China News - 14 April 2021
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International
US seeks China climate agreements ahead of Biden summit as unofficial delegation sent to support Taiwan. US special climate envoy John Kerry is in Shanghai to meet with Chinese officials ahead of president Joe Biden’s global climate summit late next week. Mr Kerry, the first Biden administration official to visit China, is expected to meet with his counterpart Xie Zhenhua, and may also speak with senior foreign policy officials. The meetings, if successful, could pave the way for climate agreements between the world’s two top emitters of carbon, and see Chinese leader Xi Jinping participate in Mr Biden’s summit for Earth Day. The Telegraph, BBC, NYT, 13 April
US pushes Japan to issue joint statement of support for Taiwan at Biden-Suga summit. The last Japanese and US leaders to mention Taiwan in a joint statement were Eisaku Sato and Richard Nixon in 1969. Chinese officials have condemned a visit by a group of Biden’s emissaries’ to Taiwan, and described its military exercises near Taiwan as “combat drills”. FT, Reuters, 14 April
Japan's ketchup king halts Xinjiang tomato imports, becoming first major Japanese corporation to cut ties. But Japanese retailer Muji has continued to downplay concerns, citing its ‘independent auditing’ in Xinjiang. Nikkei Asia, 13 April
Parliament's email system less secure than Gmail, says MP 'hit by Chinese psy-op emails'. Tom Tugendhat called on the government to do more to defend democracy and freedom of speech. Sky, BBC, 13 April
Chinese students rate UK study experience “bad”. 61% of 65 Chinese students at 12 UK universities rated their experience of studying with a UK university throughout the pandemic as “bad”. PIE, 13 April
China poses biggest threat to US, annual intelligence report says. The report suggests that greyzone battles for power will intensify. NYT, 13 April
Risk of China-Turkey tension as Beijing protests against refusal to extradite Xinjiang accused. Turkish courts have freed the Uyghur activist. SCMP, 14 April
Economy & tech
Beijing to Big Tech: stop breaking the law within one month or face “severe punishment”. But despite that warning, the FT reports that there are the “contours of a possible truce between Beijing and Jack Ma’s internet empire”. FT, Caixin, 13 April
China’s economy still dependent on housing and exports. Aside from housing, durable signs of strong domestic demand remain relatively scarce. WSJ, 13 April
Longer reads & opinion
In battle with US for global sway, China showers money on Europe’s neglected areas. Chinese investments support 23,000 jobs in the German state of North Rhine Westphalia. In Liege, airfreight volumes are up 50% in the two years since Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba picked the city as its European hub. WSJ, 13 April
Comment: The clothes we wear are stained by genocide. Shady supply chains mean it is ever harder to avoid goods linked to China’s slave labour camps. The Times, 13 April
Hong Kong: Britain must prepare now for a great wave of immigrants. The support package is less than £150 for every expected arrival. Prospect, 14 April
Editorial board: China’s high stakes engagement with Iran. FT, 14 April