Foreign aid | Wandering China

April 5, 2013 • 4:53 pm 0

Is Kim Jong Un in control? [CNN GPS] #ChinaNorthKoreaUS

Combined the US and China could put a quick end to this latest run of gun blazing in the Korean Peninsula. The longer these world leaders dally divided, the more room for North Korea to miscalculate.

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Is Kim Jong Un in control?
By Jason Miks
Source – CNN GPS, 5 April, 2013

South Korean media has reported today that two medium-range missiles have been loaded onto mobile launchers along North Korea’s east coast, and that they are ready to be launched. The report comes at the end of another tense weak on the Korean Peninsula that has seen an announcement by the U.S. that it is sending missile defenses to Guam and a North Korean statement that its army has final approval for nuclear strikes against the United States.

In a Situation Room special, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer spoke with Fareed Zakaria to get his take on North Korea’s rhetoric, how serious the latest threats are, and China’s potential role in easing tensions.

Is it time to send some sort of diplomatic envoy to Pyongyang on behalf of the president of the United States?

Well, the Bush administration actually did try diplomacy. They signed two agreements with the North Koreans. Plenty of people did. The problem is that they cheat on them. They’ve cheated on every one of these.

There’s only one country with whom diplomacy would work with North Korea, and that’s China. The Chinese make up by some estimates 50 percent of North Korea’s food, and about 80 percent of its fuel. There are people in China who literally opened the taps and allowed North Korea to survive.
Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, CNN, Communications, Foreign aid, Government & Policy, Hard Power, Influence, International Relations, Media, military, New Leadership, North Korea, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Soft Power, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, U.S.

April 1, 2013 • 9:16 pm 0

[Australia FM] Carr takes aim at N Korea [The Age] #China #NorthKorea

It looks like Australia is going to leverage on North Korea’s latest incarnation of war rhetoric to flex some middle power muscle during its visit to suss out the new Chinese leadership.

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Carr takes aim at N Korea
David Wroe, Defence correspondent for The Age
Source – The Age, published April 2, 2013

Australia will urge China to clamp down on the flow of technology and equipment crossing its borders into North Korea, which could be used by the rogue nation in its nuclear weapons program.

This week Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr will try to persuade his Chinese counterpart, State Councillor Yang Jiechi, to tighten the enforcement of sanctions backed by the United Nations aimed at forcing the hermit state to abandon its goal of becoming a fully fledged nuclear power.

Amid growing fears that the nation’s increasingly aggressive stance towards its southern neighbour could spiral out of control, Senator Carr will raise the issue during a visit of an Australian delegation to China this week led by Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, International Relations, Politics, Mapping Feelings, Australia, Strategy, military, Foreign aid, North Korea, Communications, Charm Offensive, Soft Power, Influence, Public Diplomacy, Beijing Consensus, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Government & Policy, New Leadership

March 26, 2013 • 4:07 pm 0

Xi maps out Africa blueprint [Global Times] #ChinaAfrica

This second step of President Xi Jinping’s journey is also crucial. A display on how China treats its friends. Will the Beijing Consensus click smoothly into gear? China cares deeply for a prolonged stable environment for growth. Soothing the still volatile region will demonstrate a model capable of rejuvenating other nations.

The Julius Nyerere International Convention Center is a recipient of China Aid. Completed in September 2012, it is the latest of a growing network of African countries that carried the symbol of Chinese government loans.

China’s desire to be friendly with Africa are manifold. Africa extends China’s reach greatly. From the strategic to economic, the list is long.

Can China do what the West could not do? Harmonize the continent.

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Xi maps out Africa blueprint
By Yang Jingjie
Source – Global Times, published March 26, 2013

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) delivers a speech at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Center in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on March 25, 2013. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese President Xi Jinping Monday vowed to strengthen Sino-African ties and continue providing no-strings-attached aid to the African continent, during a state visit to Tanzania, the second leg of the leader’s first overseas trip.

The thoughts on Sino-African relations laid out in Xi’s speech have been interpreted as a blueprint for China’s Africa policies in the coming decade, as the country has just completed its leadership transition.

Addressing audiences at a new conference hall in Dar es Salaam built by China, the president reviewed the friendly foundations of Sino-African ties over the past six decades, and called the two sides “a community of shared destiny.”

Please click here to read article at its source.

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: The Chinese Identity, Culture, International Relations, Media, Politics, Mapping Feelings, Strategy, Economics, global times, Foreign aid, Finance, Charm Offensive, Soft Power, Influence, Chinese Model, Public Diplomacy, Beijing Consensus, Trade, Africa, Government & Policy, Reform, New Leadership, Modernisation, Peaceful Development

February 6, 2013 • 8:45 pm 0

China’s ‘String of Pearls’ – Real or Fake? #Forbes #China #India #Pakistan

China’s ‘String of Pearls’ not a figment of journalists’ imaginations: Maha Atal on seeing the economic forest for the trees.

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China’s ‘String of Pearls’ – Real or Fake?
by Maha Atal
Source – Forbes, published February 2, 2013

Dan Drezner has a blog post up arguing that China‘s ‘string of pearls’ is a figment of journalists’ imaginations. The ‘string of pearls’ is the name given to China’s strategic investments in South and Southeast Asia, which, when plotted on a map, look awfully like a string of pearls encircling India. Pakistan is critical to this strategy, both because of its size and its location. Drezner is right to suggest that without the Sino-Pakistani link, the string of pearls theory doesn’t hold.

I’ve written about the string of pearls, and specifically about its Pakistani component, several times, for Forbes and other outlets, and I confess I’m not fully persuaded by Drezner’s critique.

1. Drezner depicts the Sino-Pakistani relationship as something that has arisen in response to the U.S. presence in the region and China’s growth:

Please click here to read the rest of article at its source. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Forbes, Foreign aid, Government & Policy, India, Influence, International Relations, military, Pakistan, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Soft Power, Strategy, Territorial Disputes, The Chinese Identity

November 21, 2012 • 6:20 pm 0

China backs Egypt mediation #China [Global Times]

Global Times: The Chinese are concerned about the Gaza Strip. With new helmsmen, how will China see its independent foreign policy of peace and non-intervention unfold?

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China backs Egypt mediation
by Hao Zhou
Source – Global Times, published November 22, 2012

Israeli police gather after a blast ripped through a bus near the defense ministry in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. At least 21 people were injured, in what an official said was “a terrorist attack.” Text – Global Times, Photo: AFP, 2012

China supports mediation efforts made by Egypt and other Arab nations as well as the League of Arab States (LAS) to ease the current tensions in Gaza, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Wednesday.

“China is paying great attention to the situation in the Gaza Strip,” Hua told reporters.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi spoke with Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr over the phone about the situation there, expressing China’s support for Egypt and other Arab states as well as the LAS, she said. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Africa, Beijing Consensus, Chinese Model, Communications, Culture, Disaster, Egypt, Foreign aid, global times, Government & Policy, Influence, International Relations, Modernisation, Peacekeeping, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Strategy, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), Territorial Disputes, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, Africa, China's Rise, Defense, Identity, International Relations, Politics, Propaganda, Public Diplomacy, Strategy

August 31, 2012 • 1:41 am 0

Stephen Chan: China appreciates African aspirations in a way the West does not [IQ2 debates]

Intelligence Squared, London: Debating China’s interests, behaviour and role in Africa.

Certainly worth an hour of time to hear two sides slug out in an exchange of rhetoric, numbers, case studies, some revealing of the deep impact mainstream media has in shaping ideologies, not grounded in cross-referenced information nor primary research.

Here is a clip of Stephen Chan, OBE is a member of the Chinese diaspora and Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies, questioning the trapdoor of colonial thinking.

On a side note – I disagree with the motion’s description, though possibly provocative by design – We all know that the Chinese are the neo-colonialists of Africa. (see rest of it below), as this is one of the most clumsy, self-assertive statements possible one can make in critical thinking.

For more – check out this review of the debate by Hidden Harmonies.

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Stephen Chan: China appreciates African aspirations in a way the West does not – IQ2 debates

If you look on the world map, Europe and America are far more important to the Chinese future, than Africa is. Africa is important as it will help fuel the Chinese coming of age. But it is not the absolute key end result of Chinese global foreign policy. But what is going on, is a global contest of who is going to be in control of global capitalism ten, twenty years in the future…. Stephen Chan

Stephen Chan was speaking against the motion “Beware of the dragon: Africa should not look to China” at this IQ2 debate at Cadogan Hall in London on 28th November 2011.

Event info:

We all know that the Chinese are the neo-colonialists of Africa. They’ve plundered the continent of its natural resources, tossing aside any concern for human rights and doing deals with some of the world’s most unsavoury regimes. The relentless pursuit of growth is China’s only spur.

But is this picture really fair? In Angola, for example, China’s low-interest loans have been tied to a scheme that has ensured that roads, schools and other infrastructure has been built. China has an impressive track record of lifting its own millions out of poverty and can do the same for Africa. And is the West’s record in Africa as glowing as we like to think? After decades of pouring aid into Africa, how much have we actually achieved in terms of reducing poverty, corruption and war? So which way should Africa look for salvation — to the West, to China, or perhaps to its own people? Come to the debate and decide for yourself. Source – IQ2/Youtube, 2012

Filed under: Africa, Ai Weiwei, Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Culture, Economics, Foreign aid, Government & Policy, Human Rights, Influence, International Relations, Mapping Feelings, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Social, Soft Power, Strategy, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, Africa, China's Rise, culture, Economics, Environment, International Relations, Natural Resources, Public Diplomacy, Trade

August 29, 2012 • 11:33 pm 0

[North-Korea] Dealing with comrades [Global Times]

The China-North Korea Friendship Bridge, first constructed by the Japanese between 1937 and 1943 has seen trade traffic increase from 50 to 500 trucks in a decade.

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Dealing with comrades
by Feng Shu
Source – Global Times, published August 29, 2012

The China-North Korea Friendship Bridge crosses the Yalu River, linking Dandong, Northeast China’s Liaoning Province, and North Korea’s second largest city, Sinuiju. Nearly 80 percent of all bilateral trade goes through Dandong. Photo: CFP

As the only entry point into the North Korean Rason free-trade zone, the 560-meter-long bridge linking Quanhe port, Hunchun in Jilin Province, to the port of Won Jing Ri in North Korea is packed every day.

From North Korea, many trucks fully loaded with seafood, clothes and minerals drive into China while traders take food, oil and other daily necessities the other way to meet Korean needs.

“This country is more open to China today. Ten years ago, only around 50 trucks were allowed to go across the border a day. Ten times more cross daily now,” said Ji Huiqin, chairman of Yunda Knitwear Clothing Co., who started to do business in Rason in 2004. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Communications, Domestic Growth, Economics, Foreign aid, global times, Influence, International Relations, North Korea, Peaceful Development, Public Diplomacy, Soft Power, Strategy, Trade, China's Rise, Economics, International Relations, North Korea, Trade

July 26, 2012 • 11:59 am 0

Kishore Mahbubani: Is China Losing the Diplomatic Plot? [Straits Times]

Keeping track of China’s diplomatic mistakes becomes particularly pertinent as the US awakens from its ‘geopolitical slumber with one eye already open.‘

In some ways it does reinforce the idea the Chinese are finding it increasingly difficult to show they are willing to bide their time. Laying low is certainly something the Chinese are finding hard to do as China becomes politically pluralistic with voices resonating across all strata of society from levels of government to the military to citizen mass events gaining domestic and international traction. It also seems according to Mahbubani, that for the first time in a while as we expect its leadership change is that… ‘the challenge for the world now is that China has become politically pluralistic: no leader is strong enough to make wise unilateral concessions.’ – will China lose the expedience and efficacy it has long associated with its strong, central grip as a result?

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Is China Losing the Diplomatic Plot?
by Kishore Mahbubani
Source – Straits Times, published July 27, 2012

SINGAPORE – In 2016, China’s share of the global economy will be larger than America’s in purchasing-price-parity terms. This is an earth-shaking development; in 1980, when the United States accounted for 25% of world output, China’s share of the global economy was only 2.2%. And yet, after 30 years of geopolitical competence, the Chinese seem to be on the verge of losing it just when they need it most.

China’s leaders would be naïve and foolish to bank on their country’s peaceful and quiet rise to global preeminence. At some point, America will awaken from its geopolitical slumber; there are already signs that it has opened one eye.

But China has begun to make serious mistakes. After Japan acceded to Chinese pressure and released a captured Chinese trawler in September 2010, China went overboard and demanded an apology from Japan, rattling the Japanese establishment. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Domestic Growth, Economics, Education, Foreign aid, Government & Policy, Influence, International Relations, Mapping Feelings, New Leadership, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Soft Power, Straits Times, Strategy, The Chinese Identity, U.S., Diplomacy, International Relations, Politics, U.S.

July 22, 2012 • 1:48 pm 0

China doubles loans to Africa to USD$20 billion [AsiaOne/AFP]

China has been the African continent’s largest investor since 2009 in my mind, for both resource and strategic reasons. Trade amounted to US$166.3 billion last year and China has just made a pledge of a $20b credit line to Africa at the Beijing forum on China-Africa cooperation.

Despite competing claims – that on one hand, it made too aggressive an inroad causing friction with locals causing anti-Chinese sentiment to rise. And on the other, for politically treating African countries as equals. this means there are two polarised receiving ends to China’s policy of non-interference in its foreign policy.

I believe this is a key opportunity for China to set a clear benchmark on what they mean in being a responsible international leader. On paper, it seems, the ministerial conference seems set to fix existing problems, from inculcating social responsibility to its companies operating there to measures to expand out of the current unequal trade relationship.

If the wealth of the west in the colonial age was built on the back of the exploitation of Africa, will twenty-first century China prove to be different? Will it play the role of a fairer partner in its resource relationship with the second-largest and second-most-populous continent, by engaging in equivalent exchange instead of exploiter?

For more, see

President Hu: China to strive to open up new prospects for China-Africa strategic partnership (Forum on China-Africa Cooperation 2012)

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China doubles loans to Africa to $25 billion
AFP
Source – AsiaOne/AFP, published July 19, 2012

BEIJING – China said Thursday it would offer US$20 billion (S$25 billion) in new loans to Africa, underscoring the relationship’s growing importance, as Chinese companies agreed to operate more responsibly on the resource-rich continent.

Beijing has poured money into Africa over the last 15 years, seeking to tap into its vast natural resources, and China became the continent’s largest trading partner in 2009.

But its aggressive move into the continent has at times -’caused friction with local people, with some complaining Chinese companies import their own workers, flout labour laws and mistreat local employees.’ Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: AFP, Africa, AsiaOne, Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Economics, Europe, Finance, Foreign aid, Government & Policy, Influence, International Relations, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Resources, Soft Power, Strategy, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), The Chinese Identity

June 20, 2012 • 5:48 am 0

Shifting power balance sees China, Japan dig deep to save the West [the Australian]

Greetings, am still wandering through Europe getting a feel of the impact (sometimes, the lack of) of China in this region. Internet access has been intermittent as I travel through the countryside. More regular updates to come when I return. In the meantime…

A view from Australia: Shift in the global balance of power tilting east or will this be an Asian century of footing the bill for debts it did not ‘directly’ incur? The way this article is phrased suggests it also means footing the bills with little equivalent exchange in return. Will paying for someone else’s bad habits become the new norm in this new landscape of sharing a boat of interdependence and integration? Perhaps this shift is purely perceptual.

…in a sign that Europe is nearing the end of its tolerance for “helpful” suggestions from outsiders, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso told the G20 that the EU was not the cause of the current crisis and won’t be “lectured” by anyone.

“Frankly, we are not coming here to receive lessons in terms of democracy or in terms of how to handle the economy,” Barroso said.

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Shifting power balance sees China, Japan dig deep to save the West
BY: RICHARD GLUYAS
Source: The Australian, published June 20, 2012

THE arrival of the Asian century has been underscored with news that China will kick in $US43 billion ($42.4bn) to the International Monetary Fund’s global firewall.

China’s commitment, which is the third largest after Japan ($US60bn) and Germany ($US54.7bn), compares with a weighty contribution from the mighty US — zero.

The US is clearly wrestling with its own problems, and a donation to Europe’s begging bowl would be political poison in an election year. Even so, the latest commitments to the new $US430bn fund, which were announced during the G20 summit in Mexico, highlight the anomaly of the US and Europe controlling key global institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank, when the centre of economic power is tilting east. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Australia, Beijing Consensus, Chen Wenling, Chinese Model, Economics, Europe, European Union, Finance, Foreign aid, IMF, Influence, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Soft Power, The Australian, The Chinese Identity

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Wandering China

Is Kim Jong Un in control? [CNN GPS] #ChinaNorthKoreaUS

[Australia FM] Carr takes aim at N Korea [The Age] #China #NorthKorea

Xi maps out Africa blueprint [Global Times] #ChinaAfrica

China’s ‘String of Pearls’ – Real or Fake? #Forbes #China #India #Pakistan

China backs Egypt mediation #China [Global Times]

[North-Korea] Dealing with comrades [Global Times]

Kishore Mahbubani: Is China Losing the Diplomatic Plot? [Straits Times]

China doubles loans to Africa to USD$20 billion [AsiaOne/AFP]

Shifting power balance sees China, Japan dig deep to save the West [the Australian]

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