China News - 7 January 2021
International
Hong Kong police release US lawyer arrested with democracy figures. It was reported this morning that one of the 53 people arrested in Hong Kong on Wednesday, the American lawyer John Clancey, has been released without charge. His arrest marked the first use of the national security law against a foreign citizen. International criticism mounted yesterday after the arrests of 53 people on charges of “subversion”. Dominic Raab said the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities “deliberately misled the world about the true purpose of the national security law”. The EU called for the release of the arrested opposition figures on Wednesday and said it was considering further sanctions. And Labour MP Stephen Kinnock urged ministers to end the delay in the use of sanctions against individual Chinese officials behind the suppression. The Guardian, BBC, Politico, 6 January
Chinese officials and media mock storming of Capitol Hill. On Thursday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson likened the US unrest to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests in 2019. “When similar things happened in Hong Kong, some Americans and US media reacted differently,” Hua Chunying said. FT, 7 January
Trump's deputy national security adviser, Matt Pottinger, has resigned. Bloomberg, 7 January
Canada’s public safety minister details China’s foreign interference efforts in leaked letter to MPs. The letter was a response to a motion sponsored by Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong that required the government to table a plan to combat foreign interference, specifically from China. Global News, 6 January
Wang Yi visit to Africa: China, DRC sign MoU on Belt and Road cooperation. DRC became the 45th African partner to sign BRI cooperation documents with China. Xinhua, 6 January
UK’s Benenden School, once attended by Princess Anne, to open its first Chinese campus in Guangzhou in 2023. There are over 860 international schools in mainland China, including Westminster, Harrow and Wellington. SCMP, 7 January
China watch
China writes Hainan free trade port plan into law, making the southern island province China’s largest free trade area. Nikkei Asia, 7 January
Interview: Minister reaffirms "houses for living in, not speculation", claims it will not use the property market as a form of short-term stimulus. Xinhua, 6 January
Chinese vice premier stresses work related to rural migrant workers at China’s new development stage. Xinhua, 6 January
Economy & tech
US considering adding Alibaba, Tencent to China investment ban, Reuters reports. Alibaba and Tencent shares have dropped in response to the report. FT, Reuters, 7 January
New York Stock Exchange U-turn on China delistings. The New York Stock Exchange reversed course again on Wednesday, saying it will remove China’s three major state-run telecommunications companies from the exchange. The decision followed a day of pressure from the Trump administration and Congress. NYT, The Times, 7 January
Investment deal expected to bolster European dealmaking in China. “An increasing number of international buyers, primarily from Europe, are lining up to break into China,” said Samson Lo, head of Asia M&A at UBS. Reuters, 7 January
Longer reads & opinion
Departing Chinese ambassador to UK op-ed: “Better to be friends than rivals”. China Daily, 6 January
The Guardian view on Hong Kong’s crackdown: an assault on political opposition. The Guardian, 6 January
Biden plans to build a grand alliance to counter China. It won’t be easy. WSJ, 6 January
Jack Ma’s absence is stirring uneasy memories of a series of disappeared Chinese tycoons. Because such absences in China have often culminated in arrests and prosecutions, rumors are running rampant about Ma’s status. Quartz, 6 January
Trump’s assault on American values will fail. Tom Tugendhat in The Times, 7 January
Could a deadly case of African swine fever transform Germany’s fixation on 'cheap meat'? The Guardian, 7 January