China News - 17 January 2022
Event this Thursday: The CPTPP, UK and China. Andrew Bowie MP will be joined by trade experts Wendy Cutler and David Henig this Thursday 20 January at 2pm GMT to discuss the benefits for the UK of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and whether China may also be allowed to join. Register here.
Westminster political interference: weekend coverage
Ministers launch probe into MP's links with CCP-linked ‘spy’. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has ordered a 'deep dive review' into whether Labour MP Barry Gardiner exploited his frontbench position to lobby on behalf of China. Mr Kwarteng's officials are trying to establish if Mr Gardiner, who served as Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade from 2016 to 2020, tried to secure information about Britain's civil nuclear programme. The Mail on Sunday, 16 January
Former head of MI5: ministers failed to act on warnings before Commons spy alert over Christine Lee. Lord Evans of Weardale, now chairman of the committee on standards in public life, said more had to be done to identify the “true source” of donations and called for tighter rules on the flow of money via lobbying groups or shell companies. The Sunday Times, 16 January
CNN exclusive: UK government promoted firm at centre of alleged Chinese influence operation for years. CNN, 15 January
Inside the British Chinese Project and United Front Work Department. The Telegraph, 15 January
International
China’s birthrate falls to 61-year low despite moves to stave off demographic crisis. The rate of growth is the lowest since 1960, and adds to the findings of last May’s once-a-decade census, which found an average annual rise of 0.53%, down from 0.57% reported from 2000 to 2010. Beijing recently announced major reforms to address the decline, including raising the retirement age and replacing the two-child policy with a three-child policy. The Guardian, Independent, 17 January
Sanctioned Chinese firms have pocketed tens of thousands of pounds through UK furlough scheme. The Mail on Sunday revealed that firms blacklisted by the US over fears they have contributed to the repression of Uyghur Muslims, including China Mobile and Hikvision, took money from the UK government to pay their staff's wages during the national lockdown. The MoS also found that Co-op supermarkets are using Hikvision's live facial recognition technology to monitor customers. Mail on Sunday, 16 January
New US legislation could block defence contractors from using Chinese rare earths. A bipartisan piece of legislation introduced in the US Senate on Friday would force defence contractors to stop buying rare earths from China by 2026 and use the Pentagon to create a permanent stockpile of the strategic minerals. Reuters, 14 January
£125m Yorkshire project to break Beijing's rare earths stranglehold. Daily Express, 16 January
Lithuanian foreign minister: China's trade war with Lithuania a 'test' the West cannot afford to fail. In an interview with The Telegraph, Gabriel Landsbergis said the feud was a direct challenge to the rules-based international order that democratic countries abide by. The Telegraph, 15 January
China criticises sanctions on Iran as cooperation agreement launched. Reuters, 15 January
North Korean train makes first crossing into China since Covid border lockdown. The Guardian, 16 January
UK university running course in conjunction with Chinese institution deemed threat to US security. The Telegraph, 15 January
Economy & tech
China’s GDP growth slows as Covid restrictions and property woes hit demand.
GDP expanded 4% year on year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed on Monday, exceeding economists’ forecasts but short of the 6.5% growth over the same period in 2020. To help boost the economy the People's Bank of China said it was lowering the interest rate on 700bn yuan (£80.6bn; $110bn) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility loans to 2.85%, the first such cut since April 2020. BBC, FT, NYT, 17 January
China’s zero-Covid policy challenges manufacturers and supply chains. FT, 16 January
China ‘supply chain security, competitiveness’ under threat, central bank official warns. SCMP, 16 January
Xi Jinping outlines a vision of digital economy with 5G connectivity and data at its core. Writing in Qiushi Journal, the mouthpiece publication of the Communist Party’s Central Committee, Xi said that China should create an early warning system for the digital economy, with processes to ensure the security of key technologies, vital industries and facilities, strategic resources and leading enterprises. SCMP, 15 January
Alibaba, JD.com investors lead the shift to Hong Kong’s market from New York. Nine Chinese firms with US primary listings have seen an increased proportion of Hong Kong shares in the past year as a partial US-China financial decoupling gathers momentum. Bloomberg, 15 January
Tesla inks deal to get key battery component outside China. CNBC, 16 January
Renewable energy to meet over 70 per cent of China’s additional power needs in next three years, says IEA. SCMP, 17 January
China focus
Chinese dialects in decline as government enforces Mandarin. Mandarin is now being spoken by more than 80% of China’s population, up from 70% a decade ago. Last month, China’s state council vowed to increase the figure to 85% within the next four years. The Observer, 16 January
Top Chinese law official warns of major threat from external forces. SCMP, 16 January
Beijing discovers first local omicron case just weeks before Olympics. The Telegraph, 15 January
Opinion & editorial
A new era of spying has caught us napping. The exposure of a Chinese influence operation in Westminster highlights deeper problems. Edward Lucas. The Times, 17 January
No friendly politician is too obscure for insecure China. The Communist party is obsessive in its demand for respect, at home and abroad. Nick Cohen. The Guardian, 15 January
How Xi’s ‘magic weapon’ targets Britain. While the name is innocuous enough, the United Front Work Department is one of the most important tools of Communist Party power. Ian Williams. The Sunday Times, 16 January
Retirement of China's chief provocateur signals course correction. Dave Sharma. Nikkei Asia, 17 January
Long reads
New Indo Pacific policy paper: Rory Medcalf and Veerle Nouwens identify practical ways to deepen the Australia-United Kingdom strategic partnership in meeting the challenges of a contested Indo Pacific. The National Security College, 17 January
Open Source. Despite popular perceptions that China is a black box, creative new research methods are shining a light in. Katrina Northrop. The Wire - China, 16 January
Expats eye escape from Hong Kong as China’s Covid restrictions bite. Kate Whitehead. The Sunday Times, 16 January
Colombo Port City: A new Dubai or a Chinese enclave? Anbarasan Ethirajan. BBC, 17 January