China News - 26 January 2021
Starting soon: Join us at 10am for a virtual webinar on elite capture, political lobbying and countering foreign interference with Charles Parton, Mareike Ohlberg and Juliet Samuel. We’ll be revisiting the recommendations of our first report on UK-China relations, written by Charles Parton.
International
HSBC chief faces MPs. The chief executive of HSBC will face questions at 2:30pm today from MPs about the bank’s treatment of customers in Hong Kong following last year’s political unrest. The bank’s role in the international spat over Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications company, will also be in the spotlight. The Times, Live, 26 January
Xi addresses Davos. Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that a "new cold war" could turn hot, and must be avoided, in a speech yesterday at virtual Davos. Xi also for a multilateral approach to solving the economic crisis caused by Covid-19 and said the pandemic should not be used as an excuse to reverse globalisation in favour of “decoupling and seclusion”. The Guardian, Axios, Full speech, 25 January
China arrivals to offset exodus to UK, Hong Kong aide says. Hong Kong is unlikely to see a BNO exodus, a top government adviser said, predicting that some would be offset by arrivals from mainland China. Bloomberg, 26 January
Australian government MPs push for protectionism in China trade war. A split has emerged within the Australian government, with members of the junior Coalition partner pushing protectionist policies as a way of “fighting fire with fire” in the trade war with China. The Guardian, 26 January
WHO caught between China and West on frozen-food coronavirus transmission. China has stepped up efforts to promote the theory but the US, EU and others are lobbying against extra checks on their goods. WSJ, 26 January
China sceptic Bolsonaro thanks China for fast-tracking COVID-19 vaccine supplies. In other vaccine news, Sinopharm’s vaccine given to health care workers in Egypt and Indian newspapers have pushed back against Chinese vaccine propaganda. Reuters, SCMP, 26 January
Covid-19: Queen's University asked about China-NI flights on 10 January. BBC, 26 January
Surge in British private schools opening in China. 14 new schools opened in China and 40 more are scheduled to open in the next few years. TES, 26 January
China watch
China’s GDP growth targets should be scrapped to help put cap on local government debt, top central bank adviser says. SCMP, 26 January
China’s top anti-corruption body vows to zero in on key state-backed projects. SCMP, 25 January
China unveils epidemic control plan for upcoming holiday with 1.7 billion passenger trips expected during the 40 day Spring Festival rush. Xinhua, 26 January
Concept of D10 shows deepening internal contradictions and crises of West. Global Times, 26 January
Economy & tech
Belt and Road: China pours money into green Belt and Road projects. Renewables account for half of Beijing’s energy investments in 2020 but coal share also grows. FT, 26 Janaury
China’s startups hope tech crackdown creates new opportunities. New anti-monopoly legislation may chill acquisitions by the biggest Chinese tech companies. Bloomberg, 25 January
Longer reads & opinion
Comment: We should boycott China’s Winter Olympics. Beijing’s human rights abuses are such that Britain must take every opportunity to protest. The Times, 26 January
Comment: Xi Jinping's Davos magic wears thin as China flexes its muscles. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in The Telegraph, 26 January
Trade Secrets: The EU-China deal that gives Beijing too little to lose. The risk to the EU’s credibility seems too high for the deal to be worth it. FT, 25 January
National security law: tears, fears, but a new life? Hong Kong early birds who have taken BN(O) path to Britain. SCMP, 26 January
How China’s delivery apps are putting riders at risk. Ele.me and Meituan have seven million couriers between them but the sector is little regulated. FT, 25 January