Thread: The View, from China

No fair observer would speak of the meetings of the 20th CPC National Congress without referring to the unprecedented progress that Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has witnessed concerning the improved services and raised standards of living in all its counties.

Yes, I'm sure those million or so Uighurs in concentration camps often refer to the "improved services and raised standards of living".

Originally Posted by sabang

^ I agree Herman. While China can be praised for for many aspects of it's handling of the CV crisis- specifically it's measures have saved many lives statistically compared to other countries, it's measures of late are ridiculously over the top considering the Omicron variant isn't so bad, and are clearly chafing with the population. They appear to be relaxing now, and about time too. "better late than never".

I agree Sabang. China had only two options. Bring out the army and shoot everyone (like always) or lock them up.
Statistics don't exist in China! Only facts like "Shitping to remain in power for life".




"A single spark will light up China like a prairie fire"
by Comrade HtG

Over the last week or so I’ve watched the news in Australia and followed the approach to the Victorian State elections. I’ve noticed Murdoch press outlets seem to denigrate Dan Andrews, the incumbent State Premier, at any opportunity and, for weeks leading up to the election, media has been suggesting Andrews would lose in a landslide because of his stance on Covid zero which led to an upswell in unpopularity.

Except he won and he won well.

Now, media begrudgingly accept that, their narrative was not the reality; what a surprise! Look carefully at these words, the media narrative was that Labor, Andrews, party, would lose and lose badly, the narrative was that Andrews was unpopular and his term as Labor leader as well as Premier of the State would be over. But it isn’t.

How is this possible, how did all the media outlets get it so very wrong?

The answer is simple, they didn’t get it wrong, they weren’t reporting facts to the public, they were attempting to sway public opinion to their point of view and, there’s a valuable lesson for Australians coming out of this.

In Victoria, they failed for one reason only, because they were reporting about Victoria to Victorians.

But Victorians know better, they live there; they know Dan Andrews had told them the truth and, despite media reports to the contrary, they couldn’t find a lie. Andrews told them that lockdowns for Covid were absolutely necessary and, while most people didn’t like it, they knew he was right. They didn’t need media to tell them what they thought, they needed media to give them the news and when they knew they weren’t getting any, they ignored media.

Media weren’t reporting facts, they were reporting stories. Victorians knew this but people outside of Victoria believed the stories. This all helped sell newspapers and gain clicks but can’t possibly help their credibility when they get it so wrong.

ABC, News Corp Ltd and others are now suggesting the problem wasn’t their analysis or reporting, nor was it the success of the Labor campaign, it was the failure of the opposition to capitalise on the misery of the lockdowns which, they say, was caused by Dan Andrews’ policies.

So, Australians can learn from this: when you live in a region and you know how your own life is, then you know what you’re reading is misinformation, you may not know why, but you certainly know it is.

Which begs the question: Why does anyone believe anything they read in the news? And the answer to this is one of modern day’s most interesting dichotomies. We don’t; almost every person you ask will tell you they don’t believe what’s in the papers, unless of course, it’s something we want to believe; or it’s something we know nothing about and can’t verify.

I live in China. I know Press write negative stories every day about the country. Before I came to live here, I was fully aware that the Chinese government were authoritarian and the place was a police state, I knew there were predatory practices going on and people in China were unhappy with their government: I knew all this because I’d read it in news and seen it on the TV and internet so, it must have been true — except, like Victoria, it wasn’t. And today, people in Sydney, Brisbane and all-around Australia, people who don’t live in Victoria, are wondering how the information was so wrong.

It’s the same with China. Most Australians don’t live in China but a few of us do, most never even visit China but, when they do, they find, as I did that the media reports on China are not true. Just as Dan Andrews was not at all unpopular, China is not at all authoritarian or oppressive and predatory practices aren’t part of Chinese culture but, most importantly, as proven by Harvard University and others, most people like, respect and appreciate their government.

So, next time you’re reading a media report telling you what’s wrong with China, just remember, those same media reporters and their editors and the publishers have been lying to you about pretty much everything you do know about, why would they tell you the truth about anything you don’t know about.

If they lie about this, they’ll lie about everything | by Jerry Grey | Nov, 2022 | Medium

Aussie retiree trashes claims of Uighur repression in Chinese propaganda | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site

Apart from having lived in China several years, Jerry- a keen cyclist- has actually visited Xinjiang many times, and bicycled through it. So just another Murdoch hit piece (yes, the above is a Murdoch web site)- an utter fabrication. Actually Xinjiang is booming. Why? BRI, plus it is a major tourism destination. It gets +300mm visitors every year.

Originally Posted by sabang

The answer is simple, they didn’t get it wrong, they weren’t reporting facts to the public

My take on media is slightly different. All have bias but the vast majority report facts. It is what they don't report that identifies their bias.

Lying by omission? Of course there has always been editorial bias, even between quality press- eg the Torygraph vs The Grauniad. I would argue that the dirty digger takes it to an entirely different level though. Also, that our media standards in general have been dropping.

Media Watch should be required weekly viewing for any informed aussie. Anyway, here is their take on it-

Originally Posted by misskit

Aussie retiree trashes claims of Uighur repression in Chinese propaganda | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site

Yes the bloke is a well known chinky brown noser who does his best to point his camera away from the concentration camps.

His party of three slept right next to what was supposed to be one (according to that boy wonder from ASPI) one night, without even knowing- because it wasn't.

Originally Posted by sabang

His party of three slept right next to what was supposed to be one (according to that boy wonder from ASPI) one night, without even knowing- because it wasn't.

Of course they did.

In an interview with the Global Times in June, Mr Grey said while he encountered heavy security and police checkpoints in Xinjiang, he saw no evidence of camps.

The Global Times, the wanketeers favourite chinky propaganda site.

Just fancy that.

U.S. logistic managers are bracing for delays in the delivery of goods from China in early January as a result of canceled sailings of container ships and rollovers of exports by ocean carriers.

Carriers have been executing on an active capacity management strategy by announcing more blank sailings and suspending services to balance supply with demand. "The unrelenting decline in container freight rates from Asia, caused by a collapse in demand, is compelling ocean carriers to blank more sailings than ever before as vessel utilization hits new lows," said Joe Monaghan, CEO of Worldwide Logistics Group.

U.S. manufacturing orders in China are down 40 percent, according to the latest CNBC Supply Chain Heat Map data. As a result of the decrease in orders, Worldwide Logistics tells CNBC it is expecting Chinese factories to shut down two weeks earlier than usual for the Chinese Lunar New Year — Chinese New Year's Eve falls on Jan. 21 next year. The seven days after the holiday are considered a national holiday.

"Many of the manufacturers will be closed in early January for the holiday, which is much earlier than last year," Monaghan said.

Supply chain research firm Project44 tells CNBC that after reaching record-breaking levels of trade during the pandemic lockdowns, vessel TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) volume from China to the U.S. has significantly pulled back since the end of summer 2022 — including a decline of 21% in total vessel container volume between August and November.

Asia-based global shipping firm HLS warned clients in a recent communication about the ocean transport business climate.
"It seems to be a very bad time for the shipping industry. We have the combination of declining demands and overcapacity as new tonnage enters the market," it wrote.

HLS analysts are predicting a further 2.5% decline in container volumes and a nearly 5-6% increase in capacity in 2023, which will continue to negatively impact freight rates in 2023.

"The container shipping market will be further complicated by economic uncertainty, geopolitical concerns, and also the increasingly heated market competition," HLS wrote.

OL USA CEO Alan Baer tells CNBC that there are some early signs of an inventory correction. Overall business volume and order flow out of Asia continue to be muted as carriers cancel more vessels, and there is little upside momentum leading into Chinese New Year. But Baer said, "Space has already tightened, so while demand is soft, space may be at a premium in January and throughout Q1. On the plus side, inventory depletion and the need to restart the order and delivery cycle appears to be inching upward."

U.S. West Coast ports take biggest hit

HLS cited trade data showing that U.S. imports from Asia plunged in October to their lowest level in 20 months. The spot rate for a container from Asia to the U.S. West Coast has crossed the breakeven point, "with little room for further reductions," it wrote.

The large West Coast ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have experienced the largest drop in trade, according to Josh Brazil, vice president of supply chain insights at Project44, as shippers also rerouted some of their shipments to the East Coast to avoid the risk of a major union strike at West Coast ports.

HLS expects most carriers to extend their West Coast rates until December 14, holding at $1,300-$1,400 per forty-foot equivalent containers (FEU). However, U.S. East Coast rates are expected to drop by $200 or $300 to average $3,200-3,300 per FEU in the first half of December.

The recent rise in Covid lockdowns in China continues to impact manufacturing operations and delay cargo outputs. There are also local access obstacles for cross-province and cross-city transportation, mostly related to truck driver testing requirements, with trucking capacity to be largely affected.

The fight for vessel space, the rollovers of cargo, and the slow trucking is tracked by the CNBC Supply Chain Heat Map.

Blank (canceled) sailings data shows the cut in vessel capacity on the transpacific route (China to the U.S.) continues at a significant pace. The 2M Alliance of Maersk and MSC has suspended almost half of its U.S. West Coast services for December. The Ocean Alliance (CMA CGM, Cosco Shipping, OOCL and Evergreen) and THE Alliance (Ocean Network Express, Hapag-Lloyd, HMM and Yang Ming Line) have cut overall vessel capacity by 40-50% up to Chinese New Year.

As a result, space for shippers is considered tight for cargo bound for the Pacific Southwest route and service reliability has declined, with carriers including MSC and Hapag-Lloyd rolling (not accepting) cargo on sailings in an effort to make up time. According to logistics managers, this is creating two weeks of delay. MSC said in its latest notice to clients, "ETAs are indicative and subject to change without prior notice."

The drop in manufacturing orders from the U.S. and the E.U. is also impacting Vietnam, which has been booming as a manufacturing hub as more trade moved away from China.

Since early this year, 12,500 companies were closed per month, a 24.8% increase year over year, according to the Vietnam General Statistics Office report. The combination of the lack of manufacturing orders and loan interest rates increasing from 6.5% to 13.2% in Vietnam led many companies to close factories instead of signing new order contracts, according to HLS.

Canceled ocean sailings bound for Vietnam are up 50% for December.

Surprise European manufacturing increase

Unlike the decrease in orders out of China, trade data analyzed by Project44 indicates that the Europe-to-U.S. route is "one of the possibly most surprising and certainly most significant developments since early 2020," Brazil said.

"This sharp rise cannot be explained by the pandemic alone. But a strategic shift from over-dependency on trade with China and geopolitical tensions over Russia are the main drivers of the EU-U.S. trade boom," he said.

The global trading map is being rapidly redrawn, with EU-U.S. trade and investment in U.S. rising sharply as economic ties between the West and China are subjected to critical scrutiny. This year, the U.S. has imported more goods from Europe than China – a big shift from the 2010s, according to Project 44.

"For their part, Europe's manufacturers battling sky-high energy prices and inflation are increasingly exporting to and investing in the U.S.," Brazil said.

Germany's exports to the U.S. were almost 50% higher in September year over year. Germany's mechanical engineering sector has boosted its exports to the U.S. by almost 20% in a year over year comparison of the first nine months of 2022, according to Project 44.

Manufacturing orders from China down 40% in demand collapse

Type 071E landing platform dock China built for Thailand completes sea trial


By Liu Xuanzun


Published: Dec 07, 2022 07:39 PM Updated: Dec 07, 2022 07:33 PM

The amphibious dock landing ships Wuzhishan (Hull 987), Kunlunshan (Hull 998) and Changbaishan (Hull 989) attached to a landing ship flotilla with the navy under the PLA Southern Theater Command steam alongside in waters of the South China Sea during a maritime training exercise on November 18, 2020. The exercise lasted four days, focusing on 10 subjects including comprehensive defense, Landing Craft Air Cushion’s (LCAC) transfer, visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) operation, and live-fire operations. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Liu Jian)

"The Type 071E landing platform dock China built for Thailand recently completed its sea trial, with experts saying on Wednesday that the large warship's construction is going smoothly and the vessel is expected to be delivered soon.

Developed by the No.708 Research Institute under the China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC) and built by the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai, the Type 071E landing platform dock successfully completed its sea trial recently, CSSC announced in a statement released on social media on Tuesday.

The test results show that all performance parameters of the ship are up to or superior to requirements stated in the contract, and received high approval by the client, the statement reads.

The agreement for China to build the landing platform dock for Thailand's navy was signed in Beijing in 2019, marking the first time China has exported a landing platform dock, as well as a major achievement of China-Thailand comprehensive strategic cooperation, the company said.

The sea trial demonstrated that the Type 071E is generally a reliable ship, and it is expected to be delivered to the Royal Thai Navy soon, Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military expert, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

It took a short period of just about three years from the contract signing to completing the sea trial, which reflects China's high shipbuilding capabilities, Wei said.

In the same time period, the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard also built Type 075 amphibious assault ships, Type 054A frigates and several civilian vessels, according to media reports.

As a 20,000 ton-class landing platform dock that is competitive on the global arms market, the Type 071E's transport capability and far sea maneuvering capability are among the best in the world, and its speed and endurance are considered superior to its foreign counterparts, reaching a world-leading level, CSSC said.

The Type 071E is an export version of the Type 071 amphibious landing ship in service with the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy with adjustments and customizations based on the needs of the Royal Thai Navy, Wei said.

Its large vehicle deck can host military vehicles including tanks, armored vehicles as well as mechanized and air-cushioned landing craft; its flight deck and hangar can host several helicopters for vertical landing missions, Wei said.

With the Type 071E, the Royal Thai Navy will not only get enhanced troop transport capability in far sea, but also improved disaster relief capability, the expert said.

From January to February 2022, the PLA Navy sent the Type 071 amphibious dock landing ship Wuzhishan carrying more than 1,400 tons of supplies to Tonga, sailing more than 5,200 nautical miles to help the South Pacific country in disaster relief after a volcanic eruption triggered a tsunami."

Type 071E landing platform dock China built for Thailand completes sea trial - Global Times

Originally Posted by OhOh

SINOVAC releases key real-world data for COVID vaccine efficacy for seniors as China seeks to boost vaccination rates

Which anyone involved in healthcare knows is a crock of shit.

China 08:26, 08-Dec-2022

President Xi Jinping arrives in Saudi Arabia

In an important speech on economic strategy, delivered at a recent forum organised by the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for Germany to orient itself toward the reality of an “increasingly multipolar world” that is arranging itself right now.

Scholz stated, countering a narrative that Europe and North America can simply return to reliable economic growth following the disruptions of COVID-19 and the crisis in Ukraine, that the growing strength of Asia had fundamentally changed the international landscape. There will be no going back to the good old days in which North America and Western Europe enjoyed stable economic growth and high employment rates.

Inter alia, this is a tacit admission that the West’s wealth has been built to a significant degree on the basis of extraction from the developing world. The “good old days” were when Europe and North America were rich and Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean were poor and subordinate

What was the material foundation of these good old days? It was colonialism, the transatlantic slave trade, the genocide of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, the brutal underdevelopment of Africa, the Opium Wars, and more. The expansionism and systematic pillage during the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries created a profoundly lopsided world, dominated by a handful of Western capitalist powers.

This cosy arrangement was disrupted by the October Revolution, which marked the beginning of a new era of world history. The construction of socialism in the Soviet Union, China, Korea, Vietnam, Eastern Europe and Cuba – and the mighty wave of anti-colonial liberation in the post-WWII period – brought about a profound transformation in global politics.

But the US and its allies have worked ceaselessly to undermine the socialist world and to impose neocolonial domination in those places where colonial rule had been dismantled. This is the context for the Cold War; for the Korean War, the Vietnam War; the overthrow of progressive governments from Indonesia to Grenada to Chile; the support for apartheid regimes in South Africa, Zimbabwe and elsewhere.

Wars in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, along with several rounds of NATO expansion, were early episodes in the Project for a New American Century – the US proposal for consolidating and expanding its hegemony in the post-Soviet era. But China and other countries, particularly in the Global South, have been moving along a different trajectory, in pursuit of a multipolar, multilateral project, based on the principles of the UN Charter.

This strategy is directed toward lasting peace and worldwide sovereign development. Its manifestation in reality is clear enough: while the US is by far the world leader in military spending, military bases, wars of aggression, regime change operations, unilateral sanctions and economic coercion, China is the world leader in mutually-beneficial trade, infrastructure development, and renewable energy.

The Biden administration’s response to the rise of multipolarity has been to escalate the US-led new Cold War and to promote decoupling, dividing the world into two competing and exclusive blocs. While Biden has presented this division as being between democracies and autocracies, in reality the group he is trying to establish is based on the George W Bush doctrine: you are either with us or against us.

The US created AUKUS last year – a group of countries united by shared whiteness and commitment to imperialism – in order to bolster the military encirclement of China. Meanwhile Washington has taken advantage of the crisis in Ukraine to recruit new members to NATO and attempt to weaken Russia by prolonging the conflict (a strategy that has certain parallels with the US’ role in Afghanistan in the 1980s).

European powers in particular are being subjected to tremendous pressure to “decouple” from China and Russia, but such a decoupling doesn’t serve the interests of the people of Europe. It was therefore an assertion of political independence for Scholz to travel to Beijing in early November – the first visit to China by a Western head of state since the start of the pandemic, and just days after the close of the 20th National Congress of the CPC.

The trip took place in spite of the bitter criticism of certain Cold Warriors among the German political class, not to mention the rumblings of disapproval from Washington. But Scholz appears to have realised – as did his predecessor, Angela Merkel – that the days of unipolarity and hegemony are over.

Before leaving for Beijing, he stated bluntly that “China remains an important business and trading partner for Germany and Europe — we don’t want to decouple from it.”

Such a rupture in the transatlantic alliance is to be very much welcomed. The people of Europe and the world will only lose from any New Cold War or decoupling. The world’s future is multipolar and peaceful.

Multipolarity to prevail despite US’ ‘decoupling’ push - New Cold War: Know Better

Originally Posted by OhOh

China 08:26, 08-Dec-2022

President Xi Jinping arrives in Saudi Arabia

Cool, bet they're sharing tips on bone saws and concentration camps.

Jointly Creating a Better Future

Another Sterling post from a forum intellectual.

Originally Posted by sabang

Another Sterling post from a forum intellectual.

You're too stupid to waste time explaining it to.

Three years after the outbreak of the pandemic, China is slowly adapting to a world that has largely opened up to life with COVID.

Nothing new there. Either stealing, copying or adapting.

China-Iran high-level meeting highlights comprehensive cooperation, ‘dispels rumor of rift in bilateral ties’


By Xu Keyue


Published: Dec 14, 2022 09:29 PM Updated: Dec 15, 2022 12:00 AM

"China views its ties with Iran from a strategic perspective and will not waver in its determination to develop their comprehensive strategic partnership, said Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua when meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Iran's capital Tehran on Tuesday.

Given that the meeting highlighted the consensus on deepening bilateral relations and comprehensive cooperation, Chinese observers said it could effectively help dispel some noises that are trying to drive a wedge between the two countries.

During the meeting, Hu said that China views its ties with Iran from a strategic perspective and will not waver in its determination to develop their comprehensive strategic partnership, noting that China firmly supports Iran in opposing external interference and safeguarding its sovereignty, territorial integrity and national dignity, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

China, he said, stands ready to work with Iran to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, make joint efforts to advance the implementation of the China-Iran comprehensive cooperation plan, and push for new progress in bilateral practical cooperation.

Hu conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings and best wishes to Raisi, and briefed the Iranian president on the major achievements and far-reaching significance of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in October.

Xi and Raisi had a phone conversation in July and held a meeting in September, in which they reached important consensus on deepening China-Iran relations.

For his part, Raisi said Iran and China enjoy a traditional friendship and bilateral ties are of important strategic significance. No matter how the international and regional landscapes change, Iran will remain firmly committed to deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, the Iranian president noted.

Raisi also said Iran, which has always been a trustworthy partner of China, stands ready to firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns, actively implement the bilateral comprehensive cooperation plan, continuously boost all-round cooperation, and deliver more cooperation outcomes.

On the same day, Hu also held talks with Iranian first vice president Mohammad Mokhber, where they exchanged in-depth views on implementing the comprehensive cooperation plan between China and Iran and promoting bilateral practical cooperation.

In March 2021, China and Iran signed a major 25-year agreement to enhance comprehensive cooperation in a range of fields including trade. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that under the deal, the two sides would tap the potentials in economic and cultural cooperation and make plans for long-term cooperation, according to Xinhua.

Hu’s visit will undoubtedly further push forward bilateral ties and boost comprehensive cooperation, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The observer said that since the signing of the 25-year deal, China-Iran ties have entered a new stage of development, and the two countries have been making steady progress in economic and trade cooperation.

Also, in September, China congratulated Iran on its upcoming full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and expressed its willingness to strengthen coordination and cooperation within the SCO framework, Xinhua reported.

Also, in September, China congratulated Iran on its upcoming full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and expressed its willingness to strengthen coordination and cooperation within the SCO framework, Xinhua reported.

The meeting between Hu and Raisi came after Xi concluded his trip on Saturday after attending the first China-Arab States Summit and the China-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit (GCC) and paying a state visit to Saudi Arabia.

China’s series of high-level meetings in the Middle East region all have yielded fruitful outcomes and enhanced China’s relations with the region, Qian said.

The observer said that for a long time, relations between some GCC countries and Iran have fluctuated due to religious and ethnic issues and geographical and security disputes.

Therefore, some Western media, using the tensions between GCC countries and Iran, has been trying to drive a wedge between China and Iran.
Hu’s visit could help dispel the noise, Qian said, noting that China is a positive force for peace and stability for the Middle East, and has won widespread praise in the region for upholding justice rather than playing a game of balance of power.

The series of high-level visits to the region reflect that China has strong will to develop a good relationship with Middle Eastern powers including Iran and Saudi Arabia. While recognizing that the situation in the region is complicated, China is trying to play a role of being an active contributor to regional peace, Qian said."

China-Iran high-level meeting highlights comprehensive cooperation, ‘dispels rumor of rift in bilateral ties’ - Global Times