Data Protection Act + VDMA + Hungary + Five-Year Plan + Taiwan + Olympics + Sabrina Habich-Sobiegalla
New data protection law based on EU model
VDMA criticizes entry barriers to China
Hungary – EU platform for China’s soft power
IfW: Five-Year Plan risky for German economy
US athletes against boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics
Taiwan: China puts Paraguay under pressure with vaccine diplomacy
Profile: Sabrina Habich-Sobiegalla
Dear reader,
The German Press and Information Office in Berlin’s transcription of a telephone conversation between the Chancellor and China’s President Xi Jinping on Wednesday was worth a mere ten lines. It spoke of “international efforts in the production and distribution of vaccines” and of “issues of economic cooperation, efforts to protect the climate and preserve biodiversity”. The German Chancellor wants to hold a “dialogue” with Xi at the upcoming Sino-German intergovernmental consultations, work “in-depth” on bilateral issues and discuss the “entire range of relations”, including issues where “differences of opinion exist”.
Differences of opinion? Beijing is facing serious accusations of violating human rights in its treatment of the Uyghur minority. In Hong Kong, democrats are in jail while the Parliament is being politically equalized. And for just over a week, European parliamentarians and academics have been hampered in their work by Beijing’s sanctions.
Of course, there are trade-offs to be made when Europe, when the German government looks to China. Its own economic interests in a globalized world and not least climate policy issues are evident. But what assertiveness outwardly and credibility inwardly does a chancellor still have who, at the low point of European-Chinese relations, informs us about a telephone conversation with Xi on “biodiversity” – but does notmentionEurope with a single word?
Angela Merkel has no intention of revising her principles on dealing with Beijing’s autocracy in the last hundred meters of her chancellorship. Shortly before Christmas, the Chancellor of “Change through Trade” emphasized her desire in Brussels and Beijing to conclude the Sino-European Investment Agreement under the German Council Presidency. And according to the Chinese state media, Xi Jinping made it abundantly clear to her on the phone yesterday that he does not consider Europe’s sanctions against his loyal followers to be an appropriate form of thanks just a few weeks later.
What remains of this day is a point gained for Xi and a German slap in the face for Brussels. In the Chancellor’s Office, the suitcases are packed.
The National People’s Congress already introduced the draft for the new Data Security Law (DSL) in July 2020. In contrast to the Cyber Security Law (CSL), which has been in force since 2017, the Data Security Law is intended to provide the framework for the regulation of all activities involving data in China, not only digital data but also analog paper-based offline data.
The principles adopted by the European GDPR include consent, the exercise of data subject rights, but also technical and organizational requirements for data security. The main focus here is on the relationship between customers and companies. In contrast to the EU, Beijing reserves far-reaching data processing powers for the purposes of state security, the maintenance of public order, or the “common good”.
Foreign companies also fall under this regime if they work with data in China, even if they are not based in China.
“Data protection in China is not so much about protecting privacy in general, but first of all about making consumption safer,” says Matthias Schroeder from the Beijing law firm Ding, Schroeder & Partner, which specializes in mergers & acquisitions and investment law. Schroeder is also chairman of the supervisory board of a Chinese company listed on the regulated market in Frankfurt.
Data protection is driven by consumer interests who are afraid of being ripped off when shopping or doing business in general.
The range of these transactions is broad. It can start with the annual card at the greengrocer, which is gradually used up with the purchases, through online consumer behaviour to the question of who stays with whom in which hotel.
More data protection for customers
In all these cases, meanwhile, Chinese customers also want their data protected, and the people who misuse or share that data can be punished by law.
One of the most common forms of data misuse is passing on your phone number with other personal data. You then receive so-called “cold calls” in which you are offered products that the callers think you might need. For example, they know your child by name, know in which subjects they are weak, and offer online tutoring.
“It is not yet the case that citizens are calling for a law against the state. People are more annoyed by all the people to whom they have to disclose their data in their business lives,” explains Schroeder. In China, too, people feel that a lot of money is being made with their own data. That is the main concern of the people at the moment. International admonitions for more data protection do not play a role. “The government in Beijing is going its own way, at its own pace. It has to synchronize with the people in the country, of course, but it hardly lets foreign countries dictate the direction or speed.”
Draft to be discussed in public
The fact that China nevertheless closely follows the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, which has the status of law in its member states, is not a contradiction in terms, he believes. “There is no point in reinventing the wheel if you can save time and simply adopt something convincing,” says Schroeder. Currently, the bill is on public display. The practice was introduced about 15 years ago, first in the property law and employment contract law. “At that time, it was recognized that the very discussion was an outlet to relieve pressure,” Schroeder says. Some 190,000 comments and suggestions were received at the time. Despite that volume, as some in the party feared, social stability was not threatened. On the contrary: “The government found that there were also useful proposals among them and that open criticism of drafts does not hurt as much as criticism of enacted laws,” says Schroeder. With the data protection law, the situation is now similar.
“The structure of the EU regulation and the draft from Beijing is practically the same,” explains Schroeder. The central principle is that one’s personal data belongs to oneself. In addition, the regulation balances two goals: “To protect the data of the individual and at the same time to enable the orderly movement of data in the economy. “
Both laws focus on the consent of the data owner for further use of the data. There are differences in the exceptions: For example, the Chinese draft explicitly includes public health emergency as an exception to the processing of personal data, which would allow a COVID-19 app to easily collect wide-ranging data. In addition, data that the government needs to ensure public safety can be collected without consent.
Special rights for the government
It is also striking that the draft contains “a far-reaching enabling clause for the legislator, which allows the state to readjust and then get what it needs”. The law thus not only cements the data protection of the people but also a far-reaching leeway of the state to use their data. Still, the clause is not currently causing a storm of outrage among the public. “The fact that the state in China is allowed to collect the data that is important to it for its work is not so important to people at the moment,” says Schroeder. For the time being, they have a different perspective: “They want the state to protect them as consumers from the big corporations. And when it comes to that, people in this country put more trust in the state than we do in the West,” he says, adding that the sense of needing to protect themselves from the state is not yet as strong here, “but that will surely come when China reaches a different stage of development.” If a large majority of the population felt the need for more protection from the impositions of the state, then “even censorship cannot prevent that,” Schroeder explains. In the meantime, the state is trying to use the law as long as possible “not to wake any sleeping dogs,” Schroeder analyzes.
Still, the law is a big step forward for consumers’ rights against companies, the attorney says. “And for the rights of the citizen vis-à-vis the state, it’s not a step backwards, rather the opposite.” The state enacts a law that focuses on personal data, and it explicitly subjects itself to that law in Article 33. All exceptions notwithstanding. Yet, at least, it is an important step towards making the administration lawful. “If the state says we are making a law that also binds the state organs, then that is a strong signal.” The state cannot always collect the data, but one of the exceptions mentioned must apply. At this point, a new lever has emerged.
Data Security Law still in 2021
However, one should not forget that China is still struggling with the implementation of such laws. “We should certainly have no illusions here. The state will not become a democratic constitutional state as we know it through this law. It is written in such a way that the state can continue to rule as it wishes.” And it wants to collect, store, and analyze as much data as it can to find out what the mood of the country is, but also to manage the behavior of its citizens. However, the law itself “does not give the state more opportunities to do this than before, but tends to give him fewer.” This creates a pressure to justify itself that did not exist before. This pressure alone can lead to a more sensitive approach to data and personal rights and raise awareness among the population. “In any case, the possibilities for people to keep an eye on the state will become greater as a result, even if not as great as we would wish with a view from the West.”
The Data Security Law is expected to come into force later this year.
Technology
Mechanical engineers complain about quarantine hotels without windows
The Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) is calling for easing the entry of skilled personnel to help customers in China set up new machinery. The current rules are a serious obstacle to business and give an advantage to domestic suppliers, the association complains. The necessary “ministerial permission” to enter the country is hard to come by, says Ulrich Ackermann, head of foreign trade at VDMA. He is referring to the letter of invitation from the provincial government or other responsible authorities, which has been a prerequisite for the issuance of visas since the beginning of the pandemic. Vaccination with Western vaccines is reportedly not recognized so far.
After entering China, all travelers from abroad, without exception, should expect a two-week quarantine in a hotel. They are not allowed to leave their room during this time. This considerably prolongs the business trips of the specialists – and wears on the nerves. Medium-sized companies, in particular, do not maintain a large organization in China. Instead, traveling engineers and technicians provide the market with services from Germany. This is particularly important when a new plant has to be set up and commissioned. Customers often have many questions for the experts on site.
‘Unacceptable’ rooms
The VDMA sees a further problem in the concrete conditions of the two-week quarantine. “The accommodation in the quarantine hotels is often unacceptable compared to European standards,” said Ackermann. At times, he said, the hotel rooms in which the German staff are virtually locked up have no windows. “Foreign travelers must be given accommodation in China that meets at least the basic requirements of hygiene standards,” Ackermann demanded. The duration of the quarantine is another point of criticism. In addition to the generally applicable 14 days, a further week may be added for onward travel to other regions.
There is growing concern that the extent of the entry restrictions could also be motivated by industrial policy. “Chinese competitors are using the closure of China to further penetrate our markets and are using the unavailability of German experts as a sales argument,” warns Christof Boensch, head of the medium-sized company Frimo, which manufactures machines for processing plastics.
Textile machinery specialist Erbatech is worried that customers won’t remittheirfinal payment until the new equipment is actually up and running – and that’s where a German expert on-site has to help. “The Erbatech company is threatened with considerable economic damage,” says company boss Ulrich von Christen. The machine manufacturer Reifenhäuser from Troisdorf confirms: “New customers need personal support on-site.”
Hotel quarantine becomes an annoying routine
However, the timing and apodictic tone of the VDMA’s press release are also confusing: “China must offer solutions for the entry of skilled personnel!” Really? Infection control is currently the hotly debated topic par excellence, with everyone from daycare children to CEOs affected by restrictions. The US, even under Joe Biden, places extremely strict restrictions on entry – even for business people from the EU. In the absence of an international standard to distinguish between immune and non-immune individuals, existing restrictions currently continue to apply around the world, including in the UK and Germany. China wants to limit traffic with foreign countries to the necessary minimum during the pandemic by requiring permission from the authorities.
The procedure for business travelers to enter the country has also become established, despite all the inconvenience. As a rule, it is possible to choose different hotels for the quarantine. However, the details have to be negotiated on site: Is it possible to have food delivered to the room? Which star classes are available? It is indeed not possible to organize this ahead of time from Germany – unless the company has appropriate contacts and the employees can prepare the quarantine stay.
When will China reopen?
In the meantime, there are increasing rumors that it will soon be possible to enter China without the hotel quarantine – some are talking about mid-May. However, in the first step, this will only work for foreigners if they have a corresponding residence status in China and have been vaccinated with a Chinese vaccine – so this applies more to expats than to traveling technicians.
At the same time, there are efforts for Europe and China to mutually recognize their respective vaccines. This would then also make it easier for foreigners to travel to China. For example, a stay of one week in a hotel of one’s choice is under discussion, as is heard in Beijing. But nothing has been decided yet.
It is currently not clear when China will open up to tourists again. Behind the scenes, there is even talk that this might not be the case again until after the 2022 Winter Olympics. What is clear, however, is this: The Chinese opening policy is closely linked to the question of how quickly Europe gets a grip on COVID and how political relations develop. Since the mutual sanctions they have reached a low point not seen for decades.
The VDMA now fears that the stricter entry regulations will remain in place beyond the end of the pandemic in Europe. Ackermann points out to China.Table that the vaccination campaign there is expected to last until 2022 – and may last longer. That could be justification for continuing to put engineering professionals through the lengthy entry procedures. Finn Mayer-Kuckuk, Frank Sieren
At the end of February, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán became one of the first EU heads of government to be vaccinated against COVID-19. However, the syringe did not contain Moderna or Biontech/Pfizer, but the vaccine from the Chinese manufacturer Sinopharm. At least that’s what Orbán said publicly on Facebook. Hungary is the only EU country so far to use Sinopharm for its vaccination campaign. At the beginning of the week, the National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition (OGYÉI) issued the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine with a certificate of Good Manufacturing Practice – giving the People’s Republic ammunition for propaganda.
Hungarian scholar and China expert Ágnes Szunomár sees the positive ties between Hungary and China as generally more political than economic: “What Hungary can offer China is a strong political bond,” says Szunomár, who heads the Development Economics Research Group at the Institute of World Economics of the Center for Economic and Regional Studies in Budapest.
Economy oriented towards the EU
After all, not much has happened economically between the two countries in recent years: “business as usual”, as the academic calls it. “What is changing is the economic-political context of this relationship,” says Szunomár. For Hungary, the economic benefits of the link are no longer as important. “It seems that this relationship is more and more based on political contacts and political friendships between Hungary and China.”
In contrast to some other Eastern European countries, Hungary has not yet experienced any fatigue in the face of low investment in line with Chinese promises, the researcher explains. Hungarian companies generally have few advantages from doing business with the People’s Republic; a large proportion are small and medium-sized companies. These would have rather small chances on the Chinese market. In addition, the majority of investments, around 60 percent, still come from the EU and not from China. A good quarter of the investments come from Germany, according to Szunomár. This means that the Hungarian economy is still clearly oriented towards the EU.
Flood of Chinese Investment failed to materialize
Hungary imported goods worth around $8.72 billion from China last year, according to statistics from the United Nations’ foreign trade database (Comtrade). In return, Hungary exportedgoods worth$2.04 billion to the People’s Republic. Electronic goods account for the largest share on both sides.
Hungary was one of the pioneers in the circle of Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) in rebuilding its relations with China in the early 2000s. Chinese investment in Hungary increased significantly after the country’s accession to the EU in 2004, and the country is the largest recipient of investment from the People’s Republic in the region – but finding exact figures is not necessarily easy. China’s cumulative investments in Hungary would have exceeded $5.5 billion by the end of 2020 and account for half of Chinese investments in the CEEC, the Chinese ambassador in Budapest, Dayu Qi, recently stated in an interview.
The largest investment deal between China and Hungary is still the acquisition of the chemical company BorsodChem by the Chinese Wanhua Group in 2011. In addition, Huawei, ZTE, Sevenstar, and Comlink, among others, are active as investors in Hungary – but the expected flood of new investments from the People’s Republic failed to materialize.
CCP Teachers at the first Chinese university in the EU
Meanwhile, another project is being pushed ahead at full steam: The first Chinese university in the EU with faculty from China’s Communist Party – agreement on a European campus for Shanghai’s elite Fudan University in Budapest had already been reached by the end of 2019. Concrete details of Beijing’s prestigious project in Hungary are now gradually trickling out. The construction of the campus in the Hungarian capital is estimated by the government at around Ft540 billion (€1.5 billion) and is to be realized largely with Chinese materials, Chinese labor, and also with Chinese loans, as the investigative platform Direkt 36 discovered based on a document from the Hungarian Innovation Ministry.
Fudan is not only an elite university but thus also becomes an important tool for Chinese political influence abroad. According to the report, the university actively cooperates with the Chinese secret service. In addition, at least a quarter of the faculty and students are said to be members of the Chinese Communist Party.
It is also already clear that the construction contract will go to the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC). Accordingly, the Chinese contractor does not have to fear that another company could win the tender in an open competition. According to the government documents, “the construction can only be carried out as a Chinese project“, as Direct 36 reports, adding that the founder and sponsor of the EU campus of Fudan University is a Chinese-Hungarian asset management company. Budapest is contributing Ft100 billion to the project, according to the revelation – the rest of the estimated Ft450 billion will be borrowed from the China Development Bank. Hungary is building with Chinese money.
The university project is modeled on an older showcase project for Chinese-Hungarian cooperation, the railway line between Budapest and the Serbian capital Belgrade. Hungary had taken out a loan from the Chinese Eximbank to finance a good 85 percent of the costs of the railway project, which cost between €2.1 billion and €3 billion. Serbia had also received a loan. Further financial details of the railway project have been kept secret for ten years, reports the think-tank China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe (Choice). Accordingly, the Hungarian opposition speaks of a “bottomless pit for Hungarian taxpayers’ money”.
Geopolitics
Hungary
Investments
New Silk Road
Universities
Viktor Orban
News
IfW: Five-Year Plan risky for the German economy
The Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) warns of an imminent decoupling of China from foreign countries and negative consequences for the German economy. The recently adopted 14th Five-Year Plan focuses on strengthening the domestic economy (as reported by China.Table), which could be to the detriment of trading partners and European companies in China, the IfW says in an analysis published today.
“China wants to reduce its dependence on foreign technology, foreign suppliers, and foreign demand,” according to IfW expert Wan-Hsin Liu. To this end, the Five-Year Plan provides for massive support for Chinese companies in the areas of innovation, technology, and science, as well as the strengthening of the domestic economy (“dual circulation”) as the main pillar of economic growth (China.Table reported). In the short term, German companies could benefit from strengthening domestic demand. However, in the medium term, sales opportunities threaten to deteriorate, as Chinese competitors could drive foreign companies out of the marketthrough “increased technological performance”andgreater “diversity and quality of their products”.
The IfW researchers predict that China will push ahead with the takeover of foreign companies with the corresponding know-how to catch up in terms of technologies and innovations. “More often than in the past, however, research and development activitiesand production are likely to berelocatedfrom European locationsto China,” says Liu.
According to the IfW researchers, however, isolation on the part of the EU or increased protection against company takeovers is not the right answer. Instead, they recommend ratifying the investment agreement with China, as this would allow the EU tomonitor and enforce Chinese commitments to open markets. In addition, the EU must strengthen the innovative capacity of European companies by investing in education, basic research, and modern infrastructure, according to the IfW Kiel researchers. nib
Chinese Communist Party
IfW
US athletes against boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics
The US National Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) hasspoken out against a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Athletes should not be used as “political pawns”, USOPC president Susanne Lyons said yesterday on the sidelines of a press event for the US team, according to a report by the AFP news agency. “We at the USOPC oppose athlete boycotts because they have been shown to negatively impact athletes without effectively addressing global issues,” Lyons told journalists. For athletes, representing the United States is their “only dream”, Lyons said.
There had previously been confusion over a statement by US State Department spokesman Ned Price. According to media reports, Price had said on Tuesday that he and other nationswere consideringstaying away fromthe Winter Olympics because of the human rights violations in China.
Later, Price clarified in an email that the US was pursuing a coordinated approach but that it was not about a specific boycott. He also subsequently wrote in a tweet that there was nothing new on the issue. “2022 is a long way off, but we will continue to work closely with allies and partners to define our shared concerns and set our common approach to China,” Price wrote. ari
Olympia
Sports
USA
Taiwan: China pressures Paraguay with vaccine diplomacy
Taiwan has accused the Chinese government of pressuring Paraguay and other allied countries as part of “vaccine diplomacy”, according to media reports. Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said, according to a report by the AFP news agency that Beijing has promised Paraguay millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses in return for the South American country giving up diplomatic recognition of Taiwan. “China’s vaccine diplomacy is flexing its muscles in many parts of the world, especially in Central and South America,” Wu reportedly said.
“If you look at the countries that are receiving the Chinese vaccines, whether it’s Brazil, Chile, or El Salvador, I think it has a big impact on our diplomatic allies,” Wu said. Paraguay is one of only 15 countries that officially recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state. In addition to the South American country, Central American nations Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, as well as several Caribbean island nations such as St. Lucia and St. Kitts and Nevis, among others, also have official diplomatic ties with Taipei.
Wu said Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez has been pressured, so Taiwan has now asked other countries to help procure vaccines for Paraguay, the South China Morning Post reported. India has already sent 100,000 doses of vaccine to Paraguay. Another 100,000 doses have been pledged. Talks are also underway with the US, Australia, and Japan to supply doses of vaccine to stem China’s advance. ari
Corona Vaccines
Geopolitics
Pharma
Profile
Sabrina Habich-Sobiegalla
Professor of modern Chinese state and society at the FU Berlin
How great is the acceptance of the COVID warning app in China compared to Germany and the USA? That is one of the questions Sabrina Habich-Sobiegalla is currently investigating. The 37-year-old is a professor of modern Chinese state and society at the Institute for Chinese Studies at the FU Berlin. Among other things, her research revolves around digitalization and the use of AI in China, on Renewable Energies, and the social impact of local resource policies.
Habich-Sobiegalla, born in Bad Gandersheim in Lower Saxony, has most recently been researching developments in mainland China – but she has close personal ties above all to Hong Kong and Taiwan. It all started with a postcard from her pen pal in Hong Kong: The city skyline and the characters on the card fascinated the teenager. So much so that at the age of 14 she took a Chinese course at the adult education center and two years later seized the first opportunity to go to Hong Kong.
Sabrina Habich-Sobiegalla concerned
As an exchange student, she attendeda Catholic girls’ school in Hong Kong: “It was very strict and disciplined there. She felt more comfortable with her host family, even though there were six of them living in 40 square meters. To this day, Habich-Sobiegalla keeps in touch with the family and the town. She views current developments on the ground with concern. “I always experienced Hong Kong as a free China, a free society. That no longer exists.” But she also knows Hong Kong citizens who explicitly support the actions of the People’s Republic. “That’s why I’m careful about speaking on behalf of the whole population in Hong Kong.”
After studying Sinology, Business Administration, and Political Science in Würzburg, she went to Taiwan – also to improve her Chinese language skills after learning Cantonese in Hong Kong. She stayed for four years and completed her doctorate at Chengchi National University in Taipei. She regularly traveled to southwest China for her doctoral research. The topic of the thesis: involuntary resettlement in the course of dam projects.
“I would have stayed in Taiwan if I hadn’t promised my parents I would come back after four years,” Habich-Sobiegalla says. After her return,she went first to the University of Tübingen, then to the University of Vienna. Since 2017, she has held the junior professorship at the FU Berlin. Taipeiisa second home for her to this day, and she has many friends and family connections there. The behavior of the People’s Republic in relation to Taiwan, the “saber-rattling“, as she says, saddens her. “The government has resorted to very harsh measures in Xinjiang, it has resorted to very harsh measures in Hong Kong. From the Chinese point of view, Taiwan is still missing, so that worries me.”
She is also feeling the increased pressure from the Chinese leadership: “It is becoming more and more difficult for Western scientists to travel to China and do research. Interviews are being canceled at short notice, and there is growing concern that Chinese scientists will be put in danger if they meet with them. “That makes it more difficult on both sides.” Sarah Schaefer
Digitization
Energy
Renewable energies
Technology
Dessert
Chinese television stations have obscured Western brand logos in their programs after some manufacturers spoke out critically about allegations of forced labor in Xinjiang.
US athletes against boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics
Taiwan: China puts Paraguay under pressure with vaccine diplomacy
Profile: Sabrina Habich-Sobiegalla
Dear reader,
The German Press and Information Office in Berlin’s transcription of a telephone conversation between the Chancellor and China’s President Xi Jinping on Wednesday was worth a mere ten lines. It spoke of “international efforts in the production and distribution of vaccines” and of “issues of economic cooperation, efforts to protect the climate and preserve biodiversity”. The German Chancellor wants to hold a “dialogue” with Xi at the upcoming Sino-German intergovernmental consultations, work “in-depth” on bilateral issues and discuss the “entire range of relations”, including issues where “differences of opinion exist”.
Differences of opinion? Beijing is facing serious accusations of violating human rights in its treatment of the Uyghur minority. In Hong Kong, democrats are in jail while the Parliament is being politically equalized. And for just over a week, European parliamentarians and academics have been hampered in their work by Beijing’s sanctions.
Of course, there are trade-offs to be made when Europe, when the German government looks to China. Its own economic interests in a globalized world and not least climate policy issues are evident. But what assertiveness outwardly and credibility inwardly does a chancellor still have who, at the low point of European-Chinese relations, informs us about a telephone conversation with Xi on “biodiversity” – but does notmentionEurope with a single word?
Angela Merkel has no intention of revising her principles on dealing with Beijing’s autocracy in the last hundred meters of her chancellorship. Shortly before Christmas, the Chancellor of “Change through Trade” emphasized her desire in Brussels and Beijing to conclude the Sino-European Investment Agreement under the German Council Presidency. And according to the Chinese state media, Xi Jinping made it abundantly clear to her on the phone yesterday that he does not consider Europe’s sanctions against his loyal followers to be an appropriate form of thanks just a few weeks later.
What remains of this day is a point gained for Xi and a German slap in the face for Brussels. In the Chancellor’s Office, the suitcases are packed.
The National People’s Congress already introduced the draft for the new Data Security Law (DSL) in July 2020. In contrast to the Cyber Security Law (CSL), which has been in force since 2017, the Data Security Law is intended to provide the framework for the regulation of all activities involving data in China, not only digital data but also analog paper-based offline data.
The principles adopted by the European GDPR include consent, the exercise of data subject rights, but also technical and organizational requirements for data security. The main focus here is on the relationship between customers and companies. In contrast to the EU, Beijing reserves far-reaching data processing powers for the purposes of state security, the maintenance of public order, or the “common good”.
Foreign companies also fall under this regime if they work with data in China, even if they are not based in China.
“Data protection in China is not so much about protecting privacy in general, but first of all about making consumption safer,” says Matthias Schroeder from the Beijing law firm Ding, Schroeder & Partner, which specializes in mergers & acquisitions and investment law. Schroeder is also chairman of the supervisory board of a Chinese company listed on the regulated market in Frankfurt.
Data protection is driven by consumer interests who are afraid of being ripped off when shopping or doing business in general.
The range of these transactions is broad. It can start with the annual card at the greengrocer, which is gradually used up with the purchases, through online consumer behaviour to the question of who stays with whom in which hotel.
More data protection for customers
In all these cases, meanwhile, Chinese customers also want their data protected, and the people who misuse or share that data can be punished by law.
One of the most common forms of data misuse is passing on your phone number with other personal data. You then receive so-called “cold calls” in which you are offered products that the callers think you might need. For example, they know your child by name, know in which subjects they are weak, and offer online tutoring.
“It is not yet the case that citizens are calling for a law against the state. People are more annoyed by all the people to whom they have to disclose their data in their business lives,” explains Schroeder. In China, too, people feel that a lot of money is being made with their own data. That is the main concern of the people at the moment. International admonitions for more data protection do not play a role. “The government in Beijing is going its own way, at its own pace. It has to synchronize with the people in the country, of course, but it hardly lets foreign countries dictate the direction or speed.”
Draft to be discussed in public
The fact that China nevertheless closely follows the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, which has the status of law in its member states, is not a contradiction in terms, he believes. “There is no point in reinventing the wheel if you can save time and simply adopt something convincing,” says Schroeder. Currently, the bill is on public display. The practice was introduced about 15 years ago, first in the property law and employment contract law. “At that time, it was recognized that the very discussion was an outlet to relieve pressure,” Schroeder says. Some 190,000 comments and suggestions were received at the time. Despite that volume, as some in the party feared, social stability was not threatened. On the contrary: “The government found that there were also useful proposals among them and that open criticism of drafts does not hurt as much as criticism of enacted laws,” says Schroeder. With the data protection law, the situation is now similar.
“The structure of the EU regulation and the draft from Beijing is practically the same,” explains Schroeder. The central principle is that one’s personal data belongs to oneself. In addition, the regulation balances two goals: “To protect the data of the individual and at the same time to enable the orderly movement of data in the economy. “
Both laws focus on the consent of the data owner for further use of the data. There are differences in the exceptions: For example, the Chinese draft explicitly includes public health emergency as an exception to the processing of personal data, which would allow a COVID-19 app to easily collect wide-ranging data. In addition, data that the government needs to ensure public safety can be collected without consent.
Special rights for the government
It is also striking that the draft contains “a far-reaching enabling clause for the legislator, which allows the state to readjust and then get what it needs”. The law thus not only cements the data protection of the people but also a far-reaching leeway of the state to use their data. Still, the clause is not currently causing a storm of outrage among the public. “The fact that the state in China is allowed to collect the data that is important to it for its work is not so important to people at the moment,” says Schroeder. For the time being, they have a different perspective: “They want the state to protect them as consumers from the big corporations. And when it comes to that, people in this country put more trust in the state than we do in the West,” he says, adding that the sense of needing to protect themselves from the state is not yet as strong here, “but that will surely come when China reaches a different stage of development.” If a large majority of the population felt the need for more protection from the impositions of the state, then “even censorship cannot prevent that,” Schroeder explains. In the meantime, the state is trying to use the law as long as possible “not to wake any sleeping dogs,” Schroeder analyzes.
Still, the law is a big step forward for consumers’ rights against companies, the attorney says. “And for the rights of the citizen vis-à-vis the state, it’s not a step backwards, rather the opposite.” The state enacts a law that focuses on personal data, and it explicitly subjects itself to that law in Article 33. All exceptions notwithstanding. Yet, at least, it is an important step towards making the administration lawful. “If the state says we are making a law that also binds the state organs, then that is a strong signal.” The state cannot always collect the data, but one of the exceptions mentioned must apply. At this point, a new lever has emerged.
Data Security Law still in 2021
However, one should not forget that China is still struggling with the implementation of such laws. “We should certainly have no illusions here. The state will not become a democratic constitutional state as we know it through this law. It is written in such a way that the state can continue to rule as it wishes.” And it wants to collect, store, and analyze as much data as it can to find out what the mood of the country is, but also to manage the behavior of its citizens. However, the law itself “does not give the state more opportunities to do this than before, but tends to give him fewer.” This creates a pressure to justify itself that did not exist before. This pressure alone can lead to a more sensitive approach to data and personal rights and raise awareness among the population. “In any case, the possibilities for people to keep an eye on the state will become greater as a result, even if not as great as we would wish with a view from the West.”
The Data Security Law is expected to come into force later this year.
Technology
Mechanical engineers complain about quarantine hotels without windows
The Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) is calling for easing the entry of skilled personnel to help customers in China set up new machinery. The current rules are a serious obstacle to business and give an advantage to domestic suppliers, the association complains. The necessary “ministerial permission” to enter the country is hard to come by, says Ulrich Ackermann, head of foreign trade at VDMA. He is referring to the letter of invitation from the provincial government or other responsible authorities, which has been a prerequisite for the issuance of visas since the beginning of the pandemic. Vaccination with Western vaccines is reportedly not recognized so far.
After entering China, all travelers from abroad, without exception, should expect a two-week quarantine in a hotel. They are not allowed to leave their room during this time. This considerably prolongs the business trips of the specialists – and wears on the nerves. Medium-sized companies, in particular, do not maintain a large organization in China. Instead, traveling engineers and technicians provide the market with services from Germany. This is particularly important when a new plant has to be set up and commissioned. Customers often have many questions for the experts on site.
‘Unacceptable’ rooms
The VDMA sees a further problem in the concrete conditions of the two-week quarantine. “The accommodation in the quarantine hotels is often unacceptable compared to European standards,” said Ackermann. At times, he said, the hotel rooms in which the German staff are virtually locked up have no windows. “Foreign travelers must be given accommodation in China that meets at least the basic requirements of hygiene standards,” Ackermann demanded. The duration of the quarantine is another point of criticism. In addition to the generally applicable 14 days, a further week may be added for onward travel to other regions.
There is growing concern that the extent of the entry restrictions could also be motivated by industrial policy. “Chinese competitors are using the closure of China to further penetrate our markets and are using the unavailability of German experts as a sales argument,” warns Christof Boensch, head of the medium-sized company Frimo, which manufactures machines for processing plastics.
Textile machinery specialist Erbatech is worried that customers won’t remittheirfinal payment until the new equipment is actually up and running – and that’s where a German expert on-site has to help. “The Erbatech company is threatened with considerable economic damage,” says company boss Ulrich von Christen. The machine manufacturer Reifenhäuser from Troisdorf confirms: “New customers need personal support on-site.”
Hotel quarantine becomes an annoying routine
However, the timing and apodictic tone of the VDMA’s press release are also confusing: “China must offer solutions for the entry of skilled personnel!” Really? Infection control is currently the hotly debated topic par excellence, with everyone from daycare children to CEOs affected by restrictions. The US, even under Joe Biden, places extremely strict restrictions on entry – even for business people from the EU. In the absence of an international standard to distinguish between immune and non-immune individuals, existing restrictions currently continue to apply around the world, including in the UK and Germany. China wants to limit traffic with foreign countries to the necessary minimum during the pandemic by requiring permission from the authorities.
The procedure for business travelers to enter the country has also become established, despite all the inconvenience. As a rule, it is possible to choose different hotels for the quarantine. However, the details have to be negotiated on site: Is it possible to have food delivered to the room? Which star classes are available? It is indeed not possible to organize this ahead of time from Germany – unless the company has appropriate contacts and the employees can prepare the quarantine stay.
When will China reopen?
In the meantime, there are increasing rumors that it will soon be possible to enter China without the hotel quarantine – some are talking about mid-May. However, in the first step, this will only work for foreigners if they have a corresponding residence status in China and have been vaccinated with a Chinese vaccine – so this applies more to expats than to traveling technicians.
At the same time, there are efforts for Europe and China to mutually recognize their respective vaccines. This would then also make it easier for foreigners to travel to China. For example, a stay of one week in a hotel of one’s choice is under discussion, as is heard in Beijing. But nothing has been decided yet.
It is currently not clear when China will open up to tourists again. Behind the scenes, there is even talk that this might not be the case again until after the 2022 Winter Olympics. What is clear, however, is this: The Chinese opening policy is closely linked to the question of how quickly Europe gets a grip on COVID and how political relations develop. Since the mutual sanctions they have reached a low point not seen for decades.
The VDMA now fears that the stricter entry regulations will remain in place beyond the end of the pandemic in Europe. Ackermann points out to China.Table that the vaccination campaign there is expected to last until 2022 – and may last longer. That could be justification for continuing to put engineering professionals through the lengthy entry procedures. Finn Mayer-Kuckuk, Frank Sieren
At the end of February, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán became one of the first EU heads of government to be vaccinated against COVID-19. However, the syringe did not contain Moderna or Biontech/Pfizer, but the vaccine from the Chinese manufacturer Sinopharm. At least that’s what Orbán said publicly on Facebook. Hungary is the only EU country so far to use Sinopharm for its vaccination campaign. At the beginning of the week, the National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition (OGYÉI) issued the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine with a certificate of Good Manufacturing Practice – giving the People’s Republic ammunition for propaganda.
Hungarian scholar and China expert Ágnes Szunomár sees the positive ties between Hungary and China as generally more political than economic: “What Hungary can offer China is a strong political bond,” says Szunomár, who heads the Development Economics Research Group at the Institute of World Economics of the Center for Economic and Regional Studies in Budapest.
Economy oriented towards the EU
After all, not much has happened economically between the two countries in recent years: “business as usual”, as the academic calls it. “What is changing is the economic-political context of this relationship,” says Szunomár. For Hungary, the economic benefits of the link are no longer as important. “It seems that this relationship is more and more based on political contacts and political friendships between Hungary and China.”
In contrast to some other Eastern European countries, Hungary has not yet experienced any fatigue in the face of low investment in line with Chinese promises, the researcher explains. Hungarian companies generally have few advantages from doing business with the People’s Republic; a large proportion are small and medium-sized companies. These would have rather small chances on the Chinese market. In addition, the majority of investments, around 60 percent, still come from the EU and not from China. A good quarter of the investments come from Germany, according to Szunomár. This means that the Hungarian economy is still clearly oriented towards the EU.
Flood of Chinese Investment failed to materialize
Hungary imported goods worth around $8.72 billion from China last year, according to statistics from the United Nations’ foreign trade database (Comtrade). In return, Hungary exportedgoods worth$2.04 billion to the People’s Republic. Electronic goods account for the largest share on both sides.
Hungary was one of the pioneers in the circle of Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) in rebuilding its relations with China in the early 2000s. Chinese investment in Hungary increased significantly after the country’s accession to the EU in 2004, and the country is the largest recipient of investment from the People’s Republic in the region – but finding exact figures is not necessarily easy. China’s cumulative investments in Hungary would have exceeded $5.5 billion by the end of 2020 and account for half of Chinese investments in the CEEC, the Chinese ambassador in Budapest, Dayu Qi, recently stated in an interview.
The largest investment deal between China and Hungary is still the acquisition of the chemical company BorsodChem by the Chinese Wanhua Group in 2011. In addition, Huawei, ZTE, Sevenstar, and Comlink, among others, are active as investors in Hungary – but the expected flood of new investments from the People’s Republic failed to materialize.
CCP Teachers at the first Chinese university in the EU
Meanwhile, another project is being pushed ahead at full steam: The first Chinese university in the EU with faculty from China’s Communist Party – agreement on a European campus for Shanghai’s elite Fudan University in Budapest had already been reached by the end of 2019. Concrete details of Beijing’s prestigious project in Hungary are now gradually trickling out. The construction of the campus in the Hungarian capital is estimated by the government at around Ft540 billion (€1.5 billion) and is to be realized largely with Chinese materials, Chinese labor, and also with Chinese loans, as the investigative platform Direkt 36 discovered based on a document from the Hungarian Innovation Ministry.
Fudan is not only an elite university but thus also becomes an important tool for Chinese political influence abroad. According to the report, the university actively cooperates with the Chinese secret service. In addition, at least a quarter of the faculty and students are said to be members of the Chinese Communist Party.
It is also already clear that the construction contract will go to the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC). Accordingly, the Chinese contractor does not have to fear that another company could win the tender in an open competition. According to the government documents, “the construction can only be carried out as a Chinese project“, as Direct 36 reports, adding that the founder and sponsor of the EU campus of Fudan University is a Chinese-Hungarian asset management company. Budapest is contributing Ft100 billion to the project, according to the revelation – the rest of the estimated Ft450 billion will be borrowed from the China Development Bank. Hungary is building with Chinese money.
The university project is modeled on an older showcase project for Chinese-Hungarian cooperation, the railway line between Budapest and the Serbian capital Belgrade. Hungary had taken out a loan from the Chinese Eximbank to finance a good 85 percent of the costs of the railway project, which cost between €2.1 billion and €3 billion. Serbia had also received a loan. Further financial details of the railway project have been kept secret for ten years, reports the think-tank China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe (Choice). Accordingly, the Hungarian opposition speaks of a “bottomless pit for Hungarian taxpayers’ money”.
Geopolitics
Hungary
Investments
New Silk Road
Universities
Viktor Orban
News
IfW: Five-Year Plan risky for the German economy
The Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) warns of an imminent decoupling of China from foreign countries and negative consequences for the German economy. The recently adopted 14th Five-Year Plan focuses on strengthening the domestic economy (as reported by China.Table), which could be to the detriment of trading partners and European companies in China, the IfW says in an analysis published today.
“China wants to reduce its dependence on foreign technology, foreign suppliers, and foreign demand,” according to IfW expert Wan-Hsin Liu. To this end, the Five-Year Plan provides for massive support for Chinese companies in the areas of innovation, technology, and science, as well as the strengthening of the domestic economy (“dual circulation”) as the main pillar of economic growth (China.Table reported). In the short term, German companies could benefit from strengthening domestic demand. However, in the medium term, sales opportunities threaten to deteriorate, as Chinese competitors could drive foreign companies out of the marketthrough “increased technological performance”andgreater “diversity and quality of their products”.
The IfW researchers predict that China will push ahead with the takeover of foreign companies with the corresponding know-how to catch up in terms of technologies and innovations. “More often than in the past, however, research and development activitiesand production are likely to berelocatedfrom European locationsto China,” says Liu.
According to the IfW researchers, however, isolation on the part of the EU or increased protection against company takeovers is not the right answer. Instead, they recommend ratifying the investment agreement with China, as this would allow the EU tomonitor and enforce Chinese commitments to open markets. In addition, the EU must strengthen the innovative capacity of European companies by investing in education, basic research, and modern infrastructure, according to the IfW Kiel researchers. nib
Chinese Communist Party
IfW
US athletes against boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics
The US National Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) hasspoken out against a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Athletes should not be used as “political pawns”, USOPC president Susanne Lyons said yesterday on the sidelines of a press event for the US team, according to a report by the AFP news agency. “We at the USOPC oppose athlete boycotts because they have been shown to negatively impact athletes without effectively addressing global issues,” Lyons told journalists. For athletes, representing the United States is their “only dream”, Lyons said.
There had previously been confusion over a statement by US State Department spokesman Ned Price. According to media reports, Price had said on Tuesday that he and other nationswere consideringstaying away fromthe Winter Olympics because of the human rights violations in China.
Later, Price clarified in an email that the US was pursuing a coordinated approach but that it was not about a specific boycott. He also subsequently wrote in a tweet that there was nothing new on the issue. “2022 is a long way off, but we will continue to work closely with allies and partners to define our shared concerns and set our common approach to China,” Price wrote. ari
Olympia
Sports
USA
Taiwan: China pressures Paraguay with vaccine diplomacy
Taiwan has accused the Chinese government of pressuring Paraguay and other allied countries as part of “vaccine diplomacy”, according to media reports. Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said, according to a report by the AFP news agency that Beijing has promised Paraguay millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses in return for the South American country giving up diplomatic recognition of Taiwan. “China’s vaccine diplomacy is flexing its muscles in many parts of the world, especially in Central and South America,” Wu reportedly said.
“If you look at the countries that are receiving the Chinese vaccines, whether it’s Brazil, Chile, or El Salvador, I think it has a big impact on our diplomatic allies,” Wu said. Paraguay is one of only 15 countries that officially recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state. In addition to the South American country, Central American nations Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, as well as several Caribbean island nations such as St. Lucia and St. Kitts and Nevis, among others, also have official diplomatic ties with Taipei.
Wu said Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez has been pressured, so Taiwan has now asked other countries to help procure vaccines for Paraguay, the South China Morning Post reported. India has already sent 100,000 doses of vaccine to Paraguay. Another 100,000 doses have been pledged. Talks are also underway with the US, Australia, and Japan to supply doses of vaccine to stem China’s advance. ari
Corona Vaccines
Geopolitics
Pharma
Profile
Sabrina Habich-Sobiegalla
Professor of modern Chinese state and society at the FU Berlin
How great is the acceptance of the COVID warning app in China compared to Germany and the USA? That is one of the questions Sabrina Habich-Sobiegalla is currently investigating. The 37-year-old is a professor of modern Chinese state and society at the Institute for Chinese Studies at the FU Berlin. Among other things, her research revolves around digitalization and the use of AI in China, on Renewable Energies, and the social impact of local resource policies.
Habich-Sobiegalla, born in Bad Gandersheim in Lower Saxony, has most recently been researching developments in mainland China – but she has close personal ties above all to Hong Kong and Taiwan. It all started with a postcard from her pen pal in Hong Kong: The city skyline and the characters on the card fascinated the teenager. So much so that at the age of 14 she took a Chinese course at the adult education center and two years later seized the first opportunity to go to Hong Kong.
Sabrina Habich-Sobiegalla concerned
As an exchange student, she attendeda Catholic girls’ school in Hong Kong: “It was very strict and disciplined there. She felt more comfortable with her host family, even though there were six of them living in 40 square meters. To this day, Habich-Sobiegalla keeps in touch with the family and the town. She views current developments on the ground with concern. “I always experienced Hong Kong as a free China, a free society. That no longer exists.” But she also knows Hong Kong citizens who explicitly support the actions of the People’s Republic. “That’s why I’m careful about speaking on behalf of the whole population in Hong Kong.”
After studying Sinology, Business Administration, and Political Science in Würzburg, she went to Taiwan – also to improve her Chinese language skills after learning Cantonese in Hong Kong. She stayed for four years and completed her doctorate at Chengchi National University in Taipei. She regularly traveled to southwest China for her doctoral research. The topic of the thesis: involuntary resettlement in the course of dam projects.
“I would have stayed in Taiwan if I hadn’t promised my parents I would come back after four years,” Habich-Sobiegalla says. After her return,she went first to the University of Tübingen, then to the University of Vienna. Since 2017, she has held the junior professorship at the FU Berlin. Taipeiisa second home for her to this day, and she has many friends and family connections there. The behavior of the People’s Republic in relation to Taiwan, the “saber-rattling“, as she says, saddens her. “The government has resorted to very harsh measures in Xinjiang, it has resorted to very harsh measures in Hong Kong. From the Chinese point of view, Taiwan is still missing, so that worries me.”
She is also feeling the increased pressure from the Chinese leadership: “It is becoming more and more difficult for Western scientists to travel to China and do research. Interviews are being canceled at short notice, and there is growing concern that Chinese scientists will be put in danger if they meet with them. “That makes it more difficult on both sides.” Sarah Schaefer
Digitization
Energy
Renewable energies
Technology
Dessert
Chinese television stations have obscured Western brand logos in their programs after some manufacturers spoke out critically about allegations of forced labor in Xinjiang.
