CiCM 11th July 2023

NEWS IN CHINA

Wang Yi, director of the Office of Foreign Affairs of the CPC vowed to strengthen bilateral relations with Nicaragua. He made these remarks during a meeting with Laureano Ortega Murillo, presidential adviser of Nicaragua. The two officials met in Beijing, with Wang welcoming Laureano to the first Forum on Global Action for Shared Development in China. Wang stated that he hoped China could become a close economic partner to Nicaragua and play an important role in establishing a free trade agreement between the two countries. Wang also emphasised the need for taking a strong position against hegemonic tendencies and power politics. Laureano echoed similar sentiments with him stating that Nicaragua supports China in safeguarding its national security and adheres firmly to the one-China principle. Ever since diplomatic relations were resumed in 2021, China has taken several steps to support Nicaragua’s national development policy and sees it as an essential partner to fulfil the Global Development Initiative (GDI).
Apple has expanded its online sales network to China, by recently launching a virtual storefront on the popular messaging app WeChat. This move comes at a time when several American technology companies are shifting production bases elsewhere. The Apple Store mini-app on WeChat offers several services similar to its official website. The mini-app allows users to place and track orders, browse products and search through several categories. Although no specific discounts on products have accompanied the launch, the main promotional offers 5,500-yuan worth of credit for users who may be looking to the exchange their old phones with the latest iPhone 14. Apple already has storefronts on leading e-commerce websites including JD.com. The WeChat storefront allows the California-based company to tap into the world’s largest electronics market, valued at about $228 billion in 2023. China remains Apple’s largest overseas market after America and Europe. Although the company has recorded a drop in sales by 2.9 percent in the March quarter of this year in China, Taiwan, and the Greater Bay Area.
The Bank of China (BOC) in collaboration with China Telecom and China Unicom has developed a SIM card purse that will provide a more convenient payment method. It works by embedding a payment service in the SIM card itself, the digital yuan or e-CNY will be used for transactions. Users will only need to bring their phones closer to sale machine to successfully make a payment. The BOC made the announcement on its official WeChat account. Moreover, the “super SIM” requires no internet for use and transactions can take place even if the user’s phone is turned off. The Super SIMs have the capacity for storing more data and has a more secure encrypted algorithm to protect user’s safety. The launch of the SIM card purse also indicates a concerted effort to promote the usage of e-CNY and provides a new payment experience that is different from the QR code scanning model being used by third-party payment services such as AliPay.
The State Council has issued a circular regarding the implementation of a new series of reforms for free trade zones (FTZs) that have been tested in several pilot zones. 22 reforms are slated to take place nationwide, they include a wide variety of areas such as investment, expanding trade opportunities, governance, innovation, financial transparency, and the protection of intellectual property. The circular specifically relays information regarding the promotion of intellectual property liability insurance for instances of infringement happening in FTZs located overseas. The reforms will introduce a business-oriented outlook and expand opportunities for diversifying the market. The circular also stated that the successful testing in pilot FTZs has led to these reforms being accelerated.
The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) held its first meeting after an intense revamping and reshuffling process of its top officials. The HKMAO will now report directly to the CPC, with Henan’s deputy secretary and provisional security chief, Zhou Ji appointed as the No.2 official in office. The revamped leadership includes Xia Baolong continuing as director along with five deputies in place. The State Council has also confirmed the appointment of three new deputies Zhou, Zheng Yanxiong and Zheng Xincong. This meeting was the first broadcasted meeting of the top leadership after three months of reorganising. The office will now report directly to the Party as opposed to the State Council. This move comes amidst Beijing’s efforts to upgrade the high-level outfit to expand on the ‘one country, two systems principle’. Beijing also hopes to integrate the region more comprehensively with the central government.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER IN CHINA

Luxury jewellery brand Bulgari issues apology as it accidentally lists Taiwan as a separate country on its website sparking outrage among netizens: The Italian jewellery brand Bulgari has come under fire recently after listing Taiwan and China in separate categories on some iterations of its website. Many netizens called out the brand on its misstep using the hashtag #宝格丽官方网站想列台湾为国. The brand has since then, issued a formal apology on its official Weibo account. In a written statement the brand has reaffirmed its stance on respecting China’s national and territorial sovereignty. The company also expressed gratitude to netizens who pointed out the oversight, with Bulgari taking steps in reaching out to third-party service providers to correct the listing on the website. The brand also began to trend on social media after several users posted screenshots from their website highlighting Taiwan and China as separate countries in the “Find a store” option. Several international high-end brands such as Versace and Coach have been criticised for making similar mistakes over the years.

INDIA WATCH

With Nicaragua renewing diplomatic ties with China in December 2021 it comes as a pivotal moment in geopolitics. This shift can be observed with China opening an embassy in Nicaragua for the first time since 1990. This move also came just three weeks after President Daniel Ortega’s government suspended relations with Taiwan. This left Taiwan with just 14 diplomatic allies in total, with several in the Western Pacific, the Caribbean and Latin America. China has been able to simultaneously weaken Taiwan, while also gaining an economic partner. Beijing has consistently made use of its economic and political strategies to gain a foothold in Central America. Several Central American countries are also active members of the BRI project, which indicates China’s cooperation strategy that aims to garner political clout via a method of well-rounded economic measures, such as heavily investing in domestic industries, enabling growth by boosting trade with China, and supply chain management.

India seems to tread with uncertainty on this front. India’s approach to enhancing bilateral ties with smaller albeit geopolitically important states has mostly been to reach out to these states in multilateral forums. A one-on-one partnership, as China seems to offer, is not something New Delhi has actively pushed for. Moreover, the most recent example of multilateral cooperation between India and Nicaragua was the Central American Integration System (SICA) meeting, of which both countries are members. Both countries have vowed to strengthen ties and enhance possibilities of South-South cooperation. However, when compared to China, New Delhi has yet to chalk out an effective game plan that leverages its relations with smaller island nations to its benefit.

Prepared By

Toshika Shukla

Toshika Shukla is a 4th year undergraduate student at Shiv Nadar University, majoring in International Relations and Governance Studies. Through the course of her study, she has gained a keen interest in areas such as soft power diplomacy, gender studies, and cultural relations. Her interests also revolve around questions of power, China’s domestic policies combined with theoretical perspectives of analysis.