China: We Trade, We Spy, We Deny

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May 4, 2007: Canada admitted that about half its counter-espionage efforts were directed at Chinese spies. China, of course, denies everything. But as more reports of Chinese spying surface, it becomes obvious that there's a major espionage effort underway, with particular emphasis on North American.

May 2, 2007: China is on track to surpass Germany as the second largest trader (imports and exports) this year, with total activity of $2.1 trillion. China is on track to grabbing first place, from the United States, in the next decade. This is a dubious distinction from a military point of view, because China does not have a navy capable of protecting all this sea borne commerce. Attempts to built up the navy will take decades before they will become meaningful. If Chinas trade was interupted for a few months, their economy would collapse and there would be chaos. May 1, 2007: Once more, someone hijacked satellite news signals and broadcast their own content. The latest incident involved transmissions going into southern China. After previous incidents, the government said it would make satellite communications more secure. Apparently not. However, the government did try to keep the news from getting to the mass media. But with hundreds of millions of cell phone and Internet users, that was impossible. April 25, 2007: China currently builds about a quarter of the worlds merchant ships. South Korea builds about a third, and is the largest builder in the world. China, propelled by lower labor costs, is working to increase its capacity over the next 3-5 years, and surpass South Korea as the largest builder in the world. The growth of Chinas merchant ship construction industry has been a big assist to its warship building efforts. That's because the merchant ship construction business creates the craftsmen and managers needed by yards building warships.

April 24, 2007: In Ethiopia, rebels attacked a Chinese run oil exploration camp, and killed nine Chinese workers. China depends on local governments for security in dangerous overseas areas, but is considering forming its own security force. Other nations hire mercenaries from firms that specialize in this kind of security. China could work its way into this market, which is booming.

April 20, 2007: After 45 years, talks are underway to settle border disputes with India. Some 128,000 square kilometers of remote territory are in dispute. Discussions began in the 1990s, paving the way for the current talks to finally settle the border issues.

 

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