China News - 1 July 2021
International
Rishi Sunak calls for relationship with China “without compromising our values or security.” In a speech delivered today, Chancellor Rishi Sunak calls China “a state with fundamentally different values to ours….That means being eyes wide open about their increasing international influence and continuing to take a principled stand on issues we judge to contravene our values. After all, principles only matter if they extend beyond our convenience.” Mansion House speech, 1 July
CCP at 100: Xi Jinping warns China won’t be bullied in speech marking 100-year anniversary of CCP. In a speech before a crowd of 70,000 in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Xi praised the ruling party for lifting China out of poverty and humiliation, and pledged to expand China’s military and influence. “By the same token we will never allow anyone to bully, oppress, or subjugate [China]. Anyone who tries will find them on a collision course with a steel wall forged by 1.4 billion people.”. The Guardian, BBC, 1 July
US and Japan conduct war games amid rising China-Taiwan tensions. Shinzo Abe, then Japan’s prime minister, decided in 2019 to significantly expand military planning because of the threat to Taiwan and the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. This work has continued under the administrations of Joe Biden and Abe’s successor, Yoshihide Suga. The activity includes top-secret tabletop war games and joint exercises in the South China and East China seas. FT, 30 June
Australian universities may allow pseudonyms to protect students including those critical of China. The Guardian has learned university leaders are considering a range of options to protect academic freedom, including making it a disciplinary offence if students record some classes or share them with outside groups. The Guardian, 30 June
Taiwan tells US it hopes to sign free trade deal. Both sides held the long-delayed talks on the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, or TIFA, virtually. Reuters, 30 June
China, like-minded countries express concern over human rights situation in UK with joint statement to UN, citing systemic racism and hate speech. Xinhua, 1 July
Science journal editor says he quit over China boycott article. The Annals of Human Genetics refused to publish an article suggesting that academic journals should take a stance against China’s human rights violations in Xinjiang. The Guardian, 1 July
US image rebounds while ‘unfavourable’ views of China remain, new Pew survey finds. Unfavourable views of China are at or near historic highs, though they are largely unchanged since last year. The Guardian, 30 June
UK and Germany sign post-Brexit defence and foreign policy declaration. The Guardian, 30 June
China focus
China declared officially malaria-free by WHO. After recording more than 30m cases of malaria annually in the 1940s, China implemented an eradication programme that by the late-1990s had brought annual cases to about 117,000 and reduced deaths by 95 per cent. BBC, 1 July
China’s tech hub Shenzhen looks to restrict surveillance cameras in public spaces. SCMP, FT, 30 June
Economy & tech
Vast majority of new coal-power plants ‘uneconomic’, according to a new think tank report. FT, 30 June
HSBC documents revealed in Huawei extradition battle. BBC, 1 July
Longer reads & opinion
China’s Communist party has rewritten its own past – but the truth will surface. Rana Mitter in The Guardian, 1 July
One year after Hong Kong's National Security Law, the UK government needs to up its game. Stephen Kinnock in Politics Home, 1 July
The Chinese Communist Party at 100: Adaptable and abiding. Holly Snape in Council on Geostrategy, 1 July
Watching China in Europe - July 2021. Noah Barkin in GMF, 1 July
Book review: China’s Leaders by David Shambaugh review – from Mao to now. The Guardian, 30 June
Translation: Xi speech on Party history from mobilisation meeting on February 20. China Neican, 1 July