Exclusive Insight: From AUKUS Fallout to Ukraine Stalemate: the Backstory of Macron's Diplomatic Balancing Act
What will China’s ChatGPT look like? China appears to simulate first aircraft carrier strike on Taiwan; Two prominent Chinese civil rights lawyers jailed for more than a decade for subversion
Welcome to this issue of The China Brief. Today is April 10, 2023.. Here at The China Brief, we bring you the latest news on China's politics, economy, and society from global media sources, along with exclusive expert analysis. If you find our content helpful, please subscribe to our newsletter.
And here’s today’s exclusive insight:
Exclusive Insight: From AUKUS Fallout to Ukraine Stalemate: the Backstory of Macron's Diplomatic Balancing Act
In September 2019, the AUKUS security agreement was signed by Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which included the sharing of intelligence, cutting-edge military defense technology, and the opening of cutting-edge technology, industry, and markets to each other. This agreement has a significant and far-reaching impact on the geopolitics of the Asia-Pacific region. However, its short-term impact was the United States taking away France's order to build nuclear submarines for Australia, which was a major loss for France.
Macron's presidential staff suggested three options for France's response to this incident. The first was to bow to the United States, the second was to immediately turn to China and retaliate against the United States, and the third was to engage with China, stand between China and the United States, and obtain the greatest economic and political benefits. The third option was favored by staff who believed that acting impulsively without clarifying the benefits that Macron could bring to Xi Jinping would be unwise.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict, which began four months later, provided an opportunity for France to change its course. The economic costs of the war, including support for Ukraine, the increase in defense costs of European countries, daily inflation, and the high-priced alternative energy imported from the United States instead of Russia, were largely borne by Europe, making European politicians, represented by Macron, anxious.
Macron worked hard to mediate, meeting with Putin, and Zelensky, and keeping in touch with Xi Jinping by phone. He even requested to visit China to discuss mediation matters shortly after the outbreak of the war. However, relying solely on Xi Jinping and Macron for a ceasefire was not enough, and before the 20th Party Congress, Xi Jinping's priority was obviously domestic affairs. Therefore, Macron was unable to make the trip.
Macron's efforts to mediate the conflict and engage with China marked a shift in France's foreign policy. He sought to establish more independent diplomatic relationships and position France as a key player in global affairs. However, his approach faced criticism for undermining traditional alliances and appeasing authoritarian regimes. Despite these challenges, Macron continued to pursue his vision for France's long-term interests and global influence in a rapidly changing world.
(This article is part of the series "The End of the New Cold War". The author of this article is Li Zijun, an international relations scholar and a special analysis expert for "The China Brief".)
China’s state media warn of market bubble triggered by ChatGPT frenzy
South China Morning Post
China's Economic Daily, a state-run newspaper, has warned against a “market bubble” around AI technology such as OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot. The paper, which is supervised by the Communist Party’s propaganda department, has also called for tighter monitoring of AI-related stock fluctuations, which have risen as much as 50% over two months for certain domestic companies. Last year there was concern regarding Alibaba's iFlytek translation app after its shares experienced a series of wild swings. Besides Alibaba, other Chinese companies, such as Baidu, have revealed chatbot plans. China Science Daily has also recently published warnings on the language model, calling it potentially corruptive regarding moral judgment.
China’s property rebound to be slow; sector’s contribution to GDP seen declining
South China Morning Post
State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are seen as the driving force behind China's property market and are expected to occupy over 50% of the market in the next few years, according to analysts. Throughout 2021, SOEs accounted for roughly 40% of the market share for sales. High-performing SOEs have access to stronger resources, including low funding costs thanks to the support of banks. This means that they outperform other types of developers, which has caused sales performance to diverge. Recently, Chinese real estate consultancy CRIC identified that in 2021, the top five state-owned land buyers purchased 60% of the land available for bidding. In comparison, fundraising by private developers in 2022 fell by 66% to its lowest value in seven years.
Ukraine latest news: Document leak has forced Kyiv to change war plans
Independent
Ukraine has reportedly altered some of its military plans following the recent leak of classified Pentagon documents, according to a source close to Volodymyr Zelensky. The secret documents reveal, among other intelligence, that the country’s air defence systems will run out of missiles and ammunition within weeks, increasing the risk of potential air attacks from Russia. The war in Ukraine’s Donetsk region remains ongoing, with fighting centred around Bakhmut still engulfing the area. The city-fortress has been besieged by Russian-backed forces for many months in what has become the longest single battle of the Ukrainian war so far.
China Has Reopened to Tourists. The Hard Part Is Getting There.
NY Times
China’s decision to fully reopen its borders to foreign travelers has yet to have an impact, as those seeking to reunite with friends and family are experiencing high prices and a lack of direct flights.
A lack of travelers is due to airlines being slow to restore flights to China, global geopolitical tensions promoting a cap of routes between the US and China, while European carriers continue to avoid flights. Direct flights between the US and mainland China are hard to find, and negative PCRs are still mandatory for most countries. Visa processing has also become problematic with sudden changes to China’s border policies, and renewing passports remains difficult. However, the green shoots of recovery are evident, with group holiday bookings on the rise for Swish, Thailand, and Egypt, while China has rolled out the red carpet for foreign businesses to re-engage with recent development forums.
China appears to simulate first aircraft carrier strike on Taiwan
CNN
The Chinese navy has allegedly practiced strikes by carrier-based planes on Taiwan for the first time, as military drills around the island continued. Beijing began the drills on Saturday, a day after Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen returned from a 10-day visit to Central America and the US where she met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense reported on Monday that four J-15 fighter jets had crossed into the island’s air defense identification zone. The J-15 was developed for use in Beijing’s growing fleet of aircraft carriers. The Japan Joint Chiefs of Staff recorded 80 fixed-wing aircraft take-offs and landing from the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong during the exercises in the Pacific Ocean east of Taiwan. Monday’s drills concentrated on “maritime blockades” and “targeted ambush assaults on enemy mooring vessels”.
Two prominent Chinese civil rights lawyers jailed for more than a decade for subversion
CNN
Human rights lawyer Xu Zhiyong has been jailed for 14 years for “subversion of state power”, while long-time partner and fellow rights lawyer, Ding Jiaxi, has been sentenced to 12 years for the same crime. The lengthy sentences have shocked their supporters, with groups calling for their immediate and unconditional release. Xu issued a statement earlier in 2021, declaring that “a democratic China must be realized in our time, we cannot saddle the next generation with this duty.” Both Xu and Ding were detained by the Chinese authorities after attending a gathering of fellow activists in December 2019.
Sinopec to build China west-to-east green hydrogen transmission pipeline
Reuters
Sinopec is pioneering China's first "West to East" green hydrogen transmission line, according to an announcement in state media. The oil and gas company will construct the 400km pipeline, which will carry green hydrogen, produced through the splitting of water molecules using renewable electricity in Inner Mongolia, to Beijing. State-owned Sinopec is China’s largest hydrogen producer and previously launched a green hydrogen plant in Ordos, in Inner Mongolia, in 2021; it announced intentions to construct a 30,000-ton-per-year green hydrogen plant in 2021.
Pakistan's arrest of anti-China militant felt from Beijing to Tehran
Nikkei Asia
Pakistan claims to have arrested a top anti-Chinese Baloch separatist militant leader, Gulzar Imam, also known as Shambay, in a move that is hoping to offer greater protection to Beijing's interests in the region as well as to affect diplomacy with Iran.
Beijing is investing billions of dollars in infrastructure projects as part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which includes the $62bn China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), but the scheme has also drawn criticism in part over a lack of transparency and resentment among local populations. Separatist movements like the BLA have targeted Chinese workers, promising more attacks against CPEC and infrastructure projects in the province. In Pakistan's efforts to secure Chinese interests in Balochistan, the state has increased military measures.
First batch of IPOs under new China listings rules surge on debut
Financial Times
The first set of initial public offerings (IPOs) under a new streamlined listings regime saw shares in a number of Chinese companies surge over 100%, leading financial experts to call for more comprehensive reforms to China's equity fundraising rules. The top gainers among the 10 new launches included Shenzhen CECport Technologies, an electronics distributor, whose shares rose as much as 239%, and Shaanxi Energy Investment, a state-owned electricity group that raised $1.1bn from its IPO, whose stock gained as much as 84%. The new rules allow Chinese companies to debut on the main boards of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges without first obtaining regulatory approval and remove an IPO price cap limit and a first-day gains ceiling. However, financial experts have pointed out that triple-digit gains by the companies listing on Monday are likely to be unsustainable, calling the regime a process still subjected to tremendous state oversight and control.
China scientists find a way to restore body’s cancer-fighting cells
South China Morning Post
A team from the University of Science and Technology of China has revealed a previously unknown escape mechanism in tumor cells, allowing them to survive against the natural killer cells of the immune system. While the body's NK cells can reveal and kill cancerous cells at an early stage, advanced-stage tumorous cells have so far managed to avoid being detected by these operatives. The Chinese team has now discovered that the NK cells, which are so important in the fight against cancer, can use their membrane protrusions to form interaction with targeted cells. However, this ability is lost in tumorous cells at an advanced stage, which can avoid detection by the NK cells. Protrusions were restored, along with the ability to identify and kill cells, using inhibitors that targeted sphingomyelinase, which helps cells digest the important membrane component of sphingomyelin.
Volkswagen aims to fill China’s EV talent void with new academy in Hainan
South China Morning Post
Volkswagen has partnered with the Haikou government, the Hainan Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, and others to launch The Volkswagen Academy China Hainan Centre in Haikou city. It will work to train and develop local talent for the electric vehicle industry, part of Volkswagen’s €15bn ($16.34bn) electrification plan in the Chinese market. The carmaker aims to acquire a larger share of the nation’s booming new energy vehicle (NEV) industry and will work to develop NEVs and intelligence-connected vehicles at the new academy. With the nation aiming for 20% of its domestic vehicles to be battery-powered by 2022, there is a growing need for talent development. The new academy will help to develop a training system that keeps learners informed of topical issues with courses on NEV technologies for students and teachers, while tutors will learn new teaching methodologies.
Alibaba-Backed SenseTime Unfurls China’s Latest ChatGPT Rival
Bloomberg
Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) firm SenseTime has demonstrated two new products as part of its foray into the generative AI race. SenseTime is best known for its work in computer vision and is backed by companies including e-commerce giant Alibaba. The company demonstrated SenseNova, a large AI model, and its SensChat chatbot. The chatbot can respond using text-to-image capabilities, translating layman's questions in English or Chinese into computer code. SenseTime said the model could also help revise and check code.
CEO Xu Li said he foresaw a future in which human programmers will conduct 20% of AI development work, with artificial intelligence compensating for the remaining 80%. Xu was demonstrating the products at an event in Shanghai that also showcased other developments, including a new biotechnology lab. However, SenseTime is presently operating under US sanctions that limit its access to capital and technology, while the Biden administration has placed restrictions on chips used by artificial intelligence firms in China.
China Calls Report About Spy Post on Myanmar Island ‘Nonsense’
Bloomberg
China has denied Indian reports that it is involved in building a surveillance post on a remote island in the Bay of Bengal. The Indian government reportedly shared satellite imagery with Myanmar to support its claim that Beijing is assisting with the construction of the monitoring facility on the Coco Islands in the Indian Ocean. Myanmar rejected the claim and China described the report as “sheer nonsense”. The denial comes amid ongoing tension between India and China over their disputed border.
Tesla to open battery factory in Shanghai as China seeks foreign investment
Washington Post
Tesla will open a factory in Lingang, a suburb of Shanghai, to produce its Megapack large-scale batteries, capable of producing 10,000 Megapacks annually, an equivalent output to its other Megafactory in Lathrop, California. Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, said in a tweet that the factory in Shanghai would supplement the production in California. Each Megapack can store enough energy to power 3,600 homes for an hour. The investment in China by Tesla comes after the coronavirus pandemic brought some supply chains to a halt as factories in China shut down amid strict “zero covid” protocols.
US Navy sails near South China Sea island militarized by China
CNN
The US Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Milius has sailed within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef in the South China Sea, while Chinese military forces continued large-scale exercises around Taipei. Mischief Reef is claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam under their control of adjacent islands in the Spratly archipelago. China has constructed military bases on Mischief Reef, leading the US and other countries to argue that the country’s actions violate the Law of the Sea Convention. The spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theater Command called the USS Milius’ move an “illegal intrusion.”
Opinion: Macron’s Taiwan comments poorly timed but do raise the Big Question
The Age
French President Emmanuel Macron has asserted that Europe should decrease its reliance on the United States and avoid becoming involved with any conflict between Washington and Beijing concerning Taiwan, a position that has provoked anxiety and anger throughout Europe and the US. Macron’s views undermine Western unity on Ukraine by enhancing the perception that Western liberal democracies are divided on the issue. Macron may be Europe's most influential leader, but his foreign policy sometimes misses the mark, as shown in last year's misreading of Russia's intention to invade Ukraine; France’s foreign policy may be hindered by a French intelligence service that historically has earned an unsatisfactory reputation. Macron’s controversial commentary on Taiwan suggests China's rhetoric and timing are being supported by his remarks, but they also unintentionally raise an important question: what would happen if China invaded Taiwan? A number of countries practice “strategic ambiguity” on the defense of Taiwan – preferring to leave unclear whether they would defend Taiwan if China invades.
What will China’s ChatGPT look like?
South China Morning Post
China has voiced concerns about the ethics of Microsoft-backed start-up OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot, which appears to have prompted the Chinese government to take action. On WeChat, after third-party applications allowed people in China to experience ChatGPT, it was banned. The country's largest social media network has said it is concerned about how the technology could be used to commit crimes and spread rumors, and there are concerns among experts, and educators as ChatGPT can generate fallacious information. Schools such as the University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Baptist University have banned students from using the tool for coursework.
Alibaba has been testing its own ChatGPT rival, and Tencent is also exploring large language models, the technology behind ChatGPT. Tencent's rival NetEase and game developer miHoYo are exploring the use of conversational AI in video games, while even companies sanctioned by the US, such as iFlyTek and SenseTime, are rising to the challenge. It is unclear how China, with its tight censorship controls, will develop ChatGPT alternatives and ultimately what Chinese generative AI will look like, but many think technological advances in generative AI could be just the tip of the iceberg.
TikTok, Instagram influencers could soon get their own White House briefing room
South China Morning Post
US President Joe Biden’s administration is in talks to offer social media influencers a dedicated briefing room, as it aims to boost its messaging among youths and other niche demographics. The role of these influencers, who may rely on a range of platforms, could be particularly important as nearly 40% of Generation Z in the country opt for Instagram and TikTok over Google Search, according to Google. The briefings could also be a way to help Biden appeal to younger voters ahead of a potential re-election bid in 2024. The White House has reportedly deployed four non-campaign members of staff to connect with influencers and independent content creators. It previously used influencers in order to encourage young people to get vaccinated.
US cannot be relied on to defend Taiwan, Beijing military paper says amid drills
South China Morning Post
The United States cannot be relied on to defend Taiwan, according to the military newspaper of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). The article accused the US of using Taiwan as a pawn to contain China and warned of the nation’s use of sinister tactics to push toward military action. The PLA newspaper’s comments followed the simulation of missile strikes and the deployment of warplanes and ships near Taiwan to improve the PLA’s combat readiness. Beijing also launched military exercises in response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on 31 July. In the face of claims by Beijing that the meeting could lead to “resolute and powerful measures,” the US State Department said that Congress was a coequal branch of government able to plan trips independently.
TSMC Sales Miss for Second Straight Quarter on Tepid Tech Demand
Bloomberg
The world's largest chip producer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), missed Q1 2019 sales estimates for the second consecutive quarter, indicating continued weakness in the global electronics market. Q1 revenue was NT$508.6bn ($16.7bn), short of an average analysts' estimate of NT$525.5bn, with a sharp slowdown in March contributing to the miss. The failure indicates the chip sector has yet to bottom out, despite policies such as rising interest rates, surging inflation and the banking crisis. TSMC relies on the global appetite for various branded products as well as computer manufacturers to keep its sales healthy, but globally sales have slumped. TSMC has reportedly cut its capital spending to a range of $32bn to $36bn for 2019, down from $36.3bn last year, and expects sales in the first half of 2019 to fall by a single-digit percentage.
Wealthy families attracted by Hong Kong polices, bay area opportunities: UBS
South China Morning Post
Hong Kong’s new initiatives have led to an increase in wealthy clients from the Middle East, Europe and Asia looking to set up family offices in the city, according to Amy Lo, co-head of wealth management for Asia-Pacific at UBS and Hong Kong CEO. She said that investors are particularly drawn to the opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. The Hong Kong government has implemented various policies, such as a revamped investment migration scheme, tax incentives, and art storage facilities at the airport, to promote the city as a family office hub. The policies touch on issues close to family offices such as investing, art, and philanthropy.
Beijing chooses targets carefully as it goes on offensive in US chip wars
Financial Times
China's investigation of Micron Technology, following October's US controls on exports of chips and equipment to China, was an obvious target. However, the commercial impact on Micron would be limited, say industry insiders. The chips could be easily replaced by non-US suppliers, according to Mark Li, a senior semiconductor analyst at Bernstein. There is no equivalent to Micron in China. The investigation suggests a long-term strategic approach to Chinese tech companies to migrate away from US supply chains.
Opinion: China May Not Need Western Technology Much Longer
Bloomberg
Chinese companies have become some of the world’s biggest spenders on research and development, raising questions over their continued reliance on Western technology. Huawei, ByteDance, Tencent, and Alibaba have all joined the list of the world’s top 25 R&D spenders in figures collated by Bloomberg. Eleven of the companies on the list are based in China, but Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta Platforms are the top three. In the US and the Netherlands, new restrictions have been imposed on the export of semiconductors and their manufacturing technology to China. Analysts said the increasing importance of Chinese R&D spenders has made it less likely Beijing will agree to Western conditions on tech transfers.
A Flirtation With China Won't Rock the Saudi-US Marriage
Bloomberg
Despite fears of a weakening relationship brought on by oil production cuts and Saudi Arabia's recent diplomatic outreach to China and Iran, Hussein Ibish argues that the US-Saudi partnership remains "fundamentally sound." Both countries understand the benefits that come with cooperation, including the need to contain and deter Iran, and the United States sees value in growing relationships between Saudi Arabia and China. So long as Saudi Arabia refrains from actions that could give China an undue strategic foothold, and avoids actions that challenge the country's partnership with the US, the alliance is likely to remain robust.
China’s new world order is taking shape
Washington Post
Political relations between France, the Middle East, and China could all shift in the coming years, according to a report by The Washington Post. Diplomatic visits from Chinese President Xi Jinping, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, and French President Emmanuel Macron have sparked conversations on Beijing's role as a "stabilizing outside power" in discussions between Saudi Arabia and Iran while offering opportunities for European leaders to assert their independence while simultaneously dealing with China's growing economic significance. Biden’s focus on the rivalry between democracy and autocracy has been challenged by China through new policy pushes for "security" and "civilization", which challenge the US-led order and the concept of universal values.
Chinese state ambition, characterized by large spending projects in developing nations, has the potential to offer solutions to power vacuums created by the US and Europe, leading to a world order that balances Beijing's economic and political power. This comes with risks to the current, US-led world order, which currently espouses liberal values and democracy.
How China’s Economic Slowdown Could Hurt the World
Foreign Affairs
China's dependence on old-style energy and emissions-intensive investment to drive growth may impede its ability to meet climate goals. In recent times, the country has taken a more statist approach in managing its economy as growth has slowed, placing it in a “middle-income trap” where rising wages and a richer society threaten sustainable growth. The limits to the country's economic growth are driven by demographics, capital investment, and productivity as its population ages and birth rates plummet, the growth of capital investment in the economy slows down, and the growth of productivity has fallen to low levels. If China fails to embrace economic reforms and sticks with old-style energy- and emissions-intensive investment, its decarbonization efforts may be jeopardized, making it hard to reach its broader emissions intensity targets by 2030.
A statist approach may entail trying to sustain the property bubble and other sectors for the next two years or so, restructuring mountains of local government debt at the expense of households, and other savers, and limiting investment in future growth, innovation, and value. If China re-embraces reform, growth would drop low through the medium term but could climb back to potentially 4% as 2030 approaches. China's reliance on energy-intensive economic activity is causing it to fall off its expected trajectory as China's energy and environmental performance has been impacted. China is failing its expected trajectory as its energy intensity reductions have stagnated, and today's tiny reductions are reminders that past performance does not guarantee future results. Though Chinese officials recognize this decline, Beijing has been walking back the importance of energy intensity targets.
Delaying reforms and relying on old models for another half decade will make it hard for China to reach its broader emissions intensity targets by 2030, with carbon dioxide emissions possibly peaking before 2030 regardless of macroeconomic scenarios. If China outperforms historical energy intensity trends and increases the overall nonfossil share of energy, it can reach its goal of a more than 65% reduction in carbon intensity by 2030. Nevertheless, a statist approach will lock the country into a lower growth trajectory, making its economy less energy efficient, while doing little to reduce emissions, all propped up by heavy industry and the overreliance on infrastructure.
China Smaller Banks Cut Deposit Rates to Ease Margin Pressure
Bloomberg
Smaller Chinese lenders have reduced time deposit interest rates, following similar moves from major banks last year, after several lending rate reductions by policymakers began to impact margins. Rural lenders in Henan and Hubei provinces lowered deposit rates by as much as 45 basis points, after which they will pay 1.9% per year for one-year deposits, reduced from 2.25% previously. Smaller banks still pay well above the benchmark of 1.5%. The People's Bank of China unexpectedly reduced reserve requirements to provide banks with more cash to help drive funding costs down. However, falling net interest margins mean profitability is negligible.
Aramco to supply full volumes to Asia despite OPEC+ oil cuts - sources
Reuters
Sources indicate that Saudi Aramco will supply full crude contract volumes that are set to be loaded in May to several North Asian buyers despite initial plans to reduce production by 500,000 bpd. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced last week that it, along with allies, had entered into an extra output cut in May of 1.16 million barrels per day for the rest of 2020. Market-watchers have speculated as to whether the planned output cuts could lead to tightening supplies in Asia, the world’s largest crude import market. With several refiners in Asia closing crude distillation capacity from May – including Sinopec, South Korea's S-Oil Corp, Japan’s Fuji Oil and Idemitsu Kosan – oil demand in the region had been expected to weaken in Q2. However, some investors are reportedly bullish over oil demand recovery in China and expect global oil markets will tighten in 2H2020.
Taiwan Says China Military Drills on Par With Response to Pelosi
Bloomberg
Taiwan's foreign minister Joseph Wu has compared China's reaction to President Tsai Ing-wen's meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to that after his predecessor Nancy Pelosi visited the island last year, with similar levels of naval and air strikes. Taiwan detected 59 Chinese aircraft and 11 naval craft near the island as of 10 April. Last year, China carried out air, sea and missile exercises in six exclusion zones after Pelosi's visit, leading calls for action against China. Today marks the 72nd anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army Navy's founding.
What Do Leaked U.S. Intelligence Reports Say? Here Is a Quick Guide.
NY Times
US intelligence documents have been found circulating on social media, leaving questions about who leaked or hacked them, and the value of these items. FBI officials are working to investigate the leak or hack. It is unclear who modified the reports so that some of the content overstates US estimates of Ukrainian war deaths, while underestimating Russian troop killings since the 2014 invasion of Ukraine. The evidence suggests that the documents originated from a leak within the US. The disclosures provide fresh insights into how well-informed US intelligence is with respect to Russia’s security and intelligence services, potentially undermining the United States’ understanding of Ukrainian military maneuvers, and revealing which Russian agencies the US is most knowledgeable about. Leakage of the material may give Moscow the chance to cut off its sources of information and damage Ukraine’s war effort.
Phishing scams are thought to be one cause of recent high-profile hacking incidents. The same can also be said of leaks if insiders are weak links in security. There are also proposals to introduce a policy that limits information on US deployments to 30 days, in order to frustrate hackers’ efforts to engage in long-term planning.
The US military’s apparent habit of printing documents out to read them may partly explain how the leaks occurred. To reduce the risks of hackers dropping in to view people’s screens, and prevent them from cracking wireless networks with weak encryption, the Pentagon put a ban last year on using portable memory devices, including USB sticks, for all unclassified systems. The ban has caused a stir among the US military, but it is supposed to prevent insiders from copying documents onto portable devices or setting up private networks to get the information out.
The taxing effects of US-China rivalry on Indonesia’s EV battery sector
South China Morning Post
Indonesia may shift toward China as a result of the US's clean energy legislation, which could drive up costs by preventing the country's battery manufacturers from gaining tax breaks, and prompt Indonesia to look for trade and investment opportunities elsewhere. President Joko Widodo wants the nation to become one of the world's top three battery producers by 2027, which would necessitate participation from Ford and Tesla, but the two criteria within the US's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act present challenges. The act requires that 40% of critical battery minerals must be processed by free trade partners and that half of the battery components must be from North America.
Indonesia is striving to satisfy criteria that could prove to be costly while competing with suppliers such as China for a slice of the EV market. However, even if Indonesia's large nickel reserves could secure it a foothold in the EV supply chain, analysts say the lack of environmental safeguards will continue to be an obstacle in the sale of its nickel on the international market. Diplomatically, the act may push Indonesia further toward China, as the Republic of Korea faces the same issue within the scheme but has been lobbying to have bloc partners included in the tax scheme.
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