De SCO begon als manier om de grenzen in Centraal-Azië af te bakenen na de val van de Sovjetunie. Daarna gebruikte men het om de veiligheid te garanderen en ‘terrorisme’ te bestrijden. Nu bestrijkt de organisatie de hele internationale orde.

Op de veelbesproken top in Tianjin vorig jaar lanceerde Xi zijn vierde mondiale initiatief – de Global Governance Initiative (GGI). In zijn toespraak gisteren noemt Xi alle vier de initiatieven. Hij opent de opsomming niet met veiligheid maar met het Global Development Initiative voor economische ontwikkeling.

Onder Wereldhandelsoorlog vandaag weer veel Duitsers. Ik citeer breed uit de Engelse vertaling van een belangwekkend achtergrondstuk van Der Spiegel over de stand van de Duitse autoindustrie. Elders in de sectie laten cijfers zien dat het verhaal van verslechtering nog altijd doorzet.

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

Chinese court freezes CN¥2.14 billion [€275mn] of Nexperia assets in Wingtech 闻泰 case – Reuters: ‘The Dongguan Intermediate People’s Court ordered the freeze, ​Wingtech said ⁠in a filing. The case has not yet gone to trial.’
‘The order covers Nexperia’s stakes in four China-based businesses, including its semiconductor operations in China, Wuxi and Shanghai, as ⁠well ​as its equipment arm’s wholly owned Wuxi unit. The ​measures took effect between August 20 and August 25, and run until August 2029.’ 🇳🇱

Antwoord op vragen van het lid Van Baarle over het bezoek van Minister Sjoerdsma aan China – Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal: „In het bilaterale gesprek met de Chinese minister van Handel, Wang Wentao, heb ik de zorgen over Oeigoerse dwangarbeid overgebracht en gesproken over toegang tot Xinjiang.” 🇳🇱

Canadian alleged NATO spy to remain in custody, Belgian prosecutor says – Reuters 🇧🇪
The incident that alerted NATO to China’s alleged espionage – Intelligence Online 🇧🇪🇨🇦

France, Germany, others back call for faster, more efficient EU decisions in foreign and security policy – POLITICO Europe: ‘Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain’
‘talks will also explore options for reforming the European External Action Service’ 🇪🇺

President Lai urges Europe to sign investment and tax agreements with Taiwan – Focus Taiwan: ‘Speaking at the EU Investment Forum in Taipei, Lai said Taiwanese investment in the European Union had surged 650 percent over the past decade’ 🇪🇺
Het loont soms ook om terug te kijken naar 2016 en te zien hóeveel er in die tijd al verschoven is.

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 expects stronger foundation and brighter future for China-Russia ties – Xinhua: ‘in a meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2026 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.’ 🇷🇺
Kremlin aide says Putin, Xi, and Trump may hold a trilateral meeting – Reuters: ‘may ​hold a trilateral meeting at ​the next summit of the Asia-Pacific ⁠Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.’ 🇷🇺🇺🇸

China, Russia, and Mongolia to hold joint border defence exercise – Xinhua: ‘Border defense forces of the three countries held their first joint exercise of such kind in September 2025.’ 🇷🇺🇲🇳

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

EU wants to convince China to curb exports to the bloc – POLITICO Europe: ‘Maroš Šefčovič said in an interview.’
‘Rather than relying primarily on traditional trade defenses after Chinese goods reach Europe, the approach increasingly focuses on managing trade with the Asian behemoth’
‘Should its engagement with Beijing fail to bear fruit, the EU would look to make full use of its trade defenses and shut off its markets, Šefčovič said.’ 🇪🇺
EU bereitet härteren Kurs gegen Chinas Billigimporte vor – WirtschaftsWoche: „Die EU bereitet neue Schutzinstrumente vor, die ganze Branchen vor der Warenschwemme aus China schützen sollen. Ein Katalog mit Maßnahmen wird im Oktober vorgestellt.“ 🇪🇺

USA-Reise: Klingbeil deutet härtere Gangart gegenüber China an – Handelsblatt: ‘„Das heißt nicht, dass wir die Konfrontation suchen, aber an den Stellen, wo wir sehen, China spielt nicht mehr nach den Regeln, müssen wir uns eben anders aufstellen“, sagte der SPD-Chef bei einem Besuch im BMW-Werk in Spartanburg in den USA.’ 🇩🇪
Uncertainty is ‘poison for economic growth’, German finance minister says – Reuters: ‘Klingbeil said Germany ​supported a rules-based international order, international law and multilateralism.’ 🇩🇪

Germany’s vaunted auto industry in dire straits amid Chinese surge – Der Spiegel: ‘The gigantic cost-cutting packages currently unsettling the workforces at Volkswagen, BMW and Porsche have one overriding aim: to prepare Germany’s carmakers for an intensifying battle over production costs with the Chinese.’
‘Or is it already too late? The assault from the People’s Republic is catching the German auto industry at its weakest moment.’
‘The fact that the Chinese want to produce in Europe is an assault on the industrial model prevalent across much of the continent. In Germany, that model includes collectively bargained wages, employee codetermination and statutory labor protections – and that is considered too expensive in comparison with the practices in the People’s Republic.’
‘BYD has brought along its own workers to build the factory in the Hungarian city of Szeged – and apparently its own working conditions as well. […] Two workers have died’
‘Chinese manufacturers are playing cat and mouse with European regulators. They ship kits of essentially finished electric cars from Chinese factories to Europe in order to claim subsidies tied to local production or to circumvent tariffs.’
‘Merely the prospect of stricter rules has already set off a scramble among Chinese automakers for European factories. […] And the plants that VW wants to get rid of in Germany? “Nobody has knocked on my door yet,” says a Volkswagen board member, rolling his eyes.’ 🇩🇪
Werkbank oder raus – Chinesischer Zulieferer droht Mitarbeitern – Handelsblatt 🇩🇪
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume is trying to unite the German carmaker’s diverse and demanding stakeholders behind his sweeping restructuring plans – Bloomberg 🇩🇪
Mercedes-Benz will buy back as much as €1 billion of its own stock starting this week – Bloomberg: ‘extending a capital-return program even as it grapples with waning sales in China.’ ‘It completed a separate €2 billion buyback earlier this year.’ 🇩🇪
Je zou ook kunnen nadenken om te investeren in antwoorden op de grote Chinese uitdaging…

China’s regulators issues guidelines for automakers’ overseas operations – Reuters: ‘The rules call on automakers to base pricing on ​costs and market conditions, avoid using prices to gain unfair ​competitive advantages, and refrain from frequent or steep price changes that could harm consumers or brand image.’
商务部 工业和信息化部 市场监管总局关于印发《汽车行业境外竞争行为与合规建设指引》的通知 – 中华人民共和国商务部：
“第五条 企业在制定整车境外市场建议零售价时，…………，避免因多频次、大幅度价格波动影响境外消费者利益和品牌形象。”
Impliciete tegemoetkoming aan Europese zorgen? De op Europa gerichte propaganda-Substack ‘Brussels Tea House’ was er in ieder geval snel bij om de positieve boodschap van deze richtlijnen (!) te benadrukken – tegen extreme prijsschommelingen, voor volgen buitenlandse arbeidswetgeving, enz.

Germany drives the fall in EU exports to China – : ‘Germany alone accounted for a €5.03bn decline, more than twice the net fall for the entire EU. The Netherlands added another €1.41bn decline.’
‘Chinese exports to the EU rose 10.7% year-on-year in July’ 🇩🇪🇪🇺
Nederlandse handel profiteert van geopolitieke onrust, met ASML als grote bron van de groei – de Volkskrant 🇳🇱

Chinese carmaker BYD 比亚迪 inquired about taking over an idled Stellantis NV plant in the Toronto suburbs, according to a local politician – Bloomberg 🇨🇦🇪🇺

France targets Shein 希音 and TEMU with fast fashion fines – Reuters 🇫🇷

G20 countries should consider more trade barriers on China to cut imbalances, US Treasure Secretary Bessent says – Reuters: ‘Although some economists and European leaders have called for a coordinated effort to strengthen China’s yuan, Bessent questioned the effectiveness of such a move. […] calling this “an easy ​way to get around dealing with the ​real trade problem,” which he said ⁠was excessive Chinese industrial subsidies and weak domestic demand.’ 🇺🇸

Chinese premier Lǐ Qiáng 李强 meets delegation of Board of Directors of US-China Business Council – Xinhua: ‘China will work to address the reasonable concerns of U.S. companies operating in China, and safeguard a level playing field in accordance with the law’ 🇺🇸

China orders military supply chain checks in self-reliance push – Bloomberg: ‘is required by the revised National Defense Mobilization Law passed Friday. The changes that take effect Oct. 1 also require officials to take measures that improve supply chain resilience.’
Xi’s national unification agenda prompts defence mobilisation law changes, Taiwanese official says – Taipei Times 🇹🇼

Techoorlog 💽💥

China is unlikely to advance its semiconductor manufacturing capabilities fast enough to develop a viable alternative to ASML’s cutting-edge extreme ultraviolet technology within the next decade, UBS analysts predict – Bloomberg: ‘“They seem to be at a similar stage to ASML in 2004,” UBS analysts led by Francois-Xavier Bouvignies wrote in a note.’ 🇳🇱

German chip sector seeks Japan ties to reshape supply chain amid China risk – Kyodo News: ‘Zeiss supplies critical components to ASML Holding N.V. of the Netherlands’ 🇩🇪🇯🇵

Nederlands techbedrijf verkocht aan Amazon: „Geen serieuze Europese biedingen„ – FD: „Dat laat opnieuw zien hoe afhankelijk Europese techbedrijven zijn van vooral Amerikaans groeikapitaal. ‘Als Europeaan maak ik me daar zorgen over.’” 🇳🇱🇪🇺

Von der Leyen set to deliver major speech on Europe’s space policy – POLITICO Europe 🇪🇺
Ook gisteren hoorde ik weer in Brussel van iemand dat er serieus interesse is in Europese opties onder niet-Westerse landen huiverig voor de gesloten grootmachtopties van de VS en China. Dan moeten we die wel bieden.

EU must work with South Korea battery makers to cut China risk, experts say – Nikkei Asia 🇪🇺🇰🇷

China highlights advanced wartime tech in defence mobilisation law update – SCMP: Analysts said the inclusion would make it possible to rapidly convert emerging infrastructure, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and unmanned systems, into defence capabilities.’

Z.AI 智谱’s revenue missed estimates, underscoring the challenge it faces shipping near-frontier artificial intelligence models and competing against rivals like DeepSeek and Moonshot AI in China’s crowded arena – Bloomberg: ‘Chinese AI upstarts are engaged in price wars to capture market share, raising questions remain over profitability’

Huawei 华为 posted a deep profit decline after the Chinese tech champion grappled with rising memory costs and poured more resources into semiconductor research – Bloomberg: ‘The company is spearheading Beijing’s push for semiconductor self-sufficiency with its own chips for artificial intelligence’

Dual defence betrayal: China’s MSS claims rare case of executive spying for 2 countries – SCMP

Taiwan aims to train 500,000 AI pros by 2040 – Taipei Times

Researchers discover additional backdoors in Chinese-made Zbtlink routers – Reuters: ‘More than a dozen models of Chinese-made Zbtlink routers ‌ship with at least two backdoors that could allow for invasive remote access akin to “surveillance,” according to new findings from cybersecurity firm VulnCheck.’

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

Chinese shipper COSCO collects intel for Beijing with concealed equipment, US officials say – Reuters: ‘concealed equipment on board its ships to spy on military communications near the coastlines of ‌target nations’

Chinese leader Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 is setting off on what’s shaping up as his busiest travel schedule in more than seven years, partly in a bid to convince nations that Beijing offers better global leadership than the US – Bloomberg 🇰🇬🇪🇬🇮🇳🇺🇸
Xi puts forward four-point proposal at SCO Bishkek summit – Xinhua: ‘At the crossroads concerning the future of humanity, the SCO should shoulder its historic responsibility and take the initiative in steering the course of history, he said.’ 🇰🇬
Xi says China ready to work with Kyrgyzstan to enhance alignment of development strategies – Xinhua 🇰🇬
Xinhua Commentary: Forging ahead toward China-Egypt community with shared future in new era – Xinhua: ‘it is more urgent than ever for Global South countries to stand together and pursue common progress.’ 🇪🇬

US firm to take over some Venezuela oilfields previously run by Chinese and Russian firms – Reuters: ‘It also gives Washington a direct role in determining who produces and sells Venezuela’s oil’ 🇺🇸🇻🇪
China’s lawful rights and interests in Venezuela must be protected, foreign ministry spokesperson says – Xinhua 🇺🇸🇻🇪

Trump praises China for remaining ‘relatively inactive’ during Strait of Hormuz crisis – SCMP: ‘Trump added that he had “a lot of respect” for the Chinese leader and believed the feeling was mutual.’ 🇺🇸🇮🇷🇴🇲
Changes in the global energy landscape viewed through the US-Israel-Iran conflict – Zhao Hongtu and Chen Wenlin (CICIR) for Qiushi 🇺🇸🇮🇷🇮🇱

US university to pay US$2.1 million settlement over claims it didn’t disclose China ties – SCMP 🇺🇸

Indiase en Chinese televisiepersoonlijkheden vliegen elkaar in de haren over rampzalige stortvloed in Tibet en Nepal – de Volkskrant 🇮🇳🇳🇵

China’s Pacific islands envoy warns of ‘consequences’ over Taiwan presence at Pacific leaders meeting – Reuters: ‘The leaders of Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Kiribati did not attend the gathering of the 18-member group’

Chinese team maps South China Sea floor with ‘twice the resolution’ of Western models – SCMP: ‘“Our equipment breaks the monopoly of Western countries, with leading performance,” Wu said in the news report.’

China economie

China’s manufacturing PMI at 49.8 in August – Xinhua: ‘The PMI for the equipment manufacturing industry and the high-tech manufacturing industry stood at 51.4 and 52.9, respectively, both remaining in the expansion zone.’

China’s property overhaul targets shadow banking and local debt risks – Caixin Global: ‘The comprehensive guidelines, released Friday by the National Financial Regulatory Administration and relevant departments, are designed to curb risks stemming from the prolonged property slump, particularly in shadow banking and local government financing.’

Shein 希音 shares slide on fast-fashion retailer’s stock market debut – The Guardian: ‘The lacklustre launch as a publicly listed company comes after one of the longest-awaited initial public offerings in recent years, after plans to list in New York were blocked by regulators over forced labour concerns.’

China binnenland

Dagen na de ramp wordt steeds meer duidelijk over Tibet, waar pers niet welkom is. De ravage is groot, de kans op overlevenden klein – NRC
Chinese authorities penalise 10 people for misinformation over deadly mudslide – AFP: ‘Rumours shared by the 10 individuals suggested the number of missing or dead was vastly more than officially reported figures, according to a statement by the cybersecurity bureau of China’s Ministry of Public Security.’

Chinese rescue work in Tibet flood disaster zone still trudging along days later – Reuters: ‘With ​river currents flowing at 6 to 7 metres per second — up to ⁠six times normal river speeds — efforts to rebuild the road over the past few days ​have been repeatedly swallowed up by the rapids, state broadcaster CCTV said on Tuesday.’
Tibet holds memorial services for mudslide victims, Chinese state media report – AFP: ‘Official figures put the number of dead in China at 16’
‘at least 987 deaths in Nepal’
Xi says China making every effort to search for missing people in mudslide disaster – Xinhua
Chinese premier chairs State Council executive meeting – Xinhua: ‘The meeting studied and implemented the guiding principles of remarks made by Xi Jinping, […], at a recent Party leadership meeting on rescue and relief work following a devastating mudslide’

Xi’s article on Party self-governance to be published – Xinhua

Solar panels are now China’s top source of power capacity, surpassing coal in a key milestone for the country’s green energy boom – Bloomberg

Hong Kong

Danish sculptor writes to Hong Kong court asking for return of Tiananmen crackdown monument – HKFP

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

Taiwan’s military says ‘unpredictable’ China strengthens air and sea control nearby – Reuters: ‘In its annual report on China’s military threat, […], Taiwan’s defence ministry said the regional security situation “continues to escalate”,’
‘The report said China was incorporating ​lessons learned from the wars in Ukraine and the Gulf into its training and exercises, notably learning ​about the effectiveness of swarms of cheap drones in the Ukraine-Russia war.’
‘the report said China’s exercises around the island in recent years ​have all centred on “joint blockade/control” of Taiwan’s external sea lanes, while Beijing lacks ​the capability to ⁠mount an amphibious assault.’ 🇨🇳
Ministry maximising defence spending – Taipei Times: ‘reviewing budget execution trends and postponing non-urgent projects’
‘The ministry said China’s “gray zone” harassment of Taiwan has intensified while its military capabilities continue to expand rapidly.’
‘The ministry’s domestic priorities include new rifles, night-vision optics, portable counter-drone systems, wheeled combat vehicles and armored fighting vehicles (AFVs).’ 🇨🇳
Taiwan’s military planning to spend NT$36 billion [€980mn] on air defence missile system – Focus Taiwan: ‘It still has to be approved by the Legislative Yuan, which did not approve the 2026 fiscal budget until mid-August 2026.’

Taiwan’s labour minister Hung Sun-han 洪申翰 (DPP) to visit China for APEC meeting in Nanjing – Taipei Times: ‘The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that more than 300 lower-ranking government officials from 25 government offices have attended APEC-related events in China without incident since December last year.’ 🇨🇳

Taiwan-Singapore trade going strong, envoy says – Taipei Times: ‘Taiwan surpassed China and Malaysia last year to become Singapore’s largest trading partner’ 🇸🇬

Taiwan binnenland en economie

Poll: Taiwan’s president rides AI boom to highest approval in over a year – Domino Theory: ‘the fact that the country’s economy is even within striking distance of a positive net rating is historically significant, especially with November’s round of local elections fast approaching.’

KMT’s Fu Kun-chi 傅崐萁 challenges vote-buying allegations – Taipei Times: ‘challenged Kathrin Hille, a former Financial Times reporter, over accusations that there has been widespread vote-buying in Hualien County.’

Taitung councillors questioned in alleged resort corruption case – Taipei Times

KMT to demand Presidential Office next year purchase more mooncakes from disadvantaged groups – Taipei Times: ‘after the KMT failed to exempt payments for such products amid budget constraints imposed by the opposition’

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

De nasleep van de verschrikkelijke ramp in Tibet en Nepal duurt nog voort. Het is nog altijd niet zeker hoeveel slachtoffers er zijn. Uit Nepal komen sneller cijfers dan uit China, waar de censuur hard werkt. De vernietigende kracht van de vloedgolf is wel duidelijk. Het Politburo van de CCP heeft de maandelijkse vergadering gewijd aan de respons.

De Chinese partijstaatsmedia richt zich vooral op het staatsbezoek van Xi Jinping aan Kirgizië, waar hij ook de top van de Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) zal bijwonen. Het propagandapakket daarvoor was al voorbereid – inclusief commentaren over de rol van de SCO in de internationale orde – dus dat draaiboek zal eerst afgedraaid moeten worden. Het zou best kunnen dat we daarna beelden van Xi in Tibet krijgen, zodra de boel wat meer opgeklaard is en hij vooral de positieve/behulpzame rol kan spelen.

In Berlijn lijkt de coalitie richting een akkoord te bewegen over de Duitse visie op EU-China. Eerder verstevigden Merz en de industrielobby hun toon al. Nu komen de regeringsfracties met plannen. Helaas bezondigen die plannen zich weer aan het achterhoedegevecht om de verbrandingsmotor te beschermen.

Gisteren publiceerde de Volkskrant juist een opiniestuk van mij, waarin ik uitleg dat we het Europese handelsconflict met China niet alleen in economische maar ook in politieke termen moeten zien. We hebben nu juist te maken met een industriële transitie weg van fossiel. Daarbij komt de uitdaging van het andere Chinese politieke systeem.

Het is te hopen dat Brussel in oktober met een antwoord komt dat dit erkent. Misschien helpt het als de Europese regeringsleiders een mooie vertaling krijgen van het Nederlandse WRR-rapport?

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

AIVD en MIVD moeten van kabinet ruim baan krijgen om dreigingen uit China en Rusland te pareren – de Volkskrant: „Volgens minister van Defensie Yesilgöz-Zegerius is dat noodzakelijk vanwege de snelheid waarmee bijvoorbeeld Chinese hackers toeslaan. Zij gebruiken omvangrijke digitale infrastructuur en wisselen snel van computerservers. ‘Het gaat over evidente opponenten. We willen op een andere manier waarborgen organiseren, zodat we sneller kunnen handelen’, zegt de minister.”
„Hubert hekelt de pr rond de nieuwe wet, die ‘Wet bescherming nationale veiligheid door de inlichtingen- en veiligheidsdiensten’ moet gaan heten.” 🇳🇱

Inbraak bij Chinees-Canadese spionageverdachte Claire Z. in Bergen – Knack: „Nadat eind juli een huiszoeking plaatsvond in het studentenkot van de Canadese NAVO-stagiaire die verdacht wordt van spionage, werd op dezelfde plek ingebroken door onbekenden.”
„Volgens onze info zou er ook gemorreld zijn met Claire Z.’s socialemediaprofielen terwijl ze achter de tralies zat.” 🇧🇪
Zijn er mensen bezig om sporen uit te wissen?

Denmark arrests 13 Chinese nationals in DKK100 million [€13mn] money-laundering probe – Caixin Global 🇩🇰

Berlin House of Representatives launches Taiwan friendship group –  Taipei Times 🇩🇪

Putin and Xi to meet on sidelines of SCO summit Monday, Kremlin says – Nikkei Asia 🇷🇺

Taiwan now ‘clearly on the map’ in France, BFT director says – Focus Taiwan 🇫🇷

義大利參院副議長率規模最大訪團來台　將晉見賴總統 – 中央社 🇮🇹
Grote delegatie van tien Italiaanse parlementariërs in Taiwan.

Tibet/Nepal

Before flood catastrophe, Nepal asked China for early warnings as risks mounted – Reuters: ‘But two Nepali officials told Reuters they did not receive as much information as they wanted from China on glacier risks and ‌water levels after the meeting’
‘Wednesday’s catastrophe was sparked by the collapse of the glacier in a relatively unmonitored area, and a lack of bilateral cooperation was not a significant factor in Nepal’s response, […]. “[Yet] there is very limited exchange between Nepal and China,” said Lord’ 🇳🇵
China Focus: Ice-rock avalanche in Nepal triggers deadly mudslide in China’s Xizang [Tibet] – Xinhua 🇳🇵

Chinese control of information hampers assessment of Tibet flood damage – The Guardian: ‘the picture is emerging far more quickly in Nepal than in China, where strict controls on the flow of information from one of its most sensitive regions are hampering the public’s understanding of events.’
‘In China, state media carried several broadcasts about the floods and dispatched their own journalists to the area, but reports focused on the rescue efforts rather than the scale of the devastation.’
Footage of Tibet floods isn’t being shown in China – and we know little about victims there – BBC News: ‘Just hours after the disaster struck, […]. A notice came from the local party office urging members to step up and help in disaster relief efforts in their area and provide emotional guidance or psychological support to affected residents. The key line instructs them to “make every effort to maintain social order and ensure stability and public confidence in the disaster areas”. Those who perform well would be rewarded – and those who do badly “would be held accountable”.’
‘Puzzled by this take. There’s a lot to say about how breaking news and catastrophes are handled in the Chinese media environment, including regarding the Nepal-Tibet floods. But it just isn’t true that footage of the floods isn’t being shown, and I wonder why this entire tweet wasn’t just removed.’ – Manya Koetse, Twitter
Goede herinnering van Manya Koetse om wel scherp te blijven formuleren wanneer je het over de steeds meer verfijnde technieken van mediacontrole in China hebt.

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 chairs CCP leadership meeting on Gyirong County mudslide rescue efforts – Xinhua: ‘meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee’
Chinese premier Lǐ Qiáng 李强 urges all-out rescue and emergency response efforts after Gyirong mudslide – Xinhua

Chinese FM Wáng Yì 王毅 holds phone talks with Nepali counterpart – Xinhua 🇳🇵
China provides emergency humanitarian assistance to Nepal in response to mudslide disaster – Xinhua 🇳🇵

Chinese rescuers find ‘nothing but ruins’ at border crossing as Nepal seeks help to ID and store the dead – The Guardian: ‘China’s state-run Xinhua news agency said that the first barrier lake was reducing in size, citing analysis by the water resources ministry.’

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

German coalition parties seek tougher EU action against China, paper shows – Reuters: ‘called on Friday for stronger European ​protection against unfair competition along with specific measures ‌to support automakers. Parliamentary sources said the proposals were aimed primarily at Chinese overcapacity, though the document seen by Reuters did not mention ​China specifically.’
‘the parliamentary ​groups urged the ​European Commission ⁠to permit plug-in hybrids, range-extender electric vehicles and highly efficient combustion-engine cars alongside battery-electric ​cars after 2035. The parties also urged Brussels to ​suspend ⁠a planned tightening from early 2027 of the so-called utility factor’ 🇩🇪
Nog altijd zoekt Berlijn uitstel van executie voor de verbrandingsmotor.

German industry presses Merz for tougher China policy – Reuters 🇩🇪
Kärcher-Chef: „Was damals in der Solarindustrie passierte, droht nun dem Maschinenbau“ – Handelsblatt 🇩🇪

Chinese battery storage makers pivot to Europe as US barriers rise – Caixin Global: ‘Overseas orders for Chinese energy storage systems surged in the first half of 2026’ 🇪🇺

Taiwan prosecutors probe Unimicron 欣興電子 over relabelling of China-made PCBs as Taiwanese – Focus Taiwan

Opinie: Waarom Europa de basis van zijn welvaart aan China dreigt te verliezen – Sense Hofstede in de Volkskrant 🇪🇺
Mijn visie op het handelsconflict tussen EU en China uitgelegd met wat meer woorden.

Techoorlog 💽💥

Nexperia ziet tweede kwartaal omzet met ruim 18% toenemen – FD 🇳🇱

Proeffabriek Münster moet Duitsland helpen achterstand in de batterijrace in te lopen – FD 🇩🇪

Warum chinesische Autos unter Spionageverdacht stehen – Der Spiegel: „ Peking selbst ist im Umgang mit vernetzten Autos deutlich vorsichtiger und restriktiver als viele Staaten in Europa.“

Trump administration working on AI rule to curb China’s remote access to chips – The Information 🇺🇸

Chipmaker CXMT 长鑫存储 sues Pentagon over ‘Chinese military company’ designation – Reuters 🇺🇸

Anthropic has contracted the ‘American Disease’ – CCTV’s Yuyuan Tan Tian: ‘More than a month ago, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology directly named Claude Code, pointing out that it posed serious risks of security backdoors’ 🇺🇸

Xinhua Headlines: China promotes coordinated development of data industry and artificial intelligence – Xinhua

China did not make Americans hate data centres – Wired 🇺🇸

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

Xi attends SCO Summit 2026, pays state visits to Kyrgyzstan, Egypt – Xinhua 🇰🇬🇪🇬
Dit is de speciale ‘minisite’ van staatspersbureau Xinhua met alle nieuwsberichten en commentaren.
Xinhua Commentary: How the SCO is raising the bar for better global governance – Xinhua: ‘the SCO has shown that diversity need not lead to division, and that countries with different political systems, development paths, and civilizations can cooperate on equal footing without butting heads.’
秉持“上海精神”，书写全球治理的“上合答卷”（寰宇平）——写在2026年上海合作组织峰会举行之际 – 《人民日报》（2026年08月29日 第03版）：“在世界百年变局加速演进、多重风险交织叠加的当下，国际社会普遍期待上合组织继续发挥引领作用，当好践行全球治理倡议的表率，为推动国际秩序朝着更加公正合理方向发展贡献更大力量。”

Why Trump’s policies aren’t pushing US allies fully into China’s camp – Bloomberg: ‘they aren’t jumping into Beijing’s arms. Instead they’re hedging through trade and defense deals with like-minded partners’ 🇺🇸
De Canadese premier Carney komt naar het Europees Parlement komende maand, niet naar het Chinese Nationale Volkscongres.

Chinese executives may join Xi’s US trip, as trade truce extension ‘almost certain’ – SCMP: ‘four people with knowledge of the discussions said the inclusion of Chinese business leaders was being negotiated, with the idea framed around reciprocity’ 🇺🇸

Trump hints at sanctions on Chinese banks over Iran ties before Xi’s expected US visit – SCMP 🇺🇸🇮🇷

What Japan’s coming fighter jet deployment to India means for China – SCMP: ‘Tokyo will conduct a joint training exercise, Veer Guardian 26, with the Indian Air Force between September 9 and 21 in Rajasthan in western India.’ 🇯🇵🇮🇳

China’s foreign ministry urges Japan to speed up destruction of abandoned chemical weapons – Xinhua 🇯🇵
Japan to expand defence equipment aid from 8 to 12 nations amid China concerns – Kyodo News: ‘The military of Kenya, which sits on the western Indian Ocean, is expected to be a first-time recipient under the program’ 🇯🇵

Vietnam demands end to activity in Paracels after report of Chinese construction – Reuters: ‘China has occupied the Paracel Islands ​since 1974, when it seized them from the navy of ​the former South Vietnam. Vietnam, which claims the entire grouping as its ‌own’ 🇻🇳
Xinhua Commentary: China’s construction in Xisha Qundao legitimate and reasonable – Xinhua: ‘some Western news reports have recently hyped up and smeared China’s construction project in Lingyang Jiao, part of Xisha Qundao’ 🇻🇳

China Coast Guard patrols Huangyan Dao [Scarborough Shoal] – Xinhua 🇵🇭

How one TV interview left Malaysia PM Anwar walking a tightrope between Beijing and Taipei – The Straits Times 🇲🇾

Uzbekistan confirmed as second country to buy China’s J-10CE fighter – SCMP: ‘Pakistan was the first foreign buyer of the plane, which played a prominent role in last year’s brief conflict with India.’ 🇺🇿

China economie

Chinese graduates swarm grassroots jobs as government hiring shrinks – Caixin Global: ‘but local governments are increasingly closing the door on this once-reliable employment safety net.’

China’s industrial profits surge as AI boom masks weak demand – Caixin Global
German firms in China project slowest wage growth in over a decade – Caixin Global: ‘even as their economic outlook brightens and layoff plans drop sharply, a new industry survey shows.’ 🇩🇪

Frenzied land bidding returns to China’s prime cities, but has the market hit bottom? – Caixin Global: ‘Beyond a handful of premium parcels in top-tier cities, much of China’s land market remains subdued, with many peripheral sites still struggling to attract buyers.’
Zoals iemand recent al opmerkte op de podcast van Trivium China: in alle Chinese data waar je in duikt, komt je de ‘K-vorm’ tegen.

China binnenland

China removes two top generals Zhāng Yòuxiá 张又侠 and Liú Zhènlì 刘振立 from state version of supreme military command body – Reuters: ‘Friday’s announcement by the Standing Committee of the ‌National ⁠People’s Congress concerns Zhang and Liu’s positions in the state CMC.
They have not been formally or publicly stripped of their posts in the Central Military Commission of the ruling Communist Party.’

China hands ex-Hubei party chief Jiang Chaoliang suspended death sentence for bribery – Reuters: ‘a suspended ​death sentence over corruption ⁠and said he took ​in bribes totalling more ​than 746 million yuan ($111.01 million), state broadcaster CCTV said.’
‘Jiang, ​who had also served ​as chairman of the Agricultural ‌Bank ⁠of China, president of the China Development Bank, and chairman of the Bank of ​Communication, ​was ⁠known for his removal as the ​leading official of ​Hubei ⁠at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in ⁠2020.’

Chinese lawmakers adopt new law to protect farmland – Xinhua
Chinese lawmakers revise rules to strengthen museum collection management – Xinhua
Chinese lawmakers adopt new law to strengthen healthcare security – Xinhua

‘An earthquake in Chinese academia’: Tongji University abolishes tenure – Times Higher Education

Hong Kong

Crowds flock to independent Hong Kong bookstore before shutters close – Reuters

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

Taiwan’s MAC advises caution for ‘high-risk nationals’ traveling to China – Focus Taiwan: ‘following a reported incident in which a Taiwanese national was interrogated for six hours on arriving in Shanghai because of his past work for Amnesty International.’ 🇨🇳

Taiwan’s government proposes NT$1 billion [€27mn] for industrial park in Eswatini – Focus Taiwan 🇸🇿

New drone act could slow Taiwan military procurement, analysts say – Focus Taiwan
Economic affairs ministry decries new drone legislation – Taipei Times
Cabinet to support drone bill, source says – Taipei Times: ‘and include funding for it in this year’s supplemental budget’
De regering had een speciale begroting voorgesteld die het droneprogramma neerlegde bij het ministerie van defensie. De oppositiemeerderheid heeft die afgewezen in ruil voor het wetsvoorstel die het neerlegt bij economische zaken zonder de bron van de financiering te regelen. Dat betekent dat de regering het geld ergens vandaan moet halen.

Digging deeper into Taiwan’s draft defence budget – Domino Theory

Taiwan binnenland en economie

Taiwan’s 2026 Local Elections Preview (5) — Summing Up – Kharis Templeman
TPP-KMT ties strained by Jhubei mayoral contest – Taipei Times: ‘following a breakdown in talks with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) over their competing candidates’
DPP China Affairs warns of local election interference – Taipei Times 🇨🇳
De registratie voor kandidaten is deze week, dus in het weekend weten we hoe de lokale verkiezingen van 28 november er uit gaan zien.

CEC approves nuclear policy referendum, rejects caning and traffic fine proposals – Focus Taiwan

Alleged vote-buying in Hualien to be investigated – Taipei Times: ‘In an interview […], former Financial Times Taiwan correspondent Kathrin Hille spoke about Taiwan’s democracy and said that she now lives in rural Hualien, where “all the votes are bought.”’
Hualien is het domein van KMT-fractievoorzitter Fu Kun-chi, die momenteel frictie schijnt te hebben met KMT-parlementsvoorzitter Han Kuo-yu.
彰化也買票！美籍記者石東文曝親身經歷 國民黨地方派系備現金買票 – 自由時報

Bevolking Taiwan kampt met dramatische krimp, dreigt ook militair probleem te worden – BNR Nieuwsradio
Cabinet steps up efforts to boost births as population projected to halve – Focus Taiwan
Taiwan’s population to plummet, National Development Council warns – Taipei Times: ‘The population is expected to fall to 12.15 million by 2075, a 48 percent decline from this year’

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Zoals gebruikelijk neemt de meeste Chinese berichtgeving de vorm aan van instructies van leiders en beelden van reddingswerkers die komen helpen. In de Engelse vertaling gebruikt de Chinese staatsmedia tegenwoordig ook de Chinese naam ‘Xizang’ voor Tibet. De normale politieke gevoeligheid van rampennieuws krijgt nu een turboboost van de gevoeligheid van het onderwerp Tibet.

In Nederland is de Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid (WRR) met een stevig rapport gekomen over de toekomst van het handelsbeleid. In het kader van de „geopolitisering van economische relaties” zijn de bestaande systemen en overtuigingen, waar Nederland en Europa zo lang op vertrouwd hebben, niet langer houdbaar. Terechte aandacht voor innovatiebeleid is niet genoeg om de problemen van strategische afhankelijkheden op te lossen.

De auteurs wijzen naar zowel de VS als China wanneer ze het hebben over grootmachten die de verzwakkende positie van de EU uitbuiten. Bovenal spreken ze echter over de oneerlijke concurrentie vanuit China. Hoeveel meer productiviteit Europa uit betere innovatie weet te persen kan nooit op tegen het bewuste beleid van Peking om een machtspositie op te bouwen. Dat doet deels denken aan het nieuwjaarsstuk van secretaris-generaal Sandor Gaastra van Economische Zaken.

Twee auteurs herhalen in de pers dat stevige keuzes nodig zijn, waarbij Europa d kosten van Chinese vergelding in moet calculeren. Industriebeleid heeft geen zin zonder een antwoord te vinden op de scheefgetrokken handel, zo willen de auteurs. Het positieve ontvangst van het rapport door ministers Herbert en Sjoerdsma bevestigt wat de Nederlandse deelname aan het Franse non-paper al signaleerde: Den Haag gaat in oktober vast voor maatregelen stemmen t.o.v. China.

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

Ambassador Shēn Bó 申博 meets with Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands Vincent Karremans (VVD/Renew) – Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Kingdom of the Netherlands 🇳🇱

Austrian parliament president to visit China – Xinhua 🇦🇹

‘I thank Chinese leader Xi Jinping for his congratulations to Ukraine on our most important national holiday. Independence is an unconditional value for Ukrainians, as it is for all other sovereign nations. We appreciate that over these 35 years, we have built relations with China based on mutual respect and full recognition of the values of our peoples. We count on further cooperation and on China playing a strong diplomatic role in bringing Russia’s war against our country to an end. Peace can be our shared achievement.’ – Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський, Twitter 🇺🇦

Taiwan’s foreign aid agency signs MOU with Lviv on helping develop smart medicine in Ukraine – Focus Taiwan: ‘to help modernize two of its hospitals’ 🇺🇦

Taiwanese education ministry brings European officials to Taiwan – Taipei Times: ‘to participate in a 12-day program introducing them to Taiwanese culture and Mandarin’

Ramp Nepal/Tibet

Doodsangsten in Nepal en Tibet door modderstroom: „We kunnen het niet bevatten” – NOS Nieuws
How the deadly Nepal and Tibet flash flood unfolded: a visual guide – The Guardian: ‘massive glacial collapse’
China-Nepal border disaster: 1,000-plus missing as Beijing sends rescue teams – SCMP: ‘A barrier lake has formed near the [border] port, complicating rescue efforts, according to state broadcaster CCTV.’
Nepal and China warn of fresh flood risks with lakes threatening to burst – Reuters

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 urges all-out rescue, relief efforts after mudslide hits border port in Xizang [Tibet] – Xinhua: ‘Premier Li Qiang also issued instructions’ ‘Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing, […], led officials from relevant departments to the site’
Chinese premier Lǐ Qiáng 李强 arrives at mudslide-hit area in Xizang [Tibet] – Xinhua: ‘entrusted by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, to lead a group of senior officials from relevant departments to the disaster-hit area.’
China Focus: Rescuers rush to mudslide-hit border port in SW China’s Xizang [Tibet] – Xinhua
Nearly 100 Chinese nationals remain missing on Nepalese side due to mudslide, foreign ministry says – Xinhua: ‘Lin said that according to the information released so far by the local Chinese authorities, a total of 260 foreign nationals remain unaccounted for in the affected areas, with more specifics pending further verification due to the conditions on the ground.’ 🇳🇵
Wat ziet China van de ramp in Tibet en Nepal? Nadruk op daadkrachtige overheid – RTL Nieuws

China’s information control could hamper flood rescue efforts in Tibet – The New York Times
Dalai Lama warns of ‘deeper cause’ after deadly Tibet-Nepal floods – AFP
Climate change boosted risk of devastating Himalayan flood, experts say – Reuters

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

Dringend advies WRR: EU moet China harder aanpakken, ook als dat economisch pijn doet – Nieuwsuur: „Europa moet daarbij niet bang zijn dat China zal terugslaan en de Europese economie schade oploopt. Niets doen is op de langere termijn risicovoller, zegt WRR-wetenschapper Haroon Sheikh.” 🇳🇱
Advies aan het kabinet: „Overweeg pijnlijke maatregelen tegen Chinese concurrentie, zoals verzwakken euro” – de Volkskrant: „Raadslid Ab Klink: ‘Er is geen pijnloze oplossing in deze situatie.’” 🇳🇱
‘Scheef spel’ China vergt een brede beschermingswal, vindt WRR – FD 🇳🇱
Innovatie alleen is niet genoeg, ander handelsbeleid is nodig – Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid: „China heeft een groot exportoverschot. Op dit moment zijn Chinese producten vaak meer dan 30% goedkoper dan Europese producten. Dit is geen toeval, maar het gevolg van een economische strategie van de Chinese overheid die sterk op export leunt. Deze strategie steunt onder meer op lage lonen, enorme staatssubsidies (drie tot acht keer hoger dan in Europa) en een onderwaardering van de yuan (schattingen lopen uiteen van 12% tot meer dan 30%). Dit zorgt voor prijsverschillen waardoor Europese bedrijven niet met de Chinese kunnen concurreren en die niet te overbruggen zijn door enkel innovatiebeleid.” 🇳🇱
Strategisch handelen: Beleid voor een geopolitieke economie – Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid 🇳🇱
‘[…] Dat vraagt om een duidelijke positie van Nederland en de EU in de machtsstrijd tussen China en de VS. Dit is een van de grootste uitdagingen en een onderwerp waar ik mij actief voor inzet. […]’ – Minister van Buitenlandse Handel en Ontwikkelingssamenwerking, LinkedIn 🇳🇱
Sjoerdsma noemt de Amerikaanse voorgestelde MATCH Act, gericht op o.a. ASML, voor China in zijn post.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany will take a concrete position on China as he signalled that German companies are taking a harder line when it comes to global trade imbalances – Bloomberg: ‘He said his coalition will finalize its stance ahead of a European Union summit in October’
‘Authorities in Berlin have been working behind the scenes to identify Chinese vulnerabilities that can be exploited if the European Union finds itself in a trade war with China.’ 🇩🇪

Some Chinese workers see an ally in Brussels as EU trade tensions mount – Reuters: ‘as Chinese workers vent ​on social media about excessive overtime that critics say gives exporters an unfair advantage.’
‘The EU Forced Labour Regulation, adopted in 2024 and taking effect in ​December 2027, bans goods produced with imposed or involuntary work, including excessive overtime.’ 🇪🇺

EU approves INEOS-Sinopec 中石化 plastic venture in landmark case – The Brussels Times 🇪🇺

Australian trade chief warns EU deal is not guaranteed – Euractiv 🇪🇺🇦🇺

China opposes US plan to impose additional 7.5 point tariffs, commerce ministry says – Xinhua 🇺🇸

Canada verandert van toon en stelt miljardenheffingen in tegen VS: „We moeten reageren” – de Volkskrant 🇨🇦🇺🇸
China’s foreign ministry responds to Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on US goods – Xinhua: ‘China always advocates that all parties should resolve each other’s economic and trade concerns through equal dialogue and consultation’ 🇨🇦🇺🇸

Techoorlog 💽💥

Omzet Nederlandse chipindustrie in zes jaar verdubbeld – NOS Nieuws: „ Vorig jaar was de omzet 46 miljard euro, ruim twee keer zoveel als in 2019, meldt het Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek.”
„Het aantal mensen werkzaam in de chipindustrie ging van 23.000 naar 43.000.” 🇳🇱

NTUT joins Taiwan-Germany semiconductor training programme – Taipei Times: ‘The six-month program combines semiconductor-related coursework at a Taiwanese university with practical training at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) in Taichung’ 🇩🇪

China launches year-long auto quality drive, mandates defect recalls – Reuters: ‘as part of ​a year-long campaign to improve vehicle quality and safety ‌in the world's largest auto market.’
‘In a separate industry initiative issued shortly after ⁠the ​official mandate, the China Association of Automobile ​Manufacturers warned that “irrational competition” could erode production consistency and product safety, undermining the sector’s ​high-quality development.’

China’s Moonshot AI 月之暗面 in talks with Microsoft, Amazon, and Google over K3 revenue sharing, sources say – Reuters: ‘would allow the U.S. cloud giants to host its blockbuster Kimi K3 model’ 🇺🇸

Taiwan eyeing global drone role via partnerships, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim 蕭美琴 says – Focus Taiwan: ‘Foreign governments and companies have not only purchased drones but also key components’

Taiwan chip smuggling indictments raise questions about corporate compliance and legal loopholes – Domino Theory

Weekend

Longreads en achtergrond

In China’s techstad Hangzhou maakt AI een nieuwe generatie rijk – FD

The long arm of the Chinese state – The Economist

Unpacking the “Shanghai Spirit” – Lingua Sinica: ‘As Xi Jinping is off to Central Asia for the 26th SCO Summit, China’s state-run press are pushing a familiar slogan. What does it mean?’

Podcasts

Niedersachsens Ministerpräsident zur VW-Krise: „Sollen in Zukunft Drohnen produzieren“ – F.A.Z. Podcast für Deutschland

Europe needs €14 trillion to catch US and China – Bloomberg Asia Centric

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

US weapons shortage from Iran war alarms allies confronting China – The Washington Post: ‘South Korea and other U.S. partners in Asia, including Japan and Taiwan, rely on Washington as the dominant supplier of major conventional weapons and are reckoning with years-long backlogs. The Middle East conflict has intensified those strains’
‘Allies have struggled with the contradiction of […] pressure to spend more on U.S. arms while facing delays in delivery’ 🇺🇸🇹🇼🇯🇵🇰🇷
CIA director John Ratcliffe’s surprise visit to Moscow this week was to deliver a warning to Russia not to attack NATO countries, according to people briefed on the visit – WSJ: ‘It followed new U.S. intelligence assessments, […], that Russian President Vladimir Putin could try to test the resolve of [NATO]’ 🇺🇸🇷🇺
French intelligence chief warns of more ‘violent, hostile action’ after Leipzig drone attack – POLITICO Europe 🇫🇷🇷🇺

Foreign Minister Wáng Yì 王毅 calls on US to ‘overcome obstacles’ ahead of Xi-Trump meeting – SCMP: ‘Meeting US Ambassador David Perdue in Beijing on Wednesday, Wang said both sides should put the Xi-Trump consensus into practice’ 🇺🇸
US lawmakers press Treasury to target Chinese banks over Iran – POLITICO 🇺🇸🇮🇷

US Justice Department says Chinese hackers broke into Justice Department, NASA, Federal Reserve, Senate and more – Reuters: ‘said that the ​platforms were run by a China-based firm, the Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology Company, ‌whose ⁠clients it said included China’s civilian intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security and its military, the People’s Liberation Army.’ 🇺🇸

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 to attend SCO summit, pay state visit to Kyrgyzstan and Egypt – Xinhua 🇰🇬🇪🇬
Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 advances a shared future with China’s neighbours – Xinhua 🇰🇬

China-India boundary meeting reaches 8-point consensus – Xinhua: ‘The two sides agreed to hold the next meeting of the China-India Expert-Level Mechanism on Trans-border Rivers in September’ 🇮🇳
Making sense of India-China border talks in Beijing – Ananth Krishnan’s The India China Newsletter 🇮🇳
2026/08/17: Explainer: How China-India border tensions are rising again over encroachment claims – Al Jazeera: ‘The new revelations pertain to Upper Subansiri, a remote and rugged, mountainous district in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.’ 🇮🇳

China’s policy toward Japan remains unchanged, CCP official says – Nikkei Asia: ‘Beijing will not change its policy toward Tokyo unless Japan revises its position on Taiwan, a senior Chinese official told a Japanese parliamentary delegation on Thursday.’
‘The Chinese side apparently reiterated demands that Takaichi retract her statement from November’ 🇯🇵
China’s defence ministry warns of Japan’s dangerous military agenda – Xinhua: ‘Japan, as a defeated country of World War II, is prohibited from obtaining offensive weapons by the Potsdam Proclamation and Japan's pacifist Constitution itself.’ 🇯🇵
Japanese army uses own soldiers in mosquito-borne disease experiments during WWII, study says – Xinhua 🇯🇵

PLA conducts routine naval-air patrol in South China Sea – Xinhua 🇵🇭
China’s defence ministry urges the Philippines to remove unlawfully ‘grounded’ vessel from Ren'ai Jiao [Second Thomas Shoal] – Xinhua: ‘China would not accept any attempt by the Philippines to deliver construction materials, build fixed facilities or establish a permanent outpost on the reef, Zhang said, adding that China would take measures to prevent such actions in accordance with the law.’

China and Indonesia to advance defence cooperation – Xinhua 🇮🇩

China’s foreign ministry tells citizens to leave Taiwan-allied Eswatini – AFP: ‘The ministry cited “rampant cyber fraud and online gambling criminal activities” as among the ongoing security concerns.’ 🇸🇿🇹🇼

Singapore to explore how South-East Asia and Central Asia can work more closely when it chairs ASEAN in 2027 – The Straits Times: ‘the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) and Kazakhstan-based transport and logistics company Middle Corridor Multimodal will work together on the digital integration of the Middle Corridor, a trade route connecting China and Europe through Central Asia and other areas.’ 🇸🇬🇰🇿

Ore Else: Spamouflage targets Chile’s copper smuggling coverage – Graphika 🇨🇱

China wil samenwerking met Suriname uitbreiden naar landbouw en nieuwe energie – Suriname Herald: „Die booschap stond centraal bij de afsluiting van een trainingsprogramma in Beijing” 🇸🇷

China economie

Profits of China’s major industrial firms up 17.6 pct year-on-year in first seven months – Xinhua

China binnenland

Lǐ Qiáng 李强 stresses multiple measures to stabilize and increase production and aecure a bumper autumn grain harvest during inspection tour in Heilongjiang and Jilin; calls for continued improvement in agricultural production capacity and ensuring food security – Xinhua via Bill Bishop’s Sinocism

Governor of China’s Jiangsu province Yè Jiànchūn 叶建春 under probe, discipline watchdog says – Reuters: ‘over “suspected serious ​violations ​of discipline and ‌law”’

Selected works of Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 on culture published – Xinhua

Hong Kong

5-year plan, Policy Address to be delivered on September 16 – RTHK: ‘“Hong Kong’s first five-year plan sets out the blueprint for the city’s economic and social development over the next five years, and is a forward-looking, strategic and directional guiding document. The Policy Address serves as an annual report on the chief executive’s implementation of Hong Kong's first five-year plan […]”’
De jaarlijkse beleidsaankondiging van de leider van HK krijgt zo dus meer de karakteristieken van het werkrapport van de premier in Peking.

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

Taiwan foreign minister Lin to attend Pacific islands leaders summit events – Reuters

Taiwan binnenland en economie

Taiwan’s legislature approves opposition’s version of NT$240 billion [€6.5bn] over six years in new drone funding for economic affairs ministry – Domino Theory: ‘The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had proposed its own NTD 210 billion ($6.6 billion) funding bill, which would have provided Taiwan’s defense ministry with a lump sum up front.’
‘the new bill addresses one of the three initiatives that the opposition cut out of the government’s proposal when it passed the $25 billion special defense package in May. It fails to provide support for the integration of AI into Taiwan’s military operations, as well as a comprehensive air defense system named after Israel’s Iron Dome.’
Legislature passes drone procurement bill with US$7.56 billion spending cap – Focus Taiwan: ‘Crucially, the act covers the three types of unmanned systems that the MND has requested for procurement – coastal attack drones, coastal reconnaissance drones and small suicide unmanned surface vehicles – that were previously excluded from proposals by the KMT and TPP.’
De industrie klaagt over de onzekerheid die volgt uit deze versie, omdat de oppositie de boel nu elk jaar weer op kan houden. De DPP klaagt dat het geld bij Defensie thuishoort i.p.v. Economie. De KMT zegt dat op deze manier de democratische controle sterker is en dit model beter past bij de rappe ontwikkelingen op dronegebied..
Taiwan drone strategy caught in legislature’s budget battles – Nikkei Asia: ‘Some form of a proposal resembling the KMT's version is likely to be voted through the chamber in the coming days or weeks. But it does not sit well with many industry insiders and critics’

CEC warns of potential ballot disaster – Taipei Times: ‘Putting all proposed referendums on one ballot, as some opposition lawmakers have proposed, could severely affect the local elections in November’
KMT delays multiple votes on one referendum ballot – Taipei Times: ‘to allow the Central Election Commission (CEC) more time to prepare.’

Defrocked TPP legislator Li Zhenxiu 李貞秀 to make Jhubei mayoral run – Taipei Times

Labour groups call for employer pension contributions to rise from 6% to 15% – Focus Taiwan: ‘arguing that workers have not received a fair share of Taiwan's economic and productivity gains.’

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Nexperia China lijkt nu toch echt een zelfstandige eenheid te zijn. De baas van het Chinese deel van de autochipmaker uit Nijmegen zegt dat ze nu het hele productieproces in China kunnen doorlopen. Voorheen werd de moeilijkste stap – het printen van de wafers – in Europa gedaan en de assemblage in China, Maleisië of de Filipijnen.

Nu zou Nexperia China zelf kunnen printen – en efficiënter, zo claimt men. Het vermoeden is dat niet Nexperia of Wingtech zelf, maar de WingSky Semi (WSS)-fabriek van eigenaar Zhang Xuezheng in Shanghai dat doet. Het bevoordelen van het losstaande WSS ten koste van Nexperia was juist een belangrijk onderdeel van de aanklacht.

Dat de splitsing nu en feit is en het Chinese deel kwijt lijkt, is een buitengewoon kostbare klap voor het bedrijf. Ik vraag me echter af, of er een andere uitkomst mogelijk was. Peking had Den Haag nooit het hele bedrijf terug laten halen – dat zou een voor China gevaarlijk precedent scheppen. Tegelijkertijd dreigde Zhang de boel naar China te verplaatsen. Nu is er dankzij de ingreep in ieder geval nog een niet-Chinees deel over, hoe de je uitvoering ervan ook beoordeelt.

Internationaal zijn de Amerikaanse problemen rond Iran het belangrijkst. De komende weken lijkt de economische impact echt aan te komen. Om Teheran op de knieën te dringen, wil Washington met een economisch D-Day komen. Om dat effectief te maken, zou een waarschuwend China hard geraakt moeten worden – en het lijkt erop dat het Witte Huis dat juist niet aandurft.

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

Nexperia China 安世中国 zegt Europa niet meer nodig te hebben voor chipproductie – FD: „Met de aankondiging lijkt een definitieve splitising tussen de Chinese en de Europese tak van Nexperia dichterbij te komen.”
„Nexperia China zegt nu dat de nieuwe productiemethode een ‘ongeëvenaarde kostenefficiëntie’ zou kunnen bereiken. Dat komt doordat de chips in China op grotere wafers worden gemaakt, waardoor de kosten per chip zouden kunnen dalen.” 🇳🇱
Helaas onvermijdelijk, maar nu is in ieder geval niet ook het Europese deel van Nexperia opgedoekt – waar de vermeende plannen van Wingtech op neerkwamen. Economische veiligheid is niet gratis; het is belangrijk om bij het nemen van maatregelen realistisch te zijn over de kosten. Het Europese deel zegt inmiddels goed op weg te zijn met de uitbreiding van de assemblagecapaciteit in Maleisië.

Nexperia wil af van ‘Loenens lusthof’ van geschorste Chinese topman – RTL Z: „wil weer af van de luxueuze villa die het vorig jaar kocht voor de Chinese eigenaar Mr Wing. Het Loenense lusthof staat te koop op Funda, voor 6,25 miljoen euro.” 🇳🇱

Chinese Ambassador Shēn Bó 申博 to the Netherlands meets with Director-General for Foreign Economic Relations of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Kingdom of the Netherlands: ‘Both sides exchanged views on bilateral economic and trade cooperation and agreed to continue working together to implement the consensus reached and outcomes achieved during recent high-level visits in economic and trade areas, and to further deepen the pragmatic cooperation in the economic, trade, and other fields between China and Netherlands.’ 🇳🇱

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

The EU’s existing and proposed trade measures against China could cover about 27% of its annual nominal exports to the bloc, according to Goldman Sachs, showing the stakes involved in the standoff between the two economies – Bloomberg: ‘China’s cost advantages and improvements in product quality “remain a significant buffer,” they said.’ 🇪🇺

Trump’s trade chief invited to Ireland for EU talks – POLITICO Europe: ‘a meeting of EU trade ministers set to occur in October’ 🇪🇺🇺🇸

Germany’s car parts makers switch gears as industry shrinks – FT: ‘In Germany, the shift from the auto business into sectors with stronger growth prospects is gathering pace, with suppliers exploring areas such as medical technology, robotics and defence.’ 🇩🇪

Schriftelijke vragen: De toenemende kwetsbaarheid van de Nederlandse chemische industrie door goedkope Chinese importen – Judith Bühler (CDA) en Joris Lohman (CDA), Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal 🇳🇱
Chinese medische technologiebedrijven rukken op in westerse markten – FD 🇪🇺
Het gaat niet blijven bij Duitse auto’s.

Chinese wind turbine manufacturers target Europe despite political obstacles – FT 🇪🇺

Xpeng 小鹏 forecast disappoints as China EV competition heats up – Reuters: ‘Chinese domestic car sales have been in steady decline ​since late last year’

Finland and Saudi Arabia guest countries of honour at 26th China international investment and trade fair – Xinhua 🇫🇮🇸🇦

The US is set to impose a 7.5% tariff on Chinese goods over allegations of excess manufacturing capacity before a planned summit between Xi and Trump next month – Bloomberg: ‘The move would restore Trump’s second-term duties on China to around 20%, a level Beijing has previously said is consistent with its trade truce with Washington. Those come on top of other levies imposed during Trump’s first term and extended during the Biden administration.’ 🇺🇸

US scrutiny deters some Chinese tariff refund claims as others cash in – Nikkei Asia: ‘Submitting a refund claim requires every detail of import records to be reviewed again by customs officers, which could expose how rules were bent or broken and open the door for penalties.’ 🇺🇸

Trump fails to loosen China’s economic grip on Latin America – Bloomberg 🇺🇸

Techoorlog 💽💥

Druk op ASML in China neemt toe door exportcontroles en Chinese spurt in chiptech – FD: „De opkomst van een zelfvoorzienende Chinese chipketen betekent dat het tijdperk onder druk staat waarin ASML ongestoord kon leveren aan de snelst groeiende markt ter wereld.” 🇳🇱

US widens AI-driven investment gap with Europe – FT 🇪🇺🇺🇸

Alibaba 阿里巴巴 launches Wan3.0 AI video model after US$10 billion share sale – Reuters

Taiwan issues indictments over alleged illegal export of AI servers to China – Reuters 🇹🇼🇺🇸

Chinese hackers are ramping up attacks after integrating DeepSeek 深度求索 and other open-source artificial intelligence models into their operations, highlighting attackers’ ability to leverage basic AI tools to hit targets abroad – Bloomberg: ‘State-affiliated cyber groups more than doubled the amount of attacks they carried out since they began delegating mundane tasks to AI and using it to develop advanced malicious software, according to TeamT5, a Taiwanese research firm.’
‘hackers are drawn to DeepSeek’s relatively lax cybersecurity barriers and low cost of running, researchers said.’

China tech firms drive AI data centre boom in Southeast Asia – Caixin Global

China robot maker Unitree 宇树’s post-listing slump sparks bubble fears – Reuters

TSMC 台積電 suppliers Nichias and Gold Stone to build key chipmaking ‘tubes’ in Taiwan – Nikkei Asia: ‘to avoid supply chain disruptions’

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 puts forward four principles on resolution of Palestinian question – Xinhua: ‘in talks with King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein in Beijing.’
‘First, a political settlement should be upheld.’
‘Second, the principle of “Palestinians governing Palestine” should be followed in advancing the governance of the West Bank and the post-war reconstruction of Gaza’
‘Third, humanitarian principles must be upheld.’
‘Fourth, fairness and justice must be upheld.’ 🇵🇸🇯🇴
Net zo algemeen en vrijblijvend als de andere punten-plannen van Xi/China voor de overige crises in de wereld.
Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 calls on China and Jordan to further deepen alignment of development strategies – Xinhua: ‘building a more substantive and dynamic China-Jordan relationship is in line with the common expectations of the two peoples and also conforms to the general trend of the pursuit of the Global South for strength through unity’ 🇯🇴
Eenheid van het Mondiale Zuiden t.o.v. wat/wie?

China’s foreign minister Wáng Yì 王毅 says Middle East at critical point, calls for cooling tensions and dialogue – Reuters: ‘in a meeting ⁠with Foreign Minister of Kuwait Sheikh ​Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah in Beijing’ 🇰🇼

China verzet zich tegen Amerikaanse sancties tegen Iran, waarnemers voorzien mislukking – de Volkskrant: „Zonder China dreigt de impact van wat de Amerikanen de ‘economische D-day’ tegen Iran noemen bijzonder klein te worden.”
„Dat Chinezen ontbreken op de sanctielijst zou volgens waarnemers duiden op Amerikaanse voorzichtigheid: Washington heeft kennelijk geen zin in een nieuwe rechtstreekse confrontatie met China.” 🇺🇸🇮🇷
The Trump administration’s latest sanctions salvo against Iran has targeted dozens of businesses in China and Hong Kong – Bloomberg: ‘but avoided the far more consequential step of targeting major Chinese financial institutions.’ 🇺🇸🇮🇷
Beijing threatened to retaliate against the US and signalled it won’t back away from its cooperation with Iran after the Trump administration’s latest sanctions targeted businesses in China and Hong Kong – Bloomberg 🇺🇸🇮🇷

US targets China’s telecoms grip in Venezuela with new sanctions carve-out – SCMP 🇺🇸🇻🇪

‘Normal stability’: US-China Track 1.5 talks offer formula for ties – SCMP: ‘Liu Haixing, head of the Communist Party’s International Department, said the two countries should expand the “pie” of shared interests to achieve positive stability anchored in cooperation.’ 🇺🇸
China’s top political advisor Wáng Hùníng 王沪宁 meets US delegates attending third China-US Track 1.5 Dialogue – Xinhua 🇺🇸

Trump’s Kim gambit deepens doubts over US reliability at a key moment for Asia – Reuters: ‘Japan worries it too could find itself in Trump’s cross-hairs as it embarks on thorny security negotiations; Taiwan is warily watching an upcoming summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping; and India is growing less certain of its place in Washington’s strategic calculus.’ 🇺🇸🇰🇷🇯🇵🇹🇼🇮🇳
US cancels joint marine drills with South Korea over Iran war-related force constraints – Reuters 🇺🇸🇰🇷

New China-North Korea bridge may open soon with customs facility built – Kyodo News: ‘the New Yalu River Bridge, which was completed in 2014 but is yet to open. Construction of the building began in early 2025.’ 🇰🇵

China’s Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 likely to visit India with big delegation for first time in seven years – Reuters: ‘to attend next month’s BRICS summit in New Delhi’ 🇮🇳
China and India hold special representatives talks on boundary question in Beijing – Xinhua 🇮🇳
Chinese vice president Hán Zhèng 韩正 meets Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval – Xinhua: ‘China and India should view and handle bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, and work together to implement the important consensus reached by their leaders, Han said.’ 🇮🇳

New installations emerge on islet near Antelope Reef as China accelerates South China Sea build-up – Reuters: ‘it could be the start of an ​early warning radar facility to support eventual installations on Antelope Reef.’ 🇵🇭

Vietnam’s parliament approved raising the total investment in a railway linking the country to China, as delays in land clearance push the project behind schedule – Bloomberg 🇻🇳

China’s anti-corruption legal framework is about to extend beyond its borders – SCMP: ‘The law codifies a decade of anti-corruption practices to close jurisdictional loopholes and target offshore financial crimes, aiming to resolve long-standing systemic hurdles, specifically the “difficulty in detecting, collecting evidence, repatriating illicit assets” and prosecuting offshore offences, it said.’

China’s advanced J-16 fighter jet is set to train alongside France’s Rafales in Egypt, offering a rare opportunity to test its capabilities against a Western platform – Bloomberg

China economie

China’s oil demand probably peaked last year, earlier than previous estimates, according to the head of the nation’s top refiner Sinopec 中石化 – Bloomberg: ‘“Next year, even if the US-Iran conflict eases up, things might recover, but it won’t hit last year’s level,” Hou said.’

Chinese rooftop solar developer PCG Power plans to launch a trading platform next month to tap into China’s growing market for electricity – Bloomberg

China binnenland

China’s military seeks public tips on procurement violations in elite Rocket Force – Reuters: ‘Whistleblowers can submit reports via a dedicated phone line until the end ⁠of ​November, the military notice ​added’
Ben benieuwd of dit gaat om het opruimen van de netwerken van al gearresteerde generaals, of dat er een nieuw doelwit is.

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 stresses consolidating and expanding campaign on correct view of governance performance – Xinhua: ‘made the remarks in a recent instruction, which was studied at a meeting of the CPC Central Leading Group for Party Building held on Monday.’
How China’s anti-corruption fight became Xí Jìnpíng 习近平’s most important policy – SCMP: ‘Last year, anti-corruption agencies handed down punishments to 983,000 people, […]. The number of senior officials taken down last year was three times that of 2013.’
‘What began as a crackdown on economic graft has evolved into a systemic overhaul of bureaucratic conduct. While bribery remains the main legal charge, the definition of corruption has expanded to include party discipline and adherence to policy directives.’

Top political advisor Wáng Hùníng 王沪宁 calls for contribution to China’s modernisation in rural and urban areas – Xinhua: ‘when presiding over a meeting of the Chairpersons Council of the CPPCC National Committee.’
‘Wang stressed the need to align thinking and action with the CPC Central Committee’s sound assessment of the current economic situation’
‘Wang also underscored the efforts to leverage the strengths of sectors such as the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese and the China Zhi Gong Party to better rally the support of overseas Chinese.’

China opens exhibition hall on language preservation, diversity – Xinhua

Chinese artist Gao Zhen 高兟 sentenced to three years in prison for Mao sculptures – The New York Times: ‘was detained in Beijing two years ago while visiting family’

Weer moet een queercafé in China de deuren sluiten: „De autoriteiten zijn bang voor ons” – de Volkskrant: „Omdat het café na maanden intimidatie door de politie nu wordt gesloten – het is de laatste avond – blijft ook die naam geheim. Net als de naam van de stad waar ze wonen.”
Uitgaansleven voor homomannen is er wel, maar andere lhbti-zaken zijn te gevoelig – vooral als het aan vrouwenrechten raakt.

A nation that hunts its women: A night in Chongqing, and the country it reveals – Chu Yang’s Northward Seaside: ‘A campaign in which grown men doxxed teenage girls, printed their faces on solicitation cards, and set fire to a fan wall had been recategorized, by the machinery above it, as a fandom that needed to calm down.’

Families of detained Chinese Christians cling to faith in legal limbo – AFP: ‘Chinese authorities detained more than 20 of Zion’s members in October 2025’

South Korea has stepped up checks of cabbage arriving from China after sellers there were found to be using formaldehyde to keep the brassicas fresh – Bloomberg

Draft amendment encourages Chinese lawyers in public-interest legal services – Xinhua
China mulls adding long-term care insurance provisions in draft law – Xinhua
China reviews road safety law amendment with new autonomous driving rules – Xinhua

Homes submerged, tens of thousands relocated in China’s south as flooding intensifies – Reuters

Hong Kong

China urges relevant parties to stop political manipulation and interference in Hong Kong affairs, foreign ministry spokesperson says – Xinhua: ‘after the EU and certain countries including the United States have expressed their concerns in their statements and remarks regarding the case that Hong Kong's High Court convicted the "Hong Kong Alliance" and its former leaders Lee Cheuk-yan, Ho Chun-yan and Chow Hang-tung of inciting subversion.’

Woman arrested for alleged sedition outside court ahead of Tiananmen vigil group’s national security case verdict – HKFP: ‘A witness who was also in the queue told the media outlet that the woman was wearing a black t-shirt with Japanese characters.’

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

China’s government ship activity near Taiwan hits record for third month in a row – SCMP: ‘as Beijing expands its law enforcement footprint east of the island’ 🇨🇳

14 Taiwan legislators depart for Japan to attend APPU meeting – Focus Taiwan 🇯🇵

AT-3 trainer completes final missions, replaced by Brave Eagle, source says – Focus Taiwan: ‘Meanwhile, Latin American multimedia news portal Zona Militar has reported that Paraguay is in talks with Taiwan to acquire jet aircraft, including F-5s and AT-3s, as part of efforts to rebuild its jet combat capability.’ 🇵🇾

Taiwan and St. Vincent in talks on development bank and social funding, foreign ministry says – Focus Taiwan 🇻🇨

Taiwan unveils Strong Bow anti-ballistic missile specs in push for US$1.13 billion funding – SCMP

Taiwan binnenland en economie

KMT lawmaker Chen Hsueh-sheng 陳雪生 released on bail amid corruption probe – Focus Taiwan: ‘The search targets also included the offices of several shipping companies’

Heavy rain triggers flooding across southern, eastern Taiwan – Focus Taiwan

Business group raises concerns over labour shortage in white paper – Focus Taiwan: ‘The white paper suggested the government should review its policy on migrant workers’
Je zou ook iets kunnen doen aan de belachelijk lage lonen in Taiwan.

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Hoe groter de economische problemen van China, hoe meer de Chinese bedrijven gedwongen worden om hun winsten elders te zoeken. Peking erkent de uitdagingen, maar ziet ze als onderdeel van een strategisch essentiële transformatie. In het Volksdagblad werd dat nog eens benadrukt door een stuk onder het pseudoniem ‘Zhong Cai Wen’ dat het belang van de kwaliteit i.p.v. kwaliteit van groei benadrukte.

De Europese afhankelijkheid van de VS en China is nog altijd moeilijk af te schudden. Dat illustreren vandaag stukken over de oplopende voorsprong van de VS t.o.v. Europa bij zeldzame aardmetalen, en de keuze van de Europese AI-kampioen Mistral om een Chinees model aan te bieden. Ondertussen is de regering Trump weer een akkefietje met een bondgenoot begonnen nu Iran niet wil luisteren naar bombardementen.

De handelsoorlog was er ook nog. Na het versimpelen van de militaire oefeningen met Zuid-Korea heeft het Witte Huis nu klaarblijkelijk de gesprekken met Canada voor een handelsakkoord laten mislukken. Premier Carney beschuldigt de VS van eisen die de Canadese soevereiniteit zouden schaden.

Dit doet meer dan speelruimte bieden aan Peking. De timing van het heroplaaien van handelsonlusten in het Westerse ‘kamp’ komt nu de klok aftikt naar de deadline voor EU-China in oktober. Het is te hopen voor Brussel dat men deze herfst niet met strafmaatregelen van twee grootmachten te stellen heeft. Het zou wel goed zijn daar al vast over na te denken.

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

Reiches rätselhafter Schmusekurs mit Peking – Der Spiegel: „Die Bundesregierung will nach langem Zögern härter gegen Chinas aggressive Handelspolitik vorgehen. Doch ausgerechnet Wirtschaftsministerin Reiche bremst – ein Kritiker wirft ihr »Schattendiplomatie« vor.“ 🇩🇪
Der Spiegel bevestigt wat eerder Noah Barkin al schreef over de blokkerende rol van economieminister Reiche (CDU) binnen de Duitse regering wat betreft harder China-beleid. Dit nieuwe artikel plaatst het in de context van rivaliteit met de SPD-leider en minister van financiën Klingbeil, die juist wel een hardere lijn wil.

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

China slams EU foreign subsidies rules, links them to trade talks – POLITICO Europe: ‘The Commission is expected to hold a videoconference with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce in September that would pave the way for a trip by trade chief Maroš Šefčovič to Beijing in early October.’ 🇪🇺

China’s trade grip tightens in Europe as clock ticks towards October deadline – SCMP: ‘China extended its trade surplus over all but three EU members in July compared to a year earlier, […]. In some instances, the monthly swing was dramatic.’
‘On Thursday, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde bemoaned the “erosion” of Europe’s mid-tech manufacturing, which is described as a “pillar” of European economic strength.’ 🇪🇺

Jetzt machen Chinas Autoriesen ernst in Europa – FAZ: „Die deutsche Autoindustrie ist alarmiert. Lange haben die Hersteller für freien Handel mit China geworben, weil sie davon viele Jahre lang profitiert haben. Aber das ändert sich gerade. ‘Die Situation hat sich binnen weniger Monate dramatisch verändert’, sagt der Cheflobbyist eines deutschen Autounternehmens.“
„Die Chinesen gewännen in Europa ‘in atemberaubendem Tempo Marktanteile’, bilanziert Patrick Hummel, Autoexperte der Schweizer Großbank UBS.“ 🇩🇪🇪🇺
German state politician Sebastian Lechner (CDU/EPP) calls for EU tariffs on Chinese hybrid cars, letter shows – Reuters: ‘In ⁠Lower Saxony, the issue is an important one for the ​Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen Group’ 🇩🇪🇪🇺
VDMA: „Deutschland braucht eine klare China-Position“ – Table Briefings: „Der Branchenverband VDMA fordert von der EU Ausgleichzölle auf ganze Warengruppen, um faire Wettbewerbsbedingungen herzustellen.“ 🇩🇪

As Germany falters, Central European leaders look to China for growth – Bloomberg: ‘Rather than taking sides in the broader competition between China and the EU, [President] Pellegrini argued that Slovakia’s interest lies simply in capturing the investment and jobs the rivalry generates — regardless of which side they come from.’
‘the latest China shock may also be stoking incentives for major European manufacturers to shift within the continent to boost competitiveness’ 🇸🇰🇭🇺🇨🇿🇵🇱🇩🇪

EU slips further behind US in race for critical minerals – FT: ‘Washington has announced about $40bn in provisional funding for mineral projects since 2022, and taken equity stakes in a range of domestic miners.’
‘The EU and member states have committed about €6bn to minerals projects this year, but the industry warns it is moving too slowly to kick-start the sector.’ 🇪🇺🇺🇸
Strijd om kritieke grondstoffen: „Anderen hanteren de wortel, de EU gebruikt een stok” – Follow the Money 🇪🇺

Canada krijgt forse heffingen te verduren nadat besprekingen met VS mislukken – NRC 🇨🇦🇺🇸
Prime Minster Carney says trade deal became untenable when U.S. ‘asked too much and offered too little’ – CBC News: ‘unacceptable demands on culture, autos and sovereignty’ 🇨🇦🇺🇸

The next China Shock will hit defence – Andreas Urbanski for RUSI: ‘Europe will not produce world-class AI frontier models in the foreseeable future. And in high-end industrial production, Germany is being overtaken by China, which applies equally to electric cars and to defence.’ 🇪🇺

Techoorlog 💽💥

The Mistral paradox: Europe’s push for tech sovereignty relies on China’s Z·ai 智谱 – SCMP: ‘The decision to plug a Chinese AI brain into what would effectively be a European shell has raised eyebrows’
‘a series of European carmakers including Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Stellantis, have partnered with Chinese outfits to tap what is seen as their superior electric vehicle technology.’ 🇪🇺

Brein achter diefstal bedrijfsgeheimen ASML, Dongfang Jingyuan 东方晶源, vraagt notering aan op beurs Shanghai – BNR Nieuwsradio: „De meeste gestolen informatie en gekopieerde broncode had betrekking op 'computational lithography', rekensoftware die chipmakers gebruiken om het patroon op het masker te ontwerpen dat nodig is voor de belichting in de lithografiemachines.” 🇳🇱

Chinese robotics fair draws crowds as industry brews innovation – Xinhua

SEMI Taiwan launches chip materials alliance – Taipei Times

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

China mulls bid to host 2028 UN climate talks, sources tell AFP – AFP: ‘China's interest was first reported by Bloomberg News.’

Iranian oil offers to Chinese buyers fall as US blockade bites, sources say – Reuters: ‘The number of offers for Iranian oil cargoes to China for September and October delivery has declined from July and August cargoes, four trade sources familiar with the matter said.’ 🇮🇷

Why Chinese foreign minister’s trip to South Korea ‘dealt a low blow’ to Seoul – SCMP: ‘Wang […] delivered a pointed message to President Lee Jae Myung and other senior officials. He urged them to pursue “genuine strategic autonomy”, avoid “bloc confrontation or taking sides”, and develop relations with Beijing and Washington “in a mutually compatible manner”’
‘Chinese statements notably omitted any reference to “denuclearisation” on the Korean peninsula […]. Instead, Wang told South Korean National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac that the United States should abandon its “hostile policy” towards the North.’ 🇰🇷
Explainer: What abrupt cut to joint drills means for US-South Korea alliance – Xinhua: ‘raising fresh questions over the stability of the U.S.-South Korea alliance, Seoul’s plans to assume wartime operational control and the reliability of U.S. security commitments to its allies worldwide.’ 🇺🇸🇰🇷
Met een sterker Noord-Korea en een minder betrouwbare VS kan Peking het zich veroorloven om zich zo op te stellen t.o.v. Seoel.

China protests South Korean delegation – Taipei Times: ‘A source in South Korea’s diplomatic corps said that two lawmakers were asked by the Chinese embassy in Seoul to be removed from the delegation that was to visit China on Wednesday, allegedly over a prior visit to Taiwan, the Korean-language Chosun Daily reported yesterday.’
‘Ultimately, the trip was canceled due to overlapping issues with flight arrangements.’ 🇰🇷🇹🇼

Japan lawmakers to visit China in bid to cool row, but thaw unlikely, Chinese experts say – SCMP 🇯🇵
Rusland test raketten vanaf betwiste eilandengroep, spanning met Japan neemt verder toe – de Volkskrant: „Moskou en Beijing trekken zowel militair als diplomatiek steeds nadrukkelijker samen op tegen Japan als Aziatische bondgenoot van de Verenigde Staten.” 🇯🇵🇷🇺

World Insights: Japan’s two-front diplomatic push paves way for dangerous military expansion – Xinhua: ‘stepping up efforts on two fronts: expanding arms exports and broadening the scope of military activities. In doing so, they are steadily chipping away at the constraints on Japan by the postwar international order and legal frameworks.’ 🇯🇵

China and United Arab Emirates to hold joint air force training – Xinhua: ‘the “Falcon Shield 2026” joint training in Hotan, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region’ 🇦🇪
Chinese J-16 fighters arrive in Egypt ahead of Eagles of Civilisation 2026 joint drill – SCMP 🇪🇬

China’s military says Philippine aircraft ‘intrude into’ airspace over Scarborough Shoal – Reuters 🇵🇭

China and Indonesia ministers meet to discuss security and economic issues – Reuters 🇮🇩
China-Indonesia cooperation sets example for Global South, Chinese FM Wáng Yì 王毅 says – Xinhua: ‘Wang noted that China sincerely helps Indonesia accelerate its development, encourages and supports Chinese enterprises in continuing to invest and do business in Indonesia, helping the country […] accelerate its industrialization process.’ 🇮🇩

China’s foreign ministry denies US citizen Min Zin held since June is wrongfully detained – AFP 🇺🇸

India is in discussions with China about visa delays faced by its businesses, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said – Bloomberg 🇮🇳

China’s NFSRA vows to share innovation gains to bolster Asia-Pacific food security – Xinhua

AI drives China-Africa media collaboration – Xinhua

China’s drone production capacity can only meet 60% of war demand, according to study – SCMP

China economie

The Resilience and Vitality of the Chinese Economy – Zhong Cai Wen in People’s Daily, translated by Bill Bishop’s Sinocism: ‘one cannot look at speed alone, and still less should one fixate on the highs and lows of indicator data for individual quarters or months. Rather, one should attach greater importance to the quality of economic performance’

China is considering additional assistance for domestic businesses and consumers by offering loan subsidies alongside other financing support and plans to roll them out in the second half of this year – Bloomberg: ‘China’s fiscal package to boost domestic demand supported more than 20 trillion yuan ($3 trillion) in new lending during the first seven months of the year, an increase of over 4% from 2025.’
China expands subsidised loan programme to revive demand – Caixin Global
China’s central government takes steps to boost confidence as investment growth slows – Yicai Global: ‘Fixed asset investment fell 6.7 percent in the seven months ended July 31 from a year earlier, with private investment tumbling 9.4 percent, according to the latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics.’

Chinese premier Lǐ Qiáng 李强 chairs State Council executive meeting – Xinhua: ‘heard a report on the development of next-generation communication networks and made arrangements for further efforts to clear overdue payments owed to enterprises.’
‘The meeting urged stepped-up efforts to clear overdue payments to businesses and guide local authorities in making better use of policy tools such as special-purpose bonds and special relending facilities.’
De problemen dat bedrijven elkaars rekeningen niet (kunnen) betalen zijn dus nog niet opgelost.

Resilient oil prices are prompting China’s refiners to keep crude purchases below the lofty levels seen before the Iran war, even as analysts and industry consultancies estimate imports are edging back toward 10 million barrels a day – Bloomberg

China binnenland

China’s top anti-graft body vows higher standards and more concrete measures to advance its work – Xinhua: ‘The sixth plenary session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was held in Beijing on Saturday.’

Chinese comedian investigated after patriotic song gag – AFP

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Tiananmen vigil activists Chow Hang-tung 鄒幸彤 and Lee Cheuk-yan 李卓人 convicted under national security law, face up to 10 years in prison – HKFP: ‘have been behind bars since September 2021’
‘prosecutors accused the Alliance of inciting others to topple the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) through its calls to “end one-party rule” in China, a key tenet of the group since its founding in 1989.’
Taiwan’s MAC calls for release of pro-democracy HK activists – Taipei Times 🇹🇼

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

Taiwan’s National Security Council (NSC) quietly steps up as architect of China strategy – Nikkei Asia: ‘officials from three different governments and multiple insiders described the body as the key policy architect driving military and civil defense reforms meant to establish asymmetric warfare capabilities and boost “whole of society” resilience. It is also coordinating across ministries and conducting crucial behind-the-scenes diplomacy’
‘Officials from major powers in the Group of Seven and Europe increasingly recognize the value of communicating and working with the NSC, Nikkei Asia understands.’

Legislature loses ‘friendship’ travel funds – Taipei Times: ‘the budgets for overseas travel and training at central government agencies and their affiliated bodies were cut by 30 percent’

Prosecutors expand military spies probe – Taipei Times: ‘Law enforcement officials have broadened a probe into a suspected network of Chinese spies, after the Kaohsiung branch of the High Court on Wednesday convicted two former military service members on espionage and corruption charges.’ 🇨🇳

Chinese research ship makes comeback, warned off by Taiwanese coast guard – Taipei Times: ‘As of yesterday morning, the ship was 28 nautical miles west-southwest of Siaoliouciou (小琉球), a popular tourist destination at the bottom of the Strait, continuing to sail southeast’ 🇨🇳

Taiwanese prosecutors charge retired intelligence agent with helping China in Palau – Taiwan News 🇨🇳🇵🇼

Thai party leader confirms meeting Taiwan official – Taipei Times: ‘meetings between Thai People’s Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut and Representative to Thailand Peter Lan (藍夏禮)’ 🇹🇭

Taiwan’s difficult defence numbers – Domino Theory: ‘Its economy is growing too fast. Defense spending can’t keep up [relatively].’
‘the projected GDP share dropped from 3.32% to 2.82%’ ‘Taiwan’s GDP is predicted to grow by 11.05% this year’
Dit kan een perceptieprobleem opleveren in Washington, ook al stijgen de uitgaven alsnog in absolute cijfers.

Defence ministry details measures it is implementing to boost recruitment – Taipei Times: ‘The armed forces recruited 18,900 people in 2023, 17,971 in 2024 and 17,113 last year, while the overall fill rate was 80 percent, 78 percent and 80 percent respectively, the ministry said.’

Taiwan binnenland en economie

Kinmen defence in 1958 example of ‘peace through strength’, President Lai says – Focus Taiwan: ‘urged cross-party unity in supporting the 2027 defense budget to continue strengthening Taiwan’s defenses against a potential Chinese invasion.’
De herdenking van het zogenaamde ‘23-augustsus incident’ – succesvolle verdediging tegen Communisten – diende altijd quasi als een KMT/Blauw Kamp-tegenhanger voor de herdenking door DPP/Groene Kamp van het bloedbad van burgers na het ‘28-februari incident’. President Tsai heeft 8·23 echter een nieuwe plek gegeven voor haar verenigende ROC=Taiwan-campagne.
KMT chair Cheng touts rapport at 823 memorial – Taipei Times: ‘If Lai would recognize the “1992 consensus,” the two sides of the Taiwan Strait could resume contact, dialogue and exchanges, reducing tensions, she said.’
Taiwan drone funding still in limbo – Domino Theory

Lawmakers pass motion condemning the premier – Taipei Times: ‘The motion, proposed by the Taiwan People’s Party, accused the Democratic Progressive Party administration of “repeatedly abusing authority under the Constitution” to invalidate legislation passed by the legislature.’
Dit blijft doorgaan tot de KMT en TPP eindelijk toestaan dat er nieuwe rechters worden benoemd voor het grondwettelijk hof en er een uitspraak kan komen over de scheiding van machten.

Donovan’s Deep Dives: The TPP-KMT marriage is under strain — but the ball is in the KMT’s court – Courtney Donovan Smith for Taipei Times: ‘However, though these problems are real, the local press is blowing them out of proportion and hyping too much out of context.’

Four acquitted, two sentences upheld in bribery case – Taipei Times

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

Verhoudingen tussen Brussel en Beijing verder op scherp: Chinees JD.com 京东网 mag niet meewerken aan EU-onderzoek naar overname MediaMarkt – NRC 🇪🇺
China’s justice ministry blocks firms from aiding EU foreign subsidies probe into JD.com 京东网’s proposed Ceconomy [MediaMarkt] takeover as regulatory clash deepens – SCMP: ‘This is the second time Beijing has used a blocking order to ensure entities do not comply with such a probe, having issued a similar decree with regard to a case centred on airport scanner maker Nuctech in May.’ 🇪🇺
China’s justice ministry says EU’s probe into e-commerce giant JD.com 京东网 unlawful – Xinhua: ‘the ministry said the conclusion followed an investigation conducted under China’s rules on countering foreign states’ unlawful extraterritorial jurisdiction measures, which were issued in April this year.’ 🇪🇺

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD/S&D) accused China of flouting global trade rules at campaign stop and said the government in Berlin is likely to adopt a ‘firmer stance’ in its engagement – Bloomberg: ‘Klingbeil called for making industrial sectors such as steel and automotive more resilient’ 🇩🇪

Switzerland and China agreed on a new trade accord that almost entirely removes tariffs on Swiss exports, as Beijing tries to increase ties in Europe amid its ongoing rivalry with the US for global influence – Bloomberg 🇨🇭

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 congratulates Andras Baka on assuming Hungarian presidency – Xinhua 🇭🇺

German spy agency BfV opens helpline for those exiled from Russia and China – Reuters 🇩🇪

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

Rabo: goedkope Chinese chemie maakt Nederlandse economie kwetsbaarder – FD 🇳🇱

CDU-Außenpolitieker Johannes Volkmann warnt Regierung: Alarm! China macht deutsche Wirtschaft platt – BILD: „Er warnt vor einer Wiederholung des Russland-Fehlers, der Deutschland in eine tiefe Abhängigkeit geführt hat, die unsere Wirtschaft und Bevölkerung bis heute teuer zu stehen kommt.“ 🇩🇪
Wie wirkt der China-Schock 2.0 auf die deutsche Industrie, und wie sollen wir reagieren?’ – Jürgen Matthes in Wirtschaftsdienst vol. 106, no. 9 (2026): „Um ein faires Wettbewerbsumfeld herzustellen, sollte die Europäische Union sektorweite Ausgleichszölle erheben – am besten mit gleichgesinnten Staaten in einem Ausgleichszollklub.“ 🇩🇪

New Geely 吉利 chairman has revealed the company’s plans to build fancy models at Volvo’s European plants – Electrifying: ‘That would make it most likely that Zeekr or Lynk & Co models will made in Europe, chiefly in order to avoid punitive tariffs that are being levied on Chinese cars by the EU.’ 🇪🇺
Dit was deels de bedoeling van de Europese heffingen.
New Geely 吉利 chairman vows to double exports, target Europe, as China’s home market struggles – Automotive News 🇪🇺
China’s Chery Automobile 奇瑞汽车 to set up UK research centre – Reuters 🇬🇧

China drove global electric truck and bus sales above half a million in 2025 – Reuters
E-Lkw: China legt im Wettlauf der Systeme vor – Table Briefings

Škoda CEO says VW aims to finalise India partner this year to share risk, drive growth – Reuters 🇮🇳

US steps in to fund African rare earths shunned by private money, sources say – Reuters 🇺🇸
Exclusive: China slows exports of key optical and aerospace metals to Taiwan – Nikkei Asia: ‘prolonged customs checks since last year’ 🇹🇼

Techoorlog 💽💥

Bussenbouwer Ebusco krijgt investering van €6 miljoen – NRC 🇳🇱

China eases limits on Nvidia H200 chips as AI race escalates – FT: ‘Small batches of Nvidia’s H200 chips have been allowed to enter mainland China, as Beijing tries to aid its leading AI companies in the race to catch up with US rivals.’ 🇺🇸

Germany’s VDMA lobby calls on Europe to step up on humanoid robotics as Unitree 宇树 surges – Reuters: ‘The VDMA said a global race for leadership in humanoid robotics has begun, and the topic of humanoid ​robotics and ​physical AI ⁠must be placed at the top of the political ​agenda.’ 🇩🇪🇪🇺

Who is really buying China’s humanoid robots? – FT: ‘China’s humanoid robot makers are generating much of their revenue from selling machines to government-backed training centres — which then collect and sell training data back to the robot makers, raising concerns about actual demand in an industry Beijing is keen to promote.’
China robot makers seek to turn humanoid hype into useful work – Reuters

China says it recovered a rocket booster on land for the first time, a major step toward catching up with US firms like SpaceX – Bloomberg

China’s commerce ministry urges US to immediately repeal Section 232 tariffs on drones, parts – Xinhua 🇺🇸

Weekend 🏖️📚

Achtergrond en longreads

Finbarr Bermingham: Pourquoi Xi Jinping ne craint plus l’Europe – Le Grand Continent : « L’image que l’Europe renvoie depuis 18 mois n’est pas celle d’un acteur prêt à agir et à prendre des mesures. Le gouvernement chinois lui accorde probablement peu de crédibilité, notamment depuis la signature de l’accord de Turnberry avec les États-Unis. » 🇪🇺

A New World Disorder? – Mark Leonard for China Books Review

After the loans, the contracts remain: China’s new Balkan model – Stefan Vladisavljev for CHOICE: ‘The pattern now appears across the Western Balkans on a smaller scale. An EBRD-financed Chinese consortium reconstructed Sarajevo’s tram track’

NATO’s nightmare: The US and Europe have no clear plan for a joint attack from Russia and China – Simon Shuster for The Atlantic

Commentary: The real flaw in China’s AI strategy – Hou Hong for Caixin Global: ‘As the financial realities set in, Chinese AI firms will inevitably erect higher commercial barriers, gradually eroding the broad ecosystem benefits they initially championed. For policymakers in Beijing, the immediate challenge is not restricting the outflow of open-weight models but ensuring that the domestic open-source ecosystem does not quietly collapse under commercial pressures.’

Podcasts

Ep 82: Another grim month for the Chinese economy – The Trivium China Podcast 🍎

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

China agrees with Russian foreign minister Lavrov’s remarks on Japan, foreign ministry spokesperson says – Xinhua: ‘On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov told the media that Japan was initially designated as an “enemy state” in the UN Charter. Japan joined the UN after having atoned for its militaristic policies and the crimes it committed. By joining the UN, Japan recognized the principles enshrined in the Charter in their entirety.’
‘Japan needs to be reminded that instruments with legal effect under international law, including the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation and the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, stipulate Japan’s international obligations as a defeated country and serve as cornerstones of the postwar international order, Lin said. He said fulfilling these obligations is the political and legal prerequisite for Japan to be readmitted to the international community.’ 🇯🇵🇷🇺

China considering summit with Seoul in November, South Korean foreign ministry says – Reuters: ‘at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen’ 🇰🇷
Chinese FM Wáng Yì 王毅 calls for healthy, stable, and sustainable China-South Korea ties – Xinhua: ‘Wang expressed hope that South Korea, based on its fundamental interests, pursues an independent foreign policy and develops relations with other countries in parallel without conflict.’ 🇰🇷

Bessent says US will impose toughest ever sanctions on Iran, urges China to cooperate – Reuters 🇺🇸🇮🇷

Xinhua Commentary: China firmly committed to global drug-control cooperation – Xinhua 🇺🇸
China and the Philippines jointly arrest key member of cross-border gambling syndicate – Xinhua 🇵🇭
China and Australia bust transnational cigarette smuggling case – Xinhua 🇦🇺

China completes first stage of work at disputed Antelope Reef in South China Sea, images show – Reuters: ‘“The northern part of the South China Sea would be particularly important in a Taiwan conflict scenario, so Antelope is ideally placed,” said Ben Lewis’ 🇵🇭🇹🇼
China to build environmental monitoring station near disputed Scarborough Shoal – SCMP: ‘In 2012, China took control of Scarborough Shoal, known as Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal in the Philippines.’ 🇵🇭

Malaysia’s Anwar to visit China next month with an eye on building trade ties – SCMP 🇲🇾
Malaysia PM Anwar backs China’s right to use force on Taiwan, Taipei hits back with trade threat – Malaysiakini 🇲🇾🇹🇼
Anwar vindt MH17 ook maar ongemakkelijk, omdat hij naast China ook Rusland nodigt heeft bij zijn hoop om economisch te profiteren van de BRICS.

CK Hutchison 長江和記實業 seeks US$1.5 billion from Panama in treaty dispute arbitration –Reuters 🇵🇦

Chinese vice premier He meets Chilean FM – Xinhua 🇨🇱

China’s UN envoy calls for comprehensive solution to Libyan issue – Xinhua 🇱🇾

Mongolian official apologises after China raises security concerns about protesters at oil camp – SCMP 🇲🇳

China economie

China’s [official urban] youth jobless rate climbs to 17.9% in July – Caixin Global

China revamps US$1.5 trillion housing fund to unlock savings, boost consumption – Caixin Global

Global luxury brands are facing a deepening sales slump in China – Bloomberg: ‘The slump coincides with China’s sweeping efforts to stem capital outflows and reclaim tax revenues’

China adds eight banks to digital yuan network in latest expansion – Caixin Global

China binnenland

China sentenced China Evergrande Group’s founder Hui Ka Yan 许家印 to life imprisonment and fined the group and an affiliate a total of CN¥16 billion [€2bn], cementing the downfall of the property tycoon who exemplified the country’s real estate boom and bust – Bloomberg: ‘The sentence doesn’t bring an end to the numerous legal fights surrounding Evergrande. The company is now in liquidation’

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

Government ‘respects’ different views in Japan on Yasukuni Shrine visits, Foreign Minister Lin says – Focus Taiwan: ‘but also hopes Tokyo will reflect on its wartime aggression.’ 🇯🇵

First two F-16V fighter jets en route to Taiwan, sources say – Focus Taiwan 🇺🇸

Education ministry reveals cross-Strait exchange oversight tool – Taipei Times: ‘A Control Yuan investigation earlier this month found unequal cross-strait student exchanges and inaccurate reporting by schools.’ 🇨🇳

Taiwan binnenland en economie

Cabinet approves 2027 budget proposal, defence spending at 3.01% of GDP – Focus Taiwan: ‘President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has set a goal of keeping Taiwan's defense budget above 3 percent of GDP while gradually increasing the share to 5 percent by 2030.’
NB: de begroting voor 2026 is pas deze maand door het gespleten Taiwanese parlement gekomen…

Speaker Han and Premier Cho continue to spar over countersign refusal – Taipei Times

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Uit Duitsland en Spanje komen ook interessante economische cijfers. Het banenverlies in de autoindustrie gaat nog altijd door. Dat is nog niet afgelopen. In de nieuwe realiteit zijn het de Duitse fabrieken waar veel overcapaciteit is – nu er minder vraag is naar brandstofauto’s in het algemeen en Duitse auto’s specifiek. Uit Spanje komt een stuk over toegenomen vraag naar Chinese hybrides. Dat zal de Duitse problemen verergeren.

Onder Amerikaanse buitenlandexperts is er veel onrust over een vriendelijke tweet van Donald Trump over de Noord-Koreaanse dictator Kim Jung Un. Trump heeft de opdracht gegeven om een militaire oefening met Zuid-Korea af te schalen. Dat komt bovenop nieuws dat het altijd in Azië aanwezige vliegkampschip nu richting Iran gedirigeerd wordt. Onderzoek laat ook zien, dat er minder Amerikaanse marineschepen door de Straat van Taiwan varen sinds Trump terug is. Stimulans voor de Chinese hoop op een nieuwe ‘strategische stabiliteit’ dankzij consolidatie van de Amerikaanse positie in Azië.

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

Taiwan’s annual agricultural ambassadors to visit the Netherlands – Focus Taiwan 🇳🇱

Spionagesoftware: Behörden knöpfen sich MG vor – Table Briefings: „Das Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) prüft die Softwarearchitektur des MG4. Das hat die Behörde auf Anfrage von Table Briefings bestätigt. Es besteht der Verdacht, dass in dem Elektro-Fahrzeug des chinesischen Herstellers MG Software läuft, die einen Fernzugriff und das Auslesen von Daten des Autos und angeschlossener Mobiltelefone ermöglicht.“ 🇩🇪

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

Job losses mount in German automotive sector as challenge from China intensifies – SCMP: ‘Germany’s automotive industry shed 42,300 jobs in the year to the end of June, sending employment to its lowest level since 2005’
‘Puls attributed the job losses to overcapacity in Germany and the shift to electric vehicles (EVs).’
‘Chinese carmakers could capture 15 to 30 per cent of the European market by 2035, up from about 10 per cent this year, Citi analysts said on Wednesday, while Volkswagen Group brands excluding Porsche could see a volume drop of more than 500,000 vehicles by 2035 compared with last year.’ 🇩🇪

China’s PHEVs, outmanoeuvring EU tariffs, gain traction in Spain – SCMP 🇪🇸

Dealer: waarschuwing verzekeraar Univé over Chinese auto’s is „zwaar overtrokken” – BNR Nieuwsradio: „Volgens verzekeraar Univé kan de dekking voor die nieuwe auto's hoger uitvallen dan autokopers verwachten.”
„Brancheorganisatie Bovag erkent dat met name Chinese nieuwe automerken opstartproblemen hebben.” 🇳🇱

China heeft Europa ook met deze belangrijke grondstof in zijn greep – RTL Z: „De EU loopt verschillende risico’s door de Chinese afhankelijkheid voor wolfraam, schrijft het Centre for Materials & Resilience (CMR) in een rapport.” 🇪🇺

Mexico is weighing plans to impose further trade restrictions on selected products from China and other countries while raising existing import taxes on others, according to four people familiar with the matter – Bloomberg 🇲🇽

Techoorlog 💽💥

Antwoord op vragen van het lid Van Lanschot over het bericht dat de Defensie investeert in Spaanse en Chinese 3D Machines – Staatssecretaris Boswijk, Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal: „Het betreft geen Chinese machine, maar een in China geassembleerd systeem. De kritieke componenten van dit systeem zijn afkomstig uit Europa en Japan.” 🇳🇱

Nokia to close almost all sites in mainland China by year end, sources say – SCMP: ‘government agencies and state-owned companies had increasingly favoured domestic technology and equipment in recent years, leaving less room for Nokia’s telecoms products.’ 🇫🇮
De moeilijkheden van Nokia en Ericsson om marktaandeel te veroveren en/of verkrijgen in China waren altijd een mooie illustratie van Chinese hypocrisie m.b.t. Huawei en ZTE.

Why is Chinese state media telling people to stop using English AI terms? – SCMP: ‘in favour of standardised Chinese equivalents in a push to boost the country’s “discourse power”.’

Canada review of Argentina lithium sale tests warming ties with China – Nikkei Asia: ‘A Chinese company’s purchase of a lithium mine in Argentina from a Canadian peer’ 🇨🇦🇦🇷

China is pulling the plug on an older version of Microsoft Windows tailored for government agencies, part of a broader effort to reduce its dependence on foreign technology – Bloomberg: ‘moves up the schedule to discontinue the operating system’

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 will skip UN General Assembly ahead of Trump summit – POLITICO 🇺🇸🇺🇳

Chinese vessel suspected of conducting survey within Japan’s economic zone off Okinawa – Jiji Press 🇯🇵

Japanese PM’s address blurs Japan’s responsibility for its acts of aggression, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson says – Xinhua: ‘Those with insights in Japan pointed out that a country without sense of remorse can hardly gain trust and what the defense minister has done amounts to supporting the war of aggression, said Lin.’ 🇯🇵

Trump orders Pentagon to cut back military exercises with South Korea – Reuters 🇺🇸🇰🇷
US Navy transits of Taiwan Strait drop under Trump – Taipei Times 🇺🇸🇹🇼
US to boost Guam defences – Taipei Times 🇺🇸🇬🇺

Maintaining peace and stability in Korean Peninsula serves interests of all, Chinese foreign ministry says – Xinhua 🇰🇷
Goede timing.

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 says China supports Latin American countries in safeguarding regional peace and stability – Xinhua: ‘the course of development and revitalization of Latin American and Caribbean countries should not be disrupted, and the right of Latin American and Caribbean countries to independently choose their cooperation partners should not be interfered with.’ 🇪🇨🇺🇸

China’s Foreign Minister Wáng Yì 王毅 to visit South Korea from August 19-20 – Reuters 🇰🇷

Jordan’s king to visit China – Xinhua: ‘This visit marks King Abdullah II's ninth visit to China since his accession to the throne’ 🇯🇴

Can China’s new Arctic sea route to Europe replace Middle East chokepoints? – Al Jazeera

China’s foreign ministry dismisses Palau president’s allegations on missile test – Xinhua 🇵🇼

Suspicious ‘consulting firm’ website trying to hire former Singapore foreign ministry personnel – CNA 🇸🇬

China economie

China investment slump deepens as economy shows signs of weakness – FT: ‘Industrial output expanded 4.5 per cent in July on a year earlier, official statistics showed on Monday, short of the 4.8 per cent forecast by a Reuters analyst survey’
‘Retail sales rose just 0.6 per cent last month, compared with analyst forecasts of 1.5 per cent growth and 1 per cent in June’
‘Fixed asset investment declined 6.7 per cent for the first seven months of the year’
China’s economy got off to a sluggish start in the second half, as industrial output, consumption and investment fared worse than expected – Bloomberg: ‘Societe Generale SA economists including Wei Yao said the country’s growth momentum is “collapsing” outside tech.’
China’s new-home prices fell at a faster pace in July, denting optimism that the prolonged property downturn may be nearing a bottom – Bloomberg: ‘New-home prices in 70 cities, excluding state-subsidized housing, dropped 0.18% from June when they slid 0.15%, figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday. Resale home values, which are subject to less government intervention, decreased 0.29%, a slight improvement from the previous month’s 0.32% drop.’

China’s economy showed across-the-board weakness in July and growth likely slipped further below the government’s annual target, sparking a call from Premier Li Qiang on officials to ramp up supportive measures – Bloomberg: ‘“We must anchor efforts to development goals, give full play to the effectiveness of existing policies, and promptly formulate practical and effective incremental policies,” Li said at a Monday meeting of China’s cabinet’
Economic Watch: China’s economy weathers July pressures as new growth drivers strengthen – Xinhua: ‘The country's economy showed "resilience and vitality" as proactive macro policies helped cushion external and domestic pressures’
‘Innovation is driving new growth momentum and improving the economic structure, a trend that continued in July’

China moves to unlock county-level consumption, energize domestic demand – Xinhua: ‘tapping the vast lower-tier markets as a new source of domestic demand and economic growth.’

‘Not worth the squeeze’: global private equity makes zero deals in China – FT

China binnenland

Chinese President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 upheld former leader Jiāng Zémín 江泽民’s legacy of combining economic development with firm Communist Party rule, using the centenary of his predecessor’s birth to reinforce the political foundations of his own agenda – Bloomberg
China’s Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 praises former president Jiāng Zémín 江泽民’s contribution in show of party unity – SCMP: ‘In his speech on Monday, Xi praised Jiang for managing major risks to the country, including political, economic risks and natural disasters.’
Xinhua Headlines: Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 urges advancing socialism with Chinese characteristics on centenary of late leader Jiāng Zémín 江泽民 – Xinhua
Manoj Kewalramani licht een interessante paragraaf uit de toespraak van Xi over de beslissing van Jiang om zijn functies in stappen over te dragen aan opvolger Hu Jintao.

Top Chinese general Zhāng Shēngmín 张升民 draws on Jiāng Zémín 江泽民’s legacy to highlight importance of loyalty in military – SCMP: ‘Zhang highlighted the existential threats China faced in the late 20th century and how Jiang steered the People’s Liberation Army through the turmoil that followed the fall of the Iron Curtain in Europe in 1989.’
Het gebrek aan loyaliteit van de strijdkrachten aan de communistische partijen krijgt in Pekings analyse een belangrijke rol in het Chinese narratief over de val van het Oostblok.

China’s top legislature to review draft law against cross-border corruption – Xinhua

Chinese navy’s combat software guru Zhao Xiaozhe disappears from academy website – SCMP

China pakt racistische AI-video’s over buitenlanders nauwelijks aan – NOS Nieuws

Hong Kong

Exclusive: Wise to restore bank accounts of ‘wanted’ Hong Kong activist in UK after sudden closures – HKFP 🇬🇧

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

Soldier indicted for leaking military secrets to China-linked group – Focus Taiwan: ‘Prosecutors said the Chinese national belonged to the "Wolong Society," a group allegedly established to recruit active-duty Taiwanese military personnel to gather classified information.’ 🇨🇳

German scholar Jürgen Kremb was followed by Chinese woman in Taiwan, Investigation Bureau says – Focus Taiwan 🇨🇳🇩🇪

Taiwan president says record defence spending is investment in peace – Reuters

Taiwan binnenland en economie

KMT accuses Lai of ‘double standard’ over NT$10,000 [€270] cash handout – Focus Taiwan: ‘Chen pointed out that when the KMT proposed the NT$10,000 cash handout in May, the Cabinet had emphasized “fiscal discipline,”’
KMT urges Lai to double planned cash handout to NT$20,000 [€540] – Taipei Times

Premier Cho declines to countersign child savings legislation – Focus Taiwan

What does the Han-Fu argument reflect within the KMT? – New Bloom: ‘Han [Kuo-yu] is aiming to differentiate his political brand from KMT heavyweights perceived as increasingly pro-China.’

Executive Yuan appoints Wen Chun-yu as NCC representative – Taipei Time: ‘to maintain the commission’s basic operations after the terms of the last three commissioners expired on July 31, leaving all seven posts vacant, the NCC said yesterday.’

Opposition’s budget cuts hamper fight on Chinese disinformation – Taipei Times

The DPP, KMT, and TPP report financial results for last year – Taipei Times: ‘Due to restrictions imposed by the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee, NT$925.25 million in dividend income could not be collected [by the KMT].’

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Dit jaar richten de Chinese statements zich vooral op Japan. In Tokio is nu een rechtse premier aan de macht. Bovenal is het vervelend voor Pekings ambities, dat Japan een steeds grotere militaire rol pakt in de regio, net nu de VS zich wat terug lijken te trekken. De retorische druk wordt opgevoerd.

Het Taiwanese parlement heeft eindelijk de begroting voor 2026 (sic) aangenomen. De Taiwanese overheid draaide al vanaf januari onder speciale beperkte regels. De regerende DPP heeft geen meerderheid, terwijl de KMT en TPP allerlei zaken wilden weghalen en bijna elke uitgave voor regeringsprioriteiten als verspilling beschreven. Communicatie is bijvoorbeeld door de helft gedaan, het salaris van de premier is stopgezet, de publieke omroep wordt geraakt, en op de verwerking van de militaire dictatuur wordt ook bezuinigd.

Het punt dat de meeste aandacht kreeg, betrof echter de uitgaven voor het droneprogramma. Taiwans regering wil een eigen drone-industrie ontwikkelen, opdat het eiland niet afhankelijk is van Chinese leveringsketens voor de verdediging tegen een Chinese aanval. De KMT bracht het ontwikkelprogramma in gevaar, maar is nu toch overstag gegaan na zware druk. De aparte speciale defensiebegroting voor de aankoop van militaire drones en onbemande vaartuigen zit nog wel vast.

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

European delegation of parliamentary assistants in Taiwan for visit, foreign ministry says – Taipei Times 🇪🇺

The UK Ministry of Defense is stepping-up scrutiny of its supply chain after discovering some of its naval drones transmitted signals to China – Bloomberg 🇬🇧

四大全球倡议为动荡世界照亮前行之路——学习《习近平外交文选》第一卷、第二卷 – 傅小强 in 求是
De directeur van MSS-denktank CICIR Fu Xiaoqiang heeft een stuk in het theoretische partijtijdschrift Qiushi over de diplomatische ideologie van Xi Jinping en de vier Mondiale Initiatieven (GDI, GSI, GCI, en GGI). Hij opent met een nogal anti-Westerse framing die ik graag helemaal vertaal:
„De wereld van vandaag zit gevangen in een dilemma van overlappende ‘Vier Tekorten’ — een vredestekort verergert geopolitieke conflicten, een ontwikkelingstekort vergroot de kloof tussen Noord en Zuid, een veiligheidstekort ondermijnt de basis voor wederzijds vertrouwen en een governancetekort ondermijnt de effectiviteit van multilaterale samenwerking. Terugkijkend op de geschiedenis, sinds de grote geografische ontdekkingen in de 15e eeuw, volgens de narratieve van Westerse historici, hebben Spanje, Groot-Brittannië en de Verenigde Staten achtereenvolgens hun mondiale hegemonie gevestigd en de leidende internationale orde van verschillende perioden vormgegeven. Hoewel deze drie hegemoniale landen in verschillende perioden orde en stabiliteit in specifieke regio’s wisten te handhaven, konden ze uiteindelijk niet ontsnappen aan het historische lot van de sterken die de zwakken uitbuiten, de machtigen die de zwakken onderdrukken en de [logica van] opkomst en ondergang. In de bron is de essentie van de Westerse hegemoniale orde dat ‘de veiligheid van één land boven de veiligheid van alle landen gaat’, ‘de ontwikkeling van één land berooft de andere landen van hun recht op ontwikkeling’, ‘de beschaving van één land minacht de waarden van diverse beschavingen’ en ‘de governance van één land staat in voor het gezamenlijke global governance’. Dit onthult in feite de historische oorsprong van de ‘Vier Tekorten’ [die de Global Initiatives van Xi moeten oplossen.

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

Deutsche Autoindustrie prüft härteren Kurs gegen China – Handelsblatt: „So überprüft der Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA) nach eigenen Angaben seine bisherige Position.“
„Damit deutet sich in der deutschen Autoindustrie ein Kurswechsel an. Jahrelang gehörte der Sektor zu den entschiedensten Gegnern zusätzlicher Handelsbarrieren gegen China. Die Hersteller warnten vor einer Eskalation und Gegenmaßnahmen Pekings. Statt neuer Zölle forderte der VDA vor allem bessere Standortbedingungen in Europa.“ 🇩🇪

Chinese subsidies for strategic industries are boosting exports in those areas, according to European Central Bank research – Bloomberg: ‘While support from Beijing can’t be seen as the only reason for the increasingly lopsided trade between the world’s biggest economies, it plays a significant role in key areas like cars, semiconductors, solar panels and wind turbines, the authors wrote.’ 🇪🇺
Do government subsidies drive global imbalances? – ECB Blog: ‘The main cause of global imbalances is still the gap between how much countries save and invest.’
‘Chinese firms, however, stand out for both the amount of support they receive and the number of sectors receiving support – with those receiving more support also tending to export more. This link is much weaker in the United States and the euro area. And while subsidies may not explain a country’s overall trade surplus or deficit, they can influence trade imbalances in key industries.’

China ontwijkt importheffingen via onder meer de EU, beweren de VS – FD 🇪🇺🇺🇸
‘The US is taking the trade competition with China upstream — across the entire supply chain. The White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, led by Peter Navarro, has just published The Great Transshipment Scam. […]’ – Antoine Bondaz, LinkedIn 🇺🇸

Chinese auto factories are building so many cars for export that the global shipping industry cannot keep up – WSJ: ‘Specialized car carriers, essentially floating parking garages, are booked out years ahead to export cars from Chinese factories. Rates to charter ships are up 65% this year’

China extends anti-dumping duties on Indian optical fiber for five years – Xinhua 🇮🇳

Techoorlog 💽💥

Faillissement dreigt voor bussenbouwer Ebusco – NRC 🇳🇱

US to tell partners they must pick sides in AI race with China – Reuters: ‘warning they will be excluded from a U.S.-led AI coalition if they also sign up for Beijing’s competing framework, according to a U.S. official and an internal draft’ 🇺🇸
Trump administration drafting ban on Chinese data center devices, sources say – Reuters 🇺🇸

Donald Trump launches tariffs targeting Chinese drone technology – FT 🇺🇸

Ukraine’s new Tu-95 killer is a US$48,000 copy of a drone China refused to sell – Euromaidan Press: ‘the Ukrainian version costs $48,000 in its basic configuration. The Chinese original costs $50,000. And according to the manufacturer, almost nothing of the Chinese drone survives in the MICH 2000 now except its outline.’ 🇺🇦

China poised to lift travel ban on Manus founders – FT 🇺🇸

Apple trains its own AI model for China market with Alibaba 阿里巴巴’s support, sources say – Reuters 🇺🇸
Chinese censorship is leaking into answers from American AI – WSJ

China’s Z.ai 智谱 launches model it says rivals Anthropic’s Mythos – Nikkei Asia

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

China rattled by Trump White House chaos weeks ahead of Xi visit – SCMP: ‘Sources told the South China Morning Post that Chinese officials were once again confronting a disorganised Trump administration that lacked planning and coordination, with little progress made on hammering out deliverables for the leaders’ summit.’
‘The only concrete item on the agenda being discussed is a roughly US$30 billion tariff reduction for Chinese goods as a targeted concession.’ 🇺🇸

US pulls last aircraft carrier in Asia as Trump focuses on Iran and the Western Hemisphere – AP: ‘The lack of a U.S. carrier in the Pacific may be short-lived if the Navy deploys another in the next couple of months. But it shows how the open-ended operations with Iran are running some American sailors ragged, analysts say, while the Trump administration further retreats from the Asia-Pacific region and focuses on the Western Hemisphere.’

Xinhua Commentary: 81 years on, Japan must not turn back the clock – Xinhua: ‘dangerous signs that Japan has deviated from its postwar security path, stepping away from an exclusively defense-oriented posture and toward becoming a country increasingly equipped to wage war yet again.’ 🇯🇵
China Focus: Japanese abandoned WWII chemical weapons continue to threaten public security in China – Xinhua 🇯🇵
China Focus: New materials on Japan’s wartime ‘comfort women’ system added to Nanjing museum – Xinhua 🇯🇵
China Focus: New evidence reaffirms Japan’s germ warfare crimes in China – Xinhua 🇯🇵

Japan marks 81st anniversary of WWII end, without mention of ‘remorse’ in PM’s address – Kyodo News: ‘[Takaichi] fell short of using the words employed at last year’s memorial by her predecessor Shigeru Ishiba, who vowed to keep in mind Japan’s “remorse” over the war and expressed its “resolute pledge to renounce war.”’ 🇯🇵
Japan PM sends offering to Yasukuni shrine, four ministers visit on war anniversary – Kyodo News: ‘China responded quickly, saying it “deplores” the developments related to Yasukuni and had lodged “serious” protests with Japan.’ 🇯🇵
Chinese embassy condemns Japanese politicians’ Yasukuni Shrine moves as serious challenge to postwar international order – Xinhua 🇯🇵

China’s defence ministry urges vigilance against dangers of Japan’s neo-militarism – Xinhua: ‘in response to a query about the record-high budget to be submitted by Japan's Defense Ministry for fiscal year 2027.’ 🇯🇵
突破底线，日本“新型军国主义”成势为患（寰宇平）——东京审判开庭八十周年的历史警示（下） – 《人民日报》（2026年08月14日 第03版）：“日本宪法第九条不是日本的‘内政’，而是战后国际秩序对日本施加的法律约束。” 🇯🇵
Commentaar in het Volksdagblad onder de pennaam ‘Huan Yu Ping’ stelt dat het pacifistische Japanse grondwetsartikel 9 niet slechts een interne aangelegenheid is, maar „een beperking opgelegd aan Japan door de naoorlogse internationale orde.”

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said energy exploration with China in the disputed South China Sea remains possible, as he sought to deescalate tensions with Beijing – Bloomberg 🇵🇭
The Philippines will not allow attacks from its territory over Taiwan, President Marcos says – Taipei Times: ‘as it “has no desire to be a belligerent nation in the region.”’ 🇵🇭

Beijing and Manila clash over arrests of ‘illegal’ workers as tensions worsen – SCMP 🇵🇭
Consistent attacks and smears against China by the Philippines’ defence secretary harm interests of Philippines, foreign ministry spokesperson says – Xinhua 🇵🇭
China’s foreign ministry denounces accusations and smears by the Philippines and Australia concerning CCG operations at Ren'ai Jiao [Second Thomas Shoal] – Xinhua 🇵🇭🇦🇺

Beijing issues ecological report to solidify South China Sea claims amid US row – SCMP: ‘On Friday, the Ministry of Natural Resources’ South China Sea Bureau issued its 2025 marine ecological early-warning and monitoring bulletin, alongside a separate marine ecological protection and restoration report for the region.’

Chinese and Egyptian air forces to hold joint exercises – Xinhua 🇪🇬

Xinhua think tank report highlights global significance of China’s ecological code – Xinhua: ‘the code offers Chinese wisdom in addressing concerns shared by all humanity and contributes Chinese solutions to global environmental governance’

Why the Chinese yuan could soon be Africa’s most important currency – SCMP

Does the Chinese police eavesdrop via ZOOM calls? – NetAskari

China binnenland

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 to address late Chinese leader Jiāng Zémín 江泽民’s centenary commemoration – Xinhua

Remains of late Chinese leader Zhū Róngjī 朱镕基 to be cremated – Xinhua: ‘To mourn his death, national flags will fly at half-mast’

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 calls for improving disaster prevention as floods, landslides batter China – Reuters

As China launches new gang crackdown, lawyers fear wrongful convictions – SCMP

China is accelerating the establishment of rules governing the recycling and reuse of wind and solar equipment and aims to set up a closed-loop system for waste from the industry before 2030, CCTV reported on Sunday – Bloomberg

Hong Kong

UK confirms ex-Hong Kong lawmaker Wu Chi-wai 胡志偉 will not face deportation after immigration hiccups – HKFP 🇬🇧

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

Taiwan says US training coast guard as China ramps up patrols – AFP 🇺🇸

Taiwan concludes 10-day Han Kuang military drills – Focus Taiwan
Taiwan Navy and Coast Guard hold first joint anti-blockade drill – Focus Taiwan

Taiwan binnenland en economie

Taiwanese legislature passes 2026 central government budget after record delay, drone budget intact – Focus Taiwan: ‘The NT$63.4 billion budget for drone industry development and procurement passed without cuts, despite earlier threats by the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) to reduce the funding by 70 percent.’
KMT and Cabinet trade barbs over cuts to central government budget – Focus Taiwan: ‘The Legislature also eliminated funding for the Cabinet’s Department of Human Rights and Transitional Justice, halved the operating budget of the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee, and cut NT$684 million from the NT$1.379 billion in policy promotion’
DPP scorns premier’s frozen salary – Taipei Times

China wants to block drone bill, Beijing source claims – Taipei Times: ‘The Legislative Yuan is slated to hold cross-caucus negotiations on 14 versions of a draft uncrewed vehicle act on Thursday’
‘A source in Beijing said the Chinese Communist Party has been using its United Front Work Department and Taiwan Affairs Office to pressure Taiwanese politicians who are friendly toward Beijing, pushing them to block the Executive Yuan’s proposed special act to fund military uncrewed vehicles.’

KMT’s chair Cheng Li-wun 鄭麗文 facing election and party woes – Taipei Times: ‘Asked if the KMT wants to negotiate “peaceful unification” with China, Cheng said her ideas would “be truly introduced and implemented as policy once the KMT retakes power,” and that it would bring warmer ties between the two countries.’

Taiwan parliament approves holding of three referendums, including on caning sex criminals – Reuters

Taiwan’s DGBAS ups 2026 GDP growth forecast to 11.05%, a 39-year high – Focus Taiwan: ‘citing robust global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications.’

Geneva envoy ordered home amid misconduct investigation – Focus Taiwan

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Daarmee staat Zhu symbool voor een andere tijd. Het was een periode van relatieve economische liberalisering en Chinese bestuurders die wat vrijer dachten en spraken. Net zoals Deng Xiaoping en Jiang Zemin is het echter bij Zhu ook belangrijk, om niet te vergeten dat hij een loyale partijsoldaat was. Politieke liberalisering zat er bij Zhu ook niet in.

Verder is het nog rustig. Ik wens iedereen een mooi laatste weekend voor alles weer wat op gang begint te komen na Beidaihe en de noordelijke schoolvakanties.

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

EU curbs on Chinese solar inverters to bolster European suppliers, SMA Solar says – Reuters 🇪🇺

Deutschland erlebt plötzlich einen Exportboom nach Osteuropa – Handelsblatt: „ Länder wie Polen, Tschechien, Ungarn und Rumänien helfen der deutschen Wirtschaft, Einbrüche im Exportgeschäft mit den Handelspartnern China und USA auszugleichen.“ 🇩🇪

Global carmakers replicate China strategy to gain foothold in India – Nikkei Asia: ‘seeking out local partners in India’ 🇮🇳
Ford to move production of some Lincoln models from China to US – Reuters 🇺🇸

China ontwijkt importheffingen via onder meer de EU, beweren de VS – FD 🇺🇸🇪🇺
The Trump administration says it is developing an AI-powered ‘detective border’ to crack down on trading partners suspected of enabling China to skirt tariffs on US imports – Bloomberg: ‘In a report released Thursday, the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy accused dozens of countries of being part of China’s “shadow transshipment network,” sorting them “according to the scale of China-linked trade, the depth of their economic integration with China, and the weak-link advantages that make them susceptible to rerouting activity.”’ 🇺🇸
US White House accuses more than 40 countries of helping China avoid Trump’s tariffs – FT: ‘including Canada, Mexico and Japan’ 🇺🇸

Techoorlog 💽💥

China-linked hackers hit Taiwan in unprecedented ‘autonomous’ AI cyber attack – FT: ‘used open-source AI agents to build an autonomous hacking tool that behaved like a co-ordinated cyber team, according to researchers at Dream, an Israeli AI company’

Weekend 🏖️📚

Achtergrond en longreads

On trade with China, Europe is fighting yesterday’s war – Shirley Ze Yu for Al Majalla: ‘None of the EU’s remedial policies will work, not because Europe lacks tools, but because it is aiming at targets China has already left behind’ 🇪🇺

China’s great jobs squeeze – FT: ‘a precarious gig economy of ridesharing drivers and delivery couriers has been soaking up China’s surplus labour.’ ‘being scrutinised for signs that it is also reaching the limits of its capacity.’
The next global economic crisis could be Made in China: How overcapacity ends – Michael B.G. Froman for Foreign Affairs

Xi Jinping’s relativist vision of the international order legitimises Russia’s sphere of influence – Sense Hofstede for AMO’s China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe (CHOICE)

你有什麼資格評論中國？海外中國研究的困境 – 端傳媒：「一位常年活躍於中外交流事務的人士對端傳媒表示：『如何分辨誰在被「胡蘿蔔」驅動非常簡單，比如那些可以自由出入中國大陸、且會被官方媒體採訪的學者，基本都是「胡蘿蔔」的受益方，鮮有例外。』」

Podcasts

The China chokepoints nobody’s watching – The Trivium China Podcast 🍎

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

The US government criticised China for insufficient notice before testing an intercontinental ballistic missile in the Pacific last month – Bloomberg 🇺🇸

US charges 11 over sham marriages involving Chinese nationals and American soldiers – SCMP 🇺🇸

Chinese envoy to UN calls for international action to end Israeli-Palestinian conflict and violence – Xinhua 🇮🇱🇵🇸

China approves new Japanese acting consul-general in Chongqing, ending 8-month vacancy – SCMP 🇯🇵

China Focus: New evidence reaffirms Japan’s germ warfare crimes in China – Xinhua 🇯🇵

Poetin reist voor het eerst naar betwiste eilandengroep Koerilen, tot woede van Japan – de Volkskrant 🇯🇵🇷🇺

Chinese state-linked observatory sought New Zealand site, spy agency says – Reuters 🇳🇿

China economie

China steadies yuan as exporters feel currency squeeze – Nikkei Asia: ‘Some Chinese exporters have issued profit warnings due to foreign exchange losses, reflecting a decline in the value of their dollar-denominated assets in their yuan-denominated financial statements.’
Dit zou bij een vrij inwisselbare valuta een van de correctiemechanismen zijn bij de exportexplosie die we in China zien.

The black box around Xi Jinping’s corruption crackdown has fuelled an emerging underground market for selling purported secrets on who might be next to fall – Bloomberg

China binnenland

Zhū Róngjī 朱镕基, Chinese leader who oversaw WTO debut, dies at 97 – Nikkei Asia: ‘handpicked by late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping to follow through on economic reforms as premier between 1998 and 2003.’
Zhū Róngjī 朱镕基’s death is a reminder of how much has changed in China – The Economist: ‘Pragmatic, plain-speaking and intellectually curious, he eschewed ideology in his quest to integrate China with the global economy. He also wielded enormous power in a collective leadership system that Mr Xi has dismantled.’
Former Chinese premier Zhū Róngjī 朱镕基 passes away at 98 – Xinhua: ‘an excellent Party member, a time-tested and loyal communist fighter, and an outstanding proletarian revolutionist, statesman and leader of the Party and the state.’

China prepares to mark Jiāng Zémín 江泽民 centenary with full commemorative honours – SCMP: ‘In the lead-up to the anniversary, state broadcaster CCTV launched a 12-episode documentary’
‘The party is also expected to hold a grand symposium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday’

China issues judicial interpretation on Ecological and Environmental Code – Xinhua
China revises, repeals administrative regulations for landmark environmental code – Xinhua

Hong Kong

Hong Kong court acquits woman over possessing laser pointers in 2019 – HKFP

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council slams China over planned naval drill with Indonesia east of Taiwan – Focus Taiwan: ‘calling it a “military provocation” that infringes on Taiwan’s sovereignty and threatens regional security.’ 🇨🇳🇮🇩
Indonesia says navy drill with China that angered Taiwan was routine – Reuters: ‘The drill, which China described as a “navigation exercise”, was the first time the country has carried out such an operation with a foreign military in those waters.’ 🇮🇩🇨🇳

Taiwanese air force to form dedicated UAV unit, official says – Taipei Times: ‘The new unit would be tasked with preparing for potential long-range strikes against targets in China, enabling the air force to attack rather than passively defend Taiwanese airspace, they said.’

Taiwan binnenland en economie

KMT set to freeze drone development budget – Taipei Times: ‘modifying an earlier proposal to scrap the funding entirely, as the legislature aims to pass this year’s long-stalled general budget today.’
‘It has now been a record 350 days since the Executive Yuan approved this year’s budget on Aug. 21 last year, and sent it to the legislature for review eight days later.’
De regering en oppositie in Taiwan loggen nog altijd in de clinch over de begroting voor 2026 (sic).

Mobile internet slows, northern Taiwan streets empty during resilience drill – Focus Taiwan

Taitung magistrate Yao Ching-ling 饒慶鈴 (KMT) won’t be penalised over Straits Forum video, MAC says – Focus Taiwan

Donovan’s Deep Dives: Splinters, snubs and the ‘one-term curse’: The chaotic fight for central Taiwan – Taipei Times

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Het twee verhaal betreft berichten over arrestaties in China van Japanse zakenmensen i.v.m. Pekings exportcontrole. Japan zit al langer in Pekings vizier. Ook de exportcontrolemaatregelen op zeldzame aardmetalen raken het land en zijn defensie-industrie hard. De campagne van inspecties en arrestaties is een nieuwe stap. Misschien ook iets voor EU-landen om op te letten na de lancering van de ‘nieuwe instrumenten’ in oktober?

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Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

Deutsche Bank named clearing bank for China’s renminbi – Reuters: ‘It is one of ​many initiatives by China to internationalise the yuan, as the currency ‌is ⁠also known, and reduce dependence on a global payment system dominated by the U.S. dollar.’ 🇩🇪

Spy cameras on Royal Navy drones secretly sent data to China – The Telegraph: ‘An investigation into the drones revealed that the cameras were transmitting “heartbeat communications” – data to confirm they were online and functioning normally – to an IP address in China.’ 🇬🇧

China omzeilt knelpunten op zee met nieuwe ‘zijderoute’ door noordpoolgebied – de Volkskrant 🇷🇺

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

China’s car exports surged again, serving as a lifeline for automakers mired in a domestic slump – Bloomberg: ‘Overseas shipments jumped 88% year-on-year in July to 918,000 units, according to China’s Passenger Car Association. That means that 41% of cars produced in the country were sent abroad, compared with 21% a year ago.’
From BMW to Mercedes, Germany’s auto industry cannot seem to stop its decline in China – Bloomberg 🇩🇪
Spain set to approve Chinese car plant despite alleged security concerns – Reuters 🇪🇸

China tightens grip on Europe’s car supply chain – FT: ‘Since the mid-2000s, Chinese companies have invested in more than 130 European automotive parts makers, mainly in key car manufacturing hubs in Germany and France, according to consultancy Rhodium.’
‘The acquisitions of European parts suppliers have alarmed EU policymakers and auto executives.’
‘European parts makers were not household names, but “provide a lot of jobs at the local level”, the EU official said’ 🇪🇺

China detains Japanese executives in dual-use technology export probe, Mainichi reports – SCMP: ‘including top executives of companies with offices in China’
‘The detentions follow a string of enforcement measures, including the frequent on-site inspection of Japanese corporate offices and interrogation of personnel by Chinese authorities, the newspaper said.’
‘Some individuals were detained upon entering China in a bid to get their cooperation with official inquiries, according to the report.’ 🇯🇵

China moves to join Brazil’s WTO fight over Trump’s forced labour tariffs – SCMP 🇧🇷🇺🇸

China ordered steep anti-dumping deposits on pecan imports from the US and Mexico – Bloomberg 🇺🇸🇲🇽

Shein 希音 finds there’s no place like China after Vietnam warehouse experiment disappoints – Reuters: ‘sky-high U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods gradually came down. Vietnamese apparel is still subject ​to smaller tariffs than Chinese clothing, but the advantage is no longer as large as it used to be.’
‘Authorities in Guangzhou, keen to protect local jobs, were also not happy with Shein's efforts to subsidise Chinese manufacturers opening plants in Vietnam’ 🇻🇳

Techoorlog 💽💥

Key Republican urges US to stop any advanced chips from reaching sanctioned Chinese firms – Reuters 🇺🇸

TSMC 台積電 takes rare step of teaming with Sony as Samsung 三星 and China rivals loom – Nikkei Asia 🇹🇼🇯🇵

Chinese rare-earth project in Laos stumbles as industry rakes in profits – Nikkei Asia 🇱🇦

US communications agency FCC is the unlikely spearhead of Trump’s China policy – Reuters: ‘The agency has barred imports of new models of ​Chinese drones, routers, inverters and robots and begun the process of blocking all Chinese labs from testing electronic devices such as smartphones, cameras and computers for use in the U.S. It is ‌now drafting a ban on U.S. imports of new models of Chinese data center components’ 🇺🇸

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

Shrinking regional oil stockpiles held by China’s independent refiners in Shandong province may spur increased buying of Iranian crude, offering Tehran a needed boost after a period of slow sales – Bloomberg 🇮🇷

Singapore-registered firm used fake employees and recruitment methods mirroring foreign intelligence playbook – CNA 🇸🇬

China and Indonesia navies to hold drills in sensitive waters to east of Taiwan – Reuters: ‘China’s defence ministry said that in mid-August, a ​Chinese navy warship will conduct a joint “navigation exercise” with an Indonesian navy ship in the waters east of Taiwan, though it ​did not give an exact location.’ 🇮🇩🇹🇼
Noemenswaardig dat Indonesië blijkbaar meedoet met de recente Chinese campagne om de wateren ten oosten van Taiwan in te palmen.

China’s foreign ministry condemned India for formally announcing names for 27 sites in Arunachal Pradesh, escalating a spat just as the two sides seek to stabilise ties after years of border tensions – Bloomberg: ‘Beijing has also released standardized names for sites in the region.’ 🇮🇳

China warns Pacific Islands diplomat not to sour ties over Taiwan attendance – AFP

Chinese court resolves June 2025 Strait of Hormuz collision dispute between foreign vessels – Xinhua: ‘handled by the Guangzhou Maritime Court (GMC)’
Peking presenteert China al langer als geschikt centrum voor internationale mediatie en maritieme rechtspraak.

China to send new naval escort fleet to Gulf of Aden, Somali waters – Xinhua: ‘The deployment marks the 49th Chinese naval escort fleet to operate in the region’

Chinese paratrooper killed in Qinghai exercise as Beijing acknowledges casualties – SCMP

China economie

China’s drive to shore up social security funds brings a payroll shock – Caixin Global: ‘Deeper reform to the pension system may be needed to strengthen worker participation and public trust. Many employees remain reluctant to accept lower take-home pay for a pension system they do not fully trust.’
Belangrijk onderwerp, vaak vergeten buiten China.

China binnenland

A Chinese Long March rocket failed while launching a communications satellite on Monday, China’s state media reported, marking the second failure of the rocket family this year – Bloomberg

Typhoon Dolphin hits China’s east coast, over 1 million evacuated – Reuters
Beijing launches flood response as heavy rain looms – Xinhua

Hong Kong

Hong Kong 47: 11 jailed democrats granted permission to appeal to top court – HKFP

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

Taiwan envoy to Japan protests Nagasaki memorial designation, skips event – Focus Taiwan 🇯🇵

Taiwan’s foreign ministry says Morocco visa situation being negotiated – Taipei Times: ‘while visa suspensions and entry bans for residents of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) would be reassessed at the end of this month’ 🇲🇦🇺🇬🇨🇩
Taiwanese paspoorthouders komen steeds vaker in de problemen aan Afrikaanse grenzen – waarschijnlijk door toenemende Chinese druk.

Han Kuang 42: Taiwan adopts US RDSP as drills go unscripted – The Storm Media
Taiwan is sharpening its littoral teeth – Domino Theory: ‘The Taiwanese navy’s new Littoral Combat Command is having its first run out as part of the nation’s annual Han Kuang military exercises.’

President Lai launches marine survey vessels to bolster maritime research and security – Focus Taiwan
Onderzoeksschepen spelen een belangrijke rol in de Indo-Pacific – hoeveel heeft Europa?

Taiwan binnenland en economie

Chinese spouse Xu Chunying 徐春鶯 convicted of aiding TPP and Ko presidential campaign on Beijing’s orders – Focus Taiwan: ‘sentenced to seven years in prison’
‘The New Taipei District Court found that Xu began acting on directives in 2021 to support TPP candidates from Yang Wentao (楊文濤), director of the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs’ Service Center for Cross-Strait Marriages and Families, and Sun Xian (孫憲), deputy head of the Shanghai branch of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang — a satellite party aligned with the Chinese Communist Party.’ 🇨🇳

Speaker Han Kuo-yu 韓國瑜 (KMT) blasts KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi 傅崐萁 for skipping meetings – Taipei Times: ‘Han had expressed his intent to pass the budget by Friday last week, but the deadline passed without consensus, with more than 100 proposals still pending review.’

Lawyer indicted for helping Chinese enter Taiwan using false documents – Focus Taiwan

Taiwan, South Korea drive Asian equity outflows in July as AI worries bite – Reuters

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De belangrijkste lijnen zijn de voortdurend trends in de handel tussen Europa en China en het verhaal over een Canadese NAVO-stagiaire gearresteerd in België op verdenking van spionage voor China. Daarnaast zijn er meer details over de manier waarop de Duitse economieminister Reiche een strenger Duits Chinabeleid zou saboteren.

Ook zijn er ontwikkeling op het gebied van de machines voor het maken van halfgeleiders. De Chinese pogingen om een DUV-machine te maken, zouden enig succes gehad hebben. Het Nederlandse ASML heeft het monopolie op de meest geavanceerde EUV-machines en domineert de markt voor de iets oudere DUV-types. Die DUV-machines zijn echter nog altijd de werkpaden van de chipindustrie en een Chinese concurrent zou een grote stap voor Peking zijn.

Veel is echter nog onduidelijk. Zowel de kwaliteit en financiële haalbaarheid van de Chinese machines als ook de afhankelijkheid van niet-Chinese onderdelen zijn nog erg onduidelijk. Interessanter is wel de vraag hoe nauw men ASML heeft nagemaakt. Als dat dicht genoeg bij elkaar ligt, dan zou de Chinese producent bijvoorbeeld ook sommige onderdelen kunnen maken voor bestaande ASML machines in China. Met die mogelijkheid kan Peking zich wapenen tegen nieuwe Amerikaanse verboden voor ASML op onderhoud van DUV-machines in China.

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Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

2026/07/31: EU-China trade war: Beijing turns the screws as Brussels tests limits of restraint – SCMP: ‘Europe’s own listings had been carefully calibrated, intentionally omitting major Chinese actors to ensure its own member states would support the package amid fears of retaliation. Beijing, on the other hand, went for the jugular.’ 🇪🇺
2026/07/27: China hits Europe’s defence industry in response to the EU’s 21st sanctions package against Russia – OSW 🇪🇺

2026/07/21: Taiwan gains role in Ukraine drone supply chain, but still depends on China – Focus Taiwan: ‘At its annual forum in June, the DSET said Taiwan exported about 139,000 drones in the first quarter of 2026, surpassing the 123,000 drones it exported in all of 2025, with most of them destined for Ukraine via Poland and the Czech Republic.’ 🇺🇦

2026/07/30: Meer details bekend over opgepakte Canadese Navo-stagiaire, die wel degelijk verdacht zou worden van spionage voor China – De Standaard: „Een bron binnen de veiligheidsdiensten identificeert de verdachte als Claire Z., een dertiger die een jaar geleden naar Bergen kwam voor een stage bij het militaire Navo-hoofdkwartier Shape (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe). Haar stage daar zou volgens onderzoek van Knack, Le Soir, La Lettreen Follow The Money tot januari 2026 duren, maar werd met zes maanden verlengd.”
„Volgens Reuters zou de jonge vrouw stage hebben gelopen op het IT-departement van Shape”

2026/08/03: Czech businessman detained by Beijing faces espionage charges and could be part of swap with Chinese spy – EU Observer 🇨🇿

2026/07/28: China woos Slovakia with AI and robotics pitch as EU trade friction mounts – SCMP: ‘the Slovak president’s three-day visit to China, the first by the country’s head of state in 16 years.’ 🇸🇰

2026/08/07: China and Belarus to stage ‘Swift Eagle 2026’ airborne drills in Hubei – Xinhua 🇧🇾

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

2026/08/03: Watching China in Europe - August 2026 – Noah Barkin ‘Even if he hangs on, it is unclear whether Merz would have the authority to push through a major rethink in China policy. His Economy Minister Katherina Reiche, who survived the cabinet cull, has openly defied him in recent months, […]’ 🇩🇪🇪🇺
Noah Barkin heeft enkele paragrafen over de acties van de Duitse economieminister Reiche en haar ministerie. Als de beschuldigingen kloppen, dan heeft het Duitse EZ de afgelopen tijd bewust geprobeerd om het Chinabeleid van de Duitse regering en de EU te saboteren. Reiche zou zelfs een verzoek om mee te doen met het gezamenlijke paper van Frankrijk verborgen hebben voor de bondskanselier.

2026/08/09: Chinese EV sales surge to new high in Europe putting tariffs under scrutiny – The Guardian 🇪🇺

2026/08/07: Germans emerge as Europe’s biggest China hawks as economic pain begins to bite – SCMP: ‘A combined 49 per cent of German people polled considered China to be primarily a rival or an adversary, way ahead of the second of the 13 countries polled, which was 43 per cent in France’ 🇩🇪
2026/08/06: Trust the numbers: Germans are open to a more hawkish China policy – ECFR 🇩🇪

2026/08/09: German trade deficit with China grows as Beijing relies less on European industry – Reuters: ‘German exports to China fell over 12% year-on-year to just under €37 billion ​between January and June’
‘German imports from China rose 8.9% to €91.8 billion over the period.’ 🇩🇪
2026/08/07: Germany shows ‘surprising resilience’ amid Chinese export surge – Euractiv: ‘The increase was driven largely by production gains in the country’s flagship automotive sector, which grew by 3.6%. This offset declines in energy-intensive and machinery manufacturing, which fell by 1.8% and 3.9%, respectively.’
‘Chinese customs data released on Friday revealed that net exports from the world’s second-largest economy surged by 23.9% year-on-year in dollar terms in July. Chinese shipments to Germany rose by 17.4%, while imports fell by 2.7%.’ 🇩🇪

2026/07/30: EU expected to probe Balkan construction material imports over suspected Chinese tariff-dodging – Euronews 🇪🇺
2026/07/28: Commission acts against dumped imports of polyamide yarns from China – European Commission 🇪🇺

2026/08/04: Q: On June 29, China and the EU held the first meeting of the China-EU Trade and Investment Consultation (TIC), and preliminarily agreed to hold the second meeting of the TIC this autumn. We have noted that the two sides have maintained intensive consultations recently. Could you share with us the latest progress? (MOFCOM Regular Press Conference July 30, 2026) – Ministry of Commerce, People’s Republic of China 🇪🇺

2026/08/03: EU countries recast ‘Made in Europe’ around products, not countries – POLITICO Europe 🇪🇺

2026/07/27: German officials are working behind the scenes to identify Chinese economic vulnerabilities that they could exploit if the EU finds itself in a trade war – Bloomberg: ‘The German government is informally mapping China’s weaknesses by analyzing trade flows, supply chains and company-level data, according to people familiar with the matter. The exercise is aimed at identifying where China remains dependent on German and European technology’ 🇩🇪

2026/08/03: China won’t apologise for overcapacity – The Economist’s Chaguan: ‘what foreign companies are competing against is not just supple, hard-driving Chinese firms but a whole-of-state approach to industry. Foreign companies, however big, stand little chance against a Leninist developmental state that has attained China’s size, wealth and modernity. […] The fury over Reiche has been building for months – and not just in Berlin and Brussels.’
2026/08/02: China-Konkurrenz belastet laut BDI die Wirtschaft – Handelsblatt 🇩🇪

2026/07/31: Spain courts Chinese firms but looks to EU for ground rules – Reuters 🇪🇸
2026/07/24: CATL signs 2 GWh sodium-ion battery supply deal in Bulgaria – ESS News 🇧🇬

2026/08/05: 中美经贸需要“合作清单”，而非“覆盖清单”（钟声） – 《人民日报》（2026年08月05日 第03版） 🇺🇸
Een commentaar in het Volksdagblad onder de gezaghebbende pennaam ‘Zhong Sheng’ doet het al voorspelbare beroep op de strategische stabiliteit van Trump en Xi om te proberen Amerikaanse stappen in de techoorlog tegen te gaan – hier door een recente stap van de FCC te veroordelen.

Techoorlog 💽💥

2026/08/04: How big is China’s reported DUV semiconductor lithography breakthrough? – Gregory C. Allen
Niet gelijk in paniek raken.
2026/07/28: China starts production of home-grown immersion DUV chipmaking tools, source says – Reuters
2026/07/27: China begins mass production of homegrown DUV chip tools – The Information

2026/08/05: Samsung and SK Hynix test Chinese chip tools as hedge against US risks – Reuters: ‘The memory chipmakers began testing AMEC etching equipment about two years ago, when uncertainty was mounting over whether Washington would continue allowing them to import U.S. chipmaking tools into China, two of the sources said.’ 🇰🇷
Dit is misschien wel structureel belangrijker nieuws voor ASML. Chinese chipmachines zouden er altijd al komen, gezien Pekings toewijding aan zelfvoorziening – de vraag is of niet-Chinese producenten ze gaan gebruiken.

2026/08/09: Apple has been testing memory chips from China’s CXMT 长鑫存储, according to people familiar with the matter – WSJ: ‘across product lines including iPhones and MacBooks, according to people familiar with the matter, as the U.S. company addresses a memory crunch during the artificial-intelligence boom.’ 🇺🇸

2026/07/31: Chinese military researchers tap US AI models to train defence systems – Reuters 🇺🇸

2026/08/05: China’s commerce ministry targets US firms and drone exports after FCC, Xinjiang actions – Reuters 🇺🇸

2026/08/03: China issues revised regulation on protection of IC layout-designs – Xinhua

2026/08/07: Belgisch helikopterbedrijf, ook in Nederland actief, toch niet overgenomen door China – NOS Nieuws 🇧🇪

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

2026/08/05: Under Patel, FBI forges unprecedented law enforcement ties with China and Russia – Reuters: ‘The partnerships, known internally as "working groups," represent a major break with the past and have raised concerns within the broader counterintelligence community’ 🇺🇸

2026/08/08: The US is burning through weapons in Iran. Russia and China are taking note. – The New York Times: ‘“It’s impossible for that not to have a significant effect on the decision calculus of Russia and China,” said Mr. Karako, who has been tracking U.S. weapons stockpiles. “They may do something quite deliberate and at the time of their choosing, because keep in mind — we’re going to take years to reconstitute.”’ 🇺🇸

2026/08/06: Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby can’t get invited to Beijing – POLITICO: ‘“His number one goal right now is to speak at China’s National Defense University, and he has everyone push it in meetings,” one of the people said. “He’s obsessed.”’ 🇺🇸

2026/08/07: President Donald Trump touted US$3 billion in US investments in critical minerals mining at a meeting Friday with top industry executives aimed at weaning the US off supply chains dominated by China – Bloomberg 🇺🇸

2026/08/06: Two Chinese coast guard personnel marked as ‘martyrs’ after South China Sea collision last year – Reuters: ‘the first apparent acknowledgement of fatalities in the high-profile ‌collision between Chinese vessels. A Chinese coast guard ship collided bow first with a Chinese naval destroyer on August 11 [last year] as they manoeuvred against Philippines coast guard operations’ 🇵🇭

2026/08/07: India says talks with China stressed need for border peace to boost ties – Reuters 🇮🇳

2026/08/05: Nepal overruled its own security agencies to cancel Tibetan studies conference under Chinese pressure, officials say – The Kathmandu Post 🇳🇵

2026/08/03: PRC State Council beefs up framework for exit bans – Safeguard Defenders

China economie

2026/07/12: China’s biggest economic problem is not K-shaped divergence, but an economy that is cold overall – Li Daokui, Translated by Bill Bishop’s Sinocism

2026/08/06: No longer just a producer of cheap consumer goods, China is exporting more high-value items that underpin global manufacturing – WSJ: ‘China’s dominance over greater portions of global supply chains is making the country’s export machine even more formidable—and resilient against tariffs, which tend to target finished goods.’
2026/08/09: China July factory-gate inflation eases to 3-month low, CPI slows – Reuters: ‘China’s producer price inflation eased more than expected in July to its weakest in three months, while consumer inflation also cooled, official data showed on Sunday’
De onbalans versterkt zich alleen maar verder.

China binnenland

2026/07/30: CCP Politburo sets out economic priorities for H2 of 2026 – Xinhua: ‘Pragmatic and effective incremental policies will be timely introduced, the meeting said, urging intensified efforts to step up counter-cyclical adjustments, expand domestic demand and optimize supply, […]’
‘The meeting noted that macroeconomic policies should be more forceful and effective’
2026/07/31: Chinese premier chairs State Council executive meeting – Xinhua: ‘The meeting called for improving the effectiveness of macro policy implementation’
‘It urged efforts to effectively expand domestic demand, including by rolling out a package of strong measures in areas with great potential and strong driving effects, accelerating major projects set out in the 15th Five-Year Plan, […]’
Zie ook de problematische cijfers onder China economie.

2026/07/30: China Focus: 20th CCP Central Committee to hold fifth plenary session in October – Xinhua: ‘the session will study major issues on advancing the Party's full and rigorous self-governance’
Dit is er eentje om in de gaten te houden. Ruim op tijd aangekondigd voor een Plenum, heeft deze als doel om Xi Jinpings disciplinecampagne te kronen een jaar voor de personele opschudding bij het 21ste Partijcongres van oktober 2027?

2026/08/03: Senior CCP official visits prominent experts – Xinhua
Het begin van de strandvakantie van het Chinese leiderschap in Beidaihe. Verwacht ook de komende week nog rust.

2026/08/02: Tibetan Buddhist landmark transformed into racecourse named after Chinese Red Army – Tibet Watch

2026/08/05: Once again, child dies in gene-editing trial in China, rekindling debate on transparency and safety – STAT

2026/08/09: Is China’s party newspaper carrying more stories highlighting women’s role as mothers? – SCMP

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

2026/08/07: Broken Chain: China’s Coast Guard and the Long Game of Isolating Taiwan – CommonWealth Magazine

2026/08/08: Taipei says China’s traffic control order for Taiwan Strait during typhoon is ‘ridiculous’ – Reuters 🇨🇳

2026/08/07: Taiwan’s military drills suggest deeper alignment with the US – AP 🇺🇸
2026/08/06: President Lai takes part in anti-decapitation drill during Han Kuang exercises – Focus Taiwan

2026/08/09: Taiwan’s 2027 defence spending to rise 16%, official media reports – Reuters

Taiwan binnenland en economie

2026/08/07: Interior ministry asks Constitutional Court to dissolve pro-China political party – Focus Taiwan

2026/08/09: Taiwan has never been independent and has never been a country, KMT chair Cheng Li-wun 鄭麗文 says – Taipei Times: ‘“If one day we need to change the status quo, how and in what manner should it be changed? It must align with the will of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” she said.’

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Het lijkt hier niet bij te blijven. Trump is de oorlog tegen Iran aan het verliezen en staat er slecht voor in de aanloop naar de parlementsverkiezingen in november. Zo spreekt men ook over heffingen op generieke medicijnen en strafmaatregelen tegen Canada. In die zin heeft Brussel pech met de timing van de maatregelen tegen de Chinese uitdaging die in oktober verwacht worden, waarna Peking vast ook met een reactie zal komen.

De Nederlandse scheepsbouwer Royal IHC is een van de 14 Europese bedrijven – waaronder Rheinmetall – die door het Chinese handelsministerie op een sanctielijst zijn gezet. Deze bedrijven, die al last hadden van de Chinese beperkingen op zeldzame aardmetalen – mogen nu geen dual-use goederen meer ontvangen uit China. Hiermee reageert Peking op de nieuwste EU-sancties die 14 Chinese bedrijven op een zwarte lijst plaatsten voor hun rol in de omzeiling van sancties op Rusland.

Formeel gezien ben ik vanaf gisteren met verlof tot 17 augustus. De komende twee weken zijn er geen nieuwsbrieven. Het zou kunnen dat ik daarna alsnog enkele nieuwsbrieven verstuur om de tijd te verdrijven, maar ik excuseer me al vast voor de verwachte pauzes. Fijne zomervakantie!

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Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

In deze chipfabriek in Maleisië probeert Nexperia het lek in China te dichten – NRC: „De uitbreiding van de fabriek in Seremban kost Nexperia ruim 300 miljoen euro. Deze investering wordt onder meer bekostigd met een krediet van 60 miljoen euro van de Nederlands staatsinvesteerder Invest International.”
„In het eerste kwartaal haalde de Europese tak van Nexperia van 300 miljoen euro omzet. Het tweede kwartaal vertoont „significante groei” en voor de rest van het jaar lijkt de stijgende lijn door te zetten. Maar de uiteindelijke omzet is nog altijd veel minder dan de 2 miljard van voor de breuk met de Chinese collega’s.”
„ook andere Nexperia-fabrieken vernieuwen: Hamburg is bezig met een moderniseringsslag en in Manchester en de Filippijnen wordt de productie van vermogenschips opgeschaald.” 🇳🇱

EU waters down Russia sanctions over fears China could seize key LNG assets – SCMP: ‘concluding that banning Greek companies from transporting Russian gas to third countries could hand strategically important shipping assets to China.’
‘At the same time, the EU listed 14 mainland Chinese and Hong Kong entities in the sanctions package for their alleged role in flouting Russia bans on dual-use goods originating in Europe or for aiding in Moscow’s war effort’ 🇪🇺🇷🇺
China adds 14 EU entities to export control list – Xinhua: ‘Export operators are prohibited from exporting dual-use items to entities that include Lafert S.p.A., Garnet S.r.l., Sindlhauser Materials GmbH, Rheinmetall AG, Antraco Chemie-Handelsgesellschaft mbH, InPACT S.A. and III-V LAB, according to an announcement released by the ministry.’
Ook het Nederlandse Royal IHC staat op de lijst.

China and EU pushing ahead on joint research despite trade tensions – SCMP: ‘China and the EU have renewed their joint research agreement, according to Chinese state-linked media, signalling a willingness to collaborate on climate and agriculture despite trade tensions.’
‘to support scientific cooperation through to 2027’ 🇪🇺

The European Parliament’s China conundrum – POLITICO Brussels Playbook: ‘Adopting the draft in its current form would have “consequences,” Beijing warned the Parliament, according to a non-S&D parliamentary official. MEPs from other groups accuse the S&D of listening to Beijing and trying to water down and delay the report, which is meant to set out the Parliament’s position on the EU’s relationship with China.’ 🇪🇺

Germany has deported a Uyghur man to China, his mother says – AP: ‘Arafat Adil, 21, a dual Chinese-Turkish national who has lived in Turkey with his family since they moved there from China in 2017 and who was seeking asylum in Germany, was deported from the Frankfurt Airport on Tuesday’ 🇩🇪

President of Slovakia to pay state visit to China – Xinhua 🇸🇰

欧美Z世代何以热衷中国式生活 – 《学习时报》（2026年07月24日 第02版 ） 🇪🇺🇺🇸
In de krant Study Times van de Centrale Partijschool een stuk over propagandawerk in het licht van de sterkte aantrekkingskracht die de Westerse Gen Z zou voelen voor de Chinese levensstijl.

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

Brussel niet onder indruk van Trumps heffingen: „In lijn is met de Amerikaanse tariefafspraken” – BNR Nieuws 🇪🇺🇺🇸
Alom verbazing over Amerikaanse importheffingen voor zestig landen vanwege ‘dwangarbeid’ – de Volkskrant: „Volgens de aankondiging krijgen economieën die al een verbod op dwangarbeid hebben ingevoerd de lagere heffing van 10 procent opgelegd. Hiertoe behoren Canada, de Europese Unie en het Verenigd Koninkrijk. Voor andere landen geldt 12,5 procent. Handelspartners zoals China en Japan vallen in deze categorie.” 🇺🇸
‘We’re getting into an ugly phase’: Trump’s new tariffs are angering voters and US allies alike – POLITICO 🇺🇸
US Congress explores new tariffs and sanctions to counter China’s shipbuilding dominance – SCMP 🇺🇸

Farm products are once again in the crossfire of trade tensions between China and the European Union – Bloomberg 🇪🇺
De investeringen van Xi in de Chinese voedselveiligheid en -onafhankelijkheid gaan we op termijn ook merken op de internationale markten.

If Europe wants to use its trade leverage with China, now is the time – Andreas Mischer for MERICS: ‘New MERICS research shows that China is dependent on twice as many types of products from the European Union as from the US.’
‘At the same time, MERICS data also suggests that Europe’s window of opportunity is closing.’ 🇪🇺
China’s economy in Q2: Domestic woes dampen growth as imbalances intensify –

EU fines Google €890m for competition breaches over search and apps – The Guardian 🇪🇺🇺🇸
Dat is meer dan de €550m voor het Chinese Alibaba.
EU regulator sends charge sheet to JD.com 京东网 over Ceconomy deal – Reuters 🇪🇺
China dreigt met maatregelen na Frans verbod op reclame voor Shein 希音 en TEMU – NU.nl 🇫🇷

Chinese car brands snapped up more than a third of new plug-in hybrid sales in Europe last month, as automakers from the country push those models ahead of any potential tariffs – Bloomberg 🇪🇺
China’s assault on Europe’s car market has barely begun – FT: ‘a new wave of tech-focused Chinese electric-vehicle makers, including [Xiaomi], Xpeng, Li Auto and Huawei-backed Aito, seeking to expand overseas.’ 🇪🇺

Flinke winstdaling bij Volkswagen door Chinese concurrentie – NRC 🇩🇪
Volkswagen is stepping up its development of driver assistance and autonomous technologies to give it an advantage in the cutthroat Chinese auto market – Bloomberg 🇩🇪

Ford and Geely 吉利 strike deal for EV production at Spanish plant, newspaper reports – Reuters: ‘the U.S. automaker will sell part of its Almussafes plant near Valencia, ‌paving the way for Geely to manufacture electric vehicles in Spain’ 🇪🇸🇺🇸

Sweden declares mining national security interest to counter dependence on China – Reuters 🇸🇪

China rare earth export curbs have opened up a huge price gap – Nikkei Asia: ‘rare earth prices in China have remained relatively sluggish over the past year or so. Dysprosium traded at $270 per kilogram on July 9, according to Argus, or one-eighth the European price.’
‘China’s rare-earth output has not declined.’
Australian miner Lynas says China’s export curbs pushing up costs of Malaysia expansion – Nikkei Asia: ‘Beijing has banned the export of rare earth technology as part of a suite of measures designed to entrench its control over the sector’ 🇦🇺🇲🇾

Chinese envoy at UN calls for international efforts to improve natural resource governance – Xinhua: ‘International law grants states permanent sovereignty over their natural resources, and this principle must not be challenged, he said. Certain countries should stop seizing other countries’ resources through sanctions, pressure and military coercion, and must not revert to colonial domination and plunder, he said.’
‘China is in favor of an open, inclusive, fair, equitable, cooperative, win-win, green and clean governance system for critical minerals, Sun said, warning that using the pretext of “de-risking” or “national security” to pursue bloc confrontation and build exclusive “small circles” will only disrupt market order and undermine the common interests of all countries.’ 🇺🇳

Chile hunts for copper buyers beyond China with US$100 billion mining plan – SCMP: ‘in the most explicit move yet by the new government in Santiago to reduce its exposure to Chinese demand.’ 🇨🇱

In Depth: China rethinks the tax rebates that drove its export machine – Caixin Global: ‘By dialing them back for sectors beset by overcapacity and price wars spilling into overseas markets, policymakers are using the tax system to push manufacturers beyond volume-led growth toward higher-value production.’

Techoorlog 💽💥

Samsung 三星 in talks to invest in Mistral at €20bn valuation – FT: ‘Samsung, which had previously backed the group through its venture arm, could invest about €1bn in the new round’
‘reflect a broader push by AI developers to secure partnerships with semiconductor suppliers’ 🇫🇷🇰🇷

US officials threaten to sanction Chinese AI startups after Moonshot AI 月之暗面 release – Nikkei Asia: ‘Chinese open-source models have surged to dominance on OpenRouter, […], mainly due to their lower cost and good performance.’ 🇺🇸
US accuses China’s Moonshot AI 月之暗面 of stealing from Anthropic’s Fable for latest AI model – Reuters: ‘U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday in a separate post on X that he was considering adding Moonshot AI to a ​trade blacklist and imposing sanctions.’
‘Kratsios also said Moonshot AI had acquired servers containing powerful Nvidia AI chips called GB300s and had used them in Thailand, “likely to train its AI models.”’ 🇺🇸

Intel and AMD sign long-term server CPU deals with Chinese clients as prices surge, sources say – Reuters 🇺🇸

Opposition KMT’s drone cuts would deal a blow to industry, Taiwan’s economic affairs ministry says – Taipei Times

Weekend 🏖️📚

Achtergrond en longreads

Why the world trusts China more than America – Edward Luce for FT: ‘A majority of countries rank the US higher than China when it comes to freedom, yet nevertheless distrust it more. Mistrust is thus a synonym for incompetence.’ 🇺🇸

China’s shadowy maritime militia is worryingly active – The Economist: ‘Some fishing boats can get daily subsidies of over 24,000 yuan ($3,500) to loiter in disputed areas, more than enough to cover their costs and allowing owners to profit without doing any fishing.’

Xi’s demands for loyalty are breeding corruption – Deng Yuwen for Foreign Policy

Podcasts

The Actual Governance of China – The Great Power Show 🍎

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

China’s Coast Guard clashed with the Philippines for a third time this week in the South China Sea, as tensions in the disputed waters escalate – Bloomberg 🇵🇭
China’s coast guard says it drove away Philippine vessels near Scarborough Shoal in fresh South China Sea incident – Reuters 🇵🇭
Philippine and Chinese foreign ministers trade protests over South China Sea encounter – Reuters 🇵🇭
The Philippines must make correct decisions as bilateral relations reach crossroads, Chinese FM says – Xinhua 🇵🇭
Chinese ship shoots water cannon at Philippine vessel with CNN crew on board near flashpoint shoal – CNN 🇵🇭

China stands with ASEAN in reinforcing unity against new challenges and uncertainties, Chinese FM Wang says – Xinhua: ‘Stressing that a critical window for finalizing the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea is now open, Wang called on all parties to seize the opportunity, fend off interference, and deliver on that objective.’
Chinese delegation refutes Japan’s false rhetoric regarding Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, and so-called ‘China threat’ – Xinhua 🇯🇵
Chinese delegation calls on international community be more unequivocal against ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activities – Xinhua 🇹🇼

Rubio meets Wang, discusses laying groundwork for Chinese president’s US visit – Reuters 🇺🇸
Chinese FM Wang urges US to properly manage differences, address China’s legitimate concerns – Xinhua 🇺🇸
China and India should consolidate positive momentum in bilateral ties, Chinese FM Wang says – Xinhua 🇮🇳
China’s foreign ministry demands Australia stop ‘exaggerating tensions’ over South China Sea – ABC News: ‘after Penny Wong warned Beijing against “destabilising” conduct in the region.’ 🇦🇺

Chinese diplomats leave Australia’s ruling Labor party conference in Adelaide after requesting Taiwan representatives be ejected – ABC News 🇦🇺

China’s copper mine in Pakistan targeted by militant ‘blockade’ – Nikkei Asia 🇵🇰

Japanese satellite operator seeks Southeast Asia demand on China tensions – Nikkei Asia 🇯🇵

China economie

China’s government spending plunged last month by the most since October, suggesting the government tightened fiscal policy further – Bloomberg

Chinese buyers are snapping up Russia’s flagship ESPO crude weeks earlier than usual, as heightened risks to Middle East oil flows prompt refiners to secure supplies before they’re needed – Bloomberg 🇷🇺

China’s NDRC is restricting real estate companies from using a popular offshore loan structure that has helped some of them weather the country’s property crisis, according to people familiar with the matter – Blomberg

China’s [official urban] unemployment among young people could be headed for levels last seen more than three years ago – Bloomberg

China pivots from new transport projects to upgrades – Caixin Global

China binnenland

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 stresses fostering virtue through education and promoting high-quality basic education – Xinhua: ‘in an instruction on work related to basic education.’
‘He emphasized the importance of fully implementing the Party's educational policy and nurturing a new generation of capable young people with sound moral grounding, intellectual ability, physical vigor, aesthetic sensibility and work skills, who will fully develop socialism and carry forward the socialist cause.’

Senior CCP official Cài Qí 蔡奇 urges Party schools to break new ground in their work – Xinhua

Senior Chinese leader Wáng Hùníng 王沪宁 tours Tibet, stresses ethnic unity and stability – Reuters: ‘“To govern Tibet is foremost to stabilise Tibet,” Wang, 70, said. Efforts must be made to “consolidate a ​political and social environment of unity and stability,” he added.’
Senior CCP official Wáng Hùníng 王沪宁 stresses full implementation of Party’s Xizang [Tibet] governance policies – Xinhua: ‘He said the governance of Xizang should reflect the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law, which took effect on July 1, and called for continuous efforts to guide Tibetan Buddhism to adapt to the socialist society.’

China unveils guidelines to strengthen social work – Xinhua

Extreme rainfall threatens north as China enters peak flood season – Reuters

Hong Kong en Macao

18-year-old convicted of sedition over ‘seditious words’ after national security police stage toilet stakeout – HKFP

Hong Kong man who shared online calls to boycott legislative election handed 2-month suspended jail term – HKFP

Hong Kong customs checks ‘almost every book shipment from Taiwan’ – SCMP 🇹🇼

Macao SAR hosts delegation of Portuguese-speaking countries’ cultural officials – Xinhua

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office reaffirms commitment to providing consular protection to Taiwan compatriots overseas – Xinhua: ‘when asked about the assistance provided by the Chinese Consulate General in Irkutsk to Taiwan tourists injured in a traffic accident near Irkutsk, Russia.’ 🇨🇳🇷🇺

China begins two days of live-fire drills in Taiwan Strait – ‘around Dongshan Island, ‌bordering ⁠the province of Guangdong’ – Reuters 🇨🇳

China using ‘elite capture’ in Pacific, Taiwan’s foreign minister says, citing Papua New Guinea – Focus Taiwan: ‘alleged, without elaborating or providing evidence, that […] China had provided direct benefits to [foreign minister] Tkatchenko.’ 🇨🇳🇵🇬

Taiwan film festival organiser in Bangkok alleges Chinese embassy interference – Kaosod English 🇺🇸🇹🇭

China pulls the plug on historical Taiwan invasion movie – Domino Theory 🇨🇳

DPP delegation meets US House speaker, bipartisan lawmakers in Washington – Focus Taiwan 🇺🇸

Foreign minister asserts Taiwan’s claims in South China Sea – Taipei Times: ‘but said Taipei was not actively asserting those claims. Lin made the comments at a legislative committee meeting on the nation’s South China Sea policy, held in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling on the sea.’

Taiwan binnenland en economie

KMT lawmaker Ma Wen-chun 馬文君 again accused of leaking confidential details about Taiwanese military – New Bloom: ‘According to the MND, KMT legislator Ma Wen-chun, the co-chair of the defense committee in the legislature, had scuppered Taiwan’s plans to acquire RDX through purchase from India by exporting it through the Home-Max Furniture Trading Company.’

KMT motions for NT$295m [€8mn] Control Yuan wages and benefits budget cut – Taipei Times: ‘due to what it said was the nomination of overtly pro-Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) people as Control Yuan members for the next term.’

Retired Navy official detained on suspicion of corruption – Focus Taiwan

Chinese spouse to lose residency after ruling – Taipei Times: ‘for creating immigrant associations sponsored by Chinese “united front” groups and promoting China’s “one country, two systems” agenda.’ 🇨🇳

Taiwan set a target to expand its offshore wind capacity by as much as eightfold by 2039 – Bloomberg

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Daarnaast had Japan klachten over een gezamenlijk Russisch-Chinese marine-oefening, volgens Tokio in de Japanse EEZ. Marineschepen van beide landen schoten met scherp zo’n 180km ten zuidwesten van Okinotori, het meest zuidelijke ‘eiland’ van Japan. Okinotori is een atol die volgens Japans buurlanden op basis van hoe klein het is onder UNCLOS geen recht heeft op een EEZ. Peking en Moskou hebben dus duidelijk gekozen om de Japanse claim uit te dagen – in de boze Chinese reacties op de Japanse verklaring n.a.v. tien jaar uitspraak Zuid-Chinese Zee wees Peking al op Okinotori als voorbeeld van Japans hypocrisie.

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Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

Nexperia probeert afnemers gerust te stellen: levering van chips komt weer op stoom – NRC: ‘„Elke week kunnen we onze klanten meer capaciteit bieden”, zegt interim-bestuurder Stefan Tilger vandaag in een interview met het Duitse Handelsblatt. „Voor het eind van het jaar zullen de grootste knelpunten zijn weggewerkt.”’ 🇳🇱
Nexperia fährt Kapazitäten hoch und will Engpässe rasch beheben – Handelsblatt: „Tilger sagte weiter: ‘Bis zum Jahresende sollten die größten Engpässe aufgelöst sein.’” 🇳🇱

China’s top diplomat Wáng Yì 王毅 stresses overarching positioning of ties with Europe as partnership – Xinhua: ‘should stick to the overarching positioning of ties as a partnership, refrain from politicizing economic and trade issues and overstretching the concept of security in exchanges, and work for an upward and dynamic balance of trade from a long-term perspective’
‘during a meeting with a cross-party delegation of the European Parliament, headed by David McAllister, chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, in Beijing.’ 🇪🇺
Wat mij betreft een duidelijk signaal van het belang dat Peking hecht aan dit moment, dat de delegatieleider met minister Wang mag spreken.
Senior Chinese legislator Vice Chair Lǐ Hóngzhōng 李鸿忠 meets delegation from European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee – Xinhua
China can be a partner for EU in addressing problems on trade, economy, and foreign ministry spokesperson says – Xinhua: ‘when asked to comment on remarks by EU member states' leaders on China.’ 🇪🇺🇩🇪🇫🇷

Czech legislators ‘testing the waters’ with China visit after years of tension – SCMP: ‘Representatives from 40 Czech firms – […] – are also taking part in the five-day visit in the hope of exploring fresh business opportunities.’ 🇨🇿

Hungary’s government investigates deal with China’s BYD 比亚迪 carmaker after ex-foreign minister Péter Szijjártó takes job there – AP: ‘While serving in government, Szijjártó was instrumental in securing foreign investments in Hungary from Chinese companies, including his now-employer BYD, which received considerable state subsidies during his tenure.’ 🇭🇺

President Lai pushes Poland ties for democratic resilience – Taipei Times: ‘while receiving a delegation of Polish members of the European Parliament led by former Polish prime minister Beata Szydlo, who is a member of the European Parliament’s Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield’ 🇵🇱

Chinese Premier Li congratulates Burnham on assuming office as British PM – Xinhua 🇬🇧

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

Can Europe win a trade war with China? It may depend on how victory is defined – SCMP 🇪🇺

China’s shipments of rare-earth magnets to the US remain well below pre-trade war levels despite last year’s truce – Bloomberg: ‘US-bound exports of the crucial industrial components in the first half were about 20% below the average level seen between 2022 and 2024’ 🇺🇸
‘Based on my conversations, exports to the EU may have sunk even lower than this’ – Noah Barkin, Bluesky 🇪🇺
China’s heavy rare earth tap stays closed for Japan in June – Reuters: ‘China sent no ‌gallium, dysprosium, terbium or yttrium to Japan last month, Chinese customs data released on Monday showed. Exports have been tightly throttled for several months.’ 🇯🇵

Chinese helium ban threatens supplies to Europe – FT: ‘While China is not itself a major producer of helium, Russian supplies of the gas had been flowing through the country to Europe, according to analysts.’ 🇪🇺

Brussel legt AliExpress hoge boete op: platform treedt te weinig op tegen kwaadwillende verkopers – de Volkskrant: „AliExpress heeft tot 20 oktober de tijd om een verbeterplan in te dienen.”
„In mei legde de Europese Commissie de Chinese webwinkel Temu al een boete van 200 miljoen euro op voor een vergelijkbaar vergrijp.” 🇪🇺

Cover Story: Europe fortifies against China’s new export juggernaut – Caixin Global: ‘However, the EU lacks a unified front. While France pushes for hardline protectionism, pragmatists like Spain seek to leverage Chinese investment to boost competitiveness, Fudan University’s Yan said. Germany, highly dependent on the Chinese market and raw materials, remains the swing vote.’ 🇪🇺

China’s equipment manufacturing drives export growth in H1 – Xinhua

Hoge energiekosten en concurrentie: Chemelot kijkt met zorg naar toekomst – NOS Nieuws 🇳🇱

Autokonzerne im Rückzugsgefecht: Für die Deutschen stellt sich in China die Existenzfrage – FAZ: „Investieren oder aufgeben: Elektroautos made in Germany sind in China nicht gefragt. VW, BMW und Mercedes müssen ihre Strategie auf dem weltgrößten Automarkt revidieren – und denken sogar an das Äußerste.“ 🇩🇪
German exports of vehicles and auto parts to China continued a multi-year slump in the first five months of 2026 – Bloomberg 🇩🇪
Mercedes-Benz is pushing to water down a proposed law that would ban the company from the US over its partial Chinese ownership – Bloomberg 🇩🇪🇺🇸

EU-Abkommen: Handelsabkommen Mercosur bekommt die ersten Risse – Handelsblatt 🇩🇪🇪🇺

Chinese car sales in Mexico surge despite new tariffs – Reuters 🇲🇽

Techoorlog 💽💥

China weighs tighter export controls on AI models and chips – FT: ‘Regulators led by the Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) have been consulting leading domestic AI and chipmaking groups on how to prevent China’s advanced technologies and star start-ups from being acquired by the west, according to two people involved in the discussions.’
‘China would still let overseas customers access the models and services, however.’

Exclusive: TSMC 台積電 to raise chipmaking prices by up to 10% from 2027 – Nikkei Asia

Taiwan charges ex-TSMC 台積電 employee over attempted tech leak to China – AFP 🇨🇳

US, China to hold AI talks in September, sources say – Reuters 🇺🇸

De vliegende auto is in China bijna geen sciencefiction meer: Beijing ondersteunt ‘ultieme droom van vrij vliegen’ – de Volkskrant

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

The Philippine military said a Navy personnel suffered a serious head injury after China Coast Guard personnel ‘aggressively struck him with wooden baton’ in the disputed South China Sea – Bloomberg 🇵🇭
China and the Philippines trade accusations over South China Sea encounter – Reuters: ‘The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said a Chinese ⁠Coast Guard rigid-hull inflatable boat with eight personnel approached to within close range of its grounded warship on the Second Thomas Shoal and took photos ​and videos.’
‘When two Philippine navy boats moved to drive the Chinese vessel away, its personnel “reacted violently and aggressively by striking Philippine navy personnel with a wooden ​baton.”’ 🇵🇭
Xinhua Commentary: Manila must stop dangerous provocations, infringements in South China Sea – Xinhua: ‘maliciously attacked Chinese law enforcement officers with oars, long poles and other tools.’ 🇵🇭
The Philippines and China summon each other’s envoys over South China Sea incident – Reuters: ‘In a separate statement on Tuesday, the CCG said China permitted the Philippine side to transfer the injured ​personnel through small shuttle ​boats from the ⁠grounded Philippine warship’ 🇵🇭

Early conclusion of consultations on Code of Conduct in South China Sea conducive to regional peace, Chinese FM says – Xinhua

China and Russia navies hold live-fire drills within Japan’s [claimed] EEZ, defence minister says – Kyodo News: ‘about 180 kilometers southwest of Okinotori’ 🇯🇵
Okinotori is een atol die volgens Japans buurlanden geen recht heeft op een EEZ. Peking en Moskou hebben slim gekozen – in de boze Chinese reacties op de Japanse verklaring n.a.v. tien jaar uitspraak Zuid-Chinese Zee wees Peking hier al op als voorbeeld van Japans hypocrisie.

Trump softens tone on alleged China election meddling before Rubio-Wang talks – SCMP 🇺🇸
China and US still in contact on Xi summit trip despite Trump’s election claims, foreign ministry says – SCMP: ‘“Head-of-state diplomacy provides irreplaceable strategic guidance for US-China relations,” Lin said.’ 🇺🇸

US State Department report claims 3 China-linked spy sites in Cuba monitoring American military activity – SCMP 🇺🇸

China’s military mouthpiece issues full-page warning on Japan’s growing drone power – SCMP: ‘PLA Daily said the Shield platform was similar in concept to the “hellscape” scenario that the US military has envisioned for a Taiwan contingency’ 🇯🇵
姚艺彤：警惕日本发展无人战力推进“再军事化” – 《解放军报》（2026年07月20日 第8版）：“殷鉴不远，不可不察。日方政要近期持续鼓吹所谓周边安全威胁、煽动发展‘新型作战手段’，诱导民众支持扩军备战，并在军事安全领域冒进和挑衅动作频频，与当年日本军国主义分子如出一辙。” 🇯🇵

Japan to pay heavy price for wrong judgments on nuclear issues, foreign ministry spokesperson says – Xinhua: ‘in response to a question regarding that since the Takaichi administration came to power, a total of 82 local assemblies across Japan including those in Hiroshima and Nagasaki have submitted written opinions to the central government or the parliament, urging the administration to uphold Japan's Three Non-Nuclear Principles or enshrine them into law.’ 🇯🇵
Japan’s neo-militarism has bared its fangs, Chinese foreign ministry says – Xinhua: ‘Spokesperson Lin Jian said at a daily media briefing that it is extremely rare in Japan's post-World War II history for an incumbent Japanese defense minister to make such highly-provocative and dangerous remarks, adding that the ruling Japanese authorities' ambition to break away from the Three Non-Nuclear Principles and challenge the post-WWII international order has been fully exposed.’ 🇯🇵

Thailand’s PM lodges concerns with China’s Xi over Beijing’s recent delivery of tanks to Cambodia – Bloomberg: ‘citing the fragility of a ceasefire between the Southeast Asian neighbors following last year’s deadly border clashes.’
‘Thai authorities last month said 39 Chinese T-59D battle tanks had been delivered to Cambodia as part of an existing joint military training agreement’ 🇹🇭🇰🇭
Full text: Joint Statement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand towards a China-Thailand Community with a Shared Prosperous Future – Xinhua 🇹🇭

Chinese investments into India have shrunk significantly since 2020 and a recent relaxation of rules may still not be enough to spark a rush of capital, according to a new report – Bloomberg 🇮🇳

The Asia-Pacific region is seeing more destabilising actions, according to Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong, who cited China’s recent missile test and its military buildup as issues where nations want reassurance from Beijing – Bloomberg 🇦🇺

China security partner Solomon Islands to sign US Coast Guard patrol deal – SCMP 🇸🇧🇺🇸

China economie

China’s ‘national team’ buys shares worth US$9bn to prop up market – FT
China is stepping up efforts to stabilise its stock market, mobilising a range of state-linked institutions to stem a tech-driven selloff – Bloomberg
Multiple Chinese SOEs announce share buybacks, dividend payouts amid confidence in capital market – Xinhua

China’s construction pipeline for utility-scale wind and solar plants continues to outrun the rest of the world, even as the risk increases that some of the power generated will be wasted – Bloomberg

China binnenland

Chinese Premier Li chairs State Council executive meeting – Xinhua: ‘heard a report on inspections concerning efforts to expand capacity and improve quality in the service sector, and the planning and construction of six major networks. The meeting also reviewed and approved a plan on intellectual property protection and utilization’

Chinese authorities resume demolition at Larung Gar, the world’s largest Tibetan Buddhist institute – Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy: ‘at least six monastic quarters had been demolished as of 15 July, while Chinese authorities have earmarked approximately 1,060 residences for demolition.’

Hoge literaire prijs in China gaat naar maaltijdbezorger die dicht over penibele werkomstandigheden – de Volkskrant

Hong Kong

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

Travellers in China asked to confirm family members’ military IDs, according to reports – Taipei Times: ‘similar incidents have been reported by Taiwanese judges, police officers and civil servants traveling in China’ 🇨🇳

In apparent first, Chinese PLA chopper crosses Taiwan Strait median line – Focus Taiwan 🇨🇳

Taiwan says Chinese vessel activity jumps, raising fears for Pacific supply routes – Reuters 🇨🇳

Taiwan to slow mobile internet in civil defence drills as China threat grows – Reuters
In Nederland zou er een opstand komen!

KMT submits motion to suspend drone funding – Taipei Times: ‘calling the program “bloat” and questioning its legality. The comprehensive uncrewed vehicle industry development plan seeks to support the growth of a self-sufficient domestic drone industry for national defense through 2030.’
Hier zou de KMT Peking erg blij mee maken.

Taiwan binnenland en economie

KMT lawmaker calls for freeze of premier’s salary – Taipei Times

Confidence in local economy weakens on geopolitical concerns, according to poll – Focus Taiwan

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Noah Barkin schrijft op sociale media wel, dat er Frans-Duitse plannen waren om nu al een gezamenlijke paper te hebben over handelsbeleid t.o.v. China. Alleen zou dat volgens Barkin zijn mislukt door de onverzettelijkheid van het Duitse ministerie van economische zaken. Je hoort elders ook dat de Duitse economieminister nog tegenwerkt met haar ambtenaren, terwijl de rest van Berlijn wel mee zou bewegen.

Er is onrust in de techwereld. Het Chinese Moonshot AI heeft een nieuw model gelanceerd dat hoge ogen gooit. De achterstand van dit Chinese model op de Amerikaanse blijkt nog minder klein. Het nieuws komt kort na de aankondiging door Xi van een nieuwe internationale organisatie voor AI global governance. De aandelenmarkten dalen.

De Chinese propaganda kraait victorie, vooral vanuit de nationalistische hoek. Men is vol van de vermeende superioriteit van het Chinese systeem en de Chinese producten. Van de Amerikaanse kant komen zorgelijke geluiden. Ryan Fedasiuk legt uit, dat de beperkende factor voor de Chinese aanpak ‘compute’ is – rekenkracht. De ‘gesloten’ modellen van Anthropic en OpenAI draaien op eigen grote datacentra. De opensourcemodellen van Chinese leveranciers leggen de verantwoordelijkheid voor het kopen van die dure servers bij degene die het model zelf moet installeren.

Dat doet ertoe, want de beschikbaarheid van rekenkracht in China lijdt behoorlijk onder de Westerse exportcontrolemaatregelen. Ik verwacht daarom grote druk vanuit Chinese en Amerikaanse kant op de bestaande maatregelen, ook de Nederlandse m.b.t. ASML. Het Chinese verhaal zal onterecht stellen dat de maatregelen wel weg kunnen, omdat ze geen zin zouden hebben en vooral eigen innovatie in China stimuleren. Uit Washington zal Europa nog meer druk voelen om Chinese techbedrijven verder af te snijden.

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

EU Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee delegation heads to China raising concerns on AI, rights, and security – The Brussels Times 🇪🇺

Speaker of Czech Republic Chamber of Deputies Tomio Okamura to visit China – Xinhua 🇨🇿

Taiwanese foreign minister Lin Chia-lung 林佳龍 (DPP) reveals Germany trip last month – Taipei Times: ‘Lin wrote about his visit to Germany, including trips to the Berlin Wall and the Hohenschonhausen Memorial, a former prison used by the East German Ministry for State Security (“Stasi”) to hold political prisoners.’ 🇩🇪

歐洲議會邀謝志偉中方跳腳　學者：民主令北京坐立難安 – 中央社
De Chinese ambassade in Brussels zou druk hebben gezet op de organiserende europarlementariër Engin Eroglu over een boekpresentatie van Andreas Fulda over Taiwan met de Taiwanese vertegenwoordiger Shieh Jhy-wey als aanwezige in het EP-gebouw.

Taiwanese foreign ministry affirms EU Foreign Affairs Council document acknowledgement of Chinese dangers – Taipei Times 🇪🇺

Foreign ministry says China will take measures on UK’s nationalisation of British Steel – Reuters: ‘Britain nationalised British Steel on Thursday, fully ⁠taking over the loss-making company ​that was previously owned by ​Chinese private steelmaker Jingye on national security grounds.’ 🇬🇧
China to do what is necessary to protect its rights after UK nationalises British Steel, foreign ministry spokesperson says – Xinhua
China’s commerce ministry firmly opposes UK nationalisation of British Steel – Xinhua 🇬🇧
De zorgen van Londen begonnen met het feit dat de Chinese eigenaar Jingye de Britse staalfabriek zo aan het verwaarlozen was dat hij dreigde te moeten sluiten. Nu Londen stappen onderneemt, wordt Peking boos. Doet me deels denken aan de verwaarlozing van het niet-Chinese deel van Nexperia door eigenaar Wingtech.
Tegelijkertijd wijst Henry Gao er ook terecht op dat Londen aan Washington in 2025 beloofde om aan Amerikaanse eisen te voldoen wat betreft de veiligheid van de leveringsketens van staal en aluminium voor de VS – wat vergelding extra noodzakelijk zou kunnen maken in de ogen van Peking.

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

Germany and France to draw up roadmap on EU-China trade imbalances – Bloomberg: ‘Merz signaled that the ballooning trade deficit with China must be addressed — even as he reiterated that he wanted no new conflict with Beijing. Speaking in sharper terms, Macron warned that Europe is facing an “aggressive” trade war from China.’ 🇩🇪🇫🇷🇪🇺
Paris and Berlin vow to align on tougher trade measures against China – FT: ‘Paris and Berlin have called for new “emergency measures” to shield European industry from surging Chinese imports’ 🇩🇪🇫🇷🇪🇺
‘France & Germany set out last month to put together a joint paper on trade policy towards China. They were unable to do so because of intransigence from the German Economy Ministry, I was told. Instead we got this👇🏼’ – Noah Barkin, Bluesky 🇩🇪🇫🇷🇪🇺

EU submits three papers to advance WTO reform discussions – European Commission: ‘On balancing rights and obligations, the EU is calling for discussions that reflect today’s global economic realities.’
‘On restoring a level playing field, the EU is proposing updates to WTO rules to better address distortive state interventions’ 🇪🇺

Spain’s biggest Chinese industrial investment will rely on workers brought in from China during construction, according to a government report laying out Madrid’s blueprint to bolster auto industry – Bloomberg: ‘says building the €4.1 billion ($4.7 billion) battery factory owned by China’s CATL and carmaker Stellantis NV will rely on “expatriate workers” until the fourth quarter of 2028’ 🇪🇸

Hungary’s US$20 billion electric-vehicle industry, which long enjoyed the protection of ex-premier Viktor Orbán, is facing a reckoning as the country’s new leadership cracks down on environmental violations and looks to raises taxes – Bloomberg 🇭🇺

Airbus won an order from Air China for 15 A350-900 widebody aircraft as well as 40 A320neo series for its Shenzhen Airlines subsidiary – Bloomberg 🇪🇺

Shenzhen’s Inovance 汇川技术 is considering acquisitions in Europe, signalling the Chinese company is readying a push to compete in Europe with industrial incumbents like Siemens and top auto supplier Bosch – Bloomberg

Techoorlog 💽💥

Chinese AI pioneer Moonshot AI 月之暗面 touts a model that performs on par with some of the top-tier platforms from OpenAI and Anthropic – Bloomberg: ‘the latest sign that the Asian country’s artificial intelligence labs are closing a technology gap with the US.’
Tech stocks tumbled after Moonshot AI 月之暗面 released a new model – Bloomberg: ‘AI and semiconductor stocks tumbled on investor concerns that the rise of China’s AI businesses could force US leaders such as Anthropic to pull back on their investments.’
China’s latest AI breakthrough threatens America’s lead – The New York Times: ‘experts say the recent advances by Moonshot and Z.ai cannot be explained by distillation alone. Years of operating under export controls have forced Chinese companies to innovate within tight computing constraints.’ 🇺🇸
China has caught up in frontier AI: What’s left is an industrial systems competition – Ryan Fedasiuk for AEI: ‘On the other hand, the race is now on to build industrial quantities of computational power needed to serve these models at scale. To serve K3 to millions of monthly active users, Moonshot will likely spend billions of dollars on chips and energy to power them—chips that Chinese companies still struggle to produce at scale.’

China’s foreign ministry brushed off allegations that the country distills foreign technology, after US firms including Anthropic said Chinese rivals illicitly extract results from top American models to advance their own capabilities – Bloomberg 🇺🇸

The CIA’s man in Abu Dhabi was sent in to spy on the ‘spy sheikh’—and went on to play a role in the UAE’s AI win – WSJ: ‘While conducting espionage against powerful sheikh’s tech company, Jonny Gannon helped Gulf country quash Washington suspicions about China ties’ 🇦🇪🇺🇸

Medewerkers ASML krijgen aandelenpakket van 20.000 euro als ze er tot 2030 werken – NOS Nieuws 🇳🇱

Powertech 力成 plans joint venture with Broadcom in Singapore – Focus Taiwan 🇺🇸🇸🇬

US Federal employees can download TikTok on government devices, DOJ says – Reuters: ‘citing a deal by TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance to ​transfer control of the app's U.S. user data and operations to the ​joint venture TikTok USDS’ 🇺🇸

Chinese regulator tells automakers to boost safety, quality checks – Reuters

China Focus: Tech tours emerge as new magnet for global visitors to China – Xinhua: ‘As the “China Travel” trend continues to gain momentum, a growing number of international tourists, many visiting under China's visa-free entry policies, are flocking to the country for an eye-opening tech-focused itinerary.’

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

Trump beschuldigt China in speech vol ongegronde beweringen van manipulatie Amerikaanse verkiezingen – de Volkskrant 🇺🇸
China’s foreign ministry rejects Trump’s election meddling claims as ‘fabricated’ and ‘slanderous’ – SCMP: ‘Trump also alleged that China had paid US journalists to write negative articles about his administration during his first term.’ 🇺🇸
Als hij dit echt zou menen en/of geloven, dan zouden de vergaande beschuldigingen grote gevolgen moeten hebben voor de bilaterale betrekkingen tussen China en de VS. Dat lijkt er niet op.

China shares that the US has restored privileges for Hong Kong that Trump revoked in 2020, describing the move as an important step toward improving ties – Bloomberg: ‘The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a statement Friday that Executive Order 13936 on Hong Kong Normalization has expired.’ 🇺🇸🇭🇰
China’s commerce ministry welcomes US decision not to extend Hong Kong-related national emergency – Xinhua: ‘During China-U.S. economic and trade consultations in Madrid last year, the United States made commitments on issues including Hong Kong and investment.’ 🇺🇸🇭🇰

Secretary Rubio expected to discuss Trump-Xi summit in ASEAN meetings in Manila – Reuters: ‘It said Rubio will also ⁠meet with senior government officials from Indo-Pacific countries in a trip lasting until next Thursday.’ 🇺🇸
US congressional advisory panel heads to China to examine national security implications of trade relationship – SCMP 🇺🇸

Husband of Code Pink founder being investigated under federal foreign agent and tax laws – CBS News 🇺🇸

Probe of Alibaba 阿里巴巴 unearthed evidence it knowingly let dangerous drugs be sold to US consumers—but DOJ did not prosecute – CBS News: ‘Instead, the case was recently resolved for $600 million in penalties and forfeitures and a non-prosecution agreement’ 🇺🇸

Inside the Chinese fraud rings stealing billions from banks and retailers – CNBC 🇺🇸

China’s foreign ministry calls US visa regulations ‘discriminatory’, threatens countermeasures – Reuters 🇺🇸

ICE arrests human rights lawyer who fled Chinese crackdown – The Guardian 🇺🇸

Philippines condemns Chinese state media’s ‘racist’ AI-generated video depicting Filipinos as monkeys – Reuters: ‘a monkey dressed in Filipino attire being directed by arms representing the United ​States and Japan on what to sing.’ 🇵🇭

Commerce minister Wang said China hopes Indonesia can provide a stable and transparent policy environment for its mineral sector, as the two countries deepen economic ties – Bloomberg: ‘follows months of policy uncertainty under President Prabowo Subianto.’ 🇮🇩

Think-tank claiming to be Singapore-based used AI profiles to target analysts, intelligence community – The Straits Times 🇸🇬

Chinese leader Xi urges Thailand and Cambodia to settle long-running border dispute – SCMP: ‘after meeting both countries’ leaders on the same day.’
‘Beyond the border issue, Xi called for deeper strategic coordination with both countries’ 🇰🇭🇹🇭

Senior Chinese delegation visits North Korea’s Wonsan Kalma resort, KCNA says – Reuters 🇰🇵

Chinese medical team launches hybrid TCM nursing training in Sierra Leone – Xinhua 🇸🇱
Het is een probleem dat Peking steeds actiever deze kwakzalverij verspreidt via ontwikkelingssamenwerking of binnen de WHO.

China economie

Chinese leaders zero in on need for stimulus for economy – FT: ‘The leaders are expected to focus on speeding up bond issuance at their next Politburo meeting to enable greater infrastructure spending in an economy in which exports are performing strongly but domestic demand is weak.’
Why China’s soaring export numbers and tech prowess hide a brutal economy and a growing army of underemployed workers at home – WSJ

China plans to end a decade-long consumption tax exemption for solar and lithium-ion batteries – Bloomberg
China’s solar cell exports fell for a second month in June, an indication that overseas demand is weakening after a surge in shipments earlier in the year – Bloomberg

China’s oil imports have plunged during the Iran war. How much will they recover? – Reuters: ‘Market observers are ​puzzled over how the world's biggest oil importer achieved that reduction and want to know how permanent the drop in demand is.’

China binnenland

Landslide buries residents in southwest China’s Chongqing – Reuters
Central government warned China’s flood-control situation remains ‘severe and complex’ as the country’s main rain belt shifted south again, prompting authorities to step up disaster preparedness - Bloomberg

Senior CCP official Li Xi urges tackling misconduct, corruption that affect people – Xinhua: ‘during an inspection tour in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality from Wednesday to Friday.’
‘At a sci-tech industrial park affiliated with China Changan Automobile Group’
‘visited Southwest University of Political Science and Law’

Chinese social media accounts ‘profit from leaking official corruption scandals’ – SCMP: ‘The trend had created a new challenge for Chinese law enforcement, state-run journal Banyuetan reported on Friday.’

Chinese Politburo member Mǎ Xìngruì 马兴瑞’s downfall exposes shadowy network tied to Evergrande 恒大 and Vanke 万科 – Caixin Global: ‘a sprawling political-business syndicate that extracted billions of yuan from real estate deals and dumped toxic assets onto property giant China Vanke’

Chinese blogger jailed for fabricating Xiaomi 小米 EV video claims, state media say – Reuters

Former China Development Bank president put under anti-graft investigation – Reuters

Chinese vice premier He calls for developing Inner Mongolia as gateway for opening up to north – Xinhua: ‘He called for deepening bilateral and multilateral economic and trade cooperation, and advancing Belt and Road cooperation and the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor.’ 🇷🇺🇲🇳

China’s hospitals are turning patient data into a cash cow – Caixin Global

China unveils five-year plan to bolster soil, groundwater, and rural environment protection – Xinhua

China Focus: Tradition meets academia: the new Hanfu look of Chinese graduation gowns – Xinhua

Hong Kong

‘Law is clear’: Booksellers must ensure books are lawful, says security chief Chris Tang 鄧炳強 after arrests – but won’t give list of banned titles – HKFP: ‘Tang said on Thursday that the government would not make a list of banned books, as offenders could avoid detection by changing the wording of titles.’

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

Democratic Taiwan must not become ‘China’s Taiwan’, President Lai says – Reuters: ‘calling on members of his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to oppose the “red terror” coming from Beijing.’ ‘Speaking to the ​DPP’s annual convention’ 🇨🇳

Taiwan’s foreign ministry drops Cambodia from visa facilitation programs, extends others – Focus Taiwan: ‘the ministry said Cambodia had failed to reciprocate Taiwan’s goodwill and had instead echoed China in statements undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty.’
‘Cambodia’s links to recent cross-border fraud cases have also raised public concern, the ministry said.’ 🇰🇭

Taiwan reviewing gas imports after Papua New Guinea orders office closure – Focus Taiwan 🇵🇬
US says it is ‘deeply concerned’ by PNG closure of Taiwan office – Reuters 🇵🇬🇺🇸

President Lai urges quick drone budget approval – Taipei Times

Taiwan binnenland en economie

KMT Taipei councillor Lee Fu Chung-wu 李傅中武 indicted over alleged assistant subsidy fraud – Focus Taiwan

KMT to rally in Taipei on July 25 over tainted Central Union cooking oil scandal – Focus Taiwan
KMT targets agency funds amid cooking oil scandal – Taipei Times: ‘The operating budgets of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Ministry of Health and Welfare should be cut from next month through December in response to the Central Union Oil Corp tainted cooking oil scandal, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers said yesterday.’
Cabinet to introduce food safety law amendments amid oil scandal – Focus Taiwan

KMT lawmaker proposes gutting culture budget – Taipei Times

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Het benoemen is in de praktijk een kleine stapje, maar het is wél een stap. Het is diplomatiek een serieuze stap wanneer zulke klare taal nu ook door de lidstaten wordt geaccordeerd. Buitenland- en veiligheidsbeleid ligt bij de lidstaten, dus Brussel kan alleen handelen met goedkeuring. Deze woordkeuze kwam eerder voor bij de NAVO maar bij eurocraten enkel achter de schermen. Nu kunnen ambtenaren in Brussel hier openlijker over spreken en naar handelen.

Deze stap is niet alleen een belangrijk signaal over de richting van de aankomende eerste EU-veiligheidsstrategie, later dit jaar. Er lopen natuurlijk tot oktober ook nog gesprekken tussen Peking en Brussel over de handelsproblematiek. De economische veiligheidsdreiging die uitgaat van het Chinese industriebeleid versterkt in de praktijk ook de harde veiligheidsimpact die China op Europa heeft – o.a via Rusland. Gaan de twee onderwerpen nu ook meer aan elkaar gekoppeld worden?

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten set to visit China next spring, sources say – SCMP: ‘It would be Jetten’s first trip to Beijing since taking office in February’
‘A visit to China by Dutch Economy Minister Heleen Herbert this autumn was also under consideration, one of the sources said on Wednesday, with that visit largely dependent on the outcome of the Dutch Enterprise Chamber’s investigation into Wingtech’s management of Nexperia.’ 🇳🇱

EU accuses China of seeking to reshape global order in stark new strategy paper – SCMP: ‘The paper, which was adopted by the EU’s 27 foreign ministers on Monday without any announcement, accuses Beijing of being both a “key enabler” and “crucial enabler” of Russia’s war on Ukraine, language previously used by Nato.’ 🇪🇺🇷🇺
Common Understanding – The Threats and Challenges We Face: Assessment of the EU’s Strategic Environment – PSC/COPS Council of the European Union ST‑11631/26: ‘With its unprovoked aggression against a peaceful neighbour – Ukraine – Russia has shattered the post-Cold War security architecture of Europe. It constitutes the most immediate and direct threat to European security, with China as key enabler of its aggression against Ukraine and collaboration with actors such as Belarus, Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).’ 🇪🇺

China’s MSS think tank CICIR warns in report against European-led Nato 3.0 expansion in the Asia-Pacific – SCMP: ‘The transition of the North Atlantic military alliance to a more Europe-led “Nato 3.0” will fail to heal deep-seated strategic rifts between Washington and the European capitals’
‘“Nato 3.0 … will further expose the contradiction between US hegemony and European autonomy, leaving the alliance increasingly out of step with a multipolar world,” the report said.’ 🇪🇺
【现代院报告】“北约3.0”由虚入实 – 中国现代国际关系研究院: „Recentelijk hebben enkele NAVO-lidstaten de defensie- en militaire samenwerking met landen in de Aziatisch-Pacifische regio, zoals Japan, zelfs versneld, […], wat de veiligheidssituatie in andere regio’s ernstig verstoort. […] ‘NAVO 3.0’ heeft niets veranderd aan de essentie van de NAVO als instrument voor de VS om haar hegemonie te claimen en te verdedigen” 🇪🇺
Global views of China and Xi improve as perceptions of US decline, Pew survey finds – SCMP

Ukraine to buy Chinese drone parts with EU funds – FT: ‘Kyiv has obtained a carve-out for part of a €6bn tranche to purchase drone components from China, according to two people familiar with the decision.’ 🇺🇦🇪🇺

Czech citizen detained in China suspected of endangering national security – Reuters: ‘as [Beijing] demanded ‌the release of one of its citizens awaiting trial in the Czech Republic on charges of working for Beijing intelligence.’ 🇨🇿

Hongaarse oud-buitenlandminister Péter Szijjártó aan de slag bij Chinese autofabrikant BYD 比亚迪 waarmee hij deal sloot onder Orbán – de Volkskrant 🇭🇺
Onbegrijpelijke keuze van BYD. Behalve Moskou, in welke Europese hoofdstad is Szijjártó nog welkom? Minsk?

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is finally showing some openness to backing the European Union’s push against China – Bloomberg: ‘After months of publicly warning about the risks of a trade war, the Christian Democratic Union politician is coming round to accept the need for action to tackle an ever-widening goods deficit and Beijing’s associated economic policies, according to people familiar with the matter.’ 🇩🇪🇪🇺

German engineering body VDMA urges broader EU duties and tougher action on China – Reuters: ‘In an updated position paper, the industry group said the European Commission’s current practice ​of investigating market distortions product by product was too slow to address competitive disadvantages faced ​by European manufacturers.’ 🇩🇪🇪🇺
VDMA-Präsident zu China: „Die EU muss uns helfen, einen Schild vor die anfliegenden Pfeile zu halten“ – FAZ: „Der VDMA bleibt ordoliberal, aber ich würde diese Ordnungspolitik gern zu einer robusten Ordnungspolitik weiterentwickeln. Es braucht auch mal einen Ellbogencheck, wenn ein Handelspartner nicht fair spielt.“ 🇩🇪🇪🇺
China Position: ‘The EU must tackle anti-competitive practices from China more effectively’ – VDMA: ‘Countervailing duties at product group level and reversal of the burden of proof’ 🇩🇪🇪🇺
German state minister says higher tariffs could boost Chinese interest in VW plant –Reuters 🇩🇪🇪🇺

EU chemical sector buried by China imports urge Brussels to act fast – Nikkei Asia: ‘“Part of the industry is already going,” Rudy Miller, vice president of Belgian chemicals business Vynova, told Nikkei Asia.’
‘Chinese chemical exports to Europe have risen 182% since 2020, while chemical plant closures in the region have surged sixfold, according to Cefic’ 🇪🇺

EU Commission readies crisis team for China rare earths stand-off – FT: ‘The group of European Commission officials from leading departments will aim to predict and respond to future emergencies’
‘One of the officials said China was only part of the focus of the new group, which should first meet in September.’ 🇪🇺
China’s rare earth curbs endanger US$6.5 trillion of Western industry, IEA says – Reuters: ‘The U.S. and Europe would account for nearly half of the economic impact, the report added.’

EU pilots €14.5m plan to retrain car workers facing unemployment challenges – The Brussels Times: ‘The pilots sit under a new initiative called the Skills Guarantee, one of the actions under the Commission’s “Union of Skills” programme.’ 🇪🇺

Trump administration officials are complaining that China isn’t honouring a key trade pact, but they’re staying quiet to avoid plunging the countries back into a trade war – Bloomberg: ‘Reopening access to critical minerals and rare earths, crucial for US companies manufacturing a wide range of products including cars and fighter jets, was a central objective of the pact Trump struck with Chinese President Xi Jinping last year in South Korea.’ 🇺🇸

Brazil is starting to feel the impact of China’s beef import quota – Bloomberg 🇧🇷

Techoorlog 💽💥

ASML lifted its annual sales forecast for the second time this year as a surge in artificial intelligence spending drives demand for the Dutch company’s chip-making machines – Bloomberg 🇳🇱
ASML working to cut the time it takes to build and test its advanced lithography tools in its factories by about a third – Bloomberg 🇳🇱
ASML plans price increases for chipmaking equipment, despite TSMC 台積電 resistance – The Information 🇳🇱
Bij techbedrijf ASML lijken de bomen tot in de hemel te groeien, maar blijft dat wel zo? – de Volkskrant: „ASML verwacht dit jaar 20 procent van zijn omzet uit China te halen, een hap daaruit kan miljarden euro’s kosten. Pijnlijk, maar niet genoeg om de groei te stoppen, zegt Hesselink. ‘De vraag naar machines is zo groot dat als ze niet naar China mogen, ze wel ergens anders heen gaan.’” 🇳🇱
Die doemverhalen dat de exportcontrolemaatregelen tegen China ‘ons’ ASML zouden opofferen aan Washington zijn niet helemaal waar gebleken…

Chipmaker TSMC 台積電 maakt gigawinst en gaat nog eens 100 miljard dollar investeren in de VS – NRC

EU okays €659m German semiconductor funding amid races for tech independence – The Brussels Times 🇩🇪🇪🇺

Twenty-nine countries, including Russia, have joined the China-led World AI Cooperation Organization, as Beijing steps up its bid to rival the US in shaping artificial intelligence – Bloomberg
29 countries sign agreement on establishing World AI Cooperation Organization – Xinhua: ‘The WAICO will be an independent intergovernmental international organization headquartered in Shanghai, according to the agreement.’
‘including Kazakhstan, Laos, Pakistan, Russia and Indonesia’ 🇰🇿🇱🇦🇵🇰🇷🇺🇮🇩

Chinese in the driver’s seat? India-China reset hits a bump on New Delhi’s streets – SCMP: ‘Indian government pulls the plug on Chinese battery apps after e-rickshaws are stopped in their tracks’ 🇮🇳

Weekend 🏖️📚

Achtergrond en longreads

Beyond Borders: Chinese use of foreign interference tactics in Dutch strategic industries – Benedetta Girardi and Hans Horan for the China Knowledge Network 🇳🇱
China targets strategic sectors in Netherlands, report warns, citing ASML – Nikkei Asia 🇳🇱

When China’s open-source AI is a trap – The Economist’s The Telegram

China and the new era of critical minerals diplomacy – FT: ‘One executive at a large Japanese user of rare earths says China wants to keep companies in a “neither alive nor dead” state, by supplying them with the minimum needed’

How China is winning friends and influencing people: Private companies are making Beijing look good in the developing world – Lizzi C Lee and Eric Olander for Foreign Affairs

Podcasts

Out of Battery? China’s EV Dreams Flicker – The Little Red Podcast 🍎

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

Chinese foreign vice-minister Mǎ Zhāoxù 马朝旭 set for US visit in ‘temperature test’ for Xi – SCMP: ‘According to the sources, a stop in Miami – host city of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in December – was also likely to be on the itinerary.’ 🇺🇸
Continuously Promote the Building of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind – Mao Zhaoxu in People’s Daily, Translated by Bill Bishop’s Sinocism

Panama officials visit Beijing in bid to end shipping row – FT: ‘Beijing stopped four times more Panama-flagged ships in the four months to the end of June than in the year before’ 🇵🇦🇺🇸

US Coast Guard ships previously deployed in the Middle East are now operating out of Singapore and the Philippines to help challenge China’s assertion of power in the Pacific – WSJ: ‘command and logistics for the cutters are handled out of Singapore and that the vessels are rotating through Subic Bay.’ 🇺🇸🇸🇬🇵🇭

RSF and Safeguard Defenders urge Thailand to halt forcible return of Chinese journalist Bai Zhaodong to China – Reporters Without Borders 🇹🇭

China-backed Saindak Copper-Gold Project mine threatens Pakistan shutdown over security risk – FT: ‘a worsening insurgency in the restive province of Balochistan may force it to suspend operations.’ 🇵🇰

Senior Chinese and North Korean officials hold talks in Pyongyang, KCNA reports – Reuters 🇰🇵

2026 SCO Dialogue of Civilizations highlights mutual learning – Xinhua

China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty and opposing external interference, foreign ministry spokesperson says– Xinhua 🇨🇺🇺🇸

ICC must be independent and impartial regarding Sudan’s Darfur, Chinese UN envoy says – Xinhua: ‘The ICC should respect the judicial sovereignty of the states concerned, he said.’ 🇸🇩

NED experts fear ‘great democratic depression’ as China gains ground globally – Nikkei Asia

Chinese envoy at UN calls for efforts to safeguard political stability in West Africa and Sahel – Xinhua

China economie

China’s [official] Q2 economic growth cools to 3-1/2-year low as imbalances worsen – Reuters: ‘At 4.3%, gross ‌domestic product growth in April-June eased from the first quarter’s 5.0%, landing below the lower end of China’s 4.5% to 5.0% full-year target.’
Altijd in het hoofd blijven houden dat instellingen als Rhodium grote vraagtekens plaatsen bij de officiële Chinese groeicijfers.

China’s record consumer defaults undermine Beijing’s push to boost spending – Reuters: ‘Consumer loan defaults have soared to record highs, and analysts expect the situation to worsen as lower-income ​Chinese in particular sink deeper into debt. It comes with Beijing actively encouraging consumers to borrow and spend as part of a years-long effort to pivot the stuttering, two-speed economic recovery ​towards domestic demand.’

China’s new home prices fell at a slower pace in June, fuelling hopes that the battered real estate market is stabilising – Bloomberg
Hoe vaak heeft Bloomberg deze kop al geschreven?

China’s coal production cratered in June after a deadly mine explosion sparked widespread safety inspections across one of the country’s key mining hubs – Bloomberg

China’s auto market is being flooded with hundreds of model launches and refreshes – Bloomberg

China binnenland

Media Freedoms Report 2025: ‘The New Abnormal’ – FCCC
Legacy of Edgar Snow: Contemporary Value and Inspiration to the World – Xinhua Institute

Xi Focus: Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 stresses high-quality urban renewal in Shanghai inspection trip – Xinhua

China investigates retired top media censor – Reuters

Behind Bars: Survey reveals exploitation and violence in Chinese prisons – Safeguard Defenders

Hong Kong

Hong Kong national security police raid two independent bookstores, arrest five for alleged sedition – HKFP: ‘Police investigation found that the five had displayed and sold items carrying seditious intent.’

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

China aims to derail Taiwan’s drone efforts, source tells [pro-DPP paper] Liberty Times – Taipei Times: ‘that Chinese officials and their intermediaries in May and last month gave detailed instructions to opposition politicians to derail Taiwan’s efforts to develop uncrewed systems.’
‘claims that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) called “false and malicious.”’ 🇨🇳

Two Taiwanese police officers report of interrogation during trip in China – Taipei Times: ‘The two were forcibly relocated from their lodgings to an unknown location by Chinese personnel during their travels and questioned about Taiwan’s organizational structure regarding infrastructure development and other information due to their affiliation with certain unnamed units’ 🇨🇳

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office rejects DPP attempts to define cross-Strait status quo under new ‘two states’ theory – Xinhua: ‘when asked about comments by politicians from Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who accused the mainland of changing the status quo through military and non-military actions.’ 🇨🇳

Chinese barge captain not prosecuted over Dongyin subsea cable damage – Focus Taiwan 🇨🇳

Taiwan’s foreign ministry protests Papua New Guinea’s decision to close its representative office, vows to reassess ties – Focus Taiwan: ‘The decision underscored the government of Papua New Guinea’s commitment to honor the country’s fundamental one China policy, according to the statement.’ 🇵🇬

DPP caucus leader Tsai Chi-chang 蔡其昌 to lead US delegation next week focused on security and trade – Focus Taiwan 🇺🇸
Mayoral candidate Puma Shen 沈伯洋 (DPP) to visit US, says he would not be ‘silenced’ – Taipei Times 🇺🇸

Taiwan orders dozens of sea drones to fend off China’s maritime squeeze – Nikkei Asia

Taiwan binnenland en economie

China-born candidates face new election rules – Taipei Times

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

De nieuwste statistieken uit China laten nog altijd zien dat export groeit terwijl binnenlandse vraag problemen houdt. De druk op Peking blijkt wel uit het speciale nieuwe vijf-jaarplan voor het doen stijgen van consumptie. Binnenlandse vraag blijft zwak. De Chinese econoom Li Daokui komt via een eigen berekening uit op een werkloosheid van 10,2% terwijl een buitenlandse auto-expert spreekt over een krimp van 20% van de Chinese automarkt in de eerste helft van 2026.

Kan AI de Chinese economie redden? Het is in ieder geval ook geopolitiek belangrijk. Xi Jinping gaat spreken op de door China georganiseerd ‘World AI Conference’. Dr. Xi zal geen technologische innovaties lanceren. Het onderwerp wordt waarschijnlijk zijn nieuwe ‘Global AI Governance Initiative’. Peking wil graag de bepalende factor zijn in de mondiale regelgeving en organisatie van het nieuwe gebied van kunstmatige intelligentie.

Bij deze poging zal Peking goed gebruik gaan maken van het zogeheten ‘Mondiale Zuiden’. De propaganda-uitingen die ter voorbereiding van de conferentie uitkomen spreken veel over delen en eerlijkheid en ontwikkeling. China kan hierbij gebruik maken van de populariteit van de voor minder rijke landen toegankelijkere Chinese AI-modellen. Daarnaast speelt Xi zijn mondiale spel graag via de bestaande VN-systemen – waar het vaak een meerderheid van medestanders heeft, zeker nu Trumps VS zich terugtrekt.

Voor Europa en Nederland is het dus de zaak om scherp te blijven op welke regels China introduceert en waar. De EU heeft al te maken met de dominantie van de Amerikaanse Big Tech op de commerciële markt. Als China nu ook nog eens de toon gaat zetten op multilateraal vlak, zitten het continent helemaal klem.

Het gezuiverde Politburo-lid Ma Xingrui, de voormalige Xinjiang-chef, is nu formeel uit de Chinese Communistische Partij gezet door de discipline-inspectie, wegens corruptie. Hij wordt onder andere beschuldigd van het ruilen van gunsten voor seks en het helpen van familieleden. Hij zou ook een oogje hebben toegeknepen bij corruptie van de mensen onder hem.

Dat er geen politieke redenen zijn bijgehaald, betekent niet dat deze afwezig waren. De echte reden weten we (nog?) niet. Behalve Ma werd uit dit 20ste Politburo in oktober 2023 al de generaal He Weidong verwijderd. De eveneens gezuiverde voormalige legerbaas Zhang Youxia is formeel nog steeds lid, want zijn onderzoek is nog niet afgerond.

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

Antwoord op vragen van het lid De Roon (PVV/PfE) over strafbaarstelling van kritiek op de Chinese regering – Minister Berendsen, Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal: „Nederland heeft als uitgangspunt dat ieder land verantwoordelijk is voor zijn eigen wetgeving en is dus geen voorstander van extraterritoriale wetgeving.” 🇳🇱
Dezelfde woordkeuze bij deze Chinese wet voor etnische eenheid als bij het Amerikaanse chipwetsvoorstel MATCH.

Defensie zet zinnen op scherfvesten van Chinees-Israëlische makelij, en dat schiet Nederlandse industrie in verkeerde keelgat – De Telegraaf: „beschermende scherfvesten van een Israëlisch bedrijf met daarin Chinese supervezels.” 🇳🇱
Kamervragen gesteld door D66, CDA, en Groep Markuszower.

China and Russia wrap up joint naval exercise – Xinhua: ‘Following the conclusion of the drills, some of the two countries' participating forces have set sail for the Pacific to carry out joint patrols.’
‘Launched on July 6, the “Joint Sea-2026” is the twelfth in the series dating back to 2012.’ 🇷🇺

Wie China ausländische Korrespondenten schikaniert – FAZ: „Die Vereinigung der Auslandskorrespondenten in China (FCCC) berichtet, wie die chinesischen Behörden ausländische Journalisten an ihrer Arbeit hindern.“ 🇩🇪

Lithuania’s new PM Mindaugas Sinkevičius (LSDP/S&D) says allowing Taiwan’s de-facto embassy was ‘maybe too brave’ – Reuters: ‘The ​manifesto of the government of Sinkevicius, which was voted through on Tuesday, clearing the way ⁠for him to become prime minister, includes the goal to “normalise” the relationship [with China]’ 🇱🇹

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

EU signals emergency import curbs after dramatic growth in Chinese trade gap – SCMP: ‘Safeguard measures that permit tariffs and quotas to be enforced to combat sudden import surges may “become legitimate on a case-by-case basis”, Denis Redonnet told the European Parliament’s trade committee.’
‘He confirmed the South China Morning Post’s reporting that at a ministerial meeting last month, Beijing had offered to make purchase commitments to reduce the deficit “in particular where trade is taking place via government procurement or state trading”.’ 🇪🇺

China’s trade surplus with the EU climbed to a fresh high, keeping the issue of growing imbalances high on the agenda as the bloc weighs new measures to shield local industries – Bloomberg: ‘China’s surplus with the bloc rose 27% from a year earlier to $32.9 billion in June, according to Chinese customs data released on Tuesday. The country’s surplus with Germany more than doubled year-on-year while plunging 81% with France.’ 🇪🇺
China’s monthly car exports surge past 1mn for first time – FT: ‘Shipments of cars rose 71.2 per cent from a year earlier to 1.06mn, putting the country on track to export more than 10mn cars this year, up from 7.1mn last year and more than double the 4.9mn in 2023.’

Address by H.E. Ambassador Cài Rùn 蔡润 at the Seminar on China-EU Cooperation on Green Transition – Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the European Union 🇪🇺
Geen onvertogen woord of open dreigement in deze toespraak bij Europe Jacques Delors.

China’s yuan is still undervalued versus the euro despite its recent gains, and that’s contributing to a wider EU trade deficit, according to Deutsche Bank – Bloomberg: ‘The yuan is around 15% below its fair value against the shared currency, compared with 20% a year ago, […], Deutsche Bank strategist Shreyas Gopal wrote in a report published Monday.’ 🇪🇺
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reinforced a call for dialogue with China to address concerns that the world’s second-largest economy is shoring up an unfair trade advantage by keeping its currency artificially low – Bloomberg: ‘Merz, who was asked about Chinese trade, said the yuan has been undervalued by 25% “for years,” in comments to students at Cologne University on Monday.’ 🇩🇪

Chinese medical device makers push into Europe as anti-corruption squeeze bites at home – SCMP: ‘Fiscal pressures in recent years on European governments have made them more receptive to Chinese medical devices that offer stronger cost-performance advantages than rivals.’ 🇪🇺

BMW races to catch up in a Chinese EV market that won’t slow down – Reuters 🇩🇪
China’s automakers squeezed as materials suppliers rake in profits – Nikkei Asia:‘Rising materials costs are denting the bottom lines of price war-plagued Chinese electric vehicle makers’

EU foreign subsidy rule (FSR) may focus more on bigger deals amid red tape concerns – Reuters: ‘could ​be revised to let regulators focus on larger ‌deals after concerns were raised about excessive red tape, the European Commission said on Tuesday.’ 🇪🇺

A new, Beijing-backed mining investment vehicle is aimed at bolstering China’s grip on overseas resources, as the country pushes back against US and European efforts to curb its dominance of the mineral supply chain – Bloomberg

Techoorlog 💽💥

Chip toolmaker ASML expected to shine light on capacity and China challenges on Wednesday – Reuters

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 will make his first appearance at China’s flagship AI conference next week, signalling the growing importance Beijing attaches to the technology[’s governance] – Bloomberg
Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 to attend opening ceremony of 2026 World AI Conference, deliver keynote speech – Xinhua: ‘President Xi will systemically elaborate on China's policies, position, visions and propositions on AI development and governance’
Verwacht nieuw detail over Pekings plannen om de mondiale regulering van AI verder vorm te geven.

AI is not enough to arrest China’s decline – Ruchir Sharma for FT: ‘Even by the official numbers, AI is not providing a lift big enough to overcome other forces weighing on China, including its shrinking workforce, rising indebtedness, a broken property market, the revival of a meddlesome regulatory state and the resulting exodus of capital and people.’

Regulatory action on chips, AI is coming, US Commerce official says – Reuters 🇺🇸

Nvidia halves Asia buyer list in China chip crackdown – FT: ‘Many of the companies affected are so-called neocloud providers, specialised cloud platforms purpose-built for AI workloads.’ 🇺🇸
US official says shipments of Nvidia H200 chips to China have begun – Reuters 🇺🇸

CXMT 长鑫存储 to raise US$8.5bn in largest Chinese chip IPO – Nikkei Asia

UMC 聯華電子 starts mass production of silicon photonics wafers in Singapore – Focus Taiwan 🇸🇬

Indian companies look to Chinese LLMs as AI costs bite – Nikkei Asia 🇮🇳

China to make car connectivity mandatory as US moves to tighten ban – SCMP
Why ‘reverse tech transfer’ from China remains a non-starter in the US auto industry – SCMP 🇺🇸

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

China ‘deeply concerned’ over resurgence of conflicts in Gulf region, foreign ministry spokesperson says – Xinhua 🇺🇸🇮🇷
Chinese UN envoy calls for de-escalation in Yemen situation – Xinhua: ‘China calls on the United States and Iran to resume follow-up negotiations as soon as possible’ 🇾🇪🇸🇦🇺🇸🇮🇷

China’s foreign ministry urges Europe to act prudently on South China Sea issues – Xinhua 🇪🇺
Spokesperson of the Chinese Mission to the EU Speaks on a Question Concerning the EU’s Statement on the so-called “South China Sea Arbitration Award” – Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the European Union: ‘The EU is not a party to the South China Sea issue.’ 🇪🇺
南海不是“游猎园”，更非“角斗场”（钟声） – 《人民日报》（2026年07月14日 第03版）
Commentaar in Volksdagblad onder gezaghebbende pennaam ‘Zhong Sheng’ noemt Europa wel kort, maar richt zich vooral op VS en Japan als buitenstaanders die rotzooi komen schoppen in de Zuid-Chinese Zee om China in te dammen.
Chinese embassy lodges protest against Japan’s words and deeds concerning so-called ‘South China Sea arbitration award’ – Xinhua: ‘Japan bears historical responsibilities on the South China Sea issue and has never reckoned with them; thus, it is in no position to pass judgment, said the embassy.’ 🇯🇵
Xinhua Commentary: Japan must stop its meddling in the South China Sea – Xinhua: ‘Obviously, Japan is not interested in safeguarding regional stability. What it truly aspires to do is to justify the expansion of its strategic and military footprint far beyond its own neighborhood.’ 🇯🇵

Chinese authorities detained China-born US seismologist who has studied North Korean nuclear tests in 2024 – Reuters: ‘has been detained in China for nearly two years and faces trial on spying charges, according to his wife, U.S. lawmakers and two hostage advocacy groups.’
‘Chinese officials have interrogated her husband more than 100 times about his work on the seismographic signatures of North Korean nuclear tests, said Rong. Eric Lebson, a former U.S. national security official whose hostage advocacy organization, Global Reach, is advising the family, ‌said he believes ⁠China wants to use Chen’s expertise to improve its ability to conceal underground nuclear weapons tests through a technique called decoupling.’ 🇺🇸

China’s foreign ministry rejects US, Panamanian claims of ‘weaponising’ ship inspections – SCMP: ‘defended its inspections of Panama-flagged ships as routine safety checks’ 🇺🇸🇵🇦
China firmly opposes US repeatedly using ‘cyber security’ as excuse to smear China, foreign ministry spokesperson says – Xinhua 🇺🇸

China protests Japan coast guard sheltering in Taiwan Strait amid Typhoon Bavi, sources say – Kyodo News: ‘Vessels from other countries were also sheltering in the area at the time’ 🇯🇵

China’s top political advisor Wáng Hùníng 王沪宁 to visit DPRK – Xinhua 🇰🇵

AI-generated women are spreading disinformation about Singapore and Malaysia on TikTok – CNA: ‘Between October 2025 and June 2026, they repeatedly advanced a worldview where Singapore’s fortunes were dictated by China.’ 🇸🇬🇲🇾

Thai PM to pay official visit to China – Xinhua 🇹🇭

China does not seek ‘sphere of influence’ in ties with Pacific island nations, foreign minister Wang tells Solomons counterpart – Reuters 🇸🇧
China sends a message to Pacific islands amid unease over missile test – SCMP: ‘as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Solomon Islands counterpart Rick Houenipwela in Beijing’ 🇸🇧

China’s top diplomat Wáng Yì 王毅 holds talks with Kazakhstan’s FM – Xinhua 🇰🇿

China’s top political advisor Wáng Hùníng 王沪宁 meets representatives of overseas Chinese – Xinhua: ‘met with representatives to the 11th Conference for Friendship of Overseas Chinese Associations’
‘Li Ganjie, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, noted that overseas Chinese, as an important part of the Chinese nation, are crucial participants in advancing Chinese modernization and serve as vital bridges between China and the rest of the world.’

Chinese state-linked influence operation spreads manipulated event flyers online to disrupt events critical of China – Graphika

What China’s carrier recruitment drive says about PLA Navy’s long-term ambitions – SCMP: ‘the navy had expanded recruitment through civilian universities and dedicated programmes for high school graduates, replacing what analysts described as a stopgap approach with a permanent pipeline, the report said.’

China economie

China elevates consumption to strategic priority with first dedicated five-year plan – Xinhua
China’s State Council targets CN¥60 trillion [€7.8tn] in retail sales by 2030 – Caixin Global: ‘and instructed local governments to make consumption growth a top economic priority. China’s total retail sales reached 50.1 trillion yuan in 2025.’
China’s GDP growth set to slow, raising expectations for more stimulus – Reuters

Chinese crude oil imports fell sharply in June to near a decade low, hampered by war in the Persian Gulf and an abrupt slowdown in domestic demand – Bloomberg

China’s planners are preparing for a major financial crash – Ann Listerud for The Wire China: ‘For the first time, the [five-year] plan includes instructions to prepare for a future financial crash by building out bailout funds.’

A squeezed China is trying to wring more from its state assets – The Economist’s Chaguan

China binnenland

The CCP’s discipline inspection formally expelled former Politburo member Mǎ Xìngruì 马兴瑞 from the Party, accusing him of a wide range of offences including corruption, abuse of power and trading political favours for sex – Bloomberg: ‘His alleged offenses include accepting bribes, helping family members buy property at a discount and condoning his staff’s violations, according to the report.’
China’s ex-Politburo member Mǎ Xìngruì 马兴瑞’s ‘rampant corruption’ included family – SCMP: ‘The investigation also found that he “neglected to supervise and manage the serious violations of discipline and law and suspected crimes committed by his staff”, resulting in severe consequences.’

China’s vast air clean-up marred by wartime coal power surge – FT

Hong Kong

Thailand reportedly blocks activist, wanted by Hong Kong national security police, from flying to Canada for resettlement – HKFP 🇹🇭

Hong Kong national security laws must be constantly improved, ex-Beijing official Wang Zhenmin says – SCMP: ‘to address risks and close loopholes amid geopolitical tensions’

Hong Kong independent bookstore Have a Nice Stay announces closure, citing financial difficulties and ‘red lines’ – HKFP

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

China aims to woo Taiwanese teachers with Xinjiang trips – Taipei Times: ‘Chinese authorities are offering separate summer exchange programs targeting Taiwanese teachers and students, with the student program including study-related activities, they said.’ 🇨🇳

Taiwan’s Presidential Office vows full probe into alleged transnational repression in Yaita Akio 矢板明夫 case – Focus Taiwan: ‘after Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media reported that the attack was allegedly orchestrated by members of the Hong Kong-based Wo Shing Wo (和勝和) criminal organization, with the suspect receiving instructions from overseas.’

Taiwan binnenland en economie

Taiwan’s opposition fast-tracks referendum proposals on nuclear policy and euthanasia – Focus Taiwan

Hsinchu County magistrate Yang Wen-ke 楊文科 (KMT) acquitted in corruption case – Focus Taiwan

KMT Yilan official Lin Ming-chang 林明昌 receives 18 months for recall campaign fraud – Focus Taiwan

Consumers expect living costs to rise 8.8% over next year, Academia Sinica says – Focus Taiwan

China’s ethnic unity law sparks calls for Taiwan asylum system – Taipei Times

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Inmiddels heeft Peking zoveel ‘facts on the ground’ gecreëerd, dat de uitspraak in de praktijk een dode letter lijkt. Was het daarom nutteloos? Ik denk van niet. De uitspraak is ook belangrijke tegen meer van zulke ‘historische’ claims elders in de wereld. In de eigen regio moedigt ze landen als Nederland aan tot acties die het internationaal recht beschermen in Zuidoost-Azië. De grootste uitkomst was echter een duidelijke les over de houding van het opkomende China ten opzichte van de wereld.

Pekings omgang met de uitspraak de afgelopen tien jaar heeft laten zien wat voor een grootmacht dit China wil zijn. De twisten over de onbewoonbare zandbanken in de Zuid-Chinese Zee hadden voor Peking kunnen dienen om te signaleren, dat het een ander soort grootmacht is dan de VS. (Als het om zeerecht gaat hebben de VS, Japan en Taiwan soms ook boter op hun hoofd.) De slecht verdedigbare rotsen zijn strategisch weinig waard in de handen van de militair relatief zwakkere landen waar ze het dichtst bij liggen. Het resulterende grey-zone-conflict heeft volgens mij veel meer negatieve invloed op de Chinese plek in de wereld.

Peking had een enorme strategische winst kunnen boeken door een juridisch houdbare oplossing uit te onderhandelen. Door zich echter te gedragen als irredentistische militaire dreiging voor de buren heeft China voorkomen dat de enorme economische aantrekkingskracht haar volledige uitwerking had op de regio. De Chinese leiders hebben voor het oog van de wereld hun nationalisme niet alleen boven het internationaal recht geplaatst, maar ook boven een rationele kosten-baten-analyse – het signaal dat daar vanuit gaat, stemt niet gerust.

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

Sjoerd Sjoerdsma: „China moet zich voor producten uit de EU openstellen, niet alleen voor onze chipmachines” – NRC: „De Chinese export naar Europa moet kleiner worden. Vrijwillig, of door tegenmaatregelen van Europa.” 🇳🇱

The European Parliament backs Taiwan in resolution – Taipei Times 🇪🇺

Zelenskyy: China urged Putin not to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine – POLITICO Europe: ‘The Ukrainian president said he learned of Beijing’s intervention from European leaders at the NATO summit in Ankara, where they talked over “China’s role in ending the war (in Ukraine).”’ 🇺🇦🇷🇺

The Kremlin’s discreet ally: the emergence of China’s media influence in occupied Ukrainian territories – Reporters without Borders 🇷🇺🇺🇦

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

The EU is developing a tool to support companies that diversify critical supplies away from China, but member states may balk at the cost – Bloomberg: ‘would require funding, just as member states haggle over the bloc’s next multiyear budget, according to people familiar with the matter.’ 🇪🇺
EU is reportedly developing ‘solidarity instrument’ amid trade differences with China; Chinese expert warns move adds uncertainties to companies of both sides – The Global Times 🇪🇺

German automakers hit by sharp China sales drop in second quarter – Reuters: ‘Volkswagen , Mercedes-Benz and BMW all saw a drop of at least 30% in the April ​to June period in China, according to company sales data.’ 🇩🇪

China stopt tijdelijk met export van helium, essentieel voor de productie van chips – NRC: „terwijl de oorlog in Iran en de blokkade van de Straat van Hormuz de aanbod van het edelgas ernstig hebben verstoord.” 🇮🇷
China is relatief afhankelijk van invoer – en veel van het helium in de wereld komt uit de Golfregio.

So-called ‘Chinese squeeze’ narrative about Global South inconsistent with facts, Chinese foreign ministry says – Xinhua

Techoorlog 💽💥

Kabinet wil meer sturen op de studiekeuze van jongeren, om tekorten op te vangen en ‘strategische autonomie’ te versterken – NRC: „Dat staat in de zogeheten ‘Talentstrategie’ die het kabinet vrijdag naar de Tweede Kamer heeft gestuurd.” 🇳🇱
Update Taskforce Toekomstige Welvaart en Vestigingsklimaat – Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat 🇳🇱

Apple files lawsuit accusing ChatGPT maker OpenAI of stealing trade secrets – AP 🇺🇸

OpenAI and Google sell AI models to blacklisted China groups – FT: ‘The US companies confirmed to the FT that they have been supplying AI services to Singapore-based subsidiaries of Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent’ 🇺🇸🇸🇬

“Eastern Data, Western Compute” is fake – ChinaTalk: ‘China promised to move its data centers west. Now it’s backtracking.’

China’s Nexchip 晶合集成 has global ambitions as legacy chips thrive in AI’s shadow – Nikkei Asia
Nvidia supplier King Yuan Electronics 京元電子 to invest up to US$1.4 billion in US facility – Reuters 🇺🇸
TSMC 台積電 to build 3 more advanced packaging fabs in Chiayi Science Park – Focus Taiwan
De schaal van TSMC’s uitbreiding in Taiwan is nog echt steeds van een andere orde van grote dan de fabrieken in Japan en de VS – laat staan die ene joint venture in Dresden.

China successfully tests sea-based rocket booster recovery system – Reuters

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

Fourteen countries and the EU reaffirm 2016 ruling invalidating China’s claims in South China Sea – AP: ‘In addition to the U.S. and Britain, the other countries listed in Sunday’s statement were the Philippines, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Italy, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia.’ 🇪🇺🇺🇸🇦🇺🇨🇦🇩🇪🇪🇪🇮🇹🇯🇵🇱🇻🇱🇹🇳🇿🇵🇭🇷🇴🇸🇮🇬🇧
A decade after historic ruling, Philippine fishermen say driven away from disputed shoal by China – Reuters 🇵🇭
China’s foreign ministry issues statement on certain countries’ playing up of so-called ‘South China Sea Arbitration Award’ – Xinhua
China strongly deplores Japanese FM’s statement on South China Sea, foreign ministry spokesperson says – Xinhua: ‘During WWII, the spokesperson said, Japan committed innumerable crimes […], including the illegal occupation of islands and reefs in the South China Sea. Now decades later, Japan, in the name of a “stakeholder,” is again attempting to meddle in the South China Sea.’ 🇯🇵
Taiwan’s foreign ministry reiterates position on South China Sea issue – Taipei Times: ‘As a reliable maritime partner, Taiwan’s sovereignty and claims over South China Sea islands and waters are fully in accordance with international laws and the law of the sea, it said.’ 🇹🇼

Formal China-US G2 framework key to ‘guarantee’ world peace, top Beijing adviser Zhèng Yǒngnián 郑永年 says – SCMP: ‘Zheng told the Baichuan Forum in Shenzhen, southern China, on Saturday.’ 🇺🇸
郑永年“百川”开讲：世界在等中国，中国的回答是“开源” – 察理思特：“郑永年认为，相较于美国囿于地缘政治和意识形态的‘闭源’路线，中国已形成一种‘2.0版的天下观’，即‘超越地缘政治、超越意识形态、超越宗教信仰’地向所有国家开放。”
De neerbuigend nationalistische wensdromen van deze viespeuk zijn relevant, om wat het zegt over acceptabele wereldbeelden onder de personen in het adviessysteem van de partij. SCMP schaaft de scherpste kantjes van zijn hiërarchische wereldbeeld er een beetje af.

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 and Kim Jung Un 金正恩 exchange congratulations over 65th anniversary of China-DPRK Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance – Xinhua: ‘the firm position of China’s Party and government to attach great importance to the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK will remain unchanged; the firm support for Kim in leading the DPRK’s socialist cause will remain unchanged’ 🇰🇵

Thai private hospitals allegedly part of racket selling citizenship packages to Chinese nationals – The Nation 🇹🇭

Pakistan ups the ante on Indus water dispute with India – Umair Jamal for The Diplomat: ‘there is growing eagerness in Pakistan to involve China more directly in the issue. As the upper riparian country similar to India on the Indus, China’s role has gained relevance in Pakistani arguments.’ 🇵🇰🇮🇳

Three decades in, China is cashing in on Sudan’s collapse – Paul Mwirigi for The Diplomat 🇸🇩

Namibia secures China deals on infrastructure, mining, and energy with state visit – Reuters 🇳🇦

Two Chinese military naval pilots killed during PLA frontline training exercises – SCMP

Studying Xi Jinping thought key to understanding contemporary China, senior official Lǐ Shūlěi 李书磊 says – Xinhua: ‘when meeting in Beijing with foreign representatives attending an international symposium on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.’

China economie

China’s government set no numeric target for urban job creation for the first time in at least three decades, in an apparent nod to rising uncertainty over employment as AI spreads through the economy – Bloomberg

China cracks down on top ratings for corporate bonds – FT

China binnenland

Typhoon Bavi makes landfall in eastern China’s Taizhou after nearly 2 million evacuated – Reuters
China Focus: China steps up flood control, disaster relief efforts as Typhoon Bavi moves inland – Xinhua

Senior CCP official Cài Qí 蔡奇 calls for deepened efforts to curb pointless formalities – Xinhua

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

Ten Taiwanese missing in China this week, MAC reports – Taipei Times 🇨🇳

Taiwan binnenland en economie

87 people injured, 14,000 evacuated as Typhoon Bavi batters Taiwan – Focus Taiwan

TPP eyes euthanasia referendum proposal – Taipei Times

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Het Duitse buitenlandministerie had eerder al de Chinese ambassadeur op het matje geroepen vanwege het geloof van Europese inlichtingendiensten dat 200 door China getrainde soldaten uit Rusland in Oekraïne waren gaan vechten. Gevraagd om een reactie op de verslaggeving door Der Spiegel reageert minister Wadephul dat China moet begrijpen dat de recentst onthulde feiten de absolute kern van de Europese veiligheidsbelangen schaden.

Wat gaat er hiermee gebeuren? Op zich is het geen grote verrassing. Er wordt al langer geschreven over de belangrijke rol die China speelt in de Russische drone-industrie. Hele productielijnen zouden verplaatst zijn van China naar Rusland. (Dus een grotere schaal dan de droneleveranties aan Oekraïne.) Dit is wel weer een goed gedocumenteerde hogere trede van samenwerking.

De grote zorgen bestaan voor mij uit twee dingen: (1) het gedeelde gevoel van samenwerken tegen Westerse ‘omsingeling’ dat de journalisten lezen in de stukken en (2) de concrete manieren waarop China en Rusland elkaar sterker maken om hun bedreiging voor respectievelijk Oost-Azië en Europa groter te maken.

Op Telegram zou het Oekraïense ministerie van buitenlandse zaken schrijven dat de Oekraïense minister een uitnodiging van zijn Chinese collega Wang Yi heeft ontvangen om China te bezoeken. Aan de data wordt gewerkt. Dit past bij verhalen die ik de afgelopen weken heb gehoord over toegenomen activiteit van de Chinese ambassade in Kyiv.

Nu het slechter gaat met Rusland, zou het logisch zijn voor Peking om zich te positioneren als logische deelnemer aan gesprekken over een mogelijk staakt-het-vuren. Ook maakt men in China al plannen voor een Chinese rol bij de wederopbouw van Oekraïne. De vraag is hoe lang het nog mogelijk blijft voor Peking om dit ‘neutrale’ spel te spelen.

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

The New Axis of Evil: DER SPIEGEL Investigation Reveals Deep Military Cooperation between Russia and China – Spiegel International: ‘the Russian-Chinese Forum for Military Technology, a circle that has, until now, remained concealed from public eyes. Even many experts at Western intelligence agencies remained unaware of it for a long time.’
‘The investigation by DER SPIEGEL and its partners shows that a division-of-labor military partnership is taking shape between Moscow and Beijing, in which each side makes up for the other’s shortfalls: Russia contributes the experience gained through an ongoing war of attrition, China supplies the electronics, semiconductors and machinery. What Russia learns in Ukraine, China can apply with an eye toward Taiwan; what China develops, Russia can deploy at the front.’
‘Chinese officers were recently able to see this for themselves, firsthand. According to information obtained by DER SPIEGEL, the People’s Liberation Army sent several high-ranking soldiers to the front in Ukraine. As observers, of course.’
‘16 Chinese and 13 Russian representatives met in Moscow from late May to early June 2023 to discuss the joint development of “integrated weapons systems” for defense against ballistic missiles.’ 🇷🇺🇺🇦
Shooting Starlink: The ‘no limits’ partnership between Russia and China is taking aim at Elon Musk – The Insider: ‘The material spans five weapons domains: space weapons and the destruction of satellites, integrated air and missile defense, autonomous “swarm” loitering munitions, next-generation armored vehicles, and military aviation.’ 🇷🇺
Entre la Chine et la Russie, de très secrets forums de coopération militaire – Le Monde : « Selon plusieurs services de renseignement européens, interrogés par le consortium, plusieurs outils permettant le brouillage des terminaux Starlink seraient déjà en cours de développement. » 🇷🇺

China eyes Russian submarine rescue expertise in Yellow Sea naval drills – SCMP: ‘The Joint Sea-2026 exercise between the two navies began in the eastern Chinese port city of Qingdao on Monday’ 🇷🇺
China and Russia conduct live-force, live-fire drills at sea – Xinhua 🇷🇺

Taiwan pushes back at China patrols with Coast Guard trip for foreign lawmakers – Reuters: ‘a 90-minute tour in waters around the Kinmen islands [with] seven foreign lawmakers and two Taiwanese members of parliament.’ 🇨🇿🇬🇧🇺🇦🇮🇳🇳🇿

Interview: China and Moldova have enormous opportunities for future cooperation, says Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi – Xinhua: ‘Moldova will host its first national pavilion at the 9th China International Import Expo, scheduled to be held in Shanghai in November 2026.’ 🇲🇩

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

EU drafts ‘Buy European’ rules for public tenders to curb foreign dependence – Reuters: ‘would allow European authorities to rule out bids for big public contracts that have less than 50% European content and favour EU companies in strategic sectors.’ 🇪🇺

China’s Wáng Yì 王毅 called for boosting trade with the EU after landmark Nordic trip – Bloomberg 🇪🇺
Chinese FM Wáng Yì 王毅 wraps up Nordic tour as both sides pledge to deepen partnership, cooperation – Xinhua 🇩🇰🇫🇮🇳🇴🇸🇪

Europe’s carmakers are working through deep changes to regain competitiveness with more job cuts and plant closures inevitable to build a resilient industry, according to the head of Germany’s autos lobby VDA – Bloomberg 🇩🇪
VDA Statement regarding Ongoing Crisis of the Business Location – VDA 🇩🇪

Volkswagen stakeholders meet to decide future of creaking auto giant – Reuters 🇩🇪
„Stellen mit der Gießkanne abgebaut“ – bei VW formiert sich Widerstand – Handelsblatt 🇩🇪

From factory to tech frontier: China becomes legacy automakers’ innovation engine – Reuters

Xinhua Commentary: Behind ‘China overcapacity’ hype lies Western overanxiety – Xinhua: ‘When European aircraft, automobiles, pharmaceuticals and wine sweep global markets and dominate export shares, they are hailed as Europe’s “competitive advantage.” However, when Chinese products satisfy global demand, they are unfairly branded as evidence of “overcapacity.” West complained about “overcapacity” when European countries were urgently seeking Chinese masks and medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.’ 🇪🇺
How Europe’s rush for Chinese air conditioners exposes the gap in Brussels’ trade policy – SCMP 🇪🇺
Het lijkt erop dat de Chinese propagandienst heeft bedacht dat de Europese vraag naar airconditioners tijdens de hittegolf een geweldige kans is. Zelfs SCMP gaat mee in het verspreiden van het spreekpunt dat dit de hypocrisie van de EU handelsklachten zou bewijzen.
中欧经贸完全能够在发展中实现动态平衡（钟声） – 《人民日报》（2026年07月08日 第03版） 🇪🇺
Commentaar in het Volksdagblad onder de gezaghebbende pennaam ‘Zhong Sheng’ over de recente handelsgesprekken tussen Brussel en Peking. Boodschap: Europa's concurrentieproblemen zijn zelf veroorzaakt en protectionisme zal die structurele zwaktes alleen verergeren – gelukkig is er het nieuwe overlegmechanisme tussen EU en China, nu het erop aan dat de EU goed van vertrouwen het Chinese perspectief gaat erkennen.

Europe’s ‘China shock’ panic is ill-informed – Martin Sandbu for FT 🇪🇺
Belangrijk om scherp te blijven, harde data blijven belangrijk en misschien kan de paniek wel ietsje minder – maar ik vind het niet helemaal netjes om met een grafiekje over het afgelopen jaar jezelf superieur te verklaren aan alle analisten en rapporten van de afgelopen periode.

Chinese companies use rare earths ban to squeeze out foreign rivals – FT: ‘as Beijing’s export controls on critical minerals hit their Japanese counterparts.’ 🇯🇵
De Europese afhankelijkheden van Chinese leveranciers groeit zo alleen maar verder.
China’s detention of 2 Japanese highlights risks from whistleblower programme – Nikkei Asia 🇯🇵

EU launches anti-dumping probe into Chinese Pekin duck – Euractiv

Techoorlog 💽💥

Four BIG Questions: The Hague’s vision for Europe – Tom Berendsen with Brussels Institute for Geopolitics: ‘Europe’s mistake would be to chase autarky across entire supply chains. The smarter aim is to identify the critical niches where it can become genuinely well positioned and concentrate its resources there.’ 🇳🇱🇪🇺

China and Nordic countries agree to strengthen dialogue on global AI governance, foreign ministry spokesperson says – Xinhua 🇩🇰🇫🇮🇳🇴🇸🇪

China plans to let top AI firms buy limited amount of Nvidia H200 chips – The Information: ‘In recent weeks, Chinese officials have told companies including Alibaba, ByteDance and DeepSeek that they may soon receive permission to buy some H200 chips, according to the two people. […] The officials told the companies they should use H200 chips only for training, according to the two people.’ 🇺🇸
China’s cybersecurity platform issues ‘backdoor’ security alert over Anthropic’s Claude Code – Reuters 🇺🇸
Beijing is looking at curbing overseas access to China’s top AI models, sources say – Reuters: ‘Officials talked about making any leak or theft of proprietary AI technology an offence under China’s ​stringent national security law, one of the sources said.’
China issues ‘backdoor’ security alert over Anthropic’s Claude Code

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 calls for innovation system overhaul to beat global tech rivals – SCMP: ‘called for stronger efforts to draw overseas talent and address flaws in China’s innovation ecosystem’
‘Xi mapped out a targeted offensive, saying the country would focus closely on frontier sectors like AI, quantum technology and life sciences, key industrial sectors such as integrated circuits and advanced manufacturing, as well as strategic arenas covering deep sea, deep space and deep Earth. He also called for a forward-looking strategy for major scientific infrastructure, including high-end research instruments, data and academic journals, and the systematic promotion of AI-driven scientific research.’
Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 calls for advancing Chinese modernisation through sci-tech innovation – Xinhua
Senior CCP official Cài Qí 蔡奇 calls on sci-tech workers to serve country through innovation – Xinhua

Weekend 🏖️📚

Achtergrond en longreads

What has changed in India’s approach to Chinese investment an what has not – Tracking People’s Daily 🇮🇳

Taiwanese believes Japan will help defend against China – Lev Nachman for Foreign Policy: ‘We found that support for Japan is high—even across party lines—demonstrating that positive perceptions of Japan are not simply exclusive to DPP elites.’ 🇹🇼🇯🇵

Podcasts

（完整版）沒有邦交、受中國打壓⋯台灣外交官到底能做什麼？真的天天都在應酬？ft. 前駐歐盟代表 李淳 – 志祺七七Podcast, YouTube

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

A pair of former Chinese diplomats visited the US last month to better understand the Trump administration’s stance on a fragile trade truce, as China seeks to gauge how upcoming US elections might affect ties – Bloomberg: ‘Former Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai and ex-deputy UN representative Geng Shuang’ 🇺🇸

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office took the rare step of publicly criticising the top US diplomat in Taiwan – Bloomberg 🇺🇸🇹🇼

NATO needs stop finding fault with China at every turn, foreign ministry spokesperson says – Xinhua

Chinese military spokesperson slams Japan for weaponising and militarising space – Xinhua: ‘in response to a media query regarding Japan's passing of an amendment to rename the Japan Air Self-Defense Force to Japan Aerospace Self-Defense Force and establish a Space Operations Wing accordingly.’ 🇯🇵
Het Chinese Volksbevrijdingsleger (PLA) heeft ook een ‘Aerospace Force’.

Chinese research urges international studies on Japan’s WWII medical atrocities – Xinhua 🇯🇵

Premier of DPRK cabinet Pak Thae Song 朴泰成 to visit China – Xinhua: ‘During the visit, Pak will attend the commemorative event of the 65th anniversary of the China-DPRK Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, the ministry said.’ 🇰🇵

Beijing slams Manila over South China Sea claims ahead of 2016 Hague anniversary – SCMP: ‘Wednesday’s report by a Ministry of Natural Resources think tank – its third within days – marks the latest move in China’s campaign to reinforce its position in the disputed waters.’ 🇵🇭
Chinese scholars: the Philippines’ Batan Islands are part of Taiwan, ergo part of China – BusinessMirror 🇵🇭
Philippines’ defence minister rejects Chinese scholars’ claim over its island province near Taiwan – Reuters 🇵🇭
De Batanes liggen in de Bashi-straat tussen Taiwan en de Filipijnen.

Chinese premier meets Namibian president in Beijing – Xinhua 🇳🇦

China economie

China’s consumer inflation slowed more than expected after a pullback in commodity costs with an easing of tensions over Iran last month – Bloomberg

China targets 190 million inbound tourist visits by 2030 in new five-year tourism plan – Xinhua

China eyes considerable scale of new urban jobs in next five years – Xinhua

China binnenland

Guangxi makes all-out rescue, relief efforts after rain-triggered disasters – Xinhua

Xi urges all-out rescue efforts after shoe factory fire in east China – Xinhua

Hong Kong en Macao

Cathay Pacific 國泰 ordered to submit report after Hungarian fighter jets intercept plane – SCMP 🇭🇺

Hong Kong man pleads guilty to subversive promotion of pro-ROC party – SCMP

Independent bookshop Elmbook 榆林書店 to close physical store after Hong Kong Book Fair ban – HKFP

Macau to put former pro-democracy lawmaker Au Kam San 區錦新 on trial – HKFP

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

China to resolutely punish ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson says – Xinhua: ‘in response to a media query about Taiwan authorities’ baseless attacks against the newly enacted Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law.’ 🇨🇳

Chinese research vessels serve military purposes, Taiwanese Coast Guard captain says – Focus Taiwan

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council criticises China for ‘glorifying violence’ after attack on Japanese commentator in Taichung – Focus Taiwan: ‘by describing it as an act motivated by “righteous indignation.”’ 🇨🇳

Taiwan binnenland en economie

Ex-DPP staffer Huang Chu-jung 黃取榮 receives 10 years for developing spy network for China – Focus Taiwan 🇨🇳

Typhoon Bavi prompts school, office closures across northern Taiwan, Hualien – Focus Taiwan

Doneer via ‘Buy Me A Coffee’

Sjoerdsma vertelde Reuters na een „frank discussion” met tegenhanger Wang Wentao dat Den Haag en Peking „extremely well” samenwerken in het Nexperia-dossier. De verslaggeving gaat vooral over techbedrijven en bijbehorende strubbelingen. Sjoerdsma nam echter ook een handelsdelegatie mee.

Er is soms een beetje de neiging om zulke bezoeken te framen als een poging van een getemd Nederland om weer in een goed blaadje te komen bij China of als een knieval van een minister die eerder een ‘China-havik’ zou zijn geweest. Zo’n voorstelling van zaken gaat er echter aan voorbij dat interactie met een land als China gewoon normaal is onder elk handelsbeleid. Het gaat erom, wát je vervolgens overeenkomt.

Of je wilt trouwen of ruziemaken, beide vereisen communicatie – het enkele feit dat er communicatie plaatsvindt, is niet gelijk een knieval. Daarnaast moet je ook uitkijken niet teveel mee te gaan met de Chinese strategie om altijd de andere partij verantwoordelijk te maken voor het ‘herstellen’ van een relatie die Peking vaak zelf afbreekt.

Onder Wereldhandelsoorlog vandaag cijfers die weinig goeds voorspellen voor de relatie tussen de EU en China. MERICS beschrijft Chinese handelsdata. Terwijl het volume van Chinese uitvoer toeneemt, neemt de waarde per ton uitvoer af. Dat is vreemd in het licht van de trend van meer hoogwaardige producten uit China – dan zou de waarde per ton juist moeten toenemen.

Trivium schrijft over een onderliggende factor. Dalende producentenprijzen contrasteren met stijgende prijzen voor grondstoffen. Dat suggereert dat de ‘involutie’-spiraal nog bezig is in China: fabrieken concurreren voor inputs om meer te produceren terwijl ze hun prijzenoorlog doorzetten. Dat is slecht nieuws voor hun Europese concurrenten.

Ondertussen gaat het nieuws in de Indo-Pacific over een Chinese rakettest. In de Stille Oceaan heeft de Chinese marine een intercontinentale ballistische raket (ICBM) getest. Zulke systemen zijn in theorie geschikt voor een nucleaire lading. De voorspelbare landen kwamen met veroordelingen. De angst is dat dit ook weer een nieuw Chinees normaal wordt.

In China zelf is het noodweer daar het belangrijkste nieuws. Op verschillende plekken in het grote land zijn slachtoffers gevallen. De staatsmedia presenteert Xi aan het stuur. Klimaatverandering raakt ook China hard.

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Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

Minister Sjoerdsma zoekt toenadering tot China te midden van handelsconflicten – NOS Nieuws 🇳🇱
Minister Sjoerdsma haalt banden aan met China, ondanks persoonlijke sancties – RTL Nieuws: „‘Van alle bezoeken die ik heb afgelegd sinds ik minister werd, heb ik mij bij dit bezoek verreweg het meest welkom gevoeld’, zegt hij tegen RTL Nieuws.” 🇳🇱
Netherlands looks to move past Nexperia dispute with China, Dutch minister Sjoerdsma says – Reuters: ‘said on Tuesday that the Netherlands and China were cooperating “extremely well” to resolve a dispute involving chipmaker Nexperia’ 🇳🇱

Minister Sjoerdsma naar China: een beladen bezoek – NOS Nieuws: „Woordvoerder Mao Ning van het Chinese Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken weigerde vandaag te zeggen of minister Sjoerdsma nog op de sanctielijst staat.” 🇳🇱
Voor het eerst sinds 2018 gaat weer een Nederlandse handelsmissie naar China, en minister Sjoerdsma heeft wat te lijmen – NRC 🇳🇱

Dutch lawmaker Jan Paternotte (D66/Renew) highlights need for freedom of navigation in Taiwan Strait – Focus Taiwan: ‘during a meeting with President Lai Ching-te’
‘He said his delegation will discuss practical steps consistent with IPAC’s Operation Measure Impact of a Shock in the Taiwan Strait (MIST) campaign and Initiative 2758 at the Taiwan International Ocean Forum, which will be held in Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday.’ 🇳🇱
NB: Paternotte is de fractievoorzitter van de grootste regeringspartij in de Tweede Kamer.

China and Finland agree to strengthen cooperation and jointly address challenges – Xinhua: ‘Noting that the international situation is at a critical crossroads, Stubb said China has injected valuable stability into today’s world.’ 🇫🇮
China and Norway should jointly contribute to world peace and development, says Chinese FM Wáng Yì 王毅 – Xinhua: ‘the two sides should elevate bilateral trade’ 🇳🇴
Norway urges China to help bring Russia to Ukraine peace talks – Reuters 🇳🇴

Nato cannot be ‘naive’ about China as it ramps up military might, Rutte claims – SCMP: ‘During a pre-summit press conference on Monday, a day before the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, this week, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte responded to questions about a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine firing a test missile into the Pacific.’

Deal between Danish Nato-classified Esbjerg Port and Chinese peer Ningbo-Zhoushan draws criticism – Nikkei Asia: ‘signed a memorandum of understanding in late 2025. But the deal came to light only recently, after opposition lawmakers complained’ 🇩🇰

UK Home Office ‘sided with Beijing against Hong Kong dissident’ – The Telegraph: ‘The Home Office withheld its approval pending more information about her “offence” so officials could “fully assess” her “self-declared criminality”.’ 🇬🇧

Xi and Montenegro’s president exchange congratulations over 20th anniversary of ties – Xinhua 🇲🇪

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

China-EU trade structure naturally shaped by market demand and complementary advantages, foreign ministry spokesperson says – Xinhua: ‘in response to reports that Chinese-made products such as air conditioners, fans and multi-functional sun umbrellas for heatstroke prevention and cooling have been highly sought after by European people.’ 🇪🇺
De juridische lange arm van China is een geopolitieke hefboom van formaat – FD

MERICS Data Insight: Chinese export prices – Esther Goreichy for MERICS: ‘A shift toward more sophisticated products should have pushed the average price per ton up. Yet we observe the opposite trend as export prices are flattening […]. This counter-intuitive result is consistent with excess production being pushed onto foreign markets at prices that foreign producers cannot match.’ 🇪🇺
June PMI print suggests deflationary pressures returning – Trivium China: ‘The NBS producer price subindex fell into contractionary territory at 48.2, reversing five consecutive months of expansion. This came despite the raw material purchasing price index remaining expansionary […] meaning manufacturers are still paying more for inputs but cutting the price of finished goods.’

Watching China in Europe - July 2026 – Noah Barkin: ‘German officials are working with their French counterparts on a joint paper on China policy that they plan to present at a Franco-German ministerial meeting on July 17. Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition, after intensive talks last week, has gone further than it ever has before in calling for“robust protection” through faster, sector-wide trade measures. Meanwhile, a group of hawkish young parliamentarians from Merz’s conservative camp is working on an update of the party’s China strategy from 2023.’ 🇩🇪

Europe does not need new trade weapons – it needs to pull the trigger – Tim Rühlig for EUISS 🇪🇺

The Chinese company that could start a trade war with Europe – The New York Times: ‘From 2000 to 2024, Chinese state-owned lenders and aid agencies made 66 grant and loan commitments worth more than $1.2 billion to buy and install Nuctech scanners and customs inspection equipment worldwide, according to AidData’
‘Nuctech’s Western competitors have argued that they struggle to compete on price, citing auctions in which the Chinese company’s bids were up to 50 percent below their bidding price.’ 🇪🇺

Corporate Japan’s rare-earth warnings get louder as China keeps the spigot closed – Reuters 🇯🇵

China has purchased more soybeans from the US, sources say, as the key agricultural trade gains momentum following a summit between the leaders of the two nations in May – Bloomberg 🇺🇸

Techoorlog 💽💥

Kritieke Grondstoffenlijst vastgesteld, snellere uitvoering Grondstoffenstrategie – Ministerie van Economische Zaken 🇳🇱

De Nederlandse Internationale AI-Strategie – Rijksoverheid 🇳🇱

US government wants NATO countries to use defence-related spending to remove Huawei 华为 from networks – Defence24: ‘The message was reportedly delivered in Brussels by Joshua Young, the State Department’s China coordinator. He did not publicly name specific allies, but the discussion was understood to refer partly to Germany.’ 🇺🇸

Singaporean prosecutors file additional charges against a key suspect in an AI server fraud case – Bloomberg: ‘Prosecutors have not accused Nvidia, Dell, Super Micro or Asustek of any wrongdoing, but instead are focusing on the individual actors at Aperia and another Chinese citizen involved in the case.’ 🇸🇬

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

Xinhua Commentary: Rules cannot bend to hegemonic power – Xinhua: ‘The United States has long treated international rules as optional rather than binding – honored when useful, but discarded when inconvenient. A recent attempt by President Donald Trump to influence an international sporting event perfectly illustrates this double standard.’ 🇺🇸⚽️
Het WK is dankbaar materiaal voor de Chinese propaganda. CGTN America weidde na het verlies van Oranje een bericht aan de uitspraken van Rafaël van der Vaart over Marrokaans-Nederlandse voetballers.

China’s Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 sets new precedent with July 4 message for Trump and US – SCMP: ‘Beijing does not usually publicise presidential greetings on July 4 but Xi’s message this year follows a flurry of diplomatic efforts to stabilise the volatile relations between the two countries.’ 🇺🇸
Xi congratulates Trump on America’s 250th anniversary, spokesperson says – Xinhua 🇺🇸
China designates WWII Doolittle Raid memorial hall patriotic education base – Xinhua 🇺🇸

China tests long-range missile in Pacific in move Australia condemns as ‘destabilising to region’ – The Guardian: ‘with reports that it was a nuclear-capable device with a dummy warhead.’ 🇦🇺
US says China’s ballistic missile test of ‘great concern’ – Kyodo News 🇺🇸
Japan informed by China of ballistic missile test launch – Kyodo News 🇯🇵
Chinese navy conducts test launch of strategic missile by submarine – Xinhua
China’s test this week of a submarine-fired ballistic missile may mark the beginning of more regular Pacific launches as the country advances its arsenal for delivering nuclear warheads – Bloomberg

Australia and Fiji sign surprise defence alliance amid push to limit China’s influence in the Pacific – The Guardian: ‘In Suva on Monday, Albanese and Rabuka signed the Ocean of Peace Alliance, which is open to other Pacific countries to join in the future’ 🇦🇺🇫🇯
Australia and the Solomon Islands vows stronger ties, criticise China’s Pacific missile test – Reuters 🇦🇺🇸🇧

Japan and China coast guards face off near disputed islands – AFP: ‘near uninhabited islands claimed as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, which sit between Taiwan and Okinawa’ 🇯🇵🇹🇼
China Coast Guard expels Japanese boat intruding into waters of Chiwei Yu – Xinhua

China marks 89th anniversary of resistance war against Japanese aggression – Xinhua: ‘full-scale invasion’ 🇯🇵

Indian ambassador to China Vikram Doraiswami urges deeper economic ties, touts AIIB as model – SCMP: ‘during a panel discussion at the World Peace Forum in Beijing’ 🇮🇳

Vietnam is building a US$4 billion dual-use port project in its southernmost tip, as anxieties grow over China’s influence in Cambodia, and its increasingly dominant position in the South China Sea – Bloomberg: ‘To Lam, who took over as Communist Party chief in 2024, elevated Hon Khoai as a strategic priority in November’ 🇻🇳

Beijing’s foreign ministry puts on “Dear You” 给阿嬷的情书 movie night for diplomats to help them ‘better understand’ China – SCMP: ‘added that the film showed ordinary Chinese people’s care for home and country and their true kindness.’ 🇸🇬🇲🇾🇹🇭

China, Russia, and India make inroads in Myanmar with transit corridors – Nikkei Asia 🇲🇲

Peruvian court asserts oversight of Chinese-run Chancay Port – China Global South Project 🇵🇪

China economie

China’s booming gig economy masks job market pain and strains welfare system – Reuters: ‘Increasingly, it hires educated youth and white-collar workers squeezed by weak domestic demand and AI adoption.’

China’s Q2 growth set to slow on weak domestic demand, according to Nikkei survey – Nikkei Asia

China binnenland

Noodweer in China eist levens, gebouwen ingestort – NOS Nieuws
Xi urges all-out efforts in flood control, disaster relief – Xinhua

Chinese court hands former local official rare death sentence in CN¥2.2 billion [€283mn] graft case – Reuters

Hong Kong

Jailed activist Joshua Wong 黃之鋒 to plead guilty, face second national security jail term in September – HKFP

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

China military activity rises in Western Pacific, Taiwan intel chief says – Focus Taiwan: ‘“Overall, we are seeing an upward trend in the mobilization of Chinese naval forces during this peak exercise season,” he said.’ 🇨🇳

Chinese man arrested after punching Japanese speaker – Taipei Times 🇨🇳
Taiwan’s MAC suggests China may be involved in attack on Japanese commentator – Focus Taiwan: ‘MAC said the case bore “strong similarities” to two earlier paint attacks on Taiwan-based Hong Kong activist Tong Wai-hung’s (湯偉雄) Muay Thai studio in Taipei.’ 🇨🇳
Vice President Hsiao condemns assault on journalist, vows to defend free speech – Focus Taiwan

Taiwanese authorities charge executives who helped China’s cyber spies target ICIJ network – International Consortium of Investigative Journalists 🇨🇳

Senator Duckworth reaffirms US commitment in wake of Trump-Xi summit – Focus Taiwan 🇺🇸

Why more Taiwanese support ‘One China’ for talks with Beijing – Domino Theory: ‘when she ran an analysis, she found no correlation between national identity and perspective on the “one China” principle.’
Ander onderzoek heeft ook laten zien dat veel Taiwanezen een heel ander begrip hebben van de betekenis van ‘One China’ dan Peking – dus steun zal weer vallen zodra het in contact komt met de Chinese interpretatie.

Taiwan binnenland en economie

Taiwan’s main opposition party KMT faces an identity crisis – Domino Theory: ‘facing a trust issue in Washington, as an internal rift widens between its pro-China leadership and party members pushing for strengthening relations with the U.S.’

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Op handelsgebied komt er ferme taal van Ursula von der Leyen. Oktober is echt de deadline voor vooruitgang in de gesprekken met China. „Dialogue is essential, but the dialogue has to deliver”, zegt de Europese Commissievoorzitter. Ondertussen is buitenlandminister Wang Yi in Scandinavië, waar hij juist oproept om handel tussen Europa en China te verdiepen.

De NRC heeft een verhaal uit Waalre dat illustreert, welke impact de Chinese exportcontrolemaatregelen al hebben. Het bedrijf Goudsmit Magnetics, dat belangrijke industriële toepassingen maakt met magneten uit China, gaat zelf actief op zoek naar defensieleveranciers om te elimineren uit het eigen klantenbestand. Peking blokkeert namelijk de uitvoer voor militaire toepassingen en Goudsmit kan het zich niet veroorloven om op een Chinese zwarte lijst te komen staan.

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Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺

German foreign ministry held urgent talks with Chinese ambassador over report of China training Russian soldiers – Reuters: ‘“Anything that enables ​Russia ​to continue ⁠its war of aggression against Ukraine also threatens ​our security,” a German foreign ​ministry ⁠source said. “Consequently, China’s decisive and growing support for Russia’s brutal war of ⁠aggression ​directly impacts our ​security.”’ 🇩🇪🇷🇺

China and Russia to hold ‘Joint Sea-2026’ naval exercise and maritime patrol this month – Xinhua: ‘Following the exercise, some forces from both sides will conduct a joint maritime patrol in relevant areas of the Pacific Ocean, the ministry said in a statement.’ 🇷🇺

China’s foreign ministry slams US and EU’s so-called concern over China’s new law on ethnic affairs – Xinhua: ‘by taking a biased view and maliciously smearing China’s ethnic policies, the relevant countries have concocted and spread disinformation, blatantly interfered in China’s internal affairs, and undermined China’s ethnic unity.’ 🇪🇺🇺🇸

China to expand green, trade cooperation with Denmark, FM Wáng Yì 王毅 says – Xinhua: ‘Wang said that China appreciates Denmark's adherence to the one-China principle [sic] and supports Denmark in safeguarding its national sovereignty and territorial integrity’ 🇩🇰
China willing to strengthen all-level exchanges with Sweden, FM Wáng Yì 王毅 says – Xinhua: ‘China-Sweden relations have encountered some difficulties in recent years, Wang noted, […] it is even more crucial to maintain a correct perception of each other.’ 🇸🇪

Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥

EU will retaliate if China misses October trade deadline, von der Leyen says – Euronews: ‘“Dialogue is essential, but the dialogue has to deliver,” the president of the European Commission said on Friday during an official visit to Cork, Ireland.’ 🇪🇺
October deadline for China talks ‘not realistic at all’, chief trade MEP Bernd Lange (SPD/S&D) says – Euronews 🇪🇺

Bij maker van magneetsystemen in Waalre telt één ding: niet China boos maken – NRC: „De in april vorig jaar opgelegde exportrestricties van zeldzame aardmetalen door China hebben de bedrijfsvoering in Waalre hard geraakt.”
„Niet alleen China is streng, Goudsmit Magnetics zelf is dat inmiddels ook. Medewerkers van het bedrijf vliegen heel Europa door om bij nieuwe klanten de fabriekshallen te controleren. Om te kijken of een klant niet toch toevallig in de defensie-industrie zit. ‘Je wil niet op een blacklist komen te staan van de Chinese overheid. Dan kunnen we de deur hier sluiten.’”
„‘Chinese officials zeiden: Nederland staat hartstikke positief aangeschreven. Maar ja, Nexperia moet niet uit de hand lopen. Dat lieten ze toch even vallen.’” 🇳🇱

Xinhua Commentary: Europe’s air-conditioner shortage sheds light on China-EU trade potential – Xinhua: ‘The fact that European consumers are voting with their wallets for Chinese cooling products, new energy vehicles, and a wide range of affordable high-quality goods proves that China-EU trade delivers tangible benefits to European households, rather than posing a so-called “threat.”’ 🇪🇺
Chinese FM Wáng Yì 王毅 calls on Swedish business community to deepen cooperation with China – Xinhua: ‘He welcomed the Swedish and European business communities, including the Wallenberg family, to further strengthen cooperation with China for mutual benefit and win-win results.’ 🇸🇪🇪🇺

Targeted cut: China halts tungsten exports to Japan, threatening a quarter of global chip gas supply – Sinolytics 🇯🇵
China’s foreign ministry says cooperation between countries should not target third party – Xinhua: ‘In response to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks that India and Japan will strengthen cooperation in the area of critical minerals’ 🇮🇳🇯🇵

Germany’s midsize “Mittelstand” companies once thrived by making niche machines for factories everywhere. Now fierce competition from China is spreading panic among those manufacturers. – WSJ: ‘layoffs are rolling through formerly prosperous towns and villages with no living memory of a downturn. The moment could become a political turning point’
‘German industry is losing more than 10,000 jobs every month, according to a May report by EY.’ 🇩🇪

China’s state-backed iron ore buyer CMRG 中国矿产 has expanded its curbs on Fortescue’s iron ore to include new purchases of its Super Special Fines product – Bloomberg: ‘set up to strengthen the country’s bargaining power in negotiations with global miners’
‘as price negotiations between the Australian miner and the Chinese buyer over long-term supply contracts remain deadlocked.’ 🇦🇺

Brazil backlash spells trouble for EU steel deals – POLITICO Europe: ‘China, the world’s largest steel producer, took a two-thirds haircut under the EU’s new allocations. But Brussels has also inflicted pain on more than a dozen countries with which it has free-trade deals’ 🇪🇺🇧🇷

Techoorlog 💽💥

Has China obtained the world’s most important machine? – The Economist: ‘In an interview with The Economist on July 2nd, Mr Sjoerdsma declined to provide details of any conversations about Mr Lutnick’s claim. But he says that the Dutch government is not, at present, investigating the American allegation.’
‘The dispute hinges, at first glance, on whether there is any basis to Mr Lutnick’s allegation. Although no information supporting it has been made public, some people briefed on it describe it as “unverified” yet “not unfounded”. Many industry experts consider it highly unlikely that an entire euv machine from asml was shipped to China. But some believe that related components could have been, perhaps via asml’s own suppliers or other third parties. Others think the issue is more likely to be asml’s export to China of its older deep ultraviolet, or duv, lithography tools and related parts and services, most of which are not covered by export controls.’ 🇳🇱

Anthropic moves to close loopholes that allow Chinese access to Claude – FT 🇺🇸

China delivers joint statement on AI accessibility at UN in Geneva – Xinhua: ‘accessibility is of vital importance for the full, equal and effective enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all, including persons with disabilities, older persons and other persons in vulnerable situations.’ 🇺🇳

Mayor Chiang Wan-an 蔣萬安 (KMT) unveils plans for Taipei AI education – Taipei Times

China’s rare earth industry has critical weakness, Chinese researchers warn – SCMP: ‘The researchers, from the University of Science and Technology of China, concluded that key patents underpinning advanced rare earth functional materials remained largely controlled by Japan and the United States.’

China cools on overseas publication of scientific research – FT: ‘Chinese policymakers are discussing ways to reduce the incentives for scientific researchers to submit their findings to foreign journals, as Beijing grows concerned that academic publications could be a channel for leaks of industrial and technological innovations.’

Russian fuel crisis prompts rush for Chinese electric cars – Reuters 🇷🇺
China’s Chery 奇瑞 takes over former Nissan 日産 car factory in South Africa – Reuters 🇿🇦🇯🇵

Overige

China buitenland en defensie

China’s foreign ministry calls for the unhindered flow of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, as speculation mounts that European powers will accept fees to Iran and Oman – Bloomberg 🇮🇷🇴🇲
Iran’s ambassador to Beijing said China and other friendly nations will be granted ‘special considerations’ when Tehran determines the level and nature of service fees charged to ships using the Strait of Hormuz – Bloomberg 🇮🇷

China steps up claims over sea east of Taiwan – FT: ‘A legal opinion issued this week by the China Institute for Marine Affairs said an agreement in May between Japan and the Philippines to begin talks on defining their maritime boundaries was “undertaken without consultation with China” and “violates international law”.’
‘The warning followed Chinese radio warnings this week to Japanese research vessels to cease operations near the Tokyo-administered Senkaku Islands’ 🇯🇵🇵🇭🇹🇼
China launches coast guard patrol east of Taiwan despite international pushback – Reuters: ‘The fleet will conduct “law enforcement patrols” in the ​area, China’s Coast Guard said in a statement, adding it would strengthen such patrols in what it ⁠called China’s jurisdictional waters.’ 🇹🇼
China Coast Guard continues law enforcement patrols east of Taiwan Island – Xinhua 🇹🇼

China is investing millions in Buddhism to expand its influence in Asia, challenging India’s claim to the faith and alarming US officials as the Dalai Lama succession nears – Bloomberg 🇮🇳

India allows four Chinese-linked power equipment firms to bid for government projects – Reuters 🇮🇳

Tibetaanse man overleden die zichzelf in brand stak voor VN-hoofdkwartier – NOS Nieuws 🇺🇳🇺🇸

China’s foreign ministry slams US malicious suppression of its distant-water fisheries – Xinhua 🇺🇸
Chinese visserij veroorzaakt grote problemen op veel plekken in de wereld. Peking verdedigt overbevissing o.a. door de zeggen dat China het recht heeft op zijn deel in het gemene goed van de wereld op basis van de grote bevolking.

PLA Navy fleet to visit Vietnam this month – Xinhua 🇻🇳

Chinese police university report uncovers link between investment and attacks on citizens in Africa – SCMP 🌍

China economie

Top-tier cities overtake regional hubs to drive China property sales – Caixin Global: ‘The geographical retreat underscores how China’s prolonged property slump has forced surviving developers to abandon debt-fueled nationwide expansion and rely on premium real estate in wealthy megacities to stay afloat.’

China released draft amendments to its E-Commerce Law that would expand coverage beyond platforms and merchants, and revise rules governing the digital economy – Bloomberg

Wall Street banks’ profits recover in China amid trading boom – FT 🇺🇸

Chinese regulator proposes changes to refinancing rules for listed companies – Reuters

China binnenland

Chinese President Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 appoints Zhāng Shǔguāng 张曙光 new military anti-corruption chief – SCMP: ‘Zhang Shuguang, who was promoted from the rank of lieutenant general to full general, was named as the new head of the Central Military Commission’s Discipline Inspection Commission – the top military anti-corruption body – and director of the CMC’s supervision committee, replacing Zhang Shengmin.
Wang Gang was also promoted to the rank of full general and would take over as head of the PLA Air Force, state broadcaster CCTV reported.’
‘In recent months, only four full generals have been seen in public: Zhang Shengmin, Dong, Han and Yang Zhibin, who was appointed commander of the Eastern Theatre Command in December.’
Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 presents orders to promote two military officers to rank of general – Xinhua: ‘Zhang Shengmin, vice chairman of the CMC, presided over the ceremony and announced the orders of promotion, which were signed by Xi.’

Senior CPC official Cài Qí 蔡奇 urges Party members to take lead in ideals, loyalty, and integrity – Xinhua: ‘while addressing a ceremony honoring outstanding Party members, exemplary Party workers, and advanced grassroots Party organizations of central Party and state institutions.’
‘Cai urged Party organizations at all levels in central and state organs and Party members to study the speech delivered by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, on July 1st marking the Party's 105th founding anniversary, and Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building.’
China Focus: The power of exemplary lives – Xinhua

Senior government officials study Xi’s speech at gathering marking CPC’s 105th founding anniversary – Xinhua
Senior political advisors study Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building, CPC anniversary speech – Xinhua
Senior legislators study Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building, CPC anniversary speech – Xinhua
Senior Chinese anti-graft officials study Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building, CPC anniversary speech – Xinhua

As Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 looks to extend his rule, he leans on longtime ally Cài Qí 蔡奇 – The New York Times: ‘Mr. Cai’s new roles indicated that he might take an important role in vetting potential new senior officials and enforcing the strict ideological standards that Mr. Xi is likely to expect from a new cohort of potential leaders.’

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平’s discourses on community-level work published – Xinhua

Imprisoned Chinese journalist Dǒng Yùyù 董郁玉 seeks medical parole for lung tumor – The New York Times

Founder of prominent underground church Ezra Jin 金明日 released from prison in China – The Guardian: ‘released from prison and reunited with his family in the United States.’ 🇺🇸

‘Cheers should have limits’: Chinese province Zhejiang calls foul on fans of Japan World Cup team – SCMP 🇯🇵

China dispatches additional working teams to aid flood control in Guangxi and Liaoning – Xinhua

Hong Kong

Hong Kong lawmaker William Wong Kam-fai 黃錦輝 resigns from Legislative Council after drink driving arrest – HKFP

Taiwan buitenland en defensie

Inside Taiwan’s nightmare scenario: Chinese blockade, earthquake, sabotage and invasion – Reuters: ‘Reuters was granted rare exclusive access to the closed-door drill, the first such test of whether officials in Nantou, working with central government and military agencies, could keep the mountainous county functioning under attack.’ 🇨🇳

Taiwanese military resumes originally ‘anti-communist’ patriotic classes for graduates, citing Chinese threat – Reuters: ‘“It ​is necessary for them to clearly understand national security threats and recognise the ​military mission of ‘why we fight, and for whom we fight’,” the statement said.’ 🇨🇳

Taiwanese traveller recounts brush with Chinese counterintelligence – Taipei Times: ‘told her that they knew her husband was an Investigation Bureau officer’ ‘on a 10-day business trip to China’ 🇨🇳

Taiwanese opposition to ‘unification’ with China keeps growing, Mainland Affairs Council poll shows – Taipei Times
In de tweejaarlijkse peilingen van NCCU ESC – de standaard-referentie – is het al sinds 2023 stabiel, met steeds opgeteld ~7.5% voor een vorm van ‘hereniging’, ~26% voor een vorm van formele ‘onafhankelijkheid’ en ~60% voor de status quo.
Daarbij moet gezegd worden dan sinds Tsai Ing-wen (2016–24) de DPP-regering er relatief goed in geslaagd is om ‘status quo’ voor veel Taiwanezen te herdefiniëren tot “Taiwan is al onafhankelijk onder de formele naam ‘Republiek China’”.

Taiwan to open representative office in Phoenix, foreign ministry says – Focus Taiwan 🇺🇸
Taiwanese foreign ministry says China has ‘no right to comment’ on reported Perth office – Focus Taiwan 🇦🇺

Army to hold Stinger missile firing drills next week, source says – Tapei Times

Taiwan binnenland en economie

Taiwanese opposition parties vote Beijing’s ‘ethnic unity’ law off legislative agenda – Taipei Times

Rival drone procurement bills advance to committee review – Focus Taiwan

Cabinet’s three election official nominees again rejected by Legislature – Focus Taiwan

Many KMT assets fell into private hands, ex-treasurer Liu Tai-ying 劉泰英 says – Taipei Times: ‘Assets recovered by the government’s Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee — set up in 2016 — represented only “the tip of the iceberg,” he said.’

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