International
Huawei decision day in the UK:
Huawei: UK prepares to change course on 5G kit supplier. BBC News, Sky News, 14 July
Conservative backlash at seven-year wait to scrap Huawei 5G? The Guardian reports that, “A letter signed by 10 rebel Tory MPs on Monday night, who say they number 60 in total – warned Boris Johnson that their support for a planned telecoms security bill was “predicated on ending altogether the role for high-risk vendors” such as Huawei. The Times, 14 July, Guardian, 13 July
Lord Browne quits as Huawei UK chairman. Sky, 14 June
U.K. Carriers’ High-Cost Estimates on Huawei Ban Raise Doubts. “To get higher figures, which Vodafone and BT want to use to scare politicians, then you have to start looking at scenarios where the rip-and-replace is done in less than a year,” said James Ratzer, an analyst at New Street Research. “But in reality, this is highly unlikely due to the practical difficulties involved and risks of network quality degradation.” Bloomberg, 13 July
Europe divided on Huawei as US pressure to drop company grows. Robert O’Brien, the US national security adviser, will meet his counterparts from France, Italy, the UK and Germany in Paris this week to urge European nations to debar Huawei. The Guardian notes that France is is encouraging operators not to use Huawei and granting only temporary authorisations of up to eight years to those companies that already do. The Guardian, 13 July
Huawei growth slows after sanctions and political pressure. FT, 13 July
On Newsnight Neil O’Brien from CRG debated Huawei director and former diplomat Andrew Cahn. Newsnight, 13 July
Tom Tugendhat writes in the Telegraph that “kicking our addiction to Beijing tech needs to go further… Japan and South Korea may provide quick answers to our communications fix but if we’re to defend the international order that has allowed us to prosper mostly in peace, we need to do more. To keep power distributed and trade on the basis of law, not force, we need a new alliance.” Telegraph, 14 July
Cambridge college took cash from China, then produced favourable coverage. In the Telegraph and Spectator Charles Moore looks at the scandal surrounding the China Dialogue Centre at Jesus College Cambridge. Moore reports on the publication of a supposedly independent report about telecommunications reforms: “It praised Huawei, advancing ideas on the subject beneficial to Chinese interests. Most unusually, the report carried a laudatory foreword from the vice-chancellor of Cambridge University, Stephen Toope. On Thursday, however, menaced by Freedom of Information requests, Jesus College admitted it had accepted £200,000 for the Dialogue Centre from a branch of the Chinese State Council, £55,000 from another branch for the China Centre and £150,000 from Huawei for the digital report which Prof Toope liked so much. Telegraph, 11 July, Spectator, 10 July
The Mail has further coverage on Chinese attempts to build influence in the UK. Mail, 13 July
U.S. Hardens Stance on Beijing’s Activities in South China Sea. In a statement issued by the US State Department, Washington Monday said that: “Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them.” The US has previously chosen to not weigh in on disputes between China and its neighbouring nations over the so-called ‘Nine-Dash-Line’ which China claims. US State Department, WSJ, 13 July & SCMP, Express, BBC News, Nikkei Asian Review, Foreign Policy, 14 July
Japan accuses China of pushing territorial claims during coronavirus pandemic. Reuters, Bloomberg, SCMP, 14 July
“Britain set to confront China with new aircraft carrier.” The Times, 14 July
RAND map of schools separating Uighur children from parents. RAND, 8 July
Hong Kong:
600,000 vote in democratic primaries but China declares pro-democracy polls 'illegal'. The Guardian, Global Times, 14 July
Hong Kong migration to UK could hit 200,000. FT, 13 July
U.S. Preparing to Suspend Extradition Treaty With Hong Kong. Foreign Policy, 13 July
Nathan Law: Hong Kong pro-democracy activist reveals he's in London. BBC News, 13 July, Twitter
EU preparing measures against China over Hong Kong. Reuters, WSJ, 13 July
How China’s Great Firewall Could Encircle Hong Kong. Bloomberg, 14 July
Hong Kong's national security laws are designed to make the media self-censor. The Guardian, 14 July
Economy
China and Iran build trade, energy and military partnership. NY Times, 13 July.
Trump planning action against TikTok? Rumours of a move come after Amazon emailed employees telling them not to use the app but later withdrew the email. Wells Fargo has banned employees from using the app. Bloomberg, The Information, 13 July
Drone Maker Skydio Is Swooping In Amid US Pushback Against China’s DJI. Wired, 12 July
Beijing imposes sanctions on Lockheed Martin over Taiwan arms sales. FT, 14 July
NBA row continues. Basketball fans have discovered that the NBA personalised shirt ordering service will not allow customers to put the the words “Free Hong Kong” on shirts. Twitter
Longer reads & opinion
Lord Hague: Too many in the West are still blind to the inconvenient truth about China. The Telegraph, 13 July
UK-China relations: from ‘golden era’ to the deep freeze. FT, 14 July
Lex: Huawei/European telecoms: security hang-up. FT, 14 July
Podcast: Team Play: The U.S. Alliance System and the Chessboard (Pts. 1 & 2). CSIS, 29 June & 13 July
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