Kinaforum : 8. nov. 2024

fredag 8. november 2024

Why China Won't Stop Ally North Korea From Fighting Ukraine

China has remained mum about the deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to Russia in recent weeks. The U.S. and its allies view the development, which followed the signing in June of the first Russia-North Korea military agreement since the Cold War, as a dangerous escalation of Vladimir Putin's 33-month war against Ukraine and tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Yet China is likely unsettled by this new phase of Moscow's fast-growing alliance with Pyongyang, which since last September has shipped thousands of containers believed to contain munitions and other matériel to help replenish Russian forces' stocks.

The Pentagon estimates there are now 11,000 to 12,000 North Korean soldiers in Russia, with 10,000 already stationed in the border region of Kursk. Ukrainian forces launched a counteroffensive there in August and now hold some 250 square miles of territory.

Will China Invade Taiwan Under Trump? What Experts Think

When China's President Xi Jinping called U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to congratulate the Republican on his resounding victory, he delivered a warning too: The two powers "gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation".

Trump and Xi have already had a taste of economic confrontation in the form of a trade war, kicked off under the former's first term as U.S. president when he introduced swathes of tariffs against Chinese imports—a move swiftly reciprocated by Beijing. More tariffs are coming in the second term. But there is a far-greater U.S.-China confrontation lurking ominously in the background, one with potentially catastrophic consequences not just for the Indo-Pacific, but for the whole world: A war over Taiwan.

Under its "One China principle," Beijing considers Taiwan a part of China and not an independent state. Its goal is "reunification" and to right what it sees as a wrong stemming from the Chinese Civil War that ended in 1949 with communists in control of Beijing.

Mistenkt Kina-spion brukte kinesisk bankkort i Oslo

Mannen i 30-årene ble i sommer pågrepet og siktet for spionasje mot Norge til fordel for Kina. Oslo-mannen kom tilbake fra Kina da pandemien brøt ut i 2020 og avla doktorgraden sin ved Fudan i Shanghai over video samme sommer. Han har alltid vært folkeregistrert i Norge med adresse i Oslo. Han har hele tiden nektet straffskyld via sin advokat Marius Dietrichson.

VG har ikke funnet spor av arbeidsforhold eller lønnsinntekter i Norge siden han kom hjem fra Kina, og de siste seks årene har han hatt null i inntekt på skattelistene. Ifølge opplysninger fra flere personer og dokumentasjon VG har sett betalte den siktede mannen ut betydelige beløp for mat og drikke for flere personer ved ulike anledninger på en kinesisk restaurant i Oslo sentrum, etter at han returnerte fra studier i Kina våren 2020.

Provoserende kinesisk opptrinn på Svalbard - UD protesterer

I sommer ville kinesiske forskere feire at det var 20 år siden de startet forskning på Svalbard. På forhånd hadde norske myndigheter satt klare rammer for dagen. Norge har nemlig suverenitet over øygruppen og fungerer som vertskap for alle forskere her. Feiringen ble likevel mer oppsiktsvekkende enn planlagt, da 183 cruiseturister med flagg og bannere dukket opp.

Blant dem var det en kvinne i en militæruniform knyttet til det kinesiske forsvaret. Det viser undersøkelser NRK har gjort i samarbeid med det amerikanske mediehuset Radio Free Asia (RFA). – Dette kan helt klart oppfattes som provoserende. Det strider klart mot norsk praksis, sier forsker Marc Lanteigne.

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Exclusive: How Chinese nationalism is sending jitters through the Arctic

On an early morning in late July, a luxury expedition cruise ship, boasting the latest in high-end Arctic travel, made a slow approach to the docks of Ny-Ålesund, a remote settlement in Norway’s Svalbard Islands. At 79 degrees north latitude, Ny-Ålesund is the northernmost inhabited outpost on Earth. Isolated in the Arctic’s desolate winter, it hosts just 30 year-round residents.

Newayer, a Chinese travel agency, chartered the vessel for 183 tourists from Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing. Each passenger paid at least $13,000 for a two-week “Three Arctic Islands” tour, marketed as an exclusive opportunity to reach the “top of the Earth,” complete with “the luxury of Chinese hospitality.”

Clad in matching red jackets bearing a polar bear logo, the travelers disembarked at their first stop: China’s Yellow River Research Station in Ny-Ålesund.

China’s Xi congratulates Trump, looks to increase cooperation in ‘new era’

Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated former U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday on his election victory, and urged their two countries to ‘find the right way to get along in the new era,” the Xinhua news agency reported. U.S. broadcaster CNN, citing unidentified sources, said Xi had telephoned Trump to offer his congratulations. “Xi called for the two countries to strengthen dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, and expand mutually beneficial cooperation,” Xinhua reported.

Trump stormed to victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s election and will return to the White House for his second term in January. Beijing on Wednesday gave a muted reaction to Trump’s victory.

Taiwan wonders if Trump will charge ‘protection fees’

Taiwan’s government was quick to congratulate Donald Trump on his election as U.S. president as residents waited to see if he would follow through on comments made on the campaign trail that the island should have to pay for U.S. protection. Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo said the island’s government “will work together with the new U.S. administration and Congress to create a new situation in Taiwan-U.S. relations.”

Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang, which currently controls the Legislative Yuan, also sent congratulations, with party Chairman Eric Chu highlighting Trump’s four years of experience in the job. “During his tenure, he led a number of pro-Taiwan bills and helped Taiwan strengthen its defenses,” Chu said. “The KMT expects Trump to continue those efforts to mediate geopolitical conflicts begun in his previous term ... and strive to promote regional peace and stability.”

China approves $1.4 trillion debt package in latest measure to boost flagging economy

China has approved a 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) plan to bolster its ailing economy by allowing local governments to swap out their hidden debt, unveiling additional stimulus measures to counter a potentially volatile growth path marked by the impending return of Donald Trump to the White House.

Finance Minster Lan Fo’an told a Friday press conference the six trillion yuan ($838 billion) debt limit would be made available over three years to help regional governments replace their so-called “hidden debt.” This kind of debt is normally owed by risky local government financing platforms that are backed by cities or provinces.

Economic upheaval and political opportunity – what Trump’s return could mean for China

China is bracing for what could be a volatile and highly unpredictable path ahead in its escalating great power rivalry with the United States, after Donald Trump made a historic political comeback to win the race to the White House. His return could bring tariffs as high as 60% on Chinese goods – which could devastate economic growth in the world’s second largest economy and upend global supply chains – more technology controls and fiery rhetoric on Beijing, heightening tension in already rocky relations between the superpowers.

But Trump’s protectionist trade posture and transactional approach to foreign policy may also weaken US alliances and global leadership, presenting opportunities for Beijing to fill the void of America’s retreat and shape an alternative world order.

TikTok’s founder is now China’s richest person. But the country’s total number of billionaires has shrunk

China has a new richest person – and it’s the entrepreneur behind the wildly popular, and controversial, app TikTok. Zhang Yiming, 41, co-founder of TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, topped the 2024 Hurun China Rich List, released Tuesday. His wealth reached $49.3 billion, as assessed by research, media and investment group Hurun Inc, which publishes the ranking of the country’s richest people.

Zhang’s ascendency comes after ByteDance’s global revenue grew 30% last year to $110 billion, Hurun said. Since its official launch in May 2017, TikTok has been catapulted to mass global popularity as well as becoming an era-defining social media platform beloved by many young people around the world – and a trailblazing example for other Chinese companies eager to break into US and global markets.