Neutering & Defanging Chinese Threat (15-11-2017)

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 31 Aug 2019 20:15

Live shots fired at Hong Kong Protests for the First Time - SCMP

It is getting worse. Mainland China is sending more troops into HK.

There is a difference between the people of Mainland China and HK. The former are fed with staple food of 'Century of Humiliation' etc while the HKers are more comfortable with democracy. It is for this reason that Tienanmen Square protests are not happening anymore in China and there is more nationalism and toeing of CPC line.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 31 Aug 2019 20:24

Xi Jinping tells Rodrigo Duterte to ‘put aside’ South China Sea dispute and focus on oil and gas deal - SCMP

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte to “put aside” the maritime dispute between the two countries and instead focus on pushing forward a deal to jointly explore oil and gas in the South China Sea

Duterte is on his fifth visit to China, seeking to boost investment in the country as well as to formally discuss the dispute for the first time in three years to assuage concerns at home over increasing Chinese encroachment in the contested waters.

But in an apparent rebuke to Duterte’s complaint, Xi on Thursday called for Manila to “put aside the dispute” and not to be influenced by “external interference”, an apparent reference to pressure from the United States, according to a statement from China’s foreign ministry.

During the meeting with Duterte, Xi also called for the two countries to focus on cooperation, to move ahead with a plan to jointly explore oil and gas in the resource-rich waterway and to finish negotiations on a code of conduct for the South China Sea by 2021.

A “joint steering committee” made up of diplomats and energy officials and a “joint entrepreneurial working committee” of business figures involved in the oil and gas project were set up after the meeting, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Duterte’s spokesman Salvador Panelo said on Friday that Xi had also reiterated Beijing’s position that it did not recognise an international tribunal ruling on the South China Sea in 2016, and that would not change. The tribunal ruled in favour of Manila’s economic rights in part of the waterway also claimed by Beijing.

Meanwhile, Xi said China was willing to import more fresh fruit and farm products from the Philippines, and it would send agricultural and fisheries experts to the country to help improve know-how in those areas.

The two countries would also continue their cooperation on infrastructure, energy, telecoms and developing industrial parks, according to the foreign ministry statement.

Zhang Mingliang, an expert on Southeast Asian countries at Jinan University in Guangzhou, said that while the two sides had made little progress towards resolving their maritime dispute, it was clear that Beijing wanted to maintain good ties with Manila as tensions escalated with other rivals in the South China Sea after a series of recent confrontations.

“The South China Sea issue has never been properly addressed and there is a danger that it could resurface,” Zhang said.

“The announcement of the joint exploration was portrayed as a major outcome of the visit, but it was really just a way to gloss over the differences,” he added.

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 01 Sep 2019 07:16

What do you guys think about this?

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 01 Sep 2019 16:03

India reacts to presence of Chinese coast guard ships near ONGC blocks; says differences should be resolved peacefully - WION

India has reacted to Chinese intrusion into Vietnam's exclusive economic zone where India's ONGC and Russia's Rosneft have their blocks stationed. New Delhi has called for unimpeded lawful commerce in the region and that differences should be resolved peacefully.

Reacting to a question during the weekly Ministry of External Affairs presser in Delhi, spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, "the South China Sea is part of the global commons. India, therefore, has an abiding interest in the peace and stability in the region."

Reiterating India's stand for "freedom of navigation and over-flight, and unimpeded lawful commerce in the international waters in accordance with international laws, notably UNCLOS", Raveesh said, "differences must be resolved peacefully by respecting the legal and diplomatic processes, and without resorting to threat or use of force".

While Russia hasn't issued any official statement, it has taken cognizance of the development.

The intrusion that began on August 13, the second of its kind this year, saw Bejing placing two of its coast guard ships near ONGC's block. Overall, in the second intrusion, 6 coast guard ships, 10 fishing ships and 2 service ships along with H6 bomber, fighter aircraft and mid-air refuelers have spotted hovering in the area. The first intrusion began on July 3 and Chinese ships left on August 7.

This is the third major intrusion by the Chinese since 2011. In 2011, the Chinese had cut Vietnamese cables; in 2014, Beijing had placed a drilling platform which was later withdrawn.

China has to be administered its own medicine. It warns other nations not to do any oil exploration even in EEZs belonging to other littoral states but it rides roughshod over our territorial integrity in PoK. When asked, it says that CPEC is just a commercial activity and status of PoK is to be settled between India & Pakistan.

On September 15, 2011, China warned India, through a demarche, from jointly exploring along with Vietnam for oil and gas in South China Sea terming it as a violation of its territorial rights. It claimed that it enjoyed ‘indisputable sovereignty’ over that sea backed by ‘historical facts’ and ‘international law’. This warning came a day ahead of India’s foreign minister SM Krishna’s visit to Vietnam during which Vietnam was expected to invite ONGC Videsh (OVL) to explore two blocks (Blocks 127 & 128) in South China Sea. Blocks 127 & 128 (Phu Kanh Basin) were offered by Petro Vietnam in June 2006. Since 127 proved dry, OVL decided to relinquish that block by c. 2010. Block 128 was drilled in c. 2012. In June 2012, OVL decided to exit from Block 128 as well as there was little prospect for oil or gas in it as well.

Ahead of the BRICS heads-of-state summit meeting in New Delhi on March 29, 2012 which included the Chinese President Hu Jintao, the Chinese Foreign Ministry had issued a stern warning to India “to refrain from undertaking oil exploration in the area in order to ensure peace and stability in the area”, the Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna responded on April 5, 2012 by saying, “India maintains that South China Sea is the property of the world. I think those trade-ways must be free from any national interference. This has been accepted by the ASEAN countries and by China in their dialogue with ASEAN group of nations. So I think India subscribes to the theory that these trade-ways should be free ways for trade to prosper”. The Chinese response was swift on April 9, 2012 when in commentary published by the Communist Party-run Global Times newspaper, it was stated that “Other countries can't denote one country's territory as global property”.

In November 2013, Vietnam offered India seven more blocks for exploration. A day later, an influential Communist-party run newspaper, Global Times, warned India of “serious political provocation” that would “push China to the limit.” It said that although China was “sincere” about its peaceful rise, “it will not give up the right to use other means to protect its interest.”

During his September 2014 visit to Vietnam, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee said that the blocks were located well within Vietnam’s territorial waters. He also said, “India’s oil exploration activities in the South China Sea since 1988 are only commercial actions, and no political angularity should be drawn into it … India’s foreign policy never looks at any country through the prism of any third country.”

Kati · Post by **Kati** » 01 Sep 2019 18:42

9 Arizona State students from China detained at LA airport, denied admission to U.S.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/arizona-s ... sion-to-us

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 01 Sep 2019 20:01

The US slams more high tariffs onto Chin goods.But where is toothless and impotent India? Wringing its hands in despair and running around like headless chickens are our babus both in North and South blocks, about Chin dumping its agarbattis upon us! Shameful.
Our gutless babus are so scared of annoying the Chins than our economy is going down the tube with doom and gloom every day , staring at us front page in the media front pages with collapsing industrial performance .This is graver than the Paki terror threat and must be resolved immediately by hige tarrifs and bans on Chin goods across the spectrum.

Kati · Post by **Kati** » 01 Sep 2019 21:19

Chinese national carrying bulletproof vest denied entry to US possessed ‘significant cache of firearms’
The Independent Chris Riotta,The Independent Sat, Aug 31 9:19 AM CDT
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Nice one: easyJet stands to make millions flying stranded BA passengers from the south of France and elsewhere: Simon Calder

A Chinese national who was denied entry to the United States after officials discovered ballistic armour in his luggage possessed a “significant weapons cache” at his US residence, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said on Friday.

A photo of the weaponry sent to The Independent by CBP showed at least five guns, several high-capacity magazines and attachments used to make semiautomatic weapons fire faster, commonly known as “bump-stock” devices.

Officials “obtained consent” to search the Chinese national’s residence, CBP said in a statement.

“This search resulted in the discovery of a significant cache of firearms and other regulated paraphernalia,” it read.

The Chinese national, who arrived 18 August at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport from Beijing, was deemed inadmissible and sent back to China by CBP officers.

The incident garnered media attention earlier this month after it was first reported by the World Journal, the largest Chinese-language US newspaper. The outlet reportedly said the Chinese-national was a student attending a “prestigious university” in America and informed officers he was carrying body armour in his luggage so "he wouldn't get shot."

CBP allows the importation of some forms of “soft body armour,” according to its website.

The Independent reported at the time that the Chinese national also possessed a gun license in the state of Michigan.

image
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Chinese student carrying bulletproof vest denied entry to US
However, the cache of weapons was not previously known until now. The incident sparked controversy on the popular Chinese social media platform Weibo as users criticised the decision by US officials to deny entry to a Chinese national amid an apparent rise in deadly mass shootings nationwide.

China ministry of culture and tourism has warned Chinese citizens “to fully assess the risk of travel to the United States”.

The Chinese national’s identity has not been released. No other identifying information, including the school he was attending or how long he has lived in the US, was provided by CBP.

http://players.brightcove.net/624246174 ... 7728067001
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“CBP personnel are committed to protecting our nation from people who pose serious risks to our communities,” Devin Chamberlain, a CBP area port director in Michigan, said in a statement sent to The Independent.

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Read more Chinese student carrying bulletproof vest denied entry to US

Shardul · Post by **Shardul** » 01 Sep 2019 23:33

US off late has realized. There is a limit to which chinese clouth and heagemoy in the region can be countered. Allies like S Korea/ Japan/ Australia/ Vietnam/ India don't have the financial muscle to meet the Chinese challenge militirally or stop the Chinese inroads in the region financially. These countries can be best used to counter china militirally if Chinese capacity to invest in modernization of it's power projecting capacity is constrained financially. There is limit of external hedging against china if their financing capabity is intact. Now Trump is doing exactly this, Now the US has off late realized that pouring money in terms on maintaining US enhanced presence in Asia can't deter China. If the core remains intact Chinese expansion can't be curtailed. So hit the core ( Chinese economy). If US spend 50/ 100 bn militirally against china they can't stop china. If same money is used to hit the core of china, it's economy in form of trade war. With factories closing down coupled with it's rippling effect in society/ tax collection/ forex reserve/ internal security aspect. In short time china will have to focus inwards / This we will see in later half on 2019/ early 2020. Once this Chinese expansion is curtailed then hedging with the help of allies will/ should generate enough traction form outside to start the journey of compression of Chinese influence. Same will get reflected in their implimentation of OBOR by 2021. So by 2021 we can see genuine curtailment /encirclement/ fading of Chinese bubble. Trade was is a tool by which Trump is hitting Chinese core. Though the repurcussion on them will also be felt due to trade war but then this is the most effective way of containing Chinese threat compared tomeeting it militirally.

Peregrine · Post by **Peregrine** » 02 Sep 2019 00:52

China’s prisons swell after deluge of arrests engulfs Muslims - Chris Buckley | NYT News Service

HIGHLIGHTS

- Courts in Xinjiang — where largely Muslim minorities reside — sentenced a total of 230,000 people to prison or other punishments in 2017 and 2018

- The police, prosecutors and judges in the region are working in unison to ram through convictions.

- Arrests. The critics said, are often based on flimsy or exaggerated charges, and trials are perfunctory.

The Chinese government has built a vast network net work of re-education camps and a pervasive system of surveillance to monitor and subdue millions from Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region.

Now China is also turning to an older, harsher method of control: filling prisons in Xinjiang.

The region in northwest China has experienced a record surge in arrests, trials and prison sentences in the past two years, according to a New York Times analysis of previously Unreported official data.

As the Chinese government pursues a “strike hard” security campaign aimed overwhelmingly at minorities in Xinjiang, the use of prisons is throwing into doubt even China’s limited protections of defendants’ rights.

Courts in Xinjiang — where largely Muslim minorities, including Uighurs and Kazakhs, make up more than half of the population — sentenced a total of 230,000 people to prison or other punishments in 2017 and 2018, significantly more than in any other period on record in decades for the region.

During 2017 alone, Xinjiang courts sentenced almost 87,000 defendants, 10 times more than in the previous year, to prison terms of five years or longer. Arrests increased eightfold; prosecutions fivefold.

Cheers

chola · Post by **chola** » 02 Sep 2019 15:29

Trump is not only clobbering Cheen but the entire Sinosphere that is complicit in the PRC's rise.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-china- ... 1567415192

U.S.-China Trade War Takes Toll on South Korea and Japan
Economies of China’s neighbors suffer, starting with manufacturers of high-tech equipment

By Megumi Fujikawa and Kwanwoo Jun
Updated Sept. 2, 2019 5:08 am E

TOKYO—The U.S.-China trade war is beginning to crimp the economies of China’s neighbors, starting with manufacturers of high-tech equipment.

South Korea said Sunday that its exports to China fell 21.3% in August compared with the same month a year earlier, driving an overall 13.6% decline in exports. And Japan said Monday that capital spending by the country’s manufacturers fell 6.9% in the April-June quarter, the first decline in two years, as companies grappled with a nearly double-digit decline in exports to China.

“Given that there is no sign of recovery in Japan’s exports due to the U.S.-China trade friction, the downtrend in manufacturers’ profits and capital expenditures is expected to continue,” said NLI Research Institute analyst Taro Saito.

On Sunday, the U.S. went ahead with new tariffs of 15% on clothing and other imports valued at $111 billion last year, on top of 25% tariffs previously imposed on about $250 billion of Chinese imports.

South Korea’s industry minister, Sung Yun-mo, cited the rising tariffs as a warning sign alongside other regional tensions including Japan’s tighter restrictions on exports to South Korea. Tokyo attributed the restrictions to its lack of trust in Seoul after disputes over Japan’s colonial legacy.

“The growing trade feud between the United States and China, along with Japan’s export curbs and the Hong Kong crisis sparked uncertainties in the global business environment,” Mr. Sung said.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 02 Sep 2019 20:37

So, the Modi-Xi summit meet will be at Mahabalipuram between October 11 & 13

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 03 Sep 2019 04:04

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYAHPPXmcts

Vice President Mike Pence's China Speech at Hudson Institute

This is an open and very clear declaration of the US intent and Trump's resolve to tame the hans. It may also partially divert their energies away from the pakistan and afghanistan and unburden India just a bit

Pence accused China of "meddling in America's democracy," in a wide-ranging speech. He also slammed China's militarization of contested areas in the South and East China Sea, its practice of "debt diplomacy" in developing countries, and efforts to convince other nations to sever ties with Taiwan.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 03 Sep 2019 04:14

This is an amplification of what Trump's intentions are and the hans seem to be unable to fend this off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy4FZr6zPtk

Steve Bannon's Take On China's Elite Economic Warfare

Steve Bannon and Kyle Bass discuss America’s current geopolitical landscape regarding China. Bannon and Bass take a deep dive into Chinese infiltration in U.S. institutions, China’s aggressiveness in the South China sea, and the potential for global conflict in the next few years. Filmed on October 5, 2018 at an undisclosed location. This video is part two of four segments for this interview.

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 03 Sep 2019 05:48

chetak wrote:This is an amplification of what Trump's intentions are and the hans seem to be unable to fend this off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy4FZr6zPtk

Steve Bannon's Take On China's Elite Economic Warfare

Chinese banks own ~$40T worth of useless/bad assets on their books!!!
Plus if their banking system collapses, their will not be a global impact; because their banking system is not tied to global banking system (hope this is true)

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 03 Sep 2019 13:44

^^
Their banking system is may not be tied to the Global banking system BUT their economy is tied to the Global economy via their trade. The Chinese banking system collapse will be transmitted to globally via their trade channel and the major exporters to China will feel the impact first followed by the rest.

Bart S · Post by **Bart S** » 03 Sep 2019 14:10

Since most of their local industry is sustained by an infrastructure investment boom that often has no basis in ROI but is fueled by massive internal borrowings, a banking collapse might have far reaching impact, at least for a period till they can reset and start over. Another major component is real estate speculation/bubble that if burst would have much more of an impact as this would cut into their basic societal fabric as well and not just govt/industry.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 03 Sep 2019 14:33

Bart S wrote:Since most of their local industry is sustained by an infrastructure investment boom that often has no basis in ROI but is fueled by massive internal borrowings, a banking collapse might have far reaching impact, at least for a period till they can reset and start over. Another major component is real estate speculation/bubble that if burst would have much more of an impact as this would cut into their basic societal fabric as well and not just govt/industry.

IIRC, the han banks are not on SWIFT.

the ripple of any collapse of their banks will have an immediate minimal effect on the banks of other countries but the shock wave of the collapse will hit the exports and imports of many countries and it will deliver a solid blow to the solar plexus of almost all major stock exchanges precipitating a very significant downward plunge and the collateral damage of such a disaster is unpredictable as it will be almost black swan like in its scale and sweep.

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 03 Sep 2019 15:53

https://twitter.com/michaelxpettis/stat ... 5989747712

Michael Pettis @michaelxpettis

Good article, but it suggests that a worst-case scenario is if China’s GDP growth “were to shrink from the current 6.5% to 3%." I don’t think 3% is the worst case scenario at all. I think it is in fact the best case scenario of sustainable growth once...

...Beijing gets debt under control. It assumes that as growth in investment net of depreciation approaches zero, consumption growth manages to remain at current levels and the trade surplus doesn’t shrink, both quite generous assumptions. But I also don’t think China’s...

...slowdown will come as a “hard landing” or a collapse, but rather over 3-4 years as a very long landing, stretching out over a decade or two. With GDP having been boosted by capitalized expenses of at least $1-2 trillion, China has to amortize an awful lot of phantom wealth.

Peregrine · Post by **Peregrine** » 04 Sep 2019 01:15

1. India asks Chinese foreign minister to reschedule trip TNN

HIGHLIGHTS

- India has rescheduled Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi's September 9 visit for talks on the
boundary issue with national security adviser Ajit Doval

- Sources said it was the Indian government that sought a change in date

- China’s stand could be a likely reason behind the decision, fell informed sources.

NEW DELHI: India has rescheduled Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi's September 9 visit for talks on the boundary issue with national security adviser Ajit Doval. While there is no official confirmation yet, sources said it was the Indian government that sought a change in dates.

There is official silence on the reason for the postponement of the talks.

Wang is the special representative for the boundary talks. These talks were scheduled when foreign minister visited Beijing in mid-August as the government, going out of its way, deputed S Jaishankar to apprise the Chinese side of India's decision to downgrade Article 370.

Despite that, China went ahead to call for a special UN Security Council informal meeting on Kashmir. Had China had its way, it would have been a full blown meeting with a formal statement by the UNSC. It took a concerted pushback by other UN Security Council members to keep it informal and without a statement.

But the Chinese ambassador, Zhang Yun actually read out his country's statement as if it were the sense of the council.

Wang has gone to North Korea, following which he is slated to be in Islamabad on Saturday. China, Pakistan and Afghanistan are to hold trilateral discussions on the peace process. He was to then arrive in India on Monday.

Official sources in Beijing had said that China had proposed some "early harvest proposals" on the boundary settlement. Chinese president Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit India in October for the second round of an informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On Tuesday, the new Chinese ambassador said in his welcome remarks: "For neighbours and major countries, differences are hard to avoid. The key is to properly handle them. We should look at issues with rationality, put them in the bigger picture, reduce differences through consultation, settle disputes through dialogue, promote peace through development, and enhance mutual trust through cooperation."

2. Dollar Hits Two-Year High as Yuan Slumps - China’s yuan drops to fresh 11-year low, nearing 7.2 to the dollar

Cheers

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 04 Sep 2019 13:19

Will LandSpace be China’s SpaceX? - The Space Review

On July 25, a Chinese NewSpace company, Interstellar Glory (also known as i-Space or Space Honor), made a successful orbital launch, sending two smallsats into a 300-kilometer orbit. Before that, two other companies, LandSpace and OneSpace, made similar but unsuccessful attempts in October 2018 and March 2019. Interstellar Glory got the glory by winning the race about the first commercial space launch in China. But this was not end of the race. Instead, it marks beginning of a new race: to launch a liquid-propellant medium-class launcher that is able to meet most of the market demand. A small solid launcher is just a ticket to space, while a medium liquid launcher is the key to win the market.

Many Chinese NewSpace companies are developing such a capability. Among them, LandSpace is in the leading position. LandSpace has created many “firsts” in China: the first private company to develop space launchers, the first privately funded orbital launch attempt, the first private company to sign a launch agreement with international customers. And on May 17, LandSpace announced that the company’s 80-tonne-class methane and liquid oxygen (methalox) engine, TQ-12, has completed successful full-system hot-fire tests. In the week leading up to that announcement, the engine made four successful test firings, with the longest one lasting 20 seconds. The company released photos and videos showing the engine and the impressive firing at a test stand located in a mountainous area.

LandSpace claimed that their new methalox engine ranks number three in the world after SpaceX’s Raptor and Blue Origin’s BE-4. According to LandSpace, the TQ-12 engine has a sea-level thrust of 67 tonnes and a vacuum thrust of 76 tonnes. A future vacuum model will increase the thrust to 80 tonnes. LandSpace’s methalox engine project was kicked off in 2017 with a 10-tonne-class gas generator and thrust chamber test firing at the end of that year and again in March 2018. After that, LandSpace’s focus shifted to the 80-tonne engine, and in September 2018 and January 2019 it successfully tested the larger engine’s thrust chamber and the gas generator. The fast development led to a semi-system test firing in March 2019, paving the way for the May test firing.

This was another milestone after the ZQ-1 launch last year, and certainly big news for the Chinese commercial space sector. However, it was very quickly overtaken on Chinese media due to reports on the US ban on Huawei, which happened the day before. At least with the space circle and among space fans, though, the news was quickly spread. LandSpace founder and CEO Changwu Zhang shared the message in WeChat’s “Moments” at the first opportunity with only a few words of comment: “80 tonnes, full-system, 20 seconds, world class”. Interestingly, Mr. Zhang’s WeChat profile photo is an astronaut in spacesuit helmet: Matthew McConaughey, the starring actor of the sci-fi film Interstellar. Does it show LandSpace’s interstellar ambition?

LandSpace is often seen as China’s counterpart of SpaceX. But it is not the only one. Nearly a dozen private rocket companies have emerged in recent years. For now, most of them are small and unnoticeable. Even leading companies like LandSpace are still at an early stage. While undoubtedly it is too early to compare them with SpaceX, that cannot prevent people from imagining the future. SpaceX was also small and had not launched any real rockets in its first three years. In fact, during a visit to LandSpace’s Huzhou facility in March, we have seen more or less the shadow of SpaceX in its early days: dream and passion, failure and success.

The Huzhou base

The authors have followed LandSpace since its establishment in 2016. In October 2018, one of the authors (Chen Lan) was in Jiuaquan Satellite Launch Centre and witnessed the almost successful LandSpace Zhuque 1 launch (see “A historic day for Chinese NewSpace”, The Space Review, November 19, 2018). In Jiuquan, LandSpace people talked about their newly-built manufacturing base in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, a city very close to Shanghai (LandSpace’s headquarters and its R&D team are based in Beijing.) The idea to visit the base was born at that time. In late March 2019, Jacqueline Myrrhe, another author and member of the Go Taikonauts! team, came to Shanghai. It seemed this would be a good opportunity to visit LandSpace’s Huzhou Base. Our request through Dr. Shufan Wu, co-founder of LandSpace, was quickly responded to, and the visit was arranged smoothly.

On March 28, after about two hours of driving from Shanghai in light rain, we arrived in Huzhou. The company is located on a road in the west of the city where few people tread. There, a modern and generously-sized industrial park is taking shape, giving high-tech and other companies favorable conditions for their businesses.

The first sight that greeted us, after we turned into the LandSpace campus, was an impressively huge, strikingly blue factory building that we had never anticipated for such a small startup company. Mr. Du, General Manager of LandSpace’s Huzhou Base, welcomed us at the entrance. At first, he brought us to a long billboard on the outside of the building where he—ignoring the rain—unhurriedly briefed us on the base’s background and recent development. We noticed that there was a photo of the semi-system test firing just made three days before, which may imply the company’s high efficiency.

The inner space of the building was also huge, and to our surprise, mostly empty! The only space related hardware we saw was the Zhuque 1 solid launcher and its launch platform. Mr. Du told us that the rocket is a mockup, but the platform is the actual one used in the launch last October. The building has a covered area of nearly 30,000 square meters. It will be divided into several sections for different functions such as engine assembly, tank manufacture, rocket assembly and testing, and so on. The empty space is reserved for rocket manufacture and assembly, as at the moment there were only activities on engine development. We noticed that at two sides of the building, there are some low partitioned rooms. They later turned out to be offices, conference rooms, workshops, testing rooms, and laboratories. The whole team works under one huge roof.

Mr. Du took us to a conference room and started a well-prepared presentation about the company, the Huzhou Base, and the products they are developing. Du is the type of engineer you would trust straight away, whom you would give without hesitation your best car for repair. His calm charisma, his unruffled way of talking, and his sound explanations are convincing and give him the aura of seniority. Before his move to Huzhou he worked in the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology (The 6th Academy of CASC) in Xi’an and was an engine manufacture expert. He joined LandSpace to lead the team in building the engine and the facility, including the factory building converted from an old one once belonging to a bankrupted heavy industrial machinery company, and a newly built engine test stand in the mountains 20 kilometers away that was claimed to be the first and the only one by a private company in China. The construction work started in March 2018, and in August the stand was put into use. Du was quite proud of making it in such a short time. When asked about the possibility to visit the test stand, Du said it was in refurbishment to prepare the full-system engine test planned in June (in fact it was done ahead of schedule.) He suggested to us to visit it next time as moving around at the construction site would be difficult on a rainy day.

Ambitious plans

On July 5, 2018, LandSpace announced the company’s overall strategy and planned products in Beijing. The grand launch event was held in the National Aquatic Center, built for the 2008 Olympics and well known as the Water Cube. The company’s strategic product, the Zhuque 2 liquid-fueled launcher, made its first appearance at the event. Zhuque 2 (or ZQ-2) is a medium-class launcher with a length of 48.8 meters, a diameter of 3.35 meters, a launch mass of 216 tonnes, and a lifting thrust of 268 tonnes. Its first stage has four Tianque 12 (TQ-12) methalox engines and the second stage will be equipped with a single vacuum version of TQ-12 together with an 8-tonne-thrust TQ-11 methalox engine as a vernier engine. It is capable of sending 1.8 tonnes of payload into a 500 kilometer Sun-synchronous orbit and four tonnes to a 200-kilometer low Earth orbit. LandSpace has also planned three variants—ZQ-2A, 2B, and 2C—with an additional third stage powered by a TQ-11 and either zero, two, or four strap-on boosters. They have a length of 55.7 meters, a launch mass of 236, 650, and 1030 tonnes, and a geostationary transfer orbit capability of 2.4, 6.7, and 14 tonnes, respectively.

LandSpace also released a conceptual design of a two-stage winged space launcher able to send 10 people to the space station or transport 100 people from and to any place on the Earth within one hour. However, the current focus of the company, and also key to its ambitious planning, is the methalox engine, something that even CASC has not much experience with. The Institute 11 of CALT once developed a prototype based on the cryogenic YF-77 engine with a thrust of 60 tonnes, but never put it into use. To guarantee success within shortest time, LandSpace selected a conservative design using the traditional gas generator cycle with an impressive specific impulse of 350 seconds (vacuum). Bn comparison, SpaceX’s first methalox engine Raptor is a cutting-edge full-flow staged combustion cycle engine with specific impulse of 380 seconds (vacuum).

Currently, engine development is also the most important job of the Huzhou Base. Mr. Du showed us the video of the semi-system test firing done three days before. It was a beautiful test firing, though the stand looked simple and preliminary. Since China has, so far, no launch site supporting methane propellant, we asked where LandSpace’s methalox rockets will be launched. Du answered that they have already been in discussion with the authority to build new facilities at an existing launch site to support launches of methane-based rockets. Once built, it will be shared by all state-owned and private launcher companies. He was quite confident that there will be no major obstacles.

After the presentation and a casual talk in the conference room, Mr. Du guided us to a few facilities including the component testing room, the fluid flow test bench, and finally a large clean area where the just-tested engine was under the process of disintegration.

There was a bit of magic and surrealism hanging in the air when watching the engineers counting the screws, sorting the bolts, and inspecting the engine parts in this over-dimensioned huge hall, which could easily fit a production line. But for the moment two smaller groups around small tables and a support rack were focused on their precision work. They were not bothered by our visit, did not interrupt their work, or pay any attention to the curious visitors. The one group, busy with the engine casing, was led by a senior engineer assisted by young space experts. The other group, sorting the hardware nuts and bolts, bits, and pieces were young and middle-aged engineers. Watching them as a visitor one could not really get the impression that they felt lost in the enormous space. Rather, they filled the room with dedication and zealous efforts to get the job done.

The base will soon start Phase Two construction. Once it is completed, it is able to produce 200 engines and 15 launchers per year, said Mr. Du.

Right time, right place, and right people

The Huzhou Base and LandSpace’s fast progress are impressive. It was unimaginable just a few years ago, when people always thought that space is a strictly restricted area by the government, and that space technology is too complex to be achieved by private companies. It has to thank the new policies the Chinese government have launched in recent years, more or less under pressure from Elon Musk. The reason behind the emergence of LandSpace is exactly as a Chinese proverb says: right time, right place, and right people. LandSpace is one of the first space startups in China and it seized the opportunity. This is the right time.

Huzhou City government provided a 200 million RMB (US$27.9 million) fund to support LandSpace’s engine and rocket manufacturing plan. It also gave LandSpace free rental of the land and the building, and soon will build an office building and a canteen for Landspace for free use. Zhejiang Province, where Huzhou is located, and adjacent Shanghai, belong to China’s most developed economic zone with a mature manufacturing industry chain, which will largely support LandSpace’s manufacturing base. This is the right place.

However, Huzhou is only a “small city” for Chinese standards with residential population of three million. It has only two colleges and not many high-tech companies. Fortunately, it has a large enough supply of technical workers, and good policies to attract external talents. In LandSpace’s Huzhou Base, most people are from large cities like Beijing and Xi’an. Finally, most people are young and have a higher degree. Among them, about ten percent are female, including some in a high technical position, according to Mr. Du.

They mostly come to this small city following their dream. Mr. Du is one of them. As one of the eldest in the team, he admitted that joining LandSpace is an adventure, but he is very optimistic about both LandSpace and Chinese NewSpace. On many occasions, we saw this special expression of passion based on professionalism in Mr. Du’s face. He told us that he likes the mix of young and old engineers within the teams. Even more so, he is committed to transfer his experience to the next generation of engineers, “to the rocket scientists of the future,” as he stressed. We did not have the chance to talk with young people at the base. They all were absorbed by their work. There was no way to get them away from their activities. But what they have achieved already told us without a big explanation is that these are the right people, the “right stuff.”

It seems that the launch failure last October has had no impact on the company. Less than one month after the failure, LandSpace signed the B+ series funding of 300 million RMB (US$41.8 million.) Du said he did not rule out the possibility to try to launch the solid Zhuque 1 again, as long as there are requirements to do so. However, their focus is now on the Zhuque 2. LandSpace has now entered the fast lane. It is definitely the leading private company in China on liquid rocket engine development, and is the one closest to an operational medium launcher. On April 26, it signed 100 million RMB (US$13.9 million) of agreements with UK-based Open Cosmos and Italy-based D-Orbit to launch their cubesats.

LandSpace plans to launch their first Zhuque 2 by the end of 2020. So far, everything seems to be going smoothly. However, it is still a big challenge for the company. There is still a long way to go to catch up with SpaceX.

A space race that is heating up

LandSpace kicked off China’s NewSpace race in last October with its ZQ-1 launch, followed by OneSpace in March this year. Just one day before our visit to Huzhou, OneSpace launched their first orbital rocket, the solid fueled OS-M, from Jiuquan. Unfortunately, it lost attitude after separation of the first stage. The winner was Interstellar Glory. Its Hyperbola 1 became the first rocket made by a Chinese private company to reach orbit. Now, who will win the second round of the race?

LandSpace, OneSpace, and Interstellar Glory are not the only players in this race. Galactic Energy, LinkSpace, Deep Blue Aerospace, Space Trek, and others are all developing their engines/motors and rockets. Most companies start with a smaller solid rocket, but all have plans of liquid engines. For example, Interstellar Glory is developing a 15-tonne-thrust methalox engine that has already completed gas generator and turbopump tests. Galactic Energy is currently developing a high-thrust solid motor, and has also started development of a 40-tonne-thrust (sea level) liquid oxygen and kerosene engine to power their WisdomStart 1 launcher that is within the same class as LandSpace’s ZQ-2. JZYJ, a company focused on liquid propulsion instead of launch vehicles, test fired their 10-tonne-class throttleable methalox engine on July 25.

LinkSpace, by contrast, follows a different path. Their efforts are concentrated on a reusable VTVL (vertical takeoff, vertical landing) rocket. On August 10, they successfully launched and recovered their eight-meter-long RLV-T5 prototype. The flight lasted 50 seconds, climbing to a maximum altitude of 300 meters. It was a milestone as this was the first free flight of their “large rocket” (all their previous VTVL rockets are mocked by people as “model rockets.”) On the same day, it signed an agreement with JZYJ to use their engine to power the larger T6 VTVL prototype.

LandSpace remains the most promising one. Ironically, its ambition was shown in an April Fool’s news report. It said that LandSpace and Taobao, China’s largest C2C e-Commerce company, are jointly developing two express delivery rockets: one able to complete an intercontinental flight within one hour, and another for 30 kilometers in 30 seconds.

The race is heating up, not only within China, but also outside the country. LandSpace and its domestic competitors, as followers and challengers of SpaceX, all claim that reusability was in their consideration from the beginning. SpaceX may one day feel pressure from these newcomers when their technologies are matured in a few years, which is certain to happen.

From a broader perspective, the race is also part of a much larger race between China and the US. Unfortunately, the Sino-American trade war is now evolving into a tech war that may permanently change the world order. It will deeply influence China’s policy and will speed up the development of independent technologies. What will the incoming race bring? We just hope a mutual-beneficial competition and win-win, instead of a conflict, or even a war.

When we walked out of the building, the rain had stopped. And we always believe that the future is bright.

yensoy · Post by **yensoy** » 04 Sep 2019 13:33

pankajs wrote:https://twitter.com/michaelxpettis/stat ... 989747712z

It's amazing how Michael Pettis says what he does while living/teaching in China. He seems to have some kind of cover or protection where he can get away with negative predictions of the economy.

Meanwhile do watch Kyle Bass's many videos on youtube for the lowdown on China.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 04 Sep 2019 15:09

China still pursuing nuclear fuel processing plant with Areva: official - Reuters

China is still actively promoting a nuclear fuel processing project with France’s Areva, the head of its nuclear safety watchdog said at a briefing on Tuesday, where he also criticized a U.S. blacklisting of Chinese nuclear firms.

Commercial negotiations on the Areva project are “almost concluded,” Liu Hua, the head of the National Nuclear Safety Administration and vice minister of ecology and environment, said at the briefing to introduce China’s first white paper on nuclear safety.

“In addition to commercial negotiation, what is going on is that the two countries are harmonizing safety standards ... and stepping up regulation cooperation,” he added.

“So on this particular project as far as I know it is proceeding smoothly. It is underway and I believe that soon ... there will be progress,” Liu said.

A formal go-ahead for the reprocessing plant would be a major boost for Areva, which has been discussing the project, valued at some $12 billion, for more than a decade.

Liu gave no indication whether a site had already been selected for the project, which has been repeatedly delayed, with a previously proposed venue in Lianyungang, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, canceled after protests.

Areva did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of normal business hours.

Asked about a recent U.S. blacklisting of Chinese nuclear firms, Liu said the Chinese side condemned the move and noted that U.S. multilateralism and protectionism would harm both countries’ interests.

Washington last month moved to block state-run China General Nuclear Power Corp (CGN) and its subsidiaries from dealing with U.S. companies as they were alleged to be involved in activities contrary to the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.

Liu also said the move would lead Chinese firms to step up their own research and development and investment.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 04 Sep 2019 18:48

China has grabbed more land than East India company: Maldives former President - ANI

Comparing China to the East India Company, former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed has alleged that without firing a bullet Beijing has grabbed more land than East India Company.

In his address to the Indian Ocean Conference in Male, Nasheed, who is currently serving as the speaker of the Maldivian parliament, accused his previous government, under former President Abdulla Yameen, of putting the country in deep debt in connivance with China.

"Get hold of a government, buy up a parliament, change the laws, get unsolicited contracts then inflate the price of the contract to the level due to which business plans failed here. Give commercial loans and then, off course, they will not be able to pay it back. When you can't pay back, they ask for equity and with equity, you relinquish sovereignty, including the peace of the Indian Ocean. I am referring specifically to China," Nasheed told ANI.

"In recent times there has been an amazing rush to land grab. Although land grabs are occurring worldwide, they are common where protection of human rights is poor. It has a combination of practice, international and domestic drivers the Maldives up until the recent presidential election in 2018 was a flourishing land grab paradise," he added.

"If I were to take this contract to commercial arbitration it will be the same as somebody in Kolkata taking the East India Company for arbitration," the speaker added.

He stressed that in order to seek more foreign investments in the Maldives, particularly in the case of China, it must undergo transparent tendering processes.

"It must have a democratic oversight and we must be able to benefit from these investments. It can't be vanity," Nasheed said.

"During the last five years, a large amount of commercial money had come to the Maldives. They have been invested or spent on unviable inflated projects and most of these projects are funded by the Chinese EXIM Bank They do not have a business plan to it. The business plans failed here because prices were so high and then when they can't pay the debt they ask for equity and in the process, we lose sovereignty," he stressed.

"It is an issue of concern for us and we believe it's very unfair. Accurate amount of money that came to the Maldives must be understood and only that amount of money should be paid back," the former president said.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 04 Sep 2019 19:07

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam formally withdraws extradition Bill, but would protesters be appeased? - Straits Times

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Wednesday (Sept 4) formally withdrew a contentious extradition Bill following months of protests.

"The government will formally withdraw the Bill in order to fully allay public concerns," she said in a pre-recorded address in Cantonese and English that was carried by all major broadcasters in Hong Kong.

Mrs Lam said a motion to withdraw will be tabled when the Legislative Council reconvenes.

Although Mrs Lam had previously suspended the Bill – saying it was “dead” – her move did little to appease demonstrators, who continued protesting and expanded their demands to include calls for greater democratic freedom. Without the Bill’s formal withdrawal, it could be reintroduced in a matter of days.

This essentially responds to one of five demands protesters have asked for. The others are: the retraction of the word “riot” to describe rallies; the release of all arrested demonstrators; an independent inquiry into the police; and the right for Hong Kongers to democratically choose their own leaders.

While she ruled out setting up an independent commission to look into the events that have led to recent mass protests, she said that the Independent Police Complaints Commission will be reinforced by former director of education Helen Yu and senior lawyer Paul Lam.

The government will also meet various stakeholders and members of the public in a bid to address the various social issues, she said.

"After more than two months of social unrest, it's obvious to many that the discontentment extends far beyond the (extradition) Bill," Mrs Lam added.

The announcement follows a meeting with pro-establishment political figures, the South China Morning Post newspaper and other media reported, citing people they did not identify. The gathering included local legislators and the city's representatives to national legislative bodies.

It came after a weekend of demonstrations that saw some of the fiercest clashes between protesters and riot police. Activists have lobbed petrol bombs and set bonfires in the streets, while police officers fired tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray, making more than 1,100 arrests since early June.

The turmoil that followed Mrs Lam's attempt to introduce the ill-fated Bill - including mass marches that drew more than one million people and protests that shut the city's busy airport - has turned into the biggest crisis for Beijing's rule over the former British colony since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

'TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE'?

It was not immediately clear if killing the Bill would help end the protests.

The immediate reaction appeared sceptical and the real test will be how many people take to the streets.

Some lawmakers said the move should have come earlier, Reuters reported.

“The damage has been done. The scars and wounds are still bleeding,” said pro-democracy legislator Claudia Mo. “She thinks she can use a garden hose to put out a hill fire. That’s not going to be acceptable.”

“This won’t appease the protesters,” said Boris Chen, 37, who works in financial services. “In any kind of time, people will find something they can get angry about.”

Pro-Beijing lawmaker Cheung Kwok Kwan said Lam’s announcement was not a compromise to appease those promoting violence, but a bid to win over moderates in the protest camp.

“It was likely speaking to the so-called peaceful, rational, non-violent people who were unsatisfied with the government’s response before,” he said.

One woman, Pearl, 69, said the protests were no longer about the Bill.

“Some of those guys may change their minds, maybe, but just a minority,” she said of the protesters. “Some of them just want to create trouble and they will continue to do so.”

"Too little, too late,” said Joshua Wong, a leader of the 2014 pro-democracy protests which were the precursor to the current unrest, on his Facebook page.

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 04 Sep 2019 20:06

China is censoring searching for Carrie Lam's name and withdrawal of this bill on the mainland internet. As usual.

Global Times article - Resurgent identity in ascendant India

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 04 Sep 2019 21:56

Xi Jinping has decided to stop bleeding on HK protests.
Eventually HK will be China's.
So why accelerate the process and get bad image?

PRC has signed a deal on oil and transport infrastructure with Iran. About $500B.

US uses gunboat diplomacy*.
China uses Money bag diplomacy.

* China suffered from English gun boat diplomacy during the Opium wars and has found a different weapon.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 04 Sep 2019 23:09

Peregrine wrote:1. India asks Chinese foreign minister to reschedule trip TNN

HIGHLIGHTS

- India has rescheduled Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi's September 9 visit for talks on the
boundary issue with national security adviser Ajit Doval

- Sources said it was the Indian government that sought a change in date

- China’s stand could be a likely reason behind the decision, fell informed sources.

Cheers

Sirji,

the reason is that the hans are again trying to re hyphenate India with the paki, by publicly according them the same status and also adding insult to injury by visiting pak first and then coming to India.

the GoI frowns on any country doing this, (and all of them are aware of India's stand), and has sent a very public message to the hans that India will not accept it anymore without a diplomatic pushback.

The annoyance and displeasure of the GoI are openly evident for all to see.

The hans have lost their all important " FACE " in this well administered snub and that too before Xi's forthcoming visit to India

from https://swarajyamag.com/

India Takes Firm Stance Against Chinese FM’s Delhi Visit, Says Can’t Directly Come After Touring Pakistan

ChandraV · Post by **ChandraV** » 04 Sep 2019 23:24

Chinese FM's travel schedule feels like India is almost an after-thought. He is first going to Afghanistan and holding talks with the Taliban alongside Pakistan; then going to Pakistan. Then finally stopping off in India.

So it's good that India said "no thank you, come again!" (sorry, funny reference to Apu).

But on larger worldview, why is China involved with Afghanistan but India still isn't?

Peregrine · Post by **Peregrine** » 04 Sep 2019 23:30

Peregrine wrote:1. India asks Chinese foreign minister to reschedule trip TNN

HIGHLIGHTS

- India has rescheduled Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi's September 9 visit for talks on the
boundary issue with national security adviser Ajit Doval

- Sources said it was the Indian government that sought a change in date

- China’s stand could be a likely reason behind the decision, fell informed sources.

Cheers

chetak wrote:Sirji,

the reason is that the hans are again trying to re hyphenate India with the paki, by publicly according them the same status and also adding insult to injury by visiting pak first and then coming to India.

the GoI frowns on any country doing this, (and all of them are aware of India's stand), and has sent a very public message to the hans that India will not accept it anymore without a diplomatic pushback.

The annoyance and displeasure of the GoI are openly evident for all to see.

The hans have lost their all important " FACE " in this well administered snub and that too before Xi's forthcoming visit to India

from https://swarajyamag.com/

India Takes Firm Stance Against Chinese FM’s Delhi Visit, Says Can’t Directly Come After Touring Pakistan

chetak Ji :

Indeed! Even the Yuan has started sinking!

Cheers

ChandraV · Post by **ChandraV** » 04 Sep 2019 23:30

Reports of a BJP MP from Arunachal making public comment about Chinese intrusion and construction of a bridge over a rushing nallah deep in the India side of LAC.

Army's response is to completely brush this off, but I don't quite accept it. Army says that this is in the Fish Tail area where the actual LAC has different perceptions by both armies. Which is hogwash... because the reason the border there is Fish Tail is because it follows the high ridge line just like it does most of the Arunachal border. If the border is the high ridge, and there are three long valley fingers spreading north from Chaglagam HQ with each stopping just before the high ridge line border along the Fish Tail, then it is obvious that any nallah along those valleys is DEEP inside India territory.

There is even a video of the roughly made wooden bridge making the rounds. Can anyone put a pin on Google Maps for where exactly it is? Regardless of whatever bullshit the Army is pushing for public consumption?

ChandraV · Post by **ChandraV** » 04 Sep 2019 23:41

By nay-saying such obvious videographic evidence, and even making public comments that the border area is unmarked and both armies use such bridges, the Indian Army seems to be legitimizing the Chinese incursion. It is okay to say that sure, the bridge is not built by us-- maybe it's locals who built it but if it's built by the Chinese then we will destroy it and double up our patrols in that area...or something similar. To just so much as say "go pound sand" to an MP, that too from the governing party, it is ridiculous.

http://arunachal24.in/chinas-intrusion- ... -a-nallah/

"During monsoons whenever the nalas are in spates, temporary bridges are constructed by the patrols for their movement, the Army said.

"Being an area of differing claims, troops from either side routinely patrol the area. In addition, civilian hunters and herb collectors also frequent here during summer months," the Army said.

The Army further emphasised, "It is reiterated that there is no permanent presence of either Chinese soldiers or civilians in the area and surveillance is maintained by our troops.""

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/n ... 2019-09-04

So the army will wait until the Chinese build permanent roads across the high ridge and into the Indian side, build pucca houses and have permanent settlements. Sort of like what they did in Bhutan/Doklam. Then the army will do something... it will do tutti. Just like at Demchok?

Very disappointed by the public response...which leaves zero chance of action away from public's eye.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 05 Sep 2019 00:12

^^^^^^^

what if the IA and GoI actually want to handle things quietly and away from the public glare.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 05 Sep 2019 08:46

No Chinese incursion, says Army - The Hindu

The Army on Wednesday denied any Chinese incursion in Arunachal Pradesh, rejecting claims made by MP and State BJP president Tapir Gao that Chinese troops had constructed a temporary wooden bridge over a stream in Anjaw district last month.

Army spokesperson Col. Aman Anand said the area being referred to is the area of Fish Tail where there are “differing perceptions” on the alignment of the Line of Actual Control. “Being an area of differing claims, troops routinely from either side patrol the area... There is no permanent presence of either Chinese soldiers or civilians in the area,” Col. Anand said.

He stated that the terrain is thickly vegetated and all movements are undertaken on foot along Nalas and streams and during monsoons whenever the Nalas are in spate, “temporary bridges are constructed by the patrols for their movement”.

Col. Anand further said that India and China have well-established diplomatic and military mechanisms to address all border-related issues and both countries have also “agreed to work towards a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement” of the boundary question on the basis of the 2005 Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles.

Separately, Army sources said that after the Wuhan summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping last year, the Armies were told to avoid face-offs during patrols which each side conducts to enforce their claims. In this particular case the claims would also be verified by a patrol team, a source added.

One thing that we should be wary of is that the Chinese never stick to agreements while we always do.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 05 Sep 2019 08:50

Huawei is a national security concern, says Trump - PTI

Asserting that Chinese technology giant Huawei is a national security concern for the United States, President Donald Trump on Wednesday said doing business with the company is not part of the ongoing trade negotiations with China.

“It’s a national security concern. Huawei is a big concern of our military, of our intelligence agencies. And we are not doing business with Huawei,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House.

He was responding to questions on the Chinese technological giant, which seemingly has a monopoly on 5G technology, that has not been banned from major parts of the U.S.

“It’ll stop almost completely in a very short period of time. And we’ll see what happens with respect to China. But Huawei has been not a player that we want to discuss, we want to talk about, right now,” Trump said.

“We’re not going to be doing business with Huawei. We’re going to do our own business, you know, the old-fashioned way. We’ll do right from within the United States, which is what I’ve been saying for a long time,” said the U.S. President in response to a question.

Vice President Mike Pence said in Iceland, where he is currently travelling, that he is encouraged that Iceland has recognised the profound issues that arise from any free nation, embracing the technology and equipment of Huawei.

“Huawei is essentially a Chinese company that, under Chinese law, is required to turn over all of the data that it collects to the Chinese government and the Communist Party,” he said.

“The reality is we don’t believe that that’s consistent with the security of free nations. We don’t believe it’s consistent with the privacy of people that enjoy freedom in nations like the United States and Iceland,” Mr. Pence said.

He urged Iceland to join the U.S. in calling on nations across this alliance to reject Huawei technology.

The United States is taking a strong stand on free and fair and reciprocal trade with China, he said.

“We just had a new round of tariffs that we announced that were imposed on China. President Trump will continue to take a strong stand until we see China begin to open their markets and begin to recognize the international rules of commerce that govern the interaction between Iceland and America, and nations all across the globe. And we remain very hopeful,” Mr. Pence said.

SRajesh · Post by **SRajesh** » 06 Sep 2019 16:20

Last night was Part II of BBC two china series: about HK demostrations, Chinese billionaires and fronts trying to buy influence
Repeatedly spoke about United Front a Chini commie organisation ( a la Amensty International) trying to peddle Chinese line and buying influence.
Some spine by Pee Pee See given so much Chini influence in the UK.
Is this something like Cash-moor = Chini so to be secular in their own way.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 09 Sep 2019 09:15

Chinese trawlers in southern Indian Ocean worry India - Dinakar Peri, The Hindu

There has been a huge increase in Chinese deep-sea fishing trawlers in the southern Indian Ocean far from the Chinese coast which has raised concerns in the government and the security establishment, according to official sources. This was discussed in the recent coastal security meetings involving Director-General (DG), Shipping, the Navy and other stakeholders.

“In the last four years, on an average at least 500 Chinese trawlers were present in the region and around 32,250 incidents per year were recorded,” a senior defence source said. The trawlers were, however, not in India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) but beyond, the source added. This includes trawlers from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Breaking this up further, there were 1,100 occurrences near Somalia and 1,500 occurrences near the Coast of Oman. Occurrences are recordings of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) aboard trawlers and ships recorded when they are activated. So a trawler can be recorded multiple times based on its AIS signature. Chinese trawlers have institutional backing and have processing facilities with them which are sold in the vicinity, the source added on the modalities of the operation.

While India has good inland fishing, the ocean fishing capacity is way below capacity. There have been recommendations for the need to boost domestic deep-sea fishing. “Our deep-sea fishing is in bits and pieces. We need to boost that,” the source said.

The maritime movements in the region are tracked at the Navy’s Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) at Gurugram, which is the single-point centre interlinking all the coastal radar chains and other inputs along the coastline. The AIS information comprises name, MMSI number, position, course, speed, last port visited, destination and so on. This information can be picked up through various AIS sensors including coastal AIS chains and satellite based receivers.

To address this, the National Maritime Domain Awareness initiative aims to integrate fishing, ports, customs so that the database is available to everyone. Currently, the States have their databases. As part of this evolving mechanism, the National Committee for Strengthening Maritime and Coastal Security is scheduled to meet this week to discuss the implementation.

There has been a national effort to install AIS systems on ships under 20m for which a pilot study has been carried out. AIS works through satellite and the ISRO has already delivered 1000 transponders for trails in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.

uskumar · Post by **uskumar** » 09 Sep 2019 13:19

India Criticizes Chinese Trade Policies

Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Monday criticized China for what he described as one-sided trade policies, casting doubt over the progress of negotiations for a pan-Asian free trade agreement.Speaking during a panel discussion in Singapore, the minister said India remained skeptical over “unfair” market access and “Chinese protectionist policies” that have created a significant trade deficit between the two nations. India’s trade deficit with China was $53.6 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2019.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 09 Sep 2019 17:36

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190 ... sanctions/

China is planning to invest $280 billion in Iran’s oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors that are being affected by US sanctions, according to Petroleum Economist magazine.

The energy affairs magazine quoted a senior source who was linked to the Iranian Oil Ministry, as stating that this enormous investment represents a key point in a new agreement between the two countries. This was confirmed during Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s visit to China in late August, to present a roadmap for the strategic comprehensive partnership agreement, which concluded in 2016.

According to the magazine, Beijing also pledged to invest $120 billion in Iran’s oil sector and industrial infrastructure.

This vast amount will be disbursed during the first five years of the agreement’s entry into implementation, with possible additional investments in subsequent similar periods, if both parties agree.

In return, Iran will grant Chinese companies the priority right to participate in tenders for any new, frozen or incomplete projects to develop oil and gas fields, as well as all petrochemical projects, including the provision of technology and staff to implement these projects.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 10 Sep 2019 14:28

India, China to cooperate in R&D for developing new tech for manufacturing solar cell - PTI

India and China have agreed on cooperation in R&D for developing new technology for manufacturing solar cell from alternate material and improvement of efficiency of solar cells, Niti Aayog said on Monday. Both sides have also agreed on cooperation in the field of e-mobility and energy storage.

This among issues was discussed during the sixth India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue, which was concluded on Monday.

"Both sides agreed on cooperation in R&D for developing new technology for manufacturing solar cell from alternate material and improvement of efficiency of solar cells," it said.

Under this dialogue, there are six standing joint working groups which are appointed by both sides to address economic and commercial issues across infrastructure, energy, high-tech, resource conservation, pharmaceuticals and policy coordination in a structured and outcome-oriented manner.

The working group on pharmaceuticals decided that both the sides should explore cooperation for promoting Indian generic drugs and Chinese APIs (raw material for pharma sector).

Similarly, the working group on high-tech exchanged views on regulatory procedures of ease of doing business, development of artificial intelligence, high-tech manufacturing, and next-generation mobile communications of both countries {5G or beyond 5G?}.

On infrastructure, they held discussions on identifying the next steps in all areas of cooperation as well as on taking forward the study project exploring the possibility of Delhi-Agra high speed railway in the pilot section.

Senior representatives from policy making, industry and academia participated in this dialogue from both the sides.

The Indian side was led by Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog and the Chinese side by He Lifeng, Chairman, NDRC (National Development and Reforms Commission).

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 10 Sep 2019 14:57

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is on our territory: India - Kallol Bhattacherjee, The Hindu

India on Tuesday rejected the reference to Jammu and Kashmir in the latest China-Pakistan joint statement and called on both countries to stop activities related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid a visit to Pakistan over the weekend and discussed regional issues. During the talks, China reiterated its support to Pakistan to protect its territorial integrity and sovereignty. The visit was part of continued consultation between Beijing and Islamabad after India ended special status to Jammu and Kashmir on August 5.

“India is resolutely opposed to any actions by other countries to change the status quo in PoK. We call on the parties concerned to cease such actions,” said Mr. Kumar.
“We reject the reference to Jammu and Kashmir in the joint statement issued by China and Pakistan after the recent visit of Chinese Foreign Minister. J&K is an integral part of India. India has consistently expressed concerns to both China and Pakistan on the projects in the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is in the territory of India that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947,” said official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar.