China News - 27 April 2022
International
Germany blocks Chinese purchase of ventilator company. Beijing-based medical device firm Aeonmed has been prevented from buying Heyer Medical AG after the German government cited public safety concerns and the importance of the country maintaining domestic production capacity. Handelsblatt, Reuters, 27 April
Chinese drone maker DJI suspends operations in Russia, Ukraine amid controversy over use of its products in battle. Drone maker DJI has become the first Chinese technology company to halt Russian business activities since the Ukraine war began in late February. SCMP, 27
Four killed by female suicide bomber near China institute in Pakistan. A suicide bomber from a Pakistani separatist group has killed four people, including three Chinese nationals, in an attack on a minibus carrying staff from the Confucius Institute at Karachi University. Chinese targets have regularly been attacked by separatists from Balochistan. The Guardian, 26 April
EU approves funding for Lithuanian companies hit by Chinese trade embargo. A €130 million fund, approved on Tuesday, will be available to companies for loans of up to €5 million under the EU’s State Aid rules. SCMP, 26 April
China focus
China policymakers clash over easing measures to counter property slump. The FT reports that Liu He and Chinese regulators are concerned that the government are underestimating the economic impact of the country’s crackdown on the property sector and lockdowns. But senior officials have opposed Liu’s efforts to ease pressure on the housing market. FT, 27 April
Satellite data show extent of China’s crippling lockdowns. Manufacturing output remains strong but Chinese port activity is back to the low levels seen during the 2020 lockdowns. Bloomberg, 27 April
Xi: Ensure China beats US in GDP growth despite Covid lockdowns. According to the WSJ, Xi has told senior economic and financial officials in the past few weeks that ensuring that the economy is stable and growing is important because it is critical to show that China’s one-party system is a superior alternative to Western liberal democracy, and that the U.S. is declining both politically and economically. State TV reported that China will step up infrastructure construction to boost growth. WSJ, Reuters, 26 April
China lockdown latest. 3.5 million in Beijing’s largest district (Chaoyang) took their second Covid-19 tests of the week. 16 million Beijing residents from other districts are due to be tested again tomorrow. Shanghai officials reiterated on Wednesday they would soon begin loosening restrictions in districts that stamped out cases from their communities. Reuters, 27 April
Long reads
Chinese FDI in Europe: 2021 Update. After years of being dominated by M&A, Chinese investment in Europe has become more focused on greenfield projects. Rhodium Group x MERICS, 27 April
Chinese stocks face a reality check. Investors are learning the difference between supportive rhetoric from the government and the kind of policy measures that might actually boost China’s economy amid today’s supply-side challenges. WSJ, 27 April
Locked down in Shanghai, I’ve caught a glimpse of our techno-dystopian future. Don Weinland. The Economist 1843, 26 April
China’s plans for the factory of the future. Zhejiang’s high-tech plans for automated and unmanned factories will twin the physical and virtual. SupChina, 27 April