China News - 19 January 2022
Event tomorrow (2pm GMT): The CPTPP, UK and China. Andrew Bowie MP will be joined by trade experts Wendy Cutler and David Henig to discuss the benefits for the UK of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
What are the prospects of China joining? Could the CPTPP change China, or will China change it? Register here.
International
Nuclear submarines, China tensions to top UK talks with Australia. Scott Morrison will host UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace in Sydney for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic this week. Discussions are expected to cover how allies can better respond to threats and challenges against liberal democracies and how the UK can increase its presence in the area. Sky News, The Australian, 19 January
Taiwan plans representative office in Slovenia as the EU nation blasts Beijing. Taiwan has confirmed it is in talks with Slovenia to open representative offices on each other’s soil, after the Central European country’s leader accused China of “lecturing about democracy and peace” and criticised it for blocking Taiwanese membership of the World Health Organization. Meanwhile, Taiwan Vice President William Lai will attend the inauguration of new Honduran president Xiomara Castro, seeking to shore up ties with the Central American country that is one of only 14 nations Taiwan has formal diplomatic ties with. SCMP, Politico, Reuters, 18 January
Beijing Winter Olympics
Athletes advised to use burner phones in Beijing. A report by Citizen Lab reveals that MY2022, an app mandated for use by all attendees of the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, contains security weaknesses that leave users exposed to data breaches. The report also said it had found a "censorship keywords" list built into the app, and a feature that allows people to flag other "politically sensitive" expressions. BBC, The Telegraph, 18 January
China sells Xinjiang as a winter sports hub. The troubled Xinjiang region is being painted as a poster destination for China's ballooning winter sports industry, with many foreign firms lining up to make the most of the boom that's expected to follow the Games. BBC, 19 January
Beijing battles both Delta, Omicron ahead of Winter Olympics. Global Times, 19 January
Beijing 2022 official warns against violations of 'Olympic spirit'. Reuters, 19 January
Malaysian Foreign Minister sees shift in China’s justification of sweeping South China Sea claims. Beijing appears to be shifting from the so-called “nine-dash line” toward a new legal theory to support its expansive claims in the South China Sea, although analysts say its alternative is also problematic under international law. Radio Free Asia, 18 January
US examining Alibaba's cloud unit for national security risks - Reuters sources. The focus of the probe is on how the company stores clients' data, including personal information and intellectual property, and whether the Chinese government could gain access to it, according to three people briefed on the matter. Reuters, 18 January
Chinese investment in US plane maker draws FBI, national security reviews. WSJ, The Times, 19 January
Putin to brief China's Xi on Russia-NATO talks, Kremlin says. Reuters, 18 January
Billionaire venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya backtracks after saying he doesn’t care about Uyghur abuse. The Guardian, 18 January
Hong Kong democracy activist Edward Leung released from prison. Reuters, 19 January
Economy & tech
HSBC sounds the alarm on Hong Kong's ultra-strict quarantine rules. The bank has warned traders that the finance hub's extreme Covid measures are a risk to its business. Despite calls from bank bosses for officials to soften their stance for the sake of the city’s future as an Asian financial powerhouse, extreme measures are still being used to stop any signs of infection. The Telegraph, 18 January
China cyberspace regulator drafts new rules for internet behemoths. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has drafted new guidelines that will require the country's internet behemoths to obtain its approval before they undertake any investments or fundraisings, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Reuters, 19 January
Tencent pursues quieter investment strategy amid China’s Big Tech crackdown. FT, 19 January
Murata’s Thailand move heralds Japan tech shift from China. Murata Manufacturing and other Japanese tech suppliers are cutting their dependence on China as the US-China stand-off deepens. FT, 19 January
China’s housing market gains support as cities send positive vibes to developers, buyers. SCMP, 19 January
Chip shortage and Covid weigh on China’s smartphone market even as it bounced back from pandemic lows. CNBC, 19 January
China focus
Xi Jinping stresses strict Party governance, vows zero tolerance on corruption. Xi vowed to maintain a zero-tolerance stance on corruption while addressing the sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), echoing language used in last year’s historical resolution. CGTN, 18 January
Modern comprehensive transportation system for 14th Five-Year Plan approved. More than 95% of Chinese cities with a population of over 500,000 will be covered by the high-speed railway network, with the trains running at 250 kilometres and above per hour. State Council, 18 January
As China’s population nears ‘normalised phase of decline’, experts assess pace and severity. SCMP, 18 January
Long reads
Davos cancellation highlights Covid’s power to divide. Geopolitical tensions and surging migration would be hard to manage even in normal times. Gideon Rachman. FT, 19 January
China’s high-tech rise sharpens rivalry with the US. Alarm over the country’s growing military strength is accelerating moves towards economic decoupling. James Kynge. FT, 19 January
Addressing debt distress in Africa. Despite promising signs of a continuing global economic recovery in 2022, the African debt situation remains worrying. Chatham House, 17 January
Biden and Asia: modest progress, ongoing confusion. Washington is trying to run three Asia policies at once - and each is missing substance. James Crabtree. Foreign Policy, 18 January
China builds its own movie empire. Sara Fischer and Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian. Axios, 18 January