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• Chinese business tycoon convicted of defrauding followers in $1bn scheme
• How China’s massive industrial supply chain may help give rise to the ‘artificial sun’
• South China Sea: Chinese, Philippine leaders to have direct hotline to stop clashes at sea
• Exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui convicted in US fraud trial
• China looks to South African food exports as way of reducing reliance on US and Australia
• UK launches armed forces review amid ‘deadly quartet’ of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea
• China’s third plenum and the 3 major challenges facing ‘Xi the reformer’
• Where would Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance stand on the big China issues?
• One lesson Asia’s emerging manufacturing powerhouses can learn from China
• Mainland Chinese visitors to make Hong Kong Book Fair a bestselling event, organiser says
• Signed, sealed, delivered by drone, China students excited by flying university admission
• Philippines fake ID scandal: 1,000 more cases linked to Chinese nationals found
• Housing, once the ticket to wealth in China, is now draining fortunes
• South China Sea: PLA deploys new hospital ship to islands and reefs in contested waters
• No phones China ‘jungle experience’ at Buddhist temple helps de-stress participants
• China’s GDP forecasts cut by some banks to below 5% target, Beijing facing ‘critical point’
• China’s visa-free policies paying off as cruise traffic rises 60%, offers consumption boost
• Chinese drinks giant pours cold water on Hong Kong watchdog’s ‘irresponsible’ report
• China places 15 provinces on emergency alert as deadly floods make their way north
• Chinese finance firms ask Hong Kong staff to pay back part of their bonuses
• Solomon Islands props up budget with China’s US$20 million injection
• Actors at China scenic spot pose as wild, primitive people to scare tourists
• Chinese firms caught carrying out illegal pregnancy tests on female jobseekers
• Saudi ETFs make winning China debut as financial ties with Middle East strengthen
• [Sport] T-shirts showing Trump after shooting pulled in China
• US-China high-level military dialogues gather pace; new crisis meeting on horizon
• Top EU leaders will boycott meetings hosted by Hungary’s Orbán after his outreach to Russia, China
• China-Russia sea drill starts after flotilla sails past Japan, South Korea and Philippines
• Outcry as China breast implant woman discovers video of operation online
• China’s third plenum: US executives eye first-hand insights from economy-centric conclave
• Americans won’t know China well if they don’t know Mandarin
• China’s emissions of two potent greenhouse gases rise 78% in decade
• White House should disclose whether Russia sharing US weapons insight with China: Congress
• Top EU officials to boycott Hungary meetings after Putin talks and China visit
• Asian-American community angered by erroneous report that Donald Trump shooter was Chinese
• Is China a threat to Europe? Nato’s China stance may rest on its answer
• What is ETF Connect? How does it help global investors tap China’s stock market?
• China ramps ups military education for younger ages to help sow ‘seeds’ of patriotism
• China’s bond rally sends yields to record lows, prompting concerns of ‘disrupting’ economy

Chinese business tycoon convicted of defrauding followers in $1bn scheme

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/16/guo-wengui-fraud-trial

Guo Wengui, a self-exiled Chinese business tycoon whose criticism of the Communist party won him legions of online followers and powerful friends in the American conservative movement, was convicted by a US jury Tuesday of engaging in an enormous multiyear fraud that ripped off some of his most devoted fans.

Once believed to be among the richest people in China, Guo was arrested in New York in March of 2023 and accused of operating a racketeering enterprise that stretched from 2018 through 2023.

Over a seven-week trial, he was accused of deceiving thousands of people who put money into bogus investments, with the aim of preserving a luxurious lifestyle. He was convicted of nine of 12 criminal counts, including racketeering conspiracy.

Guo’s lawyers said prosecutors hadn’t proven he’d cheated anyone.

Guo, who is also known by the name Miles Kwok, left China in 2014 during an anti-corruption crackdown that ensnared people close to him, including a top intelligence official.

Chinese authorities accused Guo of rape, kidnapping, bribery and other crimes, but Guo said those allegations were false and designed to punish him for publicly revealing corruption as he criticized leading figures in the Communist party.

He applied for political asylum in the US, moved to a luxury apartment overlooking Central Park and joined Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago golf club in Florida.

While living in New York, Guo developed a close relationship with Trump’s former onetime political strategist, Steve Bannon. In 2020, Guo and Bannon announced a joint initiative to overthrow the Chinese government.

Prosecutors say hundreds of thousands of people were convinced to invest more than $1bn in entities Guo controlled. Among those businesses and organizations was Guo’s media company, GTV Media Group Inc, and his so-called Himalaya Farm Alliance and the Himalaya Exchange.

In a closing argument, assistant US attorney Ryan Finkel said Guo “spouted devious lies to trick his followers into giving him money”.

He said Guo made hundreds of broadcasts and videos in which he promised followers that they would not lose money if they invested with him.

“I’m rich. I’ll take care of you,” the prosecutor said Guo told them.

How China’s massive industrial supply chain may help give rise to the ‘artificial sun’

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3269357/how-chinas-massive-industrial-supply-chain-may-help-give-rise-artificial-sun?utm_source=rss_feed

In the eastern city of Shanghai, an experimental Chinese nuclear fusion power plant dubbed “HH70” just announced it has set a world record.

In mid-June, the machine – claimed to be the world’s first fully high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tokamak device – successfully obtained its first plasma.

In the world of nuclear fusion, it is no mean feat. And in a world striving to find clean, cheap and limitless energy, it is great news. After all, there is a reason why nuclear fusion is known as the “holy grail” of clean energy.

According to the device’s developer, Shanghai-based fusion energy company Energy Singularity, the HH70 also created another record: the fastest development and building of a superconducting tokamak device.

In a recent interview with the state-run China Global Television Network (CGTN), Guo Houyang, co-founder and CTO of Energy Singularity, said the HH70 is smaller and cheaper to build, and was constructed in just two years.

This is an achievement largely backed by China’s thriving industrial chain and engineering strength. The HTS tapes used in the HH70’s magnetic system are supplied by Shanghai Superconductor, a domestic company that has become a major global supplier since its inception in 2011.

Even though the HH70’s achievement is not going to see the successful commercial production of fusion power straight away, the industry around it is already preparing for the next clean energy race.

But the developer of the technology and the winner of the race do not necessarily go hand in hand. In 2008, Tesla unveiled the world’s first electric vehicle in the US. Yet now, China clearly dominates the EV industry.

Yasmin Andrew, a researcher in the department of physics at Imperial College London, said there are several private companies around the world currently working to develop HTS technology for fusion, but HH70 was the first tokamak to achieve a plasma.

Although the fusion technology is still in its infancy, the quest to generate carbon-free energy like the sun has gradually become more of an engineering endeavour.

Dennis Whyte, former director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Centre at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), told the Post that as fusion technology advances, the supply chain and technology development are critical.

“It is no longer just studied for science’s sake but is pivoting towards implementation as a new energy source,” he said.

Andrew Holland, CEO of the Fusion Industry Association (FIA), a non-profit organisation based in Washington, told Reuters in an interview in March that one fear is fusion will follow the pattern of the solar industry, where much of the technology was invented in the US but manufacturing came to be dominated by China.

“It’s very clear that China has ambitions to do the same thing, both in the supply chain and in the developers,” he said. “It’s time for the US to respond to this challenge.”

This is not an unfounded warning. In sectors such as photovoltaics and electric vehicles, while the technology did not originate in Chinese laboratories, with their powerful manufacturing capacity, Chinese companies have consistently made their products more competitive than their Western rivals.

The founder of a Chinese fusion start-up echoed the possibility raised by Holland.

He agreed that it was “very likely” and said China is really ahead of the game when it comes to integrating technology development into real-world applications.

Nuclear fusion is seen as the ultimate solution to the world’s energy needs. While nuclear fission splits atoms – such as uranium – apart to generate energy (the process currently used in nuclear power plants worldwide), nuclear fusion combines atoms to release large amounts of energy without creating long-lasting radioactive waste.

It is the same process that has kept the sun burning for the past 5 billion years – which is why fusion is often called “artificial sun”.

But to achieve fusion, hydrogen atoms must be heated to extremely high temperatures – over 100 million degrees Celsius (180 million degrees Fahrenheit) – and confined long enough to fuse them into heavier atoms.

Once considered the realm of science fiction, in recent years private companies and research organisations around the world have been striving to make nuclear fusion a reality.

Most efforts have focused on “magnetic confinement” technology, which heats and compresses plasma, a hot, charged gas, in a giant doughnut-shaped reactor called a tokamak, invented by Soviet physicists in the 1950s.

Technically, the HH70 is not the first or most powerful of its kind. Back in 2013, Tokamak Energy, a company set up in 2009 as a spin-off from the UK Atomic Energy Authority, reported on a similar device made of high-temperature superconductors.

And HH70’s magnetic field, a key measure of a fusion device, is 0.6 tesla, much less powerful than one competitor recently built by a team at MIT, which surpassed 20 tesla.

But Andrew from Imperial College London described the achievement as “a significant step for the field” because it provides an important proof of principle for future tokamak designs.

“The application of HTS for tokamaks is an active area of global investigation, so this result is a major milestone in answering the question of feasibility of its use,” she said.

Magnetic confinement fusion technology uses superconducting magnets to generate strong fields. According to Andrew, compared to low-temperature superconductors, HTS has the potential to access stronger magnetic fields, leading to smaller machines that are cheaper and faster to build.

Until now, projects such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) – a mega-project in France in which 35 nations are working together to build the world’s largest tokamak – have used low-temperature superconductors. However these require a cumbersome system to cool the magnets – at an astronomical cost.

Over the past decade, however, HTS materials have begun to move out of the laboratory and into the hands of downstream customers in consistent quality and quantity, coinciding with the active trend of private fusion company formation in recent years.

“China is a key player in this emerging market,” Andrew said, adding that companies in the EU, US and China are leading the high-temperature superconducting industry at the moment.

In the 1980s, a class of HTS materials called REBCO (rare earth barium copper oxide) were found to be capable of carrying very high current densities at temperatures up to 20 Kelvin, but because they are brittle, it took nearly three decades for researchers to make wires from them.

In 2011, a laboratory at Shanghai Jiao Tong University became the first in China to produce a wire 100 metres (328 feet) long from the material. In the same year, the Shanghai Superconductor was established to pave the way for this scientific breakthrough to be translated into commercial applications.

According to the company’s website, it is now one of the six international manufacturers that can mass-produce HTS tapes of more than 100km per year, and its products are sold to major fusion power developers both in China and overseas.

In 2021, collaborating with MIT, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) – an American start-up spun out of MIT and founded in Cambridge in 2018 – successfully developed the world’s first magnet that can be used for nuclear fusion with a magnetic field of 20 tesla.

Its magnet is made of high-temperature superconducting material, and Shanghai Superconductor was one of the three tape suppliers behind the feat.

“China has done well in establishing the foundations for fusion technology supplies in general, with companies like Shanghai Superconductor,” Whyte from MIT said, although he also noted strong competition from companies in the US, Japan and South Korea.

The increasingly mature industrial chain is accelerating efforts to pursue commercial fusion energy in China.

In October 2021, Startorus Fusion was founded in Shaanxi province in northwest China. Founder Chen Rui highlighted how the growth of upstream suppliers has made fusion technology more commercially available.

“The birth of new materials like HTS allows us to design a relatively compact device in two or three years to prove the feasibility of fusion at a much cheaper cost, such as less than 1 billion yuan [US$137 million].”

Energy Singularity, which was founded in the same year as Startorus Fusion, says it is leveraging “recent breakthroughs of and strong synergy among HTS magnets, advanced tokamak physics and AI technologies” to develop fusion energy.

This is not just happening in China. According to the FIA, since 2018, huge investments have been poured into this industry and the number of fusion companies has mushroomed, especially since 2020.

Nuclear fusion, an energy technology that The Diplomat described in a June article as “the next frontier in both climate change and great power competition”, is attracting major countries to raise the stakes, from financial investment to political support.

In September, Lu Tiezhong, chairman of China National Nuclear Power, said that the first electricity generated by controlled nuclear fusion “must come from our country, and we are working towards this goal”.

In December, Beijing announced the creation of a new state-owned company, China Fusion Energy, with the task of pooling resources from across the country to bring a nuclear fusion reactor to life.

China aims to build an industrial prototype fusion reactor by 2035 and to have the technology in large-scale commercial use by 2050.

Meanwhile in December, nine organisations secured contracts worth a total of £11.6 million (US$12.7 million) with the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) to develop innovative technologies for fusion energy.

And at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop28), former US climate envoy John Kerry unveiled an international partnership initiative on fusion involving 35 country partners. Then in March, a funding bill signed by US President Joe Biden contained US$790 million for fusion science programmes for 2024.

Despite other countries’ efforts, according to Startorus Fusion’s Chen, China has the advantage in the engineering implementation of nuclear fusion technology.

He said the integrity of the supply chain, experience in large-scale manufacturing, its vast workforce and policy support all work to China’s benefit.

In terms of the supply chain, for example, thanks to its large domestic market and manufacturing base, China’s production of high-temperature superconducting materials has made significant progress, and suppliers may further reduce prices and improve performance – which is crucial for the magnet system in tokamak devices.

At the same time, through more than two decades of participation in the ITER project in France, China has developed a large talent pool of outstanding fusion engineers.

Despite these favourable conditions, Chen stressed that this does not mean China is bound to dominate the global fusion industry.

“International cooperation, technological innovation and sustainable development strategies will be the key factors determining the future landscape of the fusion industry,” Chen said.

South China Sea: Chinese, Philippine leaders to have direct hotline to stop clashes at sea

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3270705/south-china-sea-chinese-philippine-leaders-have-direct-hotline-stop-clashes-sea?utm_source=rss_feed

A recently signed agreement will open a direct line of communication between the presidential offices of China and the Philippines to help prevent any new confrontation from spiralling out of control in the disputed South China Sea, according to highlights of the accord seen by The Associated Press on Tuesday.

China and the Philippines have created such emergency telephone hotlines at lower levels in the past to better manage disputes, particularly in two fiercely disputed shoals where the Philippines has accused Chinese forces of increasingly hostile actions and China says Philippine ships have encroached despite repeated warnings.

The territorial disputes, however, have persisted since last year, sparking fears of a larger armed conflict that could involve the United States, which has repeatedly warned that it’s obliged to defend the Philippines, a key Asian treaty ally, if Filipino forces come under attack in the disputed waters.

US Gen. Charles Brown Jnr, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met Philippine military chief Gen. Romeo Brawner in Manila on Tuesday and discussed ways to further boost defence ties, enhance the militaries’ ability to operate jointly and ensure regional ability, the Philippine military said.

During a confrontation between Chinese and Philippine forces at the Philippines-occupied Second Thomas Shoal last August, the Philippine government said it was unable to reach Chinese officials through an established “maritime communication mechanism” for several hours. That emergency telephone hotline was arranged after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last January.

Chinese and Philippine officials dealing with the territorial disputes held talks in Manila on July 2, following a violent confrontation at the Second Thomas Shoal in which Chinese coastguard personnel reportedly wielded knives, an axe and improvised spears and Philippine navy personnel were injured. The Chinese forces also seized seven Philippine navy rifles, said Brawner, who demanded China return the firearms and pay for damages.

Both sides “recognised the need to strengthen the bilateral maritime communication mechanism on the South China Sea” and signed an arrangement “on improving Philippines-China maritime communication mechanisms,” the department of foreign affairs in Manila said in a statement after the talks in Manila, but did not provide a copy or details of the agreement.

A copy of the agreement’s highlights, seen by the AP, said it “provides several channels for communication between the Philippines and China, specifically on maritime issues, through the representatives to be designated by their leaders”.

The hotline talks could also be done “through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs counterparts, including at the foreign minister and vice foreign minister levels or through their designated representatives”, it said, and added without elaborating that Philippine officials were “in discussions with the Chinese side on the guidelines that will govern the implementation of this arrangement”.

There was also a plan to set up a new communication channel between the Chinese and Philippine coastguards “once the corresponding memorandum of understanding” between them is concluded, according to the agreement.

During the talks in Manila, China and the Philippines agreed on two other confidence-boosting steps to intensify “cooperation between their respective coastguard authorities” and the possible convening of a maritime forum between Chinese and Philippine scientists and academic leaders.

“Both sides recognised that there is a need to restore trust, rebuild confidence and create conditions conducive to productive dialogue and interaction,” the Philippine department of foreign affairs statement said. It added that China and the Philippines “affirmed their commitment to de-escalate tensions without prejudice to their respective positions”.

It said that “there was substantial progress on developing measures to manage the situation at sea”, but acknowledged that “significant differences remain”.

Exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui convicted in US fraud trial

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3270717/exiled-chinese-businessman-guo-wengui-convicted-us-fraud-trial?utm_source=rss_feed

Guo Wengui, an exiled Chinese businessman and outspoken opponent of Beijing’s communist government, was convicted on Tuesday in his US trial on charges of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from online followers.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Guo raised more than US$1 billion by guaranteeing followers on social media that they would not lose money if they joined him in a series of investment and cryptocurrency schemes from 2018 to 2023, some of which he said would go toward challenging China’s government.

Prosecutors say the one-time real estate mogul spent the money on luxury goods including a New Jersey mansion, a red Lamborghini and a yacht.

“He preyed on the pliable, followers who believed the messages he espoused in his hours of broadcasts,” prosecutor Juliana Murray said while addressing the jury on July 11.

Guo had pleaded not guilty to 12 criminal counts, including racketeering, in a trial that lasted seven weeks.

His defence lawyers portrayed him as an ardent dissident who flaunted his wealth as part of his political critique of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and said that jurors should not rush to judgment as prosecutors had.

“Mr Guo didn’t care about the money,” defence lawyer Sidhardha Kamaraju said in his closing argument last week. “He cared about the movement.”

After Kamaraju spoke, Murray told jurors that the defence lawyer was correct that Guo cared about the anti-CCP movement.

“And at least one of the reasons he loved it is because it was his personal piggy bank,” Murray said.

During an earlier closing argument on Wednesday, prosecutor Ryan Finkel played videos of Guo pitching investments, including several in which Guo wore sunglasses and stood on a yacht deck.

Earlier in the trial, jurors were allowed to hold keys to the Lamborghini that authorities found in a garage on Guo’s Connecticut estate.

Kamaraju argued that the New Jersey mansion and Lamborghini were not Guo’s personal property, but rather amenities available for the use of a luxury membership club for his followers.

Guo has been jailed since his March 2023 arrest. US District Judge Analisa Torres could send him to prison for decades.

Finkel also showed jurors a video of Steve Bannon, a one-time adviser to former US president Donald Trump, promoting one of Guo’s ventures at a press conference in 2018.

Bannon was arrested in August 2020 on Guo’s yacht, the Lady May, in an unrelated fraud case and was later pardoned by Trump.

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China looks to South African food exports as way of reducing reliance on US and Australia

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3270632/china-looks-south-african-food-exports-way-reducing-reliance-us-and-australia?utm_source=rss_feed

For decades, South Africa has been China’s top source for metals such as gold, diamonds and platinum but now Beijing is opening up to more agricultural exports as it moves to reduce its dependency on countries such as the United States and Australia.

The newly appointed Chinese ambassador, Wu Peng, told local media that Beijing was implementing measures to fast-track food exports

“This year, we are working hard with the South African side towards signing export protocols for yet more South African goods, including wool, dairy products, pet food, and wild aquatic products,” Wu told IOL News.

“The Chinese government is committed to advancing high-level opening-up. We are ready to share our mega-sized market with all countries, including South Africa.”

South Africa has been China’s largest trading partner in Africa for 14 consecutive years, and in the first half of this year, the value of that trade hit US$27.5 billion, according to China’s General Administration of Customs.

In the same period, imports from South Africa rose by 10.7 per cent to US$17.29 billion year on year, but Chinese exports to the African nation dropped by 18.6 per cent in that period to US$10.2 billion.

South Africa’s exports to China are predominantly minerals or metals, but more recently it has started buying products such as soybeans, wine, rooibos tea, aloe gel and citrus fruits.

And later this year, South Africa is expected to start exporting avocados after the two countries signed a deal at the Brics Summit in Johannesburg last year.

Derek Donkin, chief executive of the South African Subtropical Growers’ Association, said Chinese inspectors were coming to South Africa this month for a final inspection before exports could start.

“We hope to be able to send the first shipment soon after that if the inspection goes well,” Donkin said.

South Africa will become the third African country after Kenya and Tanzania to export avocados to China.

Wu said some South African agricultural products, including wine, rooibos tea and aloe gel, were already very popular in China.

Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, said there had been increased exports of wool to China although some export markets temporarily closed due to concerns related to foot and mouth disease in 2022 and 2023.

“The impact of those temporary closures is visible on export volumes of wool. In 2022, South Africa’s wool exports fell by 19 per cent year-on-year to 42 239 tonnes. The major decline in volume was in the Chinese market,” Sihlobo said, adding that exports recovered 18 per cent year on year in 2023.

Lauren Johnston, an associate professor at the University of Sydney’s China Studies Centre, said the initial focus was expected to be on increasing exports of products for which there is demand, such as chillies, nuts, avocados and citrus fruits.

It also wants to help African countries improve productivity to help boost rural incomes, employment and food security.

Johnston also said that Beijing wanted to increase trade with African countries to reduce its dependence on countries such as the US and Australia – particularly for products such as soybeans.

China has the world’s largest number of pigs and soybeans are a vital source of food for the animals. Johnston noted that the price of pork was “typically the key political or social protest risk metric in China”.

She also said China would benefit by importing products such as wool and pet food from South Africa because it would free up arable land for use at home.

“Anything that reduces pressure on China’s arable land and agricultural productivity without creating or deepening trade dependencies is good for China,” Johnston said.

UK launches armed forces review amid ‘deadly quartet’ of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3270689/uk-launches-armed-forces-review-amid-deadly-quartet-china-russia-iran-north-korea?utm_source=rss_feed

Britain on Tuesday launched a review of its armed forces, with the former Nato chief leading the evaluation warning the world faces a “deadly quartet” of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

The assessment, ordered by Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer less than a week after he returned from a Nato summit, will set out a path to increasing defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP.

The defence ministry said the strategic defence review would begin work “immediately in recognition of the urgency of the threats facing the UK”, and aim to deliver a report in the first half of next year.

UK spending on defence last year stood at 2.26 per cent, according to latest official figures, while Poland spent 3.83 per cent, the United States 3.36 per cent and France 2.06 per cent.

The review will be headed by George Robertson, a former UK defence secretary under Tony Blair and Nato secretary general from 1999 to 2003, and include foreign policy expert and former US presidential adviser Fiona Hill.

“We’re confronted by a deadly quartet of nations increasingly working together,” Robertson told a briefing on Monday referring to China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

The UK and its allies had “to be able to confront that particular quartet”, he said, adding that the world had changed “out of all recognition” since he was last in government.

His comments are a shift in tone from former prime minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government which described Beijing as a “systemic challenge” and echoes Nato’s hardening of its stance on China.

The review, launched less than two weeks after coming to power, is the government’s response to Conservatives’ efforts to cast doubts about Labour’s commitment to defence.

During the election campaign, popular attack lines from the Tories included Starmer’s lack of time frame for increasing defence spending and claims that Labour was a “danger” to national security.

Labour has accused the Conservatives of “hollowing out” Britain’s armed forces during its 14 years in power, with cuts notably in personnel, units and equipment.

Starmer said during the election campaign that the army, with some 75,000 regular soldiers, is at its smallest size since the Napoleonic wars in the early 19th century, prompting questions about its ability to fight an all-out war.

At last week’s Nato summit in Washington, Starmer reaffirmed the UK’s support for the Western military alliance and its “serious commitment” to spending 2.5 per cent of its GDP on defence.

Starmer said the review would make sure “that defence spending is responsibly increased”.

It will be overseen by current defence secretary John Healey, who said “at the start of a new era for Britain, we need a new era for defence”.

“The review will ensure that defence is central to the future security of Britain and to its economic growth and prosperity”, Healey added.

The defence secretary had urged Nato to consider moving towards a 2.5 per cent goal at the 75th anniversary summit last week, with Nato allies having committed in 2014 to reach a two-percent goal.

European countries still to reach the two-percent target included the Netherlands, Germany and Spain who all spent just around 1.5 per cent.

Other specific aims of the review include “bolstering Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression” and to “modernise and maintain the nuclear deterrent”.

China’s third plenum and the 3 major challenges facing ‘Xi the reformer’

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3270690/chinas-third-plenum-and-3-major-challenges-facing-xi-reformer?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s Communist Party is finally holding its long-awaited third plenum, a once-in-five years conclave of the top leadership to steer long-term economic policies.

To mark its opening on Monday, state news agency Xinhua rolled out a 10,000-word commentary hailing President Xi Jinping as a great reformer on a par with Deng Xiaoping.

The commentary, titled “Xi Jinping the reformer”, said he was behind all the 2,000 “reform measures” rolled out over the past decade. These ranged from poverty elimination, urban-rural development and corruption crackdowns, to support for business and innovation, and a “green revolution” – a phrase referring to China’s rise as a leader in new energy vehicles and other green technology.

“Owing to these reform measures, the Chinese economy has not only sustained robust growth but also more than doubled since 2012, cementing the country’s global status as a major growth contributor,” the article said.

It also compared Xi with paramount leader Deng at length, saying both carried forward the mission to achieve China’s modernisation. However, it also highlighted the differences, saying Xi’s reforms were more than economic and aimed to shape “Chinese people in a new era”, filled with national pride.

The comprehensive official narrative on Xi’s credentials as a reformer comes at a time when China is facing headwinds on multiple fronts, including sluggish economic growth, high youth unemployment and geopolitical pressures.

The plenary session of the party’s more than 300-strong core Central Committee had been delayed for months without explanation, though many observers said weak economic recovery and disagreements among Xi’s aides about how to solve the problems were among the reasons.

Although the Xinhua article aimed to heap praise on Xi, it also offered indirect clues on some of the challenges on the road to achieving his long-term goal – to “build a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious” by 2049 – the centenary of the People’s Republic of China.

The first challenge would be building a dedicated team with efficient team work to govern a vast country like China in an extremely complex environment.

According to the Xinhua commentary, “Xi meticulously reviewed each draft of major reform plans, making edits word by word”.

While dedication and hard work are welcome virtues, leadership also requires delegation and teamwork. Xi would need a strong and stable team to help him to achieve many of his policy goals.

Currently, there are signs that the team-building process is not that smooth, although Xi has managed to put all his trusted people in key positions.

One such sign was the downfall of important military officials, including former defence minister Wei Fenghe and his successor Li Shangfu, as well as the mysterious disappearance of former foreign minister Qin Gang.

The second challenge would be devising a check-and-balance mechanism for the party, other than the inspection teams sent by Beijing.

Xinhua also said Xi was determined to challenge vested interest groups. This is true as Xi surprised many overseas observers with bold moves such as regrouping the military districts and departments of the People’s Liberation Army.

However, so far the most powerful tool in the tool box to check the power of the party appears to be the inspection team enforcing stricter party regulations.

This means such inspections would have to continue, as there are no other check-and-balance tools.

The success of the campaign has so far been measured by the number of corrupt officials snared every year. But, in the long term, shouldn’t success be measured by how rare corruption is?

Finally, a major challenge for Xi would be creating a stable business environment to invigorate the private sector and attract foreign investment for China’s post-Covid economic recovery, which has so far been patchy.

Xinhua has highlighted how Xi is devoted to reducing bureaucracy, to facilitate the private sector and open up more industries for foreign investment.

Both private enterprise and foreign investors would be waiting for more concrete measures from the ongoing third plenum.

Where would Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance stand on the big China issues?

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3270691/where-would-trumps-running-mate-jd-vance-stand-big-china-issues?utm_source=rss_feed

US presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance are expected to see eye to eye on China, including on the two biggest issues: trade and Taiwan.

After gaining the Republican nomination for vice-president, the 39-year-old senator told Fox News on Monday that the focus of US foreign policy would be China, which he described as “the biggest threat” to his country.

Vance is known as a China hawk and a loyal supporter of Trump’s “America first” agenda. He has long backed pivoting US foreign policy towards East Asia, supporting Trump’s plan to increase tariffs on Chinese goods that were undercutting American workers.

Zhu Junwei, director of the Centre for American Studies at the Grandview Institution, said Vance would likely join Trump in arguing for less foreign policy attention on Ukraine and more on China.

“Vance will not have much objection to Trump on his overall China policy,” Zhu said.

“Trump’s main concern is more about tariffs. The direction of his China policy still probably depends on his choices for secretary of state or secretary of defence. The role of vice-president may be not that big in this regard.”

Trump, who launched a trade war against Beijing in his first term, threatened to increase tariffs to 60 per cent on all Chinese imports if re-elected. The administration of rival Joe Biden has already imposed US$18 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese goods, including a 100 per cent duty on electric vehicles.

Vance is a sceptic of renewable energy and climate change, and introduced a bill to scrap federal tax credits for EVs that he said helped “offshore” American workers’ jobs to China.

Wu Xinbo, dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said a Trump-Vance administration would be more involved in the Taiwan issue.

“[Vance] would strengthen and increase tech restrictions and suppression of China,” Wu said.

“[He would] pay great attention to the Taiwan issue because he [believes] that it is very important to the US economy, especially in terms of chips.”

That was apparent in January when Vance told right-wing cable TV channel Real America’s Voice that if mainland China attacked Taiwan, the US would lose a lot of chips and new technologies “that are necessary to power the modern economy”.

“We can’t let the Chinese walk into Taiwan,” Vance said.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary, and most countries do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state.

These include the United States, though it is opposed to any forcible change to the status quo and is bound by law to provide arms to Taiwan for its defence.

The US started to limit exports of semiconductors to China during the Trump administration to curb Beijing’s hi-tech development, which Washington saw as a threat to its defence.

In the same TV interview, Vance also compared Ukraine with Taiwan, saying the Ukraine war was “inviting Chinese aggression because they know we don’t have the weapon systems to support both Ukraine and Taiwan”.

Vance was a major opponent of US aid to Ukraine and urged an end to the war to allow the US to focus on China. A Republican official at the national convention reportedly told Russian state news agency Tass that Trump was ready to have a dialogue with Putin “without intermediaries”.

Trump and his former officials have repeatedly accused Biden of being weak on China over Taiwan, with some of Trump’s cabinet hopefuls echoing Vance’s call for a pivot from the Middle East and Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific and Taiwan.

One of those hopefuls, former senior Pentagon official Elbridge Colby, told a US China strategy forum at the Council on Foreign Relations last month that “hard military power at the right place at the right time” was needed to deter Beijing from “a determined attack on Taiwan”.

Colby, a deputy assistant secretary of defence for strategy and force development under Trump, is believed to be a prime candidate to become the next national security adviser if the former president is re-elected.

Zhang Jiadong, a US studies researcher from Fudan University, agreed that if they gained office, Trump and his new government would shift the focus of US foreign policy from the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza to China.

“It is possible for the US to force Russia and Ukraine into negotiations to resolve their conflict, and then ease its stand on Russia, or even win over Russia to focus on China,” he said.

One lesson Asia’s emerging manufacturing powerhouses can learn from China

https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3270581/one-lesson-asias-emerging-manufacturing-powerhouses-can-learn-china?utm_source=rss_feed

As extreme weather and climate change impacts intensify, Asian countries with tropical climates must innovate to grow their manufacturing industries sustainably. Failure to adopt greener practices risks environmental degradation, worker health issues, supply chain disruptions and economic instability.

Most of the world’s goods – clothes, computers, cars and other consumables – are likely to continue being made in Asia. Despite a surge in industrial policies in the developed world urging the redirection of manufacturing back home, Asia and Oceania was the only region in the world to experience manufacturing output growth in the third and fourth quarters of last year, according to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

Developing Asian countries are poised to take a greater share as global manufacturers diversify away from China. While China still produces about a third of global goods, it is shifting towards higher value-added manufacturing. Chinese firms are also expanding production beyond China.

In the Asia Business Council’s new Asian Manufacturing Diversification Index, which examines the manufacturing capabilities of developing Asian countries, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are emerging as new supply chain champions. These nations aim to develop their manufacturing industries as pillars of growth and create jobs for large numbers of workers. They aspire to produce not only cheap goods, but also more sophisticated products in the future.

The reality is that developing Asian countries that seek to become the next China are simultaneously contending with extreme heat, air pollution, intense drought and frequent typhoons. In a single week in June, 1.6 billion people across China, India, Indonesia and Bangladesh experienced the health impact of extreme temperatures.

The United Nations Environment Programme says that the industrial sector has the potential to reduce its emissions by 5.4 gigatonnes yearly in part by embracing energy-efficient technologies. Lower greenhouse gas emissions directly combat global warming, which is the primary driver of extreme heat events.

These countries’ path to grow robust manufacturing sectors will need to veer from the path China pursued, which led to carbon emissions, resource depletion and immense amounts of waste. China has since enacted pollution control policies, which have reportedly yielded the fastest air quality improvement in the world in the past decade. But alarmingly, it is now increasing coal dependence and experiencing a rebound in air pollution. Newly installed solar and hydro capacity promises to dampen coal use in the future.

China offers a cautionary tale for developing Asian countries on the challenging path to becoming sustainable manufacturing powers. Countries may suffer further setbacks in their manufacturing ambitions unless they are able to produce more sustainably from the start and decarbonise at a faster pace.

A more competitive world of supply chains places importance on sustainability, innovation and worker protection, and at competitive costs. Asian exporters to Europe should prepare for higher sustainability standards via levies under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism starting in 2026. Tariff hikes in the US and Europe on green technologies will not only affect China, but likely other Asian producers of these products.

To solve the twin challenge of growth and sustainability, developing Asian countries vying to become production centres must find ways to leapfrog traditional, carbon-intensive production methods, which are no longer viable as the world strives to meet climate goals.

Asian manufacturers must step up efforts to become more resilient to the effects of climate change if countries want manufacturing growth to benefit them, rather than lead to further environmental damage. For example, Esquel Group in China has led the way with waterless dyeing technology in the otherwise water-intensive textile industry. Chinese electric vehicle battery producer CATL has built carbon-neutral production facilities. Companies in southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Singapore are investing in the production of green cement that can cut emissions.

Greening different parts of the supply chain will help developing Asian countries meet both high-quality growth and sustainability goals. Using low-carbon raw materials and greener product designs, as well as tapping into renewable energy sources, will make an impact in combating climate change, while also providing a competitive advantage in domestic and global markets.

Early warning systems for disasters will also need to be strengthened to boost preparedness for manufacturers. By 2030, Asia’s annual losses from natural disasters are expected to exceed US$160 billion. This would exceed the entire US$100 billion annual climate finance target for the developing world under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Transitioning to green manufacturing poses significant challenges for developing Asian countries, which often lack financial resources, high-quality infrastructure and leading technologies. Developed countries, relying on these regions for production, have a vested interest in supporting this transition. The Green Climate Fund and the Asian Development Bank can provide funding for green manufacturing technologies, such as energy-efficient machinery and renewable energy integration in factories.

Singapore and cities in China have achieved successes in innovations, such as rainwater harvesting and permeable pavements. They have also made use of green roofs and walls which can reduce temperatures and cooling costs. By sharing these innovations, they can help developing economies in the region adopt sustainable practices. Sharing expertise with other countries and even collaboration among business competitors in sustainable practices can ensure these countries thrive as manufacturing bases.

A new era of “Made in Asia” should be marked by environmental stewardship and closer cooperation between developed and developing economies in the region. By becoming hubs of higher-quality and greener manufacturing, developing Asian countries can achieve sustainable growth while combating climate change, enhancing resilience and boosting competitiveness. This transformation will ultimately yield long-term benefits for economies, ecosystems and communities.

Mainland Chinese visitors to make Hong Kong Book Fair a bestselling event, organiser says

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3270697/mainland-chinese-visitors-make-hong-kong-book-fair-bestselling-event-organiser-says?utm_source=rss_feed

The organiser of the 2024 Hong Kong Book Fair has expressed confidence that this year’s turnout will be strong, with visitors from mainland China set to bolster attendance numbers.

The 34th edition of the annual book fair will kick off on Wednesday and last until July 23 at Wan Chai’s Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre under the theme of Film and Television Literature.

Sophia Chong Suk-fan, deputy executive director of fair organiser the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said she felt “confident” following efforts to publicise the event on the mainland.

“We also did some roadshows in Guangzhou and Shenzhen to raise publicity for the event, and the feedback we’ve seen on Xiaohongshu has been very supportive of the writers we chose to promote,” she said, referring to Chinese Instagram-like social media platform.

“Of course, there are many factors to consider, such as the weather, especially since it is typhoon season.”

She noted the forecast was clear and wet weather arrangements had been made so visitors lining up outdoors would mostly be covered by marquees.

She said she also hoped the Exhibition Centre MTR station would make it even easier for locals and mainland visitors to come to the venue.

Some vendors were hopeful business would be better this year.

“We do wish sales will improve by around 15 per cent,” said Sandy Yan Shuk-ping, marketing manager at Ming Pao Publications.

She said turnout was “rather low” last year, possibly because the city was still adjusting to the newly relaxed pandemic restrictions.

“This year, we hope people can stay and spend [money] in Hong Kong,” Yan said.

She added recent events such as the Doraemon exhibition in Tsim Sha Tsui had created buzz for Hong Kong and would help bolster the fair’s turnout.

Yan also revealed works by the late Hong Kong science fiction writer Ni Kuang were typically popular with mainlanders, as well as Chinese fortune-telling books by famous masters such as Mak Ling-ling.

But Simpson Wong Hing-hung, publishing manager at iGlobe Publishing, which specialises in travel books, was less optimistic, because overall sales for the first half of this year had fallen by around 30 per cent compared with the same period in 2023.

“Last year, borders had just reopened, so perhaps people flocked to buy travel books as they prepared to head out of town,” he said. “People don’t tend to buy travel books again for another two years afterwards.”

But he remained hopeful his company’s publications about Hong Kong culture and new books about Shenzhen travel would do well.

This year’s fair will be held concurrently with a Sports and Leisure Expo and World of Snacks events, featuring a combined 760 vendors.

The fair will be open from 10am to 10pm throughout the first six days, and from 9am to 5pm on the final day. Adult tickets are HK$30 (US$3.8), while children’s tickets are HK$10. Children under three and elderly residents can enter for free.

Signed, sealed, delivered by drone, China students excited by flying university admission

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3270622/signed-sealed-delivered-drone-china-students-excited-flying-university-admission?utm_source=rss_feed

A university in China has become the country’s first to deliver admission notices to students using drones.

On July 15, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) carried four admission letters from the South China University of Technology in the southern province of Guangdong to a residential area in the same district in Guangzhou.

The delivery, which covered a distance of around 7km, took the drone 40 minutes, about the same time it would have taken riding a bicycle.

The drone arrived at the destination safely, before a member of staff from China Post staff took the package off the UAV and delivered the letters to four students.

Tu Sulan, the first student to receive her package, was admitted as a chemistry major.

She said she was “very excited about the convenience of the new technology”.

Zou Liwen, a spokesperson for China Post’s Guangzhou division said the destination and timing of the deliveries were carefully chosen, taking into account landing space, weather and the strength of the signal required to help power the drone.

The UAV was made by the Guangzhou-based Chinese drone maker EHang.

It can carry up to 5kg in weight and only requires a five-square-metre space to land. The device can cover a distance of up to 20km.

In recent years, the number of people admitted to universities in China annually numbers about 10 million. This is the first time that an admission letter was ever delivered by a drone.

The delivery is being seen as a pilot for more such dispatches in the future.

The logistics industry sees drones as a faster and safer solution for short-distance deliveries.

According to the mainland media outlet and research institute, 36Kr, a 3km distance usually takes a human delivery worker 30 minutes to complete. A UAV is considerably faster.

The pilot forms part of the city’s ambition to develop a “low-altitude economy” in which drones can fly.

Guangzhou also plans to use drones to deliver urgent blood samples, spray pesticide in precise farm land locations, and even transport people.

Online observers had mixed feelings about the news.

“I am envious of the kids nowadays. How cool it is to have your admission notice delivered by a drone,” one person said.

“It still needs a human to deliver the packages into the hands of the students,” said another.

While a third person said: “Unmanned everything is everywhere. I wish there would still be jobs left for humans.”

Philippines fake ID scandal: 1,000 more cases linked to Chinese nationals found

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3270648/philippines-fake-id-scandal-1000-more-cases-linked-chinese-nationals-found?utm_source=rss_feed

Philippine authorities have uncovered another 1,000 cases of Chinese nationals who secured local birth certificates, with the latest find fuelling a wider crackdown on foreigners claiming false Filipino identities.

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Jaime Santiago told reporters on Monday that the head of the civil registry office in Santa Cruz since 1994, Mario Tizon, had been suspended following the scandal.

“The actual number has grown to 1,200,” Santiago said.

The NBI, which earlier reported that 200 cases were traced in the same southern region last week, has widened its probe in Luzon Island areas, particularly in the provinces of Pampanga and Tarlac, known to host illegal offshore gaming operations (Pogos) linked to the Chinese.

A source inside the Philippine Statistic Authority (PSA) told This Week in Asia, there could still be a huge number of birth registrations given to foreigners in past years.

“They took advantage of the late registration scheme since it’s easy to have someone’s birth registered,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“It could be that the registry office in Santa Cruz is not very strict in terms of documents presented to them during the late registration process.”.

In a statement on Monday, Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said they had asked for data on all Filipinos who used the late registration scheme, for cross-checking with those uncovered by the NBI.

According to Tansingco, the bureau recently intercepted 13 foreign nationals pretending to be Filipinos at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. He did not specify the nationality of the 13 detained citizens.

Political analyst Edmund Tayao, president and CEO of think tank Political Economic Elemental Researchers and Strategists, warned on Tuesday that the security risks posed by Chinese nationals claiming to be Filipino were obvious.

“This happened to other countries already. They opened their doors, made friends and asked for financial help. Before they know it, their country is no longer theirs as it is already controlled by a foreign entity. And that’s not even firing a gun. This is a patented grey-zone tactic,” Tayao told This Week in Asia.

According to Tayao, what the NBI uncovered was an indictment of the central government’s set-up which was hardly a system, making it “very easy to penetrate the country, even the government itself”.

Tayao said it was only now that the Chinese had come under the spotlight, but before that, there were also issues with Koreans and Vietnamese infiltrating the country.

The controversy surfaced last week when law enforcers detained a 21-year-old Chinese national over false documents used in a Philippine passport application inside a shopping centre in Davao City in Mindanao island.

The suspect, Hengson Jabilles Limosnero, whose real name is Qui Halin, was found to have faked birth certificates registered in Santa Cruz town. He also managed to secure a driving licence and national ID card from the Philippine Statistics Authority that he used to enrol into an accountancy course at Ateneo de Davao University.

“That’s very concerning. Of all the places, they get it from Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur. It goes without saying that there’s a syndicate operating in Santa Cruz or inside the PSA working on fake birth certificates,” Senator Sherwin Gachalian told reporters on Monday.

“Last Saturday I talked to someone in the Chinese community. The price to get a birth certificate with a passport and driving licence is P300,000 (US$5,400). Someone is facilitating,” Gatchalian claimed.

Two months ago, the Department of Foreign Affairs imposed stricter visa controls for Chinese nationals following the discovery of fraudulent immigration applications that had led to illegal entry and overstaying of foreigners.

The measure comes with both countries locked in an escalating war of words over territorial disputes in the South China Sea and national security fears in Cagayan province in the northern tip of Luzon island facing Taiwan – where some 4,600 Chinese nationals are enrolled in private universities.

Northern Luzon houses three new sites under the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement, a pact with the United States that allows it access to military bases in the Philippines.

Cheeno Miguel Almario, a congressman representing Davao Oriental, also in Mindanao Island, said the central government needed to strengthen the legislative framework to ensure rigorous verification processes were in place for the issuance of birth certificates.

“We must understand that a birth certificate is more than just a document; it symbolises a Filipino’s connection to their country. It is the first official document that every Filipino receives as their birthright, establishing their official tie to the nation. This is not something that can be easily given, fabricated or bought,” Almario said in a statement on Monday.

Another lawmaker, assistant majority leader Paolo Ortega, also, on Monday warned, that Chinese nationals using falsified documents posed a dire threat to the country’s national security.

“These individuals could potentially exploit their new-found status to engage in activities detrimental to our country, including espionage, economic sabotage, and other criminal enterprises.”

One prominent figure found to have falsified her birth certificate was suspended mayor Alice Guo, who has an arrest warrant out over her alleged links to an illegal online gaming firm in Bamban town.

The investigation into Guo began after police raided a Pogo compound in Bamban, the town in Tarlac province. Guo has repeatedly denied being a Chinese citizen, citing she is a Filipino born of a Chinese father and a Filipino mother.

Housing, once the ticket to wealth in China, is now draining fortunes

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/07/16/china-economy-real-estate-crisis-third-plenum/2024-07-08T03:36:40.796Z

Through the period of explosive growth in the 1990s and 2000s, Chinese families poured their life savings into real estate as they moved into cities and up the property ladder. With house prices consistently rising, it was a fast way to get richer.

Today, owning a house is more likely to destroy wealth than create it.

A prolonged slump in the property sector over the past three years has sparked widespread financial insecurity among the middle class in particular.

“It’s a painful lesson,” said Clara Liu, a 36-year-old civil servant who lives with her husband in Hangzhou, the eastern Chinese city famous for its tech scene and picturesque West Lake.

In 2022, they invested their savings in another apartment they hoped to rent out or resell. Instead, the 960-square-foot apartment sits empty as house prices have plummeted. They can’t find a buyer without taking a huge loss.

“I will never consider buying a house as an investment again,” Liu said.

They are not alone. With 70 percent of family assets in China stored in property, every 5 percent decline in prices could destroy as much as $2.7 trillion in wealth, Bloomberg Economics has estimated.

The real estate crisis is the one of the biggest challenges facing leader Xi Jinping, who has promised to deliver a “sense of gain” for everyday people. Xi has spoken in recent weeks about the need for “practical steps that benefit people’s livelihoods and warm people’s hearts.”

But many people are feeling the chill of the real estate crisis, which is at the center of China’s wider economic slowdown. As people fear losing money on their biggest asset, they’re shying away from spending generally, further depressing the world’s second largest economy.

Official figures this week showed China’s economy grew only 0.7 percent in the second quarter of this year, well below expectations, putting annual growth at a relatively low 4.7 percent.

But measures to help the property market are unlikely to feature prominently in plans to shore up growth at a major Chinese Communist Party meeting in Beijing this week, analysts said.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party is this week holding its “Third Plenum,” an economic meeting held roughly every five years that has been used to promote momentous reforms.

In 1978, Deng Xiaoping, the strongman leader of the time, used that year’s plenum to build consensus around his “reform and opening” policy, which unleashed rapid growth for decades.

Using this year’s plenum to announce robust support for the property market would be among the fastest ways to restore consumer confidence and stimulate an economy suffering from chronically depressed demand, analysts say.

“The most effective way to stimulate the economy is through support to the property sector,” according to Gavekal Dragonomics, a research firm. Even if officials are forced to do more eventually, they “do not seem eager to act right now,” its analysts wrote in a note on Monday.

Xi has so far taken a cautious approach to reviving the ailing property market. He has shunned drastic measures to jump-start economic activity or to provide direct support for consumers — something liberal economists believe is the quickest way to boost growth.

Instead the government has been using piecemeal measures to try to restore confidence without setting off another cycle of bad debt. In May, officials promised easier access to mortgages, introduced an “old-for-new” housing trade-in program, and led an effort to buy up unfinished developments and turn them into affordable housing.

“They’ve tried it all — to be frank,” said Alicia García-Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis, a French investment bank. “It’s just a bloated sector. It’s too big.”

None of this has made an appreciable difference. New-home prices in China’s 70 largest cities continued to decline in June, falling another 0.67 percent from May, according to official figures.

Take the case of Foshan, a city of 9 million near the manufacturing metropolis of Guangzhou. Restrictions on nonresidents buying property there were removed in December, but this has done little to improve prices.

“Those who buy houses today are all people who really need them,” said Teng Lai, a real estate agent from Foshan. No one buys as an investment and even those who buy out of necessity “are waiting and watching to see if prices will be cheaper tomorrow,” he said.

Instead of addressing this, Xi favors long-term plans to turn China into a “science and technology superpower” by focusing on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing of goods like solar panels, electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries.

But public perceptions of inequality are becoming more pronounced. People’s faith in hard work has faded while their concern about systemic injustices rises, a recent survey found.

When asked in 2009 or 2014, most people in China considered their own lack of effort or ability among the foremost obstacles to becoming wealthy. But in 2023, the most cited reason for being poor was unequal opportunity, while an unfair economic system was cited third, according to research by Martin Whyte, a retired Harvard University sociologist, and Scott Rozelle, an economist at Stanford University.

“A public that is more uncertain of its future is less likely to engage in consumption or invest in new business,” experts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote about the research last week. “And so the most likely consequence of a sense of inequity is a slowing economy.”

Property may be “central to national strength and people’s livelihoods,” but authorities face a delicate balance between managing debt risk and making homes more affordable, said Liu Jiayan, an associate professor of urban-rural planning at Tsinghua University. “Just because it’s important, doesn’t mean there needs to be immediate large-scale policies to protect the market.”

In the Deng era, urbanization and the rush to build and buy homes transformed Chinese society.

Only about a quarter of Chinese people lived in cities in 1990, whereas two-thirds of the county’s 1.4 billion residents live in urban areas today. The soaring value of inner-city housing helped create a moneyed, ambitious and upwardly mobile middle class.

That rapid expansion came to a crashing halt in 2021, when a series of defaults by indebted developers plunged the market into crisis. Prices and demand collapsed. Tens of millions of apartments now stand empty. Millions more unfinished apartments, often sold before construction began, are facing delays because cash-strapped developers cannot pay builders.

Among those hardest hit by the fallout are people who bought into the sector in recent years, like Clara Liu and her husband.

“All of those people who got into the sector late in the game are now facing prices much lower than when they bought,” said García-Herrero.

With so many new apartments unfinished or empty, some residents in first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are getting creative. They are increasingly looking at older — and cheaper — buildings that had previously shunned in favor of new builds.

Zheng Zhaoping, a 29-year-old marketing manager at a cosmetic company in Guangzhou, in April bought a two-bedroom on the top floor of a four-story walk-up built in 1995. The asking price had fallen by $55,000 in six months, leading her to believe she was getting a bargain.

“Lots of people think now is not a good time to buy” because of investment risks from ever-changing policy, Zheng said. But “I believe the prices in first-tier cities like Guangzhou and Shenzhen will be relatively stable.”

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South China Sea: PLA deploys new hospital ship to islands and reefs in contested waters

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3270598/south-china-sea-pla-deploys-new-hospital-ship-islands-and-reefs-contested-waters?utm_source=rss_feed

The Chinese military has deployed the nation’s biggest hospital ship to the South China Sea for its maiden mission.

The Silk Road Ark made its public debut on Wednesday as it set sail from a naval port in Zhanjiang in Guangdong province in southern China, heading for the islands and reefs in the Paracel Islands, known in China as the Xisha Islands, and the Spratly Islands (Nansha in Chinese), to provide medical services, according to state media.

The voyage comes at a time of increasing tension in the South China Sea, particularly between China and the Philippines. The Paracels are claimed by mainland China and Vietnam. The Spratly Islands are also subject to multiple claims, with Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia among claimants.

The new floating hospital, which was commissioned to the Southern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army, is the country’s second 10,000-tonne-class large hospital ship in 15 years after the Peace Ark entered service in the Eastern Theatre Command in 2008.

“The Silk Road Ark has the same hull structure and area with the Peace Ark, but it has a larger full-load displacement and stronger endurance than the Peace Ark,” the state broadcaster CCTV said, without elaborating further.

According to public information, the Peace Ark has a displacement of more than 14,000 tonnes.

“The two hospital ships would meet the navy’s strategic shift from the sole focus of offshore defence to the equal focus of blue-sea defence and near-shore defence, and better serve operational demand and battle readiness,” said Zhang Junshe, a military expert who was quoted by the Global Times, a tabloid affiliated with the state media outlet, People’s Daily.

He said the mission to the South China Sea, which covers Woody Island (Yongxing Island in China) and Fiery Cross Reef (Yongshu), would lay the foundations for the ship to carry out medical rescue missions in the far seas.

Fiery Cross Reef is one of China’s biggest land reclamation projects in the South China Sea and part of the country’s plans to cement its presence in the strategically important waterway.

Both Woody Island and Fiery Cross Reef are islands with disputed sovereignty. Previously, China established military bases and settlements on both as part of its efforts to strengthen its sovereignty claims over the disputed waters.

China has one of the world’s largest fleets of naval hospital ships. The Peace Ark has made several overseas humanitarian missions, and from June to January it is visiting 15 countries to offer medical services.

The Silk Road Ark will provide medical aid to casualties in wartime, aid soldiers and civilians on the islands and reefs, carry out international humanitarian missions and emergency response, and conduct medical exchanges and cooperation with foreign militaries, according to the PLA Navy.

“The ship can support the operation of various clinical departments, including orthopaedics, general surgery, gastroenterology, and can simultaneously perform eight surgical operations and accommodate more than 300 inpatients,” it said on its X-like social media, WeChat.

Both the Peace Ark and the Silk Road Ark were designed and built by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation.

“China needs mobile forces to respond to medical emergencies because mobile facilities are very useful, practical and convenient as a supplement to the existing hospital system,” said Dong Qiang, the former chairman of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, as quoted by China Daily.

No phones China ‘jungle experience’ at Buddhist temple helps de-stress participants

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3270491/no-phones-china-jungle-experience-buddhist-temple-helps-de-stress-participants?utm_source=rss_feed

A Buddhist temple in China with more than 1,700 years of history is offering young people a seven-day living experience, on one condition, no phones are allowed.

The Lingyin Temple, or Temple of the Soul Retreat, in Hangzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, used its social media account to invite people aged between 23 and 30 to try a week’s “jungle life experience” next month.

It promises participants an immersive experience.

However, everyone involved must surrender their mobile phones when they arrive and will not have them returned until the seven days are up.

They also need to do everything as instructed and not act independently, according to the post.

Despite the demanding expectations, the temple said that all the places were snapped up within 24 hours.

The temple was founded during the Eastern Jin dynasty (317-420).

It was deemed one of the five most important temples of the Chan sect, south of the Yangtze River, during the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279).

It is located in a lush, mountainous area, hence the “jungle life” tag for the experience.

In recent years, temple visiting has become a new trend among China’s young, who hope praying to Buddhas and deities will solve their problems and offer consolation.

Some young people also become volunteers at temples so they can try a simpler lifestyle.

Xiaoji, 24, came from Chongqing municipality in southwestern China, about 1,600km away, to join the activity last year, said: “A week without a mobile phone has deeply relieved the pressure in my life.”

She said about 50 people from across the country were selected for the experience. They were mostly students due to the age limit.

Xiaoji said they only needed to pay for transport from their homes to the temple – everything else was included.

They were provided with Buddhist classics to read, were required to get up at 5.20 every morning, listen to the monks chanting sutras, recite some themselves and learn temple etiquette.

“It helped me calm down,” she added.

China’s GDP forecasts cut by some banks to below 5% target, Beijing facing ‘critical point’

https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3270647/chinas-gdp-forecasts-cut-some-banks-below-5-target-beijing-facing-critical-point?utm_source=rss_feed

A slew of disappointing economic data from China spurred some major investment banks to cut their 2024 growth forecasts to below Beijing’s annual target, with some highlighting significant downside risks in the coming months.

Barclays reduced its gross domestic product forecast from 5 per cent to 4.8 per cent, while Goldman Sachs cut its prediction from 5 per cent to 4.9 per cent after China on Monday released lower than expected second-quarter growth of 4.7 per cent compared to a year earlier.

The reading was also weaker than the 5.3 per cent growth recorded in the first quarter, and was below the around 5 per cent target for 2024 overall.

“To counteract weak domestic demand, we believe more policy easing is necessary through the remainder of this year,” Goldman Sachs analysts led by Lisheng Wang said on Monday.

They added that the latest set of economic data highlighted the continued, significant and cross-sector divergence in the world’s second-largest economy, with strong exports and manufacturing activity, relatively stable service consumption in volume terms and still depressed property activity.

Singapore’s UOB Group, meanwhile, also downgraded their 2024 forecast from 5.1 per cent to 4.9 per cent, pointing to poor retail sales as an indicator of an uneven recovery.

Retail sales rose by just 2 per cent year on year in June, compared with 3.7 per cent growth seen in May, marking the slowest pace since China lifted its coronavirus restrictions at the end of 2022.

Analysts at Citi said while the property crisis continued to be a major drag on China’s economic activity, there were “minor signs” of positive impact from the wide-ranging measures announced in May aimed at encouraging home purchases.

“We believe China is now at a critical point where its dual-tracked recovery faces more significant downside risks,” Citi said on Monday.

“Such a backdrop could be conducive for larger stimulus, yet we are still subscribed to a targeted and measured policy outlook for the second half of this year.

“The disappointing data does not necessarily mean that the growth target is out of reach.”

Swiss bank UBS maintained its 2024 forecast at 4.9 per cent, but highlighted downside risks from the continued property downturn.

“The official 2024 growth target of around 5 per cent looks challenging following the disappointing second quarter GDP reading,” UBS said on Monday.

“We expect the government to roll out additional policy support in the second half to stabilise growth.”

China’s visa-free policies paying off as cruise traffic rises 60%, offers consumption boost

https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3270642/chinas-visa-free-policies-paying-cruise-traffic-rises-60-offers-consumption-boost?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s charm offensive and relaxed visa policies intended to attract foreign travellers to return are seemingly paying off with cruise passenger traffic having surged in the second quarter.

Beijing announced in May that foreign visitors in tour groups of at least two people could stay in China for up to 15 days without a visa if they arrive via any of China’s 13 cruise ports.

And according to the Ministry of Transport, cruise traffic rose by nearly 60 per cent in the second quarter from the first three months of the year.

Cruise passenger traffic in the first half stood at nearly 500,000, recovering to more than half of the same period in 2019, the ministry added.

China has resumed operations for its eight cruise ships from seven companies after lifting its coronavirus-related curbs last year, operating routes from Chinese ports to Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Additionally, more than 10 foreign-flagged cruise ships have visited ports in China.

“The accelerated recovery of the cruise economy has provided strong support for further expanding domestic demand and boosting consumption,” said ministry official Li Xuelian.

The ministry has also pledged to accelerate construction of cruise terminals.

After China’s first home-grown large cruise liner, Adora Magic City, entered commercial service in January, a second domestically-produced large cruise ship is being built at an accelerated pace, with significant improvements in size, cabin layout and systems.

To revive its coronavirus pandemic-hit tourism market and enhance people-to-people exchanges with foreign countries, China has unveiled measures including visa-free transit policies to attract foreign travellers.

As a result, 14.64 million inbound trips were made by foreigners in the first half of the year, up 152.7 per cent year on year, after the measures were introduced in January, the National Immigration Administration said last week.

Among them, 8.5 million people entered visa-free, accounting for 52 per cent of the total, registering a 190.1 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

On Monday, the immigration administration also added two airports and one railway station in Henan and Yunnan provinces to the original 34 eligible entry points under China’s 144-hour visa-free transit policy.

Starting from Monday, foreigners may also enter China via Zhengzhou, Henan’s provincial capital, but they are only allowed to stay within the province.

They have also been granted visa-free access to eight more cities or prefecture-level areas in Yunnan.

Previously, foreign visitors could enter Yunnan for 144 hours without a visa through Kunming Changshui International Airport, but their travel was limited to the provincial capital of Kunming.

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Chinese drinks giant pours cold water on Hong Kong watchdog’s ‘irresponsible’ report

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3270662/chinese-drinks-giant-pours-cold-water-hong-kong-watchdogs-irresponsible-report?utm_source=rss_feed

Mainland China’s biggest producer of bottled water Nongfu Spring has slammed an “extremely unscientific and irresponsible” report by Hong Kong’s Consumer Council and demanded an apology after the watchdog said the product was on the EU limit for a potentially dangerous chemical.

The drinks giant issued a legal letter on Tuesday that rubbished a recent council report which found that Nongfu Spring bottled water contained bromate at the maximum level of European Union quality standards.

The report said that excessive intake of the chemical could lead to discomfort or even affect consumers’ nervous systems.

The council warned that consuming large amounts of bromate could cause nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea and affect the kidneys and nervous system in severe cases.

But Nongfu Spring rejected the findings of the report and said that the council had applied incorrect standards to evaluate its product and misled the public through subjective misrepresentation.

The company, in a legal letter issued by a Hong Kong law firm, questioned the council’s decision to classify the bottled water as “natural water (deep lake water)”, but applied an EU standard applicable to “natural mineral water”.

“In fact, the Nongfu Spring natural spring water products, if evaluated based on the European Union standards, should have been assessed against the EU drinking water safety standard, not the natural mineral water standard,” the letter said.

Bromate is formed when ozone used to disinfect drinking water reacts with naturally occurring bromide found in source water.

The Hong Kong watchdog tested 30 bottled water products sold in the city and the council pointed out that products sold as Nongfu Spring and Ganten – both mainland brands – contained bromate that hit the EU’s limit of 3 micrograms a litre for bottled water.

The EU safety standard for bromate in drinking water, in contrast, is set at 10 micrograms a litre.

The council report also highlighted that the International Agency for Research on Cancer had classified one type of bromate, potassium bromate, as a possibly carcinogenic to humans.

The watchdog confirmed on Tuesday in a written reply to the Post that it had received the legal letter and that a response was being prepared.

The council did not reveal what steps it would take, but stressed it had clearly stated that the 30 test samples did not register harmful substances that contravened World Health Organization guidelines, and that all were safe to drink.

It added the focus of its report was on the cost-effectiveness of the samples and the environmental impact of the plastic bottles, rather than on potential safety problems linked to the products.

The company argued that its products, sold in mainland China and Hong Kong, should be measured against local standards, which it insisted it adhered to.

It also accused the council of the inappropriate application of third-party standards to products sold in Hong Kong.

Nongfu Spring added that the report had also ignored differences in production and technical specifications under varied regulations, and overlooked ozone treatment effects.

“The conclusions drawn are extremely unscientific and lack rigour,” Nongfu Spring said.

The drinks giant also criticised the council for not using conclusive terms such as “qualified” or “failed”, but instead relied on vague phrases such as “reaching the upper limit”, which potentially misled consumers about product safety.

It questioned what the council meant by “large intake” in its report and quoted a study by the New York State Department of Health that showed people who experienced nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain had been exposed to bromate levels “thousands of times higher” than the levels detected in the tested products.

Nongfu Spring demanded an immediate clarification and apology to mitigate the damage caused by the council report, which had had a “significant negative impact” on the company’s bottled water brand.

It also threatened further action if the council failed to comply.

China places 15 provinces on emergency alert as deadly floods make their way north

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3270663/china-places-15-provinces-emergency-alert-deadly-floods-make-their-way-north?utm_source=rss_feed

China has placed 15 provinces on full emergency alert amid heightened risks of severe flooding with the arrival of the year’s peak rainy season.

Deadly downpours that devastated the south have moved northwards to hit the previously drought-hit central province of Henan as well as northern Hubei province.

On Sunday, four people were killed when their car was swept into a river by flood currents in the city of Suizhou in Hubei, according to the local fire department.

Suizhou had issued a red rainstorm alert, the most severe level on a four-tier warning system, and recorded up to 150mm (nearly 6 inches) of rain on the day, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

The city of Xiangyang, also in Hubei, issued as many as seven red rainstorm warnings on Sunday, with water levels of 268 reservoirs breaching the upper limit, local authorities said.

The China Meteorological Administration on Tuesday activated rainstorm emergency response Level 2, the second-highest alert in a four-tier system, for provinces including Henan, eastern Shandong and southwestern Sichuan.

The Ministry of Emergency Management, state flood control and flood relief agencies, and nearly half of China’s provincial-level authorities held a meeting on Sunday, where officials were urged to prepare for worst-case scenarios, state news agency Xinhua reported.

The Chinese term for the month-long peak flood season is qi xia ba shang, meaning late July and early August.

With the main rain belt shifting northwards, regions including the Sichuan Basin and the “Huanghuai area” between the Yellow and Huai rivers would see persistent and extreme rainfall, bringing risks of flooding, “mountain torrents”, and urban waterlogging, the meeting heard.

Meanwhile, large areas of Henan, a major grain-producing province hit by drought between April and June, were reeling under floods brought by an “extremely heavy downpour” on Tuesday.

Nine weather stations in Henan recorded the highest rainfall rates nationwide in the 24 hours to midday on Tuesday, according to the National Meteorological Centre.

CCTV said Sheqi county topped the list with over 600mm of rain.

Rainfall is categorised into three levels in China, with 250mm or more classified as a heavy downpour.

Floods in the Hai River basin may affect seven provincial-level areas, including the capital Beijing, the Ministry of Water Resources has forecast.

It also warned that any river basin could be at risk of extreme flooding because of climate change.

“The suddenness, extremity, and abnormality of heavy rainfall, floods and droughts have become increasingly apparent,” Yao Wenguang, director of the ministry’s Department of Flood and Drought Disaster Prevention, said on Sunday.

China has seen record floods and loss of life during the peak rainy season in recent years.

Nearly 400 people died when Henan was hit by floods in the summer of 2021, with the maximum daily rainfall almost matching the average annual rainfall.

Last year, Beijing saw the heaviest rain in more than a century amid floods in the Hai River basin.

Chinese finance firms ask Hong Kong staff to pay back part of their bonuses

https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3270666/chinese-finance-firms-ask-hong-kong-staff-pay-back-part-their-bonuses?utm_source=rss_feed

Some of China’s largest state-backed financial firms are asking employees in Hong Kong to return a portion of their pay, extending President Xi Jinping’s “common prosperity” campaign to the offshore business hub.

Some Hong Kong-based executives and even former employees at China Everbright Group and China Huarong International Holdings have been asked to pay back part of their past bonus in recent months, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.

The clawback amounts to less than 10 per cent of bonuses at China Everbright, the main Hong Kong-listed arm of Everbright Group, one of the people said, after the central government inspected its local operations. It is unclear how many employees will be affected by the policy and how far it will extend below the executive ranks.

The development marks an escalation of austerity efforts at state-owned financial conglomerates, which have so far mainly limited pay for mainland-based employees. Chinese bankers have come under increasing pressure in recent years as the Communist Party tightened its grip on the US$66 trillion financial sector, where high pay has also drawn public criticism during an economic slowdown.

Xi’s signature drive has sent shock waves through China’s financial industry since it was rolled out in 2021. Firms across China have slashed salaries and asked staff to return part of past pay cheques that have now been deemed too high.

It is unclear how many financial entities will be subject to the latest guidance. But the move may add to questions about how long Hong Kong can maintain its status as a financial centre, which was undermined by pandemic-era travel restrictions and political upheaval. It could also delay a recovery in the city’s sluggish retail sector and property market.

China Everbright and China Citic Financial Asset Management, the parent firm of Huarong International, did not immediately respond to Bloomberg requests for comment.

China Merchants Group is also among state entities that have asked some senior staff in mainland China to forgo deferred bonuses and in some cases return pay from previous years to comply with a pre-tax salary cap of 2.9 million yuan (US$400,000). Several Chinese mutual fund managers proposed capping salaries at about 3 million yuan. Some brokers and banks have also announced pay cuts and dialled back travel perks.

Vilified by Beijing as “hedonists” over their lavish lifestyles, top-earning finance workers have been among the hardest hit by Xi’s push for a more equal distribution of wealth. The moves mark a drastic shift from the era where companies doled out big pay cheques to lure top talent.

The drive to lower pay comes on top of an anti-corruption push that has ensnared more than 100 top bankers and regulators for last year alone. Authorities are trying to stabilise the world’s second largest economy and prevent systemic financial risks.

Solomon Islands props up budget with China’s US$20 million injection

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3270629/solomon-islands-props-budget-chinas-us20-million-injection?utm_source=rss_feed

Solomon Islands will prop up its government budget with a US$20 million injection from China, the developing Pacific state said on Tuesday, as Beijing looks to strengthen a strategic toehold in the region.

Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele announced the funding after talks with President Xi Jinping in Beijing, hailing China’s “transformative” presence in one of the world’s poorest nations.

China has also agreed to fund extensions at Solomon Islands’ only international airport, Manele said, leading work on a crucial piece of national infrastructure.

Solomon Islands has become one of Beijing’s most vocal supporters in the South Pacific since abruptly severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2019.

China has responded by building a major new stadium in the capital Honiara, state-of-the-art health facilities, mobile phone towers, roads and more.

“Since the establishment of bilateral partnership with China five years ago, the relationship has grown from strength to strength with China assisting in transformative projects,” said a statement issued by Manele’s office on Tuesday.

Australia and the United States – traditionally two of Solomon Islands’ closest security partners – have offered similar amounts of budgetary support in the past.

Manele’s predecessor Manasseh Sogavare was full-throated in his backing of Beijing, orchestrating the rapid expansion of Chinese interests across the tropical archipelago.

Sogavare signed a secretive security deal with China in 2022 that set alarm bells ringing in Western capitals.

While Manele has signalled he is willing to re-engage with Canberra and Washington, he has also voiced a desire to deepen ties with China.

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Actors at China scenic spot pose as wild, primitive people to scare tourists

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3270481/actors-china-scenic-spot-pose-wild-primitive-people-scare-tourists?utm_source=rss_feed

A scenic site in China has hired students to dress as primitive people and scare tourists to provide a more authentic adventure.

The Wild Man Valley in the Guanshan Lake Scenic Resort in Liaoning province, northeastern China, is a dense, primitive forest steeped in legends about “wild men”.

On July 6, an influencer nicknamed Tuotuo posted a video on Xiaohongshu in which she portrayed a primitive tribal person at the site.

She dressed in fake animal skins, darkened her skin and had dishevelled hair while mimicking an early human by crawling, roaring and slapping herself.

Meanwhile, several “wild men” armed with wooden bows and arrows appeared on tourist trails, accosting visitors by pretending to snatch their food.

In the video, a little girl was frightened to tears by the characters as a sign behind her read, “Beware of Wild Men”.

One of the students who acted as a prehistoric man, wrote on Xiaohongshu: “Being able to unleash my nature under the guise of playing a wild man – running, shouting, and not caring about anybody – may be the most joyful part-time job.”

A member of staff at the site, who did not reveal his name, said there are about 20 performers, including college students on summer break.

They earn a monthly salary of 5,000 yuan (US$690) and work from 10am to 3pm each day.

“These ‘wild people’ are not allowed to take tourists’ food. We provide them with lunch,” he told Hubei Television.

Another staff member, Zhao, told Jiupai News that the performers require acting experience and must fully embody their primitive personas to enhance the tourist experience.

The lively tribal characters have sparked a heated discussion on mainland social media.

“Running wild in beautiful scenery, going crazy when seeing tourists, it sounds like a lot of fun,” one online observer wrote on Weibo.

Some people expressed concern, with one saying: “Many timid people like me might actually be scared, especially children.”

“Actors should be concentrated in specific areas. Tourists who do not want to encounter the primitive tribe can choose not to go there,” said another person.

In China, many scenic areas hire actors to portray characters depicting local traditions or legends to attract tourists.

In January, picturesque Wuzhi Mountain in Hebei province, northern China hired an actor to play the Monkey King.

Monkey King is a well-known mythological figure in Chinese culture, said to be born from a stone and gaining supernatural powers through Taoist cultivation. After rebelling against heaven, he was imprisoned under the mountain.

Chinese firms caught carrying out illegal pregnancy tests on female jobseekers

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3270586/chinese-firms-caught-carrying-out-illegal-pregnancy-tests-female-jobseekers?utm_source=rss_feed

Prosecutors in an eastern Chinese city have sued 16 companies that asked women to go through pregnancy tests before they were hired.

The Tongzhou district procuratorate in Nantong, a city in Jiangsu province, began investigating the matter after being tipped off earlier this year, the official Procuratorial Daily reported on Monday.

After the investigation had finished, prosecutors contacted the local bureau of human resources and social security, which then warned the companies and hospitals about their behaviour.

The article did not say whether any fines had been issued, but companies can be fined up to 50,000 yuan (US$6,900) for sex discrimination if they refuse to correct their behaviour.

Two hospitals and a physical exam centre were also caught up in the investigation, which found that 168 pregnancy tests had been carried out on job applicants on behalf of 16 companies.

The hospitals said that the women affected had not been given a written warning that the tests would be carried out, but were instead given deliberately vague oral warnings.

However, prosecutors said that the companies’ recruitment and staff insurance records suggested the women had been tested to see if they were pregnant, adding that in at least one case a woman who was found to be expecting a baby was not hired.

The woman was eventually hired and given compensation after the company was warned about its behaviour.

“We can speculate from this evidence that the pregnancy tests were required by these companies, and it had violated women’s rights to equal work opportunities,” the prosecutors said.

The country’s law explicitly bans firms from carrying out pregnancy tests as part of pre-employment physical examinations but many employers are concerned about the cost of maternity benefits.

The law varies from province to province, but new mothers in China are entitled to up to six months’ maternity leave.

Other forms of discrimination, such as expressing a preference for hiring men or asking women about their marital status, are also illegal.

But many companies are suspected of discriminating against women in less obvious ways, including not paying salaries in full when women are on maternity leave.

According to research last year by the Inspection Squad for Workplace Gender Discrimination, a group of volunteers who have been trying to improve workplace gender equality, men have a significant advantage over women when applying for government jobs.

It said that a number of posts in the national civil service had been illegally marked as men-only or women-only. Out of nearly 40,000 jobs, there were 10,981 jobs earmarked for men compared with only 7,550 for women.

Saudi ETFs make winning China debut as financial ties with Middle East strengthen

https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3270611/saudi-etfs-make-winning-china-debut-financial-ties-middle-east-strengthen?utm_source=rss_feed

Two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track Saudi Arabia’s biggest companies including Saudi Aramco made winning debuts in mainland China on Tuesday, underscoring the strengthening ties between financial markets in China and the Middle East.

The two feeder funds, managed by China Southern Asset Management and Huatai-PineBridge Investment, rose 7.1 per cent and 5.6 per cent in Shenzhen and Shanghai, respectively, after raising a combined 1.2 billion yuan (US$170 million), outperforming the CSI 300 Index, which added 0.2 per cent.

The cross-listed ETFs invest in the Saudi market through the master fund: Hong Kong-domiciled CSOP Saudi Arabia ETF. They operate under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) programme, which allows institutional investors to invest in foreign securities within a prescribed quota.

“The ETFs offer Chinese investors convenient access to markets that were previously difficult to reach,” said Shuiyang Pan, portfolio manager of the Saudi ETF at China Southern Asset Management. “They can now directly invest in the Middle Eastern stock market through the Saudi Arabia ETF, without facing obstacles like opening overseas accounts, complying with complex regulations and handling currency exchanges.”

CSOP’s Saudi ETF, the first of its kind in Asia, listed in Hong Kong in November. It tracks the FTSE Saudi Arabia Index, which had a market capitalisation of US$303.5 billion at the end of May. Al Rajhi Banking, Saudi Aramco, Saudi National Bank, Saudi Aramco, ACWA Power and Saudi Basic Industries are the top five constituents, making up 43 per cent of the index’s weighting.

The two cross-listings of the Hong Kong-domiciled fund offer Asia’s largest investor base direct access to Saudi Arabia’s “exciting growth story”, said Suvir Loomba, global head of custody and interim regional head of securities services for Asia at HSBC, which is a partner of CSOP’s Saudi ETF.

“Through Hong Kong, today’s ETF listings connect the Middle East’s fast-growing capital markets to Asia’s deep liquidity pools, setting a strong precedent for diversification among China’s onshore investors.”

The launch of the ETFs comes as China and Saudi Arabia continue to strengthen financial collaboration, creating more products that allow investors to tap each other’s capital markets. An ETF tracking Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index is also in the works, which could offer Middle East investors exposure to some of the biggest companies in China and Hong Kong.

The ETFs also help Chinese investors increase the diversity of their asset allocation globally to reduce overall risk, Pan said in a statement.

“More related ETF products may come to the market in the future to meet with Chinese investors’ growing interest in the Middle Eastern market,” he added.

[Sport] T-shirts showing Trump after shooting pulled in China

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clmy9k81021o

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US-China high-level military dialogues gather pace; new crisis meeting on horizon

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3270574/us-china-high-level-military-dialogues-gather-pace-new-crisis-meeting-horizon?utm_source=rss_feed

The resumption of high-level military dialogues between the United States and China has gathered pace, with a crisis-communications meeting possibly taking place before the end of this year, the Pentagon has confirmed.

US President Joe Biden first disclosed the restoration of talks – which had been suspended by Beijing almost two years ago to retaliate for a visit by then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan – during a news conference at the end of the Nato summit on Thursday.

Biden also said that following his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in California in November, the two sides had agreed to put the “spy balloon” incident from early 2023 that had soured relations behind them and re-establish direct communication channels.

“We set up a new mechanism. There’s a direct line between Xi and me, and our military has direct access to one another, and they contact one another when we have problems,” Biden said at the briefing at the White House.

In the news conference, Biden also touted his engagement with Xi.

“Like I said, I’m dealing with Xi right now, in direct contact with him,” Biden said, when asked if he would be able to deal with leaders like Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Defence Department spokesman Pete Nguyen subsequently confirmed to Task & Purpose, a US-based online publication, that senior American and Chinese military leaders had held talks, both in January and April.

The resumed inter-military communications so far include the Defence Policy Coordination Talks in January on defence relations and a Military Maritime Consultative Agreement meeting in April on how the two countries can work together on air and maritime safety, Nguyen said.

“The department will continue to engage in active discussions with PRC [People’s Republic of China] counterparts about future engagements between defence and military officials at multiple levels – including telephone conversations between theatre commanders in the coming months, as well as a convening of a crisis-communications working group by the end of the year,” Nguyen said.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun also held a teleconference call in April and a face-to-face meeting in May on the sidelines of the Shangri-La forum in Singapore. In addition, Charles Brown, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, had a telephone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Liu Zhenli in December.

But direct communications between military theatre commanders, sought by the US, have not yet been restored.

Beijing suspended communications between the two militaries in August 2022, in response to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which it regarded as a provocation to Chinese territorial integrity.

Relations were further strained in January and February 2023, when a Chinese balloon transited across North America, and was eventually shot down by the US Air Force. The US charged that the balloon was on a spying mission, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelled a trip to China.

Beijing claimed the balloon was just an errant civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research.

Top EU leaders will boycott meetings hosted by Hungary’s Orbán after his outreach to Russia, China

https://apnews.com/article/hungary-orban-eu-russia-china-putin-xi-5b555db74c6b344c90f370caa70fbfdaFILE - Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives at an event commemorating the 75th anniversary of NATO at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium at the NATO summit in Washington, on July 9, 2024. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has sent a letter to the heads of European Union countries briefing them on his recent set of unannounced foreign visits that angered other leaders in the bloc. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

2024-07-15T15:21:31Z

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Top officials of the European Union will boycott informal meetings hosted by Hungary while the country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, after Hungary’s pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán held a series of rogue meetings with foreign leaders about Ukraine that angered his European partners.

The highly unusual decision to have the European Commission president and other top officials of the body boycott the meetings in Budapest was made ‘’in light of recent developments marking the start of the Hungarian (EU) presidency,” commission spokesperson Eric Mamer posted Monday on X.

Hungary took over the six-month rotating role July 1, and since then Orbán has visited Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, China, and the United States on a world tour he’s touted as “peace mission” aimed at brokering an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

That angered many leaders in the EU, who said they had not been informed in advance of Orbán’s plans and rushed to emphasize that the nationalist leader was not acting on behalf of the bloc during his surprise meetings with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.

Hungary’s European affairs minister, János Bóka, lashed out at the commission’s decision, writing on X on Monday that the body ‘’cannot cherry pick institutions and member states it wants to cooperate with.”

“Are all Commission decisions now based on political considerations?” Bóka wrote.

A Hungarian government spokesperson, Zoltán Kovács, also suggested the decision was a product of political bias, writing on X: “Sacrificing the institutional setup for private political purposes and disregarding (the Commission’s) role for ideological and political motives.”

The decision by the European Commission applies to informal meetings hosted by Hungary, and means senior civil servants will attend instead of top officials like the European Commission president, currently Ursula von der Leyen.

Orbán’s government has gone against the European mainstream by refusing to supply Kyiv with weapons to deter Russia’s invasion and by threatening to block financial assistance to the war-ravaged country.

In an interview with Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet on Monday, Orbán’s political director said that following his trip to Moscow — the first such visit from an EU head of state or government in more than two years — the prime minister had briefed the leaders of other EU countries “in writing about the negotiations, the experiences of the first phase of the peace mission and the Hungarian proposals.”

“If Europe wants peace and wants to have a decisive say in settling the war and ending the bloodshed, it must now work out and implement a change of direction,” said Balázs Orbán, who is not related to the premier.

But von der Leyen accused Orbán of trying to mollify the Russian leader with the trip, writing on X: “Appeasement will not stop Putin. Only unity and determination will pave the path to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”

Hungary’s government has long argued for an immediate cease-fire and peace negotiations in the conflict in Ukraine, but has not outlined what such moves might mean for the country’s territorial integrity and future security. It has exhibited an adversarial posture toward Ukraine while maintaining close ties to Moscow, even after its full-scale invasion in Feb. 2022.

Orbán’s critics have accused him of acting against the unity and interests of the EU and NATO, of which Hungary is a member, and of pursuing an appeasement strategy concerning Russia’s aggression.

JUSTIN SPIKE Spike is an Associated Press reporter based in Budapest, Hungary. twitter mailto

China-Russia sea drill starts after flotilla sails past Japan, South Korea and Philippines

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3270529/china-russia-sea-drill-starts-after-flotilla-sails-past-japan-south-korea-and-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed

China and Russia have started a joint drill in the South China Sea following an exercise that simulated the search and arrest of “suspicious vessels”.

Navies from the two countries began the “Joint Sea-2024” exercise on Sunday at an unidentified military port in Zhanjiang in southern China’s Guangdong province, state news agency Xinhua reported.

It said after the opening ceremony on Sunday, that the two navies intended to carry out “on-map military simulation and tactical coordination” and discussion – something not mentioned in previous years.

The announcement did not specify the scale of the drill or how long it would last but said it would include weapons training, search and rescue operations and defensive activities.

The two countries have just wrapped up a separate exercise in which a flotilla practised shipborne helicopter landings on each other’s vessels and “search and arrest” operations, according to a WeChat post by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

The flotilla sailed from the waters south of South Korea’s Jeju Island, passed by the Philippine Sea through Osumi Strait in northern Japan and entered the South China Sea through the Balintang Channel, a waterway that separates the Batanes and Babuyan Islands, both belonging to the Philippines.

The PLA said its destroyer Yinchuan, the frigate Hengshui and the replenishment ship Weishanhu, along with the Russian corvette Sovershenny, arrived in the South China Sea on Sunday.

Each navy sent a shipborne helicopter and a special operation unit in addition to the vessels, the post said. Pictures posted to WeChat revealed speedboats from both sides were also involved.

The duration of the patrol was not officially announced but Russia’s defence ministry said on July 4 that the Sovershenny “arrived at a meeting point with a detachment of PLA Navy warships in the Strait of Korea near Jeju Island” for the countries’ fourth maritime patrol in the Pacific Rim.

The Chinese and Russian navies simulated a situation using the Hengshui frigate as a “suspicious vessel”, which they stopped and searched when they were in the Philippine Sea, Russian state-owned Sputnik News reported on Wednesday.

“Helicopters carried by the destroyer Yinchuan and corvette Sovershenny took off to provide air support,” according to Sputnik, which said the captain of the ship was “arrested after weapons were found on the ship” in the drill.

While the PLA said the joint maritime patrol “was not targeted at third parties or related to current international and regional situations”, it took place at a time when disputes between China and the Philippines have escalated.

One of the most intense skirmishes in the South China Sea took place on June 17 when the Chinese coastguard intercepted and boarded a Philippine naval mission sent to resupply troops stationed on the disputed reef.

Joint Sea-2024 began soon after the United States, Japan and South Korea wrapped up an unprecedented, trilateral drill – the joint “Freedom Edge” exercise in the East China Sea – in the same area over three days from June 27.

Washington has strengthened its alliances in the region with nations that perceive increasing challenges from China’s military build-up and manoeuvres.

Meanwhile, China has continued to boost ties with Russia since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022, and enhanced military strategic cooperation as both countries find their relationship with the West is increasingly tense.

In their joint four-day military drill last year, more than 10 warships and 30 aircraft combined were sent to the Sea of Japan under the theme of “safeguarding the safety of strategic maritime passage”.

Outcry as China breast implant woman discovers video of operation online

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3270261/outcry-china-breast-implant-woman-discovers-video-operation-online?utm_source=rss_feed

A woman in China was shocked to discover that she had been secretly filmed during breast augmentation surgery after she recognised herself in a video that was being shared widely online.

The woman surnamed Gao underwent a breast enlargement procedure at a cosmetic surgery hospital in Henan Province, central China in January.

Five months later, she was shocked to discover a video of herself, alongside several other women, circulating on Douyin, China’s TikTok.

The footage showed Gao post-surgery, heavily bandaged and still under anaesthetic. She was identifiable in the video which has attracted 28,000 likes and 39,000 shares.

Gao says her privacy has been severely violated and has repeatedly contacted the hospital to demand that the person who did the filming be identified and the video be deleted.

She has also asked the hospital to make a public apology and pay her compensation.

The hospital has refused to apologise saying that the video was taken and posted by an “external” party.

All surveillance footage is destroyed after three months, so tracing who took the video is impossible, the hospital said, adding that it could only commit to coordinating with the social media platform to remove the video if it reappears online.

However, Gao insisted that the hospital should be able to identity the person who did the filming.

She argued that the operating theatre is a highly private setting, and the video clearly showed the presence of doctors and nurses, making it highly unlikely that an outsider would have been able to enter and film.

The hospital then revised its position, claiming that the individual who recorded the video had since left the hospital and that they had deleted their contact information.

This response caused an outcry online.

“If the person who did the filming has left the job, any organisation could use this excuse to avoid responsibility, attributing it to individual employee actions,” said one person.

“Whenever something goes wrong, they say it was a temporary worker or someone who has left. They always shirk responsibility,” another person added.

Gao has decided to sue the hospital.

Posting videos online showing patients’ faces without their consent constitutes an infringement of privacy rights and image rights, Ma Bin, a lawyer from Tianxin Law Firm in Henan, central China, told the Shanghai Morning Post.

He added that even if the video was produced by an external member of staff, the hospital remains responsible.

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China’s third plenum: US executives eye first-hand insights from economy-centric conclave

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3270575/chinas-third-plenum-us-executives-eye-first-hand-insights-economy-centric-conclave?utm_source=rss_feed

A group of heavyweight US executives will head to Beijing next week, hoping to meet with Chinese officials to obtain first-hand insight following the conclusion of China’s widely-watched third plenum, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The visit will be arranged by the US-China Business Council (USCBC), a Washington-based advocacy group.

It will be led by council president Craig Allen and board chair Raj Subramaniam, CEO of FedEx Corporation.

Companies included on the list for the visit are Goldman Sachs, Starbucks, Honeywell, UnitedHealth, Nike and Qualcomm, all of which have a huge business presence in China.

“The group is hoping to meet with top Chinese leaders, such as foreign minister Wang Yi and the minister of commerce, Wang Wentao,” said one source.

The exact schedule is yet to be confirmed, according to the source, as the closed-door third plenum started on Monday, and is set to last four days, while details of the trip are also subject to change.

The USCBC did not reply to an emailed request for comment.

Domestic entrepreneurs, China watchers and the overseas business community have been paying close attention to China’s economy-centric third plenum, as it is set to chart the country’s medium and long-term growth path, including how to address financial risks, boost tech innovation, revive consumer confidence and widen market access.

Foreign business leaders have seldom made such high-level visits to the Chinese capital right after China’s twice-a-decade third plenum, although the annual China Development Forum provided a window for foreign business leaders to hear from officials and share their thoughts after the “two sessions” parliamentary meetings in March.

Under the goal of building a high-standard socialist market economy by 2035, an official document is expected to be released after the third plenum to detail Beijing’s road map, which will greatly impact foreign businesses in China, prospective investors and exporters.

The USCBC represents more than 270 American companies that conduct business in China.

It has frequent interactions with Chinese officials despite US decoupling attempts in recent years, including co-hosting a dinner reception to welcome President Xi Jinping to San Francisco in November.

The council will hold its closed-door annual flagship event, the China Operations Conference, in Beijing on July 26, which is mainly set for discussions related to China’s macroeconomic and business environment, according to information disclosed on its official website.

Chinese authorities have rolled out the red carpet for foreign investors, promising to widen market access and provide equal treatment, but such promises are often met with suspicions.

Foreign direct investment dropped by 28.2 per cent year on year in yuan terms in the first five months of this year, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce.

“From an economic standpoint, it’s very important for the US and China to maintain a good relationship,” said Dan Digre, president of Misco, an American designer and manufacturer of audio speakers in Minnesota.

“For my business, we still rely heavily on products that are made in China.”

Digre added that the problem of the US’ relationship with China is “driven by politics”.

“Reaching out to the Chinese might make the current administration look like they’re trying to make a deal”, at a time no US presidential candidate would want to look “weak”, he added.

Americans won’t know China well if they don’t know Mandarin

https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3270444/americans-wont-know-china-well-if-they-dont-know-mandarin?utm_source=rss_feed

About 2,500 years ago, famed Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu warned of the vital importance of knowing your enemy and knowing yourself. The United States, for hardly the first time, could use some advice from the ancient Chinese sage.

While China and the US are not outright enemies, at least not yet, Washington has adopted a host of terms – from “adversary” and “geostrategic rival” to “contender” and “pacing challenge” – to describe a relationship that is hardly headed in the right direction. Whether ties get worse or manage to turn around, Americans could do a whole lot better understanding the Asian giant by devoting more time to learning Mandarin.

Without training a class of experts deeply steeped in Chinese culture, language and customs, the United States is hampered in understanding Beijing’s motives, crafting informed decision-making and avoiding the sort of cardboard imagery that stokes conflict.

And while tapes and websites have their place, there are few substitutes for studying in the country where a language and culture are rooted.

“We need young Americans to learn Mandarin. We need young Americans to have an experience of China,” said Nicholas Burns, the US ambassador to China, late last year.

Exchanges have faced an uphill struggle. The Covid-19 pandemic and growing US-China tensions have taken their toll. And parents on both sides are increasingly worried about safety given America’s gun culture, Beijing’s growing obsession with security and last month’s knife attack on teachers from Iowa in the northeastern province of Jilin.

The number of American students studying in China, which was never great to begin with, has fallen to around 800, down from 14,887 in the peak 2011/2012 academic year. That compares with some 289,526 Chinese students in US institutions in 2022/2023 from a height of 372,532 in 2019/2020.

The make-up is also worrying. Harvard University Chinese language programme director Jennifer Liu notes that, among Americans at Harvard studying Mandarin in recent years, business students have fallen off faster than those studying security and international affairs, raising the prospect that more people will become spies or diplomats than businesspeople.

Americans have never been particularly impressive at language study. But it is getting worse, potentially fuelling “America first” thinking and provincialism.

According to the Modern Language Association, the US study of all foreign languages fell across the board from a 2009 peak of nearly 1.7 million students hitting their college books to fewer than 1.2 million by 2021, the most recent year surveyed. Between 2016 and 2021, only Korean, biblical Hebrew and American sign language, of the 15 major languages studied by Americans, saw increases, even as Mandarin – down 14.3 per cent – joined a long list of those losing steam.

Behind the drop-off are several uniquely American factors. The vast majority of US states have no high school language requirement. There’s a shortage of language teachers. And there are limited opportunities to practice .

China as a destination has also lost its buzz among some young Americans as tensions have grown, shifting the narrative from a place to make money to a geopolitical rival.

Moreover, neither country has exactly put out the welcome mat despite calls by Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden in California last November to bolster people-to-people ties. US and Chinese government agencies have been busy issuing travel warnings, citing safety concerns, arbitrary enforcement and local detentions.

There are small signs of hope. The number of US students studying in China appears to be creeping up. And in November, Xi called for 50,000 Americans to study in China within five years. While Xi’s call is encouraging, any top-down approach is unlikely to resonate with American students concerned they can’t use their social media without an effective virtual private network amid images of pollution.

But the benefits are clear. While Google Translate and ChatGPT may help in basic translation, they are no substitutes for making lifelong friends, as well as living and understanding the culture of another country.

As Beijing’s clout increases and it sends armies of envoys around the globe, surpassing the US to create the world’s biggest diplomatic network, learning Mandarin is increasingly a strategic necessity inside and outside China too. While English is currently the most spoken language on Earth, Mandarin is projected to take the top spot by 2050.

Understanding China’s language and culture is also important in finessing the military and intelligence rivalry, whether to bolster cooperation, navigate tensions or acquire intelligence. Tapping Sun Tzu again, there has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefited. Language is an important foot soldier in avoiding such a conflict.

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China’s emissions of two potent greenhouse gases rise 78% in decade

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/15/chinas-emissions-of-two-potent-greenhouse-gases-rise-78-in-decade

Emissions of two of the most potent greenhouse gases have substantially increased in China over the last decade, a study has found.

Perfluorocarbons are used in the manufacturing processes for flat-panel TVs and semiconductors, or as by-products from aluminium smelting. They are far more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO2, and can persist in the Earth’s atmosphere for thousands of years, unlike CO2 which can persist for up to 200 years.

A research team led by Minde An at Massachusetts Institute of Technology examined the emissions of two specific perfluorocarbons, tetrafluoromethane and hexafluoroethane, both with atmospheric lifetimes of 50,000 and 10,000 years respectively.

By analysing atmospheric observations in nine cities across China from 2011 to 2021, they found that both gases exhibited an increase of 78% in emissions in China and, by 2020, represented 64-66% of global emissions for tetrafluoromethane and hexafluoroethane. However, while levels of fluorocarbon emissions are increasing at an alarming rate, CO2 still accounts for about 76% of total greenhouse gas emissions.

The increase in emissions from China was sufficient to account for the global emission increases over that same period, suggesting that China is the dominant driver in tetrafluoromethane and hexafluoroethane release into the atmosphere globally.

The emissions were found to mainly originate from the less populated industrial zones in the western regions of China, and are thought to be due to the role of perfluorocarbons in the aluminium industry.

China is the world’s largest producer and exporter of aluminium, with the country’s production reaching a record-high output of 41.5m tonnes last year.

With the rapid expansion of China’s aluminium and semiconductor industries, these ongoing high levels of fluorocarbon emissions could pose a particular threat to China’s carbon neutrality goal and global climate mitigation. The country is aiming to achieve “peak carbon” emission by 2030 and become “carbon neutral” by 2060.

The authors suggest that with technological innovation and incorporation of the aluminium industry into the carbon market, or a national carbon trading scheme allowing emitters to buy or sell emission credits, it is possible that these rising levels could be reduced.

While being a significant source of CO2 emissions, aluminium production is also essential in the energy transition from fossil fuels to cleaner renewable energy sources by helping produce many low-carbon technologies such as solar panels, electric vehicles and wind turbines.

Organisations such as the World Economic Forum argue that the aluminium industry must act now to find a balance between ensuring efficient production alongside mitigating the industry’s negative impacts on the climate.

White House should disclose whether Russia sharing US weapons insight with China: Congress

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3270564/white-house-should-disclose-whether-russia-sharing-us-weapons-insight-china-congress?utm_source=rss_feed

A bipartisan US congressional committee urged the White House on Monday to disclose details on whether Russia was sharing insight with China on how to defeat US weapons used on the battlefield in Ukraine.

In a letter to White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan seen by Reuters, the House of Representative’s select committee on China warned that Russia’s battlefield adaptations that undermine certain US weapon systems are “likely to proliferate” to China, including Russian electronic warfare countermeasures to US precision munitions.

“We should anticipate and indeed operate under the assumption that Russia is passing information about vulnerabilities or counters to American and allied weapons systems to the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” the committee’s Republican chairman John Moolenaar and senior Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi wrote.

The lawmakers cited media and think tank reports about China’s support for Russia’s military industries and the “alarming levels of Russian adaptation” that have undermined the effectiveness of several unspecified US weapons systems.

They asked Sullivan to assess Russia’s ability to mitigate and counter US weapons deployed in Ukraine, and the extent to which Moscow had shared “lessons learned” with China, as well as any Chinese military efforts to mirror Russian military innovations.

The White House National Security Council did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

The US is Ukraine’s biggest supporter and has provided more than US$50 billion in military aid since 2022 when the Russian invasion began.

On Thursday Washington announced a new security package for Ukraine worth US$225 million, which includes a Patriot missile battery, additional ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems and missiles, among other items.

Nato last week described China as the “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war effort, and called on Beijing, which entered a “no limits” partnership with Moscow days before its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, to stop supporting Russia’s war.

China responded by calling the Nato comments biased and has previously said its support for Russia is all normal trade.

Some analysts contend that Europe’s Nato members must boost their ability to deal with European security challenges to enable the US to focus on threats poised by mainland China, including the dispute over Taiwan, the democratic island Beijing claims as its territory.

The Kremlin has said US weapons bound for the battlefield, including of long-range ATACMS missiles and Abrams tanks, would not change the battlefield situation because Russian armed forces were constantly adapting to new types of weapons.

Top EU officials to boycott Hungary meetings after Putin talks and China visit

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3270565/top-eu-officials-boycott-hungary-meetings-after-putin-visit?utm_source=rss_feed

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has ordered top EU officials to skip a series of meetings in Hungary amid ire over Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s visit to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brussels said on Monday.

Orban – whose country this month took over the rotating presidency of the body representing the European Union’s 27 nations – enraged his fellow leaders by jetting to Moscow on July 5.

The talks with Putin were part of what Orban – the Kremlin’s closest EU friend – described as a “peace mission” over Russia’s war in Ukraine, that also involved a visit to China and talks with former US president Donald Trump.

A spokesman for European Commission president von der Leyen said that “in light of recent developments” EU commissioners would not attend meetings organised in Hungary as part of the presidency.

“The commission will be represented at senior civil servant level only during informal meetings,” spokesman Eric Mamer wrote on X.

Hungary’s EU counterparts were infuriated that Orban appeared to use the position of the EU’s rotating presidency to add weight to his overseas trips.

The six-month presidency passes between the EU’s member states and does not mean the holder represents the entire bloc.

Other EU leaders slammed nationalist Orban for his trip to see pariah Putin in Moscow and insisted that he had been given no broader mandate for any talks.

Alberto Alemanno, a professor of EU law at HEC in Paris, called the commission boycott of Hungary’s presidency events “unprecedented”.

The move from the head of the EU’s executive came after diplomats said the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell was eyeing a plan for foreign ministers to miss a meeting in Budapest next month.

Several diplomats said Borrell could call a meeting in Brussels at the same time to prevent ministers having to go to Hungary.

Officials said the de facto boycott of the foreign affairs meeting would serve as a reprimand for Hungary and stop it taking the spotlight afforded by the presidency.

Orban, long a thorn in the EU’s side for his government’s backsliding on democratic principles and rule of law, remains defiantly close with the Kremlin more than two years after Putin ordered his all-out invasion of Ukraine.

The EU has staunchly opposed Russia’s war and slapped 14 rounds of unprecedented sanctions on Moscow.

But Hungary has repeatedly stalled the efforts to punish the Kremlin and to aid Ukraine in its fight against the invading forces.

Orban’s visit to Moscow was the first by a European leader since a trip by Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in April 2022.

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Asian-American community angered by erroneous report that Donald Trump shooter was Chinese

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3270567/asian-american-community-angered-erroneous-report-donald-trump-shooter-was-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed

The Asian-American community has reacted angrily to an early erroneous report stating that the shooter involved in an attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump over the weekend was Chinese.

The rush to judgment played out in the New York Post, a tabloid newspaper, that initially said the shooter was “identified as a Chinese man” before reporting a little over an hour later that the gunman was “identified only as a white male”.

“In this current era of heightened anti-Asian hate, Chinese-Americans and the Asian-American community are already looking over their shoulders on a daily basis,” said Gary Locke, a former US ambassador to China, in a letter released on Monday by the Committee of 100, a Chinese-American civic group he chairs.

“By irresponsibly reporting false information – that the alleged gunman was Chinese – your reporters have caused the Chinese-American community additional harm,” added Locke, whose government service included stints as US commerce secretary and governor of the state of Washington.

The dash to blame as well as the rapid Asian-American response followed years of hate incidents and scapegoating of the AAPI community during the coronavirus pandemic, which Trump and others referred to as the “kung flu” and “Asian flu”.

In 2019, there were 158 federal anti-Asian hate crimes recorded in the US, according to FBI statistics. But as Covid-19 spread, that figure rose to 279 in 2020 and 746 in 2021, before falling back to 499 in 2022.

Separately, the civic group Stop AAPI Hate received more than 11,000 self-reported incidents between March 2020 and May 2023, mostly involving harassment, bullying, shunning and other forms of discrimination.

“Reckless, false reporting like this perpetuates hate and violence against the Asian community,” said New York State assembly member Grace Lee. “The New York Post must apologise for this error and do better to ensure accurate reporting.”

The New York Post did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Its reporting suggested “a bias so potent that it twists fiction into hard ‘news’”, said Aryani Ong, an Asian-American civil rights lawyer and activist.

“Asian-American are paying the price for the lack of care by parties who peddle fear – not fact-based and balanced statements – using broad-reaching platforms.”

The pushback comes as the diverse AAPI community, whose ranks include everyone from mainland, Taiwanese and Hong Kong Chinese to Samoans and Afghans, becomes more organised, forceful and strategic politically.

AAPI is the fastest growing ethnic population in the United States and the fastest-growing segment of the electorate, according to Pew Research Centre.

In 2020, nearly 60 per cent of eligible AAPI voters turned out at the polls, and in such battleground states as Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, their voting numbers exceeded the presidential margin of victory.

“Stoking fear of the enemy inside America may sell papers and win campaigns for a few people, but at the end of the day, Asian-American along with several other communities, will still be here,” said Ong.

The numbers in the voting bloc were expected to double by 2040, she added, noting: “And we will continue to build and shape America, as we have done so since Filipinos landed in Louisiana in 1763.”

Organisers at an annual AAPI conference last week met to strategise in advance of this year’s presidential election.

A survey released on the eve of the event found that 90 per cent of Asian-Americans plan to vote in November, with 46 per cent voicing support for Biden and 31 per cent for Trump.

It was conducted before both President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance last month and the assassination attempt on Trump on Saturday.

“Historically the [mindset of the] Chinese-American community and Asian-American community has been, ‘put your heads down, don’t cause any trouble’,” said Lily Trieu of Asian Texans for Justice at the conference.

“At this very moment, that’s what has shifted.”

Beyond merely issuing polite criticism, members of the AAPI community called for a more forceful push against what they perceived as biased media reports and against elected officials at the ballot box who espouse irresponsible rhetoric.

“We’ve tried to provide positive talking points,” said Esther Im of Foreign Policy for America, a Washington-based non-profit group.

Im believed the community needed to focus on “making politicians leaders bear the cost of their rhetoric” and that it was “going to take a much concerted, a broader, coordinated campaign”.

Despite the relatively short time that the New York Post article falsely identified a Chinese gunman as the culprit, it was repeated, amplified, liked, commented on and otherwise read by tens of thousands of people.

“The real issue for us is our own public safety,” said Ong. “After Trump’s Covid-related statements, studies show a correlation in uptick of hate directed at Asian-Americans.

“Even if there were ‘x’ number of people who saw it while the post was up for 1 hour 20 minutes, [there] are still too many people who could have gone out and directed fatal anger at Asian-Americans on the street.”

Is China a threat to Europe? Nato’s China stance may rest on its answer

https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3270364/china-threat-europe-natos-china-stance-may-rest-its-answer?utm_source=rss_feed

As Nato commemorates its 75th anniversary, crucial decisions loom regarding its defensive scope and geographical reach The transatlantic security alliance confronts asymmetrical security threats that are particularly pronounced in Eastern Europe due to Russian aggression. Nato also faces a pressing imperative to define its stance on China.

As the world’s largest and longest-standing military alliance, Nato has 32 members spanning Canada to Britain to Turkey. It was set up for the collective defence of Europe when the Soviet Union posed a threat. The Ukraine war has reinvigorated this task, with a revitalised Nato declaring Russia its “most significant and direct threat”.

Significant events have since reshaped Nato. Finland and Sweden joined, and 23 of its members are set to meet the 2 per cent defence spending target, up from seven just two years ago – a seeming answer to Donald Trump’s complaint about Nato underspending.

Last month, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg revealed that European defence purchases have generated over US$140 billion in contracts for US companies, adding: “Nato is good for US security, for US industry and for US jobs.”

Nato’s 2022 strategic concept identified Sino-Russian collaboration as a major challenge but did not classify China as a potential threat, unlike with Russia. Since China first appeared in Nato’s narratives in 2019, the US has leveraged Nato to advance its primary geostrategic concern: containing China.

Last year’s Vilnius summit linked the Indo-Pacific with the Atlantic and Arctic, and referred to the “systemic challenges” posed by China. The recent Washington communiqué depicts China as a “decisive enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine”. Beijing denies supplying weapons but sells dual-use goods to Moscow.

Over the past five years, depictions of China have become more assertive. But the US has not succeeded in getting Nato to see China as a security threat equivalent to Russia. This suggests a divergent European approach.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken maintains Brussels is “doing exactly the same” as Washington but Europe’s policy is less intense: less pressure on 5G, a smaller tariff on electric vehicle imports, no ban on the transfer of advanced technologies and less spending on subsidies to boost domestic manufacturing. There also seems to be a noteworthy disparity between what Stoltenberg asserts as agreed upon and the actual consensus among allies.

While the US focuses on the Indo-Pacific, Europe remains primarily concerned with Ukraine. Nato is a deterrence organisation with a distinct geographic focus, not an entity tasked with solving all global issues. Its defence and deterrence capabilities are concentrated in the Euro-Atlantic region for explicit reasons.

Accordingly, Beijing’s hypothetical “string of pearls” strategy and assertiveness in the South China Sea are not viewed as direct coercion in European capitals, where depicting China as a significant threat seems disproportionate. But China’s de facto support for Russia in Ukraine – through trade, diplomacy and narrative – poses a greater concern for Europe, emphasising that Nato should remain focused on the Euro-Atlantic front.

The US oversees the Indo-Pacific through other alliances and partnerships with regional actors, including India, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The latter four, dubbed AP4 (for Asia-Pacific 4), are Nato’s “partners across the globe”. The “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance, Aukus pact and Quadrilateral Security Dialogue are also seen as deterring and containing China.

While an increased Nato presence in the Indo-Pacific might be preferable for US allies in the area, it is not necessarily suitable for Europe, which must ensure a balanced approach to prevent the dilution of its efforts and resources.

Undeniably, America’s Indo-Pacific card carries consequences. It undermines genuine security threats on Europe, diverts attention from critical regions like the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and heightens China’s concerns over Nato as a security hazard, exacerbating unease over Europe’s weighty reliance on US security while nourishing anti-Western narratives.

Europe could adopt a definitive approach by clearly delineating Nato’s strategy for three pivotal theatres: Ukraine, Taiwan and the broader Indo-Pacific. This involves specifying its security objectives in each region, whether prioritising negotiation, diplomacy, deterrence, sanctions, coercion or not engaging at all.

Nato’s role in Ukraine has been to provide support without direct intervention. Given that it refrains from directly intervening in a conflict on the continent, Europe will be even less inclined to engage in matters over 10,000km away, where no agreement operates.

Europe’s direct interest in the Indo-Pacific is limited to France, which administers territories in the Indian Ocean. Yet it was also France that blocked the idea of a Nato office in Tokyo, underscoring the operational limits in regions beyond Nato’s traditional scope.

There is an opportunity for China to commit to peace by dissuading Washington from leveraging Nato against it. China can urge Russia to withdraw from Ukraine, showing its commitment to European security, positioning itself as a stabilising influence and preventing Nato’s potential enlargement into the Indo-Pacific.

Coming leadership changes – Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte for Stoltenberg as Nato secretary, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas for Josep Borrell as the top EU diplomat, and potentially Trump replacing US President Joe Biden – could significantly influence global defence. The likely re-election of Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission president could deepen the EU’s alignment with Washington’s stance on China.

Europe and Nato can chart a course that not only addresses pressing security concerns but also fosters a balanced and forward-thinking approach to international relations. This is essential to cementing Nato’s role as a cornerstone of global security in the decades ahead.

What is ETF Connect? How does it help global investors tap China’s stock market?

https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3270539/what-etf-connect-how-does-it-help-global-investors-tap-chinas-stock-market?utm_source=rss_feed

China is further opening up its US$8.4 trillion stock market by offering more options to global investors – 85 new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking mainland equities are set to become available through the cross-border trading channel for offshore funds next week.

ETFs, which are funds that pool together a basket of securities and aim to offer returns that mirror the underlying market, are becoming increasingly popular in Asia. These transparent, low-cost, and diversified investment products are especially favoured by retail investors, with mainland China being one of the fastest-growing markets in the region.

Annual inflows to China ETFs surged almost fivefold over the past three years, bringing their total assets under management (AUM) to 1.82 trillion yuan (US$261 billion) by the end of 2023, according to Morningstar.

Hong Kong and mainland China launched their so-called mutual market access programme 10 years ago to allow investors on both sides to trade designated stocks in each other’s markets. The programme, also known as the Stock Connect scheme, has been playing a key role in opening up China’s onshore market to global investors.

To enhance the connectivity and expand cross-border investment channels, the scope has gradually broadened over the years. It started off with the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect in 2014, and this was followed two years later by the Shenzhen leg of the mechanism. Bond Connect arrived in 2017 and the Wealth Management Connect scheme in 2021.

ETFs were added as eligible securities under the Stock Connect mechanism on July 4, 2022. The so-called northbound trading arrangements for ETFs – offshore investors buying mainland Chinese funds – follow the same rules as shares under the scheme.

Trading hours, settlement and clearance all follow mainland China’s regulations for offshore investors, while short-selling of ETFs through the northbound leg is currently not allowed. Trading must be conducted in yuan, and investors are subject to the daily quota of 52 billion yuan (US$7.3 billion) for each of the Shanghai and Shenzhen channels.

The onshore ETFs eligible for northbound investors must meet several criteria to ensure they are well-established and liquid enough for trading. Under the latest rules, the ETF must be able to demonstrate daily average assets under management of at least 500 million yuan (US$69 million) over the previous six months.

The ETF must also have been listed for over six months, and at least 60 per cent of its benchmark index weighting must be made up of stocks eligible for Stock Connect northbound trading.

Some of China’s biggest broad-based ETF products, which track the CSI 300 Index and are issued by the nation’s top fund houses such as E Fund Management, Huatai-PineBridge Asset Management, and China Asset Management, are open to international investors via the northbound channel. Some of these products have seen a surge in assets this year as state-backed funds, also known as “the national team”, went back into action to shore up the weak stock market.

Other products, including some thematic ETFs tracking specific sectors such as consumer, healthcare, AI, and defense, are also eligible for northbound trading.

There are currently around 140 eligible ETFs in the northbound leg of the trading scheme, and the number will expand to 225 after the latest inclusions take effect next Monday, July 22. For mainland investors, a total of 16 Hong Kong-domiciled ETFs will be available through the southbound channel.

The total trading volume of ETFs through the northbound channel reached 102.7 billion yuan at the end of May, an increase of nearly three times compared to the same time last year, according to data from the Hong Kong stock exchange. The monthly trading volume topped 20 billion yuan in May and June, some of the highest amounts on record.

Trading of ETFs under Shanghai Connect and Shenzhen Connect is open to all Hong Kong and overseas investors – both institutional and individual. Retail investors can easily gain exposure to China’s onshore market by purchasing ETFs on the Hong Kong stock exchange through their brokerage accounts.

China ramps ups military education for younger ages to help sow ‘seeds’ of patriotism

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3270546/china-ramps-ups-military-education-younger-ages-help-sow-seeds-patriotism?utm_source=rss_feed

Days after former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022, hundreds of students at a school in mainland China gathered for a lecture in which they were told how the trip represented US moves to “contain” Beijing’s rise.

“Why did Pelosi risk being condemned by the world for visiting Taiwan? Why didn’t we shoot it down?” asked a teacher at the No 10 Middle School in Liuyang, Hunan province, according to an online post by the school.

The question prompted heated discussion among the students – all clad in combat uniforms – before the teacher wrapped up the lecture.

Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which prompted Beijing to launch unprecedented military exercises around the self-ruled island, happened “against the backdrop of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict” and represented “the latest manifestation of great power competition”, the teacher reasoned.

“The intention of the US elite is to use the Taiwan issue to disrupt our development rhythm and curb our rise,” the teacher concluded.

The “national defence education class”, which according to the school was intended to “train student minds to resist the erosion of foreign ideology”, was one of many similar sessions being held around the country as Beijing ramps up efforts to raise awareness among young people about national security.

They come as patriotic fervour is on the rise – driven by Beijing – in response to geopolitical rivalries, notably with countries like the US, and as analysts express concerns about declining military recruitment levels due to factors such as falling birth rates.

Meanwhile, in recent years, drones and rocket launchers have been introduced into combat training at some universities, while groups of children as young as kindergarten age have been sent to tour military camps so that the “seeds” of a “strong military” can be planted, as military commanders have described it.

China is also making changes to a law in a bid to boost national defence education, including exploring ways to enhance the combat skills of teenagers to prepare for potential risks in a “complex and ever-changing security and development environment”.

The trends, according to experts, underline growing concerns in Beijing over what are seen as geopolitical risks, and challenges to attract young people to join the military, all while experts attempt to extract military lessons from key battlegrounds like Ukraine.

“The world is not peaceful, the education on patriotism and national defence should be cultivated from an early age,” Chinese military analyst Fu Qianshao said.

“In the future, when war breaks out, all citizens must be mobilised, which can be seen in the Ukraine war.”

For decades, in addition to its mostly voluntary conscription system, China has deployed a system of public military education that includes compulsory training in high schools and universities. The approach, while not common, has also been used in Russia and North Korea.

Russia revived compulsory military training for high school students in 2023, a year after it invaded Ukraine, and decades since the practice was dropped following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Most countries offer some form of national defence education for their young people through optional courses or specialised military academies, or organisations that teach values and skills.

Military training in Chinese high schools has shades of the Scouts of America, founded in 1910, which also weaves in messages of patriotism across a range of activities and educational programmes. The key difference is the Chinese version is mandatory.

But as geopolitical headwinds intensify, Beijing now believes that more must be done to rally China’s youth to support its military.

Under new amendments to China’s National Defence Education Law, the first changes since 2018, a key focus will be on military education among the country’s teenagers.

For the first time since the law was introduced more than two decades ago, primary school pupils from about age six are now required to have military “awareness” through compulsory classes, according to a draft submitted in April for first reading to the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC).

Meanwhile, according to the draft, junior high schools may, for the first time, organise military training for students ages 12-15 to master combat skills, following the implementation of the mandatory programme in universities and high schools in the past.

The amendments, which have to pass a second or possibly third reading, were part of an array of many similar policy readouts in recent years.

For example, according to rules issued in 2022 by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, national defence education should be incorporated into school curriculums and examination processes, and primary schools are urged to conduct seven-day combat training sessions.

As of January this year, 2,431 primary and secondary schools had been selected for pilot programmes to improve military awareness and skills among children.

Lu Li-shih, a former instructor at the Taiwanese naval academy in Kaohsiung, said the most important component of national defence education is learning patriotism.

“If you receive national defence education as early as possible, whether it is physical fitness, national identity, or the construction of patriotic thinking, you will have a correct view on how to protect the country,” Lu said.

“Now that the US is joining forces with allies to launch all-round containment on China, including in science and technology, strengthening defence education is very important for uniting national consciousness,” he added.

When they were first adopted in the 1980s, these short-term military training sessions for Chinese students were little more than military marching, formation drills and physical exercise.

But recently, the exercises have become much more immersive, as some training features the use of combat equipment such as drones, and the simulation of real battlefield environments, according to publicly available information.

In China’s southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, which borders Vietnam, students at Guilin University of Electronic Technology underwent combat training with rocket launchers and simulated drone bombings, according to a report by The Beijing News last September.

That same month, students at Peking University in Beijing conducted target practice with guns, while 5,000 students at Shanghai Jiao Tong University marched at night while learning how to avoid air attacks, according to a report by The Paper.

China’s unique short-term military training programmes are unlike those of many other countries, which operate some form of conscription that requires longer stints of military service, with 32 of them requiring more than 18 months of service for men.

However, military education in China is systematically conducted across different levels of schools through courses and lectures beginning in primary schools, as well as activities such as visits to military memorial sites and military training camps.

In April, a group of kindergarten children was sent to observe the training of frontline soldiers in the Eastern Theatre Command Air Force, according to an official military post on Weibo.

“The zero distance” engagement between the kids and soldiers allowed the “seeds” of a “strong military” and patriotism to be planted in the hearts of the children, the post on Weibo said.

National defence education in primary and secondary schools is the “foundation” of the national security strategy, Ma Dan, a researcher with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Academy of Military Sciences wrote in an article in Guangming Daily last year.

“Exposing the enemy’s lies by explaining the truth has become an urgent issue that national defence education in primary and secondary schools must face in a new era,” said Ma, who is part of the team responsible for the country’s defence education system.

Military awareness and basic combat skills should be cultivated gradually from childhood so that they can “spontaneously and proactively” react with national defence behaviours to help prevent threats like separatism and defend territorial integrity, Ma wrote in the article.

Recruitment problems

The trend to ramp up military indoctrination among Chinese youth comes as concerns grow in Beijing over having enough recruits to sustain the country’s military, as conflicts like Moscow’s war in Ukraine cast a spotlight on military preparedness.

In several addresses, Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed Taiwan’s “reunification” with the mainland as “inevitable”, preferably through peaceful means, but never renouncing the use of force to accomplish the task.

The NPC argues that the amendments to the national defence education law are necessary to cope with what has been described as a complex security environment and various growing risks, according to an explanation presented alongside the amendments in April.

Other government papers have linked military education to the overall strength of the PLA, as it becomes increasingly challenging to recruit members among China’s youth.

According to those papers, the tasks of national defence education are difficult but greatly important in safeguarding national sovereignty, and achieving the army centenary goal in 2027.

Many of China’s challenges in attracting people to enlist in military service can be traced to demographics, as the country’s population ages and the proportion of young people declines.

However, a “weak sense” of national defence is also a factor, according to a paper published in Contemporary Youth Research in 2014. Because they have grown up in an extended era of peacetime, younger generations are increasingly influenced by “hedonistic” trends in social media that steer them away from military service, according to a proposal by a Chinese local advisory body.

Fu Qianshao, the military analyst, said young people are part of the country’s reserve forces that could play roles in wartime, so it is necessary to cultivate their awareness and skills from an early age, though the enhancement of education was not “directly” related to the recruitment considerations.

But some have expressed doubts about how effective such initiatives will be in addressing Beijing’s concerns.

“The programmes aim to bolster patriotic enthusiasm and perhaps expand the ranks of potential recruits for the PLA,” said Timothy Heath, a senior international and defence analyst at the RAND Corporation, who expressed doubts that coordinated indoctrination could effectively address those challenges.

“Nor will the measures fundamentally improve the PLA’s recruitment situation, because young people do not like to experience hardship and life in the barracks in China, or anywhere else in the developed world.”

China’s bond rally sends yields to record lows, prompting concerns of ‘disrupting’ economy

https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3270512/chinas-bond-rally-sends-yields-record-lows-prompting-concerns-disrupting-economy?utm_source=rss_feed

In China’s 10-year treasury bond market, the Ministry of Finance is looking to manage liquidity amid mounting concerns among policymakers that long-term yields have been too low.

The ministry said online on Monday that it planned to sell up to 2.5 billion yuan (US$344 million) worth of two types of 10-year treasury bonds on Tuesday to “improve the liquidity of the secondary market for government bonds, and to improve the government bond yield curve that reflects the relationship between market supply and demand”.

China’s long-term treasury bond market has seen a record rally since last year, sending yields to record lows as investors search for safe-haven assets amid weak confidence in the country’s economic outlook.

The benchmark yield on China’s 10-year treasury bonds traded as high as 2.262 per cent and moderated to trade around 2.251 per cent at noon on Monday, following the finance ministry’s statement.

The statement also came amid a series of warnings by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) over risks that a bond bubble could burst, which could destabilise financial markets and derail the nation’s uneven economic recovery.

On Saturday, the PBOC-backed Financial News said that financial institutions snapping up Chinese government bonds are basically “disrupting” the economy, citing views from industry analysts.

“A scrambling by institutions for government bonds is equivalent to an expectation that interest rates will continue to fall in the future,” the Financial News said. “It may be that they expect an era of long-term low interest rates like in Japan. This would also increase the capital-outflow pressure.”

The PBOC has expressed a determination to maintain a “normal upward-sloping yield curve” and to correct bond-market risks. Earlier this month, the PBOC also said it had hundreds of billions of yuan worth of bonds at its disposal to borrow, and that it would sell them depending on market conditions.

Since 2017, the Ministry of Finance has conducted regular monthly operations to improve liquidity in the secondary treasury bond market.

However, given the relatively small size of the operation, the moves have been seen by analysts as targeting the supply and demand of specific bonds rather than having to do with changing wider trends in the bond market.

In April, finance ministry officials said they would support the PBOC restarting the trade of treasury bonds in open-market operations, as authorities look to better coordinate the country’s fiscal and monetary policies.

The ministry and central bank have a history of clashing over how to tackle the country’s economic issues. However, Chinese authorities have recently been stressing the need to improve fiscal and monetary policy coordination.