China News - 15 March 2022
International
US raises concerns about China aligning with Russia at Rome meeting. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday warned top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi of the isolation and penalties Beijing will face if it supplies weapons to Russia or defies export sanctions in an ‘intense’ seven-hour meeting. Officials of the US and its allies have sought to emphasise that siding with Russia could carry consequences for trade flows, development of new technologies and expose China to secondary sanctions. Reuters, The Telegraph, The White House, 14 March
China insists it’s ‘not a party’ to Russia’s war with Ukraine. Politico, 14 March
Ukraine war provides ‘new motivation’ for China to seek tech self-reliance. SCMP, 15 March
British publishers censor books for western readers to appease China. According to FT sources, Octopus Books, part of literary empire Hachette, and London-listed Quarto have removed references to Taiwan and other subjects banned by Chinese authorities from several books sold in the west. Both publishers censored the books after suppliers in China, which face legal restrictions on what they can print, said they were unable to publish the original text. FT, 15 March
UK camera commissioner: buying Dahua and Hikvision puts 'money over values'. At a speech last week, Fraser Sampson, Biometrics And Surveillance Camera Commissioner, criticised spending tax revenue on firms controlled by the same state that the Uyghur Tribunal found "directly responsible for genocide". IPVM, 14 March
UK PM calls Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol to discuss deeper digital, industrial and military cooperation. Gov.uk, 14 March
Saudi Arabia invites China’s Xi to visit amid strained US relations. WSJ, 14 March
International flights diverted from Shanghai as officials widen Covid lockdowns. BBC, Bloomberg, 15 March
Economy & tech
China stocks suffer worst fall since 2008 as Omicron, Ukraine spook investors. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index closed more than 7% lower on Monday after authorities announced a six-day lockdown in the tech and manufacturing hub of Shenzhen. JPMorgan Chase downgraded 28 Chinese internet stocks including Alibaba, Tencent Holdings and Meituan to underweight, calling them “uninvestable” over the next six to 12 months due to rising geopolitical and macro risks. FT, 14 March
Tencent faces possible record fine for anti-money laundering violations. The technology giant is facing a potential record fine for violations of some central bank regulations by its WeChat Pay mobile network, as Beijing toughens its regulations for fintech platforms, according to people familiar with the matter. WSJ, 14 March
Beijing opens liquidity gates; medium-term policy rates left unchanged. Caixin, 15 March
China’s mortgage lending slumps for first time in 15 years. Yicai, 14 March
Opinion & editorial
Xi Jinping faces a fateful decision on Ukraine. Chinese policymakers may have envisaged an eventual rupture in relations with the US, yet they now face confrontation with the west on a greatly accelerated timetable. Gideon Rachman. FT, 14 March
China is in a fine old mess over its relationship with Russia. When Jake Sullivan met Yang Jiechi yesterday, he could count on one geopolitical certainty: that the Sino-Russian alliance sealed is not turning out to be a marriage made in heaven. Roger Boyes. The Times, 14 March
Common enemies and instinctive friends. Presenting the world as one of binary choices can undermine good policymaking. Yun Jiang. Lowy Institute, 15 March
Long reads
China’s global reputation in the balance as Beijing fears economic fallout from standing with Putin. Assurances over its ‘rock-solid’ partnership with Moscow won’t allay concerns that China may have made a significant strategic blunder. Sophia Yan. The Telegraph, 14 March
With Yoon’s election, it’s time for China to rethink its Korea policy. Brian Wong and Wang Yingliang. The Diplomat, 14 March
Why ditching the China film market won’t hurt Asian representation on film. Jingan Young. The Guardian, 14 March