China News - 16 March 2021
Integrated Review set to be released today, Alibaba crackdown and US warns against economic coercion
The UK’s long-awaited Integrated Review will be published today. The China Research Group will issue a response shortly after its release.
International
Britain targets influence in Indo-Pacific in today’s Integrated Review. The 114-page document, set to be released at lunchtime, will set out the UK’s strategic ambitions over the next decade. The Times reports that the IR calls China the “biggest state-based threat” to the UK’s economic security and presents a “systemic challenge” to British prosperity and values. In response, CNI and technology will be made more secure to lay the foundation for “deeper trade links and more Chinese investment”. The Telegraph focuses on Boris Johnson’s pledge to defend British territories with military. Sky News, Reuters, 16 March
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Tuesday that Britain would like a positive relationship with China but not at the expense of upholding its values. Reuters, 16 March
Beijing asks Alibaba to dispose of media assets. China’s government has asked Alibaba to dispose of its media assets, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Its stakes in Weibo and news outlets including Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post are seen as posing challenges to the CCP. WSJ, Reuters, BBC, 15 March
Brain drain fears as quarter of young Hongkongers plan to emigrate. The Telegraph, 15 March
China tells state firms in Myanmar to evacuate non-essential staff with situation tense and almost all Chinese projects stopped. SMCP, 16 March
Blinken warns China against 'coercion and aggression' in first Asia trip as he seeks to shore up Indo-Pacific alliances. Reuters, 15 March
US-China relations won’t improve until Beijing ends trade row with Australia, Biden aide Kurt Campbell says. SCMP, 16 March
Mitt Romney calls for ‘economic and diplomatic’ boycott of Beijing Olympics, saying athletes’ boycott is wrong. The Guardian, 15 March
Eating up the rainforest: China’s taste for beef drives exports from Brazil. Brazil supplied 43% of China’s meat imports in 2020. The Guardian, 16 March
Economy & tech
China’s tech giants test way around Apple’s new privacy rules. Some of China’s biggest technology companies, including ByteDance and Tencent, are testing a tool to bypass Apple’s new privacy rules and continue tracking iPhone users without their consent to serve them targeted mobile advertisements. FT, 16 March
Chinese scientists challenge Google’s ‘quantum supremacy’ claim with new algorithm, claiming “massively more efficient”. SCMP, 15 March
Encrypted messaging app Signal stops working in China without VPN. Reuters, 15 March
Longer reads & opinion
Comment: We can cope with the rise of China, but it will take a unique approach. We should not be a Hawk or a Dove on China, but we should be China Realists. The Realist says that, like it or not, China is now a powerful strategic adversary of the West. William Hague in The Telegraph, 15 March
Comment: Business worries intensify over China’s tightening grip on Hong Kong. FT, 16 March
The worst dust storm in a decade shrouds Beijing and northern China. A perfect storm of northern winds and an industrial rebound created dangerous high levels of pollution. NYT, 15 March
The sacrifices and rewards of a Chinese-style education. Chinese Whispers podcast in The Spectator, 8 March