Briefly - China and the Changing World Order no.6
Spain+China vs EU, Egypt buys Chinese jets, US launches more tech controls on China
Briefly - China and the Changing World Order no.6
Hello and welcome back to What China Wants.
Do you want to know more of what China is doing around the world but don't know what's important and what isn't? This is why my colleagues and I launched Adarga’s Briefly - we pick the top three China-related stories from the week and give you the analysis for what it means for the world.
This week:
International Relations | Spanish PM visits China
Remember in July when the EU placed high tariffs on Chinese Electric Vehicle imports to stop them destroying European manufacturers? Well, the cracks in the EU are already beginning to show: the Spanish Prime Minister has asked Brussels to reconsider these tariffs, coincidentally while on a visit to Beijing.
Madrid may think that its own economic situation is being harmed by these tariffs, but the EU is almost certainly acting in what it thinks are the interests of the whole bloc. Elsewhere, as with complaints about the South China Sea, Beijing has been astute in picking off countries one by one and turning them towards its own goals, thus undermining collective opposition to its position. Can Beijing repeat the trick in Europe?
Defence | Egypt reportedly orders fourth-generation Chinese fighter aircraft
Egypt has long been a major ally of the US in the Middle East, and last year $1.3bn in annual military aid was promised. It looks like this relationship is under strain from China. Not only did Egypt join the BRICS international organisation (which China views as something that supports its interests) but Cairo now looks set to order Chinese fighters to replace its American ones. This would likely upset the US-Egypt defence relationship, which in turn is the bedrock of the strategic ties between the two. Things continue to shift in the Middle East.
Economics and Technology | US announces additional tech export controls
It is becoming a familiar theme: Washington and Beijing slapping on export controls to limit the technological development of the other. A few weeks ago we saw China restrict the export of antimony, a metal used in advanced tech; this week, the US stops more technology, including that which can be used for supercomputers. Much more of this is expected to come – how can this cycle be stopped? Maybe the (hopefully) coming Xi-Biden talks can temper things. Or maybe not.
Egypt’s reported decision to procure fourth-generation Chinese combat aircraft and what this means for the US, the (high) significance of the Spanish Prime Minister’s visit to China and what this means for the EU, and the potential impact of new US controls on advanced technologies.
If you want to read the original Briefly for this week, click here, or sign up here to receive Briefly directly from Adarga.
I’ll be back next week with more stories - many thanks for reading.
Sam