• How China’s economic diplomacy can defuse tensions with the Philippines
• China thwarts accurate audits of Xinjiang supply chains, US lawmakers hear
• For Chinese students and scholars at Columbia University, pro-Palestinian protests evoke sympathy and fear
• In message to China, G7 urges others to help climate finance: ‘join us in this direction’
• US-Japan-Philippines alliance adds to Beijing’s challenges in East and South China Seas
• China’s exports to Mexico are getting heavier tariffs – is it a sign of more to come?
• China’s No 2 short video app operator Kuaishou shuts down gaming project in Beijing in restructuring move
• China’s Fujian aircraft carrier set for maiden sea trials after authorities tell shipping to stay out of prohibited area
• China, South Korea vie for advanced shipbuilding orders as battle of the supertankers heats up
• Hong Kong steps up enforcement ahead of ‘golden week’ holiday, with three arrested for alleged illegal sale of drugs and Chinese herbal medicines
• India snubbed by Tesla’s Musk after ‘shock’ China visit. But was it ‘shoddy ethics or simply business?’
• KFC, Pizza Hut’s China owner plans stores in country’s ‘untapped’ smaller cities as consumers tighten belts amid slowing economy
• Israel-Gaza war: China’s foreign ministry says Hamas and Fatah commit to dialogue after Beijing meeting
• China murder fugitive snared after 23 years on the run, lives secret double life as monk in temple, has wife, 2 children
• China’s leadership hints it is bracing for the possible return of Donald Trump
• China highlights data and ‘digital silk road’ in new plan to drive innovation as US tech rivalry intensifies
• Hong Kong to send 20 TCM doctors to mainland China every year to get inpatient care training
• US$1.3 billion Powerball win draws attention to Laos’ ethnic group from China – the Iu Mien people
• Chinese scientist who first published COVID sequence protests after being locked out of his lab
• First scientist to publish Covid sequence in China ‘evicted’ from lab
• Chery’s Jetour unit plans right-hand drive cars to expand to Malaysia and Indonesia as competition escalates in China’s automotive market
• How China’s third plenums have reshaped its economy – and what to expect this year
• Singapore jails Chinese national 15 months for role in US$2.2 billion money laundering case
• China vows ‘firm support’ for Peru as foreign minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea Franco visits Beijing
• China’s most powerful space engine configuration is ‘ready for flight’
• What is ‘emotional theft’? China youth embrace small acts of resistance to flee repetitive existence
• Hong Kong’s John Lee will urge Beijing to add more mainland Chinese cities to solo traveller scheme
• China’s Communist Party to hold long-delayed third plenum, a key meeting for economic strategy
• China declares probe into another former justice official, Liu Zhiqiang, who was vice-minister and on Interpol committee
• [World] BBC onboard Philippine ship hit by Chinese water cannons
• China’s private pension push marred by weak financial literacy, as ‘people still have no idea’
• ‘Only rain and snow for water’: Chinese filmmaker charts her family’s rise from harsh rural roots
• China now home to 369 unicorns, with an average value of US$3.8 billion, led by AI and semiconductor firms, report says
• Retired China woman, 63, turns physical and mental clock back with regular workout regime, impressing many
• China’s ICBC, Agricultural Bank post profit drops on margin squeeze
• [World] Tensions grow as China ramps up mining for green tech
• Made in China 2025: China meets most targets in manufacturing plan, proving US tariffs and sanctions ineffective

How China’s economic diplomacy can defuse tensions with the Philippines

https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3260855/how-chinas-economic-diplomacy-can-defuse-tensions-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed

China and the Philippines have recently exchanged words over a claimed Duterte-era agreement to manage tensions at Second Thomas Shoal. China’s embassy in Manila announced earlier this month that both nations were exploring ways to defuse the dispute and were committed to maintaining agreements reached by both sides. Manila later denied the claim, calling it propaganda.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte and his spokesperson Harry Roque said there was a “gentleman’s agreement” between the two countries in which they would not transfer construction materials to the shoal but only provide food and water supplies to personnel stationed on the Sierra Madre, the Philippine warship grounded there since 1999 to serve as a military outpost. This aimed to preserve peace in the disputed Spratly Islands without compromising sovereignty.

China claimed it had a similar understanding with the Marcos administration after it came to power in 2022, whereby the government would keep honouring the agreement. However, Beijing accuses Manila of unilaterally abandoning the arrangement since February 2023 without explanation.

Despite the tense exchange, the recent disclosure of the arrangement by Beijing indicates a potential for improved relations between the two countries if they proceed calmly. China aims to convey to the Philippine public that its actions, such as using water cannons against Philippine vessels allegedly supplying construction materials to the disputed shoal, were merely responses to Manila’s violation of their shared understanding.

Nearly 17,000 troops from the armed forces of the Philippines and United States are currently engaged in the annual Balikatan military exercises. This year’s drills come as the US deployed a missile system capable of launching ballistic missiles with a range of 370km and Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of 1,600km.

The deployment signals the US’ ability to position offensive weaponry near China for potential contingency operations in the Taiwan Strait, posing a destabilising threat. Activists in the Philippines have expressed concern that such deployments expose the northern part of the country to potential Chinese attacks in the event of a conflict between the US and China in the region.

Manila would benefit from returning to the “gentlemen’s arrangement” to address underlying tensions, rather than prolonging them. This would enable the Philippines to maintain its military presence on the Second Thomas Shoal without building additional structures and prevent China from interfering with Philippine naval vessels conducting energy exploration. This pragmatic approach would uphold the status quo until a formal South China Sea code of conduct is established.

However, if the Ferdinand Marcos Jnr administration refuses, Beijing should recognise that the leadership favours alignment with Washington. Moreover, domestic public opinion in the Philippines strongly supports asserting territorial rights. According to a 2023 survey of 1,200 Filipinos by Octa Research, 70 per cent of respondents said territorial sovereignty should be asserted through diplomacy and other peaceful means, while 65 per cent also favoured military action.

Despite the Marcos administration’s desire to to facilitate joint energy exploration projects with China and other countries, only 19 per cent of Filipinos support such collaboration.

A former Supreme Court associate justice and legal scholars have also said they oppose the amendment, fearing that Beijing could assert co-ownership over Manila’s oil and gas fields in the West Philippine Sea and deploy its coastguard ships under the pretext of security. Some have said they might agree only if Beijing functioned as a foreign service contractor.

Against this backdrop, China’s military assertiveness against Philippine resupply naval missions only serves to harden negative public opinion in the country. Thus, Beijing finds itself operating in an environment where it has few partners and many adversaries, playing into America’s hands. Washington maintains treaty allies and strategic partners in the region and their interoperability is only growing stronger.

Instead, China should leverage its strength by investing in Philippine infrastructure, helping to address the country’s economic challenges.

According to Pulse Asia surveys, Marcos Jnr has experienced a consistent decline in public trust and approval ratings due to his perceived inability to address inflation and economic hardships. His approval rating dropped from 68 per cent in December 2023 to 55 per cent in March. Public trust in him fell from 73 per cent in December to 57 per cent in March. Judging by these poll numbers, Marcos should seek help to meet his country’s economic challenges.

China currently appears to be withholding investments in the Philippines. Despite Marcos’ claims of securing more than US$22 billion in investment pledges from China following a visit to Beijing in January 2023, recent reports indicate that, of China’s US$20 billion investments in the Asia-Pacific region in 2023, the Philippines saw no new investment or construction projects. This cautious approach by Beijing suggests a degree of scepticism.

Instead, China should utilise economic diplomacy to engage the Marcos administration. This presents an opportunity for Beijing to leverage its financial strength, experience and cost-efficiencies to outcompete the likes of the US and Japan.

Marcos would undoubtedly welcome China’s help in tackling his country’s economic problems, which could bolster his efforts to restore his family’s legacy and establish his own before his term ends in 2028. Thus, economic diplomacy would seem to be a more effective way to address Manila’s security concerns, improve Beijing’s image in the Philippines and contribute to overall peace in the South China Sea.

China thwarts accurate audits of Xinjiang supply chains, US lawmakers hear

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3261003/china-thwarts-accurate-audits-xinjiang-supply-chains-us-lawmakers-hear?utm_source=rss_feed

Conducting due diligence in Xinjiang supply chains over the use of forced Uygur labour is “impossible” under the conditions set by the Chinese government, and the “only responsible thing to do is not to operate” there, an official of President Joe Biden’s administration told a US congressional panel on Tuesday.

Thea Lee, the deputy undersecretary for international affairs at the US Department of Labour, told the Congressional-Executive Commission on China that ethnic minorities in Xinjiang “live in fear”.

Despite legislative efforts to prevent companies from profiting from suspected forced labour in the region, auditing supply chains has become an increasingly difficult task.

In 2020, the US Congress passed the Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act, which imposes strict requirements on American companies to prove that their supply chains in China are free of forced labour involving Uygurs, a Muslim ethnic minority living mainly in Xinjiang province.

The US and human rights groups have pointed to satellite imagery, leaked government documents and eyewitness accounts as evidence that more than 1 million Uygurs have been subjected to mass detention, political indoctrination and forced labour to make cheap goods. Beijing denies the claims.

To comply with the law, companies often rely on external audits to certify the absence of forced labour in their supply chain. However, experts contend that these inspections are susceptible to manipulation by Chinese companies and government officials. Some constraints also prevent people from freely reporting potential violations.

Lee emphasised that no audit can occur without government oversight, which makes “objective worker interviews free from reprisal an impossibility.” Workers face labour and legal repercussions if they are candid with auditors, and inspections are often manipulated by managers who only authorised employees to discuss their conditions “when they already know what will be said”.

She said that, unlike unions, “social audits parachute in and out”. The absence of structured organisations that protect workers’ rights not only during auditor visits but also in their daily lives leads many workers to “anticipate trouble if they answer questions honestly”.

How the US’ Xinjiang labour law leaves millions of tonnes of cotton unsold

“When a company operates in China, it knows that workers do not have the ability to have an independent organisation because it’s not allowed. The laws to enable the ‘empowering piece’ of the worker’s voice isn’t there.”

“But authoritarian repressive government can’t tolerate independent democratic unions because they are a threat to authoritarianism.”

In addition to violations in Xinjiang, Lee said the Chinese government promoted forced transfers of Uygur workers to other parts of China. This strategy, she added, serves both to hinder independent analysis of labour violations and to depopulate the province, which has been experiencing a constant influx of migration from Han Chinese, the majority ethnic group in the country.

“I think that at the end of the day – and that was our message [to US companies operating abroad] in 2021 and 2023 – since you cannot do due diligence in Xinjiang or with Xinjiang workers, then you cannot responsibly operate there.”

Representative Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, said the Chinese government could have responded to international concerns and used them as an opportunity to abolish forced labour, but instead “adopted laws, regulations or practices that appear designed to limit the effectiveness of audits and detect” violations.

“One example is an anti-foreign sanctions law that has been used … to go after US due diligence firms collecting Xinjiang-related sensitive information,” he said.

“A second is a broadened definition of espionage that came into play when PRC authorities detained staff and another due diligence firm that was reported to be conducting investigations,” he added, referring to an incident in March 2023, when the Chinese police closed the Beijing office of the consulting firm Mintz and detained employees in charge of Xinjiang inspections.

US law banning Xinjiang imports has glaring weaknesses, lawmakers are told

Representative Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey and the commission’s chair, said US lawmakers were not trying to “punish companies simply for doing business in China”.

“Our goal is to improve the human rights situation in China, so that businesses can certify that their supply chain is free of forced labour, and that their suppliers provide good working conditions and wages to their workers. And we ask these companies to partner with us in working towards that goal,” he said.

Liu Pengyu, the spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said allegations of forced labour in China were “nothing but a lie concocted by the US side in an attempt to wantonly suppress Chinese enterprises”.

For Chinese students and scholars at Columbia University, pro-Palestinian protests evoke sympathy and fear

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3261001/chinese-students-and-scholars-columbia-university-pro-palestinian-protests-evoke-sympathy-and-fear?utm_source=rss_feed

“I have to cover my face with scarves even when I donate pillows and bedsheets to the campers,” a Chinese student at Columbia University in New York told the Post this week.

The 29-year-old, who asked only to be identified as “Lu”, acknowledged taking part in some of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have brought the hallowed campus to a standstill and triggered a crisis for the institution not seen since the Vietnam war.

And compared with other international students who have joined the protests roiling the Ivy League school, Lu believed the “risk levels” were different for her as a Chinese student amid heightened Sino-American tensions.

“They would wear sunglasses and masks, but for me I had to do more,” she said of her fellow protesters from abroad.

“It is already precarious to be Chinese in the US in these times.”

Numbering more than 6,800 students and scholars last fall, Chinese nationals make up the largest international contingent enrolled at Columbia, which has become the focal point of student-led, pro-Palestinian protests sweeping across American universities.

Since April 18, more than 1,000 people, including students and faculty members, have been arrested nationwide. They included two Indian students at Princeton University in New Jersey who were subsequently barred from returning to that campus.

Hundreds of students and some faculty members have continued to camp on Columbia’s campus grounds despite the university administration’s ultimatums, use of police force, academic suspensions and threats of expulsion.

On Tuesday, protesters occupied a building on the main campus. Some chanted “free Palestine” and erected barricades. All campus gates have been closed. Only one access point remains open, available to students living on campus.

As tensions mount at Columbia, most Chinese students have chosen to stay away from the on-campus demonstrations. However, they have not been completely absent.

Hamas and Fatah commit to dialogue after China meeting, says foreign ministry

Lu observed that more Chinese students were expressing support online on Chinese social media through posts and photos rather than being physically present, likely wary that their US visa status could be jeopardised.

Citing how protesting students were being “showered” with various disciplinary actions, she said: “I can only imagine it to be worse for non-American students, especially people from my country”.

Earlier this month, the Chinese embassy in Washington reported that more 70 Chinese students had been deported from American airports since July 2021, with at least 10 cases transpiring since last November.

In March, the magazine Science reported that more than a dozen Chinese students in the last three months had been denied “re-entry after visiting family in China” and were “immediately sent back home” from the US.

The magazine, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, described the deported students as the “latest pawns amid the rising political tensions between the two countries”.

As Beijing and Washington engage in fierce geopolitical competition, anti-China sentiment in the US has ramped up as well, leaving many Chinese nationals targets of harassment and suspicion.

A Columbia philosophy student from China who asked to be called “Gian” pointed to some Republican lawmakers calling for US student visas to be revoked as a primary reason why many Chinese students hesitated to get involved in the current protests.

In October, 19 Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging that foreign students who voice support for Hamas have their visas revoked and be deported from the US.

“I am not taking part because of the fear of retribution, but also because I prefer to be an observer rather than a participant,” said Gian, 25, of Columbia’s protests.

Another consideration among Chinese students is Beijing’s firm stance against social unrest, he added, suggesting that China would not “publicly condemn the US” over students who might lose their visas over protest involvement.

Around two-thirds of Gaza destroyed by Israel’s siege, Chinese satellites note

Despite the risks, a few Chinese students still decided to take part in protesting, inspired to speak out about a situation they feel is not right.

Last week, a Chinese student addressed a group of Chinese journalists associated with Columbia Journalism School. In the interview posted on Bilibili, a Chinese video-sharing platform, he mentioned visiting campus encampments daily to show support.

“I haven’t seen many East Asians in the encampment,” said the unnamed student, who appeared on camera, of one site. “I am the only one.”

He was not always “this fearless”, he added. But upon seeing “crying Palestinians” trying to find their loved ones from collapsed houses and rubble, he said it became difficult to remain silent.

It was unfortunate that not a lot of people were aware of China’s supportive position towards the Palestinian people, he said.

“I hope that as a Chinese person, I can be a bridge and raise people’s awareness”.

Many Chinese netizens commenting on the student’s Bilibili video in recent days called him “brave”. Some advised him to “exercise restraint” and “stay safe”, with others describing the protest as an internal American issue.

Another US-based netizen said: “I support everyone in solidarity with Palestine, but my family and friends told me not to go out and [to] pay attention to my own safety”.

Beijing has been calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war since the armed conflict erupted.

On October 7, Hamas-led militants crossed from Israel-administered Gaza into Israel and killed 1,200 Israelis and took roughly 240 others hostage, according to Israeli authorities. In response, Israel initiated a military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

China seeks greater global diplomatic role but avoids Middle East, analysts say

According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israel’s military actions have resulted in the deaths of at least 34,000 Palestinians, predominantly women and children.

Protesters at American universities have demanded that educational institutions divest from companies that benefit from or endorse the conflict in Gaza.

However, several American politicians – including House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana – have condemned the protest movement as anti-Semitic.

The simmering months-long debate over the war intensified across US campuses after Columbia administrators asked police to forcibly dismantle a student encampment on April 18. That sparked similar protests and crackdowns across the country.

In message to China, G7 urges others to help climate finance: ‘join us in this direction’

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3260991/message-china-g7-urges-others-help-climate-finance-join-us-direction?utm_source=rss_feed

G7 ministers said on Tuesday that efforts to raise money to help poorer countries adapt to climate change should include countries “capable of contributing”, in a message aimed at China.

Just a small fraction of the money needed to fund clean energy and build resilience to extreme weather in less developed countries is raised each year, eroding much-needed trust in climate negotiations.

There is also a vigorous debate around who should pay, with some parties calling for China and other major emerging economies to chip in.

China’s and India’s coal habits are slowing down the green transition

“We emphasise the G7 countries intend to be leading contributors to a fit-for-purpose goal, underlining the importance of including in any … [fund] those countries that are capable of contributing,” the ministers said in a statement after two days of talks in Turin.

Franck Riester, the minister representing France on climate issues, said: “By making it clear that we were calling on other countries to contribute, we want China to join us in this direction.”

Under a UN climate treaty signed in 1992, only a small handful of high-income countries that dominated the global economy at the time were required to pay climate finance.

China was not among them, but today is not only far wealthier, but is also the world’s largest polluter.

The G7 ministers – who represent Italy, the United States, the UK, France, Germany, Japan and Canada – recalled the goal of raising at least US$100 billion a year in climate finance.

According to the OECD, this goal was only likely met for the first time in 2022, two years late.

And this is far from the estimated US$2.4 trillion annually that developing countries – excluding China – will need to meet their climate and development needs.

China drives global increase in coal-power capacity amid building boom: report

Nations meeting in Azerbaijan in November for the next UN climate talks are supposed to agree a new fundraising target.

UN climate chief Simon Stiell had urged the ministers on Monday to lean on their fellow finance ministers and treasurers to get them to see “a quantum leap in climate finance, as core business”.

“‘Challenging budget conditions’ is not an acceptable excuse for failing to deliver substantial new public climate finance pledges,” he said.

US-Japan-Philippines alliance adds to Beijing’s challenges in East and South China Seas

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3260978/us-japan-philippines-alliance-adds-beijings-challenges-east-and-south-china-seas?utm_source=rss_feed

In just three days, China has been locked in maritime confrontations with two of its neighbours.

In the South China Sea, tensions have flared again between China and the Philippines over contested reefs, while in the East China Sea, Beijing’s dispute with Tokyo over a set of islands resurfaced with a visit by a group of Japanese lawmakers.

Observers say the tensions underscore the growing challenges China faces with the emergence of a US-led maritime coalition that includes Tokyo and Manila.

On Tuesday, three Chinese coastguard ships fired water cannons at two Philippine vessels in the South China Sea near the Beijing-controlled Scarborough Shoal, known as Huangyan Island in China.

The incident coincided with major joint naval drills between Manila and Washington, dubbed Balikatan, or “shoulder to shoulder”, and came after the first joint summit between the US, Japan and the Philippines in Washington earlier this month.

China previously defended its use of water cannons as necessary law enforcement measures. However, the Philippine Coast Guard said on Tuesday the damage to one of its ships was new evidence of Beijing’s “harassment” of its vessels.

The confrontation came after five Japanese lawmakers, including former defence minister Tomomi Inada, made an inspection trip to the Diaoyu Islands on Saturday, joining local government officials from the city of Ishigaki in Okinawa prefecture. The islands are controlled by Japan, where they are known as the Senkakus, but China also claims them.

China Coast Guard sent vessels to confront the “provocative” move in the East China Sea, the Chinese embassy in Tokyo said on Sunday. The embassy also lodged a protest with the Japanese government.

Taiwan’s former leader Ma Ying-jeou rejects Japan’s claims to Diaoyu Islands

Ni Lexiong, a military expert and professor at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said the latest incidents in the East and South China Seas occurred against the backdrop of China’s changing external environment.

“They are different from the previous ones in the sense that the US-led maritime alliance that we have been worried about in the past has largely taken shape, with Japan’s help,” he said.

Pointing to the US-Japan-Philippines summit – as well as other US-led “minilateral” groupings, such as the Quad, Aukus and the US-Japan-South Korea pact – Ni said Washington was using “circles of barbed wire at sea to encircle China”.

Ni described the trip by Japanese officials to the Diaoyus as “a calculated move” at a time when China’s relations with Japan and the Philippines were worsening.

He said the Japanese lawmakers, who had presumably been emboldened by the emergence of a China-focused military alliance and the Balikatan exercise, “were trying to exploit regional tensions for their own gains”.

Ni said that in addition to deepening military and weapons cooperation with the US, Japan had also strengthened maritime cooperation with the Philippines, including providing over a dozen patrol ships and other military equipment.

Discussions on a proposed Reciprocal Access Agreement between Japan and the Philippines are also expected to be concluded this year, allowing each country to deploy forces on the other’s soil.

China used water cannon as ‘deterrence’ against Philippines, PLA’s Zhou Bo says

Benoit Hardy-Chartrand, an international affairs specialist at Temple University Japan in Tokyo, said it was not surprising that the Japanese lawmakers’ visit would elicit a stronger-than-usual response from China.

“Visits from government officials from either side are exceedingly rare, as they are perceived as escalatory,” he said.

During his visit to Washington earlier this month, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Beijing’s external stance and military actions presented “an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge” to Japan and the world.

Hardy-Chartrand said Japan was facing a dilemma over its love-hate relationship with China.

“Japan is trying to toe a difficult line between, on the one hand, deepening its security partnerships in order to counter what it perceives as its greatest challenge, and on the other hand, maintaining stable and fruitful ties with China,” he said. “These goals are not necessarily incompatible, but certainly difficult to manage.

“For years, it was easier for Japan to pursue these two goals, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to continue as the balance of power has shifted in the favour of China.”

He said Japan’s deepening military ties with the Philippines were in line with its years-long efforts to strengthen security relations with a variety of regional partners, including Vietnam and Australia.

“But we are certainly seeing concerted efforts from Japan, the US and their allies and partners to increase security and maritime cooperation, and from Beijing’s perspective, it does pose a challenge when it comes to advancing its interests in the South and East China Seas,” he said.

But Lian Degui, director of the centre for Japanese studies at Shanghai International Studies University, said it was unclear whether the timing of the Diaoyu Islands incident was related to tensions in the South China Sea.

He said the five Japanese lawmakers were from the right wing of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and had advocated a hardline stance on the islands to counter China’s claims of sovereignty and repeated incursions.

“Another possible explanation is it is partly due to Japan’s election politics. Such provocative moves are usually designed to grab public attention and any official statement from the Chinese government would serve their purpose,” he said.

Lian also said the situation in the South China Sea, the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait were closely linked, as the US had tried to hype up China as a threat to rally support from its allies in the region.

While experts agreed that a real conflict seemed unlikely at the moment, Ni said the situation was particularly concerning for Beijing as it faced an increasingly unfavourable external environment in the Indo-Pacific.

“The problem is that neither side is willing to go to war over the dispute, but at the same time they are concerned that the other side will take advantage of their unwillingness to fight. So they can’t afford to appear weak, especially in front of their audience at home,” he said.

China’s exports to Mexico are getting heavier tariffs – is it a sign of more to come?

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3260971/chinas-exports-mexico-are-getting-heavier-tariffs-it-sign-more-come?utm_source=rss_feed

New tariffs from Mexico could be an ill omen for Chinese exporters as global supply chains shift, with the Latin American country looking to balance its economic interests against pressures from the US over its relationship with the Asian manufacturing powerhouse, analysts said.

Tariff hikes, levying 5 to 50 per cent in additional import costs, have kicked in for 544 products entering Mexico. The higher rates only apply to countries without free trade pacts with the Latin American country, which includes China – its second-largest trading partner and a growing source of shipments over the last two years.

“[The tariffs are] to provide certainty and fair market conditions to domestic industrial sectors that face vulnerability derived from practices that altered and affected international trade,” read a Mexican government statement from April 20 regarding the change.

Affected products include steel, aluminium, textiles, clothing, musical instruments and furniture.

The tariffs present a new hurdle for Chinese businesses as they search for new export destinations, with traditional supply chains altered after escalations in economic tensions with the US.

Mexico has been seen as a “springboard” for Chinese products to enter the American market since the beginning of the China-US trade war in 2018. The Latin American country has also become a prime destination for the US’ “nearshoring” policy, intended to relocate supply chains to neighbouring states.

China’s investment in Mexico is up – but is dodging US tariffs the whole story?

Annual growth in container shipping between China and Mexico increased by 34.8 per cent in 2023 compared to a 3.5 per cent jump in 2022, according to shipping data platform Xeneta. At the same time, Mexico has overtaken China as the US’ biggest trading partner.

While the Mexican government said the new tariffs were intended to “balance changes in the market to avoid economic distortions” to its domestic industries, geopolitical and trade experts named pressure from Washington as another factor.

Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at Hinrich Foundation, said there is growing concern in Washington that the growth in Mexico includes “Chinese goods that are not undergoing any manufacturing in Mexico, but only circumventing trade rules and tariffs”.

She added that the US is wary of “undesirable goods” like fentanyl and other illicit substances crossing borders as new trade routes settle in.

“To help stop growing trade flows and – probably – demonstrate resolve to Washington, Mexico has started applying tariffs,” Elms said.

Liu Xuedong, professor in economics and engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, also sees Mexico’s move as a result of prodding from Washington, as lawmakers from both US parties put forward a proposal in March to reimpose a 25 per cent per cent tariff on Mexican steel amid concerns from US trade groups about a surge in imports.

Chinese steel exports to Latin America reached a record high in 2023 according to industry association Alacero, while steel production in the region fell almost 4 per cent year on year.

Mexico’s Ministry of Economy announced a provisional compensatory duty of 31 per cent on Chinese steel nail producers in March at the conclusion of an anti-dumping investigation that started the previous September.

“In the long run, I don’t think the Mexican authorities would continue to increase the tariff rates,” Liu said, adding Chinese companies that have already moved to Mexico would be minimally impacted. Most of the companies in question, he said, are not involved in steel or aluminium and would otherwise be exempted from tariffs.

However, Jorge Guajardo – Mexican ambassador to China from 2007 to 2013 – said he thinks China could expect more tariffs from Mexico and other developing countries, as politicians look to appease domestic players who have grappled with increased competition.

“These tariffs aim to protect domestic industry from the tsunami of Chinese imports. My guess is they will be revised upwards in the future,” said Guajardo, now a partner at Dentons Global Advisors in Washington.

Last August, Mexico applied tariffs to 392 items, covering nearly 90 per cent of Chinese exports. Although four were removed from the list in April’s round of increases, another 156 were added, with a majority having their percentages raised. Footwear and toilet bowls, for instance, will now face a 35 per cent tariff when imported to Mexico.

These import duties will not apply to goods originating from countries with an existing free trade agreement – most notably the US – and will not affect industrial production in certain sectors like auto parts.

Both Mexico and the United States have presidential elections this year – Mexico in June and the US in November – and the races are drawing attention to potentially drastic transformations of supply chains down the line.

Donald Trump, former US president and presumptive Republican candidate for this year’s contest, has said he would target cars made in Mexico by Chinese companies with a 100 per cent tariff.

Guajardo said there could be greater repercussions for trade between Mexico and China following the elections.

“My guess is all candidates will be in favour of erecting further tariffs against Chinese imports,” he said. “They all face an outcry from domestic manufacturers [over] unfair competition from depressed Chinese prices.”

China’s No 2 short video app operator Kuaishou shuts down gaming project in Beijing in restructuring move

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3260969/chinas-no-2-short-video-app-operator-kuaishou-shuts-down-gaming-project-beijing-restructuring-move?utm_source=rss_feed

Kuaishou Technology, operator of China’s No 2 short video platform, has downsized its video gaming operation, according to a local media report, several months after rival ByteDance laid off hundreds of people as it retreated from the industry.

One of Kuaishou’s video gaming projects in Beijing was disbanded and shut down in March after the new game it was developing failed to pass certain internal tests, according to a report on Monday by Chinese media outlet CoreEsports.

Around 30 employees were laid off, while a few like Beijing project head Lin Yancheng were transferred to other Kuaishou units, the report said. Kuaishou still runs a number of video gaming operations in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong provincial capital Guangzhou and Hangzhou, the capital of eastern Zhejiang province.

Kuaishou did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company’s Hong Kong-listed shares closed 1.32 per cent lower at HK$55.95 on Tuesday.

The pullback by Kuaishou reflects stagnating growth in the domestic video gaming sector, which has seen a wave of cost-cutting and lay-offs amid economic headwinds and regulatory pressure.

TikTok and Douyin operator ByteDance last November cut hundreds of jobs at flagship gaming studio Nuverse after telling employees that it would close most game projects that have not been released online.

Bilibili, the Shanghai-based video-sharing platform operator, has also restructured its operations to scale back on video gaming, which once accounted for more than 80 per cent of its total revenue.

Kuaishou set up its video gaming subsidiary, Spark Nexa, in 2021 to focus on self-developed games from a network of studios based in multiple Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hangzhou.

In March and April, China’s video gaming regulator approved Kuaishou’s domestic release of two video games, Lord of Mysteries and Wujinmenghui, respectively. The company’s video gaming business, however, has so far failed to contribute significant revenue to Kuaishou.

Kuaishou last year reported total revenue of 113.5 billion yuan (US$15.67 billion), up 20.5 per cent from 2022, which was mostly attributed to its online marketing and live streaming businesses. Video gaming was barely mentioned in the company’s financial earnings last year.

According to data from the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association, the country’s semi-official industry body, video game revenue nationwide rose 14 per cent year on year to 303 billion yuan in 2023.

While that compares favourably to the 10.3 per cent decline in 2022, it remains far behind the industry’s 38 per cent revenue growth a decade ago.

China’s Fujian aircraft carrier set for maiden sea trials after authorities tell shipping to stay out of prohibited area

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3260964/chinas-fujian-aircraft-carrier-set-maiden-sea-trials-after-authorities-tell-shipping-stay-out?utm_source=rss_feed

China appears to be preparing for the first sea trials of its most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, after it imposed maritime traffic controls around the mouth of the Yangtze River for “military activities” starting on Wednesday.

The announcement came days after state media reported that the carrier would be starting trials “soon”.

The Jiangnan shipyard, where the carrier was built, is located at the mouth of the Yangtze.

A notice from the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration said “military activities” would be carried out in a designated area in the East China Sea between 7am on May 1 and 9am on May 9. “Unrelated vessels” are prohibited from entering the area during the time.

A separate notice announced traffic controls on ships exiting a deep water channel without giving a reason.

Yue Gang, a retired People’s Liberation Army colonel, noted that the prohibited area announced by the authorities was 57km (35 miles) wide and 68km long.

“This is in line with the range of sea trial activities for large military vessels, and may be the area where the aircraft carrier Fujian is conducting its first sea trial operations,” Yue said.

He added that the traffic controls were divided into two periods: “The first may be for the security formation, which goes out ahead of the main formation, clearing the route and setting up alerts, and the second is to ensure that the main formation leaves the port smoothly.”

State media has already signalled that the sea trials are likely to start soon. Zhang Junshe, a researcher at the PLA Naval Military Academic Research Institute, told state broadcaster CCTV on Saturday that they were “coming soon and not far away”.

China’s Fujian carrier moves positions, stepping closer to sea trial: analysts

It is rare for traffic controls to be imposed on major waterways without a specific reason being given. The last time it happened on the Yangtze was in December 2022 when former president Jiang Zemin’s ashes were scattered at sea.

The Fujian, which was launched in June 2022, is China’s first aircraft carrier to be equipped with electromagnetic catapults that allow aircraft to be launched more frequently. CCTV broadcast a side view of the ship’s advanced launch system earlier this year.

The USS Gerald R Ford is the only other aircraft carrier in the world equipped with electromagnetic catapults, although four more Ford-class carriers have been announced with plans to build five more at some unspecified point in the future.

Carriers need several years of trials before they can enter service and the Ford was commissioned in 2017 but was only sent on its first deployment in 2022.

The Fujian is China’s third aircraft carrier, and the first to be built to a domestic design. The PLA’s plan is to have a total of six carriers by 2035, making it the world’s second largest blue-water navy after the United States.

Taiwan’s defence ministry has warned that the Fujian would pose a “substantial threat” to the island in the event of a cross-strait conflict.

China puts Fujian aircraft carrier systems to milestone test

Beijing regards Taiwan as part of China, to be reunified by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington opposes any attempt to take the self-ruled island by force and is committed to arming the island to help it defend itself.

Additional reporting by Amber Wang

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China, South Korea vie for advanced shipbuilding orders as battle of the supertankers heats up

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3260954/china-south-korea-vie-advanced-shipbuilding-orders-battle-supertankers-heats?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s state-owned shipbuilder has been contracted to build a fleet of massive tankers for a Qatari oil and gas operator in an “almost US$6 billion” deal that further challenges South Korea’s dominance in the high-end shipping sector.

The order by QatarEnergy will see the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) make 18 tankers with individual capacities of 271,000 cubic metres – 57 per cent larger than normal vessels that transport liquefied natural gas (LNG), CSSC said on Monday in an online statement.

It added that the historic deal “symbolises China’s rapid advances in the research, development and capability for building ultra-large LNG tankers”, and those advances are “moving [China] toward a goal of leading the world”.

Revealing the value of the multibillion-dollar deal, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, CEO of QatarEnergy and also the minister of state for energy affairs, said on the company’s website: “The agreement we signed today is the industry’s largest single shipbuilding contract ever.”

‘Unacceptable and upsetting’: South Korea laments lost edge to China in key tech

South Korea has long been known for making some of the world’s most advanced sea vessels, including LNG carriers and passenger cruise liners.

“South Korea is really worried,” said Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief economist for the Asia-Pacific region at French investment bank Natixis. “Two many new sectors are going China’s way.”

Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in early April that its country retook the title of world’s largest shipbuilder from China in the first quarter of 2024, in terms of new global orders, after losing it for three years. It cited orders for “eco-friendly and high-value-added ships” as a reason for the recent gain.

QatarEnergy needs tankers to ship LNG found in the Middle East nation to consumers overseas, including China. A Qatar-built LNG tanker called Q-Max has a capacity of 266,000 cubic metres, larger than the norm for similar vessels.

The energy firm announced in February an expansion of LNG production capacity with a target of 142 million metric tonnes per year by 2030 – up from 77 million metric tonnes per year now, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights.

QatarEnergy said rising global demand for LNG was behind the company’s push to expand.

According to CSSC, the freshly ordered ships will be 344 metres long, 53.6 metres wide, and 27.2 metres deep. QatarEnergy said eight of the 18 vessels will be delivered from 2028-29, and the remaining 10 will come in 2030-31.

The massive tankers that China will make for Qatar will deliver gas to import markets relatively fast because of their greater size, said Liang Yan, chair professor of economics at US-based Willamette University.

“It’s really a matter of increasing the time or efficiency of getting the LNG exported,” she said, expecting some of those shipments to reach China.

China’s demand for LNG imports may double over next decade: Cheniere Energy

Beijing-based CSSC, the world’s biggest firm of its kind since a 2019 merger, has a keen eye on making more vessels for export, Liang said.

South Korean shipbuilders HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries are expected to earn US$9 billion for as many as 40 LNG tankers serving Qatar, industry research publication The Maritime Executive said last year.

LNG tanker production creates jobs in parts of South Korea and it is “politically significant for the national economy”, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

“South Korea’s shipbuilding industry is part of its national identity as a peninsular country that rapidly modernised with export-led development,” Easley said.

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Hong Kong steps up enforcement ahead of ‘golden week’ holiday, with three arrested for alleged illegal sale of drugs and Chinese herbal medicines

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3260962/hong-kong-steps-enforcement-ahead-golden-week-holiday-three-arrested-alleged-illegal-sale-drugs-and?utm_source=rss_feed

Authorities have arrested three men suspected of being involved in the illegal sale of drugs and Chinese herbal medicines, with law enforcement efforts being ramped up in Hong Kong’s busy shopping districts ahead of the ‘golden week’ holiday.

Police and the Department of Health mounted a joint operation in Yau Tsim Mong district on Monday, which led to the arrests of the trio, aged between 29 and 33, for selling and possessing medicinal products without licences.

During the raids of two retail shops in Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok, nine unregistered pharmaceutical products, poisons, and Chinese herbal medicines were also seized.

The customs department, meanwhile, will distribute pamphlets at cross-boundary control points, educating visitors about making informed choices before making purchases.

Shoppers are advised to understand a product’s specifications and make comparisons before the purchase, as well as to check the unit price of the goods and total cost carefully before payment.

Hong Kong to ramp up cross-border bus services, train trips for ‘golden week’

The department on Tuesday added that its officers had enhanced its patrols in shopping districts and would drive publicity for fair business conduct among retailers.

Businesses at Yau Tsim Mong and Causeway Bay are targeted and include dried seafood and ginseng shops, medicine shops and jewellery shops.

“Customs has long been concerned about visitors being misled to make purchases by unfair trade practices and has established a Quick Response Team to handle urgent complaints lodged by short-haul visitors,” the department said in a statement.

“The complaints will be promptly referred to investigators to handle with priority.”

A series of promotional videos were also uploaded on Customs’ mainland social platforms, including WeChat and Douyin, to share about common unfair trade practices while reminding tourists to stay vigilant when shopping.

Authorities earlier predicted that 5.9 million people were expected to cross border checkpoints over the holiday with the city gearing up for at least 800,000 mainland visitors.

A shopping festival organised by the Yau Tsim Mong District Office and council will feature deals offered by 2,200 businesses across malls, hotels and restaurants in Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok.

Hong Kong to target illegal ride-hailing services, rogue cabbies over holiday

Commissioner of Customs and Excise Louise Ho Pui-shan on Tuesday inspected operations of the Lo Wu and the Express Rail Link West Kowloon control points.

She said that her department will flexibly deploy manpower to ensure smooth operations at each control point. The department will also maintain close liaison with the mainland and Macau Customs to share the latest real-time situation of each control point.

A 10-minute fireworks display over Victoria Harbour will kick off golden week at 8pm on May 1.

Bad weather, weaker yuan could hit Hong Kong restaurants hard over ‘golden week’

The police on Tuesday announced road closures in Tsim Sha Tsui East, Central, Wan Chai, and Eastern district, which would take effect from Wednesday evening.

In Tsim Sha Tsui, areas near Salisbury Road and Mody Road will be closed to traffic from 6pm.

In Central, Man Kwong Street outside Central Pier No 7 and 8 will close at 7.30pm, followed by the shutdown of eastbound Lung Wo Road between Yiu Sing Street and Lung Hop Street before 8.30pm.

Meanwhile, the Expo Drive in Wan Chai, as well as a few streets nearby including March Road, part of Fleming Road and Lung Wo Road will be affected as well.

Watson Road, Glass Street, King Ming Road, and parts of Hing Fat Street will also be closed from 7.30pm onwards.

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India snubbed by Tesla’s Musk after ‘shock’ China visit. But was it ‘shoddy ethics or simply business?’

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3260951/india-snubbed-teslas-musk-after-shock-china-visit-was-it-shoddy-ethics-or-simply-business?utm_source=rss_feed

Elon Musk’s surprise visit to China this week won concessions for Tesla, but left India feeling spurned after he cancelled a scheduled trip there for earlier this month, with Indian commentators calling the move a snub.

India’s pained reaction highlights the increasing rivalry between India and China, Asia’s two largest countries by population and among the region’s most dynamic economies. Business and diplomatic relations between them have been strained since a 2020 border clash left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead.

Musk was due to meet India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week and announce an investment of up to US$3 billion in a car plant, but cancelled, saying there were “very heavy Tesla obligations”. By then, the Indian government had sent out invites for a start-up event Musk was to attend.

Li Qiang meets Elon Musk, raising hopes for Tesla’s self-driving bid

On Sunday, Musk turned up in China, meeting with Premier Li Qiang and making progress towards rolling out its advanced driver assistance package in the world’s biggest auto market.

Indian news channels that often take a hard line position against China blasted Musk’s trip.

The Mirror Now news channel ran a prime time news segment with a tagline “Shoddy ethics or simply business?”, with the anchor saying “here in India, everybody was shocked.”

Digital news service News9 ran a segment late on Monday on Musk, saying “Hello China, Goodbye India?”. It then flashed on the screen, “VERY HEAVY TESLA OBLIGATIONS? China visit a week after cancelling India”.

Neither Tesla nor Modi’s office responded to requests for comment. Musk said on April 20 he looks forward to visiting India later this year, but the Indian government has not commented on his trip cancellation or China visit.

Musk’s India trip could have boosted Modi’s re-election campaign, with a Tesla investment announcement during poll campaigning providing an endorsement of Modi’s business friendly image as he seeks a rare third term.

Modi’s government has been trying to court foreign companies to India as they diversify their supply chains beyond China because of geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington.

Tesla’s India electric vehicle plans on track despite Musk postponing visit

Modi’s opponents seized on Musk’s China visit to criticise the prime minister.

“Such is the lack of faith in the Modi govt’s regulatory policies, that big businesses are turning to China over India repeatedly,” Shama Mohamed, the national spokesperson of main opposition Congress party wrote on social media website X.

Political satirist Akash Banerjee, who runs a YouTube channel “The Patriot”, questioned how Musk had no time to meet Modi, but still went to China.

“Do you think Modi will forgive Musk from his heart?” Banerjee said in a video that has clocked 268,000 views in 19 hours.

KFC, Pizza Hut’s China owner plans stores in country’s ‘untapped’ smaller cities as consumers tighten belts amid slowing economy

https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3260956/kfc-pizza-hut-owner-yum-china-plans-stores-countrys-untapped-smaller-cities-consumers-tighten-their?utm_source=rss_feed

Yum China Holdings, which owns the KFC and Pizza Hut restaurant chains in mainland China, plans to open more stores in “untapped” parts of the country where it hopes its low-price strategy will appeal to vast numbers of less affluent customers.

The fast-food behemoth said 30 per cent of its 1,500 to 1,700 new outlets to be established this year would be located in lower-tier cities or strategic places such as transport hubs or tourist destinations.

“Operating under a near-term challenging environment, we will remain laser-focused on understanding and capturing the evolving needs of consumers to continually connect with them,” CEO Joey Wat said in a statement after the company published its first-quarter earnings on Tuesday.

“Looking toward the future, we are absolutely confident in seizing China’s vast opportunities. We are expanding … through a multifaceted approach with flexible store formats, strategic franchising and a range of exciting products across price points.”

Yum China reported a net profit of US$287 million for the three months ending March, down 0.7 per cent from the same period a year ago. Revenue edged up 1 per cent on the year to US$2.96 billion. Its same-store sales, however, slipped 3 per cent from the year-ago period.

An overall weak consumer market in China as people worry about their wage growth and job prospects has prompted restaurant chain operators to launch more value-for-money menus to lure budget-conscious customers.

Since China’s reopening from the Covid-19 pandemic in the first quarter of 2023, Yum China has been keeping prices low to draw increasingly cost-conscious consumers to boost traffic and revenue amid a slowing economy.

The strategy seems to be working. The company said Pizza Hut’s sales of pizza priced under 50 yuan (US$6.90) saw double-digit annual growth during the first quarter.

From January to March, Yum China opened 378 new stores, bringing the total number to 15,022.

Wat said the company is confident of sustaining strong growth and creating long-term value for the shareholders, buoyed by its expansion plans.

Yum China said KFC had introduced a “small-town mini model” for franchise stores, which requires capital expenditure of 500,000 yuan, less than half the 1.2 million yuan required to set up a standard outlet.

How a Taiwanese businessman introduced KFC to China

The company is also developing a new model that will see new coffee outlets opened along with KFC branches to expand the customer base and drive up sales.

More than 100 outlets under the so-called side-by-side KCoffee model have been opened in about 80 cities.

Yum China was the trailblazer among Western fast-food giants to tap the Chinese market, but now competes against a packed field of local and international rivals.

KFC’s chicken burgers were viewed as luxury cuisine by Chinese consumers when the brand landed on the mainland in 1987. A KFC meal then could cost a third of a wage-earner’s monthly income. Now, KFC recognises that its competition is every restaurant that offers meals priced at about 30 yuan.

Yum China, whose other brands include Little Sheep, Taco Bell and Lavazza, aims to run a total 20,000 stores by 2026. At the end of March, its loyalty membership programme had drawn 485 million consumers across the mainland.

Israel-Gaza war: China’s foreign ministry says Hamas and Fatah commit to dialogue after Beijing meeting

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3260961/israel-gaza-war-chinas-foreign-ministry-says-hamas-and-fatah-commit-dialogue-after-beijing-meeting?utm_source=rss_feed

Hamas and Fatah have agreed to continue dialogues in an effort to end their internal division after attending talks in Beijing, China’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

The ministry confirmed the two Palestinian parties held meetings in Beijing as China stepped up the push for reconciliation between the rival factions amid the escalating conflict in Gaza.

“[Fatah and Hamas held an] in-depth and candid dialogue on promoting internal reconciliation in Palestine. The two sides fully expressed their political will to achieve reconciliation through dialogue and consultation, discussed many specific issues and made positive progress,” ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.

“They agreed to continue this dialogue process and strive for the early realisation of Palestinian unity and reunification.

“Both sides highly appreciated China’s firm support for the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights, thanked China for its efforts in promoting Palestine’s strengthening of internal unity, and reached agreement for ideas on future dialogues,” Lin said.

The talks underscored China’s renewed efforts to promote reconciliation for Palestine, which has been divided since the Fatah-Hamas war in 2007. Fatah runs the Palestinian Authority, the Western-backed government body that partially controls the Israel-occupied West Bank. Hamas – which has long had strained relations with Fatah – controls the Gaza Strip.

Reuters last week reported that Fatah’s senior official, Azzam Al-Ahmad, and Hamas’ senior official Moussa Abu Marzouk left for China on Friday for the talks. It is the first known visit to China by Hamas since the Gaza conflict broke out in October. Chinese envoy Wang Kejian met Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar last month.

A similar meeting was held in Russia in February in which the two parties were urged to unite before they could negotiate with Israel. That meeting came amid a major power reshuffle of the Palestinian Authority, which was under increasing pressure from the West to reform to take control of Gaza when the war ends.

China is believed to have good ties with both Hamas and Fatah and has long called for unity in Palestine, which it supports as an independent nation.

Since the Gaza conflict started, Beijing has been increasingly vocal about the legitimate rights of Palestinians and has urged an immediate ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has left more than 34,000 Palestinians dead.

It also supports full United Nations membership for Palestine, a position that has resulted in repeated clashes with the US at the UN Security Council. Washington, a close ally of Israel, recently vetoed Palestine’s request to join the organisation, prompting harsh criticism from Beijing. Both the US and China are permanent members of the Security Council.

China is seen to have strengthened its foothold in the Middle East amid intensifying competition with the US. It has also stepped up its role as a global peacemaker after brokering a historic rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia last year.

China murder fugitive snared after 23 years on the run, lives secret double life as monk in temple, has wife, 2 children

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3259464/china-murder-fugitive-snared-after-23-years-run-lives-secret-double-life-monk-temple-has-wife-2?utm_source=rss_feed

A fugitive killer in China has been caught after 23 years on the run, revealing his shocking secret double life as a monk and father of two.

The murder suspect, surnamed Li, killed two people in eastern China’s Zhejiang province in 2001 and managed to evade arrest. His accomplice was captured immediately.

It was not until March that the police in Zhejiang province discovered Li’s whereabouts after receiving a tip-off that he was in southeastern China’s Guangdong province, 1,000km away from the scene of the crime.

A task force was sent to the location, where he was found to be living as a monk in a Buddhist temple.

Police investigators also discovered that he was secretly living with a woman and the couple had a son and daughter.

When Li’s rented flat was raided while he was asleep, he first denied, then admitted he was the fugitive.

It transpired that he had at first fled to his hometown in southwestern Sichuan province and then moved on to nearby Hunan province.

There he picked up an identity card belonging to a man with the surname Liu, and had lived under his name since.

He also studied at a Buddhist college and began living in the Guangdong temple in 2008.

To evade capture, Li disguised himself when he went out and installed surveillance cameras around the temple.

He had not contacted his family in Sichuan for 23 years.

Li had planned to go on the run again – this time to Tibet – but was caught before he had the chance.

The bizarre details of the case have stunned many people online.

“What a blossoming life he had as a fugitive,” one person on Weibo said.

“Even the most fanciful novels and films are not as good as real stories,” said another.

“Did the Buddha not know the abbot had committed crimes?” a third person quipped.

China’s Marriage Law does not ban monks from having a wife, but the understanding is that they should live an ascetic life because China’s Buddhist precepts do not allow monks to marry.

China’s leadership hints it is bracing for the possible return of Donald Trump

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3260941/chinas-leadership-hints-it-bracing-possible-return-donald-trump?utm_source=rss_feed

As countries around the world fret about Donald Trump’s possible return to the White House, Chinese leaders and state-run media have remained mostly muted on election-related questions.

On Thursday, China’s top diplomat and foreign minister, Wang Yi, broke the silence and commented on the coming American elections, just as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Beijing to meet President Xi Jinping.

“Whoever is elected, Chinese and American peoples will still need to have exchanges and cooperation, and the two major countries must find the right way to get along with each other,” he told Al Jazeera News in a written interview published on Thursday.

He admitted that “the China-US relationship cannot go back to its past” after the cold war-style confrontation that had ensued since Trump’s first term began in 2017.

Why China and the US are denying their feud has become a new cold war

“But it should, and can fully, have a bright future,” he claimed, while reiterating Xi’s call for “mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation” during a summit with US President Joe Biden in San Francisco six months ago.

As he sidestepped Washington’s concerns about China’s military support for Russia, industrial overcapacity and repressive domestic policies, Wang blamed the US for almost everything that has strained US-China ties.

Seeking to capitalise on international discontent with the US over its pro-Israel stance in the Gaza conflict, Wang presented Beijing as an alternative to Washington, that promotes “cooperation, growth, stability and win-win.”

“The people of the world have clear eyes, and even more so for the Middle East people that can see easily who is on the right side of history and justice,” he said.

While Wang’s remarks were largely in line with China’s messaging in recent months amid a rancorous narrative war with the US-led West, Beijing appeared largely unfazed by the looming spectre of another disruptive Trump’s presidency.

In fact, a return to power for Trump could be an opportunity for Beijing, which was widely believed to have favoured a second term for the former president in the 2020 elections.

While Trump appeared to be tough on Beijing, and even instilled fear in China with his big tariff stick and flip-flops on Taiwan – as leading US specialist Shi Yinhong put it, Beijing turned out to be a benefactor of Trump’s self-alienating “America first” policy.

Many believe that if he won in November, Trump would likely carry on where he left off four years ago, undermining US alliances, weakening its global position and accelerating Washington’s relative decline – exactly what Beijing, Moscow and their autocratic friends hope for.

Some observers have suggested that Beijing may be looking at playing the long game with Washington, assuming a Trump election victory over Biden would see the US dial back support for Taiwan.

Regardless of who wins, US-China ties – at their worst decades – are unlikely to improve or see a reset, with both sides preparing for worst-case scenarios, including armed confrontation.

Beijing appears to have few doubts about this changing reality: the priority for continued engagements is to prevent a hot war rather than fixing the unfixable.

In his meeting with Blinken, Xi also offered clues about how he envisions the future of US-China ties beyond the American presidential election in November.

US cannot ‘say one thing and do another’, Chinese leader tells Blinken

“China is willing to cooperate, but cooperation should be a two-way street. China is not afraid of competition, but competition should be about progressing together instead of playing a zero-sum game,” he said. “China is committed to non-alliance, and the US should not create small blocs. While each side can have its friends and partners, it should not target, oppose or harm the other.”

Xi’s remarks were clearly aimed at Washington’s emerging regional alliances with Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, as well as threats of fresh sanctions on China over its alleged support for Russia’s defence industry amid its invasion of Ukraine.

Blinken was obviously aware of the stakes before his trip, which came ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s planned visit to Beijing in May and amid flaring tensions in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.

While the China question once again becomes a top issue in this year’s presidential campaign, critics have ramped up their disapproval of Biden’s approach to re-engage with China.

In response, Blinken vowed to take strong action if China failed to heed US warnings about Beijing’s alleged support for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

“I made clear that if China does not address this problem, we will,” Blinken told reporters after meeting Xi.

China highlights data and ‘digital silk road’ in new plan to drive innovation as US tech rivalry intensifies

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3260945/china-highlights-data-and-digital-silk-road-new-plan-drive-innovation-us-tech-rivalry-intensifies?utm_source=rss_feed

China has pledged to push ahead with a plan to build a digital economy this year, drawing upon the country’s data assets to drive innovation amid an intensifying tech rivalry with the West.

China will adopt an “appropriate forward-thinking plan” to accommodate future digital infrastructure needs, accelerate the creation of a national integrated computing network and pave the way for breakthroughs in digital technology and innovations in key areas, according to a government circular on digital economy work for 2024.

Beijing will also boost international cooperation on the digital economy, speed up trade digitalisation, create a sound environment for international collaboration and advance the development of the Digital Silk Road, the technology arm of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, it said.

The plan was released by the National Development Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Data Administration (NDA), and excerpts were made public on the NDA’s WeChat account on Monday.

China’s new data agency plans fast track to powerful national computing network

The NDA is supervised by the NDRC, China’s top economic planner, and was inaugurated in October of last year as Beijing pushed to pump up a faltering economy through innovation amid growing competition for hi-tech dominance with the US.

Data authorities will advance the digital transformation of industries, improve competitiveness of core industries, nurture new business models and increase protections against online security risks, according to the work plan.

China will also increase cross-agency coordination to better monitor the digital economy, the plan said.

Another focus of the NDA’s work will be accelerating the sharing of public data among government departments and improving senior care, education, medical care and other services through better use of data, it said.

Why China’s new data agency shows ambitions to develop digital economy and AI

In an article in Communist Party theoretical journal Qizhi last week, NDA chief Liu Liehong praised Xi Jinping for making several “strategic deployments” based on his insights into trends in technological innovation, the demands of China’s rejuvenation and sweeping changes in the international environment.

Liu added that focusing on digital innovation, the commercialisation of data and digitalisation of industry would create “new space for China’s economic development”.

Liu noted that the computing capacity at China’s data centres was expanding, and efficiency had improved thanks to the Eastern Data and Western Computing project, launched in 2022 to address regional imbalances in digital resources.

During his visit to the southwestern megacity of Chongqing last week, Xi toured its digital city operation centre, which monitors emergencies and coordinates between municipal departments. While there, he urged local officials to “scientifically design big data platforms and network systems” and make better use of data to improve governance.

China generated more than 8.1 zettabytes of data in 2022, placing it second only to the US, according to the Cyber­space Administration of China. The country also ranked second in aggregated computing power – particularly important to scientific research, data analysis, simulation and machine learning – and aims to scale up its capacity by 50 per cent by 2025.

Beijing promotes China-led vision for Digital Silk Road at Xian forum

China has signed several strategic deals with Belt and Road Initiative members aimed at cooperation in areas from e-commerce to digital infrastructure, according to Wang Yong, vice-chairman of China’s top political advisory body, speaking at the Digital Silk Road Development Forum in the northwestern city of Xian last week.

Launched in 2015, the Digital Silk Road aims to boost digital connectivity in countries involved in the belt and road, Beijing’s strategy to improve trade and economic integration across Asia, Europe, Africa and South America.

Wang said China would work with these countries to develop an “open and inclusive digital economy”.

Meeting his Bolivian counterpart Celinda Sosa Lunda in Beijing on Sunday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the two countries should explore the potential for cooperation in areas including the digital economy, information and communication while protecting the common interests of the Global South and strengthening political mutual trust.

Hong Kong to send 20 TCM doctors to mainland China every year to get inpatient care training

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3260934/hong-kong-send-20-tcm-doctors-mainland-china-every-year-get-inpatient-care-training?utm_source=rss_feed

Public hospitals in Hong Kong will send 20 traditional Chinese medicine doctors to mainland China every year to receive inpatient care training, as part of a government plan to enhance the practice’s role at local institutions.

As the city’s first specialised hospital is expected to begin operations by the end of 2025, Rowena Wong How-wan, the Hospital Authority’s chief manager in Chinese medicine, said on Tuesday that the scheme aimed to improve practitioners’ professional skills.

“We believe the arrangement would be very helpful in enhancing the practitioners’ practical experience and clinical skills,” Wong said.

So far, five practitioners have joined the authority’s Chinese Medicine Enhanced Inpatient Training Programme with the Greater Bay Area.

The two-year programme consists of eight months of training in a hospital on the mainland and another 16 months at Hong Kong’s public healthcare facilities.

The scheme that kicked off in April targets practitioners with at least eight years of experience and is part of the existing Integrated Chinese-Western Medicine Programme in public hospitals.

In the initial phase of the programme, training participants on the mainland were arranged to treat stroke patients at Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and would be taking turns in neurology and acupuncture.

They also received a temporary registration status valid for two years on the mainland, allowing them to prescribe medicine and treat patients independently.

First Hong Kong Chinese medicine hospital to showcase Western, TCM collaboration

Wong Tun-kei, one of the scheme’s practitioners, said he was able to handle patients suffering more serious conditions on the mainland, as he usually treated relatively stable cases in Hong Kong.

“Under the speciality of acupuncture [on the mainland], we have also admitted more urgent patients, such as those with lung infection or were likely to develop heart attack,” Wong said. “We do not see these cases often in the outpatient clinics or the integrated medicine programme in Hong Kong.”

Wong, based in a clinic jointly operated by Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and the University of Hong Kong in Sheung Wan, added that he was also able to learn more acupuncture approaches to treating stroke patients.

Chow Wing-yan, another participating practitioner, said she had learned more about handling the overall administrative procedures for hospital patients.

“On the mainland, we had to take part in the patients’ procedures from admission to discharge, including inquiry on the condition and what treatments the patients received, conducting check-ups on nerves and marking medical records,” Chow said.

She said that in Hong Kong, she usually just had to focus on prescribing medications and performing acupuncture on patients after her counterparts in Western medicine carried out check-ups and gave diagnoses.

Hong Kong has stepped up its collaboration between the city’s healthcare professionals and those on the mainland over the past year. On Monday, the authority welcomed a group of more than 100 professionals from Guangdong who were part of the Greater Bay Area Healthcare Talents Visiting Programmes.

They included 13 Chinese medicine experts working in the integrated medicine programme and about 100 nurses in citywide hospitals.

US$1.3 billion Powerball win draws attention to Laos’ ethnic group from China – the Iu Mien people

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3260939/us13-billion-powerball-win-draws-attention-laos-ethnic-group-china-iu-mien-people?utm_source=rss_feed

Cheng “Charlie” Saephan wore a broad smile and a bright blue sash emblazoned with the words “Iu-Mien USA” as he hoisted an oversized cheque for US$1.3 billion above his head.

The 46-year-old immigrant’s luck in winning an enormous Powerball jackpot in Oregon earlier this month – a lump sum payment of US$422 million after taxes, which he and his wife will split with a friend – has changed his life. It also raised awareness about Iu Mien people, a southeast Asian ethnic group with origins in China, many of whose members fled from Laos to Thailand and then settled in the US following the Vietnam war.

“I am born in Laos, but I am not Laotian,” Saephan told a news conference on Monday at Oregon Lottery headquarters, where his identity as one of the jackpot’s winners was revealed. “I am Iu Mien.”

During the Vietnam war, the CIA and US military recruited Iu Mien in neighbouring Laos, many of them subsistence farmers, to engage in guerilla warfare and to provide intelligence and surveillance to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail that the North Vietnamese used to send troops and weapons through Laos and Cambodia into South Vietnam.

After the conflict as well as the Laotian civil war, when the US-backed government of Laos fell in 1975, they fled by the thousands to avoid reprisals from the new Communist government, escaping by foot through the jungle and then across the Mekong River into Thailand, according to a history posted on the website of Iu Mien Community Services in Sacramento, California. More than 70 per cent of the Iu Mien population in Laos left, and many wound up in refugee camps in Thailand.

Thousands of the refugees were allowed to come to the US, with the first waves arriving in the late 1970s and most settling along the West Coast. The culture had rich traditions of storytelling, basketry, embroidery and jewellery-making, but many initially had difficulty adjusting to Western life due to cultural and language differences as well as a lack of formal education.

There are now tens of thousands of Iu Mien – pronounced “yoo MEE’-en” – in the US, with many attending universities or starting businesses. Many have converted to Christianity from traditional animist religions. There is a sizeable Iu Mien community in Portland and its suburbs, with a Buddhist temple and Baptist church, active social organisation, and businesses and restaurants.

Cayle Tern, president of the Iu Mien Association of Oregon, arrived in Portland with his family in 1980, when he was 3 years old. He is now running for City Council. Saephan’s Powerball win is significant for other Iu Mien, he said.

“It means so much because all of us came with so little,” Tern said. “I take pride in seeing our members of the community advance and flourish, and I just feel so good for him.”

Saephan, 46, said he was born in Laos and moved to Thailand in 1987, before immigrating to the US in 1994. He graduated from high school in 1996 and has lived in Portland for 30 years. He worked as a machinist for an aerospace company.

He said on Monday that he has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.

“I will be able to provide for my family and my health,” he said, adding that he’d “find a good doctor for myself.”

Saephan, who has two young children, said that as a cancer patient, he wondered, “How am I going to have time to spend all of this money? How long will I live?”

He said he and his 37-year-old wife, Duanpen, are taking half the money, and the rest is going to a friend, Laiza Chao, 55, of the Portland suburb of Milwaukie. Chao had chipped in US$100 to buy a batch of tickets with them.

Chao, was on her way to work when Saephan called her with the news: “You don’t have to go any more,” he said.

In the weeks leading up to the drawing, he wrote out numbers for the game on a piece of paper and slept with it under his pillow, he said. He prayed that he would win, saying, “I need some help – I don’t want to die yet unless I have done something for my family first.”

The winning Powerball ticket was sold in early April at a Plaid Pantry convenience store in Portland, ending a winless streak that had stretched more than three months. The Oregon Lottery said it had to go through a security and vetting process before announcing the identity of the person who came forward to claim the prize.

Under Oregon law, with few exceptions, lottery players cannot remain anonymous. Winners have a year to claim the top prize.

The jackpot had a cash value of US$621 million before taxes if the winner chose to take a lump sum rather than an annuity paid over 30 years, with an immediate payout followed by 29 annual instalments. The prize is subject to federal taxes and state taxes in Oregon.

The US$1.3 billion prize is the fourth-largest Powerball jackpot in history, and the eighth largest among US jackpot games, according to the Oregon Lottery.

The biggest US lottery jackpot won was US$2.04 billion in California in 2022.

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Chinese scientist who first published COVID sequence protests after being locked out of his lab

https://apnews.com/article/covid19-scientist-virus-sequence-protest-laboratory-eviction-b54e2a88610e813c9383833f2c9a2379Virologist Zhang Yongzhen speaks at a coffeeshop in Shanghai, China on Dec. 13, 2020. Zhang, the first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus in China was staging a sit-in protest after authorities locked him out of his lab. Zhang wrote in an online post on Monday, April 29, 2024, that he and his team were suddenly notified they were being evicted from their lab, the latest in a series of setbacks, demotions and ousters since he first published the sequence in early January 2020. (AP Photo/Dake Kang)

2024-04-30T07:12:29Z

SHANGHAI (AP) — The first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus in China was staging a sit-in protest after authorities locked him out of his lab.

Virologist Zhang Yongzhen wrote in an online post Monday that he and his team had been suddenly notified they were being evicted from their lab, the latest in a series of setbacks, demotions and ousters since Zhang published the sequence in January 2020 without state approval. The move shows how the Chinese state continues to pressure and control scientists conducting research on the coronavirus.

News of Zhang’s protest spread widely on Chinese social media, attracting public attention. In an online statement, the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center said that Zhang’s lab was being renovated and was closed for “safety reasons.” It added that it had provided Zhang’s team an alternative laboratory space.

In response, Zhang wrote online that his team wasn’t offered an alternative lab until after they were notified of their eviction, and that the lab offered didn’t meet safety standards for conducting their research, leaving his team in limbo.

When Zhang tried to enter his lab over the weekend, guards barred him from entering. In protest, he sat outside on flattened cardboard in drizzling rain, pictures from the scene posted online show.

“I won’t leave, I won’t quit, I am pursuing science and the truth!” he wrote in a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo that was later deleted. “The Public Health Center are refusing to let me and my students go inside the laboratory office to take shelter.”

Zhang said it was “inconvenient” for him to speak when an AP reporter reached him by phone on Tuesday, saying there were other people listening in. But in an email to collaborator Edward Holmes seen by AP, Zhang confirmed he was sleeping outside his lab after guards barred him from entering.

An AP reporter was blocked by a guard at an entrance to the compound where Zhang’s lab is located. A staff member at the National Health Commission, China’s top health authority, said by phone that they were not the main department in charge and referred questions to the Shanghai government. The Shanghai government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Zhang’s ordeal started when he and his team sequenced the virus on Jan. 5, 2020 and wrote an internal notice warning Chinese authorities of its potential to spread. At the time, Zhang had not yet made the sequence public. The next day, Zhang’s lab was ordered temporarily shut by China’s top health official, and Zhang came under pressure by Chinese authorities.

Foreign scientists soon learned that Zhang and other Chinese scientists had sequenced the virus but had not yet been permitted to publish them, prompting public calls for publication. In response, Zhang published his sequence of the coronavirus on Jan. 11, 2020, despite a lack of government permission.

The move allowed health authorities around the world to begin testing for the virus, revealing that it was spreading outside China’s borders and triggering the development of test kits, vaccinations and disease control measures. Zhang was later awarded prizes in recognition.

But Zhang’s publication of the sequence also prompted additional scrutiny of his lab, according to Holmes, Zhang’s collaborator and a virologist at the University of Sydney. Zhang was removed from a post at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and barred from collaborating with some of his former partners, crippling his research.

“Ever since he defied the authorities by releasing the genome sequence of the virus that causes COVID-19 there has been a campaign against him,” Holmes said. “He’s been broken by this process and I’m amazed he has been able to work at all.”

DAKE KANG Kang covers Chinese politics, technology and society from Beijing for The Associated Press. He’s reported across Central, South, and East Asia, and was a Pulitzer finalist for investigative reporting in China. twitter mailto

First scientist to publish Covid sequence in China ‘evicted’ from lab

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/30/first-scientist-publish-covid-sequence-china-evicted-from-lab

The first scientist to publish a sequence of the Covid-19 virus in China was staging a sit-in protest after authorities locked him out of his laboratory.

Zhang Yongzhen, a virologist, wrote in an online post on Monday that he and his team were suddenly notified they were being evicted from their lab, the latest in a series of setbacks, demotions and ousters since he published the sequence in early January 2020.

The move shows how the Chinese government continues to pressure and control scientists, seeking to avoid scrutiny of its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

Zhang wrote the post on the social media platform Weibo but it was later deleted.

In protest, Zhang had been sitting outside his lab since Sunday despite pouring rain, he said in the post.

Zhang, when reached by phone on Tuesday, said it was “inconvenient” for him to speak, however a collaborator confirmed on Monday the demonstration was taking place.

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Chery’s Jetour unit plans right-hand drive cars to expand to Malaysia and Indonesia as competition escalates in China’s automotive market

https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3260761/unit-china-chery-automobile-plans-right-hand-drive-cars-malaysia-and-indonesia-its-cross-hairs?utm_source=rss_feed

Jetour, a Chinese sport-utility vehicle (SUV) builder owned by Chery Holding Group, plans to manufacture two right-hand drive models this year to accelerate its globalisation drive targeting markets like Malaysia and Indonesia.

Jacky Chen, general manager of Jetour’s international business, told the Post that the company expects monthly deliveries of the soon-to-be-launched right-hand drive vehicles to reach 3,000 units this year amid the rising popularity of Chinese-made cars.

Delivery volumes may grow to 7,000 units a month in 2025 when another two or three right-hand drive models hit the markets, he added.

“Right-hand drive cars will be the new growth engine for us in the coming three to five years,” Chen said in an interview on the sidelines of the Auto China Show in Beijing last Thursday. “We are prepared to tap the markets after the specific models are fully developed.”

Jetour, which currently builds only left-hand drive cars, will unveil its first right-hand drive model, a seven-seat mid-size crossover called X70 this month before shipping a compact SUV model.

The initial batch of right-hand drive vehicles will be powered by internal combustion engines, which will be followed by their electric variants, Chen said.

Chinese EV makers eye factories in Europe amid price war at home

Left-hand drive vehicles account for more than 80 per cent of the global passenger car market, while cars with steering wheels on the right are dominant in markets like the UK, Australia, and some Southeast Asian countries.

Jetour’s move to explore the right-hand drive markets comes in line with the carmaker’s accelerated pace of internationalisation.

Founded in 2018 by Chery, a state-owned carmaker based in East China’s Anhui province, Jetour delivered more than 315,000 units in 2023, an increase of 75 per cent year on year.

Its sales outside mainland China topped 110,000 vehicles last year, more than double the overseas shipments of 45,000 units in 2022.

“As China’s car brands hone our image as powerful players worldwide, Jetour is also strengthening manufacturing capability and product competitiveness to win over global customers,” Chen said, adding that the company is targeting overseas deliveries of 300,000 units this year.

Jetour now sells its cars in more than 50 countries and regions through 600 dealers.

China’s vehicle exports, which included buses and lorries, jumped 58 per cent year on year to 4.91 million units in 2023, overtaking Japan – which recorded overseas shipments of 4.42 million cars – as the world’s largest vehicle exporter.

“Although geopolitical tensions might have some impact on China’s auto exports, it is unlikely to stop Chinese carmakers from expanding overseas,” said Stephen Dyer, Greater China co-leader and head of the Asia automotive practice at global consultancy AlixPartners. “In fact, the level of awareness of Chinese brands among overseas EV buyers is very high, with over half to three-quarters of overseas consumers being aware of at least one Chinese brand.”

At present, the company owns three knock-down (KD) assembly lines outside mainland China, located in Myanmar, Kazakhstan and Tunisia, where components are shipped overseas and assembled closer to the consumption market.

Jetour plans an additional 11 KD assembly lines in international markets by 2029 when the company’s overseas sales are expected to reach 1 million units, Chen said.

How China’s third plenums have reshaped its economy – and what to expect this year

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3260912/how-chinas-third-plenums-have-reshaped-its-economy-and-what-expect-year?utm_source=rss_feed

The Central Committee of China’s Communist Party will hold its third plenum in July, a long-anticipated meeting where the country’s leaders are expected to release a plan for reform that will chart a sustainable growth path and address economic difficulties.

As this year’s iteration approaches, the Post is looking at why this meeting has mattered historically and what is expected this year given the current situation and the challenges the country faces.

China’s ruling Communist Party holds a National Congress every five years to, among other duties, form a new Central Committee. In its present form, the committee consists of 205 full members and 171 alternate members.

The Central Committee, when the National Congress is not in session, is the party’s “highest leading body” according to its constitution. From its ranks the top party leadership is chosen, including the Politburo, the Politburo Standing Committee and the General Secretary.

The Central Committee typically convenes for seven plenums during each five-year term. The first and second plenums focus more on the tasks of the new leadership and matters of personnel.

The third plenum, convened roughly one year after the selection of new leadership at the National Congress, tends to draw more attention because it often unveils policies that could change the direction of the Chinese economy.

At the third plenum of the 11th Central Committee, held in December 1978, Deng Xiaoping set China on the road to reform and a nationwide economic transformation that, among other pivotal decisions, allowed foreign businesses to operate in China.

The meeting paved the way for China to emerge from poverty and become the world’s second-largest economy.

The plenum in 1993, held by the 14th Central Committee under the administration of Jiang Zemin, solidified China’s transition to a socialist market economy by shuttering many loss-making state-owned enterprises.

It was ultimately regarded as a move that revitalised the Chinese economy, but also one that led to a surge in the jobless population by shattering the “iron rice bowl” of guaranteed employment.

The 18th Central Committee’s third plenum, held in November 2013 – a year after President Xi Jinping took office – grabbed global attention as it vowed to let the market play a decisive role in resource allocation and laid out dozens of market-oriented reform measures.

The third plenum in 2018 was the first held in spring for several decades, and it focused on a reshuffling of Communist Party personnel and reforms of state institutions rather than economic issues.

A readout issued after a Politburo meeting on Tuesday indicated the coming plenum will take the opportunity to press ahead with reform in an effort to counter economic headwinds and cement the country’s position in an intensifying global rivalry with the United States.

Academics and observers have predicted the introduction of policies to address some of the country’s economic woes, particularly those caused by mounting local government debt and an ailing real estate sector.

Tech innovation and self-reliance are also likely to be major topics.

Currently, the world’s second-largest economy is ageing fast and faces upheaval in its supply chains thanks in part to tech curbs from the US.

The economy grew by 5.3 per cent in the first quarter, beating expectations, but business sentiment is still weak and a prolonged property crisis continues to drag on recovery.

Singapore jails Chinese national 15 months for role in US$2.2 billion money laundering case

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3260919/singapore-jails-chinese-national-15-months-role-us22-billion-money-laundering-case?utm_source=rss_feed

A 45-year-old man linked to Singapore’s largest money laundering case was sentenced to 15 months’ jail on Tuesday.

He is the fifth of 10 accused persons to be dealt with in relation to the case.

Zhang Ruijin pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two counts of forgery-related offences and one of failing to satisfactorily account for property reasonably suspected to be benefits from criminal conduct.

Another five similar charges were taken into consideration for his sentencing.

Zhang, a Chinese national, was initially charged with three counts of forgery-related offences and last Friday was handed five additional charges involving forgery and his inability to account for about S$36 million (US$26.4 million) that flowed into his bank accounts.

Zhang’s 15-month jail term – to be backdated by about eight months to the date of his arrest last August – is the harshest meted out so far in relation to the S$3 billion (US$2.2 billion) case.

The four others dealt with before him were handed between 13 and 14 months’ jail each.

The court heard that Zhang was one of 10 individuals arrested during an island-wide raid on August 15, 2023 as part of the authorities’ crackdown on suspected money laundering activities.

Singapore jails second man in US$2.2 billion money laundering case

More than S$131 million worth of assets comprising cash, cryptocurrency and vehicles, among others, were seized from Zhang.

The court heard that between July and October 2020, deposits amounting to S$24 million were made into Zhang’s CIMB account in Singapore.

When the bank asked the accused to explain the source of the monies and provide documentary support, Zhang claimed that the funds came from him selling a property in Macau.

He later submitted a document dated June 20, 2020 purportedly showing the sale.

Prosecutors said Zhang knew this was a forged document because he did not own such a property to begin with, and that he had obtained the document from a person specifically to back up his claim to the bank.

He had similarly provided CIMB another forged document some time in August 2020.

This time, the document purportedly showed that he received a loan of HK$7.5 million, to account for a deposit of such an amount into his account.

Zhang failed to satisfactorily account for his possession of this sum, which is reasonably suspected to represent benefits of criminal conduct, at least indirectly or in part. This became the subject of the third charge against him.

The prosecution sought a total sentence of between 14 and 16 months’ jail for the offences.

They noted the transnational element in Zhang’s offences, adding that there was some level of “sophistication” involved in the forgery-related charges, which were done to circumvent anti-money-laundering measures.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ryan Lim said: “Offences which affect the delivery of financial services or the integrity of the economic infrastructure do attract [a need for] general deterrence, and our submission is that this is precisely such a case”.

Singapore’s US$1.3 billion probe exposes Chinese criminals’ paid-for passports

The defence asked for a slightly lower sentence of not more than 14 months’ jail.

Defence lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam cited as mitigating factors his client’s guilty plea, his cooperation with the authorities and the voluntarily giving up of his assets.

He added that “all show that this is a man who is sorry for what he has done”.

In sentencing, District Judge Ow Yong Tuck Leong said the court needs to send a strong signal that money laundering offences cannot be tolerated and will be dealt with severely.

He noted how the forgery offences were committed to deceive the local banks and facilitate the transfer of large sums of money into Singapore.

“[The offences] have undermined the confidence and integrity of our banking system,” said the judge.

Singapore jails Fujian native in US$2.2 billion money laundering case

This, he said, would lead to additional safeguards to be implemented, which in turn would increase compliance costs that are ultimately borne by the wider community.

The other four offenders linked to the money laundering case already dealt with by the courts received the following sentences:

For each count of fraudulent use of forged documents, Zhang could have been sentenced to jail for up to four years, fined, or both.

For not being able to account satisfactorily his possession of property reasonably suspected of representing benefits from criminal conduct, he could have been handed a fine of not more than S$150,000, jailed for up to three years, or both.

This story was originally published by

China vows ‘firm support’ for Peru as foreign minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea Franco visits Beijing

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3260917/china-vows-firm-support-peru-foreign-minister-javier-gonzalez-olaechea-franco-visits-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed

China pledged to promote deeper cooperation with Latin America when the Peruvian foreign minister visited Beijing on Monday.

Wang Yi, the Chinese Foreign Minister, told his counterpart Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea Franco that both Beijing and Lima would “firmly support each other” on their core issues, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

Calling Peru a “significant member in the Global South”, Wang said China would help the country’s industrialisation process and strengthen cooperation in fields such as education, culture, tourism and technology.

He also said China and Peru oppose “unilaterality, bullying, polarisation and confrontation among major powers” while supporting “peace and democracy in the international community”.

The statement added: “China and Peru agreed to promote the in-depth development of cooperation between China and Latin American and Caribbean countries.”

In response, Gonzalez-Olaechea said Lima also promotes an “equal and orderly” multipolar world.

The Peruvian minister also met Vice-President Han Zheng and confirmed Lima’s willingness to invite President Xi Jinping to visit Peru next year for the inauguration of the China-funded Chancay mega port.

Work on the US$3 billion port, which is being built under the Belt and Road Initiative, a transcontinental infrastructure project, started in 2011.

The port in Chancay, which is around 70km (43 miles) north of Lima has been described as a new gateway to Asia and is on track to open four of its 11 berths by the end of the year, offering a faster Pacific Ocean route to China.

However, the Peruvian government is currently embroiled in a dispute with Cosco Shipping, the state-owned Chinese firm that is building the port and is expected to invest US$1.3 billion in the first stage of construction.

US, China must engage more with developing Apec economies, Peru trade chief says

Peru is trying to cancel a deal giving the firm exclusivity rights, something it says was the result of an “administrative error”.

The government has said it wants to avoid going to an international tribunal and earlier this month Cosco offered Peru the chance to go through a six-month negotiation process to resolve the dispute amicably.

Besides the mega port, China has also funded a variety of infrastructure and mining projects in the country.

Chinese firms account for all of Peru’s iron production and more than a fifth of its copper production in 2021, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce.

While China has been Peru’s top trading partner since 2014, its focus has traditionally been on buying commodities, including minerals, flour and fish.

Conversely, the US has historically shown a preference for engaging with Peru’s manufacturing sector, which plays a greater role in job creation and technological advancement.

However, in recent years, Beijing has been more active in fields such as ports and energy. In 2022, the main exports from China to Peru were electromechanics, hi-tech products, textiles and garments, according to the Chinese data.

Peru megaport to open new Pacific route to China. Will it be a win for all?

Last year, President Xi met his Peruvian counterpart Dina Boluarte on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum summit in San Francisco.

Five Peruvian cities, including the capital Lima, will host the Apec summit this year.

China’s most powerful space engine configuration is ‘ready for flight’

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3260874/chinas-most-powerful-space-engine-configuration-ready-flight?utm_source=rss_feed

China has completed ignition testing for the most powerful and complex engine configuration in its Long March rocket programme, with the array ready for flight tests, according to the aerospace authority.

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) said the four parallel liquid oxygen kerosene (kerolox) engines generated a total thrust of more than 500 tonnes in a test on Sunday at the Tongchuan Test Centre in the northwestern province of Shaanxi.

Chief designer Li Bin, from the CASC-affiliated Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology in Xian, said that Sunday’s test “fully verified” the engines’ compatibility as well as their individual reliability.

“The new engine is now ready to move to the flight test phase,” he told state broadcaster CCTV on Monday.

The YF-100K engines, which each produced 130 tonnes of thrust, were designed with a pump back swing technology, which effectively reduces the size and weight of the engine structure compared to the traditional front pump swing design.

“Engines built with the pump back swing technology are typically more compact. For instance, we can fit four of them into a 3.8m-wide first-stage rocket, and seven into a 5m-wide first-stage,” Li said.

The engines are the latest variant of the YF-100 kerolox engine, which powers the side boosters of China’s largest and most powerful launch vehicle, the Long March 5.

While the CASC did not specify which rocket will be powered by the four parallel YF-100K engines, it said they will be used for a Long March model that will make its debut this year.

CCTV reported in February that the two-stage Long March 12 – China’s first rocket with a 3.8 metre (12ft 5in) diameter – is expected to make its maiden flight in 2024, from one of the new commercial launch pads at the Wenchang spaceport in Hainan province.

The 59-metre (nearly 7ft) Long March 12 will be a medium-lift launch vehicle capable of carrying a 10-tonne payload to low Earth orbit and six tonnes to a 700km (435 miles) sun-synchronous orbit.

In September, CCTV said that YF-100K engines will be used for Long March 10 – the superheavy carrier rocket China is developing to put its astronauts on the Moon before 2030 – which is expected to make its maiden flight in 2027.

US-China space race fuelled by lunar landings and orbital ‘parking spots’

At 92 metres (300ft) tall and with a diameter of 5 metres (16ft 5in), the moon rocket’s first-stage core and two boosters will each be powered by seven YF-100K engines to create an enormous 2,600 tonnes of thrust at lift-off, the report said.

The Long March 10 will be able to deliver 70 tonnes to low Earth orbit and 27 tonnes into trans-lunar injection orbit, the critical step towards putting a spacecraft on a trajectory for a moon landing.

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What is ‘emotional theft’? China youth embrace small acts of resistance to flee repetitive existence

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3259845/what-emotional-theft-china-youth-embrace-small-acts-resistance-flee-repetitive-existence?utm_source=rss_feed

A new phenomenon is emerging among young Chinese adults, with many people “derailing” their lives on purpose by living in secret.

This may mean they never tell their mother how much they earn, or partners decide to live in separate rooms. Some participants are even building a social media profile that is only visible only to themselves.

The lifestyle is called tou gan, which literally means “emotional theft”. So what does it entail and how did it come about? The Post explains.

What is tou gan?

The phrase refers to a secretive lifestyle involving small acts of “resistance” that circumvent the conformities of ordinary life.

The unconventional lifestyle has become a form of self-love.

For example, followers of tou gan might leave their job early to resist the widespread cultural norm of working overtime. They might also order fatty takeout food in rebellion against a disciplined lifestyle of healthy eating.

Kitty, not her real name, a woman from Guangdong province in southern China who practices “emotional theft”, never tells her parents how much she earns, which would be considered rude in many Chinese families.

After six years of working, whenever her mother asks about her salary, she always says it is 13,000 yuan (US$1,800).

“The number is made up, but it is tethered to reality. I would never tell her the exact amount,” she said.

Kitty does not want her mother to know about her monthly spending because her mother prioritises frugality, so she may face criticisms for any expenditure her mother believes is overly indulgent.

According to her mother’s calculations, Kitty’s savings should be enough to buy a car and a house in the future.

“But I hardly have any savings. So “derailing” what I tell my mother is literally a lifesaver,” she said.

Secret corners

Many practitioners seek small spaces, sometimes literally, where they have complete control over their lives.

A woman surnamed Chang from the southern city of Shenzhen decided to start living in separate rooms from her boyfriend this year.

It is generally assumed that couples living together should share a bed.

“I wanted to steal some personal time from our daily routine of living as a couple,” said Chang.

The privacy and independence of separate rooms gave her an “unprecedented sense of freedom”.

By subtly disrupting the social order, “emotional thieves” are finding moments of joy in the more mundane parts of life.

One anonymous person admitted to secretly crushing instant noodles at the supermarket. “I’m sorry, but I’ve always wanted to do this, it’s such a stress reliever,” the person wrote on Weibo.

Another confessed to sneaking off to the restroom to sleep during working hours: “I’ve never been late or left early, but today I was just too tired.”

A 24-year-old student in central China’s Henan province surnamed Wang has a secret tattoo on his left arm in memory of his grandfather, who passed away in February.

Under Chinese law, people with visible tattoos are unable to sit medical examinations required for civil service exams in some state institutions.

“My feeling of suffocation would be too strong if I did not occasionally deviate from life’s rules,” said Wang.

Caring for others

An important factor of “emotional theft” is that lifestyle often includes significant consideration about what others think.

Xu, a 20-year-old Chinese girl who grew up in rural China, sees international travel as a symbol of luxury. So, when she visited South Korea she posted pictures on social media that were set to be visible only to herself.

She craved discovery and praise for her travel photos yet worried about feelings of jealousy or inferiority from friends.

So Xu decided to keep her travel memories a secret.

“I secretly keep these precious travel memories for my own viewing. I feel very happy every time I look at them,” she said.

While emotional thieves may not disrupt a company on a similar scale as those who “lie flat”, the trend is another example of young Chinese trying to find avenues to pursue their individual wants and desires amid a high-pressure work and social environment.

Hong Kong’s John Lee will urge Beijing to add more mainland Chinese cities to solo traveller scheme

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3260897/hong-kongs-john-lee-will-urge-beijing-add-more-mainland-chinese-cities-solo-traveller-scheme?utm_source=rss_feed

Hong Kong’s leader will urge Beijing to allow residents from more mainland Chinese cities to visit by further expanding a solo traveller scheme which he has said will boost the economy and the tourism sector.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also said on Tuesday authorities were ready for the Labour Day “golden week” holiday, vowing to inform the public as soon as possible over any changes to a major pyrotechnics display amid the unstable weather.

The city is expected to welcome at least 800,000 mainland visitors over the break, which begins on Wednesday.

Lee said his administration was targeting big spenders in its efforts to lure tourists from across the border and he would call on mainland authorities to add more cities to an individual visitor scheme that was expanded earlier this year.

“I will continue to report on Hong Kong’s situation to the central government, as well as discuss and actively fight for more measures that benefit and support Hong Kong,” he said.

“In particular, I will be fighting for more mainland cities to be opened up for individual visits to Hong Kong, so we can allow more high-spending mainland compatriots to come to the city.”

He said such arrivals could boost the city’s “popularity and prosperity”.

Be ‘mentally prepared’ for changes to Hong Kong fireworks amid rain: minister

Beijing in February added Xian and Qingdao to the Individual Visit Scheme, which already covered 49 mainland cities, including many first-tier ones such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Chongqing.

The scheme allows residents of these cities to visit Hong Kong on their own rather than by joining tour groups. Tourists can make one or two visits to Hong Kong and Macau within three months or a year, with each trip limited to seven days.

Lee has previously said residents of Xian and Qingdao are categorised as high-income and high-spending consumers, with the measure used to help lure such overnight visitors.

Addressing concerns over possible changes to the planned pyrotechnics display at Victoria Harbour on Wednesday, the city leader said authorities would keep residents and visitors updated as the city braced for more heavy rain and thunderstorms.

“We will do our best. But of course, the weather is always unpredictable,” Lee said.

Hong Kong tourism sector hoping for 30% bump in visitors over ‘golden week’

The display will be the first in a series of similar events announced as part of Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po’s latest budget, with Wednesday’s show including patterns such as smiley faces and the letters “HK” as the pyrotechnics soar up to 100 metres (328 feet) into the night sky.

Lee said a wide range of activities had been arranged to welcome visitors during the holiday period and the government would do its best to ensure tourists enjoyed their time in the city.

The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau had already organised meetings to ensure preparations were on track in areas such as border crossings, he said.

The government predicted the city would log 5.9 million arrivals and departures during the break, which lasts five days on the mainland.

Lee said staff from the city’s Tourism Commission would also be deployed to ensure that arrangements were functioning smoothly.

---

China’s Communist Party to hold long-delayed third plenum, a key meeting for economic strategy

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3260901/chinas-communist-party-hold-long-delayed-third-plenum-key-meeting-economic-strategy?utm_source=rss_feed

The elite of China’s ruling Communist Party will gather for its long-awaited third plenary session in July, a meeting that is expected to shed light on the country’s general economic direction and key party appointments.

The conclave will see the gathering of the 376 full and alternate members of the new Central Committee.

The decision was made at a meeting of the Politburo, the party’s 24-man decision-making body, on Tuesday, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The meeting on Tuesday also analysed the country’s economic situation and economic work, Xinhua said.

Investors at home and abroad will be looking to the meeting for signs of whether China will switch its priority from security back to economic development with clear policies in areas such as the housing market, fiscal reform and financial regulation.

Xi Jinping hypes up obstacle-crushing reforms for China amid third-plenum buzz

The session, also known as a plenum, traditionally sets economic strategy for the next five to 10 years and is often seen as the most important of the seven party gatherings held over the Central Committee’s five-year cycle.

Over the past four decades, third plenums have typically been held in October or November, and it is the first time since 1984 that the party has not convened one in the year following the twice-a-decade party congress.

The third plenum in December 1978, when leader Deng Xiaoping launched the “reform and opening up” policy, was a watershed moment for China after the devastating Cultural Revolution.

At the third plenum in November 1993, then-president Jiang Zemin jump-started stalled pro-market reforms by establishing the goal of creating a “socialist market economy”.

Two decades later, the Central Committee under President Xi Jinping endorsed an ambitious economic reform agenda based on the principle of granting market forces the “decisive role” in resource allocation – a goal that has yet to be fully realised across China’s state-dominated economy.

The plenum is also typically a venue for announcing progress in investigations into senior officials.

Beijing has said little about what prompted the removal last year of former foreign minister Qin Gang, former defence minister Li Shangfu, and various senior military officers – all of whom are members of the Central Committee.

More to follow ...

China declares probe into another former justice official, Liu Zhiqiang, who was vice-minister and on Interpol committee

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3260896/china-declares-probe-another-former-justice-official-liu-zhiqiang-who-was-vice-minister-and-interpol?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing’s former vice-justice minister Liu Zhiqiang, who once served on the committee of Interpol, has been placed under investigation in China, according to the country’s top anti-graft agency on Tuesday.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection published a brief statement on its website saying Liu, 60, was “undergoing disciplinary review and supervisory investigation” and was “suspected of serious violations of discipline and law” – a euphemism for corruption.

The statement did not give further details.

Liu was vice-minister at China’s justice ministry from January 2016 to June 2023.

He studied as an English major in Beijing in the early 1980s, then spent more than three decades in police-related foreign affairs positions before moving to the Ministry of Justice, public records show.

Liu started as a junior staff member at the Ministry of Public Security’s foreign affairs bureau in 1984 and rose through the ranks in its European and American affairs division.

In 1991-92, Liu was sent by the Chinese government to study police science and criminal justice at the University of Exeter in Britain where he earned a master's degree.

He became deputy foreign affairs bureau chief in the public security ministry from 1999 to 2004. It overlapped with a stint from 2000 to 2003 as a member of the executive committee of the International Criminal Police Organisation, known as Interpol. The Lyon-based intergovernmental body allows police from different countries – including between countries that do not share diplomatic relations – to work together to tackle crime.

Man behind China’s first approved Covid-19 shot loses seat in legislature

He was promoted to foreign affairs bureau chief for the Ministry of Public Security in 2004, and in 2005 headed its international cooperation bureau.

Liu left Beijing in 2012 for China’s northwest Qinghai province where he led the provincial public security department and served as vice-provincial governor before returning to the Ministry of Justice in 2016.

The investigation into Liu comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping promotes a resolute crackdown on the country’s security and law enforcement apparatus, a campaign has been described as “turning the blade inward”. Hundreds of senior officials at a ministerial level have been brought down as Xi’s signature anti-corruption campaign enters its 11th year.

The probe into Liu closely follows that of Tang Yijun, China’s justice minister from 2020 to 2023, with whom Liu shared a work relationship for around three years. Tang was placed under investigation this month.

Liu’s tenure at the justice ministry also overlaps with Fu Zhenghua, China’s justice minister from 2018 to 2020, who was charged with corruption in 2021 and jailed for life in 2022 for taking 117 million yuan (US$16 million) in crimes that include bribery. Fu was also once China’s most powerful police chief.

Wu Aiying, a long-serving justice minister from 2005 to 2017, also fell under disgrace over corruption charges and was stripped of her party membership in 2017.

[World] BBC onboard Philippine ship hit by Chinese water cannons

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-68925650The BBC’s Jonathan Head witnessed the confrontation in the disputed South China Sea.

China’s private pension push marred by weak financial literacy, as ‘people still have no idea’

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3260813/chinas-private-pension-push-marred-weak-financial-literacy-people-still-have-no-idea?utm_source=rss_feed

Now in her late thirties, Ruth Pan has not thought much about retirement, nor has she considered contributing to China’s newly implemented private pension plan.

The sales manager from the eastern city of Hangzhou learned about the plan when it was launched there over a year ago as a pilot scheme, but she found it unappealing.

“I know there’s tax relief, but it’s quite limited. And as a middle-aged person with parents and kids to support, I need my money to be more flexible,” she said.

The voluntary personal pension fund, which has been in place for decades in many advanced economies, is still being trialed in just 36 Chinese cities. But it is expected to be extended nationwide this year as the country attempts to cope with unprecedented demographic challenges, including a rapidly ageing population.

However, like Pan, many people have remained hesitant to participate, and experts say this is owing largely to the product’s lack of attractiveness in economically difficult times, or because of consumers’ poor financial literacy.

‘Enthusiasm is not high’: China’s private pensions struggle to lure investors

With about 210 million people – more than 15 per cent of the population – aged 65 and above as of last year, China is looking to supplement its state pension fund that has become increasingly strained in recent years.

And Premier Li Qiang’s government work report in March indicated that the private pension fund, which was first offered in trial cities in November 2022, could be rolled out for all Chinese people this year.

Heavily promoted by government authorities in the past couple of years, personal pension accounts swelled to 50 million by the end of 2023, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Participants can invest in financial products that differ among banks, including deposits, stocks and wealth-management tools.

However, only about one-fifth of those retirement accounts were actually receiving contributions. And the average contribution among citizens covered by the basic national pension scheme was just one-sixth of the annual upper limit of 12,000 yuan (US$1,655) that can be deducted from their taxable income.

Besides a low level of flexibility, as noted by Pan, people are still cautious because of weak expectations for the pension’s long-term value preservation and appreciation, according to Suo Lingyan, a professor specialising in social security with the School of Economics at Peking University.

“The primary reason a consumer is willing to sacrifice liquidity to purchase pension products with a long closed period is the product’s ability to maintain and increase its value,” she said in an article published in the Economic Daily earlier this month.

But interest rate cuts in the past year have weakened expectations, she said.

Professor Wu Fei, from the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance under Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said Chinese consumers generally lack awareness of long-term financial planning and the ability to choose the right pension products, which is largely due to their low financial literacy.

Chinese people achieved an overall average financial literacy score of 68.7 out of 100 points – with big discrepancies and imbalances across different ages, regions, educational backgrounds and income levels – according to the results of a survey that polled more than 10,000 people across the country, with the findings jointly released this month by Wu’s institute and financial services provider Charles Schwab.

China also needs to keep optimising incentives to persuade more people to start contributing to the personal pension early, said Thomas Pixley, general manager of Charles Schwab’s Shanghai office.

While such a retirement programme was adopted as early as in the 1970s in the United States, tax incentives have been continually adjusted to encourage sign-ups over the past half-century, he said.

“Things in China are still at an early stage, and many people still have no idea what the advantage of a personal pension plan is, and they don’t know about the tax benefits,” Pixley said.

‘Enthusiasm is not high’: China’s private pensions struggle to lure investors

Another survey on retirement preparation, with findings released last year by the Insurance Asset Management Association of China, showed that about 40 per cent of respondents had heard of the personal pension fund but did not understand it, and 12 per cent had never heard about it until being asked in the survey.

The government’s decision to extend the pilot scheme nationwide means that “relevant policies are to be continuously optimised during the national implementation”, former finance minister Lou Jiwei said at a forum on the senior care industry on Thursday.

He stressed the urgency of expanding the plan amid China’s deepening demographic shift.

Citing a government think tank report on the financial sustainability of China’s basic pension system, Lou warned that if the current payment rate remains unchanged, the state pension fund for urban enterprise employees will be exhausted by 2035.

For years, Chinese authorities have been discussing whether to raise retirement ages for men and women that are among the lowest in the world, but no changes have been made.

‘Only rain and snow for water’: Chinese filmmaker charts her family’s rise from harsh rural roots

https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/film-tv/article/3260817/only-rain-and-snow-water-chinese-filmmaker-charts-her-familys-rise-harsh-rural-roots?utm_source=rss_feed

Filmmaker and multimedia artist Zhao Yehui went looking for country roads to take her home – or more accurately, to the home of her forebears, shrouded in the mists of time. But once there, she found more than mere ghosts.

In a pocket of the Loess Plateau, in central China’s Shanxi province, Zhao found her way to the village of Xi Jiao Gou – and into the centre of a family story embracing revolution, famine, conflict and eventual dispersal.

Zhao chronicles the lives and times of four generations in her forthcoming film, May the Soil be Everywhere, begun in 2021 and now in post-production. “It’s my first feature-length documen­tary and spans the seasons of the vil­lage,” says Zhao, 32, on a Zoom call from her home in New York.

But before those seasons could be depicted, the village had to be identified. And that meant finding the century-old cave dwellings built by her great-grandfather.

Zhao, who left her native Taiyuan, the Shanxi capital, to study in the United States in 2015, won a US$75,000 International Documentary Association award to cover production costs. She recently spent seven months researching and shooting her film – and discovering how harsh life once was – back in her homeland.

“The village was built by my great-grandfather in the early 1900s,” says Zhao. “He went there as a teenager, to escape famine. It was wilderness – a valley in a huge, forested mountain range. With only rain and snow for water he was able to raise a community.”

That community, occupying homes dug from soil, thrived for decades.

But timing is said to be everything: a maxim proved correct by Xi Jiao Gou, for better or worse.

The village experienced its share of 20th cen­tury China’s political turmoil; and, as Zhao discovered, particularly in the wake of the Cultural Revolution villagers embarked on “different life trajectories”.

“Some were persecuted. Some received land. Different life stories,” she says.

Not that the thrust of May the Soil be Everywhere is political.

After ‘Picasso of the East’ left China, his life was a mystery. Until now

“My grandmother Zhang Xiuying is the protagonist, so I learn the story of her father and the village from her,” says Zhao. “But I wanted to find the village myself and feel the spirit of my great-grandfather.

“The nearest city is Changzhi, but the village has been abandoned since the 1970s and nobody knew where it was. So I went to a place nearby and asked the locals.

“Some had heard of my great-grandfather but tried to persuade me not to go, because the mountain road can no longer be used.”

Zhao was not to be deterred. “There was construction near the village, with trucks driving to and from a quarry. I hitchhiked to get to the area. From the quarry I was able to hike up the mountain,” she says.

When the documentary is released (initially at a major film festival, then theatrically, then on streaming services), viewers should expect the unorthodox.

Zhao’s previous films, featured at the likes of the Asian American International Film Festival, DOC NYC and the Spain Moving Images Festival, often use poetry, animation, graphics or personal performances by Zhao as part of the action.

Meanwhile, the stories behind May the Soil be Everywhere take shape through her grandmother’s recollections, and also poignant absences.

“One reason for making this film,” she reveals, “was that when I asked about my great-grandfather I was told there were no images of him. So I don’t know what he looked like. There is a lack of family images of our ancestors, so with the film I hoped to create new ones.”

How Hong Kong New Wave director Yim Ho explored rarely seen sides of China

Still fresh in her grandmother’s mind were the rhythms of her earlier life. “From the train station, she used to walk, in the 1970s, day and night for a few days to get to the village,” says Zhao.

“My family cultivated all over the mountains, which have now reverted to wilderness. In the film, my grandmother talks about planting yellow beans, green beans; they planted a lot of wheat, which they would harvest on summer days, waking up at 4am because the fields were so far away.

“There were fruit trees – peaches, apricots, dates. And squash grew in the yard. They planted different crops through the seasons and preserved fruit tree leaves in huge pots in winter, for food,” she says.

“At 90, my grandmother lives with the memories every day. She’s taught me how to harvest, plant, and read clouds to predict the weather. And although she’s no longer a farmer she still plants pepper seeds on her terrace every year, to cook with.

“The film may be about searching for home, but it’s also about love – my grandmother’s enduring love for the land, farming, home.”

And what of its title?

“Hidden in the forest is a shrine to the deity of sky and soil, where my grandmother prayed for rain and safety from wolves. I found it with a farmer who works nearby. It’s overgrown, but we tried to figure out the poetic engravings.

“One side says, ‘May the Growth Flourish Everywhere’.” The other? “‘May the Soil be Everywhere’.”

China now home to 369 unicorns, with an average value of US$3.8 billion, led by AI and semiconductor firms, report says

https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3260831/china-now-home-369-unicorns-average-value-us38-billion-led-ai-and-semiconductor-firms-report-says?utm_source=rss_feed

China is now home to 369 unicorns – start-ups valued at more than US$1 billion – with more than a quarter of these companies involved in the nation’s artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor sectors, according to a new report.

These Chinese unicorns have an average valuation of US$3.8 billion, according to a report jointly published on Sunday by five institutions – including professional services giant KPMG, the Zhongguancun Unicorn Company Development Alliance and consultancy Great Wall Enterprise Institute – at this year’s edition of the five-day Zhongguancun (ZGC) Forum, which concluded on Monday in Beijing.

Across 16 sectors, AI unicorns are the highest valued, at an average of US$6.76 billion, followed by financial technology firms at US$6.57 billion, the report said. The number of unicorns in the AI and semiconductor sectors accounted for 14.1 per cent and 12.2 per cent, respectively, of the 369 total.

China, however, continues to remain behind the United States in the overall number of unicorns, according to the report, which did not cover the mainland firms’ peers in the US.

There were more than 700 unicorns based in the US and over 340 in China in last year’s global tally of 1,453, according to the Global Unicorn Index 2024, published by the Hurun Research Institute earlier this month.

The ZGC report, meanwhile, said Beijing minted the most number of unicorns at 114, followed by 63 in Shanghai and 32 in technology hub Shenzhen in southern Guangdong province.

The growth in unicorn numbers on the mainland reflect the gloomy state of initial public offerings (IPOs) in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen, where more companies have delayed their listing plans.

Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post, last month scrapped the listing of Cainiao Smart Logistics Network, after cancelling the spin-off of its cloud computing business and freezing the IPO of its Freshippo grocery chain last November.

Twenty-five unicorns, according to the ZGC report, were incubated by Chinese Big Tech companies including video gaming and social media powerhouse Tencent Holdings, e-commerce giant Alibaba, and internet search and AI champion Baidu.

More than 70 per cent of the 369 Chinese unicorns also received investment from funds with an international background, the report said.

Established venture capital firms were major sources of funding for Chinese unicorns, according to the report. These included HongShan, formerly Sequoia Capital China, which invested in 96 of the 369 unicorns. Citic Capital was involved in funding 74 of these unicorns, while Tencent invested in 56 firms.

Still, rising geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing could impact future fundraising efforts of Chinese start-ups. US President Joe Biden last year signed an executive order that restricts American investment in sensitive technologies in China, including semiconductors and AI. A US congressional panel last year pursued an investigation into four American venture capital firms over their investments in those two sectors on the mainland.

Retired China woman, 63, turns physical and mental clock back with regular workout regime, impressing many

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3259447/retired-china-woman-63-turns-physical-and-mental-clock-back-regular-workout-regime-impressing-many?utm_source=rss_feed

A 63-year-old woman in China has won plaudits online for her youthful appearance, lean figure and positive approach to ageing.

Zhenzhen, from Yunnan province in southwestern China, has been training regularly in the gym for eight years following retirement.

She was born in October 1960, is 160cm tall, weighs 46kg and has a fat percentage of 17, leaving people in awe of her slim and youthful appearance.

In a viral post on Xiaohongshu, Zhenzhen opened up about how fitness helped her overcome the fear of ageing.

“Now I can feel how the vitality of my body is slowly improving each day, and I sweat for the best feeling of accomplishment,” she said.

“I don’t think any of us can overcome ageing, but if I am healthy and happy as I get old, then I have nothing to be anxious about.”

Zhenzhen is the mother of a 36-year-old son, and a former project manager for a company that installs fire systems. After retiring at 55, she found she had little to occupy her time, and worried about getting old.

Her right ankle had been injured on a construction site, and became swollen when she walked. Her knee joints were also weak, which meant she struggled to bend them.

When Zhenzhen saw a hunched elderly man walking slowly with a cane, it frightened her and she thought: “I’m going to be like that.”

She decided she would start working out to develop a healthier body and a happier life. So, for the last eight years, she has trained in the gym for two hours most days.

Under the instruction of a personal fitness trainer, she prioritised strength training to protect her joints by increasing muscle strength. She combines that with balance training.

“Fitness makes me feel vitalised. I’m always so focused on exercising that I don’t have time to think about the fact that I’m the oldest auntie in the gym,” Zhenzhen said.

“There was a time when I thought I was at the age to say goodbye to tight leggings and tight skirts. Now there is so much less of the flab that plagued my waist and arms. I love my post-workout body lines.”

On Xiaohongshu, Zhenzhen explained she had never had cosmetic medical procedures to look younger, nor had she worked out before retiring.

Her words have resonated widely, as many admitted to the same fears and admired her outlook on life.

Some said she did not look her age, while others praised her discipline and persistence.

“I did not have a body like that even when I was 30,” one online observer said.

“Auntie, you have redefined 60-something,” said another.

“I hope I can be like you when I’m your age,” a third person chimed in.

“When I retired, I agreed with my fitness trainer that I would try to work out until I am 65,” said Zhenzhen on her 63rd birthday, adding: “At today’s training, I told him that I’m going to continue until I’m 70.”

China’s ICBC, Agricultural Bank post profit drops on margin squeeze

https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3260852/chinas-icbc-agricultural-bank-post-profit-drops-margin-squeeze?utm_source=rss_feed

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the nation’s largest lender, reported its first decline in quarterly profit in more than a year as margins continue to contract.

Net income fell 2.78 per cent to 87.7 billion yuan (US$12.1 billion) in the first quarter, the bank said in an exchange filing on Monday. Its net interest margin narrowed to 1.48 per cent from 1.61 per cent at the end of 2023.

Chinese lenders are in the midst of a prolonged squeeze that has narrowed margins to record lows. Beijing has over the past few years called on the banks to cut loan rates and strengthen lending support to areas including its cash-strapped property sector and local governments.

Agricultural Bank of China also suffered its first quarterly profit decline in more than a year, with net income falling 1.6 per cent to 70.4 billion yuan. Its net interest margin narrowed to 1.44 per cent from 1.6 per cent at the end of 2023, while the non-performing loans ratio dropped to 1.32 per cent.

ICBC and Agricultural Bank last reported a decline in net income in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Bank of Communications on Friday said that net income rose 1.4 per cent in the first quarter.

Combined profits at China’s commercial banks rose 3.2 per cent last year, the slowest pace since 2020, according to official data.

Earnings prospects are likely to remain subdued this year. Bloomberg Intelligence estimates bank loan growth will slow to high-single digits in 2024 from 11 per cent last year due to soft demand from both corporate and household segments.

China’s home sales slump dragged on in March, while home price declines deepened from a year earlier for both new and used homes, signalling that a much-hoped-for turnaround for the sector is not in sight yet.

The government may press state banks led by ICBC to continue cutting lending rates, further eroding their margins and making it difficult to grow profits, BI analyst Francis Chan wrote in a note.

[World] Tensions grow as China ramps up mining for green tech

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-68896707

Made in China 2025: China meets most targets in manufacturing plan, proving US tariffs and sanctions ineffective

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3260307/made-china-2025-china-meets-most-targets-manufacturing-plan-proving-us-tariffs-and-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed

In 2015, China set out on an ambitious 10-year plan – dubbed “Made in China 2025” – to achieve self-reliance, innovation and strength in the manufacturing industry within 10 years.

But during that time, a trade war with the United States has done its best to stop China crossing off its list of goals. Now, with only eight months left until 2025, the South China Morning Post has investigated China’s progress.

When the plan was first set out, most cars on Chinese roads were from Western carmakers, and the sky was dominated entirely by aircraft made by American company Boeing or European Airbus. Many Chinese factories could not operate without imported machine tools. Chips, operating systems, and software in computers and mobile phones were mostly sourced from the US. Even the databases used by banks relied on multinational corporations for coding and maintenance.

Back then, China stood at the lower end of the global industrial value chain, producing mostly cheap and technically backward products. Made in China 2025 sought to change that, allowing Chinese manufacturing, through scientific and technological advancements, to produce high-quality, hi-tech and high-value products.

In 2018, then-US president Donald Trump tried to upset China’s plan by initiating a trade war. The US government sanctioned Chinese hi-tech enterprises, put up high tariffs and conducted a nationwide investigation of scientists collaborating with China. After Joe Biden took over as US leader in 2021, he went a step further by imposing measures such as a chip ban on China.

Since the outbreak of the trade war, the Chinese government has refrained from publicly discussing the Made in China 2025 plan, and many related materials have been removed from its websites.

But based on official books published a decade ago and other authoritative sources, the Post has compiled more than 260 goals previously proposed under the plan. These goals span 10 key areas, many involving highly specialised and complex technologies.

And the analysis confirms that more than 86 per cent of these goals have been achieved, with some others likely to be completed later this year or next. Meanwhile some of the targets, such as electric vehicles (EV) and renewable energy production, have been well surpassed.

As a direct result of the persistence and advancement of the Made in China 2025 plan, there have been profound changes in Chinese society: the number of electric vehicles bought by Chinese consumers has now surpassed that of fossil fuel vehicles, with the most popular being local brands; the Chinese-made passenger plane C919 has begun serving some of the busiest routes; the widespread adoption of 5G technology allows railway passengers in China to enjoy high-speed internet even when passing through tunnels; China has more smart factories and automated terminals than any other country; high-end phones using domestic chips and operating systems have become bestsellers; and the production capacity of Chinese shipyards has surpassed that of the United States by over 200 times, among others.

Some goals remain unfulfilled, including advanced photolithography technology which is used in circuit manufacturing, intercontinental passenger aircraft and broadband internet satellite networks. This year, the Chinese government has proposed another ambitious plan to develop “new productive forces”, which is seen as a continuation of the Made in China 2025 initiative.

Now, faced with high-quality and low-cost hi-tech products from China, especially in photovoltaics, large wind turbines and electric vehicles, the West is considering launching a new round of trade wars and sanctions.

But it is doubtful just how successful they may be. Looking at the restrictive measures the West has put in place to date, they have proven limited in their effectiveness – and sometimes even counterproductive.

One of the areas where China has faced the most roadblocks has been the information technology industry.

The United States and its allies not only prevent Chinese companies from accessing advanced chip technology but they also make it difficult for Chinese-produced telecommunications products, such as 5G base stations, to enter European and American markets. The inevitable decrease in revenue in turn puts pressure on scientific and technological research and development.

Despite this challenge, China has achieved most of the goals set in integrated circuits, communication equipment, operating systems, industrial software and smart manufacturing. Chinese companies can now produce high-value products including servers, desktop CPUs, solid-state drives, high-speed fibre optics, industrial operating systems and big data systems. Some of these products have captured a considerable market share.

AI phones became a hot topic at last year’s CES (Consumer Electronics Show), but as early as 2015, China had already included AI-enhanced mobile chipsets in its planning. Nowadays, Chinese smartphones with AI features are highly competitive and have become a much sought-after feature for buyers.

In the field of photolithography technology, Huawei Technologies has achieved double or multiple exposure processes for high-end chip manufacturing. However, China has not yet achieved industrialisation of the most advanced EUV photolithography technology, so this goal has not been fully achieved.

The goal of autonomous measuring and detection equipment has also not been accomplished, in part because there are fewer US sanctions in this field. According to the latest industry data, most smart meters and online compositional analysis equipment used in the Chinese market are still foreign brands.

In the world of EVs, the technologically advanced vehicles produced in China have been eagerly sought by global consumers, propelling China to surpass Japan as the world’s biggest car exporter last year.

In fact, the more acclaim the Chinese EVs attract, the more sanctions they are hit with; they have become the main target of a new round of sanctions and tariffs with the US and some European countries citing Chinese government intervention as their reasons for the move.

Even the Chinese government did not anticipate the rapid growth in demand for electric vehicles. According to the Made in China 2025 goals, EV annual sales were supposed to reach 3 million by next year, but Chinese carmakers sold close to 10 million last year, with BYD Automotive alone exceeding 3 million.

Chinese electric vehicles are not only price-competitive but also technologically ahead of their competitors. As early as a decade ago, the Chinese government set the development of low-cost, high-performance, vehicle-mounted lidar as a national goal. This has enabled Chinese carmakers to develop more reliable and powerful intelligent driving systems than competitors like Tesla, which do not use lidar.

Nowadays, new Chinese-branded cars can connect to the internet and provide rich entertainment features – something which was also planned a decade ago.

Of course, some goals were set too optimistically. For instance, the energy density requirement for automotive batteries was set at 400 watt hours per kilogram, but the mainstream products on the market now only have a density of just over 200Wh/kg. The goal of achieving fully autonomous driving by next year also seems far off at this point.

Also, apart from Huawei, most Chinese carmakers still rely on US companies like NVIDIA for their autonomous driving chips, falling short of the localisation rate target. However, some insiders believe that the use of Chinese high-end chips in EVs will increase significantly from this year.

Aerospace is one of the longest-sanctioned sectors in China. Chinese satellites and rockets cannot use American chips, components or technology. Non-Western satellites using US technology cannot be launched in China. Nasa scientists are also banned by law from any communication with their Chinese counterparts.

The strict rules meant Chinese scientists and engineers had to rely purely on their own efforts – and it has paid off. They have achieved almost all the goals, including Mars landing exploration, the global BeiDou satellite navigation system, a space station, landing on the far side of the moon and building the world’s largest commercial satellite observation network for Earth observation.

Several Chinese space companies also plan to launch reusable rockets later this year or next, so that goal may be achieved on time.

However, the speed of building a giant internet satellite constellation to compete with Starlink has been slower than expected. Also, the asteroid exploration plan originally scheduled for launch in 2023 has been postponed to 2025.

Meanwhile, in China’s power equipment technology sector, according to the Post’s investigation, the Made in China 2025 plan has seen the country transform from a follower to a leader.

Chinese scientists and engineers have developed the world’s most efficient and clean coal-fired generating units, as well as a new generation of nuclear power technologies including high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, sodium-cooled fast reactors and thorium-based molten salt reactors.

They have also created the world’s most powerful hydroelectric generating units, the most efficient solar power stations, the most powerful wind turbines and the most advanced, largest-scale long-distance transmission and distribution network.

These advances have had a ripple effect, improving the global competitiveness of China’s entire manufacturing sector, and also potentially impacting future artificial intelligence (AI) competition because of AI’s high energy consumption.

The sector’s unmet goals include ultra-high-power gas turbine power generation equipment and a 2 gigawatt nuclear pressurised water reactor.

In the areas of robotics, agricultural equipment, biopharmaceuticals and marine engineering, all the goals set have been achieved.

Chinese companies can independently design and manufacture the world’s most advanced superconducting magnetic resonance system, which can generate a magnetic field of 5 tesla, 70 per cent higher than the planned target. Its price is just one-tenth of similar Western products, significantly reducing the cost of hospital examinations for Chinese patients needing MRIs.

Anti-cancer drugs developed by Chinese companies have started to enter the US market, with prices just a fraction of similar drugs offered by Western pharmaceutical companies.

Technological advancements have also significantly increased China’s agricultural output. Despite limited cultivated land, China produces more than half the world’s vegetables, thanks to the use of drones, automatic seeders and biotechnology.

Products like robot dogs made by Chinese companies have also beaten international competitors with leading performance and low prices.

Plus, China has now become the largest shipbuilding factory on Earth, capable of producing all types of civil and military vessels, with most key equipment being self-reliant.

The sector with the lowest Made in China 2025 completion rate is new materials, now at only 75 per cent.

The pending targets include the industrialisation of large-size deep-ultraviolet non-linear crystals, low-cost titanium alloy powder, certain special superconducting materials, graphene electrode materials that can double the range of lithium-ion battery-powered cars, and some special chemical materials.

“China has basically achieved the vision set 10 years ago,” according to Zang Jiyuan, a scholar specialising in strategic research on China’s manufacturing sector at the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE).

“Manufacturing development in China has never been at a standstill, and containment by the West has been accelerating China’s efforts to achieve technological self-reliance.”

Many other countries have initiated similar plans to bolster their manufacturing sector. Germany’s “Industry 4.0”, introduced in April 2013, focused on digitising supply, manufacturing and sales data within production processes. The US launched the “Industrial Internet Revolution” at about the same time, aiming to improve industrial processes through the Internet of Things and big data technologies.

In May 2015, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry initiated a plan for a digital upgrade of the manufacturing sector. France also launched its “New Industrial France” programme to adapt digitisation and smart technologies.

Since 2012, a team led by CAE researchers has been working on a scoring system to measure the performance and strength of the manufacturing sector in nine major countries. The results show that China has made significant progress over the past decade.

While total output is important, the index also measures dimensions such as the economic efficiency, innovation and industrial structure of the manufacturing sector. For example, if a country’s manufacturing sector has more globally recognised brands, higher R&D investment intensity and higher product profitability, it will receive a higher score in the system.

In 2012, China scored 89 points, placing it fourth in the world, with the United States (156), Japan (126) and Germany (119) making up the top three.

By comparison, according to the latest annual report released at the end of December last year, China was still in fourth place in 2022, but the gap between its scores and those of the other three countries had narrowed, with the United States, Germany, Japan and China scoring 182, 133, 126 and 124 respectively.

Going by this index alone, Germany and Japan have maintained a relatively stable pace, while the US is making rapid progress and is well ahead of other countries.

“The US is still the undisputed world leader in manufacturing, especially in industries such as military technology and aerospace,” Zang said.