China News - 11 November 2021

International

MPs table plans to permit children of Hong Kong BNO citizens to apply for UK visas. The amendment to the Nationality and Borders Bill, put forward by CRG committee member, Damian Green, and supported by Chair Tom Tugendhat, would enable those from Hong Kong with at least one parent who is a British national (overseas) to apply for the BN(O) visa. Politics.co.uk, Independent, 10 November

China and US agree to boost climate co-operation in joint declaration. Both sides will "recall their firm commitment to work together” to achieve the 1.5C temperature goal set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement, with the agreement including the creation of a working group to advance multilateral cooperation and implement regulations in decarbonisation, reducing methane emissions and fighting deforestation. BBC, The Guardian, Bloomberg, WSJ, 11 November

Biden-Xi virtual summit tentatively set for Monday. According to a POLITICO source, the much-anticipated virtual summit will take place on Monday evening and presents the biggest opportunity yet to reset the bilateral relationship. However, no major breakthroughs are expected on hot-button issues, including tensions over Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong. POLITICO, 11 November

Xi Jinping warns against return to Asia-Pacific tensions of cold war era. At a virtual business conference on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Xi said that, amid growing tensions with the US over Taiwan, all countries in the region must work together on joint challenges. The Guardian, Reuters, 10 November

Beijing Winter Olympics committee denies blocking foreign media. The Foreign Correspondents Club of China said organisers were harassing journalists but Beijing says it guarantees freedom of reporters on the proviso journalists abided by “relevant Chinese laws, regulations and anti-epidemic policies”. The Guardian, 11 November

Cancer rates around Chinese-owned steel mill quadruple in less than a decade. Health and environmental issues in Smederevo are fuelling fears that Beijing's investment in Serbia comes with significant downsides. The Telegraph, 10 November

UK Minister for Asia reiterates commitment on Indo-Pacific. BusinessMirror, 10 November

Japanese PM Kishida appoints pro-China ally as foreign minister. FT, 10 November

Taiwan hits back after Paul Keating says its status ‘not a vital Australian interest’. The Guardian, 10 November

China focus

Sixth Plenum: CCP to wrap up key meeting as Xi strengthens power. China's Communist Party will wrap up a meeting on Thursday that is set to culminate with a resolution that consolidates President Xi Jinping's authority. The Central Committee of the CCP will hold a press conference on Friday to introduce the guiding principles of the sixth plenary session. Xinhua, Reuters, 10 November

Xi’s biggest wins and losses after nearly a decade in power. A look at Xi’s policy hits, misses and works in progress. Bloomberg, 10 November

Jail time for Hong Kong protester stokes fears over freedom of speech. Hong Kong has for the first time sentenced an activist to five years and nine months in jail under the national security law for chanting political slogans, a move that legal experts warned could lead to more prosecutions and greater restrictions on free speech in the Asian financial hub. FT, 11 November

Hong Kong opens new modern art museum under national security cloud. Reuters, 11 November

North-eastern Chinese city sees highest snowfall in 116 years. BBC, Independent, 11 November

Economy & tech

Didi prepares to relaunch apps in China, anticipates probe will end soon. Three people directly involved in the relaunch of the Chinese ride-hailing app revealed that the investigation into the company - which began just days after it listed in New York - will be wrapped up by the end of the year. Reuters, 11 November

Evergrande averts default as it pays overdue interest but faces deadline on another US$366 million before year-end. The world’s most indebted developer has avoided default with last-minute payments on overdue coupons, according to people familiar with the matter, but has an eye-popping US$308 billion in total liabilities. SCMP, WSJ, 11 November

Chinese developer Kaisa downgraded as crucial payment deadlines near. FT, 11 November

Beijing weighs moderating property curbs to help troubled developers unload assets. WSJ, 10 November

Singles Day strikes a cautious tone this year as China's economy slows and a tech crackdown continues. CNN, 11 November

Weibo sued for monopolistic practices limiting access to its data as China’s antitrust crackdown invites new challenges. SCMP, 10 November

Opinion & editorial

Why the UK can’t rely on renewables...yet. Ross Clark. The Spectator, 13 November

Tencent: investors should clock threat from China’s TikTok. Beijing is no longer the company’s biggest risk as users flock to platforms owned by ByteDance. FT, 10 November

We reviewed hundreds of Chinese army defence contracts. Here’s what we found out. Ryan Fedasiuk. Politico, 10 November

How America can defend Taiwan. Elbridge Colby. The Spectator, 11 November

Longer reads

President Xi prepares to be anointed as emperor of all he surveys in China. Catherine Philp. The Times, 10 November

Inside China's electric car capital, where rush hour is almost silent. China has pushed ahead with manufacturing electric vehicles and dominates the global market – but can it last forever? Sophia Yan. The Telegraph, 11 November

An uncommon theory for common prosperity. When the transition gets tough, common prosperity justifies the end goal. Damien Ma. MacroPolo, 10 November

‘A man of determination’: This glowing profile tells us how Xi Jinping wants to be seen. Viola Zhou and Alan Wong. VICE, 10 November

China’s global network of vocational colleges to train the world. At Luban Workshops locals are trained on Chinese technology with Chinese standards as part of a full court press to globalise Chinese tech. Niva Yau and Dirk van der Kley. The Diplomat, 11 November