China Reform Monitor: No. 1150

February 12:

Residents and environmentalists in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia are concerned about reports that Beijing is building a 500,000 resident city on its side of Bolshoy Ussuriyskiy Island. In response, China’s consul-general to Khabarovsk, Su Fangqiu, has denied the reports claiming no construction work is permitted on 75 percent of the Chinese part of the island, which are protected wetlands. Su said tourist infrastructure, including hotels, shopping malls, and parks will be built on the remaining 25 percent but the construction is “in strict compliance with environmental safety standards.” A city is being built in China near the island for the staff of hotels, shops and the border crossing point, Russia’s Gubernia TV reports.

February 15:

In Islamabad Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi acknowledged Beijing’s effort to mediate talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. “We will support the Afghan government in realizing reconciliation with various political factions including Taliban,” Wang said, before adding that Pakistan has an “irreplaceable role” and a “strong will for playing a constructive role.” Meanwhile, the first round of China-Pakistan-Afghanistan secretary-level trilateral talks were held “focusing on practical steps Pakistan and China can take to bolster peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.” Two Taliban delegations to China became “the basis of the Chinese offer of support to help the reconciliation process,” Pakistan’s Business Recorder reports.

[Editor’s Note: The Chinese effort comes amid reports of the Islamic State appearing in the region – a former Taliban-turned-Islamic State commander was killed in a NATO drone attack in Helmand, Afghanistan, The Guardian reports. China also wants to build a hydroelectric dam on the river Kunar, a road and railroad connecting Afghanistan and Pakistan, and an economic corridor through Pakistan that will open a route to the Arabian Sea for landlocked Central Asian Republics.]

February 20:

Seventeen Uighurs are dead – four policemen, nine attackers and four pedestrians – after a clash between residents and police in Aksu, Xinjiang. The incident, which occurred on February 17 during house-to-house searches, happened when a group of about ten people attacked police. “When they entered there were 10 or so people in the house. The chief ordered them to disperse, at this point they rushed all together and snatched a rifle and handgun from [Police Chief] Qasim Imir’s hand, then slashed him with knifes and axes. The rest were auxiliary police without guns, so they ran for their lives, and the suspects chased them. As they approached the police station [150m from the house], the armed police came out and started shooting,” Deputy Mayor Turdahun Tohti told Radio Free Asia. The showdown ended with Imir and three auxiliary police dead from knife and axe wounds and thirteen shot dead by police, including nine suspects and four passersby, among them the head of the local hospital and his daughter who, Tohti said, “were confused with the suspects.” Two of the assailants with prior arrest warrants escaped with a firearm, police said.

February 25:

Three weeks ago, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez visited Beijing and signed a military equipment deal including navy patrol vessels and jet fighters to replace its aging fleet of single-engine Dassault Mirage planes, reports Merco Press. Two types of Chinese fighters are under consideration, the FC-1/JF-17 and the J-10. The FC-1 is cheaper but less-capable than the J-10. For China, selling jet fighters to Argentina is politically important and could facilitate new military sales in South America. In 2013, Chengdu Aircraft was in talks with Argentine aerospace firm Fabrica Argentina de Aviones to co-develop the FC-1. Four years ago, Fabrica and the Aviation Industry Corp. of China agreed to produce the CZ-11 single-engine light multi-purpose helicopter. Argentina had sought to buy 14 Sweden-developed multi-role Saab Gripen fighters from Brazil, but Britain blocked the deal. China supports Argentina’s claim on the Falkland Islands and compared it to China’s claims in the South and East China Seas.

February 26:

China’s official news outlets have uncharacteristically refused to acknowledge a month of bloodshed in Xinjiang. “You’ve got three significant incidents and no account of it in the official media. When someone blows himself up and attacks the police, that usually demands an official account,” said Nicholas Bequelin of Human Rights Watch. “The upsurge in violence really started back in 2013, and it’s been pretty much nonstop since then.” Shohret Hoshur, who interviewed local officials to confirm the three incidents, estimates that official media outlets report only 5 percent of violent clashes. Events are only reported if they are “too big to contain that occur in densely populated urban areas or outside Xinjiang,” the New York Times reports. When asked about a recent attack an official at the Yecheng County Public Security Bureau replied: “We don’t know anything about this, so don’t ask us about it,” and then hung up.