China News - 3 February 2021

New Xinjiang testimonies, Lords genocide amendment passes and China vetoes UN condemnation of Myanmar coup

In case you missed it: Catch up on our event yesterday with Sherard Cowper-Coles for a look into the perspective of the China-Britain Business Council on UK-China relations.

International

Uyghur camp detainees allege systematic rape in new BBC report. A new report from the BBC focuses on the testimony of several former detainees and a guard who said they experienced or saw evidence of an organised system of mass rape, sexual abuse and torture. BBC, 2 February

Lords defeats government over UK courts' role in genocide rulings. Members of the House of Lords voted 359-188 in favour of a revised amendment to the Trade Bill which would allow the Government to make a final decision after a preliminary determination on genocide is made by the High Court. The Bill will now return to the House of Commons next week. The Guardian, 2 February

Myanmar coup: China blocks UN condemnation but rejects suggestion that it supported coup in Myanmar. China used its veto power to block a UN Security Council statement condemning the military coup in Myanmar but rejected the suggestion that it supported or gave tacit consent to Monday’s military coup in neighbouring Myanmar. The G7 has released a statement calling upon the military to restore power to the democratically-elected government. BBC, Reuters, 3 February

Suspected Chinese hackers used SolarWinds bug to spy on US agency, insiders say. Reuters reports that suspected Chinese hackers exploited a flaw in software made by SolarWinds Corp to help break into US government computers last year in a separate attack to that by Russian operatives. Reuters, 3 February

Second lawyer barred after defending Hong Kong democracy activist. A second Chinese lawyer has lost his licence after defending a Hong Kong democracy activist charged with illegally leaving the territory. The Guardian, 2 February

Coronavirus: WHO investigators probe Wuhan virology lab. The WHO has stressed that the probe is primarily concerned with gathering information to prevent outbreaks. SCMP, FT, 2 February

China to provide 10 million vaccine doses to COVAX initiative. The initiative aims to distribute 2 billion doses this year. Reuters, 3 February

China watch

China's new coal power plant capacity in 2020 more than three times rest of world's: study. Reuters, 2 February

Tumbling regional birth rates signal scale of country’s ageing population. Over the next five years, China’s total population will enter the range of zero growth, putting pressure on government plans to boost economic expansion. SCMP, 2 February

Economy & tech

Berlin’s €2B plan to wean off Huawei (and Nokia and Ericsson too). The German government is preparing a massive investment plan to boost the development of local telecoms firms, in an effort to pivot away from dominant suppliers like China's Huawei. Politico, 2 February

China leads £46bn race for London property. A new study of the commercial property market shows buyers in China and Hong Kong as the biggest potential investors, with estimated £12.8bn of deals lined up. The Telegraph, 3 February

Ant Group reaches deal with China regulators on restructuring, Bloomberg News reports. It will see Ant become a financial holding company and regulated more similarly to a bank. Bloomberg, Reuters, 2 February

Analysis: The man taking on Jack Ma cements his status as a rising star. FT, 3 February

Britons are guzzling the Australian wine that didn’t go to China. UK imports jumped 29% over the full year. Bloomberg, 3 February

Longer reads & opinion

Here’s how the next world war might start. Our armed forces and society rely on artificial intelligence — as China and Russia know too well, writes Roger Boyes in The Times, 3 February

Containing China is not a feasible option. Unlike with the Soviet Union, the US and its allies have to co-operate and compete with its rising power. Martin Wolf in FT, 3 February

What the Myanmar coup means for China. China will stick to its strict policy of non-intervention, but the military takeover has created a diplomatic headache for Beijing. The Diplomat, 3 February

There’s no better expression of British values than welcoming Hongkongers. London Mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey in The Times, 3 February