International
UK and allies accuse Chinese state-backed group of Microsoft hack. Britain has joined with the US and other allies in formally accusing Chinese state-based hacking groups of being behind the exploitation of an estimated 250,000 Microsoft Exchange servers worldwide earlier this year. The UK also said for the first time on Monday that it considers two Chinese hacking groups, APT 40 and APT 31, to be linked to China’s MSS. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the cyber-attack amounted to “a reckless but familiar pattern of behaviour”. The Guardian, BBC, Sky News, The Times, Politico, FT, 19 July
China hits back at accusations over cyber-attacks. Chinese diplomats in countries including the UK, Canada and New Zealand issued statements on Tuesday slamming the allegations as “groundless” and a “malicious smear”. FT, BBC, 20 July
China will not scare us out of international waters, says UK defence secretary Ben Wallace. In Tokyo to underline Britain’s strategic ‘tilt’ to East Asia, he said that Britain had a “duty” to insist on freedom of navigation when HMS Queen Elizabeth and its fleet sail through the South China Sea on their way to Japan. The Times, 20 July
Coronavirus: proposed WHO origins study ‘inconsistent’ with China’s position. Beijing says the next phase of investigation should be led by the UN body’s member states and the search for possible early cases should be expanded worldwide. SCMP, Global Times, 19 July
US seeks cooperation with China on climate but not at any price. Climate envoy John Kerry has rejected the notion that Beijing could buy US silence on human rights as the price of cooperation on climate. The Guardian, 20 July
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam shrugs off scenes of residents leaving at airport, says city has ‘prosperous future’ ahead. Hong Kong’s leader on Tuesday brushed off recent scenes at the airport suggesting an exodus of residents, adding that she would tell anyone considering leaving that the city would continue to prosper with Beijing’s support and the help of the national security law. SCMP, 20 July
Australia seeks to block China with stake in Pacific mobile networks. The Australian government plans to provide most of the financing for the acquisition of mobile networks in six Pacific nations, a move that foreign-policy experts say is designed to block China from buying the strategically important assets. WSJ, 19 July
China woos Assad to win a foothold in the Middle East. Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, became the first foreign dignitary to visit President Assad since May’s election, offering to bring Syria into China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The Times, 20 July
US considering new sanctions on Iranian oil sales to China. US officials suggested they are weighing new sanctions on Iran’s oil sales to China as a way to pressure Tehran to commit to a nuclear deal. WSJ, Al Jazeera, 19 July
China is buying up American farms. Washington wants to crack down. Politico, 19 July
France, South Pacific nations to combat 'predatory' fishing as China extends reach. CNN, Reuters, 20 July
China focus
China lacks Covid exit strategy as it strives for zero infections. China’s commitment to achieving zero Covid-19 cases means most of its citizens will probably be cut off from the outside world until the year-end, delaying a full return to normal for the world’s second-largest economy. FT, 20 July
Chinese cities warn of new power outages as heat strains grid. Populous centers including Beijing and Xi’an have alerted electricity users there will be scheduled disruptions as grid operators struggle to maintain overloaded networks. Bloomberg, Xinhua, 19 July
China reports first death of a human from a rare Monkey B virus. Washington Post, Independent, 19 July
Economy & tech
China frictions steer electric automakers away from rare earth magnets. As tensions mount between China and the United States, automakers in the West are trying to reduce their reliance on a key driver of the electric vehicle revolution - permanent magnets, sometimes smaller than a pack of cards, that power electric engines. Reuters, 19 July
China’s carbon trading debut is a mixed bag. China’s new national carbon market is up and running. But to really be effective, carbon prices will have to rise quickly. WSJ, Nature, 19 July
Huawei wins 60 per cent of China Mobile’s 5G network in show of confidence for beleaguered telecoms equipment maker. Ericsson and Nokia were awarded small slivers of the network build-outs, signalling continuing challenges for foreign telecoms equipment suppliers in China. SCMP, Reuters, Silicon UK, 19 July
Urbanisation could help solve China’s shrinking workforce. Bloomberg, 19 July
Longer reads & opinion
The Integrated Review In Context: A Strategy Fit for the 2020s? KCL Security Studies, 17 July
China is still a long way from being a superpower. Beijing may lack the ambition needed to develop a global military presence that rivals the US. Gideon Rachman. FT, 19 July
Farewell to a community of common destiny? Beijing's regulatory crackdown on tech companies threatens to break up the transnational community that allowed China's homegrown tech sector to thrive. Victor Shih. The Wire, 18 July
DiDi means war – a financial Cold War with China. Beijing’s crackdown on one of China’s giant technology firms – DiDi, the “Uber of China” – impacts more than just that company (and its investors). It signals an escalation of what we may start to think of now as a Cold War between China and the United States. George Calhoun. Forbes, 19 July
China hits back as it faces growing criticism of its human rights record, treatment of Uyghurs. Sean Mantesso. ABC, 19 July
Joining China’s Belt and Road club may not have real benefits. Richard Spencer. The Times, 19 July
The new-style family values underpinning the ‘China Dream’. Anthropologist Yan Yunxiang on why it’s time to look past filial piety and engage with China’s rapidly shifting intergenerational dynamics. Sixth Tone, 19 July