Category Archives: China

05/17/19

China — Reading the Tea Leaves

In case you had any doubts, the Chinese are not to be trusted.

I cite not the obvious such as the militarization of islands in the South China Sea to expand Chinese influence and to put deadly weapons upon 40% of the shipping lanes in the world, or their operation of re-education concentration camps, or their perfidy in dealing with North Korea (a vassal state which exists only because China supports it), or their reneging on things in the USA-Chinese trade negotiations.

Couple of pals hamming it up after a nice confab.

“You ready to do some de-nuking, my man?” asked President-for-Life Xi.

“Nah,” sayeth Kim, “just jerking The Donald around. Need some swag before we do that. Serious, serious swag.”

“Don’t you let him bully you, Homie,” Xi said. “I got your back. Plus, I need to jerk him around a bit my own self. Son-of-a-bitch is getting all restive about our stealing some technology. What is up with that.”

“Do it, President-for-Life. Of course, you have been stealing a lot of tech and manipulating that currency of yours. Well played. Let’s go eat, shall we?”

“What you have in mind?” Xi asked.

“Some American baloney?”

“You’re bad.”

Image result for images xi kim

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05/15/19

Tariffs — Some Straight Talk

If you read the current drivel on the imposition of tariffs on the Chinese — notorious thieves of intellectual property, currency manipulators, erectors of hurdles to access to their market, a despotic Communist regime — you would think the entire economy is about to explode. Let me give you some facts.

Here’s President Trump putting the squeeze on President-for-Life Xi. Ouch!

Image result for images trump xi

Tariffs are taxes, right, Big Red Car?

Yes, dear reader, a tariff is a tax. The USA depended primarily on tariffs from its formation until the first income tax.

The first income tax imposed in the US was enacted in 1861 — 3% on all incomes over $800. It was rescinded in 1872.

In 1874, the US Congress enacted a flat rate Federal income tax that was promptly found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

The Sixteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, passed in July 1909, papered over this defect, but it wasn’t ratified until February 1913.

A Federal income tax was enacted immediately after ratification and has been enshrined in the funding of the Federal government since then.

Big takeaway — we didn’t really have an income tax until 1913.

So, we lived on tariffs.

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04/3/19

China — New Foreign Investment Law

China goes through a charade every year in which they convene a National Congress in the Great Hall of the People. This fiction pretends to consider “laws” and enacts them. This is an impressive building, no?

It is worth noting they have no desks, no? How can you work without a desk? [Asking for a friend.]

China’s new foreign investment law was approved during the National People’s Congress. Photo: Xinhua

This year, they enacted a new Foreign Investment Law to take the place of three prior laws:

 1. The Law on Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Ventures;

 2. the Law on Sino-Foreign Contractual Joint Ventures; and,

 3. the Law on Foreign-Capital Enterprises.

These “laws” were passed in the 1979-1990 time period, so they were overdue for an update. They, of course, had no impact on reality.

The new Law on Foreign Investment responds to the concern articulated by companies doing business in China regarding Chinese theft of intellectual property, amongst other issues. In a left handed way, it acknowledges the mischief and tomfoolery thereby contradicting the central government which says, “What? China is stealing intellectual property? No way.”

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06/21/18

China, Tariffs, Trade War

China, tariffs, trade war – hello, America!

Big Red Car here on a gloriously sunny Thursday contemplating recent developments in regard to China, tariffs, and a trade war.

China is a bad actor and has been for years. They have been stealing American technology – both from an espionage perspective and an industrial/commercial perspective – for half a century.

But, it is not just the “big stuff” like software, hardware and military gear.

If you are going to be the King of the Jungle, you have to act like a lion.

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05/16/18

Sanctions Work – ZTE

Sanctions, Big Red Car? How dreary for such a sunny, lovely day in the ATX, yawn! OK, Big Red Car tell me about how sanctions work. Maybe a real world example?

Dear reader, let us take up the case of Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment, known as ZTE. They are a maker of inexpensive smartphones and other telecom equipment in more than 160 countries and employ 75,000 workers.

ZTE is no small fry on the international scene. When the Chinese government wants to wiggle into bed with a country, they often provide loans as an economic development tool.  Those loans? What are they used for? To set up a nationwide cellular network built by … wait for it … ZTE!

ZTE is an important element of Chinese international policy.

The Chinese also see that a large company like ZTE can break the stranglehold that American tech companies have on China. It is a nationalistic undertaking.

But, ZTE ran afoul of American sanctions. How?

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