China News - 10 January 2023

International

MPs raise concerns over Chinese tech and human rights in Procurement Bill debate. During a debate of the Procurement Bill - which will examine the way public authorities purchase goods and services - CRG chair Alicia Kearns raised data security concerns around the procurement of Chinese technology and questioned use of Hikvision CCTV cameras by UK police forces. Kearns called for a priority list of security-critical sectors to be included in the Bill to end to the UK’s ‘wac-a-mole’ approach to tackling strategic dependence on China. China Research Group (via Twitter), iNews, 9 January

Rishi Sunak restores funding to UK-China centre after Liz Truss cut. British government funding to the Great Britain-China Centre (GBCC) has been restored amid efforts to bolster the UK’s China expertise. The grant will no longer come from the international aid budget and represents a cut from the £500,000 the body received in 2021-22. Alicia Kearns commented: “This is a sensible and welcome policy reversal. A lack of China expertise across Whitehall and beyond has become a national security problem in of itself.” Politico, 10 January

Hong Kong: Jimmy Lai's UK lawyers call for meeting with Rishi Sunak. Jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai's international legal team have asked UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for an urgent meeting ahead of his trial on national security charges later this year. The trial on charges of colluding with foreign forces and sedition could see Lai - who holds British nationality - spend the rest of his life in prison. BBC, 10 January

China Covid

China hits back at South Korea, Japan in first Covid retaliation. China has suspended issuing some visas for South Korea and Japan in Beijing’s first retaliation against Covid-related curbs on Chinese travellers. Chinese consulates in South Korea will stop issuing short-term visas for visits, business, tourism, medical care, transit and personal matters from Tuesday, the Chinese Embassy in Seoul said. Bloomberg, 10 January

Covid infects almost entire Chinese province after curbs scrapped. Covid has infected 90 per cent of one of China’s most populous provinces since restrictions were eased, a health official has announced. Kan Quancheng, the director of the health commission for the central Henan province, suggested that about 88.5 million of its 99.4 million population had caught the virus. The Telegraph, 9 January

Pfizer gears up to make Covid drug Paxlovid in China. FT, 10 January

China 'wolf warrior' diplomatic spokesperson Zhao moves to new role. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, who gained prominence as one of China's most outspoken "wolf warrior" diplomats, has been made deputy head of the ministry's Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs. Reuters, 9 January

China raises Australia’s hopes over detained pair and trade disputes amid thaw in relations. China’s ambassador to Australia has offered a glimmer of hope about the cases of two Australians detained in China, saying he wants a “solution” to be found as quickly as possible as Canberra continues to push for their release. The Guardian, 10 January

China brushes off environment fears over East Africa pipeline. Two Chinese state-owned companies have started building onshore facilities for an oil field in western Uganda, despite protests over environmental concerns and financing issues with the project. Nikkei Asia, 10 January

Joint Nato-EU declaration enshrines ‘importance of the transatlantic bond’. FT, 10 January

Economy & tech

Xi warns China officials to avoid ‘collusion’ with big business. Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned officials against colluding with the business world, underscoring that his government’s crackdown on the private sector will remain a concern for investors. He warned against “any infiltration of capital into politics that undermines the political ecosystem or the environment for economic development.” The Japan Times, 10 January

UK battery startup Britishvolt in talks to sell majority stake. The battery startup Britishvolt is in talks to sell the majority of its shares to a consortium of investors, in a deal that could allow it to continue pursuing its goal of building a UK “gigafactory”. Aside from Britishvolt, the Chinese-owned Envision Group is the only company building a site capable of making batteries with capacities measured in gigawatt hours (GWh) every year. The Guardian, 9 January

World’s biggest chipmaker TSMC misses sales forecasts as demand wanes. Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. recorded its first quarterly revenue miss in two years, signaling the global decline in electronics demand is starting to catch up with the chip giant. Bloomberg, 10 January

Tencent ramps up bet on short video platform in ByteDance challenge. Reuters, 10 January

Long reads & opinion

Podcast: Should Confucius Institutes be shut down? Cindy Yu and Charles Parton. The Spectator - Chinese Whispers, 9 January

Xi Jinping’s plan to reset China’s economy and win back friends. Amid a chaotic exit from Covid lockdowns, China is looking to reduce its international isolation and boost its growth rate. FT, 10 January

The Great Rectification: A New Paradigm for China’s Online Platform Economy. Rogier Creemers. SSRN, 9 January

Asian Century White Paper: a decade on. Melissa Conley Tyler. The Lowy Institute, 9 January