China News - 30 June 2022
Podcast: China’s digital yuan. Chris Cash was joined by the Atlantic Council’s Ananya Kumar to discuss the growth trajectory of China’s digital yuan and whether it will aid Beijing’s efforts to internationalise its currency. Listen here.
International
China features in NATO Strategic Concept for first time. NATO agreed for the first time to include threats posed by Beijing into a blueprint guiding its future strategy, citing China’s militarisation, economic coercion and support for Russia as the reasons for its inclusion. The new strategic concept states that although China’s policies challenge NATO’s security, Russia remains the most significant and direct threat. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “with China extending its influence through economic coercion and building a capable military there is a real risk of a catastrophic miscalculation such as invading Taiwan”. Gov.uk, The Guardian, 29 June
Negative views of China tied to critical views of its policies on human rights. A new global opinion poll conducted by the Pew Research Centre revealed that negative views of China in the 19 countries surveyed remain at or near historic highs. Across the nations surveyed, a median of 79% consider China’s human rights policies a serious problem, and 47% say they are a very serious problem:
Xi Jinping begins ‘victory lap’ in Hong Kong to mark handover anniversary. Stepping off at Hong Kong’s West Kowloon station with his spouse, Peng Liyuan, President Xi said the city had been “reborn” after facing one challenge after another since he last visited five years ago. One of Hong Kong's last remaining opposition groups, the League of Social Democrats, cancelled the only pro-democracy protest planned for his visit after its members were threatened by national security police. The Washington Post, The Telegraph, 30 June
China lured graduate jobseekers into digital espionage. The Financial Times has identified and contacted 140 potential translators, mostly recent graduates who have studied English at public universities, who have been lured to work at a secretive technology company that masked the true nature of their jobs: researching western targets for spying and translating hacked documents as part of Beijing’s industrial-scale intelligence regime. FT, 30 June
India's top cement maker paying for Russian coal in Chinese yuan. UltraTech Cement is importing a cargo of Russian coal and paying using Chinese yuan, according to an Indian customs document reviewed by Reuters. The increasing use of the yuan to settle payments could help insulate Moscow from the effects of western sanctions and bolster Beijing's push to further internationalise the currency. Reuters, 29 June
US sanctions 25 more Chinese entities. Washington’s sanctions include a firm that touted its technology could help Russia monitor Ukraine’s submarines and frogmen. SCMP, 30 June
AUKUS nuclear submarine plan to be revealed by March 2023. ABC, 28 June
China focus
Xi warns against ‘herd immunity,’ vows to stick with Covid zero. President Xi Jinping declared Covid Zero the most “economic and effective” policy for China, during a symbolic inspection tour to Wuhan in which he cast the strategy as proof of the superiority of the country’s political system. Bloomberg, 29 June
China relaxes intercity travel restrictions by removing indication of Covid-19 risk on digital passes. SCMP, 29 June
CCP membership exceeds 96.7 million. The composition of Party membership has continuously improved with better levels of education and steady growth in the proportion of female members and those from ethnic minority groups, according to a new report. Xinhua, 29 June
Wealthy provinces slash civil servant pay amid budget crunches. Many civil servants in several wealthy Chinese provinces will have their annual incomes cut by 20% to 30% this year, Caixin learned, as local governments face fiscal pressure amid the pandemic. Caixin, 30 June
Economy & tech
Chinese stocks set for largest monthly rise since 2020. Investors bet the worst of a lockdown-induced economic shock and extended tech sector crackdown in the country has passed. New data revealed that China's factory activity expanded for the first time in four months. FT, 30 June
Two Chinese tech firms resume user registrations amid hopes for end of Beijing’s probes. Chinese commercial freight app Full Truck Alliance and Chinese online recruitment firm Kanzhun said they are now resuming their new user registrations after getting the government’s approval to do so. The Information, 29 June
Long reads & opinion
To ensure security and prosperity of the West, we need an economic Nato. Simon Nixon. The Times, 30 June
The Hong Kong ‘unofficials’ who advised Britain on the handover – and were ignored. Reviled by Beijing and dismissed by London, a group of local advisers tried to ensure the interests of Hongkongers would be protected after 1997. Vincent Ni and Jason Rodrigues. The Guardian, 30 June
How does the Chinese public feel about Xi’s third term? As the Chinese Communist Party’s congress approaches, there are subtle signs of frustration. James Palmer. Foreign Policy, 29 June2
Silicon Twist: managing the Chinese military’s access to AI chips. CSET, 29 June