China News - 1 December 2021

International

MI6 chief warns of security threat from Beijing ‘miscalculation’. Giving a rare speech, Britain’s foreign intelligence chief that China was at risk of “believing its own propaganda” and that the country had become “the single greatest priority” for MI6 for the first time in its history. Whilst acknowledging the UK remains keen to cooperate with China across a range of issues, including climate change and on trade and investment, the MI6 chief also warned about the spread of Chinese surveillance technology on British shores. The Guardian, FT, The Telegraph, Beijing to Britain, 30 November

Multi-billion EU bid to challenge Chinese influence to be launched. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will present the €300 billion "Global Gateway" initiative today, setting out "concrete" ideas on digital, transport, climate and energy schemes as part of the West's efforts to counter Chinese influence in Africa and elsewhere. Wednesday's 14-page document isn't likely to explicitly pitch itself as a rival to China's strategy. BBC, Politico, 1 December

Hinkley Point C: Chinese nuclear plant fault may delay UK power plan. Key safety components in the UK’s first new nuclear power station for 30 years may need to be redesigned and the project could be delayed after defects were detected at a similar reactor in China. The Times, 1 December

China cuts finance pledge to Africa amid growing debt concerns. In a video address to the triennial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), Xi Jinping pledged $40bn to African countries in investment, credit lines, trade finance and special drawing rights, a cut from the $60bn pledged at the previous two summits. China remains the biggest bilateral lender to the world’s poorest countries and the biggest bilateral participant in the G20’s debt service suspension initiative. FT, 30 November

Renewable energy has ‘another record year of growth’ says International Energy Agency. China installed the most new renewable energy capacity this year, and is now expected to reach 1,200GW of wind and solar capacity in 2026, four years earlier than its target of 2030. The Guardian, 1 December

Hundreds of Taiwanese extradited to China, says report. A new report by a human rights group Safeguard Defenders has found more than 600 Taiwanese arrested overseas were deported to China between 2016 and 2019. BBC, 1 December

‘Pro-China’ Xiomara Castro poised to win power in Honduras. Castro has promised to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing once she is elected, potentially robbing Taiwan of one of its few remaining allies in Latin America. The Times, 30 November

Biden adviser says Australia won’t lose sovereignty under Aukus, warns China wants to ‘break’ country. Kurt Campbell says China’s attempts to drive Australia ‘to its knees’ through a trade war won’t succeed. The Guardian, 1 December

Airbnb hosts Xinjiang rentals on land owned by sanctioned group, investigation finds. Axios, 30 November

Putin dismisses assertion that China’s hypersonic missiles present threat. Independent, 30 November

EU calls on China to show proof of tennis star's wellbeing. Reuters, 30 November

Economy & tech

Semiconductor nationalism is on the rise across Asia. Asian countries, which like their western counterparts have long been critical of China’s state-subsidised push to be self-sufficient in semiconductor technology, are now taking a leaf out of Beijing’s playbook. FT, 30 November

China seeks better cross-border control of big data with new plan. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) called for improved cross-border security management of big data till 2025, in a five-year plan published on Tuesday. The plan contains six key tasks, including the strengthening of management of cross-border data flows and playing a leading role in developing global technology standards. Reuters, 30 November

How Tesla helps China's firms compete with the US. The electric car company is helping Chinese companies become global players in the emerging industry, posing a competitive threat to traditional rivals. NYT, 30 November

Tencent opens super app WeChat to Chinese e-commerce rivals amid inexorable regulatory pressure, analysts say. Tencent’s move to open up WeChat marks a major victory for Chinese regulators, who want Big Tech firms to improve interoperability between internet platforms. SCMP, 30 November

China factory activity picks up as energy crunch stabilises. FT, 30 November

Didi’s woes intensify as Beijing tightens ride-hailing rules. FT, 30 November

China focus

20th Party Congress 2022: leadership tracker. MacroPolo has launched a new feature that tracks the nightly mentions of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee members on Xinwen Lianbo, a key transmission vehicle for CCP politics and policies. The tracker will help map the Chinese leadership’s agenda and leaders’ relative standing within the Party.

China’s rising ultra-nationalism complicates Xi’s climate ambitions. An increasingly vocal faction of society views some green measures as bending to demands from hostile Western powers. Bloomberg, 30 November

Law-abidingness and ‘loving China and Hong Kong’ replace ‘respect for human rights’ and ‘learning about the motherland with critical thinking’ in Hong Kong’s new education curriculum. HKFP, 1 December

China says Winter Olympics will proceed as planned despite Omicron challenge. Reuters, 30 November

Opinion & editorial

The Times view on China’s use of investment to gain influence abroad. The West is struggling to compete with Beijing’s inducements to poorer countries due to the nature of Belt and Road projects and investors’ demand for immediate returns. The Times, 30 November

Economic woes, not China, are at the heart of Solomon Islands riots. Kathrin Hille. FT, 1 December

China is winning the big data war, thanks to Xi. Matt Pottinger and David Feith. NYT, 30 November

Joe Biden’s democracy summit risks flattering the enemy. Free nations should not overstate the momentum or influence of autocrats. Janan Ganesh. FT, 30 November

Long reads

Transatlantic tools: harmonising US and EU approaches to China. This new policy paper delves into the transatlantic China toolbox, assessing where the US and EU can learn from each other. Noah Barkin and Agatha Kratz. Atlantic Council, 30 November

China’s move to greater self reliance. Reshaping the Chinese economy around the principle of self-reliance will be an extremely complex, highly uncertain, and multi-year process. Adam Segal. China Leadership Group, 1 December

The growing rift between Europe and China. Harry Seavey. SupChina, 30 November

Chinese youth: Westernised but not pro-democracy. Wei Shan and Juan Chen. China Story, 30 November