China News - 22 November
International
India and Australia commit to boosting strategic ties as their diplomats and defence chiefs hold talks. India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met with Australia’s Penny Wong to discuss boosting their economic and strategic ties and share concerns over China and regional security. The Independent, 21 November
“Respect the facts”: Beijing rejects Australian claims China sonar injured navy divers. The Chinese defence ministry insists its vessel “did not conduct any activity that could affect the Australian side’s diving operations”. Josh Butler. The Guardian, 20 November
Philippines launches joint sea and air patrols with US military. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr described the joint maritime and air patrols as a “significant initiative”. Mikhail Flores and Karen Lema. Reuters, 21 November
China says it would be a “serious mistake” if Argentina cuts ties. Milei has recently likened the Chinese government to an “assassin” and said that its people were “not free”. Ethan Wang and Ryan Woo. Reuters, 21 November
Economy & Tech
China’s carbon emissions set to peak before 2030. According to a poll of 89 experts, China is on track to meet its goal to bring its carbon dioxide emissions to a peak before 2030. David Stanway. Reuters, 21 November
China struggles to spend its way out of economic crisis. China’s new finance minister announced that Beijing will deploy an arsenal of local and central government bonds, including a new Rmb1tn treasury facility. This will increase Beijing’s budget deficit to 3.8%, which is the highest in 20 years. Joe Leahy. Financial Times, 20 November
China pushes state banks to accelerate funding for private property developers. Chinese authorities are putting pressure on state banks to accelerate lending to private property developers. Cheng Leng. Financial Times, 21 November
Over 75% of foreign money invested into Chinese stocks in 2023 has left. More than three quarters of the foreign money that was in China’s stock market in the first seven months of the year has been taken out, as global investors have dumped more than $25bn worth of shares. Hudson Lockett. Financial Times, 21 November
Volkswagen begins operating first wholly owned battery pack plant in China. The battery pack production plant is in Hefei, in the eastern Anhui province. Reuters, 21 November
Nvidia investors weigh risks from US’s China chip rules ahead of earnings. The market will look for guidance on how disruptive AI processor export controls are. Tim Bradshaw and Qianer Liu. Financial Times, 21 November
China approves $69bn Broadcom-VMware merger. Beijing has approved the merger between US chipmaker Broadcom and cloud software company VMware with some “restrictive conditions”. Eleanor Olcott and Cristina Criddle. Financial Times, 21 November
Opinion & long-reads
Plight of workless Hongkongers in the UK reveals a skills mismatch. When immigration is high, employers should focus on recruiting migrants who are already in the country, not just ask for more from overseas. Heather Rolfe. Financial Times, 20 November
China’s property crisis is stirring protests across the country. Demonstrators include unpaid construction workers and buyers of unfinished homes. Kevin Slaten and Ming-tse Hung. Nikkei Asia, 20 November