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• [Sport] South China Sea tensions force US and Beijing to talk more
• China’s rural-urban divide, tax system weigh down economic potential, former official says
• China says Philippines rammed Chinese boats, attacked personnel in Second Thomas Shoal stand-off
• Despite fentanyl crackdown, Chinese sellers are open for business
• Beauty chain Sa Sa’s profit soars as mainland Chinese tourists return to shop in Hong Kong
• Low chance of China-Russia military teamwork leading to direct attack on US: Rand report
• Calibre of China envoy Wu Peng ‘highlights South Africa’s importance to Beijing’
• China actress Yang Zi goes global with selection as torch-bearer for 2024 Paris Olympics
• IQ boost: China clinic claims to make people smarter with acupuncture which stimulates brain, improves oxygen supply
• China’s leadership looking to unleash ‘new productive forces’, top economic adviser predicts
• China is rolling out the red carpet for venture capital in tech – and foreign funds are welcome
• ‘They were like pirates’: Philippines slams China’s forceful actions in new sea skirmish
• China and Russia have chilling plans for the Arctic | China
• Europe’s EV battery hope fades as China pulls ahead while US subsidies undermine resources
• Chinese President Xi visits Tibetans and temple in western China, calls for ethnic unity
• Did China security concerns help Japan’s ruling LDP score surprise win in Okinawa election?
• South China’s Guilin city hit by worst floods since 1998 devastation
• JPMorgan’s China bear turns bullish, finds ‘20 to 25 pc upside’ in nation’s tech stocks
• Even if jobs are scarce in China, they should offer more than stability
• Ukraine peace summit is a ‘success’, China key to ending war: ambassador to Singapore
• Chinese media in race to tap tech, AI amid financial crunch and fact-check push
• China’s exports could go from economic asset to liability as trade tensions multiply, analysts say
• South China Sea: Philippines worries ‘friendly’ Vietnam’s reclamation could escalate row
• How Chinese computing nerds cracked a linguistic conundrum | Culture
• China has become a scientific superpower | Science & technology
• China’s currency is not as influential as once imagined | Finance & economics
• China is distorting its stockmarket by trying to prop it up | Finance & economics
• The EU hits China’s carmakers with hefty new tariffs | Business
• A price war breaks out among China’s AI-model builders | Business
• The new front in China’s cyber campaign against America | International
• China is going crazy for durians | China
• Li Qiang and China look to make up with Australia | China
• Foreign judges are fed up with Hong Kong’s political environment | China
• How worrying is the rapid rise of Chinese science? | Leaders
• 5 ways China can attract US students back to its universities again
• PLA study suggests China’s Fire Dragon missiles could sink US warships

[Sport] South China Sea tensions force US and Beijing to talk more

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqvvxzv24pqo

Reuters

Reuters

AFP

China’s rural-urban divide, tax system weigh down economic potential, former official says

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3267378/chinas-rural-urban-divide-tax-system-weigh-down-economic-potential-former-official-says?utm_source=rss_feed

The third plenum of the Central Committee of China’s Communist Party, scheduled for next month, is expected to set the tone for the country’s economic policy for the next several years. In advance of that meeting, the Post is reviewing the work of notable scholars and observers about their own expectations – as well as their thoughts on China’s economy at large. The first part of this series can be found , and the second .

China should narrow gaps in its treatment of urban and rural inhabitants, better protect private property and overhaul its tax system to ease a number of socioeconomic issues, said a former official with the country’s top economic planner.

These changes are essential to resolving “imbalances” linked to “incomplete” market reforms, said Xu Lin, once the general director of financial and budgetary affairs for the National Development and Reform Commission.

Xu named the most pervasive of these imbalances as those between urban and rural China, those between regions, those among industries and the disparity between levels of consumption and investment.

“The reason for these imbalances is the same,” Xu said in an interview with the Post. “My personal view is that marketisation hasn’t been fully realised … Reforms need to take another step forward to let the market have a definitive effect on resource allocation.”

Xu made his case as the Communist Party prepares for the third plenum of its Central Committee, scheduled for July. The committee is expected to release a plan to shore up the economy as erratic figures for factory activity, property purchases and consumer spending threaten to dampen the country’s post-pandemic recovery.

One change Xu deemed necessary was the cancellation of the hukou, a system of household registration that restricts access to certain public services among migratory populations, most commonly those who move from China’s rural areas to urban centres looking for work.

The scheme, in place since 1958 as a means of managing population shifts, once forced rural Chinese to register with government offices before living formally in a city – and barred the unregistered from getting certain jobs or sending their children to local schools.

Despite some relaxations since the 1980s, migrants from the countryside still may not qualify for certain social services. Today’s version of the policy, Xu said, maintains a divide between urban and rural regions while allowing for “discriminatory treatment” related to the provision of those services.

Entrepreneurs and private property rights also need more protection, Xu said. To stimulate innovation in China, he suggested reducing “arbitrariness by public security, judicial and government departments in the handling of private property rights”.

Taxation rates and the national budgets, Xu said, need to be prepared “in a more scientific and reasonable manner”. In particular, he added, China should cut the tax “burden” on companies and make the system more “internationally competitive”.

On the budgetary side, he called for effective control of the “disorderly expansion of local government debt” and a greater proportion of state coffers allocated to social welfare.

Beijing has tried to control a surge in local government debt by stopping infrastructure projects in some provinces and providing funds through the issuance of special bonds.

Today, more than half of China’s tax revenue comes from duties levied on consumption. Corporate and personal income tax, meanwhile, make up just over a third, reflecting a long-term focus on investment rather than consumption.

Xu, now 62, joined the State Development Planning Commission in 1989 and later took up his post at the National Development and Reform Commission. He joined the China-US Green Fund in 2018 and serves as the private equity investment vehicle’s chairman.

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China says Philippines rammed Chinese boats, attacked personnel in Second Thomas Shoal stand-off

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3267412/china-says-philippines-rammed-chinese-boats-attacked-personnel-second-thomas-shoal-stand?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing has hit back at Manila’s accusations of aggression in a stand-off in the South China Sea this week, saying Philippine vessels deliberately rammed Chinese boats, carried weapons and attacked Chinese personnel near a disputed shoal.

Chinese boats intercepted a Philippine vessel heading to the Second Thomas Shoal on Monday on what Manila described as a routine humanitarian resupply mission to its troops stationed on the outcrop. The shoal is part of the Spratly Islands and is claimed by both countries.

But Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said in Beijing on Thursday that the Philippine operation was “absolutely not about humanitarian resupply”.

“The Philippine vessels secretly carried construction materials and even weapons and equipment, and they deliberately rammed Chinese vessels,” Lin said.

He said Philippine personnel “also splashed water and threw things to Chinese enforcement personnel” and the acts “clearly escalated tensions at sea and severely threatened the safety of Chinese personnel and vessels”.

Lin’s comments followed the release on Wednesday of footage that Manila said showed Chinese personnel deploying tear gas, damaging their equipment and waving weapons.

The Philippine military called the incident “a brazen act of aggression”, accusing the Chinese coastguard of “employing physical attacks, bladed weapons, blaring sirens, and blinding strobe lights”.

It accused the Chinese side of “intentional high-speed ramming” and said eight Philippine sailors were injured in the face-off, including one who lost a thumb.

According to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Chinese coastguard personnel were caught on camera “brandishing an assortment of bladed and pointed weapons threatening to injure [Philippine] troops”.

It also said the Chinese coastguard’s “coercive, aggressive, and barbaric actions” resulted in severe damage to Philippine vessels, including communication and navigation equipment.

Philippine navy spokesman Roy Trinidad said on Thursday that the Chinese personnel acted like a “band of barbarians”, according to a report by Reuters.

“We were unprepared for that kind of response,” Trinidad said. “We stuck with the rules of engagement. They were not allowed to use guns except for self defence.”

He said China’s “illegal, aggressive and deceptive” actions raised the risk of miscalculation at sea.

But Lin said the Philippine side’s statements “completely distorted facts” and were an attempt to “shift blame”.

“The Philippine side illegally intruded into the waters of Renai Jiao without China’s permission,” he said, referring to the Chinese name for the shoal, which is known as Ayungin Shoal in the Philippines.

“The Chinese side took necessary measures in accordance with the law to safeguard its sovereignty, which were lawful and justified and done in a professional and restrained manner.

“We urge the Philippine side to immediately stop infringement and provocation at sea, otherwise they will bear the consequences.”

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV also released photos on Wednesday showing the Philippine supply boat surrounded by four Chinese vessels, including a coastguard ship, with crew members boarding the boat.

Despite fentanyl crackdown, Chinese sellers are open for business

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/06/20/china-fentanyl-mexico-us/2024-03-21T20:12:01.965Z

When President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to revive a joint crackdown on illegal drug trafficking in November, it sent a brief shock wave through the vast network of Chinese suppliers fueling the production of fentanyl.

Drug suppliers hit pause on international orders, as local Chinese officials conducted site inspections and began circulating fresh reminders of regulations. Beijing sent a warning notice to its pharmaceutical industry and shut down 25 Chinese companies selling fentanyl precursors — the chemical building blocks of a drug that accounts for the majority of more than 70,000 synthetic opioid overdose deaths a year in the United States.

U.S. and Chinese officials hailed the breakthrough agreement, noting that the deal set the stage for dozens more meetings between the countries’ anti-drug agencies — the first such cooperation in almost three years, after geopolitical tensions roiled the relationship.

But seven months later, those same sellers say it’s business as usual.

Traditional routes for shipping small but potent packages of the chemicals used in the production of fentanyl remain largely unhindered, according to three people involved in the export of illicit precursors and seller advertisements across a dozen online platforms.

The three people — two salespeople for Chinese chemical companies and a Chinese reseller based in Mexico — described resuming sales this year after making minor adjustments to avoid scrutiny, including tweaking customs labeling on packages and pivoting to alternative compounds that have virtually identical applications.

“Possibly in the future there is some impact, but it’s not a problem right now,” said one Hubei-based salesperson for a chemical company that produces 1-Boc-4-AP — a fentanyl precursor — and the sedative xylazine. The person claimed the company had resumed sales of both compounds to Mexico in January after a six-week pause that started around the time of the Xi-Biden meeting.

“Like water flowing around rocks … if there is a demand there is a way,” the person said.

Reporters for The Washington Post were not able to verify specific sales since November, but the company’s online advertisement for the chemical remain active, advertising “safe and fast” delivery to the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The sellers spoke on the condition of anonymity, or using nicknames, to detail their involvement in sales of fentanyl precursors. Their accounts highlight the vast challenges facing U.S. officials, who have sought to parlay warming relations with Beijing into a broader crackdown on the supply of fentanyl in the United States — a problem the Chinese government has little incentive to dedicate resources to without its own large-scale opioid epidemic.

And yet, counternarcotics enforcement has become a rare — if fragile — topic of consensus at a time when the two sides find little else to agree on.

“As often seen with transnational criminal organizations, their business model adapts to law enforcement efforts and they will seek out new routes to circumvent law enforcement scrutiny,” a senior U.S. administration official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy. Seizures of precursor chemicals transiting the United States fell drastically in late 2023 as a result of targeted law enforcement, but seizures of finished fentanyl remain at record highs, “suggesting these chemical companies are identifying alternate routes,” the official said.

China is the top global producer of the chemicals used to synthesize fentanyl, and much of the U.S. supply comes from illicit laboratories overseen by criminal groups in third-party countries, primarily Mexico, where cartels source Chinese chemicals and equipment, including pill presses.

Since November, U.S. officials have held multiple face-to-face and virtual meetings with their Chinese counterparts. They’ve held in-depth exchanges between U.S. and Chinese drug enforcement agencies, scientists and bankers and pressed Beijing to take steps to regulate — or “list” — new precursors, as well as tighten up customs and money-laundering oversight.

The negotiators are trying to recapture the momentum of previous cooperation, which — in its heyday between 2017 and 2022 — led to what U.S. officials claim was a vast reduction in seizures of fentanyl in its finished form at U.S. borders.

However, according to analysts, lawmakers and the Chinese drug sellers themselves, tackling the unwieldy network of China’s small chemical labs behind the dozens of precursors that are used to manufacture fentanyl will be a much harder task.

“The fentanyl listing back in 2017 was very different because … it was one drug, and that one listing was able to really shut down the trade. The precursor chemicals are just such a much more difficult problem to solve,” said another senior administration official in January speaking to reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, ahead of intensive talks in Beijing.

‘Easy money’

In the weeks following Biden and Xi’s November meeting, 34-year-old Aaron Z. faced a dilemma — his budding logistics business was under threat.

Aaron left southern China at the onset of the pandemic, staying temporarily in Thailand before settling with a friend in a large Mexican city close to the U.S. border. There, the pair began an online business reselling ingredients used to manufacture cosmetics through ads posted on Facebook and in WhatsApp groups, he said.

The business soon shifted to include the more lucrative trade in pharmaceutical chemicals, including 4-AP, a direct precursor to fentanyl.

“We don’t focus on individual sales but stockpile … creating stores of chemicals [in Mexico] that can easily be resold when there is a demand,” said Aaron, who declined to discuss his Mexican clientele. A former factory worker in southern China, Aaron said he’d never heard of fentanyl until he arrived in Mexico but found a ready market for precursor chemicals sourced from China and concealed in small postal packages. “It’s easy money,” he said.

Following the Xi-Biden agreement and the industry-wide warning sent from Beijing, Aaron said his two main suppliers of 4-AP — shell companies who themselves sourced it from mainland chemical labs — told him that shipment had been put on hold. He worried his stockpile in Mexico would run out in months.

“The feeling was confusion … no one knew what would happen next,” he said.

However, the shipments began again just weeks later, with only one change. “This time the [customs] label said soap powder,” he said. “Before there was no label.” He said his supplier simply told him that the situation in China was “more relaxed” now.

Aaron’s experience highlights some of the key challenges facing U.S. counternarcotics officials as they try to clamp down on the deadly cross-border fentanyl trade amid lax enforcement of producers in China and a Wild West of resellers and traffickers in Mexico.

“Sending notices out once is not enough; there needs to be prosecutions of violations,” said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who specializes in international crime networks. “They’re already finding out that the heat is gone, and the actors just feel like they can get away with it.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed Chinese officials to take prosecutions more seriously following talks in Beijing in April.

“I underscored the importance of [China] taking additional action, in particular by prosecuting those who are selling chemicals and equipment used to make fentanyl, meeting its international commitments to regulate all of the precursors that are controlled by the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs, and disrupting illicit financing networks,” said Blinken in a news conference following the talks.

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said that China is speeding up listing procedures on three precursors, including 4-AP, and is preparing to regulate further chemicals. “At present, the law enforcement agencies of the two sides are strengthening cooperation on six cases of transnational drug trafficking and carrying out joint investigation and crackdown,” said spokesman Liu Pengyu.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced one such case — an indictment against 24 individuals involved in a money-laundering scheme linked to the Sinaloa cartel. Beijing informed U.S. authorities that it had taken one person into custody and was pursuing charges. It is the first instance of China publicly executing a domestic arrest related to international narcotics trafficking since the November meeting.

Liu said that the United States had provided further “clues” about individuals and companies involved in drug-related money laundering but that local law enforcement had not found evidence that those companies are involved in drug crimes in China. Liu added that the two sides plan to hold further exchanges later this month.

Prosecutions for Chinese chemical producers involved in the illicit fentanyl trade are rare. Beijing has primarily chosen to warn chemical makers about the threats of U.S. enforcement rather than the dangers of breaking China’s own domestic laws. In its November notice to the industry, it called for producers to be wary of the “‘risk’ of long-arm jurisdiction’ or even ‘fishing enforcement’” by U.S. authorities — a phrase meaning legal entrapment.

In practice, chemical makers say there’s little new oversight on a local level. One agent working for the Chinese chemical firm Chongqing Chemdad — which currently advertises the sale of fentanyl precursor 1-N-BOC-4 online — said that recent changes amounted to local authorities adding company staff to a WeChat group, where they are “reminded” of the regulations.

According to Strider Technologies, a strategic intelligence firm that analyzes open-source data on Chinese supply chains, there are around 1,500 China-based entities involved in the fentanyl industry, the vast majority of which are precursor manufacturers, dealers and pharmaceutical machinery companies.

U.S. authorities have launched their own enforcement action, including indictments by the Justice Department and sanctions by the Treasury Department against Chinese individuals and entities. But these actions have little effect inside China without domestic law enforcement support. In some cases, U.S. officials and researchers say, small labs and resale companies will change their name after being targeted in a U.S. indictment and swiftly resume sales.

That includes Hubei Amarvel Biotech Ltd — a Chinese company indicted in New York in June 2023 for the online sale of fentanyl products. Shortly after the firm’s website was seized, the company’s online presence, including staff profiles, reappeared on a revamped website with a slightly altered name — Amarveltech — where they continued to advertise the same products months after the U.S.-China announcement.

“Many of these companies are small in size and are able to resume operations quickly under different names. We encourage the PRC to take more deterrent enforcement action, such as public arrests,” the senior U.S. official said.

Fentanyl and some of the chemicals used to synthesize it are particularly easy to conceal due to their potency. Just one pound of the drug contains more than 200,000 doses. Sellers described to The Post hiding the drug among detergent powder, vitamin supplements, cosmetics and even inside electric toothbrushes.

U.S. officials remain optimistic that China has the means to disrupt the flow. In 2019, Beijing issued a missive to its firms — similar to the one in November — that was followed by a sharp drop in the export of fentanyl.

But success will rely on the ability of the United States and China to divorce the issue of counternarcotics from turmoil in the bilateral relationship, which has proved complex.

As broader U.S.-China relations sunk to a nadir in 2022 following a visit by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, counternarcotics cooperation became a casualty of the fraying ties: Beijing completely axed any communication on the topic. That cooperation was revived only last year when the Biden administration removed sanctions on the Chinese Ministry of Public Security’s Institute of Forensic Science, which was targeted over alleged abuses against ethnic Uyghurs.

Under Beijing’s strict domestic surveillance controls, the country has not experienced its own fentanyl epidemic, diminishing its motivations to resolve the issue. Officials have repeatedly and vehemently denied that Chinese firms play any role in driving the U.S. fentanyl epidemic.

“The root cause of the overdose lies in the U.S. itself. The problem is completely ‘made in USA,’” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning in an April 2023 news conference, just months before formal discussions begun between Chinese and U.S. negotiators. “There is no such thing as illegal trafficking of fentanyl between China and Mexico.”

Hot selling stock

The online bazaar has caught the eye of U.S. lawmakers. The bipartisan House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released a report in April that claimed it had identified more than 2,000 Chinese companies advertising sales of illicit substances online, including fentanyl precursors and other narcotics.

The Chinese Embassy spokesman Liu said that the government recently deployed a “network cleaning action” to crack down on the proliferation of online advertisements, which resulted in the closing of “14 online platforms, forcing the cancellation of 332 corporate accounts, removing 1,016 online stores, and cleaning up more than 146,000 pieces of information.”

The Post verified that some Chinese platforms that displayed advertisements for precursor chemicals in April had since censored some listings — with searches for the chemicals returning an error message citing “relevant laws, regulations, policies.”

But some Chinese sellers have become increasingly creative with their online advertising. The Post identified ads on a dozen platforms still offering fentanyl precursors for export. In one instance, a 1-Boc 4-AP seller disguised an advertisement as a song on the audio streaming platform SoundCloud. Another such ad was posted as a blog entry on Medium.com. In the ads, the companies offer to connect with buyers over messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal — which are banned in China — and request payment in cryptocurrencies.

Berlin-based SoundCloud removed the advertisement after The Post requested comment and said it was doubling its investment in content moderation and working with the U.N.’s International Narcotics Control Board to track the sale of dangerous substances online. San Francisco-based Medium did not respond to a request for comment.

Many of the ads promise the ability to evade customs and target Mexican buyers. “We ship special … safe delivery” reads a current advertisement by Hebei Huanhao Biotechnology, entitled “Hot sale to Mexico.” The company was placed under U.S. sanctions in 2021 but continues to openly advertise precursor products.

Another Chinese company, Wuhan Boyuan Import and Export, posted ads for the controlled chemical 1-N-Boc-4 on Global Source, a Hong Kong platform. In the listing, it noted that the substance was of “purity 99.9%” at a price of $95 for 1 kilogram.

When The Post reached out to the Chinese companies, they denied selling illegal substances. An employee of Changzhou Huayang Technology said they were simply surveying demand. “Conducting market research on its own is not illegal,” the person said.

Asked why Wuhan Boyuan continued to advertise the chemicals for export, an agent for that company said it was “inconvenient” to explain, and hung up.

Vic Chiang and Pei Lin Wu in Taipei and Ellen Nakashima in Washington contributed to this report.

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Beauty chain Sa Sa’s profit soars as mainland Chinese tourists return to shop in Hong Kong

https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3267399/beauty-chain-sa-sas-profit-soars-mainland-tourists-return-shop-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed

Hong Kong beauty products retailer Sa Sa International saw its profit jump almost fourfold in the last financial year as the number of mainland Chinese tourists returning to shop in the city continued to rise.

The company said on Thursday it is cautious about opening new stores in the city, however, as the retail environment remains challenging in the absence of supportive government policies.

The cosmetics chain reported a gain of 276 per cent in earnings to HK$218.9 million (US$28 million) for the end year ended March 31.

The return of mainland tourists helped drive Sa Sa’s turnover up by 25 per cent to HK$4.37 billion, with sales in Hong Kong and Macau increasing by 35 per cent to HK$3.21 billion, according to the company’s latest annual report.

It proposed a final dividend for the year of 5 HK cents per share, representing about 70 per cent of the profit for the year. No dividend was paid in 2023.

Sa Sa’s share price jumped 7.9 per cent to HK$0.82 at Thursday’s close.

Hong Kong welcomed nearly 3.4 million tourists in May, up 20 percent year on year, according to the Tourism Board. Most of them – 2.63 million – came from the mainland, a 15 per cent increase from the same month a year ago.

The average Hongkonger spent between HK$230 and HK$250 each time they shopped in Sa Sa, while the typical Chinese tourist splashed out about HK$420, according to Simon Kwok Siu-ming, chairman and chief executive of Sa Sa International Holdings.

“Following the resumption of cross-boundary travel between Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China in January 2023, the return of tourists triggered revenge spending, which drove business growth,” he said.

Despite this, the cosmetics vendor’s overall approach to store expansion will be prudent and will accelerate only when policies favourable to the sector are introduced, Kwok added.

“We don’t have a store-opening target this year and we have to assess whether the retail market is improving,” he said.

Kwok said if the mainland and Hong Kong governments could agree to introduce measures such as multiple-entry permits for residents of the Greater Bay Area and increase the duty-free allowance for tourists, it would be a big help to the city’s retail market.

Sa Sa had 82 shops in Hong Kong and Macau as of March 31, of which 26 were located in what it called core tourist areas, according to its filings to the Hong Kong stock exchange. The latter number was down from 45 before the pandemic forced Sa Sa and many other vendors to close outlets. It now has 183 retail outlets across all regions.

The company has opened five new shops this year in Hong Kong, two in Tsim Sha Tsui, one in Central, and two in new shopping malls in Tai Wai and Wong Chuk Hang to capitalise on the return of tourists, it said. It closed two shops, in Sheung Shui and Lok Ma Chau.

The group said it will actively explore and develop its presence in Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines.

Kwok said even though it has stepped up its efforts to expand into the Southeast Asian market and invested in the development of its online business in mainland China, Hong Kong still remains Sa Sa’s core market.

Low chance of China-Russia military teamwork leading to direct attack on US: Rand report

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3267375/low-chance-china-russia-military-teamwork-leading-direct-attack-us-rand-report?utm_source=rss_feed

China and Russia might expand military cooperation but they are unlikely to pursue direct confrontation with the US given the potential cost, according to a report from a Washington-based defence advisory institute.

The Rand Corporation report, “Future Scenarios for Sino-Russian Military Cooperation”, suggested that Beijing and Moscow might eventually work together to launch a “combined military operation” but the possibility “remains uncertain at best”.

The report, which was released on Wednesday, said deeper integration between the two would likely result in more complex and more frequent training and exercises – interactions that would likely lead to greater technology and skills transfers and operations in new geographic areas or domains.

But China and Russia would still likely be “well below” fully integrated partners, meaning they would not share strategic systems such as common command, control, intelligence, and surveillance systems.

The two countries’ coordination on use of nuclear weapons might also be overestimated as they had “significant cleavages” in using such a deterrence, the report said.

“At no point did Beijing pursue the type of vast and diverse arsenal that the United States and the Soviet Union possessed. It focused on maintaining a sufficient retaliatory capability and made clear that its core doctrine was one of ‘no first use’,” it added.

The authors of the report also suggested that the possibility of direct confrontation between the two powers and the US, either independently or as a coalition, remained low due to the likely cost, especially from China’s perspective.

Given that trying to sabotage Sino-Russia relations might be counterproductive, Washington should pursue “ever greater cooperation among its most important allies and partners”, they said.

“Efforts to break apart the Sino-Russian relationship are unlikely to succeed and may end up motivating both Russia and China to strengthen their ties,” the report said, adding the most effective way to counter the Russia-China strategic partnership was ensuring the health of the US’ own alliances.

China and Russia are consolidating their partnership despite pressure from the West over the Ukraine war and tensions in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.

The West has repeatedly expressed concerns over China’s indirect support of Russia’s economy and arms production, but China has repeatedly denied supplying any weapons to Russia used directly in the invasion of Ukraine.

However, the Centre for Advanced Defence Studies, a Washington-based think tank, said Russia was seeking to buy older, Western-made machine tools from Chinese companies to make weapons.

The two countries have also mounted joint naval and air drills in waters claimed by China, mostly in the East China Sea.

Last year, the they conducted joint air force patrols over the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan, the sixth under the annual cooperation plan between the two militaries since 2019. The latest joint drill prompted South Korea and Japan to scramble aircraft.

The two also began joint naval drills in the East China Sea in 2022, the closest they have been held to the Taiwan Strait since the annual war games began more than a decade ago.

Calibre of China envoy Wu Peng ‘highlights South Africa’s importance to Beijing’

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3267359/calibre-china-envoy-wu-peng-highlights-south-africas-importance-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed

The Chinese foreign ministry’s former director general of African affairs Wu Peng has arrived in South Africa to begin his tenure as Beijing’s ambassador at a time of rising geopolitical tensions.

Wu, who arrived in Pretoria on Monday, said he looked forward “to working with all to take our comprehensive strategic partnership to a new height, according to a statement from the embassy.

“Together, let’s harvest more ‘golden fruits’ in the ‘golden era’,” said Wu, who is also a former ambassador to Kenya.

China’s ambassadorial seat in South Africa has been vacant since the exit in March of Wu’s predecessor Chen Xiaodong, who was named foreign vice-minister shortly after his return to Beijing.

Observers said Wu’s appointment is in line with Chinese tradition of appointing a senior ambassador to South Africa, which remains the continent’s largest trading partner with China.

Emmanuel Matambo, a research director at the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Africa-China Studies, said that Beijing has sent some of its most seasoned diplomats to South Africa since relations were established in 1998.

He pointed out that Lin Songtian, who preceded Chen in the role, also had solid diplomatic experience in several African countries before he was dispatched to South Africa’s shores.

After leaving Pretoria, Lin was appointed president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. “This background shows how important South Africa is in China’s continued quest to have a solid foothold in Africa,” Matambo said.

“South Africa is likely to reciprocate this esteem by being even more receptive than has hitherto been the case to China’s overtures, and being more aligned with China’s global outlook.”

David Shinn, a China-Africa specialist at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, said the appointment was “no surprise” and could lead to further senior assignments for Wu, as was the case with Chen.

“South Africa has long been considered one of China’s most important relationships in Africa [and] the appointment simply underscores the importance that Beijing attaches to [the] relationship,” he said.

This was especially true “at a time when the power structure is changing in Pretoria”, Shinn added, referring to the recent elections which saw the ruling African National Congress fail to secure a simple majority.

The ANC received 40 per cent of the popular vote, ending the party’s 30-year majority control of South Africa’s parliament following the end of apartheid. Its long time rival and second-largest party the Democratic Alliance secured 22 per cent.

President Cyril Ramaphosa was sworn in as head of state for a second term on Wednesday, after the ANC struck a dramatic late coalition deal with the main opposition party and others.

Rhamaphosa’s inauguration was attended by Xiao Jie, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s special envoy and vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said China stands ready to work with the new government “to enhance political mutual trust, broaden practical cooperation … and build a high-quality China-South Africa community with a shared future”.

On his arrival in Pretoria on Monday, Wu said that even though China and South Africa are geographically far apart, the two countries enjoy a long history of friendly exchanges and a special bond of “camaraderie plus brotherhood”.

More recently, the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries “has witnessed steady and speedy development, setting a fine example for China-Africa and South-South cooperation”, he added.

Noting that the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, Wu said China is ready to work with South Africa to “carry forward friendship, deepen cooperation and seek common development”.

Wu was welcomed to Pretoria by Yoliswa Mvebe from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, who said South Africa was ready to provide what help he needed in assuming his office.

Mvebe also said South Africa would work with China to deepen the traditional friendship between the two countries, “expand mutually beneficial cooperation and drive greater development of the bilateral relations”.

Two-way trade between China and South Africa reached US$55.62 billion in 2023 – at 19.7 per cent accounting for the lion’s share of China’s total trade with the continent in that year.

China mostly buys South African raw materials, including gold, diamonds, platinum, and copper, as well as manganese, chromium, iron and zinc ores and ferroalloys.

Beijing has recently started buying food products such as citrus, maize and nuts. South Africa also plans to make its first shipment of avocados to China later this year following customs approval.

In return, South Africa imports Chinese electrical and electronics equipment and machinery, including broadcasting equipment, computers, and electric batteries.

China actress Yang Zi goes global with selection as torch-bearer for 2024 Paris Olympics

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3267213/china-actress-yang-zi-goes-global-selection-torch-bearer-2024-paris-olympics?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese actress Yang Zi will join a slew of other stars from the country to be torch-bearers at the Paris Olympics.

The 31-year-old, who leaves for France on June 26, is also an ambassador for China’s leading dairy brand, Mengniu, which is a Worldwide Olympic Partner, the state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Dubbed the “nation’s daughter” in China, Yang enjoys high popularity thanks to the success of the TV drama Home with Kids which was first broadcast in the early 2000s.

She played a main character called Xia Xue, a teenage girl who is smart, lively and sensible but also a bit rebellious. Her portrayal was overwhelmingly acclaimed by Chinese audiences.

Yang graduated from the prestigious Performance Institute of Beijing Film Academy in 2014.

Over the past decade she has starred in many TV and film productions such as the ancient costume drama Lost You Forever, the inspirational Go Go Squid and Psychologist.

“The Olympic spirit is not only reflected in the competition. It also can shine in every corner of our life,” said Yang on Weibo on June 18 when the news of her relaying the Olympics torch was announced.

She has 62 million followers on the platform.

Last year, she was appointed as the Major League Baseball (MLB) China ambassador as the American baseball organisation hoped to leverage Yang’s popularity among China’s youth to promote the sport in the country.

“Yang Zi has always been the princess I love. I believe she will succeed in fulfilling her task of passing the torch,” said one of her fans on the Baidu website.

“I am so happy she has been selected to relay the Olympics torch. I will always support you and be proud of you!” another person said.

Before Yang, other Chinese stars including Tang Wei and Zhao Lusi joined the torch relay in France at the beginning of June.

Tang is the heroine of director Ang Lee’s film Lust, Caution, while Zhao has a large fan base in China.

US-born freestyle ski star Eileen Gu, who won two gold medals at the Beijing Winter Olympics, is also a torch-bearer in France. .

IQ boost: China clinic claims to make people smarter with acupuncture which stimulates brain, improves oxygen supply

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3264661/iq-boost-china-clinic-claims-make-people-smarter-acupuncture-which-stimulates-brain-improves-oxygen?utm_source=rss_feed

A hospital in China has launched a unique IQ boosting clinic, claiming that head acupuncture can awaken the mind, improve memory and even make people smarter.

In May, the newly established Acupuncture IQ Boost Clinic at Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine in eastern China went viral online.

The clinic performs head acupuncture on patients to promote oxygen supply to the brain and improve memory, according to Zhejiang News.

Experts say that head acupuncture is not a silver bullet for an IQ boost but serves as an auxiliary treatment to help improve the functioning of the brain.

Acupuncture was mentioned in an ancient Chinese medical text known as Huangdi Neijing, which dates back to about 100BC.

It is one of the most common treatments in traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM.

The treatment involves inserting fine needles into special points on the skin, mainly to relieve pain but also to prevent and treat other diseases.

When receiving acupuncture, patients may experience sensations such as soreness, numbness and swelling. Some may also feel slight pain.

Zhou Haijiang, an acupuncturist at the IQ Boost Clinic, introduced several commonly used head acupuncture points.

The Baihui Point, located on the highest point of the head, can be used to awaken the brain and refresh the mind.

Sishencong, literally means Four Intelligence Points and consists of four points around Baihui Point. They can treat headaches, insomnia and forgetfulness.

The Fengchi Point, located at the top of the back of the neck, can improve oxygen supply to the head and face, which helps enhance the memory.

“Acupuncture works by stimulating the head, which activates cells and boosts their activity. Simply put, this is how acupuncture helps enhance intelligence,” said acupuncturist, Hong Shouhai.

Xu Fu, the Director of the Acupuncture Department at the hospital, added that the process is also helpful for people with poor sleep quality and frequent fatigue. It can also help with anxiety and depression.

A head acupuncture treatment session usually lasts about 30 minutes and patients needs it once or twice a week.

“Between 40 and 50 patients come for head acupuncture every day, mainly in the evening, including students and office workers,” said Xu.

This clinic has sparked an online debate about whether acupuncture can truly boost the IQ.

“Can you become smarter just by getting pricked with needles? This combines traditional Chinese Medicine with scam tactics,” said one online observer on Weibo.

“Do not misunderstand the head acupuncture. Experts clearly stated that acupuncture only has an improving role and is not a magic cure,” another said.

Yu Jin, an acupuncture and brain science professor at Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, in southern China said: “Clinical medical verification has confirmed that acupuncture is indeed effective in improving brain function.

“It can promote brain circulation and blood supply, improving intelligence and mental state, but it requires professional doctors to perform it

“Acupuncture has achieved success in treating brain diseases such as stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, intellectual disability in children and cerebral palsy,” Yu told the Post.

China’s leadership looking to unleash ‘new productive forces’, top economic adviser predicts

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3267352/chinas-leadership-looking-unleash-new-productive-forces-top-economic-adviser-predicts?utm_source=rss_feed

A senior economic policy adviser to the Chinese leadership has predicted that a key policy meeting will generate substantial reform measures, including steps to unleash “new productive forces”.

Justin Lin Yifu, dean of Peking University’s Institute of New Structural Economics and a former chief economist at the World Bank, made the comments in answer to a question during a seminar at the University of Hong Kong on Wednesday.

In his response, he first quoted the Communist Party’s own words when announcing the third plenum – which is expected to outline the country’s economic policy over the next five years – saying “every plenary session [of the party’s Central Committee] needs to bring in some new ideas and further promote development in China … There will be further deepening of the original market reforms”.

“The Chinese market for [finished] products has already been almost totally liberalised,” Lin said. “The [next] reforms will hit many markets of factors of production. And also, new quality productive forces will also be a highlight in this new plenum.”

Factors of production are the resources needed to create goods and services, and are usually defined as including land, labour, entrepreneurship and capital.

Lin did not elaborate on the specific measures China would take.

In the run-up to the meeting of the party’s elite, many analysts have said they have low hopes for sweeping market reforms and opening-up measures.

However, there could be structural improvements in certain areas to boost growth. Several economists expect Beijing to begin a new round of rural land reforms and dig deeper into its massive data resources to develop emerging industries, especially artificial intelligence.

In recent years China has been exploring measures that would allow farmers to sell their village land to allow more rural residents to move to the cities.

In an commentary published in the party theoretical journal Qiushi last week, Han Wenxiu, deputy director of the General Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, emphasised the need to accelerate the migration of the agricultural population, deepen reforms of the household registration system and move to ensure that those with urban residence rights were fully provided with public services.

China has also named its vast data resources a “growth factor” this year, as the development of artificial intelligence requires enormous amounts of data to train the models, giving countries owning large amounts of data a crucial advantage.

Driven by the rapid development of 5G, AI technologies and the wider availability of smart devices, China generated 32.85 zettabytes – a unit equivalent to a billion terabytes – of data last year, according to the National Data Resources Survey Report.

It predicted China’s data production would increase by more than 25 per cent in 2024, driven by the large-scale application of new technologies, such as satellite communications, self-driving cars and generative AI.

Lin said China’s priority now was to formulate and implement policies for sustainable growth in the longer term.

“I think the most important thing that can boost confidence in China is long-term growth. You cannot try to boost the confidence of the people by introducing some temporary policies,” Lin said.

In his talk – “China’s rejuvenation: achievements, challenges and prospects” – Lin, who is well-known for his optimistic views about China’s long-term growth potential, said he remained confident that China’s GDP per capita could reach half that of the United States by 2049, the centenary of the founding of the People’s Republic, despite current challenges.

He said China should be able to achieve annual economic growth of 5-6 per cent until 2035 and 3-4 per cent up to 2050 because the economy still had “latecomer advantages”.

China’s GDP grew by 5.3 per cent in the first quarter of this year, according to official figures.

The International Monetary Fund forecast in May that China’s growth would decelerate to 3.3 per cent by 2029 due to an aging population and slower productivity growth.

While China could still upgrade traditional industries, it was on the same starting line as developed countries in terms of emerging industries, Lin said.

Given the country’s vast human capital, a large unified domestic market, and industrial supporting policies, its potential for technological innovation would be greater than other high-income countries, he said.

China is rolling out the red carpet for venture capital in tech – and foreign funds are welcome

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3267380/china-rolling-out-red-carpet-venture-capital-tech-and-foreign-funds-are-welcome?utm_source=rss_feed

China plans to roll out new measures to coax venture capital (VC) – including funds based overseas – into the country’s technology sector, according to a notice from the State Council, the national cabinet.

International investors will be incentivised to set up yuan-denominated funds within China to facilitate domestic investments, the council said in the notice issued Wednesday, which named foreign backers’ investment experience and service strengths as reasons for the move.

The council also said the management of foreign exchange would be “optimised” further, making it easier for VCs and other business entities to handle transactions.

Qualified institutions will be encouraged to issue corporate bonds and debt financing instruments to help fund their investments, and state-owned enterprises will be supported as they devote resources to industry leaders in advanced technologies. China will also support insurance institutions as they make their own investments in VC funds.

“Developing venture capital is a key step to promoting the virtuous cycle of technology, industry and finance,” the cabinet said.

China also plans to expand its pilot programme for Qualified Foreign Limited Partnerships (QFLP) and guide foreign institutions to conduct cross-border investment within the scope of regulations, according to the council.

The QFLP mechanism allows foreign investors to invest in a yuan-based fund in China’s private equity market, an activity previously limited to domestic parties.

The notice comes in the wake of a rare meeting between President Xi Jinping and prominent entrepreneurs last month, where according to Communist Party media outlet People’s Daily the president asked why the number of new unicorns – start-ups valued at more than US$1 billion – had dwindled.

Despite state-driven initiatives to attract more foreign VCs, geopolitical headwinds will make this a difficult task, said Alex Capri, a senior lecturer at the National University of Singapore.

“As global supply chains become subject to fragmentation due to decoupling and de-risking efforts, the venture capital landscape is also undergoing the same constrictions,” Capri said.

Last year, US venture fund Sequoia Capital split its business to avoid the potential fallout from worsening bilateral relations, establishing an independent Chinese entity.

Capri said the US Outbound Investment Transparency Act, which requires US entities to notify the federal government of investments in sensitive technologies in “countries of concern”, has created a roadblock to investment in China.

Various data points show a decline in China’s count of unicorn firms. The number of VC funds, as well as the total size of their investments, have also been on a downward trend.

In 2023, 56 new unicorns were established in China according to the Hurun Global Unicorn Index, down from 107 in 2022.

Meanwhile, a total of 8,322 new funds were established in China’s VC and private equity market in 2023. This was a year-on-year decrease of 4.7 per cent according to a June 9 report by CVINFO Institute, a unit of Beijing-based China Venture Investment Consulting.

Newly established VC funds in China totalled US$614 billion in 2023, marking a year-on-year decrease of 9.4 per cent and a second consecutive year of decline.

‘They were like pirates’: Philippines slams China’s forceful actions in new sea skirmish

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3267393/they-were-pirates-philippines-slams-chinas-forceful-actions-new-sea-skirmish?utm_source=rss_feed

A recent showdown between Chinese and Philippine forces in the South China Sea took place with Filipino sailors observing a new “operational design” in which they were told not to handle firearms while on a resupply mission, according to a top Philippine commander who lambasted the Chinese side for behaving “like pirates”.

Military officials said the new protocol was meant to “prevent war” even as it allowed Philippine forces to confront any armed attack “with bare hands”.

However, China’s response – involving its armed coastguard personnel boarding Manila’s vessels, confiscating their firearms and smashing equipment – showed Beijing would continue to “push the envelope” with their actions in the disputed waters unless forcefully challenged, analysts noted.

“This is the first time that we saw the Chinese coastguard carry bolos, spears and knives … they were like pirates in their actions,” General Romeo Brawner Jnr, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said during a press conference on Wednesday.

The military later released photographs – some of which showed Chinese coastguard personnel brandishing long knives and a pickaxe – and video clips of the incident.

The altercation took place on Monday during a Philippine navy operation to resupply the BRP Sierra Madre – a World War II era navy vessel intentionally grounded on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal to serve as a military outpost. Manila’s military accused China’s coastguard of “intentional high-speed ramming” leading to eight Filipino sailors being injured and one suffering a severed thumb.

The Philippine military reported that Chinese personnel boarded their vessels and confiscated weapons and other equipment from their sailors during the incident.

Rear Admiral Alfonso Torres, commander of the armed forces’ Western Command, which oversees operations in the West Philippine Sea, said their soldiers were under strict orders to follow a new “operational design” during rotation of troops and resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre in which “no firearms will be handled or shown by our personnel to the [Chinese] coastguard personnel”.

“We are doing that to avoid misperception that we are conducting an armed operation,” Torres said.

Brawner said this protocol was also followed by the troops stationed on BRP Sierra Madre, who were armed but did not use them. He added the navy’s objective was to “prevent war” and follow international law while bringing supplies to the BRP Sierra Madre troops.

Brawner said the new protocol was under review in light of Monday’s incident. Navy spokesman Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad on Thursday said: “We have told our troops, use of force for mission accomplishment is not authorised unless in self-defence.”

The seven pieces of CAR-15 (Colt Automatic rifle-15) that the Chinese seized were disassembled and stored in gun cases for transport to BRP Sierra Madre, Brawner and Torres said.

Navy seaman first class Jeffrey Facundo lost his right thumb after a Chinese rigid hull inflatable boat went over the top of a Philippine rubber boat with the serviceman on board, Torres said. Facundo was awarded a medal for his service and told Brawner he was willing to return to duty.

Philippine navy personnel involved in the skirmish said the Chinese coastguard towed away the Philippine boats, which they punctured, destroyed the communication and navigational equipment and outboard motors, and “looted” the seven disassembled firearms and personal mobile phones.

“We are demanding that the Chinese return our rifles and our equipment. And we are also demanding from them to pay for the damage that they have caused,” Brawner said. “This is piracy … they boarded our boats illegally.”

Jeffrey Ordaniel, an associate professor at Tokyo International University’s Department of International Relations, told This Week in Asia the Philippines needed a new approach to counter China’s tactics.

“The Philippines should request [a] US Navy/Coast Guard escort for every [resupply] mission, with a caveat – escorts will stop once [Chinese] interference ends,” Ordaniel said. “Absent any meaningful response from the Philippines and its allies and partners, Beijing will simply continue to push the envelope and gradually change the status quo.”

Since the confrontation, more countries such as Australia, Sweden, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the European Union and New Zealand have issued statements of condemnation But Ordaniel said “more statements that condemn Chinese behaviour at sea or mere rhetorical expressions of support for the Philippines will have very negligible impact”.

Ordaniel said China “is acting with impunity” and called on the Philippines and the United States to formulate an alliance response to show Beijing that “its bad behaviour at sea is resulting in more US military presence in the region”. Doing so would also allow Manila to maintain the status quo in the Second Thomas Shoal and withstand Chinese coercion, he added.

Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, said what happened “should have qualified as armed attack – the use of weapons by the armed forces of one country against the other’s”.

The Philippines has a Mutual Defence Treaty with the US that requires both countries to act in the defence of the other should one be attacked. But Koh noted that President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s criteria for invoking the treaty “has to be somebody killed as a result of a wilful act. Nobody was killed in this latest fracas. We’re flirting with luck here”, he posted on social media platform X.

Former congressman Ruffy Biazon, who was vice-chair of the House of Representatives’ defence committee, agreed with Koh.

“In the hands of the military or even coastguard, the bolos and knives are weapons. Using them against persons or property to cause injury or death or damage is an attack. Define ‘Armed attack’ now, in the context of the MDT,” he said on X.

On Thursday, Philippine foreign secretary Enrique Manalo said he had discussed China’s “dangerous and irresponsible actions” with his American counterpart Antony Blinken.

Marcos Jnr has not issued any statement on the incident.

China and Russia have chilling plans for the Arctic | China

https://www.economist.com/china/2024/06/19/china-and-russia-have-chilling-plans-for-the-arctic

Four hundred kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, in the Norwegian port of Kirkenes, there are still some who dream that this sleepy town will one day become an important shipping hub. They see it as the western end of a new, faster sea route from China to Europe, made possible by the impact of global warming on ice-filled waters off the Siberian coast. With war raging in Ukraine, this ambition now sounds fanciful. China’s support for Russia is fuelling Western distrust of the Asian power’s “polar silk road” plans. But China is not retreating from the Arctic. It still sees a chance to boost its influence there, and to benefit from the area’s wealth of natural resources.

Rising temperatures in the Arctic are slowly opening up new possibilities for transport. But geopolitics are changing the region faster. Kirkenes feels this strongly. It is just 15 minutes’ drive from the Russian border. Tourists can enjoy a “king crab safari” that takes them by boat right up to it, with eponymous crustaceans caught along the way and cooked for the visitors (the massive non-native species was introduced by the Soviets). Russians, though, no longer cross into Kirkenes for shopping and crab feasts. On May 29th Norway closed the border crossing to day-trippers from the other side. The conflict in Ukraine has cast a chill over the town. There were “tensions in the air” in October when Russia’s envoy in Kirkenes laid a wreath at a monument to the Soviet troops who liberated the town from the Nazis towards the end of the second world war, the Barents Observer, a local online newspaper, reported. Politicians in Kirkenes had urged him not to do so.

Europe’s EV battery hope fades as China pulls ahead while US subsidies undermine resources

https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3267342/europes-ev-battery-hope-fades-china-pulls-ahead-while-us-subsidies-undermine-resources?utm_source=rss_feed

In 2019, France and Germany agreed to pump billions of euros into a plan to boost Europe’s battery industry and catch up with China and the US. Five years later, that effort is running out of steam.

As electric-vehicle sales slow, companies including Volkswagen, Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz are scaling back or refocusing battery projects. Chinese manufacturers are slashing costs and the US is drawing away investment with lucrative subsidies.

China already has excess battery-making capacity, can make cells at a fraction of the cost it takes in Europe, and has a head start on the next generation of cell technology. All of this means the continent risks falling further behind in the race to build and power the EVs of the future.

“As a European company we need to change our mindset – we are changing from teachers to become students because we have to catch up on a significant backlog of experience,” Sebastian Wolf, chief operating officer of Volkswagen’s PowerCo battery unit, said on the sidelines of a conference in Stuttgart, Germany. “We have to all focus on becoming faster and becoming more cost efficient.”

Companies may cut back more on planned factories as European Union subsidies are hard to access due to bureaucracy and carmakers protect thin EV profit margins. VW may push out reaching full capacity for its €20 billion (US$21.5 billion) battery behemoth. Automotive Cells Company, led by Stellantis and Mercedes, has put on hold two of its three sites to weigh making lower-cost cells in light of slowing demand for still-expensive EVs.

The backslide isn’t exclusive to European players with China’s Svolt Energy Technology cancelling a project in Germany because of uncertainties on subsidies and after a cornerstone customer fell away.

EV demand below expectations is raising the bar for new entrants who also face competition from leading Asian suppliers at home. China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology, the world’s biggest cell maker has a site in Germany and is adding another in Hungary, while South Korea’s LG Chem has been making batteries in Poland for about six years.

Still, European suppliers have a role to play for resilience, even as they struggle, ACC’s Chief Executive Officer Yann Vincent said. “It’s not to say that we are immediately competitive, there’s clearly an issue.”

The stakes are high: if the region fails to establish its own EV battery value-chain as cells replace the combustion engine, large parts of the automotive industry – which makes up about 7 per cent of Europe’s economy – will follow solar panels, consumer electronics and chips in shifting to Asia.

But Europe looks increasingly unable to keep up. China, which has been developing battery technology for decades, already controls more than 80 per cent of the market, leading on cost by a wide margin. More recently, China managed to vastly improve the quality of a much cheaper battery cell that uses no cobalt or nickel, triggering ACC’s review to weigh building so-called lithium-iron-phosphate cells.

Northvolt AB, the continent’s biggest and most promising home-grown battery maker, is being buffeted by making “premium” cells amid a flood of cheaper Chinese batteries.

Meanwhile, aggressive and immediately accessible subsidies and tax breaks in the US and Canada are luring companies like Norway’s Freyr Battery to move overseas.

The European Commission and the UK have approved less than €7 billion in state aid for battery manufacturing since the start of 2022 – a fraction of the estimated US$140 billion needed to reach the target of 1.4 terawatt hours of battery-manufacturing capacity by 2030. The US will dole out an estimated US$160 billion in tax credit spending before 2029 for solar and battery cells, according to BloombergNEF. Canada committed US$25 billion in battery incentives last year, attracting investments from companies including Volkswagen and Stellantis.

“Europe really needs to wake up and provide a decent response,” Tom Einar Jensen, co-founder of Freyr Battery, said at the BloombergNEF event. “If Europe wants to move from reliance on Russian gas to reliance on only Chinese imported batteries, that probably is a discussion that needs to be more thought about in the current structure.”

The comment echoes Europe’s energy crisis that hit Germany particularly hard after the invasion of Ukraine largely cut of gas supplies from Russia.

Developing self-sufficiency will be difficult. China not only makes the most batteries but also has a deep grip on the industry’s supply chain, especially the refining of key minerals like lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite, as well as the production of anode and cathode cell components.

So far, the bulk of Europe’s investments have been directed more toward cell manufacturing than the mining and refining industries higher up the value chain, said Ilka von Dalwigk, senior technology and policy expert at EIT InnoEnergy, a venture capital firm co-funded by the EU.

“Europe is a little bit in the dilemma in that we need to develop a completely new industrial value chain and we need to develop all parts simultaneously,” von Dalwigk said. “We need to do it quite fast if you want to secure some market shares compared to US and the Asian players.”

Without substantial support, new entrants face a bleak outlook. According to BloombergNEF, the world already has more than twice as much lithium-ion battery capacity as needed. Manufacturing capacity in China, which has doled out incentives likely totalling in the tens of billions of dollars, was already three times domestic demand last year and will rise to more than six times in 2025, if all factories planned in the country come online.

Herbert Diess, chairman of chip maker Infineon Technologies and former CEO of Volkswagen, said at the BloombergNEF event that Europe is better off focusing on complex solutions to help cars access renewable energy.

“We should do what we can do best, and we should have China making what they can do cheapest and in good quality,” Diess said.

Chinese President Xi visits Tibetans and temple in western China, calls for ethnic unity

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3267341/chinese-president-xi-visits-tibetans-and-temple-western-china-calls-ethnic-unity?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese President Xi Jinping has signalled engagement with Tibetan Buddhist heritage as Tibet again rose to be a point of US-China contention.

The Chinese leader on Tuesday visited a middle school for Golok Tibetans and the Tibetan Buddhist Hongjue Temple in the northwestern province of Qinghai, state news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday.

Both sites are in the provincial capital Xining. The historic temple has been key to Beijing’s communication with the Tibetan Buddhist leader since it affirmed sovereignty over Tibet in 1951.

Xi’s inspection was reportedly focused on local efforts to deepen education to forge “a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation” and strengthen the tradition of “love for both the country and the religion” of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as education support from more developed eastern provinces.

He also met provincial party and government representatives on Wednesday and stressed the province’s “great mission” to preserve ecological security, according to Xinhua.

The province shares the Tibetan Plateau with the Tibet autonomous region and is rich in petroleum, natural gas, and lithium.

The president sent a signal for ethnic unity as a plenary session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China – to unveil economic and social development strategies for the coming decade – is set to convene next month.

His trip came at the time when tensions are simmering between the US and China over the issue of Tibet.

The US Congress passed a new Tibet policy bill last week which would channel funds to boost Washington’s support for Tibet and counter what it calls “disinformation” from China about the region’s history, people and institutions.

A seven-member US congressional delegation met the 14th Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader whom China has described as “anti-China separatist activities under the cloak of religion”, in India on Wednesday and said they would not allow China to influence the choice of his successor and would pressure Beijing to resume talks with him.

The Dalai Lama, who fled China during the Tibetan Uprising in 1959, will turn 89 next month. Beijing has blamed him for bouts of ethnic unrest in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, in the 1980s and again in 2008, upheaval that human rights groups blamed on the government’s repressive religious policies.

The Dalai Lama was born in Qinghai, where about half those living in the sparsely populated and remote inland province are non-Han Chinese, and most of those are Tibetan.

Xi last visited the province three years ago, when he described the northwestern province as “a strategic key place in maintaining stability in Xinjiang and Tibet”.

Although Hongjue Temple where Xi visited this time was not the biggest Tibetan Buddhist temple in the city, it was the site of one of the most significant meetings between Communist Party’s leadership and a Tibetan Buddhist leader in 1951, said Xie Maosong, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Strategic Studies at Tsinghua University.

Xi Jinping’s father Xi Zhongxun, then the Communist Party’s deputy secretary of the Northwest Bureau and vice-chairman of the Northwest Military and Political Committee, was appointed by Mao Zedong to arrange the 10th Panchen Lama Erdeni Chokyi Gyaltsen’s return to Shigatse in Tibet, according to the Communist Party’s archive.

The Panchen Lama is considered the most revered religious leader of Tibet after the Dalai Lama.

Xi Zhongxun met the 10th Panchen Lama at Hongjue Temple on December 15, 1951, to discuss details of the Panchen Lama’s return trip as part of a treaty signed by Beijing and Tibet that year.

“They spoke for three hours in the temple, discussed a series of important matters, including the further implementation of the agreement on the peaceful liberation of Tibet and the specific arrangements for the 10th Panchen Lama’s visit to Tibet,” Xie said.

“That was one of the most significant meetings that forged the friendship between Xi Zhongxun and the Panchen Lama that lasted for more than four decades.”

A Qinghai official said the temple still kept Xi Zhongxun and the Panchen Lama’s meeting room untouched as a memorial to mark a historic friendship between the party leadership and Tibetan religious leaders.

Besides the senior Xi’s meeting with the Panchen Lama, Hongjue Temple has been a key historical gateway of communication and interaction between China’s central government and Tibetan Buddhist leaders, according to an ethnic and religious affairs researcher from the Chinese Academic of Social Sciences.

“When Princess Wencheng travelled to Tibet to marry the then Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo, she made a stop at Xining for a month to get herself ready for the higher altitude in Tibet around 641 AD. The stop later became Hongjue Temple,” the researcher said.

Many Panchen Lamas stayed in the temple after it was built in the Song dynasty.

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Did China security concerns help Japan’s ruling LDP score surprise win in Okinawa election?

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3267269/did-china-security-concerns-help-japans-ruling-ldp-score-surprise-win-okinawa-election?utm_source=rss_feed

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party scored a surprising victory over the Okinawa governor’s coalition in his prefecture’s recent elections, despite broad support for his opposition to expanding US military bases, an upset analysts suggest could be linked to growing security concerns over China.

Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki had campaigned on a platform of halting the enlargement of a US base in the far northeast of the prefecture to take over the functions of Futenma Air Base in central Okinawa and to reduce the overall US military presence from the nearly 30,000 service personnel at present.

Several thousand of those US troops, along with their dependents, are due to be relocated to Guam before the end of this year, but Tamaki and many Okinawans feel that their islands shoulder a disproportionate burden and that the number of US troops and bases should be more equitably shared throughout the rest of Japan.

“The [election] result was quite puzzling, as the LDP has done terribly in elections in Okinawa in recent years because of the issue of US military bases in the prefecture,” said Ben Ascione, an assistant professor of international relations at Tokyo’s Waseda University.

A public opinion survey conducted last year found that some 70 per cent of Okinawans believe the number of US military bases in the prefecture is “unfair”.

But it appears some Okinawan voters have been rethinking those priorities as tensions continue to grow over the future of Taiwan, which is just over 100km (62 miles) from the most westerly island in the Okinawa archipelago.

Beijing has in recent years ramped up demands against the self-ruled island and conducted large-scale military exercises in nearby waters. In drills last year, Chinese missiles splashed down within Japanese waters off Yonaguni Island.

There is also concern over the growing presence of Chinese coastguard vessels in waters around disputed islands in the East China Sea. The uninhabited Diaoyu Islands are presently administered by Japan, which calls them the Senkaku Islands.

Other security concerns include an unpredictable regime in North Korea and Russia, which is showing greater political and security interest in the Indo-Pacific region.

“The international security environment has been more tense recently, with China, Russia and North Korea reviving their Cold War-type of cooperation,” Ascione said.

“Maybe [Okinawan voters] were more ambiguous and felt a need for a strong deterrent power vis-à-vis China, even though they still feel that it is unfair that so many US bases are concentrated in Okinawa.”

Just 45 per cent of eligible voters turned out for the Sunday election, a record low for an assembly election in the prefecture and significantly below the previous record low of 47 per cent.

Tamaki’s coalition held 24 seats in the chamber ahead of the vote, the same as the LDP-led opposition. The opposition won four seats, giving it control of the chamber for the first time since 2008.

That gives the LDP the power to frustrate any new efforts by Tamaki to halt or delay the transfer of US forces to Camp Schwab in the northeast of the main island, and effectively ends any suggestion that bases and US personnel might be moved to mainland Japan.

The LDP’s win came after its national approval rating declined from 24 per cent in May to 19 per cent this month, according to a survey published by the Asahi newspaper on Monday.

“Security and the Taiwan situation are clearly critical issues for constituents,” said Hiromi Murakami, a professor of political science at the Tokyo campus of Temple University, adding that some voters fear a degradation in the prefecture’s defences if parties that are staunchly against the bases are in power.

“This does not mean that they fully support the LDP, but they are playing the two sides off against each other to try to get the most they can,” she said.

Shinako Oyakawa, a rights activist for indigenous Okinawans and a supporter of Tamaki, expressed “deep disappointment” in the election result, and partly blamed the defeat on poor voter turnout due to heavy rain and flooding.

“The LDP did not even mention the base transfer issue during the campaign but instead focused on the economy, education and similar issues – which meant they were effectively hiding the problem of the bases,” she said.

She added that despite Tamaki’s loss, “half of the people of Okinawa still question the need to expand the bases and the military”.

South China’s Guilin city hit by worst floods since 1998 devastation

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3267315/south-chinas-guilin-city-hit-worst-floods-1998-devastation?utm_source=rss_feed

The city of Guilin is experiencing its worst floods since 1998, with villagers trapped in their homes, shops under water and one railway station suspended as heavy rainfall continues to batter southern China.

Authorities in Guilin issued a level-1 flood emergency alert on Wednesday morning. By that evening, water levels at the city’s section of the Lijiang River had risen to 148.55 metres (487ft) – 2.55 metres (just over 8ft) beyond the alert level, and just over the 1998 peak of 148.4 metres, state broadcaster CCTV said.

The devastating floods of 1998 lasted two months and wreaked havoc on 24 provinces. A total of 3,004 people were killed and another 220 million were affected, with countless homes destroyed.

According to CCTV, multiple parts of Guilin, in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, are affected by the latest rains. So far, 69 residents have been rescued from their homes by boat, while others remain trapped.

Local authorities have sent food and emergency materials to those still in their homes and confirmed that they are temporarily out of danger, CCTV said.

Schools and buses have been suspended and some tourist spots are closed. Local traffic police said on Wednesday that multiple roads were flooded and one expressway had partially collapsed. Traffic control is in operation and repairs could take three months.

Rail passengers were advised to use Guilin North station, after the main Guilin station’s public square was flooded. On Thursday, Guilin station said on social media platform Weibo that some trains were suspended while others will be running late.

The rainstorms which have lashed the region and caused flooding in neighbouring Guangdong and Fujian provinces are expected to ease over the next few days, the weather bureau said. However, Guilin can expect at least two more days of heavy rainfall.

At least nine people are dead and hundreds have been left homeless in southern China. On Monday evening, Guangxi raised an orange alert – the second highest warning level – as the rainstorms moved north and west.

JPMorgan’s China bear turns bullish, finds ‘20 to 25 pc upside’ in nation’s tech stocks

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3267304/china-tech-stocks-are-back-favour-sceptic-who-had-questioned-their-investibility?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese tech shares have raced ahead of earnings, and investors expect companies to deliver in an improving economy before buying more stock, according to an analyst who once questioned the sector’s investibility.

“We are still looking at roughly 20 per cent to 25 per cent of share price upside,” given improving cost structure and less aggressive competition, said Alex Yao, co-head of Asia TMT research at JPMorgan Chase. Yao had called a bottom for the sector in an April report.

Yao’s change in tone on China’s tech sector underscores how sceptics are returning to the world’s second-biggest stock market after years of underperformance. Bellwethers like Tencent Holdings have led the rebound as Beijing pivoted from a wide regulatory crackdown to focus on policies to bolster the economy.

“The top-down view is that if macro recovers, then the e-commerce names will benefit from the cyclical recovery of consumption,” Yao said in an interview last week. “This time the theme is China macro stabilisation.”

Investors have been closely watching data coming out of China – including consumption growth, inflation and developments in the property market – for clues on the strength of its economic recovery.

“Macro indicators which are showing early indication of a stabilisation” have been the main driver of the sector’s rally year to date, and will be a key factor for future share price trends, he said.

China’s growth remains highly uneven. The country’s housing slump deepened in May and industrial output fell short of forecasts. Still, improving consumption and strong exports offer some encouragement for traders.

Yao surprised the market two years ago when he downgraded 28 firms, including Tencent and Alibaba Group Holding, saying the sector was not investible amid geopolitical and regulatory risks. While he lifted ratings on some of the stocks just two months later, the term “uninvestible” has since become a closely associated catchphrase.

To be sure, any rebound in tech shares may be volatile given that sentiment in Chinese stocks remain weak. Investors are also worried about the potential impact of geopolitical risks and a burgeoning price war in China’s nascent artificial intelligence market. A gauge of Chinese tech shares recently entered a technical correction.

“If the sector is able to grow their earnings at, let’s say, teens or even twenties, over the long run, I think people should reward those corporates for the earnings sustainability,” Yao said.

Even if jobs are scarce in China, they should offer more than stability

https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3267065/even-if-jobs-are-scarce-china-they-should-offer-more-stability?utm_source=rss_feed

Contrary to popular belief, not everyone enjoys the stability of having a civil service job in China. A Chinese graduate surnamed Gu, who has a master’s degree in German literature from Wuhan University, said in a now-deleted post earlier this month that she only accepted the job posting to remote Jiayuguan in Gansu province, at the entrance to the Gobi in western China, because of family pressure.

She described the location as “a backward small county”. She said she was trapped in the industrial city dominated by iron and steel industries and worried she had “sold her freedom and soul”.

Her comments triggered an immediate backlash online, with people accusing her of “arrogance”, “immaturity” and “lacking professional ethics”. One commentary from Shanghai-based outlet The Paper said the central problem was that Gu’s goal in life was never to join the civil service. Being a civil servant isn’t merely a job, it said.

“Someone has to sacrifice, has to lay down some roots and be close to the people,” the commentary said. “If you took the civil service test with an opportunist mindset and utilitarian goals, then you wouldn’t be able to do the job well and wouldn’t be able to contribute to society.”

Jiayuguan authorities said they had granted Gu permission to leave the post.

Traditionally, becoming a civil servant is regarded as a high honour in Chinese society. The job comes with security – you rarely get fired, and you receive benefits including social welfare, housing subsidies, holidays and medical insurance. There are no such assurances at a private company, even though it is required by law. Many have fondly dubbed civil service jobs as an “iron rice bowl”.

Amid the economic downturn, even more people are taking the civil service exam these days. According to Xinhua, more than 1.7 million people submitted applications for the 2024 exams, 22,000 more than last year, and only 39,600 of them will be accepted.

There has long been debate over whether to choose security or follow one’s heart. The pitfalls of having a civil service job are well known: worse pay than in the private sector, little to no career development, bureaucratic procedures, boredom and often doing jobs unrelated to your degree.

The amount of harsh criticism directed at Gu is surprising, given that there is already so much discussion around the merits and drawbacks of civil service jobs. One reason may be that she had landed a highly coveted position, only to complain about it and quit, at a time when jobs can be difficult to find. Another reason might be that people saw her as condescending in her complaints, describing Jiayuguan as backwards and giving the impression she would be better off elsewhere.

However, it’s not all Gu’s fault. People might say she should have thought long and hard before choosing the job, or that she should have accepted the consequences – such as the unappealing aspects – and have been prepared to serve the people if she accepted a government job.

But what people haven’t mentioned is why a German literature student was forced to take a job that had nothing to do with what she had studied. Why did her parents think this was best for her? Were there other job options that wouldn’t have made her feel so trapped?

I don’t deny that someone should be fully prepared if they take the civil service exam. They should be ready to serve, have researched the posts they are applying for, and have an understanding of the daily tasks involved and the living conditions they will face, such as being out in remote areas lacking decent internet connections or proper heating in winter.

In discussions about jobs in China today, more focus is on stability and the benefits of employment while the civil service is lauded as “serving the people” and “serving the country”. There is also the misconception that being a civil servant means you don’t do much other than sit in an office and read newspapers or reports.

This year, several universities have taken the first step to correct this and are calling for graduates to set their sights beyond just taking the civil service exam and to try to find jobs in a variety of areas, such as with small or micro enterprises, or seek work in less-populated areas.

But this trend cannot be corrected by the students alone. They must be given more opportunities to overcome the challenges they face.

Ukraine peace summit is a ‘success’, China key to ending war: ambassador to Singapore

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3267263/ukraine-peace-summit-success-china-key-ending-war-ambassador-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed

A senior Ukrainian diplomat has called the recently concluded peace summit in Switzerland a “success” despite the absence of many Asian countries, including China, stressing that Beijing is an important player that could help end Ukraine’s war with Russia.

“All continents were represented from 100 delegations, this is a clear number of states sending a clear signal to Moscow that the world does not tolerate Russia’s violation of international law, the UN Charter and the principles of the rules-based order,” said Kateryna Zelenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to Singapore.

Speaking to This Week in Asia in an exclusive interview on Wednesday, Zelenko said: “Of course, it was a [diplomatic] success. The fact that the summit took place is a milestone in the entire peaceful process, finding ways for just, lasting and comprehensive peace for Ukraine.”

Zelenko’s comments come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a passionate plea for global support of the peace summit during a surprise stop in Singapore at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a major security event, earlier this month.

The ambassador also stressed that her country “does not and has never seen China as its opponent”, but instead, wants to see Beijing as “its friend”, in response to a question about whether China had a hand in exerting Russian influence in Southeast Asia and if that deterred some regional countries from attending the summit.

Ukraine would consider participating in a Beijing-led peace summit with both warring sides present, so long as talks are based on the “rules and principles enshrined in the UN Charter [and] international law”, Zelenko said.

Before the summit in Switzerland, China said it would only participate in such an event if Ukraine and Russia were involved. Russia was reportedly not invited to attend the summit.

Following the summit, China partnered with Brazil to propose an alternative peace process that included the participation of Russia and Ukraine.

Of the 92 countries that sent delegates to the two-day summit in Switzerland last weekend, only eight were from Asia including Thailand, East Timor, Singapore, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea.

Observers said previously the summit was intended to be “pro-Ukraine and not pro-Russia” and that some Asian states attended the event over fears of “missing the boat”.

Former Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen said his country’s decision not to attend the summit was in no way due to Chinese influence. In a Facebook post, the current president of the Cambodian Senate added that participation by countries at the event was “their right to decide”.

At the Shangri-La Dialogue on May 31 to June 2, Zelensky said: “We need the support of Asian countries. It is much needed … We want Asia to know what is going on in Ukraine, Asia to support the end of the war. We want Asian leaders to attend the peace summit.”

He added that he would judge the success of his surprise stop in Singapore on the “presence of representatives from Asia” at the summit in Switzerland. This marked his second visit to Asia since the start of the invasion in 2022.

Only three of Zelensky’s 10-point peace plan – nuclear security, food security and the return of prisoners of war and children abducted from Ukraine – were included in the summit’s final communique.

The Russian embassy in Singapore later slammed Zelensky’s visit to the Shangri-La Dialogue, describing it as a “bizarre” attempt to persuade the Global South to join the summit. The Kremlin has dismissed the summit’s “close to zero” outcome after it was held, saying such peace talks were futile without Russia’s involvement.

Zelenko on Wednesday said Ukraine was “grateful” for the participation of Asian countries in the summit, noting it was the first time that many attended such an event.

She urged the region not to “miss the broader picture” of the war in Ukraine, as a failure to resolve the conflict would come at a great price for the “weakest” states.

“It’s always the weakest who pay the ultimate price – the price of gold, the price of lack of some products on shelves, and many other things,” she said. “Many countries in Asia know how high the price of freedom is, and it is better to take leadership and to go for it than pay the price of doing nothing.”

“Making peace is never easy, it comes at a price, but the price of doing nothing is higher.”

Zelenko said there was room for deeper cooperation between Ukraine and Southeast Asia and hoped to see more involvement by people from the region in her country, including in post-war rebuilding projects.

“This full-scale war has brought so many true friends to Ukraine from this part of the world. We have seen so many unbelievable people who, when the war started, just went to the Polish border trying to accommodate refugees, to cook warm food for them, to look for warm clothes for children,” she said.

On Singapore’s response to the war, Zelenko praised the city state’s strong stance against Moscow since the early days of the Russian invasion in 2022.

“Singapore is a country that respects the territorial integrity of states, their political independence and their sovereignty. The clear response from Singapore’s side was a strong message delivered from the very beginning.”

Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sim Ann attended the summit, where she reiterated Singapore’s commitment to international law and support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In March 2022, Singapore imposed export controls on items that could be used as weapons in the Ukraine war and ordered financial institutions not to deal with a list of Russian entities.

Then-prime minister Lee Hsien Loong and other top officials have said that it was imperative for a small state like Singapore to stand up for principles that underpin its sovereignty and political independence.

While the recent summit was a hopeful step for Ukraine, Zelenko said there was still a long road ahead before the end of the war.

“The summit was kicking off the process of finding the ways for lasting peace in Ukraine. This is just the beginning. The work will follow with special groups and advisers and ministers devoted to different elements of the peace formula,” she said.

“We cannot address one issue without another, we cannot only focus on the release of prisoners of war without the withdrawal of troops, but all these elements will be discussed in the coming months.”

Chinese media in race to tap tech, AI amid financial crunch and fact-check push

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3267294/chinese-media-race-tap-tech-ai-amid-financial-crunch-and-fact-check-push?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s media industry is racing to embrace new technology for much-needed transformation, as operators look to become more financially sustainable while also stepping up fact-checking efforts.

This was the on-the-ground experience shared by most of the about 100 leaders in traditional and new media from Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China and Taiwan who gathered at a forum earlier this week, the first in seven years connecting the executives from the four places.

The media professionals met in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, to share their experience on the impact of the latest technology trends on the industry and how to cope with them.

Some operators from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau said they were caught between trying to tap into the opportunities of developments such as artificial intelligence (AI) while also balancing the risks and adapting to readers’ shifting behaviour.

But those on the mainland said they had overcome such barriers through trial and error, and they were keen to develop business models to make the use of such technology financially sustainable.

“Technology is a double-edged sword that has not only revolutionised media, but also the proliferation of misinformation and hence the difficulties in discerning misinformation,” said Professor Wang Runze, from Renmin University of China’s school of journalism and communication.

“Media practitioners should not rely too much on technologies, instead, they should return to the original value of media – to guide opinions.”

Macau Lotus Satellite TV Media director Li Zisong said there were both upsides and downsides.

“Some people say that this is the worst era because news has been hit by many new technologies. But this is also the best era because news companies can use new technologies to revive their operations and to expand their audience,” he said.

“We live in a world intertwined with both the virtual world and reality, there must be no fabrication and obscuring of information.”

Zhang Lei, deputy editor-in-chief of the mainland’s second-largest official news agency after Xinhua, China News Service, said content, technology and distribution channels were key.

“But the king of kings is a deep collaboration of all of these,” he said.

Taiwan-based Chinese Internet Channel Community Association chief and veteran media practitioner Jeff Ko said the self-ruled island’s political nature made misinformation so rampant that even official denials were regarded as fake on many occasions.

Hong Kong News Executives’ Association chairwoman Tammy Tam said a publication’s reputation and credibility were of top importance.

“Be an authoritative voice, which also means the potential to charge a higher advertising price,” said Tam, who is also the editor-in-chief of the Post.

Tam also presented the Post’s digitisation journey as a case study to the participants, emphasising how critical it is for the survival and development of the industry by embracing ever-evolving technology while maintaining journalistic integrity and professionalism.

The association was a co-organiser of the biannual “Symposium on Journalism in Mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau” alongside the mainland’s All-China Journalists Association, the Taiwan-based China Press Institute and the Associacao Dos Trabalhadores Da Communicacao Social De Macau.

Professor Clement So York-kee from the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s journalism and communication school called on reporters to embrace new technology, citizens to be more discerning over misinformation, media companies to restructure workflow and society to establish more fact-checking tools.

Privately owned news outlets also said they had a battle on their hands to be profitable amid the huge amount of free information easily available on social media.

Macau Daily News said it rolled out a host of initiatives to retain readers and tap new sources of income. The operator increased the amount of content it was producing, launched a mobile phone app and social media accounts, charged a fee for some content and expanded into the Greater Bay Area.

The bay area is Beijing’s plan to combine Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province into an economic powerhouse.

“Although the new sources of income are not as fruitful as traditional forms of advertising, it is the right direction for transformation,” said Ieong Kun Kit, the daily newspaper’s executive-associate.

Although most mainland media outlets are owned by the state, operators have to be financially sustainable and carve out their own business model.

Suzhou Broadcasting System, for example, was among the first batch of mainland firms to absorb smaller local players to become the only media conglomerate in their base city.

It also tailor-made its own operating system, which included using AI to produce broadcast materials, create graphics and publish news content.

According to editor-in-chief Guo Changxiong, the company initially spent years employing third-party engineers to create a platform, which was not used in the end.

“We ended up working out our own platform based on existing AI software, such as ChatGPT and OpenAI tools, which reduce staff workloads and enable employees to be deployed to other tasks such as coming up with ideas and verifying facts and content,” he said.

“So reporters decide content by giving the system a parameter – it’s not led by AI. AI is a tool not a leader.”

He said he did not think AI would replace reporters, and he believed it could unlock staff potential and manpower for higher-level jobs.

“Now, an employee can do jobs that used to be done by two to three people, and still have a life,” Guo said.

He added the company received no financial aid from the government, except that it was granted a site next to its headquarters to allow it to run some commercial activities to generate income and finance its media business.

The site was now occupied by a Hilton hotel, which yielded one-third of the group’s income, he said. Another one-third came from a portfolio of financial investments and the rest from the media operations.

Another example was Guangzhou-based Nan Fang Media Group, which not only designed its own software and operating systems, but also used the systems to run government websites, applications and social media.

These government services contributed 236 million yuan (US$32.5 million) or 90 per cent of the group’s total income last year, according to vice-president Hou Xiaojun.

“The government knows media companies will do a better job in explaining policies or public news to audiences and it is more cost effective to outsource the services to us,” he said.

China’s exports could go from economic asset to liability as trade tensions multiply, analysts say

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3267253/chinas-exports-could-go-economic-asset-liability-trade-tensions-multiply-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s reliance on exports presents a potential pitfall for economic growth this year as uncertainties multiply over trade conflicts with the US and Europe, analysts said at a forum held at Renmin University of China in Beijing on Wednesday.

Gross domestic product growth of 5.3 per cent was reported in the first quarter – beating expectations – but data from May revealed some lingering jitters. Exports and new energy investment were bright spots for the world’s second-largest economy last month, with consumption and the property market remaining weak links.

China’s exports rose by 7.6 per cent from a year earlier to US$302.4 billion in May, the highest monthly export value since September.

“Dependence on external demand poses a risk to economic growth in the second half of the year,” said Ding Shuang, chief Greater China economist at Standard Chartered Bank and a speaker at the forum.

Shan Hui, chief China economist at Goldman Sachs, estimated that 2.4 percentage points of the country’s first-quarter GDP growth came from exports. “In other words,” she said, “if there hadn’t been outstanding performance on the export side, the contribution of domestic demand was just three percentage points.”

Analysts at the forum said that China needs to be prepared for unpredictability in its growth outlook, thanks to trade tensions with the US and Europe that may intensify in the coming months.

“The trade friction between China and Europe may spread beyond new energy vehicles,” Ding said.

China announced an anti-dumping investigation into certain pork products from the European Union, a move which followed an EU decision to raise tariffs on electric vehicles from China by up to 38 per cent for a four-month period starting July 4.

As to what will happen at the end of that interval, Ding said it would depend “on further negotiations”, adding any question over a potential increase in tariffs is one of “magnitude”.

In May, Washington announced steep tariff rises on an array of Chinese imports worth US$18 billion. Some of the new tariffs will come into effect this year, while others would be phased in gradually in 2025 and 2026.

Shan said those tariffs’ impact on China’s economy this year would be limited, as the covered goods make up a relatively small proportion of the country’s overall exports.

“But if [former US president Donald] Trump is elected and imposes a 60 per cent tariff on all Chinese products as he said, the situation will be completely different,” Shan said. The Goldman Sachs economist estimated such a duty could shave off around 2 percentage points of China’s GDP. “This is a significant impact.”

Zu Baoliang, chief economist and researcher at the National Information Center – a think tank affiliated with the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planner – said lessons can be taken from Japan’s experience handling trade conflicts with the West.

The US and Japan had a series of trade disputes from the 1950s to the 1990s. During that time, both countries agreed to set a limit on the export volume of certain Japanese goods – a measure Zu said China can also examine.

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South China Sea: Philippines worries ‘friendly’ Vietnam’s reclamation could escalate row

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3267215/south-china-sea-philippines-frets-over-friendly-vietnams-reclamation-widening-row?utm_source=rss_feed

Vietnam’s reclamation activities in the South China Sea have put the Philippines on alert, with observers noting Hanoi’s actions could be a source of friction, even with Manila already in a complex maritime dispute with Beijing.

Last week, the Philippine navy said it was “monitoring” Vietnam’s island-building activities in the West Philippine Sea, part of the South China Sea that Manila considers within its exclusive economic zone.

“Vietnam does not initiate illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions against us, unlike China,” said Philippine navy spokesman Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad.

In a report this month, the Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said Vietnam had rapidly expanded its dredging and landfill operations in the South China Sea over the past six months.

Vietnam is “on pace for a record year of island building in 2024”, the report said, noting that Hanoi had added 692 acres (2.8 sq km) across 10 features in the Spratly Islands since November, roughly matching its efforts in the last two years.

The think tank said Vietnam had reclaimed around 2,360 acres of land, around half of China’s reclamation, a near 10-fold increase from three years ago.

John Bradford, executive director of the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies said Vietnam’s island-building showed the complexity of the disputes in the South China Sea where discussions often oversimplified the situation as China versus Southeast Asian, when Southeast Asian claimants also have their differences.

“[Vietnamese island-building] is not a direct threat to Manila’s sovereignty, and it is quite unlikely the Philippines-Vietnam relationship will boil to a crisis,” said Bradford, a former US navy officer.

Joshua Espeña, a resident fellow and vice-president of Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation think tank, said Vietnam’s activities do not pose a short-term security threat to Philippine interests given how little it has developed compared to China.

Hanoi would only pose a long-term security threat to Manila if the two countries fail to cultivate stronger ties and establish cooperative mechanisms, he said.

During Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s January visit to Vietnam, Hanoi and Manila agreed to boost coastguard cooperation and prevent incidents in the South China Sea.

It is in Vietnam’s strategic interest to work on its unilateral gains “silently without provoking others”, Espeña said, but it would be possible that the issue emerges as a source of friction if Manila does not develop its features in the South China Sea.

“But so far, Manila’s strategic calculus is fixed given the clear and present threat from China,” Espeña said, referring to the months-long naval skirmishes between Manila and Beijing in the South China Sea.

On Monday, a Philippine ship and a Chinese vessel collided after the Chinese coastguard accused the vessel of “illegally” entering waters near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal and “dangerously” approaching.

“The best option for Manila is to do what is best for now regarding China, while keeping an eye on Vietnam’s actions through other means like diplomacy and intelligence,” Espeña said.

Minh Phuong Vu, a PhD candidate in international relations at Australian National University’s Coral Bell School of Asia-Pacific Affairs, said that while Vietnam’s efforts to expand its outpost in the Spratly Islands have been rapid, these were not aimed at creating a new claim and are unlikely to be interpreted in the same way as similar efforts by China.

“Vietnam has been keeping to itself, it does not harass Filipino fishermen or seek to exert control over the Philippines’ occupied features”.

“There is little ground then to suspect that Vietnam’s expansion of its outpost will be used to threaten the Philippines,” Vu said, adding that potential concerns have more to do with the environmental or ecological impact of such activities.

Both countries view China as the largest threat, he said.

“There is nothing that China would like more than Southeast Asian claimant states divided and turning their protests towards each other instead of Beijing”.

An AMTI report in December said dredging and other maritime activities in the South China Sea have devastated coral reefs, with over 25 sq km of coral reef destroyed and China responsible for three quarters of the damage.

Pham Ngoc Minh Trang, a research fellow at the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law in Germany, said Vietnam should take into account the Philippines’ concerns about the effects of land reclamation on the South China Sea’s marine environment.

“This issue can be negotiated and treated as a point of cooperation between Hanoi and Manila, who have friendly relationships with each other.”

Filipino activist and opinion columnist Rigoberto D. Tiglao on June 10 described Vietnam as the “other threat in the South China Sea”.

Last August, Filipino protesters tore up the Vietnamese flag in front of the Vietnamese embassy in Manila after local media reported Hanoi’s alleged “militarisation” in the South China Sea.

How Chinese computing nerds cracked a linguistic conundrum | Culture

https://www.economist.com/culture/2024/06/13/how-chinese-computing-nerds-cracked-a-linguistic-conundrum

The Chinese Computer: A Global History of the Information Age. By Thomas Mullaney. MIT Press; 376 pages; $34.95 and £32

The National Chinese Characters Typing Competition is rarely cause for excitement, but in 2013 it was. Huang Zhenyu, a student, produced 222 characters per minute, or 3.7 per second, the equivalent of someone typing more than 200 words per minute in English. (The average typist manages about 40 English words per minute.) Mr Huang’s performance was a dramatic moment in one of the Chinese-speaking world’s long-running challenges: how to use the 26 letters on the Western QWERTY keyboard to type thousands of Chinese characters.

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China has become a scientific superpower | Science & technology

https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/06/12/china-has-become-a-scientific-superpower

In the atrium of a research building at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing is a wall of patents. Around five metres wide and two storeys high, the wall displays 192 certificates, positioned in neat rows and tastefully lit from behind. At ground level, behind a velvet rope, an array of glass jars contain the innovations that the patents protect: seeds.

CAS—the world’s largest research organisation—and institutions around China produce a huge amount of research into the biology of food crops. In the past few years Chinese scientists have discovered a gene that, when removed, boosts the length and weight of wheat grains, another that improves the ability of crops like sorghum and millet to grow in salty soils and one that can increase the yield of maize by around 10%. In autumn last year, farmers in Guizhou completed the second harvest of genetically modified giant rice that was developed by scientists at CAS.

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China’s currency is not as influential as once imagined | Finance & economics

https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2024/06/13/chinas-currency-is-not-as-influential-as-once-imagined

Chinese officials seem pleased with the yuan’s recent progress as a global currency. The international monetary system is diversifying at an accelerating pace, said Pan Gongsheng, the governor of China’s central bank, in March. The yuan has become the fourth-most active currency in global payments, he noted. In trade finance, it now ranks third. And according to the central bank’s data, about half of China’s transactions with the rest of the world (for financial assets, as well as goods) are now settled in yuan.

Despite these gains, the yuan’s global position still looks modest compared with past expectations. In the wake of the financial crisis of 2007-09 it was easy to imagine a bigger role. In 2008 Fred Hu, then of Goldman Sachs, predicted the yuan would account for 15-20% of foreign-exchange reserves by 2020. More memorably, “Super Sad True Love Story”, a novel written by Gary Shteyngart and published in 2010, imagined a dystopian future in which a tottering America had pegged the crumpled dollar to the mighty yuan.

China is distorting its stockmarket by trying to prop it up | Finance & economics

https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2024/06/10/china-is-distorting-its-stockmarket-by-trying-to-prop-it-up

Investors in China’s stockmarket have been doing handsomely this year. The Shanghai composite index has risen by 12% from a multi-year low in February, notwithstanding a recent drop. Equity analysts and state media alike are cheering. For Xi Jinping, China’s leader, the rally was a relief, since retail investors own at least 80% of the market. A previous rout hurt them badly, adding to anxieties about the country’s future. To many, the recovery reflected good governance and fortune.

Part of the rally came from the purchase of tens of billions of dollars’ worth of shares by the “national team”, a group of state-owned institutions that ride to the rescue when China’s markets wobble. For Mr Xi, the bill may appear worth it. But the state has also tinkered with the market in other, more destructive ways. In an effort to boost share prices, it has put an end to a bonanza in initial public offerings (IPOs). With fewer exit opportunities for private investors, state capital has become more dominant. The danger is that these distortions will crimp the growth of China’s most innovative firms.

The EU hits China’s carmakers with hefty new tariffs | Business

https://www.economist.com/business/2024/06/12/the-eu-hits-chinas-carmakers-with-hefty-new-tariffs

One satisfaction of buying a new car is the distinctive aroma within. The smell that emanates from the Chinese electric vehicles (evs) that are increasingly common on Europe’s roads is, for the European Commission, that of a rat. On June 12th, after an eight-month probe, the EU’s executive arm accused China of unfairly subsidising its industry with tax breaks, cheap loans and the like. It fears that cut-price imports pose a “clearly foreseeable and imminent injury” to European carmakers. Provisional tariffs of between 26% and 48%, compared with 10% for other imported cars, will be imposed from July on Chinese evs. The precise duty will depend on each firm’s willingness to assist the investigation.

In the short term, it is hard to sniff out a winner. Car buyers hoping to inhale the intoxicating new-car odour will certainly suffer if the prices of imported cars rise and competitive pressures on European firms ease. But Europe’s carmakers are not taking a victory lap, either. They did not ask for the probe, which was launched under pressure from France’s government. German companies such as Volkswagen and BMW, which make lots of cars in China and export plenty there, have been particularly vocal opponents. Now they fear retaliation from Beijing, which looks inevitable.

A price war breaks out among China’s AI-model builders | Business

https://www.economist.com/business/2024/06/13/a-price-war-breaks-out-among-chinas-ai-model-builders

PRICE WARS are ten a penny in China. The emergence of hundreds of lookalike companies seemingly overnight is pushing down retail prices of everything from electric vehicles to bike-sharing and bubble tea. The latest products to enter the ruinous fray are artificial-intelligence (AI) chatbots. This may seem surprising. Until recently China’s problem was not a surfeit of large language models (LLMs), the sort that makes ChatGPT a humanlike content-creator, but their dearth. At the start of 2023 experts reckoned that the Chinese LLMs that did exist were a decade behind the American cutting edge.

The new front in China’s cyber campaign against America | International

https://www.economist.com/international/2024/06/13/the-new-front-in-chinas-cyber-campaign-against-america

THE ISLAND of Guam, a tiny American territory that lies more than 6,000km west of Hawaii, has long known that it would take a battering in any Sino-American war. The island’s expanding airfields and ports serve as springboards for American ships, subs and bombers. In the opening hours of a conflict, these would be subject to wave after wave of Chinese missiles. But an advance party of attackers seems to have lurked quietly within Guam’s infrastructure for years. In mid-2021 a Chinese hacking group—later dubbed Volt Typhoon—burrowed deep inside the island’s communication systems. The intrusions had no obvious utility for espionage. They were intended, as America’s government would later conclude, for “disruptive or destructive cyber-attacks against…critical infrastructure in the event of a major crisis or conflict”. Sabotage, in short.

For many years, Sino-American skirmishing in the cyber domain was largely about stealing secrets. In 2013 Edward Snowden, a contractor, revealed that the National Security Agency (nsa), America’s signals-intelligence agency, had targeted Chinese mobile-phone firms, universities and undersea cables. China, in turn, has spent decades stealing vast quantities of intellectual property from American firms, a process that Keith Alexander, then head of the NSA, once called the “greatest transfer of wealth in history”. In recent years this dynamic has changed. Chinese cyber-espionage has continued, but its operations have also grown more ambitious and aggressive. Russia, too, has intensified its cyber-activities in Ukraine, with Russia-linked groups also targeting water facilities in Europe. These campaigns hint at a new era of wartime cyber-sabotage.

China is going crazy for durians | China

https://www.economist.com/china/2024/06/13/china-is-going-crazy-for-durians

ERIC CHAN has long sold durians, a pungent fruit, to South-East Asians. Now he is eyeing a bigger prize. The Musang King variety that he cultivates in Malaysia is beloved by Chinese consumers. But at the moment his country only has permission to export frozen durians to China, where many want them fresh. In total, Chinese foodies gobbled up $6.7bn-worth of imported fresh durians last year, up from $4bn in 2022 and $1.6bn in 2019, the year durians overtook cherries as China’s largest fresh-fruit import by value.

Apart from a love of the fruit, two shifts help to explain China’s increasing appetite for durians. The first is the growth of the country’s middle class. More and more Chinese are able to afford durians, which are not cheap. An average one from Thailand, the supplier of much of China’s stock, can sell for around 150 yuan ($20). The Musang King variety can fetch up to 500 yuan each. (A durian is often big enough to be shared by two people.)

Li Qiang and China look to make up with Australia | China

https://www.economist.com/china/2024/06/13/li-qiang-and-china-look-to-make-up-with-australia

“My government is pro-panda,” said Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, as he prepared to host the highest-ranking Chinese visitor to his country in seven years. Mr Albanese was simply referring to the bears that China has lent to Australia’s Adelaide Zoo. Still, such sound-bites had long been rare before he was elected in 2022. Relations between China and Australia had suffered years of acrimony. The mood is now much changed. During his four-day trip to Australia, beginning on June 15th, China’s prime minister, Li Qiang, will be keen to show that even with one of America’s closest allies, cordial ties are possible.

In China’s political hierarchy, Mr Li is a distant number two to the president, Xi Jinping, who last visited Australia a decade ago. But his trip has much symbolic importance. Under Australia’s previous governments, China hawks held sway. Relations turned particularly sour in 2017 when the prime minister at the time, Malcolm Turnbull, tried to clamp down on Chinese attempts to exert covert influence in Australia. He introduced laws aimed at curbing this. In 2018 he also took the lead among Western powers by banning Chinese involvement in the building of advanced 5G communications networks. His successor, Scott Morrison, infuriated China by calling for an international investigation into the origins of covid-19. China responded with sweeping restrictions on Australian exports to China. Mr Li’s visit is a clear sign that both countries want to move on.

Foreign judges are fed up with Hong Kong’s political environment | China

https://www.economist.com/china/2024/06/13/foreign-judges-are-fed-up-with-hong-kongs-political-environment

IT IS AN unusual arrangement, to be sure. Since its establishment in 1997, the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong has had both local and foreign judges on its bench. The set-up was part of the deal that handed the territory from Britain to China that year. The foreigners, who hold non-permanent seats, tend to have impressive legal backgrounds and come from other common-law jurisdictions, such as Britain, Australia and Canada. So they are accustomed to exercising judicial power “independently and free from any interference”, as laid out in the territory’s mini-constitution, called the Basic Law.

The court still operates largely as envisioned. But Hong Kong’s leaders are growing more oppressive, forcing the foreign judges to make a tough choice. Three out of ten on the Court of Final Appeal have resigned this month. Two British judges, Jonathan Sumption (pictured) and Lawrence Collins, jumped first, noting the deteriorating political situation. Days later a Canadian judge, Beverley McLachlin, said she would also depart, citing personal reasons. Lord Sumption, hitherto a defender of the role of foreign judges on the court, explained his thinking in the Financial Times. Most of Hong Kong’s judges are “honourable people with all the liberal instincts of the common law”, he wrote. “But they have to operate in an impossible political environment created by China.”

How worrying is the rapid rise of Chinese science? | Leaders

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/06/13/how-worrying-is-the-rapid-rise-of-chinese-science

IF THERE IS one thing the Chinese Communist Party and America’s security hawks agree on, it is that innovation is the secret to geopolitical, economic and military superiority. President Xi Jinping hopes that science and technology will help his country overtake America. Using a mix of export controls and sanctions, politicians in Washington are trying to prevent China from gaining a technological advantage.

America’s strategy is unlikely to work. As we report this week, Chinese science and innovation are making rapid progress. It is also misguided. If America wants to maintain its lead—and to get the most benefit from the research of China’s talented scientists—it would do better to focus less on keeping Chinese science down and more on pushing itself ahead.

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5 ways China can attract US students back to its universities again

https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3266928/5-ways-china-can-attract-us-students-back-its-universities-again?utm_source=rss_feed

Amid the turbulence of China-US relations, a stabilising force has stood the test of time: exchanges between people, particularly educational exchanges. International students are a bedrock of ties, their experiences fostering understanding and building vital bridges between the two nations.

As the world’s leading destination for international students, the US has long attracted Chinese students seeking a top-notch education and cross-cultural experiences.

The recent report on international talent mobility, by the Centre for China and Globalisation (CCG), highlights the pivotal role of the US in shaping global talent flows.

Despite geopolitical tensions, Chinese enthusiasm for an American education remains unabated. Last year, the number of Chinese students in the US rebounded to 77.7 per cent of the pre-pandemic level in 2019. China remained the largest source of international students in the US, according to CCG research. This shows the unwavering appeal of American universities.

But educational exchanges should not be a one-way street. As China continues on its development journey, it is imperative to attract more international students, especially from the US. While China has made strides in this regard, there is still room for improvement.

In a worrying trend, the number of Americans studying in China has plummeted in recent years. US ambassador to China Nicholas Burns revealed at a Brookings Institution talk last December that the figure had fallen to just 700, a sharp decline from the 15,000 recorded six or seven years ago. “Last year [2022], we were down to 350 American students in all of China,” he noted.

This year, we expect to see an increase in the number of American students coming to China, including at US-China partnership campuses such as the Duke Kunshan University, NYU Shanghai, Wenzhou-Kean University, Tianjin Juilliard School and Hopkins-Nanjing Centre.

But there is still a stark imbalance in educational exchanges and this underscores the need for China to enhance its appeal as a study destination. Doing so would not only enrich its higher education landscape but also contribute to more balanced and robust exchanges between the people of both countries.

To achieve this, China can draw inspiration from the CCG report’s recommendations and take steps to create a more welcoming environment for international students.

First, streamlining visa policies and application processes would make it easier for American students to study in China. Introducing more flexible visa categories, such as internship visas for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) students and talent visas for outstanding graduates, would incentivise more Americans to consider China as a study destination.

Second, China should strive to create a more inclusive environment for international students by encouraging an open and inclusive public attitude towards international students. It will deepen people’s understanding of their role in fostering cultural exchange, creating a more welcoming social environment.

Third, internationalising the curriculum and expanding English-taught programmes would cater to the needs and preferences of international students. Chinese universities should be encouraged to develop interdisciplinary and globally oriented courses that better align with the interests of American students.

Fourth, enhancing the living environment for international students is crucial. Efforts should be made to address practical challenges, such as facilitating mobile payments for foreigners and providing convenient internet access. Schools and communities can use their unique resource advantages to provide language training and cultural adaptation programmes for international students. Creating a more internationalised campus atmosphere and offering tailored support services would help international students feel more at home in China.

Fifth, promoting cultural exchange programmes and partnerships between Chinese and American universities would foster deeper understanding and collaboration. Encouraging joint research projects, faculty exchanges and student mobility programmes would create more opportunities for meaningful interactions between Chinese and American students.

While implementing these measures, China can also draw lessons from the US approach to attracting international students. The CCG report highlights the US strategy of offering scholarships, simplifying visa processes and providing employment opportunities for international graduates. By adopting similar practices and tailoring them to the Chinese context, China can enhance its competitiveness in the global race for talent.

Moreover, China’s recent efforts to boost international tourism provide a solid foundation for attracting more foreign students. In the first quarter of this year, inbound tourism in China exhibited a strong recovery, with more than four times as many foreign visitors as the same period last year, according to the National Immigration Administration.

The easing of travel restrictions and improvement of tourism infrastructure have made China a more accessible and appealing destination. Building upon these achievements, China can further develop its education tourism sector, showcasing its rich cultural heritage and modern advancements to potential international students.

As the CCG report emphasises, people-to-people exchanges are not only essential to promote understanding and friendship between nations but also to drive economic growth and innovation. By attracting more American students to study in China, the country can tap a diverse pool of talent, foster cross-cultural collaboration and contribute to the development of a more interconnected and cooperative world.

In a time of geopolitical challenges, educational exchanges serve as a powerful reminder of the shared aspirations and common humanity that bind us. By investing in exchanges and creating a more welcoming environment for international students, China can strengthen the ballast stone of its relationship with the US and pave the way to a brighter future of mutual understanding and cooperation.

PLA study suggests China’s Fire Dragon missiles could sink US warships

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3267237/pla-study-suggests-chinas-fire-dragon-missiles-could-sink-us-warships?utm_source=rss_feed

A Chinese tactical ballistic missile known as the Fire Dragon 480 that has been exported to the Middle East would be capable of sinking a US cruiser patrolling the Red Sea, according to a computer simulation run by the People’s Liberation Army.

With close coordination of a swarm of drones and the adoption of new tactics, an average of six of these long-range guided rockets would be needed to destroy a large US warship, according to a peer-reviewed paper published in the academic journal Command Control & Simulation on May 15.

In Yemen, the Houthis have been targeting shipping in the Red Sea, actions the Iranian-backed group says are intended to stop supplies of weapons and other equipment to Israel following its assault on Gaza.

The group has struck a number of cargo ships, including a Chinese-owned tanker, and lately, their targets have broadened to include the US aircraft carrier strike group stationed in the region.

The Houthis have employed a diverse array of attack methods, including ballistic missiles, drones, and anti-ship cruise missiles.

These assaults have imposed considerable strain on US sailors, yet there is no evidence that it has caused any damage to the US Navy.

The Fire Dragon 480, a long-range rocket exclusively produced for export by Norinco Group, is widely recognised as a tactical ballistic missile due to its precision-guided sensors, enabling it to strike moving targets with high accuracy.

“Its warhead surpasses the 400kg mark, significantly outweighing that of a conventional anti-ship missile. Moreover, its impact velocity exceeds 500 metres (1,640 feet) per second, ensuring that a 10,000-tonne cruiser would be destroyed upon being struck by just two of these missiles,” Li Jiangjiang, a scientist with the PLA’s 92228 unit, wrote in the paper.

So far the only publicly disclosed records of the weapon being exported is a US$245 million deal with the United Arab Emirates, which joined the Saudi-led coalition fighting against the Houthis in Yemen.

It is commonly believed that the Fire Dragon 480’s range may be restricted to 290km (180 miles), Li wrote in the paper that in practical applications, its attack range could exceed 500km.

The rocket can be launched from a high-speed mobile wheeled platform designed to withstand harsh environments, making them relatively straightforward and cost-effective weapons.

However, when pitted against US warships equipped with robust defence systems, it is generally assumed that such attacks would prove ineffective.

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier and its escort group are patrolling the Red Sea. The group includes the USS Philippine Sea, a Ticonderoga-class cruiser, the type used in the PLA simulation.

According to Li’s paper, it is armed with two Mk41 vertical launch systems, capable of firing more than 200 air defence missiles, including the Standard 6 and Sea Sparrow.

In the military war game simulation, 12 Fire Dragon 480 rockets were launched to attack two Ticonderoga-class cruisers.

Before the engagement, the operators of the rockets had access to low-precision satellite imagery, allowing them to make a rough estimation of the US warships’ positions. Upon reaching the target area, the rockets fired up their on board sensors to search for targets and fine-tune their trajectories accordingly.

In response, the Ticonderoga-class cruisers launched numerous air defence missiles and activated the Phalanx close-in weapon system.

Among these missiles, the Standard 6, with a range of 240km, achieved a 71 pert cent hit rate, while the shorter-range Sea Sparrow missile had a 44 per cent hit rate.

As the smoke cleared, one of the cruisers sank.

In an alternative scenario, scientists substituted the warheads of eight rockets with “swarm warheads”, each housing six drones.

As these modified rockets neared the US fleet, they slowed down and released their drone payloads. The objective of these drone swarms was to divert the cruisers’ air defence firepower and provide more precise target coordinates for a second wave of rocket attacks.

“Once the long-range rockets have completed their assaults, the swarm proceeds to launch a direct attack on any remaining enemy vessels,” Li said.

After numerous rounds of simulations, scientists estimated that the survival rate of the two Ticonderoga-class cruisers under this tactic was close to zero.

According to Li, drones used for swarm attacks can be of the Switchblade 600 variety or similar models. With an operational radius of more than 40km, these drones are cost-effective and readily available on the international market.

These drones are vulnerable to near-defence systems such as the Phalanx. However, when integrated with long-range rockets, they pose a significant threat to warships, according to Li.

For the Fire Dragon 480 and its accompanying drone swarm tactics to reach their full potential, China’s long-range rocket launcher system needs to receive some technological upgrades and modifications, according to the study.

Anti-interference abilities and heterogeneous data links between the rockets and drones must also be strengthened to meet the demands of actual combat.

Meanwhile the US is gradually decommissioning its Ticonderoga-class cruisers in favour of more modern ships, with the last one due to be retired in 2027.