Geopolitics

China's geopolitics are driven by the economic growth of the People's Republic and the disputes of the other major powers. China's importance on the geopolitical map is increasing. The Table.Briefings editorial team brings you all the relevant news on China's geopolitics. Geopolitical rise of China and India The West is losing influence globally. This is due to the enormous economic upswing in India and especially China. Following their establishment in 1950 (India) and 1949 (China), it was primarily the Soviet Union and later Russia that sought to achieve a policy of détente between the two countries. There are still trilateral relations between the countries today. For example, in the fight against Covid-19. However, there are several points of contention between China and India. Firstly, there are unresolved border issues. A dispute that has been raging since 1962. Since then, China has also supported Pakistan politically and economically. In 2020, the dispute escalated again when a brawl broke out between soldiers from China and India in the Indian district of Ladakh. According to the Indian military, twenty Indian soldiers are said to have been killed. The second major point of contention between China and India is the water supply. India draws a lot of its drinking water from the Brahmaputra, which has its source in the Himalayas. However, this is on Chinese territory. China diverted a lot of water to Beijing, which led to water shortages in Bangladesh and India. In principle, the Chinese Communist Party is striving to curb India's political influence in order to strengthen its own. Geopolitics: China as a military power China's geopolitical rise also has a lot to do with the People's Republic's massive defense spending. With 2.3 million soldiers, China has the largest army in the world. According to its own figures, the Chinese military owns 6,300 tanks, 350 warships, 49 aircraft carriers and 50 submarines. Although the number of soldiers has been reduced in recent years, spending has increased. The background to this is the planned modernization of equipment. China spent around EUR 174 billion on the military in 2019. However, experts suspect that much of this expenditure was spent on non-military items and cannot be clearly allocated. China's military budget for 2019 is therefore estimated at USD 261 billion. China wants to take on the same geopolitical role that the USA currently has. The army is to be deployed wherever a military presence is needed. Also to defend the security of its own country and Chinese interests. Indo-Pacific conflict China is embroiled in various territorial disputes in the Indo-Pacific, some of which have been simmering for decades. The People's Republic is therefore massively expanding its navy and claims several islands for itself, particularly in the South China Sea. In order to better protect itself from China's claims to power, Australia has agreed an Indo-Pacific pact with the USA and the UK. Among other things, this involves the delivery of nuclear-powered submarines. However, Nils Schmid, the foreign policy spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, emphasizes that this would not just be a contract on armaments, but a strategic cooperation. Originally, France and the EU were to take on the role of the USA, but Australia terminated the contract to supply the submarines. Schmid insists that Europe must consider a strategy to ensure that it does not give up its own influence in the Indo-Pacific. After all, trade is always embedded in geopolitical considerations. What is the relationship between Germany and China like? Relations between Germany and China are complicated. On the one hand, economic cooperation is important for both sides. The volume of trade amounted to EUR 212.1 billion in 2020. Germany imported more (EUR 116.3 billion) than it exported (EUR 95.9 billion). But there are major points of contention. One of them is the human rights situation in the People's Republic. Another is that Germany believes it is not an equal trading partner. In March 2019, the EU Commission even called China a "systemic rival" and even imposed sanctions on the People's Republic. The greatest common ground is political cooperation on environmental protection. The People's Republic wants to be CO₂-neutral by 2060. Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze signed an agreement to this effect with her counterpart Huang Runqui. Points of contention between Germany and China The human rights situation in China repeatedly leads to criticism of the People's Republic in Germany. In Xinjian, Uyghur minorities are persecuted and sent to re-education camps. German companies also benefit from their forced labor. In addition, there is the suppression of the democracy movement in Hong Kong and threatening military gestures towards Taiwan. An open dispute then flared up between Germany and China over the "Second Law on Enhancing the Security of Information Technology Systems". Its requirements for participation in the expansion of the 5G network in Germany make market access extremely difficult for Huawei. What is the relationship between the USA and China like? The political atmosphere between the USA and China is extremely tense. Following the election of Joe Biden as the new US president, the country has continued its hard line against the People's Republic. The confrontational course serves to "protect core US national security interests and democratic values", writes the White House in a statement. The background to this is Biden's measure to blacklist 59 Chinese companies. Observers are of the opinion that US policy towards China is primarily intended to prevent the People's Republic from becoming a world power and technology leader in key technologies. To this end, US President Joe Biden, like his predecessor Donald Trump, is relying on the principle of decoupling. This is based on an "unbundling" of the American and Chinese economies. Because imports and exports are to be reduced, both countries are seeking new partnerships and trade agreements. What does dual circulation mean? China's dual circulation policy is intended to strengthen the domestic economy. The principle of dual circulation is a central component of the current five-year plan, which was adopted in 2021. Dual circulation is intended to make the People's Republic less dependent on imports. This is to be achieved by introducing subsidies for domestic companies and import barriers for non-Chinese companies. In addition to the trade war with the USA, the coronavirus pandemic has also fueled the dual circulation policy. China does not want to be dependent on global trading partners for its growth plans. The People's Republic also expects the dual-circulation policy to give new impetus to its Made in China 2025 strategy, which aims to grow the country into the world's leading high-tech power. China's Silk Road: geopolitics through loans Around 140 countries are part of China's New Silk Road project. Also known as One Belt, One Road or the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This is a collection of various infrastructure measures to improve global trade flows. The People's Republic has been pushing ahead with the plans since 2013. The aim is to bring the resource-rich countries in Africa closer to China in particular. However, 18 of the 27 European member states have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This is a declaration of intent to integrate into the New Silk Road. The New Silk Road projects are financed by banks and funds that provide loans to the participating countries. However, the collateralization of the loans by China is extremely strict. In the event of a bankruptcy, the Chinese loans must be serviced as a priority. However, because the contracts are secret, other lenders are unaware of the debtor's financial situation. They are correspondingly cautious. China is using the loans to pursue its geopolitical interests. In some cases, the People's Republic can even demand the borrowed money back if it does not agree with the policies of the partner country. China's geopolitics with vaccines In summer 2020, Xi Jinping, China's head of state, announced that he would give vaccines to emerging and developing countries. China is particularly interested in gaining influence in Latin America. The best example of this is Brazil. Its President Jair Bolsonaro rejected vaccinations in principle, railed against China, described Covid-19 as a "communist virus" and announced that São Paulo was to build its own vaccine factory. However, Sinovac, the Chinese company that was to supply all the necessary goods, stopped the collaboration in February 2021. Deliveries were only resumed when Huawei was allowed to participate in the tender for the 5G expansion in Brazil. The Chinese telecommunications supplier had previously been banned from doing so due to accusations that it was using its technology for espionage purposes. What is China's relationship with Hong Kong? Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region under the control of the People's Republic of China. Under the premise of "one country, two systems", the metropolis is granted various rights that other administrative zones in China do not have. For example, free elections or freedom of expression and assembly. The principle officially applies until 2047, but in recent years there have been various violations of independence by China and massive protests by the citizens of Hong Kong. China took control of Hong Kong from the British on July 1, 1997. However, the capitalist system, its own currency and legal system were to be retained. However, Yiu-Chung Wong, Professor of Political Science at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, emphasizes that since then there has been a "creeping erosion of the formally guaranteed liberal social order". What is China's relationship with Taiwan? From the perspective of the People's Republic of China, Taiwan is a renegade province. Taiwan considers itself a democratic island state. Geopolitically, Taiwan is often the subject of heated debate. Anyone who maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan and thus recognizes its independence from China is no longer allowed to have diplomatic relations with the People's Republic. Japan was one of the first countries to break off relations with Taiwan and recognize the one-China policy. The conflict between Taiwan and China is based on the civil war in what is now the People's Republic of China after the end of World War II. Under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek, the Kuomintang fought against the communists of the People's Liberation Army under Mao Zedong. The national conservative former government fled to Taiwan in order to reconquer the mainland from there. This has not yet happened. China's geopolitics China is striving to become a world power. Its geopolitical ambitions are correspondingly aggressive. The Table.Media editorial team provides all the latest news.