Defence Minister Missing
China’s defence minister, Li Shangfu, has not been seen in public for more than three weeks, fuelling speculation about the disappearance of top Chinese government officials. This comes after the foreign minister and two army generals in charge of the country’s nuclear and missile arsenals were recently replaced. The absence of the defence minister coincides with China’s military investigation into corruption cases involving hardware procurement. Read more: The Washington Post
On 14th September 2023, The New Scientist magazine reported that an undergraduate student Jian-Long Liu with his colleagues at the University of Science & Technology in Hefei made a city wide Quantum network. Several quantum networks have been built in the past but this one is significant as it allows more users than ever to connect their quantum processors to it. Another novel feature is the addition of quantum memory. Each user’s quantum memory is made from extremely cold rubidium atoms, which are controlled with lasers, and information can be encoded into the atom’s quantum state. New Scientists quotes Mehdi Namazi, of Qunnect as this being a “networking mega experiment”. However, this is a nascent stage and will need more incremental work there is no denying that quantum memory is a leap in quantum networks.
Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, has responded to reports that the government is restricting the use of iPhones by some state employees. Mao Ning raised security concerns about the device but did not elaborate. She also stated that China has not issued any official document prohibiting the purchase or use of foreign cell phones, including Apple’s. Notices urging the use of domestic cell phone brands have circulated online, but Chinese authorities have not censored them. Read more: Al Jazeera
S. Qaiser Shareef a freelance journalist based in Washington D.C., in his article titled “India on the Global Stage” in The News International states that the proposed energy and transport link between India and Europe, including the Gulf States, Saudi Arabia, Israel and others at least at first blush appears to be an awkward attempt to counter infrastructure projects supported by China. While the BRI programme has received mixed reviews, we will have to wait, perhaps for years, to see exactly how the newly announced energy and transport link materializes.
The announcement of the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) triggered a backlash from Pakistani citizens against its government. The announcement also came at a time when Islamabad expected investments of up to $25 billion from Saudi Arabia in Pakistan. Netizens in Pakistan expressed their anger and dismay on the social media platform X. But in the print media the view was mixed. One opinion in The Express Tribune states that the Mideast corridor is a counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, but China is not wary of competition and their firms have outclassed American and European firms in creating infrastructure, trade and connectivity. The article emphasized the geostrategic location of Pakistan makes it difficult for any Asia-Europe corridor to not include it.
The Chinese have managed to make a new 7-nanometer chip. The chip, when released in a new flagship phone, raised a lot of heckles and eyebrows the world over as it came on the back of many bans on the high-tech industry in China. The geopolitical analyst Peter Zeihan analyzed this development and found that the chip uses Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) Lithography, which has numbered days in the high-tech field. The emerging field of Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is still only available to the Chinese via acquisitions and poaching. The chip as of now is no threat to the technology applecart.
People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has started more military drills near Taiwan. This is not surprising nor is it meant to be. The surprising part is the change in strategy coupled with the new ten-dash line approach they seem to have taken in the new map the Chinese authorities have demonstrated to the world. Zhou Chenming of a military think-tank in Beijing has called it part of routine “encirclement drills”, and “cross-theatre drills” for the Taiwan strait, and the western Pacific. This is part of change in surprise attack strategy. The Taiwanese have counted 143 warplanes, and 56 warships between 9th to 13th September. This latest drill is seen as “cognitive warfare” against the island nation of Taiwan. Chinese agression fear some geopolitical analyst masks a weakness that the military posturing is trying to hide, like all things behind the great Chinese firewall we will have to wait and watch.
The Chinese and Russians are coming closer than ever. In 8th Eastern Economic Forum, the isolated Russian leader was seen telling the visiting vice-premier of China Zhang Guoqing that ties between both the countries “have reached an absolutely unprecedented, historical level”.
North Korea is expected to have all of its workers currently in China. This comes from the reported border opening between North Korea and China. The workers have been stuck in China since the Covid pandemic. This would be a massive undertaking as just one city Dandong, in Liaoning province, had a reported 80,000 workers. The workers are preparing to return home and armed with items that are light, and plentiful. This huge move will reopen the shadow markets which were important for some Chinese provinces and the people of North Korea.
David Logan on His Newest Publication on China’s Nuclear Buildup from an interview with Center for Advanced China Research.
David Logan has published a monograph on the drivers of China’s nuclear buildup with Phil Saunders, of the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs at the National Defense University. The monograph and the interviews are important as they hint at the changes taking place in the drivers, the goals, and the endpoint. The Chinese have been updating the defense systems, this interview delves deeper into the reasons, and the prospective that are important to decipher the fogs of war. Read the full interview at the Center for Advanced China Research.
Thank you for reading Beyond The Great Wall, a product of ASIA, chaired by Prof. Najeeb Jung.
