China would become a crucial “reverse factor” to global stability after the US presidential election, posing political and economic challenges around the world, a National Security Bureau official said yesterday.
Amid major elections in many democracies this year — including in France, Italy and the UK, as well as today’s US presidential election and Japan’s extraordinary session of the National Diet to choose a prime minister on Monday next week — China has attempted to leverage the geopolitical and global economic situation to make a strategic breakthrough, said the official, who wished to remain anonymous.
Conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine are not only expected to aggravate global inflation and supply chain insecurity, but could influence voters, potentially opening up opportunities for China, which with its economic influence could become a crucial “reverse factor” to global stability in the coming year, they said.
Photo: Tingshu Wang, Reuters
China’s authoritarian coalition with Russia, Iran and North Korea is growing and threatening the Indo-Pacific region, while prolonging or exacerbating conflicts that could trap Western democracies in wars in continental Europe and the Middle East, and enable Russia to continue its aggressive expansion, they said.
China’s continued military coercion in the Indo-Pacific region has virtually opened another battlefield, with the aim of diverting the attention of the US and other democracies to reduce international pressure on Russia, they said.
Economically, China’s domestic demand has remained sluggish after the COVID-19 pandemic, but Beijing’s nonmarket economy approach is functioning as a placebo that exacerbates the problem, the official said.
Combined with a manufacturing surplus, the country’s stagnant domestic economy has caused a glut of Chinese goods, they said.
If China seeks to resolve its production surplus by flooding international markets with steel, electric vehicles and petrochemicals, domestic demand in many countries would be severely affected, they said.
For example, exports of China-made products could rise considerably through e-commerce sites during its Double 11 shopping event on Monday next week, aided by reduced or waived shipping fees that would result in unfair market competition, the official said.
China could dominate global markets with “overproduction,” as that has become an alternative weapon for Beijing to threaten global economic stability, they said.
Many countries have imposed higher tariffs against Chinese products to protect domestic industries, they said.
Additional reporting by CNA
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS