China News - 15 July 2021
International
China’s carbon emissions trading scheme set to launch this month. Trading will commence later this month. The first phase will cover more than 2,000 power plants, before steadily being expanded to sectors including cement, steel and aluminium - although with no precise timeline. Reuters, SCMP, WSJ, 14 July
US ban on all products from China’s Xinjiang nears as Senate passes forced labour bill. The Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act would create a “rebuttable presumption” assuming goods manufactured in Xinjiang are made with forced labour and therefore banned under the 1930 Tariff Act, unless otherwise certified by US authorities. SCMP, 15 July
Chinese company seeks to buy German gaming company Crytek. Tencent is planning to take over the German game developer Crytek - but Bild reports they hope to use the "CryEngine" developed by Crytek to produce war simulation programs for the Chinese army. Bild, 14 July
Exclusive: Ensuring no one disguises as a patriot in upcoming elections ‘top priority’: HK chief secretary. John Lee Ka-chiu told the Global Times that the committee will also consider candidates' conduct in a comprehensive way. Global Times, 14 July
Newport Wafer Fab: Welsh chip factory buyer denies Chinese influence. Nexperia, owned by Chinese firm Wingtech, said it wanted to “correct the record” after a report by the Foreign Affairs Committee alleged that the company is influenced by the Chinese state. The Welsh government has previously said it was blocked from further investment. The Telegraph, 14 July
Parliament today: There is an Urgent Question on Newport Wafer Fab at 10:30am in the House of Commons today, followed by a debate on boycotting the Olympics at 2:30pm.
Japan’s technology companies are defenceless, warns top official. Japan is defenceless against foreign activist investors taking over sensitive technology companies such as Toshiba because domestic shareholders do not step up in a crisis, according to the country’s former economy minister. FT, 15 July
12 killed in Pakistan bus explosion, including 9 Chinese. China says it was a deliberate bombing, but Pakistani officials are blaming a mechanical failure. BBC, NYT, 14 July
Xi-Biden summit moves closer with senior US diplomat Wendy Sherman’s China visit. SCMP, 14 July
Biden administration looks to set up 'red phone' to China for emergency communications. CNN, 14 July
As China and Ukraine vow infrastructure cooperation, Kyiv offers to be Beijing’s ‘bridge to Europe’. SCMP, 14 July
Turkey’s Erdogan, China’s Xi discuss Uighurs in phone call. Al Jazeera, 14 July
China focus
Covid-19 vaccines are becoming mandatory in parts of China. Several local governments in China are planning to bar residents who haven’t been vaccinated against Covid-19 from accessing public venues. WSJ, 14 July
Chinese ride hailing rivals look to take advantage of Didi’s troubles. CNBC, 15 July
China to send 777 athletes to Tokyo Olympics, the biggest to go to an overseas Games. SCMP, 14 July
Economy & tech
China warns of economic uncertainty despite moderate recovery in Q2. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, China’s gross domestic product grew 1.3 per cent in the three months to the end of June. FT, Reuters, 15 July
Hong Kong working to share its digital IDs with mainland China. Hong Kong’s Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) has revealed that the territory is investigating the use of its digital ID in mainland China. The Register, 14 July
TikTok tops 3 billion downloads worldwide, the first non-Facebook app to do so. SCMP, 15 July
LG to invest $5.2bn in production of electric vehicle battery materials. The South Korean group is looking to cut its dependence on China, including a new cathode plant in South Korea. FT, 14 July
Chinese semiconductor buyout fund Wise Road Capital says it follows ‘market logic’, not Beijing’s orders, as US reviews its South Korean chip deal. SCMP, 14 July
Bitcoin miners flocked to US ahead of Chinese crypto crackdown. The Telegraph, 15 July
Longer reads & opinion
Does China actively promote its way of governing — and do other countries listen? New research about Chinese training programmes show little evidence of governance exports. Monkey Cage in Washington Post, 14 July
From Copenhagen to Paris: China’s climate governance journey. China Dialogue, 15 July
UK’s ageing reactors bring nuclear question to a head. UK ministers are aiming to bring forward legislation in the autumn to support the financing of nuclear power station in Sizewell, East Suffolk, which could generate electricity for 6m households. FT, 14 July
No cults, no politics, no ghouls: how China censors the video game world. The Guardian, 15 July