New Xi Thought Study Book - NPCSC Session Reviews Key Laws - Zhong Sheng: US-Japan-ROK Summit Creating 'Mini-NATO' - China-US Trade Talks - China-Pak Air Drills - China-Japan Tensions
Here are the key reports and articles that I found noteworthy from the People’s Daily’s edition on Tuesday, August 29, 2023.
Page 1: At the top of the page is a report praising the PLA and PAP for the work done in dealing with the floods that have hit northern China. It says that the PLA and PAP have “resolutely implemented the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions and the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, rushed to the front line of flood prevention and disaster relief, standing together with the masses, jointly building a strong line of defence to prevent floods and safeguard their homes.”
The report is a mix of coverage of the deployment of new gadgets, expressions of bravery and emotional praises. Yeah, sounds very Bollywood, doesn’t it? For instance, we are told that:
“The Tianjin Garrison urgently mobilized more than 100 sorties of fixed-wing UAVs, multi-rotor UAVs and underwater robots; it adopted a combination of aerial and underwater inspections, scientifically setting routes, sending back images in real time, and using scientific and technological capabilities to patrol dikes for flood control, providing efficient and accurate information on disasters and dangers for the military and local command to make decisions.”
Or for instance, “when the K396 train had to be halted due to heavy rain, more than 40 troops from the Beijing Armed Police Corps formed a vanguard rescue force, each carrying nearly 100 kilograms of relief supplies and trekking for more than four hours to deliver the supplies to the masses. ‘We were so relieved when we saw you coming! a passenger said excitedly. With the joint efforts of all parties, all the passengers on the train were successfully rescued. The phrase ‘the People's Liberation Army is coming’ has echoed continuously, strengthening the resolute belief of those hit by the floods to overcome the disaster.” 当在途的K396次列车因暴雨被紧急扣停时，武警北京总队40余名官兵组成先头救援力量，每人背负近百斤救援物资，徒步跋涉4个多小时，将物资送给群众。“看到你们来了，我们就放心了！”一名乘客激动地说。在各方共同努力下，车上人员全部脱困。一句句“解放军来了”不断回响，灾区群众战胜洪水的必胜信念更加坚定.
Anyway, you get the drift. So, moving on, there's a report on a new textbook on studying Xi Jinping’s thought. Xinhua says that this book is “the first unified teaching material that elaborates on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in a comprehensive and systematic manner. It represents a significant achievement in the development of teaching materials for philosophy and social sciences with Chinese features.” The book comprises 17 chapters and a conclusion.
Third, there’s a report on China’s internet penetration rate. It says that as of June this year, the number of netizens in China reached 1.079 billion, an increase of 11.09 million compared with December 2022, and the Internet penetration rate reaching 76.4%. Some data from the article are:
The total number of domain names in China was 30.24 million
The number of active users of IPv6 reached 767 million
The number of broadband internet access ports has reached 1.11 billion
The total length of optical cable lines reached 61.96 million km
The cumulative traffic of mobile Internet reached 142.3 billion GB, up 14.6% year-on-year
The NPCSC began its fifth session in Beijing on Monday. Xinhua reports:
“Lawmakers reviewed a draft revision to the Law on Administrative Reconsideration, a draft foreign state immunities law, and a draft amendment to the Civil Procedure Law, all submitted by the NPC Constitution and Law Committee to the session. In its reports to the session, the NPC Constitution and Law Committee said the three drafts are already relatively mature, and suggested the session adopt them.”
“Lawmakers also deliberated a draft revision to the Company Law, a draft value-added tax law, a draft preschool education law, a draft academic degrees law, and a draft revision to the Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security.”
“The session reviewed a draft decision on extending a trial program allowing lawyers from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions to obtain licences and practice in nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area. Lawmakers also deliberated an extradition treaty with Ecuador. They heard a report on the implementation of the plan for national economic and social development since this year, a report on the execution of budget since this year, a report on the financial transfer payment, a report on the work for ensuring national food security, and a report on the work against domestic violence. Lawmakers also deliberated a report on deputy qualifications and personnel-related bills.”
On Company Law, Xinhua reports that the draft “focuses on strengthening the equal protection of property rights and regulating the responsibilities of controlling shareholders and actual controllers of companies. On protecting equal property rights, the draft revision stipulates that smaller shareholders have the right to require the company to purchase the shares of the controlling shareholders at a reasonable price, on condition that the controlling shareholders abuse their rights or severely harm the interests of the company or other shareholders. The revision also adds punishment for fraudulence concerning registered capital and information of companies.”
NPC Observer’s website has an explanation regarding the foreign state immunities law:
“the draft Foreign State Immunity Law [外国国家豁免法] and draft amendment to the Civil Procedure Law [民事诉讼法] both return for their second review. Professor William S. Dodge of UC Davis School of Law has penned a great two–part analysis of the draft foreign state immunity statute for Transnational Litigation Blog, in which he observes that the bill “has important implications for other states, which would now be subject to suit in China on a range of claims from which they were previously immune.” We have more to say about the proposed civil procedure changes later in this post. Both bills are likely to pass next month, though it is possible a third and final round of deliberations awaits them.”
Finally, there’s a long feature article basically talking up the economy. I am not doing a dive into this. It is basically a narrative exercise, which argues that one must have a “comprehensive, dialectical and long-term perspective” when analysing the economy, and also “deeply understand this strategic assessment through international comparison” and “strengthen confidence to do a good job in economic work in the second half of the year.” 我们要用全面、辩证、长远的眼光，既纵向看，又横向看，在国际比较中，深刻理解这一战略判断，坚定信心做好下半年经济工作.
If you are interested in my take on what’s been happening with the Chinese economy, please do check out my article in Money Control yesterday.
Page 2: There’s a report on industrial profits. Xinhua reports:
“Industrial firms with annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.78 million U.S. dollars) saw their combined profits in July down 6.7 percent from a year ago, narrowing from the 8.3-percent drop in June, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed. In the first seven months, the profits of major industrial firms reached 3.94 trillion yuan, down 15.5 percent year on year, narrowing by 1.3 percentage points from the first half of the year.”
In terms of specific sectors:
“The power, heating, gas, and water production and supply sectors saw combined profits rise 38 percent year on year to hit 391.82 billion yuan in the first seven months.
Of the 41 industrial categories monitored by the bureau, 13 posted better performance in terms of profits during the January-July period, the NBS said.
Output of products such as photovoltaic devices, lithium-ion batteries and household air conditioners surged, helping profits of the equipment manufacturing sector increase by 1.7 percent year on year during the first seven months.
From January to July, the profit decline of state-holding enterprises narrowed 0.7 percentage points from the first six months, according to the NBS.”
The railways, shipping and aerospace transportation equipment industry profits increased by 30.4%
Profits of general equipment and instrumentation industries increased by 14.5% and 12.4%, respectively
In July, the profit of raw material manufacturing industry decreased by 7.7% year-on-year, which was 29.6 percentage points narrower than that in June
Page 3: There’s a report on Zhao Leji meeting with Adel Al Asoomi, speaker of the Arab Parliament, on Monday in Beijing. Xinhua reports:
Zhao said “that under the strategic guidance of the leaders of China and Arab countries, China-Arab relations have achieved leapfrog development. China stands ready to work with the Arab side to implement the outcomes of the first China-Arab States Summit, carry forward the spirit of China-Arab friendship featuring mutual assistance, equality, mutual benefit, inclusiveness, and mutual learning, and make every effort to build a China-Arab community with a shared future in the new era, Zhao said. He pointed out that the two sides should continue to strengthen political mutual trust and always firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns, saying that China is willing to deepen practical cooperation with Arab countries and promote the Belt and Road cooperation. It is hoped that the two sides will practice true multilateralism and jointly safeguard fairness and justice, Zhao said, adding that China stands ready to actively carry out cultural exchanges with Arab countries, implement the Global Civilization Initiative, expand exchanges in culture, education, and tourism, and consolidate popular support for friendly cooperation”
“Zhao said that the establishment of an exchange mechanism between the NPC of China and the Arab Parliament would inject new impetus into the development of bilateral relations, and it is hoped that the two sides can enhance exchanges at all levels, exchange experience in human rights protection and legislative supervision, and strengthen coordination and cooperation in international and regional organizations. Zhao said China respects and supports Arab countries in independently exploring their own path of modernization with their own characteristics and is willing to share development opportunities with Arab countries.”
“Adel Al Asoomi said Arab countries firmly abide by the one-China principle and support the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative. He said the Arab Parliament is willing to strengthen exchanges with the NPC of China and make positive legislative contributions to promoting the development of Arab-China relations and enhancing mutual learning among civilizations. After the talks, Zhao and Adel Al Asoomi jointly signed a memorandum of understanding on establishing an exchange mechanism between the NPC of China and the Arab Parliament.”
Also on the page are a lot of soft pieces on BRICS, reiterating Xi’s remarks and praising the expansion. Here is MoFA’s take on the expansion:
“Last week, during the 15th BRICS summit, leaders of BRICS countries unanimously agreed to invite Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Argentina, Iran and Ethiopia to become members of the BRICS family and welcome other willing and eligible developing countries to become BRICS partners. It is a historical moment for the development of BRICS. The expansion accords with the historical trend and the common aspiration of developing countries. It will certainly promote multi-polarity in the world and greater democracy in international relations, contribute to making the global political and economic governance system more just and equitable, and increase the representation and voice of emerging markets and developing countries in international affairs. BRICS advocates openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation for common development and prosperity, not bloc confrontation. It is fundamentally different from small circles or exclusive blocs. The dynamic development of the BRICS mechanism is an expansion of the platform for South-South cooperation, a boost to the force for peace and justice and another important milestone in the solidarity and cooperation among developing countries, which has been welcomed by most countries. Together with our BRICS partners, we will continue to deepen the BRICS strategic partnership, expand the BRICS Plus cooperation model, enrich the cooperation architecture featuring three main drivers, namely, political and security cooperation, economic cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges, and continue to open new chapters of solidarity and cooperation for development among emerging markets and developing countries, so as to contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.”
Some other foreign affairs-related reports, which are not in the paper today.
First, Xinhua’s report on the talks between China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
“The two sides engaged in rational, candid and constructive communication regarding the implementation of the consensus reached by the two heads of state at their meeting in Bali, Indonesia, focusing on China-U.S. economic and trade relations, as well as economic and trade issues of common concern, said the statement. Economic and trade relations are the cornerstone of China-U.S. relations, Wang said, adding that trade between the two countries is important for their respective economies and the global economy. China is willing to work together with the United States to create a favorable policy environment for cooperation between the business sectors of both countries and to promote bilateral trade and investment while upholding principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, Wang said.”
“Wang has raised serious concerns about issues including the U.S. Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods, its semiconductor policies, restrictions of two-way investment, discriminatory subsidies, and sanctions on Chinese enterprises. He noted that the generalization of the concept of national security is not conducive to normal economic and trade exchanges, and unilateral and protectionist measures run counter to market rules and the principle of fair competition, and will only harm the security and stability of the global industrial and supply chains. Noting that the United States has repeatedly stated that it does not seek decoupling with China, Wang said the U.S. side should match its words with actions.”
The next bit has the outcomes from the meeting:
Wang and Raimondo announced the establishment of new communication channels between China's Ministry of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Commerce
A working group has been set up, composed of deputy ministerial and bureau-level government officials from both China and the United States, along with representatives from the business sector, to seek solutions to specific business issues. The working group will hold deputy ministerial-level meetings twice a year.
Wang and Raimondo agreed to maintain regular communication, meeting at least once a year
The two sides have initiated an export control information exchange mechanism, which serves as a mechanism for explaining their respective export control systems and improving communication. Both sides will exchange information on export control in accordance with their respective laws
Experts from both countries will engage in technical consultations on the protection of trade secrets and confidential business information during the process of enhancing administrative licensing.
The Commerce Department’s statement says that the two sides agreed to:
Establish a new commercial issues working group, a consultation mechanism involving U.S. and PRC government officials and private sector representatives to seek solutions on trade and investment issues and to advance U.S. commercial interests in China. They agreed that the working group will meet twice annually at the Vice Minister level, with the U.S. hosting the first meeting in early 2024.
Launch the export control enforcement information exchange, which will serve as a platform to reduce misunderstanding of U.S. national security policies. The first in-person meeting will occur at the Assistant Secretary level at the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing on Tuesday, August 29.
Convene subject matter experts from both sides to hold technical discussions regarding strengthening the protection of trade secrets and confidential business information during administrative licensing proceedings.
Communicate regularly at the Secretary and Minister level about commercial and economic issues and to meet in-person at least once annually.
Secretary Raimondo discussed opportunities to promote economic exchange where it aligns with U.S. interests and values. She underscored the importance of leveling the playing field for U.S. workers and businesses and ensuring the fair and transparent treatment of U.S. companies in China. Finally, Secretary Raimondo reinforced the Administration’s commitment to taking actions necessary to protect U.S. national security and reiterated the Administration’s ‘small yard, high fence’ approach, underscoring that export controls are narrowly targeted at technologies that have clear national security or human rights impacts and are not about containing China’s economic growth.”
Second, there’s a report on the latest edition of the Shaheen (Eagle) series of air exercises between China and Pakistan. Xinhua says:
“The exercise will focus on training in typical combat scenarios such as joint air defense and joint countermeasures. The two sides will send fighters, early warning aircraft and several other types of aircraft, as well as ground forces such as ground-to-air missiles and radar and signal troops to participate in the exercise. Chinese naval aviation units will also be involved in the training.”
Third, and I thought this was interesting: “24 telecom and internet fraud suspects”, Xinhua says, were “brought back” from Myanmar. “The suspects, who were detained in Myanmar by the police, allegedly operated telecom fraud targeting people in the Chinese mainland,” the report adds. It further says: “since the beginning of this year, Chinese police have launched joint operations with police forces from the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, and captured more than 300 suspects.”
Page 17: There’s a Zhong Sheng commentary calling the Camp David summit between the US, Japan and South Korea as an attempt to create a “mini-NATO.-style trilateral alliance.”
“Although American leaders keep talking about ‘peace’, the recently concluded Camp David meeting between the leaders of the US, Japan and South Korea once again made the international community clearly see who is the real threat to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. The meeting smeared China on issues related to Taiwan and the South China Sea, grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, deliberately sowed discord in the relations between China and neighbouring countries, and seriously violated the basic norms of international relations. The true signal sent by this meeting to the international community is that the US wants to build a ‘mini-NATO-style’ trilateral alliance in Northeast Asia, pushing the Asia-Pacific into a ‘new Cold War’.” 尽管美国领导人口口声声讲“和平”，但日前结束的美日韩三国领导人戴维营会晤，再次让国际社会清楚看到谁是亚太和平稳定的真正威胁。此次会晤在涉台湾、涉南海等问题上对中方进行抹黑攻击，粗暴干涉中国内政，蓄意挑拨中国与周边国家关系，严重违背国际关系基本准则。这次会晤向国际社会传递的真实信号是美国想在东北亚构筑“小北约式”三边同盟，把亚太推向“新冷战”.
“The US claims that the meeting and the trilateral partnership cooperation are not aimed at China. However, the joint statement released by the three parties baselessly critiques the situation in the Taiwan Strait and distorts the facts regarding the South China Sea issue, revealing their clear intention to conceal their actions against China. The Taiwan issue is purely an internal affair of China, and the settlement of the Taiwan issue is China’s own business. China insists on striving for the prospect of peaceful reunification with the utmost sincerity, but it will never accept anyone or any force interfering in China's internal affairs under the guise of peace. The biggest threat to Taiwan's peace at present is the separatist activities of ‘Taiwan independence’ and the connivance and support of external forces. The US, Japan and South Korea talk about ‘the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait’ without mentioning opposition to ‘Taiwan independence’. In essence, they are conniving with and supporting the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces; this will only have a serious impact on peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea have sufficient historical and legal basis and are in line with relevant international laws and practices. As an extra-regional country, the United States has intervened in the South China Sea issue in recent years, encouraging and supporting individual countries’ violations of maritime rights, and driving a wedge between regional countries and China; the US is indeed a disruptor and destabilizer in the South China Sea.” 美方声称美日韩三国领导人会晤和三边伙伴合作不针对中国，但三方发布的联合声明妄议台海局势，在南海问题上颠倒黑白，针对中国的意图欲盖弥彰。台湾问题纯属中国内政，解决台湾问题是中国自己的事。中方坚持以最大诚意、尽最大努力争取两岸和平统一的前景，但绝不接受任何人、任何势力打着和平的幌子干涉中国内政。当前台海和平的最大威胁是“台独”分裂行径和外部势力对其纵容支持。美日韩高谈“台海和平与稳定的重要性”，绝口不提反对“台独”，实质是对“台独”势力的纵容支持，只会对台海和平稳定造成严重冲击。中国在南海的领土主权和海洋权益有充分历史和法理依据，符合有关国际法和国际实践。作为域外国家，美国近年来极力插手介入南海问题，怂恿、支持个别国家海上侵权，离间地区国家同中国的关系，是南海和平稳定的搅局者和破坏者.
“The US, Japan and South Korea are attempting to create a closed and exclusive ‘small circle’ in the Asia-Pacific region, which runs counter to the general trend of strengthening unity and cooperation among regional countries and promoting regional economic integration. American politicians claim that the meeting at Camp David between the leaders of the US, Japan and South Korea is ‘a major move on the chessboard’ and will change ‘the strategic pattern of the Indo-Pacific region’. Some American scholars have interpreted American intentions more directly, saying that ‘the trilateral joint statement of Camp David is a collective security statement close to NATO’. On the issues of the communication mechanism among the three countries, security and defense, supply chain, science and technology, etc., the US has continued the inherent thinking of its so-called ‘Indo-Pacific strategy’, wantonly peddled security anxiety, stepped up efforts to build a closed and exclusive ‘small circle’, and spared no expense in disrupting the overall situation of peace, stability, cooperation and development in the Asia-Pacific region. Although the US uses grandiose rhetoric such as ‘a more peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region’ and ‘a free and open international order based on the rule of law’ to cloak and adorn its intentions, the inherent Cold War mentality and zero-sum thinking has seeped through its bones and cannot be concealed. Its real attempt to incite separatist confrontation and serve its hegemonic self-interest is well understood.” 美日韩企图在亚太地区打造封闭排他的“小圈子”，与地区国家加强团结合作、推动地区经济一体化建设的大势背道而驰。美国政客声称美日韩三国领导人戴维营会晤是“棋盘上的一个重大举措”，将改变“印太地区的战略格局”。有美国学者将美方意图解读得更加直白，称“戴维营的三边联合声明就是一种接近北约的集体安全声明”。在三国沟通机制、安全防务、供应链、科技等议题上，美方延续了其所谓“印太战略”的固有思路，大肆贩卖安全焦虑，加紧构建封闭排他的“小圈子”，不惜干扰破坏亚太和平稳定、合作发展大局。尽管美方用“更加和平和繁荣的印太地区”“基于法治的自由开放的国际秩序”等冠冕堂皇的话语来包装粉饰其意图，但其骨子里渗透出的冷战和零和博弈思维是遮不住的，其煽动分裂对抗、服务维霸私利的真实企图也是路人皆知的.
“In recent years, in the process of advancing its so-called ‘Indo-Pacific strategy’, the US has been trying to integrate Japan and South Korea, leveraging the ‘proximity’ of these two countries to contain China and consolidate its hegemony. The US has gone to great lengths to build momentum for the meeting between the three leaders at Camp David, and has put in great efforts to woo Japan and South Korea. This not only exposes its sinister plot, but also shows that the United States knew that its strategic design is out of touch with reality and goes against the prevailing trends. On the one hand, there has been long-standing ill will between Japan and South Korea, particularly, with Japan's recent regression on historical issues, its return to a path of military expansion in security policies, and its irresponsible stance on disposing of nuclear-contaminated water, which has sparked widespread doubts within South Korean society. An article in South Korea's Hankyoreh pointed out that the Korean government’s decision to ignore history and the dangerous gamble of seeking a quasi-alliance between South Korea and Japan without convincing the public is unacceptable to Korean society. On the other hand, it is not in the interests of Japan and South Korea to build a ‘mini-NATO-style trilateral alliance in Northeast Asia. For a long time, Japan and South Korea's development has been inseparable from the broader framework and the prevailing trend of peaceful and cooperative development in the Asia-Pacific region. If the two countries are willing to take advantage of American hegemony, introduce camp confrontation and military blocs into the Asia-Pacific region and turn the region into an arena for geopolitical competition, they will only harm others and themselves in the end. South Korea's Kyunghyang Shinmun pointed out that the United States is likely to involve South Korea in unnecessary disputes, which is ‘worrying’. Japan's Asahi Shimbun also believes that if the trilateral cooperation between the United States, Japan and South Korea evolves into a hegemonic camp, it will worsen regional tensions.” 近年来，美方在推进其所谓“印太战略”的过程中，一直试图整合日韩，利用两国“近身”围堵中国，巩固自身霸权。美方对美日韩三国领导人戴维营会晤极尽造势，对日韩两国极尽拉拢，既暴露了美方的阴险图谋，也说明美方自知其战略设计不接地气、不合潮流。一方面，日韩之间长期存在芥蒂，特别是近年来日本在历史问题上开倒车，在安保政策上重走军事扩张之路，当前又在核污染水排海问题上采取不负责任态度，引发韩国社会广泛质疑。韩国《韩民族日报》刊文指出，韩国政府无视历史，在没有说服舆论的情况下推进韩日准同盟化的危险赌博，韩国社会难以接受。另一方面，在东北亚地区构筑“小北约式”三边同盟，并不符合日韩利益。长期以来，日韩的发展离不开亚太和平发展、合作发展的大格局、大潮流。两国如果甘于为美式霸权火中取栗，将阵营对抗和军事集团引入亚太，将地区转变为地缘争夺的角斗场，最终只会损人害己。韩国《京乡新闻》指出，美国很可能把韩国卷入不必要的纷争中，这“令人担忧”。日本《朝日新闻》也认为，如果美日韩三方合作演变成争夺霸权的阵营，会使紧张局势更加恶化.
“Through the meeting between the leaders of the US, Japan and South Korea at Camp David, it is not difficult for regional countries and the international community to see that it is the US that has not let go of its hegemonic obsession and is addicted to group politics and camp confrontation. In the face of the turbulent international situation, all parties should uphold the concept of a community of shared future for mankind, adhere to true multilateralism and work together to meet challenges. Any country's attempt to seek its own absolute security at the expense of other countries' security interests will ultimately only undermine regional stability and damage its own security.” 透过美日韩三国领导人戴维营会晤，地区国家和国际社会不难看出，当前真正在亚太制造矛盾、加剧紧张的正是迄未放下霸权执念、沉迷于搞集团政治和阵营对抗的美国。面对变乱交织的国际形势，各方应当秉持人类命运共同体理念，坚持真正的多边主义，协力应对挑战。任何国家企图以牺牲他国安全利益为代价谋求自身绝对安全，最终只会破坏地区稳定，反噬自身安全.
Also on the page are remarks by China’s ambassador to Japan, Wu Jianghao. The Japanese foreign ministry summoned him. Al Jazeera reports:
“Japan has summoned China’s ambassador after businesses were inundated by ‘harassment’ phone calls following the release of water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, with the country’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida saying stones were thrown at its diplomatic missions and schools in China. “There have been numerous harassment calls believed to originate from China and instances of stones being thrown into the Japanese embassy and Japanese schools. It must be said these are regrettable,” Fumio Kishida told reporters on Monday. “We summoned the Chinese ambassador to Japan today and strongly urged him to call on Chinese people to act in a calm and responsible manner,” he said. Last week, China banned all seafood imports from its neighbour after Japan began releasing cooling water from the stricken Fukushima plant in an operation that Tokyo and the UN’s nuclear watchdog have said is safe. Since then, randomly chosen Japanese businesses ranging from bakeries to aquariums have reportedly received thousands of sometimes abusive crank calls believed to be from Chinese numbers. Social media users in China have posted recordings and videos of these calls, some of which have attracted tens of thousands of likes and a large number of comments.”
Xinhua’s report on the comments by Wu to his Japanese hosts says:
“Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao elaborated on China's solemn position during his meeting with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano upon the latter's request on Monday. Lodging solemn representations of the nuisance suffered by the Chinese embassy and consulates in Japan, he noted that the Chinese embassy and consulates in Japan have recently received a large number of harassing phone calls from Japan, which has seriously disrupted their normal operations. China urges the Japanese side to handle the matter in accordance with law and earnestly protect the safety of the Chinese embassy and consulates, institutions, enterprises and citizens in Japan, as well as Chinese tourists visiting the country, said Wu. In response to Japan's concerns over the safety of its diplomatic missions and citizens in China, he said that China will continue to protect the safety of the Japanese embassy and consulates in China while safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of Japanese citizens in China in accordance with the law. The ambassador stressed that Japan, by starting the ocean discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated wastewater despite strong doubts and objections at home and abroad, is bringing great risks, hidden dangers, and unpredictable harm to the global marine environment as well as mankind's health and safety, which has aroused strong indignation from the international community including China. There are serious moral, scientific and legal problems in Japan's ocean discharge, the Chinese embassy said, urging the Japanese side to immediately stop its wrongdoing, communicate honestly with neighboring countries in a truly responsible manner, accept strict supervision by the international community, and earnestly adopt a scientific, safe and transparent way to dispose of nuclear-polluted water.”