China News - 24 November 2021

International

Beijing blocks access to shipping location data, citing national security concerns. The number of Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals from ships in Chinese waters dropped from a peak of more than 15m per day in October to just over 1m per day in early November. The AIS was initially developed to help avoid collisions and support rescue efforts but also became a valuable tool to enhance supply chain visibility and for governments to track activity in overseas ports. FT, 23 November

Fears over Mandarin shortage in Whitehall. According to the Spectator’s Steerpike, there are cross-party concerns that the Foreign Office is not moving quickly enough to improve Chinese language skills within the UK's diplomatic corps. CRG committee member Alicia Kearns MP commented: '“If we’re going to get serious about understanding China, and making policy to protect our country, our values and the international order, we need mandarins who understand Mandarin.” The Spectator, 23 November

Beijing accuses US of ‘mistake’ after Biden invites Taiwan to democracy summit. Taiwan was included in a list of 109 participants for next month’s Summit for Democracy, published by the state department on Tuesday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said it opposed “any official interaction between the US and China’s Taiwan region”. The Guardian, CNBC, 24 November

China urges 'certain people' to stop 'politicisation' of Peng Shuai situation. China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the issue of tennis star Peng Shuai “is not a diplomatic matter”, as foreign governments and organisations continue to raise questions around her wellbeing. BBC, Reuters, The Guardian, 23 November

EU joins calls for ‘independent and verifiable proof’ of Peng Shuai’s whereabouts. SCMP, 24 November

Italy's Draghi vetoes third Chinese takeover this year. Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi vetoed Zhejiang Jingsheng Mechanical’s attempt to set up a joint venture with the Hong Kong arm of Applied Materials to buy the US-based group's screen printing equipment business in Italy, arguing the takeover could have had consequences in the strategic semiconductor sector. Reuters, 23 November

China backs UN pledge to ban social scoring. China signed off on a United Nations recommendation for AI ethics on Tuesday. At the heart of the text is a warning to governments to steer clear of dangerous use cases for the technology because they threaten civil rights. POLITICO, 23 November

Former Hong Kong independence group leader gets 43 months under security law. Tony Chung, the 20-year-old former leader of Hong Kong pro-independence group Studentlocalism, was charged with secession and money laundering in October 2020 after being arrested seeking US asylum. The Guardian, Reuters, BBC, 23 November

Academics and students in the West consider future China studies without access to China. SCMP, 23 November

Indo-Pacific a priority for France's EU presidency, foreign minister says. Reuters, 24 November

China and US serve up a revival of ping-pong diplomacy. The Times, 23 November

Hong Kong migrant's struggle to find home in Solihull. BBC, 23 November

Economy & tech

US joins with China, other nations in tapping oil reserves. Britain, China and India have joined a US-led coalition to cool oil markets, drawing upon their stockpiles to boost supplies in the face of robust demand. China's foreign ministry said it will release crude oil from its reserves according to its needs, with the state-backed Global Times commenting that China "has the upper hand" in a move that will benefit everyone. The Times, WSJ, Reuters, Global Times, 23 November

Li Keqiang meeting with local government heads shows Beijing is on high alert for mounting economic headwinds. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urged 10 local governments to take more action to support small businesses and make them a major economic priority, following hot on the heels of warnings by several government advisers that the country’s economic recovery is not stable yet. SCMP, 23 November

Jamie Dimon says JP Morgan will outlast China’s Communist party. The JP Morgan Chase chief executive, joked that the Wall Street Bank would outlast the Chinese Communist party, while reiterating his commitment to expanding in the country. FT, 24 November

China's new privacy law leaves US behind. While China's sweeping new data privacy laws have left tech companies confused about how to comply, they also put the U.S. even further behind in the global race to set digital standards. Axios, 23 November

China’s cash-strapped developers hold off defaults through deals with investors, but not out of the woods just yet. SCMP, 24 November

Beijing’s semiconductor ambition faces fresh headwinds as Washington adds pressure on SK Hynix. SCMP, 23 November

China focus

China takes ‘New Era Civilisation Practice Centres’ nationwide. The centres, jointly run by the Central Department of Propaganda and the Office of the Central Guidance Commission on Building Spiritual Civilization, were started in 2018 and purport to be "platforms for publicising theories and policies, enriching cultural life and advocating changing customs and habits, thus truly opening up the "last mile" of serving the masses". Sinocism, People’s Daily (Chinese language), 23 November

Xi urges high-quality development of modern logistics for China's armed forces. Xi Jinping has urged the armed forces to accelerate the development of modern logistics in order to realise the military modernisation goals set for the centenary of the People's Liberation Army in 2027. Xinhua, 23 November

Chinese bullet trains take wings to hit speeds of 280mph. The Times, 23 November

Dating blind boxes take off in China as younger generations look for love on social media. SCMP, 23 November

Opinion & editorial

The Beijing challenge requires a proper strategy. Sporting boycotts may be tempting, but they are ultimately gestures that have little effect on geopolitics. The Telegraph, 24 November

Sebastian Coe’s duplicitous performance made me realise benefits of Beijing Olympics boycott. Matthew Syed. The Times, 23 November

Lessons from the Cold War on Preventing a US-China Arms Race. Rose Gottemoeller. POLITICO, 23 November

Hong Kong’s pillar of shame is more than a statue. Shrinking the public space that preserves the memory of the 1989 Beijing uprising has effectively turned Hong Kong into another silent mainland city. Shui-yin Sharon Yam and Alex Chow. NYT, 24 November

Long reads

China’s quest for greater ‘discourse power’. Distinct from general soft power, China’s discourse power – the ability to set and shape global narratives – is quietly on the rise. Hugo Jones. The Diplomat, 24 November

The real threat to academic freedom. Why focusing on "cancel culture" or foreign influence, using China as a foil, misses the greater challenge. Yangyang Cheng. The Atlantic, 23 November

Japan’s revolution on Taiwan affairs. Ryan Ashley. War on the Rocks, 23 November

China’s place in a progressive British foreign policy. Labour Foreign Policy Group, 23 November