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[ctg]

China’s economic growth has slowed sharply in the second quarter of the year, official data showed on Friday, highlighting the colossal toll from widespread Covid lockdowns and casting doubt over whether its pre-ordained growth target can be met.

Output contracted by 2.6% between April and June compared with the previous quarter, the statistics bureau said, prompting many economists to revise their predictions for the world’s second biggest economy.

On an annual basis the economy grew 0.4% in the second quarter, the worst since the pandemic-hit first months of 2020, but even that was worse than the consensus forecast by economists of 1%.

The consultancy Capital Economics said the real figure was probably “even weaker than meets the eye” and suggested that the Chinese government – accustomed to trumpeting growth well above that achieved by western countries – could be trying to disguise the economy’s sluggishness.

China’s economic growth slumps sharply after Covid lockdowns

Shutdown of major cities takes its toll, while property market remains in crisis and global outlook darkens

www.theguardian.com

 

[ctg]

Flash floods in south-west and north-west China have left at least a dozen dead and put thousands of others in harm’s way, state media has reported.

In the south-western province of Sichuan, at least six people have died and another 12 are missing after torrential rain triggered flash floods, state-owned news outlet CGTN reported on Sunday.

About 1,300 people had been evacuated as of Saturday, the report said.

Meanwhile, in Longnan city in the north-western province of Gansu, another six deaths were reported and 3,000 people had been evacuated, state broadcaster CCTV said. Rainfall over 1½ days was as much as 98.9mm in the worst-affected areas, almost double the July average.

China floods leave at least 12 dead, with thousands evacuated

Another 12 missing in flash floods in Sichuan and Gansu, as some areas receive double their monthly rain in less than two days

www.theguardian.com

Lisää teknologia kolmiosta tulvien alla.

The heatwaves are expected to return this week in many parts of China, lasting through to late August, the state weather forecaster said. Temperatures from 39C to 42C (102.2F-107.6°F) are expected in the southern region after July 20, including the provinces of Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Fujian.

The sweltering heat will last from for an “extended period” of 40 days, up from the usual 30, the forecaster said on its website.

Experts say such extreme weather events are becoming more likely because of climate change. Warmer air can store more water, leading to bigger cloudbursts when it is released.

 

[ctg]

The New Taipei District Prosecutor's Office has alleged that a Chinese company hired local employees of a company that supplies parts to Apple, then bid for work with the iGiant.

A Friday press release alleges a Chinese company named Luxshare Precision Industry Co. hired staff from Taiwan Kecheng Technology Co., Ltd.

Kecheng Technology makes metal casings for Apple's iPhone and iPad.

The Prosecutors Office alleges that Luxshare offered staff from Kecheng's R&D team large salaries to defect. Some of those staff agreed, and allegedly brought Kecheng's IP with them.

With its new Taiwanese workforce in place, and their knowledge secured, Luxshare built a factory that started making iThing parts that the prosecutor's office alleges clearly used Kecheng IP.

An investigation of Luxshare's documentation and manufacturing practices is said to support the allegation that Kecheng IP was employed.

The matter is now destined for Taiwan's courts.

Taiwanese prosecutors allege Chinese company stole Apple IP

Before you could say 'economic espionage', a factory in China was making bits of iThings

www.theregister.com

 

[AoE]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1549235076356907008

China announces a large-scale five-day military exercise across an expansive area of the South China Sea covering parts of both the Spratly and Paracel Islands.

 

[ctg]

Syvän meren sataamaa ruoppaamassa Reamissa.

Update: Dredged Pier Constructed at Ream | Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative

Construction at Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base has accelerated in recent months, especially on the northern end of the facility which is suspected to be set aside for China’s use. A slew of new buildings have gone up alongside major land clearing and, in the latest development, the beginnings of a...

amti.csis.org

 

[ctg]

Laitan tänne

The government of Belgium has claimed it detected three Chinese Advanced Persistent Threat actors attacking its public service and defence forces.

A government statement names Advanced Persistent Threat 27, 30, and 31 – aka UNSC 2814, GALLIUM, and SOFTCELL – as the groups responsible for the attacks.

The statement doesn't detail the nature of the attacks other than to describe them as "malicious cyber activities that significantly affected our sovereignty, democracy, security and society at large by targeting the FPS Interior and the Belgian Defence."

The actors named by Belgium have form.

In January 2021 German authorities claimed that APT27 had been spotted targeting local companies.

AP30 has been active for almost 20 years. In 2015 we covered research that found it had been probing government targets across Asia since 2004.

Gallium, which has conducted operations named Soft Cell, was spotted deploying a new remote access trojan (RAT) in June 2022.

Belgium's Foreign Ministry wrote that the nation "strongly denounces these malicious cyber activities, which are undertaken in contradiction with the norms of responsible state behavior as endorsed by all UN member states."

Which is true – the UN created cyber norms that were agreed in 2015. But China – and plenty of other nations – employs entities that aren't directly connected to the state when conducing some online ops. Such entities fool nobody, but are nearly always denied and decried by their host nations.

Belgium's statement calls on "Chinese authorities to adhere to these norms and not allow its territory to be used for malicious cyber activities, and take all appropriate measures and reasonably available and feasible steps to detect, investigate and address the situation."

Belgium says Chinese APT gangs attacked its government

China, as usual, says it just wants a peaceful and prosperous internet

www.theregister.com

 

[ctg]

Russia’s experience in Ukraine is affecting China’s calculations on how and when it may decide to invade Taiwan, the head of the CIA said on Wednesday.

Appearing at the Aspen Security Forum, Central Intelligence Agency director Bill Burns played down speculation that Chinese president Xi Jinping could move on Taiwan after a key Communist party meeting later this year.

“The risks of that become higher, it seems to us, the further into this decade that you get,” Burns said, adding: “I wouldn’t underestimate President Xi’s determination to assert China’s control” over self-ruling Taiwan.

Burns said that China was “unsettled” when looking at Russia’s five-month-old war in Ukraine, which he characterised as a “strategic failure” for president Vladimir Putin as he had hoped to topple the Kyiv government within a week.

Ukraine war forcing China to rethink ‘how and when’ it may invade Taiwan, CIA chief says

Bill Burns says China ‘unsettled’ by Russia’s war in Ukraine and it may influence decisions on the possible use of force against Taiwan

www.theguardian.com

 

[AoE]

Kiinassa mielenosoituksia koska eivät saa rahnaa pankista poijes.

 

[ctg]

Japan’s defence ministry has said it is alarmed at fresh threats from Russia and has growing worries about Taiwan, in an annual report that comes as Tokyo considers significantly increasing military spending.

The document includes a chapter on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which it says risks sending the message “that an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force is acceptable”.

The paper, released on Friday, surveys the global security landscape and specific threats to Japan, and says there was concern Russia could “further enhance and deepen relationships with China”.

Japan sees increasing threat to Taiwan amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Defence ministry also sounds alarm at prospect of Beijing-Moscow ties deepening amid expectations Tokyo will boost defence spending

www.theguardian.com

The defence paper also devotes significant space to Taiwan. It includes the most detailed overview yet of the security situation in the island and notes that “since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Taiwan has been working on further strengthening its self-defence efforts”.

This year’s paper was released amid growing expectations that Japan will significantly boost defence spending.

While the defence budget has been rising for years, Japan still has the lowest ratio of military expenditure to gross domestic product among Group of Seven countries.

 

[ctg]

Hong Kong publishers have decried a “new form of censorship” after vendors selling books deemed politically sensitive were allegedly excluded from the industry’s traditional annual trade fair.

With hundreds of exhibitors spread over the city’s major exhibition facility, the seven-day event which began this week once drew more than 1 million visitors and was a staple business opportunity for the sector.

Hong Kong publishers excluded from book fair over politically sensitive material

At least three booksellers say they were banned from the annual jamboree as the city embarks on ‘new form of censorship’

www.theguardian.com

 

[ctg]

teknologia kolmio tulvan alla, covid lockdown ja lama. Kerääkö Xi diktaattori kassaa?

 

[ctg]

Chinese semiconductor giant SMIC has reportedly been manufacturing 7-nanometer chips since last year, the best sign yet that China has found a way to develop advanced components despite US efforts to curb the country's homegrown silicon capabilities.

This is based on findings from American semiconductor analyst firm TechInsights, which recently bought a cryptocurrency-mining ASIC manufactured by SMIC and found that it uses a 7nm process after doing a study of the chip's die. The ASIC is designed by a company called MinerVa, which has been mass producing the chip since July 2021, according to its website.

TechInsights said SMIC's 7nm process appears to be a "close copy" of the one used by Taiwanese foundry giant TSMC. However, the firm said the custom chip was likely a "steppingstone" for SMIC achieving a "true 7nm process" that includes both scaled logic and memory bitcells.

The reason for this is crypto-mining ASICs "likely do not feature the typical bitcell memory that true 7nm technology definition requires," so it's more feasible that the chip is mostly a demonstration of 7nm logic.

"This is the most advanced technology product TechInsights has seen from SMIC so far and may be leading to a true 7nm process that incorporates scaled logic and memory bitcells," TechInsights said.

The development will likely be received as bad news for the US government, which has been trying to slow down China's ability to manufacture advanced chips over national security concerns.

While the 7nm crypto-mining chip is probably meant for consumer or commercial use, the process node will likely end up in military applications in China due to the country's "military-civil fusion" doctrine, where private companies must share their technologies with the nation's military.

China figured out how to make 7nm chips despite US sanctions

Foiled again, Team America

www.theregister.com

 

[ctg]

Taiwan kicked off its largest annual military exercises Monday, with trench warfare and shoulder-launched Stinger missiles deployed against simulated Chinese attacks in drills informed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Democratic Taiwan lives under constant threat of being seized by China, which views the self-ruled island as part of its territory to be taken by force if necessary.

Russia's assault on Ukraine has heightened fears that Beijing might similarly follow through on threats to annex its much smaller and outgunned neighbour.

This year's five-day "Han Kuang" (Han Glory) war games have incorporated lessons from the ongoing European war, simulating "all possible actions" China could take to invade Taiwan, according to the defence ministry.

On Monday, reservists armed with machine guns ran into sandbagged trenches dug under a bridge before getting into firing position, in a drill aimed at blocking enemies from gaining access to the capital Taipei.

"The underground bunkers help cover the troops and ward off the enemy's strike forces," said Su Tzu-yun, a military expert at Taiwan's Institute for National Defence and Security Research.
"They are part of Ukraine's urban warfare."

Stinger missiles, effective against helicopters and low-flying planes, were also deployed in some high-rise buildings in the area, he said.

The highly portable missiles have been invaluable to Ukrainian forces fighting off Russian air power.

Separately, the streets in several northern cities were empty for 30 minutes as part of a civilian air-raid drill, with pedestrians and cars banned after sirens and text-message alerts warned of mock missile attacks.

Beijing's sabre-rattling has increased considerably since Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016, as she rejects its stance that the island is part of China.

Bill Burns, director of the United States' Central Intelligence Agency, recently said China appeared determined to use force in Taiwan, with Russia's experience in Ukraine affecting its calculations on when and how -- not whether -- to invade.

Last year, Taiwan recorded 969 incursions by Chinese warplanes into its air defence zone, according to a database compiled by AFP -- more than double the roughly 380 in 2020.
The number of sorties has reached more than 600 so far this year.

Taiwan stages Chinese invasion war games with Ukraine in mind

METATEXT

www.spacewar.com

 

[ctg]

China issued strong private warnings to the US government about a planned trip to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which included a possible military response, the Financial Times reported.

The warnings were much stronger than those made previously when China wasn’t pleased with US policies and actions related to Taipei, the paper said, citing unidentified people familiar with the issue.

China’s foreign ministry earlier this week officially vowed to take a “resolute and strong” response to any Taiwan visit by Pelosi, which was reported to be next month. Her trip would be the first by a House speaker to Taipei since 1997.

China Issues Private Warnings to US on Pelosi’s Taiwan Trip: FT

(Bloomberg) -- China issued strong private warnings to the US government about a planned trip to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which included a possible military response, the Financial Times reported.Most Read from BloombergVW Billionaire Clan Plotted CEO Ouster as He Was on US...

news.yahoo.com

 

[ctg]

Property sales in China could fall by one-third this year, spelling more trouble for the country’s giant housing sector as people lose faith in the market and pressure increases on struggling developers to complete presold apartments.

Amid reports that the government is preparing a bailout of the sector that could cost 300bn yuan ($44bn), experts at the rating agency S&P have concluded that the fall in sales will be twice as bad as they had originally forecast for this year.

“S&P Global Ratings now expects national property sales will fall 28%-33% this year,” the note said on Tuesday, “almost double the drop of our prior forecast.”

Last week’s news that disgruntled buyers of apartments at housing projects in more than 100 cities had banded together to withhold payments on unfinished homes has focused attention on the unfolding crisis.

China property sales could plunge by one-third, analysts say, as crisis deepens

Amid reports Beijing is planning massive bailout, S&P predicts sales slump will heighten liquidity squeeze and trigger more defaults

www.theguardian.com

Some high-profile developers have already fallen into default, causing waves of panic in the global financial system – most notably Evergrande, the country’s second-biggest property firm which admitted last year that it could not pay part of its $300bn debt mountain.

Recent house sales data indicated that the steep falls in prices were evening out, but that was before news of the mortgage strike prompted a revision in forecasts. S&P thinks the contagion from weakening sales and loss of confidence could take down previously solid companies.

Shares in property companies rallied after Reuters reported that the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) was engineering a fund of up to 300bn yuan ($44bn) to bail out the sector which accounts for at least 25% of output in the world’s second biggest economy.

 

[ctg]

South Korean conglomerate SK Group signaled this week it will splurge $22 billion on semiconductor manufacturing, green energy, and bioscience research in the US.

The NAND and DRAM power house said $15 billion of the spending will be directed toward semiconductor manufacturing in the form of research and development and the creation of an advanced packaging facility. Meanwhile, $5 billion will be directed toward electric vehicle charging systems, hydrogen production, and battery tech.

The news comes as the US Senate nears a vote on the CHIPS Act which would designate more than $52 billion to accelerate domestic semiconductor manufacturing efforts. The necessary legislation to unlock the super-subsidies, which chipmakers say they need to build fabs on US soil, has been stuck in grid-lock for months as the House of Reps and Senate have gone back and forth on the contents of the bill.

Intel, which has moved ahead with a massive foundry expansion in Arizona and Ohio, and its fellow wafer bakers have repeatedly called on Congress to get its act together and pass the bill so that they can get their hands on the dosh.

The x86 giant is thus not the only chipmaker looking to cash in on the CHIPS Act. Last week, Samsung lodged an 11th hour proposal to build 11 semiconductor fabs in and around Austin, Texas over the next two decades. The project has an estimated price tag of $200 billion.

SK Group lines up $22b for US memory, battery manufacturing

Plus Kioxia, WD snag a $680 million cash infusion from Japan

www.theregister.com

 

[ido59]

US aircraft carrier group heads towards Taiwan as tension over Nancy Pelosi’s possible visit continues to grow ​

• The USS Ronald Reagan and its escorts left Singapore on Monday sailing northeast, according to ship tracking information
• The ship’s deployment comes after Beijing warned it would ‘take strong measures’ if the US house speaker visits the island

Liu Zhen in Beijing

Published: 8:31pm, 27 Jul, 2022

The USS Ronald Reagan pictured during an exercise with South Korean warships. Photo: AP,

China and the United States are building up their military strength around the Taiwan Strait as tensions rise over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s possible visit to the island.

The American aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group, including a guided missile destroyer and a guided missile cruiser, set out from Singapore on Monday heading northeast towards the South China Sea, according to ship-tracking information provided by Beijing-based think tank the South China Sea Strategic Probing Initiative.
lähde

 

[Sleeper_agent]

Taiwanissa tapahtuu: kiinalainen drone tunkeutunut taiwanin ilmatilaan ja sitä on hätyytelty pois:

Taiwan says fired flares to warn off drone near remote island

Taiwan's military fired flares on Thursday to warn away a drone that "glanced by" a strategically-located and heavily fortified island close to the Chinese coast that was possibly probing its defences, the Taiwanese Defence Ministry said.

www.reuters.com

 

[ctg]

The US and Chinese leaders have warned each other over Taiwan during a phone call that lasted more than two hours.

President Joe Biden told his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, that the US strongly opposed any unilateral moves to change the island's status.

But he added that US policy on Taiwan had not changed.

Beijing said Mr Xi had told Mr Biden to abide by the one-China principle, warning him that "whoever plays with fire will get burnt".

Tensions over the issue have increased ahead of a rumoured plan for US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to visit Taiwan.

The state department says Ms Pelosi has not announced any travel, but China has warned of "serious consequences" if she were to proceed with such a visit.

Last week, Mr Biden told reporters "the military thinks it's not a good idea", but his White House has called Chinese rhetoric against any such trip "clearly unhelpful and not necessary".

Ms Pelosi, who is next in line to the presidency after the vice-president, would be the highest-ranking US politician to travel to Taiwan since 1997.

During Thursday's phone call, Mr Biden and Mr Xi also discussed arranging a possible face-to-face meeting, a senior Biden administration official said, describing the bilateral as "direct" and "honest".

When Mr Biden was US vice-president he hosted Mr Xi during a visit to the US by the Chinese leader in 2015, but they have not met in person during Mr Biden's presidency.

China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that must become a part of the country - and has not ruled out the possible use of force to achieve this.

Under the one-China policy, Washington does not recognise Taipei diplomatically. But the US does sell weapons to the democratically self-governed island so that it can defend itself.

Xi and Biden exchange warnings on Taiwan

The pair also proposed a face-to-face meeting, which would be the first of Mr Biden's presidency.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[ctg]

Automatic Identification System (AIS) data suggests that a Philippine government vessel was again denied access to Second Thomas Shoal by the China Coast Guard (CCG) in late June, underscoring the vulnerability of the grounded BRP Sierra Madre, which serves as a Philippine outpost on the reef.

The Philippines’ M/V DA BFAR, a 60-meter research vessel operated by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, left Puerto Princesa on June 25 heading for Second Thomas Shoal.

Update: China Blocks Another Philippine Resupply Mission | Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative

Automatic Identification System (AIS) data suggests that a Philippine government vessel was again denied access to Second Thomas Shoal by the China Coast Guard (CCG) in late June, underscoring the vulnerability of the grounded BRP Sierra Madre, which serves as a Philippine outpost on the reef...

amti.csis.org

As it approached within 12 nautical miles southeast of the shoal at 11:00 PM UTC on June 26, the CCG 5304 came south from its post at the northern edge of the shoal to greet it.

The two met an hour later around 00:00 UTC on June 27, 4 nautical miles east of the shoal and 8 nautical miles southeast of the BRP Sierra Madre. The DA BFAR altered course and headed east as the CCG 5304 tailed it at an initial distance of just 200 meters. The CCG 5304 then followed the Philippine ship at a distance of 500 meters for another hour until the two parted ways 14 nautical miles east of Second Thomas. The DA BFAR continued eastward and returned to Puerto Princesa, while the 5304 headed back to the northern end of the shoal.

Without mentioning the incident, then-defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana told Philippine media the following day that the Philippines would not stop resupplying the Sierra Madre despite Chinese objections. He also said China doesn’t want the Philippines to repair the Sierra Madre such that it could stay there permanently, though it is unclear whether the DA BFAR had been attempting to deliver building materials in addition to normal supplies for the garrison. An earlier resupply mission on June 21 was attended by Philippine journalists from the Inquirer, who reported that the China Coast Guard allowed supply ships to approach the BRP Sierra Madre on the condition that no construction supplies were being delivered.

Update: China Blocks Another Philippine Resupply Mission | Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative

Automatic Identification System (AIS) data suggests that a Philippine government vessel was again denied access to Second Thomas Shoal by the China Coast Guard (CCG) in late June, underscoring the vulnerability of the grounded BRP Sierra Madre, which serves as a Philippine outpost on the reef...

amti.csis.org