China
Train Spat With Japan Heats Up
A war of words grew this week between China and Japanese rolling stock manufacturers, reigniting a battle over whether Chinese state-owned firms stole high-speed rail technology and are now attempting to market it themselves overseas. After China announced late last month it had filed 21 international patent applications, a key step in making trains available for purchase overseas, major Japanese firms, including Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., threatened to sue if China attempted to obtain patents for technology previously developed in Japan. The dispute has spilled into politics, too, with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto telling his Chinese counterpart during meetings last week Japan was “closely monitoring” the situation, according to Kyodo, a Japanese news agency. China responded indignantly to the threats, flexing its muscle as both an important market for high-speed rail development as well as a country whose state-owned firms have been more aggressive in pursuing deals overseas, often undercutting their competitors on price. A spokesman for the Chinese Railways Ministry told the state-run Xinhua news agency in remarks published Thursday that technology being used in China’s high-speed rail system, which is slated to grow to 16,000 kilometers by 2020, is superior to Japan’s network, known as the Shinkansen. The remarks by the ministry’s spokesman, Wang Yongping, came a week China opened its signature Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail line, the growing network’s most celebrated corridor. “The Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway and Japan’s Shinkansen cannot be mentioned in the same breath, as many of the technological indicators used by China’s high-speed railways are far better than those used in Japan’s Shinkansen,” Mr. Wang said, according to Xinhua . Joint ventures between China and Japanese rolling stock manufacturers extend back years. Kawasaki was among several firms that transfered technology to Chinese firms, like state-owned CSR Qingdao Sifang Co., only to see those companies soon begin competing against the Japanese giant. China, for its part, has long maintained its technology is different from Kawasaki’s and others’, arguing its trains are faster and also incorporate reduced wheel-track friction. It likens improvements in Chinese high-speed trains over Japanese trains in recent years to advances decades ago by Japanese firms over earlier European rail designs. “Our technologies may originate from foreign countries, but it doesn’t mean that what we have now all belongs to them,” said Ma Yunshuang, a deputy general manager at CSR Qingdao Sifang, according to the state-run China Daily . These battles appear poised to heat up, though, as China begins more actively looking to export its technology overseas. China’s domestic high-speed rail market has boomed in recent years, but appears to be on the cusp of a slowdown. The Railways Ministry’s debt has grown alongside public discontent over high ticket prices for super-fast trains, which are too expensive for many Chinese. Railways Minister Sheng Guangzu has pledged in recent months to focus on high-speed rail projects already under construction before beginning new projects. Meanwhile, countries including Russia, the U.K. and the U.S. are pledging to expand high-speed rail, and looking to the Chinese as a potential partner. Russia is developing a high-speed rail network ahead of the FIFA World Cup in 2018. The president of the state-run Russian Railways, Vladimir Yakunin, told Xinhua this month that Chinese companies “have good chances” at winning bids for high-speed rail development. The possibility of high-speed rail cooperation surrounded meetings in June between U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. U.S. energy and transport giant General Electric signed an agreement last year with CSR to build high-speed rail in the U.S. It’s unclear whether Japanese firms will put their money where their mouths are and eventually elect to sue Chinese rolling stock manufacturers for intellectual property rights infringement, a case that could be both difficult to prove and could take years and millions of dollars in legal fees to resolve. Perhaps more interesting will be how foreign executives across industries view the ongoing spat, many of whom still weighing the age-old China quandary: market access versus protection of intellectual property. –Brian Spegele, follow him on Twitter @bspegele
A war of words grew this week between China and Japanese rolling stock manufacturers, reigniting a battle over whether Chinese state-owned firms stole high-speed rail technology and are now attempting to market it themselves overseas. After China announced late last month it had filed 21 international patent applications, a key step in making trains available for purchase overseas, major Japanese firms, including Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., threatened to sue if China attempted to obtain patents for technology previously developed in Japan. The dispute has spilled into politics, too, with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto telling his Chinese counterpart during meetings last week Japan was “closely monitoring” the situation, according to Kyodo, a Japanese news agency. China responded indignantly to the threats, flexing its muscle as both an important market for high-speed rail development as well as a country whose state-owned firms have been more aggressive in pursuing deals overseas, often undercutting their competitors on price. A spokesman for the Chinese Railways Ministry told the state-run Xinhua news agency in remarks published Thursday that technology being used in China’s high-speed rail system, which is slated to grow to 16,000 kilometers by 2020, is superior to Japan’s network, known as the Shinkansen. The remarks by the ministry’s spokesman, Wang Yongping, came a week China opened its signature Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail line, the growing network’s most celebrated corridor. “The Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway and Japan’s Shinkansen cannot be mentioned in the same breath, as many of the technological indicators used by China’s high-speed railways are far better than those used in Japan’s Shinkansen,” Mr. Wang said, according to Xinhua . Joint ventures between China and Japanese rolling stock manufacturers extend back years. Kawasaki was among several firms that transfered technology to Chinese firms, like state-owned CSR Qingdao Sifang Co., only to see those companies soon begin competing against the Japanese giant. China, for its part, has long maintained its technology is different from Kawasaki’s and others’, arguing its trains are faster and also incorporate reduced wheel-track friction. It likens improvements in Chinese high-speed trains over Japanese trains in recent years to advances decades ago by Japanese firms over earlier European rail designs. “Our technologies may originate from foreign countries, but it doesn’t mean that what we have now all belongs to them,” said Ma Yunshuang, a deputy general manager at CSR Qingdao Sifang, according to the state-run China Daily . These battles appear poised to heat up, though, as China begins more actively looking to export its technology overseas. China’s domestic high-speed rail market has boomed in recent years, but appears to be on the cusp of a slowdown. The Railways Ministry’s debt has grown alongside public discontent over high ticket prices for super-fast trains, which are too expensive for many Chinese. Railways Minister Sheng Guangzu has pledged in recent months to focus on high-speed rail projects already under construction before beginning new projects. Meanwhile, countries including Russia, the U.K. and the U.S. are pledging to expand high-speed rail, and looking to the Chinese as a potential partner. Russia is developing a high-speed rail network ahead of the FIFA World Cup in 2018. The president of the state-run Russian Railways, Vladimir Yakunin, told Xinhua this month that Chinese companies “have good chances” at winning bids for high-speed rail development. The possibility of high-speed rail cooperation surrounded meetings in June between U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. U.S. energy and transport giant General Electric signed an agreement last year with CSR to build high-speed rail in the U.S. It’s unclear whether Japanese firms will put their money where their mouths are and eventually elect to sue Chinese rolling stock manufacturers for intellectual property rights infringement, a case that could be both difficult to prove and could take years and millions of dollars in legal fees to resolve. Perhaps more interesting will be how foreign executives across industries view the ongoing spat, many of whom still weighing the age-old China quandary: market access versus protection of intellectual property. –Brian Spegele, follow him on Twitter @bspegele
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Train Spat With Japan Heats Up
China
New Report from Dezan Shira & Associates: China Takes the Lead in Emerging Asia Manufacturing Index 2024
China has been the world’s largest manufacturer for 14 years, producing one-third of global manufacturing output. In the Emerging Asia Manufacturing Index 2024, China ranks highest among eight emerging countries in the region. Challenges for these countries include global demand disparities affecting industrial output and export orders.
Known as the “World’s Factory”, China has held the title of the world’s largest manufacturer for 14 consecutive years, starting from 2010. Its factories churn out approximately one-third of the global manufacturing output, a testament to its industrial might and capacity.
China’s dominant role as the world’s sole manufacturing power is reaffirmed in Dezan Shira & Associates’ Emerging Asia Manufacturing Index 2024 report (“EAMI 2024”), in which China secures the top spot among eight emerging countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The other seven economies are India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Bangladesh.
The EAMI 2024 aims to assess the potential of these eight economies, navigate the risks, and pinpoint specific factors affecting the manufacturing landscape.
In this article, we delve into the key findings of the EAMI 2024 report and navigate China’s advantages and disadvantages in the manufacturing sector, placing them within the Asia-Pacific comparative context.
Emerging Asia countries face various challenges, especially in the current phase of increased volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). One notable challenge is the impact of global demand disparities on the manufacturing sector, affecting industrial output and export orders.
This article is republished from China Briefing. Read the rest of the original article.
China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at china@dezshira.com.
China
Is journalist Vicky Xu preparing to return to China?
Chinese social media influencers have recently claimed that prominent Chinese-born Australian journalist Vicky Xu had posted a message saying she planned to return to China.
There is no evidence for this. The source did not provide evidence to support the claim, and Xu herself later confirmed to AFCL that she has no such plans.
Currently working as an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, or ASPI, Xu has previously written for both the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, or ABC, and The New York Times.
A Chinese language netizen on X initially claimed on March 31 that the changing geopolitical relations between Sydney and Beijing had caused Xu to become an expendable asset and that she had posted a message expressing a strong desire to return to China. An illegible, blurred photo of the supposed message accompanied the post.
This claim was retweeted by a widely followed influencer on the popular Chinese social media site Weibo one day later, who additionally commented that Xu was a “traitor” who had been abandoned by Australian media.
Following the publication of an ASPI article in 2021 which exposed forced labor conditions in Xinjiang co-authored by Xu, the journalist was labeled “morally bankrupt” and “anti-China” by the Chinese state owned media outlet Global Times and subjected to an influx of threatening messages and digital abuse, eventually forcing her to temporarily close several of her social media accounts.
AFCL found that neither Xu’s active X nor LinkedIn account has any mention of her supposed return to China, and received the following response from Xu herself about the rumor:
“I can confirm that I don’t have plans to go back to China. I think if I do go back I’ll most definitely be detained or imprisoned – so the only career I’ll be having is probably going to be prison labor or something like that, which wouldn’t be ideal.”
Neither a keyword search nor reverse image search on the photo attached to the original X post turned up any text from Xu supporting the netizens’ claims.
Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Shen Ke and Malcolm Foster.
Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) was established to counter disinformation in today’s complex media environment. We publish fact-checks, media-watches and in-depth reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of current affairs and public issues. If you like our content, you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X.
Read the rest of this article here >>> Is journalist Vicky Xu preparing to return to China?
China
Guide for Foreign Residents: Obtaining a Certificate of No Criminal Record in China
Foreign residents in China can request a criminal record check from their local security bureau. This certificate may be required for visa applications or job opportunities. Requirements and procedures vary by city. In Shanghai, foreigners must have lived there for 180 days with a valid visa to obtain the certificate.
Foreign residents living in China can request a criminal record check from the local security bureau in the city in which they have lived for at least 180 days. Certificates of no criminal record may be required for people leaving China, or those who are starting a new position in China and applying for a new visa or residence permit. Taking Shanghai as an example, we outline the requirements for obtaining a China criminal record check.
Securing a Certificate of No Criminal Record, often referred to as a criminal record or criminal background check, is a crucial step for various employment opportunities, as well as visa applications and residency permits in China. Nevertheless, navigating the process can be a daunting task due to bureaucratic procedures and language barriers.
In this article, we use Shanghai as an example to explore the essential information and steps required to successfully obtain a no-criminal record check. Requirements and procedures may differ in other cities and counties in China.
Note that foreigners who are not currently living in China and need a criminal record check to apply for a Chinese visa must obtain the certificate from their country of residence or nationality, and have it notarized by a Chinese embassy or consulate in that country.
Foreigners who have a valid residence permit and have lived in Shanghai for at least 180 days can request a criminal record check in the city. This means that the applicant will also need to currently have a work, study, or other form of visa or stay permit that allows them to live in China long-term.
If a foreigner has lived in another part of China and is planning to or has recently moved to Shanghai, they will need to request a criminal record check in the place where they previously spent at least 180 days.
There are two steps to obtaining a criminal record certificate in Shanghai: requesting the criminal record check from the Public Security Bureau (PSB) and getting the resulting Certificate of No Criminal Record notarized by an authorized notary agency.
This article is republished from China Briefing. Read the rest of the original article.
China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at china@dezshira.com.
- New Report from Dezan Shira & Associates: China Takes the Lead in Emerging Asia Manufacturing Index 2024
- Is journalist Vicky Xu preparing to return to China?
- Guide for Foreign Residents: Obtaining a Certificate of No Criminal Record in China
- China Unveils Plan to Upgrade Industrial Equipment
- China deepens engagement with new Indonesian president as top diplomat visits Jakarta
- New Publication: A Guide for Foreign Investors on Navigating China’s New Company Law
