China's Great Leap Forward on "Nationwide Manufacturing of Chipsets", thousands of failed businesses

(27 Sep) At a time when [companies] like Huawei and SMIC are sanctioned by the US, many have embarked on a "Nationwide Manufacturing of Chipsets" movement à la "Great Leap Forward". According to the Chinese newspaper 21st Century Business Herald, China has established more than 170,000 semiconductor firms in under two years. Anhui and more than ten other provinces and municipalities have formulated plans for the IC [integrated circuit] industry that will reach 1.42 trillion CNY(approx. 6.17 trillion TWD [210 billion USD]). However, Radio Free Asia reported that while China poured its resources into "chip-making", its underdeveloped technology left thousands of firms crumbling before they could launch. Among them were Wuhan Hongxin, Tacoma (Nanjing), and Shaanxi Kuntech Semiconductor.

Chinese scholars: difficult to effectively implement planned economic practices

A top Chinese financial scholar expressed that the foundational knowledge, technology and creative environment for research and development of integrated circuits in China are lagging. Even with unlimited capital investment, this kind of administrative "control" over resources from the era of economic planning would be difficult to implement effectively. A previous research report from China stated that the overall demand for talent in the IC industry reached 700,000 while the supply was only 300,000.

#China #GreatLeapForward #ChipTechnology #NationwideManufacturing #Failed #Business

Source: Liberty Times News Taiwan
Hong Kong HKLIG Forum

Translated by: Hong Kong Echo

US House of Representatives Passes Another Bill Against Uyghur Forced Labour, Compels Listed Companies to Disclose Details of Operations Involving Xinijang

The US House of Representatives passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act by 253 votes to 163 on 30 September, requiring publicly traded companies to disclose details of those of their business activities and supply chains involving Xinjiang. This was the second bill addressing force labour in Xinjiang the House had passed in 10 days.

Introduced in March by Democratic representative Jennifer Wexton, the bill seeks to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require issuers of securities to make necessary disclosures about activities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Following the bill’s passage, Wexton said on Twitter that Americans deserve to know if the products they use every day, from phones to clothes, are produced by forced labour. She stressed that “[c]omplicity in human rights abuses will not be tolerated.” Quoting the 2019 annual report on China by the cross-party Congressional Executive Committee on China, the bill notes numerous reports of the Chinese government cracking down on ethnic minorities and holding them in forced labour in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Source: Apple Daily #Oct01

#US #Xinjiang #China #Uyghur #House #Congress #JenniferWexton #ForcedLabour #Business #Securities

https://bit.ly/34FaL2d

US Media: Senior German Official Stopped the Publication of an Internal Report on Chinese Influence due to Worries of Possible Damage to German-Chinese Relations

American media company, Axios exclusively reported that a senior German official suppressed the publishing of an intelligence report document as officials worry that it would possibly damage the economic relationship between Germany and China. The report described China’s expansion of influence in Germany.

The exclusive report quoted two former US intelligence officials, they stated that this report is highly-confidential report has been completed since 2018. The content of the report examines China’s intention to influence Germany government, their community and business market. However, a senior German official stopped the report circulating within the German government. It was reported that only the German Chancellor Markel and several officials had read the report. When Axios asked the spokesperson of the German Federal Government, the spokesperson said that the German government would not comment on intelligence discovery or the activity of an intelligence company, as a matter of principle. The Federal Intelligence Service in Germany had also not commented on it yet.

The German policies towards China have been affected by economic factors, and sometimes, this would influence the perspective of the German government on the human right and national security issues. A former German Ambassador in China Volker Stanzel said in an interview that “Germany depends on exports to a high degree, and that gives the business a large influence. Business representatives talk to the government and are used to being listened to. The Chinese Communist Party succeeded in globalising its economy because it was able to join itself to foreign business interests.”

Businesses tend to discourage their local government from implementing policies that would harm China’s economic relations. However, Beijing authorities increasingly conflict commercial trade with politics, including threats in order to implement punitive economic measures on companies which criticised the human rights in China. As a result, Peter Altmaier, a German Businessman and the Economy Minister, is incentivised to fade out the seriousness of the human rights violation and security challenges in China.

#China #Germany #Axios #Economy #GermanChinaRelation #Business #Export #Politics

Source: Apple Daily #Oct07

https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20201007/XG2SEAX2FZCTDDDU6ODB6A3SMA/
Axios #Oct06
https://www.axios.com/exclusive-top-german-official-hushed-up-report-on-chinas-influence-8c6aeef3-0f71-405f-a902-a215399f2068.html

Chinese-Owned Businesses in Australia Squeezed on Both Sides as Tensions Take Toll

Three years ago, the Kilikanoon winery in Australia’s picturesque Clare Valley appeared to gain an export advantage when it was bought by Yantai Changyu Pioneer Wine Co., China’s largest wine producer.

This year, it hasn’t sold a single bottle to China.

A worsening diplomatic and trade dispute has choked off exports of Australian wine to China, including the 350,000 liters of premium Shiraz and other varietals that Kilikanoon Wines Pty. Ltd. had been shipping to the country each year. China, angered by Australia’s call last year for an international investigation into the origins of the pandemic, has imposed tariffs and restrictions on wine and other commodities such as barley, coal and even lobster.

Source: WSJ #Jun22

https://t.co/TZ8zcPLhpL

#Australia #Business #China #Wine #Barley #Coal #Lobster

#China is welcoming American #Business owners to the country with open arms despite the cold shoulder that it is giving governmental figures. This comes as Beijing has largely declined to talk defense with #Washington.

https://ept.ms/BillGatesMeetingXi_CIF