China News - 10 May 2022
Tomorrow’s event: China's Energy Security. Is China buying Russian gas? How will the new China-Russia gas pipeline shape regional geopolitics? Join Tom Tugendhat MP, Helen Thompson, Dr Michal Meidan and Lara Dong to for an in-depth look at China’s influence on oil, gas and clean energy. Tomorrow, 10:30-11:30am: register here.
International
Today is the State Opening of Parliament. The Queen’s Speech sets out the Government’s legislative priorities for the next session (coming year). Key expected bills include:
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, which should see the introduction of mandatory reporting for UK universities of foreign donations and partnerships over £50,000
The Procurement Reform Bill, which will give the Government the mechanism to ban public procurement of goods tainted by modern slavery
The Counter State Threats Bill, which sets out new foreign interference laws including a mandatory foreign agent registration act
Biden team sees tilt to China buoyed as Putin falters in Ukraine. US officials interviewed by Bloomberg believe that the uptick in European defence spending and Russia’s economic damage could free up the US to do more in Asia. Bloomberg, 10 May
China’s pro-Russia propaganda exposed by online activists. Anonymous volunteers – such as those under the Twitter account Great Translation Movement – have exposed China’s pro-Russia propaganda by highlighting mistranslations that falsely blame Ukrainian troops. The Guardian, 10 May
Xi Jinping-Olaf Scholz meeting, Xi says Europe’s security should stay in the hands of Europeans. MOFA readout, SCMP, 9 May
China focus
Tesla halts most production in Shanghai over supply problems. Tesla has halted most of its production at its Shanghai plant because of problems securing parts for its electric vehicles, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. Reuters, The Guardian, SCMP, 10 May
Latest on China economy. China’s exports rose 3.9% from a year ago in April, down from last month’s 14.7% year-on-year growth. Chinese tech stocks fell again on Tuesday. WSJ, Bloomberg, FT, 10 May
Hong Kong will ask China what it takes to open borders quarantine-free, Lam says. John Lee takes over on 1 July. Bloomberg, 10 May
COVID causes blanket postponement of top-tier sporting events in China. The highest-profile casualties are the Asian Games in September and the World University Games in May. SupChina, 9 May
Economy & tech
British start-up in talks to build lithium refinery in Teesside to help reduce dependence on China. Green Lithium, newly backed by Trafigura, is looking to secure a location in the north of England to build Europe’s first lithium refinery. The Telegraph, The Times, 10 May
Tencent Games’ new UK studio is based in Liverpool. The studio houses 12 members of the company’s production team. Pocket Gamer Biz, 9 May
Long reads & opinion
The future of the UK’s semiconductor strategy. Global Counsel and Imagination Technologies set out their vision for the UK’s semiconductor strategy, due June. GC, 4 May 2022
‘We are now living in a totally new era’ — Henry Kissinger. A conversation between Henry Kissinger and Edward Luce. FT, 9 May
Companies should come clean on their ties to China. Investors have a right to know how an invasion of Taiwan would affect business. Steve Milloy. WSJ, 9 May 2022
The Times view on John Lee, Hong Kong’s new leader: No-Choice Election. As long as the likes of Mr Lee try to squeeze the lifeblood out of Hong Kong this country needs to be ready to help those in flight. The Times, 10 May