China News - 10 March 2021

Don’t forget to register for tomorrow’s event on the future of the Belt and Road at 5pm GMT with Jonathan Hillman, Meia Nouwens, Eyck Freymann and Tom Tugendhat MP. We’ll also be launching our new China Research Group paper on the UK’s strategic options for the Belt and Road…Register here.

International

China summons UK ambassador over 'arrogant' article on media freedom. The UK’s Ambassador to China, Caroline Wilson, had sought to explain on WeChat why foreign media criticism of the Chinese government did not mean the journalists responsible did not like China. The Foreign Ministry summoned Dame Caroline Wilson to make “stern representations” and made a statement accusing her of arrogance, double standards, bias and manipulation. Wilson said yesterday that she stands by her article - citing Liu Xiaoming publishing over 170 articles in the British press. The Times, FT, The Guardian, SCMP, 10 March

US and China lay groundwork for first high-level meeting under Biden, with Alaska touted as location. The negotiations could lead to Antony Blinken, secretary of state, and Jake Sullivan, national security adviser, meeting their Chinese counterparts. The WSJ also reports that Washington and Beijing will co-chair a G20 study group focused on climate-related financial risks. WSJ, FT, 10 March

Europe’s biggest party set to take tougher line on China, push Taiwan investment deal. The European People’s Party lends support for investment agreement with Beijing, but calls for ban on goods made in ‘re-education camps’. SCMP, 9 March

Help Hong Kong residents flee before it's too late, fugitive democracy figure urges. Ted Hui, who escaped to the UK while on bail before moving to Australia, says world must provide ‘lifeboat plans’ ahead of expected travel bans. The Guardian, 10 March

Xinjiang firms seek damages from Adrian Zenz over forced labour reports. Reuters, 10 March. Read an analysis of the case in The China Collection.

Integrated review: Johnson set to unnerve allies with ‘Global Britain’ defence review. FT, Useful tweet thread by Alessio Patalano, 8 March

Deadly pig disease could have led to Covid spillover to humans, analysis suggests. An outbreak of African swine fever in pigs may have kickstarted a demand for alternative meat. The Guardian, 10 March

Mexico leans on China for 22 million vaccine doses after Biden rules out vaccines sharing in short term. Reuters, 10 March

China watch

China launches digital COVID-19 vaccination certificates for cross-border travel. Reuters, 10 March

Xi Jinping tells China’s military ‘be prepared to respond’ in unstable times. SCMP, 10 March

China’s officials play up ‘rise of the East, decline of the West’. SCMP, 9 March

Economy & tech

China targets energy security as risks from US rivalry grow. Its latest five-year plan highlights the need for higher oil and gas output. SCMP, 9 March

China and Russia to build lunar space station. Russian space agency Roscosmos says it has signed an agreement with China's National Space Administration to develop research facilities on the surface of the moon, in orbit or both. BBC, SCMP, 10 March

Slash trade tariffs like Singapore to boost 'Global Britain', Board of Trade recommends. The Telegraph, 9 March

Longer reads & opinion

“Uninterrupted Rise: China’s Global Strategy According to Xi Jinping Thought”. A special issue by Steve Tsang and Olivia Cheung focuses on Chinese foreign policy thinking, particularly toward US allies. The Asan Forum, 9 March

The Brexification of the UK’s China debate. Does Farage’s entrance into the UK-China debate threaten to turn it into a culture war? Quartz, 8 March

Assessing the practical implementation of the EU’s values in EU–China dialogues. A new academic paper finds EU values are not systematically promoted in all EU micro-level dialogues with China. Asia Europe Journal, 6 March

Transatlantic tensions and the EU-China agreement. An argument for the EU to engage in sustained, institutionalised dialogue with the US on China. Political Studies Association, 9 March

Comment: China’s new embassy could be a nest of spies. Beijing’s planned £1 billion HQ in London will probe weaknesses in British and western security. The Times, 10 March

Comment: Global Britain’s post-Brexit gamble backfiring as China, EU leave the UK behind. SCMP, 10 March