South China Sea tensions, Xi meets Putin, and EU moves ahead with tariffs
+ Hong Kong marks 27th anniversary of handover to China
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THROUGH THE LENS
XINJIANG
15 years after Xinjiang unrest, China fends off criticism of hardline rule
Nikkei Asia
Fifteen years ago in Urumqi, the capital of China's northwestern Xinjiang region, thousands of ethnic Uyghurs took to the streets to demand equal treatment and rights as those enjoyed by Han Chinese.
Xinjiang would never be the same.
The protests, which erupted on July 5, 2009, ended in what is considered one of the most severe crackdowns by Chinese authorities. By the end of three days of unrest, 197 people were dead, mostly Uyghurs, according to the official account.
[…]
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights published a report on Xinjiang in 2022, concluding that Beijing's stated drive against terrorism and extremism "may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity."
The latest communique by G7 leaders gathered in Italy last month once again said the seven Western democracies "remain concerned by the human rights situation in China, including in Tibet and in Xinjiang."
The Chinese government categorically rejects the criticism and describes the internment facilities as "reeducation centers."
Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, praised the publication of the U.N.'s report two years ago as a "landmark moment for highlighting the gravity of human rights violations in Xinjiang," while adding that it is up to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk to "make full use of that report to improve the situation for Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang."
Sarah Brooks, China director at Amnesty International, said that this year's "second anniversary of the report's release should be an opportunity to build momentum for an independent international mechanism to monitor, report on and investigate allegations of severe human rights violations, including crimes against humanity in Xinjiang."
Brooks stressed, "No state, no matter how influential, should be shielded from accountability for human rights violations."
No Uyghurs from Xinjiang went on Hajj pilgrimage, data shows
RFA
No Uyghurs from China’s far-western region of Xinjiang were among the Muslims from China who went on this year’s Hajj, according to data from the Islamic Association of China and a Uyghur living abroad who went on the pilgrimage to Mecca.
All told, more than 1.8 million people participated in this year's Hajj, which fell between June 14-19, according to Saudi Arabian officials, including 1.6 million foreign pilgrims.
Muslims in China need government permission to make the pilgrimage, which as one of the Five Pillars of Islam is required of all Muslims once in their lives, if health allows.
As of early June, 1,053 pilgrims – 769 from China’s Gansu province and 284 from Yunnan province – were registered to go on the Hajj, according to the website of the Islamic Association of China. No Uyghurs or other Muslims from Xinjiang were included in the tally.
POLITICS & SOCIETY
China’s Communist Party on track for 100 million members by year’s end
SCMP
Membership of the Chinese Communist Party reached 99 million last year and is on track to reach 100 million by the end of 2024, but the rate of growth continues to slow, according to the latest official tally.
In line with tradition, the data was released a day ahead of the July 1 celebrations to honour the party’s founding in 1921.
The Central Organisation Department – the party’s top personnel office – reported a net increase of 1.14 million members, a 1.2 per cent growth, compared with the end of 2022 when party membership rose by 1.4 per cent, increasing by 1.32 million.
Chinese President Xi Jinping – who is also the party’s general secretary – extended greetings to party members across the country on Friday, in advance of the 103rd anniversary, at a Politburo study session.
Xi stressed that “comprehensive and strict governance over the party” must be upheld, to push forward party-building in the new era, and its organisation needs to be effective, insisting on a centralised and united leadership.
China rejects West's human rights recommendations at UN
HKFP
China met stinging criticism at the United Nations on Thursday from some countries and organisations over its rights record, even as others showered Beijing with praise.
Diplomats and activists had described intense Chinese lobbying and pressure ahead of a brief event to adopt a report following a routine review of the country’s rights record back in January.
All 193 UN member states must undergo a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) every four to five years, followed by an adoption of a report on the recommendations the country is willing to accept.
During the half-day UPR in January, critical countries highlighted a crackdown on civil liberties and a sweeping national security law imposed on Hong Kong in 2020 to quash dissent after pro-democracy protests.
They also voiced alarm at alleged efforts to erase cultural and religious identity in Tibet and repression in the northwestern Xinjiang region, where Beijing is accused of incarcerating more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.
Countries presented 428 recommendations to China, including harsh rebukes but also suggestions such as “continue to protect the cultural rights of ethnic minorities”, from Iran.
During the one-hour UPR adoption process Thursday, a vast Chinese delegation informed the gathering that it had adopted 70 percent of those recommendations, but it flatly rejected most proposals from Western countries.
Playing the "hukou card"? China's rural option for stimulating the economy
Reforming the hukou system entails additional costs in the form of local expenditures on public services, which thus has to be balanced against the potential benefits that would ensue from enhanced labor mobility, a boost in consumption and real estate sectors in certain cities.
China begins smartphone inspections as part of espionage law
Nikkei Asia
Chinese national security authorities will have greater power to inspect smartphones and other electronic devices beginning Monday, one year after a stronger anti-espionage law took effect, raising fears that foreigners will face such inspections upon entering the country.
The new espionage law broadens the information covered to anything involving "national security and interests." National security authorities now are permitted to inspect baggage and electronic devices simply on suspicion of espionage.
Operational guidelines permit authorities to examine such phones and personal computers by showing a police ID or other identification.
Fear is spreading on social media that foreigners and others will be subjected to these inspections when entering China. Media reports show the Ministry of State Security, China's intelligence agency, has denied that all arrivals will undergo smartphone inspections.
China’s tech firms vow crackdown on online hate speech after knife attack
The Guardian
China’s internet companies have announced a crackdown on “extreme nationalism” online, particularly anti-Japanese sentiment, after a Chinese woman was fatally stabbed while protecting a Japanese mother and child in Suzhou.
The ‘Pink’ Premium: Why Women in China Still Pay More for Less
Sixth Tone
For years, global campaigns have opposed the “pink tax,” where products marketed to women are priced higher than those for men. In China, the debate intensified recently when university students sued cosmetics giant L’Oréal for discriminatory pricing of facial cleansers.
Up or Out: The Ruthless Tenure Race for Young Chinese Scholars
Sixth Tone
In many Chinese universities, young academics grapple with the pressures of a competitive tenure system, balancing research, teaching, and administrative duties. They have six years to meet specific criteria and secure a promotion, or face dismissal.
Report: Positive Attitudes Toward LGBTQ People in Mainland China
Williams Institute
Following a period of growth and optimism in Chinese LGBTQ rights and advocacy, the past decade has been marked by setbacks, including increased curtailment of internet access to LGBTQ-supportive social media resources and an increase in government interventions that reduced, and sometimes made illegal, activities of LGBTQ (among other) civil society organizations. At the same time, little is known about the general Chinese public’s view of LGBTQ people and their rights. In this survey, we sought to assess the general public’s attitudes toward key LGBTQ issues and to what extent official policies represent public attitudes. We surveyed the mainland Chinese public about their familiarity with and acceptance of LGBTQ people and attitudes toward policy issues such as discrimination at work, same-sex marriage, and LGBTQ people raising children.
Dozens of Rural Governments Shortchange Student Meals to Shore Up Budgets
Caixin
From 2021 to August 2023, 66 counties in China diverted over 1.9 billion yuan from rural student meal funds for debt repayments and other uses.
A total of 270 million yuan meant for student meals was redirected by reducing meal quality or fabricating procurement in more than 1,500 schools.
The Nutrition Improvement Program has benefited 386 million students across 28 provinces, with a yearly investment of 20 billion yuan for student lunch subsidies.
Chinese Police Tackle Euro 2024 Cross-Border Gambling Scams
Caixin
The excitement of Euro 2024 soccer tournament has led to a wave of cross-border online gambling fraud, prompting Chinese police to launch extensive crackdowns.
Several online gambling groups linked to the European championships were recently busted by Chinese authorities, amid calls for vigilance by the public against telecom network fraud exploiting the games.
Foreign professor fired from Chinese university after interview with VOA
VOA
Björn Alexander Düben, a German assistant professor at Jilin University's School of Public Diplomacy, was mysteriously dismissed and instructed to leave China after a nine-year tenure, following his participation in an interview with Voice of America (VOA). This dismissal highlights the severe restrictions on free speech imposed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Düben's troubles began shortly after he commented on Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to Europe in an article published by VOA Mandarin on May 11. The next day, he received a WeChat message from the university's international secretary, which stated, "It is well known that colleges and universities must be responsible for any form of interviews with domestic and foreign media." This message hinted at the sensitive nature of his comments regarding the Chinese leadership.
China sees foreign visitor numbers more than double after lifting visa rules for many travellers
SCMP
China’s visa-free policy appears to be succeeding in its aim of attracting more visitors as the number of foreigners entering the country more than doubled in the first six months of the year.
In total 14.64 million foreigners visited the country in the first half of the year, up 152.7 per cent year on year, data from the National Immigration Administration showed.
The number of visa-free entries made by foreigners passed 8.5 million, accounting for 58 per cent of inbound trips and representing a year-on-year increase of 190 per cent, according to the administration.
But the number of foreign visitors is still short of reach pre-Covid levels, when 15.53 million foreign travellers visited in the first half of 2019.
With the country facing a slump in domestic tourism as a result of the flagging economy, China has gradually been increasing the number of countries whose citizens can visit for up to 15 days for business, tourism, family visits.
HONG KONG & MACAO
Handover Day: New security law a 'sharp sword' says HK's Lee
HKFP
The principle of One Country, Two Systems – while “tested on all fronts” since China resumed sovereignty in 1997 – remains the “best institutional arrangement” for Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability, Chief Executive John Lee has said on the 27th anniversary of the Handover.
The policy that allowed Hong Kong to maintain a capitalist system while being part of socialist China was a “great innovation of socialism with Chinese characteristics” and the “best solution” to the historical issues of Hong Kong, Lee wrote in a 6,574-word article published on Monday.
Monday marked 27 years since Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule after it was colonised by Britain. This year also marked the first Handover anniversary since the city passed the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, a locally-legislated security law more commonly known as Article 23.
Xi is a ‘dictator’ who broke Hong Kong treaty, ex-governor says
RFA
Chinese President Xi Jinping is a “dictator” who broke his country’s 1984 treaty with the United Kingdom about Hong Kong and should not be trusted, the last governor of the former British colony has said.
In a video released by the London-based Hong Kong Watch on Sunday ahead of Monday’s 27th anniversary of the July 1, 1997, handover of the territory from British to Chinese control, Chris Patten said Beijing had not lived up to the terms of its deal with the United Kingdom.
Instead of respecting Hong Kong’s pledged autonomy and status as a free society for 50 years, he said, Beijing had exported its dictatorship.
Handover Day: China to gift another pair of giant pandas to Hong Kong
HKFP
Hong Kong’s Ocean Park is to receive another pair of giant pandas from China in the coming months, as a gift from the central government.
The announcement coincided with Monday’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day, marking 27 years since the Handover to China.
In a statement, Chief Executive John Lee thanked the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration for their assistance: “This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, which makes this gift even more special.”
Five must-see movies referencing the Hong Kong handover
The Hong Konger
On 1 July 1997, the British colony of Hong Kong was handed over to China. Hong Kongers’ emotions surrounding the period were mixed, and this ambivalence is reflected in films produced both before and after that day. The following are all tied, implicitly or explicitly, to the handover and the Hong Kongers who lived through it. None of these could have been made today, because they feature corrupt policemen, ambivalence about Chinese rule, or endorse the historical fact that Hong Kong was once a colony.
Hong Kong 47: Lawyer for activist Joshua Wong urges lighter sentence
HKFP
Activist Joshua Wong frequently helped others in the community, his lawyer has said as he attempted to convince judges that his client should be given a lesser sentence in the city’s largest national security case.
Wong, 27, was among six defendants who appeared at West Kowloon Law Courts Building on Friday for a mitigation hearing. The defendants, who included ex-lawmakers and district councillors, face up to life imprisonment for taking part in a conspiracy to commit subversion linked to an unofficial primary in July 2020.
Interview: Student journalist seeks asylum in Canada after sentencing for unlawful LegCo entry
The Hong Konger
“There have been too many cases in which, after the defendants were set free, the prosecution kept appealing relentlessly,” Wong told The Hong Konger by phone. “Moreover, the prosecution can, at any time, charge people with any actions committed in the past. It would be too frustrating to live in the shadows of a déjà vu.”
He was referring to his arrest when police officers knocked on his door when he was still sleeping at 6.30am in August 2019. The Hong Kong police often arrested protesters at dawn.
HKU Business School Finds More Than 30 Students Forged Qualifications in Ongoing Probe
Caixin
The University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) Business School has found at least 30 students used fake academic credentials when applying to the school, and that number is likely to rise as an investigation into fraudulent applications continues, Dean Cai Hongbin said in an exclusive interview with Caixin.
China offers foreign permanent residents of Hong Kong, Macau five-year visas
Reuters
Foreigners who are permanent residents of Hong Kong and Macau and are looking to visit mainland China can apply for multiple-entry travel visas with validity of five years, China's National Immigration Administration said on Monday.
From July 10, foreign permanent residents of the two Chinese-ruled cities will be eligible to apply for such visas to enter the mainland, according to the administration.
Each stay shall not exceed 90 days.
China Cracks Down On Money-changing Syndicates In Macau
Barron's
Loan sharks earn tens of millions of dollars a year by providing underground money exchange services and cash smuggling networks for Chinese gamblers in Macau, China's Public Security Ministry said Friday.
Macau, known as the Las Vegas of the East, is the only city in China where gambling is legal, but the mainland Chinese visitors who fuel the city's multibillion-dollar economic pillar are bound by the country's strict foreign exchange controls.
Hong Kong celebrates design guru who left his mark
France 24
Some of Hong Kong's most recognisable designs, from the logo of the territory's biggest bank to the badge of its ubiquitous jockey club, are on display as one collection as the city celebrates the work of creator Henry Steiner.
TAIWAN
Taiwan dials down rhetoric over fishing boat seizure, urges caution in ‘sensitive waters’
SCMP
Authorities in Taiwan are taking a cautious tack over the detention of a Taiwanese fishing crew and the seizure of their vessel by the China Coast Guard, urging boat operators to exercise care when in “sensitive” waters.
Tsai Ming-yen, head of the island’s National Security Bureau, said on Thursday that fishing crews should “prioritise safety and adhere to relevant regulations”.
At the same time, the authorities would handle the case “with great caution and fully defend the legal rights of fishermen engaged in lawful fishing operations at sea”.
It follows the interception of the Da Jin Man 88 fishing boat by two mainland coastguard vessels late on Tuesday.
According to Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration, the boat was operating 23.7 nautical miles off Quemoy, a Taiwan-controlled defence outpost near the mainland, and within mainland waters when it was stopped.
Mainland officers boarded the boat for inspection and instructed the Taiwanese captain and four crew members – one Taiwanese and three Indonesians – to head towards the mainland coastal city of Jinjiang in Fujian province.
The Taiwanese coastguard tried to intervene but backed off to prevent further escalation after the mainland sent seven vessels in two groups to block them.
Mainland says seizure of illegal Taiwan fishing boat legitimate, lawful
Xinhua
A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Friday said that the mainland coast guard's recent seizure of a Taiwan fishing boat suspected of illegal operations in waters near the city of Quanzhou was legitimate and lawful.
China pressures Taiwan's Lai with most military flights in nearly 2 years
Nikkei Asia
China has sent the most military aircraft in nearly two years across the informal dividing line with Taiwan, in what Taipei sees as a campaign of intimidation against new Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te.
Taiwan's Defense Ministry reported that 175 Chinese military planes flew across the Taiwan Strait median line in June.
The single-month figure was the highest since 290 flights in August 2022, when then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan sparked a backlash from Beijing. The tally topped the 149 crossings in April 2023, when then-Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen traveled to the U.S.
The number of median line crossings "is a barometer of the intensity of the military and political pressure on Taiwan," said Wang Tsun-yen, an associate research fellow at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research. More Chinese military aircraft have gone beyond the boundary under President Xi Jinping's leadership.
WORLD
Beijing and Manila hold talks to defuse South China Sea tensions
Financial Times
Beijing and Manila have held talks to manage tensions over a South China Sea reef that has become the most dangerous flashpoint in the Indo-Pacific and that the US has warned is covered by its defence treaty with the Philippines.
Chinese and Philippine diplomats met in Manila on Tuesday to discuss the situation at the Second Thomas Shoal. In recent months, China’s coastguard has used increasingly aggressive tactics to stop the Philippines from sending supplies to marines stationed on a ship called the Sierra Madre that is marooned on the submerged reef.
The Philippines said the two sides had made “substantial progress” towards managing the tensions but that “significant differences” remained. It stressed that it would be “relentless” in protecting its maritime rights.
Marcos Tells Philippine Military to Ease Sea Spat With China
Bloomberg
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the military to de-escalate South China Sea tensions, Armed Forces chief Romeo Brawner said Thursday, without compromising the nation’s maritime rights.
The military chief didn’t elaborate on the president’s remarks during a command conference. Instead, Brawner said missions in the disputed sea will continue, and several options are being explored on how to proceed, including tapping allied nations.
“We will do the same thing as before. Nothing will change even if it was said that we will de-escalate, because we are following the law,” Brawner said.
Much of Brawner’s remarks signaled that while the Philippines is open to defusing tensions, it will be steadfast in fighting for its claims in the South China Sea, just like Beijing.
China anchors 'monster ship' in South China Sea, Philippine coast guard says
Reuters
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Saturday that China's largest coastguard vessel has anchored in Manila's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea, and is meant to intimidate its smaller Asian neighbour.
The China coastguard's 165-meter 'monster ship' entered Manila's 200-nautical mile EEZ on July 2, spokesperson for the PCG Jay Tarriela told a news forum.
The PCG warned the Chinese vessel it was in the Philippine's EEZ and asked about their intentions, he said.
"It's an intimidation on the part of the China Coast Guard," Tarriela said. "We're not going to pull out and we're not going to be intimidated."
China's embassy in Manila and the Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China's coast guard has no publicly available contact information.
Philippines turned down US help amid South China Sea tensions, says military chief
The Straits Times
The Philippines has turned down offers from the United States to assist operations in the South China Sea, after a flare-up with China over missions to resupply Filipino troops on a contested shoal, its military chief said.
Tensions in the disputed waterway have boiled over into violence in the past year, with a Filipino sailor losing a finger in the latest June 17 clash that Manila described as “intentional-high speed ramming” by the Chinese coast guard.
The US, a treaty ally, has offered support, but Manila prefers to handle operations on its own, General Romeo Brawner said on July 4.
“Yes, of course, they have been offering help and they asked us how they could help us in any way,” he said.
“We try to exhaust all possible options that we have before we ask for help.”
China urges ‘severe punishment’ for killers of citizen in Philippines
SCMP
China has urged the Philippines to find and “severely punish” the killers of a kidnapped Chinese citizen in a case that has led to a diplomatic intervention by Beijing.
The Chinese embassy in Manila said it had been informed a few days ago that the person had been kidnapped in the Philippines, and it assisted the family in reporting the case to the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Kidnapping Bureau.
It also intervened through diplomatic channels to ask for a rescue and that measures be taken to ensure the person’s safety, according to a statement from the embassy on Tuesday.
But the person was eventually killed, along with a Chinese-American who had also been kidnapped, the embassy said. Neither victim has been identified, and authorities in the Philippines have not commented on the incident.
“We urge the Philippines to intensify efforts to investigate the case, capture and severely punish the murderers as soon as possible,” China’s embassy said in the statement.
One of the victims was an international marketing director of Hong Kong-listed company Raimed Medical Limited, and the other worked as a distributor for a cardiovascular medical device company, Yicai Global, a financial news outlet under Shanghai Media Group, reported, citing a source. Raimed has not commented on the incident.
The two people travelled together to the Philippines on a business trip around June 20 and were killed on June 24, after the family of one of the victims paid a ransom of 3 million yuan (US$412,600), according to Chinese media reports.
Ex-Trump adviser says China’s clash with Philippines is ‘dress rehearsal’ for Taiwan attack
SCMP
A former top US national security adviser said on Tuesday that Beijing was using a stand-off with the Philippines in the South China Sea as a “dress rehearsal” for an attack on Taiwan.
Speaking at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank, Matthew Pottinger, the top Asia adviser on former president Donald Trump’s National Security Council, said the US should help resupply Filipino marines on the Second Thomas Shoal as a signal to China that the US will support allies in the region militarily.
In recent clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels near the shoal, Beijing has acted with “impunity”, Pottinger said. “Why is Beijing targeting this little island to begin with? It’s mainly about trying to discredit the United States. It’s a dress rehearsal for Taiwan.”
“They’re doing it on a little tiny model of Taiwan, which is this little island … that is not, by itself, a major, geo-strategically important spot,” he said, adding that Beijing is “trying to demonstrate that they can blockade, create a sense of futility and discredit the idea that the United States is going to help not only the Philippines but by extension Taiwan”.
China and Russia highlight ‘tectonic shifts in global politics’
Al Jazeera
The presidents of China and Russia urged allies to resist external influence saying the global centres of power are changing and a multipolar world is on the horizon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping were in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana on Thursday for a gathering of leaders from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) – a regional bloc that Moscow and Beijing see as a counterweight to US “hegemony” on the world stage.
Xi called on the countries to “resist external interference” while Putin said “new centres” of political and economic might are on the rise.
“We should join hands to resist external interference, firmly support each other, take care of each other’s concerns … and firmly control of the future and destiny of our countries and regional peace and development in our own hands,” Xi told the summit.
“It is of vital importance to the world that the SCO be on the right side of history and on the side of fairness and justice.”
In a joint declaration, published by the Kremlin, the group noted “tectonic shifts in global politics” and called for the bloc to play an enhanced role in global and regional security.
Xi Jinping meets Russia's Putin, backs Kazakhstan joining BRICS
Nikkei Asia
Chinese President Xi Jinping met Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday on the sidelines of a regional security summit in Kazakhstan, marking their second meeting in less than two months.
Footage broadcast on Chinese television showed Xi referring to Putin as his "old friend." Xi emphasized the unique value of China-Russia relations and vowed to continue close cooperation in order to protect what he deemed their legitimate rights and interests.
"In the face of the turbulent international situation and external environment, both sides should continue to uphold the friendship from generation to generation, adhere to the perseverance of benefiting the people, and constantly cultivate the unique value of China-Russia relations," Xi said at the beginning of the meeting.
He added the two sides should continue to "safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the two countries, and safeguard the basic norms of international relations."
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Is Ineffective and Irrelevant
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Today, the bloated SCO has become little more than a talking club for leaders of friendly countries. The SCO could even get bigger in coming years. Indeed, why not join if membership does not entail taking on any responsibilities? However much the SCO would like to convince others that it is capable of changing facts on the ground, the reality is very different.
US Allies Say China Is Developing Attack Drones for Russia
Bloomberg
Chinese and Russian companies are developing an attack drone similar to an Iranian model deployed in Ukraine, European officials familiar with the matter said, a sign that Beijing may be edging closer to providing the sort of lethal aid that western officials have warned against.
The companies held talks in 2023 about collaborating to replicate Iran’s Shahed drone, and started developing and testing a version this year in preparation for shipment to Russia, said the officials, who asked not to be identified to discuss private information. The Chinese drones have yet to be used in Ukraine, they said.
Providing Russia a Shahed-like attack drone would mark a deepening of Beijing’s support for Russia despite repeated warnings from the US and its allies. President Xi Jinping has sought to portray China as neutral in the conflict in Ukraine even as western officials say it’s provided components and other support for President Vladimir Putin’s forces.
Russia-Ukraine: China Can End War With a Phone Call, Finland’s Stubb Says
Bloomberg
Russia’s reliance on China has gotten to the point where Beijing could end the war in Ukraine if it chose to, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said.
“Russia is so dependent on China right now,” Stubb, 56, said in an interview in Helsinki Tuesday. “One phone call from President Xi Jinping would solve this crisis.”
Stubb’s comments reflect the increasing frustration among Ukraine’s allies over China’s perceived support for Russia’s war effort. They accuse Beijing of providing the Kremlin with technologies and parts for weapons and helping Moscow to get around international trade restrictions.
“If he were to say, ‘Time to start negotiating peace,’ Russia would be forced to do that,” Stubb said. “They would have no other choice.”
China rebuffed the suggestion.
“Both China and Russia are independent major countries. China did not create the Ukraine crisis,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Wednesday at a regular press briefing in Beijing. “We will always stand on the side of peace and dialog, and maintain communication with relevant parties including Russia, and play a constructive role in the political settlement of the crisis.”
China exerts new control over its young expats in the US
Financial Times
China is demanding acts of loyalty from its young professionals living and working in the US, sometimes putting them at odds with local law and immigration requirements, as it seeks more control over expatriates amid rising tensions between the two countries.
The demands are increasingly being placed on Chinese nationals who joined the country’s Communist party as students or young professionals before they left home, in the hopes of career advancement once they eventually return.
By some estimates, at least 10,000 members of the party are studying or working in the US. This is a small fraction of its 5.4mn Chinese diaspora but many are in top roles at leading universities and corporations in the technology and finance sectors.
The directives have included participating in webinars during which they are coached to promote China’s image in front of their American peers, paying membership dues to the Communist party, studying political material sent from China and checking in with party officials to ensure their continued loyalty, according to interviews and documents obtained by the Financial Times.
In interviews with 10 party members studying and working in the US, students said they had followed the demands to speak positively about China in public, while employees said they sought to hide their links to the party when applying for US work visas, denying membership when asked.
China Reopened to Foreign Students. Americans Are Staying Away.
WSJ
In the last full academic year before the pandemic, over 11,000 Americans were studying in China, making it the most popular non-European destination for U.S. students abroad and the seventh overall, according to data from the Institute of International Education. As of June 2023, the IIE said, China wasn’t even among the top 20.
While there is no official tally of Americans currently studying in China, Nicholas Burns, the U.S. ambassador to Beijing, put the number at about 800 in a speech last month. A State Department spokesperson clarified that this figure only represents those studying in university-credit programs.
Henry Huiyao Wang, president of Beijing think tank Center for China and Globalization, estimates the number is closer to 3,000, though he includes visiting nondegree students in his estimate. Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said that there are currently “thousands” of American students in China, according to what he termed “incomplete statistics.” Meanwhile, around 290,000 Chinese students were in the U.S. during the 2022-23 academic year, according to the most recent IIE data.
The fact that China ended Covid restrictions later than other countries is only part of the explanation, said David Moser, associate professor at Beijing Capital Normal University. He said the number of Americans studying in China has been declining for over a decade amid rising U.S.-China tensions and the tightening of controls on expression under Xi.
“What’s happening now is that after Covid and even after China opened up, the students didn’t come back,” he said.
The Underground Network Sneaking Nvidia Chips Into China
WSJ
More than 70 distributors are openly advertising online what they purport to be Nvidia’s restricted chips, and the Journal got in direct contact with 25 of them. Many of the verified sellers said they have supplies amounting to dozens of the high-end Nvidia chips each month.
The flow of Nvidia chips is so steady that most of those sellers take preorders and promise delivery in weeks, the Journal found. Some also sold entire servers—costing upward of roughly $300,000—with each containing eight high-end Nvidia chips.
These merchants don’t sell enough of the powerful Nvidia processors to satiate a single tech giant’s demands. But for AI startups or research institutions with more modest needs, procurement can be done. Every Nvidia chip matters to China, which wants to stay competitive with the U.S. in an AI race seen as increasingly crucial to tech sovereignty and national security.
Nvidia to make $12bn from AI chips in China this year despite US controls
Financial Times
Nvidia is on course to sell $12bn worth of artificial intelligence chips in China this year despite US export controls that have throttled its business in one of the world’s biggest semiconductor markets.
The $3tn Silicon Valley group will over the coming months deliver more than 1mn of its new H20 chips, which are designed to fall outside of US restrictions on selling AI processors to Chinese customers, according to analyst forecasts.
That figure is almost twice as many as Huawei is expected to sell of its China-made rival product, Ascend 910B, according to estimates from SemiAnalysis, a chip consultancy.
Satellite Images of Cuba Show Expansion of Suspected Chinese Spy Bases
WSJ
Images captured from space show the growth of Cuba’s electronic eavesdropping stations that are believed to be linked to China, including new construction at a previously unreported site about 70 miles from the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, according to a new report.
The study from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, follows reporting last year by The Wall Street Journal that China and Cuba were negotiating closer defense and intelligence ties, including establishing a new joint military training facility on the island and an eavesdropping facility.
At the time, the Journal reported that Cuba and China were already jointly operating eavesdropping stations on the island, according to U.S. officials, who didn’t disclose their locations. It couldn’t be determined which, if any, of those are included in the sites covered by the CSIS report.
The concern about the stations, former officials and analysts say, is that China is using Cuba’s geographical proximity to the southeastern U.S. to scoop up sensitive electronic communications from American military bases, space-launch facilities, and military and commercial shipping.
Lidar-Maker Rejects U.S. Allegations of Chinese Military Ties
Caixin
Hesai Technology Co. Ltd., a Shanghai-based developer of sensor technologies used in self-driving cars, has rejected allegations by the U.S. Department of Defense that it has ties to the Chinese military.
Hesai filed a motion for summary judgment in a Washington, D.C., court on Wednesday, after suing the defense department in May for including it on a list of companies accused of aiding China’s military.
U.S. Sends a Plane of Chinese Migrants to China
WSJ
The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that 116 Chinese nationals were deported back to China, a move that came after a surge of Chinese migrants entering at the U.S. southern border in recent years.
The charter flight took place over the weekend and in coordination with the Chinese government, according to the DHS, which said it was the first large such flight since 2018.
The removal operation followed recent engagement between U.S. and Chinese authorities. In early June, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong held a videoconference discussing deepening cooperation in such areas as drug control, repatriation of migrants and combating transnational crime, according to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
The U.S. started to see a surge in Chinese migrants coming through Latin America in 2023. Since the start of the government’s budget year in October through May, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have apprehended 31,077 Chinese nationals along the southwestern border, about a quarter of total arrests at the border during the period.
The Chinese migrants crossing the border are generally people from underprivileged groups, with low incomes, education levels and skills and with little or no chance of securing a U.S. visa. Their departures have often been driven by economic hardship or traumatic encounters with Chinese authorities.
EU Moves Ahead With Provisional Tariffs on China EV Imports
Bloomberg
The EU confirmed in a news release Thursday that under its anti-subsidy investigation, it would apply provisional duties on three Chinese manufacturers that were sampled for the investigation. MG maker SAIC Motor Corp. faces a 37.6% tariff on top of the existing 10% rate, while Volvo Car AB owner Geely and BYD Co. will be hit with additional charges of 19.9% and 17.4%, respectively.
Other EV producers in China that cooperated with the investigation but have not been sampled will be subject to a weighted average duty of 20.8%, while firms that didn’t cooperate will face an additional 37.6% levy.
The provisional duties will apply as of Friday, and definitive duties would kick in by November unless the two sides come to some kind of alternative solution or a qualified majority of EU member states block the final move. Tesla Inc. may receive an individually calculated duty rate at that definitive stage following a request to be sampled.
China to hold hearing into brandy imports as tension grows with EU over tariffs on EVs
The Guardian
China has ramped up its anti-dumping investigation into European brandy imports in what appears to be a retaliatory move as the EU imposed higher tariffs on imports of Chinese electric vehicles from Friday.
The commerce ministry in Beijing said it would hold a hearing on 18 July to discuss an investigation into claims that European brandy producers are selling products in China below market rates.
The hearing was requested by the brandy houses Martell, Societe Jas Hennessy & Co, Rémy Martin and other stakeholders, the ministry said in a statement.
The investigation could result in China adding duties on brandy imports coming from the EU, which would hit European producers.
EU report details widespread Chinese interference in economy
Reuters
In the run up to announcing provisional tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, the European Commission in April released a 712-page report on the many layers of subsidies it argues the Chinese government provides to domestic firms.
The report is designed for anti-dumping cases, but trade experts see it as a supporting document for its anti-subsidy investigation into EVs and as a signal to both China and reluctant European Union member states that it means business.
China's Xi greets EU Council president ahead of EV tariffs taking effect
Reuters
China's President Xi Jinping made a congratulatory call on Thursday to incoming European Council President Antonio Costa, Chinese state media said, a few hours before European Commission curbs on Chinese electric cars are scheduled to take effect.
The Commission is set to confirm provisional import tariffs of up to 37.6% on Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles (EVs), after the bloc accused the world's No.2 economy of providing its firms with heavy state subsidies.
Xi said he "attaches great importance to the development of China-EU relations" as Europe braces for retaliatory measures from Beijing and the possible opening up of a new front in the West's tariff war with the $18.6 trillion economy.
Hydrogen sector asks EU to help local firms compete with China
Euractiv
European manufacturers of hydrogen equipment have urged the European Union to step in to help the industry compete with cheaper Chinese producers, in a letter seen by Reuters on Monday (1 July).
The companies, among them Thyssenkrupp Nucera, Siemens Energy, and Nel Hydrogen, want Brussels to do more to ensure Europe-made equipment powers the EU’s plan by 2030 to produce 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen using electrolysers, machines that use electricity to split water to produce the green fuel.
China is rapidly expanding its production of hydrogen equipment and is now home to 40% of the world’s electrolyser manufacturing capacity, up from 10% last year, the letter said, adding that state subsidies were giving Chinese firms an edge.
Germany stops planned sale of VW's gas turbine business to China
Reuters
Germany's cabinet blocked the planned sale of Volkswagen unit MAN Energy Solutions' gas turbine business to a Chinese company on Wednesday, with ministers citing security reasons.
The decision comes amid rising trade tensions between the EU and China. Germany's economy ministry can review and stop transactions deemed to have national security implications, and Berlin and the EU are trying to reduce risks from economic ties with Beijing.
Sino-Polish Relations Revisited: Andrzej Duda’s Trip to China
China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe (CHOICE)
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has just returned from a long five-day state visit to China, where he travelled to Beijing, Shanghai, and Dalian. In the capital, he met with China’s leader Xi Jinping, prime minister Li Qiang, and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Zhao Leji. In Dalian, he took part in the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum, while in Shanghai, he attended the Sino-Polish business forum, gave a talk at the prestigious Fudan University, and attended meetings with Chipolbrok (Chinese-Polish Joint Stock Shipping Company) and the Shanghai Institute for International Studies (SIIS).
Italy seizes Chinese-made military drones destined for Libya
Reuters
Italian authorities intercepted and seized two Chinese-made military drones that were destined for Libya and disguised as wind turbine equipment, Italy's customs police and customs agency said on Tuesday.
The disassembled drones were found in six containers at the port of Gioia Tauro in the southern region of Calabria, concealed among replicas of wind turbine blades, a joint statement said.
The material was impounded given that civil war-stricken Libya is subject to an international arms embargo, it added.
Norway blocks sale of last private property on Arctic archipelago
Financial Times
Norway has blocked the sale of the last privately owned property on Svalbard, invoking national security considerations amid increasing activity from Russia and China in the Arctic Ocean.
Oslo’s centre-left government informed the owners of the Søre Fagerfjord property on the Arctic archipelago that they could sell it only with the approval of the Norwegian state after they suggested there had been Chinese interest in an acquisition.
“The owners of Søre Fagerfjord have said for a long time that they want to sell the property, and that they are open to selling to actors who could challenge Norwegian law on Svalbard,” said business minister Cecilie Myrseth on Monday. “It could interfere with the stability of the area, and potentially threaten Norwegian interests.”
Norwegian arrested for allegedly spying for China
DW
A Norwegian man was arrested on Monday by the police on espionage charges "that could benefit China," the local Norwegian news agency NTB said, citing Norway's security service.
The authorities have not made the person's identity public. Marius Dietrichson, a lawyer representing the accused, said the man denied spying for Beijing.
The suspect was detained on Monday at Oslo's international airport as he returned from China, Thomas Blom, a spokesman for the service's counterespionage unit, told reporters.
Britain’s new Labour government may bring ‘clarity’ on China, but a major change of course is not expected
SCMP
New Foreign Secretary David Lammy said before the election that Labour’s strategy towards China was to “compete, cooperate and challenge” with “progressive realism”.
“Progressive realism is all about [getting] things done. To solve some of the global problems, it means going out and talking to people that you’re not necessarily 100 per cent aligned on,” Osman said.
“And I think on the Chinese side as well, there’ll be a lot of appetite to engage with Labour. I think from Beijing’s point of view, they’re quite keen for this election to be a bit of a reset.”
The Chinese foreign ministry responded to the result by saying: “We hope to work with the UK to move China-UK relations forward on the right track on the basis of mutual respect and win-win cooperation.
Yuan Yang becomes UK's the first Chinese-born lawmaker
HKFP
Labour candidate and former journalist Yuan Yang has become the UK’s first ever Chinese-born member of the parliament, as her party trounced the ruling Conservative Party in a general election that also saw a record number of women voted in.
Cambodia Denies Hosting Chinese Naval Base, but Two Ships Raise Suspicions
WSJ
While China’s global military footprint pales in comparison to that of the U.S., the ships at Ream show the growing capabilities and ambitions of Beijing’s armed forces. Cambodia is China’s closest partner in Southeast Asia, with a coveted location near waters claimed by Beijing and a half dozen of its neighbors to the south.
Ream is connected to Cambodia’s capital by a $2 billion Chinese-funded expressway that opened in 2022. The naval base is now dotted with construction cranes, and the view through its southern gate reveals an extensive worksite covered with rubble.
“There has been massive construction,” said a fisherman as he and his crew loaded blocks of ice onto their boat, which was tied up on a palm-lined beach near where the ships are moored.
A Ream resident with relatives who work on the base said that Chinese construction workers, who are bused in at night, have been assisting in the redevelopment work. The base is now divided, with an area reserved for the Chinese navy and a separate area for the Cambodian navy, the resident said.
“The Chinese navy doesn’t want Cambodian workers and navy to go close to its part,” the resident said.
[…]
While Cambodia says China doesn’t have exclusive access to Ream, no other foreign navy has visited since it was upgraded. Japanese navy ships that visited this year berthed at the commercial port in the nearby city of Sihanoukville, said John Bradford, executive director of the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies, a nonprofit in Japan.
The Ream pier appears very similar to a facility at a Chinese military base in Djibouti, strategically located on the Horn of Africa, said Thomas Shugart, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.
Indonesia plans tariffs of up to 200% on China-made products to protect domestic industries
SCMP
Indonesia is planning to impose up to 200 per cent tariffs on certain China-made products as it seeks to protect its domestic manufacturing industry against dumping practices triggered by Western nations’ trade wars with Beijing.
President Joko Widodo convened his economic ministers at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday to discuss the tariffs, which are likely to be announced “in two weeks”, according to Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita.
The tariff plan was first revealed by Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan last week.
“The United States can impose a 200 per cent tariff on imported ceramics or clothes, we can do it as well to ensure our MSMEs [micro, small, and medium enterprises] and industries will survive and thrive,” Zulkifli told reporters on Friday.
According to him, the trade war between China and the West has resulted in an influx of Chinese-made products in markets such as Indonesia as producers redirect exports elsewhere.
India, China foreign ministers agree to work on border issues
Reuters
India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Thursday in Kazakhstan where the two agreed to step up talks to resolve issues along their border, New Delhi said in a statement.
India and China share a long Himalayan border, much of it poorly demarcated, and relations between the two countries have been sour since a military standoff in July 2020 when at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops were killed.
India said Jaishankar met Wang on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Astana where they agreed that "prolongation of the current situation in the border areas is not in the interest of either side."
The two agreed to enhance meetings between their diplomatic and military officials "to resolve the remaining issues at the earliest," the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Is there going to be an India-China deal?
Brookings
Even if new agreements are negotiated, New Delhi is likely to take a “don’t trust, verify” attitude given the lack of faith in China respecting them. There might be further disengagement at the border, but de-escalation of the much-more-militarized border areas or dismantling of dual-purpose infrastructure will be harder to pull off. If anything, reports indicate that China and India are continuing to take steps to bolster their territorial claims and military capabilities.
Moreover, even beyond the border, India has a range of differences with China. These include asymmetry in economic ties and technological exposure, giving rise to a sense of vulnerability; China’s deep ties with India’s other rival, Pakistan; its expanding strategic footprint in almost all of India’s neighbors and in the Indian Ocean; its desire to set the terms in Asia as the dominant power; and its efforts to hinder India’s role and interests in the global order. And these have only been intensifying.
Thus, India is unlikely to ease its efforts to compete with and deter China, especially by strengthening its capabilities and partnerships. Moreover, Modi will not want Beijing to believe that he is weaker after the Indian election.
Chinese firms eye Morocco as way to cash in on US electric vehicle subsidies
ABC News
At least eight Chinese battery makers have announced new investments in the North African kingdom since President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the $430 billion U.S. law designed to fight climate change, according to an Associated Press tally.
By moving operations to U.S. trading partners like Morocco, Chinese players that have long dominated the battery supply chain are seeking a pathway to cash in on increasing demand from American carmakers like Tesla and General Motors, said Kevin Shang, a senior battery analyst at the consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.
US intervened in Congo mine sale to Chinese arms group
Financial Times
The US has intervened in the sale of a Congolese copper mine to a Chinese arms manufacturer in an effort to prevent Beijing from further increasing its control of critical minerals, according to people familiar with the matter.
US officials encouraged the Democratic Republic of Congo’s state-owned miner Gécamines to review the sale, announced last week, of Trafigura-backed Chemaf Resources to Norin Mining, a subsidiary of China’s state-owned defence company Norinco, the people said.
The move is part of Washington’s efforts to improve access to metals for US-friendly companies amid increasingly fierce competition between the west and China for control of the minerals needed for clean energy infrastructure. The US state department did not respond to a request for a comment.
Turkey to Announce BYD Electric Vehicle Plant Deal Worth $1 Billion
Bloomberg
Turkey will soon unveil an agreement with Chinese electric-car maker BYD Co. for the construction of a $1 billion plant in the west of the country, Turkish officials said.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to announce the deal on Monday during a ceremony in Manisa province, where the plant will be built, the officials said, asking not to be named because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly. BYD, China’s best-selling EV brand, and the Turkish presidency declined to comment.
The new plant may give BYD easier access to the European Union, with which Turkey has a customs union agreement. This week, the EU hiked tariffs on imports of Chinese EVs to as high as 48%.
North Korea switches TV transmission to Russia satellite from Chinese
Reuters
North Korea has switched the transmission of state TV broadcasts to a Russian satellite from a Chinese one, South Korea's unification ministry said on Monday, making the monitoring of such broadcasts a challenge for the South's government agencies and media.
Signals from North Korea's Korean Central Television were carried by a Russian satellite, Express 103, from June 29 instead of the ChinaSat 12 satellite, a South Korean satellite dish service provider told Reuters.
[…]
"North Korea stopped using an existing Chinese satellite and began transmitting broadcasts through a Russian satellite, and reception of satellite broadcasts is being restricted in some areas on our side," a unification ministry official said, adding the ministry was looking to resolve the technical issue.
Authorised entities in the South need access to satellite service to watch North Korean broadcasts, and the general public is banned from accessing the North's media.
Reuters has been unable to receive North Korean TV signals since Monday morning.
MAGA Communism and the China Grift
China Media Project
“What we’re trying to do as MAGA communists,” Hinkle says, “is show the American youth that yes, communism is good… China is the embodiment of it and we should respect them and also try to work with them rather than go to war with them.”
The exchange, conducted at a forum in Moscow and uploaded to Zhang’s YouTube channel, was just one of several Hinkle joined in affiliation with the Guancha Syndicate (觀察者網), an online news portal and China Institute partner closely associated with China’s “new nationalist” movement. At Guancha’s invitation in February, Hinkle also joined a forum in Shanghai attended by some of the country’s top intellectuals.
This strange spectacle begs a simple question: Why is China platforming — indeed, treating as a renowned expert — a 24-year-old whose ideas more closely resemble edgy conspiracy-theory memes than any coherent ideological alternative?
[…]
In China, Hinkle is so far being platformed only by the tight-knit circle of propagandists surrounding Zhang’s China Institute and Guancha, which is not directly controlled by the CCP but abides closely by government narratives. It is unclear who invited Hinkle to China and who is translating his posts into Chinese for Weibo, but The New York Times reported that he “visited Russia and China this year at the invitation of organizations close to the governments.”
China's adopted children return from overseas to seek their roots
France 24
Over 82,000 children born in China have been adopted by American families since 1999, according to State Department figures –- mostly girls, owing to a Chinese cultural preference for boys.
Many were handed over in the 2000s when Beijing more tightly enforced birth restrictions and laws around overseas adoptions were comparatively lax.
As those children reach adulthood, they are creating "very, very big demand" for reunions with their birth families, said Corinne Wilson, Loulee's adoptive mother.
She is the founder of The Roots of Love, one of a cluster of organisations set up in recent years to reconnect adoptees with relatives in China.
"There is a part of them that is proud to be Chinese," she told AFP.
BUSINESS, ECONOMY & FINANCE
China's leaders to choose economic path at high-pressure third plenum
Nikkei Asia
It was at a third plenum in 1978 that Deng Xiaoping announced the "reform and opening-up" initiative, which paved the way for China's superpower ascent. The upcoming gathering of about 200 members of the Communist Party Central Committee is seen as especially crucial given the headwinds the country now faces.
Some experts, however, say this third plenum is likely to double down on existing policies rather than chart a new course.
"What the third plenum almost certainly will do is to reiterate the importance of the 'new quality productive forces,' which is basically the latest name for the industrial policy-driven growth strategy," Arthur Kroeber, founding partner and head of research at Gavekal Dragonomics, said at a recent event in Shanghai. "There probably will be some significant announcements or indications of policy to make industrial policies work better, but it will be a reaffirmation of the established policy direction and some efforts to make it work better, rather than a significant shift in course."
Kroeber suggested the private entrepreneurial sector -- critical for creating jobs for young generations -- should not get its hopes up. "Will they see this as a positive signal? The answer is probably not."
PBOC Readies Hundreds of Billions of Yuan Bond Sale Capacity
Bloomberg
China’s central bank took the next step toward selling government bonds to cool a record-breaking rally, saying it now has “hundreds of billions” of yuan of the securities at its disposal through agreements with lenders.
After months of investor speculation about its intentions, the People’s Bank of China disclosed the clearest outline yet of its unprecedented plans in a statement to Bloomberg News on Friday.
It said it has hundreds of billions of yuan worth of medium- and long-term bonds at its disposal to borrow, after signing agreements with several major financial institutions. The central bank said it would borrow the bonds on an open-ended unsecured basis and sell them depending on market conditions.
China ETF assets register ‘explosive’ growth
Financial Times
China’s exchange traded fund industry has surged in recent years, buoyed by record high inflows into equities strategies and amid a slump in the take-up of active funds, according to Morningstar research.
Total annual inflows into China ETFs reached Rmb604.3bn ($83.3bn) in 2023, the research firm’s latest China ETF Asset Flows report shows.
The figure is almost five times the Rmb127.2bn in inflows recorded in 2021 and almost double the Rmb387.2bn in 2022.
It also marks a complete turnaround from the Rmb5.1bn in 2019 and the Rmb41.8bn in outflows in 2020, data shows.
Precious rare earth metals belong to the state, China declares
Politico
The Chinese government has introduced a slew of new measures designed to tighten its grip on lucrative natural resources used in everything from electric cars to wind turbines.
In a list released by the country's State Council on Saturday [June 29], Beijing declared that rare earth metals are the property of the state and warned "no organization or person may encroach on or destroy rare-earth resources."
From Oct. 1, when the rules come into force, the government will operate a rare earth traceability database to ensure it can control the extraction, use and export of the metals. China currently produces around 60 percent of the world's rare earth metals, and is the origin of around 90 percent of refined rare earths on the market.
China’s Manufacturing Growth Hits Three-Year Peak, Caixin PMI Shows
Caixin
Activity in China’s manufacturing sector in June grew at the fastest pace since May 2021 on strong production and stabilizing employment, but manufacturers became less optimistic about the outlook, a Caixin-sponsored survey showed Monday.
The Caixin China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which gives an independent snapshot of the sector, came in at 51.8 in June, up 0.1 points from the previous month. A reading above 50 signals an expansion in activity, while a number below that indicates a contraction.
China Services Activity Decelerates, Caixin PMI Shows
Caixin
China’s services activity grew at the slowest pace in eight months in June as the job market shrank and business optimism weakened, according to a Caixin-sponsored survey published Wednesday.
The Caixin China General Services Business Activity Index, which provides an independent snapshot of operating conditions in industries such as retail and tourism, fell 2.8 points from May to 51.2 last month. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion in activity, while a number below signals a contraction.
Unemployment spike in Shenzhen: ‘blip’ or a chip at China’s economic might?
SCMP
A noticeable spike in Shenzhen’s joblessness rate has provoked fresh concerns over China’s employment situation facing the nation’s biggest economic-driving regions, and analysts say Beijing may need to step in with substantial measures to revitalise business.
Bordering Hong Kong, the southern megacity known for its vibrant private economy and tech scene saw a 40 per cent year-on-year increase in newly registered unemployed residents in the first quarter of 2024.
And there had been a 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter increase from the last three months of 2023, according to newly released data from city-level authorities in charge of human resources and social security.
That comes out to a 40,221 drop in employment among Shenzhen’s total workforce, which included almost 12 million residents in 2022 – the last time the city released its local unemployment rate.
The new quarterly unemployment number excludes previously registered jobless people, and many layoffs go undocumented or unreported, leading to uncertainties surrounding Shenzhen’s jobless rate. The official tally of unemployed people gauges just a fraction of all joblessness.
Chinese exporters raise fears of Christmas freight crisis
Financial Times
At southern Chinese Christmas tree maker Golden Arts Gifts & Decor, the mood is anything but festive.
With freight costs rising because of attacks on Red Sea shipping by Yemen’s Houthi militant group, manager Richard Chan said this year was shaping up to be one of the worst in his more than two decades in the industry.
“We are not talking about making a profit this year. We just need to survive,” said Chan. “The Red Sea crisis has been such a headache.”
The manufacturer, which counts Walmart as a client and exports about 80 per cent of its products to the US and Europe, said the attacks had delayed shipments. As a result, his clients have requested orders be shipped up to a month earlier than usual.
The challenges facing Chan’s factory are mirrored across China, where manufacturers said they were struggling to meet shortened schedules as US and European buyers demanded orders be front-loaded to ensure timely delivery for the festive peak season.
China’s Petrochemicals Excess Is Spilling Over Into Global Markets
Bloomberg
A surge of Chinese plastic supply is threatening to overflow in the face of weak domestic demand, morphing into a fresh trade challenge for the rest of the world.
Parts of the country’s sprawling petrochemicals sector are running at as little as half capacity as producers cut back. But with the industry still expanding, that restraint is becoming harder to sustain.
“This is yet another example — after steel, solar panels — where China’s structural imbalances are clearly spilling over into global markets,” said Charlie Vest, a New York-based associate director at Rhodium Group who looks at US-China relations and Chinese industrial policy.
Plants have mushroomed along the country’s eastern coast over the last decade, built in a race to satisfy China’s hunger for plastic and to help refiners counter an expected downturn in transport fuels, as electric vehicles take off. Vast volumes and lackluster post-pandemic demand mean margins are paper thin — but companies have kept producing, hoping to cling to existing market share.
In an echo of its predicament from batteries to green-energy technology, the world’s second-largest economy is staring down a situation of dramatic industrial excess.
China warns prolonged heatwave may damage rice, cotton crops
Reuters
China's weather bureau warned on Thursday that a prolonged heatwave forecast in the country's eastern, central and southern regions in July may hit production of rice and cotton, as extreme weather continues to threaten its food production.
The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said it expected temperatures in most areas across China to be relatively high over the next few months, signalling a second consecutive summer of extreme heat.
"It is necessary to guard against the risk of yield reduction of cotton, early rice and late rice caused by high temperature and heat damage," Jia Xiaolong, the CMA's deputy director, said at a briefing.
China’s local governments consider purchasing Tesla cars for the first time: report
TechNode
China’s eastern Jiangsu province is looking to buy an undisclosed number of Tesla Model Y electric vehicles in the 2024-2025 budget year, marking the first time in years that the company’s cars would be purchased officially by the authorities. The US giant’s cars have been widely barred from government-affiliated venues in its second-largest market over security concerns.
China’s Top Bankers Are Embracing Xi Jinping Thought, Chinese Communist Party
Bloomberg
It’s today’s hot credential at China’s premier investment bank: membership to the Chinese Communist Party.
One after another, bankers at China International Capital Corp. are pledging their loyalty to the party. Hundreds are promising to follow the CCP’s directives, guard its secrets and, per the official oath, “sacrifice my all for the party and the people.”
The swelling ranks of badge-wearing communists at CICC—roughly a third of its bankers are now party members, insiders say—underscore the hard new realities for Wall Street-style capitalists in the China of Xi Jinping.
Founded three decades ago as China’s answer to American finance, CICC today is in the throes of a counter-revolution. Heeding Xi’s call for “common prosperity” and party criticism of financiers’ “hedonistic” lifestyles, CICC has cast aside the hard-charging ways of Wall Street and its dream of one day challenging the giants of global finance.
Gone is the burning ambition, the long hours, the princely pay. So, too, is the steadfast belief that the markets rule.
In their place has come a new playbook—one in which the party is paramount and vital to career success.
Being a director in China has just become much tougher
Financial Times
Given geopolitical tensions and slower economic momentum, it is a difficult time to be in a position of corporate responsibility in mainland China. This week, an amendment to the country’s legal code is unlikely to make it any easier.
China’s updated company law, in effect as of Monday, expands the duties of boards and “imposes additional liabilities on directors, supervisors and executive officers”, according to a briefing from law firm Squire Patton Boggs. More broadly, it also impacts capital contributions, shareholder rights and liquidations. The new law aims to further cut down on the conflicts of interest and misappropriations of capital that are sometimes associated with China’s fast-evolving and expansive business landscape.
[…]
For any foreign prospective director, these issues are compounded by the mood in the US, where a Washington select committee closely scrutinises American business. Multinationals, given geopolitical pressures on supply chains, may now be more eager to launch internal investigations to pre-emptively prevent signs of wrongdoing emerging in the mainland. Their operations there will in many ways reflect the practices of a business culture that can often clash with conventions across the Pacific.
Despite those geopolitical tensions, China’s legal amendments are a notable reminder that there is still a shift towards international standards in certain areas. But in the specific case of directors, they also highlight an environment where the risks of responsibility are often seen to be higher than the rewards.
“A lot of people who are currently financial supervisors of companies, [or] directors, are trying to get out of the jobs,” says Grand.
Man Who Built China’s Largest Private Steelmaker Dies at 78
Caixin
Born in 1946, Shen built his empire from scratch. He started his career in 1968 at a cotton processing facility in Shazhou county (now known as Zhangjiagang), Jiangsu, after graduating from a technical secondary school. In 1975, the facility began to operate a small-scale steel rolling workshop. In 1984, Shen became the workshop’s head, the first step in his journey to create a steelmaking empire.
Shortly after taking over the reins of the workshop and having recognized the business opportunities on offer from China’s nascent real estate industry, Shen decided to take out a corporate loan to build four production lines for manufacturing steel for window frames.
TECH & MEDIA
‘Vehicle-Road-Cloud Integration’ Pilot Program to Include 20 Cities
Caixin
China has published a list of 20 cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, that will join a “vehicle-road-cloud integration” pilot program to support the rollout of autonomous driving.
The country aims to build a unified and shared standard framework for vehicle-road-cloud integration by 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in a Wednesday statement announcing the list, which also includes Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Nanjing.
The pilot program includes establishing a system of roadside infrastructure and a low-latency cloud-based control platform that will together lay the groundwork for the large-scale operation of “smart connected vehicles” across the country, the MIIT said.
Beijing Lays Groundwork for Self-Driving Infrastructure
Caixin
New draft rules by China’s capital aim to pave the way for the construction of the roadside infrastructure needed to help make autonomous driving a commercial reality.
Sufficient space “should be set aside for smart roadside infrastructure before building, renovating and expanding roads” in the capital, according to draft rules published Sunday by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology. The draft is open for public comment until July 29.
Pony.ai, SAIC Motor Get Green Light to Operate Unmanned Robotaxis in Shanghai
Caixin
Shanghai has given the green light for the first batch of companies to provide robotaxi services, including Pony.ai Inc. and SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd., as the Chinese city redoubles efforts to roll out autonomous vehicles.
The permit, issued Thursday during the 2024 World AI Conference in Shanghai, allows Pony.ai to deploy robotaxis without a human driver on predetermined routes totaling 205 kilometers (127 miles) in the city’s downtown area of Pudong, Pony.ai said in a statement .
At Shanghai AI Expo, Humanoid Robots Turn Heads, Bake Bread
Sixth Tone
As China races to lead in AI and robotics, multiple domestic companies and startups showcased significant progress at the World AI Conference. But industry insiders say challenges remain in achieving large-scale commercial applications and reducing production costs.
Huawei’s HarmonyOS kernel achieves 100% self-developed ratio, says CAICT
TechNode
The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) has issued a certificate for the completion of the independent maturity level-A certification to Huawei’s HarmonyOS kernel, as the operating system achieved a 100% self-developed ratio, the national research institution announced on Monday.
Huawei succeeds where Microsoft failed miserably — HarmonyOS now on almost one billion devices, and China's largest mobile phone manufacturer has completely eliminated Android
TechRadar
While Microsoft's venture into the smartphone operating system market ultimately ended in failure, Huawei’s HarmonyOS has proven to be a huge success and a genuine rival to Android and iOS, at least in its home nation.
The operating system is found on over 900 million devices in China, and growing rapidly. It currently relies on Android, but Huawei has taken steps to change that.
[…]
HarmonyOS Next replaces the Linux kernel and Android Open Source Project (AOSP) components with Huawei’s own architecture. The Chinese firm claims system performance is boosted by 30% and power consumption reduced by 20%.
In removing its reliance on Android, HarmonyOS Next won’t be able to run apps made for Google’s OS, and Huawei is working to plug any gaps in its ecosystem. There are currently 4,000 native apps already available for HarmonyOS Next, developed by over 200 industry partners.
China leading generative AI patents race, UN report says
Reuters
China is far ahead of other countries in generative AI inventions like chatbots, filing six times more patents than its closest rival the United States, U.N. data showed on Wednesday.
Generative AI, which produces text, images, computer code and even music from existing information, is exploding with more than 50,000 patent applications filed in the past decade, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which oversees a system for countries to share recognition of patents.
A quarter of them were filed in 2023 alone, it said.
"This is a booming area this is an area that is growing at increasing speed. And it's somewhere that we expect to grow even more," Christopher Harrison, WIPO Patent Analytics Manager, told reporters.
More than 38,000 GenAI inventions were filed by China between 2014-2023 versus 6,276 filed by the United States over the same period, WIPO said.
Harrison said the Chinese patent applications covered a broad area of sectors from autonomous driving to publishing to document management.
Dawn of 5G-A Promises to Bring AI and Much More to Your Mobile
Caixin
Over 60 telecom operators and 30 types of devices are set to support 5G Advanced (5G-A) networks commercially this year, elevating mobile AI applications.
5G-A can enhance bandwidth, reduce latency, and increase connection density by 10 times compared to 5G, enabling advanced tech like glasses-free 3D and virtual reality.
China is leading with large-scale 5G-A deployments, while global adoption is slower with 20-25% 5G subscription rates.
Analysis: Why Kindle Couldn’t Keep the China Fire Burning
Caixin
The shutdown of the Kindle e-bookstore in China shows how Amazon.com Inc. failed to keep up with the Chinese e-reader market and tailor its products and services to local customers as well as its domestic competition.
On Monday, Amazon completed the last phase of its exit from the Chinese market, leaving local users no longer able to download books they had purchased from the Kindle store. It also discontinued customer service for Kindle users in China, according to an announcement on Amazon’s China website.
Microsoft Shuts Physical Stores in China in Shift to Online-Only Sales
Caixin
Microsoft Corp. has closed all its remaining bricks-and-mortar retail stores in the Chinese mainland as part of its global strategy revamp to shift retail operations online.
The American tech giant had terminated all its authorized stores in China by June 30, retaining only offline locations for after-sales services and its online storefronts on Taobao and JD.com, according to a person claiming to be manager of a Microsoft store in Zhengzhou, Henan province, who wrote online.
SCIENCE, HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT
NASA administrator weighs in on China’s historic lunar far side samples — and potential US access
CNN
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told CNN he’s “pleased to hear CNSA intends to share” the materials collected by the Chang’e-6 lunar probe last month. The samples, gathered using a drill and a mechanical arm, include up to 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of lunar dust and rocks from an ancient crater on the moon’s far side, which is never visible to Earth.
[…]
But US access to the samples may be stymied by a 2011 law known as the Wolf Amendment, which prohibits the use of government funds by NASA for bilateral cooperation with China or its agencies without authorization from Congress or the Federal Bureau of Investigation, effectively banning the space agency from routinely working with its Chinese counterpart.
“The root cause of obstacles to China-US space cooperation lies in US domestic laws, such as the Wolf Amendment, which hinder cooperation between the two countries in space exploration,” said Bian Zhigang, vice chair of the China National Space Administration, during the Thursday news conference. “If the US truly wishes to engage in normal space exchanges with China, I think they should take concrete measures to remove these obstacles.”
China to meet its 2030 renewable energy target by end of this year: state-owned researcher
SCMP
China’s solar and wind energy sector will continue to grow at breakneck speed this year, providing the momentum the country needs to meet its 2030 renewable targets six years ahead of schedule, according to a state-owned researcher’s forecasts.
The country will add 70 gigawatts (GW) of installed wind power capacity and 190GW of solar capacity by the end of 2024, said a new report by the China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute (CREEI), a research body under the the National Energy Administration (NEA).
According to statistics released by the NEA for 2023, China added 217GW of solar power and 76GW of wind power capacity, bringing total capacity to 1,050GW by the end of last year.
The estimated new additions would bring China’s installed solar and wind energy capacity to 1,310GW by the end of this year, surpassing its 2030 renewable energy target of 1,200GW six years ahead of schedule.
China Stops Publishing Power Data Highlighting Solar Constraints
Bloomberg
China appears to have stopped publishing data that highlight the extent to which power generated by solar and wind plants is being wasted as rapid renewable energy expansion runs up against constrained grids.
The National Energy Administration typically publishes a monthly power report that includes a section detailing average utilization for each generating source. For much of this year, the figures had pointed to reduced solar panel usage, as overloaded networks forced them to shut down during peak generating hours.
Yet the most recent edition, published Friday [June 28] for the period through May, included only average utilization for all sources. The NEA didn’t respond to faxed questions about the missing data.
China has a track record of quietly ceasing to disclose numbers that shine a light on trouble spots in its economy, such as when it temporarily stopped releasing its youth jobless rate last year, after soaring numbers made international headlines.
When it comes to clean energy, Beijing usually has nothing to hide. China leads the world in the deployment of renewable power, and has built supply chains for solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles that have lowered the price of the key transition technologies globally.
But as that success has tangled these industries in international trade disputes, Chinese leaders have stepped in to protect what they see as vital economic growth engines. That includes by creating strong demand for panels and turbines — even after record installations last year left power grids in certain areas struggling with too much generation during peak daytime hours that then disappears at night.
China warns of hotter, longer heatwaves as climate change intensifies
Reuters
China is facing hotter and longer heatwaves and more frequent and unpredictable heavy rain as a result of climate change, the weather bureau warned on Thursday, as the world's second-biggest economy braces for another scorching summer.
In its annual climate "Blue Book", the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) warned that maximum temperatures across the country could rise by 1.7-2.8 degrees Celsius within 30 years, with eastern China and the northwestern region of Xinjiang set to suffer the most.
Last year, average national temperatures hit a new high, leading to record levels of glacial retreat and melting permafrost in the northwest, the Blue Book said.
China describes itself as one of the world's most climate-vulnerable countries, and it is coming under increasing pressure to adapt to rapidly changing weather patterns and sea levels that are rising faster than the global average.
Flood fears in China's east as rain swells Yangtze River levels
Reuters
Rising water levels in the Yangtze River following intense rains in southern China have prompted eastern regions downstream to prepare for possible flooding.
Water levels in the Jiangsu section of China's longest river continued to rise on Wednesday as a result of the increased flow from its upper reaches as well as the persistent rainfall.
Nanjing, the capital of China's eastern Jiangsu province issued its second highest flood warning and authorities banned various vessels, including passenger ferries, from entering or operating in the river's Jiangsu section, state media reported.
China's Ministry of Water Resources had said on Tuesday that water levels in sections of the middle and lower courses of the Yangtze River exceeded the warning mark.
Gallery: More of China Floods
Caixin
Heavy rains have caused the waters of the Xiuhe River in Jiangxi province to rise to a historic level. In one town in the city of Jiujiang, the river’s water level reached 25.3 meters early Tuesday, breaking a record set in 1993. The flooding affected the region around the city, stranding vehicles and inundating farmland
ARTS & CULTURE
Xiaowang Keeps the Dream Alive in Beijing’s Embattled DIY Scene
Bandcamp
Maintaining independence is an uphill slog, but Yuetu is encouraged by a loose network of artists and labels around China who share her DIY impulse and are tackling similar social topics. These include Qiii Snacks, DIY indie pop stalwarts in Guangzhou; Xi’an’s Fake Orgasm and their fearless frontwoman VV; and all-women street punk band Dummy Toys from Qingdao on the Eastern coast. In her adopted home of Beijing, Yuetu has established a community with young, woman-led bands that formed around the same time as Xiaowang, such as Pizza Face and Acid Accident.
Sound Check: How High Costs Are Silencing China’s Music Festivals
Sixth Tone
With rising costs, shifting consumer demands, and stricter regulations leading to a wave of music festivals being canceled, festival organizers are struggling to attract price-sensitive audiences while maintaining profitability.
China Raises Regulatory Bar for Short-Films to Be Screened Abroad
Caixin
Chinese short filmmakers must now register with the China Film Administration (CFA) before screening their work at overseas festivals.
The short film’s production unit is responsible for submitting registration materials, including the film’s title, synopsis, and festival details, at least 20 working days before the event.
This requirement extends existing rules that apply to feature-length films and emphasizes obtaining a public screening license for participation in international festivals.
China Box Office Weekend: 'A Quiet Place: Day One' Debuts Third
Variety
The question of when the summer box office season is going to kick into high gear remains unanswered in mainland China – just as it had until recently in plenty of other markets.
Over the latest weekend, Chinese-produced feelgood movie “Moments We Shared” headed the box office chart for a second weekend, but with a significantly weaker performance.
It earned $14.1 million (RMB100 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. That compared with $19.9 million a week earlier, when it only played for two days, instead of the usual three. After nine days in cinemas, it has a cumulative of $50.6 million.
SPORTS
Weibo hails Chinese teen basketball sensation Zhang Ziyu despite final loss to Australia
SCMP
Chinese basketball fans have questioned the decision to withdraw their country’s new young star Zhang Ziyu during the loss to Australia in the Fiba Under-18 Women’s Asian Cup final.
Towering teenage centre Zhang scored a game-high 42 points to go with 14 rebounds but was helpless on the sidelines as China lost 96-79 to Australia in Shenzhen on Sunday.
Named the tournament MVP on her debut appearance for her country, Zhang, 17, was taken off by head coach Wang Guizhi with four minutes left as the Gems from Down Under again denied the 16-time champions, having done so in India two years ago.
Weibo users debated Wang’s decision, made with China trailing only 83-76, with many arguing Zhang was head and shoulders above her teammates in every sense at the Longhua Culture & Sports Centre.
Wang Xinyu stuns Pegula at Wimbledon to notch first Top 10 win
WTA
World No.42 Wang Xinyu earned her first Top 10 win by defeating No.5 Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-1 in the second round at Wimbledon. Making her third main-draw appearance at Wimbledon, Wang has posted her best result so far at SW19.
Zhang Zhijie: Chinese teen badminton player's death sparks outcry
BBC
The death of a Chinese teenage badminton player who collapsed on court has sparked an outcry across Chinese social media.
Zhang Zhijie, 17, was competing in a youth match when he suddenly fell to the floor in convulsions. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Footage of the incident, shared widely online, showed a pause of about 40 seconds before medics rushed to attend to Zhang.
Officials have come under intense criticism and questions on whether his life could have been saved by quicker medical intervention.
Indonesia's badminton association PBSI later said he had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest.
EVENTS
"Deng Xiaoping's 1992 Southern Tour" by author Jonathan Chatwin, moderated by Michael Wood
RASBJ
Tuesday 9th July, 7pm-8pm Beijing Time
Online
At the age of 87, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping made his Southern Tour, which acted as an end chapter to his life story and to the first phase of China's "reform and opening" campaign. After that, reform became a much more technocratic affair, and the narratives of the subsequent Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao eras were perceived as less historic in this regard. The public can still view Deng's statue in Shenzhen, but the thirtieth anniversary of the Southern Tour in 2022 passed with hardly a mention. Jonathan will introduce his new book, The Southern Tour: Deng Xiaoping and the fight for China's future, in which he traces the journey made by the theoretically retired leader in 1992, as Deng tried, against the odds, to kickstart reform.
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