China News - 19 May 2021
International
European Parliament to vote on freezing China deal. The European Parliament is expected to pass a motion on Thursday pushing to formally freeze the EU’s investment agreement with China. The draft motion will also call on the EU to step up coordination with the U.S. to deal with China. Politico, 18 May
Universities ‘turn blind eye’ to suspicious foreign donations. A new report co-authored by British academics found that elite universities each turn down only four donations or fewer a year, despite being “prime targets” for reputation laundering. The Times, 19 May
UK's COP26 president Sharma: We need more urgency from China on climate promises. "What is really important in the case of China - indeed every country - is to set out the detailed policies which then lead to the long term commitments that are being made," Sharma told a parliamentary committee yesterday. Reuters, 19 May
Nancy Pelosi calls for US diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics. “Let’s not honor the Chinese government by having heads of state go to China,” Pelosi told a bipartisan congressional hearing on the issue. The Guardian, 19 May
Taiwan ally warns of pivot to China in quest for Covid vaccines. Honduras has warned it may be forced to switch diplomatic allegiance from Taipei to Beijing to gain access to Chinese coronavirus vaccines. FT, 19 May
Pro-China lawmakers in Hong Kong find a new national security target: art. Emboldened by last year’s national-security law, Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing politicians want art they say insults China kept out of a new museum in the city. WSJ, 18 May
Xi and Putin to meet to mark expansion of China-Russia nuclear power project ahead of US talks. SCMP, 18 May
Israel accuses China of ‘blatant anti-Semitism’ in CGTN broadcast. SCMP, 18 May
Economy & tech
Jaguar Land Rover eyes £3bn profit within five years. Britain’s largest automotive employer reported a more-than-doubling of sales in China between January and March, accounting for more than 25 per cent of all deliveries. The Times, 19 May
Xinjiang solar industry launches charm offensive as sanctions loom. Daqo New Energy has launched a PR campaign to rebuff accusations of forced labour. FT, 19 May
Bitcoin falls sharply after China signals crypto regulatory crackdown. FT, 19 May
Firm founded by son of China finance tsar invests heavily in tech. An investment firm founded by the son of China’s most powerful financial official Liu He has invested heavily in technology companies, including units of Tencent and JD.com. FT, 19 May
Longer reads & opinion
Challenging China: Britain after Brexit grapples with a new foreign policy. Many China-sceptic Tories and security experts argue Britain should be more forthright in setting boundaries with a country which has nearly doubled its defence spending in the last decade, boosted espionage operations against the west, including cyber hacking, and imposed a draconian new security law on Hong Kong. FT, 19 May
Chinese academics are still bullish on UK-China relations. Chinese think tanks and academics have remained, on the whole, relatively optimistic about the future. The Diplomat, 19 May
European show of support for US in Indopacific will remain limited. A cautious Germany will visit Shanghai before entering the South China Sea. FT, 18 May
Chips with everything: how one Taiwanese company drives the world economy. The Guardian, 19 May