China News - 11 April 2022
International
Locked-down Shanghai residents demand food as Covid continues to hit record levels. Shanghai reported a record 24,952 new cases on Sunday - the ninth straight day of rising case numbers - as complaints over access to food continue to circulate widely on social media. More than 11,000 recovered patients were discharged on Sunday as China reacted angrily to a US statement warning citizens that they faced “arbitrary” confinement under the country’s lockdown rules. Meanwhile, Guangzhou, another of China’s largest cities with a population of 18 million, reported two new confirmed cases on Saturday morning and has also begun mass testing. FT, The Times, 10 April
Shanghai Covid lockdown spurs race to stockpile food across China. SCMP, 10 April
China makes semi-secret delivery of missiles to Serbia. Russian ally Serbia took the delivery of a sophisticated Chinese anti-aircraft system in a veiled operation this weekend, amid Western concerns that an arms buildup in the Balkans at the time of the war in Ukraine could threaten peace in the region. Media and military experts said that six Chinese Air Force Y-20 transport planes landed at Belgrade’s civilian airport early Saturday, reportedly carrying HQ-22 surface-to-air missile systems for the Serbian military. AP, 10 April
Decision on Chinese takeover of Newport Wafer Fab delayed. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has delayed a decision on the Chinese takeover of microchip plant Newport Wafer Fab until ministers outline their wider plans for Britain’s semiconductor industry. Officials at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport are drawing up a semiconductor strategy, which is expected to contain plans to improve the supply of semiconductors to key UK industries as well as measures to support domestic production. The Telegraph, 8 April
US to send officials to Solomon Islands due to tensions over China security pact.
The White House’s top Asia official, Kurt Campbell, is preparing to travel to the Solomon Islands in a rare high-level visit that underscores alarm in Washington over the Pacific nation’s security pact with China. FT, 9 April
Supply chains tainted by forced labour in China, panel told. Human rights activists, labour leaders and others urged the Biden administration on Friday to put its weight behind a coming ban on products made with forced labour in Xinjiang. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act is set to go into effect in June. NYT, 8 April
Philippines' Duterte, China's Xi call for restraint in South China Sea. Reuters, 9 April
Prominent Hong Kong journalist Allan Au reportedly held on sedition charge. The Guardian, 11 April
Economy & tech
China’s coronavirus-hit economy needs ‘policy support to intensify’, Premier Li Keqiang says. China’s premier has acknowledged worse-than-expected domestic and international headwinds are battering the economy, saying the country will need to roll out more support. Despite business disruptions caused by China’s dynamic zero-Covid strategy, US Federal Reserve rate rises and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, any policy changes are unlikely to be announced before the Politburo’s economic analysis meeting at the end of the month. SCMP, 11 April
The rise of TikTok: why Facebook is worried about the booming social app. TikTok is on track to overtake the global advertising scale of Twitter and Snapchat combined this year as trendsetting teens and young adults make it the hottest social app of the moment. It’s emerged that fear of TikTok had led Facebook to hire a lobbying firm to paint the company as the “real threat, especially as a foreign-owned app”. The Guardian, 9 April
Chinese oil giant CNOOC set for 11th biggest mainland public listing. Its Shanghai sale comes after CNOOC was delisted last October by the New York Stock Exchange after Washington added the firm to a trade blacklist citing suspected connections to the Chinese military. Reuters, 11 April
Chinese indexes drop at least 2% after data shows China producer inflation surging. CNBC, 11 April
China targets Big Tech’s algorithms in persistent crackdown. Caixin, 9 April
Opinion & editorial
If you thought Russia was a challenge, just try China. Beijing’s wealth and ambitions make it a far more complex adversary than Putin’s Kremlin. Edward Lucas. The Times, 11 April
China turns Covid victory into defeat. The lockdowns can never end if the CCP can’t admit its people will be infected. Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.. WSJ, 8 April
China’s choice for Hong Kong’s Chief Executive reveals its own insecurity. John Lee’s background is heavy on security, showing Beijing values that over Hong Kong’s economic prosperity. Charles Mok. The Diplomat, 8 April
Long reads
I live in fear of being extradited to China, says sanctioned British academic. Jo Smith Finley from Newcastle University has been on Beijing's watchlist since last year over her research into rights abuses in Xinjiang. Sophia Yan. The Telegraph, 9 April
The Chinese companies trying to buy strategic islands. Small businesses from China have scoured the globe for important strips of land. Are they trying to make money or a front for Beijing? Kathrin Hille. FT, 11 April
The 12 most powerful people in China you've probably never heard of. Cheryl Teh. Business Insider, 11 April
How Beethoven inspired 50 years of cultural exchange between the US and China. Vincent Ni. The Observer, 10 April