China News - 9 February 2022
Today’s event: China’s tech landscape - where do Beijing’s priorities lie? Tom Tugendhat MP chairs an event with Rui Ma, Rogier Creemers and John Lee on China’s tech policies. 4pm GMT on Zoom. Register here.
International
Guto Harri must declare any recent contact with Huawei, says ex-MI6 chief. Sir Richard Dearlove has called on No 10’s new comms director to declare any recent contact with Huawei and confirm he supports banning the Chinese firm from Britain’s 5G network. The Telegraph, 8 February
Exclusive: How China is using black sites in the UAE to target Uyghurs abroad. An investigation by Sky News has found Chinese agents and police routinely operate in other countries, attempting to identify Uyghurs who have fled China. Some are coerced into spying for the Chinese government, while others simply vanish. Sky News, 8 February
UK and 20 other countries condemn loss of press freedoms in Hong Kong. Citing the recent closures of Hong Kong’s Stand News and Citizen News, the joint statement on Tuesday called moves against some of the city’s media outlets “attacks on freedom of the press” and “suppression of independent local media”. Gov.uk, SCMP, 8 February
UK Foreign Office hacked in “serious cyber security incident”. Contract information released by the government shows that the department was forced to call in “urgent support” from its cybersecurity contractor BAE Systems Applied Intelligence “to support remediation and investigation”. The Stack, 8 February
China far ahead of US and West in infrastructure funding for Sub-Saharan Africa: study finds. The Centre for Global Development’s review of 535 deals in 2007-2020 shows Chinese banks provided more than twice the amount from US, German, French and Japanese lenders combined. Reuters, 9 February
Journalist who interviewed Peng Shuai casts doubt over her freedom. L’Equipe reporter Marc Ventouillac, who spoke to Peng this week, says it is ‘impossible to say’ if the Chinese tennis star is safe. The Guardian, 9 February
UK PM meets with Lithuanian counterpart, reiterates disappointment in China’s use of coercive trading practices. Gov.uk, 8 February
Hong Kong’s ‘zero-covid’ policy buckles under the onslaught of omicron - but authorities won’t let it go. The Washington Post, 8 February
Australia says it’s not seeking name change for Taiwan’s de facto embassy. Reuters, 9 February
Economy & tech
China misses trade targets it promised to the US. China fell more than $213 billion short of its commitment to increase purchases of US goods and services that it made to then-President Donald Trump in 2020, according to a report released Tuesday. CNN, 8 February
China’s Communist Party urges ‘orderly’ capital development after year of regulatory crackdown. As Beijing sharpens its focus on stability in this year’s economic plan, the government should “support and guide” the healthy development of capital, and prevent the “barbaric growth of capital”, an opinion piece in the party mouthpiece People’s Daily said on Tuesday. SCMP, 8 February
China's ZTE boosts chip capabilities amid Huawei's crackdown woes. The telecom gear and smartphone maker is working with TSMC on advanced processors as a US crackdown continues to hobble its bigger domestic rival, Huawei, Nikkei Asia has learned. Nikkei Asia, 9 February
Claims that overwork killed China tech worker reignites ‘996’ debate. The Guardian, SupChina, 9 February
China eases property loan curbs as housing market slumps. Bloomberg, 8 February
China focus
China GDP: what do local economic targets say about the 2022 national outlook? All 31 of China’s provincial-level jurisdictions have released their economic growth targets for 2022, most of which are conservatively low. SCMP, 9 February
As China’s graduates delay employment, experts warn of ‘far-reaching’ economic and demographic implications. SCMP, 8 February
Chinese queue overnight to snap up and resell Winter Olympics souvenirs. FT, 9 February
Opinion & editorial
We must end our reliance on Chinese CCTV cameras. Despite being linked to heinous programmes in China, these cameras are somehow allowed to be used on our streets and in our schools. Jake Hurfurt. The Telegraph, 8 February
The Guardian view on Beijing’s Winter Games: a very political contest. Editorial. The Guardian, 8 February
China breaks new records in the ‘Surveillance Olympics’. Never before have the participants in a major sporting event been so closely monitored as in this Winter Olympics in Beijing. Ian Williams. The Spectator, 8 February
Is the deglobalisation writing on the wall? How China is reversing cultural openness with the West. Jane Cai. SCMP, 9 February
Long reads
Higher education’s Confucius Institute hangover. A new report reveals that dozens of America’s top research universities have entered into partnerships with Chinese schools working to give the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) a technological advantage. Craig Singleton. Real Clear Defense, 8 February
The Chinese legislature’s hidden agenda. Since 2020 the NPC has been adopting more and more bills without prior notification, jeopardizing earlier moves toward transparency. Changhao Wei. The Diplomat, 9 February
Luckin Coffee: can China’s Starbucks win back investors? Its bankruptcy after a 2020 fraud scandal fed the backlash against corporate China. Eleanor Olcott and Tabby Kinder. FT, 9 February
The Beijing Effect: China's 'Digital Silk Road' as transnational data governance. Matthew S. Erie and Thomas Streinz. SSRN, 6 February