China News - 1 November
International
What China wants from Israel-Hamas war. China calls itself a neutral body, but it continues to show support for the Palestinians. Xi stressed the need for an independent Palestinian state during the last conflict, and it seems that anti-semitism is spreading across the heavily censored Chinese media. Tessa Wong. BBC News, 31 October
Fukushima: US buys Japanese seafood to counter Chinese ban. The US military in Japan has started bulk buying Japanese seafood following Beijing’s import ban. Peter Hoskins. BBC News, 31 October
Canada bans Chinese app WeChat from government devices. The president of the Treasury Board, Anita Anand, said “we are taking a risk-based approach to cyber security by removing access to these applications on government mobile devices”. BBC News, 30 October
China cooperating in Balticconnector investigation, Finland says. Petteri Orpo said China was cooperating in the investigation of the Hong Kong-flagged NewNew Polar Bear vessel. Gwladys Fouche. Reuters, 31 October
China’s billionaires looking to move the cash, and themselves, out. According to Henley & Partners, about 13,500 high net worth individuals are expected to leave China this year. This figure is up from 10,800 last year. Amy Hawkins. The Guardian, 30 October
Philippines says its ships have “every right” to be near Scarborough Shoal. National Security Adviser, Eduardo Ano, said that “under international law, the Philippines has the right to patrol the length and breadth of the West Philippines Sea which necessarily includes Bajo de Masinloc”. Al Jazeera, 31 October
China’s top general warns against supporting Taiwan. Zhang Youxia, China’s top general, has warned that China will show “absolutely no mercy” to anyone supporting Taiwanese independence and denounced the US for encouraging “colour revolutions”. Richard Lloyd Parry. Thetimes, 30 October
Economy & Tech
China leads record central bank gold buying in first nine months of year. As the country looks to hedge against inflation and reduce their reliance on the dollar, central banks have bought 800 tonnes of gold already this year. Harry Dempsey. Financial Times, 31 October
Banks pumped more than $150bn into companies running “carbon bomb” projects in 2022. Projects that risk 1.5C heating targets operated by companies receiving financing from Chinese, European and Us banks. Ajit Niranjan. The Guardian, 31 October
China’s factory activity contracts in blow to economic momentum. The contraction reversed last month’s expansion and has marked a further blow for policy makers hoping to jump-start China’s lagging growth. Thomas Hale. Financial Times, 31 October
KWS Saat to sell China corn business as GMO rules overhauled. The company said it expects to sell its corn unit and the corresponding 49% minority stake in joint venture Kenfeng-KWS Seed to its Chinese partner for a mid-range double digit million euro sum. Patricia Weiss and Ferenc Gaal. Reuters, 31 October
Opinion & long-reads
As Hamas propaganda spreads a warning: “We made a big mistake not to ban Tiktok”. Experts say the prevalence of radical content on the Chinese app TikTok risks fuelling real world incidents. Hamas propaganda has been uploaded onto the app and has spread across digital China as well as made visible to Western users. James Warrington and James Titcomb. Telegraph, 31 October
Huawei’s new phone ratchets up rivalry with US and Apple. Flagship Mate 60 Pro has been a hit in China, but taking on the iPhone will have political repercussions and offend China’s youth where the latest iPhone is a status symbol. June Yoon, Financial Times, 31 October