China Digest #86

Recent Executive Orders banning transactions with ByteDance and Tencent in 45 days have left the future of Tiktok and WeChat in the United States in question. What do they mean for U.S.-China technology decoupling and two-way venture capital investing? What are the implications for U.S.-China relations?

The National Committee held an urgent discussion with cybersecurity expert Ms. Melissa Hathaway and tech investor Mr. Gary Rieschel on August 13, 2020 to discuss the reasons for the Executive Orders and the potential outcomes.

About the speakers: ncuscr.org/event/tiktok-wechat-us-china-decoupling

Tiktok, Wechat, and U.S.-China Decoupling: An Explanation and Analysis

The covid-19 pandemic sweeping across Asia and the world has highlighted the strengths and limitations in the delivery of public health services within different states. While some states like Vietnam and South Korea are praised for their successful responses to the global crisis, the public health systems in other countries have seemingly struggled to manage surges in cases.

A well-developed and effective public health system is one that meets the needs of communities through the achievement of primary health care objectives. This requires recognising and accounting for the complex relationships between the delivery of health services and other national priorities in politics, economics, the environment, culture and education. What lessons can Asian states draw from Covid-19 and other pandemics in strengthening their public health systems? Which states have been successful in dealing with pandemics and why? And how are pandemics linked with other global challenges?

In this La Trobe Asia webinar a panel of experts will discuss these questions.

Panel:
Professor Vivian Lin (Public Health Practice, University of Hong Kong)
Professor George Liu (School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University)
Dr Susan Mercado (Special Envoy of the President for Global Health Initiatives, Philippines)
Chair: Dr Bec Strating (La Trobe Asia, La Trobe University) 

Recorded live via zoom on 2 September, 2020.

Asia Rising

Pandemics and Public Health Systems in Asia

Во втором эпизоде "Скажи что-нибудь по-китайски" мы снова говорили о Гражданском кодексе КНР. Во время подготовки первой части с Яной Вайвадс мы поняли, что нам хочется поговорить и о социальной стороне вопроса.
Напомним, ранее в Китае существовали только разрозненные нормативные акт, а сам кодекс заменит собой 9 основных законов. Мы с Настей сосредоточились на интересных деталях, многие из которых характерны только для КНР.

Если вы, хотите принять участие в записи подкаста, оставить отзыв или задать вопрос, пишите в Facebook @muravyevaa и @anastaseeyah, либо в Telegram-бот t.me/speak_chinese_bot

P.S. Учли комментарии про то, что одну Настю (Муравьёву) слышно хуже, нежели другую (Цык). Мы постараемся исправить это в следующем выпуске! Муравьёва просто слишком тихо говорит.

02. Анастасия Муравьёва и Анастасия Цык, Гражданский кодекс КНР, часть вторая

Many citizens of Hong Kong fear the recently imposed National Security Law is only the latest move by Beijing to wind back civil liberties promised to last till 2047. But what does China’s growing impatience mean for Hong Kongers? How will these changes affect business in the bustling metropolis? China watchers Dr Sow Keat Tok and Dr Kevin Carrico discuss the impact of this far reaching law with presenter Peter Clarke. 
An Asia Institute podcast (https://arts.unimelb.edu.au/asia-institute/ear-to-asia). 
Produced and edited by Profactual - the Podcasting Specialists (https://www.profactual.com). 
Music by audionautix.com.

Ear to Asia podcast

How will Hong Kong march to China’s new drum?

About the speakers: ncuscr.org/event/dispute-management-south-china-sea

Tensions between the United States and China regarding the South China Sea are rising along with the recent broader breakdown of bilateral relations. The legitimacy of historical rights claims, entitlements and rights of other claimant states such as the Philippines and Vietnam, and the boundaries of freedom of navigation operations are among the central issues. Despite their differences, both the United States and China wish to avoid conflict and uphold professionalism at sea.

Is there any significant space for cooperation in South China Sea interactions beyond military engagement, including biodiversity protection and Coast Guard activities? What role do maritime and international law play in the rapidly evolving bilateral relationship? How is China likely to respond to the upcoming U.S. election in its maneuvers in the South China Sea?

On October 20, 2020, the National Committee hosted a virtual program featuring Peter Dutton, M. Taylor Fravel, Tabitha Mallory, Wu Shicun, and Zhu Feng. The five experts discussed the challenging bilateral issues, and provided their assessments of South China Sea development including maritime engagement of China and other claimants and its impact on South China Sea development, mechanisms for U.S.-China maritime military conflict management, and the role of the United States and China in rulemaking and building security protocols.

U.S.-China Maritime Conflict and Dispute Management in the South China Sea

The party’s Fifth Plenum sets out a five-year vision; we mine the plan for clues about how China views itself in the world—and how long Xi Jinping intends to lead. The pandemic has the rich world thinking and talking about death in a way not seen since the second world war. And an uncertain future for Singapore’s famed street-food hawkers. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> &#10;&nbsp; <hr>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.

What Xi said: China’s five-year plan

In 2020, Australia and China relations appeared to hit new lows. Diplomatic tensions flared over a range of issues, including Australia’s unilateral calls for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, Beijing’s trade strikes on key industries, and raids on journalists.

In Australia, concerns about foreign interference and human rights violations have encouraged an increasingly hardline anti-China stance in some quarters, including among the so-called ‘Wolverines’. In Chinese media, Australia is presented as a lackey of the United States and a satellite of American interests in the Indo-Pacific.

Despite these challenges, China remains Australia’s biggest trade partner. Are Australia-China relations where they need to be? To what extent does Australia remain reliant upon trade with China? And is the Morrison government’s adoption of a more assertive, ‘sovereign first’ approach to Sino-Australian relations helpful, or likely to do more harm than good?

In this La Trobe Asia webinar a panel of experts will discuss these questions.

Speakers: 
Dr Gerald Roche (Senior Research Fellow, Politics, La Trobe University) 
Assistant Professor Dan Hu (Deputy Director, Australian Studies Centre, Beijing Foreign Studies University) 
Richard McGregor (Senior Fellow, Lowy Institute) 
Mike Smith (China Correspondent, Australian Financial Review)

Chair: Dr Bec Strating (Executive Director, La Trobe Asia)

Recorded live via zoom on 11 November, 2020.

Australia-China Relations: A New Low Point?

As part of the Lowy Institute's Lowy Lecture broadcast, we put together a short ‘year in review’ that marks a turbulent year in world politics and describes how the Institute has found new ways of delivering its content despite COVID-19 restrictions.

This 'year in review' is followed by the 2020 Lowy Lecture delivered by Fareed Zakaria, one of the world’s most interesting and influential observers of international affairs. Dr Zakaria spoke about US-China relations and, in the Q&A with Dr Michael Fullilove, the implications of the superpower rivalry for Australia.

The annual Lowy Lecture is the Lowy Institute’s flagship event, at which a prominent speaker reflects on Australia and the world. Past Lecturers have included German Chancellor Angela Merkel, UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, former CIA Director David Petraeus, News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Lowy Institute Chairman Sir Frank Lowy and Prime Minister John Howard, who delivered the inaugural Lowy Lecture in 2005. Dr Zakaria delivered this year's lecture via webcast from the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City.

The Lowy Institute is grateful for the support of the sponsors of the 2020 Lowy Lecture: BHP and Capital Group.

Fareed Zakaria on US-China relations and the year in world politics | 2020 Lowy Lecture Broadcast

In his address to the IIEA, David Dollar reflects on the current state of U.S.-China relations. He argues that although the decline in relations pre-dates President Trump, it has been accelerated during his presidency. He analyses the problems in the relationship with a particular focus on trade, technology, and global public goods.

About the Speaker:
David Dollar is a Senior Fellow in the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brook-ings Institution. From 2009 to 2013 Dollar was the U.S. Treasury’s Economic and Financial Emissary to China, based in Beijing, facilitating the macroeconomic and financial policy dialogue between the U.S. and China. Prior to joining the Treasury, Dr Dollar worked 20 years for the World Bank, serving as Country Director for China and Mongolia, based in Beijing (2004-2009). His most recent book is China 2049, co-authored with economists from Peking University. Dr Dollar also worked in the World Bank’s research department. His publications focus on economic reform in China, globalisation, and economic growth. He also taught economics at UCLA, during which time he spent a semester in Beijing at the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (1986). He has a PhD in economics from New York University and a B.A. in Chinese history and language from Dartmouth College.

David Dollar - U.S.-China relations in the wake of the 2020 elections

In China’s Fintech Explosion, Sara Hsu and Jianjun Li explore the transformative potential of China’s fintech industry, describing the risks and rewards for participants as well as the impact on consumers. They cover many subsectors of the industry: digital payment systems, peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding, credit card issuance, internet banks, blockchain finance and virtual currencies, and online insurance. Offering analysis of market potential, risks, and competition, the authors describe major companies including Alipay and Tencent, and other leading fintech firms.

About the speaker: ncuscr.org/event/china-fintech-explosion

China’s Fintech Explosion: Disruption, Innovation, and Survival | Sara Hsu

This event is part of the China Lecture Series sponsored by The Institute of World Politics.

About the lecture: In 2019 China began to apply noticeable military pressure on Taiwan, which has increased considerably in 2020. China now proclaims in its media almost weekly that it will invade and conquer democratic Taiwan. This mounting threat to Taiwan will be examined, in addition to why the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) must destroy this democracy in order to achieve hegemony first in Asia, and then the world. Yet, all is not lost, there is still time for the United States to help Taiwan deter a Chinese invasion and by doing so, prevent a dark age of CCP hegemony.

About the speaker: Mr. Richard D. Fisher, Jr. is a Senior Fellow with the International Assessment and Strategy Center. In 2016 he joined the Advisory Board of the Global Taiwan Institute. He has previously worked with the Center for Security Policy, Jamestown Foundation China Brief, U.S. House of Representatives Republican Policy Committee, and The Heritage Foundation. He is the author of China’s Military Modernization, Building for Regional and Global Reach (Praeger, 2008, Stanford University Press, 2010, Taiwan Ministry of National Defense translation 2012) Since 1996 he has covered scores of international arms exhibits and his articles have been published in the Jane’s Intelligence Review, Jane’s Defence Weekly, Aviation Week and Space Technology, Armed Forces Journal, Far Eastern Economic Review, Asian Wall Street Journal, Defense News, The Epoch Times and the The Washington Times. He has studied at Georgetown University and received a B.A. (Honors) in 1981 from Eisenhower College.

Taiwan: China’s Most Important Target On The Way To Global Hegemony

On December 17, 2020, the National Committee held a virtual program with Ambassador Kurt Tong and Professor Christine Loh to discuss the latest developments in Hong Kong and implications for U.S.-Hong Kong and U.S.-China relations.

About the Speakers: ncuscr.org/event/recent-developments-in-hong-kong

In mid-November 2020, China’s National People’s Congress passed a resolution allowing Hong Kong authorities to expel legislators deemed a threat to national security or failing to pledge allegiance to Hong Kong without having to go through the judicial system. Shortly thereafter, the Hong Kong government disqualified four pro-democracy legislators. Reaction within and outside of Hong Kong was swift: fellow pan-democrat Legislative Council (LegCo) members resigned in protest; the U.S. national security advisor said that the Chinese Communist Party had “flagrantly violated its international commitments” while the British foreign minister saw the expulsions as an assault on Hong Kong’s freedoms. By contrast, Chief Executive Carrie Lam proclaimed the dismissals both necessary and legal. In early December, protesters were sentenced to prison for activities during the 2019 demonstrations.  What do the most recent developments tell us about “One Country, Two Systems”? About the strength of Hong Kong’s judiciary? What changes in U.S. policy may emerge from the new Biden administration when it takes over next month?

China Digest #86

Ekaterina Vasenyova