19/04/2020
- Faced with a backlash from the West over its handling of the early stages of the pandemic, Beijing has been quietly gaining ground in Asia
- Teams of experts and donations of medical supplies have been largely welcomed by China’s neighbours
Despite facing some criticism from the West, China’s Asian neighbours have welcomed its medical expertise and vital supplies. Photo: Xinhua
While China’s campaign to mend its international image in the wake of its handling of the
coronavirus health crisis has been met with scepticism and even a backlash from the US and its Western allies, Beijing has been quietly gaining ground in Asia.
Teams of experts have been sent to Cambodia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Pakistan and soon to Malaysia, to share their knowledge from the pandemic’s ground zero in central China.
Beijing has also donated or facilitated shipments of medical masks and ventilators to countries in need. And despite some of the equipment failing to meet Western quality standards, or being downright defective, the supplies have been largely welcomed in Asian countries.
China has also held a series of online “special meetings” with its Asian neighbours, most recently on Tuesday when Premier Li Keqiang discussed his country’s experiences in combating the disease and rebooting a stalled economy with the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Japan and South Korea.
Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang speaks to Asean Plus Three leaders during a virtual summit on Tuesday. Photo: AP
Many Western politicians have publicly questioned Beijing’s role and its subsequent handling of the crisis but Asian leaders – including Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe – have been reluctant to blame the Chinese government, while also facing criticism at home for not closing their borders with China soon enough to prevent the spread of the virus.
An official from one Asian country said attention had shifted from the early stages of the outbreak – when disgruntled voices among the public were at their loudest – as people watched the virus continue its deadly spread through their homes and across the world.
“Now everybody just wants to get past the quarantine,” he said. “China has been very helpful to us. It’s also closer to us so it’s easier to get shipments from them. The [medical] supplies keep coming, which is what we need right now.”
The official said also that while the teams of experts sent by Beijing were mainly there to observe and offer advice, the gesture was still appreciated.
Another Asian official said the tardy response by Western governments in handling the outbreak had given China an advantage, despite its initial lack of transparency over the outbreak.
“The West is not doing a better job on this,” he said, adding that his government had taken cues from Beijing on the use of propaganda in shaping public opinion and boosting patriotic sentiment in a time of crisis.
“Because it happened in China first, it has given us time to observe what works in China and adopt [these measures] for our country,” the official said.
Experts in the region said that Beijing’s intensifying campaign of “mask diplomacy” to reverse the damage to its reputation had met with less resistance in Asia.
Why China’s ‘mask diplomacy’ is raising concern in the West
“Over the past two months or so, China, after getting the Covid-19 outbreak under control, has been using a very concerted effort to reshape the narrative, to pre-empt the narrative that China is liable for this global pandemic, that China has to compensate other countries,” said Richard Heydarian, a Manila-based academic and former policy adviser to the Philippine government.
“It doesn’t help that the US is in lockdown with its domestic crisis and that we have someone like President Trump who is more interested in playing the blame game rather than acting like a global leader,” he said.
Shahriman Lockman, a senior analyst with the foreign policy and security studies programme at Malaysia’s Institute of Strategic and International Studies, said that as the US had withdrawn into its own affairs as it struggled to contain the pandemic, China had found Southeast Asia a fertile ground for cultivating an image of itself as a provider.
China’s first-quarter GDP shrinks for the first time since 1976 as coronavirus cripples economy
Beijing’s highly publicised delegations tasking medical equipment and supplies had burnished that reputation, he said, adding that the Chinese government had also “quite successfully shaped general Southeast Asian perceptions of its handling of the pandemic, despite growing evidence that it could have acted more swiftly at the early stages of the outbreak in Wuhan”.
“Its capacity and will to build hospitals from scratch and put hundreds of millions of people on lockdown are being compared to the more indecisive and chaotic responses seen in the West, especially in Britain and the United States,” he said.
Coronavirus droplets may travel further than personal distancing guidelines
Lockman said Southeast Asian countries had also been careful to avoid getting caught in the middle of the deteriorating relationship between Beijing and Washington as the two powers pointed fingers at each other over the origins of the new coronavirus.
“The squabble between China and the United States about the pandemic is precisely what Asean governments would go to great lengths to avoid because it is seen as an expression of Sino-US rivalry,” he said.
“Furthermore, the immense Chinese market is seen as providing an irreplaceable route towards Southeast Asia’s post-pandemic economic recovery.”
Aaron Connelly, a research fellow in Southeast Asian political change and foreign policy with the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore, said Asian countries’ dependence on China had made them slow to blame China for the pandemic.
“Anecdotally, it seems to me that most Southeast Asian political and business elites have given Beijing a pass on the initial cover-up of Covid-19, and high marks for the domestic lockdown that followed,” he said.
“This may be motivated reasoning, because these elites are so dependent on Chinese trade and investment, and see little benefit in criticising China.”
China and Vietnam ‘likely to clash again’ as they build maritime militias
The cooperation with its neighbours as they grapple with the coronavirus had not slowed China’s military and research activities in the disputed areas of the
South China Sea – a point of contention that would continue to cloud relations in the region, experts said.
Earlier this month an encounter in the South China Sea with a Chinese coastguard vessel led to the sinking of a fishing boat from Vietnam, which this year assumed chairmanship of Asean.
And in a move that could spark fresh regional concerns, shipping data on Thursday showed a controversial Chinese government survey ship, the Haiyang Dizhi 8, had moved closer to Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone.
The survey ship was embroiled in a months-long stand-off last year with Vietnamese vessels within Hanoi’s exclusive economic zone and was spotted again on Tuesday 158km (98 miles) off the Vietnamese coast.
Source: SCMP
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05/10/2019
BEIJING, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) — Despite the slowing momentum of global trade growth, China remains attractive to the world’s multinationals with its huge consumer market, optimized business environment and innovation capability.
EXPANDING PRESENCE
Swiss tech giant ABB began construction of its new 67,000-square meter robotics manufacturing and research facility in Shanghai in September with an investment of 150 million U.S. dollars.
It is designed to be the most advanced, automated and flexible factory in the global robotics industry, utilizing the latest manufacturing processes –– a cutting-edge center where robots make robots.
Since 1992, ABB has invested more than 2.4 billion U.S. dollars in China, with nearly 20,000 employees in total. China has become the company’s second-largest market.
“In the future, we will continue to expand investment in the country, further optimize the business layout and enhance innovation capability,” said Gu Chunyuan, president of ABB Asia, Middle East and Africa Region.
German company Henkel, a leading player in industrial and consumer businesses, also has a long-term commitment to and strong confidence in China. Early this year, Henkel announced it is stepping up investment by around 300 million euros annually to build on its strengths and capture opportunities.
“China will be one of the focal markets. We will strengthen our position by accelerating the launch of new brands and innovations, increasing our marketing investments and driving digitalization even further,” said Jeremy Hunter, president of Henkel Greater China.
Having established its first office in Beijing in 1988, the company now has around 5,000 employees at 25 sites across China. The production output of its manufacturing plant in Yantai of Shandong Province has increased more than 50 times over the years.
EMBRACING OPPORTUNITIES
“China’s huge market, steady growth momentum, complete industrial infrastructure as well as rich talent resources are all very attractive, ” said Gu Chunyuan.
As ABB’s second-biggest market, China’s increasingly optimized business climate, more energetic and effective market system and deepened opening-up policies have lured the company to beef up its confidence in the China market, he said.
As the center of the world’s manufacturing industry, China has witnessed unprecedented upgrading and transformation of industries toward digitalization and intelligence, which will unleash huge market potential, said Gu, adding that China’s development has brought many opportunities to the company, and convinced ABB to expand investment.
Hunter attributed Henkel’s success in China to the country’s continuous efforts of pursuing innovation-driven economic development, which has fostered a favorable environment for the company.
“Moreover, China has become a global force in digital technologies. Accelerated digitalization has also been a key driver for Henkel,” said Hunter, noting that the rapid transformation of China’s manufacturing and consumption upgrading are also driving demand for the company.
EXPECTING GROWTH
Foreign investors agree that the Chinese economy offers them indispensable certainty and confidence with its positive outlook.
Commenting on China’s efforts on pushing for all-around opening-up and building a stable, transparent and predictable investment environment, Gu said these measures will bring huge development opportunities for foreign-funded companies.
“We believe that China’s further opening-up will promote the globalization as well as the liberalization and facilitation of trade,” Gu said.
Hunter noted China will maintain its unparalleled momentum in industrial and consumption upgrading and its integration into global flows of trade, talent and innovation.
“I believe that the Chinese market will go beyond just participating in these areas to actively shaping their future development,” he said.
Source: Xinhua
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11/06/2019
NINGBO, June 10 (Xinhua) — The China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) Expo has become an arena where businessmen from CEE countries can show the competitiveness of their products in the Chinese market.
The expo, which opened in the eastern city of Ningbo on June 8, has attracted more than 700 government officials and businessmen from the CEE countries, as well as over 6,700 buyers from more than 40 Fortune 500 firms and other leading international enterprises in 22 countries and regions.
Businessmen from 17 CEE countries have been promoting dairy products, wine, logistics and other products and services at the expo, which is scheduled to close on June 12.
Jan Chaloupka, head of the export business development of Rajo, is confident about the competitiveness of his products in the Chinese market.
“We export more than 57,000 tonnes of our products every year to over 70 countries around the world,” he said. “All of our products are healthy and of high quality, which are based on the advanced technologies and knowledge that Rajo owns to meet the needs of customers.”
“I believe that our products can be one of the best in the Chinese market,” he added.
“The Chinese market is the most important one for companies in Greece,” said Nikoletta Kaperoni, managing director of Athens-based Kaperoni Business Financial Group (BFG).
“I am sure that Chinese customers will like our products such as olive oil because they are all made from natural raw material without any additives,” she added.
Klemen Boncina, deputy director of Posta Slovenije, a logistics provider from Slovenia, believes his company is a bridge between China and Europe.
“Our company has a wide-spread network of logistics in Slovenia and even in Europe, which I believe can deliver products from China over the last mile to the customers,” he said.
Under the theme of deepening opening-up and cooperation for mutual benefit, the expo includes more than over 20 events such as the European commodity exhibition.
According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, the total trade volume between China and Central and Eastern European countries reached 28.55 billion U.S. dollars in the first four months this year, up 7.9 percent year on year.
Source: Xinhua
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27/04/2019
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is here attending the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, in Beijing, capital of China, April 26, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)
BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is here attending the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.
Li said China is willing to enhance high-level contacts with Vietnam, deepen pragmatic cooperation, and better align the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with Vietnam’s “Two Corridors and One Economic Circle” plan.
China is willing to expand bilateral trade and achieve balanced and sustainable development in trade with Vietnam, and welcomes the entry of quality Vietnamese products into the Chinese market, Li said.
China supports Vietnam in assuming its role as the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2020, and is willing to work with Vietnam and other parties to steadily advance the consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, the premier said.
Nguyen Xuan Phuc said Vietnam actively supports the BRI and is willing to build greater synergy of the two countries’ development strategies.
Vietnam is willing to work with China in implementing the high-level consensus and safeguarding the long-term stability in the South China Sea, he said.
Source: Xinhua
Posted in "Two Corridors and One Economic Circle", Association of Southeast Asian Nations, balanced and sustainable development, Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF), bilateral trade, China alert, Chinese market, Chinese premier Li Keqiang, Code of Conduct (COC), Nguyen Xuan Phuc, South China Sea, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vietnamese Prime Minister |
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