China News - 17 November 2020
International
UK: Cut ties with ‘suppressive’ Confucius Institutes, leading academic tells Edinburgh University. Steve Tsang warned Edinburgh University that Confucius Institutes were suppressing debate, “are answerable to the propaganda department of the Chinese Communist Party” and should have no place on campuses. Scotland has the highest proportion of Confucius Institutes per capita of anywhere in the world. Edinburgh University also has a partnership with Huawei. The Times, 17 November
China tightens its grip on UK energy supply: Beijing-controlled firms invest in string of wind farms and nuclear projects. New HJS analysis shows that Beijing-controlled companies have sought to invest in projects totalling provision of 8,660 megawatts of power to Britain – equivalent to 25 per cent of average demand and 16 per cent of peak demand. This is Money, 17 November
UK Parliament: National Security & Investment Bill second reading today. The debate is expected to begin at 1:45pm today in the House of Commons, watch live here. The Institute of Directors has called for greater clarity on how ministers plan to intervene in takeovers, as the bill does not provide a definition of “national security”, which the institute is concerned will give ministers broad leeway to intervene. The Times, 17 November.
US: Biden says US, allies need to set global trade rules to counter China's influence. Responding to a question about joining RCEP, Biden said “We make up 25% ... of the economy in the world. We need to be aligned with the other democracies, another 25% or more so that we can set the rules of the road instead of having China and others dictate outcomes because they are the only game in town.” Reuters, 17 November
Netherlands becomes latest EU country to release Indo-Pacific strategy for strengthening cooperation. Full document (PDF), 13 November
British diplomat hailed as hero after leaping into river to save drowning woman in China. The rescue was filmed and then went viral on social media in China and the UK. The Guardian, 16 November
Foreign Office urged to introduce sanctions on Chinese officials and organisations over human rights abuses in Xinjiang, supported by 8 UK MPs. The Telegraph, 16 November
China’s military turns Ladakh battleground with India into a ‘microwave oven’. The Times, 17 November
China watch
Booming factories lead the way as recovery accelerates in China. Industrial production beat expectations to grow by 6.9 per cent in the year to October - a figure unchanged from September. The Times
China clamps down on frozen food after packaging of frozen Argentine beef, German pork and Indian cuttlefish tested positive for coronavirus. FT
Xi urges high-quality development of Yangtze River Economic Belt, aimed at turning into a “major artery for dual circulation”. Xinhua
Chinese war drama about Communist forces fighting Japanese pulled, after outcry from nationalist critics who said it failed to respect history. FT
Economy & tech
China SOEs nervousness derails $2.4bn in planned bond sales. At least 20 Chinese companies have suspended planned bond sales, with the world’s second-largest bond market rattled by string of high-profile defaults by state-owned groups FT, 17 November
Huawei sells youth-focused budget brand Honor over tech restrictions. The sale has sale to a consortium of investors including the state-backed Shenzhen Smart City Technology Development Group. BBC, 17 November
Technology: How Alibaba Cloud manages 583,000 transactions a second on Singles Day. English translation from ChinAI, 16 November
Longer reads & opinion
Xi Jinping’s China may one day lead the world — but it will never be loved. Progress on the commercial and military fronts have come at a cost, with the industrialised world learning to distrust and even hate the Beijing government. The Times, 17 November
How China’s big tech companies upset Beijing. Apps like WeChat do not allow users to share links from competitors like Douyin or Alibaba, and price discrimination is rife. FT, 17 November
Why Obama fears for our democracy. The Atlantic, 16 November
The former President on China: “For example, I actually think that it is entirely legitimate to push China much harder on trade issues. I didn’t come into office as a knee-jerk anti-trade guy, but if you looked at the facts, China consistently ran mercantilist policies that violated international trade rules to help build up their economy from the late ’80s through today. And if we hadn’t been going through a financial crisis, my posture toward China would have been more explicitly contentious around trade issues. But I couldn’t have a trade war in 2009 or 2010. At that point I needed the cooperation of China as well as Europe as well as every other potential engine, just to restart the global economy.”
Watch: Bill Clinton sees a need to work together with China, Henry Kissinger talks about the need to avoid military conflict. A number of key leaders spoke at Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum, including Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. Kissinger clip, Clinton clip.