China News - 27 November 2020
China imposes swingeing tariffs on Australian wine in 'devastating blow' to exporters. China has hit Australian wine with tariffs that will double or triple its price, making the market “unviable” for exporters, according to the trade minister, Simon Birmingham. China is Australia’s biggest wine export market, receiving 37% of Australia’s wine exports, worth more than $800m. In response to China’s announcement, Australia said it would seek WTO intervention to defend itself from the tariffs, which Birmingham labelled “grossly unfair, unwarranted, unjustified.” The Guardian, FT, Bloomberg, 27 November
The worrying precedent in China’s quarrel with Australia. Without democratic co-ordination, Beijing will be encouraged in its efforts to divide and rule. FT editorial, 26 November
Hong Kong’s independent judiciary braced for Beijing onslaught, according to Philip Dykes, head of the city’s bar association. Senior UK ministers earlier this week warned that British judges sitting on Hong Kong’s highest court should not lend “a veneer of legitimacy” to the territory’s legal system if it was compromised by the security law. FT, 27 November
Chinese doctors jailed for illegal organ harvesting. Six people including several doctors have been jailed in China for illegally harvesting organs from accident victims, report local media. For years, China harvested the organs of executed prisoners to help meet demand, a practice that came under widespread global criticism. It was officially stopped in 2015 but authorities at the time said it would be tough to ensure compliance. BBC, The Times, 27 November
German prosecutor drops spy case against ex-EU envoy Sabathil after a nearly yearlong investigation failed to back up allegations that the retired diplomat had spied for China. Politico, 24 November
China wields patriotic education to tame Hong Kong's rebellious youth, looks to rip up up liberal studies for a 'fresh start'. Reuters, RTHK, 26 November
‘Let’s build a digital Silk Road’: Xi Jinping looks to cement China’s ties with Asean. SCMP, 27 November
People’s Bank of China funds $20m of new $144m Tanzania hydropower project. Africa News, 27 November
Venezuela resumes direct oil shipments to China despite U.S. sanctions. Reuters, 27 November
China watch
China’s industrial profits surge at fastest rate in nine years. Bloomberg, 27 November
China's LGBTQ+ community seize census chance to stand up and be counted. The Guardian, 27 November
Global Times: UK undermines trust with China with Huawei ban, may ruin FTA talks. Global Times, 26 November
Economy & tech
Britain commits US$333 million to help carriers replace Huawei 5G. A task force has been started to increase the number of suppliers, as Huawei’s exclusion leaves British phone carriers reliant on a Nokia-Ericsson duopoly. SCMP, CNET, 26 November
Chinese smartphone maker Vivo makes late play for Europe as Huawei cedes mid-market share. Nikkei Asia, 27 November
Privacy risks: video doorbells. New analysis by Which shows that the Amazon #1 bestseller in “door viewers” by Victure sends customers’ WiFi names and network passwords to servers in China without encryption. The Times, 27 November
Unicorns surge to 500 in number as US and China account for 70%. Nikkei Asia, 27 November
Longer reads & opinion
The revival of Zhang Jian. The 19th century Chinese entrepreneur was seen as a capitalist “bloodsucker” during the Cultural Revolution but is now lauded by Xi Jinping as as a patriotic nation builder and philanthropist. Both The Economist and FT have good long reads on the changing perceptions of the private sector in China. The Economist, FT, 27 November
As China’s power waxes, the West’s study of it is waning. In Britain the number of people studying China at university has dipped each year since 2017. Last year it fell by 90 to 1,434. Risks have also heightened for both China academics from Western countries and China-born academics. The Economist, 27 November
Could Australia’s government have handled China better? “Could Australia have avoided the doghouse? From cyber-attacks to influencing elections, China poses a threat, and the prime minister, Scott Morrison, insists Australia’s sovereignty is non-negotiable. Yet members of his own Liberal Party as well as the opposition Labor Party think the government’s handling of China has, in the words of Allan Behm of the Australia Institute, been “cack-handed and lacking nuance”. The Economist, 27 November
China's Cainiao is revolutionising how goods get delivered. Will the rest of the world follow its rules? The logistics affiliate of Alibaba has ramped up use of data to increase effiency. A typical, 1 kg package can be sent anywhere in China within 24 hours for around 30 cents. Yahoo Finance, 26 November
£1.7bn fund investor: ‘Money will flood into China when people realise how much debt the West is in’. The Telegraph, 27 November