China News - 21 January 2021
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International
Beijing sanctions outgoing Trump officials. Minutes after President Biden was sworn into the office, Beijing announced sanctions against Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state under Donald Trump, along with 27 other American officials on the grounds they had "seriously violated” China’s sovereignty. Biden’s team called China’s move “unproductive and cynical.” The Times, FT, Reuters, 20 January
Street names around new Chinese embassy in London could be renamed in honour of persecuted Muslim population. A motion due to be heard at Tower Hamlets full council meeting will ask the local authority to rename roads around the site as "Tiananmen Square", "Uyghur Court", "Hong Kong Road" and “Xiaobo Road". Evening Standard, 21 January
China deal damages EU's human rights credibility, MEPs to say. A motion due to be passed by the European parliament next week will “regret the fact that the decision for a political conclusion of the comprehensive agreement on investment (CAI) has not reflected the European parliament’s requests in previous resolutions on Hong Kong for using investment negotiations as a leverage tool aiming at preserving Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy, as well as its basic rights and freedoms”. The Guardian, 20 January
Planned changes to Hong Kong immigration law spark fears of exit curbs. Hong Kong's government is debating an amendment to the city's immigration laws to enable security chiefs to ban passengers from taking any form of transport in or out of the city. Radio Free Asia, 2 January
Crackdown on Jack Ma’s empire gathers pace despite reappearance. Hours after Ma’s reappearance, the People’s Bank of China proposed new anti-monopoly rules that will primarily hurt Alibaba’s payments affiliate, Ant Group. On Thursday, Alibaba’s Hong Kong-traded shares fell nearly 3 per cent. FT, 21 January
Xinjiang more than doubled its US exports in 2020, despite Trump’s sanctions and bans. British imports of Xinjiang goods fell almost 10 per cent last year, to US$136.8 million. SCMP, 21 January
Vaccines: China turbocharges bid to discredit Western vaccines, spread virus conspiracy theories. The Chinese government’s attempts to seize the vaccine narrative continue, with China’s foreign ministry saying more than 40 countries have asked Beijing for vaccines. Washington Post, Reuters, 20 January
China watch
UK virus variant found in Beijing, partial lockdown on 1.6m residents imposed. AFP, 21 January
China revives conspiracy theory of US army link to Covid. Suspicions about army lab spread on social media after official’s tit-for-tat response to US claim. The Guardian, 21 January
Prada drops Chinese actress over allegations she abandoned surrogate children. The Telegraph, 20 January
Economy & tech
Tech wars: VW loses tens of thousands of cars in China on chip shortage. Carmakers around the world are being impacted by a global semiconductor shortage. Bloomberg, 21 January
Twitter locks account of China's US embassy over its defence of Xinjiang policy. Reuters, 21 January
The race for Mars takes US-China tensions into outer space. In February unmanned spacecraft from China and the US are scheduled to reach Mars, where both will dispatch rovers. Bloomberg, 20 January
Longer reads & opinions
Must-read policy paper: Wins and losses in the EU-China Investment Agreement. Institut Montaigne, 20 January
What the West can do about China’s Uyghur labour camps. “In the end, it is us as consumers who will influence the fate of the millions of people in Xinjiang.” The Spectator, 21 January
Yu Jianhua: Introducing China’s formidable new trade representative. The appointment of an official to the post for the first time in two years signals a more coordinated trade policy going forward. British Chamber of Commerce in China, 21 January
America’s big China question. Book essay by James Kynge on The World Turned Upside Down, The Great Decoupling and How China Loses. FT, 21 January
Self-reliance in critical minerals important in green revolution. Alexander Stafford MP highlights the UK’s reliance on China in The Times, 21 January
How Japan can help the UK meet its China challenge. Japan Times, 21 January
Parliament
The National Security and Investment Bill passed through its remaining stages in House of Commons yesterday, with no new amendments.
China featured heavily in oral evidence given to the committee scrutinising the Telecommunications (Security) Bill on Tuesday. Emily Taylor, CEO of Oxford Information Labs, spoke about China’s increasing leadership in international standard-setting organisations. Dr Alexi Drew of King’s Policy Institute discussed the use of emerging technologies (including telecommunications) as part of a strategy to advance China’s influence, albeit a strategy intended primarily to shore up domestic security. Dr. Drew added that the CCP's failure to police its internet firewall would lead to China's increasing involvement in shaping the internet globally.