China - EU: Chinese FM, EU foreign policy chief meet on closer strategic partnership - by Ren Zhongxi

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met here Friday with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on the sidelines of the annual high-level debate of the UN General Assembly.

During their talks, Wang said that the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, which has laid a solid foundation and opened a bright prospect for the development of bilateral ties, ushers in a second decade this year.

During a trip to Europe in March this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping and European leaders decided to deepen their partnership for peace, growth, reform and civilization, which has charted the course for the future development of China-EU ties, said Wang.

China and the EU need to accumulate mutual trust and strengthen cooperation on the basis of mutual respect so as to further advance their comprehensive strategic partnership, said the Chinese foreign minister.

For her part, Ashton said that the EU-China relationship, which has made rapid progress over the past 10 years, enjoys great potential for further development.

Read more: Chinese FM, EU foreign policy chief meet on closer strategic partnership - CCTV News - CCTV.com English

Cyber Crime: Has China become a major global cyber-crime threat ?

Cyber Crime

Google chairman Eric Schmidt has labelled China a menace to the internet, complicit in the use of cyber-crime as part of efforts to undermine its corporate and political opponents.

The claims are made in his upcoming book, The New Digital Age, extracts of which have been published by The Wall Street Journal. Schmidt brands China "the world's most active and enthusiastic filterer of information", and the "the most sophisticated and prolific" hacker of foreign organizations.

China exploits the internet for the benefit of its government and organizations. "The disparity between American and Chinese firms and their tactics will put both the government and the companies of the United States at a distinct disadvantage,"  says Eric Schmidt

Read more: Google's Eric Schmidt warns of China cyber-crime threat - 04 Feb 2013 - Computing News

Who controls the internet? by Jemima Kiss

Have you ever noticed that wherever you are in the world, every telephone keypad looks the same? Or wondered why satellites don't crash into each other? Or why you dial 64 to reach New Zealand, but 65 for Singapore? These are some of the mundane but essential logistical achievements of the International Telecommunication Union, a specialist UN agency that dates back to 1865.

Yet as it gears up for its first global conference in 14 years, the ITU has found itself under unprecedented attack. The first assailant is the powerful US technology lobby. Companies, including Google, are claiming that new ITU proposals would mean internet companies paying hefty fees to local telecoms companies, reigniting historic tensions between US internet giants and incumbent telecoms firms across the world.

But that's not the only battle that will be played out this December when the ITU's 193 member states gather in Dubai. Russia and China have been explicit in their goal of taking control of the internet away from the US, while developing countries feel the western technology hegemony is limiting their economic opportunities. With the world's internet population predicted to reach 3.4 billion by 2016, there is everything to play for.

The ITU has not helped its case. Suspected by some critics of encouraging the controversial proposals, comments by the eloquent secretary general Dr Hamadoun Touré seem designed to antagonise the US. He told Vanity Fair earlier this year: "When an invention becomes used by billions across the world, it no longer remains the sole property of one nation, however powerful that nation might be. There should be a mechanism where many countries have an opportunity to have a say."

The reaction to some of these new proposals, or ITRs, has been a comprehensive, well-organised and well-funded campaign by a cabal of powerful American corporates – including Google, Microsoft, Cisco, AT&T and Comcast. Much of the resulting media coverage of the ITU, particularly in the US, has ranged from dismissive to aggressive, labelling the low-profile union obscure and irrelevant and exploiting American animosity for the UN.

Western dominance is the one of the biggest challenges for developing nations, says Alice Munyua, a researcher and policy development expert, representing Kenya and Africa on forums such as Icann. "It is a big concern for African governments and stakeholders, and not just because of how the internet is governed, but how it is developed from a commercial and technical perspective," she said. "There is a feeling that we are not able to participate or contribute effectively because of the lack of capacity, skills and resources, so there's a digital divide in terms of access, but also in appropriating the internet for our own development."

Read more: Who controls the internet? | Jemima Kiss | Technology | guardian.co.uk

Obama cites national security to block Chinese purchase of wind farm - Europe also cautious about Chinese Government influence in trade

Today President Barack Obama took the unusual step Friday of citing national security grounds to block a Chinese-owned company from owning or building four wind farm projects in Oregon — acting little more than a month before an election in which he and Mitt Romney have traded accusations of going soft on China.

It was the first time in 22 years that a U.S. president has blocked such a foreign business deal, The Associated Press reported.

The Treasury Department said in a statement that Obama’s order was a matter of national security, citing the wind farms’ location “within or in the vicinity of restricted air space at Naval Weapons Systems Training Facility Boardman in Oregon.”

The European Commission during a recent visit of the Chinese PM Wen said China still needs to show less government influence over its businesses, including those in the financial sector, and to adopt transparent laws on corporate governance, property and bankruptcy to be eligible for market economy status.

There are also serious irritants about the E.U for Beijing, including the ban on arms exports to China, and the reluctance of Europe to classify China as a modern, open economy, which would clear the way for advantages on tariffs. 

The EU bloc is certainly attractive to Chinese investors with a market of 500 million consumers, a highly educated labour force and the most innovative economy in the world.

It is predicted that China will make between €800 billion and €1.6 trillion worth of new investments abroad between 2010 and 2020.

EU-Digest