To support us with a donation? Click here!Dialogue China BriefingTalking About China NowIssue 115 – September 1, 2022In This IssueThe articles shared here do not necessarily reflect the views of the briefing or Dialogue China. All articles sourced from WeChat public accounts unless otherwise noted.I. Dialogue China Opinions1. The Chinese Communist Party Lifts a Stone Only to Drop it on its Own FootII. Policy2. The Crisis of Henan Village and Township Banks, and How It Spread from “Villages and Townships” to the Whole Country3. People Who Care About China Have One Question: Can China’s Economy Grow at a High Rate Again?III. Politics4. Why We Misunderstand the United States of America, and Even More So China5. Targeting China: United States Strategy for Africa in an Era of Great Power CompetitionIV. Finance and Business6. Post-90s Generation Showing Off a Monthly Income of ¥80,000 (US$11,000), Tears Open One of the Biggest Hidden Dangers of Financial Sky High SalariesDialogue China Opinions1. The Chinese Communist Party Lifts a Stone Only to Drop it on its Own FootWang Dan – Radio Free Asia Commentary – August 5, 2022When United States Congress House of Representatives’ Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, the Chinese Communist Party retaliated by conducting military drills on all sides of Taiwan. It is not surprising that the Chinese Communist Party reacted this way. But whenever there is a military operation, there is a risk of sparking accidental live conflict, and this event is no exception.   Japan’s Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said on August 4, 2022 that the Chinese Communist forces launched a total of nine ballistic missiles, five of which landed inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, while the other four landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. This is the first time that a Chinese Communist Party military ballistic missile has landed inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, which Nobuo Kishi accused the Chinese Communist Party of doing “deliberately.” The Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yoshimasa Hayashi, also on the evening of August 4 announced that through the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Kenryu Mori, he had summoned the Chinese Ambassador Kong Xuanyou to express Japan’s strong protest. The Japanese side said that China’s actions have “seriously influenced the peace and stability of the region and the international community” and called on China to “immediately stop the military exercises.”   The ballistic missiles launched by the Chinese Communist Party military landed in the waters around the islands of Wakkanokuni and Hateruma in Okinawa Prefecture, directly threatening the safety of fishermen in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Such reckless actions have changed the tone of China’s military exercises from a threat against Taiwan to a conflict with neighboring countries, especially Japan. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe once said: “If something happens to Taiwan, something happens to Japan,” which used to be considered a radical position, but this time the Chinese missiles fell on Japan’s periphery, which in thinly disguised form proves that Abe’s statement is correct. Japan, which should have been watching from the sidelines, now experiences a threat to the security of its own people. It is impossible not to take counter action. Such an approach by China will have a considerable impact on the domestic political climate in Japan. The objective effect will be to facilitate the right wing forces in Japan to promote constitutional revision and remilitarization, and military aid to Taiwan will also have more support from its citizens because it involves Japan’s own interests. The consequences of such a reckless act by the Chinese Communist Party military are far reaching, and its self-destructive stupidity is beyond my imagination.   In fact, not only Japan, the negative effects of the Chinese Communist Party military exercises on the international community are becoming apparent. In response to the People’s Liberation Army’s military exercises, G7* members and European Union foreign ministers have issued statements expressing deep concern and condemning the Chinese Communist Party’s live fire exercises and economic coercion that threaten to escalate the situation, emphasizing that there is no justification for aggressive military action in the Taiwan Strait under the pretext of a Congressional travel itinerary. The Association of South East Asian Nations [ASEAN], which has always maintained friendly relations with China, also warned that tensions in the Taiwan Strait could lead to “open conflict and unforeseen consequences” and said in the statement that “ASEAN is ready to play a constructive role in promoting peaceful dialogue among all parties.” * The Group of Seven (G7) is an inter-governmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. In addition, the European Union is a ‘non-enumerated member.’ Its members are the world’s largest IMF advanced economies and liberal democracies; the group is officially organized around shared values of pluralism and representative government. As of 2020, the collective group accounts for over 50 percent of global net wealth ($418 trillion), 32 to 46 percent of global gross domestic product, and approximately 770 million people or 10 percent of the world’s population. Members are great powers in global affairs and maintain mutually close political, economic, social, legal, environmental, military, religious, cultural and diplomatic relations. From 2022, Germany has taken over the rotating presidency of the G7, following the presidency of the United Kingdom.   For a long time, Taiwan has devoted itself to getting out of its international isolation, and to internationalize the Taiwan Strait problem as a means of self preservation. Recently, Daniel Twining, president of the International Republican Institute [IRI], a United States nonprofit organization, and J. Michael Cole, senior advisor to IRI in Taipei, wrote that in recent years many countries – including advanced democracies – have remained cautious about engaging fully with the Taiwanese government, which has resulted in Taiwan’s exclusion from some international arenas. Taiwan has even been excluded from arenas where it is a fully democratic member and where China cannot exert the influence that it does in multilateral organizations such as the United Nations. In their article, they appeal to the international community that our chances of winning this era defining ideological contest will depend on the ability to focus on achieving solidarity within the democratic camp. And we will not be able to do so if potential partners like Taiwan are left out in the cold. Their call appeals for a higher level of internationalization of the Taiwan issue: that is, the confrontation between the two big cliques of democracy and autocracy. If the issue is elevated to this level, the Chinese Communist Party will face even greater resistance to its attempt to seize Taiwan. U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi – despite being under pressure – insisted on visiting Taiwan, hoping that the international community would pay more attention and see that Taiwan is a democracy.   The Chinese Communist Party’s military exercises are said to be an effort to counteract the internationalization of the Taiwan issue, but they actually make the Taiwan Strait crisis the focus of global attention, which is, in a way, exactly what Taiwan and the United States would like to see. It is not too much to say that the Chinese Communist Party has lifted a stone only to smash it on its own feet.【Back to Top】Policy2. The Crisis of Henan Village and Township Banks, and How It Spread from “Villages and Townships” to the Whole CountryLi Xiuli – Sanlian Life Weekly – July 10, 2022Why Read This? Since the massive recurrence of the pandemic in China this year, five township and village banks across the country were one after another exposed as unable to accommodate online money withdrawals. To date, hundreds of thousands of bank customers across the country have been affected, involving huge amounts of money. People found that the township and village banks, small scale financial institutions at the tail end of the financial system – positioned to serve the sannong / three agis: agriculture, rural areas and farmers – have long been supported by Internet platforms, from the county to the entire country. Eventually, under weak supervision, a nationwide crisis was created.（Read the full text） 【Back to top】Policy3. People Who Care About China Have One Question: Can China’s Economy Grow at a High Rate Again?Lu Feng – Chinese Social Sciences – July 15, 2022Why Read This? Recently, the National Bureau of Statistics announced that China’s GDP grew by 2.5% year – on – year in the first half of 2022. This is related to the severe impact of the pandemic in the second economic quarter. But what is of greater concern is whether China’s economy will continue to grow at a high rate in the future. This article argues that the outlook for China’s economic growth depends on an understanding of the causes of past growth, and that a scientific discussion of the causes of past high growth is a prerequisite for the formation of the right policies. The authors try to analyze the causes of China’s high economic growth from 2000 to 2013 in order to accurately predict the future prospects for China’s economy.（Read the full text） 【Back to top】Politics4. Why We Misunderstand the United States of America, and Even More So ChinaZhang Taisu – Beijing Cultural Review – July 5, 2022Why Read This? Since 2022 — from the Russia – Ukraine conflict to a new round of the pandemic to the United States’ high-profile deployment in the Indo-Pacific — multiple factors have influenced people’s expectations of the international situation and domestic economy to change. In terms of the logic of social development from a relatively macro perspective, what is our current situation? How should we understand the structural changes in this crisis era? Under common crisis, why are the rifts deepening and the confrontations intensifying instead? How did panic become an infectious disease? What are the real challenges of the future?（Read the full text） 【Back to top】Politics5. Targeting China: United States Strategy for Africa in an Era of Great Power CompetitionZhang Hongming – Beijing Cultural Review – August 1, 2022Why Read This? Recently, Russia, the United States, and France have all gathered in Africa to launch a diplomatic offensive. This means that the African continent is becoming a new arena for the great powers to compete. Under the new round of global changes triggered by the Russia – Ukraine conflict, the United States’ strategic orientation toward Africa is not a mutually beneficial two-way development, but a cold war mentality of great power competition and a political orientation of ideological confrontation. Against the background of the intensifying strategic competition between China and the United States, the ultimate target of United States national policy toward Africa is still China.（Read the full text） 【Back to top】Finance and Business6. Post-90s Generation Showing Off a Monthly Income of ¥80,000 (US$11,000), Tears Open One of the Biggest Hidden Dangers of Financial Sky High SalariesLi Siqi – Legal Business Research – July 30, 2022Why Read This? Recently, the aftermath of a wealthy second-generation friend circle showing off wealth incident involving a man surnamed Zhou has not yet subsided, and the spouse of a well-known financial institution’s employee revealed he had a monthly salary of ¥82,500 (US$11,959) has again triggered a hot debate. Although there have been rumors in recent years that “the financial industry will significantly reduce salaries,” the media found from the recent financial reports of major brokerage firms that the average annual salary of the top five is still higher than ¥800,000 (US$115,967). Under extreme economic pressure, and many industries and individuals’ tight income situation, the financial high salary problem is particularly offensively conspicuous. People ask: Why is there such a distribution pattern? Are high salaries in the financial industry reasonable, efficient and fair to pay?（Read the full text） 【Back to top】