International
'Five Eyes' alliance urges China to end crackdown on Hong Kong legislators. “We urge the Chinese central authorities to re-consider their actions against Hong Kong’s elected legislature and immediately reinstate the Legislative Council members,” foreign ministers from Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States said in a statement. It provoked an angry response from Beijing: If the Five Eyes alliance dared harm China’s sovereignty, security or development interests, they should be careful not to “get their eyes poked out”, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a daily news conference in Beijing on Thursday. Reuters, BBC, 19 November
Chinese envoy to the UK criticizes UK for breaching international obligations. CGTN, 18 November
Boris Johnson pledges £16bn military spending spree. The increase in UK investment is the largest for 30 years. The new deal will fund a long-delayed national cyberforce jointly run by the MoD and GCHQ. Plans also include a new AI agency and a new Space Command, which will be capable of launching its first rocket by 2022. The deal ensures the UK will remain biggest defence spender in Europe & second biggest in Nato. Christopher Miller, the acting US defence secretary, welcomed the UK’s decision to significantly increase defence spending. The PM is also set to make a statement on the Integrated Review later this afternoon in Parliament, announcing its delay until early 2021. The Times, FT, The Guardian, 19 November
Beijing leaks full grievances dossier to Australian press. Building on yesterday’s press conference, Beijing deliberately leaked a document with its full list of grievances, justifying why it has implemented several Australian exports with sanctions. The document says Australia has unfairly blocked Chinese investment, spread "disinformation" about China's efforts to contain coronavirus, falsely accused Beijing of cyber-attacks, and engaged in "incessant wanton interference" in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Xinjiang. ABC, 19 November
Australia 'will always be Australia,' Defiant PM responds to China grievances. Reuters, 19 November
US Senate Foreign Relations Committee releases report on China, strongly urging multilateral approach. WSJ, full report, 19 November
Operation Reset? US and China revive backchannel talks. SCMP, 19 November
Xi speaks at APEC forum: China to cut tariffs, boost imports of high-quality goods and services, says China has no intention of ‘decoupling’. It is as yet unclear if US President Donald Trump will be speaking at the event, which continues on Friday. Reuters, BBC, 19 November
Zambia: Africa’s first pandemic default tests new effort to ease debt from China. Zambia has some $12 billion in external debt, including the $3 billion in international bonds and large loans from Chinese state-owned lenders such as the Export-Import Bank of China and the China Development Bank. WSJ, 18 November
Canada names China, Russia as main cyber-crime threats for first time; sees risk to power supply. Reuters, 19 November
China watch
Covid brings China’s high-growth rental industry to its knees, with the rare sight of protests in Beijing - over rent contracts. FT, 19 November
Coronavirus: Italian study showing Covid-19 circulating in Italy last September clears us of Covid blame, says Chinese state media and Foreign Ministry spokesman. “This once again shows that tracing the virus’s source is a complex scientific question that should be left to scientists. [It] is a developing process that can involve multiple countries.” The Times, 19 November
China wakes up to the need for a greener diet, with rising demand for meat and dairy alternatives. FT, 19 November
Economy & tech
China borrows at negative rates for first time. The €4bn euro-denominated bond offering, which drew about €18bn worth of orders, gave large institutional investors a chance for higher yields than in Europe, where central bank easing has pushed interest rates to record lows Reuters, FT, 19 November
State purchases drive up cobalt metal prices in China, encouraging local producers to add large amounts of production capacity. Reuters, 18 November
Covid-19: Chinese Sinovac Biotech vaccine 'successful in mid-stage trials'. BBC, 19 November
Longer reads & opinion
China urges new era of mass migration —back to the countryside. WSJ, 17 November
Nus Ghani: The Government must act to ban British companies from exploiting slave labour. Conservative Home, 18 November
Recorded seminar: Understanding China – Then and Now: How China’s History Shapes its Modern Ambitions. BFPG, 17 November
China and the Dawn Of Digital Currency. BNY Mellon, 17 November