etwa 80% des inländischen Handelsvolumens aus. Solche Teilnehmer zeigen oft eine herdenähnliche Anlegermentalität, und die Haltedauer beträgt Tage, nicht Jahre. Diese Ineffizienzen deuten an, dass Anlagen in China mit einem Horizont von fünf bis zehn Jahren einen zusätzlichen Wettbewerbsvorteil haben."

--- Gut zu wissen, daß jemand die Zukunft kennt. Ob die Autoren mir die Lottozahlen von nächster Woche verraten würden?

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Matrosen auf schwimmenden Gefängnissen

"Seit sie im Mai in Australien ablegten, können die überwiegend indischen Matrosen nicht an Land.
[...] Im chinesischen Außenministerium hieß es, niemand hindere die Frachter daran, die Anker zu lichten und umzukehren: „Die Frachtführer wollen aus kommerziellen Interessen ihre Pläne nicht ändern. Das erst führt zu dieser Situation.“"

--- Natürlich. Hat rein gar nichts mit chinesischen Blockaden zu tun.

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Neuer Umgang mit China?

"Vielleicht hält Xi Jinping nach drei Jahrzehnten einer beispiellosen wirtschaftlichen Aufholjagd auch einfach den Moment für gekommen, die gewachsene Wirtschaftsmacht in militärische und politische Macht umzumünzen. Und die dann vermehrt einzusetzen, immer aggressiver, nach innen und außen – propagandistisch verbrämt als Schritte auf dem Weg zur Verwirklichung des "chinesischen Traums"."

--- Immer gut, wenn man größenwahnsinnige Alleinherrscher hat.

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