China News - 7 November
International
Pacific Islands Forum: four leaders fail to attend as China-US rivalry takes centre stage. Officials confirmed that the Prime Ministers of Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea will not attend the forum. The incoming PM of New Zealand, Christopher Luxon, is also remaining at home to focus on coalition talks. Daniel Hurst. The Guardian, 6 November
China takes cautious approach to diplomacy over Israel-Gaza war. Western leaders have rushed to the Middle East to show their support, but Beijing has taken a more low key stance to the deepening conflict. “They take a very cautious stance initially and then call for peace and condemn violence against civilians while primarily focusing on Palestinian grievances”. Frederik Kelter. Al Jazeera, 6 November
Janet Yellen to meet China’s vice-premier ahead of Biden-Xi summit. The US Treasury Secretary is set to meet her Chinese counterpart in San Francisco this week as they prepare for Biden and Xi to meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Demetri Sevastopulo and Joe Leahy. Financial Times, 6 November
Australian PM Albanese meets Xi Jinping in long-awaited China visit. The visit is seen as a key moment in thawing Australia-China relations after a string of trade and security disputes. Hannah Ritchie. BBC News, 6 November
Flights tracking North Korean sanctions busters anger China. The mission, which feeds its findings to a US-led grouping that includes members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, has angered Beijing. China suspects Western powers are using the pretext of North Korean sanctions violations to bulk up their military presence in the region. Christian Davies. Financial Times, 6 November
The US is quietly arming Taiwan to the teeth. For the first time in over 4 decades, the $80mn is coming from the American taxpayer. It is not a loan, but is happening under the foreign military finance programme. Rupert Wingfield-Hayes. BBC News, 6 November
Economy & Tech
EU asks Alibaba’s AliExpress for information on illegal products sold on its platform. The EU executive said it had sent a request for information to AliExpress in line with the Digital Services Act which requires Big Tech to do more to counter illegal and harmful content on their platforms. Foo Yun Chee. Reuters, 6 November
China’s first deficit in foreign investment signals West’s “de-risking” pressure. Direct investment liabilities were a deficit of $11.8bn during the July-September period. Goldman Sachs wrote “some of the weakness in China’s inward FDI may be owing to multinational companies repatriating earnings”. Reuters, 6 November
Opinion & long-reads
Why the CEOs of Golfman, Morgan Stanley and Citi are gathering in Hong Kong. Part of the event’s purpose is to showcase Hong Kong as a crucial global financial centre, even amid the heightened US-China tensions. Kay Wiggins. Financial Times, 6 November
As war in Ukraine and Gaza rage on, can the US afford to take on China? Frontline treaty allies, such as the Philippines, have grounds to worry about how “ironclad” the relationship is amid rising tensions in the South China Sea. The US is already committed in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, so it is unclear how they can sustain a rivalry with China. Richard Haydarian. South China Morning Post, 4 November
With the return of three pandas to China, the US could soon have none. The National Zoo announced that its three pandas, Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and Xiao Qi Ji will return to China by 15 November, which is earlier than expected. Larissa Gao and Megan Lebowitz. Nbcnews, 5 November
Unseasonal cold air brings widespread snowfall to China. More than 30cm of snow is expected across higher parts of the Chinese provinces of Inner Mongolia, Jilin and Heilongjiang. Morgan Thomas and Lauren Herdman. The Guardian, 6 November