China’s imports post surprise growth in December; exports beat expectations as higher tariffs loom
"the country’s stimulus measures appear to be supporting demand in the industrial sector."
--- Phhh...
"Customs data showed imports rose 1.0% last month from a year earlier, reversing from the contraction in the preceding two months. Analysts had forecast imports to fall 1.5% on year. That compares with a bigger drop of 3.9% in November and 2.3% in October."
--- Aside from the fact that even 1% would be marginal, the whole growth thingy is probably just an attempt to make it a bit more 'believable' when the CCP tells the world that the 5% GDP growth target was achieved.
Xi calls China-EU economic relations 'symbiotic' amid trade tensions with US
"China and the European Union have a robust "symbiotic" economic relationship"
--- Translation: 'We are parasites, but please don't notice!'
"As long as China and Europe respect each other, treat each other as equals and engage in sincere dialogue, they can "advance cooperation and achieve great things""
Is China exploiting South Korea's political crisis?
"China has installed a large floating structure in waters that it disputes with South Korea, with analysts suggesting that the Chinese government is employing similar tactics to take control of territory as it used successfully to seize atolls and islets in the South China Sea over a decade ago.
[...] The two nations dispute sovereignty over the waters, but fishing boats can operate in the area under a 2001 agreement signed between China and South Korea.
Kim told DW that the agreement expressly forbids the construction of facilities or searching for or developing other resources in the area."
--- China not complying with agreements? Now that's a surprise.
"South Korea is not entirely without blame in the same area as it has constructed a maritime research station directly above a submerged sea mount in the West Sea known in Korea as Ieodo.China has protested that as the feature is below the surface, international maritime law states that it cannot support human life and, therefore, cannot be used by a nation to extend its territorial waters."
--- Funny, though, how China ignores said maritime law in the South China Sea. Rules for thee, but not for me.
China considers selling TikTok U.S. operations to Musk, Bloomberg reports
"Under the plan, Musk would oversee both X, which he currently owns, and TikTok’s U.S. business, Bloomberg said. However, Chinese government officials haven’t yet decided on whether it would proceed, the report said, noting the plan is still preliminary.
It’s unclear whether ByteDance knows about the Chinese government’s plans and TikTok and Musk’s involvement in the discussions, the report said. Senior Chinese officials are debating contingency plans involving TikTok’s future in the U.S. as part of larger discussions about working with President-elect Donald Trump,"
--- Some people told us that other people told them that they talked to people who heard people talking about TikTok & Musk. Yawn...
TikTok users’ attempted migration to Chinese app RedNote isn’t going too well
"American TikTok users have been thumbing their collective noses at the U.S. government’s decision to ban TikTok by spitefully joining another Chinese social media app, Red Note (aka Xiaohongshu), sending it to the top of the U.S. App Store on Monday."
--- Only goes to show how moronic many TikTok users are.
"Part of the problem is that users are joining the app but are unable to read the Community Guidelines, which are written in Mandarin. (While there is a way to switch the language to English in RedNote’s app, it’s hard to know how to find that option as an English speaker, as it requires navigating the app’s settings)"
--- Welcome to China International Inc.!
Japan 'gravely concerned' about maritime tensions escalating, foreign minister says
Philippines on Chinese incursions: Not ruling out another South China Sea lawsuit
The truth behind your $12 dress: Inside the Chinese factories fuelling Shein's success
--- China Uncensored: "China Gloats Over LA Wildfires"
--- China Uncensored: "Who Says a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan Can’t Be Fun?!"
--- H I Sutton: "China's Invasion Barges, Leading Indicator Of Plans For Taiwan"
Chinas Exporte 2024 auf Rekordwert gestiegen
" China bleibt eigenen Angaben zufolge der größte Händler von Waren weltweit. Die Ausfuhren in US-Dollar erreichten demnach im Jahr 2024 einen neuen Rekordwert von umgerechnet 3,4 Billionen Euro. Den Zolldaten zufolge sind das 5,9 Prozent mehr als im Jahr zuvor.
Bei den Importen verzeichnete China demnach ebenfalls einen Anstieg von 1,1 Prozent im Vergleich zu 2023."
--- Überraschend positive Zahlen? Vielleicht auch nicht:
"Ende der Woche will das Nationale Statistikamt abschließende Zahlen für das Jahr 2024 zum Wirtschaftswachstum bekannt geben. Die Staats- und Parteiführung hatte im März das Ziel von etwa fünf Prozent Wachstum des Bruttoinlandsprodukts festgelegt."
--- Man will wohl eher zeigen, daß es durchaus realistisch sei, wenn man am Ende behauptet, daß man das 5%-Ziel erreicht habe.
USA erlassen weitere Handelsbeschränkungen für China - Peking protestiert
"Bei den Beschränkungen für Mobilitätstechnologie verwies das US-Handelsministerium auf die nationale Sicherheit. Software und Bauteile aus China sowie aus Russland in Autos in den USA seien ein Sicherheitsrisiko. Bereits Ende September hatte das Handelsministerium eine Untersuchung eingeleitet, um die "Lieferkette für vernetzte Fahrzeuge vor Bedrohungen von außen" zu sichern.
Das Verbot soll nun schrittweise eingeführt werden. Ab 2027 sollen die Regeln zunächst für die Software greifen, ab 2030 dann auch bei der Hardware. Konkret wird von den Autobauern verlangt, auf jegliche Ausrüstung und Systeme zu verzichten, die "eine ausreichende Verbindung zu China oder Russland haben"."
--- Richtig so. Wann handelt die EU?
In den USA könnte Tiktok bald verboten sein. Und die Nutzer strömen bereits zur nächsten chinesischen App. Was steckt dahinter?
"Tiktok-Nutzer jedoch vertrauen dem chinesischen Mutterkonzern hinter der App. Um das zu demonstrieren, haben sie in den vergangenen Tagen zu Hunderttausenden Konten auf Rednote eröffnet, einer anderen chinesischen Social-Media-Plattform."
--- Idioten. Aber von TikTok-Nutzern kann man wohl nicht viel mehr erwarten.
