China News - 14 September 2021
International
China’s property market runs out of steam as millions of investors demand their money back. Property giant China Evergrande Group has said that it cannot sell properties and other assets fast enough to service its massive $300bn debts, and that its cashflow was under “tremendous pressure”. The announcement came just hours after angry protesters besieged the company's headquarters in Shenzhen on Monday. BBC, The Guardian, The Telegraph, 14 September
Concerns over monitoring of lectures run by British universities. Chinese students who cannot take up their places at UK universities log into lectures using VPNs run by Alibaba; a solution adopted by universities including King’s College London and Edinburgh. Academics have raised concern that seminars could be monitored and that students will self-censor. The Times, 14 September
Merkel tells Xi she hopes EU-China investment deal will be ratified soon. In perhaps her final phone call with President Xi, Merkel was quoted by Xinhua as saying that she is willing to maintain close communication with the Chinese side. The EU is set to publish its new Indo-Pacific strategy today; it will emphasise digital partnerships with East Asian countries and closer trade and investment relations with Taiwan. Nikkei, Reuters, 14 September
Sign up for our event next week - After Merkel: Berlin and Beijing. How will the German election change Germany's foreign policy and the EU's approach to China? Join Tom Tugendhat MP, Constanze Stelzenmüller, Noah Barkin and Janka Oertel for a virtual briefing on Monday 20 September at 3pm BST. Register here.
Beijing warns US against attempt to rename Taipei Representative Office. Beijing on Monday warned the United States against any attempt to elevate relations in essence or engage in official interactions with Taiwan. President Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan called Lithuania’s prime minister to express support after it came under pressure from China over the renaming of its Taiwan office. Xinhua, SCMP, 13 September
International Trade Secretary to give speech today on UK trade strategy. In a speech at Policy Exchange today, Liz Truss will say that the UK must continue to make headway towards building trade routes with the Indo-Pacific. Gov, 14 September
China calls for restraint as North Korea tests cruise missile able to reach Japan. SCMP, 13 September
UN rights chief regrets lack of access to Xinjiang. Reuters, 13 September
Canada election: Leaders spar over China in debate. Opposition leaders criticised Trudeau for his China policy. BBC (video), 10 September
Media companies linked to CCP exile Guo Wengui pay $539m to settle SEC case. FT, 13 September
China focus
Cases double in new south-east China Covid outbreak linked to school. The Guardian, 14 September
Emma Raducanu’s Chinese heritage praised by China’s state media. Raducanu thanked her fans in fluent Mandarin through a video on social media shortly after the victory. The Guardian, 13 September
Economy & tech
China’s envoy urges US to improve atmosphere to fulfil phase one trade deal. "The ambassador’s message to the CEOs was that the commercial relationship must thrive and grow while we work harder to resolve disagreements”. SCMP, Reuters, 14 September
China tech watchdog warns tech firms against blocking rivals.
Longer reads & opinion
Must-read new report: Where Next on UK-China Engagement? The British Foreign Policy Group has published a major new report by Prof Rana Mitter and Sophia Gaston. It argues that the UK still has a long way to go in being able to effectively and securely engage with China from a confident standpoint. BFPG, 14 September
Podcast: Dan Wang Explains What China's Tech Crackdown Is Really All About. Bloomberg, 13 September
The Xi personality cult is a danger to China. Xi’s signature policies could easily go wrong, and it will be hard for anybody to say so openly. Gideon Rachman. FT, 13 September
Opinion: The UK government must move to protect Arm. Arm is the only UK tech company with an indisputably dominant position globally, and its neutrality should be protected with an IPO. FT, 14 September