China News - 15 November
International
University of Edinburgh took £12mn in funding from Chinese organisations with military links, including money from Huawei Technologies. Edinburgh University has accepted more than £10mn from Huawei in the last 5 years, a controversial network banned from British 5G networks. The values of these companies are not in the interests of students or UK national security. Scotsman, 14 November
Biden and Xi will discuss communication and competition at APEC summit. The White House announced that Biden and Xi will discuss strengthening communication and managing competition on the sidelines of the APEC summit. Steve Holland and Nandita Bose. Reuters, 14 November
Xi Jinping enlists Flying tigers as China’s propagandists seek warmer tone on US. Xi said in a letter to former US pilots Harry Moyer and Mel McMullen, both survivors of the volunteer force that helped defend Chongqing, that “China-US relations need a ‘new generation of Flying Tigers’ ”. Joe Leahy, Sun Yu and Corbin Duncan. Financial Times, 13 November
Taiwan says US is using “all possible ways” to support defence against China. Wellington Koo, secretary-general of President Tsai Ing-wen’s National Security Council, said Washington’s security cooperation with Taiwan covered “all aspects” including the “training [and] the build-up of asymmetric fighting capabilities”. Kathrin Hille. Financial Times, 14 November
Foxconn founder Terry Gou qualifies to run for Taiwan president. The founder of major Apple supplier Foxconn has collected three times the number of signatures needed to qualify to run in Taiwan’s presidential elections. Jeanny Kao and Yimou Lee. Reuters, 14 November
China and Pakistan’s navies hold drills days after Russia’s historic Andaman exercise. The weeklong drill in the Arabian Sea follows the Russian Pacific Fleet and Myanmar’s first maritime exercise. India and the US have pledged security cooperation. Ryan Woo. Reuters, 13 November
Beijing bishop visits Hong Kong amid tensions between China and the Vatican. This is the first visit of a mainland China bishop since 1997, and comes amid fears that Beijing wants tighter control over religious affairs in Hong Kong. Jessie Pang and Joyce Zhou. Reuters, 14 November
Economy & Tech
Nepal bans TikTok saying it is “disrupting social harmony”. Nepal’s foreign minister Narayan Prakash Saud, said “the government has decided to ban TikTok as it was necessary to regulate the use of the social media platform that was disrupting social harmony, goodwill, and the flow of indecent materials”. Shweta Sharma. The Independent, 14 November
EU agrees mineral supply targets to cut reliance on China. The European Commission proposed the Critical Raw Minerals Act in March, which will allow it to compete with China and the US in making clean tech products. Foo Yun Chee and Philip Blenkinsop. Reuters, 13 November
Why businesses are pulling billions in profits from China. Official data has shown that foreign businesses have been pulling money out of China at a faster rate than they have been putting it in. Annabelle Liang. BBC News, 14 November
China mulls $137bn of new funds to aid housing market. The POBC will inject cheap funds in phases through banks in Beijing’s latest effort to boost the economy. Bloomberg, 14 November
China and US to agree crack down on fentanyl trade. Beijing has agreed to crack down on companies exporting chemicals used to make fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid, in a deal that will be sealed during the Biden-Xi summit this week. Demetri Sevastopulo. Financial Times, 14 November
Opinion & long-reads
The ghosts haunting China’s cities. There is an assumption that people in cities should be less superstitious than their rural neighbours, but in fact rapid urbanisation has intensified a fear of death, and caused unique problems in real estate. Andrew Kipnis. The Guardian, 14 November