China News - 18 May 2021
International
Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai faces ruin after admitting illegal assembly. Lai, 72, appeared in a district court this morning, hours after the Hong Kong stock exchange halted the trading of shares in Next Digital, his media company. Carrie Lam, speaking at a weekly press briefing on Tuesday, said that the move to freeze Lai’s assets illustrated how seriously the government discharged its duty to safeguard national security. The Times, Reuters, 18 May
US, EU to hold China to account on ‘trade-distorting policies’. As the two sides started discussions on addressing global overcapacity in steel and aluminium, the US and the EU issued a joint statement on Monday saying that they can partner to “hold countries like China that support trade-distorting policies to account”. SCMP, 17 May
US Senate advances bill to fund tech development to counter China. The chamber voted 84-11 to move ahead with the Endless Frontier Act, which seeks up to US$100 billion over five years for basic and advanced tech research and another US$10 billion to create new technology hubs across the country. SCMP, 18 May
UK government split over Australia trade deal. The British government is torn over whether to sign off a trade deal with Australia after a split between the department of agriculture and the department of international trade over the terms of the agreement. FT, 18 May
Coronavirus: Joe Biden announces vaccine donation plan to check China and Russia. The US will distribute 80 million Covid-19 vaccine doses. SCMP, 17 May
HK suspends operations at representative office in Taiwan as tensions rise. Reuters, 18 May
China just gave Kenya two luxury buses and a new foreign ministry HQ. China in Africa, 18 May
Today at 6:30pm: Lisa Nandy, Tom Tugendhat and Rana Mitter will be debating a Western alternative to the Belt and Road at Onward. Register here
China watch
CPC to promote cooperation on opening-up, global governance: senior diplomat. Yang Jiechi said in an article published Sunday in Qiushi. Xinhua, 17 May
Missing children alert system set up in China has a 98 per cent success rate. SCMP, 17 May
China divorces drop 70% after controversial ‘cooling off’ law for couples. The Guardian, 18 May
Economy & tech
Why is Huawei still in the UK? Huawei says it has spent an annual average of £80m over the last ten years on UK-based research in general. Huawei says it has "partnerships" with 35 UK universities including Imperial College London, Surrey, Cambridge and Southampton. BBC, 17 May
Poetic flourish costs founder of China’s Meituan super app $2bn. Shares in Meituan, tumbled about 14 per cent in Hong Kong last week after its founder shared four stanzas written 1,000 years ago by poet Zhang Jie. FT, 18 May
China’s factories slam on the brakes. Chinese factory output and retail sales slowed more sharply than expected last month in the face of rising raw material costs and supply chain bottlenecks. The Times, 18 May
Longer reads & opinion
Meet the UK’s China watchers. Annabelle Timsit speaks to 12 UK-based China watchers about what motivates their engagement with China and where their views of it come from. Quartz, 17 May
Censorship, surveillance and profits: A hard bargain for Apple in China. Chinese state employees physically manage the data centres, and Apple abandoned the encryption technology it used elsewhere after China would not allow it. NYT, 17 May
Chinese Whispers: The fightback against facial recognition. The Spectator, 17 May
Westerners need to adapt to China’s influence. Kerry Brown in the Global Times, 16 May
Shein: The TikTok of Ecommerce. Shein is now #2 most downloaded shopping app in the world. Not Boring (Substack), 17 May