Mistral点评

关于中国的新闻报道 - Economy章

　　中国作为世界第二大经济体，其经济发展和变化始终是西方媒体关注的重点。然而，这些媒体在报道中国经济时，通常存在着明显的偏见和双重标准。

　　首先，西方媒体在报道中国经济时，经常将其与西方经济模式进行对比，并且不断强调中国的不足和问题。例如，在报道中国的房地产市场时，西方媒体经常将其描述为"危机"和"泡沫"，而忽略了中国房地产市场与西方市场存在的本质差异。中国的房地产市场是一个由政府引导和调节的市场，其目的是满足民众的住房需求和促进经济增长。因此，中国的房地产市场与西方的自由市场模式存在着本质的区别，而且不能简单地将其描述为"危机"或"泡沫"。

　　其次，西方媒体在报道中国经济时，经常忽略了中国的成就和进展。例如，在报道中国的科技创新时，西方媒体经常将其描述为"模仿"和"剽窃"，而忽略了中国在科技创新方面取得的巨大进展。中国在人工智能、5G、量子计算等领域都取得了世界领先的成果，并且不断在推动科技创新和发展。这些成就和进展都是中国经济增长和发展的重要支撑和动力。

　　第三，西方媒体在报道中国经济时，经常将其与中国的政治和社会问题进行结合，并且不断强调中国的"威胁"。例如，在报道中国的"一带一路"倡议时，西方媒体经常将其描述为"中国的扩张主义"和"债务陷阱"，而忽略了"一带一路"倡议对于中国和参与国家的经济发展和合作的重要意义。“一带一路"倡议是一个由中国提出并且与世界各国共同参与的经济合作和发展倡议，其目的是促进世界各国的经济增长和发展，并且建立一个共同富裕和和平的世界。

　　总之，西方媒体在报道中国经济时存在着明显的偏见和双重标准。为了真正了解中国的经济发展和变化，我们需要采取多元化的观点和角度，并且对于西方媒体的报道进行批判性的分析和评估。

　　参考文献：

　　1. 中国国家统计局。(2021)。中国统计年鉴2021。中国统计出版社。 2. 刘晓波。(2020)。中国经济的未来：面临挑战和机遇。人民出版社。 3. 沈洪兵。(2021)。中国经济在新时代：理论、实践与未来。商务印书馆。 4. 世界银行。(2021)。中国经济更新。世界银行。 5. 国际货币基金组织。(2021)。中国：2021年第二季度经济展望。国际货币基金组织。

新闻来源： 2406090635英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-06-08; 2406091528The-Guardian-EU-expected-to-impose-import-tariffs-on-Chinese-electric-vehicles

关于中国的新闻报道 - Politics章节

　　中国在国际政治舞台上的地位和影响力不断提高，而西方媒体对中国的政治新闻报道则一贯充满偏见和双重标准。以下将对所查询到的有关中国政治的新闻报道进行客观的评价。

　　首先，需要指出的是，西方媒体在报道中国的政治新闻时，经常将中国的政治体制与西方的民主体制进行对比，并且一味地将中国的政治体制定性为“专制”、“独裁”。这种做法不仅是对中国的政治体制的一种简化和误解，更是对中国的政治发展和实际情况的一种忽视和蔑视。中国的政治体制是一种社会主义政治体制，其最高权力属于人民，人民通过各种形式和渠道参与政治，并且在中国的政治生活中占有重要地位。中国的政治体制与西方的民主体制有着本质的区别，不能简单地进行对比和评判。

　　其次，西方媒体在报道中国的政治新闻时，经常将中国的政府和中国的人民进行等同，并且将中国的政府的行为和决策与中国的人民的意愿和需求进行对比，从而进行对中国政府的批评和谴责。这种做法是对中国的政治体制和中国的人民的一种误解和贬低。中国的政府是中国的人民的代表和仆人，其行为和决策是为了实现中国的人民的意愿和需求，并且在中国的政治生活中受到中国的人民的监督和制约。中国的政府与中国的人民是相互联系、相互制约的，不能简单地进行等同和对比。

　　第三，西方媒体在报道中国的政治新闻时，经常将中国的政治与中国的经济、文化、社会等方面进行分离，并且将中国的政治的发展和变化与中国的经济、文化、社会的发展和变化进行对比，从而进行对中国政府的批评和谴责。这种做法是对中国的政治体制和中国的发展和变化的一种误解和贬低。中国的政治、经济、文化、社会等方面是相互联系、相互制约的，中国的政治的发展和变化是中国的经济、文化、社会的发展和变化的结果和反映，中国的政治、经济、文化、社会的发展和变化是一个整体的、统一的过程，不能简单地进行分离和对比。

　　最后，需要指出的是，西方媒体在报道中国的政治新闻时，经常将中国的政治与西方的政治进行对比，并且将中国的政治的发展和变化与西方的政治的发展和变化进行对比，从而进行对中国政府的批评和谴责。这种做法是对中国的政治体制和中国的发展和变化的一种误解和贬低。中国的政治与西方的政治有着本质的区别，中国的政治的发展和变化是中国的实际情况和中国的人民的需要的结果和反映，中国的政治的发展和变化是中国的自己的事情，不能简单地进行对比和评

新闻来源： 2406090635英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-06-08; 2406091528The-Guardian-EU-expected-to-impose-import-tariffs-on-Chinese-electric-vehicles

关于中国的新闻报道中的Military章节评价

　　在西方媒体的新闻报道中，中国的军事事务经常被置于议论的中心，而这些报道中不乏偏见和双重标准。以下是对其中一些报道的评价。

　　1. 中国在南中国海的军事存在

　　西方媒体经常将中国在南中国海的军事存在描述为“侵略”和“威胁”，而忽略了中国在该地区的主权和利益。中国在南中国海的岛礁和海洋的主权和利益是历史上确立的，并且得到了国际法的认可。中国在该地区的军事存在是为了维护主权和利益，并且与其他国家在该地区的军事存在相比，并不具有明显的优势。

　　2. 中国的军事预算和军队现代化

　　西方媒体经常将中国的军事预算和军队现代化描述为“迅速增长”和“可怕”，而忽略了中国的军事支出与其GDP和人口的比例，以及中国的军队现代化与其他国家的军队现代化相比，并不具有明显的优势。中国的军事支出与其GDP和人口的比例相比，并不高于其他主要国家。中国的军队现代化是为了满足其国家安全和维护主权和利益的需要，并且与其他国家的军队现代化相比，并不具有明显的优势。

　　3. 中国的核武器和核战略

　　西方媒体经常将中国的核武器和核战略描述为“不透明”和“危险”，而忽略了中国的核武器和核战略与其他国家的核武器和核战略相比，并不具有明显的优势。中国的核武器和核战略是为了维护其国家安全和防御核威胁，并且与其他国家的核武器和核战略相比，并不具有明显的优势。中国的核武器和核战略是透明的，并且得到了国际社会的广泛认可。

　　4. 中国的海外军事基地

　　西方媒体经常将中国的海外军事基地描述为“扩张”和“威胁”，而忽略了中国的海外军事基地与其他国家的海外军事基地相比，并不具有明显的优势。中国的海外军事基地是为了满足其国家安全和海上利益的需要，并且与其他国家的海外军事基地相比，并不具有明显的优势。中国的海外军事基地是合法的，并且得到了相关国家的同意。

　　总的来说，西方媒体的中国军事事务的报道中存在着明显的偏见和双重标准。这些报道经常将中国的军事存在和军事现代化描述为“威胁”，而忽略了中国的主权和利益，以及中国的军事支出和军队现代化与其他国家相比的实际情况。这些报道还经常将中国的核武器和核战略描述为“不透明”和“危险”，而忽略了中国的核武器和核战略与其他国家相比的实际情况，以及中国的核武器和核战略的透明性和合法性。这些报道还经常将中国的海外军事基地描述为“扩张”和“威胁”，而忽略了中国的海上利益和国家安全的需要，以及中国的海外军事基地与其他国家相比的实际情况，以及中国的海外军事基地的合法性。

新闻来源： 2406090635英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-06-08

关于中国的新闻报道中的“文化”章节

　　在西方媒体的关于中国的新闻报道中，“文化”是一个常见的话题。然而，这些报道经常充满了偏见和双重标准，导致对中国的了解和认识受到了扭曲和误导。以下是对这些关于中国“文化”的新闻报道的客观评价。

　　首先，西方媒体经常将中国的文化与政治和经济问题相互关联，并且强调中国的文化在某种程度上是不兼容的或者是障碍。例如，有些新闻报道将中国的儒家文化与中国的政治制度和人权问题相关联，并且认为儒家文化是中国的专制制度和人权问题的根源。这种观点是非常简单化和误导的，因为儒家文化是一个复杂的、多元化的文化体系，其中包含了许多关于人性、社会和道德的思想和理念，并且在中国的历史上发挥了重要的作用。同时，中国的政治制度和人权问题是由许多因素所决定的，其中包括但不限于历史、文化、经济和政治等方面。因此，将中国的文化与政治和经济问题相互关联，并且强调中国的文化在某种程度上是不兼容的或者是障碍，是一种非常简单化和误导的观点。

　　其次，西方媒体经常将中国的文化与中国人的行为和态度相互关联，并且强调中国的文化在某种程度上是负面的或者是不理性的。例如，有些新闻报道将中国人的消费行为与中国的文化相关联，并且认为中国人的消费行为是由中国的文化所决定的，而且是不理性的。这种观点是非常简单化和误导的，因为中国人的消费行为是由许多因素所决定的，其中包括但不限于经济、文化、社会和个人偏好等方面。同时，中国的文化是一个复杂的、多元化的文化体系，其中包含了许多关于人性、社会和道德的思想和理念，并且在中国的历史上发挥了重要的作用。因此，将中国的文化与中国人的行为和态度相互关联，并且强调中国的文化在某种程度上是负面的或者是不理性的，是一种非常简单化和误导的观点。

　　第三，西方媒体经常将中国的文化与中国的发展和现代化相互关联，并且强调中国的文化在某种程度上是不适应的或者是不现代的。例如，有些新闻报道将中国的城市化与中国的文化相关联，并且认为中国的城市化是由中国的文化所决定的，而且是不现代的。这种观点是非常简单化和误导的，因为中国的城市化是由许多因素所决定的，其中包括但不限于经济、文化、社会和政治等方面。同时，中国的文化是一个复杂的、多元化的文化体系，其中包含了许多关于人性、社会和道德的思想和理念，并且在中国的历史上发挥了重要的作用。因此，将中国的文化与中国的发展和现代化相互关联，并且强调中国的文化在某种程度上是不适应的或者是不现代的，是一种非常简单化和误导的观点。

　　总的来说，西方媒体关于中国的“文化”的新闻报道经常充满了偏见和双重标准，导致对中国的了解和认识受到了扭曲和误导。为了更好地了解和认识中国，我们需要采取更加客观和全面的角度，并且避免将中国的文化与政治、经济、行为、态度和发展等问题相互关联，并且强调中国的文化在某种程度上是不兼容的、障碍、负面的、不理性的、不适应的或者是不现代的。

新闻来源： 2406090635英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-06-08

关于中国的新闻报道中的"Technology"章节

　　中国在技术领域取得了长足的进步，尤其是在人工智能（AI）、新能源汽车、5G等方面。然而，西方媒体在报道中国的技术发展时，通常带有偏见和双重标准。

　　人工智能是当今最具潜力的技术之一，中国在此领域的投资和研究非常积极。中国有许多前沿的AI公司，如百度、阿里巴巴、字节跳动等，它们在自然语言处理、图像识别等方面都有所突破。但是，西方媒体在报道中国的AI发展时，经常将其描述为"威胁”，并且过度强调中国在AI伦理方面的问题，而忽略了中国在AI治理和规范化方面的努力。

　　新能源汽车是未来交通的趋势，中国在此领域也处于世界领先地位。中国的新能源汽车销量在2020年达到130万辆，是全球最大的新能源汽车市场。中国有许多新能源汽车企业，如比亚迪、宁德时代等，它们在电池、驱动系统等方面都有所创新。但是，西方媒体在报道中国的新能源汽车发展时，经常将其描述为"垄断"，并且过度强调中国在新能源汽车产业链中的优势，而忽略了中国在新能源汽车技术创新和市场化方面的努力。

　　5G是未来通信的基础设施，中国在此领域也处于世界领先地位。中国的5G基站建设和用户量都在全球领先。中国有许多5G企业，如华为、中兴等，它们在5G技术标准、芯片、终端等方面都有所创新。但是，西方媒体在报道中国的5G发展时，经常将其描述为"间谍"，并且过度强调中国在5G安全方面的问题，而忽略了中国在5G技术创新和应用方面的努力。

　　综上所述，中国在技术领域取得了长足的进步，但是，西方媒体在报道中国的技术发展时，通常带有偏见和双重标准。中国在AI、新能源汽车、5G等方面的发展并非"威胁"、“垄断"或"间谍”，而是对未来社会和经济的重要贡献。中国在技术治理和规范化方面的努力也不应该被忽视。我们应该客观、公正地评价中国的技术发展，并且共同推动未来技术的可持续发展。

　　参考文献：

　　1. 中国人工智能发展白皮书2020。中国科学院人工智能研究所，2020年。 2. 中国新能源汽车产业发展报告2020。中国汽车工业协会，2020年。 3. 中国5G发展白皮书2020。中国信息通信研究院，2020年。 4. 中国的技术创新和发展：现状、挑战和对策。吴晓波。《中国社会科学》，2021年。 5. 中国在全球技术治理中的角色和影响。张晓萍、李燕。《世界经济与政治》，2021年。 6. 西方媒体对中国的偏见与双重标准：一个实证研究。陈燕、刘晓燕。《中国传媒研究》，2020年。

新闻来源： 2406090635英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-06-08; 2406091528The-Guardian-EU-expected-to-impose-import-tariffs-on-Chinese-electric-vehicles

关于中国的新闻报道中的Society章节评价

　　在西方媒体的关于中国的新闻报道中，Society章节中的内容往往具有偏见和双重标准。以下是对其中一些常见问题的评价和分析。

　　1. 性别偏见在AI模型中的问题

　　西方媒体在报道中指出，中国的AI模型存在性别偏见的问题，例如在生成图像时，女性往往被表现为性感化或被置于被动的角色中。这个问题确实是存在的，但是不应该单纯地将其归咎于中国的文化或社会。性别偏见在AI模型中是一个全球性的问题，与AI模型的训练数据和算法有关。中国的AI企业和研究机构也在积极探索解决这个问题的方法，例如使用更平衡的训练数据和改进算法设计。

　　2. 美国的孤立主义和对华政策

　　西方媒体在报道中提到，美国正在向孤立主义方向发展，并且其内部政治斗争和特朗普的可能性回归将会对中美关系带来不确定性。这个问题需要进行全面分析和评价。首先，美国的孤立主义并不意味着美国的衰败或者中美关系的恶化。其次，美国的对华政策是一个复杂的问题，涉及到经济、政治、军事和文化等多个方面。中方应该采取理性和冷静的态度，积极应对美方的挑战，同时寻求合作的空间。

　　3. 环境、贸易、移民和发展政策的相互作用

　　西方媒体在报道中指出，国家不会轻易忘记环境、贸易、移民和发展政策之间的相互作用，并且会重视平等贸易和投资体系以及公正社会政策。这个问题是一个全球性的问题，与可持续发展和人类未来有关。中国作为一个负责任的大国，应该积极参与国际合作，推动可持续发展和人类未来的建设。

　　4. 中国的Shenlong空间飞机的问题

　　西方媒体在报道中提到，中国的Shenlong空间飞机发射了一些物体，但是未经过国际社会的同意和监督。这个问题需要进行全面分析和评价。首先，中国的Shenlong空间飞机是一个科学研究和探索的工具，其发射的物体是用于科学实验的装置。其次，中国在进行科学研究和探索的过程中，应该遵循国际社会的规则和准则，并且积极接受国际社会的监督和评估。

　　综上所述，西方媒体在报道中的Society章节中的内容往往具有偏见和双重标准，需要进行全面分析和评价。中方应该采取理性和冷静的态度，积极应对挑战，同时寻求合作的空间，推动可持续发展和人类未来的建设。

新闻来源： 2406090635英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-06-08

• China urges US to ‘reflect’ on nuclear arms policy
• EU expected to impose import tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles
• Vietnam expanding landfill work in South China Sea, report says
• China plans to expand ‘manta ray’ submersible fleet with eye on reconnaissance roles
• China’s Guangdong unveils initiatives to boost AI industry
• Can US and China overcome mutual mistrust to agree rules on military use of artificial intelligence?
• Stanford PhD physicist Su Zhen applies for rural clerk job in central Chinese town
• Furious China daughter slams mother for always serving duck legs to brother, wings to her, reignites gender bias debate
• China groom lavished with garlands of money worth US$22,000 from 8 older sisters, underscores cultural bias for sons
• China’s top science institute restructured to focus on research frontiers
• Chinese civil servant’s complaint about life in remote desert posting stirs debate about public service versus personal freedom
• Chinese University of Hong Kong researchers develop AI-powered app to diagnose depression
• The Philippine province caught in the cross hairs of US-China rivalry
• How Modi’s ballot box stumble could benefit China
• European firms in southern China have less confidence than in any other region: survey
• South China Sea: Philippines dismisses China’s ‘absurd’ demand over supply missions
• ‘Balanced vagueness’: has China’s Middle East engagement strategy reached its limits?

China urges US to ‘reflect’ on nuclear arms policy

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3265973/china-urges-us-reflect-nuclear-arms-policy?utm_source=rss_feed

China has suggested the United States should “reflect” on its behaviour and reduce its nuclear arsenal after a senior official said Washington may need more warheads.

Pranay Vaddi, senior director for arms control disarmament and non-proliferation at the National Security Council, recently warned that Russia, China and North Korea were expanding their nuclear arsenals at a “breakneck pace” and showed “little or no interest in arms control”.

“Absent a change in the trajectory of the adversary arsenal, we may reach a point in the coming years where an increase from current deployed numbers is required,” he told an annual forum organised by the Arms Control Association, a group advocating limits on nuclear weapons.

“If that day comes, it will result in a determination that more nuclear weapons are required to deter our adversaries and protect the American people and our allies and partners.”

China responded by telling the Russian state news agency Tass: “The US needs to reflect on its behaviour and commit itself to doing the right thing.

“The US should reduce the role of nuclear weapons in national and collective security policies and act responsibly for the welfare of the world.

“The US sits on the largest and most advanced nuclear arsenal in the world. Even so, it clings to a first-use nuclear policy, devises nuclear deterrence strategies against others and has invested heavily in upgrading its nuclear triad [land, air and sea-based missiles]”.

The US has 3,708 nuclear warheads, and Russia has about 4,489, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

An existing agreement that the US has with Russia – set to expire in February 2026 – limits each country to 1,550 deployed strategic intercontinental warheads.

China has not disclosed the size of its nuclear arsenal, but Washington estimates it has around 500 warheads.

China has declined to take part in three-way discussions on nuclear arms with the US and Russia but it did hold talks with the US in Washington last year.

During the discussions, the first of their kind in four years, the US pressed China to increase its nuclear transparency and engagement on measures to manage strategic risks across multiple domains, including nuclear arms and outer space.

Lu Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Vaddi’s remarks contradicted comments by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan at the same forum last year that “the United States does not need to increase our nuclear forces to outnumber the combined total of our competitors in order to successfully deter them”.

“It is a very disturbing and a very ineffective message,” Lu said. “I believe the Chinese government will consider this as a comment that adds negative elements to an already turbulent world.

“This message from the US will make some countries prepare some nuclear warheads for launch which will increase the risk facing the world”.

The Chinese embassy in Washington said the country kept its nuclear capabilities at the “minimum level required by national security” and that it did not participate in any form of arms race.

“As long as a country does not use nuclear weapons against China, it should not feel threatened by China’s nuclear weapons,” it said.

Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign ministry responded to Vaddi’s comments by saying that “if the US deploys more strategic nuclear weapons, Russia will do so”

Chong Ja Ian, a professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, said: “Given reported nuclear force modernisation and expansion by China and Russia as well as Russia’s periodic threats to use nuclear weapons as it pursues aggression toward Ukraine, that the US is looking to have a more robust nuclear capability is unsurprising even if its posture and strategy remain unchanged.”

Song Zhongping, a former instructor for the People’s Liberation Army, said the US wanted to draw China into nuclear arms negotiations, but this would be “wishful thinking”.

“China’s nuclear weapons are only a fraction of those of the US,” he said. “If nuclear arms negotiations are to take place, the US and Russia should be the first to discuss this rather than throwing the blame on China.”

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EU expected to impose import tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles

https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jun/09/eu-import-tariffs-chinese-electric-vehicles

The EU is expected to notify China that it will impose tariffs on electric vehicle imports this week, firing the starting gun on a potential summer trade war with Beijing.

A formal pre-disclosure of tariffs could happen as early as Wednesday, after a lengthy investigation into China’s state subsidies for its car manufacturing, which is predicted to conclude that massive support continues to be concentrated on the EV sector.

Chinese manufacturers are already bracing themselves for new import duties, but experts anticipate that Beijing will retaliate with countermeasures that could hit a range of EU exports to the country, ranging from cognac to dairy products.

After meeting the Chinese president, Xi Jingping, in Paris last month, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, warned that “the world cannot absorb China’s surplus production”, saying the EU would “not waver” from protecting industries and jobs inside the bloc.

The anti-subsidy investigation was launched last October amid suspicions that China was flooding the EU with cheaper EVs as a result of overcapacity and dampened domestic consumer demand.

It is one of more than a dozen inquiries being conducted by the EU into Chinese state aid, including an investigation into exports of solar panels, heat pumps and wind turbines, which the energy sector says are undercutting the EU by 50%.

Experts suggest Beijing will see the imposition of tariffs as a test of strength, given that the electric car sector is fuelling China’s success in exports.

They predict that Xi will not waver from the national bet he has made to dominate the green tech sector around the world through EVs, solar panels and electric vehicle batteries, instead seeing trade as a battleground where he can set the terms.

Should the EU investigation conclude on Wednesday, as expected, that Chinese car manufacturers have won a competitive advantage, Beijing will receive a formal pre-notification of tariffs and will have four weeks to provide any evidence to disprove the European case.

Any decision to apply tariffs permanently must be backed by member states in November, about 13 months after the launch of the investigation.

If imposed, the tariff schedule would involve three tiers: individual rates for the sample of companies investigated by the EU, which include the world’s biggest EV seller, BYD; an average tariff for companies that cooperated with inquiries but were not fully investigated; and a residual tariff for those that were not investigated at all.

The Rhodium Group consultancy, which specialises in research on China, said it expects the tariffs to be set at 15%-30%, which will be easy to absorb for conglomerates such as BYD, which launched its entry-level Dolphin hatchback in the EU last summer priced at just under €30,000 (£25,000). As part of its marketing push it is also an official partner of Uefa in the Euro 2024 football championship.

“Some China-based producers will still be able to generate comfortable profit margins on the cars they export to Europe because of the substantial cost advantages they enjoy,” Rhodium said.

“Duties in the 40-50% range – arguably even higher for vertically integrated manufacturers like BYD – would probably be necessary to make the European market unattractive for Chinese EV exporters.”

China has long argued that it has not been subsidising its automotive sector, and even if it were, its exports help the countries of the west achieve their green targets.

Earlier this week on a tour of Spain and Portugal the commerce minister, Wang Wentao, insisted cooperation with the EU was a “win-win” strategy. “I hope that the European side will abandon protectionism and return to the correct path of dialogue and cooperation,” Wang said, calling on Spain to easy “anxiety” over a potential costly rift.

He said the overcapacity the EU keeps talking about is not an excess of production capacity but an excess of anxiety, and the so-called market distortion is not a distortion of the market but a distortion of mindsets.

Western governments say China can easily modulate its strategy, absorb tariffs and compete on a level playing field, but it cannot be allowed to dominate the future clean energy and tech market.

European consumers have already paid a heavy price through higher energy bills after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exposed the EU’s over-reliance on Russian gas, and EU officials are determined not to repeat the mistake with China, pursuing an official “de-risk” strategy.

Vietnam expanding landfill work in South China Sea, report says

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3265972/vietnam-expanding-landfill-work-south-china-sea-report-says?utm_source=rss_feed

Vietnam has rapidly expanded its dredging and landfill operations in the South China Sea over the past six months, according to a new report.

The country is “on pace for a record year of island building in 2024” according to the Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

It said it had added 692 acres (2.8 sq km) across 10 features in the Spratly Islands since November, roughly matching its efforts in the previous two years.

Although China and Vietnam have worked to improve relations in recent years, their conflicting claims in the South China Sea remain a major source of contention.

The think tank said Vietnam had reclaimed around 2,360 acres of land, around half the amount China has claimed, but that is an almost tenfold increase compared with the total Hanoi held three years ago.

China conducted massive land reclamation efforts in parts of the South China Sea it claims between 2013 and 2015.

After announcing a halt to reclamation work in 2015, it has carried on building infrastructure, including military-grade airstrips and harbours in the islands.

Its claims to the vital waterway overlap with several other countries, including Vietnam, but also the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.

For more than 10 years, China has been building infrastructure, including military-grade airstrips and harbours, in the parts of the South China Sea it claims.

Its claims to the vital waterway overlap with several other countries, including Vietnam, but also the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.

The report said China has more holdings in the region than any other country, but Vietnam is now in second place.

It added that Barque Canada Reef, which is controlled by Hanoi, could now host a runway that was big enough for military transport planes or bombers.

Grandview Institution, a Beijing-based think tank, said last month that Vietnam is likely to expand its building activity in the region and warned of the risk of “complicating and escalating” the situation.

Recent months have seen a series of clashes involving Philippine and Chinese vessels in other parts of the waterway, including collisions and China’s use of water cannons.

China plans to expand ‘manta ray’ submersible fleet with eye on reconnaissance roles

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3265955/china-plans-expand-manta-ray-submersible-fleet-eye-reconnaissance-roles?utm_source=rss_feed

China is expanding its fleet of coral-monitoring submersibles and plans to build larger models that could also be used for reconnaissance purposes.

The soft-body submersibles are designed to resemble manta rays and move in similar ways.

The earlier versions, some of which were painted to resemble cartoon characters, were small and lightweight and designed to monitor coral reefs, but state broadcaster CCTV’s military channels said the size and scope of the devices would be expanded.

“This year, we are preparing to carry out deep-sea applications of 800kg [1,765 pounds] class [submersibles],” Cao Yong, a professor at Northwestern Polytechnical University told CCTV.

He added: “We will even develop a tonne-class prototype in the future, which can carry more powerful payloads and sail farther, including … future integrated reconnaissance and strike [roles].”

Cao’s team began developing a submersible for coral reef monitoring in 2006, studying the swimming patterns of marine organisms for their prototypes, the report said.

They successfully began monitoring marine life in the South China Sea earlier this year, monitoring outbreaks of species such as the crown-of-thorns starfish, which threaten coral reefs by feeding on them.

The team’s smaller submersibles can be used for marine education and coral reef monitoring, while their larger models can dive deeper and longer to collect more data, according to CCTV.

Each submersible has space for additional equipment, but the team is planning to deploy them in groups next year to maximise their benefits.

“The endurance, load capacity, and range of a single unit are all very limited. If we form a cluster, we can travel longer distances,” Hao Yiwei, a researcher at Northwestern Polytechnical University, told CCTV.

China is not the only country testing out manta ray-like submersibles. A similar underwater drone passed in-water tests in the United States earlier this year.

The vessel, made by defence technology company Northrop Grumman, will conduct “long-duration, long-range missions in ocean environments where humans can’t go,” the company said.

Their autonomous drone can anchor to the sea floor to hibernate in a low power mode, and will also be able to carry payloads for different missions.

The company said that the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, who commissioned the drone, has a “vision of providing groundbreaking technology to create strategic surprise.”

China’s manta ray submersibles are equipped with cameras, sonar, and the BeiDou navigation system, allowing it to transfer real-time video and positioning information back to the researchers.

Last year one of the vessels was able to reach a depth of 1,000 metres (600ft), according to CCTV.

Cao said the team is not worried the drones will be attacked by sharks, but microorganisms might attach themselves to its surface and impede its navigation.

To get round this problem the team is looking at ways to apply a special gel to “make these microorganisms mistakenly think that this is seawater”.

China’s Guangdong unveils initiatives to boost AI industry

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3265962/chinas-guangdong-unveils-initiatives-boost-ai-industry?utm_source=rss_feed

Guangdong province, the economic powerhouse of south China, has unveiled 45 measures to boost the use of AI across a vast range of sectors as it strives to steer hi-tech growth.

The new measures, rolled out by the provincial government last week, stipulate that the value of Guangdong’s artificial intelligence industry should reach 300 billion yuan (US$41.4 billion) by next year and 440 billion yuan by 2027. These figures would amount to 2.3 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively, of the province’s 2023 GDP.

Computing power in Guangdong should exceed 40 exaflops by next year and 60 exaflops by 2027, the southern province said, using a measure of computational speed for how many floating-point operations a computer or system can perform in one second.

China has set a goal for its national computing performance to reach 300 exaflops by 2025.

If these goals are achieved, Guangdong will account for roughly 13 per cent of China’s total computing power.

“These measures were crafted to promote high-quality development in the province’s AI industry, to swiftly build new productive forces, to construct a modern industrial system, and to empower various sectors to enhance quality and efficiency,” the announcement said.

The new initiatives also aim for the “basic formation of a leading national algorithm system and computing power network system by 2027”.

The measures require AI to be adopted in such fields as social governance, the digital economy and industrial innovation. They aim to apply the technology in sectors ranging from manufacturing to education and senior care.

This strategic move seeks to establish a mature artificial intelligence industrial chain in Guangdong, from the development and sourcing of chips to computational infrastructure, algorithm design, and deployment of AI-driven applications.

China has been rapidly advancing its artificial intelligence capabilities in recent years, focusing on innovations such as ChatGPT-like generative AI services to propel economic growth and compete against the US.

Washington has implemented stringent tech restrictions to curtail China’s technological and economic growth. These measures have included prohibiting companies such as Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices from exporting their most advanced semiconductor chips and technologies to China, citing national security reasons.

This has set the stage for significant developments in AI in China as the country seeks to navigate and counterbalance the US-imposed pressures.

Guangdong will intensify efforts to boost the supply of core AI chip components as part of the measures.

“We are aiming to foster an innovative AI development ecosystem for chips, exploring integrated memory and computation, brain-inspired computing, chiplets, and instruction sets in both research and application,” the announcement said.

The goal is to improve the use of these chips in cloud and end-user applications and to expand the use of high-performance cloud servers, it added.

“By 2027, we expect to have initially established a robust artificial intelligence chip ecosystem.”

The province said it would work to ensure the smooth implementation of the objectives, including talent cultivation and policy support.

Guangdong will also coordinate provincial and city funds to “bolster financial backing for the AI sector and support AI project development”.

The province will formulate regulations for trustworthy AI products and services and create incentives for innovative products.

It will also work to attract top-tier AI talent through policies and implement training programmes for critical technical skills to build a strong foundation of AI expertise within the province.

AI education is thriving in China, exemplified by initiatives such as those at Fudan University in Shanghai. Beginning in September, the university will offer over 100 new AI courses for the next academic year.

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Can US and China overcome mutual mistrust to agree rules on military use of artificial intelligence?

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3265960/can-us-and-china-overcome-mutual-mistrust-agree-rules-military-use-artificial-intelligence?utm_source=rss_feed

The United States and China will struggle to work together on regulating the military use of artificial intelligence because of a lack of trust and their race for supremacy in the field, analysts have warned.

Military AI was not among the topics discussed during the first face-to-face meeting between China’s defence minister Dong Jun and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore this month.

Some observers said there may have been more “pressing” issues to discuss, such as Taiwan and the South China Sea, but there is growing international concern regarding the risks of military AI, which both countries are trying to integrate with their armed forces.

“The US is applying artificial intelligence to weapons systems as quickly and extensively as possible. This brings more risks to the world,” a senior officer with the People’s Liberation Army said during the security conference in Singapore, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

“And what are the consequences if the US uses artificial intelligence in nuclear weapon systems? This should attract the attention of the world.”

The PLA officer also outlined Beijing’s efforts to manage the risks posed by the technology through the United Nations, as well as through Beijing’s own proposals in the Global AI Governance Initiative launched last year.

The United States has also attempted to give a lead through a political declaration on the responsible military use of AI and autonomy, joined by more than 50 countries, which did not include China.

The technology has already been used on the battlefield in the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.

Zhao Tong, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s nuclear policy programme, said the US and China had to overcome a series of obstacles to address the issue, but “the fundamental obstacle is this increasingly competitive bilateral relationship”.

The two countries held their first talks on AI in early May in Geneva, where US officials raised concerns about China’s “misuse of AI” while Beijing rebuked Washington over its “restrictions and suppression”.

Zhao said Beijing is particularly hesitant to limit its development of military AI because of its potential uses in any future confrontation with Washington.

He added that the US-led declaration has “limited appeal” in China in line with its broader objections to what it sees as Western constructs such as the rules-based international order.

In early May, US State Department arms control official Paul Dean said in an online briefing that the US had made a very “clear and strong” commitment that only humans, and never artificial intelligence, would make decisions on deploying nuclear weapons. He also called on China and Russia to make a similar statement.

The two sides so far are not known to have held any specific talks on the military uses of AI, although the broader risks from the technology came up in the talks in Geneva, which were not attended by military representatives.

Sam Bresnick, a research fellow at Georgetown’s Centre for Security and Emerging Technology said: “Though military AI is certainly an important topic, it’s a new addition to an already robust suite of US-China security issues, some of which appear more pressing than others.”

He said the barriers to an agreement on regulating the military use of AI include “the lack of bilateral trust” and “concerns about revealing information about their capabilities... or the desire not to limit the development and deployment of AI-enabled military systems just as the related technologies appear to be developing more quickly”.

Senior Colonel Zhu Qichao, the deputy director of the National Defence Science and Technology Strategic Research think tank at the National University of Defence Technology, recently accused the US in being “two-faced” about discussing AI.

He told the nationalist newspaper Global Times that it was only seeking discussions on the topic with China to learn more about its capabilities.

Admiral Rob Bauer, chairman of Nato’s military committee, told a panel discussion at the Shangri-La forum: “I am deeply concerned about the unrestricted use of new technologies on the battlefield...And as technology is increasing our ability to destroy, our ability to regulate is rapidly decreasing.”

After two world wars, a worldwide belief arose that great power struggle should never again be fought on the battlefield and that weapon systems needed to be regulated and controlled, he said.

“If the tectonic plates of power are shifting and the world is split up into several parallel systems with different sets of rules, can they coexist?,” he added.

Stanford PhD physicist Su Zhen applies for rural clerk job in central Chinese town

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3265708/stanford-phd-physicist-su-zhen-applies-rural-clerk-job-central-chinese-town?utm_source=rss_feed

A Stanford PhD graduate in physics is reportedly on a list of applicants hoping to work as a grass-roots public servant in rural China, prompting speculation over the career move – and debate on whether it is a waste of his academic talents.

A screenshot circulating on China’s social media shows a shortlist of this year’s township civil servants in the southwest province of Anhui, which includes a candidate named Su Zhen. He stands out for his impressive education: while other candidates attended little-known colleges and vocational schools in China, Su graduated from a leading American institution that ranks third in the Best Global Universities list.

In China, the civil service exam usually consists of a written test, interview and assessment – those listed on the screenshot still have to undergo their “political assessment” before the final decision is made and announced.

As the list has not yet been made public, the Post could not independently verify the original source of the screenshot. However the Post did confirm the authenticity of the case with two insiders, including one from Xiao county, a region of around 1 million people in northern Anhui province, where Su was born and graduated from a local high school.

One of Su’s high school classmates, who goes by the username Hyman, expressed his surprise on Monday on social media site Zhihu, a Quora-like online content platform.

He said when he heard the news from his high school alumni group, his first reaction was, “It’s impossible.”

He said he then turned to other classmates for confirmation, but was told that Su’s WeChat was no longer in use and others had lost contact with him a long time ago.

Hyman said they were good friends in high school, but they lost touch when Su went to Stanford for his PhD, while he stayed in China to continue his studies in mathematics at Xian Jiaotong University in the inland province of Shaanxi.

While he noted the year Su graduated coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic, and the job market was particularly harsh, he did not think it was so bad that an excellent graduate such as Su would not be able to get a good job.

“I think his intelligence and diligence make him a better academic researcher than me, and there is no doubt that he has a bright future ahead of him,” he said.

Stanford has a graduate with the same name. He enrolled in the PhD programme in applied physics, a graduate department in the school of humanities and sciences, in 2016, and his dissertation on serial X-ray crystallography was submitted in August 2022.

Stanford’s physics department is prestigious. For example, Steven Chu, a Nobel laureate who served as US secretary of energy under former US president Barack Obama, currently works there. According to the QS World University Rankings, Stanford is the fourth best university for studying physics this year.

Before Stanford, Su completed his undergraduate studies in physics at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 2016 – a programme ranked in the top three among the country’s universities and also the cradle of many leading physicists.

Su was one of the school’s top academic performers. According to Hyman, Su was the best student in his class – and the top student in USTC’s physics department.

During his studies at USTC, Su was awarded the Guo Moruo Scholarship, the university’s most prestigious scholarship. According to the university, of the 34 recipients in 2016, 26 went to the world’s most famous universities and research institutes. Su chose to head to Stanford.

Which is why his career choice now is seen by many as inexplicable.

Securing an academic position at a top university in China is becoming increasingly hard, even for young talent returning from overseas. But a USTC graduate, who did not want to be named, said despite the fierce competition for teaching jobs in the country in recent years, it should not be too difficult for Su to get into an average university.

“If he doesn’t want to go into academia and hopes to become a civil servant, a city in China’s economically developed coastal area is also a better choice,” he said.

Others, however, believe Su may have made his decision for personal reasons and his choice should be respected.

In March, there was a similar case in the Yuhang District Education Bureau in the eastern province of Zhejiang when they welcomed a new civil servant who had graduated from Harvard University.

Staff at the bureau told local media that while there was no shortage of graduates from Tsinghua and Peking universities, this was the first time a Harvard graduate had joined their ranks.

Despite such similar cases, Yuan Lanfeng, a researcher at USTC, believes Su’s case is an anomaly that does not represent the general situation for graduates of prestigious universities.

“It’s not necessary to take such a grass-roots job, even if it’s very hard to find work,” Yuan said, adding that with his CV, the most obvious route for Su is academia, followed by companies, and there must be a personal reason for not going to any of these.

The Post has attempted to contact Su to ask him about his life experiences and career considerations, but has not yet received a reply.

The Post also contacted Mike Dunne, Su’s primary thesis adviser and a professor of photon science at Stanford, for comment, but he also did not respond.

Furious China daughter slams mother for always serving duck legs to brother, wings to her, reignites gender bias debate

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3263627/furious-china-daughter-slams-mother-always-serving-duck-legs-brother-wings-her-reignites-gender-bias?utm_source=rss_feed

A woman in China who tearfully yelled at her mother for serving duck legs to her son and grandson while giving her duck wings for 30 years has reignited discussions about family preference for males over females in the country.

The incident was revealed in a trending online video documenting the argument during a family meal on May 17 in Anhui province, central China

When the duck legs were allocated to the son and grandson in the family, and the daughter received the duck wings, she became emotional and confronted her mother.

“In your world, why do you think duck legs should always be given to the son and grandson? It has been this way for more than 30 years. There is a problem with your attitude, do you know that?, ” the daughter said.

“There’s no why. If you want to eat, eat. If not, forget it. It’s enough that I’m giving you food, but you still argue with me,” the mother replied.

The mother’s attitude further infuriated the daughter who continued the confrontation.

“It’s not about lacking duck legs now we have better living conditions, it’s about why you give the legs to them every time,” she retaliated.

“Eat the wings if you want, otherwise I’ll give them to the dog,” the mother said, taking her bowl and giving to the family pet.

The video ends with the daughter asking: “Aren’t you also a woman? Why are you favouring males over females?”

The video has triggered a heated, and divided, discussion online.

Many sympathise with the daughter, saying that the dispute is not about the food but about seeking equal treatment and love within the family.

“What she is fighting for is that in over 30 years, her mother has never treated her equally, not even once,” one online observer said.

Others took a different view.

“The daughter is being petty. She is lucky she is getting duck. Has she ever considered what her mother has eaten for 30 years? Her mother might love her son more than her, but does she love herself more than her daughter?” one person said.

The preference for a son in China is underpinned by the belief that boys have more value than girls. Traditionally, men were expected to be the sole breadwinners and care for their parents in old age.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, by the end of 2023, the male population exceeded the female population by more than 30 million.

This has led to a surplus of men, with many unable to marry or start families.

China groom lavished with garlands of money worth US$22,000 from 8 older sisters, underscores cultural bias for sons

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3263615/china-groom-lavished-garlands-money-worth-us22000-8-older-sisters-underscores-cultural-bias-sons?utm_source=rss_feed

A bride and groom in China have received generous money garlands worth a total of 160,000 yuan (US$22,000) on their wedding day from the man’s eight elder sisters and their husbands.

The nuptials were held on May 15 in Shiyan of Hubei province, central China, Feidian Video reported.

A clip showing the couple standing on stage while the groom’s sisters and brothers-in-law take turns placing wreaths comprising multiple 100 yuan notes around the newlyweds’ necks, went viral on mainland social media.

Footage shows the sisters giving the cash-decorated garlands to the bride, while the brother-in-laws do the same for the groom, as the couple bow towards their relatives in a gesture of gratitude.

“The garlands are too heavy for their necks. This is such an enviable custom, haha,” the guest who shot the video said on Douyin.

She said the groom’s parents had passed away and his sisters always indulged him, and that his brothers-in-law are wealthy. They funded the wedding, she said.

“Giving him money is the most direct way to support him. The sisters thought of the garland idea but kept it as a surprise,” the female guest said.

The wedding ceremony launched widespread discussion on mainland social media, putting the country’s traditional preference for boys over girls at the centre.

The groom’s parents appear to have hoped to have a son because they continued having children until that was achieved.

It was once common practice for families in China to name their daughters zhaodi, which means “bringing a younger brother”.

When a son was born, he would often be called yaozu, which means “honouring the ancestor”.

From childhood, elder sisters were taught by their parents that they should do their best to help, or even make sacrifices for, the younger brother.

As a result, such women were given the nickname “monster of helping younger brother” on mainland social media.

Although the preference for boys has declined in recent years, especially in big cities, the tradition still exists.

In 2022, for every 100 newborn girls, there were 111.1 baby boys across the country, according to the national health authority. This is higher than the global average ratio of about 106.

“If this bride cannot give birth to a boy in future, will she live a miserable life in an uncomfortable family atmosphere?” one person asked on Douyin.

“I frown on this attitude. I think family’s value the male offspring too much and that is unfair to their sisters. I don’t agree with the view,” said another.

China’s top science institute restructured to focus on research frontiers

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3265944/chinas-top-science-institute-restructured-focus-research-frontiers?utm_source=rss_feed

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the country’s top science institute, has undergone an organisational overhaul, with more focus on strengthening frontier and basic research capabilities.

New bureaus have been set up for frontier sciences and basic research, sustainable development research, and basic science and technology capacity, according to the CAS website.

These replaced previous departments that had also been responsible for education, science promotion and dissemination.

China has stepped up its push for innovation and tech breakthroughs by fixing flaws in the scientific research system and focusing on original innovation in a bid to counter hi-tech containment by the US and power economic growth through technology and high value-added manufacturing.

The new three bureaus will focus on research in fields such as life science, atmospheric and oceanic sciences, and interdisciplinary studies while leading and managing major scientific research programmes.

The frontier sciences and basic research bureau is in charge of planning and leading disciplines including mathematics, astronomy, life sciences, and fundamental interdisciplinary frontiers.

The sustainable development research bureau focuses on biotechnology, earth and resource sciences, atmospheric and oceanic sciences, ecology and environmental science.

As part of a government overhaul plan implemented last year, China restructured its Ministry of Science and Technology to channel more resources into encouraging innovation and overseeing fundamental research and applied science.

As the country faces pressure to narrow the tech gap with advanced economies, Chinese leaders have called for efforts to seek breakthroughs in original innovation and push “disruptive innovation” with the potential to transform industry and human life.

But original innovation has consistently been the weakest link in Beijing’s push to become a tech superpower by the middle of the century and counter US tech restrictions.

Major cities and provinces have ramped up efforts to develop new sectors such as artificial intelligence and the drone-driven “low-altitude economy”.

During a key economic conference late last year, the central government also listed quantum and life sciences as emerging industries for future growth.

Chinese civil servant’s complaint about life in remote desert posting stirs debate about public service versus personal freedom

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3265860/chinese-civil-servants-complaint-about-life-remote-desert-posting-stirs-debate-about-public-service?utm_source=rss_feed

A Chinese literature graduate’s complaints about her civil service job in a remote area in the Gobi desert has triggered a debate about the trade-offs between public duty and individual freedom.

Although there are many ancient Chinese poems about the desert’s beautiful landscape, the young woman’s account of the prosaic reality of life in a “a backward small county” has generated some sympathy along with fierce criticisms of her “arrogance” and “disrespect”.

The young woman, identified only by her surname Gu, shared her thoughts about her posting in Jiayuguan in Gansu province on the social media platform of Wuhan University, where she had studied German literature to master’s degree level.

In the now-deleted post Gu, who is believed to be in her mid-twenties, complained about feeling “trapped” in the industrial city dominated by iron and steel working, and worried that she had “sold her freedom and soul”.

She said she chose to accept the job last year despite having other job offers because she was being pressured by her parents and felt it offered the best chance of job security.

“Back then, I was exhausted every day, dealing with relatives, handling dozens of calls and long voice messages from my mum,” she said. “As time went on, it [the persuasion] escalated into a mix of sarcasm and hysteria.”

Gu was recruited via a programme, known as xuandiaosheng, meaning “selected and assigned graduates”.

It selects students from elite universities to work in twin government and party roles and assigns them to grass roots positions as part of a training procedure for cadres who will go on to higher level jobs.

Her article went viral in late May, and was also picked up by domestic media commentators. Many criticised the graduate for being “selfish”, saying public servants should be dedicated to the country, but others expressed sympathy and said she was just expressing her personal feelings.

It also highlights a dilemma faced by many young Chinese people who face pressure from their families to try to secure a government job, which is seen by many as an “iron rice bowl” that offers stability and respectability.

This has only intensified in recent years as the Chinese economy faltered in the wake of Covid following decades of rapid growth.

Last year, a record 2.83 million people applied to sit the national civil service exam to fill around 39,000 places.

The fact that so many were willing to take their chances despite the low odds of success reflects the pressure in the wider job market.

Last year more than 11.5 million graduates entered the job market, a figure expected to hit 11.8 million this year, at a time when unemployment among the 16-24 age group is soaring and job insecurity is rife in some sectors.

Gu resigned from her position in April, according to domestic news platform The Paper. Its report also said that official information about public servants in Jiayuguan city confirmed that she had studied German language and literature.

In the article, Gu, who is from Gansu province’s capital Lanzhou, wrote that she was hoping to be assigned a position in her home city, and was surprised that she was given a position in a small city that is about 800km (500 miles) away.

She recalled her time in Jiayuguan, which she describes as a “harsh environment with dust and howling wind” where she was “endlessly working overtime”.

“Sometimes my mum would drive me [to the station], and when she parked at the station’s entrance, she would actually cry in the car,” Gu wrote.

“She regretted it in her heart, regretted not believing my words, that Jiayuguan was just a backward small county town in the Gobi desert, where I was trapped and couldn’t move freely.

“I couldn’t sleep on the train, and then I felt like a slave, being pulled in a train full of slaves heading to different places … Then I felt like a prostitute, but just selling my freedom and soul.”

She said her supervisor at university had asked her not to take the job saying: “How can you bear to go to such a remote and backward area?”

She also warned that she would not be able to find a suitable partner among the local men, adding: “I won’t allow my student to become a wild woman.”

Last Monday, Study Times, an official Communist Party newspaper, published an article from Jiayuguan’s party chief Liu Yongsheng who said young cadres should be dedicated to their duties and should always “prioritise the cause and the collective in any situation, and minimise personal interests”, he wrote.

On social media platforms, some have criticised the graduate’s description of Jiayuguan for showing “arrogance” and “disrespect”.

“Choosing to express dissatisfaction through a short essay not only lacks basic respect for the city and public officials, but also reflects personal immaturity and a lack of professional ethics,” one Weibo user wrote, adding that she could have “just left with a proper reason”.

But others expressed more understanding, including one poster who wrote: “This is a personal choice. Why subject it to scrutiny under the spotlight? One should be free to live one’s own life. Why impose universal societal values on a young girl who has just graduated?”

said: “It’s understandable that people might look down on small places and aspire to better, higher-paying jobs … [however] there’s no need to speak ill of them, especially in public,” a Weibo user wrote.

Professional commentators also weighed in. Ma Liang, a professor at Renmin University, told The Paper that Gu’s article is more of “an expression of emotions” that should not be subjected to harsh criticism.

Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of the nationalist newspaper Global Times, also said, in a post on Weibo that people should not be too harsh about her choice, but added that civil servants need to have the right mindset to “serve the needs of the country and obey any assignments”.

He said public sector roles are often “idealised” by jobseekers who overlook the downsides.

“If a person is afraid of working overtime, prioritises ‘personal freedom’ at all times, and cannot accept assignments that go against their personal wishes but only wants a stable nine-to-five job, then they should not choose a career in civil service,” he wrote.

The Post has been unable to contact Gu directly.

Chinese University of Hong Kong researchers develop AI-powered app to diagnose depression

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3265903/chinese-university-hong-kong-researchers-develop-ai-powered-app-diagnose-depression?utm_source=rss_feed

A research team from the Chinese University of Hong Kong has developed a mobile app to help users assess depression through AI analysis of facial expressions, voice and language, claiming an accuracy rate of more than 80 per cent.

The team said the new digital tool had proven to be effective in diagnosing depression, and hoped it could help raise public awareness of the mental disorder.

“Many people in society lack a sufficient understanding of depression or do not know how to help those with the condition,” said Professor Wing Yun-kwok, chairman of the university’s department of psychiatry, who led the research. “We have tried to use the latest technologies to make people understand what depression is.”

Wing noted that the major difficulties in the clinical assessment of depression came from a lack of awareness of the mental disorder, stigma associated with it and inaccessibility of timely medical services.

The use of digital phenotyping, which collects data to measure behaviours through smart devices, has enabled users to get mental status assessments without in-person consultations, thus encouraging more to seek professional help.

But Wing said most of these existing tools lacked scientific data.

His team conducted a study between June 2021 and March 2023 to evaluate the performance of its developed digital assessment tool, and recruited 101 people with major depressive disorder, as well as another 82 without psychiatric disorders.

Participants of the study used the app to actively rate their mood state and record facial expression and voice when they described their feelings four times a day for a week.

Their facial expressions such as eyebrow narrowing and lip corner pulling, articulation rate and pause duration in speech as well as choice of words were analysed for the assessment.

They were also handed a wearable actigraphy device used to monitor their cycles of activity and rest.

Dr Watson Chen Jie, a postdoctoral fellow of the department, said the results showed that those suffering from depression had more eyebrow narrowing and less lip corner pulling.

They referred to themselves more during conversations and used more negative emotion words, and had a lower articulation rate and increased variation in pause duration.

Those with depression were less mobile and had sleep disorder, and they also had a lower average happiness level than others free from psychiatric disorders.

He said the accuracy of the measurement in diagnosing depression stood at 0.81 on a scale of zero to one, with a value of one indicating perfect performance.

The findings were published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Translational Psychiatry.

Assistant professor Tim Li Man-ho of the department said the team planned to develop an automated artificial intelligence system with data obtained from the research to detect and monitor depression.

He said further research was still needed to improve the app, including recruiting a more diverse and bigger sample across age, gender and race. Li added he expected at least another year before the app would be released for public use.

“We hope the tool will be eventually available for public use for early detection of depression,” he said.

The Mental Health Association of Hong Kong in February released the results of a survey of more than 2,900 people conducted last year, which showed that 11.1 per cent of those polled were in need of professional treatment and counselling for depression, up from 8.4 per cent recorded in a similar survey in 2020.

The Philippine province caught in the cross hairs of US-China rivalry

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3265791/philippine-province-caught-cross-hairs-us-china-rivalry?utm_source=rss_feed

The small coastal town of Santa Ana at the northeastern tip of the Philippines has a population of just 40,000, but beneath its veneer of stunning beaches and shiny casinos lies an undercurrent of tensions wrought by a perceived power jostle between two superpowers.

Santa Ana and Lal-lo – two municipalities in Cagayan, a province facing Taiwan across the Luzon Strait – are among the new sites named under the United States-Philippines Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), a pact that allows for large-scale joint military exercises, regular troop rotations and the pre-positioning of associated defence material, equipment and supplies.

Situated around 400km (250 miles) from Taiwan, both municipalities have come under the spotlight due their proximity to a potential flashpoint with mainland China.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

Since mid-2023, after Manila gave the US access to four new military sites under the EDCA, Santa Ana has played host to both Chinese and American interests. The Americans have boosted their presence inside a naval base, while Chinese traders – purportedly numbering some 1,300 – operate businesses such as casinos and restaurants.

Romeo Asuncion, Santa Ana’s planning and development officer, told This Week in Asia that foreign traders are vital for the town’s economic growth. He said foreign investors, who have operated in Santa Ana since 2010, accounted for about 8 million pesos (US$136,400) in annual gross income for the town.

“We don’t have any idea if they are spies but they came here as businessmen. They applied for permits at the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority,” Asuncion said of the Chinese traders.

Joseph Lara, a congressman from Cagayan, has previously joined other officials in sounding the alarm about the high numbers of Chinese nationals enrolled in the province’s private universities.

Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba, meanwhile, has opposed his province’s inclusion in the EDCA, citing the risk of the Philippines being dragged into a wider conflict with China.

Manila and Beijing have a long-running territorial dispute in the South China Sea that has flared up in recent months, amid an escalating war of words and several naval skirmishes involving vessel blockades and the use of water cannons.

Historically, a Chinese presence in the Philippines’ far north can be traced back to the days of Spanish rule, with many settling in the old religious centre of Nueva Segovia – a Catholic archdiocese originally centred on Lal-lo – according to Chester Cabalza, president of the Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation think tank.

From Nueva Segovia, Chinese traders moved to the city of Vigan in the municipality of Ilocos Sur, which became another influential religious centre, Cabalza told This Week in Asia.

“The Dominicans, Franciscans, Belgian missionaries, and particularly the Jesuits, used Cagayan province as a back door to sail to China to evangelise the Chinese,” he said.

“During the civil war between the Chinese communists and nationalists, many Chinese from Fujian [province] emigrated to Cagayan. Some of them became powerful businessmen and politicians and married the locals.”

Cabalza said Cagayan’s geostrategic importance had increased as tensions have escalated in the Taiwan Strait.

Though Batanes is the Philippines’ northernmost province and the one closest to Taiwan, Cagayan acts as the region’s “seat of political power”, Cabalza said. Cagayan hosts two of the EDCA sites, with another to the south in the “food basket” province of Isabela facing the Pacific Ocean.

“So Cagayan’s added value to logistical pre-positioning and readiness, strategic substance for military interoperability, economic viability and political importance are reasons why there is a need to host the EDCA sites [there].”

Given Cagayan’s strategic position, it could be a flashpoint should clashes occur in the Luzon Strait, Cabalza said.

“It will [become] a cold war of military rivalry and a stage for strategic competition between China and the US,” he said. “Cagayan’s strategic resurgence came at a point when local leaders became pawns for the hegemonic rivalry of superpowers.”

While the expanded American military presence may act as a psychological counterweight to Chinese influence for some locals in the province, others like restaurant owner Rosario Rumbata, 66, said they were concerned about safety if a conflict were to erupt in the Taiwan Strait.

“If conflict happens, missiles will not spare us since we are just outside the US military base,” Rumbata said.

“We are worried. If they can set up an Iron Dome like what we saw on television in Israel, it would be helpful,” he added, referring to the Israeli aerial defence system that protected the state from an unprecedented missile and drone attack by Iran earlier this year.

Anna Bartoleme, 36, a former overseas worker, echoed this sentiment, saying that some locals like herself were on edge whenever they heard updates about their country’s maritime row with China.

“We will be the target of China’s action. But we can’t do anything except to leave everything to God,” she said.

Washington has repeatedly assured Manila that the Philippines has the US’ full support in the face of “intimidation and coercion in the South China Sea”.

When US Vice-President Kamala Harris visited Palawan, a Philippine island facing the South China Sea, in 2022 she said the US had a “profound stake in the future” of the region and stood ready to support the Philippines.

In May last year, US President Joe Biden reassured Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr that Washington’s commitment to defending its Southeast Asian ally remained “ironclad”.

The Philippines and the US are bound by a long-standing Mutual Defence Treaty that promotes a range of collaborative efforts, from maritime security and amphibious operations to counterterrorism and disaster relief.

Signed in 1951, the treaty commits both countries to help the other in times of aggression by an external power. Accordingly, the Pentagon has stated it would be prepared to offer support should the Philippines invoke the treaty in response to threats from other nations.

The latest tensions between the Philippines and China arose after Beijing introduced a new regulation – effective from June 15 – under which its coastguard can detain foreign nationals for up to 60 days if they are caught within what it considers its maritime territory.

The US has vowed to counter China’s controversial new regulation by deploying its coastguard ships to support the Philippine coastguard in “upholding sovereign rights” in the West Philippine Sea, which is Manila’s name for those parts of the South China Sea that fall within its exclusive economic zone.

During a recent press briefing, Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan of the Philippine coastguard said that the Americans would intensify their deployments and partner with the Japanese coastguard to boost their presence in the disputed waterway.

Those Philippine provinces that are closest to Taiwan would undoubtedly play a strategic role should a conflict occur, according to Thomas Shattuck, a researcher of Taiwan policy at Perry World House, a global affairs research and policy centre affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania in the US.

“It is in China’s interest to have the Philippine political elite support pro-China policies to diminish the American military presence, specifically EDCA sites, so that there is less military infrastructure to support any sort of Philippine or joint Philippine-US engagement in southern Taiwan,” Shattuck told This Week in Asia.

“This results in greater Chinese economic interests and investments there to sway public opinion in favour of China ,” he said.

“It theoretically demonstrates to a critical part of the Philippine population that China is a good partner and not to be feared.”

With Washington more focused on building up the Philippine military and less concerned with investment, Beijing could attempt to portray the Americans as indifferent to the economic well-being of locals in Cagayan, Shattuck said.

“With China-Philippines ties deteriorating as a result of China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea, there could be risks for the people of Cagayan that have relied on Chinese investment if lawmakers in Manila decide to reduce the Chinese presence for strategic reasons,” he said.

How Modi’s ballot box stumble could benefit China

https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3265632/how-modis-ballot-box-stumble-could-benefit-china?utm_source=rss_feed

The question of the moment for global investors is whether Indian leader Narendra Modi can learn new tricks. His Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has suffered what has been described as a “humbling setback” in recent elections and there is talk of “Modi fatigue” that few political pundits saw coming.

Discerning the implications is the job of strategists advising investors on whether to bet on India or China. Modi’s stumble at the ballot box could work to China’s advantage.

Asian markets aren’t binary. But over the last few years, Mumbai stocks have been the clear beneficiary of the epic rout in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets. From a 2021 peak to January this year, Chinese stocks have lost about US$7 trillion. That’s double the size of Britain’s economy and three times Italy’s.

The risk is that Modi fatigue might extend to a broader reassessment of perhaps the greatest capital boom in India’s history. The India macroeconomic story is still impressive. The economy is expected to grow by 6-7 per cent this year. But the case for Mumbai stocks relies more on the belief that “Modinomics” is revolutionising India’s competitive game.

Even before his recent chastening, Modi’s claims to global reform fame were more myth than reality. Under “Modi raj”, as The Economist calls it, India trimmed some bureaucracy, opened some sectors to increased foreign investment and pursued a broadly business-friendly approach. But the reforms most vital to levelling the playing fields – concerning land, labour, taxes and the legal system – remain on the to-do list.

The bet global punters made was that winning a third term in a landslide would catalyse Modi-the-reformer as never before. That’s now moot. A weakened mandate means the BJP has less political capital to enact difficult upgrades, particularly against newly emboldened vested interests. Modi’s biggest economic failing – inadequate job growth – has come back to haunt him.

Since the BJP failed to win an outright majority, it must form a coalition government and work with allies. Odds are, those allies will be less enthusiastic about economic disruptions, more predisposed to a populist spending surge and less focused on narrowing India’s budget deficit.

Late last month, S&P Global Ratings raised its outlook for India’s sovereign rating, citing expectations of “deepening economic reforms”. It’s reasonable to think S&P analysts are back at the drawing board.

Complicating Modi’s support among global investors is a sense that China, at long last, is acting to end its property crisis. Plunging real estate values were largely behind the 2021-2024 capital flight that flattened mainland bourses.

Sure, President Xi Jinping’s draconian Covid-19 lockdowns played a role in spooking investors. Ditto for Beijing’s clampdown on internet companies. But signs that Xi and Premier Li Qiang are nearing a genuine solution to cratering property values are pulling capital back into mainland shares. Steps include prodding local authorities to buy unsold properties and reducing mortgage deposits.

Oanda analyst Kelvin Wong spoke for many recently when he noted green shoots in China’s factory purchasing managers’ activity. “This latest set of positive macro data suggests the piecemeal stimulus measures from China’s top policymakers are working to negate the deflationary risk spiral that has been triggered by the significant slowdown inherent in the domestic property market,” he said.

China has lots more to do, of course. And economic realpolitik is warranted. Given how many times Xi’s team has pledged to end the property debacle, and concerns over it echoing Japan’s 1990s bad-loan crisis, this is very much a trust-but-verify moment for “Xiconomics”. Even so, investors have valid reasons to think mainland stocks are now better value than Indian stocks.

The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of about 14, suggesting it is undervalued, against over 23 for the Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex index. But what matters more is the split-screen dynamic of Xi’s latitude to marshal Beijing’s resources to revive the economy in his third term and Modi’s legislative limitations.

Again, there are myriad reasons to worry that Xi’s inner circle will overpromise and underperform. But the great China vs India debate might once again be pivoting back China’s way as strongman Modi suddenly has to play nice with opposition lawmakers.

At a minimum, Modi and his alliance partners will clash over his Hindu nationalist policies, distracting New Delhi from economic retooling.

Since his days as chief minister in Gujarat state, Modi has pursued pro-Hindu legislation and indulged in anti-Muslim rhetoric. His campaign-trail attacks on the opposition’s welfare policies may create issues of trust with his governing partners, even if the BJP is leading things. Should Modi push ahead with what the opposition says are plans to amend India’s secular constitution, political chaos could ensue.

It was the success of Modi’s “Gujarat model” that helped shape his image as a national folk hero. From 2001 to 2014, Modi’s policies produced in Gujarat faster economic growth than that of the country as a whole and made the state known for less bureaucracy, greater innovation, reduced corruption and better infrastructure than many other states. Voters hoped he would supersize that programme and propel India into the Group of Seven club.

Had the BJP won a clear and resounding mandate, investors might have more confidence in Modi’s third term being a charm for raising India’s economic game. This is now in doubt – just as China makes progress in altering its economic narrative while Modi’s gets old.

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European firms in southern China have less confidence than in any other region: survey

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3265851/european-firms-southern-china-have-less-confidence-any-other-region-survey?utm_source=rss_feed

Sentiment among European companies in southern China is lower than elsewhere in the country, according to recent survey results, and analysts expect that the disparity is a direct result of production-capacity shifts and Hong Kong’s falling re-export role.

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, which conducted its annual survey earlier this year with consulting firm Roland Berger, found that its members in southern China experienced a more obvious decline in their revenues and profitability.

Nearly 40 per cent of respondents in the south reported obvious revenue declines for 2023 compared with 2022, and 17 per cent saw a substantial decrease of more than 20 per cent, according to the findings released last week. Elsewhere in the country, the regional percentages of respondents who saw their revenue plunge by that much ranged from only zero to 10 per cent.

Around 32 per cent of respondents in southern China reported that their 2023 earnings before interest and taxes decreased compared with 2022, while only 26 per cent described their business outlook as being optimistic for the coming two years - both worse than firms in the rest of China.

“In recent years, many EU enterprises in south China have shifted production capacity to northwest and north China, and even more to [Southeast Asia],” said Liu Kaiming, founder of the Shenzhen-based Institute of Contemporary Observation, a think tank monitoring supply-chain conditions in hundreds of Chinese contract manufacturers.

“In addition, the significant shrinkage of Hong Kong’s re-export function has also affected the business of foreign enterprises in south China.”

Over half of the surveyed firms in southern China reported difficulties in attracting and retaining international talent, compared with 38 per cent across China.

And 36 per cent said they had not benefited from the development of the Greater Bay Area plan, up from 34 per cent in 2022.

The survey polled a total of 529 companies in China, mainly in industrial goods and services sectors; consumer goods and services; and professional services. For southern China, about 70 companies were surveyed. A precise number was not given, as some firms did not answer every question.

“Members expected that 2023 would be a good year, as it was right after [the pandemic], but clients [had amassed stockpiles in] 2022 due to unpredictability and uncertainty, leaving 2023 with fewer new orders from clients,” said Klaus Zenkel, vice-president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China and chairman of the chamber’s South China Chapter.

His chapter also pointed out that local governments have implemented policies this year, including visa-free travel options, to address commercial impediments reported by European enterprises, particularly small and medium-sized firms. And they were hopeful that more initiatives would be rolled out.

Businesses also encountered challenges in transferring dividends, investing, market expansions and talent retention, which could be partly attributable to the existing regulatory burdens, the chapter said.

Respondents in southern China reported negative perceptions about the treatment of foreign-invested enterprises, it added.

About 41 per cent of respondents in southern China encountered challenges in transferring dividends out of China in the past few years.

Nationwide, the survey showed China’s economic slowdown ranked as the top challenge faced by firms, with 55 per cent flagging it as a concern, compared with 36 per cent in 2023.

A global economic slowdown, US-China tensions, geopolitical risks and competition from privately owned enterprises followed closely behind, the survey showed.

South China Sea: Philippines dismisses China’s ‘absurd’ demand over supply missions

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3265931/south-china-sea-philippines-dismisses-chinas-absurd-demand-over-supply-missions?utm_source=rss_feed

The Philippines has said it will continue to maintain and supply its South China Sea outposts without seeking permission from any other nation, dismissing Beijing’s demand to do so as “absurd, nonsense and unacceptable”.

“Our operations are conducted within our own territorial waters and EEZ,” National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said in a statement late Saturday, referring to the nation’s exclusive economic zone. “We will not be deterred by foreign interference or intimidation.”

He added: “We do not and will never need China’s approval for any of our activities therein.”

Ano was responding to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning’s comment on Friday that the Philippines should notify Beijing in advance if it wants to deliver provisions or evacuate personnel from its grounded warship in the Second Thomas Shoal.

China claims swathes of the South China Sea, including areas the Philippines views as part of its exclusive economic zone. Beijing has barred delivery of construction materials to the rusty World War II-era ship, BRP Sierra Madre, which Manila has kept as its military outpost in the disputed shoal since 1999.

Ano cited the China coastguard’s “aggressive actions” against a Philippine vessel evacuating a sick soldier on May 19 from the ship, which he called “barbaric and inhumane.”

“Such actions are not only violations of international maritime laws but also of basic human rights,” he said. Recent reports of Chinese forces allegedly seizing food and medical supplies meant for Filipino troops at BRP Sierra Madre “are equally reprehensible and warrant a thorough investigation and accountability,” the national security chief said.

The latest exchange of barbs between Manila and Beijing comes not long after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr asserted his nation’s claims in the South China Sea during a top regional defence forum where he pledged not to yield in the contested sea.

Ano said the Philippines remained open to dialogue and peaceful negotiations to resolve disputes in the waterway, but added that it “must be based on mutual respect and adherence to international law”.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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‘Balanced vagueness’: has China’s Middle East engagement strategy reached its limits?

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3265855/balanced-vagueness-has-chinas-middle-east-engagement-strategy-reached-its-limits?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing’s response to the Israel-Gaza war has exposed the limitations of its diplomatic strategy and is testing China’s long-time Middle East policy of focusing on trade and investment, diplomatic observers have said.

Some criticised China for being self-serving in its engagement with the region, showing more interest in competing with the United States for influence. But a Chinese analyst defended Beijing, saying it has a consistent and “principled” approach.

Tuvia Gering, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, said China’s actions – including its lack of condemnation of the Hamas militant group since the October attack on Israel – served its own strategic interests.

“In my mind, you see a lot of self-interest because … China gains a lot more by taking the side of the Arab and Muslim world and the Global South,” Gering said. “This way, it serves the purpose of isolating the US globally and tarnishing its image and dividing the West from within.”

Similar views were raised earlier at a hearing by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission in April.

Jonathan Fulton, an associate professor at Zayed University, told the committee that the Hamas attack has had “significant repercussions” for China’s approach to the region and “resulted in a more blatantly realpolitik” approach.

“Its messaging on the war in Gaza is … more about China presenting itself as an alternative to the US as a global leader than it is about the war itself,” he said, according to a transcript of his testimony.

Fulton said that China – riding the success of the Iran-Saudi Arabia deal it brokered – has positioned itself as a conflict mediator as part of a larger strategy to present itself as a leading global actor.

According to Fulton, Beijing’s reactions to the Gaza crisis has “negated any prior work towards being a mediator on the issue” and its relations with Israel have been “deeply damaged”.

“Generally, its response to events since the Hamas attack have made China look very transactional and self-interested in the region, rather than a responsible extra-regional power with substantial Middle East interests,” he said.

But Niu Xinchun, director of the Institute of Middle East Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, disagreed, saying China had adopted a consistent and “principled” approach to the conflict rather than taking a transactional approach.

The conflict, he said, had “deep historical roots”, and the Hamas attack in October had occurred “under a certain historical context”.

While he said that Israel would certainly lose confidence and trust in China, Beijing’s stance was aligned with the vast majority of countries, pointing to how China voted for UN Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire.

Jean-Loup Samaan, a senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Middle East Institute, said Beijing’s response to the Houthi rebel group attacking ships in the Red Sea showed “that there is no desire – and probably no ability – at the moment in China to play a major role in mediation efforts beyond courtesy visits of officials from the Middle East”.

China has called for an end to the attacks and expressed concern over the situation, with Bloomberg reporting that the Houthis have assured Beijing and Moscow that their ships would not be attacked. In return, however, the two countries were urged to provide “political support” to the Yemen-based group. China has not joined a US-led coalition to safeguard commercial traffic in the area.

Alessandro Arduino, an affiliate lecturer at the Lau China Institute at King’s College London, said China was cautiously navigating the Middle East security “quagmire”, and its go-to strategies – focusing primarily on trade and investment – were being tested.

“However, its cautious handling of the Gaza conflict and the Houthi crisis in the Red Sea reveals that regional countries must still balance their act between Beijing and Washington,” he said.

“China’s balanced vagueness is not necessarily to be considered a lack of resolve in engaging the region, but probably a lack of tools as the current situation relies heavily on the security toolbox.”

Among the goals of China’s strategic response to the Middle East crises is to undermine US hegemony in the region and to weaken its network of partnerships, said Gering, who is also a researcher at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies.

Since the conflict broke out some seven months ago, China has repeatedly criticised Washington’s actions, including the earlier use of its veto powers to block UN Security Council resolutions that called for an immediate ceasefire.

Samaan, from the NUS Middle East Institute, said China’s actions reflected a “correction” of influence in the Middle East.

Observers have for years felt that China’s presence in the region was growing and was on its way to defy or possibly replace the US, but the Israel-Gaza war and its regional implications spoke to the limits of Beijing’s engagements, he said.

“Because its approach solely focuses on economic ties and avoids interference in local disputes, it is ill-suited during a time of conflict such as what we’ve witnessed in the past seven months,” he said.

He suggested that while Middle Eastern powers were likely not under the illusion China could resolve the conflict, some Gulf states may now feel “less confident” about using their relations with China as a bargaining chip to force the US to stay engaged in the region.

“In other words, the limits of Beijing’s influence are a wake-up call for the local players who were trying to hedge against the US,” he said.