[OFFICIAL] - China

Discussion in 'Politics' started by blackbull1970, Nov 21, 2011.

  1. Soulthinker

    Soulthinker Well-Known Member

    China was able to do all of this is because they don't give shyt when it comes to human rights. China was in Africa before when Mao was alive but,in the past 15 years the government has done way beyond what Mao did.
     
  2. Bliss

    Bliss Well-Known Member

    Excellent thread, BB! Keep updating it. Those scoffing at it is exactly the mentality China banks on.

    America became the foremost Superpower doing essentially the same things. Now China is taking our reins. They took our jobs, our manufacturing, they steal our inventions and they are using us- as consumers - to foot the bill in their methodical, engineered master plan to become the richest, most powerful nation on the planet.
     
  3. Bliss

    Bliss Well-Known Member

    China: Iran's New Best Friend


    [​IMG]

    By Eric Shawn

    November 10, 2011


    Following this week's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report concluding that Tehran appears to be well on its way to developing the possibility of manufacturing a nuclear weapon, the next step for world powers is to seek tougher sanctions in the United Nations Security Council.

    But meaningful restrictive measures are not likely to happen, say many analysts, considering China's close relationship with Iran, in part to satisfy China's great thirst for oil. Today, Chinese and Russian diplomats announced that they believe no new sanctions on Iran are necessary.

    “The Chinese-Iranian relationship has, in fact, been deepening over the last few years,” notes Michael Singh, a former senior director for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council during the Bush administration. The Chinese government not only dilutes the sanctions in the United Nations Security Council by sort of providing Iran with diplomatic cover, but it doesn't enforce the sanctions it even does agree to in the Security Council."

    China is Iran's largest trading partner, and this year alone business between the two is estimated at $40 billion, enough of an incentive, say analysts, to block any meaningful Security Council action. Some in Congress are calling on the Obama administration to try and do more.

    "What China's doing, as I understand, it is avoiding the kind of economic squeeze we want to put on Iran that could force it not to go forward on nuclear weapons and that's a disgrace and we ought to be much tougher with China than we've been," New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer told Fox News.

    The influential and powerful senior senator blasted the Chinese, saying they "keep putting themselves first, they keep ignoring the danger to the world of their actions. They even ignore the danger to themselves in the long run, as long as they get a quick benefit in the short run. I think we need to be much tougher with China up and down the line. They are not a positive force in the world scene, whether it comes to Iran, trade, intellectual property or human rights.”

    Walid Phares, a Fox News Middle East analyst, says "by not containing the Iranians we are allowing the Iranians to tell the Chinese that they have interest in backing them." He tells Fox News that "Beijing, by sustaining a sort of a support of any form to the Iranian regime, is basically damaging not just the national security of the United States with its own interests in the region, but in the long term they are damaging their own interests as well."

    Yet a number of Chinese firms have been accused of secretly helping Iran build its nuclear program.

    In New York, one Chinese company was indicted on 118 counts of providing illicit missile and nuclear technology to Tehran, while other Chinese companies have been sanctioned by the U.S and its allies for aiding the Iranians.

    Michael Singh tells Fox News that "Chinese companies have been found supplying Iran with critical parts like carbon fiber, for example, for its centrifuges. In addition, China has been involved in Iran's ballistic missile program -- which remember, is part of a nuclear weapons program which is part of a nuclear weapons program, according to the IAEA reports. "

    Yet the Chinese say they are doing nothing illegal.

    Suzanne DiMaggio, Vice President of Global Policy Programs at the Asia Society in New York City, says "China has maintained this line for years now, and that is Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non Proliferation treaty and by virtue of that fact, has a right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes...but my understanding is there's still no smoking gun, there still won't be that –“aha”- moment, where we know Iran is weaponizing. So I think for the foreseeable future China will maintain its stance."

    Di Maggio says China "has a very strong economic interest in maintaining relations with Tehran. First of all, China's thirst for oil is growing exponentially", so if it were to stop trading with Iran, she asks, "where is China going to go to continue to find suppliers of oil?"

    A spokesman from the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., told Fox News that the ambassador and his aides were away attending a conference in Hawaii and were not available or reachable for comment.
     
  4. blackbull1970

    blackbull1970 Well-Known Member

    China-based Cyber Attack Targets DoD Access Cards

    January 24, 2012
    Military.com|by Mike Hoffman

    http://www.military.com/news/articl...attacks-on-dod-computer-cards.html?ESRC=eb.nl

    Cyber security firms have discovered a computer virus that uses servicemembers’ network security cards to hack into government networks.

    How does it work? servicemembers receive an email with an official-looking PDF file connected to the virus that allows it to record keystrokes, said Jaime Blasco, lab manager for Alien Vault, a California-based cyber security firm. The virus then collects a service member’s personal identification number associated with a Common Access Card when he logs into a government computer.

    “The hackers can get in pretty easily with this virus and do whatever they want on a government computer while a soldier just works on his computer,” Blasco said in a phone interview from his office in Spain.
    Blasco said he suspects the cyber attack originates from China because of the Chinese characters found within the virus’ coding.

    “Since we started tracing it … we found software that’s only really used in China,” Blasco said. “We’re 99 percent sure this attack is coming from China. Not 100 percent sure, but we’re pretty sure.”

    The Defense Department is aware of the virus strain called “Sykipot,” according to multiple news reports. Pentagon officials didn’t respond to a request for comment.

    Blasco said he has spoken to cyber-experts working for the U.S. government about the virus strain.

    “They know about it and are working on it,” Blasco said.
    Alien Vault has tracked the virus for three months. Blasco said he’s not sure what sort of information the hackers have targeted.
    The military is not the sole target. The virus could have hit other U.S. government agencies such as the State Department.

    The only way to protect against Sykipot is to train servicemembers not to open the PDF attachment. Hackers often disguise their poisoned email attachments as government documents, Blasco said.

    Called “CAC cards” by servicemembers, the CAC doubles as an identification card for servicemembers and most contractors. A computer chip is embedded into the card that also contains the owner’s photo.
    servicemembers must insert their CAC in order to log onto government computers. servicemembers use their CAC to access the military’s secret and top-secret cyber networks.

    Cyber officials say the CAC system is more secure than one that uses only passwords. However, a report published last year by the cyber security firm Maniant documented multiple cyber attacks in which hackers targeted identification card systems.

    Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other senior DoD officials have called cyber attacks one of the greatest threats to national security, and an arena in which the U.S. military is the farthest behind.

    Panetta has implored Congress to increase funding to improve research and development for cyber weapons, even as other areas in the defense budget shrink or grow at a reduced rate.
     
  5. blackbull1970

    blackbull1970 Well-Known Member

    African Union opens new $200m HQ from China

    Associated Press – Sat, Jan 28, 2012

    http://news.yahoo.com/african-union-opens-200m-hq-china-155209646.html

    ADDIS ABABA (AP) — African leaders have inaugurated a new $200 million headquarters that was funded by China as a gift. They say the massive complex is a symbol of China's rapidly changing role in Africa.

    The Chinese government fully funded the construction of the 20-floor tower overlooking a calabash-shaped conference center. It took three years to build.

    AU chair Jean Ping said on Saturday China had built the complex for free.

    China's top political adviser Jiao Qinglan said the gift is a "symbol of deepening relations." He said China is Africa's largest trade partner and Chinese investment there totals $13 billion.

    The AU is due to open a two-day summit on Sunday at the new facility.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  6. pettyofficerj

    pettyofficerj New Member

    given the usual imagery of Africa that we see through American media outlets, it's nice to see these photos. They speak echos of both the political and industrial capital the motherland possess. I just hope to see more progress.
     
  7. blackbull1970

    blackbull1970 Well-Known Member

    Nobody does anything for free any more, hopefully Africa does not have to pay a steep price for all these acts and Chinese "good intentions"

    -----------------------------------------------

    "The hand that gives is the hand that rules."

    ~Bantu Proverb
     
  8. blackbull1970

    blackbull1970 Well-Known Member

  9. blackbull1970

    blackbull1970 Well-Known Member

    China Coup Rumors May Be Wild, But Tension Is Real

    The fates of prominent Communist Party officials Bo Xilai and Zhou Yongkang point up the clash between economic reformers and Maoist traditionalists.


    March 22, 2012|By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times

    http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/22/world/la-fg-china-coup-rumors-20120323

    Reporting from Beijing — The aftershocksfrom the sacking last week of a powerful Communist Party secretary are still rattling China, injecting an element of turmoil into a transition the government had hoped would showcase the stability of its political system.

    State media reported this week that 3,300 party cadres from the security apparatus would be sent to Beijing for ideological retraining. The order was unusual enough, but even more so was the fact that the report omitted mention of internal security czar Zhou Yongkang, who heads the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee that is recalling the cadres.

    Zhou, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and until now one of the most powerful men in China, had been the committee's strongest backer of Bo Xilai, the Communist Party secretary of Chongqing who was removed from his post last week. Some overseas Chinese-language Internet sites carried wild (and unsubstantiated) rumors that Zhou and Bo, a popular figure among Maoist traditionalists, had tried to stage a coup.

    A level of edginess was apparent this week in the unusually large security presence in central Beijing, complete with armed SWAT teams in some subway stations.

    Jin Zhong, a veteran political analyst based in Hong Kong, dismissed the more fantastic rumors, while acknowledging the underlying tension between economic reformers and Maoist traditionalists.

    "It hasn't reached the point where you are going to hear gunshots. It is not like when China arrested the Gang of Four in 1976, but there is a very strong conflict going on," Jin said.

    Zhou had been a strong supporter of Bo's law-and-order campaigns in Chongqing, where thousands were swept up in a gang-busting dragnet and retirees had been gathering in a public park for now-banned patriotic singing and dancing. According to Jin, Zhou made several visits to the Chongqing delegation at the recently concluded National People's Congress, fighting for Bo's political future until the very end.

    Like most of China's senior leaders, the 70-year-old Zhou is due to retire at the 18th party congress in October. Until recently, Bo was thought to be a likely replacement. Jin said he doubted that Zhou would be removed from the Standing Committee because he is already set to leave.

    "They won't touch anybody on the Standing Committee before the congress. It is too risky. They've put in a big effort trying to present a picture of stability," Jin said.

    Given the opaque nature of the Chinese Communist Party, only whispers and hints of turmoil are being reported in the Chinese press. But the topic is feeding a furious rumor mill on blogs. Numerous reports have appeared in Taiwan and Hong Kong as well as on Chinese-language news sites run out of the United States.

    The Mingjing News, a U.S.-based news portal, reported that Bo had been scheming with Zhou to prevent vice president and heir apparent Xi Jinping from being confirmed as President Hu Jintao's successor. It also reported that Bo purchased 5,000 rifles and 50,000 rounds of ammunition through the Chongqing Public Security Bureau, causing nervousness in Beijing.

    Bo, 62, a charismatic populist, was fired as party secretary for Chongqing on Friday while he was in Beijing attending the National People's Congress, the annual legislative session.
     
  10. blackbull1970

    blackbull1970 Well-Known Member

    China Sends 3rd Ship in Standoff With Philippines

    http://www.military.com/news/articl...-in-standoff-with-philippines.html?ESRC=eb.nl

    April 12, 2012
    Associated Press|by Jim Gomez

    MANILA, Philippines - China deployed a third ship Thursday in an area of the disputed South China Sea where a tense standoff with Philippine vessels has dragged on, sparking alarm in Manila.

    Chinese and Filipino diplomats have been scrambling to resolve the dangerous impasse at the Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines that erupted Tuesday. A Philippine warship attempted to arrest several Chinese fishermen accused of illegal entry and poaching, but was prevented by the arrival of two Chinese surveillance ships.

    One of the Chinese ships blocked the entrance to a lagoon at the shoal, where at least eight Chinese fishing vessels were anchored. The Chinese ships also ordered the Philippine warship to leave Scarborough, claiming Chinese sovereignty over the rich fishing ground.
    But the warship has stayed put, arguing it is Philippine territory.

    Philippine navy chief Vice Admiral Alexander Pama said the BRP Gregorio del Pilar warship was withdrawn from Scarborough Thursday for refueling and was replaced by a Philippine coast guard ship. The move was not a retreat or concession of any kind to China, he said.
    "We're not retreating from our own territory," Pama said.

    Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said he will ask Chinese ambassador Ma Keqing to explain the arrival of a third Chinese surveillance ship at Scarborough, which he said lies well within his country's territorial waters and off the northwestern Philippine province of Zambales. Despite the new concern, del Rosario said he would continue talks with Ma to resolve the impasse, possibly this week.

    "We're watching developments and at the same time we're pursuing the diplomatic track," Del Rosario said. "We're moving forward but it's still a work in progress."

    Del Rosario proposed an arrangement to end the impasse during talks with Ma, who was expected to relay the Chinese government's reply soon, according to two Philippine officials monitoring the negotiations.
    Del Rosario declined to provide details of the proposal, but said it was a "win-win" solution designed to rapidly end the standoff. The stranded Chinese fishermen were not expected to be able to stay for long at the uninhabited shoal because they may run out of food and other provisions.
    Del Rosario said he wanted the problem resolved before he leaves Sunday for a weeklong U.S. trip.

    Aside from Scarborough, the South China Sea is home to a myriad of competing territorial claims, most notably the Spratly Islands south of the shoal, an island chain claimed by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan. The barren Spratly islands, reefs and coral outcrops are believed to be in rich in oil and gas and the overlapping claims have long been feared as Asia's next flashpoint for armed conflict.

    The Chinese Embassy said the fishing boats had taken shelter from a storm in the lagoon and accused Philippine troops of harassment. But Philippine authorities claimed the fishermen illegally entered their territory then collected giant clams, live sharks and other endangered marine species in violation of local laws.

    The situation at the shoal remained relatively calm, although the Philippine military spotted a suspected Chinese surveillance aircraft which briefly flew over the shoal Wednesday, Pama said.

    The United States said it was concerned by the increased tensions in the South China Sea. "We urge all parties to exercise full restraint and seek a diplomatic resolution," a State Department spokesperson said on customary condition of anonymity.
    ---
     
  11. jxsilicon9

    jxsilicon9 Active Member

    It would be suicide for China to try that. First of all US has subs and aircraft carriers around the world along with bases. Plus they would have to take out NATO countries also. They have no way to effectively,secretly deliver an EMP above the US without significant ramifications.
     
  12. blackbull1970

    blackbull1970 Well-Known Member

    China plans special economic zones in the US: website

    China plans special economic zones in the US: website

    http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1102&MainCatID=11&id=20110613000070

    China has decided to buy up pieces of the United States with the aim of setting up "special economic zones" according to a website called The American Dream. One of the zones would reportedly be located just south of Boise, Idaho.

    It is reported that China National Machinery Industry Corporation (Sinomach) plans to construct a technology zone south of Boise airport which would ultimately be up to 50 square miles in size and the Idaho government is supposedly eager to give it to them. The planned technology zone would include manufacturing facilities, warehouses, retail centers and large numbers of homes for Chinese workers in a "self-sustaining city."

    The major owner behind the Sinomach plan is the Chinese Communist Party, so the planned city would essentially belong to the Chinese government.

    The idea would be to build a self-contained city with all services included, according to the Idaho Statesman. It would be modeled after the special economic zones that currently exist in China.

    The most famous example of these special economic zones is Shenzhen. Back in the 1970s, Shenzhen was just a very small fishing village across the border from Hong Kong. Today it is a sprawling metropolis of over 14 million people.

    If the US government really gives the plan the green light, it could be the first of many in the US. Sinomach is not only targeting Idaho but is in discussions to develop such zones all over the United States.

    Sinomach has recently dispatched delegations to Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania to explore the possibility of establishing zones in those states also.

    The website reports that Americans are afraid that once China develops more and more self-sustaining cites inside the country, these communities would pose a threat to US security. Despite benefits to the local economy , the Chinese could potentially bring in and store massive amounts of military equipment virtually undetected.

    Some internet users view the prospect as colonialism, while others cannot understand why the government would offer the fertile agricultural land of the US midwest to China.

    One netizen called march21 commented: "That's exactly how India came to be ruled by the British. India or rather some Indian kings allowed East India Company to set up trading."

    Another netizen going by the name Derpper said: "You shouldn't blame the economy, blame the traitors we 'elected' who are willing to sell our home to settle a paper money debt."
     
  13. blackbull1970

    blackbull1970 Well-Known Member

    China-Japan currency deal ushers in a new era

    http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-05/30/content_15418297.htm


    Updated: 2012-05-30 02:28
    By Wang Xiaotian in Beijing and Gao Changxin in Shanghai ( China Daily)

    Direct trading of yuan and yen will boost ties between China and Japan

    China and Japan will start direct trading of their currencies on Friday in a move to boost trade ties between Asia's two biggest economies.

    This will be the first time that China has allowed a major currency, apart from the US dollar, to trade directly with the yuan.

    Direct trading of the currencies means that the two countries will not be using the dollar as an intermediary in setting exchange rates.

    The China Foreign Exchange Trade System, the central bank's trading arm, announced the move on Tuesday. It said that a system to manage the direct trade of the currencies would be established.

    This means that both countries will abandon the existing system, which calculates yen-yuan rates on the basis of their respective values against the dollar.

    Yuan-yen trading will be processed on the Tokyo and Shanghai markets, and the daily yen-yuan central parity rate will be formulated by the weighted average of prices given by market makers, it said.

    The move came after Japan said in December that it would become the first developed economy to hold yuan-denominated bonds as reserve assets. Tokyo got approval to buy about $10 billion of Chinese bonds in March.

    Bank of China, a major international yuan clearing and settlement bank, said in a statement on Tuesday that it has applied for direct market maker qualifications. It also said that it had completed the risk monitoring and system preparation to guarantee sufficient liquidity in the inter-bank market for trading.

    "In the future the exchange rate of the yuan against the yen will be determined directly by market demand and supply," it said.
    The People's Bank of China, the central bank, said on Tuesday it "actively" supports the direct trading.

    "This is an important step in implementing the joint statement of the leaders of the two countries on strengthening cooperation between China and Japan in developing financial markets and mutually promoting direct trading between the two currencies based on market principle," it said in a statement posted on its official website.

    Direct trading will result in the establishment of a direct exchange rate between the two currencies, it said.

    "This will help lower currency conversion costs for economic entities, facilitate the use of yuan and Japanese yen in bilateral trade and investment, promote financial cooperation and enhance economic and financial ties between the two countries."

    Lian Ping, chief economist at the Bank of Communications, said direct trading between yuan and yen would reduce dollar influence on the two currencies.

    "And it will better reflect the supply and demand situation between the two economies and facilitate trade."

    Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi also highlighted that the move will reduce transaction costs and lower risks when financial institutions conduct settlement.

    China has overtaken the US to become Japan's biggest trade partner. In 2011, trade between China and Japan reached $344.9 billion, up 14.3 percent on the year.

    Annual trade between China and Japan more than doubled in the past ten years. Currently less than 1 percent of it is settled in yuan. Most is settled in dollars, according to the Japanese Finance Ministry.

    "This is part of China's broader strategy to reduce dependence on the dollar. The yen has been chosen because of large trade flows between the two countries," Reuters quoted Dariusz Kowalczyk, senior economist and strategist at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong, as saying.

    "This could lead to an expansion of trade with other currencies and it will be easier for China to expand into other Asian currencies."

    Although China aims to make the yuan a global currency, insufficient convertibility under the capital account means the yuan can only fulfill 10 percent of its potential international role, said Ma Jun, greater China chief economist at Deutsche Bank.

    Direct trading of the yuan and yen does not mean full convertibility of the yuan, Liu Weiming, an analyst at China Citic Bank, said.

    "As the two currencies are directly traded, the use of the yuan in settling trade between China and Japan will increase. And Tokyo is likely to become a yuan offshore center like Hong Kong, London and Singapore."

    According to Japan's ministry of finance, yuan-denominated deposits and financial services are becoming increasingly popular in Tokyo.

    Banks, such as HSBC, Bank of China and Standard Chartered, and internet-based Japanese bank Jibun Bank, are beginning to accept yuan deposits by individuals. And Japanese lenders are also allowing domestic companies to hold yuan earned through trade as deposits, it said on Tuesday.

    The currency's wider use is gaining strength as more than 9 percent of China's total trade was settled in yuan last year, up from only 0.7 percent in 2010.

    The central bank signed currency-swap agreements worth 1.3 trillion yuan ($205 billion) with 14 countries and regions by the end of 2011 to expand the use of the yuan.

    Anita Fung, chief executive officer of HSBC Hong Kong, forecast that in five years the yuan would become one of three major currencies most widely used to settle trade worldwide, together with the dollar and euro.

    But for Chinese traders, it's difficult to say how popular the yen will be when they settle transactions.
     
  14. blackbull1970

    blackbull1970 Well-Known Member

    China launches space mission with first woman astronaut

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18458544

    16 June 2012 Last updated at 06:42 ET

    China has launched its latest manned space mission - whose crew includes its first female astronaut, Liu Yang.

    The Shenzhou-9 capsule rode to orbit atop a Long March rocket from the Jiuquan spaceport on the edge of the Gobi desert.

    Ms Liu and her two male colleagues are heading to the Tiangong space lab.
    They will spend over a week living and working on the 335km-high vessel, testing new systems and conducting a number of scientific experiments.
    Before leaving, the crew were presented to Communist Party officials, VIPs and the media.

    Wearing their flight suits and sitting behind glass, they waved and smiled.

    Astronaut Liu Yang



    [​IMG]
    • Born in Henan province and an only child
    • Married, with no children
    • Air force pilot with rank of major
    • Member of Communist Party
    • Honoured as a "model" pilot in March 2010
    • Landed a plane safely after it was struck by 18 pigeons
    • Goes by "little flying knight" on the QQ instant messaging service
    • Has been described as having a penchant for patriotic speeches
    "We will obey orders, listen to directions and be calm; and co-ordinate together to successfully complete China's first manned rendezvous and docking mission," said Commander Jing Haipeng.

    China's top legislator, Wu Bangguo, wished them well and told them: "We are expecting your safe return."

    The Shenzhou-9 spacecraft lifted off on schedule at 18:37 local time (10:37 GMT; 11:37 BST).

    All systems appeared to function normally and eight minutes later, the spacecraft had entered orbit. Very shortly after Shenzhou-9 had unfurled its solar panels.

    It will take a couple of days to reach Tiangong. A docking is planned for Monday at 15:00 Beijing time (07:00 GMT; 08:00 BST).

    Mr Jing, 46, is making his second spaceflight after participating in the Shenzhou-7 outing in 2008 - the mission that included China's first spacewalk.

    His flight engineers are both first-timers, however.
    Liu Wang, 42, a People's Liberation Army fighter pilot, has got his chance after spending 14 years in the China National Space Administration's astronaut corps.

    Thirty-three-year-old Liu Yang, also a fighter pilot, has on the other hand emerged as China's first woman astronaut after just two years of training.
    Her role in the mission will be to run the medical experiments in orbit.

    Shenzhou-9 follows on from the unmanned Shenzhou-8 venture last year that tested the technologies required to join a capsule to the Tiangong lab.

    Those manoeuvres went well and gave Chinese officials the confidence to send up humans.

    When it arrives at Tiangong, the Shenzhou-9 craft is expected to make a fully automated docking, but there is a plan to try a manual docking later in the mission.

    This would see the crew uncouple their vehicle from the lab, retreat to a defined distance and then command their ship to re-attach itself.

    Liu Wang will take the lead in this activity. "We've done many simulations," he said during the pre-launch press conference.

    "We've mastered the techniques and skills. China has first class technologies and astronauts, and therefore I'm confident we will fulfil the manual rendezvous."

    [youtube]3tgUlLNw9Ro[/youtube]​

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2012
  15. blackbull1970

    blackbull1970 Well-Known Member

    China’s Hu Pledges $20 Billion in Loans to African Nations

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-...0-billion-in-loans-to-african-nations-1-.html


    [​IMG]



    Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged $20 billion in new loans to Africa for infrastructure and manufacturing, promising to expand the relationship between the continent and its largest trading partner.

    China will also offer 18,000 government scholarships and send 1,500 medical staff to the continent, Hu said in a speech yesterday at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing. He promised China will play a “positive and constructive role in African affairs.”

    Hu’s speech underscored China’s push both to tap Africa’s natural resources to fuel its economic growth and deliver its goods to African markets. The country has put itself forward as an alternative to western partners, offering trade deals and infrastructure loans without preconditions involving human rights or governance reform.

    “We will continue to stand firm with the African people and forever be a good friend, good partner and good brother of the African people,” Hu said.

    “We should oppose the practices of the big bullying the small, the strong domineering over the weak, and the rich oppressing the poor.”

    China’s two-way trade with Africa was $166 billion in 2011, three times the 2006 amount, Hu said, and China became the continent’s biggest trading partner in 2009. China also paid for and built the African Union’s $200 million new headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital.

    Loan Distribution

    Hu didn’t say how the $20 billion in loans, which total more than Zambia’s annual gross domestic product, will be parceled out across the continent. The loans will be distributed over three years, Hu said.

    After Hu spoke and leaders from several African nations extolled the relationship, South African President Jacob Zuma warned that the current trade relationship between the two sides couldn’t last.

    China delivers debt relief, human resources development and investment, while Africa has supplied raw materials and technology transfers, Zuma said.

    “This trade pattern is unsustainable in the long term,” Zuma said. “Africa’s past economic experience with Europe dictates a need to be cautious when entering into partnership with other economies.”

    That comment reflected how, even as African leaders seek closer ties with China, some people on the continent are becoming more critical of the relationship and the imbalances in it, according to Adams Bodomo, the director of the African Studies Program at the University of Hong Kong.

    Begging Bowls

    “I am uncomfortable that China grabs headline news: ‘We will offer U$20 billion credit-lines and loans to Africa over three years!’ and yet we hear nothing from the Africa side,” Bodomo said. “What did the African leaders bring to Beijing? Empty begging bowls which are now filled with $20 billion? This is a shame.”

    China is willing to work with South Africa on balancing bilateral trade, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

    Later yesterday, more than 20 Chinese and African enterprises signed economic cooperation agreements worth $341 million, Xinhua said. The forum in Beijing was attended by leaders from across Africa, including Benin,Kenya, Ivory Coast and Equatorial Guinea.
     
  16. blackbull1970

    blackbull1970 Well-Known Member

    My views on China is that they are no different than any other country. Their primary goal is take care of themselves and look out for their own self interests.

    The USA main foreign policy plan is too deploy military force everywhere. China is going about it differently and using money to get what they want cuz they understand everybody got a price.

    While the USA is spending Billions in Foreign Aid, War on Drugs, War on Terror and other dumb shit that does not bring in a return. China is buying up the debt from all these poor, fucked up countries that are rich in resources and cheaper labor than in their country.

    Then offer them loans they can never pay back and use their countries as collateral.

    China is taking over...without firing one shot.

    Just my opinion.
     
  17. blackbull1970

    blackbull1970 Well-Known Member

    ZAMBIAN WORKERS KILL CHINESE SUPERVISOR OVER PAY (RIGHT ON BROTHAS)

    ZAMBIAN WORKERS KILL CHINESE SUPERVISOR OVER PAY

    http://news.yahoo.com/zambian-miners-kill-chinese-supervisor-over-pay-100110409.html

    LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambian miners killed a Chinese supervisor and seriously wounded another on Saturday in a pay dispute at the Collum coal mine, labour minister Fackson Shamenda said on Sunday.

    Chinese companies have invested more than $1 billion in copper-rich Zambia but animosity towards them is growing as Zambian workers accuse firms of abuses and underpaying.

    Workers at the Collum mine, situated 325km (200 miles) south of the capital, attacked the Chinese men demanding wage rises in line with those stipulated by the government in July.

    Zambia last month raised minimum wages to 522,000 kwacha for maids and household servants, and to 1.1 million kwachafor shop workers without unions.

    "We are yet to establish the exact circumstances but the report I have is that one Chinese was killed and another injured as the workers demanded the new minimum wage," Shamenda told Reuters on Sunday.

    Two years ago, Zambian police charged two Chinese supervisors at the Collum coal mine with attempted murder following the shooting of 13 miners in a pay dispute.

    Resource-hungry China is investing heavily in Africa, a supplier of oil and raw materials like copper and uranium, but critics have warned that its companies are importing their poor track record on workers' rights.

    In July, Chinese President Hu Jintao offered $20 billion in loans to African countries over the next three years, double the amount it pledged for the previous three-year period in 2009.
     
  18. Bliss

    Bliss Well-Known Member

    Massive brawl at Apple supplier's factory
    About 5,000 police officers are called to stop the fight involving 2,000 workers at the Chinese plant. Production stopped
    wow, sounds like a prison riot :-|

    ~~
    In related news...after the recent 5 release, Apple's worth is expected to hit the 1 trillion profit mark....Lot's of employment for the Chinese, lucky them...
     
  19. Bliss

    Bliss Well-Known Member

    BB, I never thanked you for your earlier opinion post (#36), I really appreciate it. You knocked it out. :smt023

    ********

    I always say don't fuck with a man's livelihood. This will/can drive him to murder.
    And WTH, supervisors also shooting 13 workers?? Sounds like the Wild West out there. :smt107

    Not sure I agree with only China importing their poor workers rights -does Zambia have a good track record themselves? Sounds like business as usual with these two countries.

    *I did look up their laws, btw and all is good and well in Zambia and China on paper...:-?

    http://www.mlss.gov.zm/index.html

    http://www.usmra.com/china/Labour Law.htm

    http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=lawfirms
     
  20. blackbull1970

    blackbull1970 Well-Known Member

    Growing Chinese Telecoms Threaten US Security

    http://stage.military.com/daily-news/2012/10/04/growing-chinese-telecoms-threaten-us-security.html


    Congress and the Pentagon have set their sights on two Chinese telecommunications giants as dangerous potential threats to national security as their wildly popular cell phones start to infiltrate the American market.

    U.S. military leaders have listed cyber attacks as a top national threat with the Defense Department, FBI and National Security Agency trying to keep up with the rapidly maturing technological threats facing the government.

    The Defense Department sustains more than a 10 million cyber attacks per day. The White House sustained and repelled a serious enough attack Monday that administration officials acknowledged the risk it posed although it didn’t provide details.

    Attacks don’t have to infiltrate nuclear missile bunkers or submarine messaging codes to bring a country to its knees. Digital technology penetrates most of American culture. Cell phones lead the way as these tiny computers dictate most Americans’ schedules, communications and even banking.

    This dependence on cellular networks has drawn the attention of the U.S. military as Chinese telecommunications firms have grown into global powers. Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd leads the way as it has grown into the world’s largest telecommunications supplier, recently surpassing Ericsson.

    What concerns U.S. authorities are the close connections Huawei maintains with the Chinese government and People’s Liberation Army. One report estimates the Chinese government has access to about 80 percent of the world’s communications through their domestic telecommunications corporations.

    The House Intelligence Committee has launched an investigation into Huawei and ZTE Corporation, another telecommunications giant, to probe those companies’ Chinese government connections and decide if they can safely operate in the U.S.

    Australian politicians have already decided that Huawei poses too severe a threat and has banned the telecommunications corporation from doing business in Australia.

    The ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee flew to Hong Kong in June to meet with the leadership of Huawei and ZTE. U.S. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., took the roughly 17-hour flight to deliver a message: The U.S. will not allow Huawei and ZTE to serve as espionage arms to the Chinese government inside American borders.

    “The whole purpose of the investigation is to determine whether China or other countries had the ability to engage in our networks and control our networks and steal information from our networks by having some of their companies doing business in the United States,” Ruppersberger said.
    He takes cyber threats seriously saying the country doesn’t realize just how vulnerable it is to a massive attack.

    “Cyber attacks are one of the most serious threats to our country, not only to our domestic business, but also our national security,” he said.
    A high level U.S. federal report released in March cited the Chinese military’s access to civilian telecommunications hardware as a major concern. Huawei’s founder is a former PLA soldier. His army background has caused much of the hand wringing over his company’s connections to China’s military.

    “This close relationship between some of China’s — and the world’s — largest telecommunications hardware manufacturers creates a potential vector for state sponsored or state directed penetrations of the supply chains for microelectronics supporting U.S. military, civilian government, and high value civilian industry such as defense and telecommunications,” stated a report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

    The report’s authors described how the penetration of a telecommunications supply line could cause a “catastrophic failure of select systems and networks supporting critical infrastructure for national security of public safety.”

    China’s military has made major strides in its cyber capabilities as the U.S. still struggles to figure out how cyber attacks fit into its military’s architecture. Service leaders still question what their responsibilities entail outside protecting their own networks.

    The commission found that China’s “capabilities in computer network operations have advanced sufficiently to pose genuine risk to U.S. military operations in the event of a conflict.” Authors of the report expect China’s initial response to a conflict with the U.S. to include a cyber attack against American logistics and intelligence networks.

    Huawei’s founder told Ruppersberger their company poses no threat to Americans’ privacy or security. The congressman described his meeting with Ren Zhengfei, Huawei’s founder, similar to a deposition in which he tried to collect information for the House investigation into the company. However he did deliver a warning to Zhengfei.

    “I said we in the United States are [in favor of] free enterprise but we also have to protect our citizens and we are very concerned about Chinese cyber-attacking our businesses and it has to stop. [The] more active China is in cyber attacking the United States, the more it’s going to hurt your ability to do business in our country,” Ruppersberger said he told Zhengfei.

    Officials from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission focused Huawei’s relationship with the Chinese government. They found numerous examples of Huawei working together with China to include training events with military personnel.

    “Huawei may also be involved in supporting PLA active-duty units with short term training in networking design and construction, possibly supporting the military region command system with technical experts and “train-the-trainer” program” the commission found.

    Huawei works closely with the Chinese military on research and development projects either “directly as a vendor or indirectly as a research collaborator,” which weakens “claims by Huawei’s leadership that it maintains no ties with the Chinese government or the military,” the commission found.

    Much like the U.S., the British are closely monitoring how these Chinese telecommunications networks have infiltrated their domestic market. Huawei has tried to assuage British fears by establishing security teams inside British borders near Cheltenham.

    The British military has its own doubts. Leadership fears that the British communications networks have already become too dependent on the Chinese telecommunications giants. Huawei equipment runs nearly half of the British communications network, said Ross Anderson, a professor at University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory.

    Anderson described how a telecommunications company like Huawei doesn’t necessarily need to install backdoor mechanisms to pose a threat. The company can implant a virus into the regular updates a network requires.

    Inside the tens of millions of lines of code that run those updates, a company can hide a targeted attack for espionage purposes, Anderson said.

    Huawei officials have approached Anderson to learn about the global communications networks. Anderson has stopped his meetings with Huawei after he got tired of the one-way relationship the company maintained with the Cambridge professor.

    “I found them to be an information sponge. [Huawei officials] always want to absorb information but never want to provide information,” Anderson said.

    He wrote a report for the European National Security Agency that focused on the importance of global routers and their control over the global communications node. Huawei controls about 20 to 30 percent of those routers, Anderson estimated.

    Control of those routers could allow Huawei to shut down much of the world’s internet access and communication network “for a few days”-- paralyzing international marketplaces and militaries.

    “[Leadership] has nightmares of China being able to shut down communications in a national security crisis,” Anderson said.
     

Share This Page