China News - 1 February 2022
China’s Tech Landscape: Where do Beijing’s priorities lie? 2021 was a tumultuous year for Chinese tech. Does the future look brighter for China’s tech giants or will Beijing’s regulatory crackdown continue? Experts Rui Ma, John Lee and Rogier Creemers will discuss with Tom Tugendhat MP.
Wednesday 9 February, 4pm GMT. Register here (via Zoom).
The CRG wishes everyone celebrating Lunar New Year across the world a happy and healthy year of the tiger - 祝大家新年快乐!
Chinese New Year: your guide to everything from importance of the colour red to firework bans. The Conversation, 31 January
2022 Spring Festival Gala: A visual feast for the Year of the Tiger. CGTN, 1 February
Lunar new year celebrations 2022 – in pictures. The Guardian, 1 February
International
Young and skilled have fled Hong Kong for UK. A Home Office survey of 500 people granted the BN(O) visa found seven in ten had a degree while half were working in professional or managerial jobs. More than half were under the age of 45, with 19 per cent under-25, which is particularly surprising given individuals must be at least 24-years-old to be directly eligible for the scheme. The Times, 1 February
Long read: Hong Kong’s homesick exiles in Britain greet the Year of the Tiger. Stuart Lau. Politico, 1 February
Ukraine crisis: US is warmongering, says China in fiery skirmish at UN. China joined Russia in an attempt to block a meeting of the UN Security Council on the military build-up on Monday. Zhang Jun, China’s UN ambassador, said there was no basis for Western claims that Moscow, which has at least 127,000 troops near its border with Ukraine and in Belarus, is about to stage an incursion. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will embark on a visit to Kyiv today as part of diplomatic efforts to stop a possible Russian invasion. The Telegraph, Reuters, 31 January
Threat from China is ‘more damaging’ than ever before: FBI chief. Christopher Wray said the FBI is opening new cases to counter Chinese intelligence operations every 12 hours or so. The Guardian, SCMP, 1 February
Slovenia tries to head off row with Beijing over Taiwan office. Slovenian officials have attempted to head off a potential dispute as companies from the Alpine nation have reportedly already been losing business in China. SCMP, 31 January
China’s backing for global debt transparency crucial to contain Covid-induced stress in emerging markets. A global consensus must be developed around disclosure requirements for all sovereign lending, said the Bretton Woods Committee. SCMP, 31 January
Japan parliament passes resolution on human rights in China days before Beijing Winter Olympics. SCMP, 1 February
‘Families are starving’: Chinese trawlers’ overfishing is destroying lives, say Sierra Leoneans. The Guardian, 1 February
Beijing Olympics says growing COVID cases are "within controllable range". Reuters, 1 February
Economy & tech
Tech war: Beijing will come out of decoupling worse off than the US, say Chinese academics. Researchers from Peking University’s Institute of International and Strategic Studies compared the development of China and the US in areas of competition between the two, including information technology, artificial intelligence and space and aerospace technology. SCMP, 1 February
George Soros warns China is facing an economic crisis. The billionaire said Xi Jinping may not be able to restore confidence in the troubled property industry, which has been hit by a series of defaults by developers and falling prices for land and apartments. CNN, 31 January
Big Tech increases funding to US foreign policy think tanks. Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple battle Washington’s move towards stricter regulation using anti-China lobbying. FT, 1 February
Goldman Sachs unveils big plans for China. Nikkei Asia, 31 January
China to stay attractive with new opening-up opportunities. China Daily, 31 January
Opinion and editorial
The Great Rectification of China's cyberspace. Beijing’s tech crakdown is better understood as a bundle of measures aimed at realising six different kinds of objectives. Rogier Creemers. ISPI, 31 January
China is regularly called ‘authoritarian’. That doesn’t feel like enough. Melissa Chan. The Washington Post, 31 January
China’s common prosperity and the search for equality. Jane Hayward. ISPI, 31 January
Wall Street’s frustrations in China and Hong Kong rise. Groups flag concern about new regulation as Bank of America reviews job levels in the territory. Tabby Kinder. FT, 31 January
Long reads
China watching in the ‘New Era’: A guide. The importance of knowing, understanding and anticipating the PRC will only increase, whether its rise continues or it hits turbulence. Charles Parton. Council on Geostrategy, 1 February
How reforms have affected British schools in China. Reforms in China have hit international schools hard – but there are still opportunities for those willing to adapt. David Mansfield. TES magazine, 31 January
Closed China: why Xi Jinping is sticking with his zero-Covid policy. Some of the strict measures for controlling the spread of the virus could extend beyond Omicron and the Olympics. Edward White and Eleanor Olcott. FT, 1 February
Strengthening ties: China and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Atlantic Council, 31 January
Upcoming panel discussion: Liberty and safety in Xinjiang – a zero-sum? On 16 February, The Royal Society for Asian Affairs will be hosting a panel of experts to discuss the nature of the crackdown on in Xinjiang and how this relates to Chinese Communist Party strategies for governing. Register here.