China News - 22 September
International
China and the EU to hold high-level economic and trade dialogue in Beijing. The 10th China-EU High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue will be held in Beijing on 25 September. He Lifeng, China’s Vice-Premier, and Vladis Dombrovskis, the European Commissioner for Trade will co-chair the meeting. Joe Cash, Albee Zhang and Ethan Wang. Reuters, 21 September
China welcomes Syrian president Bashar al-Assad for summit. The Syrian president arrived in China for a bilateral summit which marks his first visit since civil war erupted 12 years ago. The trip comes as Beijing seeks to increase its diplomatic influence in the Middle East. Andrew England and Joe Leahy. Financial Times, 21 September
Russian president Vladimir Putin accepts invitation to China in October. In a video by Russian news agency TASS, Putin referred to Xi as his “important and cherished friend”. It is reported that the Russian president has accepted an invitation to China in the following month. Sky News, 20 September
Xi’s purge of handpicked ministers shatters stability image. The Chinese government looks as though it is in disarray as Xi has ousted top officials with no explanation. This abrupt move of supposedly trusted loyalists has spooked foreign investors and governments alike. Bloomberg, 20 September
Chinese navy seeks graduate students for warplane pilot program. The Chinese navy wants to hire graduates to fly their shipborne aircraft as it seeks to improve the qualifications of its personnel to build a “strong army”. Albee Zhang and Ryan Woo. Reuters, 21 September
Economy & Tech
Chip bans not enough to secure critical networks. Governments across the globe are banning the use of foreign hardware in critical infrastructure over national security concerns. Experts are questioning the effectiveness of the strategy that is increasing geopolitical tension and leaving potential vulnerabilities elsewhere. Nicholas Fearn. Financial Times, 21 September
Foreign investors still shunning China despite signs of upturn. Despite signs of improvement in China’s economy, foreign investors have dumped a further $3.15bn of Chinese equities so far this month. William Langley. Financial Times, 21 September
Vietnam’s VinFast to deliver EVs to Europe this year as EU probes China rivals. VinFast plans to ship its first EVs to Europe in the fourth quarter of this year. Around 3,000 of its VF8 crossovers will be delivered to France, Germany and the Netherlands. Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio. Reuters, 21 September
Opinion & long-reads
Tech remains central in the Hot Peace between China and the US. Despite the clear tensions between the two countries, the Hot Peace between China and the US is marked more by the benefits of mutually assured collaboration than the spectre of mutually assured destruction. John Thornhill. Financial Times, 21 September
Asia faces stark choices as the Kim-Putin bromance blossoms. Asia has two choices: it can either bend to US sanctions and Nato’s forum-shopping, or shape a new paradigm from the Strait of Malacca to the Bering Strait. Sanjeev Aaron Williams. South China Morning Post, 20 September
TikTok wants to be Amazon for Gen Z. TikTok’s ecommerce plans have already achieved success in south-east Asia, and they are now looking to expand to the US. There are already 150mn users in the US, many of whom are young and well versed in online shopping. June Yoon. Financial Times, 20 September
What the most “Chinese” smartphone yet tells us about politics. Huawei’s latest chip shows that advances in domestic chipmaking suggest that Western controls are far from watertight. Chris Miller. Financial Times, 21 September
Violent tornado sends sparks flying on the streets of Chinese city. Suqian in eastern China has seen a powerful tornado rip through its streets causing power lines to set on fire and cars to overturn. At least five people are known to have died and hundreds have been temporarily relocated. BBC News, 20 September