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Henry Gao

21 Nov, 10 tweets, 3 min read

Chinese Ambassador Qin Gang to the US gave a speech at the Dialogue with the Brookings Institution Board of Trustees earlier this week. Here are a few interesting passages:
china-embassy.org/eng/zmgxss/202…

1. "The US says that its China policy is for defending the “rules-based international order” and ensuring the implementation of “rules of the road”. But what are the rules? Who made these rules? Who are the traffic police? The US has not made itself clear on these questions."

https://twitter.com/henrysgao/status/1373529120261300226

These questions pretty much summed up China's problems with the so-called “rules-based international order”, which I've been tweeting on since March.

https://twitter.com/henrysgao/status/1373529120261300226

Qin also duly chanted the mantra:
"There is only one international order, which is the one underpinned by international law. And there is only one set of rules, namely, the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter."

So what exactly is the difference between "rule-based int'l order" which China is against, and "int'l order based on int'l law" that China champions?

The answer is now available in my new paper: Trail or Trap? How to Deal with China in the WTO and Beyond, ssrn.com/abstract=39683…

2. Another theme in Qin's speech is that China has been trying to "assimilate" & "affirm" the values and rules of the existing international system, again also explored in my other recent paper: China’s Changing Perspective on the WTO: From Aspiration, Assimilation to Alienation.

@SSRN

Available at @SSRN: ssrn.com/abstract=39585…

3. The speech ended with a quote from a dialogue with a Kungfu Master from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", which to preserve the original flavor can only be quoted in Chinese: "两个大侠和平共处、行侠仗义、并肩前行对这个世界不是很好吗？为何要斗得势不两立、你死我活、两败俱伤呢?"

Now here's a bonus question for all you Wuxia fans out there: Which 大侠 do you think China is from the Jin Yong novels?

Now here's the corresponding poll for the US:

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Henry Gao

@henrysgao

22 Nov

New crackdown on online streamers?
CCTV News reported today two cases of tax evasion by two Chinese online streamers, who were respectively fined 65 & 27 mil RMB.

The cases are interesting for 3 reasons:

1. They were caught by the tax authorities using "tax big data analysis" by the Hangzhou tax bureau. I guess that's one reason why big data is getting so important in China.

2. Their alleged wrongdoings were converting what they earned in the streaming business from personal income to the business income of the sole proprietorship. I'm not a tax expert, but if I remember correctly this is a widespread practice among China's celebrities and

Read 8 tweets

Henry Gao

@henrysgao

14 Nov

The CAC just issued its draft Cyber Data Security Administrative Rules for comments. Several interesting points:

@google

1. it confirms my warning 2 weeks ago that even foreign firms like @google, @Meta
& @Twitter are required to comply with the new law even if they are not operating in China, and further expands the list of covered activities under Art. 3 of PIPL by adding

https://twitter.com/henrysgao/status/1455071095887859717

another category: involving important domestic data processing. If all these giant digital firms have not designated a China-compliance officer (even though they have no operation in China), they should do it now.

Read 18 tweets

Henry Gao

@henrysgao

12 Nov

https://twitter.com/ZichenWanghere/status/1459059113124454405

Xi's favorite blogger challenges China's censorship regime, while also admitting that he paid to promote his essays.

https://twitter.com/ZichenWanghere/status/1459059113124454405

Zhou's points:
#1. How can you say my content is OK before taking my money, but then delete my content without even making a refund?

#2. Even if you ban certain content, how could you also ban other contents which were deemed OK before?

Read 4 tweets

Henry Gao

@henrysgao

28 Oct

State Council Info Office held a special press con today on China's 8th TPR:
scio.gov.cn/xwfbh/xwbfbh/w…

What are the hot issues from Member's 2562 questions?
Under WTO agreements:
China's implementation of WTO TFA;
consistency of its Cyberseucity law with GATS;
disclosure of info in IPR cases as per TRIPS requirements.

Questions beyond WTO rules:
China to further open up the market, relax restrictions on foreign investment access, reduce the negative list of foreign investment, and promote the innovation of the pilot free trade zone system to be replicated and promoted throughout the country.

Read 15 tweets

Henry Gao

@henrysgao

27 Oct

China's WTO Ambassador Li Chenggang spoke at a conference on China's 20 years in the WTO last week, where he made some interesting remarks on China's views on various WTO issues.

1. WTO reform in general:

China should consider the issue in a broader context rather than just the Sino-US trade war.

@AmbassadorTai

2. DSM, which was a key issue in his discussion with @AmbassadorTai, where he calls for new thinking "not only in the framework of Sino-US game, but from perspective of multilateral trading system, & perspective of a membership structure with increasingly divergent interests."

Read 4 tweets

Henry Gao

@henrysgao

22 Oct

https://twitter.com/BorderlexEditor/status/1451568888882343944

A lot of gems from the interview:
"Both the EU and the US suffer from overcapacity. Neither of us is at the origin of that. It is somewhat absurd that we should be the ones paying the price for this. So we have to find a solution."

https://twitter.com/BorderlexEditor/status/1451568888882343944

"Since relations with China broke down last March over the issue of human rights sanctions, we have noticed that in the economic field, a division of labour between EU member states and the EU institutions has set in.

The EU as such has been paralysed by the issue of the sanctions, whereas member states were then continuing their economic engagement with Beijing at national level.

Now there is a realisation that that is not a sustainable approach."

Read 8 tweets

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