China News - 14 September
International
Rishi Sunak urged to conduct “full audit” of UK-China relations. Starmer said Sunak’s approach to China was “at odds” with the hardline position urged by the ISC report, and that the government should conduct a “full audit of UK-China relations”. Lucy Fisher. Financial Times, 13 September
Government to bar Chinese tech from sensitive sites. Chinese surveillance tech will be banned from government buildings and military bases under the Procurement Bill. Alicia Kearns, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee and CRG, said it would end “the whack-a-mole approach to national security in our supply chains”. Nick Gutteridge and Dominic Penna. Telegraph, 13 September
MI5 warned Conservatives that MP hopefuls could be spies. The Conservatives were warned by MI5 that two of their potential MP candidates could be Chinese spies in 2021 and last year. The candidates were promptly struck from the list. Steven Swinford and Fiona Hamilton. TheTimes, 12 September
Sustained rift with China would harm UK universities, report warns. The KLC report, co-authored by former universities minister Jo Johnson, found that many leading institutions remain highly dependent on China. As more than one in four PhD students are Chinese, universities rely on them for tuition fees as well as to fill STEM postgraduate places. Richard Adams. The Guardian, 13 September
US says Hanoi ties upgrade is not a “cold war” move against China. Mira Rapp-Hooper, National Security Council Director for the Indo-Pacific, siad “the idea that this is in any way any kind of Cold War move, and also the idea that this diplomatic opening is any kind of effort to choose between Vietnam and China, because I don’t think it is either one of those things”. Khanh Vu and Francesco Guarascio. Reuters, 13 September
China and Venezuela upgrade ties to “all-weather strategic partnership”. China and Venezuela are upgrading their relationship and Beijing is willing to consolidate and deepen cooperation with Venezuela in various fields. Reuters, 13 September
China agrees to a rare visit by Papal envoy for Ukraine talks. The Chinese foreign ministry said that Papal envoy Cardinal Matteo Zuppi will visit China for talks on resolving the conflict in Ukraine despite the lack of formal bilateral relations between the two. Ethan Wang and Ryan Woo. Reuters, 13 September
Economy & Tech
EU to launch anti-subsidy probe into Chinese electric vehicles. Brussels is launching an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese EVs that are “distorting” the EU market. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said “global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars”, this probe could constitute one of the largest trade cases launched given the size of the market. Alice Hancock, Henry Foy, Hudson Lockett and Peter Campbell. Financial Times, 13 September
China insurance boss jailed for life in corruption crackdown. Wang Bin, the former chairman of China Life Insurance, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, after two years the sentence will be commuted to a life in prison without parole. A court in Jinan found Wang guilty of taking 325mln yuan in bribes and illegally hiding 54.2mln yuan in overseas deposits. Peter Hoskins. BBC News, 13 September
ABB CEO says no plans to scale back China investments. Bjorn Rosengren, CEO, said “we have big hopes about China from a long-term perspective, although in the short term we have not seen the development we would have hoped for in the year coming out of COVID”. John Revill. Reuters, 13 September
Opinion & long-reads
Kim as go-between spells trouble for Europe. Kim Jong-un’s trip to Russia could give Xi cover to start to strengthen his support for Putin, especially military support. Roger Boyes. TheTimes, 12 September
The EV car crash is a warning for Europe’s industrial transition. China has pulled so far ahead in the EV market, that competitors are left trailing in the dust. China even has increasing numbers of driverless taxis navigating the busy streets. Helen Thomas. Financial Times, 13 September
Hunt for nearly 70 crocodiles that escaped during China floods. Heavy rains around the city of Maoming in Guangdong province caused a lake at a crocodile farm to overflow and 70 animals to escape. Local authorities warned villagers to stay indoors. The Guardian, 13 September