China News - 13 November 2020
President Xi personally decided to halt Ant’s IPO, WSJ reports. Citing Chinese officials with knowledge of the matter, the WSJ framed the decision as “the culmination of years of tense relations” between China’s most celebrated entrepreneur, Jack Ma, and the government. Ma had quoted Mr Xi in his now infamous speech, and WSJ reports that Xi and other senior leaders were “furious”. “Xi doesn’t care about if you made any of those rich lists or not,” said a senior Chinese official. “What he cares about is what you do after you get rich, and whether you’re aligning your interests with the state’s interests.” WSJ, Reuters
UK: New survey of academics shows hostile states are growing threat to higher education. A survey of more than 1,500 academics, conducted by researchers at Exeter and Oxford, suggests that a further 75 per cent of respondents believe institutional autonomy has been “eroded” by authoritarian influence. It also found that 20 per cent of scholars self-censor when teaching students from autocratic states.
Anthony Finkelstein, the government’s chief scientific adviser for national security, has instructed universities to be “increasingly adversarially conscious” of threats posed by China, Russia and other repressive regimes. The Chinese Communist Party, a power that “does not share our values”, is asserting itself more boldly on the international stage and should be considered a primary threat, he told vice-chancellors and academics yesterday. The Times, 13 November.
Over 7,000 Chinese students flown into Manchester on 31 specially chartered flights after lockdown ends flights. Manchester Evening News, 11 November
Uyghurs: VW boss admits he cannot be certain that no workers at Xinjiang plant have been in camps. Volkswagen’s CEO in China, Stephan Wollenstein, said there was no forced labour at the factory but was unable to be “absolutely certain” that none of the factory’s workforce (25% are Uyghur and other minorities) had been in a camp. VW sells one-fifth of of all new cars in China, but the VW plant in Xinjiang currently produces less than 10% of capacity of some of the company's 32 other plants in China. A German Green MEP said she had held meetings with senior VW executives. "They told me that the condition for any expansion of the company within China is that at least one of the factories should be based in the west," she said. "And they tried to convince me that if VW decides unilaterally to close [its Xinjiang plant] they could not produce a single car in China any more." BBC, 12 November
US: Trump administration bars investments in 'Chinese military companies'. President Trump has issued an order banning American investments in 31 firms identified by the US earlier this year as backed by the Chinese military. The list includes publicly-listed firms, such as tech firm Hikvision and China Telecom. It applies to shares owned directly or indirectly, and US investors have a year to comply with the rules. Officials said the new order had been under review for months. BBC, White House Exec Order 12 November
China finally congratulates Biden on US election victory. The Independent, 13 November
Trump aides privately plot a flurry of moves in their final 10 weeks. Expect more on China policy. Politico, 12 November
Hong Kong: China accuses UK of meddling as Hong Kong spat deepens. China’s foreign ministry has blasted the UK for “irresponsible remarks” and “gross interference”, adding that “the UK has no right to interfere in Hong Kong affairs, and China’s internal affairs”. The UK has designated it as a breach of China’s legally binding commitments to the Sino-British Joint Declaration. It says it is still considering sanctions. An EU declaration, unanimously approved by all 27 members, called for “immediate reinstatement of the Legislative Council members”. The Telegraph, SCMP, BBC, The Times, 13 November
India-China: Russia pushes for negotiated settlement to border standoff in name of regional stability. Hindustan Times, 13 November
Taiwan: Taiwan stopped Covid-19’s spread, but still blocked from WHO meeting. China continues to block Taiwan’s participation in the WHO’s 194-member World Health Assembly. WSJ, 12 November
WHO drops censorship of words 'Taiwan' and 'China' on social media after backlash. The Guardian, 13 November
China warns of action after Pompeo says Taiwan not part of China. Reuters, 13 November
China watch
Xi attends celebration of 30th anniversary of Shanghai’s Pudong development, stresses reform and opening up. Xinhua
Xi’s participation in upcoming key diplomatic events illustrates China’s commitment to multilateralism with practice. Xi is attending the BRICS summit, APEC meeting, and G20 summit in two busy weeks. Global Times
Chinese retailer faces backlash after calling large clothing sizes 'rotten' and small clothing sizes “beautiful”. The Guardian
Economy & tech
Trump administration to delay enforcement of TikTok ban, pending “further legal developments”. The Guardian, 13 November
Biden’s China Tech Plan: strengthen domestic industry, quieter offence. WSJ, 12 November
Europe needs a €100B tech sovereignty fund, says top investor. “Unless we do this, we will become even more dependent on two countries than before,” Hermann Hauser, vice-chair of the European Innovation Council’s (EIC) advisory board, said. Science-Business, 12 November
Credit giant Experian plans to exit Chinese mainland market; analysts attribute exit to “disorderly competition” that acts as a disadvantage to “foreign players that focus on compliance”. Caixin, 13 November
Longer reads & opinion
Data security: China growls over “clean network” plan - an analysis of the scant global support for its new data security initiative. China Media Project, 13 November
In cashless China, criminals are punished with payment app bans. Sixth Tone, 12 November
Sunken boats. Stolen gear. Fishermen are prey as China conquers a strategic sea. LA Times, 12 November