China News - 27 April 2021
Starting in 20 minutes: We will be joined by James Kynge, the FT’s Global China Editor, in conversation with Tom Tugendhat MP. James has spent 25 years reporting from Asia and is an expert on China's plans for the next generation of tech. Register here.
International
EU slams China’s ‘authoritarian shift’ and broken economic promises. The EU's "progress report" on China also criticises Beijing for "little progress" on economic promises made by the Communist leadership, particularly in regard to opening up digital and agricultural markets, addressing steel overcapacity and reining in industrial subsidies. Politico, 25 April
UK and Ireland bar bodies condemn China sanctions on magic circle barristers. In a joint statement issued this morning, The Bar Council of England and Wales, The Bar Council of Ireland, The Bar Council of Northern Ireland and The Faculty of Advocates of Scotland describing the sanctions as an “indiscriminate attack” and “inconsistent with respect for the rule of law”. Scotsman, Legal Cheek, 27 April
Australian home affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo urged to ‘tone it down’ after ‘drums of war’ speech. In his Anzac Day speech – titled The Longing for Peace, the Curse of War – Pezzullo said that free nations “continue still to face [the] sorrowful challenge” of militaristic aggression and “tyranny’s threat to freedom”. The Guardian, 27 April
Hong Kong protest leader Ernie Chow ‘ordered to spy for Beijing’. A former Hong Kong student protest leader has fled to Canada after claiming that he was pressured to spy on members of the territory’s pro-democracy movement for Beijing. The Times, 27 April
China opens new front in national fight against spy threats. Xinhua quoted a senior official at the Ministry of State Security as saying "overseas espionage and intelligence agencies and hostile forces have intensified infiltration into China, and broadened their tactics of stealing secrets in various ways and in more fields, which poses a serious threat to China's national security and interests." CNN, SCMP, 26 April
China to mobilise its private companies to help India fight Covid-19 surge. SCMP, 27 April
China reasserts Diaoyus claim with new island survey by China’s Ministry of Natural Resources. SCMP, 27 April
Chinese fashion firm 361 Degrees doubles down on using Xinjiang’s cotton as China’s rift widens with the world. SCMP, 26 April
China watch
Xi in Guilin: Xi says ideals, convictions key to success of Chinese revolution. Xi visited a memorial park dedicated to the Battle of the Xiangjiang River during the Long March in the 1930s in the city of Guilin. He also urged further efforts in ecological conservation on a visit to the Li River. Xinhua, SCMP, 26 April
Xi attends commissioning of three new Chinese warships to South Sea fleet. Xinhua, 26 April
Economy & tech
China stock sales in US surge to record despite delisting threat. Funds raised by Chinese groups on US equity markets surged 440 per cent in the opening months of 2021. FT, 27 April
Meituan becomes second Chinese tech giant to be hit with antitrust probe. It also comes just one week after Meituan raised $10bn in an equity and debt deal, one of the largest capital fundraisings for a Chinese internet group this year. FT, NYT, 25 April
China’s month-long consumption campaign aims to ‘unleash spending potential’ of Chinese people. SCMP, 26 April
Longer reads & opinion
Oscars 2021: Chloé Zhao, from 'outsider' to Hollywood history-maker. Zhao moved to England to study in Brighton at the age of 14 in the mid-1990s. BBC, 26 April
As China’s defence minister heads for Sri Lanka, should India be worried? Wei Fenghe’s visit is likely with the aim of shoring up support for controversial Chinese projects, including Port City Colombo. SCMP, 26 April
What the UK can learn from China’s Military-Civil Fusion programme. CapX, 26 April
Commentary: Britain's troubling racism over war dead only tip of iceberg. People’s Daily, 27 April