Opinion Xi Jinping has no one to blame but himself as China’s COVID hole gets deeper Stephen Bartholomeusz Senior business columnist November 28, 2022 https://www.smh.com.au/business/the...s-covid-hole-gets-deeper-20221128-p5c1qm.html mass protests in the streets of China’s major cities are occurring even as COVID infections are hitting record levels, with negative implications for an already-struggling economy. China is caught in a bind largely of its own making. With more than 400 million thought to be in lockdown and the virus breaking out in the major cities and industrial centres, the consequences of Beijing’s harsh zero-COVID policies, its stubborn reliance on vaccines developed within China and a healthcare system not equipped to deal with mass outbreaks of COVID have created unpalatable options for the authorities. Xi Jinping is struggling to get China’s economy back on track.Credit:AP They are proving to be equally unpalatable for Chinese citizens, with protests spreading across China in a demonstration of defiance against the authoritarian regime that is being described as the most significant since Tiananmen Square. The wave of discontent was triggered by a deadly fire in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region of north-west China, in which 10 people died. The protestors blame the severe lockdown measures, which include the bolting of doors on apartment blocks and steel barricades to restrict movement, for the inability of firefighting vehicles to enter the apartment compound. The tolerance of the measures for those who have faced nearly three years of rolling lockdowns appears to be breaking down. Last month workers within the Foxconn campus at Zhengzhou in Hennan province – known as “iPhone City” – were involved in violent clashes with security forces over a lockdown and protests about unpaid wages. Many thousands fled the compound, which can house as many as 300,000 workers. There were reports that as many as 20,000 Foxconn workers, tired of the COVID restrictions and claiming that they had been misled about their wages, left the complex that accounts for the vast majority of iPhone production last week. Foxconn offered 10,000 yuan (about $2000) to protestors if they resigned and left the compound. While the events at Foxconn (which will impact Apple’s ability to meet the usual surge in demand for its phones at Christmas) are a particularly high-profile instance, they illustrate the disruption to China’s society and economy being generated by the latest breakouts of COVID and the authorities’ responses to them. The authorities have little flexibility. China has so far refused to access the mRNA vaccines that have proved to be the most effective in combating the evolving strains of the virus, instead relying on vaccines developed within China that are less effective, particularly for older people. China’s elderly have also been less enthusiastic about being vaccinated than their western counterparts. China’s economy was already battered before the latest wave of infections. Credit:AP With a hospital system that would be overwhelmed if COVID were allowed to spread freely, as is now the case in most other major economies – there is an acute shortage of beds, particularly intensive-care beds – the authorities have no option but to maintain stringent lockdowns as their primary response to outbreaks even though that means there is, as a result, a low level of immunity within its communities. The authorities had foreshadowed some relaxation of the zero-COVID approach after last month’s Communist Party national congress saw Xi Jinping securing his unprecedented third term as general secretary and party leader but have again resorted to draconian measures in response to the latest outbreaks. China’s economy was struggling under the weight of the zero-COVID policy even before the latest wave of infections. The combination of the impacts of the lockdowns and the collapse of property market activity (and the consequent dire condition of the major property developers) had depressed economic activity. With more than 20 per cent of the economy, including major economic centres like Shanghai and Beijing, under full or partial lockdowns – more than double the level a month ago and growing – there is a possibility that China’s already weak GDP growth could turn negative in the December quarter. If China is unable or unwilling to do as most of the major economies have done and be prepared to live with COVID, then the harsh lockdowns will continue to depress economic activity, impact supply chains like Apple’s that are reliant on China and contribute to the global slowdown. That’s despite renewed efforts over the past week to stabilise a property sector that accounts for more than a quarter of GDP. The sector was destabilised by a heavy-handed crackdown on leverage within the development sector, which caused a cascade of defaults by developers, and left a massive pile of uncompleted developments and hordes of angry customers who have been left with mortgages for properties that may never be completed. There have been several attempts to arrest the property market’s decline, including some as recently as last week. State-owned banks have been instructed to lend more for housing and China’s central bank has directed banks to hold less capital for emergencies and lend the funds for housing instead. New bonds being issued by some developers are being guaranteed by government-owned entities and they are being given new lines of credit by state-owned banks. There are new capital gains tax breaks for apartment buyers. Protests are spreading across China in a demonstration of defiance against Beijing.Credit:AP Chinese consumers are, however, increasingly cautious, for obvious reasons, and domestic economic activity is weak. So are China’s exports, which fell in October. Exports to the US were down 12.6 per cent relative to October last year. With rapidly rising interest rates in the major western economies and the impact of the war in Ukraine on energy and food prices, global economic activity is slowing. China is the world’s manufacturing base, so it is experiencing the fallout from that slowdown. Industrial profits for the 10 months to October were down three per cent and the decline accelerated in October, squeezed by the domestic lockdowns and the weak external demand. If China is unable or unwilling to do as most of the major economies have done and be prepared to live with COVID, then the harsh lockdowns will continue to depress economic activity, impact supply chains like Apple’s that are reliant on China and contribute to the global slowdown. Unhappily for China, and the protestors, while the strategy China adopted in response to the pandemic might have minimised the number of deaths from COVID, until more effective vaccines are deployed and the infrastructure of its healthcare system is significantly improved, the authorities have limited ability to do anything other than respond to the current outbreak – and future outbreaks – as they have in the past.
It appears that China knows their Covid vaccines are ineffective but they are unwilling to approve western vaccines. Hence the continuation of the zero Covid policy and this wholesale failed response leading to protests. China faces dilemma in unwinding zero-COVID https://www.axios.com/2022/11/28/china-dilemma-unwinding-covid-zero China is facing an increasingly precarious situation as new COVID cases soar and the population seems to be hitting a breaking point with the government's stringent zero-tolerance policies. Why it matters: The world's most populous nation has massive vulnerabilities heading into this winter, starting with the fact the vast majority of its population has yet to be exposed to the virus and has little 'natural immunity.' China's vaccines didn't work well compared to those distributed in the West, and the government refused to approve foreign vaccines and doesn’t have a version to combat Omicron. Vaccine uptake was particularly low among the elderly. And now, public outrage over new COVID lockdown restrictions has fueled rare protests, Axios' Herb Scribner writes, with residents demanding the government to lift restrictions quickly and some calling for President Xi Jinping's resignation. State of play: Overall, China's number of reported COVID cases and COVID deaths are far lower than other nations, but there have been recent reported spikes in overall numbers of cases and some new deaths. It came after the Chinese government announced some easing of its zero-COVID policy, such as reducing mass testing and quarantine requirements, earlier this month. Reality check: China’s doctors have warned that the health care system isn't prepared for the huge outbreak likely to follow any easing of public health measures, Axios' Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian writes. That includes worries the nation doesn't have enough ICU bed capacity to handle such outbreaks, according to the Financial Times. Between the lines: Another concern is the potential evolution of a new, more dangerous variant if there’s a huge surge of infections, Christian Drosten, Germany’s most prominent virologist, told Bloomberg. “Xi Jinping knows very well that he can't simply let the virus loose," Drosten said. "The Chinese population first needs to be as well vaccinated as we are." Be smart: China's officials are scrambling to address the vaccine problem. For instance, they are launching more aggressive vaccine drives and limiting movement among at-risk groups, including the elderly, the Washington Post reports. They've also approved the use of the first inhaled COVID-19 vaccine in dozens of cities earlier this month in a bid to boost uptake, WSJ reported. Experts have said the vaccine, which was found to stimulate a mucosal response, may create more durable protection against the virus, although more data is needed. But they have yet to open up the availability of mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, opting to focus on their own, per the Post. The bottom line: China's zero-COVID policy has kept cases in China relatively low compared to the rest of the world. But even as the societal and economic consequences of shutdowns become apparent, it faces a very difficult path ahead in unwinding strict public health policies.
Even Fauci has jumped in on the China topic. The intent of lockdowns and restrictions was to stop the health care system from being overwhelmed until a vaccine was available and a majority of society was vaccinated. There is no reason to impose lockdowns when society is generally vaccinated. If the Covid prevalence in a community goes up then you can require masks or other restrictions for a period of time until the disease level wanes -- but full lockdowns are not required. Fauci called China's 'zero-COVID' policy 'draconian' and says lockdowns 'should always be a temporary phenomenon' https://www.businessinsider.com/fau...icy-temporary-phenomenon-vaccines-cnn-2022-11
U.S. engineer contacted China before stealing missile tracking tech, DOJ says Published Wed, Feb 7 2024 Dan Mangan@_DanMangan https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/07/doj-us-engineer-contacted-china-before-stealing-missile-tech.html Key Points Federal prosecutors charged an engineer who worked at a Los Angeles-area company with stealing trade secret technologies developed for use by the U.S. government in space to detect nuclear missile launches and to track ballistic and hypersonic missiles. The DOJ said that technology allegedly stolen by 57-year-old Chenguang Gong would be “dangerous to U.S. national security if obtained by international actors.” Los Angeles U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said that Gong previously sought to provide the People’s Republic of China with information that would help the nation’s military. A deactivated Titan II nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, is seen in a silo at the Titan Missile Museum in Green Valley, Arizona, May 12, 2015. Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images Federal prosecutors charged an engineer who worked at a Los Angeles-area company with stealing trade secret technologies developed for use by the U.S. government in space to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles, the Department of Justice said Wednesday. The DOJ said the technology allegedly stolen by 57-year-old Chenguang Gong would be “dangerous to U.S. national security if obtained by international actors.” Gong, who lives in San Jose, California, is a native of China who became an American citizen in 2011, prosecutors said. He was arrested Tuesday and is due to appear at a detention hearing later Wednesday. Los Angeles U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said Gong previously sought to provide the People’s Republic of China with information that would help the nation’s military. Gong, from 2014 through 2022, submitted multiple applications for so-called “talent programs” run by the Chinese government while “being employed by several major U.S. technology companies and one of the world’s largest defense contractors,” a criminal complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court alleges. The Chinese Talent Program Tracker is known to identify individuals located outside China who have skills and knowledge that can help transform the Chinese economy and bolster its military capabilities, the complaint said. “In his submissions to the Talent Programs, Gong proposed projects that mirrored his work for several of these companies, and repeatedly touted that his proposals would be useful to China’s military and that China did not yet have the technologies he was proposing to develop himself or share with Chinese companies,” the complaint said. “We know that foreign actors, including the PRC, are actively seeking to steal our technology,” Estrada said in a statement, “but we will remain vigilant against this threat by safeguarding the innovations of American businesses and researchers.” The complaint said Gong transferred more than 3,600 digital files from the unidentified research and development company in Malibu where he worked for less than four months early last year to three personal storage devices. The files were transferred between March 30 and April 25, and more than 1,800 of those files were transferred after he had accepted a job in early April at one of his company’s main competitors, the complaint said. Much of the company’s work developing infrared sensor technology is funded through a contract with the Defense Department and other U.S. government contractors, the complaint says. “The files Gong allegedly transferred include blueprints for sophisticated infrared sensors designed for use in space-based systems to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles,” the DOJ said. They also allegedly included “blueprints for sensors designed to enable U.S. military aircraft to detect incoming heat-seeking missiles and take countermeasures, including by jamming the missiles’ infrared tracking ability,” the department said. Gong was responsible for managing the design and development of readout integrated circuits on the company’s sensors. Many of the files he allegedly transferred were marked “proprietary,” “for official use only” and “export controlled,” the complaint said. The company fired Gong in late April after searching his office in response to network activity and finding a flash drive containing files that had been transferred. “The Victim Company then interviewed Gong, who provided evasive and contradictory answers but eventually admitted to having transferred files from his work laptop onto his personal drives and to having viewed those files on his personal computer,” the complaint said. Gong began working at another company on May 1 but was fired nine days later after the victim company alerted the other firm to information about his file transfers. The complaint said some of the files Gong is accused of stealing were found at his home by investigators last year.