China - the next superpower

[Fwiffo]

DAVOS WEF China’s premier tells Davos that innovation shouldn’t be used to restrict other nations

“'China remains firmly committed to opening up,' Li said. 'We will continue to create favorable conditions for the world to share in China’s opportunities.'"

Very rich from the people who horde patents.

 

[Fwiffo]

China’s looming decline could be a threat to the world

Facing a demographic crisis and its inevitable economic fallout, a changing China could affect world peace

www.theglobeandmail.com

"The world faces a threat, not from a rising, powerful China, but from a China that is disaffected and in inevitable decline....China’s population will collapse from 1.4 billion people today to about one billion in 2050 and 390 million by 2100. By his reckoning, China’s share of the global population could decline from 22 per cent in 1980 to 11 per cent in 2050 and only 4 per cent in 2100."

Didn't they say it's not the number of people but the quality of people?

"But Canada, the United States and some countries in Europe partly offset the impact through immigration. China does not welcome immigrants, preferring to preserve the ethnic homogeneity of its mostly Han Chinese population."

We have some random migrants if you're willing to accept plane loads of them.

 

[Fwiffo]

Opinion: Collapse of China’s Evergrande a sign of an economic model reaching its limits

This week China’s Evergrande Group, the country’s second-largest property developer, was ordered into liquidation

www.theglobeandmail.com

"The World Bank expects the Chinese economy to grow by 4.5% this year, just shy of Beijing’s official target of 5%. That may sound like a lot but it’s well below the country’s boom years, when annual growth reached double digits. Moreover, even that 4-5% figure should be treated with a pinch of salt. Chinese data isn’t always reliable, and some experts estimate the economy may actually be growing at something closer to 3%.

Even that might seem pretty good were it not that China lags the western economies by some distance. Despite four decades of spectacular growth the country’s per capita income is still only about a fifth of America’s. If its best years are behind it, its geopolitical competition with America will be over."

For whom the bell tolls?

 

[Fwiffo]

Xiang Yang Hong 3: Chinese ship's port call in Maldives fans India tensions

A Chinese research ship's imminent arrival at Male has increased tensions between Beijing and Delhi.

www.bbc.com

"Sometimes the ships need replenishment - like fuel, food and water. So, they berth in a third country port, which is normal. So, the Indian government shouldn't make any fuss about it. Indian Ocean is not India's Ocean,"

Yeah. Just like Persian Gulf isn't just for Persians.

 

[fxh]

Xiang Yang Hong 3: Chinese ship's port call in Maldives fans India tensions

A Chinese research ship's imminent arrival at Male has increased tensions between Beijing and Delhi.

www.bbc.com

"Sometimes the ships need replenishment - like fuel, food and water. So, they berth in a third country port, which is normal. So, the Indian government shouldn't make any fuss about it. Indian Ocean is not India's Ocean,"

Yeah. Just like Persian Gulf isn't just for Persians.

Just like the East China Sea and the South China Sea and Taiwan Straits don't belong to China!

 

[Fwiffo]

Beijing and Moscow’s no-limits partnership gives China major foothold in Arctic, report finds

Russia’s war in Ukraine has forced it to turn to China to help maintain its military and economic position in the Arctic

www.theglobeandmail.com

"The Russians have built modern military bases in their Arctic region and are building a new fleet of 13 polar icebreakers, while China has two medium-strength icebreakers and is building an even larger, more powerful vessel."

If the pole is supposed to melt, do you really need the icebreakers?

"Beijing’s activities in the Far North are becoming of increasing concern to Washington and Ottawa. Beijing’s designs on minerals in Canada’s North in part prompted the development of a joint U.S.-Canada strategy to reshape global critical mineral supply chains and reduce reliance on China. Beijing has moved aggressively in recent years to tighten its control of rare earth minerals, which are crucial for manufacturing high-tech and military products."

No iPhones and Galaxies for you.

 

[Fwiffo]

Xi Jinping's never-ending hunt for corruption in the Communist Party

The latest phase of the anti-corruption drive targets the finance sector and elite nuclear rocket force.

www.bbc.com

"I suspect that more than 10 years of the crackdown and a seemingly endless parade of 'caged tigers' has most likely deepened public cynicism.

'Quite simply, if you spend a decade waging a 'life and death' battle with tigers and - 10 years into the hunt - you are bagging as many as you bagged when you started hunting, it strongly suggests you are not hunting them to extinction and might not have even significantly reduced their numbers.'"

It's like the war on drugs.

 

[Fwiffo]

Taiwan says it has not increased military deployments on front-line islands

China’s coast guard on Sunday began regular patrols around the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands after two Chinese nationals died trying to flee Taiwan’s coast guard.

www.nbcnews.com

"China’s coast guard on Sunday began regular patrols around the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands after two Chinese nationals died trying to flee Taiwan’s coast guard after their boat entered prohibited waters."

Next up - a false flag invasion.

 

[Fwiffo]

China scraps premier’s news conference in surprise move ahead of big annual meeting

For the first time in 30 years, China’s No. 2 official will not take questions from reporters after the annual meeting of the country’s legislature, the government said Monday.

www.nbcnews.com

"Though largely ceremonial, the annual meeting of China’s legislature is the country’s biggest political event of the year. For the past 30 years, it has ended with a wide-ranging news conference by the premier, China’s No. 2 official after President Xi Jinping.

But this year, Premier Li Qiang will not be taking questions, the spokesperson for the legislature said on the eve of the meeting, which runs until March 11."

Answering questions by the press? No legitimate super power ever does that.

 

[Fwiffo]

National People's Congress: China sets ambitious 2024 economic target

The announcement comes as the ruling Communist Party tries to reinvigorate the Chinese economy.

www.bbc.com

"A lot of economists think the numbers are completely fabricated. The idea of 5.2% or 5.5% growth is much likely wrong. It's more like 1% or 2%,"

...Chinese numbers are fabricated!?

 

[Fwiffo]

China says U.S. is ‘obsessed’ with suppressing its rise

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that while there had been improvements in U.S.-China relations since their leaders met in November, the U.S. had not fulfilled its promises.

www.nbcnews.com

“If the United States says one thing and does another, where is its credibility as a major country?”

“If it gets jittery every time it hears the word ‘China,’ where is its confidence as a major country?”

Verbal smackdown.

 

[Fwiffo]

Two Sessions: China says it's open for business - do we buy it?

China's pushed duelling narratives of openness and control at the National People's Congress.

www.bbc.com

"This year's economic blueprint, delivered by Mr Li at the start of the session, laid out plans to open up more areas to foreign investment and reducing market access restrictions in sectors such as manufacturing and services.

These moves come after foreign investors were spooked by recent anti-espionage and data protection laws, as well as several sudden high-profile detentions of Chinese and foreign businessmen. Foreign direct investment in China recently fell to a 30-year low."

Open for business - as long as you accept our Internet restrictions, the odd sham trial for your ex pat workers, and turning over your patents/IP/capital to get access to our hungry domestic consumer base.

 

[Fwiffo]

China says TikTok ban would 'come back to bite' the US

A foreign ministry spokesperson accuses the US of "suppressing TikTok" and "bullying behaviour".

www.bbc.com

"'This kind of bullying behaviour that cannot win in fair competition disrupts companies' normal business activity, damages the confidence of international investors in the investment environment, and damages the normal international economic and trade order,' Mr Wang added.

'In the end, this will inevitably come back to bite the United States itself.'"

If you ban our social media platform, we will ban your Twitter, Insta, Facebook, etc. Oh wait you already do.

 

[Fwiffo]

Mumbai overtakes Beijing to become Asia's billionaire capital for the first time

China still tops the Hurun Research Institute’s global rich list with 814 billionaires, followed by the United States with 800 billionaires and India with 271.

www.nbcnews.com

Already being eclipsed by India.

Remember - it's "Not Size But Quality Of Population"

 

[Fwiffo]

China's ageing population: A demographic crisis is unfolding for Xi

The country is running out of time to build enough of a fund to care for its growing number of elderly.

www.bbc.com

"But the pension fund could run out of money by 2035, according to the state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences. That was a 2019 estimate, before the pandemic shutdowns, which hit China's economy hard.

China may also be forced to raise the age of retirement, which has been on the cards for years. It has one of the lowest retirement ages in the world - 60 for men, 55 for white-collar women and 50 for working-class women."

Time to raise retirement age to 70 like the rest of us.

 

[Fwiffo]

'No challenges can stop China's progress,' Xi Jinping says in 75th anniversary speech

The Chinese leader also reiterated Beijing’s aims for reunification with the self-governing island of Taiwan as he marked the 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.

www.nbcnews.com

Year 70 of the People's Republic of China: Xi Jinping.

Year 75 of the People's Republic of China: Xi Jinping.

Year 95 of the People's Republic of China: ???

 

[Fwiffo]

Does China now have a permanent military base in Cambodia?

Satellite images show the steady expansion of naval facilities that have international onlookers worried.

www.bbc.com

The largest navy in the world asserts itself.