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