Far East-Pacific - 萬歲 Wansui Sino-Slavic Cooperation.

[TsarSamuil]

Taiwan should be recognized as a ‘free and sovereign country – former top US diplomat.

RT.com
4 Mar, 2022 12:26

Speaking during a visit to the island on Wednesday, former United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that America should diplomatically recognize Taiwan as a “free and sovereign country.”

“It is my view that the United States government should immediately take necessary and long-overdue steps to do the right and obvious thing, that is to offer the Republic of China (Taiwan) America’s diplomatic recognition as a free and sovereign country,” Pompeo said.

He chose to refer to the island as the Republic of China, Taiwan’s official name.

The ex-secretary of state was clear that this “isn’t about Taiwan’s future independence” but it is “about recognition of an unmistakable, already existing reality.”

During the speech to a Taipei-based think tank, Pompeo declared that the diplomatic recognition of Taiwan “can no longer be ignored, avoided or treated as secondary.”

The United States and Taiwan have considered each other allies, with America providing arms to the Asian nation despite having previously switched to diplomatic recognition of Beijing in 1979. Beijing has remained clear that Taiwan is a part of Chinese territory, stating that it is entitled to take control of the self-ruled democratic island at any point, by force if needed.

The current leader of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, who has won two elections, represents a party that favors independence but she has claimed that there is no need to declare independence, as the island already considers itself a sovereign nation.

Chinese officials have previously warned that any formal declaration of independence from Taiwan would be crossing a “red line” that could spark a war over the territory.

Following his speech on Wednesday, Tsai conferred an honorary medal on Pompeo, praising the former diplomat for facilitating “multiple breakthroughs” in Taiwan-US relations during his time as secretary of state.

[TsarSamuil]

www.unionpayintl.com/en/
alternative www.rupay.co.in/

Russian banks switch to Chinese UnionPay.

RT.com
6 Mar, 2022 11:55

On Sunday, several Russian banks announced plans to start issuing cards using the Chinese UnionPay card operator system.

The step, which came shortly after Mastercard and Visa pledged to cease operations in Russia and disconnect all the country’s banks from their payment systems, will enable the holders of new cards to use them for paying and withdrawing cash abroad.

On Saturday, international financial service providers Visa and Mastercard said they would suspend operations in Russia within the next several days due to the latest Western sanctions related to Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine. The drastic step makes the use of cards issued in Russia outside the country implausible. Likewise, cards that were issued outside of Russia will stop working in Russia.

Visa and Mastercard are the latest international brands taking harsh moves towards Russia over the Ukrainian conflict. Earlier, companies such as PayPal, Netflix, Intel, Inditex, Airbnb and Rolls Royce announced they were leaving the country’s market.

Russian banks, including Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, as well as Alfa Bank and Tinkoff issued announcements regarding the switch to UnionPay due to the latest developments. Some of Russia’s banks, like Pochta Bank, Gazprombank, Promsvyazbank, Sovcombank and several other minor banks had been previously working with the UnionPay card operator’s system.

UnionPay, an international payment system founded in 2002, received international status in 2005. Headquartered in Shanghai, the company reportedly operates in more than 180 countries across the globe, including Switzerland, Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Cyprus, Thailand, India, Israel, Portugal, Croatia, Poland, Serbia, Hungary and Austria.

[TsarSamuil]

Russia-China trade turnover up almost 40% in two months.

RT.com
7 Mar, 2022 08:17

Mutual trade between Russia and China in the first two months of 2022 increased by 38.5% year-on-year, according to statistics released on Monday by China’s customs administration.

Trade turnover in January-February reached $26.43 billion.

Russian exports to China jumped by 35.8% over the period to $13.8 billion, while Russia imported $12.6 billion worth of goods and services from China, an annual growth of 41.5%.

Last year, Russian-Chinese trade peaked at a record high of over $148.8 billion, up 35.8% compared to 2020, when it dropped by 2.9% due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Overall, China’s trade surplus reached $59.77 billion in the first two months of 2022, up 16.5% compared to the same period in 2021.

“Despite the increasingly complex and unpredictable external factors, the situation in China’s foreign trade is still stable. This is primarily due to the flexibility of the Chinese economy. In general, in the long term, the positive trend remains unchanged,” Chinese customs official Li Kuiwen said, commenting on the newly-released data.

Russia’s positive balance in January-February reached $1.19 billion, up 26.3% annually.

Following last year’s positive results, Chinese President Xi Jinping forecast that trade turnover between Russia and China may soon reach $250 billion. Experts say this threshold could be reached in 2026. Among the main areas that will contribute to the growth of trade between the two countries, analysts list Russian oil and gas exports, non-ferrous metals, and agricultural goods. Last month, China lifted all restrictions on Russian wheat imports, and is now free to buy wheat from any Russian region.

[TsarSamuil]

China responds to US sanctions threat.

RT.com
9 Mar, 2022 13:21

China will protect its companies and people who have come under threat of US sanctions over trading with Russia, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, commenting on Washington’s warnings.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Beijing “will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and individuals.”

The Chinese official reiterated his government’s criticism of unilateral sanctions, saying they have no basis in international law and only cause “serious difficulties to the economy and people’s livelihood” in targeted nations instead of fostering peace and security.

Washington should “take China’s concerns seriously” when implementing its restrictions against Russia so that they don’t “harm China’s rights and interests in any way,” Zhao warned.

The US imposed a ban on the export of advanced semiconductors to Russia in response to Moscow’s military attack against Ukraine. The ban targets not only American companies but also foreign firms which use American software and technologies in production. Nations like South Korea, which want to continue their exports to Russia, have to apply for special exemptions or face Washington’s wrath.

In an interview with the New York Times, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo warned that her government could “essentially shut” down any Chinese company that defies American sanctions. The secretary singled out China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation as facing potential punishment for flouting its Russia ban.

Unlike US allies in Europe and elsewhere, China has refused to condemn Russia for its attack against Ukraine. Beijing agreed with Moscow’s assessment that NATO’s unchecked expansion in Eastern Europe and the failure to address Russia’s national security concerns paved the way to the current crisis.

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Ban on tech sales to Russia could spark global microchip war – expert.

RT.com
9 Mar, 2022 14:25

The ban on technology exports to Russia, in response to the war in Ukraine, could backfire on global manufacturers of computer processors and semiconductors, as many crucial components for their production are made exclusively in Russia, an industry expert has warned.

“The ban on finished products for Russia will result in a retaliatory ban on the supply of production components and will cause an acute shortage of microprocessors for the whole world. By comparison, the end-of-2021 supply disruption situation will appear relatively light,” Oleg Izumrudov, head of the Consortium of Russian Developers of Data Storage Systems (RosSHD), says.

His statement comes after the world's largest manufacturers of computer processors and semiconductors announced that they will join the sanctions against Russia over its military campaign in Ukraine. A number of technology manufacturers halted product deliveries to Russia, including US majors AMD and Intel, while the world’s largest semiconductor chip producer TSMC stopped the production of Russian Baikal and Elbrus microprocessors at its Taiwanese plant.

While global tech majors are announcing their split from Russia, Izumrudov says potential Russian retaliation moves “would leave almost the entire world without microelectronics.”

According to the expert, Russia accounts for 80% of the market for sapphire substrates – thin plates made of artificial stone, which are used in “every processor in the world,” including those manufactured by AMD and Intel.

“Our position is even stronger in special chip etching chemistry using ultra-pure components. Russia accounts for 100% of the world's supply of various rare earth elements used for these purposes,” the expert states.

According to him, Russian components for manufacturing semiconductors would be almost impossible to replace.

“Talking about sanctions against Russian microelectronics is impossible without talking about global microelectronics… It will not be possible to abruptly replace [Russia] with a resource of alternative substrate production locations, and there is no way to replace rare earths from Russia,” Izumrudov states.

He says the timeframe to ensure the quality of sapphire substrates, required for microchips, for instance, is 30 years of continuous production. Plants at which they can be made have to be located in conditions of almost zero seismic activity, which means the products of enterprises similar to those in Russia in seismically active California or Taiwan “are noticeably inferior in quality and volume to the level required in the industry.”

According to Izumrudov, even in the worst-case scenario, where Western states succeed in cutting Russia off from its existing tech partners, Russia has a number of “just in case” options to reorient the industry. The first option is to work with mainland China-based Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and its AMEC factory. It is inferior to TSMC, but “this is temporary,” Izumrudov says.

In addition to China, he adds, India could be “a partner with huge potential in IT in general and microelectronics in particular.”

“The country is interested in entering the global market [and] it has all the necessary basic elements, especially human resources, for this. It is enough to pay attention to the number of Indians in top management of IT giants and start-ups, including in the field of microelectronics,” the expert explains, calling the possibility of Russia’s tech interaction with India “very promising.”

According to Izumrudov, a third option also exists, and it lies in the creation of new technologies within Russia.

“In addition to purely geographical solutions to the problem, there is also a way to create a completely new technological approach to the production of semiconductors,” he states. Izumrudov suggests replacing silicon in semiconductors with gallium arsenide, a material used in infrared optics and microelectronics, which would allow the creation of 3D chip architectures instead of the currently used 2D wafer printing. The production of such solutions has been established in the Russian city of Perm for the needs of the Ministry of Defense, the expert says, adding that the technology has potential for civilian application and research on it is already being carried out.

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US threatens China over Russia trade.

Alexey Viryasov, RT
9 Mar, 2022 16:52

If Chinese tech companies violate American sanctions and continue exporting semiconductors to Russia and Belarus, Washington may retaliate by cutting them off from critical supplies, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo warned on Tuesday in an interview with the New York Times.

In particular, she threatened the Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), Beijing's partially state-owned major chip maker.

“They have their own self-interest to not supply this stuff to Russia. So they’re not doing it out of the goodness of their heart. It would be devastating to China’s ability to produce these chips,” Raimondo said

She warned any attempt from SMIC to override the US ban on trade with Russia will force Washington to restrict the company’s access to America’s most advanced software, which is essential for the manufacturer.

It is not the first time Raimondo has taken a harsh stance on China. During her confirmation hearings before Congress in January 2021, she also pledged to adopt a hard line in response to Beijing’s “unfair trade practices.” Earlier, the US Commerce Department under then President Donald Trump banned Chinese firm Huawei, as well as hundreds of other companies from importing American chips.

Earlier last week, Beijing made it clear that it was willing to preserve its trade relations with Moscow. “We will not join such unilateral sanctions, and we will continue to maintain normal trade, economic and financial ties with [Russia],” chairman of the Banking and Insurance Regulatory Committee Guo Shuqing declared.

The new round of sanctions against Russia was triggered by military attack on Ukraine, in late February. The measures target the country’s tech, financial, and energy sectors.

Russia and Belarus are now banned from importing high-tech products. Some banks have been cut off from SWIFT, the international financial transactions service. The United States and EU nations have also banned Russian flights from passing through their air space. At the same time, in protest at Moscow’s military offensive, many international companies have withdrawn from the Russian market.

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Obnoxious CBS Host Berates Chinese Ambassador Over Ukraine.

The Jimmy Dore Show
Mar 22, 2022



On a recent episode of CBS’s Sunday morning show “Face the Nation,” host Margaret Brennan badgered, berated and harangued at Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Qin Gang, demanding that the Chinese “condemn” the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Despite the verbal onslaught and repeated interruptions, Gang remains calm and tells Brennan that it’s naive to think that condemnation, rather than assertively encouraging a negotiated settlement, will do much to resolve the conflict.

Jimmy notes the contrast between Brennan’s irrationally aggressive cross-examination and the ambassador’s calm reserve.

[TsarSamuil]

Why United States Won't Win World War 3.

The Infographics Show
Feb 15, 2022



A new World War could be on the horizon, and while the United States has remained the top world super-power, threats from China and Russia have become increasingly concerning. Check out why the US might have it's hands full if and when World War 3 breaks out!

[TsarSamuil]

Russia scraps peace-treaty talks with Japan.

RT.com
21 Mar, 2022 18:55

Russia has ended an arrangement dating back to 1991 that allowed Japanese citizens to visit the Kuril Islands without a visa, and has broken off talks with Japan on formally ending the Second World War, citing Tokyo’s “openly unfriendly” conduct in sanctioning Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine.

Due to the “obvious unfriendly nature of the unilateral restrictions imposed by Japan against Russia in connection with the situation in Ukraine,” the Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that it would “terminate” the visa-free regime and “does not intend to continue negotiations with Japan on a peace agreement.”

Russia also withdrew from talks on establishing joint economic activities with Japan in the Southern Kuril Islands, and will block Tokyo’s partner status in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation organization.

“All responsibility for the damage to Japan’s bilateral cooperation and interests lies with official Tokyo, which deliberately opted for an anti-Russian course instead of developing mutually beneficial cooperation and good neighborliness,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Japan joined the US-NATO economic embargo against Russia after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine last month. On March 16, it also revoked Russia’s “most favored nation” trade status.

Moscow and Tokyo never formally concluded a peace treaty after the Second World War, due to the dispute over the four southernmost islands in the Kuril chain, which Japan calls its “Northern Territories.”

Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and Habomai were administered by Japan between 1855 and 1945, when the Soviet Union took possession of them due to Tokyo’s unconditional surrender to the Allies.

Russia and Japan signed a visa-free agreement for Japanese travel to the four islands in 1991, and, in 1999, added a protocol to facilitate the visits of former Japanese residents of the islands.

Talks between Moscow and Tokyo on resolving the territorial dispute resumed in 2018, but Japan has maintained that its right to the four islands is not negotiable.

[TsarSamuil]

US imposes visa restrictions against China.

RT.com
21 Mar, 2022 21:05

The US is imposing visa restrictions on Chinese officials in order to punish Beijing for alleged repression, intimidation and harassment of human rights activists and dissidents, both in China and around the world, the State Department said on Monday. As examples, Secretary of State Antony Blinken cited “genocide” of Uighurs and repression in Tibet and Hong Kong.

China is “attempting to intimidate, harass, and repress dissidents and human rights defenders inside and outside,” Blinken said, adding that “perpetrators of human rights abuses must continue to face consequences.”

The US “rejects efforts by [People’s Republic of China] officials to harass, intimidate, surveil and abduct members of ethnic and religious minority groups, including those who seek safety abroad, and US citizens, who speak out on behalf of these vulnerable populations,” Blinken said in a statement released by the State Department on Monday afternoon.

US sanctions target those officials “who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, policies or actions” targeting these communities, activists, and civil society “in China and beyond,” the State Department said, adding, “We are committed to defending human rights around the world.”

As an example of China’s “transnational repression,” the US said Beijing was trying to silence Uighur activists “serving the American people” by denying permissions to their family members to leave China.

Washington urged Beijing to “end its ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, repressive policies in Tibet, crackdown on fundamental freedoms in Kong Kong,” and other abuses elsewhere.

The announcement comes after Friday’s call between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, in which Washington threatened China with “consequences” unless it disavowed Russia and joined the US-led embargo against Moscow.

China is a sovereign country opposed to unilateral sanctions and reserves the right to defend its interests accordingly, the government in Beijing said in response. Xi told Biden that China stands for peace and against war and backed a diplomatic solution of the Ukraine conflict.

“All sides need to jointly support Russia and Ukraine in having dialogue and negotiation that will produce results and lead to peace,” said the Chinese readout of the presidential phone conversation.

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China rebukes US as ‘world’s biggest human rights violator’

RT.com
22 Mar, 2022 11:51

Beijing has promised to respond in kind unless the US revokes the blacklisting of Chinese officials it said were guilty of human rights violations.

Speaking at a regular press conference on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin accused the US of “smearing China, oppressing Chinese officials for no reason, violating international law... and grossly interfering in China’s domestic affairs.”

Wang said Beijing will respond with “reciprocal countermeasures” if the US does not immediately revoke its sanctions.

The statement came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused the Chinese government of committing “genocide and crimes against humanity” against the Uyghurs, a Muslim ethnic minority living predominately in China’s northwestern Xinjiang Region. He added that Washington has blacklisted Chinese officials who it said were guilty of human rights violations.

Wang responded in kind, calling the US “the biggest human rights violator in the world,” whose historical treatment of Native Americans “constitutes de facto genocide.” He also criticized Washington for the “long-lasting systemic racial discrimination” of black Americans.

Multiple global human rights groups have long accused China of oppressing the Uyghurs and forcing them to work in labor camps. Beijing has denied the allegations, insisting that the Uyghurs are studying in vocational education and training centers as part of state integration and deradicalization programs.

[TsarSamuil]

Why is China leasing Tulagi in the Solomon Islands? | DW News

DW News
Oct 18, 2019



The island of Tulagi in the Pacific Ocean is now at the center of a strategic game of diplomatic chess. This isn't a common description for the Solomon Islands, but since it established diplomatic ties with China last month, the US and Taiwan have sat up and taken notice. An Island with only about 1200 inhabitants, Tulagi has been leased to a Chinese company as part of a 'strategic cooperation agreement.' The company intends to develop a refinery on the island, but its potential use as a military base has experts worried. The deal came about after the Solomon Islands broke off diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The diplomatic loss was a strategic gain for China, which now has an island in waters that have traditionally been under the US sphere of influence. China claims these islands and unilaterally drew this nine dash line to claim all of this. Taiwan also has claims here, but all that seems to have been ignored. Taipei Representative to Germany Hsieh Chih-wei joined DW to discuss the issue.

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China negotiates secret deal in South Pacific – media.

RT.com
25 Mar, 2022 20:10

China has reportedly negotiated a secret security pact with the Solomon Islands, setting off alarm bells in the US and Australia because of the potential for Beijing gaining a South Pacific beachhead from which it could block shipping traffic.

Chinese and Solomon Island officials are close to signing the agreement, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing documents leaked by opponents of the deal. If completed, the pact would give Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare the ability to call on China for protection, such as in cases of civil unrest. Beijing would be given rights to dock warships and access “all necessary facilities” on the islands.

Australia’s foreign ministry confirmed the authenticity of the draft security agreement and argued that its “Pacific family” is best-suited to provide security assistance to the Solomon Islands. It noted that Australia has come to the country’s aid in the past, such as when it activated a 2017 security treaty with the Solomon Islands to help restore order during riots last November.

“We would be particularly concerned by any actions that undermine the stability and security of our region, including the establishment of a permanent presence, such as a military base,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It added that Australia’s government and Sogavare announced on Thursday that international assistance forces will remain in the Solomon Islands until December 2023.

Canberra also will provide A$22 million ($16.4 million) in budget support to help Sogavare’s government mitigate the economic impacts of the riots and the Covid-19 pandemic. “Australia will be transparent and show respect as a reliable partner as we seek to build unity across the Pacific,” the foreign ministry said.

Last year’s violence sprung up from protests over the Sogavare government’s decisions to end diplomatic relations with Taiwan, establish ties with Beijing, and sign development deals with Chinese companies. The rioters attacked Sogavare’s residence and burned businesses in Chinatown on Guadalcanal, the island made famous by a World War II battle between the US and Japan.

Solomon Islands opposition-party leader Matthew Wale told the Times that he feared the vagueness of the security agreement with China would allow it to be used for anything. “The crux of it is that this is all about political survival for the prime minister,” he said. “It has nothing to do with the national security of Solomon Islands.”

The US State Department is building an embassy in the Solomon Islands decades after closing its diplomatic outpost in Honiara. Charles Edel, who is the Australia chairman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, argued that the secret security deal with China would degrade Australia’s security. “This is deeply problematic for the United States and a real cause of concern for our allies and partners,” he told the Times.


Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Solomon Islands' Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, October 9, 2019



Pacific nation defends security deal with China.

RT.com
29 Mar, 2022 08:34

The Solomon Islands’ security deal with Beijing is finalized and ready for signing, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has said. However, he has refuted speculations it was aimed at establishing a Chinese military base in his country.

“We find it very insulting to be branded as unfit to manage our sovereign affairs, or [to] have other motives in pursuing our national interests,” Sogavare told the parliament in the capital, Honiara, on Tuesday.

The draft of the agreement, leaked by the media last week, has led to criticism from Australia and New Zealand, which are concerned by China’s growing influence in the Pacific. Some outlets went so far as to suggest the deal would see Beijing establishing a military base in the country, which is located some 2,000km (1,243 miles) from Australia’s northern shores.

The Solomon Islands have “no intention … of pitching into any geopolitical power struggle,” Sogavare assured parliamentarians. As for the media’s claims of a Chinese military base, he said, they were merely “misinformation” and “nonsense.”

Beijing is not pressuring Honiara into signing the pact, he insisted, adding that “the Solomon Islands themselves requested the treaty.”

According to Sogavare, Chinese security personnel will be deployed only to protect infrastructure built by what he termed “our new friends.”

“We watched Chinatown burned to ashes and the attempted vandalism of the Pacific Games infrastructure,” he said, referring to the riots in 2019 that were provoked by the government’s decision to switch diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing.

Australia helped restore order back then, and Honiara’s security deal with Canberra would remain in place despite the Solomon Islands’ rapprochement with China, the prime minister said. “We need to diversify the country’s relationship with other partners. What is wrong with that?” he asked.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has decried the planned deal between China and the Solomon Islands as an attempt by Beijing to “intimidate” Canberra. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she saw “very little reason” for the Chinese presence and predicted a “potential militarization of the region.”

[TsarSamuil]

Japanese Media: Russia Conducts Military Exercises in the Kuril Islands.

Novinite.com
World » RUSSIA | March 26, 2022, Saturday // 15:52

Russia is conducting military exercises in the Kuril Islands, of which Japan has territorial claims, Reuters reported, citing today's information in the Japanese media.

Russia is conducting the exercises a few days after suspending negotiations for a peace treaty with Japan, which was never concluded after the end of World War II.

Russia's Eastern Military District has announced that it is conducting military exercises in the Kuril Islands, involving more than 3,000 troops and hundreds of units of military equipment, Russia's Interfax news agency reported yesterday.

However, they did not explain exactly where the exercises are being held in the Kuril Islands. Japanese media reported that they were in a territory that the Soviet Union had taken over from Japan at the end of World War II and which was Japanese for Tokyo.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry and the Japanese Prime Minister have not yet commented on the Russian exercises.

[TsarSamuil]

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou returns to embattled Chinese telecoms giant as 2021 revenue plunges under US sanctions.

South China Morning Post
Iris Deng in Hong Kong and Che Pan in Beijing - 4:48pm, 28 Mar, 2022

Huawei Technologies Co chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who returned to China after more than 1,000 days of detention and house arrest in Canada, on Monday took centre stage at the press conference for the company’s annual report, marking her high-profile comeback at the struggling, US sanctions-hit telecommunications giant.

Meng, daughter of Huawei founder and chief executive Ren Zhengfei, made her official return at a time when the Shenzhen-based company lost some ground in the US$100 billion global telecoms equipment market, as the firm scrambled to adapt its operations to tighter restrictions imposed by Washington, covering access to advanced chips developed or produced using US technology, from anywhere.

Privately-held Huawei posted total 2021 revenue of 636.8 billion yuan (US$100 billion), down 29 per cent from a year earlier and its worst annual sales performance on record. Net profit reached 113.7 billion yuan, a 76 per cent jump from a year ago.

But 50-year-old Meng, widely seen as a her father’s heir apparent at Huawei, put a positive spin on things. “Despite a revenue decline in 2021, our ability to make a profit and generate cash flows is increasing,” she said. The chief financial officer was joined in the company’s presentation by Huawei rotating chairman Guo Ping.

Revenue from Huawei’s consumer business, which includes smartphones, declined 50 per cent to 243.4 billion yuan, while revenue from its carrier business tumbled 7 per cent to 281.5 billion yuan.

“We expect Huawei’s smartphone shipments to drop to a range of 20 to 25 million units this year, compared with about 30 million to 35 million units last year,” said Eddie Han, senior analyst at Isaiah Research.

Han indicated that the decline in shipments owed to Huawei’s difficulty in selling 4G smartphones in mainland China, where 5G handset sales have picked up. Russia, one of Huawei’s important overseas markets, is now also subject to various trade sanctions, he said.

At the Shenzhen press conference, rotating chairman Guo said Huawei is carefully evaluating policy changes, without elaborating, in response to a questions about the company’s operations in Russia, which has been hit with trade sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine on February 24. He also indicated that Huawei has no plans to launch mobile platform HarmonyOS outside China.

Meng entered the press conference wearing a black dress, prompting attendees to put up their smartphones and take pictures of her from a distance. She sat on the front-row dais, seemingly unaffected by all the attention.

Meng, whose return to China in a chartered flight last September was hailed as a diplomatic victory, assured that Huawei is “more capable of dealing with uncertainty” at this time, years after the company was added by the US government to a trade blacklist.

“The multiple rounds of sanctions imposed by the US have significantly affected our business, especially smartphones and PCs,” she said. Although the company was also under pressure from Covid-19 pandemic disruptions, she said “5G [network] construction in July was basically completed in 2020”.

Meng also reiterated Huawei’s commitment to research and development, despite existing challenges. “We will continue to invest heavily in talent and R&D to ensure long-term innovation,” she said. “We believe that this type of investment will enable us to supply high-quality products and services to our customers.”

Huawei, according to Guo, plans to recruit more than 10,000 fresh graduates in 2022. The firm hired about 26,000 fresh graduates in the past two years.

Meng’s assurance that Huawei was now better equipped to handle adversity reflects her father Ren’s own approach to pushing forward in battle, as a means to motivate the company’s employees amid recent difficulties.

“We must go through hard work and brave sacrifices to fight for a peaceful environment for the next three decades so that no one dares to bully us,” 77-year-old Ren said in a two-and-half minute video published by Huawei last November. “We are fighting for ourselves as well as our country.”

Much has happened since Meng’s detention at Vancouver International Airport in December 2018 on an extradition request from the US Department of Justice, which charged Meng of fraud for misleading banks regarding Huawei’s business dealings in Iran. During that year, Huawei was on an upwards trajectory to become the world’s largest smartphone vendor, moving ahead of Samsung Electronics and Apple.

From a low-key Huawei executive, Meng turned into the central figure in a widely-watched diplomatic struggle between Beijing, Washington and Ottawa. That turned her into a household name in China. Meng’s speech at the tarmac of Shenzhen Baoan International Airport was broadcast nationwide.

China freed two Canadian citizens, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, on the same day after Meng signed a deferred prosecution agreement with the US Justice Department.

Huawei, which is still the world’s largest telecoms equipment maker, was formerly China’s biggest smartphone vendor. The company’s change of fortunes has led it to explore other revenue streams.

Since late 2020, Huawei has pursued initiatives to diversify its operations. These include drawing up plans to co-develop a luxury electric sport-utility vehicle, selling refurbished smartphones and licensing its handset designs, expanding its cloud services operations in the Asia-Pacific region, helping domestic enterprises cut their carbon footprint, supplying more 5G base stations and core network gear to China’s major telecoms operators, establishing partnerships for its HarmonyOS mobile platform and divesting its Honor budget smartphone business.

[TsarSamuil]

Chinese firms look to cash in on Western exodus from Russia – media.

RT.com
29 Mar, 2022 10:49

Chinese small and medium-sized companies are exploring opportunities in the Russian market that have become available with the exit of many Western firms, the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday.

“Chinese companies in some niche sectors will especially benefit from the EU and US [companies] leaving Russian markets, such as in auto parts, foods, medical supplies and infrastructure components,” said Zhuang Bo, a China economist at investment firm Loomis, Sayles & Company, as quoted by Morning Post.

The analyst added that the entry of Chinese businesses into the Russian market is expected to create a major impetus for mutual trade between the two countries.

“Trade between the two countries will most definitely increase in size in the next couple of years, and the pace will pick up as well,” Zhuang said.

The exodus of Western businesses from Russia has led to an imbalance of supply and demand, undoubtedly generating new business opportunities, the president of the Federation of Overseas Chinese in Moscow, Wang Chuanbao, was quoted by media as having said.

“We will actively assist incoming Chinese companies in studying and collaborating with the Russian market, as well as explore ways to work with Russian companies under the backdrop of the Belt and Road strategic development,” Wang said.

However, Chinese state-owned majors are expected to remain wary of breaching Western sanctions for now, the analysts have also said.

[TsarSamuil]

Russians ditching dollars and euros for yuan – survey.

RT.com
9 Apr, 2022 12:39

Russian banks saw a sharp increase in the number of Chinese yuan accounts last month, a survey by financial daily Kommersant has found.

According to the publication, Russian citizens were actively converting their forex savings to the Chinese currency, while the number of new accounts denominated in yuan also grew significantly.

At Tinkoff Bank, for instance, the volume of funds held in yuan has surged eight times. MTS Bank reported a four-fold increase, as did the Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development, while Bank Saint Petersburg saw a 3.5-fold rise.

Tinkoff Bank also reported that many wholesale companies were switching to settlement in yuan, whereas previously they considered US dollar settlements to be easier and faster. According to the bank’s data, the share of business settlements in yuan has grown from 15-25% last year to 25-30% now. The transactions involve firms trading in goods such as spare parts, peripheral equipment, textiles and food products, MTS Bank stated, noting that Russian oil firms, coal miners and metal producers were also starting to move to yuan settlement.

Transactions with the Chinese currency on the Moscow Exchange have also grown significantly, although they still lag dollar and euro volumes. Whereas in January-February the volume of yuan transactions on the exchange rarely exceeded 3 billion rubles per day (some $37 million), this past week an all-time record of 18.5 billion rubles (some $230 million) changed hands.

Analysts see this as a means for both individuals and companies to evade Ukraine-related Western sanctions that effectively limit Russia’s access to the dollar and euro. China, however, has not joined the sanctions and has kept access to its national currency open, which makes it a potential alternative for Russia’s international transactions.

“Under the conditions of restrictions, many companies see settlements in yuan as more stable and predictable,” MTS Bank told the newspaper. Analysts say that as sanctions force Russian importers and producers to reorient to Asia, and as the dollar and euro are increasingly seen as unreliable for Russian companies, the number of settlements in yuan is likely to grow further.