The Baloch House

Photo: allafrica.comNamibian President Hage Geingob and Chinese Prime Minister Xi jinping (file photo).×WINDHOEK - Namibia and China are expected to sign a cooperation deal under the Belt and Road Initiative during President Hage Geingob's visit at the upcoming China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing Summit slated for September 2 to 4, as Beijing seeks to cement its strategic influence in Africa.Geingob and delegation are expected to leave for Beijing on September 1.Briefing Geingob at State House yesterday on the official programme for his state visit to Beijing for the FOCAC Summit, Chinese Ambassador to Namibia Zhang Yiming urged Namibia to take advantage of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative for her own development.In addition to cooperation pacts on road and rail infrastructure, the two sides are expected to sign two more deals ranging from tourism to visa exemptions for diplomatic and service passport holders.Proposed by China in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative …

Abhishek Bhalla | Updated: Aug 24, 2018, 05:00 AM ISTDefence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with her Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe at South Block in New Delhi on ThursdayIndia urged China not to view its development work in the border areas with distrust. India pitched for free navigation in the contentious South China Sea aimed at boosting trade and raised concerns over CPEC, sources said as the defence ministers of both nations met on Thursday. The meeting of defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the Chinese counterpart Gen Wei Fenghe included extensive discussions on bilateral defence related engagement as well as regional and international developments, a press statement of the Ministry of Defence said. Sitharam also extended an invitation for one of the military chiefs of China to visit India soon.Taking forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision that the two countries won't allow differences to turn into disputes, the Chinese delegation was of the view that bo…

Source: Supchina.comXinjiang and Uyghurs abroad
Germany spots deporting Uyghurs to China after outcry over man who was mistakenly kicked out and ‘disappeared’ / SCMP
Germany halts Uyghur deportations to China / Deutsche Welle
“Uyghurs and members of other Muslim minorities will no longer be deported from Germany to China, the Süddeutscher Zeitung reported on Thursday citing an Interior Ministry response to a Green party information request.”Taiwan’s legal system
The simple but ingenious system Taiwan uses to crowdsource its laws / Technology Review
“Taiwan is a promising experiment in participatory governance. But politics is blocking it from getting greater traction.”Taiwan: 823 bombardment anniversary
Taiwan calls for unity on 60th anniversary of deadly mainland Chinese attack / SCMP
“Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen called for unity and vowed not to bow to pressure from Beijing on Thursday as the island marked the 60th anniversary of a deadly mainland Chinese artillery attack. The anni…

Australia has banned Chinese handset and network equipment maker Huawei from supplying equipment for a 5G mobile network.“The move, following advice from security agencies, signals a hardening of Australia’s stance toward its biggest trading partner as relations have soured over Canberra’s allegations of Chinese meddling in Australian politics,” reports Reuters. It also brings Australia in line with the United States, which has restricted Huawei and compatriot ZTE from its lucrative market for similar reasons.The Australian government statement was clear about the perceived threat: Australian ABC reports: “The Government said it would be interpreting rules announced last year as disqualifying any company that was ‘likely subject to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government that conflict with Australian law.’”Huawei Australiatweeted: “We have been informed by the government that Huawei and ZTE have been banned from providing 5G technology to Australia. This is a extremely disa…

August 23, 2018  |  AMTI BRIEF

Despite a recent easing of Sino-Japanese tensions, Beijing continues exploration and production of sensitive oil and gas resources in the East China Sea over Tokyo’s objections. Most recently, China deployed an unidentified jack-up rig—a common type of mobile offshore drilling unit—to waters at the northern end of its chain of oil and gas platforms in the area. Those platforms tap oil and gas basins that straddle the median line between the two countries, which Japan provisionally claims as the boundary between its continental shelf and that of China (for more background on the dispute, see our earlier post, below). AMTI satellite images show the newly-deployed jack-up rig presumably engaged in exploratory drilling since at least June 25, though not in earlier imagery from April 15.
Mobile jack-up rigs like this one are used both for exploratory drilling and for work at existing offshore platforms. Before new drilling, a jacket is installed on the seafloor…

23 AUG, 2018 - 00:08The Belt and Road Initiative looks set to change a number of economic, social and strategic landscapes in Asia nd Africa as China seeks to cement its role as Africa’s main trading partner. INSET: President Xi JinpingAsit K. Biswas & Cecilia Tortajada Correspondents
IN 138 BC China took its first step towards global connectivity with the establishment of the historical Silk Road.Zhang Qian was sent by Emperor Wudi to Central Asia to establish trade relationships. His historic missions enabled China to make contact with the outposts of Hellenic civilisation established by Alexander the Great.These efforts enabled Emperor Han’s dynasty to develop political and trade relationships with Central Asian countries. New ideas came to China, along with new plants like grapes and alfalfa and superior breeds of horses.Centuries later, China is building a very different, very modern version of that route. The Belt and Road Initiative consists of two complementary, concurren…

14/08/18Sabine MokryThe emphasis on regional expertise is a major asset of China’s diplomatic corps. Chinese diplomats frequently rotate within a geographic region. China’s top ambassadors, however, are often left in their positions for a long time. The preference for seniority and the lack of qualified potential successors could weaken the overall effectiveness of China’s diplomatic outreach. This article is part 5 of a MERICS blog series on China’s new foreign policy setup.Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua leaves the Great Hall of the People in March 2017. He assumed his post more than eight years ago. Source: ImagineChina.China’s ambassador to Russia, Li Hui, has spent a decade in his current post. Ambassadors from other countries hardly spend that much time on a single post. In fact, Li spent his whole career working on Russia and its neighbors. Most importantly, he served as ambassador to Kazakhstan and led the general directorate for Eastern European and Central Asian Af…

Merics.org
The social credit system: China’s tool for moral education21/08/18Interview with Rogier Creemers (via Young China Watchers)The aim of China's social credit system, as Rogier Creemer of Leiden University sees it, is "to ensure that people who behave in a sincere and trustworthy way in society are incentivized to do so." In this interview, the postdoctoral scholar in the Law and Governance of China describes the current state of the social credit system and its intended uses for government oversight and moral education.Young China Watchers (YCW): What are some common misnomers about how China’s social credit system works?   Rogier Creemers (RC): There are several areas of sloppiness generally in reporting on the social credit system. Firstly, conflating Ant Financial’s Sesame Credit system with that of the government’s social credit system. The Sesame Credit system is a combination of a loyalty scheme and user-rating system on a private-trading platform. No one i…