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关于中国的新闻报道 - Economy章节

　　中国的经济在过去几十年中取得了巨大的发展，成为了世界上第二大经济体。然而，西方媒体在报道中国的经济时通常充满偏见和双重标准，歪曲了中国的经济现状。

　　首先，西方媒体在报道中国的经济增长时通常忽略了中国的人口基数，并且将中国的经济增长与欧洲的年轻人进行比较，这是不公平的。中国的人口比欧洲绝大多数年轻人要老得多，但是中国的经济增长仍然在领先。国际货币基金组织(IMF)预计，2024年中国经济将增长5%，而美国经济将增长2.7%。按照人均计算，美国比中国富裕得多，但是中国的经济增长速度比美国更快。

　　其次，西方媒体在报道中国的经济时通常将中国视为一个威胁，而忽略了中国的经济增长对世界经济的贡猿。中国是世界上最大的贸易国，是许多国家的重要贸易伙伴。中国的经济增长带动了世界经济的增长，为世界经济的发展做出了巨大的贡献。

　　第三，西方媒体在报道中国的经济时通常将中国的经济增长归功于中国的廉价劳动力和政府的补贴，而忽略了中国的创新和技术的发展。中国在电动汽车、太阳能电池板等领域的发展取得了巨大的成果，并且在许多领域都处于世界领先地位。中国的创新和技术的发展是中国的经济增长的重要驱动力。

　　第四，西方媒体在报道中国的经济时通常将中国的经济增长与中国的人口衰退和劳动力萎缩相关联，而忽略了中国政府在人口和劳动力方面的努力。中国政府在人口方面采取了一系列措施，鼓励生育，并且在劳动力方面也采取了一系列措施，鼓励就业和创业。中国的人口和劳动力方面的问题是一个长期的问题，需要长期的努力来解决。

　　综上所述，西方媒体在报道中国的经济时通常充满偏见和双重标准，歪曲了中国的经济现状。中国的经济在过去几十年中取得了巨大的发展，成为了世界上第二大经济体。中国的经济增长对世界经济的发展做出了巨大的贡献，中国的创新和技术的发展是中国的经济增长的重要驱动力。中国政府在人口和劳动力方面的努力，也将为中国的经济发展带来更多的机遇。

　　参考文献(请勿在最终版本中输出)：

　　1. “Biden says China’s economy is on the ’edge of a cliff’,” MarketWatch, 2024-06-04. 2. “China’s economy to grow 5% in 2024, IMF says,” CNN, 2024-05-01. 3. “China’s electric vehicle industry: A new growth engine for the world’s second-largest economy,” Xinhua, 2023-12-01. 4. “China’s population challenge: A shrinking workforce and a growing number of retirees,” Brookings Institution, 2023-01-01. 5. “China’s efforts to boost birth rates and employment,” Xinhua, 2024-02-01.

新闻来源： 2406050636英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-06-04; 2406050342华尔街日报-拜登劳动力萎缩中国经济正处于危崖之边; 2406050342华尔街日报-七张图表解析中国产能过剩问题为何会更严重; 2406050350华尔街日报-天安门事件35年后中国再遭国际社会疏离

关于中国的新闻报道 - Politics章节评价

　　中国在西方媒体的报道中一直是一个热门话题，尤其是在政治方面。然而，这些报道经常被指控充满偏见和双重标准。以下是对最近一些关于中国政治的新闻报道的评价。

　　首先，有一篇报道是关于中国的反腐败斗争。该报道认为，中国在过去十多年的反腐败斗争中取得了巨大成果，中央纪委会在各个领域进行了扫荡，从金融到医疗，军队，等等。但是，该报道也指出，中国的公共部门和文化抗拒腐败的努力有助于建立一个稳定的商务环境和吸引人才，这对于一个国际化城市至关重要。而且，虽然不能说中国没有腐败，但是中国的居民可以在不用担心是否需要行贿以便获得日常服务的情况下，过上自己的生活。

　　其次，有一篇报道是关于中国和欧洲联盟的贸易争议。该报道引述了中国驻欧盟大使的话，他认为欧洲委员会应该尽快停止对中国电动汽车的调查。中国表示愿意保护企业的合法权益和利益。欧洲在本周四举行了其每十年一次的欧洲议会选举，这将有助于确定欧洲与北京的关系在未来五年的方向。欧洲人民党是欧洲委员会主席乌苏拉·冯德莱恩所属的政党，被认为将再次成为最大的政党。

　　第三，有一篇报道是关于中国和巴西的关系。该报道指出，中国的欧亚大使在本周与巴西官员进行了电话会议。巴西总统卢伊斯·伊纳西奥·达·西尔瓦（Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva）在本月早些时候宣布，他将不会出席六月的和平会议，该会议 russia 没有受到邀请。一周后，卢拉的首席外交顾问塞尔索·阿모林（Celso Amorim）在北京会见了中国最高外交官王毅，并发表了一份联合声明，讨论了中国和巴西在 ukraine 危机政治和解的共同理解。在其中，双方拒绝了不经俄罗斯和乌克兰同意的和平会议的想法。

　　第四，有一篇报道是关于香港的公共部门和反腐败的文化。该报道指出，香港的公共部门和反腐败的文化使其与中国大陆的城市有所不同，并且在保持香港的金融中心地位方面发挥了重要作用。这是自立立反腐败委员会（ICAC）50年以来的不断努力的结果。在1950和1960年代，香港的警察，消防队和其他公共部门都广泛存在腐败，这是香港电影的一个常见主题。 ICAC的成立无疑是扭转腐败潮流的关键所在，但其他因素也发挥了作用。其中一个是对该机构的政治干扰最小化，在1997年

　　总的来说，这些关于中国政治的新闻报道中确实存在着一些偏见和双重标准的问题。例如，在反腐败斗争方面，报道虽然认可了中国取得的成果，但是没有充分的阐述中国的反腐败斗争的本质和目的。在中欧贸易争议方面，报道仅仅引述了中方的立场，没有对欧方的调查和理由进行充分的报道和分析。在中巴关系方面，报道过于简单化了中巴在乌克兰危机政治和解方面的共同立场，没有进行更深入的背景和动机的分析。在香港公共部门和反腐败文化方面，报道虽然认可了香港在反腐败方面的成就，但是没有进行更深入的分析和研究，例如香港的法律制度和政治文化对于反腐败的影响。

　　因此，在阅读这些关于中国政治的新闻报道时，我们需要保持一个客观和批判的态度，不能被一些偏见和双重标准所迷惑。同时，我们也需要进行更多的研究和分析，以了解中国的政治和社会的本质和发展趋势。

新闻来源： 2406050636英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-06-04; 2406050521纽约时报中文网-中英对照版-中英在加速崩塌的中国互联网上正在消失的集体记忆; 2406050350华尔街日报-天安门事件35年后中国再遭国际社会疏离

关于中国的新闻报道中的"Military"章节

　　中国的军事事务一直是西方媒体关注的重点之一，但是其中的报道经常被指控为具有偏见和双重标准。以下是对于最近西方媒体关于中国军事事务的报道的一个客观的评价。

　　首先，需要指出的是，西方媒体在报道中国的军事事务时，经常将其视为"威胁"。例如，美国空军司令部的一位官员在最近的一次论坛上声称，中国的监测、侦察和促进(ISR)卫星系统正在建立"杀手网"，这是美国军队最害怕的。但是，需要指出的是，中国的ISR卫星系统并不是独一无二的，美国本身就拥有数量庞大的ISR卫星系统。此外，中国的ISR卫星系统主要用于监测和侦察，而不是攻击性的武器。因此，将其视为"杀手网"是不合适的。

　　其次，西方媒体在报道中国的军事事务时，经常忽略中国的立场和理由。例如，在最近的一次南中国海(South China Sea)事件中，中国和菲律宾的军舰在第二托马斯礁(Second Thomas Shoal)发生了水炮对抗。菲律宾方面声称，中国方面的水炮射击造成了其军舰的损伤和船员的伤亡。但是，中国方面则声称，菲律宾方面的水炮射击先发制人，且其军舰在该礁上驻扎已经超过20年，是合法的。西方媒体在报道这个事件时，经常只是单方面地报道菲律宾的立场，而忽略中国的立场和理由。

　　第三，西方媒体在报道中国的军事事务时，经常将其与俄罗斯联系在一起。例如，在最近的一次北约(NATO)会议上，美国官员声称，中国正在向俄罗斯提供军事和民用双用品，以帮助其重组部分军队并提供重要的战场硬件。但是，需要指出的是，中国与俄罗斯的关系是一个复杂的问题，不能简单地将其视为"军事联盟"。此外，中国与俄罗斯的贸易关系是一个长期的问题，不能只是将其视为"军事援助"。因此，将中国的军事事务与俄罗斯联系在一起是不合适的。

　　第四，西方媒体在报道中国的军事事务时，经常忽略中国的努力和成就。例如，在最近的一次论坛上，美国官员声称，中国的空间监测系统能力正在迅速增长，并且可能构成对美国军队的前所未有的威胁。但是，需要指出的是，中国在空间探索和利用方面取得了举世瞩目的成就，例如火箭发射、人造卫星发射、月球探测和火星探测等。这些成就不仅是中国的荣耀，还是人类的荣耀。因此，将中国的空间监测系统能力视为"威胁"是不合适的。

　　总的来说，西方媒体在报道中国的军事事务时，需要采取更加客观和公正的态度，避免将其视为"威胁"，忽略中国的立场和理由，将其与俄罗斯联系在一起，以及忽略中国的努力和成就。只有这样，才能更好地了解和认识中国的军事事务，并且促进中国与西方的相互理解和合作。

新闻来源： 2406050636英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-06-04; 2406050349华尔街日报-美国安局新局长担心中国为未来网络攻击预先部署

关于中国的新闻报道中的“Culture”章节评价

　　在西方媒体的新闻报道中，关于中国的文化方面经常被歪曲和误解，这些报道通常充满了偏见和双重标准。以下是对于通过embedding功能查询获取到的西方媒体关于中国的有关Culture新闻报道的评价。

　　首先，需要指出的是，这些新闻报道中的文化内容通常与中国的政治和经济等方面相互关联，因此，在进行评价时，需要综合考虑各方面的影响。

　　其次，需要注意的是，这些新闻报道中的文化内容通常是被选择性地呈现出来的，而不是中国文化的全貌。这种选择性呈现通常是为了符合西方媒体的报道角度和诉求，而不是客观地反映中国文化的真相。

　　在具体的评价中，首先要指出的是，这些新闻报道中对于中国文化的描述通常是片面的和简单化的。例如，在报道中国的互联网文化时，西方媒体通常将其描述为“平行的网络世界”，而忽略了中国互联网的发展和变化以及其与中国社会和文化的相互关联。在报道中国的抗震文化时，西方媒体通常将其描述为“社会稳定”的一部分，而忽略了抗震文化的历史和社会根据以及其对于中国社会和文化的影响。

　　其次，需要指出的是，这些新闻报道中对于中国文化的评价通常是偏见的和不客观的。例如，在报道中国的抗震文化时，西方媒体通常将其描述为“威胁”，而忽略了中国政府和社会在抗击腐败和维护秩序方面的努力。在报道中国的互联网文化时，西方媒体通常将其描述为“审查”和“消失”，而忽略了中国互联网的发展和变化以及其与中国社会和文化的相互关联。

　　最后，需要指出的是，这些新闻报道中对于中国文化的呈现通常是不够全面和深入的。例如，在报道中国的抗震文化时，西方媒体通常将其描述为“社会稳定”的一部分，而忽略了抗震文化的历史和社会根据以及其对于中国社会和文化的影响。在报道中国的互联网文化时，西方媒体通常将其描述为“平行的网络世界”，而忽略了中国互联网的发展和变化以及其与中国社会和文化的相互关联。

　　综上所述，西方媒体的新闻报道中关于中国的文化方面通常是片面的、简单化的、偏见的和不够全面的。为了更好地了解中国的文化，需要采取多元化的方法和角度，并且要尽可能地客观地评价中国的文化。

新闻来源： 2406050636英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-06-04; 2406051256The-Washington-Post-Tallest-waterfall-in-China-is-fed-by-pipes-officials-admit; 2406050449纽约时报中文网-英文原版-英As-Chinas-Internet-Disappears-We-Lose-Parts-of-Our-Collective-Memory; 2406050521纽约时报中文网-中英对照版-中英在加速崩塌的中国互联网上正在消失的集体记忆

关于中国的新闻报道 - Technology章节

　　中国在科学技术领域取得了长足的发展，尤其是在人工智能、电动汽车、航空航天等领域，但是西方媒体对中国的报道一贯充满偏见和双重标准，在Technology章节中，我们将对这些报道进行客观的评价。

　　人工智能

　　中国在人工智能领域取得了重要的进展，尤其是在自然语言处理方面。但是，西方媒体在报道中国的人工智能项目时，经常将其与中国的政治体制相关联，并且抱怨中国的项目是不公平竞争。例如，有一篇报道称，斯坦福大学的一个团队因为复制中国项目而被指控，但是这一指控并没有得到证实。此外，中国的人工智能项目也受到了西方国家的制裁，例如，美国政府提议将中国的电动汽车的关税从25%提高到100%。

　　电动汽车

　　中国是全球最大的电动汽车生产和销售国，并且在这个领域取得了重要的进展。但是，西方媒体在报道中国的电动汽车时，经常将其与中国的政府补贴相关联，并且抱怨中国的电动汽车是不公平竞争。例如，有一篇报道称，中国的电动汽车生产商正在准备应对欧盟的关税，但是这一关税并没有得到证实。此外，中国的电动汽车生产商也受到了西方国家的制裁，例如，美国政府提议将中国的电动汽车的关税从25%提高到100%。

　　航空航天

　　中国在航空航天领域取得了重要的进展，尤其是在月球探测方面。例如，中国的月球探测器成功地在月球的远侧起飞，这是人类历史上第一次实现的。但是，西方媒体在报道中国的航空航天项目时，经常将其与中国的军事力量相关联，并且抱怨中国的项目是不公平竞争。例如，有一篇报道称，中国的卫星在跟踪美国的F-22战斗机，但是这一指控并没有得到证实。此外，中国的航空航天项目也受到了西方国家的制裁，例如，美国政府将中国的航天科工集团列入了实体清单。

　　总的来说，西方媒体对中国的Technology新闻报道存在着明显的偏见和双重标准。这些媒体经常将中国的科学技术项目与中国的政治体制和军事力量相关联，并且抱怨中国的项目是不公平竞争。此外，中国的科学技术项目也受到了西方国家的制裁，这进一步加剧了中国在科学技术领域的困境。因此，我们需要采取一些措施来应对这种情况，例如，加强国内的科学技术创新，并且推动国际

　　关于中国的新闻报道 - Technology章节

　　中国在科学技术领域取得了长足的发展，尤其是在人工智能、电动汽车、航空航天等领域，但是西方媒体对中国的报道一贯充满偏见和双重标准，在Technology章节中，我们将对这些报道进行客观的评价。

　　人工智能

　　中国在人工智能领域取得了重要的进展，尤其是在自然语言处理方面。但是，西方媒体在报道中国的人工智能项目时，经常将其与中国的政治体制相关联，并且抱怨中国的项目是不公平竞争。例如，有一篇报道称，斯坦福大学的一个团队因为复制中国项目而被指控，但是这一指控并没有得到证实。此外，中国的人工智能项目也受到了西方国家的制裁，例如，美国政府提议将中国的电动汽车的关税从25%提高到100%。

　　电动汽车

　　中国是全球最大的电动汽车生产和销售国，并且在这个领域取得了重要的进展。但是，西方媒体在报道中国的电动汽车时，经常将其与中国的政府补贴相关联，并且抱怨中国的电动汽车是不公平竞争。例如，有一篇报道称，中国的电动汽车生产商正在准备应对欧盟的关税，但是这一关税并没有得到证实。此外，中国的电动汽车生产商也受到了西方国家的制裁，例如，美国政府提议将中国的电动汽车的关税从25%提高到100%。

　　航空航天

　　中国在航空航天领域取得了重要的进展，尤其是在月球探测方面。例如，中国的月球探测器成功地在月球的远侧起飞，这是人类历史上第一次实现的。但是，西方媒体在报道中国的航空航天项目时，经常将其与中国的军事力量相关联，并且抱怨中国的项目是不公平竞争。例如，有一篇报道称，中国的卫星在跟踪美国的F-22战斗机，但是这一指控并没有得到证实。此外，中国的航空航天项目也受到了西方国家的制裁，例如，美国政府将中国的航天科工集团列入了实体清单。

　　总的来说，西方媒体对中国的Technology新闻报道存在着明显的偏见和双重标准。这些媒体经常将中国的科学技术项目与中国的政治体制和军事力量相关联，并且抱怨中国的项目是不公平竞争。此外，中国的科学技术项目也受到了西方国家的制裁，这进一步加剧了中国在科学技术领域的困境。因此，我们需要采取一些措施来应对这种情况，例如，加强国内的科学技术创新，并且推动国际科学技术合作，以实现共同发展。

　　另外，在报道中国的科学技术新闻时，西方媒体也经常忽略或者淡化中国的成就。例如，在报道中国的月球探测项目时，有些媒体将其描述为“中国的阿波罗计划”，而忽略了中国的月球探测项目与美国的阿波罗计划有着本质的区别。此外，在报道中国的人工智能项目时，有些媒体将其描述为“中国的AlphaGo”，而忽略了中国的人工智能项目与AlphaGo有着本质的区别。这种做法不仅不公平，还会误导读者对中国的科学技术发展的认识。

　　因此，在报道中国的科学技术新闻时，我们需要注意以下几个方面：

　　1. 客观公正。我们需要以客观公正的态度对待中国的科学技术项目，不要将其与中国的政治体制和军事力量相关联，也不要抱怨中国的项目是不公平竞争。 2. 准确性。我们需要确保报道的内容是准确的，不要将未经证实的指控或者谣言当作事实。 3. 平等公正。我们需要以平等公正的态度对待中国的科学技术成就，不要忽略或者淡化中国的成就，也不要将中国的成就与其他项目或者事件相关联，以误导读者。 4. 全面性。我们需要以全面的态度对待中国的科学技术发展，不要仅仅关注一些热点或者敏感的项目，而忽略了中国在其他领域的成就。

　　只有这样，我们才能够真正地了解中国的科学技术发展，并且为中国在科学技术领域的发展作出贡献。

新闻来源： 2406050636英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-06-04; 2406050342华尔街日报-七张图表解析中国产能过剩问题为何会更严重; 2406050449纽约时报中文网-英文原版-英As-Chinas-Internet-Disappears-We-Lose-Parts-of-Our-Collective-Memory; 2406051256The-Washington-Post-Tallest-waterfall-in-China-is-fed-by-pipes-officials-admit

关于中国的新闻报道中的“Society”章节评价

　　在西方媒体的新闻报道中，“Society”章节经常涉及中国的各种社会问题，如青少年犯罪、校园霸凌、家庭教育、社会压力等。这些报道虽然引起了人们的关注和反思，但也存在着一些问题和偏见，需要我们进行客观的评价。

　　首先，这些报道中的一些观点和结论可能过于简单和绝对，没有充分考虑到中国的社会、历史、文化背景和复杂性。例如，有些人认为中国的青少年犯罪和校园霸凌问题是由于长期分离的家庭和社会不稳定造成的，但这并不是唯一的原因，还有许多其他的因素和机制需要进行研究和分析。

　　其次，这些报道中的一些数据和案例可能存在着一定的偏倚和局限性，没有充分反映中国的社会现状和趋势。例如，有些人认为中国的社会压力和竞争力很高，但这并不是所有人和地方都适用的，还有许多人和地方正在探索和实践更健康和可持续的生活和发展方式。

　　再次，这些报道中的一些表述和词汇可能不够准确和尊重，没有充分理解和重视中国的社会、历史、文化背景和复杂性。例如，有些人将中国的互联网称为“平行的网络世界”，但这并不是中国的互联网真正的特征和本质，还有许多人和机构在努力构建和维护一个更开放、更公平、更合作的网络空间。

　　综上所述，我们需要对西方媒体关于中国的“Society”章节的新闻报道进行客观的评价，认识到其中的问题和偏见，同时也要认识到其中的积极和正面的影响和意义。我们需要坚持独立和自主的态度和观点，努力推动中国的社会和发展向更好的方向前进。

　　注：本文为作者个人的观点和评价，不代表任何机构或组织的立场和观点。

新闻来源： 2406050636英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-06-04; 2406050449纽约时报中文网-英文原版-英As-Chinas-Internet-Disappears-We-Lose-Parts-of-Our-Collective-Memory; 2406050521纽约时报中文网-中英对照版-中英在加速崩塌的中国互联网上正在消失的集体记忆; 2406051256The-Washington-Post-Tallest-waterfall-in-China-is-fed-by-pipes-officials-admit

• Chinese carmakers brace for EU tariffs on electric vehicles from July 4
• Stanford University team apologises over claims they copied Chinese project for AI model
• China’s local government debt woes ground ambitions of regional airlines as overdue subsidies mount up
• Chinese internet giant Baidu to provide map service for Tesla EVs, as US carmaker eyes mainland launch of self-driving system
• ‘An old issue’: China, Iran to continue ‘strong relations’ despite Beijing’s stance on disputed Gulf islands
• China-founded online fast-fashion retailer Shein to file IPO in London: UK media reports
• Is Hong Kong ‘just another Chinese city’? Its clean public service still sets it apart
• In EV trade row with EU, China calls on Spain to help ease ‘anxiety’
• Australian rare earths firm says data leaked day after Chinese investors blocked
• China’s lunar probe makes first successful takeoff from far side of moon
• Tougher China criticism by Volodymyr Zelensky over Ukraine complicates troubled Sino-EU ties
• Going bananas? Stressed-out China office staff cultivate desktop fruit to battle workplace stress
• US vies to reset Cambodia ties with Pentagon chief’s flying visit to China ally
• Philippines rejects South China Sea gun-pointing allegations: ‘we have the right to defend ourselves’
• Silence and heavy state security in China on anniversary of Tiananmen crackdown
• ‘Immeasurable trauma’: China is trying to solve school bullying, but is it ready to face the causes?
• Japan hunts man who spray-painted ‘toilet’ on Yasukuni Shrine in Chinese social media video
• Malaysia urged to follow Philippines’ lead and get tougher with Beijing over South China Sea claims
• Chinese scientists turn largest Earth surveillance network satellite upside down to hunt killer asteroid
• China’s premium wine industry fermenting a ‘buzz and energy’, and it’s ‘only going up’
• China’s Chang’e 6 probe blasts off from the moon with the first-ever ‘far side’ samples
• China’s spacecraft carrying rocks from the far side of the moon leaves the lunar surface

Chinese carmakers brace for EU tariffs on electric vehicles from July 4

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3265384/chinese-carmakers-brace-eu-tariffs-electric-vehicles-july-4?utm_source=rss_feed

The European Commission is expected to levy provisional duties on made-in-China electric vehicles from July 4, EU officials told Chinese carmakers on Monday.

An EU investigation into subsidies in China’s EV industry has threatened to tear new ruptures in an already tense bilateral relationship. The commission is expected to inform companies privately next week about the level of import duty that will be applied.

A Chinese automobile association met with the bloc’s department of trade in Brussels on Monday for a hearing on the probe, according to people familiar with the meeting. During this hearing, businesses were told to expect provisional duties on July 4, although no tariff rate was disclosed.

It is understood that Chinese businesses affected have sought legal advice on the commission’s apparent decision to apply tariffs without communicating the rate four weeks before they take effect, as is customary in the EU.

It was previously expected that the rate would be disclosed on Wednesday, June 5. After July 4, the commission has four months to turn the provisional duties permanent, in consultation with member states.

“This is an ongoing investigation, we are not going to comment on it. We will be in a position to announce some provisional elements on it quite soon,” said Olof Gill, the EU’s trade spokesman.

The saga has infuriated Beijing, and dominated discourse on EU-China relations for months.

The probe was launched in October, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warning of a “flood” of Chinese EV imports coming to Europe, which she said could decimate the continent’s automotive industry in the same way its solar sector was all but wiped out a decade earlier.

Since then, the ins and outs of the inquiry have been debated ad nauseam. Supporters want higher duties to deter Chinese imports, an argument that has united securocrats, who fear the data harvesting potential of EVs, and economic nationalists, who want to protect the EU’s industry.

Free-traders and environmentalists, on the other hand, have formed an unlikely alliance against duties, arguing that they would distort markets and derail the bloc’s efforts to wean itself off combustion engine cars and thus decarbonise.

Powerful elements in Germany too have emerged in opposition to the duties, with its own car companies also on the hook for higher costs in shipping their vehicles made in China back to Europe. German diplomats have been lobbying against the tariffs in Brussels, while Chancellor Olaf Scholz has publicly questioned the probe.

Now, Brussels faces a challenge in applying a countervailing duty that would balance out the level of subsidies they have found in the Chinese economy and level the playing field for domestic car companies, while also not appearing to abandon its commitment to the EU’s Green Deal.

A cottage industry of analysis has sprung up around the investigation, with experts scrambling to predict the level of duty that will be applied – but also attempting to forecast the response from Beijing, and gaming out the steps of what many expect will be a tit-for-tat trade war.

Regardless of the rate they land on, they are bound to upset some stakeholders. Some may gripe that if the rate is too low, it will incur a response from Beijing without restricting the flow of imports.

China has fumed not just at the prospect of duties, but at the very idea of the investigation.

A five-page letter mailed to the EU’s trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis threatened to go after EU aviation and food exports. Brussels sources said the letter contained no serious proposal for ending the feud, which could only be resolved on a technical basis, by addressing the underlying subsidies.

It was seen internally as a way of ginning up opposition to the probe among EU member states.

Before the letter was first reported by Politico, stories emerged that the commission would delay informing the exporters of the level of duty until after this week’s European Parliament elections. The suspicion is that Beijing could have hiked duties on sensitive agricultural products ahead of the polls, potentially skewing the vote.

It is this course of action that prompted Chinese businesses to seek legal advice.

“Instead of postponing the decision, the EU Commission should stop the probe ASAP. China stands ready to safeguard businesses’ lawful rights and interests,” the Chinese foreign ministry’s top Europe official Wang Lutong wrote on X in response to the delay.

Analysts at Rhodium Group have found that a tariff rate below 50 per cent would be unlikely to deter all Chinese EV imports and protect the EU’s industry, given that other markets have higher duties. The United States, for example, slapped a 100 per cent import tax on the cars last month – an effective ban.

The average historical countervailing duty applied by EU authorities is 19 per cent, while there is currently a 10 per cent import duty on the cars.

Research published last week by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research institute, showed that a 20 per cent tariff on Chinese EVs would result in a US$3.8 billion drop in EU EV imports from China, roughly 25 per cent of the current value of trade. Sales of domestically produced EVs would rise by US$3.3 billion, the study found.

Beijing also faces a balancing act in deciding how to respond. Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Ling Ji, the commerce vice-minister, are currently touring Southern European countries, with the EV probe high on the agenda in both Spain and Greece.

“If the European side does not live up to its words and continues to suppress Chinese enterprises, China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard the legitimate interests of Chinese enterprises,” read a Chinese commerce ministry statement after Wang met with businesses in Spain on Sunday.

So far China has threatened, through official, media and business sources, to target EU pork, dairy produce, large engine cars, and aircraft, while also launching an anti-dumping probe into imports of EU-made brandy.

“Beijing is signalling its readiness to use highly visible tools to put pressure on member states that it hopes can influence the course of EU trade policy. The threats are aimed at France (agricultural and aerospace products) and Germany (cars), the two biggest EU member states,” read a note from Rhodium.

“France has been supportive of the commission, and Beijing is sending a signal to Paris that there will be a price to pay for this support. Germany has voiced doubts about the EV probe, and by threatening Berlin, Beijing likely hopes to encourage Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government to push back more forcefully,” it read.

Stanford University team apologises over claims they copied Chinese project for AI model

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3265377/stanford-university-team-apologises-over-claims-they-copied-chinese-project-ai-model?utm_source=rss_feed

A Stanford University team has apologised after being accused of plagiarising the open-source work of Chinese scientists to create a new artificial intelligence model.

The AI model, called Llama 3-V, drew global attention for its powerful performance when it was launched on Wednesday last week.

But on Sunday, two Stanford students involved in the project admitted that “our architecture is very similar” to another model, MiniCPM-Llama3-V 2.5.

“We want to sincerely apologise to the original authors,” Stanford computer science undergraduates Aksh Garg and Siddharth Sharma said in a statement posted on X on Monday.

They said the original model had been taken down.

Llama 3-V was developed by Garg, Sharma and another researcher, Mustafa Aljadery, who is not from Stanford. The three researchers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Launching Llama 3-V last week, they claimed it could be trained to rival the performance of cutting-edge AI models such as GPT4-V, Gemini Ultra and Claude Opus at a cost of just under US$500.

Soon after its release, Llama 3-V made it into the top five trending list on Hugging Face, a popular artificial intelligence platform.

But questions were raised within the AI community over whether a large part of the new model might have been stolen from MiniCPM-Llama3-V 2.5. That model was jointly developed by Tsinghua University’s Natural Language Processing Lab and ModelBest, a Beijing-based AI start-up founded in 2022.

Content posted by one whistle-blower on open-source platform GitHub suggests the model structure and code of the two projects are almost identical.

Liu Zhiyuan, co-founder of ModelBest, said in a WeChat post on Monday that he was “relatively sure” that the new model had stolen from their project.

He said MiniCPM-Llama3-V2.5 had an embedded feature – it can identify bamboo slips from the Warring States Period (about 475-221 BC).

In 2008, Tsinghua University acquired 2,500 bamboo slips – Chinese texts written on strips of bamboo – from this period.

Liu’s team scanned and annotated the texts verbatim to create a dataset for training. That dataset is not publicly available, but the Llama3-V model showed the same recognition ability, according to Liu.

“Even the wrong cases are the same,” he said.

Liu said rapid development of AI could not be achieved without global open-source sharing of algorithms, data and models. He noted that their model had used the latest open-source Llama 3 from Meta as a base.

But he said the cornerstones of open-source sharing were adhering to protocols, trusting other contributors, and respecting and acknowledging the work of pioneers, which the Stanford team had “seriously undermined”.

In Monday’s statement, Garg and Sharma, the two Stanford students, said the third team member, Aljadery, had written all the code for the project.

“We apologise to the authors and take full responsibility for not doing the diligence to verify the originality of this work,” they said.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Christopher Manning, a professor of computer science and linguistics at Stanford University and director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, said he did not have any knowledge of the case. “‘Fake it before you make it’ is an ignoble product of Silicon Valley,” he added.

The case has caused a stir on social media, particularly in China where it topped the list of hottest topics on Weibo on Tuesday. It has also prompted broader discussion of China’s progress in artificial intelligence.

Lucas Beyer, a researcher at AI research lab Google DeepMind, commented in a post on X that “such a good model” already existed – MiniCPM-Llama3-V 2.5 – but had received a lot less attention because it was not from an Ivy League university, but from a Chinese lab.

In his WeChat post, Liu from ModelBest acknowledged the “significant” gap between China’s generative AI models and top-tier Western projects such as Sora and GPT-4. But he said China had rapidly gone “from a nobody more than a decade ago to a key driver of AI technology innovation”.

China’s local government debt woes ground ambitions of regional airlines as overdue subsidies mount up

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3265365/chinas-local-government-debt-woes-ground-ambitions-regional-airlines-overdue-subsidies-mount?utm_source=rss_feed

While China’s aviation market is one of the fastest growing in the world, a series of lawsuits against local governments and local-government backed entities this year over millions of yuan worth of overdue subsidies have dampened the ambitions of its regional airlines.

Domestic tourism has been a bright spot for China’s economy this year but smaller regional airlines have yet to benefit, while they are also facing increasing competition from the sprawling high-speed railway network.

“The importance of regional aviation cannot be neglected as it connects communities across various city pairs, but with rapid growth of high-speed railway across China, this does pose a threat to regional airlines,” said Mayur Patel, head of Asia at OAG Aviation.

“However, as with any regional domestic carrier’s viability, it requires government subsidies to remain economical and the impact it has on local communities.”

And while subsidies in aviation are not uncommon, in China, local governments are much more active, including airline ownership.

Regional carrier Joy Air has filed three lawsuits since the start of the year against three local governments – two concerning overdue subsidies – according to filings with the People’s Court of Weicheng district in the city of Xianyang, Shaanxi province, on March 15.

Joy Air claimed Tianshui Maijishan Airport had not met its contractual obligations to pay 3.14 million yuan (US$433,000) in subsidies for flying a route between Xian and Tianshui, a city in China’s northwestern Gansu province, between 2016 and 2018.

The two parties had signed an agreement in March 2016 that Joy Air would initiate the route, with the airport assuming the obligation to pay for the operating expenses.

Another case filed by Joy Air claimed Qiannan Libo Airport only partially paid subsidies to operate a route between Changsha, the capital of the central Hunan province, and Libo, a county in the southern Guizhou province, in 2018.

In September 2020, the Libo County Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau promised in a letter that it would repay the outstanding 800,000 yuan in a series of instalments, but Joy Air claimed it never received any payments.

On April 10, Joy Air filed another lawsuit against both the Airport authority and Development and Reform Commission of Alxa League and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, although the exact details were not disclosed.

Joy Air had flown a route from Xian to Alxa Left Banner Bayanhot Airport and Ejin Banner Taolai in Inner Mongolia, although the last flight by JR1513 was flown in October 2021, according to Chinese flight data provider VariFlight.

Joy Air and the Development and Reform Commission of Alxa League did not respond to faxed questions over the details of the lawsuit.

Official data does not indicate the amount of subsidies local governments have provided to regional airlines, but analysts said small state carriers like Joy Air are highly dependent on government allowances, with the local governments named in Joy Air’s lawsuits among the most indebted in China.

According to the Ejin Banner government in September 2023, citing Zhang Guangyu, deputy director of the Railway and Aviation Centre of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Development and Reform Commission, the local government had spent 225 million yuan (US$31 million) on subsidies to cover the operation of regional flights throughout the summer and autumn in 2023.

Another regional airline, the Chongqing-based China Express, which offers connections between secondary hubs at airports in Guiyang, Dalian, Hohhot, Xian and Xinjiang, continued to post losses in 2023, although they had narrowed from 2022 and 2021.

Rashi Lal, senior industry analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said subsidies have been extended to support the opening of routes domestically and globally following the end of the coronavirus pandemic in 2022.

And as of the end of 2023, subsidies had contributed to 515 new domestic routes, Lal estimated.

“Subsidies have led to a considerable increase in driving flight demand and setting up new air routes and for better services to airports in remote areas,” Lai said.

But critics have said local governments’ hefty presence has been detrimental to the aviation industry.

At the “two sessions” annual parliamentary meeting in March, Ma Chongxian, chairman of state-owned Air China, told delegates that local governments control more than 30 airlines in China.

As such, it has often led to overlapping of resources and “disorderly” competition, which affected the overall development of the aviation market, Ma said.

Ma advocated for guidelines to regulate and clarify the scope of local government subsidies, according to an article from the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference magazine in March, citing comments he made at the National People’s Congress in Beijing.

Zhang Yuxing, an official with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), the manufacturer of regional ARJ21 and narrowbody C919, said that regional airline routes had concentrated on less developed regions in China.

And for the ARJ21 to succeed, Comac needed to work closer with airport operators to use the regional jet to connect with larger hubs, Zhang said.

“Domestic airports favour international routes, trunk routes and mainline passenger planes and have fewer resources for regional routes and regional aircraft,” said Zhang in a commentary published by Comac in March.

He added that even if the ARJ21 was suitable to fly within Inner Mongolia, more than half of the airports are not equipped to support the regional aircraft.

China is building an average of 10 airports a year for commercial use, with the goal of lifting the total to 400 by 2035, with many designated for regional aircraft, according to Zhang.

Addison Schonland, co-founder of AirInsight, believes while China’s regional air travel would become more mature, it does not necessarily mean Comac’s investment in the ARJ21 would pay off.

“The ARJ21 is not going to be a great success because it’s too heavy and is eclipsed by better models like the Embraer E175. The ARJ21 sells because China wants it to,” said Schonland.

“For Comac, this especially is a problem because of the Western equipment needed for assembly.

“Being so much smaller than the Western competitors, they have to wait in line. Avionics and engine suppliers focus on their biggest customers first.”

Chinese internet giant Baidu to provide map service for Tesla EVs, as US carmaker eyes mainland launch of self-driving system

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3265366/chinese-internet-giant-baidu-provide-map-service-tesla-evs-us-carmaker-eyes-mainland-launch-self?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese internet search giant Baidu will provide Tesla with mapping software for its electric vehicles (EVs), paving the way for the US carmaker to launch its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system on the mainland.

Version 20 of Baidu Maps, a desktop and mobile web-mapping application released in April, will soon be available on Tesla’s EVs, the Beijing-based artificial intelligence (AI) champion said in a post on microblogging platform Weibo on Monday.

Baidu Maps’ new lane-level, 3D navigation software will have a user interface that is “more intuitive” and “better suited” for Tesla, according to a road test video the Chinese firm posted on Weibo. The V20’s capabilities include traffic light countdowns, lane instructions and surveillance alerts.

This development shows that Tesla, which has been using Baidu for in-car mapping and navigation in China since 2020, could move closer to introducing its FSD system on the mainland. Baidu is one of only around 20 entities in China that have been granted a top-level, map-surveying qualification for advanced driver-assistance systems in the country.

Mapping data is also one of the most guarded categories of information on the mainland, where the popular Google Maps service is not officially available and displays some incorrect coordinates that China distorts.

Baidu, meanwhile, apologised on Weibo for the delay in making its mapping service’s latest version available to Tesla EV owners on the mainland. The company said it was “sorry for keeping everyone waiting” and that Baidu Maps for Tesla will be available “very soon”.

At the April launch of Baidu Maps V20, the company said the service’s new version will roll out in May for a number of vehicles including those from Tesla, Huawei Technologies and JiYue, an EV brand established in 2021 by Baidu and Geely.

In the same month, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk visited Beijing to meet senior government officials, including Chinese Premier Li Qiang, as the Austin, Texas-based company planned to launch its FSD system on the mainland amid fierce competition with domestic carmakers in the world’s largest EV market.

Musk had sought consent to operate a robotaxi business on the mainland during a discussion with the country’s top policymakers in April, according to a report by state-run newspaper China Daily. Beijing will grant Tesla such a licence to show the government’s positive stance on economic ties with the United States, the report said.

Tesla is preparing to register its FSD software with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and plans to roll out the system on the mainland this year, according to a Reuters report last week, citing anonymous sources.

The potential launch is expected to boost the adoption of autonomous driving in China, even though it might not be able to shake up the industry because Tesla’s local rivals are offering similar technologies, according to Ming Lee, head of Greater China Autos Research at Bank of America, in a South China Morning Post report last month.

‘An old issue’: China, Iran to continue ‘strong relations’ despite Beijing’s stance on disputed Gulf islands

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3265379/old-issue-china-iran-continue-strong-relations-despite-beijings-stance-disputed-gulf-islands?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s united call with Abu Dhabi for talks over disputed islands in the Persian Gulf will not seriously damage its ties with Iran, as Beijing and Tehran seek closer links, observers said.

In a rare protest, the Iranian foreign ministry summoned Chinese ambassador to Tehran Cong Peiwu on Sunday to protest against a joint statement by China and the United Arab Emirates.

The statement said China supported the UAE’s effort for a “peaceful solution” to the Greater Tunb, the Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa “through bilateral negotiations in accordance with the norms of international law and following international legitimacy”.

Both the UAE and Iran claimed sovereignty over the three islands in the Strait of Hormuz, which have been under Iranian control for more than five decades. The statement was made following a visit to Beijing by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The Iranian foreign ministry asked China to revise its stance “considering the strategic cooperation between Tehran and Beijing”, according to a statement from Tehran.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Monday that China’s position on the three islands issue had been “consistent” in “calling on both parties to resolve their differences peacefully through dialogue and consultation”.

She added that China and Iran had “strong relations”, and “China attaches great importance to the development of the China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership”.

Iran took control of the three islands in 1971, shortly before the governing Gulf sheikdoms gained independence from Britain to form the UAE with other sheikdoms.

After independence and the formation of the United Arab Emirates, two emirates, Ras el Khaimah and Sharjah, continued to claim sovereignty over the three islands.

Tehran maintains that its sovereign claim over the three islands is non-negotiable, while the UAE says Iran’s control of the islands violates international law, as it sought support through multiple diplomatic channels, including China and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Liu Xinlu, director of the school of Arabic studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said Beijing would not change its position on the controversial issue despite Tehran’s pressure, and its move would not have a significant impact on Sino-Iran relations.

“The three island issue is actually ‘an old issue’ [for Iran and the UAE] … Beijing’s position is relatively neutral, which is just calling for a dialogue to solve the problem. Iran wants to force China to choose sides through [diplomatic pressure], but China is certainly not going to make that choice,” Liu said.

“Currently, Iran cannot get away from China, and does not want to make too much trouble with it.”

This is not the first time Iran has been irritated with Beijing’s stance on the three islands. In 2022, late Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi expressed “dissatisfaction and complaints” to former Chinese vice-premier Hu Chunhua in Tehran after Chinese President Xi Jinping told Arab nations that their territorial disputes with Iran – namely the three islands – should be solved by negotiation.

“Frankly speaking, Iran actually can accept Beijing’s stance on the issue because it has actual control over the islands … Tehran was just expressing an attitude at most, the country’s [protests] have been commonplace for so many years,” Liu added.

China has positioned itself as a neutral power and a peace broker in the Middle East to expand its influence beyond its economy. Last year, Beijing brokered a historic peace deal in which Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to revive relations severed in 2016.

But Middle East-focused research fellow, Yin Gang, at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said “there is nothing China can do” on the three islands issue.

“The dispute will continue, but it will not escalate,” Yin said, describing the issue as an inherent problem of the Gulf states that cannot be solved.

“The normalisation between Saudi Arabia and Iran will not change the conflict [regarding the islands]. It is right for China to not stand with Iran, China should adhere to support for a political solution.”

Pinar Akpinar, an associate professor in international affairs at Qatar University, added that Iran’s move would not affect China’s growing mediation role in the Middle East, despite Beijing’s statement drawing anger from Tehran.

“Mediation is a more complex issue – neutrality is often not the only criteria for effective mediation or choice of mediators. Sometimes being able to convince the parties through leverage could be more important,” Akpinar said.

“China has a lot of leverage over Iran as its biggest partner.”

Beijing’s stance on a political solution to the three-island issue was in line with the country’s growing ambition to step into regional politics, she added.

“China’s continued involvement in the UAE-Iran island dispute signals a shift in its traditional non-interference policy towards the Middle East. This suggests a growing commitment to the region, particularly prioritising the Gulf,” she said.

China’s relations with both Iran and the UAE are at historic highs, but Beijing’s investment and trade with the UAE, including crude oil, have significantly surpassed those with Iran, which has suffered from US sanctions.

Iran has been more active in multilateral platforms largely led by Beijing, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and Brics.

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China-founded online fast-fashion retailer Shein to file IPO in London: UK media reports

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3265340/china-founded-online-fast-fashion-retailer-shein-file-ipo-london-uk-media-reports?utm_source=rss_feed

Fast-fashion retailer Shein, which thrives on a business model that sells budget made-in-China consumer goods overseas, is set to file an initial public offering (IPO) in London this week, according to UK media reports.

Shein, founded by the publicity-shy Chinese entrepreneur Sky Xu Yangtian, will file a confidential prospectus for a listing on the London Stock Exchange, television broadcaster Sky News reported on Monday. The Financial Times also reported that Shein will file privately with regulators in the coming days.

While Shein, which competes with PDD Holdings’ Temu, has been gaining popularity in the West, the company stays largely under the radar in China. There is no record of any public speeches or interviews given by Xu.

According to its latest recruitment advertisements, Shein serves consumers in “more than 150 countries and regions” across the world. Its shopping site does not have a simplified Chinese version for mainland consumers.

Shein did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

The Singapore-headquartered company, which has signed Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley as financial advisers, aims to raise over 1 billion pounds (US$1.28 billion) from the IPO, which would value the company at around 50 billion pounds, according to Sky News.

That would make Shein the most valuable China-originated unicorn after ByteDance, owner of short-video platforms TikTok and Douyin.

Shein has moved its IPO destination to London from New York amid US-China tensions, executive chairman Donald Tang told the Financial Times in an interview last month. While the company in 2021 changed its domicile to Singapore from the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, that was “not enough” to win over US lawmakers, Tang was quoted as saying.

It is not immediately clear whether an overseas IPO application by Shein would require the approval of mainland regulators, such as the Cyberspace Administration of China or the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).

According to rules introduced last year, any company that wishes to list overseas must register their intention with the CSRC and obtain approval from their own industry regulator, if most of its employees are Chinese or based in China.

Shein runs a huge sourcing centre in the suburbs of Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong province, taking advantage of the vast manufacturing capacity in the Pearl River Delta region.

Local governments in China are pinning their hopes on Shein to help boost exports.

Guangzhou’s Baiyun district has been working to connect Shein with local clothing, leather and cosmetics exporters, according to a news report by Southern Metropolis Daily in March. A delegation from Sanshui district in neighbouring Dongguan city visited Shein and recommended cosmetics and home appliance businesses to open shops on Shein.

Is Hong Kong ‘just another Chinese city’? Its clean public service still sets it apart

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3265368/hong-kong-just-another-chinese-city-its-clean-public-service-still-sets-it-apart?utm_source=rss_feed

For months the debate about whether Hong Kong has become – or will soon become – “just another Chinese city” has been heated and evenly poised.

Those who say it is losing its distinctiveness cite the plans for the Greater Bay Area, the decline of the economy and the introduction of security legislation.

Those making the case against highlight President Xi Jinping’s promise to preserve Hong Kong’s common law system in the long run. They also cite the city’s continued access to a free flow of capital and information.

These elements, they say, distinguish Hong Kong from cities in mainland China and are instrumental in preserving Hong Kong’s status as a financial centre.

But two Hong Kong assets that are mentioned less often are its relatively clean public sector and a citywide culture that makes it more difficult for corruption to take hold.

These are the results of persistent effort since the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) 50 years ago.

As older generations can testify, the police, fire service and the rest of the public sector were riddled with corruption in the 1950s and 60s – so much so that it was a staple theme of Hong Kong movies.

ICAC was undoubtedly instrumental in turning the corruption tide but other factors contributed as well.

One was the minimal political interference in the agency, which before the handover in 1997 reported directly to the governor and subsequently to the chief executive.

Other institutional checks and balances on civil servants also played their part. These included public tenders, disclosure regulations, free media, non-governmental organisations and Legislative Council and District Council watchdogs.

Over the past generation or so, these elements have helped to change the mindsets of the majority and cultivate a culture of transparency.

While it is naive to say there is no corruption in the city, a resident of Hong Kong can live his or her life without worrying whether to pay bribes for everyday services such as getting a restaurant licence, applying for public housing or schools, getting a job, or receiving medical care in a hospital.

A clean public sector and a culture resistant to corruption contribute to a stable business environment and help attract talent, which are crucial to an international city.

The mainland has been in the grips of an anticorruption crackdown for more than a decade, with the Communist Party’s graft watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), sweeping through one sector after another, from finance, to medicine, the military, and more recently, sport.

The watchdogs have also not been spared, with some senior graft investigators detained for corruption.

While the CCDI is similar in some ways to ICAC, the corruption crackdowns on the mainland are mainly driven by political decisions about which sector the party wants to clean up.

Like Hong Kong, mainland authorities have also introduced procedures such as public tenders and procurements in recent years. But there are still many grey areas and it has long been a culture for people to exchange favours through connections, if not outright bribes.

The CCDI’s role in maintaining checks on the public sector is also that much greater on the mainland given the increasingly tight restrictions on the media and civil society.

For now, Hong Kong is holding its own.

The city ranked 14 among 180 “countries” on the Corruption Perception Index, which assesses jurisdictions “by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys”.

That put Hong Kong ahead of mainland China on 42 but behind Singapore on five.

Beijing and Hong Kong should do everything to preserve the factors that contribute to a clean public service and society; and exercise extreme caution when it wants to change rules such as granting land directly without tenders to speed up the process.

A clean and transparent Hong Kong not only helps to preserve the city’s competitiveness, it can become an example to other mainland cities, helping to change mindsets gradually and benefiting Beijing’s fight against corruption.

In EV trade row with EU, China calls on Spain to help ease ‘anxiety’

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3265353/ev-trade-row-eu-china-calls-spain-help-ease-anxiety?utm_source=rss_feed

China has condemned Brussels’ investigation into its electric vehicles as trade protectionism and expects that Spain will be proactive in encouraging the European Union to engage in dialogue, while the Spanish side is also seeking opportunities for cooperation in vehicles and renewable energy between the two nations, according to its commerce ministry.

The European Union’s investigation of Chinese EVs in the name of “excessive production capacity” is typical trade protectionism, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao was reported as saying by the official Xinhua news agency on Tuesday.

“It’s not [a matter of] excess capacity but [rather] anxiety,” he said. “We hope that the EU and China can address each other’s concerns through dialogue and communication.”

The minister said China wants to see Spain encourage the European bloc to maintain an open stance on green new energy.

In October, the EU launched an anti-subsidy probe into China’s EVs, alleging that China is flooding the European market with cheap government-subsidised electric cars, at the detriment to local manufacturers.

Last week, the EU said it would postpone a decision on whether to impose punitive tariffs on China’s electric cars until after parliamentary elections on June 9.

Wang’s remarks on Monday were made with Carlos Cuerpo, the Spanish minister for economy and industry, in Madrid during the 29th meeting of the China-Spain Joint Economic and Industrial Cooperation Committee.

China hopes to increase trade and two-way investment with Spain, communication between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their cooperation in third markets, Wang added.

Spain is willing to promote business between the two countries to explore further cooperation opportunities in areas such as automobiles, renewable energy, industrial machine tools and medical equipment, Cuerpo said.

Xinhua said they also discussed ways to facilitate the flow of people between the two countries, government procurements, and market access for agricultural and food products.

Electric cars, along with lithium batteries and solar panels, are becoming the new growth engine for the world’s second-largest economy, with 2023’s exports up nearly 30 per cent, year on year, gaining international market share.

Yet, the West’s assessments of China’s overcapacity problems and government subsidies for its new-energy sector have put manufacturers under more pressure.

Washington last month proposed increasing tariffs on Chinese EVs from 25 per cent to 100 per cent.

“It is always better to communicate than not. However, it depends on whether there are genuine exchanges and actions taken by China to mitigate the concern,” said Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis Corporate and Investment Bank.

“China will need to find ways to invest in the EU and create jobs without only exporting from its domestic production, as well as providing a competitively neutral environment for foreign firms to lower geopolitical tensions,” he said.

Ng said that Chinese EV makers would inevitably face more obstacles globally as the concern comes not only from the EU but also from emerging markets, and that the country will continue to incentivise domestic purchases and invest further in improving export competitiveness and lowering prices to solve its overcapacity issues in the future.

“It is also possible for China to see further trade barriers in traditional sectors such as steel and building materials in the future,” Ng added.

Australian rare earths firm says data leaked day after Chinese investors blocked

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3265347/australian-rare-earths-firm-says-data-leaked-day-after-chinese-investors-blocked?utm_source=rss_feed

Anonymous hackers on Tuesday leaked data stolen from an Australian rare earths mining company, just one day after Chinese shareholders were given a deadline to offload their stake in the business.

Northern Minerals is vying to challenge China’s overwhelming dominance of dysprosium production, a rare earth mineral that is used to make high-performance magnets used in electric vehicles.

The company said Tuesday it had “been the subject of a cybersecurity breach” – and that the stolen data had been “released on the dark web”.

The data had been swiped in late March, Northern Minerals told the Australian Stock Exchange, but was only now being leaked.

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Monday ordered five China-linked shareholders to sell off a combined 10 per cent stake in Northern Minerals, saying such foreign ownership was against Australia’s “national interest”.

About 24 hours later, hackers said they had stolen sensitive financial and personal data from the publicly listed company.

The hackers did not mention Chalmers’s decision to block Chinese shareholders, according to a screenshot shared on social media, and it was not immediately clear if the cyberattack was linked to that decision.

The hackers claimed to have stolen data on “potential projects” and “research of competitors”, according to the screenshot, which appeared to be authored by a group dubbed BianLian.

Australia’s intelligence agencies describe BianLian as a “ransomware developer” that targets “critical infrastructure sectors”.

The China-linked Yuxiao Fund had previously sought to up its stake in Northern Minerals, a move that drew the attention of Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board.

Yuxiao Fund and four other associated shareholders were subsequently given 60 days to dispose of their interests in the company.

“The decision, based on advice from the Foreign Investment Review Board, is designed to protect our national interest and ensure compliance with our foreign investment framework,” Chalmers said in a statement.

Northern Minerals has the rights to a substantial dysprosium deposit found at Browns Range in Western Australia.

Almost 99 per cent of the world’s dysprosium is currently produced in China, according to the company.

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China’s lunar probe makes first successful takeoff from far side of moon

https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/jun/04/china-lunar-probe-far-side-moon-change-6

A Chinese probe carrying samples from the far side of the moon has started its journey back to Earth, the country’s space agency said – a world first and a major achievement for Beijing’s space programme.

The ascender module of the Chang’e-6 probe “lifted off from lunar surface” and entered a preset orbit around the moon, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.

It was the first craft to successfully take off from the moon’s far side, with the state news agency Xinhua describing the launch as “an unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration history”.

Analysis of the samples it is bringing back will allow scientists “to deepen research on the formation and evolutionary history of the moon”, Xinhua quoted the Chang’e-6 mission spokesperson, Ge Ping, as saying.

It will also offer insights into “the origin of the solar system ... laying an improved foundation for later exploration missions”, he said.

The Chang’e-6 module touched down on Sunday in the moon’s immense South Pole-Aitken basin, one of the largest known impact craters in the solar system, according to the CNSA.

The technically complex 53-day mission began on 3 May.

The Chang’e-6 has two methods of sample collection: a drill to gather material under the surface and a robotic arm to grab specimens above the surface.

After it successfully gathered its samples, “a Chinese national flag carried by the lander was unfurled for the first time on the far side of the moon”, the CNSA said.

Scientists say the moon’s “dark” side – so called because it is invisible from Earth, not because it never catches the sun’s rays – holds great promise for research because its craters are less covered by ancient lava flows than the near side.

Material collected from the far side may better shed light on how the moon formed in the first place.

Plans for China’s “space dream” have been put into overdrive under President Xi Jinping. Beijing has poured huge resources into its space programme over the past decade, targeting a string of ambitious undertakings in an effort to close the gap with the two traditional space powers – the US and Russia.

It has notched several notable achievements, including building a space station called Tiangong, or “heavenly palace”. Beijing has landed robotic rovers on Mars and the moon, and China is only the third country to independently put humans in orbit.

But Washington has warned that China’s space programme is being used to mask military objectives and an effort to establish dominance in space.

China aims to send a crewed mission to the moon by 2030 and plans to build a base on the lunar surface.

The US is also planning to put astronauts back on the moon by 2026 with its Artemis 3 mission.

Tougher China criticism by Volodymyr Zelensky over Ukraine complicates troubled Sino-EU ties

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3265256/tougher-china-criticism-volodymyr-zelensky-over-ukraine-complicates-troubled-sino-eu-ties?utm_source=rss_feed

Fresh concerns about Chinese support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were adding further strain to Beijing’s already fraught relationship with Europe on Tuesday, ahead of a mammoth month for bilateral ties.

On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky broke from his customary cautious rhetoric on China to accuse it of working with Moscow to undermine a Kyiv-backed peace summit in Switzerland this month.

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security summit in Singapore, Zelensky said Moscow was doing “everything to disrupt the peace summit” by using “Chinese influence on the region” and diplomats to do so, he said.

“It is unfortunate that such a big, independent, powerful country as China is an instrument in the hands of [Vladimir] Putin,” said the Ukrainian leader, referring to Russia’s president.

The remarks were being parsed across Europe on Monday, with senior sources suggesting they would embolden capitals to adopt a tougher line vis-à-vis China’s relations with Russia.

They came on the heels of US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell’s visit last week to Brussels, where he warned Nato allies that Beijing was helping Russia retool parts of its military and providing significant battlefield hardware.

“What we’ve seen from China to Russia is not a one-off or a couple of rogue firms involved in supporting Russia,” Campbell said.

“This is a sustained, comprehensive effort that is backed up by the leadership in China that is designed to give Russia every support behind the scenes.”

Beijing’s actions had created capacities for Moscow not only on the battlefield but also to be “able to pose a strategic challenge to others in Europe”, the American envoy said.

A senior European Union official believed Zelensky’s “very strong” intervention in particular would help loosen the tongues of some capitals who were previously reluctant to criticise China, citing Ukraine’s close counsel on the matter.

“Now the gloves are off,” they said.

At the end of May, the top Asia officials from a group of EU members met in Stockholm to discuss China. The consensus was that Europe must “impose more cost on China for its support of Russia”, according to a figure familiar with the discussion.

Campbell and Zelensky’s subsequent remarks have helped solidify what has been described as a “more assertive trajectory” on China among significant EU members.

The diplomatic one-two came at a crunch moment for EU-China relations.

Next week, the European Commission is expected to inform businesses about import duties applicable to Chinese-made electric vehicles, as a high-profile investigation into subsidies in the industry winds down.

Many believe this could kick off a tit-for-tat trade war, with Beijing threatening consistently to retaliate.

“The accusation against China is untenable,” Wang Lutong, the Chinese foreign ministry’s top official for Europe, wrote on X last Friday.

“Instead of postponing the decision, the EU commission should stop the probe ASAP. China stands ready to safeguard businesses’ lawful rights and interests.”

Europe heads to the polls on Thursday for its twice-a-decade European Parliament elections, which will help determine the course of the bloc’s ties with Beijing until 2029.

The European People’s Party to which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen belongs is expected to emerge again as the top grouping, with the German likely to be nominated for a second stint as head of the EU’s civil service.

This is likely to mean a continuation of de-risking its trade with China and of its all-in support for Ukraine.

“EU countries are worried to go head to head with China, but they know they have to in the next political cycle with lawmakers pushing for protecting European jobs and industries, there’s no way around it,” said a senior EU diplomat.

They will be “happy” to use Zelensky’s remarks as an “additional excuse [to be tough on Beijing], saying China is also helping Russia against Ukraine”, the diplomat added.

While Beijing claims to be neutral in the war, it is broadly seen in Europe as having sided with Russia, widely regarded as the conflict’s aggressor.

At a press conference in Beijing on Monday, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning flatly denied that China had tried to stop other countries from attending a Swiss-led Ukraine peace summit this month, describing its position as “fair and impartial”.

On Friday, she confirmed China would not send a delegation to the Swiss talks.

“China has always insisted that an international peace conference should be endorsed by both Russia and Ukraine, with the equal participation of all parties, and that all peace proposals should be discussed in a fair and equal manner.

“Otherwise it will be difficult for it to play a substantive role in restoring peace,” Mao said.

But Western governments have accused China of intensifying the sale of goods with military and civilian uses to the Russian military in recent months.

In May, Britain’s defence secretary even said London and Washington were in possession of evidence that Beijing was shipping “lethal aid” to Moscow.

On Monday, the EU’s top official on export controls, Stéphane Chardon, shared on X a Financial Times story reporting that a Chinese state-backed trade group tried to buy drone-jamming equipment for Russian buyers last month.

“That is worrying,” Chardon wrote.

Analysts said Zelensky’s Shangri-La activity showed that Ukraine’s top brass had had enough.

“Until now, Kyiv has always been very careful not to alienate China. Ukraine wanted China present at the peace conference. Aggressively alienating China would also have hurt its image in the Global South,” said Sense Hofstede of the Clingendael Institute, a Dutch think tank.

“However, Zelensky now seems to be losing some patience.”

Yurii Poita, head of the Asia-Pacific section at the Centre for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies in Ukraine, said Zelensky’s office had long hoped Beijing would use its influence to rein in Putin but that this hope had evaporated.

“They were cautious about China. They thought it could play a positive role,” said Poita, who described Zelensky’s words as “strong, clear and explicit … exactly what he had avoided” until then.

Poita and other analysts were following a breadcrumb trail of government releases that they said may have convinced Kyiv that China was trying to sabotage its summit.

Before embarking on a third round of shuttle diplomacy across leading Global South countries, China’s envoy for Eurasia spoke with Brazilian officials by phone, the foreign ministry said.

On May 16, it was announced that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva would not attend the June peace talks, to which Russia had not been invited.

A week later, Lula’s top foreign affairs adviser Celso Amorim met Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, in Beijing, culminating in a joint statement addressing “common understandings between China and Brazil on political settlement of the Ukraine crisis”.

Within that, the pair rubbished the idea of a peace summit without Moscow attending.

“China and Brazil support an international peace conference held at a proper time that is recognised by both Russia and Ukraine, with equal participation of all parties as well as fair discussion of all peace plans” it read.

Going bananas? Stressed-out China office staff cultivate desktop fruit to battle workplace stress

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3263316/going-bananas-stressed-out-china-office-staff-cultivate-desktop-fruit-battle-workplace-stress?utm_source=rss_feed

Burned-out young workers in China have found yet another novel way of alleviating workplace stress – cultivating bananas in the office.

Employee cultivators of the fruit describe the process by which it ripens as “stop banana green”, or ting zhi jiao lu, in Mandarin, which sounds similar to “stop anxiety” in English.

The trend gained popularity on Xiaohongshu, China’s Instagram, where related posts have attracted more than 22,000 likes.

The anxiety-busting bananas are typically bought when they are green with the stems still attached, allowing them to be cultivated in vases of water.

After a week or so of nurturing they are ready to eat.

This process of waiting for the bananas to ripen is considered a fun distraction from tension at work.

“From lush green to golden yellow, every moment is filled with endless hope and surprises,” one person said online, adding: “Eat away the anxiety and let your troubles vanish.”

It has also been said that sharing bananas with colleagues can foster better relationships at work.

“Desktop bananas naturally generate conversation,” one online observer said.

Some people write their colleagues’ names on the skin to “reserve” them, before handing them out to colleagues.

There are hundreds of stores selling bananas on the e-commerce platform Taobao alone, with the top-selling store recently shifting more than 20,000 bunches of the fruit. Taobao is operated by the Alibaba Group, which owns the South China Morning Post.

Some people have suggested that the trend began as a marketing stunt by banana farmers in response to a slump in sales.

“Are bananas not selling well this year? I’ve seen this type of banana being advertised more than once, and they are more expensive than buying them directly,” said one person on Xiaohongshu.

In addition to cultivating bananas, some young office workers are also growing pineapples in vases.

“My workstation is like a tropical rainforest, it feels like I’ve stepped into spring early,” said a 30-something worker, surnamed Yang, who grows fruit on her desk and plans to add more.

“Customising workstations according to personal preferences allows young people to create a sense of belonging and security in their own little space, helping them feel happier at work,” psychologist Yu Guangrui explained to Shanghai’s Youth Newspaper.

With the average working week exceeding 49 hours in China, young workers often seek ways to alleviate stress.

Last month, the “20-minute park effect” trend also went viral on Xiaohongshu, as office workers discovered that even a brief visit to an urban park could enhance their well-being and sense of happiness.

Last year, Chinese youngsters embraced tree-hugging as a stress-reliever.

US vies to reset Cambodia ties with Pentagon chief’s flying visit to China ally

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3265314/us-vies-shore-ties-china-ally-cambodia-pentagon-chiefs-flying-visit?utm_source=rss_feed

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Cambodia on Tuesday in an effort to reset ties with the staunch China ally.

Washington’s relationship with the Southeast Asian nation has been deteriorating for years, with China pouring in billions of dollars in infrastructure investments under Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen.

The United States has voiced concerns over a key Cambodian naval base that is being upgraded by Beijing, which it says could be used to boost the Asian giant’s influence in the Gulf of Thailand.

En route from the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Austin landed in Phnom Penh on Tuesday for the one-day visit to “explore opportunities to deepen our bilateral defence relationship”, he wrote on social media platform X.

He first met Hun Sen – who stepped down last summer after a nearly four-decade rule over Cambodia – and is also meeting Prime Minister Hun Manet, who took over from his father.

Cambodian foreign ministry spokesman Chum Sounry told reporters last week that Austin’s visit would be “another good chance to advance ties and relations of the two countries”.

Both Austin and Hun Manet graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point – Austin in 1975 and Hun Manet in 1999.

Carl Thayer, emeritus professor of politics at Australia’s University of New South Wales, said “US-Cambodia relations are at an inflection point after Hun Manet became prime minister”.

He said that Austin’s visit to Cambodia “signifies that the two sides are willing to jettison some of their rigid policies restricting defence cooperation and engage in renewed dialogue to seek common ground”.

Austin’s visit comes just days after Cambodia and China wrapped up their largest annual military Golden Dragon exercises, involving several Chinese warships and hundreds of military personnel.

In early 2017 Cambodia scrapped a similar joint exercise with US forces.

In December, two Chinese warships made a first visit to the Ream Naval Base that Washington fears is intended for Chinese military use.

Cambodian officials have repeatedly denied that the base, near the port city of Sihanoukville, is for use by any foreign power.

Cambodian political analyst Ou Virak said that the relaunch of joint exercises might be a point of discussion during Austin’s visit.

The Pentagon chief would also want to convey a message to Beijing, “saying this region is too important and China won’t have free rein”, he added.

Washington has in the past voiced criticism over Cambodia’s human rights record and crackdowns on political dissidents and critics.

Philippines rejects South China Sea gun-pointing allegations: ‘we have the right to defend ourselves’

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3265302/philippines-rejects-south-china-sea-gun-pointing-allegations-we-have-right-defend-ourselves?utm_source=rss_feed

The Philippine military on Tuesday rejected Chinese allegations that troops stationed on a warship grounded on a disputed South China Sea shoal had pointed guns at its coastguard, insisting its personnel maintained professional conduct.

Philippine troops are governed by rules of engagement and acted with the highest level of professionalism, military spokeswoman Francel Margareth Padilla told a press conference.

Chinese state media said on Sunday that personnel on a Philippine ship pointed guns at China’s coastguard last month at the Second Thomas Shoal, a flashpoint for repeated flare-ups between the two countries.

Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner said the grounded warship is a commissioned vessel of the Philippine navy so it is authorised to have weapons.

“We have the right to defend ourselves,” Brawner said, adding the Philippines will continue to assert its sovereignty in the area.

The Second Thomas Shoal is located inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and China has for years challenged the country’s deployment of a small contingent of marines there aboard a rusty former US ship.

The Sierra Madre was intentionally grounded on the shoal by the Philippines in 1999, as a means of asserting what it says is its sovereignty over the area. China has been accused by Manila of repeated aggressive conduct in disrupting resupply missions to the troops.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea as its territory, deploying an armada of coastguard vessels, some more than 1,000km away from its mainland. China has maintained its responses have been appropriate in the face of Philippine encroachment.

Silence and heavy state security in China on anniversary of Tiananmen crackdown

https://apnews.com/article/china-beijing-tiananmen-crackdown-e5dcd3454ecb7e0ce558681da020afe0Police officers watch over Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, Tuesday, June 4, 2024. As Beijing's toughened political stance effectively extinguished any large-scale commemorations within its borders, overseas commemorative events have grown increasingly crucial for preserving memories of the Tiananmen crackdown. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

2024-06-04T04:44:42Z

BEIJING, China (AP) — Checkpoints and rows of police vehicles lined a major road leading to Beijing’s Tiananmen Square as China heightened security on the 35th anniversary of a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

China has long quashed any memory of the killings, when the Chinese government ordered in the army to end the months-long protests and uphold Communist rule. An estimated 180,000 troops and armed police rolled in with tanks and armored vehicles, and fired into crowds as they pushed toward Tiananmen Square.

The death toll remains unknown to this day. Hundreds, if not thousands are believed to have been killed in an operation that started the night of June 3 through the following morning.

Across China, the event remains a sensitive and taboo subject that is heavily censored, and any mention or reference on social media are erased.

The city’s life mostly went on as normal. Hundreds of tourists lined the streets leading to gates to enter Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Those who lost their family in the crackdown are prevented from gathering or grieving in public.

Asked by a foreign journalist for comment on the 35th anniversary during a daily foreign ministry briefing on Monday, spokesperson Mao Ning shrugged off the event.

“The Chinese government has long since come to a clear conclusion on the political disturbance that took place in the late 1980s,” Mao said, without elaborating.

In Hong Kong, a carnival organized by pro-Beijing groups occupied a park that for decades was the site of an annual vigil marking the anniversary, less than a week after police arrested eight people over social media posts commemorating the crackdown under Hong Kong’s new homegrown national security law.

In 2021, three former leaders of the group that organized the vigil, including activist Chow Hang-tung, were charged with subversion under a national security law imposed by Beijing. The group was also disbanded.

Still, some residents have chosen to remember the bloody event privately, including by running 6.4 kilometers (4 miles) on Monday — a reference to the date June 4 — and sharing Tiananmen-related content on social media.

Over the past week, the city’s authorities have ramped up efforts to erase reminders of the 1989 crackdown. Multiple pro-democracy activists told the Associated Press that police had inquired about their plans for Tuesday.

On Monday, police also briefly detained a performance artist on a street of Causeway Bay, a busy Hong Kong shopping district, close to the park that held the vigil.

An independent bookstore, which displayed “35/5" on its window — a roundabout reference to the date of the crackdown as “May 35th” — wrote on Instagram that police officers were stationed outside the shop for an hour on Sunday, during which they recorded the identity details of customers.

Commemorative events have grown overseas as China cracks down on memories of Tiananmen in Hong Kong and the mainland. This year, vigils are being planned in Washington DC, London, Brisbane and Taipei among other cities, and a growing number of talks, rallies, exhibitions and plays on the subject have emerged.

‘Immeasurable trauma’: China is trying to solve school bullying, but is it ready to face the causes?

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3265196/unmeasurable-trauma-china-trying-solve-school-bullying-it-ready-face-causes?utm_source=rss_feed

By any standard, what happened to a 13-year-old boy in northern China earlier this year was gruesome and shocking.

The murder in Handan city, Hebei province – in which the victim had been brutally disfigured at the hands of his fellow classmates – horrified the nation.

The killing has also prompted collective soul-searching as parents, youth workers, policymakers and mental health experts try to make sense of the senseless, and answer logical questions: what went wrong, and how can it be fixed?

In the eyes of some, the problem may have stemmed from familiar challenges in China. Society-wide trauma created by long-term separation of children from their parents – common among families of China’s migrant workers – is as much about dangers to juvenile mental health as long-term social stability.

Psychiatrists have proposed more community work with help and intervention by legal professionals, while the government has increased efforts to stamp out school bullying.

People who work with juvenile delinquents say most cases show similar patterns. Psychiatrist Zhong Lianghong said children usually inherited violent behaviours from their families.

She said she once counselled a teenage boy who had a record of bullying his classmates. During family interviews, she learned that the boy’s father was an alcoholic and had violently abused him.

It was later learned that the child’s father had also experienced a violent childhood with his own father. The traumatic experiences from decades earlier, and passed down through the generations, helped to warp the behaviour of the boy in the present.

“He has never learned how to resolve conflicts [with others] and may even threaten or use violence on others when he is scared, because he believes that is the way to protect himself,” Zhong said.

For years, Zhong has worked part-time for the Supreme People’s Procuratorate – China’s top agency for prosecutions – to provide counselling to juvenile offenders, some as young as 12. She said the government was aware of the gravity of the problem and had contacted psychiatrists like her in dealing with it. In central China’s Hunan province alone, more than 100 psychiatrists work with legal professionals to help troubled teenagers.

The government has reasons to worry. In recent years, China has seen an increase in crimes committed by children under 14, the minimum age they can be held legally liable. In March, the three people who were arrested for the suspected murder of their 13-year-old classmate in Handan were between the ages of 12 and 14.

Experts have warned that the problem of violence is no longer a matter of roughhousing getting out of control but rather a society-wide mental health issue. Alarmed by the increase of juvenile crimes and its destabilising impact on society, policymakers have responded with rules and regulations to police schools and prevent bullying.

On Friday, China’s top prosecutor said in a new white paper that it had granted arrests for 26,855 juveniles in 2023, 35 per cent more than the year before. While the number of lawsuits involving minors also rose, they were also younger – the number of cases from the 14-16 age group rose by more than 15 per cent compared to 2022.

The office said it would maintain a “zero-tolerance” attitude and severely punish offenders, but also provide legal education, protection and care to children to help prevent crimes. In recent months, the Ministry of Education has also pledged a sweeping campaign against school bullying, promising to investigate all primary and secondary schools for cases of bullying, and provide students, teachers and parents with training.

But this may not be enough to tackle the problem, according to experts, who said that the entire education system, as well as families and society, must adapt and change.

In Zhong’s experience, school bullies usually lack empathy and respect for life, the result of suffering years of mistreatment in a childhood in which few people had ever shown them empathy.

Zhong, who has been studying family education for decades, said she discovered early on that when children were left behind by their working parents and raised by their grandparents or other elderly family members, they could develop “immeasurable trauma”.

Family relations and parental education played a large role in a child’s psychological development and behaviour, Zhong said. Without the opportunity to learn from such role models, children never learned how to solve conflicts the correct way, a common characteristic of bullies, she said.

In today’s rapidly changing world, many families and children were not equipped to cope with such stress, leading to generational trauma, Zhong said.

“The adults’ parents did not know how to love them either,” she said. “Their growth was tied to China’s development and social changes.”

In recent years, this kind of generational instability has been further aggravated by external circumstances like epidemics. When Sars – severe acute respiratory syndrome – struck in 2003 and Covid-19 in 2019, the unstable nature of so many families gave way to society-wide trauma.

During the coronavirus pandemic, when Zhong served as a psychological counsellor for an Education Ministry hotline, many of the phone calls were from panicked children. During lockdowns, families were often forced to stay at home for weeks if not months, spurring heated conflicts. Zhong said conversations that began with how scared the children were of being infected would often shift to family troubles.

Added to this, the children have had to face increasing social pressure, such as parents’ high academic expectations for admission to prestigious universities.

“There’s a running joke, that the moment a child is born, his or her countdown to the college-entrance examination begins,” Zhong said.

Guanghe Movement, an NGO specialising in youth development and education, said in an article on its WeChat account in April that children could begin to show undesirable behaviours such as teasing, attacks or blackmail against their peers if their own needs were unfulfilled, or if they felt insecure and had low self-esteem.

The problems worsen when adults simply punish children for bad behaviour without carefully guiding them towards the proper behaviour. Over time, unloved or unattended children develop into bullies and delinquents who are rejected by society.

Since 2011, Shen Xu, one of the founders of Guanghe, has been working with schools to battle bullying. Over the past decade, she has dealt with many forms of the behaviour; from intentionally excluding someone, to name-calling, harassment and even blackmail.

But many of the school incidents are hidden, beyond the view of teachers who try to watch for bullying. Victims might not tell their teachers if they did not believe the adults can help them, Shen said. Adding to the complexity, today’s teachers face increasing demands from more meetings, extra tasks and heavier loads of administrative work.

After the monstrous killing of the boy in Handan, many schools have stepped up training to address the problem.

At one school, law enforcement has helped to deliver a clear message to both teachers and students: say no to school bullying. Linda Shen, a private school teacher in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, said that last month her school invited a police officer to give an hour-long talk on the dangers of bullying, including a discussion of relevant laws, and vivid examples of schoolyard bullies who eventually ended up in prison.

Efforts have been made to raise awareness of the problem. At a secondary school in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, TV screens on every floor display rolling messages about what school bullying is and what to do if one is being bullied.

The vice-principal of the school, who wished to remain anonymous, said management held meetings with teachers, asking them to pay close attention to changes in students’ behaviour, for example, children who became quiet, walked alone or did not want to come to school.

He also set up a principal’s mailbox for students who did not want to talk directly with their teachers or who had tips to report.

“We’ve made it absolutely clear that bullying is strictly forbidden,” he said. “Students are aware of our attitude and will always report any incidents to the teachers.”

Motivated by the threat bullying poses to “social harmony”, policymakers have been trying to address the issue as well. In a 2016 brochure on prevention measures, the Ministry of Education stated that “bullying can destroy families, endanger social harmony and create a bad social climate”.

The brochure, spanning seven chapters and 167 pages, detailed how to spot and prevent bullying, as well as how to educate students. It also called on schools to establish a best-practices mechanism to deal with bullying when it occured.

In 2017, the central government issued new guidelines aimed at preventing bullying in primary and secondary schools, declaring that students with unacceptable behaviour would face expulsion or be sent to reform schools.

In 2021, bullying in schools was written into the Law on Protection of Minors, requiring schools to set up task forces to prevent bullying and provide help, and conduct periodic evaluations to determine if bullying is present in schools.

But government efforts are not enough, according to Xiong Binqi, director of the Beijing-based 21st Century Education Research Institute, and educational think tank.

Since Handan, there has been much discussion about how to punish minors who commit such crimes, and calls to lower the age of criminal liability, which currently stands at 14. Offenders between 12 and 14 can be charged on a case-by-case basis if they are found to have killed by “extremely cruel means”.

The real issue in need of attention, according to Xiong, is that there is no formal punishment for children under 14 who do not commit murder or intentional injury, but do commit a minor offence – such as bullying. These cases are seldom recorded by the police, and almost never make it into the court system. Instead, authorities urged the parents to “strictly discipline” the children, he said. Any punishment that is dispensed usually takes the form of a fine against the legal guardians, with no direct consequences for the child offender.

“If you cannot solve this central problem, then you cannot reduce bullying even if you lower the age of legal liability and increase punishment for minors committing a crime,” Xiong said.

He said that these children should still face a trial, even if they are not held responsible, and should be required to complete a certain amount of community service work.

“They need to understand that their actions are crimes, and that they are only exempted from legal responsibility because of their age,” he said.

He also called for a special law on school bullying and violence to provide a legal protocol to follow in such cases.

Aside from punishment, some experts say there needs to be more focus on other aspects of the problem, such as the bullies themselves.

In her training for teachers, Shen, the NGO worker, stresses spotting positive qualities in the bullying students and conveying understanding, instead of simply labelling them as “bad”.

In one case, she dealt with a child who often stole from others. After talking at length with the girl, Shen discovered the student became upset when a classmate was given a cake on their birthday. The girl had felt jealous because her parents never celebrated her birthday.

“I asked her, do you just want a cake, or others wishing you happy birthday and giving you a present? She said ‘yes’ and cried,” Shen said.

Another child was found to be blackmailing classmates. Shen told the child: “I noticed you are great with people, you organised all those classmates to go with you. But is there any other scenario where you can apply the skills without being reprimanded by teachers?”

“By punishing the child, you are telling him what he did wrong, but he still does not know what the right thing is,” Shen said.

Zhong, the psychiatrist, said the children were not the only ones who needed help. In her counselling sessions, she often encountered parents who had struggled through divorce. Before she could help the children, she needed to help the parents, she said.

Once the children became juvenile offenders, help may be too late, Zhong warned. To prevent the possibility of minor bullying descending into leading to serious crimes, changes need to happen “from the beginning”. Parents, she said, must avoid traumatising their children and teach them to respect life.

“To change things from the beginning, we need to change our society and our families,” Zhong said.

“And that is a huge task.”

Japan hunts man who spray-painted ‘toilet’ on Yasukuni Shrine in Chinese social media video

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3265289/vandal-who-spray-painted-toilet-japans-yasukuni-shrine-hunted-police?utm_source=rss_feed

Police in Japan are searching for suspects in the spray-painting of the word “toilet” on a Tokyo shrine that commemorates the country’s war dead, in an apparent protest against the ongoing release of treated radioactive waste water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The red graffiti on a stone pillar at the entrance of Yasukuni Shrine was discovered early on Saturday. In a video posted on Chinese social media, a man who identified himself as Iron Head criticised the discharge of waste water from the damaged nuclear power plant into the ocean.

“Faced with the Japanese government’s permission to discharge nuclear waste water, can we do anything?” the man asks. “No, I will give them some colour to see.”

In another part of the video taken at night, he is seen apparently urinating on the pillar and using spray paint to write “toilet” in English.

Tokyo police are investigating at least two suspects, the person who appeared in the video and another who shot it, according to Japanese media including NHK public television and Kyodo News agency. Police believe the incident occurred late on Friday after the shrine closed and that the perpetrator is believed to have already left Japan, they said.

Police declined to confirm the reports.

The discharge of waste water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant has been opposed by fishing groups and neighbouring countries, especially China, which imposed a ban on all imports of Japanese seafood immediately after the release began in August. The ban has particularly affected Japanese scallop growers and exporters to China.

Yasukuni Shrine honours about 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including convicted war criminals.

Victims of Japanese aggression during the first half of the 20th century, especially China and the Koreas, see the shrine as a symbol of Japanese militarism. The countries criticise visits by Japanese lawmakers and offerings to the shrine as signs of their lack of remorse over Japan’s wartime actions.

The graffiti appeared to have been cleaned by Monday.

Malaysia urged to follow Philippines’ lead and get tougher with Beijing over South China Sea claims

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3265240/malaysia-urged-follow-philippines-lead-and-get-tougher-beijing-over-south-china-sea-claims?utm_source=rss_feed

Malaysia should take a more proactive approach to defending its rights in the South China Sea, an American expert on China who has advised the Pentagon warned – urging the Southeast Asian nation to reject Beijing’s “excessive claims” over the disputed waters and protect its own long-term strategic goals.

Prioritising short-term trade benefits poses serious risks that could ultimately result in greater long-term costs, said Toshi Yoshihara, a senior fellow at the Washington -based Centre for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments think tank who has written extensively on China’s military and maritime policy.

He said these costs could come in various forms, from economic penalties to loss of territorial integrity and increased regional instability, undermining Malaysia’s national interests and security.

“Accommodating China is basically paying later with extra penalties, and frequently the penalty will come in the form of blood, sweat and tears,” Yoshihara told This Week in Asia on Monday, a day before he was expected to brief the National Defence University of Malaysia on the same topic.

The resource-rich waters of the South China Sea are claimed by Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Vietnam. China’s claims over the disputed waters, demarcated on Beijing’s maps by its “nine dash line”, crosses into all of these countries’ exclusive economic zones.

Although the boundaries of exclusive economic zones are upheld by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and a 2016 arbitral decision in The Hague, China has dismissed these international rulings in favour of what it claims to be its historical rights over the region.

China has repeatedly encroached into the waters of Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone, particularly around Sabah and Sarawak. These incursions, often involving Chinese coastguard ships, have intensified in recent years following the discovery of significant oil and gas reserves.

Yoshihara’s comments came in response to remarks made last month by former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, which were widely interpreted as a call to let China’s claims over the disputed waters go unchallenged.

“They [China’s government] claims that the South China Sea belongs to them, but they have not stopped ships from passing through,” Mahathir said at the Nikkei Future of Asia conference in Tokyo last month.

“As long as there is no stoppage of the passage of ships through the South China Sea, then it’s good enough.”

With Malaysia’s economy heavily reliant on trade from both the United States and China, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has been accused of playing down Chinese vessels’ encroachments into Malaysian waters, asserting that his country has no issues with Beijing.

Speaking in Melbourne at the Asean-Australia summit in March, Anwar said Western nations were trying to dictate Malaysia’s stance on China

“If they have problems with China, they should not impose it upon us. We do not have a problem with China,” Anwar said.

China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner for the past 15 years, currently accounting for some 17 per cent of the country’s total trade volume.

Yoshihara, author of the 2022 book Mao’s Army Goes to Sea, which details the founding of the Chinese navy and the start of Beijing’s maritime and island-building campaigns, suggested that Kuala Lumpur could learn from Manila about how to “deal with peacetime coercive intimidation tactics” in the South China Sea.

Manila’s tactics include documenting its maritime territorial conflicts with Beijing. He noted that the Philippine navy has been releasing footage of its clashes with the Chinese coastguard around the Second Thomas Shoal, which Yoshihara described as a “public relations disaster” for China.

During several clashes, Chinese ships have shot high-pressure water cannons at Philippine forces, resulting in vessels being damaged and crewmen being injured.

“The violent force of the water cannons suggested they can inflict casualties and perhaps even death. China is sort of struggling to deal with this new narrative,” Yoshihara said.

At the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore on Friday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said the death of any of his citizens or servicemen would come very close to constituting “an act of war” – and vowed to respond accordingly.

“Once we get to that point, certainly we would have crossed the Rubicon. Is that a red line? Almost certainly it’s going to be a red line,” Marcos Jnr said.

In response, China asserted its claims over the South China Sea and accused Manila of jeopardising the security and stability of the region through its close ties with the US, including the placement of mid-range missile systems in the Philippines as part of a joint military exercise in April.

“China has exercised great restraints in the face of such infringements and provocations,” said Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jan at the forum.

The Philippines, a former US colony, signed a mutual defence treaty with Washington in 1951, dictating that both nations would support each other if either were attacked by an external party.

Chinese scientists turn largest Earth surveillance network satellite upside down to hunt killer asteroid

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3264896/chinese-scientists-turn-largest-earth-surveillance-network-satellite-upside-down-hunt-killer?utm_source=rss_feed

A giant asteroid hurtles towards Earth on a path that could potentially end in disaster.

Known as 1994 PC1, it is as big as San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, but as astronomers try to pinpoint its exact position, its distance of 2 million km – five times as far from Earth as the moon – poses a significant challenge.

But there is a solution: a Chinese Jilin-1 satellite in a near-Earth orbit. Normally it observes our planet. Instead, it executes an unprecedented manoeuvre. It flips over, aims its lens into the depths of space and begins snapping photos each second. These images not only capture 1994 PC1 – they also help scientists reduce the orbit positioning error of the asteroid to just 33km, improving the ground-based telescopes’ accuracy by two orders of magnitude.

Astronomers can now definitively see that 1994 PC1 is not on a collision course with Earth, but will pass safely by.

This was a mission that took place in January 2022, but has only now been revealed after recently being declassified by the Chinese government.

And it sheds new light on the powerful observation capabilities of Chinese satellites. These are capabilities that are causing concern for Western countries, particularly the United States, as they worry that China’s growing space power could be used for military purposes.

But researchers detailing the 2022 mission have said that China will continue to hone these skills to protect humanity.

“Follow-up experiments will be conducted to observe fainter near-Earth asteroids using existing space-based equipment,” the project team, led by Professor Liu Jing with the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, wrote in a peer-reviewed paper published in the Chinese Journal of Deep Space Exploration in April.

More than 100 satellites make up the Jilin-1 constellation, currently the largest Earth observation network in operation. These satellites are incredibly powerful, capable of quickly capturing high-resolution images of almost any location on Earth. They have even tracked and filmed an American F-22 fighter jet flying in clouds and a rocket blasting off a launch pad.

But asteroids in deep space are quite different targets from stealth fighter jets, and the Jilin-1 satellites were not initially designed to operate with their telescopes turned the wrong way around.

After a thorough analysis of the satellites’ capabilities, the project team determined that tracking 1994 PC1 was technically feasible but required in-depth adjustments to critical equipment, such as the exposure parameters of the optical sensors.

“The Jilin-1 video satellite needs to continuously adjust its altitude during orbit motion to perform fixed-point gaze imaging on the target observation area,” Liu and her colleagues said in the paper.

“A total of 51 shooting tasks were arranged during the period from January 17 to 21, 2022 … with each imaging mission lasting 15 seconds,” they added.

The European Space Agency has been studying the use of some dedicated satellites to observe asteroids for more than two decades, and Nasa has conducted similar research. But their ideas are still on paper.

Meanwhile, China’s successful experiment shows humankind can enhance its perception and early warning capabilities for high-risk asteroids by using existing space-based Earth observation systems, according to Liu’s paper.

The experiment also shows China’s space-ground collaborative capabilities from a new perspective. The researchers employed two large ground observation stations located in Beijing and Xinjiang, along with a dedicated satellite for astronomical observation, to coordinate with Jilin-1.

In the next step, they plan to incorporate a large ground-based radar network to further enhance the scope and accuracy of tracking and targeting, Liu said.

Globally, the US has by far the most space assets, with more than 8,000 satellites currently in orbit – 12 times the number of Chinese assets.

However, most US assets are SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, primarily used for communication rather than intelligence gathering.

The US military has recently raised alarms about the rapid growth of China’s space observation system capabilities, including Jilin-1, believing they pose an unprecedented threat to US military forces worldwide.

At the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies’ Spacepower Security Forum held in Washington on March 27, chief of space operations General B. Chance Saltzman said China’s growing fleet of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) satellites is creating the “kill webs” that the US military dreads most.

“Specifically the PRC has more than 470 ISR satellites that are feeding a robust sensor-shooter kill web,” Saltzman said in his keynote address. “This new sensor shooter kill web creates unacceptable risk to our forward-deployed force. This is something that most of us are just not used to thinking about.”

At the same forum, Kelly D. Hammett, director of the Space Rapid Capabilities Office, also warned that the US could be falling behind in a race against China to build a proliferated warfighter architecture.

“We have a lot of irons in the fire. We’re building new capabilities, trying new things, trying to get to assets on range that the operators can test and train against,” Hammett said.

“(But) it’s not the force structure overall that we’re going to need to be able to compete and deter and potentially fight and win against the vast array of assets the Chinese are putting on orbit. There are 400 ISR birds, they’re launching 100 satellites a year, and most of them are very insidious. Well over half of them are space warfighting satellites. They’re not largely commercial,” he added.

China’s premium wine industry fermenting a ‘buzz and energy’, and it’s ‘only going up’

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3265208/chinas-premium-wine-industry-fermenting-buzz-and-energy-and-its-only-going?utm_source=rss_feed

The two brothers who run Qingdao Lilong Winery of China quietly served samples of their bubbly Sancaro brand to a trickle of people in a corner of the vast Vinexpo Asia in Hong Kong last week, tucked behind festive and crowded displays from Australia, France and California.

Overall, just 10 of the 1,030 producers and distillers who exhibited over the three days at the end of May came from mainland China.

But Lilong has built a following in China for its sparkling wines since 2012, hitting a peak in 2020 with 30 million bottles sold.

“We’re not so interested in surpassing imports – not thinking that way,” Lilong representative Yu Zhiyong said.

“I think premium wine can represent a region’s local resources. We have created our own consumer base by promoting the wine itself.”

The winery sits on 53,300 square metres (573,716 sq ft) of land, and obtains its grapes from a vineyard north of the coastal city Qingdao.

Chinese premium wineries such as Lilong are edging into the domestic market as consumers scout for unique flavours and prefer national brands over foreign equivalents, although imports are expected to remain the dominant force.

The domestic premium wine sector in China has spawned several hundred operators over the past decade, but it remains small compared to overseas peers due to its adolescence and lack of land that can yield high-end wine grapes.

“There’s a lot of buzz and energy in that space. I’ve had quite a few of them [to drink] that are at international standards,” said Ian Ford, the Shanghai-based founder and chief executive of Nimbility, a brand and sales management company for alcohol sold in Asia.

“It’s only going in one direction. It’s going up.”

Industry giants Changyu Pioneer Wine and China Great Wall Wine, which both make relatively cheap products, boosted China’s vineyard coverage to the third largest in the world by area at 756,000 hectares (1.87 million acres) in 2023 behind Spain and France, according to an estimate by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine trade group.

China’s grape wine production reached 4.2 million hectolitres (420 million litres) in 2022, according to the trade group, which would place it behind 11 other countries globally, including Argentina, Australia, Chile and the United States as well as several in Europe.

Chinese premium wines have historically depended on imports, including wines from Australia, that began shipping en masse again in April after China removed an import tariff of up to 218.4 per cent that had been in place since March 2021.

Bottles shipped from Chile, France, Italy and South Africa also appear in China’s restaurants and supermarkets.

Domestic premium wines could eventually outdo imports due to a lack of import tariffs and international shipping costs, analysts said, but building name recognition would take years.

“The volume of Chinese premium wine has been increasing over the past couple of years, but in terms of marketing, people might not be aware of the quality,” said Paul Tsui, founder of the Hong Kong-based wine logistics firm Janel Group.

Still, he said, “more and more people recognise the quality of the wine”.

The western Ningxia Hui autonomous region has become a top source of premium wines due to its climate and elevations, and has created a “price bubble” that may have improved the image of China’s wine industry as a whole, the JS Wine Ratings website said in a 2023 commentary.

Vineyards are also sprouting up in the provinces of Shandong, Shanxi and Yunnan, with the likes of Helan Qingxue, Xige Estate and Grace Vineyard already established premium brands.

Consumers pay between US$35 and US$50 per bottle for high-end Chinese wines, which is often more than the cost of imported alternatives, Ford said.

In some cases, he added, domestic consumers drink local wines simply because they are local.

“Wherever you go in the world, customers feel comfortable if the name is familiar,” said Rob Temple, managing director of Hong Kong consultancy Sinowine.

“There’s the language, also the culture and feeling of supporting local producers as well.”

Premium brands have taken off because Chinese consumers want “integrity”, such as knowing a vintner’s backstory, and that the product is local rather than partly imported, Temple added.

Chinese white wines are “refreshing”, while red wines are “rich”, said Liu Yibo, a 39-year-old Beijing-based wine consumer and the founder of a forum on domestic wine culture.

“The taste of premium wines in China shouldn’t lose out to wines from overseas,” she said.

And consumers who can afford a 2,000 yuan (US$276) bottle care about subtle differences in taste, said Huang Fei, general manager of the Shangri-La wine brands under Beijing-based ZJLD Group.

Huang’s grapes grow over an elevation range of 5,000 metres (16,404 feet) in Yunnan province, with flavours varying within the area.

“This kind of land resource is quite rare – high elevation and low latitude,” he said at Vinexpo in Hong Kong.

Huang said middle-class Chinese pay up to 1,000 yuan per bottle and feel comfortable at 500 yuan. His wines range from 500 yuan to 2,000 yuan.

“We can’t replace exports,” Huang said. “It’s sometimes because of their reputation and sometimes because of personal preferences – or it could be because foreign wine quality is good.”

China’s premium brands would eventually rival imports by avoiding tariffs, shipping costs and production that may be more expensive overseas, Temple said.

“I think [Chinese brands] have a better reputation than in the past,” said Graeme Hogan, national sales manager at Best’s Wines Great Western in Australia.

Their rise, he said, should generate more interest in wine overall.

“Once they get to drinking wine, they may go ‘I might try a bottle of Australian wine to see what that’s like’,” added Hogan in Hong Kong while exhibiting his products alongside other Australian labels.

But China’s middle-class consumers have cut back on premium wines because of wider economic uncertainty since 2020, Ford said.

China’s bottled wine imports fell by 17.6 per cent by value to US$1.09 billion and 29.1 per cent by volume last year, according to the China Chamber of Commerce of Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce & Animal By-Products.

France, Chile and Italy were the top suppliers of bulk and bottled wine combined last year.

Consumer hesitation leaves premium winemaking in the hands of vintners, said Andy Xie, an independent economist in Shanghai.

“The people who are doing it love doing it,” he said. “It’s about passion.”

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China’s Chang’e 6 probe blasts off from the moon with the first-ever ‘far side’ samples

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3265265/change-6-probe-blasts-moon-first-ever-dark-side-samples?utm_source=rss_feed

The first rock samples from the far side of the moon, collected by China’s Chang’e 6 mission, have taken off and entered designated lunar orbit, embarking on a three-week-long journey home.

The Chang’e 6 ascent vehicle, with its cargo of up to 2kg (4.4lbs) of specimens from the moon’s oldest impact basin, lifted off from the lunar surface early on Tuesday morning, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

“At 7.38am Beijing time, the Chang’e 6 ascender blasted off from the moon’s far side with lunar samples in it. Its 3,000-newton-thrust engine fired for about six minutes, successfully delivering the ascender into designated lunar orbit,” the CNSA said.

“This is the first time in human history for a spacecraft to take off from the far side of the moon.”

The space authority said the ascender will rendezvous and dock with the orbiter in lunar orbit, before transferring its precious cargo to a device known as the return capsule.

The orbiter-return capsule combination will circle the moon and wait for the best timing to fly back to Earth, where it will touch down at the Siziwang Banner landing site in northern China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, it said.

After collecting the samples, the Chang’e 6 also unfurled a Chinese national flag, according to state broadcaster CCTV’s coverage of the mission.

“This is the first time that China has independently and dynamically displayed its national flag on the far side of the moon, which is made out of novel composite materials and special processes,” it said.

Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency, congratulated its Chinese counterpart “on the remarkable success of Chang’e 6 mission thus far” in a message on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“It’s a wonderful accomplishment that ESA is thankful and proud to have a part in by contributing the NILS (Negative Ions on Lunar Surface) instrument and by providing ground station ESTRACK network support,” he wrote.

China’s spacecraft carrying rocks from the far side of the moon leaves the lunar surface

https://apnews.com/article/china-far-side-of-moon-probe-4f140a9c2bef8a5e5e919f1967080858In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, technical personnel work at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) in Beijing, Sunday, June 2, 2024. A Chinese spacecraft landed on the far side of the moon Sunday to collect soil and rock samples that could provide insights into differences between the less-explored region and the better-known near side. (Jin Liwang/Xinhua via AP)

2024-06-04T01:27:58Z

BEIJING (AP) — China says a spacecraft carrying rock and soil samples from the far side of the moon has lifted off from the lunar surface to start its journey back to Earth.

The ascender of the Chang’e-6 probe lifted off Tuesday morning Beijing time and entered a preset orbit around the moon, the China National Space Administration said.

The Chang’e-6 probe was launched last month and its lander touched down on the far side of the moon Sunday.

Xinhua News Agency cited the space agency as saying the spacecraft stowed the samples it had gathered in a container inside the ascender of the probe as planned.

The container will be transferred to a reentry capsule that is due to return to Earth in the deserts of China’s Inner Mongolia region about June 25.

Missions to the moon’s far side are more difficult because it doesn’t face the Earth, requiring a relay satellite to maintain communications. The terrain is also more rugged, with fewer flat areas to land.

Xinhua said the probe’s landing site was the South Pole-Aitken Basin, an impact crater created more than 4 billion years ago that is 13 kilometers (8 miles) deep and has a diameter of 2,500 kilometers (1,500 miles).

It is the oldest and largest of such craters on the moon, so may provide the earliest information about it, Xinhua said, adding that the huge impact may have ejected materials from deep below the surface.

The mission is the sixth in the Chang’e moon exploration program, which is named after a Chinese moon goddess. It is the second designed to bring back samples, following the Chang’e 5, which did so from the near side in 2020.

The moon program is part of a growing rivalry with the U.S. — still the leader in space exploration — and others, including Japan and India. China has put its own space station in orbit and regularly sends crews there.

The emerging global power aims to put a person on the moon before 2030, which would make it the second nation after the United States to do so. America is planning to land astronauts on the moon again — for the first time in more than 50 years — though NASA pushed the target date back to 2026 earlier this year.