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Civic IDEA’s Chairperson, Tinatin Khidasheli, participated in an expert panel titled “Georgia’s Elections: Between Authoritarianism and Democratic Renewal”

Civic IDEA’s Chairperson, Tinatin Khidasheli, participated in an expert panel titled “Georgia’s Elections: Between Authoritarianism and Democratic Renewal” at Forum 2000 in Prague. Alongside Vasil Sikharulidze (Atlantic Council of Georgia) and Rostislav Valvoda (Prague Civil Society Centre), the panel explored the critical stakes in Georgia’s upcoming elections.

In less than two weeks, Georgians will head to the polls in decisive elections, likely to determine whether the country turns towards closer ties with the West or falls further under Russia’s influence

Georgia’s upcoming elections in late October are pivotal. The victory of the ruling party could severely limit the country’s aspirations for EU and NATO membership. The stakes are high, and a strong, well-informed monitoring mission is essential to assess the fairness of the election process. While Russian interference is highly probable, this election may also mark the first time we see significant involvement from the PRC, given its growing interests in the region. What are the latest developments and challenges? What is the situation in the ranks of Georgia’s pro-Western forces? What can we expect if the ruling party prevails in the polls? These were the questions that were discussed during the panel.

“There is a great share of the Georgian public wanting a change from the current policies that are indeed taking a Russian direction,” noted the Prague Civil Society Centre’s Executive Director, Rostislav Valvoda, during the panel.

Civic IDEA’s Chairperson, Tinatin Khidasheli, participated in an expert panel titled “Georgia’s Elections: Between Authoritarianism and Democratic Renewal” Read More »

Chinese manufacturers are planning to partially transfer the production of electric cars to Europe

To boost sales of budget electric vehicles (EVs), several Chinese car manufacturers are considering relocating their production facilities to Europe. This strategy would allow them to circumvent the high tariffs imposed by the European Union on EVs imported from China.

This decision is driven by two key factors: 

1. The demand for electric vehicles in the Chinese domestic market is gradually declining. 

2. European countries have implemented high tariffs on Chinese EV imports, motivated by concerns that local manufacturers may struggle to compete with the influx of Chinese-made electric vehicles.

 Detailed insights into the plans of Chinese companies expanding into Europe:

CHERY AUTO 

Chery Auto, one of China’s leading exporters, has already taken significant steps toward collaborating with European firms. The company has officially signed a cooperation agreement with Spanish automaker EV Motors. According to Reuters, joint production of electric vehicles will begin this year. Additionally, Chery Auto is reportedly in talks with Italian and British partners. 

BYD

BYD, the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer, plans to shift nearly all production for the European market to Europe, with essential components sourced from factories in Hungary and Turkey. According to the company’s Vice President, Stella Li, only smaller parts will be imported from China.

LEAPMOTOR 

Chinese automaker Leapmotor announced its partnership with Stellantis in September. According to Stellantis’ CEO, Carlos Tavares, production of Leapmotor’s electric vehicles will take place at the Stellantis factory in Poland. 

SAIC MOTOR

SAIC Motor, China’s second-largest automotive exporter and a state-owned enterprise, is planning to establish an EV plant in France to meet the rising demand in the European market. The company already produces automotive parts in Amsterdam.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/chinese-ev-makers-plans-make-cars-europe-2024-05-07/

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CHINESE INVESTMENTS IN CENTRAL ASIA AND THE SOUTH CAUCASUS; THEIR FINANCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT THEREIN

This comprehensive report examines the geopolitical tensions, environmental concerns, and debt sustainability challenges associated with Chinese investments under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Drawing on publicly available sources, it focuses on seven countries across Central Asia and the South Caucasus, including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, with particular attention to loan mechanisms and environmental implications.

The findings reveal that Chinese investments in Central Asia have contributed to growing debt burdens and environmental degradation. In contrast, while the scale of Chinese investment in the South Caucasus is comparatively modest, it still poses environmental risks and suggests potential debt vulnerabilities, particularly in Georgia.

The report highlights China’s global environmental commitments, such as emission reductions and forest stock expansion, including its pledges under the Paris Agreement. However, implementation of these commitments remains inconsistent, often encouraged by weak local governmental approaches to environmental standards in both Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

The analysis concludes that China’s international lending practices are characterized by a lack of transparency, with a preference for official loans over aid. These loans typically carry higher interest rates, shorter maturities, and are often collateralized against project assets, features that contrast sharply with the more concessional terms of Western financing. In the South Caucasus, Chinese loans tend to benefit China by promoting exports and deepening trade dependencies. In Central Asia, Chinese financial influence is more substantial, with countries like Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan facing significant debt distress, raising concerns about asset loss and long-term economic vulnerability.

 

CHINESE INVESTMENTS IN CENTRAL ASIA AND THE SOUTH CAUCASUS; THEIR FINANCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT THEREIN Read More »

China showcases lunar reach as space powers meet without Russia

On October 14, at the International Astronautical Congress held in Milan, Italy China presented a sample of rock obtained from the far edge of the Moon. The mentioned congress, due to the tense relationship between the West and Russia, took place without the participation of the latter.

The China National Space Administration’s presentation of a rock sample retrieved by Chang’6 is an indication of Beijing’s growing status as a space power. 

The International Astronautical Congress (IAC) has been functioning since 1950 as a platform where scientists, engineers, politicians and representatives of the private sector discuss thematic cooperation.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/moon-race-private-competition-focus-space-powers-gather-milan-2024-10-14/

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Chinese premier could inaugurate Beijing-funded airport in Pakistan during visit

Chinese premier Li Qiang could inaugurate operations at a Chinese-funded airport in Pakistan's Balochistan province during his visit to the country in the coming week, information minister Attaullah Tarar told reporters on Sunday. 

The start of operations at the $200-million Gwadar International Airport has been pushed back for a security review after deadly attacks by separatist militants in August in the area, government and aviation sources said. 

Li, along with ministers and government officials will visit Pakistan from Oct. 14 to 17.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinese-premier-could-inaugurate-beijing-funded-airport-pakistan-during-visit-2024-10-13/

 

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China’s car sales snap five-month decline on subsidy boost

China’ss passenger vehicle sales rose 4.3% in September from a year earlier, snapping five months of decline with a boost from a government subsidy to encourage trade-ins as part of a broader stimulus package.

All the gains came from battery-powered vehicles, whose buyers and manufacturers have benefited since July from a doubling of subsidies to consumers, while sales of gasoline cars in China, a market foreign brands once dominated, continue to shrink.

Sales in the world’ss biggest auto market hit 2.13 million vehicles in September, up from 2.04 million a year earlier. For the first nine months, sales were up 1.9% from 2023 levels, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids jumped 50.9%, accounting for 52.8% of overall sales. It was the third month in a row that battery-powered vehicles including plug-ins outnumbered sales of gasoline-engine cars in China.

Gasoline car sales in September were above 1 million, up more than 100,000 from August. But that was far short of September last year, when over 1.29 million were sold in China.

Sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids – a category the Chinese industry group classifies as “new energy vehicles”; – hit 1.12 million in September and 7.13 million for the first nine months. 

Global EV sales have slowed this year with automakers outside China scaling back production. Sales in China, however, have risen, driven by expanded subsidies for consumers trading in older vehicles for EVs and more fuel-efficient cars – a program  likened to the U.S. “cash-for-clunkers” stimulus in 2009.

source: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/china-car-sales-rise-snapping-five-month-decline-subsidy-boost-2024-10-12/

 

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China and Vietnam are expected to sign new agreements to boost railway links andagricultural trade

According to the Reuters, during Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s visit to Hanoi this weekend, two people briefed about the Sino-Vietnamese plans to sign of future agreement regarding railway links and agricultural trade.

Seamless rail links are a sign of growing trust between the two countries and would be a boost for trade and supply chains, as a growing number of Chinese manufacturers move some export-oriented operations to Vietnam amid trade tensions between China and the United States.

The deals, which one of the people said also included agreements on payment systems and customs procedures, could further boost economic ties between the two Communist-ruled neighbours after a series of high-level meetings and cooperation agreements signed in recent months.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-vietnam-set-sign-deals-railway-links-agriculture-sources-say-2024-10-11/

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China kicks off 500 bln yuan swap facility to aid stock market

China kicks off 500 bln yuan swap facility to aid stock market. China’s central bank said on Thursday it would start accepting applications from financial institutions to join a newly created funding scheme, initially worth 500 billion yuan ($70.62 billion), to aid the capital market.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said eligible securities firms, fund companies and insurers can apply to join the swap scheme, which gives them easier access to funding to buy stocks.

“The swap facility is designed to provide liquidity support to non-bank financial institutions, and can help lift confidence in the stock market” ; said Ming Ming, analyst at Citic Securities.

The PBOC first announced the scheme on Sept. 24 as part of a broad package of policies to stimulate the economy and boost capital markets.

Clarification: The term “swap” refers to the exchange of one asset or liability for another similar asset or liability by increasing or decreasing risks.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/china-cbank-kicks-off-500-bln-yuan-swap-facility-aid-stock-market-2024-10-10/

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Brussels rejected China proposal for 30,000 euro minimum sales price in EV dispute

Brussels rejected a proposal by the Chinese government for imported electric vehicles made in China to be sold at a minimum price of 30,000 euros ($32,946), sources said, a move Beijing hoped would avert EU tariffs being imposed next month.

The European Commission said it had dismissed minimum price offers from EV makers in China a month ago as part of an anti-subsidy investigation that has thrown Beijing and the European Union into their biggest trade dispute in a decade.

Electric cars cost on average less than half as much in China as they do in Europe and the United States, according to 2023 figures from data firm JATO Dynamics. The country’s carmakers benefit from a range of cost advantages – from local access to raw materials and batteries, to heavy subsidies from Beijing.

The average retail price of a battery-electric car in China was around 32,000 euros ($35,126.40) in the first half of 2023, including models such as BYD’s Seagull that sell for under 10,000 euros. By contrast, the average retail price of a battery electric car in Europe was 66,000 euros.

In rejecting the Chinese proposal, Brussels said at the time that it was not only about the prices carmakers charge for their China-made EVs, but also the subsidies they received producing them and removing the impact of such support payments.

The Commission had declined to provide details of the offers, by which makers of EVs in China pledged to respect certain pricing thresholds to avoid flooding the European market with cheap vehicles the bloc says local rivals cannot compete with.

source: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/brussels-rejected-china-proposal-30000-euro-minimum-sales-price-ev-dispute-2024-10-08/

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Civic IDEA held meetings in Washington DC with the partner organizations

From September 24 to 27, 2024, Civic IDEA, alongside Democracy Research Institute and Courtwatch, held meetings in Washington DC with the partner organizations and US state agencies including The German Marshall Fund, National Endowment for Democracy, Atlantic Council, American Foreign Policy Council, Freedom House, USAID, National Press Center Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Congress, focusing on the pivotal 2024 Georgian elections.

Discussions highlighted that the ruling Georgian Dream party may face defeat, with the opposition offering diverse alternatives, though success depends on a strategic, unified campaign. Concerns were raised about Georgian Dream’s use of the church in political campaigns, with international scrutiny deemed essential to ensure fair elections.

 The meetings also addressed key challenges in Georgia, particularly the controversial Foreign Agents Law, and its impact on civil society, judicial independence, and EU integration. Participants emphasized the need for judicial transparency and anti-corruption reforms as vital to Georgia’s democratic progress.

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