International
Taiwanese President sworn in - China’s state media says it will make Taiwan and the US “feel pain in some places that they can't think of.” Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen called for ‘coexistence’, rejecting Beijing’s principle of ‘one country - two systems’ as she was sworn into office for the second time. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office responded saying: “Reunification is a historical inevitability,” linking it to the 2049 anniversary and ‘rejuvenation’ of the People’s Republic. China’s state media tweeted that “The US and Taiwan want to play petty tricks at a low cost, which is too naive. We will make them feel pain in some places that they can't think of.” Reuters, 20 May. SCMP, 20 May Global Times Tweet
Kinnock says UK must end “one way” relations with China. The Guardian reports on comments made by Labour’s China Spokesman. He said: “It feels like it has been one-way traffic on the economy… You can have a debate about trade figures but I think to a large extent we have been played … by a narrative that there was going to be an alignment of the international rules-based order, that there was going to be a slow but steady alignment with democratic norms. That clearly has not happened and the relationship has been too one way.” He said: “If you look at the increasingly hard line they take on human rights issues, the Uighurs, what has been happening in Hong Kong or the position on Taiwan, there is very little evidence of any kind of success in terms of exerting or projecting our influence” Guardian, 19 May
Newsnight report on UK-China relations. Newsnight reported on changing UK views on China, featuring George Magnus, Neil O’Brien from CRG, and Former Australian PM Kevin Rudd. Chris Patten told the programme that under Xi Jinping China had been picking on one democratic country at a time. Dr Bingchun Meng from the LSE said China’s government was doing well and enjoyed high trust from its people. She said western countries’ response to the virus was failing because of a “cold war mentality” and “entrenched racism” towards China. Newsnight, 19 May
Radio Television Hong Kong apologises and scraps satire show after poking fun at police. The announcement came just hours after the Communications Authority issued the public broadcaster with a warning for "denigrating and insulting" the police. “Headliners”, which has run since 1989, will stop production. RTHK, 19 May
Publicis pulls out as more western PR firms steer clear of “relaunch Hong Kong” contract. Provoke Media, 19 May
State media: “Australia gets ‘slap to the face’ as global community welcomes China-sponsored resolution.” A Chinese government spokesman said China had won the argument at the WHO, and that the “draft resolution is entirely different from what Australia called "independent international review". Global Times, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 19 May. In the UK, Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy says the resolution “was watered down, apparently at the request of the US with British support.” Independent, 20 May
People’s Liberation Army seeks a bigger budget as international tensions mount. SCMP, 20 May
“A Student Criticized China and Now His University Is Threatening to Expel Him” WSJ, 19 May
More details on new Huawei centre at Imperial college. Harry Cole reports that “As part of the partnership, Huawei will provide 5G indoor wireless network and AI Cloud platform, at one of Imperial’s campuses. This facility will support the research work of Imperial’s Data Science Institute (DSI); the Leonardo Centre; the College’s Enterprise Lab.” Harry Cole - Twitter, CGTN
Where is Britain’s China strategy? Andrew Foxall - Spectator
Economy / tech
“China to revive IPOs in London to hedge against Wall St’s growing hostility” SCMP, 19 May
Chip conflict:
“Chips and Geopolitics”. Stratechery reports on the nature of the facility TSMC is building in the US and why it is building there. Stratechery, 19 May
“US ‘surgical’ attack on Huawei will reshape tech supply chain.” A source in Taiwan tells the FT: “they will probably be able to finish current 5G orders in China, but beyond that, the future for their network business looks very dark.” FT, 20 May
“U.S. Is Using Taiwan as a Pressure Point in Tech Fight With China.” NY Times, 19 May
US officials press Trump to widen curbs on investment into China. National Center for Public Policy Research
Fearing a Coronavirus resurgence, Beijing has gone on an international buying spree of agricultural products and oil. Forbes, 19 May. CNBC, 19 May
“After barley, what next? Australian industries exposed if China trade tensions persist”. The Guardian, 20 May
Chinese hackers seen behind cyberattack on easyJet. Reuters, Telegraph, 20 May
US invests $354 million to reshore generic drug manufacturing. Washington Post, 19 May
Long Reads
Tesla working with China’s CATL on major leap in battery tech. The Driven
Learning in the South China Sea: the U.S. Response to the West Capella Standoff. War on the Rocks, 18 May
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