International
Former US soldier is accused of trying to give classified secrets to China. Joseph D Schmidt, who served in a military intelligence battalion in Washington State, was arrested in San Francisco for violating the Espionage Act. He relocated to Hong Kong in 2020. Adam Goldman. The New York Times, 6 October
Israel expected “stronger condemnation” of Hamas from China. Yuval Waks, a senior official at the Israeli embassy in Beijing said that Israel expected to see a “stronger condemnation” of Hamas from China, a country it viewed as its friend. Yew Lun Tian. Reuters, 8 October
US restricts trade with 42 Chinese entities over Russia support. The Commerce Department added 42 Chinese companies to a government export control list over their support for Moscow. David Shephardson, Karen Frefeld, Mike Stone and Susan Heavey. Reuters, 7 October
EU considers anti-subsidy probe into Chinese wind turbines. Didier Reynders, the acting competition commissioner, said “in the wind energy sector there are components that could be in competition with Chinese components. If there is a possibility of too much aid on the Chinese side… we could open an investigation in the same way [as EVs]”. Alice Hancock and Andy Bounds. Financial Times, 6 October
Furious China believes UK spies tracked one of their submarines by bugging a sailor’s Apple smart watch. According to Chinese dissidents, the UK bugging of an Apple smart-watch was responsible for the sinking of the submarine that in reality got caught in one of China’s own traps. Mark Nicol. Daily Mail, 6 October
Extreme weather and war in Ukraine bring food security into sharp focus in China. China has faced extreme weather, causing Beijing to ramp up their efforts to lessen dependence on imports and increase their own food security. Janis Mackey Frayer and Henry Austin. Nbcnews, 7 October
Near collision and tense encounter as Beijing flexes muscles in the South China Sea. a Chinese vessel came within a metre of collision with a Philippine coast guard boat in a vast stretch of open water in the South China Sea. Encounters like these are becoming ever more frequent as Beijing presses its claim to the ownership of almost the entire sea. Adrian Portugal. Reuters, 6 October
Economy & Tech
China plans to ease one of the biggest hurdles for foreign business. New “draft regulation relieves companies of some of the difficulties with cross-border data transfer and personal information protection”. Evelyn Cheng. Cnbc, 5 October
China’s economy will be hobbled for years by the real estate crisis. The property market is central to China’s economy, and accounts for more than 30% of the economy. Laura He. CNN Business, 6 October
China’s cross-border trips during Golden Week holiday recover to 85% of pre-pandemic level. The average number of inbound and outbound passenger trips reached 1.477mn a day. Reuters, 7 October
China price pressure offers hope of Christmas cheer for Western shoppers. China’s slow economic activity has depressed commodity prices and caused manufacturers to reduce input costs. William Langley and Chan Ho-him. Financial Times, 8 October
Opinion & long-reads
China’s “Lipstick King” leaves Alibaba with a live streaming dilemma. Li has around 75mn followers on Taobao Live, Alibaba’s live-selling platform. The influencer seemed to forget that per capita disposable income in China had fallen sharply amid economic headwinds in recent years and lost more than 1mn followers overnight. Cissy Zhou. Nikkei Asia, 6 October
How aligning with China changed life in the Solomon Islands. Edward Acton Cavanough’s new book Divided Isles: Solomon Islands and the China Switch analyses what happened leading up to and after the diplomatic change and examines the stories of influential locals. Yan Zhuang. The New York Times, 6 October
Closure of maternity wards fuels Chinese debate over population decline. Several hospitals in Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Guangdong have closed their obstetrics units, this has prompted discussion over China’s decreasing birth rate. It fell 10% in 2022 to 9.56mn births, which meant the population shrank for the first time since the mass famine of 1961. Amy Hawkins. The Guardian. 5 October