Daily roundup: Sept. 21, 2022
Arab youth view China as the top ally
Today’s global news:
Biden criticizes Iran and China on human rights and security issues in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday. He also pledges that the United States will always stand up for those rights.
China softens Taiwan rhetoric. A Beijing official proposed a peaceful “reunification” and said the self-ruling island could have a “social system different from the mainland.” The statement came a day after U.S. and Canadian warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait in their second joint transit in less than a year.
Australia
According to the Australia Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a European Parliament Special committee has identified the island country as a key part in creating a permanent network to counter foreign coercion and disinformation in a recent visit to Canberra. The EP delegation was there for talks with government officials and a roundtable discussion with ASPI.
Raphael Glucksmann, a French member of the EU Parliament who led the delegation, said Australia has developed not just legislation, but a practice to counter foreign interference. The group was there to study Australia’s methods of screening foreign investment in strategic infrastructure, fighting disinformation, and scrutinizing how universities are targeted.
While Russia is the main foreign interference force in Europe, China’s growing aggressiveness is still “quite worrying,” Glucksmann told ASPI.
Central Asia
Afghanistan
The first load of freight via the new China-Afghan Rail Corridor is expected to arrive in Afghanistan today, according to Uzbekistan Railways. The containers left China on Sept. 13, and the transit should take two weeks. China and Afghanistan signed a three-month trial run agreement on Sept. 11, four days before the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit started.
The first stage of the route is around 500 kilometres from the city of Kashgar in Xinjiang to Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan —by road since there is no rail link. (although one is planned eventually.) The passage then goes through Uzbekistan’s rail network before arriving at Hairatan, a border town in the northern Balkh province of Afghanistan. The route is supposed to cut travel time by several weeks.
The China-Afghan corridor complements other routes, such as the Trans-Afghan railway project and the much-anticipated China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (commonly known as the CKU) railway line, which does not include Afghanistan.
The Middle East
Turkey
In a speech at the UN General Assembly yesterday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan emphasized Turkey’s fight against what he considered terrorist groups and the need for international cooperation on that front. The remarks came a few days after declaring his plan to join the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Ankara considers the SCO an alternative to the west amid tensions with the U.S. and the EU. But critics say Turkey will have to give up its NATO membership to meet the SCO’s membership criteria. And that is unlikely to happen.
Turkey’s President Erdoğan could be seeking expertise in surveilling dissidents. And having a seat at the SCO discussion table is a potential opportunity since exchanging knowledge on measures to combat terrorism is a fundamental obligation of SCO members.
Turkish police has been helping China “fight terrorism” by arresting Uyghur refugees fleeing persecution in Xinjiang. Erdoğan briefly mentioned the Uyghurs in his speech, calling for the protection of their liberty and rights in a way that “would never threaten the territorial integrity and sovereignty of China.”
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Erdoğan’s bid to join the SCO is “irritating” news.
Israel
Israel’s imports from China, excluding diamonds, increased by more than US$2 billion (31 per cent) during the first eight months of 2022 compared to the same period last year.
According to data from the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, imports in August alone amounted to US$1.22 billion, close to 14 per cent of all goods imported that month.
Total imports from China between January and August, including diamonds, increased by 23.9 per cent to US$74.1 billion. Although Chinese imports have been growing, future trade relations are becoming increasingly complicated as Israel grapples with pressure from the U.S. to curtail deals with the Asian superpower.
Arab youth
The newly released 14th Annual Arab Youth Survey shows that teenagers now view China as a top ally along with Turkey and Russia. Three-quarters (78 per cent) describe China as either a strong ally or somewhat of an ally of their country.
Spotted: Paraguay’s president urged Taiwan's participation in the UN system during his speech at the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly.
