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The China Now special program informs about this country's news. This episode analyzes China’s President visit to Vietnam and the strengthening of bilateral relations, the Central Economic Work Conference, recent tech innovations and other topics. The second segment includes an interview with Jan Oberg, political science academic and researcher. teleSUR
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00:00 Hello.
00:09 Teluser English presents a new episode of China Now, a wave media production that showcases
00:14 the culture, technology and politics of the Asian giant.
00:18 In this first segment, news talk show China Currents dives into China's present visit
00:23 to Hanoi, the Central Economic World Conference and the current situation in the Taiwan Strait,
00:28 among other topics.
00:29 Let's see.
00:30 China Currents is a weekly news talk show from China to the world.
00:35 We cover viral news about China every week and also give you the newest updates on China's
00:40 cutting-edge technologies.
00:41 Let's get started.
00:42 Hi, welcome to China Currents.
00:53 I'm Chris.
00:55 On December 12th, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, where he held talks
01:01 with Nguyen Phu Trong, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
01:06 The meeting marked the third round of reciprocal visits between the two leaders and aimed to
01:10 strengthen the bilateral relationship between China and Vietnam.
01:15 Xi and Nguyen held talks to discuss various aspects of the bilateral relationship.
01:21 Both leaders recognized the historical ties and mutual support between China and Vietnam,
01:26 both during their struggles for national independence and in their respective reform and innovation
01:31 endeavors.
01:33 Xi stressed the strategic significance of China-Vietnam relations in a current global
01:38 context of unprecedented changes.
01:40 He called for a strengthened partnership that would contribute to the stability, development
01:45 and prosperity of the region and the world.
01:49 Both sides have announced a new positioning of relations between the two parties and nations
01:53 committed to building a Chinese-Vietnamese community with a shared future that holds
01:58 strategic importance.
02:00 After the talks, both leaders witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation documents,
02:06 which covered over 30 areas of cooperation, including Belt and Road Initiative, digital
02:11 economy, green development, transportation, defense and law enforcement security, and
02:16 more.
02:17 Overall, President Xi Jinping's visit to Vietnam showcased the deepening friendship
02:22 and cooperation between China and Vietnam and laid the groundwork for a stronger partnership
02:28 in the years to come.
02:29 Besides President Xi's visit to Vietnam, the top news of this week is undoubtedly the
02:34 Central Economic Work Conference, which will set the tone for economic policymaking for
02:38 the coming year.
02:40 As the crucial prelude for the conference, a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist
02:45 Party of China Central Committee started on December 8.
02:49 This meeting provided an authoritative assessment of the situation in 2023, stating that China
02:55 has employed various means to achieve an upward trend in its economy.
03:00 In the first three quarters, China's gross domestic product grew by 5.2% year-on-year,
03:05 maintaining a leading growth rate among major global economies.
03:09 The chief representative of the International Monetary Fund in China mentioned that China
03:14 remains the largest engine of global economic growth, contributing one-third of the world's
03:19 gross volume.
03:21 On December 11, the Central Economic Work Conference was commenced in Beijing, where
03:26 President Xi Jinping was in attendance and delivered a significant speech outlining the
03:31 country's economic priorities and strategies for 2024.
03:35 The conference acknowledged that 2023 represented a year of economic recovery and development
03:41 following the COVID-19 pandemic. By deepening reforms, enhancing macroeconomic regulation,
03:47 stimulating domestic demand, optimizing economic structure, boosting confidence, and managing
03:54 risks, China's economy made steady progress toward high-quality development.
04:00 Despite a positive trajectory, the conference also noted several challenges and difficulties
04:05 that need to be overcome to further promote economic recovery.
04:09 These challenges include insufficient effective demand, excess production capacity in certain
04:14 industries, weak social expectations, multiple risks, bottlenecks in the domestic circulation,
04:21 and an increasing complex and uncertain external environment.
04:25 The conference emphasized the need to enhance awareness of potential risks and effectively
04:30 address these issues.
04:32 Next up, the Taiwan Strait.
04:34 On December 11, the Defense Department of the Taiwan authorities reported that a flotilla
04:39 of People's Liberation Army Navy passed through the Taiwan Strait from north to south on that
04:45 day.
04:46 The formation was led by Shandong, the country's first domestically built aircraft carrier.
04:51 Taiwan's defense authorities claim that they have monitored the movement of the planned
04:56 formation through joint reconnaissance measures.
04:59 According to media outlets based on Taiwan Island, both Japan and the U.S. have also
05:03 sent naval ships near the planned flotilla for further developments.
05:07 These marked the second appearance of the Shandong Carrier Group in the Taiwan Strait
05:12 within the month, previously sailing from south to north.
05:16 Before heading south, the formation had been conducting training exercises in the northern
05:20 coastal waters.
05:22 On December 8, the state-owned China Central Television released a two-minute video showcasing
05:28 the processes of carrier-based fighters landing and taking off, demonstrating the readiness
05:33 of China's carrier strike group in a high-profile manner.
05:37 Many speculate that the flotilla is now heading back to its home port located in the country's
05:41 southernmost Hainan Island.
05:44 However, foreign media tends to depict it as a gesture to exert pressure on the Taiwan
05:49 authorities, especially with the approaching 2024 election.
05:54 First up, on December 10, China released an annual report on the country's ocean energy
05:58 development.
05:59 Specifically, China's annual marine crude oil production reached 62.2 million tons,
06:05 accounting for over 60% of the national increase in crude oil production.
06:10 And marine natural gas production reached 23.8 billion cubic meters, accounting for
06:15 approximately 15% of the national increase.
06:19 China considers the stable supply of oil and gas from the ocean as a guarantee for its
06:24 energy security, and this element plays a key role in the country's energy transition
06:29 strategy.
06:30 In the report, China elaborates on the accelerating integration of renewable energy with traditional
06:36 oil and gas.
06:38 In 2023, the annual increase in grid-connected capacity of offshore wind power reached 6.04
06:45 million kilowatts, representing an approximate 20% year-on-year growth.
06:50 Therefore, offshore wind farms, which plays a vital role in supplying power for marine
06:54 drilling platforms, have become a model for energy integration.
06:58 On the same day, December 10, China released its Energy Transformation Outlook 2023 during
07:04 COP28, addressing energy security and cost-effectiveness during the process of energy transition.
07:11 However, China's focus on ocean energy also leads to friction with neighboring countries,
07:16 especially in the South China Sea.
07:18 A preliminary estimation indicates that the marine oil deposit in the area reaches approximately
07:24 20 billion tons, intensifying competition in the area.
07:29 Vietnam's state-owned PetroVietnam has been engaged in extraction operations in the area
07:34 since the late 1990s.
07:36 In 2014, 60 Vietnamese vessels, including coast guard ships and civilian fishing boats,
07:41 intruded into the water of China's Xisha Islands, attempting to prevent China from
07:46 constructing an oil platform.
07:49 Next up, on technology.
07:50 According to the latest data from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology,
07:55 in the first 10 months of 2023, China's lithium battery industry sustained its growth momentum
08:01 with total output up 31% year-on-year nationwide.
08:06 Specifically, September to October, national lithium battery production exceeded 185 GWh,
08:13 a 17% year-on-year increase.
08:16 This includes over 38 GWh of energy stored batteries and around 76 GWh worth of power
08:23 batteries installed in new energy vehicles.
08:26 Total lithium battery output has reached 765 GWh in January to October, rising 31% from
08:34 the previous year.
08:36 Exports of lithium batteries also kept growing.
08:39 In September and October, total export value hit 82.46 billion yuan, a 21% year-on-year
08:45 increase.
08:46 Additionally, all lithium battery production segments maintain high growth rates so far
08:52 this year.
08:53 From September to October, output of key materials like cathode, anode, separators, and electrolytes
09:00 reached 430,000 tons, 300,000 tons, 2.7 billion square meters, and 200,000 tons, respectively,
09:09 with over 25% growth across the board.
09:12 Industry analysts attribute the sustained momentum to increasing global demand for new energy
09:17 vehicles and energy storage applications, with continuous technological improvements,
09:23 falling prices, and rising quality, China's competitiveness in lithium batteries keeps
09:28 rising.
09:29 Fostering this strategic emerging industry remains a national priority for enhancing
09:34 manufacturing capacities.
09:37 Next up, let's take a look at the overseas Chinese students.
09:40 According to a December 12th report by Science, a new Florida state law is preventing faculty
09:46 at the state's 12 public universities and colleges from hiring Chinese graduate students
09:51 and postdoctoral researchers to work in their labs.
09:55 Passed in May and effective since July 2022, the law prohibits Florida public universities
10:00 from accepting any donations or signing agreements with China and six other countries of concern,
10:07 including Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Venezuela.
10:12 Student research and academic collaborations, including visiting scholar programs, have
10:16 also been banned since December 1st.
10:20 While students from those countries can still enroll in graduate programs, they cannot obtain
10:24 paid research positions, including graduate assistantships or postdoctoral appointments.
10:30 The restriction currently applies to those living in or receiving a year or more of training
10:35 employment abroad, even with U.S. citizenship, unless granted case-by-case exemption by the
10:41 state higher education board.
10:43 As universities formulate rules to implement this legislation, the resultant uncertainty
10:48 has already frozen admissions offers originally scheduled for December-January to Chinese
10:53 graduate applicants for fall 2024.
10:56 The chilling effect comes as Chinese students increasingly opt for alternative destinations
11:01 beyond the U.S. amid travel barriers, surging anti-Asian hate, safety fears, geopolitics.
11:08 Chinese enrollment in the U.S. dropped 8.6% last year.
11:13 Last but not least, let's turn to Huawei.
11:16 Huawei France deputy general manager Zhang Minggang recently revealed that Huawei's first
11:21 overseas factory has been set for France, expected to begin production by end of 2025.
11:28 According to Zhang, the Huawei France factory will be located in the town of Bruma in the
11:32 Rhineland region, occupying about 80,000 square meters of land.
11:37 The 200 million euro project is forecast to produce 1 billion euro worth of output annually,
11:43 delivering high returns while creating 800 jobs, including 300 in the near term and 500
11:49 longer term positions.
11:50 The plan is projected to manufacture 1 billion devices per year, specifically 4G/5G base
11:57 station components like chipsets and motherboards to supply the greater European market.
12:03 Since entering France in 2003, Huawei now operates six R&D centers and one global design
12:08 center in Paris alone, enabling nearly 10,000 local jobs so far.
12:14 France was previously Huawei's largest overseas market with 2.5 billion euro revenue in 2021,
12:21 though environmental hurdles has delayed the factory announcement first made in 2019.
12:26 In nearly 20 years since entering France, Huawei has established extensive operations
12:31 centered around six research hubs and a global design center in Paris.
12:36 The firm achieved 2.5 billion euro sales in France by 2021, created close to 10,000 jobs
12:42 and captured 20% share of the French telecom infrastructure market.
12:47 Well that's all for today, thank you for watching this episode of China Currents.
12:50 If you have any thoughts and comments about our show, please reach us at the email address
12:54 below.
12:55 I'm Chris, looking forward to hearing from you and see you next time.
12:58 We have a short break coming up, we'll be right back, stay with us.
13:22 Welcome back to China Now.
13:23 The upcoming segment covers recent tech innovations in the Asian giant, followed by an interview
13:28 with political science academic Jan Overk as part of the Thinkers Forum.
13:33 Let's see.
13:34 Hi, I'm Lisa and this is Threshold in China.
13:42 Today we are going to share some exciting tech innovations and announcements that happened
13:47 in China recently.
13:48 On December 14, 2013, China left its mark on lunar history when the Chang'e-3 probe
14:00 achieved a successful soft landing on the moon's surface.
14:04 This marked the beginning of a detailed survey of this mysterious celestial body and made
14:11 China the third country to have the technology for extraterrestrial soft landing and rover
14:17 exploration.
14:18 The landing site was later named Guanghan Palace, also known as the Moon Palace, which
14:24 is the legendary home of the Chinese moon goddess and Yutu, China's first lunar rover.
14:31 Its mission was to study the moon's surface, bridging the gap between ancient lore and
14:37 modern science.
14:39 The Chang'e-3 ladder and Yutu rover even snapped a selfie together against the breathtaking
14:45 moonscape.
14:47 Throughout its operation, Yutu faced extreme challenges, enduring temperature fluctuations
14:53 and overcoming damage.
14:55 But a push through, analysing lunar geology, creating the very first geological profile
15:01 of the moon's subsurface and capturing close-up photographs.
15:05 Yutu's instruments revealed surprising insights, including a lunar regolith and a more diverse
15:13 subsurface structure than expected.
15:16 It travelled about 114 meters on the moon's surface.
15:21 Even though it was designed to last only three months, Yutu persevered for a remarkable 972
15:28 days before finally powering down.
15:31 But that wasn't the end of the story.
15:34 Fast forward to 2019 and Chang'e-4 accomplished something unprecedented.
15:39 It landed on the far side of the moon with the Yutu-2 rover.
15:44 This mission brought us groundbreaking discoveries, including lunar mantle material, which is
15:49 crucial for understanding the moon's formation and evolution.
15:53 It sent back valuable data on lunar soil composition and space environment.
15:59 By studying how the rover's wheels interacted with the surface, researchers found that the
16:04 mechanical properties of the lunar soil in the landing region resembled earth's dry
16:09 sand and sandy soil.
16:12 This even better load-bearing characteristic than the moon soil samples from the Apollo
16:17 era.
16:18 And Yutu-2 is still operating today, making it the longest working lunar rover, cruising
16:24 around the moon covering nearly 1,500 meters.
16:28 In 2020, Chang'e-5 brought about the first lunar samples in over four decades.
16:34 These samples, weighing 1,731 grams, include basalt and dust.
16:40 They will play a crucial role in helping us determine the moon's precise age and formation
16:45 history.
16:46 But the journey of Yutu doesn't stop there.
16:49 There are missions like Chang'e-6, 7 and 8 on the horizon, carrying the ambition of
16:54 manned lunar exploration.
16:57 China is preparing for lunar landings using its new heavy-lift Lamarck 9 rocket and planning
17:03 complex sample return missions from Mars around 2030.
17:08 Let's continue witnessing this epic cosmic romance together as we explore the moon, Mars
17:13 and beyond.
17:14 For years, a law called the Wolf Amendment had severely restricted collaboration between
17:25 America's NASA and China's CNSA.
17:29 But NASA just made a surprising move.
17:31 They're actually urging their researchers to apply for samples from China's moon mission,
17:37 specifically the Chang'e-5 mission that happened in 2020.
17:42 This year, on October 1, China announced that they are accepting research proposals from
17:49 international scientists to apply for the Chang'e-5 lunar sample.
17:54 It's the first time they've done this, and scientists are excited.
17:58 James Head, a planetary scientist at Brown University, says there has been great enthusiasm
18:05 internationally to study the samples.
18:08 NASA recognizes the unique value of these specimens and has allowed their researchers
18:13 to submit requests during China's last application round.
18:17 They're calling it an exception to bilateral restrictions and want to ensure equal research
18:23 opportunities as foreign institutions.
18:27 Even though there are still policy huddles, Dr. Head is hopeful that this could be the
18:31 start of an era of various levels of coordination, cooperation and collaboration.
18:36 But there's more.
18:38 China plans to launch Chang'e-6 by 2024 and collect the first-ever sample from the
18:43 far side of the moon.
18:45 According to NASA's email, studying these could be even more enlightening.
18:52 They could go to the south pole of the moon where the resources are, and they could land
18:59 and they'd say, "This is our exclusive territory.
19:02 You stay out."
19:03 Meanwhile, Chinese and American space agencies are also working on separate missions to collect
19:09 and bring back samples from Mars, which could happen around 2030.
19:13 However, an independent review that came out in September showed that NASA's budget and
19:18 timeline for their Mars program are unrealistic and challenges remain.
19:24 But on the whole, while geopolitics may constrain collaboration, for now, the future of space
19:29 science is very promising.
19:37 On the 6th of December, China's Shidao, one high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear power
19:42 plant, completed 168 hours of continuous operation tests, and it was officially put into commercial
19:49 use.
19:50 This marks China as the world's first country to achieve commercial operation of a fourth-generation
19:56 nuclear power plant.
19:58 How is the fourth generation different to the previous generations?
20:02 Well, generally speaking, nuclear power plants generate electricity using the heat released
20:07 from the nuclear fission reactions.
20:10 In conventional reactors, this heat is transferred by coolant loops to heat steam, which spins
20:16 turbines connected to the electric generators.
20:20 The first three generations of reactors are primarily water-cooled, with ordinary or pressurized
20:25 light water serving as coolant and neutral moderator.
20:31 Pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactors have both been the backbone of nuclear
20:36 power since the mid-20th century.
20:39 But water cooling brings some challenges as overheating could lead to steam explosion
20:45 within the reactor.
20:46 It also faces other issues like nuclear waste, limited fuel efficiency, and safety concerns
20:52 around meltdowns.
20:54 The Fukushima disaster in Japan, for example, triggered a massive earthquake and tsunami
20:59 in 2011 and raised global concerns over nuclear safety.
21:04 Unlike its predecessors, the fourth generation reactor is designed with inherent safety features
21:10 and greater efficiency.
21:12 For instance, the Shidaoen reactor is a high temperature gas-cooled reactor, and it uses
21:18 helium gas instead of water for cooling.
21:21 This deals with the risk of steam explosion and also allows for higher operational temperatures,
21:26 which increases efficiency.
21:29 This enables industry applications like clean hydrogen production and higher electrical
21:34 efficiency around 50% as compared to the 33% for conventional light water reactors.
21:41 Another advantage of the fourth generation reactor is its inherent safety.
21:46 Joint developer Tsinghua University emphasizes that in the event of a sudden reactor failure
21:52 or external disturbance, the core will not melt.
21:56 For instance, its specialty fuel, spheres, can withstand over 1650 degrees Celsius without
22:03 releasing radioactivity.
22:06 Even in an extreme accident, the temperature inside the reactor is unlikely to reach this
22:11 temperature.
22:12 The Shidaoen plant in Shandong province is the result of joint research and development
22:17 by China Huaneng Group, Tsinghua University, China National Nuclear Corporation, and other
22:23 institutions.
22:24 With over 90% domestically manufactured equipment, construction began in December 2012.
22:31 Grid connection was achieved in December 2021, and now this is the final milestone enabling
22:37 full-power commercial operation.
22:45 Imagine being able to make a phone call and access the internet from anywhere in the world
22:50 using a satellite in space.
22:52 Well this summer, Huawei, the tech giant, has launched the world's first ever smartphone
22:56 with satellite connectivity, and it's achieved with the help from China's High Orbit Communication
23:02 Network.
23:03 China announced the completion of the first high-orbit satellite internet system, positioning
23:08 itself as a potential competitor to SpaceX Starlink.
23:13 This network consists of three satellites orbiting over 20,000 miles above Earth, giving
23:19 them a very wide coverage area.
23:22 They will provide internet connectivity for industries like aviation, shipping, and emergency
23:28 services across China and even parts of Southeast Asia, India, and even Russia.
23:35 Now let's compare it with Elon Musk's Starlink network.
23:39 Starlink uses over 50,000 small low-orbit satellites that are only a few hundred miles
23:45 up.
23:46 These satellites offer faster speed but cover smaller areas.
23:50 Whereas China's high-orbit satellites cover a much broader area.
23:55 Given their high fixed position relative to the Earth, fewer satellites are required to
24:00 achieve comprehensive coverage.
24:02 On the other hand, Starlink's low-orbit satellites provide high-speed communication
24:07 and low transmission delay.
24:08 They are more resilient to disruptions if one satellite fails.
24:13 In contrast, the failure of a high-orbit satellite could have a significant impact on the entire
24:18 network.
24:19 According to Professor Sun Yaohua, who studies satellite engineering, both high and low-orbit
24:26 satellite networks will be important in the future.
24:29 It's like the difference between cell towers and Wi-Fi.
24:33 High orbit for widespread coverage and low orbit for targeted enhancement.
24:38 So what's next?
24:39 Professor Sun predicts that China will invest more in low-orbit communication networks to
24:45 power future 6G technology and compete with Starlink globally.
24:50 This high-orbit network is expected to facilitate communication for people in Belt and Road
24:56 countries and also provide valuable experience in maintaining and operating satellite systems,
25:02 which is crucial for China's future satellite internet development.
25:07 And that is all for today's Threshold.
25:09 We hope you like this new section on science and technology in China.
25:13 And as usual, we welcome your feedback and thoughts.
25:15 Well, it's a general problem with Western perceptions of conflict that you divide them
25:24 into two parties, normally the good guys and the bad guys, and then you feel an urge to
25:30 say we stand with this or we don't like them, or you focus on a leader on the top, whether
25:38 Slobodan Milosevic or Saddam Hussein or whatever it is.
25:42 If truth is the first victim in a war, complexity is the second victim.
25:47 It's hugely complex what goes on in, let's say, Ukraine-Russia-NATO relations, involving
25:53 probably 30 countries over 30 years.
25:56 If you take the Palestine-Israel, if that's even the right way to pronounce it or to describe
26:02 it, I would say it involves the whole region of the Middle East.
26:06 Iran and Saudi Arabia and all that, and the relationships with Europe and the United States.
26:12 So the moment you boil it down to say good guys, bad guys, we stand with one, you've
26:17 lost it completely because the moment you take a stand between parties, you cannot do
26:21 anything constructive.
26:23 And that's why it goes so madly wrong.
26:26 We've now had, since the war in Ukraine started, this saying that this is a Russia-Ukraine
26:32 thing and Russia has invaded an innocent country and all that.
26:37 I mean, that has nothing to do with reality.
26:40 Intellectually and academically, it's lousy.
26:43 This is a much more complex thing, namely NATO's expansion, which all important leaders
26:52 promised the last president of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, never
26:58 to do.
27:00 I repeat this because there's a lot of lies about it.
27:03 It's well documented that Gorbachev was promised that if he got a united Germany in NATO, if
27:11 he accepted that East Germany at the time part of the Soviet influence sphere into NATO,
27:17 NATO would not expand.
27:19 The formulation was one inch.
27:21 Now that is what NATO countries and the Western world and the US does not want to talk about.
27:27 And therefore they focus on this is Russia, who out of the blue, unprovoked, invaded an
27:34 innocent country.
27:35 Now what was happening then was a very quick support basically by everybody who believed
27:42 in that narrative to close off Russia and say everything is Russia's fault.
27:49 We did nothing wrong.
27:50 It was unprovoked.
27:52 And so you had a black and white and very massive reaction in favor of Ukraine, although
27:58 nobody seems to have known the complexities of Ukraine either.
28:01 The ethnic cleansing, the destruction of the Russian language, the civil war which killed
28:06 16,000 people over eight years after, the US orchestrated coup d'etat in Kiev that installed
28:13 the pro-Western government.
28:15 So that was a much more simple thing in the minds of people because they were told that
28:21 that narrative was so simple.
28:22 Now if you go to the Middle East, the difference is that that is a much older conflict.
28:30 It's probably, I mean, it's in that sense one of the world's oldest conflicts and that's
28:34 why it's so difficult also to heal it because those who live in this area have never known
28:39 peace.
28:40 Now what is the difference here is that the Western world and in particular in the non-West
28:46 or the rest knows the Palestinian issue and the repression and the apartheid that the
28:53 Palestinians have been objects and victims of for so long.
28:57 So people are in solidarity with the Palestinians because of the overkill, the arrogance and
29:02 the nuclearism of Israel.
29:04 In both cases, the leaders of the Western world did the capital mistake, taking sides,
29:10 saying everything is all to Russia and everything is good in Ukraine, which none of it is true,
29:15 and pumping in weapons, using Ukraine to make Russia weaker.
29:20 And we know why they want to make Russia weaker because when Russia is weaker and gone, if
29:24 they could do it as a threat, they can concentrate on China.
29:28 So it's much more complex, but both cases they took the stand.
29:32 I mean, Madame von der Leyen immediately said on October 8, "Europe stands with Israel."
29:40 She should never have said that.
29:41 It means that she is a conflict illiterate person and a person who does not know anything
29:45 about peacemaking.
29:47 We keep on arming and I don't know how many hundred thousand people have already died
29:51 in Ukraine because of these stupid policies.
29:53 It's deeply immoral and many of these leaders, government leaders, are war criminals, but
29:58 they'll never be convicted.
30:00 Well, I think the great surprise for people in the West, particularly NATO and the European
30:06 Union, was that they immediately, without thinking, without doing any analysis of the
30:11 consequences, decided these barrage of sanctions against Russia.
30:17 Now Russia has not been suffering from these sanctions, but the West Europeans have been.
30:24 And the U.S. decided, and that's on public, both by Madame Nuland and President Biden,
30:30 that we will destroy Nord Stream.
30:33 Nord Stream is history's biggest destruction of infrastructure and has had huge consequences
30:40 for the economy, the gas import in Europe, cheap gas that cannot get in anymore.
30:46 And that's why Seymour Hersh's analysis of Nord Stream is basically censored away in
30:50 the Western world because he's probably right.
30:53 But they found out that contrary to their expectations, the rest of the world, 85% of
31:01 humanity lives under governments which do not support that policy against Russia.
31:07 Like China, trying to keep neutral, but others too saying, well, it was wrong legally what
31:15 Russia did, but Russia had a reason to do it.
31:18 Russia had said that it would do it because it cannot have a NATO member that close to
31:24 its border with long-range weapons, two minutes flight from Moscow.
31:28 Now, the Americans or the French or the British would never have accepted anything like that
31:32 if they had had their countries there where Russia is today.
31:37 So the huge miscalculation of the West is panic decision, confrontational policies,
31:44 and then finding out afterwards that, oops, what we did was counterproductive and self-destructive.
31:51 And that's why I don't think that anybody is basically listening anymore to the Western
31:54 world when it comes to Israel.
31:56 The world knows that this is an asymmetric conflict where the Palestinians are, as people,
32:03 innocent victims.
32:04 I'm not talking about Hamas, but the people, the Palestinian people, have been innocent
32:08 victims for decades.
32:09 And it's time to do something serious about it.
32:12 And I hope that there will be mediation by the UN and by countries outside the West.
32:18 The West cannot be a mediator in a conflict in which it is so heavily involved itself.
32:23 You cannot be a mediator and a participator in a conflict.
32:27 Well, the long story short is that there's only one organization that can do that, mainly,
32:33 main organization.
32:34 That's the United Nations.
32:36 But the long story short is that the Western world has done it utmost, in contrast to China,
32:41 to undermine the United Nations and not follow the normative framework of the charter.
32:48 We know there's a lot of bureaucracy and inefficiency and privilege in the UN.
32:52 But the charter is humankind's most important single document.
32:57 It's the only time where the world's governments have signed something that Gandhi could have
33:03 written.
33:04 And that was done because we don't want war evermore.
33:08 Now, then people say, "But the UN is not very efficient and they couldn't do this and they
33:13 couldn't do that."
33:15 That's the wrong way of thinking.
33:16 The United Nations can never be better or stronger than its member states want to make
33:25 it.
33:26 That was uttered in 1948 by its first secretary general, the Norwegian Trygve Lie, and it's
33:32 still fundamentally the most important thing said about the UN.
33:35 If we don't, as member states, support it with money, clear mandates, all the things
33:42 it needs, our best people, civilian and military, the UN will be a pawn in the game.
33:49 If we don't deliberately avoid to elect forceful, visionary secretaries general, and the last
33:56 one was Kofi Annan, if we find it not important to accept something beyond our own nation
34:03 states, we are doomed.
34:05 And I'm glad to sit here in Shanghai and say China is always very strongly emphasizing
34:12 the importance of the UN and its charter.
34:14 Now, when it comes to the concrete thing in the Middle East, there's a huge mistake made
34:19 in thinking that this is an Israeli-Palestinian thing and can be solved with that and a two-state
34:24 solution.
34:25 Everybody now is back to a two-state solution, which we heard about for more than 20 years.
34:30 Now I wonder whether we should not expand it to the Middle East as a whole region and
34:33 say how can we put together the Middle East in a way that everybody would benefit, that
34:39 it would be a win-win for all Middle Eastern countries, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, what
34:44 have you, all these other devastated countries, in which a Palestine and an Israel could find
34:53 a way to live together with a Middle Eastern OSCE, if you will, Organization for Security
35:01 and Cooperation in the Middle East, a kind of economic community.
35:08 The more, and that's the philosophy you have in China with the Belt and Road Initiative,
35:12 the more we tie countries to each other economically, the less likely they are to start killing
35:17 each other.
35:19 So this idea of focus on Israel and Palestine and then either say let one swallow the other
35:24 or make a two-state solution, I ask myself, you make two states next to each other with
35:30 a hatred that has built over decades, how do we know that a two-state solution will
35:35 not end very quickly in a war between those two countries?
35:39 Now if you make a kind of security and peace arrangement for the whole Middle East and
35:44 maybe tie it in with the European Union, if it could behave itself a little bit more intelligently,
35:50 and the United Nations, a huge permanent presence of the United Nations peacekeepers, negotiators,
35:57 civil affairs and civil police people.
35:59 We need desperately UN missions, well-financed, clear mandates, best people.
36:06 And if we give that to the UN, the UN can help the world solve its problem.
36:12 But it cannot do that with 6% of the world's military expenditures.
36:18 This world is totally crazy with its priorities, its imbalance between militarism, weapons,
36:24 weapons, weapons, and almost no money for the United Nations.
36:29 Don't ever complain about the United Nations, but look at what your own country does, economically,
36:36 politically, in terms of legitimacy, to make the United Nations a strong organization.
36:42 All the member states, there might be more degrees, different degrees, all the member
36:47 states are still living in the outdated world of nation-states.
36:52 My government is the most important, I have national interest.
36:56 Well, intelligent government leaders today know that they have global common interest,
37:02 not national interest.
37:04 We all have to give something of our own priorities before we can solve humanity's very important
37:13 problems together.
37:14 And there's no future if we cannot work together.
37:18 This was another episode of China Now, a show that opens a window to the present and future
37:23 of the Asian giant.
37:24 Hope you enjoyed it.
37:25 See you next time.
37:26 [MUSIC PLAYING]
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