China News - 30 January 2023
International
US and China 'will go to war in 2025', American general warns as tensions continue. A top American air force general has predicted that the US and China will probably go to war in 2025, in the most dramatic warning yet from a senior military officer about the likelihood of a conflict over Taiwan. “I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me we will fight in 2025,” General Mike Minihan, head of US Air Mobility Command, wrote in a private memo to his top commanders obtained by NBC news. NBC, The Times, 27 January
Biden nears win as Japan, Dutch back China chip controls. Japan and the Netherlands are set to join the US in limiting China’s access to advanced semiconductor machinery, forging a powerful alliance that will undercut Beijing’s ambitions to build its own domestic chip capabilities, according to Bloomberg sources. The countries involved did not publicly announce the agreement, and details, which could take years to clarify and implement, remain unclear. Bloomberg, 27 January
China mulls protecting solar tech dominance with export ban. China’s Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology are considering adding some manufacturing methods key to producing advanced solar wafers to the list of technologies it prohibits exporting. Wafers are ultra-thin silicon squares that are pieced together into solar panels, and China accounts for 97% of global output. Bloomberg, 26 January
China’s top nuclear weapons lab used American computer chips decades after ban. A Wall Street Journal review of procurement documents found that the state-run China Academy of Engineering Physics has managed to obtain the semiconductors made by US companies such as Intel Corp. and Nvidia Corp. since 2020 despite its placement on a US export blacklist in 1997. WSJ, 29 January
Wi-fi deal 'let Beijing see Britain's nuclear secrets'. A firm part-owned by the Chinese state had access to information about Britain's nuclear weapons by providing wi-fi to the UK's military headquarters and 45 other defence bases for three years, according to the Mail on Sunday. The Mail on Sunday, 29 January
US sanctions Chinese firm helping Russia's Wagner Group. Changsha Tianyi Space Science and Technology Research Institute, also known as Spacety China, had provided Terra Tech, a Russia-based technology firm, with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite images of locations in Ukraine, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a statement. BBC, 27 January
Hongkongers in UK ask Home Secretary to ditch ‘repressive’ anti-protest bill. In a letter to Suella Braverman, aspects of the bill were described as “repressive measures that threaten to paralyse entire social movement” and posed a threat to their right to protest in Britain, including against Chinese communist repression in Hong Kong. The Guardian, 29 January
China gives support to Africa push for seat at G20, UN Security Council. Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Beijing’s envoy in Brazzaville each addressed the issue at separate events in Ethiopia and the Republic of the Congo. SCMP, 28 January
Australian universities welcome snap decision by China to ban online studies. The chief executive of Universities Australia said the move would encourage some 40,000 Chinese students to return to Australia. The Guardian, 29 January
Chair of UK defence select committee calls for AUKUS expansion. Sky News, 28 January
US extends safe haven programme for Hong Kong residents. CNN, 26 January
Economy & tech
China targets consumption in bid to drive growth. The Chinese government has vowed to make consumption the “main driving force” of the economy as hopes grow that Beijing’s abandonment of zero Covid policies will unleash a flood of spending by Chinese consumers. Meanwhile, China's central bank said it will roll over three lending tools to increase support for targeted sectors of the economy. FT, Reuters, 29 January
China’s property slump is easing, but the relief will be short-lived. The Economist, 26 January
China owns vast network of UK real estate, offshore records reveal. The Chinese government owns a vast network of UK real estate via offshore secrecy jurisdictions such as Luxembourg and the Isle of Man, the Guardian revealed, raising questions about Beijing’s grip on links in the UK supply chain. The Guardian, 27 January
Chinese carmakers line up for 'phenomenal opportunity' in the UK. Up to 30 new electric vehicle brands are eyeing up the UK car market, according to an industry report seen by The Telegraph, with most of them Chinese. Challengers have designs on the cheaper end of the market, preparing to sell mass market battery-powered cars to Britain. The Telegraph, 28 January
US House panel to vote next month on possible TikTok ban. The House Foreign Affairs Committee plans to hold a vote next month on a bill aimed at blocking the use of China's popular social media app TikTok in the United States, the committee confirmed on Friday. Reuters, 27 January
Britishvolt collapse prompts calls for shake-up of UK subsidy policies. FT, 28 January
Japanese firms step up intelligence gathering as US-China tensions mount. FT, 29 January
Opinion & editorial
China stands to lose more than the West in a fragmenting world. Neil Shearing. The Times, 30 January
The Uyghur Tribunal one year on: Has anything changed? Ruth Ingram. The China Project, 26 January
Mike Gallagher chairs a vital House committee. Its only focus: China. George F. Will. The Washington Post, 25 January
Red Memory by Tania Branigan review – the Cultural Revolution up close. Rana Mitter. The Observer, 30 January
Long reads
‘If you’re seeing this, I’ve been taken’: The protesters paying the price for defying China. Sophia Yan and Jenny Pan. The Sunday Telegraph, 29 January
How China and Russia are getting their hands on banned Western tech. Sanctioned nations are resorting to extreme measures to obtain semiconductors. Matthew Field. The Telegraph, 28 January
China tries to charm Southeast Asia. China is hoping its appeal as an economic partner will boost its geopolitical influence in the South China Sea region. Junhua Zhang. GIS, 30 January
Young China Watchers conference. The Young China Watchers London annual conference is making a return on the 18th of February, at King’s College London. Discover more details and RSVP here.