China News - 6 November

International

Seafood sold in the UK may have a dark side- here’s why. 9 of China’s largest seafood companies rely on at least 2,000 Uyghurs for labour from the Xinjiang province. Many of these companies supply the UK. Tom Cheshire. Sky News, 5 November

China took part in the leaders’ AI meeting even though UK did not acknowledge. Beijing said it attended the UK AI Safety Summit on Thursday, despite not being listed by the UK as one of the “like-minded” participants and not featuring in official handshakes or the family photograph. Brenda Goh and Paul Sandle. Reuters, 3 November 

Israel-Gaza war fuels online anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in China. The usually vigilant Chinese censors seem unwilling to remove the hate speech that has spread across Chinese media. Frederik Kelter. Al Jazeera, 4 November

Xi Jinping seeks Germany’s help to avert China-EU trade war. Xi told Scholz “I hope that Germany will push the EU to uphold the principles of market and fairness, and to work with China to safeguard market competition and fair trade, as well as stable industrial and value chains”. Stuart Lau. POLITICO, 3 November

A new chapter: how China sees Albanese’s “ice-breaking” state visit. Chinese state media have characterised the visit as a new chapter for the turbulent Australia-China relationship. Helen Davidson. The Guardian, 3 November

Albanese offers gentle rebuke over China’s “unnecessary barriers to trade” at Shanghai expo. In his visit to China, the Australian PM pushes the benefits of “rules-based trade” after a period of unilateral sanctions imposed by China. Katharine Murphy. The Guardian, 5 November

Japan’s scallop industry seeks safe harbour from China ban. The jumbo scallops from Betsukai, on the island of Hokkaido, have a reputation for being some of the most delicious in the world, and perfect for sushi. But China’s ban has been “the biggest industry shock we’ve had in a decade” according to Takeshi Ise, the president of Marui Sato Kaisan. Leo Lewis and Kana Inagaki. Financial Times, 5 November

Economy & Tech

Apple fails to dispel worries over hardware outlook and China sales. Apple has reported its first full-year revenue decrease since 2019 despite growth for services business and iPhone. Richard Waters. Financial Times, 2 November

US consultancy Gallup withdrawal from China. Gallup, the polling and consulting group, is pulling out of China. This makes it the latest foreign company to close its mainland China branches amid rising scrutiny and whipsawing geopolitical tensions. Sun Yu and Ryan McMorrow. Financial Times, 4 November

China’s services activity picks up slightly in October- Caixin PMI. A private sector survey has shown that China’s services activity expanded at a slightly faster pace. The services sector provides around 48% of jobs in China. Ellen Zhang and Ryan Woo. Reuters, 3 November

Opinion & long-reads

It’s US vs China in an increasingly divided world economy. For the first time since China’s economic opening more than 40 years ago, it traded more with developing countries than the US, Europe and Japan combined. This is a clear sign that China and the West are going in different economic directions. Jason Douglas and John Fairless. WSJ, 3 November

This city never slept. But with China tightening its grip, is the party over? Beijing’s crackdown on Hong Kong’s fading freedoms has been well documented. But the city that never slept has begun to doze as the bars, restaurants and clubs close down. Chris Lau. CNN Business, 3 November