China would become a crucial “reverse factor” to global stability after the US presidential election, posing political and economic challenges around the world, a National Security Bureau official said yesterday.
Amid major elections in many democracies this year — including in France, Italy and the UK, as well as today’s US presidential election and Japan’s extraordinary session of the National Diet to choose a prime minister on Monday next week — China has attempted to leverage the geopolitical and global economic situation to make a strategic breakthrough, said the official, who wished to remain anonymous.
Conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine are not only expected to aggravate global inflation and supply chain insecurity, but could influence voters, potentially opening up opportunities for China, which with its economic influence could become a crucial “reverse factor” to global stability in the coming year, they said.
Photo: Tingshu Wang, Reuters
China’s authoritarian coalition with Russia, Iran and North Korea is growing and threatening the Indo-Pacific region, while prolonging or exacerbating conflicts that could trap Western democracies in wars in continental Europe and the Middle East, and enable Russia to continue its aggressive expansion, they said.
China’s continued military coercion in the Indo-Pacific region has virtually opened another battlefield, with the aim of diverting the attention of the US and other democracies to reduce international pressure on Russia, they said.
Economically, China’s domestic demand has remained sluggish after the COVID-19 pandemic, but Beijing’s nonmarket economy approach is functioning as a placebo that exacerbates the problem, the official said.
Combined with a manufacturing surplus, the country’s stagnant domestic economy has caused a glut of Chinese goods, they said.
If China seeks to resolve its production surplus by flooding international markets with steel, electric vehicles and petrochemicals, domestic demand in many countries would be severely affected, they said.
For example, exports of China-made products could rise considerably through e-commerce sites during its Double 11 shopping event on Monday next week, aided by reduced or waived shipping fees that would result in unfair market competition, the official said.
China could dominate global markets with “overproduction,” as that has become an alternative weapon for Beijing to threaten global economic stability, they said.
Many countries have imposed higher tariffs against Chinese products to protect domestic industries, they said.
Additional reporting by CNA
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS