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US latest attack on China in the form of banning Chinese airlines

The US government’s latest attack on China in the form of banning Chinese airlines from continuing the already limited passenger air services between the two countries has been motivated by US politics pandering to anti-China forces, Chinese insiders and analysts said on Friday.

It is the Chinese government that initially made full preparations to ease the restrictions, driven by the demand of Chinese nationals to return home, and also the work and production resumption needs. 

And even with the new rule, US carriers at most can fly twice per week, still far fewer than what the US government said their aviation agreement with China allows, plus a precondition that none of their passengers test positive for COVID-19 for three consecutive weeks, showing that China still puts preventing imported COVID-19 cases as the priority.

Industry insiders suspect that the US issued a flight suspension, which came ahead of China’s adjustment policy only half a day, as a political operation intended to create the illusion of “the US forcing China to follow suit.”

By getting into a new war over flights with China, the Trump administration in essence holds the US airline industry hostage but will fail to pressure China into offering any concessions, as the Chinese rules made it clear how foreign airlines, including those from the US, can resume flights, analysts said.

China keeps own pace

“The new rules the CAAC released on Thursday to ease flight restrictions were prepared for days, which was not forced out by Washington’s flight ban, although it was only a matter of hours,” Zheng Hongfeng, CEO of industry information provider VariFlight told the Global Times on Friday. He cited the details in the CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China) statement, such as starting Monday as many as 64 international flights could be added, bringing total international arrivals to about 33,000 a week.

“Those numbers, such as the number of international flights that could be added, could not be calculated overnight, and different departments – ranging from diplomacy to healthcare and immigration–were involved to show that the Chinese regulator fully prepared for it,” he said. 

As early as in May, Li Jian, deputy head of China’s aviation authority, said it would consider increasing international flights as long as imported virus risks are under control. 

The US government is used to bluffing and has resorted to its bullying tactics, while China always sticks to its own plan, and the move fits into the Trump administration’s approach to all issues: always impose sanctions first, Shen Yi, a professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs of Fudan University, told the Global Times on Friday. 

Washington political trap

The global aviation industry is suffering heavily from the pandemic, and US airlines are no exception. But insiders said the US flight polices mirror not only the fight between American political parties, but also the conflict between Trump and the carriers. 

As early as late January, US President Donald Trump set up travel restrictions toward Chinese citizens, followed by a ban on flights from 26 European countries in March, later adding the UK and Ireland to the list.

“US airlines are pissed by the suspension, as Trump’s failure destroyed their domestic and international business,” an insider surnamed Li in the US told the Global Times on Friday. 

The three major airlines, each employs around 100,000 people, bolstered one of the most industry in the US, providing more than ten million peoples with employments. With hubs mostly in pro-Democrat areas and passengers mostly pro-Democrat professionals, the airlines found them at the heart of the bipartisan quarrel, experts said.

Meanwhile, US businesses such as Apple and Qualcomm also suffered from the flight suspensions, as they have become the driving force behind resuming flights to China.

However, companies with business in China are not in line with Trump’s strategy of bringing manufacturing back to the US, which “makes Trump unhappy again,” Li said. 

Data from GM’s website shows that China was the company’s largest market from 2017 to 2019, accounting for 40 percent of its sales. Chip manufacturers such as Qualcomm and Intel are also heavily dependent on the Chinese market. For fiscal year 2019, which ended in September 2019, roughly 48 percent of Qualcomm’s revenue, or $11.6 billion, came from its business with China. 

Before the virus, United Airlines had daily flights from San Francisco and New York to Shanghai and Beijing, and both cities in the US are home to corporate giants such as Apple. Delta’s major trans-Pacific customers are in Seattle’s retail and software industries and Detroit’s automotive industry such as General Motors.

Flight schedules of two giant US airlines have remained unchanged on China’s easing restrictions, with United telling the Global Times that they look forward to resuming passenger service between the US and China when the regulatory environment allows them to do so, while Delta hasn’t confirmed plans to move forward. But analysts said their cautious attitude is partly due to the possibility Trump could play the card to pressure China despite himself.

‘Knife to neck of Chinese students abroad’

It also seems that Chinese students in the US have also become victims of the US government’s policy. 

Several Chinese students studying in the US told the Global Times they are worried that they will face growing difficulty returning to China due to the upcoming restrictions on Chinese airlines. 

Facing soaring coronavirus cases and nationwide protests in the US, a growing number of Chinese students in the US plan to return to their motherland. They have been using third countries in Europe and Asia to get back to China, but many have failed due to various travel restrictions of different airlines. 

“With the US restrictions on Chinese airlines, it will get even more difficult for Chinese students to return to China. It seems that the US is using Chinese students as a bargaining chip in exchange for its interests amid disputes with China,” Zhang Sheng, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, told the Global Times on Friday. He flew back from New York on May 27 for fear of the pandemic.

“It’s like the US is putting a knife to the neck of Chinese students abroad, saying ‘unless you open the door, I will not let you back home,’ and the US forgets that they were the first to ban flights from China, and if it does not fully control the virus, it would worsen the situation,” Shen said.

By late Thursday, the virus had killed more than 108,000 people in the US and infected at least 1.8 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, and CNN reported that officials fear those numbers will rise following the protests.

The biggest difference between China and the US is that after the epidemic’s outbreak, the Chinese government’s attitude was simple and pure – to control the virus and return to normal life. But the Trump administration mixed too many other factors from the beginning, and put Trump’s reelection first, Shen said.

“The Trump administration is selfish and arrogant, and its policy does not serve US interests, but Trump’s. Trump has kidnapped the US and does whatever he wants,” Shen said. 

China’s new policy on easing restrictions has a higher requirement on local virus control in the country, and it also poses a challenge to the US as the country faces a rising number of cases. The US should control the virus first, then talk about flight resumptions, analysts noted. 

https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1190698.shtml#.XtrXqaW7uO4.facebook





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Guinea approves SMB-Winning deal for Simandou iron mine project

Guinea approves SMB-Winning deal for Simandou iron mine project 6-5-20 spells the doom of Australia (15% of total export) in the war with China. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-guinea-simandou/guinea-approves-smb-winning-deal-for-simandou-iron-mine-project-idUSKBN23B2XI

Guinea’s government approved on Thursday a basic agreement for the development of its giant Simandou iron ore project by a consortium representing Chinese, French and Singaporean interests, the mines minister told Reuters.

The consortium – which includes Société Minière de Boké (SMB) and Singapore’s Winning Shipping as well as Guinean government interests – won a $14 billion tender last November to develop blocks 1 and 2 of the largest known deposit of its kind, holding more than 2 billion tonnes of high-grade ore.

On Tuesday, its development agreement “was approved. We will proceed to sign it in the coming days,” Mines Minister Abdoulaye Magassouba said without giving further details.

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ZTE is Importing 5 nm Chips and has Realized the Commercial Use of 7nm Chips

ZTE is Importing 5 nm Chips and has Realized the Commercial Use of 7nm Chips 6-18-20 Another step towards self-sufficiency.
https://equalocean.com/company/zte/news/zte-is-importing-5-nm-chips-and-has-realized-the-commercial-use-of-7nm-chips
ZTE Corp is focusing on designing telecoms chips but is not able to make them, said a ZTE statement as the company refuted some market rumors that ZTE had started to mass-produce 7nm chips.

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Chinese bikes and e-bikes sold out in Europe

In early May, as the epidemic eased in Europe, countries began to gradually “unlock”. Europeans are finally getting out and about, but are still afraid to take public transport, and have started snapping up electric bikes for transportation.
China’s exports of bicycles and electric bikes skyrocketed, even the top-end models were snapped up completely. With workers work overtime, orders are scheduled to be filled 1 month later.
Data from Alibaba’s cross-border e-commerce platform, AliExpress, showed that sales of bicycles in the Spanish market rose more than 22 times in May, while Italy and the UK also rose about four times. Sales of electric bikes also rose sharply, with Italy up nearly nine times, the UK up nearly eight times, France up 380%, and Spain up 280% in volume.
“The stock was sold out. The second batch was sold out while being shipped, and the third batch are 3,4 times bigger.” Bruce Lee, founder of electric bike brand Janobike, said sales have grown since returning to work in March, with a 30-40% month-over-month increase. At present, Janobike cooperates with high-end frame manufacturers have been working at full capacity 24 hours a day, even by “going through the back door”. Guo Zhenhe for the bicycle brand SAVA’s AliExpress, said that since April orders rose more than 30 percent, production capacity is tight, the original order can be shipped within three days, new order will have to wait at least a week.
For electric bike brand Sheng Milo, in May, orders on the AliExpress doubled compared to April. He Chong, the company’s head of operations, said, “Workers work overtime until 12 o’clock every day and orders are still scheduled for a month later.” Sheng Milo is doubling both the size of the plant and the number of workers.
Electric bikes and bicycles are normally priced in the European market at around $1,000 and the high-end models at over $1,600, equivalent to more than RMB 10,000. “Local governments in Europe provided subsidies to encourage riding, and with the subsidies, the low end models are cheap and the high end models are like low end ones for the price. The second phase of the Italian resumption of work, which took place on 4 May, in order to encourage alternative travel and limit public transport congestion, the Government provides subsidies of up to 500€ for the purchase of bicycles and electric bikes. The French Government has announced a 20-million-€ funding plan to encourage cycling in France following the national “un-lockdown” on 11 May. Business owners will also receive government funding to provide a transport subsidy of €400 per person for employees who commute by bike.
In the bicycle and electric vehicle industry, China has a complete supply chain from components to the completely assembled bikes. “China exports more than 70 percent of the global bicycles market share, and even more for electric bikes.” Li Kai, head of the Sports Category at AliExpress said, “The price/performance ratio of Chinese products is significant, and overseas demand has been strong.”
With the epidemic, the overseas retail stores closed down, consumers have chosen online shopping, through the e-commerce platform AliExpress, ushered in a surge of orders in a number of categories. In order to ensure the smooth delivery during the epidemic, AliExpress has expanded the warehouse in Spain, to ensure uninterrupted delivery to France, Belgium, Poland and other countries. Merchants use China-European trains to send goods to European warehouses, which takes more than half a month less than if by sea. With the AliExpress warehouse system in Europe, bicycles and the larger electric bikes, generally reach consumers in 3 days, 7 days for the pan-European regions.

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China’s street vendor policy may encourage emergence of street artists

More Chinese artists might take to the streets for performances now that the Chinese government has loosened its grip on street vendors in order to boost the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an official of China’s culture department said on Thursday.

In 2018, Chengdu, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, became one of the earliest cities in China to launch a street culture program, themed ” a city with music.”  Now, in light of the improved domestic COVID-19 situation, street artists in Chengdu have begun to resume their performances, bring back vitality to the city.

“The supporting street vendor policy and the performances of street artists could become a win-win strategy benefiting the local economy,” Zhao Liangliang, an official of the Chengdu Culture Center, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

She added that the project has matured nicely over the past two years. 

“Some officials from cities including Zhuhan city in South China’s Guangdong Province and Jinan city in East China’s Shandong Province have come here for a visit and communication, and they are considering the possibility of implementing the program in their cities,” Zhao said.

According to reports, a total of 27 cities in China are promoting the development of street vending. Many Chinese netizens have shown their support of these programs and have further called for the promotion of street artist culture as well.

“We could learn from some Western countries to include more street entertainers in addition to street vendors,” a Chinese netizen posted on Sina Weibo.

Street artist Chen Huan Photo: Courtesy of Chen HuanChen Huan, better known by his street artist name Hot Pot Brother, has been a street singer for a year and a half. He told the Global Times on Thursday that in Chengdu, only artists who have a street art performance license are allowed to perform at the 60 designated location around the city, most of which are hot scenic spots or shopping centers. Like street artists in Western countries,  Chinese street artists perform for tips.

According to Zhao, artists can apply for four types of performance – vocal performances, instrumental performances, intangible cultural heritage handicrafts and storytelling. Applicants need to submit their CV first and then undergo an interview process in which they must perform in front of professional artists. 

She added that the artists usually perform on Fridays and weekends from 5pm to 9pm. 

While singing for two hours may sound exhausting to many people, Chen said that it makes him very happy. 

“I really like singing on the street. I feel much more relaxed compared to singing on TV. I sometimes lose track of time when putting my all in a performance,” Chen said, noting that one of the most rememberable signs he was doing well was when the audience gave him a total of eight bottles of water during a show.

Street artist Du Jingping Photo: Courtesy of Du JingpingDu Jingping, better known as Du Yuanqi, is one of the first batch of street artists in Chengdu. She told the Global Times on Thursday that she often changes her songs depending on the day’s weather or the theme of some public holidays. 

“For example, when I knew I was going to perform on Children’s Day, I prepared some songs that children like,” she said, adding that it was very convenient for people to check what performances are available on an app created by the Chengdu Culture Center.

She noted that she has also been feeling a bit of pressure as the quality of street artists has improved. 

“We have about 200 to 300 street artists in Chengdu and some of them have even participated in some popular music TV shows.”

Both Chen and Du said the number of audiences now that they are performing again has dropped somewhat, but that they are still excited to be back on the streets and helping create an atmosphere for residents. 

https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1190623.shtml#.Xtualu1TD40.facebook


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World’s largest marine dual-fuel low-speed engine WinGD X92DF

5-26-20, China Shipbuilding Group Winterthur Gas & Diesel (WinGD).温特图尔发动机 launched the world’s largest marine dual-fuel low-speed engine WinGD X92DF, the engine has passed the Bureau Veritas classification approval, will be manufactured by Shanghai Sinoship Mitsui Diesel Engine Co.上海中船三井造船柴油机有限公司. Compared with the previous dual-fuel low-speed marine engines, the WinGD X92DF has advantages in terms of more power, intelligent control and environment-friendliness.
WinGD X92DF hits a milestone:
first, Chinese ships now have their own advanced and even world-leading domestic power system;
second, Chinese ship power research has the core technology, starts to develop a supply chain;
third, China has achieved a new breakthrough in independent high-end marine equipment R&D and manufacturing.

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Iceland signs free-trade cooperation with China

Iceland is the first country to break the European trade norm and sign free-trade cooperation with China, a short time ago, 250,000 tons of seafood, including salmon and white fish, was flown directly into China. As the first Icelandic country to use air transport for trade, this method enhances the freshness of seafood and at the same time increase the volume of trade between the two sides. According to “Iceland Morning News”, Icelandic airplanes first cooperated with the German logistics group on the transportation of medical supplies from China during the coronovirus outbreak, Iceland saw the advantages of air transport for seafood. Iceland, as the only country in Europe that enjoys zero tariff for export to China, needs to export large quantities of Pacific and Atlantic salmon, white fish and other seafood to China. If it can improve the efficiency, the subsequent gains is substantial. It should be noted that while transportation costs have risen, Iceland has also raised the cost of seafood, which has increased significantly by 0.7% in the first quarter of this year compared to last year. However, even so, the Chinese market is still a “seller’s market”, and has given Iceland a taste of the success.
In fact, Iceland’s cooperation with China is not only limited to seafood, but also includes cooperation in other areas to a greater or lesser extent. For example, Iceland’s mobile phone company Nova’s public announcement earlier this month that it agreed to work with Huawei’s 5G project and that Huawei 5G would be available in its area of involvement shortly thereafter. Not only will Iceland’s communications network be speeded up, but it will also lead to further development in the field of scientific research. Secondly, Iceland is also working with the Chinese tourism industry. According to Icelandic authorities, Iceland’s tourism industry has received 23,372 Chinese tourists in the first quarter of this year, up 6.2% year-on-year, against a backdrop of an international epidemic that is still having more or less of an impact. The data based on February and March after the coronaviru outbreak, is down 18.02%, 43.4% year-on-year. In other words, although the tourism revenue in February and March was not satisfactory enough to meet Iceland’s expectations of 130,000 Chinese tourists in 2020, Chinese tourists have started to look at Iceland as a destination, it is expected that Iceland’s tourism industry will be booming after the epidemic is completely under control.
When it comes to Europe’s trade with China, pork trade is an good example. The German “Economic News” reported that most of the EU countries are in a state of production self-sufficiency, not able to export much excess, but EU pork exports have become one of its major foreign trade, it is not an exaggeration to say that China’s import of pork helps EU out of the epidemic. During the first quarter, with total pork exports up 4.2% compared to 2019. 75.6 tonnes of pork, which accounts for 54% of EU pork exports, went to China, up 76% from last year. Moreover, even though the epidemic and transport costs combined has led to a one-third increase in pork prices, it has not been able to meet import demand, prompting EU to hit a record €3.5 billion in pork export revenues in the first quarter of the year. However, compared to China’s large increase in imports, countries such as the UK, South Korea, Japan and other countries have seen a more or less significant decrease in their imports. Among them, the UK fell 37.4 percent year-on-year to just 170,000 tons; South Korea fell 39.4 percent year-on-year to just 50,000 tons; and Japan fell 14.8 percent year-on-year to just 101,000 tons. This shows the significance in China’s market.

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Largest-yet special economic zone in South China’s Hainan

China on Monday unveiled a mega project to build its largest-yet special economic zone in South China’s Hainan Province into a world-class free trade port, with one of its major focuses on escalating the development of its financial market. Given that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has served as China’s largest free trade port but is now being threatened by the US with revocation of its special privileges, there are rising concerns that Hong Kong’s future status and role are under a cloud, and the city may even be replaced by Hainan.

Though similar concerns were raised in 2018, Hainan will be cultivated into a new financial center to develop alongside Hong Kong in a coordinated manner, rather than replacing Hong Kong as an international financial hub.

Without aiming to replace any aspect of Hong Kong or any other economic entities, building Hainan into a free trade port with Chinese characteristics will be similar to China’s former campaign to cultivate the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone – it is a step to deepen China’s reform and opening-up. 

Hainan will become a free trade port closely related to Hong Kong, yet will maintain some distance. With favorable housing conditions and natural environment, and sufficient talent resources, Hainan is capable of attracting financial institutions to extend long-term investment businesses from Hong Kong, and thereafter explore business in the Chinese mainland.

Take the UK’s two financial centers, London and Edinburgh, as examples. The coordinated development patterns of Hong Kong and Hainan as different kinds of financial centers could also divert financial industries into different cities of the country, and that will largely reduce risks.

Hong Kong’s major advantages are free capital convertibility, entry and exit, as well as a sound shorting and hedging mechanism, which is more suitable for short-term capital hoping for high returns. By contrast, Hainan, with an increasingly open financial market, will be a better choice for foreign investors who intend to further expand in the Chinese mainland market in the long run.

Foreign capital could also seek different kinds of investments in the two regions, like buying fixed income products in Hong Kong and launching high-tech venture investments in Hainan.

It would be a triple-win strategy for Hainan, Hong Kong and foreign capital, combining the advantages of the two financial markets and allowing investors to form better portfolios to make both short-term and long-term profits.

China is cultivating new economic growth points while actively adapting to the changing international trade order. Currently, the European and American economies are experiencing downturns, which have reduced their say in the global economy. And the US is trying to change the order and rebuild international trade rules in its own favor so as to maintain its global economic dominance. Before new international trade rules are established, China’s proactive move to build Hainan as a world-class free trade port could pave the way for it to hold a stronger position in the future.

While constructing a high-quality, high-standard Hainan free trade port, the future development of the island province’s foreign trade is facing rosy opportunities. It sits geographically in the middle of the Chinese mainland, Japan and South Korea, as well as Southeast Asian nations like Vietnam and Thailand.

In the first quarter, Hainan’s goods exports hit 8.25 billion yuan ($1.16 billion), up 5.4 percent year-on-year. Its exports to ASEAN and countries along the Belt and Road Initiative have grown faster than the overall national level. 

Hainan’s current foreign trade is facing the same coronavirus blow as all countries around the world. But as ASEAN markets and the Chinese mainland have effectively brought the virus under control, their demand has surged amid economic recovery, especially for health, electronic and internet products, leading to a rebound in Hainan’s exports to these markets.

Hainan should make the best of its geographic advantage and develop its foreign trade in the “Hainan+N” model. For the services industry, it could focus on “Hainan+Japan, South Korea” cooperation. For the manufacturing industry, it should consider “Hainan+ASEAN.”

The island province is currently facing great opportunities to develop into a globally influential, high-level free trade port. It’s expected that in the future, the ships and airplanes that leave Hainan will not only be loaded with cargo, but will also be full of ideas and wisdom, and, more importantly, full of Hainanese experience and characteristics.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1190347.shtml




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Huawei’s semiconductor chips subsidiary is hiring global genius

Huawei’s semiconductor chips subsidiary is hiring global genius amid a US chip ban, a move that experts said is a well-planned counter to US bullying that shows the company’s confidence in becoming self-sufficient in chips supply in about two years.

Huawei’s chip design company HiSilicon announced that it is recruiting talented young people from around the world, and offering competitive salaries and positions, according to media reports. The recruitment targets the world’s outstanding post-graduate and doctoral students who have graduated or will graduate from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2021. 

This recruitment program shows that Huawei is expanding its talent base and preparing to expand the scope of research and development, which shows its confidence to the outside world.
“In the future, Huawei may face rising attack from the US, which will force it to expand its recruitment of talent to expand its scope of research and development,” 
The US’ latest move to restrict Huawei comes after Washington made a rule change that would require foreign manufacturers using US chipmaking equipment to get a license before being able to sell semiconductors to Huawei.

As the China-US technology battle continues to heat up, the US Semiconductor Industry Association is seeking $37 billion in federal funding for factory construction and research.

To shield its operations from the US crackdowns, Huawei has stockpiled up to two years’ worth of crucial chips, according to the Nikkei Asian Review. The stockpile shows that Huawei is confident of upgrading its manufacturing ability within two years, experts said.
“In two years, the problems facing Huawei could be eventually solved. It may be able to diversify its supply chain as China is stepping up the construction of its own semiconductor foundry sector. Technology will also be upgraded to a relatively large degree within two years,” 

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Lion land and air autonomous vehicle

Tsinghua University 清华大学 Professor of Vehicle and Carrier Academy, Chinese Academy of Engineering fellow Li Jun’s team successfully developed the first generation of Lion land and air autonomous vehicle. It is the world’s first electric land/air drone with integrated intelligent navigation.

The drone uses a traditional 2-wheel drive chassis for better range on ground navigation, the rotors are used to achieve a higher degree of maneuverability. It features vertical take-off and landing, hovering, 3D navigation, ground cruising, automatic object avoidance and tracking, and other functions.