We waren zo druk met China in Brussel, dat we bijna vergaten dat Trump ook nog handelsproblemen met de EU had. Nadat het Hogerechtshof een belangrijk deel van Trumps eerdere heffingen ongeldig had verklaard, zocht het Witte Huis naarstig naar alternatieve grondslagen. Die heeft men nu gevonden in de vorm van dwangarbeid. De EU en het VK krijgen 10%. China en Japan 12,5%.
Het lijkt hier niet bij te blijven. Trump is de oorlog tegen Iran aan het verliezen en staat er slecht voor in de aanloop naar de parlementsverkiezingen in november. Zo spreekt men ook over heffingen op generieke medicijnen en strafmaatregelen tegen Canada. In die zin heeft Brussel pech met de timing van de maatregelen tegen de Chinese uitdaging die in oktober verwacht worden, waarna Peking vast ook met een reactie zal komen.
De Nederlandse scheepsbouwer Royal IHC is een van de 14 Europese bedrijven – waaronder Rheinmetall – die door het Chinese handelsministerie op een sanctielijst zijn gezet. Deze bedrijven, die al last hadden van de Chinese beperkingen op zeldzame aardmetalen – mogen nu geen dual-use goederen meer ontvangen uit China. Hiermee reageert Peking op de nieuwste EU-sancties die 14 Chinese bedrijven op een zwarte lijst plaatsten voor hun rol in de omzeiling van sancties op Rusland.
Formeel gezien ben ik vanaf gisteren met verlof tot 17 augustus. De komende twee weken zijn er geen nieuwsbrieven. Het zou kunnen dat ik daarna alsnog enkele nieuwsbrieven verstuur om de tijd te verdrijven, maar ik excuseer me al vast voor de verwachte pauzes. Fijne zomervakantie!
In deze chipfabriek in Maleisië probeert Nexperia het lek in China te dichten – NRC: „De uitbreiding van de fabriek in Seremban kost Nexperia ruim 300 miljoen euro. Deze investering wordt onder meer bekostigd met een krediet van 60 miljoen euro van de Nederlands staatsinvesteerder Invest International.”
„In het eerste kwartaal haalde de Europese tak van Nexperia van 300 miljoen euro omzet. Het tweede kwartaal vertoont „significante groei” en voor de rest van het jaar lijkt de stijgende lijn door te zetten. Maar de uiteindelijke omzet is nog altijd veel minder dan de 2 miljard van voor de breuk met de Chinese collega’s.”
„ook andere Nexperia-fabrieken vernieuwen: Hamburg is bezig met een moderniseringsslag en in Manchester en de Filippijnen wordt de productie van vermogenschips opgeschaald.” 🇳🇱
EU waters down Russia sanctions over fears China could seize key LNG assets – SCMP: ‘concluding that banning Greek companies from transporting Russian gas to third countries could hand strategically important shipping assets to China.’
‘At the same time, the EU listed 14 mainland Chinese and Hong Kong entities in the sanctions package for their alleged role in flouting Russia bans on dual-use goods originating in Europe or for aiding in Moscow’s war effort’ 🇪🇺🇷🇺
China adds 14 EU entities to export control list – Xinhua: ‘Export operators are prohibited from exporting dual-use items to entities that include Lafert S.p.A., Garnet S.r.l., Sindlhauser Materials GmbH, Rheinmetall AG, Antraco Chemie-Handelsgesellschaft mbH, InPACT S.A. and III-V LAB, according to an announcement released by the ministry.’
Ook het Nederlandse Royal IHC staat op de lijst.
China and EU pushing ahead on joint research despite trade tensions – SCMP: ‘China and the EU have renewed their joint research agreement, according to Chinese state-linked media, signalling a willingness to collaborate on climate and agriculture despite trade tensions.’
‘to support scientific cooperation through to 2027’ 🇪🇺
The European Parliament’s China conundrum – POLITICO Brussels Playbook: ‘Adopting the draft in its current form would have “consequences,” Beijing warned the Parliament, according to a non-S&D parliamentary official. MEPs from other groups accuse the S&D of listening to Beijing and trying to water down and delay the report, which is meant to set out the Parliament’s position on the EU’s relationship with China.’ 🇪🇺
Germany has deported a Uyghur man to China, his mother says – AP: ‘Arafat Adil, 21, a dual Chinese-Turkish national who has lived in Turkey with his family since they moved there from China in 2017 and who was seeking asylum in Germany, was deported from the Frankfurt Airport on Tuesday’ 🇩🇪
President of Slovakia to pay state visit to China – Xinhua 🇸🇰
欧美Z世代何以热衷中国式生活 – 《学习时报》（2026年07月24日 第02版 ） 🇪🇺🇺🇸
In de krant Study Times van de Centrale Partijschool een stuk over propagandawerk in het licht van de sterkte aantrekkingskracht die de Westerse Gen Z zou voelen voor de Chinese levensstijl.
Brussel niet onder indruk van Trumps heffingen: „In lijn is met de Amerikaanse tariefafspraken” – BNR Nieuws 🇪🇺🇺🇸
Alom verbazing over Amerikaanse importheffingen voor zestig landen vanwege ‘dwangarbeid’ – de Volkskrant: „Volgens de aankondiging krijgen economieën die al een verbod op dwangarbeid hebben ingevoerd de lagere heffing van 10 procent opgelegd. Hiertoe behoren Canada, de Europese Unie en het Verenigd Koninkrijk. Voor andere landen geldt 12,5 procent. Handelspartners zoals China en Japan vallen in deze categorie.” 🇺🇸
‘We’re getting into an ugly phase’: Trump’s new tariffs are angering voters and US allies alike – POLITICO 🇺🇸
US Congress explores new tariffs and sanctions to counter China’s shipbuilding dominance – SCMP 🇺🇸
Farm products are once again in the crossfire of trade tensions between China and the European Union – Bloomberg 🇪🇺
De investeringen van Xi in de Chinese voedselveiligheid en -onafhankelijkheid gaan we op termijn ook merken op de internationale markten.
If Europe wants to use its trade leverage with China, now is the time – Andreas Mischer for MERICS: ‘New MERICS research shows that China is dependent on twice as many types of products from the European Union as from the US.’
‘At the same time, MERICS data also suggests that Europe’s window of opportunity is closing.’ 🇪🇺
China’s economy in Q2: Domestic woes dampen growth as imbalances intensify – MERICS
EU fines Google €890m for competition breaches over search and apps – The Guardian 🇪🇺🇺🇸
Dat is meer dan de €550m voor het Chinese Alibaba.
EU regulator sends charge sheet to JD.com 京东网 over Ceconomy deal – Reuters 🇪🇺
China dreigt met maatregelen na Frans verbod op reclame voor Shein 希音 en TEMU – NU.nl 🇫🇷
Chinese car brands snapped up more than a third of new plug-in hybrid sales in Europe last month, as automakers from the country push those models ahead of any potential tariffs – Bloomberg 🇪🇺
China’s assault on Europe’s car market has barely begun – FT: ‘a new wave of tech-focused Chinese electric-vehicle makers, including [Xiaomi], Xpeng, Li Auto and Huawei-backed Aito, seeking to expand overseas.’ 🇪🇺
Flinke winstdaling bij Volkswagen door Chinese concurrentie – NRC 🇩🇪
Volkswagen is stepping up its development of driver assistance and autonomous technologies to give it an advantage in the cutthroat Chinese auto market – Bloomberg 🇩🇪
Ford and Geely 吉利 strike deal for EV production at Spanish plant, newspaper reports – Reuters: ‘the U.S. automaker will sell part of its Almussafes plant near Valencia, paving the way for Geely to manufacture electric vehicles in Spain’ 🇪🇸🇺🇸
Sweden declares mining national security interest to counter dependence on China – Reuters 🇸🇪
China rare earth export curbs have opened up a huge price gap – Nikkei Asia: ‘rare earth prices in China have remained relatively sluggish over the past year or so. Dysprosium traded at $270 per kilogram on July 9, according to Argus, or one-eighth the European price.’
‘China’s rare-earth output has not declined.’
Australian miner Lynas says China’s export curbs pushing up costs of Malaysia expansion – Nikkei Asia: ‘Beijing has banned the export of rare earth technology as part of a suite of measures designed to entrench its control over the sector’ 🇦🇺🇲🇾
Chinese envoy at UN calls for international efforts to improve natural resource governance – Xinhua: ‘International law grants states permanent sovereignty over their natural resources, and this principle must not be challenged, he said. Certain countries should stop seizing other countries’ resources through sanctions, pressure and military coercion, and must not revert to colonial domination and plunder, he said.’
‘China is in favor of an open, inclusive, fair, equitable, cooperative, win-win, green and clean governance system for critical minerals, Sun said, warning that using the pretext of “de-risking” or “national security” to pursue bloc confrontation and build exclusive “small circles” will only disrupt market order and undermine the common interests of all countries.’ 🇺🇳
Chile hunts for copper buyers beyond China with US$100 billion mining plan – SCMP: ‘in the most explicit move yet by the new government in Santiago to reduce its exposure to Chinese demand.’ 🇨🇱
In Depth: China rethinks the tax rebates that drove its export machine – Caixin Global: ‘By dialing them back for sectors beset by overcapacity and price wars spilling into overseas markets, policymakers are using the tax system to push manufacturers beyond volume-led growth toward higher-value production.’
Samsung 三星 in talks to invest in Mistral at €20bn valuation – FT: ‘Samsung, which had previously backed the group through its venture arm, could invest about €1bn in the new round’
‘reflect a broader push by AI developers to secure partnerships with semiconductor suppliers’ 🇫🇷🇰🇷
US officials threaten to sanction Chinese AI startups after Moonshot AI 月之暗面 release – Nikkei Asia: ‘Chinese open-source models have surged to dominance on OpenRouter, […], mainly due to their lower cost and good performance.’ 🇺🇸
US accuses China’s Moonshot AI 月之暗面 of stealing from Anthropic’s Fable for latest AI model – Reuters: ‘U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday in a separate post on X that he was considering adding Moonshot AI to a trade blacklist and imposing sanctions.’
‘Kratsios also said Moonshot AI had acquired servers containing powerful Nvidia AI chips called GB300s and had used them in Thailand, “likely to train its AI models.”’ 🇺🇸
Intel and AMD sign long-term server CPU deals with Chinese clients as prices surge, sources say – Reuters 🇺🇸
Opposition KMT’s drone cuts would deal a blow to industry, Taiwan’s economic affairs ministry says – Taipei Times
Why the world trusts China more than America – Edward Luce for FT: ‘A majority of countries rank the US higher than China when it comes to freedom, yet nevertheless distrust it more. Mistrust is thus a synonym for incompetence.’ 🇺🇸
China’s shadowy maritime militia is worryingly active – The Economist: ‘Some fishing boats can get daily subsidies of over 24,000 yuan ($3,500) to loiter in disputed areas, more than enough to cover their costs and allowing owners to profit without doing any fishing.’
Xi’s demands for loyalty are breeding corruption – Deng Yuwen for Foreign Policy
The Actual Governance of China – The Great Power Show 🍎
China’s Coast Guard clashed with the Philippines for a third time this week in the South China Sea, as tensions in the disputed waters escalate – Bloomberg 🇵🇭
China’s coast guard says it drove away Philippine vessels near Scarborough Shoal in fresh South China Sea incident – Reuters 🇵🇭
Philippine and Chinese foreign ministers trade protests over South China Sea encounter – Reuters 🇵🇭
The Philippines must make correct decisions as bilateral relations reach crossroads, Chinese FM says – Xinhua 🇵🇭
Chinese ship shoots water cannon at Philippine vessel with CNN crew on board near flashpoint shoal – CNN 🇵🇭
China stands with ASEAN in reinforcing unity against new challenges and uncertainties, Chinese FM Wang says – Xinhua: ‘Stressing that a critical window for finalizing the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea is now open, Wang called on all parties to seize the opportunity, fend off interference, and deliver on that objective.’
Chinese delegation refutes Japan’s false rhetoric regarding Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, and so-called ‘China threat’ – Xinhua 🇯🇵
Chinese delegation calls on international community be more unequivocal against ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activities – Xinhua 🇹🇼
Rubio meets Wang, discusses laying groundwork for Chinese president’s US visit – Reuters 🇺🇸
Chinese FM Wang urges US to properly manage differences, address China’s legitimate concerns – Xinhua 🇺🇸
China and India should consolidate positive momentum in bilateral ties, Chinese FM Wang says – Xinhua 🇮🇳
China’s foreign ministry demands Australia stop ‘exaggerating tensions’ over South China Sea – ABC News: ‘after Penny Wong warned Beijing against “destabilising” conduct in the region.’ 🇦🇺
China’s copper mine in Pakistan targeted by militant ‘blockade’ – Nikkei Asia 🇵🇰
Japanese satellite operator seeks Southeast Asia demand on China tensions – Nikkei Asia 🇯🇵
China pivots from new transport projects to upgrades – Caixin Global
Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 stresses fostering virtue through education and promoting high-quality basic education – Xinhua: ‘in an instruction on work related to basic education.’
‘He emphasized the importance of fully implementing the Party's educational policy and nurturing a new generation of capable young people with sound moral grounding, intellectual ability, physical vigor, aesthetic sensibility and work skills, who will fully develop socialism and carry forward the socialist cause.’
Senior CCP official Cài Qí 蔡奇 urges Party schools to break new ground in their work – Xinhua
Senior Chinese leader Wáng Hùníng 王沪宁 tours Tibet, stresses ethnic unity and stability – Reuters: ‘“To govern Tibet is foremost to stabilise Tibet,” Wang, 70, said. Efforts must be made to “consolidate a political and social environment of unity and stability,” he added.’
Senior CCP official Wáng Hùníng 王沪宁 stresses full implementation of Party’s Xizang [Tibet] governance policies – Xinhua: ‘He said the governance of Xizang should reflect the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law, which took effect on July 1, and called for continuous efforts to guide Tibetan Buddhism to adapt to the socialist society.’
China unveils guidelines to strengthen social work – Xinhua
Extreme rainfall threatens north as China enters peak flood season – Reuters
Hong Kong customs checks ‘almost every book shipment from Taiwan’ – SCMP 🇹🇼
Macao SAR hosts delegation of Portuguese-speaking countries’ cultural officials – Xinhua
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office reaffirms commitment to providing consular protection to Taiwan compatriots overseas – Xinhua: ‘when asked about the assistance provided by the Chinese Consulate General in Irkutsk to Taiwan tourists injured in a traffic accident near Irkutsk, Russia.’ 🇨🇳🇷🇺
China begins two days of live-fire drills in Taiwan Strait – ‘around Dongshan Island, bordering the province of Guangdong’ – Reuters 🇨🇳
China using ‘elite capture’ in Pacific, Taiwan’s foreign minister says, citing Papua New Guinea – Focus Taiwan: ‘alleged, without elaborating or providing evidence, that […] China had provided direct benefits to [foreign minister] Tkatchenko.’ 🇨🇳🇵🇬
Taiwan film festival organiser in Bangkok alleges Chinese embassy interference – Kaosod English 🇺🇸🇹🇭
China pulls the plug on historical Taiwan invasion movie – Domino Theory 🇨🇳
DPP delegation meets US House speaker, bipartisan lawmakers in Washington – Focus Taiwan 🇺🇸
Foreign minister asserts Taiwan’s claims in South China Sea – Taipei Times: ‘but said Taipei was not actively asserting those claims. Lin made the comments at a legislative committee meeting on the nation’s South China Sea policy, held in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling on the sea.’
KMT lawmaker Ma Wen-chun 馬文君 again accused of leaking confidential details about Taiwanese military – New Bloom: ‘According to the MND, KMT legislator Ma Wen-chun, the co-chair of the defense committee in the legislature, had scuppered Taiwan’s plans to acquire RDX through purchase from India by exporting it through the Home-Max Furniture Trading Company.’
KMT motions for NT$295m [€8mn] Control Yuan wages and benefits budget cut – Taipei Times: ‘due to what it said was the nomination of overtly pro-Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) people as Control Yuan members for the next term.’
Retired Navy official detained on suspicion of corruption – Focus Taiwan
Chinese spouse to lose residency after ruling – Taipei Times: ‘for creating immigrant associations sponsored by Chinese “united front” groups and promoting China’s “one country, two systems” agenda.’ 🇨🇳
Taiwan set a target to expand its offshore wind capacity by as much as eightfold by 2039 – Bloomberg
Bedankt voor het lezen van de Chinese Wouden 森中台! Deze post was gratis, voel je vrij om hem te delen of laat je waardering blijken d.m.v een kleine donatie.
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.