China News - 27 November
International
Lord Cameron says UK must engage with China. The new foreign secretary said China is key to solving big issues such as climate change, but “we also need to align more carefully with our allies to make sure we can counter any malign threats coming from China”. He describes it as a “realistic hard headed policy”. James Landale. BBC News, 25 November
Respiratory infection clusters in China not caused by novel virus, says health ministry. The data supplied to the WHO by China saud flu and other known pathogens are the culprits, and that no new pathogens have been detected. The Guardian, 26 November
EU climate chief: China must help fund rescue of poorer nations hit by disaster. The EU’s climate chief has said that China and other large developing nations must pay into a fund to rescue poor countries stricken by the climate disaster, as world leaders prepare to gather in Dubai for COP28. Fiona Harvey. The Guardian, 26 November
China, Japan and South Korea seek summit in latest bid to ease relations. The three foreign ministers met in Busan for their first meeting since the pandemic in 2019, after officials agreed in September to arrange a trilateral summit at the “earliest convenient time”. Hyonhee Shin. Reuters, 26 November
China warns South Korea not to politicise economic issues. Wang Yi warned his South Korean counterpart to not politicise economic and tech issues as the two prepared to meet Japan’s top diplomat and boost trilateral cooperation. Laurie Chen. Reuters, 26 November
Australia and Philippines begin joint patrols in South China Sea as regional tensions rise. The three-day exercises follow discussions of closer cooperation and a rules-based order in the region. The Guardian, 25 November
Economy & Tech
China needs to sway banks to make its property rescue effort work. The success of the government plan depends on lenders. Xinyi Luo. Bloomberg, 25 November
China launches probe into struggling shadow bank Zhongzhi. Police said Zhongzhi was suspected of committing “illegal crimes” and that “mandatory criminal measures” have been placed on a number of suspects. Chan Ho-him. Financial Times, 26 November
Opinion & long-reads
How China is tearing down Islam. There have been modifications and even demolitions of mosques across China. Satellite images of thousands of mosques show a widespread policy to strip buildings of Arabic features, and replace them with Chinese designs. Financial Times, 27 November
Is eurozone inflation still falling? Investors searching for reasons to believe central banks will start cutting interest rates could be encouraged by a drop in eurozone inflation. Martin Arnold, Jennifer Hughes and George Steer. Financial Times, 27 November