Month: January 2023

Lula and Latin America’s Great China Debate

Chin@Strategy

Advertisement Early this month, Argentina hosted the CELAC summit, marking Brazil’s return to the forum with the attendance of President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva. However, the summit fell woefully short of indicating the return of a common regional agenda for the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries. Over the past few years, multilateralism and regionalism have been losing the ability to bring nations together around common issues, and countries have increasingly focused on their national interests and priorities. The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed this process, especially given the uncoordinated and…

Huawei Latest Target of US Crackdown on China Tech

Chin@Strategy

Washington —  China says it is “deeply concerned” over reports that the United States is moving to further restrict sales of American technology to Huawei, a tech company that U.S. officials have long singled out as a threat to national security for its alleged support of Beijing’s espionage efforts. As first reported by the Financial Times, the U.S. Department of Commerce has informed American firms that it will no longer issue licenses for technology exports to Huawei, thereby isolating the Shenzen-based company from supplies it needs to make its products.…

Myanmar plunges in latest corruption index, but Vietnam rises

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Myanmar has fallen 17 places in Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index, supplanting Cambodia as Southeast Asia’s worst country for graft for the first time in a decade. The junta-led nation is now ahead of only North Korea in Asia for clean government. Singapore, despite a fall of one place, remains the cleanest jurisdiction in the region – at 5th of the 180 included – ahead of both Hong Kong and Japan (steady at 12th and 18th). Vietnam, meanwhile, rose 10 places to 77th, putting it in the vicinity of…

Chinese owner of Lotus Technology to list a stake in US via blank cheque firm

Chin@Strategy

The Chinese owner of Lotus is to list a stake in a division of the luxury sports car group in the US as part of deal with a firm backed by the world’s richest man. China’s Geely said on Tuesday that it plans to merge electric carmaker Lotus Technology – an offshoot of the Norfolk-based sports car brand – with a special purpose acquisition vehicle (Spac) founded by L Catterton, which is backed by LVMH and its billionaire founder, Bernard Arnault. The Nasdaq listing is expected to value the business…

Asia Fact Check Lab: Is the U.S. economy on the brink of collapse?

Chin@Strategy

In Brief Chinese netizens and state media claim that low savings rates and rising credit card debt indicate the U.S. is on the brink of a major financial crisis.  On Jan. 20, Guyan Muchan（孤烟暮蝉), an ardent Chinese nationalist and influential internet personality with more than 6 million followers, quoted a U.S. blogger on the popular social media platform Weibo, stating that “many banks in the U.S. are unable to withdraw cash and have not explained why.” Jiemian, an online business newspaper owned by the state media company Shanghai United Media…

China’s COVID-19 death statistics ‘certainly much higher’ than reported: WHO

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World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that China’s COVID-19 death figures are likely to be “much higher” than its government is saying, a view that is backed up by anecdotal evidence and sources on the ground. “The moment they relaxed the COVID-19 restrictions, the number of deaths spiked sharply,” said Chen Heyang, a person close to the civil affairs department in Wuhan, where the pandemic first emerged three years ago.  He said his home district of Huangpi had reported around 5,000 deaths in the month since the…

Expectations Low for Blinken’s China Trip to Reset Relations

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Washington —  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s upcoming trip to Beijing does not mean the United States is heading toward a substantial change in its relationship with the People’s Republic of China, according to U.S. analysts. Blinken would be the first top U.S. diplomat to visit Beijing since 2018. Meanwhile, officials from the two countries are preparing for another in-person and pull-aside meeting between their leaders this year, according to a U.S. official who spoke to VOA on the condition of anonymity. But expectations are low that Blinken’s meetings…

Marcos administration will work with Chinese infrastructure firm blacklisted by US

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The Philippine president is willing to cooperate on infrastructure projects with a Chinese state-owned giant, his office said, although the U.S. has blacklisted the firm over its links to the militarization of Beijing’s outposts in the South China Sea. In 2020, the United States put China Communications Construction Co. Ltd (CCCC) on a list of companies involved in projects that were part of Beijing’s “expansionist agenda” in the contested waterway.  On Monday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with CCCC officials during their courtesy call at Malacañang Palace, the palace said…

Proposed Texas ban on Chinese home ownership grounded in nothing but hate

Chin@Strategy

Banning immigrants, especially Asians, from land ownership is nothing new in America. California enacted the Alien Land Law in 1913, restricting land ownership to “aliens eligible to citizenship”, which was an intentional effort to preclude Asians from owning properties. The Alien Land Law responded to the anti-Asian sentiment in the 1800s and 1900s, rooted in white supremacy and orientalism. Asians were perceived as perpetually foreign, unable to assimilate culturally to white society, and an economic threat to white labourers. Eventually, 15 states, including Texas, adopted similar laws that banned Asian…

US, Allies Mark Anniversary of Myanmar Coup with Fresh Sanctions

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WASHINGTON —  The United States and its allies imposed further sanctions on Myanmar on Tuesday, marking the two-year anniversary of the coup with curbs on energy officials and members of the junta, among others. Washington imposed sanctions on the Union Election Commission, mining enterprises, energy officials, and current and former military officials, according to a Treasury Department statement. Details of the U.S. move were first reported by Reuters. It marks the first time the United States has targeted Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) officials under the current Myanmar sanctions…