China News - 21 September
International
China orders foreign consulates in Hong Kong to hand over staff personal details. Beijing’s Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has given foreign consulates in Hong Kong until 18 October to submit the names, home addresses and job descriptions of their staff. The Guardian, 20 September
China says Britain’s plans to disrupt Hong Kong are “doomed to fail”. In response to Britain's six monthly Hong Kong report, China’s foreign ministry in Hong Kong said it ignored “good” societal conditions, a more stable business environment and instead supported general “anti China” chaos. Farah Master. Reuters, 20 September
Inviting China to AI summit “like bringing cat in with the canaries”. James Cleverly said “we cannot keep the UK public safe from the risks of AI if we exclude the leading nations on AI tech”, Ian Duncan Smith strongly opposes this thinking it will be “like bringing the cat in with the canaries”. Mark Sellman. TheTimes, 20 September
EU to ask China at UN to push Russia towards “just peace” in Ukraine. According to a draft speech for the UN Security Council, European Council President, Charles Michel, will ask China directly to do more to push Russia towards a “just peace” in Ukraine. Gabriela Baczynska. Reuters, 20 September
Can Europe go green without China’s critical minerals? China is so dominant in rare earths mining, processing and magnet manufacturing that “until we get a critical mass operating outside of China, China will retain that ability to pull the strings on the market” according to the managing director of Lynas. Ian Johnston, Alice Hancock and Harry Dempsey. Ft.com, 20 September
China’s police chief calls for global cooperation on public security at forum. Wang Xiaohong said that countries “with more resources and advantages” should take the lead in the stand against hegemony. China’s public security minister stated that “differences should not be a reason to hinder communication” between countries. Vanessa Cai. South China Morning Post, 20 September
Japan calls on China to remove buoy near disputed islands. Tokyo says they have discovered a buoy within its exclusive economic zone in the sea around the Senkaku islands, that Beijing calls the Diaoyu. Al Jazeera, 20 September
China declines to address WSJ report foreign minister was removed over extramarital affair. Qin Gang was abruptly removed from his position as foreign minister over the summer, a report has found that he was engaged in an extramarital affair while serving as Beijing’s envoy to Washington. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has declined to address this report. CNN, 19 September
Economy & Tech
China’s cheap EVs charge up Japanese market. Traditionally, over 80% of the Japanese car market is dominated by domestic companies. However, many Japanese carmakers were late to switch to electric. A Chinese rival, BYD, launched a compact electric car priced at $24,000, the Dolphin, for the Japanese market. Financial Times, 20 September
China exported no germanium or gallium in August as a result of export curbs. Customs data shows that China’s exports of germanium products went from 8.63 metric tons in July to 0 in August, and gallium products were 7.67 tons in July and also 0 in August. These figures are as a result of the new chip making export controls on the two metals. Amy Lv and Dominique Patton. Reuters, 20 September
Opinion & long-reads
We shouldn’t call “peak China” just yet. It is true that there are deep structural problems in China’s economy, but we should not forget the country’s strengths. Marton Wolf. ft.com, 19 September
China is preparing for war, and Britain is flailing. Western naivete and incompetence towards China’s whole-of-society threat is finally changing. John Bolton. Telegraph, 19 September
Is China exporting deflation to the rest of the world? China is at the end of many production chains, meaning that China’s export price deflation is likely to be a modest disinflation force globally. Paul Donovan. Financial Times, 20 September