China News - 28 November

International

China’s coal addiction puts spotlights on its climate ambitions before Cop28. Following severe power outages in 2021 and 2022, “Chinese officials view coal as the primary guarantee of energy security”. Amy Hawkins. The Guardian, 27 November

Chinese families of missing Malaysia MH370 plane seek compensation in court. A Beijing court began compensation hearings for the families of the 150 Chinese passengers on the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in 2014. Laurie Chen. Reuters, 27 November

Pakistan seeks BRICS membership, despite India roadblock. Pakistan has formally sought membership in BRICS at a time when the group is fast gaining the status as the leading bloc of the Global South. Abid Hussain. Al Jazeera, 24 November

Record numbers sit for China civil service exam, hoping for job security. Over 3mn people sat China’s annual civil service exam over the weekend. This record number underlines young people’s job security concerns in a rocky economy. Bernard Orr. Reuters, 27 November

Economy & Tech

Britain hopes to attract investment from Chinese carmakers. Dominic Johnson, the UK’s investment minister, said he was working to attract Chinese car manufacturers to build a factory in the country and that Chinese investment was critical to meeting environmental targets. Alistair Smout. Reuters, 27 November

Zhongzhi Enterprise Group: China investigates major shadow ban for “crimes”. Authorities have said they are investigating the “suspected illegal crimes” of “many suspects”. Zarina McDonald. BBC News, 27 November

How much FDI is China attracting? Foreign direct investment in China has dramatically decreased. Robin Wigglesworth. Financial Times, 27 November

China turns to households in fight to slash carbon emissions. Shenzhen’s “Carbon Road for Everyone” scheme rewards people for logging their use of public transport, planting trees and generally cutting down their personal energy use. David Stanway and David Kirton. Reuters, 27 November

Opinion & long-reads

What we know about the respiratory illness outbreak “overwhelming” China’s hospitals. The ministry said there has been a rise in cases linked to viruses including influenza, rhinoviruses and bacteria such as mycoplasma pneumoniae. Stuti Mishra and Alisha Rahaman Sarkar. The Independent, 27 November