China - the next superpower

[Fwiffo]

What China’s future overseas military expansion could look like, according to a new report

Predictions in a new report from AidData suggest the People’s Liberation Army will undergo a major expansion under Chinese President Xi Jinping

www.theglobeandmail.com

"As well as Ream – where recent satellite imagery shows continuing construction of facilities – AidData identified seven other potential sites for PLA naval bases. In Asia-Pacific these include Sri Lanka, where Chinese entities already have a 99-year lease to Hambantota Port; Gwadar in Pakistan, one of Beijing’s closest allies; and the tiny island nation of Vanuatu. Further afield, the researchers also identified four sites in Africa: Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and Mauritania in the west and Mozambique, on the Indian Ocean, in the southeast."

Rule, Britannia China! Britannia China, rule the waves! Britons Chinese never, never, never shall be slaves.

 

[Fwiffo]

Xi Jinping replaces leaders of China's elite nuclear force

The move is the biggest unplanned shake-up in Beijing's military leadership in almost a decade.

www.bbc.com

The purges continue.

 

[Fwiffo]

U.S. Navy sends 4 destroyers to Alaska coast after 11 Chinese, Russian warships spotted in nearby waters

The show of force is a reminder of the cooperation between the Chinese and Russian militaries – and of how close the countries are to Alaska.

www.cbsnews.com

Canadian warships depart for Indo-Pacific operation, fulfilling promise to increase naval presence in region

The Canadian military is delivering on its promise to increase the number of warships deployed annually to the Indo-Pacific region from two ships to three, starting this summer.

vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca

We're coming...we're coming...

 

[Fwiffo]

South Africa rolls out red carpet for Chinese President Xi Jinping as Beijing’s influence in Africa grows

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa made a late-night journey with a military honour guard and a troupe of Zulu dancers and singers to greet the Chinese President personally

www.theglobeandmail.com

"South African President Cyril Ramaphosa made a late-night journey to Johannesburg’s international airport to greet Mr. Xi personally, along with a military honour guard and a troupe of Zulu dancers and singers. A few hours later, more red carpets were rolled out for Mr. Xi, who was given a 21-gun salute and South Africa’s highest award for foreign leaders in a ceremony in Pretoria.

'The people of South Africa salute you, President Xi Jinping,' Mr. Ramaphosa said as he draped the medal – the Order of South Africa – around the Chinese leader’s neck."

 

[Fwiffo]

Xi Jinping struggles to patch cracks in the Chinese success story

"Could disenchanted youth be a new spark for the next Chinese revolution?

And it is not just youth who are disenchanted. Shares in the Chinese property giant Evergrande lost more than 80 per cent of their value this week. Meanwhile, Evergrande's competitor Country Garden, previously seen as safe, was struggling to avoid default.

The property sector accounts for 30 per cent of China's economy. So citizens, mom and pop investors, and businesses hoping for a commercial rebound after the government's draconian pandemic lockdown have been disappointed. Consumers are reconsidering spending plans as deflation begins to bite.

It's all being framed by some as China's Lehman moment."

"...even at relatively low levels of growth, the enormous Chinese economy remains on track to exceed that of the United States over the next decade. 'I think that there may have been some recognition by Xi and his advisers that there's a risk that they can kill the golden goose by over-regulation,'"

"'This guy is first and foremost focused on staying in power,' said Tsang pointing to Xi's reversal on stringent lockdowns after widespread public demonstrations. 'So if he sees those problems as potentially going to threaten his hold on power, he'll make changes.'"

Learn from the best. Learn from Vladimir Putin.

 

[Fwiffo]

Is China's economy a 'ticking time bomb'?

The world's second largest economy faces deep-rooted challenges in the years ahead.

www.bbc.com

"One of the more bizarre examples of China's addiction to building can be found in Yunnan province, near the border with Myanmar. This year, officials there bafflingly confirmed they would go ahead with plans to build a new multi-million dollar Covid-19 quarantine facility.

Heavily indebted local governments are under so much pressure that this year some were reportedly found to be selling land to themselves to fund building programmes.

The bottom line is that there is only so much China can build before it starts becoming a waste of money. The country needs to find another way of generating prosperity for its people."

Welcome to the western world. Building useless public infrastructure with taxpayer money because of lobbyists is normal.

 

[Fwiffo]

China’s new map outrages its neighbors

India led regional protests to the map, which lays claim to disputed territory in the Himalayas, as well as almost all of the strategically important South China Sea.

www.nbcnews.com

The aggrieved: Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and India

.. I read somewhere also Nepal

 

[Fwiffo]

China wants to ban clothes that 'hurt nation's feelings'

A draft law sparks debate with locals calling it absurd and questioning how they would be policed.

www.bbc.com

"The contentious clauses suggest that people who wear or force others to wear clothing and symbols that 'undermine the spirit or hurt the feelings of the Chinese nation' could be detained for up to 15 days and fined up to 5,000 yuan ($680; £550).

'Will wearing a suit and tie count? Marxism originated in the West. Would its presence in China also count as hurting national feelings,'"

Morning dress, top hat and a walking stick is my standard attire every day.

 

[Fwiffo]

Have we reached peak China? How the booming middle class hit a brick wall

Facing a slowing economy and a less secure jobs market, China’s educated elite are left negotiating a new central bargain with the government

www.theguardian.com

"Goldman Sachs still predicts that China will overtake the US to become the world’s largest economy by 2035. But other economists think that China will never become number one, and that its economy will soon peak."

It's not a sprint, it's a marathon?

 

[Fwiffo]

Where is China's defense minister? Mystery over Li Shangfu's fate deepens

The unexplained absence comes two months after the disappearance and then replacement of the country’s foreign minister.

www.nbcnews.com

Bugger. Who is Lloyd Austin going to meet with now?

 

[Fwiffo]

China sends top envoy Wang Yi to Russia for security talks

Moscow is seeking continued support on the Ukraine war, including a suspected North Korea arms deal.

www.bbc.com

Drop shipping...

South Korea > Poland > Ukraine
China > North Korea > Russia

 

[Fwiffo]

Taiwan urges China to stop ‘harassment’ after Beijing sends 103 warplanes toward island

Officials warned that Chinese military actions toward the Beijing-claimed island could escalate in the current tense atmosphere.

www.nbcnews.com

"China last week sent a flotilla of ships including the aircraft carrier Shandong into waters near Taiwan. The drills came shortly after the U.S. and Canada sailed warships through the Taiwan Strait, the waters that separate the island from the mainland."

Thank the Americans and Canadians for the provocation.

 

[Fwiffo]

Taiwan faces threat of invasion. Many Taiwanese aren't worried

"Whether and when China might invade is unknown — but assessments from U.S. officials have ranged from 2024 to 2035.

One of the most prominent assessments came from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank that ran a data-driven computer simulation for a Chinese amphibious invasion of Taiwan.

The war simulation imagined an attack in 2026, indicating 'the United States, Taiwan and Japan defeated a conventional amphibious invasion by China and maintained an autonomous Taiwan.'

But the cost would be enormous to all sides, according to the simulation. At least two U.S. aircraft carriers would lie at the bottom of the Pacific, along with dozens of ships from the United States and allies. Tens of thousands of American troops would be killed. China's navy would be in 'shambles.' Its Communist Party would be destabilized."

Really? Hopefully these aren't the same guys who predicted Russia would run out of artillery shells, missiles and tanks.