Xi wraps up G20 summit as China deepens Latin America ties
With its economy slowing, Beijing is deepening economic ties in Latin America to boost trade.
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Through the Lens
In Focus
I. To partner, or not to partner, that is the question.
China faces a complex diplomatic landscape as it balances strategic partnerships that could undermine its international image. As a key player in the so-called CRINK bloc – i.e., China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea – Beijing risks entanglement in multiple international conflicts, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the intensifying hostilities between Israel and Iran.
This involvement directly contradicts China’s Global Security Initiative (GSI), an international policing framework through which China’s leader, President Xi Jinping, seeks to position China as a diplomatic fulcrum, promoting peace and stability worldwide. This paradox reveals Beijing’s dilemma: can China maintain its self-proclaimed mediator role while aligning itself with states involved in ongoing conflicts?
As these partnerships become more of a liability than an asset, Beijing appears to be approaching a strategic crossroads. Will China recalibrate its relationships with these conflict-prone nations to preserve its diplomatic credibility, or will its aspirations as a global mediator be jeopardized by its ties to states that fuel regional destabilization?
Read: Caught in Contradiction: China’s Uneasy Role in the CRINK Alliance (China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe)
II. “Chasing Hope”
Very much enjoyed reading this absorbing excerpt from Nicholas Kristof’s “Chasing Hope: A Reporter’s Life.”
Those five years in China were transformative for me. Seeing an army fire on its own people on June 3-4, 1989, changed me, and the experience of being constantly tailed left an indelible imprint on my psyche. Living in China was a chance to witness an economic revolution that hugely empowered hundreds of millions of people, but it was also a reminder that principles rarely defeat machine guns. Time and again after Tiananmen, from the Arab Spring to Myanmar, I heard variations of “the people united will never be defeated.” Take it from me, it’s not true.
That said, in the words of the Chinese writer Lu Xun, “Lies written in ink can never disguise facts written in blood.” In my mind’s eye, daydreaming about some day in the future, I envision a new statue at Tiananmen Square commemorating the pro-democracy protesters.
Read: How Little We Knew (China Books Review)
III. Gaming the game
In Ant Forest, users can gain points by choosing 54 types of carbon-reducing "green behaviours", such as selecting paperless billing, buying green products or recycling old clothes – but only when people are using Alipay's platform and delivery networks. Ant Forest refers to its green energy points in "grammes", or "g" for short. For example, riding an Alipay shared bike will generate 1.8g points per minute, paying for the subway is worth 52g per ride and buying train tickets online will earn you 136g points per transaction. In theory, each point represents 1g of reduced carbon dioxide emissions. The company makes frequent references to the number of "tonnes" of points generated by users as a measure of Ant Forest's success.
Ant Group's Wang says the green energy points are calculated using algorithms developed by a long list of external climate experts and scientific partners, including the Nature Conservancy and the China Beijing Green Exchange. The primary purpose of the points system is "to encourage sustained citizen engagement by making their contribution visible and trackable", he says.
But these "green energy points" may not add up to pro-environmental behaviour in the real world. The BBC found evidence of a coordinated economy of cheaters.
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Politics & Society
China Protests Spiked 27% in Months Before Xi’s Stimulus Push (Bloomberg)
China saw a dramatic rise in protests in the third quarter, according to one US advocacy group, an acceleration that came as the nation’s economic downturn prompted officials to unleash more stimulus.
Cases of public protest rose by 27% between July and September compared with the same period last year in data compiled by China Dissent Monitor at Freedom House, with the majority of those events linked to economic issues. Workers and property owners led the disputes, according to the report published Thursday.
Dissatisfaction is growing in China even as policymakers try to draw a line under slowing growth with a $1.4 trillion debt-swap package to steady the finances of local governments. A property crash and looming trade war with US President-elect Donald Trump have left many feeling poorer as they juggle layoffs, wage cuts and waning confidence in the private sector.
Researchers expect October to hit a record for the highest monthly count of dissent events since June 2022 when the database began, as anxiety over China’s wobbling $18 trillion economy deepens.
“One of the prime drivers of economic protests has been the impact of the struggling real estate sector,” according to Kevin Slaten, a Taiwan-based researcher who leads China Dissent Monitor. “The amount of money the central government is committing to such problems reflects an urgency. That urgency is partly driven by concern about growing discontent and the frequency of grassroots protests.”
[…]
While China Dissent Monitor data mostly logs small-scale protests, the data reflects a deeper discontent gripping the word’s No. 2 economy. A recent spate of lone-wolf killings is causing deep concern, with Chinese social media users connecting that violence to the slowdown.
Wary of ‘vicious’ events, China makes migrant worker arrears a priority (SCMP)
As the year winds down, Beijing is stepping up efforts to tackle delayed payments for migrant workers and protect the interests of the nation’s grass-roots workforce, aiming to maintain social stability in turbulent economic times.
The State Council, China’s cabinet, held a meeting on Tuesday to advance an action plan aimed at addressing arrears in the wages of migrant workers after a three-month dedicated campaign kicked off on November 1.
“[We] need to resolutely take up the political responsibility of managing wage arrears and consider the settlement of the issue an extremely important livelihood task,” said a post-meeting statement.
The stepped-up efforts came as China, which has about 300 million migrant workers, is facing mounting pressure on employment and wages at a time when the world’s second-largest economy is being dragged by a property crisis, local government debt woes and weak confidence. Two high-profile mass killings this month have also highlighted the importance of social stability.
“The objective is to firmly prevent any major mass incidents or vicious extreme events triggered by wage arrears, to safeguard the basic livelihood of the people, and to maintain social harmony and stability,” the campaign notice stated.
Numerous children injured by a vehicle outside an elementary school in central China (AP)
Numerous children were injured by a vehicle outside an elementary school in central China’s Hunan province on Tuesday, reports said. Hours after the incident, the casualty count was unclear and authorities had yet to clarify if it was an accident or a deliberate attack.
The incident follows a series of recent killings or attacks in China by people in vehicles or wielding knives.
China reels from spate of suspected ‘revenge against society’ attacks (The Guardian)
Little is known about true motives and the mental states of the assailants in the recent attacks. In the Zhuhai car ramming, local police said the driver was unhappy with his financial settlement in his divorce. In the stabbing incident, authorities said the attacker had failed his exams and could not graduate, and that he was unhappy with his pay on an internship.
There are growing fears in China that the strained social safety net, high unemployment and a struggling economy are leading a small minority of people to vent their frustrations in the form of mass murder. This month’s attacks followed a series of similar incidents earlier in the year.
‘Intrusive’: China retail giant sparks controversy over bride price, lavish wedding ban (SCMP)
A retail giant in China is stirring up discussions on social media with controversial new rules that require employees to reject bride prices, forgo extravagant weddings, and avoid depending on their parents for purchasing houses or cars.
On November 20, Yu Donglai, founder and chairman of Pang Dong Lai, a retail chain based in central China’s Henan province, announced that the company will implement new measures next year to promote employee “independence” and a “rational, high-quality” lifestyle.
The measures prohibit bride prices and lavish weddings, capping banquets at five tables, while encouraging employees to refrain from relying on their parents to buy them houses or cars.
[…]
Pang Dong Lai’s new rules quickly garnered attention on social media, amassing over 100 million views on Weibo and igniting heated debates about whether companies should be so “intrusive and meddle in employees’ personal lives”.
One supporter wrote on Weibo: “The larger the company, the greater its social responsibility. Addressing outdated practices like excessive bride prices aligns with national values. Pang Dong Lai is setting a commendable example for other employers.”
Conversely, another person disagreed: “These rules have crossed the line! Weddings and home purchases are personal matters, and the company has no right to interfere.”
Beijing’s official messaging needs AI, algorithms to counter Western media: experts (SCMP)
Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily called on the country to enlist AI in an information campaign to debunk US-led narratives about China, highlighting the perceived urgency in a series of front-page articles on Friday.
In the articles, researchers suggested strategies that included harnessing technology to counter Western media, which they said painted an unfair image of China, and hindered the nation’s ability to form a united view of itself.
In one article, Tang Jingtai, a professor at Fudan University’s school of journalism, said it was important to use data and algorithms to support China’s online information campaigns.
He pointed to the use of AI tools and analysis systems to “enhance the efficiency and accuracy” of campaigns to “transform information dissemination from traditional methods to an industrialised and intelligent process”.
Such tools could help to achieve a revolutionary shift from the traditional pattern of “people seeking information” to “information seeking people”, he said.
Online campaigns could also leverage social media algorithms to integrate relevant content into the target audience’s daily information flow, “making it appear less foreign and more natural … thus creating subtle yet powerful influence”, Tang said.
As Bluesky takes flight, China has got a Twitter problem ()
The great prize of Twitter was never its number of users: it was who they were. Journalists, academics, and politicians… the Chinese state saw it as the fount of western hegemony, and an ideological battle place. If BlueSky becomes Twitter’s spiritual successor, it too will be a key mount to conquer, drown out, or destroy.
Microsoft and Google incubated Chinese startups tied to police (Rest of World)
Over the last decade, China has become a global leader in using new technologies for surveillance and policing. In some cases, the technology enforces traffic rules and finds missing children. But authorities also use cutting-edge software to censor online speech, arrest bloggers and activists, and surveil ethnic minorities, most notably the Uyghur population in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.
Two Chinese companies were selling censorship software to support government regulations or working with the police before they joined Microsoft’s long-running program. AI startup Data Grand sold censorship software to internet companies before joining the incubator in 2017, while cybersecurity firm Tophant partnered with a police research institute back in 2021, before it was accepted into the program in 2023.
Two other startups partnered with Chinese police after they graduated from the U.S. tech giant’s program. In 2018, facial recognition firm DeepGlint worked closely with police in Xinjiang, where the government deployed surveillance tools to oppress ethnic minorities. In 2021, the U.S. sanctioned DeepGlint for its involvement in human rights violations in Xinjiang. Another company, Hydata, collaborated with a police lab in Xinjiang in charge of analyzing surveillance camera footage.
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Fierce Online Backlash to Predictive Policing Tool Described as “Crowd Mood Monitoring and Early Warning System” (China Digital Times)
A predictive policing tool described as a “Crowd Mood Monitoring and Early Warning System,” on display at the recent Zhuhai Air Show in Guangdong province, has attracted considerable backlash online. After photos and descriptions of the promotional display appeared on the Chinese website Douban (a social network for discussions, recommendations, and reviews of books, music, movies, and more), Douban users drew parallels to “1984,” “Thought Police,” and the biometrics-based predictive-policing regime depicted in the dystopian Japanese anime series “Psycho-Pass.”
China Population Set for 51 Million Drop as Pro-Birth Moves Fail (Bloomberg)
China’s population is expected to shrink by 51 million — more than the size of California — over the next decade as policymakers struggle to reverse the country’s falling birth rate, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
By 2035, the population is expected to drop to 1.36 billion, levels not seen since 2012, down from a peak of 1.41 billion in 2021, BI senior industry analyst Ada Li estimates.
There could be a temporary spike in births in 2024 as the Year of the Dragon is considered an auspicious time to have children. But past single-year surges in birth rates have been short-lived, and this year may be no exception, especially with marriage rates at an all-time low, Li said.
In China, a New Paid Period Leave Policy Revives an Old Debate (Sixth Tone)
In workplaces across the country, menstruation is often treated as a private matter, leaving many women to endure discomfort in silence or manage it discreetly. Some resort to painkillers to get through their workday, while others feel pressured to use their annual leave to rest, forfeiting days that could otherwise be spent on personal or leisure activities.
For Zoey Zhang, the hurdles to taking menstrual leave often render the policy meaningless. Zhang, a 27-year-old working in the fast-paced internet industry in the southern tech hub of Shenzhen, has never used the benefit, which is unpaid at her company. She finds the requirement for a doctor’s diagnosis highly impractical.
“How am I supposed to go to the hospital when I’m doubled over in pain? And what’s the point of going when I’m well enough to leave home?” she told Sixth Tone. “The impracticality of these requirements has made the policy only exist on paper.”
Transgender woman wins record payout in China after electroshock treatment (The Guardian)
A transgender woman in China has won a record amount of compensation from a hospital that subjected her to several sessions of electroshock conversion practices without her consent.
Changli county people’s court in Qinhuangdao, a city in Hebei, approved a 60,000 yuan (£6,552) award to Ling’er, a 28-year-old performance artist who was recorded male at birth but identifies as a woman. LGBTQ+ activists described the award, approved on 31 October, as a victory for trans rights in China.
Ling’er, who uses a pseudonym, said she hoped her case, which is the first instance of a trans person winning a legal challenge against the use of electroshock conversion practices in China, could help others in the LGBTQ+ community navigate medical disputes and protect their rights. “In China, the situation for transgender people is not very optimistic,” she said. “There’s a lack of protection for this group.”
China Shocked by Mysterious Wave of Pet Poisoning Cases (Sixth Tone)
Dozens of dogs have died after coming into contact with toxic substances in the southern Guangdong province this month, in an apparent wave of poisoning cases that has alarmed pet owners across China.
The Guangdong Pet Industry Association (GPIA) announced on Saturday that it had confirmed more than 40 recent incidents of dogs dying after being poisoned, with most of the incidents occurring around Nov. 8.
But more pet owners have come forward to report similar cases since that initial statement was issued, and these later incidents appear to be spread over a wider area, a spokesperson for the association told local media.
Police in Guangzhou, the provincial capital, have reportedly launched an investigation into the poisonings, though it remains unclear at this stage who is behind the incidents or what their motive might be.
China is expanding visa-free entry to more countries in bid to boost economy (AP)
Starting Nov. 30, travelers from Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia and Japan will be able to enter China for up to 30 days without a visa, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
That will bring to 38 the number of countries that have been granted visa-free access since last year. Only three countries had visa-free access previously, and theirs had been eliminated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The addition of Japan appears to reflect a recent willingness on China’s part to improve ties, which have soured in part over more strident talk from Tokyo on the Taiwan issue. The two countries reached a deal in September in their dispute over the release into the sea of treated but still radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant.
China: visa-free policy extended to 30 days (VisasNews)
From November 30, 2024, visa-free stays in China will increase from 15 to 30 days, and nine new countries will be added to the list of nations benefiting from the unilateral visa-free policy.
Finding relics among the ruins of the Cultural Revolution — with Ian Johnson ()
The Pulitzer-winning journalist tells the story of his first trip to China and how it changed his views on foreign reporting.
Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn on China from 1988 to Now (China Books Review)
Kristof and WuDunn talked about their experience as journalists in Beijing, starting three decades ago, and the changes China has undergone since, on occasion of the publication of Kristof’s memoir Chasing Hope: A Reporter’s Life (Knopf, May 2024), which was excerpted in these pages. Moderating the conversion is Orville Schell, director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society, and co-publisher of China Books Review.
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