China Articles - November 14, 2021
Friends,
Below is this week’s collection of articles and reports on the malign activities of the Chinese Communist Party.
This week the COP26 climate summit concluded in Glasgow and the People’s Republic of China continued to address the international event with a “deafening silence” marked by the absence of Xi Jinping and less than a 500-word online statement by the Chinese leader. Even as Beijing and Washington released an unexpected joint statement pledging to work towards reducing emissions, the Chinese Communist Party remained unwilling to make concrete commitments to the world and shunned joining the multilateral pacts to reduce methane emissions and limit fossil fuel funding.
As the world’s largest carbon emitter, larger than Europe and the United States combined, Beijing’s “participation” in COP26 was reminiscent of their concerted effort to undermine the 2009 Copenhagen climate summit.
In the first article, Nithin Coca writes in Foreign Policy about how global environmental organizations actively downplay and obscure the Chinese Communist Party’s human rights abuses and genocide of their own minority and indigenous populations. These groups hope to ingratiate themselves with Beijing’s authoritarian regime in order to achieve “cooperation” from the Party, but this week’s COP26 demonstrates how poorly these Faustian Bargains have worked.
Under the Department of Justice’s China Initiative, Acting U.S. Attorney Vipal J. Patel secured the conviction of a Chinese intelligence officer accused of attempting to steal technology related to advanced commercial aircraft engines produced by General Electric (article #67). Yanjun Xu, the Deputy Division Director of the Sixth Bureau of the Jiangsu Province Ministry of State Security (a provincial office of the PRC’s intelligence service), was arrested in Belgium and subsequently extradited to the United States after the FBI uncovered his attempts to coerce a GE employee into passing along sensitive information about composite engine fans—a technical capability possessed only by the Cincinnati-based company.
In a separate case (article #62), federal prosecutors in California charged a former Broadcom engineer with delivering trade secrets from the American semiconductor manufacturer to a Chinese startup for which he began working.
Taken together, the twin cases underscore Beijing’s continued efforts to pilfer American technology and undercut technical capabilities and economic prosperity of open societies.
These two cases also represent the importance of the Justice Department’s efforts to uncover illegal activities conducted by the Chinese Communist Party in the United States.
Thanks for reading!
Matt
MUST READ
1. COP26 Is Silent on Human Rights in China
Nithin Coca, Foreign Policy, November 10, 2021
Nithin Coca illustrates the hypocrisy of major global environmental organizations, as well as the leaders at COP26, that remain silent, and actively downplay the importance, of gross human rights abuses in the People’s Republic of China. The world’s most vulnerable groups, Uyghurs and Tibetans, are increasingly marginalized and sacrificed to buy Beijing’s cooperation (which the CCP continues to withhold). The author raises an important question: “why are we putting so much effort into hoping un-elected, unaccountable authoritarian leaders committing wide-scale human rights atrocities will do the right thing on climate?”
2. China's deafening silence speaks loudest at global climate talks
The Straits Times, November 6, 2021
As the world’s largest polluter, larger than the United States and Europe combined, Xi Jinping’s absence from COP26 should dispel any lingering beliefs that Beijing is interested in the kinds of global, multilateral cooperation that its fellow nations are committed to. The PRC’s minimalist presence in Glasgow and unwillingness to join pacts on methane and fossil fuel funding resembles its efforts to undermine the 2009 Copenhagen climate summit.
3. China’s self-isolation is a global concern
Gideon Rachman, Financial Times, November 8, 2021
As countries around the world begin to reopen their borders and resume a degree of normalcy, China appears to be increasingly isolated on the global stage—perhaps by design. Authorities continue to enforce a stringent zero-covid policy, subjecting citizens to severe lockdowns and foreign visitors to onerous quarantines while President Xi Jinping has not left the country in two years. Beijing has plotted its economy on an increasingly inward trajectory, limiting global engagement in the name of avoiding new COVID outbreaks. Taken together, these policies represent an alarming trend. “It is much easier to believe that foreigners are dangerous and decadent if you never meet them” concludes Gideon Rachman as he cautions that China might eventually reopen as a “much changed” country.
4. Europe Is Doubling Down on Taiwan
Thorsten Benner, Foreign Policy, November 10, 2021
As Beijing continues to direct rhetorical and physical intimidation towards Taiwan, European politicians are standing firm in support of the democratic haven. Writing in Foreign Policy, Thorsten Benner covers the recent visit to Brussels of the Taiwanese foreign minister and the arrival of European Parliament members in Taiwan. This show of diplomatic force represents a significant and conspicuous elevation of European willingness to bolster Taipei. The shift has largely been precipitated by Beijing—as newfound efforts to coerce European capitals into submission on the issue of Taiwan appear to have meaningfully backfired, argues Mr. Benner.
5. ‘Be careful you don’t die in an accident’: Hong Kong protester living in Canada receives daily threats
Steven Chase, The Globe and Mail, November 9, 2021
“As with many Hong Kong activists, a fresh start in Canada does not mean an end to harassment and attacks from the Chinese Communist Party and its proxies. Each day, Ms. Lai is subjected to a torrent of abuse when she opens up Soteria’s social-media accounts.
She is the first Hong Kong refugee to allow The Globe and Mail to publish their name and city of residence, hoping to draw attention to what is happening to critics of China’s authoritarian government who now live in Canada.
As the spokesperson for the group, Ms. Lai is the main target of the anonymous harassers. She receives dozens of missives daily full of foul words and misogynistic attacks. She has been sent video clips of beheadings. “You are such a shame for a Hong Konger. ... Be careful you don’t die in an accident,” one recent message said.
They have found out where she works and know her daily routine. They often threaten to pay her a visit.”
6. Preserving the Warrior Ethos
H. R. McMaster, The National Review, October 28, 2021
In the wake of its chaotic and conciliatory withdrawal from Afghanistan, the United States risks losing touch with a fundamental ethos binding soldiers to one and other alongside the citizens and ideals they serve. Once lost, the American ‘warrior ethos’ might only be regained “at an exorbitant price,” writes retired Army Lieutenant General and former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster. Even in the face of partisan division and significant, necessary social change, the United States cannot lose touch with soldiers who bare untold sacrifice on behalf of our continuing and singular experiment in freedom.
AUTHORITARIANISM
7. Fed warns ailing China real estate sector poses risks to US economy
Gary Silverman and Colby Smith, Financial Times, November 8, 2021
8. Chinese State Firm Weighs Bid to Take Over SCMP From Alibaba
Bloomberg, November 5, 2021
9. How China’s tech bosses cashed out at the right time
Ryan McMorrow, Eleanor Olcott, and Andy Lin, Financial Times, November 7, 2021
In China, there is no clearer sell-sign than when Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, starts personally attacking an industry.
So when Xi complained in March that relentless home-schooling was a “stubborn disease” that was putting too much pressure on Chinese children and their parents, the heads of at least two Chinese tutoring companies started selling their shares in New York.
In one previously unreported trade, a shell company holding shares for executives at GSX Techedu, whose market capitalisation in New York was about $24bn at the time, launched the sale of shares worth as much as $119m just three days after Xi spoke.
The sale is among hundreds of records reviewed by the Financial Times that provide one of the first looks at how and when executives at China’s biggest New York-listed tech companies trade their shares.
In public, Larry Chen, the chief executive of GSX, who does not appear to be linked to the shell company that sold, expressed confidence in his business, promising at the end of March to buy $50m of shares with his own money.
10. China turns inward: Xi Jinping, COP26 and the pandemic
Edward White, James Kynges, and Tom Mitchell, Financial Times, November 5, 2021
11. AUDIO — The worldview of Wang Huning, the Party’s leading theoretician
Kaiser Kuo, Sinica, November 4, 2021
12. China’s Xi Jinping, preparing for a third term, shuts the door on the past
Christian Shepherd, Washington Post, November 5, 2021
13. Hong Kong prosecutors cite Dominic Raab comments in bid to deny bail for Apple Daily boss
Helen Davidson, The Guardian, November 10, 2021
14. Almost half of journalists considering leaving Hong Kong, citing decline in press freedom
Rhoda Kwan, Hong Kong Free Press, November 5, 2021
56% admitted to self-censoring or avoiding reporting on sensitive topics to at least some degree; 84% believed working conditions have deteriorated.
15. Leader urges Hongkongers ‘actively’ to partake in revamped election, warns against calls for blank votes or boycott
Rhoda Kwan, Hong Kong Free Press, November 9, 2021
16. President of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology steps down
Kelly Ho, Hong Kong Free Press, November 9, 2021
17. China Moves to Quash Online Rumors That Taiwan War Looms
Bloomberg, November 12, 2021
18. Hong Kong’s Stage-Managed Election Is Fooling Nobody
Matthew Brooker, Bloomberg, November 7, 2021
19. China spurs Taiwan anger with criminal liability threat for independence supporters
Yew Lun Tian, Reuters, November 6, 2021
20. Tech regulation in China brings in sweeping changes
Kai von Carnap and Valerie Tan, Mercator Institute for China Studies, November 3, 2021
Indeed, these institutional changes are just one part of a grander paradigm shift in China towards technological self-suffiency, a closely steered government economy and China’s ambition to become a technology superpower. Ultimately, the question of how Beijing wants to define the role of its private sector at large in this “new phase” of socialism has still to be answered.
21. Covid-19 Lockdowns Ripple Across China — ‘I Wonder How Long I Can Hang On’
Liyan Qi and Natasha Khan, Wall Street Journal, November 4, 2021
22. Disney Meets Roadblocks to Releasing Movies in China
Erich Schwartzel, Wall Street Journal, October 10, 2021
23. Xi Jinping is rewriting history to justify his rule for years to come
Economist, November 6, 2021
24. Xi’s Expanding Power Is a Growing Risk for China’s Economy
Bloomberg, November 8, 2021
25. Are China’s Domestic Politics Beginning to Erode its Governance?
Carl Minzer, Council on Foreign Relations, November 4, 2021
26. Food prices in China climbed every week of October, commerce ministry says
Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, November 4, 2021
27. PwC puts its reputation at risk with controversial bet on China
Simon Foy, The Telegraph, November 9, 2021
Big Four auditor’s move to double presence in China puts it at the heart of growing tensions between the world’s biggest superpowers
28. New Hong Kong university classes set out dangers of breaking security law
Jessie Pang and Sara Cheng, Reuters, November 5, 2021
29. China lashes out at press freedom survey in Hong Kong
Zen Soo, Associated Press, November 5, 2021
ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS
30. Coal-reliant Chinese emit third of the world’s carbon
Ben Webster, Sunday Times, November 4, 2021
31. When Will China Get Off Coal?
China File, November 8, 2021
32. COP26: U.S., UK commit to stop financing foreign oil projects- China abstains
Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Alberto Nardelli, World Oil, November 3, 2021
33. New Galápagos Conservation Efforts Aim to Counter China Fishing Fleet
Juan Forero and Ryan Dube, Wall Street Journal, November 5, 2021
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE AND COERCION
34. Lithuania says its rocky ties with China are a 'wake up call' for Europe
Reuters, November 4, 2021
35. Paul Keating says defending Taiwan is not in Australia’s interest
Anthony Galloway, Sydney Morning Herald, November 10, 2021
Lowy Institute senior fellow Richard McGregor said Mr Keating’s narrative about Taiwan “is almost entirely out of date and has been for decades”.
“China’s plan to allow Taiwan to keep its political system has been dead ever since the island became a democracy, and who would believe Beijing after Hong Kong anyway?”
Pierre-Henri de Menthon, Challenges, October 29, 2021 — ORIGINAL IN FRENCH
37. German engine technology found in Chinese warships
Amanda Rivkin, Deutsche Welle, November 6, 2021
Engines developed in Germany can evade export control bans due to their status as a so-called dual-use technology, a German media investigation has revealed.
38. VIDEO — Gallagher Outlines Steps Wisconsin Can Take to Protect Itself from CCP Threats
Mike Gallagher, Testimony before the Wisconsin State Senate, October 19, 2021
39. China Consolidates Rare Earth Supply Chain
Annie Fixler, Louis Gilbertson, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, November 5, 2021
40. China conducts influence operations to target media, businesses in US, other countries: Pentagon
ANI News, November 3, 2021
41. EU lawmakers raise alarm on Chinese ‘interference in Europe’
Finbarr Bermingham, South China Morning Post, November 9, 2021
42. Speculation swirls in China over TSMC’s response to US data request
Che Pan, South China Morning Post, November 8, 2021
43. China was known for non-interference foreign policy. And then came Guinea
Jevans Nyabiage, South China Morning Post, November 6, 2021
44. The World Is Fed Up with China’s Belligerence
Chris Horton, The Atlantic, November 9, 2021
45. 'You are not alone': EU Parliament delegation tells Taiwan on first official visit
Sarah Wu, Reuters, November 4, 2021
46. Excluded from COP26, Taiwan seeks to engage from the sidelines
South China Morning Post, November 8, 2021
47. Europe considering adopting Australia’s foreign interference laws to counter China
Anthony Galloway, Sydney Morning Herald, November 9, 2021
48. Taiwan to teach EU how to tackle Chinese disinformation on landmark visit
Nicola Smith, The Telegraph, November 3, 2021
49. Taiwan Outlines Plans to Counter China’s ‘Gray Zone Threats’
Cindy Wang, Bloomberg, November 8, 2021
50. What's Going on With Trump's SPAC?
Katrina Northrop, The Wire China, November 8, 2021
51. For China, Private Military Companies are the Future
Emil Avdaliani, The National Interest, November 8, 2021
HUMAN RIGHTS AND RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION
52. Zhang Zhan: US asks China to free jailed Wuhan citizen journalist
BBC, November 9, 2021
53. Dalai Lama says China’s leaders ‘don’t understand’ diversity
Associated Press, November 10, 2021
Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama says China’s leaders “don’t understand the variety of different cultures” and that the ruling Communist Party’s penchant for tight social control can be harmful.
54. “To Make Us Slowly Disappear”: The Chinese Government’s Assault on the Uyghurs
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, November 2021
55. China: A gold medal for repression
International Trade Union Confederation, November 8, 2021
56. Xinjiang: New Regulations Will Tighten Control in 2022
Guo Yun, Bitter Winter, November 8, 2021
57. ‘A Daily Cloud of Suffering’: A Crackdown in China Is Felt Abroad
Amy Qin and Sui-Lee Wee, New York Times, November 6, 2021
58. Beijing Olympics get 'gold for repression' in labor report
Stephen Wade, Associated Press, November 9, 2021
59. Chinese tech companies appear to censor Uyghur and Tibetan
Kevin McAllister, Protocol, November 8, 2021
60. Chinese Buddhist Monks Compelled to Watch “Red” Movies
Chen Tao, Bitter Winter, November 6, 2021
INDUSTRIAL POLICIES AND ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE
61. Young and nimble, China's EV makers make bold bets to take on world
Takashi Kawakami, Nikkei Asia, November 7, 2021
62. Former Broadcom Engineer Charged with Theft of Trade Secrets
United States Department of Justice, November 9, 2021
63. 'I know spying when I see it and this is spying,' ex-CIA chief on accused Chinese spymaster
Paula Christian, WCPO Cincinnati, November 1, 2021
Julien Bouissou, Le Monde, November 2, 2021 — ORIGINAL IN FRENCH
65. Escaping China’s silicon straitjacket
David Wertime, Protocol, November 10, 2021
66. Chinese swooped for British microchip maker after Government rejected pleas for Covid loans
James Titcomb, The Telegraph, November 4, 2021
67. Jury Convicts Chinese Intelligence Officer of Espionage Crimes, Attempting to Steal Trade Secrets
United States Department of Justice, November 5, 2021
68. Tencent launches three self-designed chips in semiconductor push
Josh Ye, South China Morning Post, November 3, 2021
CYBER AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
69. Fast-fashion giant Shein hooks children with casino games
Shanti Das and Louise Eccles, Sunday Times, November 7, 2021
70. Selling China's Story: How the Chinese Gov't Privatized Facebook Propaganda
Jordan Schneider, ChinaTalk, November 8, 2021
71. Microsoft's Long Past and Uncertain Future in China
Eliot Chen, The Wire China, November 8, 2021
72. Huawei Strikes Back
Jonathan E. Hillman, Foreign Affairs, November 10, 2021
MILITARY AND SECURITY THREATS
73. Mines and speedboats: How Taiwan plans to repel a Chinese invasion
Nicola Smith, The Telegraph, November 9, 2021
74. China Builds Missile Targets Shaped Like U.S. Aircraft Carrier, Destroyers in Remote Desert
H. I. Sutton and Sam LaGrone, USNI News, November 7, 2021
75. Chinese Ferry Tales: The PLA's Use of Civilian Shipping in Support of Over-the-Shore Logistics
J. Michael Dahm, China Maritime Studies Institute, November 2021
76. Second U.S. Aircraft Carrier Missile Target Spotted in Chinese Desert
H. I. Sutton, USNI News, November 9, 2021
United States Department of Defense, November 3, 2021
78. We Spent a Year Investigating What the Chinese Army Is Buying. Here’s What We Learned.
Ryan Fedasiuk, Politico, November 10, 2021
79. T-Day: The Battle for Taiwan
David Lague and Maryanne Murray, Reuters, November 5, 2021
80. Beijing sends 16 fighter jets towards Taiwan
South China Morning Post, November 7, 2021
81. German Navy, Eyes on China, Adds to Europe’s Pacific Presence
Alastair Gale, Wall Street Journal, November 5, 2021
82. The U.S. Is Getting Taiwan Ready to Fight on the Beaches
Jack Detsch and Zinya Salfiti, Foreign Policy, November 10, 2021
83. Suspected new Chinese missile garrison found by commercial satellite
Alexander Ward, Politico, November 8, 2021
84. FAST THINKING: China’s stunning military buildup
Barry Pavel and Matthew Kroenig, Atlantic Council, November 4, 2021
85. China Is Evading U.S. Spies — and the White House Is Worried
Peter Martin, Jennifer Jacobs, and Nick Wadhams, Bloomberg, November 9, 2021
86. China’s land border law: A preliminary assessment
Shuxian Luo, Brookings Institution, November 4, 2021
ONE BELT, ONE ROAD STRATEGY
87. China’s Army Furnishes Foreign Militaries with Covid-19 Vaccines
Chao Deng and Joe Parkinson, Wall Street Journal, November 8, 2021
88. China’s influence and operating of the main European ports
Dr. Nadia Helmy, Modern Diplomacy, November 10, 2021
89. U.S. eyes January rollout of first projects to counter China's Belt and Road -official
Andrea Shalal, Reuters, November 9, 2021
OPINION PIECES
90. Germany: The Weak Link in the Transatlantic Community?
Silviu Nate and James Jay Carafano, 1945, November 8, 2021
91. Beijing’s Taiwan Invasion Timeline: Two Predictions | National Review
Jimmy Quinn, The National Review, November 9, 2021
92. Asia Can’t Decarbonize Without China’s Help
Eyck Freymann, The Wire China, November 8, 2021
93. Japan’s Voters Endorse Getting Tough on China
Bruce Klingner, Wall Street Journal, November 3, 2021
94. Beijing’s Memory Control in Hong Kong
The Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2021
95. Saudi Arabia Turns Toward China
Karen Elliott House, Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2021
96. Xi Jinping Battens Down the Hatches
Walter Russell Mead, Wall Street Journal, November 8, 2021
97. Taiwan Won’t Capitulate to China
Chiu Kuo-Cheng, Wall Street Journal, November 4, 2021
98. A Green Deal at COP26 Can’t Be a Green Light for China
Jacob Helberg, Foreign Policy, November 10, 2021
99. Xi Is Running Out of Time
Daniel Rosen, Foreign Affairs, November 10, 2021
100. The West is falling behind China in the next space race
Alexander Downer, The Spectator, November 5, 2021
101. Closing Window: Transatlantic Cooperation on China Under Biden
Noah Barkin, German Marshall Fund, November 3, 2021
102. U.S. Strategic Clarity on Taiwan Wouldn’t Unleash a Spiral of Escalation
Simon Cotton, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, November 6, 2021
103. Away from Glasgow, Xi Jinping is Laying the Foundation for China 3.0
Shashank Mattoo, News 18 India, November 10, 2021