Caucus Brief: Amid China Tensions, Southeast Asia Looks to India

China Caucus Blog

Posted by The Congressional China Caucus | December 19, 2012

AMID CHINA TENSIONS, SOUTHEAST ASIA LOOKS TO INDIA. Reuters reports that Southeast Asian leaders are expected to lay out a vision for closer cooperation with India on security and the economy at a high-level gathering in New Delhi during a time of tension with China in the South China Sea. From the piece: “The meeting is a ceremonial summit to mark 20 years of cooperation with India and will not include detailed negotiations on regional issues, India's Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid told Reuters. But ministry officials said the leaders would also produce a statement which is expected to reiterate a commitment to freedom of navigation, a hot issue because of territorial conflicts in the South China Sea. Some ASEAN countries contest claims by China in the waters, making it the biggest potential flashpoint in the region. The United States has called for calm, but some are also looking to India, the other regional heavyweight, to get involved.” http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/19/us-india-southeastasia-idUSBRE8BI0KY20121219

WORLD BANK RAISES CHINA GROWTH FORECAST. According to the BBC, the World Bank has raised its growth forecast for China, saying stimulus measures and approval of infrastructure projects will help boost growth. From the piece: “The bank said it now expects China's economy to grow by 8.4% in 2013, up from its earlier projection of 8.1%. A slowdown in China's growth in recent months had prompted policymakers to announce various stimulus measures. These include two interest rate cuts since June, and the approval of infrastructure projects worth more than $150bn (£94bn). China's central bank, the People's Bank of China, has also lowered the amount of money that banks need to keep in reserve three times in the past few months in an attempt to boost lending.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20778454

U.S. SLAPS DUTIES ON CHINA WIND TOWERS, HIGH-LEVEL TALKS BEGIN. Reuters reports that the U.S. pressed forward with plans to slap steep punitive duties on wind turbines imported from China at prices deemed unfairly low, even as officials welcomed a high-level delegation for trade and economic talks. From the piece: “A U.S. trade panel has final approval over the duties and is expected to vote on the case in late January. The action was the latest clash between the two countries over U.S. imports of green technology from China. It came as a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Wang Qishan was in Washington for the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade meeting, a high-level bilateral forum to address barriers to trade and investment. Wang attended a dinner on Tuesday evening hosted by U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank and is expected to meet with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday morning.” http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/19/us-usa-china-trade-idUSBRE8BH17K20121219

A CHINESE LAUREATE’S TALE OF FREE SPEECH. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/opinion/global/a-chinese-laureates-tale-of-free-speech.html

A NEW CHINA CHILL FOR JAPANESE COMPANIES. According to the WSJ, a new survey shows only 52.3% of Japanese businesses said they plan to expand business operations in the world’s second largest economy in the next two years. From the piece: “More surveyed firms seem satisfied with keeping things at status quo, rather than actively shrinking their presence. About 42% of respondents said they will maintain current business operations, a 13.1 percentage point rise from the 2011. Meanwhile, only 5.7% of participants said they would cut operational size, a slight climb compared to the previous year. Jetro said it attributes the ebb to China’s shrinking economy and the changing business environment there that has made the neighboring Asian power a less attractive manufacturing destination, such as swelling labor costs. In fact, more than 80% of respondents in China – as well as Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar – said increased wages was the most serious management problem.” http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2012/12/19/a-new-china-chill-for-japanese-companies/

TOKYO TO TAKE A TOUGHER LINE WITH CHINA. The NYT reports that the victory of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party signals a tougher line with Beijing. From the piece: “When Abe was prime minister from September 2006 to September 2007, he broke the contemporary tradition of softly-softly approaches to disputes with China. He was the personal driving force behind the now defunct Quadrilateral Initiative, a strategic partnership framework agreement between Japan, the United States, India and Australia. The initiative established the foundation for enhanced strategic cooperation and naval exercises among the four democratic powers… Even in the lead-up to the recent election, Abe has been frank in saying that he will pursue an assertive alliance strategy, and in particular the deepening of the U.S.-Japan alliance.” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/18/opinion/global/tokyo-to-take-a-tougher-line-with-china.html

REMEMBERANCE OF THINGS COMMUNIST. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d4271172-484a-11e2-8aae-00144feab49a.html

GE PLANS TO MAKE NUCLEAR REACTOR PARTS IN CHINA. According to the FreeBeacon, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is supporting a bid by General Electric to export jobs and nuclear technology to China by seeking assurances from Beijing that it will not steal or transfer valuable reactor technology. From the piece: “Clinton’s support for a future deal with GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy, a Wilmington, N.C., company, to make reactor vessels in China for a nuclear plant it hopes to build in India was disclosed in a cable sent Nov. 21 to the United States Embassy in Beijing. The cable directs embassy officials to seek Beijing’s assurances that GE-Hitachi nuclear technology would not be transferred to other states or stolen, as outlined under the terms of a 2003 U.S.-China agreement on nuclear technology cooperation.” http://freebeacon.com/knock-off-nukes/

The Caucus Brief is a daily publication for Members of Congress and Hill Staffers on China news and information compiled by the office of Congressman Randy Forbes, Founder of the Congressional China Caucus. Email Reed.Eckhold@mail.house.gov with tips, comments, or to subscribe/unsubscribe.

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