China News - 13 January 2021
International
Dominic Raab accuses China of human rights abuses 'on industrial scale' as he introduces new fines for slave labour. China’s treatment of the Uyghur people amounts to torture, the British foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has said as he set out measures designed to ensure no companies allow the use of forced labour from Xinjiang province in their supply chain. Deterrent fines will be imposed on firms that do not show due diligence in cleaning up their supply chains, he said. The China Research Group welcomed the announcement. Raab speech, The Guardian, SCMP, The Times, 12 January
Senior Conservatives call for reset of UK’s China policy in new report by The Conservative Human Rights Commission. The report, which demands a rethink in relations, has been endorsed by two former Conservative foreign secretaries, Lord Hague and Sir Malcolm Rifkind. BBC, 13 January
EU will not ask China to sign forced labour ban before ratifying investment deal, says French minister. Asked by POLITICO whether France would insist on China banning forced labour before voting in the Council to approve the deal, Franck Riester said it would not, but would instead insist on a “calendar” for Beijing’s reforms. Politico, 12 January
Millions of Chinese in lockdown after coronavirus outbreaks near Beijing. Nearly five million people in areas around Beijing have been ordered into a strict seven-day lockdown after the discovery of a single case of coronavirus. Shijiazhuang, a city of 11 million residents 180 miles south of the capital, is also in a strict lockdown. The Times, BBC, 13 January
Newly declassified report lays out U.S. strategy in Asia. The strategy laid out in the ten-page report, written in early 2018, has guided the U.S. approach to the Indo-Pacific region for the past three years. Amongst other objectives, the strategy also outlines a major expansion of military, intelligence, and diplomatic support to India as the primary regional counterweight to China. Axios, 13 January
Hong Kong justice department hires Queen’s Counsel David Perry to prosecute protest case against Jimmy Lai, eight others. A British QC has been hired by the justice department in a case related to a 2019 anti-government protest. SCMP, 12 January
Beijing rebukes Boris Johnson after he called Chinese traditional medicine “demented”. Johnson is said to have scoffed at those who “grind up the scales of a pangolin” to make a potion reputed to enhance virility. President Xi has personally promoted traditional Chinese medicine at home and abroad. The Times, 13 January
Fudan University opens a branch in EU, the third operated by a Chinese university outside its borders. Peking University runs a business school in Oxfordshire and Xiamen University has a campus in Malaysia. The Times, 13 January
Illegal logging: Chinese-fronted companies fell centuries old Kavvango trees in Namibia. The Namiban, 10 January
China watch
Vaccine news: China’s Sinovac insists Covid-19 vaccine has high efficacy after lower Brazil figure. Sinovac is aiming to double annual production capacity to 1 billion doses by February. Indonesia has become the first country to approve the vaccine. Reuters, SCMP, 13 January
Economy & tech
Huawei patent mentions use of Uighur-spotting tech. Huawei had previously said none of its technologies was designed to identify ethnic groups. BBC, 13 January
Investigative report: How Huawei controls its employees in Europe. Netzpolitik.org, 13 January
Huawei targets Ethiopia as telecoms industry opens up. Caixin, 13 January
HSBC grooms top bankers for make-or-break push into China. As HSBC Holdings Plc pins its future on China, Europe’s largest bank is grooming a set of well-connected bankers to navigate its fraught relationship with Beijing in the long run. Bloomberg, 13 January
Lack of semiconductors disrupts auto supply worldwide. Carmakers can’t buy the semiconductors they need because home electronics are taking all the supply. NYT, 13 January
New documents show bidder for HS2 contract did have official backing from CRCC - despite Amb Liu Xiaoming’s denial. Building, 12 January
Longer reads & opinion
How America Can Shore Up Asian Order. Kurt Campbell and Rush Doshi in Foreign Affairs, 12 January
What Does a New White Paper Tell Us About China’s International Aid? The official document casts light on how China’s aid program has grown and evolved since 2014.. The Diplomat, 13 January
Why Xi Jinping Isn't Listening to China's Foreign Policy Moderates: the main arguments. Chinese Journal Review, 13 January
Opinion: Why Trump’s attempt to delist China from US will backfire. FT, 13 January
Jack Ma was China’s most vocal billionaire. Then he vanished. Wired, 12 January