China News - 2 March 2023
International
UK closing in on major Pacific trade deal. The UK is on the verge of reaching an agreement in principle to accede to the 11-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in the coming days, three people familiar with the negotiations told Politico. Members include Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Chile, Vietnam and Malaysia, and the latest round of talks is being held on the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc this week. Politico, 1 March
US seeks allies' backing for possible China sanctions over Ukraine war. One official from a country consulted by Washington said that they had only seen scant intelligence backing up the claims about China considering possible military assistance to Russia. A US official, however, said they were providing detailed accounts of the intelligence to allies. Reuters, 1 March
Lukashenko backs Xi’s peace plan as he appeals for Chinese investment in Belarus. China has pledged to beef up trade ties with Belarus despite deepening Western sanctions against Russia’s close ally, whose autocratic ruler Alexander Lukashenko arrived in Beijing for a state visit and said he backed China’s plan for peace in Ukraine. The two countries took their ties to a higher level with wide-ranging declaration on trade, technology and defence. Politico, 2 March
Opposition parties in Canada call for inquiry into alleged Chinese election interference. Recent media reports have alleged ongoing Chinese interference in Canada’s elections, with prime minister Justin Trudeau this week denying one article saying his office was told by Canada’s spy agency to drop a Chinese Canadian candidate in 2019 because of his ties to Beijing. Two-in-three Canadians believe Beijing attempted election interference. The Guardian, 2 March
'Beijing' impersonated foreign journalists to spy on Chinese activists. The Chinese state is suspected of impersonating two senior foreign journalists in order to spy on activists involved in organising rare anti-lockdown protests last year. They sought information about people linked to protests last November against China’s draconian ‘zero-Covid’ policy. The Telegraph, 1 March
British RAF chief calls it 'unacceptable' for China to recruit western military pilots. Britain's air force chief Mike Wigston says it was "unacceptable" its former pilots were being recruited to train Chinese military, and intelligence agencies in Australia and Britain had shared information to warn pilots against working for Beijing. Reuters, 2 March
Public must recognise ‘collective responsibility’ for keeping UK safe, says Foreign Affairs Committee chair. In a wide-ranging speech at Policy Exchange, Alicia Kearns, also chair of the CRG, argued that Britain had been “naïve” about the threat from autocracies such as Russia and China and stressed the need to build resilience across society. Evening Standard, 1 March
UK politicians press for Hong Kong ex-lawmaker’s release to visit ill husband. SCMP, 1 March
US approves new US$619 million sale of missiles and military equipment to Taiwan. SCMP, 2 March
Economy & tech
China holds up Arm’s exit from troubled joint venture. China is holding up Arm’s plan to offload its troubled joint venture in the country, months after the UK chip designer agreed to transfer the unit to its owner SoftBank as a prelude to a blockbuster stock market listing. FT sources say Chinese officials have declined to process the paperwork confirming Arm China’s transfer to a new Vision Fund entity. FT, 2 March
China plans to inject $1.9 billion into top memory chipmaker Yangtze. Bloomberg, 2 March
Shareholders demand vote on spinning off HSBC Asia. Hong Kong-based minority investors in HSBC are demanding a vote at the bank’s annual meeting in May on whether it should devise a formal plan to boost returns by spinning off its lucrative Asia business. HSBC has been under pressure from the China-based institutional investor Ping An, which has urged HSBC to spin off its Asia business. The Times, 2 March
Chinese brokerages pressured to end overseas investing services. Chinese brokerages offering overseas investing services to mainland clients have come under pressure from a regulatory push that seeks to seal off one of the few remaining loopholes in the country’s strict capital controls. FT, 2 March
China leads West in global competition for key emerging technology, study says. China has a "stunning lead" in 37 out of 44 critical and emerging technologies as Western democracies lose a global competition for research output, a security think tank said. Reuters, 2 March
China’s tech firms chase overseas talent to build ChatGPT rivals amid lack of experts at home. SCMP, 1 March
Long reads & opinion
Xi Jinping set to overhaul China’s economic policy team at watershed congress. President expected to unveil sweeping changes to extend Communist party’s grip over finance and other sectors. FT, 2 March
Keeping up appearances? China’s support for Russia one year into the war. Mikko Huotari and Roderick Kefferpütz. MERICS, 1 March
How the EU-China relationship became a casualty of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Finbarr Bermingham. SCMP, 1 March
Why is the FBI endorsing the Covid lab leak theory now? Tom Whipple and Hugh Tomlinson. The Times, 1 March
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