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CHINA

General Motors mulls blocking Saab sale

US automaker General Motors said Saturday that it may block the sale of Saab to two Chinese companies, citing concerns of its supplier relationship to the insolvent Swedish carmaker.

“We have many unanswered questions about the transaction,” GM spokesman Jim Cain told AFP, referring to the proposed €100 million ($142 million) sale announced on October 28th of Saab to Chinese companies Pang Da and Youngman.

“GM would not be able to support a change in the ownership of Saab which could negatively impact GM’s existing relationships in China or otherwise adversely affect GM’s interests worldwide,” Cain said.

The Chinese companies on Monday said they would inject €610 million ($855 million) into Saab in a bid to revitalize the company, which GM offloaded to Dutch firm Swedish Automobile (Swan), then known as Spyker, for €290 ($400) million in 2010.

The Pang Da-Youngman buy-out requires approval from several parties, most notably GM, Chinese authorities, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Swedish debt office (Riksgälden).

“If our concerns can be addressed, that may make it possible for us to continue as a supplier to Saab,” Cain said, alluding to concerns from the US automaker about its technology going to China.

But GM was “very much open” to additional discussions about the deal, he added.

“Given the time that has passed since the transaction was announced, we felt it necessary to communicate our position at this point in time,” he said.

The Chinese companies have said they are prepared to invest more than €2 billion up until 2017 in an effort to return Saab to profitability.

Much of the spending would be devoted to developing new car models as well as launching Saab production facilities in China.

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CHINA

China derides Copenhagen democracy meet as ‘political farce’

China on Tuesday blasted a democracy conference in Copenhagen attended by Taiwan's president and a Hong Kong activist alongside Danish government officials this week, qualifying it a "political farce".

China derides Copenhagen democracy meet as 'political farce'
Demonstrators gathered outside the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday. Photo: Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix

The Copenhagen Democracy Summit was held Monday and Tuesday in the Danish capital and organised by the Alliance of Democracies, an organisation targeted by Beijing sanctions in March and founded by former NATO boss Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

In addition to Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod also participated in the forum by video link, which Beijing said violated “the one-China principle.”

“This summit is a political farce,” the Chinese embassy in Denmark wrote in a statement published on Tuesday. “Inviting those who advocate Taiwan and Hong Kong ‘independence’ to the meeting violates the one-China principle and interferes in China’s internal affairs,” it said.

“Some hypocritical western politicians are good at meddling in other countries’ internal affairs and creating divisions and confrontation in the name of ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom’. They are bound to fail,” it added.

At the conference on Monday, Kofod said it was “deplorable” that Beijing had imposed sanctions on 10 European individuals and organisations in response to EU sanctions on Xinjiang officials over their actions against the Uyghur Muslim minority.

Like most countries, Denmark applies the one-China principle — under which Beijing bars other countries from having simultaneous diplomatic relations with Taipei — though it does maintain relations with Taiwan.

Cut off politically from the rest of China since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the territory is self-governing but is not recognised by
the United Nations.

Beijing considers Taiwan a rebel province that will one day return under its control, by force if necessary.

China’s sabre-rattling has increased considerably over the past year, with fighter jets and nuclear-capable bombers breaching Taiwan’s air defence zone on a near-daily basis.

“Our government is fully aware of the threats to regional security, and is actively enhancing our national defence capabilities to protect our
democracy,” Tsai told the conference in a video address on Monday. US President Joe Biden is expected to present his China strategy soon, as
calls mount for him to publicly commit to defending Taiwan militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.

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