HIGHLIGHTS

CHINA & SOUTH ASIA
Continued “Rubber-Rice-Pact,” Chinese President meets Sri Lankan Prime Minister
On 28 March, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena visited Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi called to promote the relations between the two countries as he looked at the long history they share, naturally building their affinity. Xi highlighted that China is willing to work on the “Rubber-Rice-Pact” between the two countries, the pact is characterized by “independence, self-reliance, unity and mutual support,” aiming to consolidate mutual trust and further exchanges and experiences. He said that both sides should promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation through flagship projects, Colombo Port City and the Hambantota Port. Gunawardena also noted the long history they share and affirmed upholding the “One-China” principle and following policy-friendly cooperation with China. He also expressed his appreciation for China and the role it played in uplifting Sri Lanka’s economy. Sri Lanka also confirmed its participation in the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative. (“Xi meets Sri Lankan PM in Beijing,” Xinhua, 27 March 2024)

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Chinese research claims to have developed a surface-to-air missile with a 2000 km range
On 28 March, the South China Morning Post reported on the Chinese language Journal of Graphics, paper publication, where the researchers claim that they successfully designed a surface-to-air-missile, with a kill range of 2000 km. Such ultra-long-range capabilities are considered infeasible, where the maximum flight range is tens of kilometers. The team is led by an associate professor at Northwestern Polytechnical University Su Han, who said that the weapon will be able to shoot down early-warning aircraft, and missiles. The paper stated that the People’s Liberation Army would first warn the target and it would be only launched if they refused to turn back. The paper stated that this technology is vital to maintain regional and global stability. (Stephen Chen, “Chinese scientists plan surface-to-air missile with 2,000km kill range,” South China Morning Post, 28 March 2024)

CHINA & THE AMERICAS 
“China’s overcapacity distorts global prices and production patterns,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to warn China
On 28 March, the Financial Times reported on US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's plans to warn China on her visit to not flood the world with cheap Chinese clean product exports, stating that they will distort global markets and harm the workers. She said that it is important that the American firms can compete on a level playing field and that they have earlier raised concerns against the overcapacity of China’s exports. Yellen believes that the overproduction and export of metals and other goods have damaged the global market, and therefore warned against the oversupply of clean energy products, these include solar and electric vehicles, lithium batteries and others. She said: “China’s overcapacity distorts global prices and production patterns and hurts American firms and workers,” she will say, adding that she had heard similar warnings “from government counterparts in industrialized countries and emerging markets, as well as from the business community globally.” (“Janet Yellen warns China against clean energy dumping,” Financial Times. 28 March 2024)
 

CHINA READER DAILY WIRE 

INTERNAL
Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China’s C929 at a crucial stage of development, SCMP quotes Comac firm
On 27 March, an analysis in the South China Morning Post looked into the crucial developmental stage of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) and the Chinese government's push for the aviation company. The marketing director of Comac Zhang Xiaoguang said: “It’s a crucial stage in the development process, which indicates the overall technical scheme of the aircraft has been determined.” Russia and China announced in December of 2023 that they would promote the joint venture of developing long-range widebody passenger aircraft also known as C929. The aircraft would have 280-400 seats and would fly 12,000km. The Chinese aviation company are aggressively developing their capabilities to break the duopoly of American and Boeing and Europe-based Airbus. The C919 is the poster child of Comac as the fifth aircraft came into operation, and now they are pushing for European certification of the jet. Cormac's deputy marketing director Liu Yan said they will: “coordinate the domestic and international markets in an orderly manner and secure a large number of customers and orders, laying a solid foundation for large-scale production, delivery and operation.” (Sylvia Ma, “China’s home-grown C929 widebody passenger jet enters ‘crucial’ development stage amid Beijing’s aviation push,” South China Morning Post, 27 March 2024)

CHINA & EAST ASIA
Trilateral summit between China-Japan-South Korea should resume as they face “Polycrisis,” says South Korea
On 27 March, South China Morning reported on the heads of the trilateral cooperation between China-Japan-South Korea stressing the urgency to kickstart the summit to solve the “Polycrisis” at the Boao Forum. Secretary General of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS) Lee Hee-sup stated that the current “Polycrisis,” showcases the need for closer engagement of trilateral cooperation and deeper exchanges. He said that no country can handle a crisis singularly and therefore the TCS need to push for the resumption of the trilateral cooperation. The summit saw a lull as for four and half years no summit was held, solidarity and cooperation are vital to stabilizing the global crisis and therefore, “we need to cooperate closely,” said Lee.  The current rotating chair is South Korea which anticipated to hold the chair in 2023 but the Japanese side has delayed the summit with China still weighing the option if it wants to join. The first summit was held in 2008 and the TCS was formed in 2011, tasked with promoting peace and stability in the region. (Alyssa Chen, “Long-delayed China-Japan-South Korea leaders’ summit needed ‘as soon as possible’ as countries face ‘polycrisis’,” South China Morning Post, 27 March 2024)

CHINA & SOUTH ASIA
Traditional deployment of troops, a prerequisite to India-China relations, says Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar
On 28 March, External Affairs Minister of India S Jaishankar stated that the normalcy of ties with China is based on the deployment of troops, addressing Indian Diaspora in Malaysia. He asked what country does not want good relations with its neighbour. But those relations are also based on some prerequisites. For India, it is the traditional deployment of troops in the contentious region and area. While stating that he also iterated that his first duty is to secure the borders and that he could never compromise on that. Additionally, he said: “We're still negotiating with the Chinese. I talk to my counterpart. We meet from time to time. Our military commanders negotiate with each other. But we are very clear that we had an agreement. There is a Line of Actual Control. We have a tradition of not bringing troops to that line. Both of us have bases some distance away, which is our traditional deployment place. And we want that normalcy.” (“Normalcy in ties with China based on troops deployment: Jaishankar,” Hindustan Times, 27 March 2024)

CHINA & EUROPE
China hopes for continued lithography trade from the Netherlands
On 27 March, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met with the Dutch Trade Minister Geoffrey van Leeuwen and expressed his hope that the Netherlands would support the trade of lithography machines, by allowing companies to fulfil their contractual obligation and ensure normal trade. Wang stated that they take the Netherlands as a trusted trade and economic partner. Both heads discussed the future of lithography exchange and cooperation in the semiconductor industry. The Dutch government also denied a Dutch firm ASML license to export advanced “DUV” to line to China. This is in line with the other Western countries, which are curbing China’s access to critical technology and minerals. (“China hopes Netherlands will ensure 'normal' lithography machine trade,” Reuters, 28 March 2024)

“No force can stop the pace of China’s scientific and technological development and progress,” Xin Jinping on restricted technology access to Dutch PM 
On 27 March, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the Great Hall of People, in Beijing. Xi stated that any attempt to restrict access to technology will not stop Chinese technology advancement. In 2023, the Netherlands imposed export licensing requirements, on the export of machinery used for advanced technology and chip manufacturing. This came after the US halted China’s access to advanced equipment used for chip manufacturing. He said that creating barriers to access scientific and technological machinery would only fragment the industry and would lead to confrontation and division. Xi said: “The Chinese people also have the right to legitimate development, and no force can stop the pace of China’s scientific and technological development and progress.” Rutte replied: “What I can tell you is that ... when we have to take measures, that they are never aimed at one country specifically, that we always try to make sure that the impact is limited, is not impacting the supply chain, and therefore is not impacting the overall economic relationship.” (“Chinese leader Xi tells Dutch PM that restricting technology access won’t stop China’s advance,” Associated Press, 28 March 2024)