China Now 31-08: Analysis of the Chinese reality and its actuality

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Transcript

00:00Hello, Telesur English presents a new episode of China Now, a webmedia production that showcases

00:15the culture, technology, and politics of the Aisai island.

00:18In this first segment, we are going to start with China Currents with topics such as China

00:23issuing a ban that could cripple all U.S. high-tech weapons, a Philippine vessel colliding

00:30with a Chinese ship, Taiwan to lose its diplomatic ties with the U.S., and much more.

00:35Let's see.

00:36China Currents is a weekly news talk show from China to the world.

00:43We cover viral news about China every week and also give you the newest updates on China's

00:49cutting-edge technologies.

00:50Let's get started.

00:51Welcome to China Currents, your weekly news report on what's happening in China.

01:05I'm Lisa.

01:06In this episode, China has issued a ban that could cripple all U.S. high-tech weapons.

01:12The Philippine Coast Guard vessel deliberately collided with a Chinese ship.

01:17Australia betrayed their promise to a Hong Kong separatist.

01:22Taiwan island is about to lose its largest diplomatic tie in the Americas.

01:27A monkey from China has set several world records in the gaming industry.

01:33Let's start with a new Chinese law that could potentially neutralize all American high-tech

01:38weapons.

01:39In a joint statement on 15 August, China's Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration

01:46of Customs said, China will impose export controls on antimony products, including antimony

01:52ores, metals, oxide, and other rare antimony compounds, and has kicked off a comprehensive

01:59sanction on antimony against the U.S.

02:03Antimony is known for its wide use, especially in the military sector.

02:08For instance, antimony trioxide is commonly used as a flame retardant in aircraft, rockets,

02:14and missiles.

02:15It is also used in production of military equipment, such as armor-piercing shields,

02:21explosives, night-vision goggles, and nuclear weapons.

02:25An indium antimony is primarily used to manufacture high-performance sensors and array seekers.

02:34These seekers play a crucial role in guiding missiles, which are highly effective against

02:39fourth-generation fighter jets.

02:42The media has long emphasized the critical role of antimony in U.S. military production.

02:48Experts have urged China, the world's dominant supplier of antimony, to limit its export

02:54to the United States.

02:55This call stems from America's heavy reliance on China's antimony exports and processing

03:01capabilities, which are essential for manufacturing advanced military equipment such as stealth

03:07flighters, missiles, and night-vision devices.

03:11China is responsible for over 80% of global annual antimony supply, making it the world's

03:17largest producer.

03:19Russia is the second largest, accounting for 7% of the global output, while the United

03:24States produces less than 1%.

03:28Given this data, any export restrictions imposed by China could significantly disrupt the supply

03:33chain of the U.S. military industry.

03:36In response to this vulnerability, the U.S. Congress has asked the Pentagon to strengthen

03:41its strategic reserves of critical minerals, with antimony being a top priority for the

03:47national defense stockpile.

03:49The U.S. House Armed Services Committee has also expressed concerns about potential supply

03:55chain disruption from both Russia and China in a recent report.

03:59The committee has urged the Department of Defense to develop policies for recycling

04:04in order to recover precious metals, rare earth elements, and other strategically important

04:10materials.

04:11Historically, the United States sourced antimony from a gold mine in Adaho, but that mine closed

04:19down in 1997.

04:21According to a 2020 report from the U.S. Geological Survey, there are currently no active antimony

04:27mines operating within the United States.

04:31In a statement, Under Export Controls highlighted that a key rationale is to prevent the proliferation

04:38of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, allying with its longstanding efforts to fulfill

04:44non-proliferation obligations.

04:46Following the suspension of nuclear arms control talks with the U.S. in April prompted by Washington's

04:52arms sales to Taiwan Island, China's tightened controls on antimony export can be viewed

04:59as an extension of its countermeasures against the United States.

05:03Given the size of U.S. nuclear arsenal, China can impose significant constraints by limiting

05:09access to key materials essential for production.

05:13This move represents a shift from China's previously more open approach to supplying

05:19critical materials to the U.S.

05:21In recent years, Japan and other developed countries in Europe paid high attention to

05:26the strategic reserve of antimony, placing it on critical mineral list.

05:31As global antimony ore reserves dropped from 2 million tons in 2021 to 1.8 million tons

05:38in 2022, declining ore grades and resource depletion have led to a continuous fall on

05:45global antimony production.

05:48Although high-tech weapons rely heavily on rare metals and resources, antimony also has

05:53important applications in the field of biology and medicine field.

05:58Antimony-based drugs such as meclamide and humanate are also considered the primary treatment

06:03for leishmaniasis, an infectious disease caused by parasites.

06:09China's new export control law may help ensure that this precious resource is used to save

06:14lives rather than for military purpose.

06:18Despite China's ongoing efforts to promote global security, the Philippine Coast Guard

06:22ramped up regional tensions.

06:25On 19 August, two Philippine Coast Guard vessels entered Chinese waters in the South China

06:30Sea without authorization from the Chinese government.

06:34The Chinese Coast Guard claimed that the Philippine ship ignored repeated warnings and deliberately

06:40collided with a Chinese vessel in an unprofessional and dangerous manner.

06:45The footage released by China's Coast Guard showed the Philippine vessel number 4410 sailing

06:50alongside Chinese ship before suddenly turning towards it, causing damage to the Philippine

06:56vessel.

06:57Interestingly, the video also showed at least two individuals on the Philippine vessel carrying

07:02professional camera equipment along with several US journalists.

07:07This was later confirmed by a report from ABC News on the 19th, which stated that some

07:13of the videos and photos were taken by journalists from a US television network.

07:18These American journalists were likely on board because they trusted the professionalism

07:22of the Philippine Marine Time Forces, given their recent joint exercise with the US Navy.

07:28However, the incident has now called that trust into question.

07:32Less than a day after the ramming incident, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan

07:38condemned China during a phone call with its Philippine counterpart.

07:43Sullivan also reaffirmed the US$500 million in US foreign military financing to the Philippines

07:49under the 2024 Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriation Act.

07:55This bill, signed into law by President Biden on 24 April, aims to boost the Philippine

08:01military's capability to escalate tension in the South China Sea.

08:06According to reports by The Philippine Star, Philippine President Marcos expressed his

08:11gratitude for the US military aid during the meeting with a US congressional delegation

08:17on 8 August.

08:19Marcos emphasised the importance of this aid in addressing new challenges in the region.

08:24The recent action of the Philippine government have indeed created new challenges for China-Philippine

08:30relations, especially in terms of trade.

08:33Data released by General Administration of Customs of China in July showed a new record

08:39with the total value of China's imports and exports reaching $2.96 trillion in the

08:45first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 7.1%.

08:49However, in the first four months of 2023, the bilateral trade between China and the

08:55Philippines dropped by 10.31%.

08:59It remains to be seen whether the United States will compensate the Philippines for this trade

09:03loss in 2025 in the Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriation Act.

09:09Compared with the Philippines, Australia is clearly more pragmatic in its approach to

09:14China relations.

09:16On May 2020, the UK and Australia promised to provide asylum to Hong Kong separatists

09:22holding British national overseas passports, who had violated China's national security

09:28law in Hong Kong.

09:29As of February 2024, the UK Home Office estimated that there are around 2.9 million BNO passport

09:37holders in Hong Kong.

09:38However, data revealed by the South China Morning Post on August 14 shows that the approval

09:45rates for asylum applications from Hong Kong are extremely low in both Australia and the

09:50UK.

09:51Over the past five years, Australia has reviewed only 584 asylum applications, with just five

09:59being approved.

10:01People seeking asylum usually need to prove that they are unable to live safely in their

10:06own countries.

10:07For these Hong Kong separatists, their actual situation in China makes it difficult for

10:12them to meet Australia's protection approval criteria.

10:16Earlier this year, there were signs of improving relations between China and Australia.

10:22On 29 May, China lifted its ban on five Australian beef exporters.

10:27This was followed by Chinese Premier Li Qiang's official visit to Australia on 15 June, during

10:34which both nations agreed to strengthen their bilateral relationship, with a focus on expanding

10:40cooperation across various sectors.

10:43This context suggests a more nuanced and complex dynamic between China, the UK, Australia and

10:49the Hong Kong separatists seeking asylum.

10:52While the UK and Australia have made public promises, the actual asylum approval rates

10:57indicate the challenges these separatists face in successfully relocating.

11:03The improving China-Australia relations also provide a backdrop to these developments.

11:09Interfering with China's internal affairs has never been a good deal, but it seems Paraguay

11:15is only just beginning to realise this.

11:17According to Reuters, on 22 August, Paraguayan President is reconsidering his country's

11:24diplomatic ties with Taiwan authorities in pursuit of trade deals with mainland China.

11:30In an interview with a Japanese outlet, the Paraguayan president admitted he is under

11:36pressure from domestic agricultural groups, urging Paraguay to cut off diplomatic relations

11:41with Taiwan island.

11:43A 2023 report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

11:50stated that trade between China and Latin America expanded 35-fold from 2000 to 2022,

11:59reaching nearly US$500 billion in 2022.

12:03In contrast, the Economist reported that from 2019 to 2023, Taiwan authorities have only

12:10provided Paraguay with US$115 million in aid.

12:15An article in Economist on 4 July highlighted that the price of Paraguayan loyalty is rising.

12:22The previous administration asked Taiwan for US$1 billion in investment, but did not receive

12:28it.

12:29Meanwhile, the director of the Millennium Institution for China and Latin American Studies,

12:35Francisco Udness, stated that Paraguay's relationship with Taiwan cost the country

12:40more than 1% of its GDP annually due to missed investment and credits from China.

12:47Next up, let's focus on a monkey from China who has recently left a lasting impression

12:52on global gamers.

12:54On 20 August, the Chinese video game Blackmiss Wukong launched globally and quickly gained

13:00massive popularity.

13:03Within just one hour of its release, the game reached over 1 million concurrent players

13:08online, surpassing the record set by high-profile titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Elder Ring,

13:14according to a Bloomberg report.

13:17By 23rd, Blackmiss Wukong had officially announced over 10 million copies sold across all platforms,

13:24with peak concurrent online players exceeding 3 million.

13:28This is the first time in history of Steam, the world's largest game distribution platform,

13:33that a single-player game has reached such a large number of concurrent players.

13:38The overwhelming demand for download even caused some servers to crash temporarily.

13:43The game also gathered significant attention from Chinese state media due to the development

13:48team's meticulous recreation of 36 real-life ancient Chinese buildings, 27 of which are

13:55located in Shanxi Province, including a Fo Guang Temple, the third earliest preserved

14:02timber structure in China.

14:04Today, the temple is a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site and is undergoing restoration.

14:11However, in the game, players can not only appreciate the stunning scenery of the temple,

14:16but they will also engage in battles against the game's monsters within its historically

14:21significant location.

14:23This effort to preserve and promote Chinese cultures has earned widespread recognition

14:28from Chinese investors.

14:30Following the game's release, the stock of the publishing company surged by 40% in

14:35just four days.

14:36The success of the game Wukong also spurred the growth of the entire Chinese gaming industry,

14:42with the gaming sector of the Chinese stock market rising by 1.71% on August 20th.

14:49Former World of Warcraft team leader praised Wukong as a great victory in a tweet.

14:54While the game has been praised by investors and industry insiders, the BBC reported that

15:00it included anti-feminist propaganda, fetishization, and other content that instigate negative

15:06discourse.

15:07In response, Chinese netizen remarked,

15:10Black Miss Wukong is like chocolate, everyone has their own taste, but is lethal if a dog

15:16eats it.

15:17And that is all for today.

15:19Thank you for watching this episode of China Current.

15:22If you have any thoughts or comments about our show, please reach us at the email address

15:26below.

15:27We look forward to hearing from you and see you next time.

15:37We'll go for a short break, but we'll be right back, stay with us.

16:19Welcome back to China Now.

16:24In this second segment, we have Thinker's Forum with Glenn Disen, Norwegian academic

16:29and political scientist, specialized in Russian foreign policy, political economy, conservatism

16:36and Eurasian integration.

16:38Also is Camila Escalante, co-founder of Casachus News, and Latin American correspondent at

16:44TV Press.

16:45Let's have a look.

16:49The big change for Russia came in 2014.

16:58And there was two things that happened.

16:59One, the Greater Europe initiative they had died, and also an alternative Eurasian format

17:08emerged.

17:09So it's important to realize that for the past 300 years, since Peter the Great, Russia

17:16always looked towards the West for modernization, also since the early 18th century.

17:22In the West is where the main technologies were.

17:25The West also dominated the seas as where the main transportation corridors are, which

17:29can physically connect the world.

17:32And also this was the area of financial connectivity of the world.

17:36So they had everything.

17:37This is why Russia's integration into an international economic system, pursuing prosperity and modernity

17:43always meant to Europeanize Russia, to make it more European.

17:50Now there's always been some concerns about this, especially those who read Dostoyevsky,

17:55all this 19th century scholars arguing that perhaps Russia should look more towards the

17:59East.

18:00Anyways, after the Cold War, Russia continued this tradition of looking to the West.

18:06They wanted to make peace with the West.

18:08They wanted to modernize their economies.

18:10So they began to then pursue this pro-Western policies.

18:16However, what they found out was that this greater Europe was denied.

18:21That's what NATO expansion represented, that we were going to create a Europe without Russia.

18:26And a Europe without Russia quickly became a Europe against Russia, simply because we

18:30then had to compete over where the new dividing lines would be instead of removing them.

18:36So the problems always built up.

18:38In 2014, this is when everything broke, because until then, many people in Russia thought,

18:43well, perhaps we can have an incremental integration with the West.

18:49But when the West toppled the government in Ukraine, this was the clear signal that Ukraine

18:55would not be a bridge, but it would be a front line.

18:58And when Russia took Crimea in order to safeguard its Black Sea fleet, then, and all the sanctions

19:05came, even the few Russians who still wanted to pursue greater Europe had to recognize

19:10this was a utopia, it was never going to happen.

19:14And what happened at the same time, exactly the same time in 2013-14, well, this is when

19:19China really began to lay the foundations for an alternative international economic

19:24system.

19:25That is, the Chinese began to push this Belt and Road Initiative.

19:30They started to more openly assert ambition to take technological leadership in the world.

19:36China began to advance this new financial institutions, be it the Asian infrastructure,

19:41investment bank, looking to internationalize its currency.

19:44We see that the S.E.O. or Brexit represents a world order based on multipolarity, in which

19:50the great powers, they seek to harmonize interest with each other, rather than pursue the dominance

19:56and global hegemony.

19:58This is very important to recognize, because in the West, we, at least for the past decade,

20:04we always predicted that the Chinese and Russians would start to fight over Central Asia.

20:08But they don't.

20:09They attempt to accommodate each other's interests.

20:11No one is seeking hegemony, and thus they can avoid the zero-sum approach to security.

20:17So this was suddenly a new system emerged in the East.

20:20So this was a tremendously important time in history for Russia.

20:25When it goes to the East, it notices that it doesn't have the same historical baggage.

20:29It doesn't meet the same hostility.

20:32And even the fact that China is the biggest country there, not Russia, it actually works

20:37often to Russia's advantage.

20:39So I think 2014 was really the main era, because this is when Europe really slammed the door

20:47in the face of Russia, and a new door opened in the East, which was China.

20:52And that's when this greater Eurasia ambition really began to move forward.

20:56The main problem for Russia has always been it had unfavorable asymmetrical interdependence

21:03with the West.

21:04So we often say that interdependence between nations is good.

21:08It creates peace.

21:09Well, yes, to some extent, because in all interdependent relationships, one will always

21:13be more dependent on the other.

21:15So this goes with people as well as states.

21:19Now, when you have huge asymmetries, then one side can use that to extract political

21:25power from the rest.

21:26So let's say, for example, a relationship between the collective West and Russia.

21:30If 90% of Russian trade is dependent on the West, while 3% of the West trade is dependent

21:37on Russia, this is asymmetrical.

21:39Now the West is much less dependent on Russia than Russia is on the West, and the West can

21:43use this to extract political concessions.

21:48And this is what we saw.

21:49We saw Russia being dependent on the West for its technologies, access to transportation

21:53corridors, banks, currencies, payment systems, insurance systems, everything.

21:58The only thing really Europe was dependent on Russia was energy.

22:02And we did everything we could to reduce this, to have maximized interdependence.

22:08Because in any interdependent relationship, you get some influence, but you lose some

22:11autonomy.

22:12If you have asymmetrical interdependence, you maintain your autonomy and you get influence

22:17over the other.

22:19So this is the problem for Russia.

22:20This was the condition for creating a Russia, a Europe without Russia.

22:24How can you have a Europe where we leave out the largest country on the continent?

22:27For Russia, if they want to have some political autonomy and security and act as an independent

22:32pole of power in a multipolar world, they need to diversify their partnerships.

22:36Yes, they need some strategic autonomy in key sectors, for example, technology, energy,

22:41but they need to diversify partnerships.

22:44And this is what they failed to do.

22:46So ideally, Russia would be very close with China, but also India, Iran, Korea, Japan,

22:52but also the EU, US to have as many partners as possible so no one can bully it.

22:57So this excessive dependence on the West is really the mistake I would refer to, which

23:02was very damaging for Russia.

23:05What I argued is that the Russians will be somewhat concerned not to recreate this in

23:10the East.

23:11Because Russia's pivot to the East can't simply become a pivot to China.

23:15Why?

23:16Well, because China is much, much more powerful, at least economically, than Russia.

23:22So it doesn't want to get stuck in a partnership where, again, 95% of its trade is dependent

23:27on China and 2% of Chinese trade is dependent on Russia, because that would be a very uneven

23:32relationship.

23:36So this means Russia really has to diversify its partnerships.

23:40So not just integrate with China, but also look a bit to India, Iran, Korea, and also

23:44the rest of the world.

23:46And what has been a very pleasant experience for the Russians is that China is okay with

23:54it.

23:55They're not sabotaging it.

23:56And this is something new to the Russians, because whenever Western countries have deal

24:01with Ukraine, Central Asia, Turkey, Armenia, the key objective is always to decouple them

24:07from the Russians, to sever ties between them.

24:10The Chinese have never done this.

24:11And part of the reason is because China is happy with the multipolar system.

24:15If China wanted to recreate a Chinese hegemony to replace an American one, they would have

24:19tried to cut Russia's tie from other states and made it subordinate.

24:23But it's not doing this.

24:24And this is what is very reassuring to the Russians.

24:27And this is also an indicator why we're seeing a multipolar system emerge where, yes, China

24:33is the leading state, but it's not seeking to dominate others.

24:38I wrote this book a decade ago.

24:41It's Russia's geoeconomic strategy for greater Eurasia, where I kind of pointed out that

24:45this soft balancing has to be in place in order for the integration or greater Eurasia

24:51to be durable.

24:52But at this moment, they're getting deeply involved with the Chinese partnership and

24:56they're very comfortable with it because they can maintain their political autonomy.

25:00So again, 10 years ago, this book didn't really, wasn't received that well.

25:06People said it's marriage of convenience, they're never going to be in a de-dollarization.

25:10This was almost science fiction.

25:12But we see 10 years later now, this is the direction things are going because states

25:18will seek what I call a balance of dependence.

25:20Well, it's also become a cliche that one hegemon or one leading power doesn't hand over the

25:26mantle peacefully to the next one.

25:29There's usually conflict.

25:32And I think the United States have tried everything now, they did a lot to sabotage China's technological

25:39industries, with the chip bans, encouraging other countries to decouple from China.

25:47They can put pressure on transportation corridors, access to finance.

25:51Again, there's a lot that the United States has done, but none of this is working.

25:59They could have done this maybe 10 or 20 years ago, but now China's too big, it's too late.

26:03So this is why the United States is now leaning towards militarizing the rivalry instead.

26:10And that's why it's important with a proxy.

26:12Well, it doesn't have to be Taiwan, it could also be Philippines because it's great empires,

26:21they try not to fight with their own troops.

26:24So if you don't want to fight a huge great power like Russia or China with your own military,

26:31it will be devastating, they probably would lose and it could escalate into nuclear war.

26:36So it's better to fight with proxies.

26:38And so if you're going to fight the Russians, then obviously for them, Ukraine will be the

26:45best proxy to fight.

26:47Now with the Chinese, yeah, you would use Taiwan or Philippines most likely, which is

26:53where the Americans are now sending their weapons, encouraging more antagonistic relationship

26:58with Beijing.

26:59This is what the direction the Americans are going.

27:03Under the one China principle, the Americans should limit themselves to economic and cultural

27:07ties to Taiwan.

27:09Instead we're seeing now that they're sending their top politicians there, which is a breach.

27:14They're sending military trainers there, which is a breach.

27:17And so they're step by step trying to dismantle it.

27:22So asking for more representation for Taiwan in international institutions, such as the

27:27UN.

27:28So beginning to give it the status of a sovereign country, which is not correct because our

27:34peace and stability with China is based on this principle that there is one China, Taiwan

27:39is a part of China.

27:41And if we try to abandon this, then there will be war.

27:44And it's not in China's interest to use military force against Taiwan.

27:49I think China is quite confidently sees as its economy grows, it will be able to integrate

27:54Taiwan more through peaceful means, economic connectivity.

28:00So waiting for a more favorable government perhaps.

28:03So the only reason why I think China would use military force is if the Americans are

28:08pushing for Taiwan secession.

28:10I think that's the red line for China.

28:12The Chinese should be careful because if the Americans are looking for a proxy war like

28:16they did with Ukraine, because keep in mind in Ukraine, the same thing happened.

28:21The Russians went in because America sabotaged all peace agreements.

28:24They went in with the military, which was this, you know, unprovoked invasion.

28:27And on the first day they attempted to, they reached out to the Ukrainians, started a peace

28:32negotiations, which they did.

28:34And then the Americans came and sabotaged it because they wanted a war and they chose

28:37a war.

28:38And this is why one should be careful not to walk into a similar trap over Taiwan.

28:44But China and Russia has been a different relationship with Washington over the past

28:5030 years because China had a more favorable position.

28:54The Russians, they had a military block gradually expanding on their border.

28:59They were never offered a status quo.

29:01Instead they had to see NATO march slowly on its borders with the repercussions being

29:06quite predictable.

29:08So this often made it necessary for Russia to punch above its weight, to really flex

29:13its muscles beyond even what it had the capability to match with action.

29:18Now China was a bit of the opposite, favorable.

29:20There was no military block marching on its borders.

29:24It tried to not create any waves.

29:26So what's also called a peaceful rise, just try not to create too much attention, draw

29:33too much attention to itself, which would make the dominant, well, the American empire

29:38strike against China, try to, you know, knock it down.

29:41So this is why we saw the different paths by the Chinese and the Russians.

29:45But now, of course, China's become too powerful for America's comfort.

29:50So now they kind of have to come out of the closet as well and start to push back, which

29:54is what we're seeing.

30:12There are, there's an endless list of ways in which the mainstream corporate media internationally

30:18has wrongly portrayed Venezuela.

30:21You know, in the past, going back to the years in which the sanctions were really having

30:26a visible impact on the country, they were depicting scenes of hungry people.

30:33At some point they found images supposedly of people eating out of a dumpster.

30:40They made these headlines about people eating zoo animals or something absolutely bizarre

30:47like that.

30:57Things in Venezuela are relatively normal in terms of everyday commerce, in terms of

31:03people going to their workplaces, things are being sold out on the streets, especially

31:09in the capitals and in the capital of the country, Caracas, things are bustling as normal.

31:14Public transportation has resumed.

31:17And so we know the situation from the past that the mainstream media internationally

31:23likes to show a country in chaos.

31:26But the reality is that there was some violence and there were some incidents of terrorism

31:32we call these armed gangs and these violent groups in the street, guarimbas, but they

31:38went out and they committed acts of arson.

31:41They attacked people and all of these different crimes, which we can get into.

31:45But what the authorities have said is that the people who carried out those different

31:52acts of violence were in large part paid by the opposition.

31:58They were people who had a criminal record profile.

32:02They were young street kids.

32:04Some of them were minors.

32:06So they were actually teenagers.

32:09And a lot of them had recently returned from places like Chile, Peru and the United States

32:14in what seems to be an organized plan to carry out these acts of violence.

32:20And the authorities have also said that in making the arrests, it has been found that

32:25many of these people didn't even cast a vote.

32:28So things are really returning to normal in that sense that that period of violence has

32:37ended. But of course, there have been a lot of mobilizations in favor of the government's

32:44triumph, President Maduro's triumph in his reelection.

32:48Every day there have been large rallies in support of the government that have marched

32:54to the Mito Flores Palace, the presidential palace in Caracas.

32:57And at the same time, there have been some rallies in support of that main opposition,

33:03which came in second in those July 28th elections.

33:08Apart from that, there is something that's a little bit odd.

33:11And that's, of course, that the media has once again turned its eye to Venezuela, that

33:17the headlines once again include Venezuela and that the State Department and the

33:22European Union, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada and all of these other

33:28countries are paying very close attention and they're emitting statements all the time.

33:33And also other countries of Latin America with right wing presidents and governments.

33:38There's an endless list of ways in which the mainstream corporate media

33:43internationally has wrongly portrayed Venezuela.

33:48One of the things is that they show a lot of opposition support and they they always

33:55depict huge support in the streets while trying to convey a message that the support for the

34:04government is dwindling over time and that people don't feel as enthusiastic as they once

34:09did. The fact is that we saw during this campaign season that there was huge support in the

34:16streets for maintaining the Bolivarian revolutionary project and in support of the

34:21re-election of Nicolás Maduro and that he had huge rallies all across the countries and all

34:27the main cities. And of course, in the capital, it goes without saying that the final campaign

34:34closing rally just a few days before the election was absolutely massive and possibly the

34:41largest political rally we've seen in Venezuela since Commander Hugo Chávez. And so, you know,

34:51they're they're showing, you know, misrepresenting the levels of support for this government in the

34:57country. Of course, we saw, you know, in the past going back to the years in which the sanctions

35:03were really having a visible impact on the country. They were depicting scenes of hungry

35:10people. At some point, they found images supposedly of people eating out of a dumpster. They made

35:18these headlines about people eating zoo animals or something absolutely bizarre like that.

35:27The fact is that in the global south and particularly in Latin America, one of the main

35:31issues that we face is that salaries are low. They are objectively low in Latin America compared to

35:38the global north. On average in Latin America, the minimum wage earner is earning in a month's time,

35:45you know, two hundred dollars. They're not earning what we earn in North America.

35:51And so that's that's a huge reason why people have migrated northward. It's not because of

35:58these issues that are being spoken about in the human rights industry based in Washington or

36:05Brussels or Berlin or wherever they're based. It's not what the State Department is saying,

36:09that it's because of human rights or repression or because of the stifling of

36:18fundamental freedoms in the country because of political persecution or all of these things

36:23that have been fabricated. It is that people just want to live in another country and seek better

36:27economic opportunity. And the economy is growing and has really recovered in the last three years

36:36because of some of the measures taken by President Maduro and his government. This is a country that

36:42for a period of years had hyperinflation in which the local currency was worth very little. And so

36:51it was almost useless to carry around cash. You had to use a debit card for any purchases.

36:57And now the exchange is actually at 36. 36 bolivars are the equivalent of a dollar. So it's

37:05much easier to make purchases there. And things have really normalized. You see investment from

37:12foreigners. You see a lot of tourism has returned. A lot of Venezuelans have returned.

37:17Just to speak a little bit about the way in which things have really improved economically in terms

37:24of the living conditions for regular people. A lot of the products that had gone missing have

37:30returned. Now it's a country that has become overwhelmingly and the government would say

37:36completely food sovereign, which means that they're no longer having to import food from

37:41neighboring countries and friends, but they're able to produce a lot of. So this is something

37:45that has really changed. Things have, like I said, improved in the country and the press simply has

37:52not reported on that. It really is a normal country in that there are ride apps. If you want

37:59a taxi, you go on your phone and you go onto your app and you choose your location where you want to

38:05go and you call it and you go like anywhere else. You go to a nightclub, you go to a bar, people are

38:10selling things in the streets. There are, you know, people go on vacation. There's domestic tourism.

38:17And so there are, of course, endless ways in which the media is misrepresenting

38:25the country. But what's fascinating is that the media is still able to operate

38:31in Venezuela without any sort of censorship or anything at all. If you see the international

38:39press conferences held by President Maduro at the palace, he invites the journalists and

38:45correspondents in the country accredited from EFE, from Reuters, from AP, from BBC, among many

38:53others. And they are there constantly providing information, despite that so many of them have

39:00lied about the situation in the country for so many years. The opposition that we're largely

39:04talking about, the one that came in second in the November 28th elections, you're seeing them

39:10as the main representatives of the country, even though they're the opposition

39:15in the international mainstream media. They have a huge presence on social media and they have a lot

39:20of resources because we know that in past years they've received a lot of funding from NGOs linked

39:27to the State Department. And that way they have been able to fund protests within the country,

39:33in Venezuela, but also a lot of online campaigning and propaganda in support of regime change.

39:40These people have gone out and largely lived in the exterior, some of them as millionaires

39:47in luxury condos in places like Bogota, Miami, Washington, and Madrid, which has for years

39:55sought sanctions, the unilateral course of measures of which there are more than 900

40:01that are imposed against Venezuela, really striking the Venezuelan people. We saw in

40:092018 the creation of what was called the Lima Group, which was a group of countries that came

40:17together all with right-wing governments to try to oust the democratically elected popular

40:24government of Nicolas Maduro. They started holding meetings in places like Ottawa, Canada,

40:31and all around Latin America about Venezuela. And this is actually something that they're trying to

40:37do again right now. They're looking for ways to meet a gathering of presidents, sometimes a

40:43gathering of foreign ministers of these right-wing governments, look for ways to attack Venezuela

40:50essentially with different forms of aggression, to pressure them politically, to emit joint

40:55statements together. The United States has the strategy of using its close allies, but really

41:03we can see the way in which all of this has been orchestrated by Washington in order to

41:08mount more political pressure as just one of its strategies. At the same time,

41:13it's mounting more economic pressure with the announcement of new sanctions all of the time,

41:18especially sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector. The oil issue in Venezuela is one of the most

41:23important issues, of course. So you can just look and see what's taking place right now in Guyana

41:29to see that is the country that has essentially become a U.S. protectorate, a U.S. territory.

41:36They are sending all sorts of South Com troops in order to do supposed joint military exercises

41:47with the Guyanese military, but really they're just trying to create the necessary conditions

41:53in order for Chevron and Exxon Mobil to be able to extract oil from this region. Venezuela is not

42:02the only country that has huge oil reserves, but it is perhaps the largest right now and definitely

42:09the largest in South America. It's very important that the U.S. get its hands on that oil, but also

42:16with the oil, Venezuela, since Commander Hugo Chavez, has been able to help many of its neighbors.

42:25It's been able to help neighbors through its Petro Caribe program, in which it was selling

42:33oil to these countries at huge subsidies, huge subsidized prices, in order for them to become

42:40more economically independent from other world powers, and it has been a huge help.

42:48Additionally, under the formation of this articulation of countries, which is ALBA-TCP,

42:55Venezuela and Cuba have been able to help these other Caribbean countries of the eastern Caribbean

43:01states with things like medical missions and sharing medical supplies when things are donated

43:08from countries like China and Russia, and these sorts of supports allow these countries to build

43:14and take their own independent path, asserting their right to implement their own models,

43:19and are breaking away with Monroe Doctrine and United States dominance. The United States is

43:26obviously not content with that. They know that there are endless opportunities in resource

43:34extraction, even apart from oil, if they're able to gain control over that country's resources,

43:41but they know they can only do that by installing one of their allies of this far-right opposition.

43:49This is a country that was highly reliant on the income generated from its oil sector, and so

43:55the way in which that was impacted was that, because of the unilateral course of measures,

44:01it was very difficult for Venezuela to do crucial things like purchase the necessary

44:07replacement parts in order to repair its oil refineries. They suffered huge fuel shortages

44:16in a country which itself produces oil. They had to rely on cooperation with Iran to be able

44:24to recover its oil industry, and Iran was even bringing fuel over to Venezuela during a crucial

44:33moment in perhaps 2020-2021 to Venezuela. There were a lot of shortages of food, as was widely

44:44reported, and part of why that happens is the same reason why it happens in countries like Cuba,

44:51under the blockade which has lasted more than 60 years, which is that there are issues with

44:59making purchases under these unilateral coercive measures, but there's also

45:05issues in which the shipping companies themselves and these sort of third parties don't want to

45:10enter into any contracts or do any commerce or trade having anything to do with a sanctioned

45:16entity, whether it be a government official of Venezuela, whether it be the Venezuelan state,

45:23because of the way in which they could be subject to secondary sanctions. And so that creates a

45:29situation where people don't want to take any risks because it could harm them economically,

45:35even if they're, let's say, some completely random South African shipping company. So

45:43they were deprived of medicines and other crucial things, such as insulin for diabetic people,

45:53and this created a lot of difficulties. Thankfully, in large part, and thanks to a lot of

46:00Venezuela's close allies, they've been able to largely overcome that. I think Venezuelans know

46:07that if the empire were able to overturn their revolution and come in and actually

46:15consolidate a coup, that it would be catastrophic for all the rest of our countries.

46:22And this was another episode of China Now, a show that opens a window to the present

46:27and the future of the Aishan Yael. Hope you enjoyed it. See you next time.

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