China News - 29 June 2022
International
UK calls for extra vigilance on China ahead of Nato summit. Giving evidence to the Foreign Affairs select committee yesterday, foreign secretary Liz Truss commented: “There’s always a tendency – and we’ve seen this prior to the Ukraine war – there’s always a tendency of wishful thinking, to hope that more bad things won’t happen and to wait until it’s too late. We should have done things earlier, we should have been supplying defensive weapons into Ukraine earlier. We need to learn that lesson for Taiwan. Every piece of equipment we have sent takes months of training, so the sooner we do it the better.” The Guardian, Daily Mail, 28 June
China slashes quarantine restrictions as Covid cases fall. China has halved its required quarantine period for international travellers, bringing the country’s policies in line with those in Hong Kong. But as Bloomberg notes, a closer reading of the document shows it is ‘codifying critical Covid policies that have widely varied until now’. Xi called the strategy “correct and effective”. FT, Bloomberg, Reuters, 28 June
US blacklists Chinese companies for allegedly supporting Russian army. The Biden administration has placed five Chinese companies on an export blacklist for violating sanctions by allegedly providing support to Russia’s military and defence companies before and during the invasion of Ukraine. The companies are not globally recognised names. FT, Reuters, 29 June
Some media blocked from covering Xi's handover anniversary visit to Hong Kong. Journalists from more than seven organisations, including Reuters, have been blocked from covering official ceremonies to mark the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from British to Chinese rule that President Xi Jinping is due to attend. Reuters, 29 June
China insists Tonga loans come with ‘no political strings attached’. Cao Xiaolin told Tuesday’s gathering in Nuku’alofa that Beijing would never force countries to repay the loans. The Guardian, 29 June
Companies braced for chaos as Xinjiang import ban starts in US. More than 900 shipments from the region were seized in the last quarter of 2021 by US authorities under earlier trade restrictions. FT/Nikkei, 29 June
China focus
China’s Marxism majors prosper. According to Yingjiesheng, a leading job search website for university graduates, there has been a 20 per cent increase in openings that require a Marxism degree in the second quarter compared with the same period last year. FT, 29 June
China’s internet watchdog launches cybersecurity investigation into country’s largest academic research database CNKI. SCMP, 29 June
Chinese cities cautiously welcome travellers from Shanghai. Sixth Tone, 28 June
Economy & tech
China’s economy didn’t bounce back in the second quarter, China Beige Book survey finds. “While most high-profile lockdowns were relaxed in May, June data do not show the powerhouse bounce-back most expected,” according to a report released Tuesday based on over 4,300 interviews. The analysis found few signs that government stimulus was having much of an effect yet. CNBC, 28 June
Chinese property titan says housing market has reached bottom. Bloomberg, 29 June
Government backs British start-up vying to break China’s battery dominance. Livista Energy's bid to set up one of the first lithium refineries in Europe has won support from the Government. The Telegraph, 28 June
China is trolling rare-earth miners online. Mandiant published research that analysed a Beijing-linked influence operation that spread misinformation about US rare earth companies. The Register, 29 June
Long reads & opinion
Lindy Cameron speech at Tel Aviv Cyber Week. The CEO of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre commented: “The Chinese government’s use of technology is about coercion and control. And the country’s technological and economic power mean they can export this vision very widely.” NCSC, 29 June
The rise and precarious reign of China’s battery king. Under Zeng Yuqun’s leadership, CATL’s valuation has ballooned to 1.2 trillion Chinese yuan ($179 billion), more than General Motors and Ford combined. Wired, 28 June
As censorship in China increases, VPNs are becoming more important. The government could clamp down harder on VPNs if it wanted to. The Economist, 29 June
‘Digital handcuffs’: China’s Covid health apps govern life but are ripe for abuse. FT, 28 June