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China News - 7 November 2022
International
Greg Hands heads to ‘ally’ Taiwan in defiance of Beijing. Greg Hands, the trade minister, will begin a two-day trip to Taiwan today — the first by a UK minister in three years. Hands will focus on trade but the visit has symbolic weight and will be seen as recognition of Taiwan as a British ally as it comes under threat from China. Chris Cash, director of the China Research Group, said he was “delighted to see the government moving to deepen ties with a partner that continues to be a bastion for democracy in the face of increasingly hostile Chinese provocations”. The Times, Gov.uk, 7 November
Scholz: Xi opposing nuclear weapons in Ukraine was reason enough to visit China. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged China to use its influence on Russia to stop the war in Ukraine during talks with President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Scholz said both countries had agreed Russia's nuclear threats were "irresponsible and highly dangerous". Xi’s show of opposition to Putin’s nuclear threats was hailed as a major diplomatic victory by Scholz, who has faced criticism for leaning too closely toward Beijing by visiting with German business leaders. BBC, WSJ, 4 November
Japan to sign military pact with UK as allies eye China threat. The UK and Japan are set to sign a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) in December, a major defence pact that will enable the countries to enhance cooperation with the US in the Indo-Pacific and boost deterrence against the rising threat from China. The pact will make joint exercises and logistics cooperation easier and will set a legal framework to simplify bureaucratic red tape for the entry of troops into each other’s countries. FT, 5 November
Beijing quashes rumours of quicker end to zero-Covid policy. China’s National Health Commission reiterated the country’s commitment to eliminating Covid-19 and warned that the situation was set to become even “more severe and complex” as the country entered the winter flu season. China’s southern city of Guangzhou reported 1,325 local Covid-19 cases for Saturday, compared with 746 a day earlier, with officials warning of risks of community spread in some areas of the factory hub. FT, 6 November
iPhone shipments delayed over China Covid lockdown. BBC, 7 November
China starts COP27 with call for climate aid to poorer nations. “I hope the conference this time will meet the demands of developing countries as much as possible as it is held in Egypt, a developing nation,” Xie Zhenhua, China’s top climate envoy said, specifically mentioning funds to help nations adapt to a warming climate. China, the world’s biggest current emitter of greenhouse gases, has led the way in the mass rollout of solar power and electric vehicles. Bloomberg, 6 November
Ditch China plans, human rights activists tell Gordonstoun School. Human rights campaigners have urged the King’s former private school in Scotland to drop its plans - delayed by the pandemic - to expand in China. The Times, 7 November
Chinese rocket debris forces Spain to close part of its airspace. Sky News, 4 November
Hong Kong Sevens returns in key test of city’s readiness to reopen to world. SCMP, 4 November
Economy & tech
China's exports fall for first time since 2020. China's exports in October dropped 0.3% from a year earlier, while imports shrank 0.7%, both missing expectations, customs data showed. China's October exports are almost always lower than September's exports, but this year they were down by 7.6% month on month in USD terms and 6.9% in RMB terms. Reuters, 7 November
Potential Britishvolt customers put off by high prices as China ramps up battery production. Potential customers of Britishvolt were quoted prices of up to a third higher than competitors as the company prepares to battle cheaper Chinese rivals. Chinese battery makers have an edge in that the country owns lithium mines and is home to about two thirds of the world’s processing and refining capacity. The Telegraph, 6 November
Chinese chip designers slow down processors to dodge US sanctions. Alibaba and start-up Biren Technology are tweaking their most advanced chip designs to reduce processing speeds and avoid US-imposed sanctions aimed at suppressing Chinese computing power. FT, 7 November
China’s central bank struggles to force tech groups to share user data with state. The People’s Bank of China ordered Tencent, Meituan and other large platforms to share user data, ranging from shopping records to travel history, with two state-backed groups by early next month, according to people briefed on the negotiations. FT, 4 November
Tiger Global halts new Chinese equities investments. WSJ, 4 November
China focus
Xi Jinping wants ready soldiers and loyal generals. At the 20th party congress, Xi made new commitments to bolster his own authority as chairman of the military commission and encouraged PLA personnel to study more history, while re-emphasising the need for “political loyalty” in the armed forces. The Economist, 4 November
Deputy Chinese central bank governor probed, sources say. Fan Yifei is the first senior Chinese finance official placed under a graft investigation since the Communist Party of China wrapped up the 20th National Congress. Caixin, 5 November
Beijing Marathon returns amid COVID surge. The China Project, 7 November
Opinion & editorial
Beijing is committing outrages in Britain and we’re letting them get away with it. Among other things, China is operating its own parallel “justice” system in the UK. Juliet Samuel. The Telegraph, 5 November
Germany can afford to spurn China. The economic case for Germany cosying up to China is surprisingly weak. Luke Patey. Foreign Policy, 4 November
How China could use its ownership of EU critical infrastructure to exert pressure. Alice Tidey. Euronews, 4 November
Long reads
Frank Dikötter on paying attention to China’s primary sources. Jonathan Chatwin. The Wire, 6 November
The Chinese city that covid forgot. Chinese experiences of the zero-covid policy vary greatly. That helps Communist Party bosses. David Rennie. The Economist, 4 November
Musk’s Twitter takeover comes as the CCP steps up its targeting of smart Asian women. Danielle Cave and Albert Zhang. ASPI, 6 November
‘China’s hottest woman’: the driving force behind crunchy chilli sensation Lao Gan Ma. Helen Sullivan. The Guardian, 5 November