Mistral点评

• China should prioritise firms over revenue amid decades-old tax bills saga: academic
• Chinese military focusing on nuclear-powered subs with eye on US Navy: analysts
• In message to China, India to rename 30 places in Tibet as bilateral ties hit new snag
• Tech war: Huawei sees HarmonyOS breaking the dominance of Android and Apple’s iOS in China
• South China Sea: 4 Chinese Navy ships spotted by Philippines may pave way for big clash
• Tax concerns persist for China actress Fan Bingbing despite new Malaysian tourism envoy role
• China calls the US a ‘competitor’ in moon race for first time, from a position of strength
• China’s excess solar capacity a product of tech transition, market forces, energy official says
• China needs to work for more ‘visible’ deliverables before US presidential election: expert
• China tourists abandoned at sea on diving trip forced to make 2-hour swim to shore
• Historic flooding in southern China kills 47, with more floods feared in coming days
• South China Sea: Philippines advised to stake claim on disputed shoal with civilian site
• China mother, 62, carries paralysed son, 34, on back for years, uses walking aid to train him
• Amid US rivalry, is China’s gamble in the Middle East paying off?
• China aims to solve property puzzle with affordable housing push, but debt cloud remains
• China’s anti-spying agency warns drone users not to let state secrets leak
• Russia-North Korea pact could dent China’s influence, but Beijing still holds sway over both
• China’s first industrial nuclear-powered steam generation project goes on line
• China-US meeting agrees to scientist exchanges to keep up with synthetic narcotic trade
• The many faces of China maths genius Liu Zhiyu, 35, monk, husband, businessman, thinker
• South Korean police arrest hotel receptionist accused of raping Chinese tourist in Jeju
• [Sport] Firm fined for selling China-made cars as Italian
• Australia urges China to restart defence talks to avoid military incidents
• US drops claims that TikTok misled users over Chinese access in privacy lawsuit
• China’s historic Huangshan city flooded as devastating rains move north
• Stronger monetary, fiscal policy coordination urged as China’s treasury-bond trade nears
• New York, London could ‘show China the way’ to a climate-proof future
• South China Sea collision, AI-powered sexbots, Malaysian ‘ghost marriage’: 7 highlights
• Is China being short-changed by a UK-based science ranking index? It depends who you ask
• Chinese EV firms urge Beijing take ‘most stringent’ measures against EU, allege ‘snooping’
• Italy issues US$6.4 million fine over Chinese cars badged as Italian
• US lawmakers meeting Modi after Dalai Lama signals New Delhi shift on China: analysts
• China’s third plenum: few ‘bold’ moves in store but analysts watch for structural reforms as Xi’s vision leads the way

China should prioritise firms over revenue amid decades-old tax bills saga: academic

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3267572/china-should-prioritise-firms-over-revenue-amid-decades-old-tax-bills-saga-academic?utm_source=rss_feed

A denial by China’s tax authority that it would launch a national investigation after several listed firms were asked to pay decades-old overdue taxes underscores public concerns over local government debt woes and weak confidence among businesses, analysts said.

Reports by Chinese media in recent weeks highlighted that several listed firms had been asked by local governments to pay tax bills dating back as far as the 1990s.

Speculation subsequently arose that some authorities might be looking to punish companies for overdue tax or misconduct amid mounting fiscal stress.

Hua Sheng, a professor with Southeast University, said that the speculation reflected some concerns among businesses, especially in the private sector, over weakening local government finances.

“The current economic and employment pressures are very high. All policies in all regions should be highly consistent with the central government’s spirit,” Hua said on his Weibo social media account on Friday.

“We should not prioritise small profits over disruption of enterprises and markets.”

The State Taxation Administration said on Tuesday that it would continue to improve taxation enforcement, with efforts to be made in enforcement and cracking down on tax evasion.

“The tax department hasn’t carried out national, industry-specific or centralised tax investigations, and there is not such any arrangement for probes going back 20 or 30 years,” the tax authority said.

“These cases are routine, lawful, and regulatory duties performed by the tax authority.”

The statement came after a number of Chinese listed firms said that they had received demands to pay tens of millions in back taxes, forcing some to warn investors the bills could impact their earnings.

VV Food & Beverage said in an exchange filing last week that a previously controlled liquor-making unit was told to pay 85 million yuan (US$11.7 million) on income it had “failed to disclose” for about 15 years starting in 1994.

“In the era of big data, tax evasion and tax avoidance behaviours that may have existed in the past are now easier to detect,” Min Qiurui, a consultant with the Chongqing-based Bi Xin Tian Cheng tax advisory firm, said in a commentary on her firm’s WeChat social media account on Wednesday.

“Companies should consciously abide by tax laws and regulations and conduct risk assessments regularly to avoid tax risks.”

Scholars have called for new sources of income for China’s local governments, which are facing unprecedented pressure to expand revenues because economic growth is slowing and the contracting real estate market has sent income from land sales plunging.

Their already elevated debt stockpile is limiting their ability to leverage up, while the central government has pledged to borrow more and give the funds to local authorities.

The proportion of local government revenue from non-tax income, which includes fines and seized assets, has risen significantly for many local authorities, raising concerns that such revenue growth is a reflection of a deteriorating business environment.

In cash-strapped regions such as Guizhou, Jilin and Yunnan, the proportion of fines and confiscations within their overall fiscal revenues in 2023 grew to more than 4 per cent, according to Hebei Capital Research Association, an institute affiliated with the provincial government.

In the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, the proportion was 7.74 per cent, the association said on Wednesday.

S&P Global Ratings expected a lengthy delay to the revenue recovery at local governments in the coming months.

“If China continues to roll out aggressive tax relief programmes to support economic development, or continued property woes further squeeze fiscal resources, local and regional governments’ debt control effort could be compromised. More tail risk would come to light,” the rating agency said last week.

Chinese military focusing on nuclear-powered subs with eye on US Navy: analysts

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3267590/chinese-military-focusing-nuclear-powered-subs-eye-us-navy-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s increased focus on nuclear-powered submarines is aimed at boosting long-distance naval combat and deterrence power amid growing risks of high-seas confrontation with the US, according to military analysts.

The People’s Liberation Army has for the first time publicly acknowledged a strategic shift away from conventional submarines, as Beijing pushes to build a modernised military by 2027.

“The current development of China’s submarine fleet is dual-capable, both nuclear-powered and conventional, with a focus on nuclear capabilities,” Wen Xuexing, a member of a PLA Navy submarine unit, told state broadcaster CCTV.

“Our nuclear submarines are routinely patrolling at sea,” Wen told a CCTV programme to mark the 70th anniversary of the navy’s submarine force on Wednesday.

The submarine force had achieved “historic breakthroughs” in torpedo attacks and missile attacks, strengthening its combat capabilities, Wen said.

“We can reach regions farther away and we are more confident in our mission.”

As Beijing ramps up efforts to boost its strategic defence capabilities, it has also ordered the PLA Navy to strengthen battle readiness.

Yue Gang, a retired PLA colonel, said the submarine force move was part of the navy’s drive to increase long-distance and multiple-combat strength.

“The ability of conventional submarines to dive persistently at sea is limited. These can only conduct near-sea operations, while nuclear-powered submarines are capable of staying submerged for prolonged periods and can therefore complement the PLA’s pelagic formations,” he said.

“Moreover, the submarine of the future needs to be a multipurpose weapon … so it will require a powerful drive. The conventional sub would find it hard to meet the power demand.”

The PLA Navy has six nuclear-powered Type 094 ballistic missile submarines, including two advanced Type 094A variants, and six nuclear-powered Type 093 attack submarines, according to the Pentagon.

The Type 094 can fire JL-2 submarine-launched ballistic missiles which, the Pentagon said, could reach the US mainland if operated from the mid-Pacific.

The Type 094A improves upon this with the potential for 16 launch tubes and the enhanced JL-2A missile, possibly capable of reaching the entire United States from China’s shores, according to a report last year from the Belgium-based Army Recognition Group, a defence advisory agency.

Research published by the US Naval War College last year said there was mounting evidence that China’s Type 096 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine was likely to be in operation before the end of the decade.

The new submarine will fix its noise problem, a key issue for China’s nuclear submarines, and would be comparable with state-of-the-art Russian submarines in terms of stealth, sensors and weapons, the college said.

Yue added that only nuclear-powered submarines were capable of keeping up with aircraft carriers at full speed, which meant developing them could effectively strengthen the PLA Navy’s carrier formations.

China has two aircraft carriers in service, the Liaoning and Shandong, while a third one – the Fujian- is still undergoing trials.

A fourth carrier, to be unveiled soon, is widely believed to be nuclear-powered, but Beijing has yet to confirm this.

Song Zhongping, a former instructor for the PLA, said China’s nuclear-oriented submarine force was seen as “a move towards an ocean-going and strategic navy with the heavy presence of aircraft carrier formations”, which was “a major shift in China’s naval strategy”.

“It is inevitable that we need to strengthen our nuclear capability and our naval capability … The international situation is changing rapidly, and it is all the more necessary for us to strengthen our self-respect and our security capabilities,” Song said.

The strategic change comes as China faces a deteriorating maritime security situation and potential stand-offs with nuclear-powered navies such as the US, particularly in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.

Beijing’s extensive territorial claims in the South China Sea overlap with those of several neighbours, including the Philippines, which has been involved in a string of clashes over the past year with the Chinese coastguard.

Washington has deployed five nuclear-powered submarines in its Pacific Ocean territory Guam.

Yue, the former PLA colonel, said this was to “provide nuclear deterrence for the first island chain”, which includes Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines.

Both Japan and the Philippines are US treaty allies, while Washington is Taiwan’s biggest backer and arms supplier.

US nuclear-powered submarines are known to patrol the South China Sea and the Sea of Japan.

Yue, the former PLA colonel, added that the growing need for nuclear deterrence meant China needed to develop effective “dual nuclear” capabilities, that is, both nuclear-powered submarines and missiles equipped with nuclear warheads.

Such a “dual nuclear” capability was publicised in April, when the Chinese navy released rare footage of the launch of a JL-2 ballistic missile from a Type 094A sub.

The clip was part of a video showing China’s Shandong aircraft carrier fleet, including four submarines, carrying out simulated exercises in an undisclosed location.

The video, released to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the PLA Navy, came just ahead of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to China and just weeks before the inauguration of Taiwan’s new independence-leaning leader, William Lai Ching-te.

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

On Tuesday, a PLA Navy nuclear-powered submarine also showed up in the Taiwan Strait, just west of the median line separating Taiwan from mainland China. The sighting was about 200km (120 miles) from the island’s west coast.

In message to China, India to rename 30 places in Tibet as bilateral ties hit new snag

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3267589/message-china-india-rename-30-places-tibet-bilateral-ties-hit-new-snag?utm_source=rss_feed

India is reportedly planning to rename a number of locations in China’s Tibet region in response to Beijing issuing official Chinese names for several places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, both regions in which the two countries have overlapping territorial claims.

Experts say the renaming plan highlights India’s resolve to counter China’s efforts to assert control over the disputed region, indicating the two countries may be unable to “restore normalcy” in their bilateral relations during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term.

Since 2017, China has renamed 62 locations in Arunachal Pradesh with Chinese and Tibetan names in an apparent bid to assert claims over the northeastern Indian state that it calls “South Tibet” or “Zangnan”.

This claim is based on historical assertions that the region has been part of China since ancient times. The dispute can be traced back to the 1962 Sino-Indian War and is complicated by the lack of a mutually agreed-upon border.

Beijing’s latest name changes, involving 30 places including residential areas, mountains and water bodies, occurred in March this year.

In response, India is reportedly planning to rename around 30 places in China’s Tibet region, according to a report by The Diplomat on June 5.

“Prime Minister Modi has sought to win these polls on the strength of his strongman image. It is natural he will authorise the renaming of Tibetan places to live up to that image,” former Intelligence Bureau officer Benu Ghosh, who has followed China and the border issue with India for decades, was quoted as saying by The Diplomat.

The purported renaming plan comes soon after India’s newly elected coalition government, led by Modi, took office earlier this month.

Saheli Chattaraj, an assistant professor of Chinese studies at Somaiya Vidyavihar University, told This Week in Asia that India was taking a more assertive stance against China as it sought to become a major global power in Modi’s third term.

India and China have been in a military stand-off at their shared border ever since the 2020 deadly Galwan Valley clashes in eastern Ladakh that resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops.

In January 2021, another border skirmish in Sikkim state resulted in injuries to troops on both sides.

To resolve the stand-off, the two sides have conducted 21 rounds of military talks to date.

“If China continues to ignore restoring stability at the borders, India-China relations might still face a setback, unable to restore normalcy,” Chattaraj said, noting that it was in both nations’ interest to resolve border tensions and boost cooperation on other areas of mutual concern.

An Indian defence expert, who asked not to be identified, said while India aimed to counter China’s territorial claims, it did not want to unnecessarily escalate the situation.

“India wants to resolve issues with China. We want to reduce troops at the border, and that can only be achieved through dialogue with China. It is not in India’s interest to have a Galwan-like issue again,” the expert said.

They also noted that the plan to change names in Tibet would have more to do with public perception, since India did not want to appear weak in countering China.

“Events like this [changing names of places] create a lot of media hype. So, to assuage its people, India had to do it. But at the government level, India wants to normalise the situation [with China],” the expert said.

China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean has also been a significant concern for India, particularly as neighbouring countries including the Maldives have recently pivoted towards Beijing.

According to Dr Atul Kumar, a visiting associate fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies in New Delhi, current India-China relations are stuck on a cliff from which neither side is willing to back down.

China also views India as a “willing partner in all potential anti-China minilateral and multilateral groups – which is nothing but a conspiracy theory”, Kumar told This Week in Asia.

Despite this, Kumar noted that bilateral trade was booming, “so that part will continue as both countries need each other critically in that domain”.

Kumar said those needs would continue to characterise relations under Modi’s third term.

“Both leaderships have maxed out on their leverages vis-à-vis each other. Only an external system shaping event or a significant power or a regional multilateral group can induce change in this status quo,” he said.

China congratulated Modi on his win in the election, calling for “stable” relations with India.

B.R. Deepak, a professor of Chinese and China Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said no major changes were likely in India’s China policy under Modi’s third term, given Beijing’s unwillingness to resolve their border issues.

“The stand-off at the borders has been prolonged … so that is one thing it appears China is not going to negotiate. They want to [remain] fait accompli on the border, which is extremely difficult for any regime in India,” Deepak said.

“On the other hand, India is also revamping its border infrastructure. So, it will be extremely difficult to reach any sort of equilibrium both countries had reached in yesteryears.”

Ashok Kantha, a former Indian ambassador to China, said it was for Beijing to address the cause of the border tensions as a result of its military transgressions at multiple points.

“The state of borders remains abnormal with a high level of deployments on both sides and China continuing to prevent Indian troops from patrolling areas in eastern Ladakh they were visiting until early 2020. As long as India-China borders remain disturbed, live and tense, it would be difficult to bring the overall relationship back to normal ties,” Kantha said.

“As for renaming of places in Arunachal Pradesh by China, it is an unnecessarily provocative exercise which doesn’t in the least change the fact that this state is a part of India, historically and in the contemporary period, and will always remain so.”

Tech war: Huawei sees HarmonyOS breaking the dominance of Android and Apple’s iOS in China

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3267600/tech-war-huawei-sees-harmonyos-breaking-dominance-android-and-apples-ios-china?utm_source=rss_feed

Huawei Technologies expects HarmonyOS to break the dominance of Western mobile operating systems in mainland China after its next version ends support for Android apps.

That iteration, called HarmonyOS Next, will be a “China-originated, independent and controllable” operating system, Richard Yu Chengdong, chairman of Huawei’s consumer business group, said at the company’s developer conference on Friday.

The Shenzhen-based company launched at the conference a beta version of HarmonyOS Next for developers, with a beta upgrade for consumers expected in August.

The mobile platform upgrade will be officially launched for commercial use on Huawei’s next flagship 5G smartphone series, the Mate 70, in the fourth quarter this year, Yu said at the conference.

The latest announcements by Huawei show that it is trying to bolster HarmonyOS’ presence in the country, after unseating Apple’s iOS as the second-biggest mobile operating system on the mainland in the first quarter.

With HarmonyOS, Yu said that it took just 10 years for Huawei to achieve what its Western counterparts did over 30 years in building a new operating system.

Huawei also claimed that HarmonyOS has surpassed the Linux kernel, the foundation of the Android mobile platform, with a 10-per cent performance improvement.

HarmonyOS was launched as an alternative to Android in August 2019, three months after the US government added Huawei to its Entity List. Under this trade blacklist, Huawei is barred from buying software, chips and other US-origin technologies from suppliers without Washington’s approval.

There are currently more than 900 million devices that run on HarmonyOS, with more than 2.5 million developers creating apps for the platform, Yu said on Friday.

The adoption of HarmonyOS has accelerated on the back of rapid growth in Huawei’s smartphone shipments. The Pura 70 series, the company’s latest flagship smartphone line launched in late April, saw shipments grow 68 per cent at the end of May, compared to the previous P series in the same period last year, according to Yu.

Shipments of Huawei’s flagship Pura 70 line and Mate 60 series, which was launched last year, grew 72 per cent in the first five months of the year, Yu said.

Huawei ranked fourth in China’s smartphone market in the first quarter with a 15.5 per cent share and sales growth of nearly 70 per cent, according to a report by Counterpoint Research.

The company has made the build-up of the HarmonyOS’ app ecosystem “a crucial task for Huawei in 2024”, the firm’s rotating chairman Eric Xu Zhijun said in April.

Huawei has partnered with various large enterprises on the mainland in developing HarmonyOS-based apps. These include Alibaba Group Holding, Meituan, Ant Group, JD.com and McDonald’s China. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

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South China Sea: 4 Chinese Navy ships spotted by Philippines may pave way for big clash

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3267602/south-china-sea-4-chinese-navy-ships-spotted-philippines-may-pave-way-big-clash?utm_source=rss_feed

Four Chinese Navy ships were recently observed in Philippine territory in the South China Sea, a Filipino military spokesman said on Friday, just days after a clash between both sides at the Second Thomas Shoal that caused several injuries.

Analysts say the presence of the ships on Wednesday and recent deployments of other Chinese vessels in the disputed waters indicate that Beijing is prepared to step up its maritime confrontations and test the resolve of the Philippines and its allies.

Military public affairs chief Colonel Xerxes Trinidad said in a statement that the four ships, including two People’s Liberation Army Navy destroyers, a frigate and a replenishment oiler, were spotted on Wednesday afternoon in the Balabac Strait off Palawan island.

“As part of standard operating procedures, these vessels were challenged and they responded accordingly,” Trinidad said.

The area where the ships appeared was commonly used by international vessels passing through “our waters”, he added.

The sighting came after a clash on Monday in which a Chinese coastguard ship intercepted several Philippine Navy vessels on a routine resupply mission to troops stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era navy vessel grounded to serve as an outpost to strengthen Manila’s presence on the Second Thomas Shoal.

The incident led to several Filipino personnel suffering injuries, including a sailor who lost a finger.

On June 14, the Philippine military observed a Chinese Navy amphibious assault ship in the West Philippine Sea, Manila’s name for an area of the South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone.

The 36,000-ton ship is capable of carrying nearly 1,000 marines, attack helicopters, battle tanks and other military equipment.

Preparation for bigger confrontation

The Philippines, China, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam have competing claims in the South China Sea.

A tribunal in The Hague ruled in 2016 that Beijing’s claims over the South China Sea through its so-called “nine-dash-line” had no legal basis and recognised Manila’s sovereign rights in the waterway. China, however, has refused to accept the verdict.

Security analyst Chester Cabalza, president of the Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation, told This Week in Asia that the separate incidents involving the warships and the amphibious assault ship showed China was planning for larger-scale confrontations in the West Philippine Sea.

In particular, the amphibious platform of the assault ship could be used for coordinated attacks by the Chinese Navy, coastguard and maritime militias to escalate the maritime dispute, he said.

On Saturday, Beijing began enforcement of a regulation allowing its coastguard to detain any foreigners accused of trespassing in its territorial waters.

Cabalza said the presence of Chinese Navy warships was to send a message and test the unity of the Philippines and its allies, particularly the United States.

“While Beijing is intensely enforcing its non-trespassing law, it wants to see how Manila and Washington activate the archaic Mutual Defense Treaty [MDT]. Time is of the essence on how China takes advantage of the situation to evict the Philippines from the Sabina Shoal and the Second Thomas Shoal,” he said.

The Philippines and the United States are bound by their 1951 MDT that obligates both sides to help each other in times of aggression by an external power. Washington recently said the treaty’s scope extended to the South China Sea dispute.

Given China’s intention to escalate the maritime dispute, the Philippines must step up its preparations in response, Cabalza said.

“The Philippines must enlarge its contingent in the contested waters, call for equal support of military help from allies and partners, and ask Washington what naval assistance it can provide to the Philippines now that China wants a naval confrontation with the Philippines.”

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

American security analyst Raymond Powell, director of SeaLight – a project based in Stanford University tracking grey-zone maritime activities – said he spotted two large ships of the Chinese coastguard sailing about 80 nautical miles off the west of Batanes Island on Friday morning.

Batanes, the smallest province in the north of the Philippines located near Taiwan, is viewed by security analysts as a potential flashpoint in the event of a major conflict between China and the US.

Beijing views Taiwan as a renegade province that should be reintegrated into mainland control, by force if necessary. While many nations, including the US, do not officially acknowledge Taiwan as an independent state, they oppose any use of force to alter the existing status quo.

Calling the vessels’ movement an attempt to intimidate the Philippines, Powell said: “It’s not the place that I usually see them. We call this intrusive patrolling. It’s a method the Chinese use to communicate that it has jurisdiction in other countries’ waters.”

Tax concerns persist for China actress Fan Bingbing despite new Malaysian tourism envoy role

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3264792/tax-concerns-persist-china-actress-fan-bingbing-despite-new-malaysian-tourism-envoy-role?utm_source=rss_feed

The fanfare surrounding mainland actress Fan Bingbing’s recent appointment as a tourism ambassador by Malaysia is being stifled as she struggles to shake off concerns about her tax affairs.

Despite much positive coverage of her appointment as a tourist envoy to the state of Malacca, the star is facing ongoing questions about her tax status from critics online.

Some people are asking why Fan was chosen for the tourism role when there are plenty of “clean” actors out there to choose from.

“Why hire her? There are many other Chinese celebrities with no record of malpractice,” said one online observer.

While another added: “She evaded tax and got censored in China. But she got many jobs overseas. This appointment is beyond my imagination.”

The 42-year-old actress was among the country’s highest-earning stars and one of the best internationally-known artists from China before she was investigated for evading taxes in May 2018.

She was alleged to have signed two contracts to conceal her real income.

In October 2018, the tax authorities ordered her to pay about 884 million yuan (US$122 million) in overdue taxes and fines.

It was the largest amount of money a single celebrity had paid in a tax case in the country’s history.

Fan was banned from acting and is not allowed to produce films in China. There has been very little media coverage of her in mainland China during that time, although her products are still available online.

However, much of the reaction to Fan’s Malaysian appointment was positive.

“I think she is the only Chinese star who has been named to promote tourism abroad. Isn’t this a kind of winning honour for our country?” an online observer in China said.

“She is a truly international star. That’s why she is so popular in Malaysia and has been named as the tourism ambassador,” said another on Weibo.

She visited the state from June 14-16 to promote tourism.

Malacca’s chief minister Ab Rauf Yusoh announced her appointment as a tourism ambassador at the end of May.

She was appointed to her new role mainly due to the connections of her agent, Jersey Chong, who is a Malaysian citizen.

“I am very delighted to receive this task. I feel honoured and have a big responsibility as the tourism ambassador,” Fan, dressed in local traditional clothes, told a media event in Malacca.

“I need not only tell people from China but also from around the world that Malacca is a place suitable for leisure and travel. Its long history, beautiful scenery, delicious food, local residents’ simplicity and hospitality all deserve to be known to more people,” she added.

The star is still active on China’s X-like platform Weibo, where she has 63 million followers.

Fan did not respond directly to media inquiries about whether she will live in Malaysia, buy property there, or join the Malaysia retirement residency visa programme.

She only said the country is not strange to her because she has a Malaysian colleague and is interested in learning the local culture.

“Malaysia has many film directors and talented individuals, so I hope to collaborate with them someday,” Fan said.

The Chinese star received overwhelming support in Malacca as local fans held her images, posters and dolls and sought her autograph.

A wall painting of Wu Meiniang, a well-known character Fan played in an ancient costume Chinese TV series years ago, has been completed recently in one of Malacca’s main streets.

The Malaysian state has many of the characteristics of Dali in Yunnan, a southwestern province of China, both boasting a rich history and relaxing environment, said Fan.

The actress has been developing her career overseas in recent years.

She attended the Berlin International Film last year for the premiere of Green Night in which she has a lead role.

Set in South Korea, the film was nominated for a Teddy Award and a Panorama Audience Award.

Earlier this year, she was invited by the Tourism Authority of Thailand to attend the local New Year Songkran Festival Day event to boost tourism.

At a film exhibition in Singapore last year, Fan said the ban on her producing films was “a pity and cruel”.

China calls the US a ‘competitor’ in moon race for first time, from a position of strength

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3267371/china-calls-us-competitor-moon-race-first-time-position-strength?utm_source=rss_feed

China said it would never compete with the US on the moon. Now it has changed its mind.

In a new strategic lunar plan, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) has defined the United States as a competitor for the first time, signifying a big shift from the nation’s long-held discreet space policy to a position of rapidly growing strength.

Human exploration of the moon has always been competitive. It began with the tug of war between America and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

“In the historical context of that period, the race to demonstrate superior political strength made lunar exploration unsustainable,” the plan said.

“It is foreseeable that in the next 20 to 30 years, China’s International Lunar Research Station and the US Artemis programme will compete in terms of technology and operational efficiency on the same historical stage and at the same geographical location (the south pole of the moon),” it said.

The new plan, “Strategic Concept of Resource Utilisation Development Route of the International Lunar Research Station”, was written under the leadership of Pei Zhaoyu, deputy director of CNSA’s Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Centre, and published in the Chinese Journal of Astronautics in April.

“The utilisation of lunar resources will become the focus of the competition,” Pei and his colleagues said.

“And countries such as the United States do not have a distinct edge in this.”

Washington has long cast China as a rival in this new rush for the moon, seeing the race mainly as a land grab.

“It is a fact: we’re in a space race,” Nasa chief Bill Nelson said in an interview on China’s moon ambitions with Politico in January 2023.

“And it is true that we’d better watch out that they don’t get to a place on the moon under the guise of scientific research. And it is not beyond the realm of possibility that they say, ‘Keep out, we’re here, this is our territory,’” he said.

But China sees the game differently, according to Pei.

Beijing aims to replicate its earthly success by carrying out large-scale infrastructure construction on the moon. It will help establish technological, manufacturing and economic advantages to encourage more countries to stop following the United States and join China-led efforts to exploit lunar resources, according to the plan.

“The utilisation of lunar resources is a scientific challenge, a technological drive and an economic reward. Efficiency and benefit will be the core evaluation benchmarks, guiding the construction, operation and sustainable development,” Pei’s team wrote.

Lunar soil is exceptionally rich in titanium and iron, two metals that can be used to manufacture spacecraft components. China has also discovered plentiful water molecules in its recently obtained samples, a resource that the Apollo missions missed.

These hydrogen and oxygen molecules, trapped in lunar soil particles, indicated the potential presence of up to 270 billion tonnes of water resources on the moon, which could be used to produce rocket fuel, water and oxygen for astronauts, Chinese space authorities said on social media.

According to the latest plan, China will launch two large spacecraft in the next few years to conduct detailed explorations of these resources and validate key technologies for resource utilisation. By 2030, collaborative work between humans and intelligent machines is expected to be achieved on the lunar surface.

Starting in 2035, China plans to “carry out large-scale energy acquisition, large-scale material extraction and large-scale lunar-based construction” to achieve “engineering applications such as oxygen and water production from lunar soil, mineral resource collection and extraction, metal-based component production, and lunar-based building construction”.

A “lunar-based resource exploration system covering a wide area of thousands of kilometres and a depth of hundreds of metres” will also be completed in this period.

By 2045, China’s lunar base will have large facilities such as power plants, factories, scientific research institutions, rocket launch sites, tourist centres and a small underground city.

Chinese resource exploration robots will roam the entire lunar surface. It is estimated that more than half of the investment in the construction and operation of these facilities will come from countries other than China, and economic activities will reach a break-even point. Humans will use this base as a starting point to explore Mars.

“China will become a leader in human deep space exploration activities,” the plan said.

China’s first lunar probe, Chang’e-1, was launched in 2007. Because of a lack of experience and confidence, this small, two-tonne satellite circled around the Earth for more than two weeks before heading to the moon.

Immediately after the launch, then-commander-in-chief of the lunar exploration project, Luan Enjie, told Xinhua News Agency: “China will not engage in any form of lunar competition with any country.”

Yet it took less than 15 years for the balance of space power to shift. China has sent a rover to Mars, established the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System to compete with GPS, and deployed the world’s largest Earth observation satellite network capable of tracking F-22 stealth fighters.

It has also completed the construction of an independent space station – something the United States has never achieved – and developed the world’s only high-orbit communication satellite that can directly connect millions of smartphones on Earth at a distance of 36,000km.

China’s lunar exploration programme has also reached world-leading milestones. Last month, the Chang’e-6 spacecraft gracefully touched down on the far side of the moon, where no other countries have gone, and collected rocks and soil. These samples will soon return to Earth.

Although the United States started lunar exploration earlier, due to mission delays and funding limitations, “it has lost its absolute leading position”, Pei’s team wrote.

To counter China’s advances, the US government has entrusted private enterprises with critical lunar missions, believing they can construct a lunar base more efficiently than Nasa. To motivate these private players, the US Congress enacted a law affirming the principle: “First to explore, first to own.”

However, the two initial private US moon missions have stumbled. Astrobotic Technology’s Peregrine lunar lander, the first US spacecraft to attempt a moon landing in decades, burned up in a failed attempt. Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lander also encountered technical difficulties and tipped over after landing at a speed higher than expected.

The US Artemis programme includes a space station named Gateway orbiting the moon. However, the feasibility of this plan has been met with scepticism in China’s space community, as the United States has never successfully built a complete space station, even in Earth’s orbit.

The US Skylab space laboratory operated for less than a year before it crashed, and the core technology of the International Space Station is provided by Russia.

SpaceX’s Starship has achieved significant success in test flights. Although this giant spacecraft still requires further testing and technological breakthroughs to fly to the moon, some Chinese aerospace engineers believe it is the United States’ greatest hope in the race.

China’s excess solar capacity a product of tech transition, market forces, energy official says

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3267563/chinas-excess-solar-capacity-product-tech-transition-market-forces-energy-official-says?utm_source=rss_feed

As China’s solar industry transitions into an era of new technology and practices, it will take time for the consequent excess capacity to be absorbed by the market, said the country’s top energy official at a press conference on Thursday.

“The upstream of China’s photovoltaic industry is dominated by private firms, and competition is sufficient among them. As the future of the market looks bright, they have chosen to expand production,” said Zhang Jianhua, director of the National Energy Administration (NEA).

“The coexistence of old and new production types during the technological conversion period has pushed up the total capacity of the industry,” he said.

Amid intensifying criticism from Western politicians over China’s overcapacity in new energy – they argue the East Asian giant’s cheap exports have strangled their own manufacturing – Chinese authorities have made a concerted effort to counter that narrative.

NEA officials vowed at the conference to provide guidelines for rational planning in the sector, and avoid the redundant construction of low-end production.

Zhang said any issues with production capacity should be viewed with the principles of a market economy in mind, and in the context of economic globalisation.

“The balance between supply and demand is relative, and imbalance is often the norm,” he said.

These asymmetries can happen in any economy that implements a market-oriented system, Zhang said, adding a moderate oversupply will contribute to the technological progress of the industry and reduce production costs.

“Solving these problems mainly relies on the market to adjust according to the law of value,” he said.

China has more than 100 listed companies involved in the photovoltaic industry, according to NEA figures. Last year, China’s newly installed capacity of renewable energy accounted for more than half of the world’s total.

“There is indeed intense competition in China’s photovoltaic industry,” said Li Chuangjun, director of the NEA’s department of new energy and renewable energy sources.

“We will work with relevant departments to organise industry associations to release information on industry scale, capacity utilisation and market demand in a timely manner … avoid repeated construction of low-end production capacity, and strive to create a good market environment,” Li said during the press conference.

As trade barriers targeting China’s green products build up, Li said, the country will consolidate domestic demand.

He referred to a stable domestic market as the “ballast stone” for the sustained development of China’s photovoltaic industry.

As China accelerates the pace of its green energy adoption, the integration of wind and solar power – both of which are volatile enough to put enormous pressure on the overall power grid – has created a bottleneck.

Last month, Beijing unveiled a new plan that allows for wind and solar curtailments of up to 10 per cent in “areas with better resource conditions”, compared with the previous rate of 5 per cent.

Analysts said the move signals China is not going to allow grid integration issues in the near term to slow its march towards decarbonisation.

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China needs to work for more ‘visible’ deliverables before US presidential election: expert

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3267570/china-needs-work-more-visible-deliverables-us-presidential-election-expert?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing should ramp up efforts to achieve “visible” deliverables with Washington to avoid a rapid escalation of animosity before the US presidential election in November, a Chinese expert on international relations has warned.

Although strained, ties between the two countries appear to have stabilised in recent months, but observers have yet to see concrete steps by Washington to address ongoing challenges, according to An Gang, non-resident fellow at the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University.

Instead, the Biden administration has launched more restrictive measures against Beijing, stemming from both domestic election politics as well as its global strategy, he wrote in an article circulated on a WeChat channel on Thursday.

“Many in the Chinese and American academic community think that the relationship between the two countries is entering ‘garbage time’ from now until the next [US] president is elected,” An said.

The widely used sports term refers to a period towards the end of a game in which one side has such an insurmountable lead, meaning the outcome is not in doubt and the players tend to become passive.

In terms of China-US relations, An said “garbage time” meant that all dialogue was superficial, problem-solving was low, effective cooperation was hard to achieve, and domestic political disruptions were deepening, stalling efforts to fulfil the consensus reached at the Xi-Biden summit in California in November.

“The problem is that ‘garbage time’ will only lead to worse outcomes,” he warned.

An struck the cautionary tone as both Beijing and Washington demonstrated their commitments to stabilising bilateral ties by continuing high-level talks, working groups and negotiations on the economy, finance, trade, climate, drug control and military affairs.

Recent examples have included a video call between China’s minister of public security and the US homeland security secretary to discuss cooperation on counternarcotics earlier this month, the first official meeting in two years between the countries defence chiefs in late May, and the visit by Chinese foreign vice-minister Ma Zhaoxu to America three weeks ago.

But observers said that they had seen few tangible results from those interactions.

Meanwhile, Washington has further angered Beijing by slapping new tariffs on Chinese imports, approving additional arms sales to Taipei, more vocally blaming China for supporting Russia’s military-industrial base, and reportedly lobbying Japan and the Netherlands to further tighten chip restrictions on the world’s No 2 economy.

An said he expected that US President Joe Biden would take a harder line against China on trade, technology, Taiwan and the South China Sea, causing “new and irreversible damage” to bilateral relations if he struggled in the rematch with his predecessor Donald Trump.

“The worst-case scenario is Trump returning to office … resetting the consensus on stabilisation and the remaining dialogue mechanisms between the US and China to zero,” he added.

If Trump returned to the White House, he should “seek to decouple [the US] economy from China’s”, his former national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, wrote in an article published on Foreign Affairs website on Tuesday.

An, who used to work for China’s foreign ministry, argued that “the real danger” in Sino-US relations was the continued deepening of views that saw each other as enemies.

He warned that the “garbage time” would only increase those hostilities if the two countries were to stay hands-off on the pressing issues between them.

China and the US “have been clear that they are each other’s primary competitors. There is only one wall that stands between being competitors and being enemies, and that wall is made of paper,” he said.

With the US presidential election less than five months away, An called on China to take more concrete action to strengthen various exchange and cooperation channels with the US at national, subnational and civilian levels.

He urged more work in the areas of trade and finance to achieve bilateral arrangements, and for the timely establishment of military hotlines and emergency management networks that match the dynamics of China-US competition.

He also encouraged increasing the incentives to restore people-to-people exchanges as quickly as possible so that they approach pre-Covid levels.

“It is also necessary to continue to promote cooperation in areas such as fentanyl control, as well as to deepen the intergovernmental and [backchannel diplomacy] Track 2 dialogue on AI to achieve more visible results,” he said.

At the same time, An also called on Beijing to accelerate domestic reforms and technological innovation to further fortify China’s resistance to counter external risks.

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China tourists abandoned at sea on diving trip forced to make 2-hour swim to shore

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3267466/china-tourists-abandoned-sea-diving-trip-forced-make-2-hour-swim-shore?utm_source=rss_feed

An investigation into how three tourists in southern China were abandoned at sea along with their diving instructor – forcing them to swim for two hours to the nearest shore – has shocked social media.

One of the tourists, surnamed Jin, said the trio were taken by yacht to a location near Zhouzai Island in the tropical Hainan province on June 9, where they were taking a diving licence test, according to Shangyou News.

After several hours they realised the vessel would not be returning to pick them up, so they decided to try and swim back to shore before it got dark, Jin said.

Jin turned to social media because he believed the yacht company’s response to the tourists’ complaint was unacceptable and amounted to a dereliction of duty, the report said.

Jin, who is from eastern China’s Zhejiang province, said when the boat sent them to the diving spot, a member of the crew told them to swim back afterwards because they were “too busy to collect you”.

“During the conversation between our instructor and the crew member, he finally agreed to ask the captain to collect us when he made a return voyage later,” Jin was quoted as saying.

The diving test they were taking took place between 2pm and 4pm and they waited until 6.15pm before swimming back to shore.

None of them had a mobile phone with them, said Jin.

The three tourists only had one swimming ring between them, so two of them gripped the outside and Jin stayed in the middle, while the coach pulled the ring along.

He described the two-hour swimming journey as “horrible”.

“Half an hour after we began swimming, I felt the seawater turn cold and saw the sky become overcast. Sometime later, it started to rain and the waves got higher,” said Jin.

“I was completely drained of energy. I could not move my legs anymore, and could only pull my arms slowly. My whole body was cold and numb,” he said.

They arrived at the coast at 8pm, partly thanks to the current, which was flowing in the direction of the shore.

It took them another half an hour to walk from a rocky beach to a road where they hitchhiked and got a lift to hospital.

Jin said the yacht company only offered to pay 10 times the ship tickets they had bought as compensation.

“My appeal is not a bid to increase this compensation,” said Jin.

“I’m hoping the authorities will intervene to avoid similar incidents happening again.”

As Jin’s social media post went viral, the local tourism authority began investigating the incident.

“Our investigation showed that there were some malpractices. We plan to transfer the case to the law enforcement department to deal with,” an official said.

They also said that people should not be taken to dive near Zhouzai Island because it has not been properly developed yet.

Historic flooding in southern China kills 47, with more floods feared in coming days

https://apnews.com/article/china-flooding-guangdong-4c9ff00b28335e7c54ac1c7acdbc09c5In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescuers clear debris in a flood-affected area in Sishui Township of Pingyuan County, Meizhou City, southern China's Guangdong Province, June 20, 2024. Several people have died and others are missing after downpours caused historic flooding in rural parts of Guangdong province in southern China, while authorities warned Friday of more flooding ahead in other parts of the country. (Lu Hanxin/Xinhua via AP)

2024-06-21T04:53:13Z

BEIJING (AP) — At least 47 people have died as downpours in southern China’s Guangdong province caused historic flooding and slides, state media reported Friday, while authorities warned of more extreme weather ahead in other parts of the country.

State broadcaster CCTV said Friday afternoon that another 38 people were confirmed dead in a county under the jurisdiction of Meizhou city, adding to nine others previously reported dead elsewhere in Meizhou.

Heavy rains caused landslides, floods and mudslides that severely damaged eight townships in Pingyuan county, where the latest deaths were reported, CCTV said. The heaviest rains were on Sunday, with an average rainfall of 199 mm (7.83 inches), and one town seeing 365.7 mm (14.4 inches). It is unclear from the report when the deaths occurred.

The extreme weather also destroyed some 356 kilometers (221 miles) of road, damaged more than a hundred bridges and flooded farmland.

The previous day, CCTV reported four deaths in Meizhou’s Meixian district, and five in Jiaoling County.

The heaviest rains were from Sunday into Tuesday, toppling trees and collapsing homes. A road leading to Meixian district completely collapsed during the heavy rains. The Songyuan river, which winds through Meizhou, experienced its biggest recorded flood, according to CCTV.

The estimated direct economic loss is 3.65 billion yuan ($502 million) in Jiaoling county, while in Meixian district, the loss is 1.06 billion yuan ($146 million).

Other parts of the country also face torrential rains and extreme weather in the next 24 hours, with the National Meteorological Center issuing a warning for several provinces in the south and a few individual places in the north.

Henan and Anhui provinces in central China, as well as Jiangsu province on the coast and the southern province of Guizhou, all are expecting hail and strong thunderstorms, according to the forecast. Rainfall could be as high as 50 mm to 80 mm (1.9 to 3.14 inches) in one day in Henan, Anhui and Hubei provinces, the National Meteorological Center said.

Last week, it was southern Fujian and Guangxi provinces that experienced landslides and flooding amid heavy rain. One student died in Guangxi after falling into a river swollen from the downpour.

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South China Sea: Philippines advised to stake claim on disputed shoal with civilian site

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3267505/south-china-sea-philippines-advised-stake-claim-disputed-shoal-civilian-site?utm_source=rss_feed

A former chief justice in the Philippines has suggested that the government replace a military outpost in the South China Sea with a civilian structure to ensure a legal advantage for Manila to file a tribunal complaint against Chinese interference.

The proposal is among several suggestions by Antonio Carpio, a former Supreme Court judge, following one of the most controversial clashes between Manila and Beijing in the Second Thomas Shoal, where Philippine troops are stationed on a grounded vessel in the disputed waters.

Observers say Carpio’s suggestion carried weight but Manila still has to brace for a worst-case scenario in which the Chinese forcibly take over the Philippines’ military outpost. The military-to-civilian switch could also be seen as a “retreat”, one analyst warns.

Manila and Beijing have been locked in a months-long territorial row in the South China Sea, with the latest skirmish on Monday between the Philippine navy and the Chinese coastguard causing injuries to several Filipinos, including a sailor who lost a finger.

Philippine forces were on a resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre, a grounded World War II vessel in the Second Thomas Shoal occupied by their fellow troops. The flashpoint is known to Manila as the Ayungin Shoal, while Beijing calls it Renai Jiao. Both sides claim it is a part of their maritime territory.

A vocal advocate for the Philippines’ claims in the South China Sea, Carpio on Thursday said the President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr administration had to first resolve a “technical problem” before it could file a new case against China before the international tribunal.

Carpio, who played a significant role in the Philippines’ case against China in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that was concluded in Manila’s favour in 2016, said the tribunal had no jurisdiction over military activities in the West Philippine Sea, Manila’s name for part of the disputed South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone. The Hague ruling said that Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea, as indicated by its so-called nine-dash line, were unlawful.

“My recommendation is that we could change our presence there from military to civilian. We will build a lighthouse operated by the coastguard. The coastguard is civilian. We can have a substation for the coastguard … let’s say a research centre also,” Carpio told ABS-CBN radio.

While China could try to stop construction of a civilian replacement for the BRP Sierra Madre, Manila could file a complaint to the tribunal and argue the structure was not for the military.

Apart from China and the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Vietnam also have competing claims to the South China Sea.

On the latest failed resupply mission, the Philippine military accused China’s coastguard of “intentionally high-speed ramming”, resulting in crew injuries. Filipino military officials also reported that Chinese personnel had boarded their vessels and confiscated weapons and other equipment.

Carpio said the Chinese coastguard actions were “against international law”.

“It happened within our exclusive economic zone. There’s sovereign immunity. They cannot get on board, arrest, or seize a warship, including auxiliary vessels,” he added.

Other options Manila can explore for its next resupply mission, according to Carpio, include using faster vessels and – instead of using bladed weapons to diffuse tensions – bringing journalists to document and counter any false information that China may spread.

Political analyst Sherwin Ona, an associate professor of political science at De La Salle University in Manila, told This Week in Asia that Manila needed new ideas to deal with the dispute considering China’s willingness to raise tensions.

“I think that Justice Carpio’s position has merit in terms of Unclos and should be explored together with enhancing our military presence in the Second Thomas Shoal,” Ona said, referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Claimants in the South China Sea, such as the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as most Asean countries, hold that all maritime claims must be based on the 1982 UNCLOS. The three Association of Southeast Asian Nations claimants have argued that China’s expansive claims are beyond the lawful limits of Unclos.

However, China – which is a party to Unclos – has rejected the 2016 ruling, insisting it has jurisdiction over the waterways.

“I think we must now look at the worst-case scenario, like the possible boarding of the Sierra Madre and a complete blockade of Second Thomas Shoal. I think this is more pressing for our decision-makers,” Ona warned.

For Jose Antonio Custodio, a defence analyst and fellow at the Consortium of Indo-Pacific Researchers, Carpio’s suggestion marks a long overdue action that the Philippines should have done 20 years ago after it initially ran aground the Sierra Madre.

“The problem now is that it will be more challenging given the overwhelming presence of China in the area. For the Philippines to attempt construction, it must deploy an equally formidable presence to allow the construction teams to approach and work unmolested by the Chinese,” Custodio told This Week in Asia.

“It wasn’t done because the Philippines remained timid and fearful of China. Then during the administration of late former President Benigno Aquino Jnr, any intention of improvement was temporarily shelved because of the arbitration case. Then during the Duterte administration, the pro-Chinese sentiment confused policy planners in the Philippines,” he explained.

For the next resupply mission, Manila could ask for material and intelligence help from Washington but it should maintain its key responsibility of overseeing the garrisons at the Second Thomas Shoal, Custodio said.

The Philippines and the United States are bound by the long-standing 1951 Mutual Defence Treaty (MDT) that calls on both sides to help each other in times of aggression by an external power. Washington recently said the treaty’s scope extended to the South China Sea dispute.

Security analyst Joshua Espeña, a resident fellow and vice-president of the International Development and Security Cooperation, told This Week in Asia he disagreed with Carpio on the grounds of adding salt to the wound of the failed optics of Manila’s intention to be assertive in the dispute.

“This ‘retreat’ of putting the PCG instead may have legal sense, and therefore a strategic sense, but it has operational and tactical costs that negate any strategic gain: you cannot build a lighthouse now given how the Chinese have escalated its actions,” Espeña explained.

“Dangerous scenarios of [Chinese] interception and confiscation ... will certainly punish this kind of switch suggested by Justice Carpio. This is what loses credibility with deterrence: damage to [Manila’s] morale that Chinese cognitive warfare operatives are already exploiting.”

Espeña said it was time for Manila to put its foot down on its rights, lest it played into the Chinese strategy of displacing Filipinos in the West Philippine Sea.

“In this case, Manila needs both its navy and coastguard to work together,” he said.

The Philippines had always been vocal in its cry for help from the US but the latter had always been ambiguous given its interests, Espeña said.

“Therefore, the Philippines must ask for US assistance for more patrol craft ... among other things, but not necessarily triggering the MDT,” he added.

China mother, 62, carries paralysed son, 34, on back for years, uses walking aid to train him

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3264668/china-mother-62-carries-paralysed-son-34-back-years-uses-walking-aid-train-him?utm_source=rss_feed

A dedicated mother in China who is in her sixties has been carrying her paralysed son, 34, on her back for years, while helping him learn to walk.

Deng Guiying, from southwestern China’s Yunnan province, was determined her son, Cai Qinquan, would walk again after he had a brain haemorrhage that left him paralysed in 2019.

Her husband was unable to help care for their son because he became disabled following an accident.

Deng devised a strict schedule to feed and roll over bedridden Cai. She also created walking exercises for him before muscle loss took away his hope of living independently.

The enterprising and persistent mother bought a second-hand walking aid online for her son’s 1.82-metre height. So she could match his height, the 1.55-metre-tall woman wore 10cm high heels during the walking exercises.

She squeezed herself into the aid while carrying Cai on her back – making sure his back was straight – and tied their feet together.

The mother and son had two training sessions every day, each lasting 40 minutes.

Online observers on mainland social media were deeply touched by Deng’s love.

“A mother’s love is great,” one person said on Weibo.

“Only your mum would sacrifice so much for you. Do not forget she is not a superwoman, just someone who loves you very much,” said another.

Another online observer said the story had motivated him to study harder on his subject, which was lower-limb rehabilitation.

After learning about Cai and Deng, a Chinese company donated an exoskeleton device to the family, which cost about 1.5 million yuan (US$207,000).

The device is designed to improve walking speed and balance in patients recovering from various conditions, including spinal injuries and paralysis.

Heartwarming stories of parents’ selfless love for their children consistently make headlines in China.

On May 28, a report about a single mother and her seven-year-old son with autism in eastern China’s Shandong province went viral.

To make money to treat him, she sold street snacks with him attached to her by a safety lead.

She said she felt secure when the lead moved because it meant her son was by her side.

Amid US rivalry, is China’s gamble in the Middle East paying off?

https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3266970/amid-us-rivalry-chinas-gamble-middle-east-paying?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s engagement in the Middle East has surged over the past decade, particularly following the Arab spring and amid the perceived withdrawal of the United States from the region. Traditionally, Beijing has worked to develop balanced relationships with all sides while avoiding the region’s many conflicts.

As China’s global standing has strengthened, however, it has adopted a more proactive approach, positioning itself as a potential alternative to the US.

At the same time, superpower competition has begun to spill over into the region. As the Biden administration increased pressure on China in the Asia-Pacific, Beijing has responded by becoming more active in the Middle East. This dynamic has been especially evident since the outbreak of the Gaza war last October 7.

The Belt and Road Initiative, launched in 2013, significantly increased China’s regional involvement, making Beijing the primary foreign investor in the Middle East since 2016. Initially focused on the energy sector, China has expanded its engagement to include infrastructure projects, smart city initiatives, innovation hubs and 5G mobile networks, not only in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) but also into Qatar, Iran and Israel.

Middle East leaders, increasingly disillusioned with US policies – including the 2003 Iraq invasion, Arab spring, withdrawal from Afghanistan, stalled Iran nuclear agreement and Gaza war – have turned to China as a more reliable partner for infrastructure and technology projects, if not for military protection.

For Gulf Cooperation Council countries in particular, the relationship with China is now of strategic importance. This can be seen in China’s trade with the six-member bloc, which surged from US$10 billion in 2000 to US$230 billion in 2021. China’s ability to provide infrastructure, technology and trade without political or human rights demands is particularly attractive.

Furthermore, in recent years, China’s increasing technological prowess has been evident across the region, especially in the Gulf. The UAE and Saudi Arabia, in particular, align with China’s technological advancements through its “digital silk road”, and aspire to become global leaders in technology and innovation.

China has also developed a partnership with Israel, another key US ally. Bilateral trade reached a record US$21 billion in 2022 and Chinese companies have been engaged in around 500 investment deals with Israel over the past decade, predominantly in the technology sector.

But evolving US perceptions of China have led Washington to pressure Israel to limit its interactions. In response, Israel established a foreign investments advisory committee and rejected a Chinese bid for a security-sensitive infrastructure project.

Outside the economic domain, the re-establishment of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia in Beijing in March last year seemed to have marked a significant milestone in China’s expanding position in the region. This development, along with the Gaza war, reignited discussions about China’s growing political influence and role in the Middle East.

Despite China’s efforts to position itself as a regional mediator, its initial response to the Hamas attack was muted. Beijing, which only months earlier proposed itself as a mediator in the conflict, refrained from directly condemning Hamas for the atrocities committed, leading to disappointment and anger in Israel.

As the conflict has progressed, Beijing has adopted an increasingly one-sided approach, critical of Israel and the US.

For China, the conflict is less about the Palestinians or the Israelis and more about its standing in the region, interests vis-à-vis Arab countries and Iran, and its position regarding the US. China aims to discredit the US in the Middle East and the developing world while securing Arab and Muslim support for its policies in Xinjiang.

China’s strategy throughout the Gaza war has been one of aligning with the interests of the Arab world while differentiating itself from and discrediting the US. It has increased its diplomatic activity to align with regional players such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other Global South and Brics countries.

Indeed, establishing itself as the leader of the Global South among the five veto powers on the UN Security Council is another goal of its positioning. This was on display recently when senior Arab officials visited Beijing for the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum.

For Israel, this dynamic creates a new challenge as it will need to manage a more complicated relationship with a less friendly China not only in Tel Aviv but increasingly also in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh.

Eight months after the Gaza war started, China’s clear and calculated shift towards a more assertive pro-Palestinian, anti-American and anti-Israeli stance reflects its evolving priorities and strategic interests in the Middle East, in which Israel has become less important. Those in Beijing are likely to be pleased with the outcome of China’s approach so far.

But the future is less certain. While China’s strategic manoeuvres in the Middle East since the outbreak of the Gaza war have garnered public support and challenged America’s influence in the region, the long-term impact remains uncertain. The region’s complex dynamics and the US’ political and military power suggest that while China’s economic power will grow, its political influence may remain limited.

That said, given its growing presence, China’s economic influence may be sufficient to achieve its strategic goals at the expense of the US, and at minimal cost. As the geopolitical landscape evolves and the Middle East becomes more important globally, the interplay between Chinese ambitions and American responses will continue to shape the region and beyond.

China aims to solve property puzzle with affordable housing push, but debt cloud remains

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3267550/china-aims-solve-property-puzzle-affordable-housing-push-debt-cloud-remains?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s housing authority has become the latest to join a government plan for hundreds of cities to buy unsold commercial homes and convert the units into affordable housing amid a stubborn property crisis, but analysts said some indebted urban areas may have trouble raising the money.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said on Thursday that local authorities should push cities at or above the county level to acquire existing commercial homes, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Local governments should encourage the purchases “vigorously” and in an “orderly and effective” way, the ministry said.

“The ministry said cities and counties should consider actual demand for affordable housing, the inventory level of the commercial housing market and other factors based on the local real estate market situation,” CCTV said.

James Macdonald, the Shanghai-based head of China research with property services firm Savills, said China could increase the supply of rental properties in poorer areas, while making some headway in destocking unused properties.

“There’s been a spate of different policies [to destock],” Macdonald said. “The policies sound good in principle, but it just depends on where the government is going to get the money.”

China’s efforts to accelerate the clearance of excess inventory and shore up the property market, which had made up a quarter of China’s economic growth at its peak, has gathered pace, but weak sentiment has persisted.

Unsold housing inventory totalled 742.56 million square metres (7.99 billion sq ft) in May, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

And the push to convert commercial properties into affordable housing forms “part of the puzzle rather than an ultimate solution” to the property market, ING Greater China economist Lynn Song said.

“The measures will help digest some of the most difficult to sell properties, and at the same time will also help with developers’ liquidity,” Song said.

“With that said, these conversions and acquisitions will likely only represent a small portion of the overall market.”

Local governments were told last month to buy unsold homes from developers, with Beijing announcing a 300 billion yuan (US$41.4 billion) fund to help clear excess housing stock.

Home buying restrictions have also been relaxed, with authorities in the southern city of Zhuhai this week stopping the vetting of homebuyers’ qualifications and cancelling limits on the number of commercial property sales allowed over fixed time periods in a joint cooperation zone between Macau and Guangdong province measuring 106 square kilometre (41 square mile).

The central bank and the National Administration of Financial Regulation also said in January that they would boost the supply of rental properties in large cities where home prices often exceed the resources of young workers.

China Real Estate Information Corporation said that just four out of 30 major cities showed improvement in destocking trends last month compared to April, with 20 of the cities expected to take more than 18 months to reduce their stockpiles.

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China’s anti-spying agency warns drone users not to let state secrets leak

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3267540/chinas-anti-spying-agency-warns-drone-users-not-let-state-secrets-leak?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s top anti-espionage agency has urged the public to report suspicious drone use in sensitive areas and warned drone users to be careful they do not leak sensitive information.

The Ministry of State Security warned that it has investigated and dealt with many cases involving illegal drone flights, photographing confidential facilities and sensitive areas, before sharing details online.

“These illegal acts have created the risk of leaking [details] of our country’s core military facilities and important geographic information,” it said in a post on its WeChat account on Thursday.

It also shared details of three cases involving drones, including one where a military technology enthusiast used a drone with a remote high-definition camera function to “illegally photograph” a new type of warship to brag on military forums in November 2021.

The man, identified only by the surname Luo, was sentenced to a year in prison and a further year’s probation for “illegally obtaining state secrets”, after he was found to possess secret-level and confidential-level military information.

China’s Law on Guarding State Secrets has a three-tier system for classified information: confidential; secret and top secret.

The top secret level covers “the most important state secrets, the leakage of which would cause extraordinarily serious damage to national security”, while leaking secret-level information would cause “serious damage”.

The Ministry of State Security also said a worker for an aerial survey agency had been using a drone for work purposes without permission and had collected photographs and data from a confidential area, “causing key technical security risks”.

The post said the worker, named Liu, was detained by the national security authorities to remove the risk of secrets being leaked “in a timely manner”. It did not provide any information about criminal proceedings against Liu.

The ministry also said two company employees had used WeChat and the cloud to share data collected by drones from a restricted military area without getting permission from the local air traffic control centre.

The pair, named Li and Zhang, were charged with illegally obtaining state secrets, and faced “criminal punishment in accordance with the law”. No further details were provided.

A similar case was reported by Chinese media last year, after a surveying and mapping company in Hebei province and one of its employees were each ordered to pay 120,000 yuan (US$16,500) compensation to the national defence authorities and make a public apology.

The court said the employee named Lin had been using a self-assembled drone to take photographs and carry out a survey without authorisation. The flight was detected by an air force radar and the military wasted more than 120,000 yuan identifying the drone.

Under new regulations that came into force at the start of the year, unmanned aerial vehicle operators must obtain a licence before they can fly their drones.

They will also need permission to use them in restricted air space, which includes the area around airports, national borders, restricted areas and facilities that are given special protection. The latter includes radio astronomy stations, satellite control stations and important revolutionary memorial sites.

Civilian drones may only engage in surveying and mapping activities after obtaining a certificate. Foreign-owned or operated drones are not allowed to carry out surveying and mapping, radio wave testing and similar activities within China.

There were nearly 1.27 million registered UAVs across the country by the end of last year, a 32 per cent year-on-year increase, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Some 19,000 companies were operating drones while 194,000 people held drone pilot certificates.

Russia-North Korea pact could dent China’s influence, but Beijing still holds sway over both

https://apnews.com/article/china-north-korea-russia-defense-agreement-3998a978ed89fd42b6da654ab1572873FILE - In this photo provided by the North Korean government, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, right, drives a car with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sitting in front passenger seat at a garden of the Kumsusan State Guest House in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, June 19, 2024. China appears to be keeping its distance as Russia and North Korea move closer to each other with a new defense pact that could tilt the balance of power between the three authoritarian states. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

2024-06-21T06:55:26Z

BEIJING (AP) — China appears to be keeping its distance as Russia and North Korea move closer to each other with a new defense pact that could tilt the balance of power among the three authoritarian states.

Experts say China’s leaders are likely fretting over potential loss of influence over North Korea after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the deal this week, and how that could increase instability on the Korean Peninsula. But Beijing may be struggling to come up with a response to because of its conflicting goals: keeping peace in the Koreas while countering the U.S. and its Western allies on the global stage.

Beijing so far has not commented on the deal — which requires both countries to provide defense assistance if the other is attacked — and only reiterated boilerplate statements that it seeks to uphold peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and advance a political settlement of the North-South divide.

The Chinese response has been “very weak,” said Victor Cha, senior vice president for Asia and Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, adding that it could be a sign that Beijing doesn’t yet know what to do.

“Every option is a bad option,” he said. “You’re either unable to make a decision because of very strongly held competing views or ... you’re just incapable of making a decision because you just don’t know how to evaluate the situation.”

Some in Beijing may welcome the Russia-North Korea partnership as a way of pushing back at America’s dominance in world affairs, but Cha said that “there is also a great deal of discomfort” in China, which doesn’t want to lose its sway over its neighbor to Russia, doesn’t want to see a destabilizing nuclear power on its doorstep, and doesn’t want to bring the conflict in Europe to Asia.

But China isn’t raising these concerns publicly. “They don’t want to push Kim Jong Un further into the arms of Vladimir Putin,” Cha said, referring to the leaders of the two countries.

Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, declined to comment on the new agreement. “The cooperation between Russia and the DPRK is a matter between two sovereign states. We do not have information on the relevant matter,” he said, referring to North Korea by the initials for its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

John Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, told reporters that the pact between Russia and North Korea “should be of concern to any country that believes that the U.N. Security Council resolutions ought to be abided by.” The Security Council has imposed sanctions on North Korea to try to stop its development of nuclear weapons.

Kirby also said the agreement “should be of concern to anybody who thinks that supporting the people of Ukraine is an important thing to do. And we would think that that concern would be shared by the People’s Republic of China.”

One area that China could be concerned about is whether Russia will help North Korea’s weapons program by sharing advanced technology, said Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.

“If China is indeed concerned, it has leverage in both Russia and North Korea and it could probably try to put some limitations to that relationship,” he said.

The meeting between Putin and Kim this week was the latest chapter in decades of complicated political and military relationships in East Asia, where the Chinese Communist Party, once an underdog, has emerged as a leading power that wields influence over both North Korea and Russia.

That and other developments have raised alarms in the U.S. that Beijing, now the world’s second-largest economy, could challenge the U.S.-led world order by aligning itself with countries such as Russia, North Korea and Iran. Beijing has rejected that allegation.

Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, said Beijing doesn’t want to form a three-way alliance with North Korea and Russia, because it “needs to keep its options open.”

Such a coalition could mean a new Cold War, something Beijing says it is determined to avoid, and locking itself to Pyongyang and Moscow would be contrary to China’s goals of maintaining relationships with Europe and improving ties with Japan and South Korea, she said.

Sun added that the rapprochement between North Korea and Moscow “opens up possibilities and potentials of uncertainty, but based on what has happened so far, I don’t think that China’s national interests have been undercut by this.”

Closer ties between Putin and Kim could weaken Beijing’s sway and leave it as the “biggest loser,” said Danny Russel, who was the top U.S. diplomat for Asia in the Obama administration.

“Apart from irritation over Putin’s intrusion into what most Chinese consider their sphere of influence, the real cost to China is that Russia’s embrace gives North Korea greater impunity and room to maneuver without consideration to Beijing’s interests,” he said.

Russel, now vice president for international security and diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said that Kim is eager to reduce his country’s dependence on China.

“The dilution of Chinese leverage means Kim Jong Un can disregard Beijing’s calls for restraint,” he said, “and that is much more likely to create chaos at a time when (Chinese leader) Xi Jinping desperately wants stability.”

___

Tang reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Will Weissert in Washington contributed.

China’s first industrial nuclear-powered steam generation project goes on line

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3267446/chinas-first-industrial-nuclear-powered-steam-generation-project-goes-line?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s first nuclear-powered steam generation project for industrial use has begun production, as Beijing accelerates its diversification of nuclear energy and promotes a low-carbon transformation of energy.

The project, named Heqi No 1, officially went into operation on Wednesday, according to its constructor, the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), a state-owned enterprise with a complete nuclear technology industry framework.

Through a 23.3km (14.5 miles) above-ground pipeline, CNNC said, Heqi No 1 can deliver 4.8 million tonnes of steam annually from the Tianwan Nuclear Power Station to the Lianyungang Petrochemical Industry Base, both in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province.

In a process CNNC described as “boiling water”, the project uses the steam generated from two of the Tianwan station’s turbine systems as its heat source.

The nuclear reaction turns the circulating cooling water into steam in the high-pressure generator, which in turn boils the water in the seawater desalination plant, and the resulting steam is sent via the pipeline to the petrochemical base.

To ensure safety, the project has set up multiple radiation monitoring points to detect radioactivity of the steam in real time. In the event of an anomaly, the project would shut down immediately, CNNC said.

The project provides a new solution for the green upgrading of energy in the petrochemical industry, Zhang Yi, chairman of the Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation, told Xinhua on Wednesday.

The project is expected to reduce coal usage by 400,000 tonnes annually, equivalent to cutting the emissions of 1.07 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, 184 tonnes of sulphur dioxide and 263 tonnes of nitrogen oxides.

It is comparable to planting 2,900 hectares of trees each year, and saving more than 700,000 tonnes of carbon emission allowances for the petrochemical base annually, according to CNNC. The report did not disclose the cost of the project.

Heqi No 1 represents China’s efforts to accelerate the diversified use of nuclear energy to meet its commitment to attain “peak carbon” emissions by 2030 and achieve “carbon neutral” status by 2060.

While many Western countries are turning to renewables for a greener energy supply, China is already a global leader in nuclear power generation.

In its drive to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the country is applying nuclear technologies to all aspects of people’s lives – including industry, agriculture, medicine, environmental protection and security.

In November 2022, a district heating demonstration project was put into use in Hongyanhe, Liaoning province, northeast China’s first nuclear-powered heating project.

Later, China’s first nuclear-powered heat generation project for industrial use began production in Haiyan county, Zhejiang province, Xinhua reported.

The State Council issued an action plan for energy conservation and carbon reduction last month, noting that in 2024, energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP are estimated to decrease by about 2.5 per cent and 3.9 per cent, respectively.

The council has spoken of replacing the electric drive to steam drive in an orderly manner, and encouraged petrochemical plants to explore the use of nuclear energy for their steam and heat supply.

China-US meeting agrees to scientist exchanges to keep up with synthetic narcotic trade

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3267490/china-us-meeting-agrees-scientist-exchanges-keep-synthetic-narcotic-trade?utm_source=rss_feed

China and the US agreed to establish a direct line of communication and to continue regular scientist-to-scientist exchanges on potential synthetic drugs in high-level talks on Thursday.

The meeting was held in Beijing between China’s public security chief Wang Xiaohong and the United States’ Director of National Drug Control Policy, Rahul Gupta, along with a delegation of senior officials.

It was intended “to follow up on the commitment on counternarcotics cooperation” made by US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Woodside summit in California in November, the White House said.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed “the importance of counternarcotics cooperation and the critical need to deliver tangible and sustainable results in addressing the shared threat posed by synthetic drug production and trafficking”.

“Both sides committed to alerting one another of the emergence of newly detected synthetic substances that present a potential emerging drug threat to both countries through establishing a direct line of communication and to continue regular scientist-to-scientist exchanges on this topic, with the next exchange taking place later in June,” the US readout said.

According to a statement from the Chinese side, Wang told Gupta that China was willing to “continue to strengthen bilateral and multilateral exchanges and cooperation in the anti-drug field with the US on the basis of mutual respect, management of differences and mutually beneficial cooperation”.

But Wang, a close aide to Xi, also urged the US to “pay attention to and effectively address the concerns of the Chinese side” to allow “pragmatic cooperation” between the two peoples. Wang did not elaborate on what the concerns were.

Thursday’s meeting was the latest effort as Beijing and Washington, amid geopolitical competition from trade to human rights, moved to stabilise ties following the meeting between Xi and Biden in November.

The two sides restarted talks on counter-narcotics and law enforcement cooperation at the start of the year, and on Wednesday China announced that local police in the northeastern province of Liaoning had detained a suspect allegedly involved in drug-related money laundering in the US following a tip-off provided by the US.

The case was hailed by China’s Ministry of Public Security, which is headed by Wang, as a “prime example of recent China-US anti-drug cooperation”.

On the same day, China announced that 45 new substances would be added to the supplementary list of controlled non-pharmaceutical narcotic drugs and psychotropic drugs, including several synthetic opioids, starting from July 1.

Counternarcotics cooperation between China and the US started as early as 1985. In 2003, the two sides established a mechanism for information exchange to tackle drug trafficking.

However, in August 2022, in retaliation for then House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, Beijing officially announced it was ending all its counternarcotics and law enforcement cooperation with the US.

Washington has sought Beijing’s help to fight the drug crisis in the US by cracking down on the Chinese companies that sell chemicals – which Washington blamed as being the source of fentanyl that landed in the US – and other drugs to Mexican cartels.

To get China back to the table, the Biden administration agreed to lift sanctions on the Institute of Forensic Science. The institute, under the Chinese public security ministry, was accused of committing human rights violations against members of China’s Uygur minority.

China, which has officially controlled all forms of fentanyl as a class of drugs since 2019, has long rejected criticism that the country was fuelling the opioid crisis in the US, but said the US should tighten its domestic controls “rather than blaming others”.

The many faces of China maths genius Liu Zhiyu, 35, monk, husband, businessman, thinker

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3267234/many-faces-china-maths-genius-liu-zhiyu-35-monk-husband-businessman-thinker?utm_source=rss_feed

Famous Chinese genius Liu Zhiyu may only be 35, but his breadth of experience far outstrips that of people much older.

Over an 18-year period the mathematics mastermind went to China’s most prestigious university, became a Buddhist monk then a psychologist and online influencer with 255,000 Douyin followers.

In addition, he is a husband dedicated to teaching people how to “be happy”.

In his latest autobiography, published in 2023, Liu wrote: “Mathematics led me towards Taoism. Taoism led me towards Buddhism. Buddhism led me towards psychology. They all led me towards the vast universe.”

Liu summarised his short but colourful existence in the following way: “At every turn of my life, I had to leave behind past glories, but I gained precious life experience.”

Liu was admitted to Peking University without taking exams, after he won a gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad in 2006.

A bright future awaited and when he decided to give up a full scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2010 and became a monk at Beijing’s Longquan Temple, people, including his parents, expressed disbelief.

More doubts emerged when Liu decided to leave the temple in 2018 and resumed a secular life in 2022. His back-and-forth decisions went against modern Chinese values which focus on stability and prosperity.

Liu said his life philosophy was deeply influenced by the ancient Taoist philosophy of Zhuang Zi, who believed that all life follows its own natural course and there is no good or evil.

He wrote that Taoism has guided him even when he was studying mathematics, letting him forget success or failure and focus on the process of solving problems.

Liu said he also has possessed the trait of sympathy.

This once pushed him to sacrifice his own needs to fulfil the expectations of other people, from his parents and school teachers to the temple’s abbot and seniors.

For three years while living as a monk, Liu dedicated 12 hours a day to the compilation of a classic Buddhist book series, and ran the Longquan Temple’s official social media accounts.

He said he was worn out by the work, and it made him realise his interest was in communication with people and their happiness.

Now, as the co-founder of a psychological counselling company, Liu offers services six hours a week. He used his own experience to serve people who were anxious about their studies and work.

Last year, Liu announced his marriage to the only woman he had ever dated. He said his wife taught him how to take care of himself.

South Korean police arrest hotel receptionist accused of raping Chinese tourist in Jeju

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3267492/south-korean-police-arrest-hotel-receptionist-accused-raping-chinese-tourist-jeju?utm_source=rss_feed

A Jeju hotel receptionist accused of raping a Chinese traveller in her room has been arrested on the charge of sexual assault, according to South Korea’s police on Friday.

The Jeju District Court approved an arrest warrant on Thursday evening for the employee, in his 30s, of a hotel in Yeon-dong on the island’s northern coast.

The suspect faces indictment after allegedly accessing the room with a master key, entering the room and raping the guest at around 4am on June 14 while she was highly intoxicated following a night out with other Chinese tourists.

Security camera footage police secured showed the employee entering the woman’s room shortly after she had been escorted there by other travellers who left immediately thereafter. After the alleged crime, he returned to the reception desk.

She later told one of her travel companions what had happened. The companion reported it to police.

The suspect admitted to police that he entered the woman’s room but claimed that he believed he was partaking in consensual sex with the woman.

The woman told police that she was too drunk a the time of the crime to take any evasive action.

Given that she was scheduled to return to China soon after the incident, police and the prosecution took legal steps for the preservation of evidence, which prosecutors can use against the suspect once his trial begins.

This story was first published by

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[Sport] Firm fined for selling China-made cars as Italian

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckrrxj5mvkgo

DR Automobiles

Australia urges China to restart defence talks to avoid military incidents

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3267470/australia-urges-china-restart-defence-talks-avoid-military-incidents?utm_source=rss_feed

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Friday that his country wants to restart annual dialogue with China’s chief of defence to reduce misunderstandings between the militaries, with the matter raised with China’s Premier Li Qiang this week.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday after meeting Li in Canberra that the two countries would take steps to improve military communication to avoid incidents, without giving detail.

Marles said in a radio interview on Friday that Australia wants to resume annual meetings between the two nations’ chiefs of defence and defence department secretaries. Although some defence dialogue has restarted after years of frozen ties, it wasn’t at the level it was 10 years ago, when the defence chiefs regularly met, he said.

“It doesn’t resolve the fundamental issues that we might have between us, but what it does do is deepen the understanding that we have between us about what our behaviours are in certain circumstances,” he said in an ABC radio interview, adding this could “avoid unnecessary escalations”.

In an incident last month, a Chinese air force jet dropped flares near an Australian defence helicopter in international airspace over the Yellow Sea, which Australia called a dangerous encounter. China said it was a warning not to approach China’s airspace.

In November, Australia said a Chinese naval vessel injured some of its divers in Japanese waters using sonar.

Liu Jianchao, head of the international department of the Chinese Communist Party, said during a visit to Australia in November the Australian navy’s movements in the South China Sea and East China Sea appeared to be an effort to contain China, which Australia rejected.

Two-thirds of Australian trade passes through the South China Sea, and Australia has joined exercises with the Philippines, the US and Japan in the region.

Marles said an annual meeting between defence chiefs would also allow communication when issues arise, and flow down to military staff so they know what to expect from counterpart behaviour.

Australia wanted faster progress on the matter, he added.

“The meeting that we had with Premier Li earlier in the week has been really important in advancing that,” he said.

US drops claims that TikTok misled users over Chinese access in privacy lawsuit

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3267468/us-drops-claims-tiktok-misled-users-over-chinese-access-privacy-lawsuit?utm_source=rss_feed

The US Justice Department won’t pursue allegations that ByteDance’s TikTok misled US consumers about their data security in a forthcoming suit accusing the company of children’s privacy violations, according to people familiar with the decision.

The department is preparing to file a consumer protection lawsuit against TikTok later this year on behalf of the US Federal Trade Commission, which investigated the case, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing inter-agency communications.

The FTC gave the Justice Department a referral with two parts. The Justice Department plans to drop one part of the complaint alleging that TikTok deceived US consumers by failing to inform them that Beijing-based employees of its parent company, ByteDance, would have access to their personal and financial information, the people said. The DOJ plans to proceed with allegations the company violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which bars collecting data about children under the age of 13.

TikTok has faced enormous scrutiny over the security of user data and ties between its parent company, ByteDance, and the Chinese government. President Joe Biden in April signed a law that would ban TikTok unless it is sold within a year. The company is challenging the law in the courts.

The department declined to comment on the decision to drop the allegations that TikTok misled consumers about data privacy. The FTC declined to comment on the DOJ’s decision.

When the Justice Department represents another agency in court, it has the authority to determine the best litigation strategy to ensure there are no conflicts with national security concerns or other cases.

“Consistent with our normal approach, the Justice Department consulted with FTC in advance of this referral and will continue to do so as we consider the claims,” spokesman Terrence Clark said. “As always, the department will be guided by the facts and the law as well as our responsibility to protect the American people.”

When the FTC seeks monetary penalties – such as when a firm violates a settlement agreement – it must refer the matter to the Justice Department for litigation. The same goes for cases the FTC investigates under federal consumer protection laws related to children’s online privacy.

The FTC recommended the agency sue TikTok over the two violations and took the unusual step of making its referral public on June 18. The FTC and Justice Department have been at odds over recent consumer protection cases involving Amazon.com and Meta Platforms.

TikTok in 2019 paid US$5.7 million to settle similar FTC allegations that it had illegally collected personal information from children. As part of that, the company agreed to provide annual reports to the agency about its data collection and compliance with the settlement. Those reports helped lead to the current case.

The DOJ’s Consumer Protection Branch has 45 days from when the FTC makes a referral to decide whether it wishes to litigate or send the case back to the FTC. The Justice Department almost always opts to take charge of the case as it can retain as much as 3 per cent of the civil penalties it collects.

Earlier this year, the FTC asked Congress to amend the law and allow it to litigate its own cases, saying the process for referring cases to the Justice Department is “badly broken”.

China’s historic Huangshan city flooded as devastating rains move north

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3267469/chinas-historic-huangshan-city-flooded-devastating-rains-move-north?utm_source=rss_feed

A bridge was destroyed, several main roads were closed and cars were seen floating down the streets of eastern China’s historic scenic destination Huangshan as heavy rainstorms moved north from the southern provinces, bringing severe floods.

More than 10,000 people were evacuated from their homes on Thursday as rain pounded the city, named for its spectacular Yellow Mountains, in Anhui province’s south.

On Thursday afternoon, the Huangshan weather bureau issued a rainstorm red alert – the most severe warning in China’s four-tier system – with predictions that multiple towns in the area could expect more than 16cm (just over 6in) of rain per hour.

Huangshan’s flood and drought prevention headquarters had raised the emergency alert response to level 2 earlier that day, instructing government bureaus to keep a close watch on the weather, as well as for signs of landslides and floods.

By the time night fell, 179,000 people had been affected by the floods, according to the Anhui Daily. A total of 27 houses collapsed and another 592 were damaged, causing a direct economic loss of 500 million yuan (US$68.8), it said.

Rescue teams in fire trucks and rubber boats reached more than 2,400 villagers trapped in the flood and evacuated 10,976 people. Nine provincial roads and 41 village roads were closed, halting 170 bus services. Ferry operations were also suspended.

According to the newspaper report, repairs have already begun on roads and electricity lines. Patrols have also been increased around schools and hospitals, rivers, reservoirs and other sites that could be risk of geological disasters.

In Chakou, home of Taiping Lake in Huangshan’s easternmost Shexian county, a bridge in Hengguan village was destroyed by the rising river, an official told Jimu News. Staff were stationed around the area to close affected roads and evacuate residents.

One resident said that she saw flooded roads and rice fields when she drove into the village on Thursday. Afraid of being trapped, she abandoned her car and waded home through knee-deep water, only to find some of her sewing machines under water.

Huangshan sprawls over 1,200 sq km (746 miles) over the Yellow Mountains’ 70 peaks and features hundreds of well-preserved ancient villages, with countless relics, traditional Hui-style architecture and wooden ancestral halls dating to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644AD).

The Anhui weather bureau said the rains are expected to continue for another 10 days and suggested that corn, rice and soybeans should be planted when possible during breaks in the weather. Measures should also be taken to prevent fields from flooding, it said.

Rainstorms have been moving west and north in the past few days, after devastating southern China. Hundreds have been left homeless by the resulting floods in Guangdong and Fujian provinces.

Meanwhile, extreme drought warnings have been issued for northern and central parts of the country, with local governments demanding that water is preserved as a priority for homes and livestock.

Stronger monetary, fiscal policy coordination urged as China’s treasury-bond trade nears

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3267474/stronger-monetary-fiscal-policy-coordination-urged-chinas-treasury-bond-trade-nears?utm_source=rss_feed

With Beijing set to overhaul its monetary tools by restarting treasury bonds purchases in the secondary markets, China’s central bank and finance ministry are expected to dovetail efforts to support the economy as fiscal policies take on a crucial role, according to a former People’s Bank of China official.

Sheng Songcheng, the former chief of the PBOC’s statistics department, also said that conditions, including the sheer size and liquidity of China’s bond market, are ripe for the central bank to trade bonds in the secondary markets to inject money to aid the economy.

His remarks at the annual Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai on Thursday came after PBOC governor Pan Gongsheng confirmed for the first time on Wednesday that discussions between the central bank and Ministry of Finance to end a two-decade hiatus on bond trading had taken place, following an order by President Xi Jinping at October’s twice-a-decade central financial work conference.

“Such coordination will see the PBOC dovetailing efforts with the finance ministry, as China’s macroeconomic management will be more about fiscal policies, while the PBOC will have a supporting role,” he said.

Beijing’s top leadership has mandated expansionary fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy, as well as an inter-cyclical and countercyclical adjustment mix, to keep the economy ticking, without resorting to aggressive quantitative easing.

But the world’s second-largest economy continues to be bedevilled by deflationary pressure and stubbornly weak demand, with property sector distress and a local government debt crisis still persisting.

Questions have been raised about how Beijing should more effectively deploy fiscal and monetary policies to defuse crises for the economy to attain the around 5 per cent annual growth target, while also keeping risks at bay.

Sheng said one well-established way for monetary and fiscal policy to work in tandem was the PBOC’s reserve requirement ratio (RRR) cut, adding that since most central and local government bonds are bought by commercial banks, such cuts could unlock additional capital to support new bond issuances.

In February, the central bank cut the amount of cash that commercial banks must hold as reserves by 50 basis points and injected 1 trillion yuan (US$138 billion) of liquidity into the market.

It had also trimmed the ratio by 25 basis points in September, but analysts said further reductions may not happen too soon.

Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Bank, said the liquidity environment has improved and another RRR cut may only happen in the fourth quarter.

The PBOC’s bond trading is viewed as a new tool. Traditionally, treasury bonds are held as collateral for the central bank’s relending to commercial banks.

But Pan warned of risks of nonbank financial entities holding too many medium to long-term central government bonds, as this could create a maturity mismatch and interest rate risks.

The governor also vowed to maintain an upwards-sloping government bond yield curve.

“The timing and pace of bond issuances, as well as term and interest, all involve monetary policies, meaning higher requirements for the finance ministry as the issuer as well as the central bank as the trader,” Sheng said.

“[These requirements] cover frequency, scale and the remaining maturity of the bonds held by the PBOC.

“More importantly, changes in bond pricing will have a head-on impact on the prices of other assets in the market.”

In recent months, government bond issuance has gathered pace as the finance ministry has cranked up its fiscal policy support.

May’s net government bond financing accounted for nearly half of the total between January and May, according to Sheng.

He also added fiscal expenditure in 2024 – which includes fiscal deficit as well as special and ultra-long bonds – would hit 8.96 trillion yuan, compared to last year’s 8.68 trillion.

He predicted that actual expenditure this year would see a spike since much of the 1 trillion yuan of special bonds announced in October would be used this year.

New York, London could ‘show China the way’ to a climate-proof future

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3267414/new-york-london-could-show-china-way-climate-proof-future?utm_source=rss_feed

China needs to follow the example of global metropolises such as London or New York in building public infrastructure capable of withstanding extreme weather, the official newspaper of the environment ministry has said.

The China Environment News article comes as the country encounters yet another summer of severe weather brought on by climate change, with the south reeling under deadly floods and drought-like conditions gripping the central and northern provinces.

China needs to replan its cities and rural areas in view of the new climate conditions, and learn from cities around the world that have rebuilt their facilities to adapt to this change, the ecology and environment ministry publication said on Thursday.

“In the past, the main urban infrastructure such as water and power networks, and flood control, were designed based on long-term average meteorological data with some additional safety margins. But extreme weather has changed the underlying logic of urban and rural planning and design,” said the article by Yang Pingjian, a researcher at the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Science.

Set up in 1978, the non-profit institute affiliated to the ecology ministry focuses on innovative environmental protection research.

“In cities with an average annual precipitation of 400mm, climate adaptation planning is needed to address the flood risks caused by hundreds of millimetres of rainfall over tens of hours, which have occurred multiple times,” the article said, citing the experiences of London and New York.

In the face of threats of coastal flooding caused by climate change, New York City planned a flood protection system in communities along the east side of Manhattan, which was struck by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

The system design integrated raised parkland, floodwalls, floodgates and infrastructure improvements to give waterfront communities long-term protection from storm surges and tidal flooding.

Asser Levy Playground, which was severely battered by Hurricane Sandy, was among the first projects completed under the push for “resilient infrastructure”.

Combining new “resilient” play equipment and flood protection, the playground reopened in 2022 with a new floodwall and a sliding floodgate capable of protecting an adjacent hospital and other public facilities from surging waters.

London is also striving to improve climate resilience, with the government recognising the three main climate risks of flooding, drought and overheating.

In anticipation of more frequent heatwaves, The London City Resilience Strategy of 2020 included plans to set up a network of cool spots for the public to rest and access drinking water.

London and New York are not the only cities making plans to withstand extreme weather. The European Commission adopted its new strategy on Climate Change Adaptation in 2021, and the coastal Danish capital of Copenhagen has drafted plans to use “climate parks” for floodwater storage.

“China’s urban and rural planning departments should also follow up promptly,” the article said.

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment warned last year that climate change was a major risk for development.

Improving the ability of infrastructure to adapt to climate change was also outlined in China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy 2035.

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South China Sea collision, AI-powered sexbots, Malaysian ‘ghost marriage’: 7 highlights

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3267336/south-china-sea-collision-ai-powered-sexbots-malaysian-ghost-marriage-7-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider .

A Philippine ship and a Chinese vessel collided after the Philippine ship “illegally entered” waters near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal and “dangerously approached” the Chinese ship, China’s coastguard said. The incident took place early on Monday morning.

Chinese scientists and engineers are applying ChatGPT-like technology to sex robots, aiming to create interactive, AI-powered companions in the face of technical and ethical challenges. In Shenzhen, Starpery Technology, a major producer of sex dolls, is now training its own large language model to enhance its product with artificial intelligence.

One of two operating runways at Hong Kong airport was closed for more than eight hours on Monday after a cargo plane burst a tyre during an emergency landing, resulting in delays to about 450 flights and sparking questions over clearance procedures.

China’s central role in the global supply chain has prompted the United States to initiate a series of measures to de-risk its relationship with the world’s second largest economy as relations worsen. For the US defence industry, it seems inevitable that Washington will want to go further and seek to cut out China completely. Whether it will work is another question, though.

An exclusive Hong Kong club founded for Americans has angered non-US members after it said it wanted to redeem millions of dollars worth of membership fees at a fraction of the market value with the option to top up by as much as HK$1.5 million (US$192,139) or leave.

China’s naval expansion and bolstering of its shipbuilding capabilities may give the PLA a strategic edge in a potential conflict, including the “hellscape strategy” floated recently by the US, military analysts said.

The families of a Chinese couple who died in a car accident decided to find closure on their deaths by holding a “ghost marriage” in their honour. The couple were together for three years and about to marry when they died.

Is China being short-changed by a UK-based science ranking index? It depends who you ask

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3266936/china-being-short-changed-uk-based-science-ranking-index-it-depends-who-you-ask?utm_source=rss_feed

Changes to how an international database assesses and tracks the affiliations of the authors of high-quality scientific research articles has raised questions about whether Chinese academics and institutions are being unfairly treated, amid other suggestions that the index had favoured China.

Based on data from March 2023 to February 2024, the latest rankings from the Nature Index, an annual ratings list published by the London-based scientific journal Nature, showed that Chinese institutions occupied 10 of the top 15 spots.

But the new assessment used an expanded database to include articles from 64 medical journals, a field in which the United States holds a significant lead, with more than four times the share of second-placed China.

“Even after the Nature Index was expanded to include more than 60 medical journals last year, China still ranked at the top of this database,” state-run Guangming Daily reported on June 10.

In recent years, the number of Chinese institutions included in the Nature Index has grown rapidly, even surpassing the number of articles published by Oxford and Cambridge researchers.

In 2023, Chinese institutions surpassed those from the US for the first time, a lead that was maintained and even expanded on by some institutions this year.

According to the index, the top 10 Chinese institutions with the most published research are: the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Peking University, Nanjing University, Zhejiang University, Tsinghua University, Sun Yat-sen University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Fudan University.

The rapid expansion has prompted suspicion of favouritism towards Chinese institutions by some who see China’s growth as part of a united front work plan.

On Quora, an online questions-and-answers platform, some discussions raised scepticism about China’s rise in the rankings, with some commenters suggesting that the ratings were influenced by funding from Chinese universities.

The Nature Index team confirmed it had received a series of questions from the Post but did not respond by publication time.

However, one Chinese researcher defended the ranking methodology.

“The addition of new journals is just a scientific update to the Nature Index’s statistical methods, and it could not be deemed unfair to any particular country,” said Liu Xiaomin, a researcher from the National Science Library at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

She also noted that new journals added to the index were selected by an independent group of researchers, and the criteria were publicly listed on the index’s website.

“This [paying money to buy rankings] is also impossible, because the calculation method and the journal data used for calculation are publicly available. If anyone has doubts about the calculation results, they can just calculate it themselves,” Liu said.

“Different people have their own interpretations. We should understand this list appropriately while avoiding over-interpretation,” she added.

American institutions are not the only ones to have benefited from the inclusion of medical journals in the index.

An analysis showed that top Chinese universities saw an average increase of about 10 per cent in research output from 2022 to 2023. Specifically, Central South University, which is known for its medical expertise, recorded a 25 per cent increase in research, while research from Chongqing Medical University jumped by 80 per cent, due mostly to a small amount in the previous year.

China’s dominance is largely attributed to its strengths in chemistry and the physical sciences, which accounted for 85 per cent of its total share in the Nature Index in 2023. However, the country is also trying to catch up in biological sciences.

China’s share of published research in biological sciences rose by 15.8 per cent from 2022 to 2023 – the highest percentage among the four subjects tracked by the index.

This growth is underpinned by increasing research spending, which rose from 2.4 per cent of GDP in 2021 to 2.64 in 2023.

“The country’s growing assortment of large-scale science facilities demonstrates its ambition and hints at a desire for worldwide impact and recognition,” according to the journal Nature.

Scientific research facilities like the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory, the China Jinping Underground Laboratory, and the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory are not only advancing fundamental research in physics but are also attracting international scientists.

“Many researchers really want to go to these unique big-science infrastructure facilities because it’s a source of new data that they wouldn’t get elsewhere,” said Anna Lisa Ahlers, head of a research group at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, in a June 5 Nature article.

A study published in the journal Science last year pointed to a significant impact from China’s “Young Thousand Talents” programme, which was launched in 2010 to attract high-calibre young researchers back to China.

“These returnees are the most productive 15 per cent of their peers, they publish on average 2½ times more papers than equivalent researchers who had remained in America,” The Economist reported on June 12.

Science policy researchers suggested this could be an ongoing shift. “US hegemony as the ‘go-to place’ for researchers around the world is in peril,” said Jenny Lee, a science-policy researcher at the University of Arizona, in a Nature report.

Some restrictive policies may harm scholars’ free choice. “You can’t collaborate with Chinese nationals if you have Nasa funding,” she added.

Chinese EV firms urge Beijing take ‘most stringent’ measures against EU, allege ‘snooping’

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3267388/chinese-ev-firms-urge-beijing-take-most-stringent-measures-against-eu-allege-snooping?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese car firms have asked Beijing to take “the most stringent measures” against the European Union after the bloc raised import tariffs on its electric vehicles (EV).

An online media outlet under state broadcaster CCTV on Wednesday also made accusations of “snooping” into China’s EV technology.

The Yuyuantantian news outlet’s social media account cited a closed-door meeting at China’s Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday involving four Chinese and six European firms plus trade groups.

After a seven-month investigation into subsidies in China’s EV sector, the EU announced last week that it would raise tariffs on Chinese EVs by up to 38 per cent from July 4.

Under World Trade Organization rules, China should impose a “higher provisional tariff” of up to 25 per cent on large petrol-powered vehicles from Europe, the post added.

The firms alleged that the EU had “abused its investigation power to arbitrarily expand the scope of investigation and even snoop into China’s new energy vehicle technology”.

“Chinese companies have reported that the EU has asked them to provide battery formulas during its anti-subsidy investigation,” it added.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, demanded that parties turn over “core business secrets”, including production capacity projections for the next five years, factory output, lists of fixed assets and any plans to increase production capacity, according to Yuyuantantian’s social media post.

It said investigators also wanted information on parts and raw materials – including names of providers – labour costs, equipment depreciations, pricing strategies, sales terms and the contact information of customers in the EU.

Shareholder meeting minutes, copies of joint-venture agreements and financial details were also demanded, the report said.

“Rather than saying that this is an anti-subsidy investigation, it is better to say that this is a big survey of the core competitiveness of China’s new energy vehicle companies,” it said.

At the meeting, Chinese and European car companies “all opposed” the EU’s tariffs, the post added.

With the idea of a 25 per cent tariff on certain large European cars having already been floated, Chinese officials also called the tariffs “protectionism”.

As of Thursday afternoon, the EU’s office in Hong Kong had not answered a request for comment on the closed-door EV meeting.

On Monday, China announced an anti-dumping investigation into certain pork imports from the EU.

Beijing sees EVs, lithium-ion batteries and solar panels as its “new three” sectors to lift exports and spur economic growth.

China’s EV battery exports rose by 70 per cent in 2023 to US$34.1 billion, according to the US-based Atlantic Council think tank.

China’s state-run Global Times, meanwhile, reported that Chinese battery maker CATL is planning to build a second plant in Hungary valued at US$8.2 billion.

The European Federation for Transport and Environment said worldwide sales attained a market share of 14.6 per cent in 2023 on 1.5 million vehicles.

Separately, a report released on Wednesday by the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU and data provider China Economic Information Service said 82 per cent of surveyed Chinese firms had lost confidence in investing in Europe due to the EU anti-subsidy probe, while 73 per cent noted a negative impact on European sales.

The report on the development of Chinese EV manufacturers in Europe surveyed 30 EV firms and other institutions in April and May. The EU had launched its investigation in October.

Tariffs would “significantly increase costs and complicate business operations, undermining the EU’s efforts to create a favourable green economic environment”, the report said.

It urged Chinese and European carmakers to “work together more closely to expand the EV market and contribute to the global green economy transition”.

Italy issues US$6.4 million fine over Chinese cars badged as Italian

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3267428/italy-issues-us64-million-fine-over-chinese-cars-badged-italian?utm_source=rss_feed

Italy’s antitrust authority fined a local automobile company €6 million (US$6.4 million) after determining it had illegally labelled vehicles from Chinese manufacturers including Chery Automobile Co as Italian-made.

DR Automobiles has been promoting cars from Chery, BAIC Motor Corp and Anhui Jianghua Automobile Group, or JAC Motors, as Italian-made since at least December 2021, the agency said on its website. The China-made cars have been marketed under the DR and EVO brands after “final touches” in Italy, it said.

The move extends a crackdown in recent months by the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni over foreign-built vehicles that give the impression of being made in Italy. In May, financial police seized dozens of Fiat Topolinos produced in Morocco because they sported an Italian flag. Parent company Stellantis NV was also forced to rename a new Alfa Romeo after Rome took issue with the group’s plan to call the Polish-made SUV the Milano.

DR, which is based in Macchia d’Isernia north of Naples, said it would appeal the ruling. Its vehicles are only 60-70 per cent pre-assembled in China, a spokesman said by phone on Thursday, adding that the company makes important changes at its factory to meet European regulations, for example with fuel systems and collision standards.

Partly building cars in Asia is common practice in the automotive sector and “has never been hidden from the public”, DR said. Its advertising “never intended to publicise the alleged complete manufacturing of cars in Italy”.

Meloni’s government has also clashed with Fiat owner Stellantis over plans to move production to lower-cost countries, as European governments press carmakers to preserve well-paying jobs. Last week, the European Union raised tariffs on Chinese-made battery-electric vehicles to as much as 48 per cent, a move aimed at protecting local carmakers from low-cost competition on products that are critical to the region’s sustainability goals.

The DR 1.0 city car is based on Chery’s eQ1, a popular model in its home country. Chery has taken over a former Nissan factory in Barcelona and aims to start producing EVs there by the end of this year.

DR Automobiles expects to be subject to EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles for the EV model it sells, the spokesman said. The company is planning to add an Italian plant to bolster local assembly, he said.

US lawmakers meeting Modi after Dalai Lama signals New Delhi shift on China: analysts

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3267435/us-lawmakers-meeting-modi-after-dalai-lama-signals-new-delhi-shift-china-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted American lawmakers, including former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, in New Delhi on Thursday, shortly after they had an audience with the Dalai Lama, a meeting that defied stern warnings from Beijing.

“Had a very good exchange of views with friends from the US Congress in a delegation,” Modi posted on X, formerly Twitter, adding that he “deeply” valued the “strong bipartisan support in advancing the India-US comprehensive global strategic partnership”.

The delegation’s visit coincided with a trip by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell to New Delhi, where both sides agreed to increase cooperation in hi tech and vowed to further bolster military ties.

As images of Modi with the US delegation were shared on social media, experts argued that New Delhi was reshaping its China policy amid territorial tensions and strengthening relations with the US, while some cautioned about a “real risk” of escalating the China-India border conflict as a consequence.

“India has once again indicated that it is willing to gradually ramp up pressure on issues like Tibet and Taiwan,” said Harsh Pant, an international relations professor at King’s College London.

India’s foreign policy towards China, he said, has been undergoing a “gradual calibrated change” since 2020, when a border clash killed at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers in the Ladakh region.

Since then, multiple rounds of diplomatic and military-level talks have failed to normalise relations. Both nations maintain a significant number of troops and advanced weaponry along the border. In April, Beijing said that the border dispute was “not the entirety” of its relations with New Delhi, calling for steady ties.

But Pant said that New Delhi had made it clear that unless Beijing recognized “India’s concerns and sensitivities and respects Indian interests”, it was not moving from that posture.

India, which has long hosted the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, and his followers in their exile in Dharamshala, acknowledged Tibet as part of China in 2003. Following the 2020 border clash, though, New Delhi has ceased accommodating Chinese sensitivities regarding the issue.

Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Centre’s South Asia Institute, said that it seemed as though India was “trying to signal that it can use its relationship with the US as leverage”.

“It can show China that there are ways that it can push back,” he added.

Modi’s hosting of the delegation was a “very explicit signal”, he said, that New Delhi was “fully” behind the delegation’s audience with the Dalai Lama, and that it wasn’t just “politely” facilitating it.

“India appears more risk tolerant now when it comes to how far it’s willing to go with pushing the Tibet issue,” Kugelman said.

While US-India security relations are deeper than ever before, Kugelman said, the US delegation’s meeting with the Dalai Lama could have consequences along the “line of actual control” (LAC), the disputed 3,000-km (1,864 miles) Himalayan border between China and India, in the form of “stepped-up Chinese provocations”.

“That’s a real risk and will be something to watch,” he said, suggesting that the growing US-India cooperation could have been one of the triggers of the border clashes in the first place.

Recalling the extensive military exercises China conducted around Taiwan after Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in 2022, Kugelman said that her latest trip could give Beijing a “pretext to try to push back in a big way against India or the US or their allies”.

Jabin Thomas Jacob, a professor of international relations at Shiv Nadar University in India, said that Beijing should remember that New Delhi “does not and cannot restrict access” to the Dalai Lama.

US and other foreign legislators or leaders visiting the Dalai Lama was a “long-standing tradition”, he said, and there was “no reason” for China to send bilateral relations with either India or the US into a “tailspin”.

China’s third plenum: few ‘bold’ moves in store but analysts watch for structural reforms as Xi’s vision leads the way

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3266343/chinas-third-plenum-few-bold-moves-store-analysts-watch-structural-reforms-xis-vision-leads-way?utm_source=rss_feed

The Communist Party of China is about to hold its much-delayed third plenum, traditionally a time for unveiling major economic strategies for the next five to 10 years. In this, the first of a six-part preview series, Jane Cai and William Zheng look at the likely measures in store as China doubles down on innovation and tech advancement to boost post-pandemic growth and tackle the US-led tech war.

Top officials of the Communist Party of China assemble next month for their much-anticipated third plenary session, traditionally an occasion to set out economic strategies for the next five to 10 years.

But few observers expect major directional shifts when the Central Committee meets this time around.

This is because, unlike third “plenums” in the early years when factional differences needed to be ironed out before a final plan was announced, President Xi Jinping’s vision has already dominated China’s economic agenda for years.

The policy meeting is typically held every five years, about a year after each new Central Committee takes office.

The 370 or so members of the committee, chosen at each twice-a-decade national congress, include the party’s top decision-making Politburo, as well as ministers, provincial party secretaries, senior generals and heads of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). They usually gather for seven plenary sessions over the committee’s five-year term.

The third plenum has been a landmark event since 1978 – when paramount leader Deng Xiaoping set a closed and poverty-stricken China on the road to reform and, among other key decisions, allowed foreign businesses to operate in China.

It again made global headlines in the 1990s, when party leaders decided that loss-making SOEs would be allowed to go bankrupt. The same happened in 2013, a year after Xi became party secretary, when the plenum said the main objective of all reforms was to “let the market take the decisive role in allocating resources”. Both times, the announcements were good signs for a freer economy.

This time, China’s strategy is expected to take more external elements into consideration. Despite low expectations of any bold move in the coming plenum, analysts said it would be worth watching how the world’s second-largest economy approached “high-quality development” and achieved “Chinese modernisation” – citing Xi’s catchphrases.

This was particularly significant in light of the larger retreat from globalisation and rise of protectionism and right-wing politics, as highlighted by the recent European Parliament election, they said.

The decisions made at the plenum would test the ability of the ruling party to help the economy tackle the “China de-risking” push in the global supply chain, and fierce competition for markets and technology with the United States and other Western nations. These challenges are also intertwined with China’s own problems, including an ageing population and low consumer and investor confidence.

Observers will also be watching for any announcements related to the as-yet-unexplained dismissals of several senior officials over the past year, as the party and public still expect to be given “justifiable causes” for their departure.

“Market sentiment remains gloomy so it will take bold policy moves to revive confidence in China’s long-term economic trajectory,” said Neil Thomas, a fellow for Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Centre for China Analysis.

“But anyone expecting this plenum to be as significant for market reform and opening as the iconic third plenum of 1978 will likely end up disappointed.

“The plenum is unlikely to announce the bold economic reforms long called for by many economists, entrepreneurs, and investors. Instead, it’s likely to focus on structural reforms to advance Xi’s economic focus on investment in technology, manufacturing, and human capital.”

Xi shed light on the likely economic priorities as he led a meeting with China’s top group on deepening systemic reforms on June 11.

China needed to expand international tech exchanges, attract and retain more overseas talent, and actively take part in global tech governance, to build an open and “globally competitive” environment for technological innovations, the meeting decided, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The Central Commission for Comprehensively Deepening Reform also resolved to improve China’s corporate governance system and better protect farmers’ interests.

The decision to hold the third plenum in July was announced at a meeting of the 24-member Politburo in April, chaired by Xi.

“China’s reform must continue in the face of complex international and domestic situations, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial changes, and the new anticipation of the people,” it was decided at the meeting.

The April 30 meeting did not spell out the agenda of the plenum, but highlighted the need to adopt a proactive fiscal policy, utilise foreign capital and develop “new quality productive forces”, as it listed measures to address risks “lurking in key areas” as the economy faces up to fierce global competition.

“New quality productive forces” is another catchphrase coined by Xi, who has described them as “advanced productivity freed from traditional economic growth models” and featuring “high technology, high efficiency and high quality”.

Xi introduced the term during a visit last year to China’s northeastern rust belt, which has seen its lead in heavy industry challenged by the shift in traditional growth drivers.

The new productive forces “align with the country’s new development philosophy”, Xi said, vowing to encourage innovation and address technological bottlenecks as trade and investment curbs imposed by the United States and its allies restrict China’s access to advanced chips and other hi-tech products.

“The complexity, severity and uncertainty of the external environment have spiked,” the Politburo meeting resolved, according to state news agency Xinhua.

According to George Magnus, a research associate at Oxford University’s China Centre, “for the Communist Party of China, being number one in science and technology is a goal as it is for the US, but it is also much more”.

“It’s a path towards leadership and domination of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and to upend the global economic order in China’s favour. So, I think the party [plenum] will have much to say about new productive forces, and the direction of policy and strategy.”

Wu Junfei, a researcher at the Hong Kong-China Economic and Cultural Development Association think tank, said China was likely to finance its tech ambitions by issuing more treasury bonds.

“The plenum is likely to pave the way for the expansion of treasury bonds,” Wu said. “The money raised will not be used to boost domestic consumption or improve social welfare measures. Instead, it will mainly be used to fund science and technological projects and industrial upgrading to break the Western blockage.”

Last Friday, Beijing issued 35 billion yuan (US$4.8 billion) worth of 50-year “ultra-long-term” treasury bonds. It was the fourth batch of 1 trillion yuan in such bonds planned for this year, for terms of 20, 30 and 50 years.

The first batch, issued on May 17, was worth 40 billion yuan.

The issuance of the special government bonds might continue for a few years, Premier Li Qiang said when he announced the plan in March.

According to the National Development and Reform Commission, the top economic planning body, the bonds will finance scientific and technological innovation, integrated urban-rural development, coordinated regional development, and food and energy security.

An International Monetary Fund briefing in March warned that China must pay attention to the public debt sustainability. While acknowledging that the country did “have policy space” for fiscal expansion, the IMF noted that its public debt increase in recent years had been “even steeper than the United States”.

Chen Daoyin, an independent political analyst, said that in addition to “new quality productive forces”, the plenum was likely to set the tone in a variety of areas to achieve what Xi has labelled as “Chinese modernisation”. His assessment was based on the remarks made by four of China’s top leaders during recent inspection tours, traditionally undertaken before the third plenum.

Premier Li, top lawmaker Zhao Leji, top political adviser Wang Huning and Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang, all members of the seven-strong Politburo Standing Committee – the centre of power in China – criss-crossed the country in May as Xi, who heads the committee, led senior diplomats and economic and trade affairs officials on a visit to France, Serbia and Hungary.

The four emphasised technological self-reliance, high-quality development, social stability and greater integration of minorities during their trips to provinces including Anhui, Henan, Liaoning, Guangxi and Xinjiang.

Shortly after returning from Europe, Xi went on an inspection trip to the eastern economic powerhouse province of Shandong. His visit from May 22 to 24 included a meeting with the bosses of state-owned firms, private entrepreneurs and economists.

Xi called for deeper reforms to address economic problems, as he vowed to “resolutely eliminate the ideological concepts and institutional shortcomings that hinder the advancement of Chinese-style modernisation”.

He also emphasised the need for “an approach that is both goal- and problem-oriented … focusing on deep-seated institutional obstacles and structural issues”, in what was seen as a heavily pro-business message ahead of the third plenum.

Gabriel Wildau, managing director of advisory firm Teneo, said his comments suggested the plenum would “seek to reassure investors and entrepreneurs that the party leadership still values economic growth, the private sector, and market forces”.

Business confidence has been running low since China cracked down on property developers, internet firms and private tutoring companies to rein in the “blind expansion” of private capital in 2020.

Prolonged “zero-Covid” curbs during the pandemic years and tighter national security rules have also dampened investor sentiment.

On May 17, apart from the introductory bond issuance, Beijing also announced a slew of policy measures.

These included the easing of mortgage rules and encouraging local governments and SOEs to buy unsold housing inventory, in what was the central government’s most ambitious effort to revive the property sector and bolster economic recovery. Many cities had earlier already eased homebuying rules. However, analysts remain uncertain about the effectiveness of the measures.

David Tan, an entrepreneur in the eastern province of Jiangsu, said he did not have high expectations from the third plenum.

“The message from Xi’s meeting with business executives was pro-business. But it is not the first time the party has tried to talk up its support for the private sector,” he said.

“In reality, private companies are often elbowed out in bids for public projects by government-backed companies. The situation doesn’t get any better as more government firms have been set up in recent years to revive the economy, rescue the ailing property sector, and so on.”

Besides the economy, the plenum is usually a venue to display solidarity within the party.

However, those attending the July conclave may find it hard to ignore the elephant in the room – fellow Central Committee members who have lost their posts and disappeared from public view.

These include former foreign minister Qin Gang and former defence minister Li Shangfu, both with the shortest terms in office.

Qin and Li were stripped of their government titles after being absent from public events for months, Qin last June and Li in August. But they remain on the 370-strong Central Committee led by Xi.

The rare reshuffle in top diplomatic and military positions so soon after their appointments suggested wrongdoing – but Beijing has offered no explanation for their abrupt removal.

Two others – former PLA Rocket Force commander Li Yuchao and agriculture minister Tang Renjian – have been officially placed under corruption investigations but are still members of the committee.

The formal expulsion of committee members convicted of corruption requires an official resolution to be endorsed by the body during a plenum.

A professor of political science at Nanjing University said it was important for the party leadership to have official closure on the dismissals, especially unexplained ones.

“There will be a lot less speculation with the cases of agriculture minister Tang Renjian, or former Rocket Army commander Li Yuchao, because people know that they are under corruption probe, which is actually nothing new,” said the professor, who asked to remain anonymous.

“In a way, such an announcement is closure, telling people in the system that political careers have ended for these senior cadres.

“That is why, having a proper closure for the unexplained dismissal of Qin Gang and Li Shangfu is important. In Chinese politics, you always need justifiable causes for your actions, no matter how powerful the leader is.”