China News - 7 March 2022
EVENT TODAY: China and Russia: A deepening partnership?
There’s still time to register for today’s online event. Alicia Kearns MP will be joined by three leading Sino-Russian experts - Bonny Lin, Sergey Radchenko and Maria Repnikova - to discuss how the invasion of Ukraine is beginning to impact China’s relationship with Russia. 5-6pm GMT.
International
Ukraine says China is ready to act as a peacemaker. The debate over Beijing’s possible role as a mediator intensified after Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Saturday that he had received assurances that “China is interested in stopping this war”. At a media briefing today, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said China's Red Cross will provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, as he praised China’s “ever-lasting friendship” with Russia and said the two countries help bring peace and stability to the world. FT, Reuters, 7 March
Russian banks turn to Chinese payments system after Visa and Mastercard suspend operations. Sberbank and Alfa Bank plan to use China’s UnionPay system to provide customers’ bank cards, announcing that the Chinese network will be coupled with Russia’s own state-backed Mir payment system, which was set up in response to Western sanctions following the annexation of Crimea in 2014. The Telegraph, WSJ, 6 March
Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has been helping Putin - report. According to the Mail on Sunday, a report, which appeared on a Chinese news site but was later deleted, claimed that Huawei would use its research centres to train ‘50,000 technical experts in Russia to help online disruption.’ The Mail on Sunday, 6 March
China cobalt mine deal was ‘injustice’, ex-DRC leader says. The DRC produces two-thirds of the global supply of cobalt – an essential component of electric vehicle batteries. But Congolese feel short-changed by mega infrastructure-for-minerals deals, including lucrative China-backed projects. SCMP, 6 March
Hong Kong’s elderly vaccine refuseniks unmoved by soaring Covid deaths. Senior residents fear the virus but are even more worried about perceived side-effects of the jab. FT, 4 March
China pulls coverage of Premier League games over Ukraine support. The Times, 4 March
New US ambassador to China arrives to fill role left vacant for over a year. Caixin, 5 March
‘They took my world’: fashion giant Shein accused of art theft. The Observer, 6 March
China Focus
Thousands of Chinese officials convened in Beijing over the weekend for the Two Sessions, a set of annual meetings to lay out the year’s political agenda:
China reins back target for economic growth to 5.5%. The target set by Premier Li Keqiang at the opening of the National People’s Congress - China’s lowest since 1991 - was accompanied by a pledge to increase spending, including on defence. A housing market slump, stringent Covid controls and global uncertainty will continue to curb demand. The Times, The Guardian, Caixin, 5 March
Xi Jinping urges ‘realism’ on China’s road to carbon goals. Addressing the National People’s Congress on Saturday, Xi said China’s green transition could not be achieved overnight and its coal-dominated energy structure was unlikely to change fundamentally in the short term. SCMP, 6 March
Self-reliance: China’s top economic priority in turbulent geopolitical times. China’s government is moving to safeguard energy and food security despite ‘serious challenges’. Reuters, 7 March
China’s diplomacy budget grows while trade deal outlook narrows. SCMP, 6 March
Xi warns missteps on ethnic issues would ‘destabilise’ China. Bloomberg, 7 March
Opinion & editorial
The war in Ukraine is going to change geopolitics profoundly. China and Russia have undoubtedly been moving closer together both strategically and, as Vladimir Putin pushes Russia deeper into dictatorship, politically. The Economist, 5 March
China has little to gain but much to lose as Russia’s ally. The uneasy friendship and ties that bind China and Russia counter long-standing issues of mistrust over the years. George Magnus. The Guardian, 4 March
China’s Xi Jinping sits pretty amid carnage of Putin’s murderous assault. Xi feels no particular pressure to pick a side, much as Putin and the West would like him to. Jeremy Warner. The Telegraph, 5 March
China’s exposure to the Russia sanctions. The impact of sanctions on Russia will supercharge Beijing's campaign for technological self-sufficiency. Chang Che. SupChina, 4 March
Long reads
Alibaba is walking a tightrope between Russia and Ukraine. The ecommerce giant is in an awkward position facing internal and external pressures. Zeyi Yang. Protocol, 5 March
How China’s ambitious Belt and Road plans for East Africa came apart. China’s infrastructure projects abroad often suffer from misinterpretations of the local political climate. David Skidmore. The Diplomat, 5 March
Why are Chinese students so keen on the UK? Ben Chu. BBC, 4 March