China News - 14 December

International

Son of Hong Kong democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai is “hopeful” after his first meeting with Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron. “I feel reassured to have heard directly from the Foreign Secretary that my Dad’s case is a priority for the UK government”. Doughty Street Chambers, 13 December

UK condemns China over incidents in the South China Sea against Philippines. The FCDO said in a statement that “the UK opposes any action which raises tensions, including harassment, unsafe conduct and intimidation tactics which increase the risk of miscalculation and threaten regional peace and stability”. Muvija M and Liz Lee. Reuters, 13 December

China and Vietnam hail upgrade of ties; agree to boost security efforts. The two countries agreed to step up security cooperation in their move to becoming a community with a “shared future”. Francesco Guarascio, Khanh Vu and Minh Nguyen. Reuters, 13 December

How Taiwan’s disease detectives are keeping tabs on China. 4 years since Taipei first alerted the world to an alarming and mysterious Chinese respiratory illness, Taiwan is once again listening to China’s medics for early warning signs of unknown pathogens. Nicola Smith. Telegraph, 12 December

Economy & Tech

China turns the tables on Wall Street. Beijing is ripping up the playbook for handling international debt defaults. Matt Wirz and Alexander Saeedy. WSJ, 13 December

China is “on the verge of deflation” - and plunging pork prices aren’t helping. China’s pork market has experienced a prolonged period of oversupply and is now facing weak domestic consumption. Lee Ying Shan. cnbc, 12 December

Consultancy behind VW’s Xinjiang human rights abuse review faces internal rebellion. Markus Loning issued a statement that only two of its staff members supported the audit, which had earlier cleared the German carmaker. Patricia Nilsson. Financial Times, 13 December

Opinion & long-reads

There’s a big hole in China’s plan to boost the economy in 2024. The lack of measures to boost consumer demand could make an economic recovery difficult. Laura He. CNN Business, 13 December