News that caught our eye / The week ending March 29, 2024
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NOTE: The news reports below are not in chronological order. There is often a time lag in their reaching the US and in gaining our attention. These reports reflect the opinions of a variety of news sources.
China’s spy agency: foreign groups are using consulting ‘as a cover’ to steal secrets / March 28, 2024
China’s Ministry of State Security warned Chinese citizens on its WeChat page that foreign consulting companies—through their consulting activities—are stealing sensitive information that compromises China’s national security, A May 2023 amendment to its anti-espionage law expanded the country’s definition of spying (SCMP).
US, UK accuse China of cyberespionage that hit millions of people / March 26, 2024
US and British officials filed charges against 7 Chinese individuals, accusing them of hacking and conducting espionage that compromised the personal information of millions of Americans and British citizens, businesses, and government officials, including even their spouses. Titled “ATP31,” the group is allegedly tied to China’s Ministry of State Security (Reuters).
Xi Jinping to China’s central bank: restart treasury-bond trade, after 2-decade hiatus / March 28, 2024
A new book details President Xi Jinping’s philosophy on monetary policy over the course of his three presidential terms, including a controversial and rarely used strategy for China’s central banks to purchase more treasury bonds. It’s been more than two decades since China’s banks have done so (SCMP).
Yellen Warns She’ll Confront China on Its Energy Subsidies / March 27, 2024
In an upcoming visit to China in April, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plans to discuss the negative impact China’s subsidies for clean energy industries are having on the global market. The subsidies are flooding the global market with cheaper goods, distorting global prices and other countries’ production of items like solar panels and EV vehicles (VOA).
Taiwan stands as major line of defense against global war with China / March 27, 2024
Although the island of Taiwan is about the size of the state of Maryland, its strategic impact for stability in East Asia is extremely significant. If China were to overtake Taiwan, it would give China a closer launching pad and greater control over the South China Sea, Japan, and the western Pacific Ocean, weakening the US’ influence in the region (Fox News).
Lies, ideology, and repression: China seals Hong Kong’s failed-state fate / March 23, 2024
With the enforcement of “Article 23,” journalist Simon Tisdall declares that the Hong Kong the world once knew, is gone forever. Forced into silence, the citizens of Hong Kong fear being targeted for speaking their minds; investors and residents are fleeing the city. Tisdall sees Taiwan as China’s next target for oppression (The Guardian).
China’s Xi holds all-male meeting with US business leaders / March 27, 2024
President Xi Jinping met with US business leaders in China this week, encouraging a strong business relationship between the two superpowers in an effort to lure US businesses to invest more in China. For whatever reason, all of the attendees happened to be male. The meeting was another indication of possibly warmer ties between the two nations (The Hill).
Xi tells Dutch PM that restricting technology access won’t stop China’s advance / March 27, 2024
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte met with President Xi Jinping on Wednesday with the war in Ukraine as the most important issue on his list to discuss with the Chinese President. But Xi talked economics, warning that no force—namely, Western sanctions against China—could slow down China’s economic growth. The Netherlands’ largest company, ASML, makes advanced semiconductors and once did lucrative business with China (AP News).
China Aims to phase out AMD, Intel chips from government computers / March 25, 2024
Under new guidelines, China plans to phase out the use of AMD, Intel, and Microsoft’s processors and operating systems as it reacts to Western sanctions on technology and determines to create its own systems. Both China and Western nations distrust the others’ advancements in technology and their use in espionage (Investor’s Business Daily).
China Could Be Hoarding Over 5,300 Tons of Gold, Might Create Price 'Perfect Storm' / March 24, 2024
A gold expert has calculated that China may be hoarding more than twice as much gold as it has officially reported, in an effort to support its economy in the event that the US dollar ceases to be the global currency standard. The rising value of gold increases its demand (Bitcoin.com).
Philippines’s Marcos promises action after China’s ‘dangerous attacks’ / March 28, 2024
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos declared that the Philippines will counteract any foreign aggression with an equal amount of force if a foreign entity threatens its territory in the South China Sea after a Chinese coast guard ship damaged a Philippine ship and injured three soldiers. Marcos does not want confrontation, but he said also that “Filipinos do not yield” (Al Jazeera).