China News - 17 October
International
Leaders gather in China for smaller, greener Belt and Road summit. Xi is pushing for a world order that is multipolar. The BRI will move from projects such as dams, to high-tech ones including digital finance and e-commerce platforms. Joe Cash. Reuters, 16 October
China and Russia harden positions on Gaza as war stirs geopolitical tensions. The conflict highlights the increasing gulf with the West, as other big developing powers face major diplomatic choices. Jason Burke. The Guardian, 16 October
China calls for ceasefire in Israel, suggests mediation at meeting with Russia. Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has discussed the conflict with Wang Yi ahead of Putin’s visit to China. Reuters, 16 October
Former Bank of China boss arrested on bribery charges. Liu’s arrest comes a week after he was expelled from China’s Communist Party following accusations of wrongdoing by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Derek Cai. BBC News, 16 October
Fearing China, South Korea targets firms building Taiwan navy submarines. China is using economic coercion in South Korea to punish the companies involved in building submarines for Taiwan. Ju-min Park. Reuters, 16 October
Economy & Tech
Apple’s iPhone off to a disappointing start in China, study shows. The iPhone 15 is selling 4.5% worse than its predecessor in 2022. Bloomberg, 16 October
China ramps up liquidity support to banking system. The central bank has rolled over medium-term policy loans but kept the interest rate unchanged amid concerns about the risk of further decline in the yuan. Reuters, 16 October
Chinese boycott beauty products after Fukushima water discharge. Online sales of Japanese-made cosmetics have taken a hit in China as online shoppers have started to compile lists of brands they believe could be linked to the nuclear plant. Madeleine Speed and Kana Inagaki. Financial Times, 16 October
Opinion & long-reads
US-EU de-risking and its impact on China. Beijing should make “full use of the differences between the US and the EU’s de-risking strategies towards China”. Thomas Des Garets Geddes. Sinification, 13 October
You may be eating fish caught and processed by Uyghur forced labour. A study focused on China’s distant-water fishing fleet, and holding people at sea for months at a time, has found that seafood-processing facilities inside China are deploying Uyghur forced labour on a large scale. Kenneth Roth. The Guardian, 13 October
First ever mitten crab trap is installed as public asked to report crustacean sightings. The crabs are among the 100 worst invasive species according to the Natural History Museum, and can eat the UK’s native fauna “out of house and home”. Megan Harwood-Baynes. Sky News, 15 October