Mistral点评

• China raises ‘concerns’ over US tariffs, investment curbs as trade officials meet
• Chinese migrants flock to Mexico in search of freedom and opportunity
• ‘Crush them’: are China’s local governments using unsustainable tactics to repay debt?
• China’s Wang Yi to US climate envoy: don’t let protectionism, ‘security’ block cooperation
• China rolls out new Africa financing, staying course despite slowdown at home
• China to supply warships to Cambodia as scrutiny over Ream naval base heightens
• Chinese budget smartphone brand Transsion says finance head detained in investigation
• Mainland China jail term for Taiwanese ‘separatist’ prompts travel warning from Taipei
• Hello, Jarvis? China’s new AI app stirs dreams of Tony Stark’s assistant becoming reality
• South China Sea: how should the Philippines respond to China’s Sabina Shoal moves?
• China’s super-radar detects plasma bubble over the pyramids in Giza
• China man, 30, worked 104 days with 1 day off, dies from organ failure, court orders compensation
• Super Typhoon Yagi pummels China’s Hainan, killing 2 and injuring 92
• China colleagues, both married to others, fired for kissing in office, sue company
• Japan PM candidate Taro Kono risks sinking campaign with nuclear sub plan to counter China
• Super Typhoon Yagi hits China’s Hainan forcing one million to leave their homes
• China kindergarten principal fired for accepting chocolate gift worth less than US$1, sues school
• Southeast Asia’s struggle to stay afloat amid a flood of cheap Chinese imports
• China could tow Philippine ship from disputed Sabina Shoal, but is it worth the backlash?
• [Sport] Thieves snatched his phone in London - it was in China a month later
• After 30 years, China’s BeiDou is a GPS rival. Will the world enter its orbit?
• Georgia Tech to end China partnerships amid US concerns over military ties

China raises ‘concerns’ over US tariffs, investment curbs as trade officials meet

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3277630/china-raises-concerns-over-us-tariffs-investment-curbs-trade-officials-meet?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing raised concerns over Washington’s Section 301 tariffs, investigations targeting Chinese imports and industries, as well as investment restrictions, as senior trade officials from either side met in China on Saturday.

Commerce vice-minister Wang Shouwen led the Chinese delegation in the talks with Marisa Lago, the US under secretary of commerce for international trade, in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin.

Wang, who is also China’s international trade representative, “expressed concerns” over the additional Section 301 tariffs announced earlier this year, as well as the latest Section 301 probe into China’s shipping industry, according to a statement from the commerce ministry.

Under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the US can impose trade sanctions on countries that violate trade agreements or engage in “unjustifiable” or “unreasonable” acts that burden its commerce.

Tariffs on Chinese imports under this section were first imposed under the Trump administration in 2018.

Fresh levies announced in May on Chinese products including solar panels, electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries have been described by Washington as a response to Beijing’s “unfair trade practices”.

According to the Chinese ministry, “the Chinese side focused on expressing concerns about …. generalised national security, sanctions against Chinese enterprises, two-way investment restrictions, US trade assistance against China, and unfair treatment of Chinese enterprises in the US.”

The US was also urged to clarify national security boundaries “in the field of trade and economic cooperation to help stabilise the expectations of enterprises for cooperation”, it said, adding that China opposed any trade and investment restrictions “under the pretext of ‘overcapacity’”.

Saturday’s meeting was the second commerce dialogue at the vice-ministerial level following an initial meeting in April, when the two sides pledged to enhance communications on export control rules and trade.

The latest talks come as the world’s top two economies step up engagement to stabilise ties.

Last month, Jake Sullivan became the first White House national security adviser to visit Beijing in eight years, days after talks between the US Department of the Treasury and the People’s Bank of China in Shanghai.

Beijing also hosted three days of talks this week between climate change negotiators from the two countries.

According to the Chinese commerce ministry, both sides in Tianjin agreed to “maintain communication” in areas such as cross-border data flow, inspection and quarantine, healthcare and women’s health, as well as medical devices and clean energy.

“China is willing to join efforts with the US side, to strengthen communication, expand cooperation, [and] manage differences so as to create a good policy environment for the cooperation of business communities of the two countries,” Wang was quoted as saying.

The two sides were also “willing to maintain communication with Chinese and American companies and listen to their views”, the statement read.

US-China trade ties have been fractious since former president Donald Trump imposed tariffs of up to 24 per cent on hundreds of billions of US dollars of Chinese goods.

Now the Republican candidate for the presidential elections in November, Trump has vowed to impose more stiff tariffs on China if he returns to the White House.

Meanwhile, US officials, including President Joe Biden, have repeatedly called for a review of China’s excess industrial capacity, especially in sectors such as solar panels, automobiles, steel and shipbuilding.

Beijing has rejected the “overcapacity” accusations, calling them Washington’s excuse for advocating trade protectionism.

However, according to a US-China Business Council survey carried out in June and July, “overcapacity” was considered to be among the top concerns affecting the profitability of American companies operating in China.

Chinese migrants flock to Mexico in search of freedom and opportunity

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3277631/chinese-migrants-flock-mexico-search-freedom-and-opportunity?utm_source=rss_feed

Despite her well-paying tech job, Li Daijing did not hesitate when her cousin asked for help running a restaurant in Mexico City. She packed up and left China for the Mexican capital last year, with dreams of a new adventure.

The 30-year-old woman from Chengdu, the Sichuan provincial capital, hopes one day to start an online business importing furniture from her home country.

“I want more,” Li said. “I want to be a strong woman. I want independence.”

Li is among a new wave of Chinese migrants who are leaving their country in search of opportunities, more freedom, or better financial prospects at a time when China’s economy has slowed, youth unemployment rates remain high, and its relations with the US and its allies have soured.

While the US border patrol arrested tens of thousands of Chinese at the US-Mexico border over the past year, thousands are making the Latin American country their final destination. Many have hopes to start businesses of their own, taking advantage of Mexico’s proximity to the US.

Last year, Mexico’s government issued 5,070 temporary residency visas to Chinese immigrants, twice as many as the previous year – making China third, behind the United States and Colombia, as the source of migrants granted the permits.

A deep-rooted diaspora that has fostered strong family and business networks over decades makes Mexico appealing for new Chinese arrivals; so does a growing presence of Chinese multinationals in Mexico, which have set up shop to be close to markets in the Americas.

“A lot of Chinese started coming here two years ago – and these people need to eat,” said Duan Fan, owner of “Nueve y media,” a restaurant in Mexico City’s stylish Roma Sur neighbourhood that serves the spicy food of Sichuan, his home province.

“I opened a Chinese restaurant so that people can come here and eat like they do at home,” he said.

Duan, 27, arrived in Mexico in 2017 to work with an uncle who owns a wholesale business in Tepito, near the capital’s historic centre, and was later joined by his parents.

Unlike earlier generations of Chinese who came to northern Mexico from the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, the new arrivals are more likely to come from all over China.

Data from the latest 2020 census by Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography show that Chinese immigrants are mainly concentrated in Mexico City. A decade ago, the census recorded the largest concentration of Chinese in the northernmost state of Baja California, on the US-Mexico border across from California.

The arrival of Chinese multinationals is leading an influx of “people from eastern China, more educated and with a broader global background,” said Andrei Guerrero, academic coordinator of the Center for China-Baja California Studies.

In a middle-class Mexico City neighbourhood, Viaducto-Piedad, near the city’s historic Chinatown, a new Chinese community has been growing since the late 1990s. Chinese immigrants have not only opened businesses, but have created community spaces for religious events and children’s recreation.

Viaducto-Piedad is recognised by the Chinese themselves as Mexico City’s true “Chinatown,” said Monica Cinco, a specialist in Chinese migration and general director of the EDUCA Mexico Foundation.

“When I asked them why, they would tell me because we live here. We have stores for Chinese consumption, beauty shops and restaurants just for Chinese,” she said. “They live there, there is a community and several public schools in the area have a significant Chinese population.”

In downtown Mexico City, Chinese entrepreneurs have not only opened new wholesale stores but have also taken over dozens of buildings. At times, they have become a source of tension with local businesses and residents, who say the expansion of Chinese-owned enterprises is displacing them.

At a mini-market in a bustling downtown neighbourhood selling Chinese products such as dried wood ear mushrooms and vacuum-packed spicy duck wings, 33-year-old Dong Shengli said he moved to Mexico City from Beijing a few months ago to help manage the shop for some friends.

Dong – who has since found a job with a wholesaler importing knock-off designer trainers and clothing – said he had worked at China’s National Energy Commission, but was persuaded by his friends to come here.

He plans to explore business possibilities in Mexico, but China still has a pull for him. “My wife and my parents are in China. My mother is elderly, she needs me,” he said.

Others are leaving China in search of greater freedoms. That is the case for 50-year-old Tan, who gave only his surname out of concern for the safety of his family, who remain in China. He arrived in Mexico this year from the southern province of Guangdong and got a job for a few months at a Sam’s Club. Back home, he made a living doing various jobs, including at a chemical plant and writing magazine articles during the pandemic.

But he chafed under what he described as a repressive atmosphere in China.

“It’s not just the oppression in the workplace, it’s the mentality,” he said. “I can feel the political regression, the retreat of freedom and democracy. The implications of that truly make people feel twisted and sick. So, life is very painful.”

What caught his attention in Mexico City were the protests that often pack the city’s main avenues – proof, he said, that the freedom of expression he longs for exists in this country.

At the restaurant where she still helps out in the trendy Juárez neighbourhood, Li said Mexico stands out as a land of opportunity for her and other Chinese who do not have relatives in the US to help them settle there. She said she left China partly because of the competitive workplace culture and high home prices.

“In China, everyone saves money to buy a house, but it’s really expensive to get one,” she said.

Self-confident with a contagious smile, Li said she is hopeful her skills working as a sales promoter for Chinese tech giant Tencent Games will help her get ahead in Mexico.

She says she has not met many Chinese women like herself in Mexico City: newcomers, young and single.

Most are married and are moving to Mexico to reunite with their husbands.

“To come here is to face something unknown,” she said.

Li does not know when she’ll be able to carry out her ambitious business plans, but she has ideas: For example, she imagines that in Henan province she could get chairs, tables and other furniture at a good price. Meanwhile, she is selling furniture imported to Mexico by a Chinese friend on the e-commerce platform Mercado Libre.

“I’m not married, I don’t have a boyfriend, it’s just myself,” she said, “so I’ll work hard and struggle.”

‘Crush them’: are China’s local governments using unsustainable tactics to repay debt?

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3277549/crush-them-are-chinas-local-governments-using-unsustainable-tactics-repay-debt?utm_source=rss_feed

On China’s social media platforms last week, a recording surfaced that revealed a side of the country’s debt crisis that has largely gone unreported.

The recording is presented as a conversation between an unnamed representative of a medical technology company and a market regulation enforcement officer, surnamed Zhang, from Chengwu county in eastern China’s Shandong province.

In the four-minute conversation, the cadre uses a threatening tone to discuss how his county has a revenue target that must be collected from businesses each year to meet budget shortfalls.

“I must admit that I know little about helping businesses to thrive,” Zhang is heard saying in the recording. “But I definitely know how to crush them.”

The conversation shone a light on the desperation faced by local governments struggling to come to terms with bleak finances and debilitating debt, and the lengths some municipal officials have resorted to in an effort to pay down that debt.

It is not known who made the recording or who posted it, but it quickly went viral, sparking a flood of online reactions ranging from resentment to worry.

“This is the current situation facing the survival of private enterprises,” said one commenter.

“I understand why people with money are unwilling to start a business,” said another.

The local government has since issued a notice saying that the official’s remarks were “inappropriate”, and an investigation was under way.

Across China, regional governments have been grappling with a nationwide property market crisis that has deprived them of a key source of income – land sales. The same cash-strapped authorities were already struggling with the economic impact of Covid-19 restrictions that forced businesses to shut down, with some eventually going bankrupt.

Both calamities have led to vital streams of tax revenue drying up.

The debt load of local governments totalled about 40 trillion yuan (US$5.64 trillion) last year, accounting for more than 30 per cent of China’s gross domestic product, according to a recent report published by the Ministry of Finance.

Managing that widening debt has become a major headache for local officials who have traditionally relied on land sales and taxes to fund their operations and pay civil servant wages. In the process, many have resorted to unconventional revenue streams.

A county official in a Chinese coastal province, who did not want to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue, told the Post that revenue targets set every year by the province create tremendous pressure.

“At the beginning of the year, the local government where I work sets targets for tax and non-tax revenue, and we are expected to achieve them. Failure will put our promotion at risk,” said the official, surnamed Wu.

“The county’s tax revenue has fallen by two-thirds because of the reduction in land sales income,” he said. “So, the county needs to find new ways to make up for the shortfall by collecting more taxes and other forms of income.”

A widely used fundraising short cut involves monetising government assets – essentially, renting out government-owned assets or resources such as mines and state-owned businesses.

“The main strategy is ‘smashing iron pots to sell the steel’. Local governments sell mining rights and usage rights of some state-owned resources, and rent out properties, large equipment, and the like. For example, some county governments have sold forestry rights to private businesses,” Wu said.

Funds collected from these channels are usually categorised as non-tax revenue in government budgets. A recent report by Caitong Securities, a brokerage firm, estimated that such funds represented the largest share – 39 per cent – of non-tax revenue of local governments.

Government data shows the increasing reliance on non-tax income by local governments. According to the Ministry of Finance, China saw a 2.8 per cent decrease in budgetary revenue in the first half of this year. Tax revenue fell 5.6 per cent year on year to 9.4 trillion yuan, but non-tax revenue jumped 11.7 per cent to 2.18 trillion yuan – surpassing total non-tax revenue for 2014.

Among the 23 provinces that have published budgetary data from the first half of the year, 16 reported that non-tax revenue accounted for more than one-third of their incomes.

The practice of covering deficits with non-tax income is not new, but Wu said the trend accelerated after the State Council issued a directive in 2023 urging local governments to do more to reduce debts. For the first time, the directive included the phrase “smashing iron pots to sell the steel” – an indirect endorsement of the practice.

The worry for Wu is that monetising government assets is not sustainable and local governments are simply kicking the can down the road.

“The sale of usage rights of these resources, or the renting out of properties and equipment, are basically one-off deals,” Wu said.

There was also the risk of losses from a lack of due diligence by local governments in the rush to liquidate assets, Wu added, and rent seeking by officials might be inevitable.

“Some local governments rushed to sell their assets at below market prices because they were in heavy debt or under heavy pressure to meet their financial targets,” Wu said.

“This happened when our county sold the mining rights of a certain mineral – the price was significantly less than the market price,” he added.

In other cases, some local government officials simply asked businesses to pay taxes in advance.

“In difficult times, we negotiated with businesses that are on good terms with us to pay taxes a few quarters in advance,” said a prefecture-level financial cadre, surnamed Ye, from a southern Chinese province. “So we would look good on our accounts and it would enable us to service our maturing debts.”

The owner of a chemical company in eastern Anhui province said that businesses often have little choice but to comply.

“We have no choice because we are under the local government’s supervision,” said the owner, who gave his name as Huang. “They can make our life very difficult if we say no, so we have to pay [taxes] in advance.”

Businesses, meanwhile, also faced heavier fines and fees. In 2022, fines and fees accounted for about 12 per cent of local governments’ non-tax revenue, up 10.4 per cent from the previous year, according to the latest data released by the Ministry of Finance.

An owner of several restaurants in Shandong province said he paid more than double the amount in fines and fees in the past year.

“Fire safety inspections of my restaurants have more than doubled, and our fines went up by 160 per cent,” said the owner, surnamed Li. “I have not changed how I run my business and I was rarely fined before.”

“First came the urban management team, and then the fire brigade,” he said. “They both faulted us on almost exactly the same issues and fined us.”

Wu, the official from the coastal province, said that in his county, an important hidden reform was the reduction in the amount of non-tax revenue returned.

Wu said that since the government wanted to repay debt, it usually took a bigger cut of the non-tax revenue collected through fines and fees.

“Previously, the government would turn over 60 per cent [of the fines and fees collected] to the relevant law enforcement departments,” Wu said. “But starting in 2022, only 30 per cent was turned over.”

“Because the [law enforcement] departments are getting less, they want to make up for what has been taken away by the government. This has incentivised law enforcement units to collect more fines and fees,” he said, adding that local officials are careful about justifying their collections through rules and regulations.

“Having a legal basis for fines is crucial; you cannot just impose fines under any pretext,” Wu said.

Legal sensitivities were more prevalent in southern China where officials are generally more inclined to obey the law, he said.

“In southern China, officials have a better sense about the rule of law, and we are concerned that companies could dispute [the fines] and file for administrative appeals,” he explained.

Another avenue local officials have turned to to boost coffers is to halt tax breaks previously awarded to businesses.

Ye, the prefecture-level official, said they sometimes had no choice but to cut the tax exemptions.

“When the finances were tight, the pressure was too great to bear so we were unable to keep the tax breaks,” he said.

Lin, who runs a security company in Shanghai, said the flip-flopping was disrupting his business.

“In 2019, the district government promised me a tax break of 5 million yuan a year when [they asked me] to set up a company in the district,” Lin said.

“But in 2024, they suddenly told me the policy has been cancelled and told me to pay the taxes for 2023. The sudden change put my financial plans in disarray.”

One other fundraising channel is to issue special government bonds.

According to the Ministry of Finance, China has rolled out guidelines for local governments to issue 3.9 trillion yuan worth of special bonds. The bonds are not included in the government’s deficit calculations, and are intended to alleviate the financial pressures of local governments and stimulate economic growth.

Xie Maosong, a senior researcher at the National Strategic Institute at Tsinghua University, said that local governments were under enormous pressure to balance their books.

“These are special times, local finances are extremely tight. Many local governments are even struggling to pay wages. Officials face immense pressure to cut debts and drive revenue growth,” Xie said.

“[The paid use of state-owned assets] is a way for local governments to save themselves, trying to find solutions from within.”

Peng Pai, president of Guangdong Institute of Reform, a government think tank, said monetisation of government assets should strictly follow rules and financial norms.

“Liquidating state-owned assets requires [following] proper operational norms, including determining which assets are transferable or leasable and whether the pricing is in line with market value,” Peng said.

“It’s a kind of negotiated relief in special times, showing the government’s flexibility. But it shouldn’t become a regular practice,” Xie said, referring to the trend of urging businesses to pay taxes in advance.

Xie said he agreed that reliance on fines and fees was not healthy.

“Using non-compliant methods to increase non-tax revenue is like drinking poison to quench thirst. This approach easily causes public resentment and private enterprises lose confidence. It is unsustainable,” Xie said.

“These grey revenues and local special bonds are temporary measures to relieve pressure. It is more important to restore the economy and build confidence. If the economy does not recover well, they are useless.”

As for whether local governments will be able to keep a lid on the debt crisis, Wu, the coastal province official, strikes a cautious tone.

“Maybe one day the economy will recover,” he said.

“We just have to get by one day at a time. At least we cannot let the finances collapse on our watch.”

China’s Wang Yi to US climate envoy: don’t let protectionism, ‘security’ block cooperation

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3277617/chinas-wang-yi-us-climate-envoy-dont-let-protectionism-security-block-cooperation?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi urged Washington not to let overbroad definitions of national security stand in the way of climate change cooperation as he met visiting US climate envoy John Podesta.

“Climate change dialogue and cooperation are not only an integral part of China-US relations, but also an important measure to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state at their meeting in San Francisco,” Wang said, according to a foreign ministry statement on Friday night.

He added that since the beginning of the year, climate change teams from both countries had been in close communication and achieved “practical cooperation results”.

“[We] hope that the US will maintain policy stability, earnestly respect China’s legitimate concerns, and avoid protectionism and overstretching the concept of security.”

The three-day climate talks in Beijing were part of efforts by the rival powers to stabilise ties by tackling issues of common interest, a consensus reached by Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden when they met in San Francisco last November.

The US and China have held a few rounds of climate talks since former climate envoys John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua agreed last year to revive a working group on climate change cooperation.

Podesta’s visit to China followed that of US national security adviser Jake Sullivan last week, as the Biden administration seeks engagement with Beijing to shore up the outgoing president’s political legacy.

Xi and Biden are expected to hold a phone call in the coming weeks. There is growing speculation that the two leaders could hold a second summit before the US president steps down in January.

Following Biden’s surprise withdrawal from the US presidential race in July, it will be US Vice-President Kamala Harris, the new Democratic Party nominee, facing the Republican Party’s Donald Trump in November, with polls suggesting a close race.

Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University, said US-China cooperation on climate change continued the direction set by Kerry and Xie last November.

But a Trump re-election could derail cooperation between the two nations, as the former president has denied the reality of climate change.

The US withdrew from the Paris climate accord under Trump, who also scrapped all climate talks with China when he was in office. He has called electric vehicles (EVs) “green new scams” and vowed to impose tariffs of up to 200 per cent on Chinese EVs imported from Mexico.

“If Harris is elected, the current [cooperation] will basically continue. If Trump is elected, there will be basically no cooperation on climate change,” Shi said.

China and the US are the world’s top emitters of greenhouse gases and both have set ambitious goals to tackle pollution. Beijing aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 and an emissions peak by 2030, while Washington wants to reach 100 per cent clean electricity by 2035 and achieve a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.

But they have taken different approaches towards their climate goals. Beijing has focused on developing green industries, with the rapid production of solar panels and electric vehicles, which has drawn criticism from the West about “overcapacity” that has disrupted the global supply chain.

The US is offering tax credits to boost domestic competitiveness in the EV sector, but it has raised tariffs on Chinese EVs to prevent them from “flooding” the local market – a move Beijing accused of undermining global green development.

Podesta, who also met his Chinese counterpart Liu Zhenmin for bilateral meetings, said Washington and Beijing still had differences in their approach towards climate change – including on climate finance – but the talks made progress in narrowing the gaps.

He added that the two sides discussed plans to submit their 2035 climate goals to the United Nations and to hold a summit on abating methane and other lesser-known greenhouse gases.

The US and its allies have long hoped China would spend more to help developing nations combat climate change. Meanwhile, Beijing has urged more efforts from developed countries, which failed to fulfil their obligation to contribute US$100 billion annually to the developing world by 2020 under an agreement reached during the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15).

China, which in 2015 pledged to give US$3 billion in climate change funds to countries in the Global South, is also believed to have fallen short of this promise, according to environmentalist think tank E3G.

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China rolls out new Africa financing, staying course despite slowdown at home

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3277542/china-rolls-out-new-africa-financing-staying-course-despite-slowdown-home?utm_source=rss_feed

China has renewed its financial pledges to African nations – even as its economy lurches and geopolitical friction with the West worsens – in a move analysts said shows the country will not let domestic strife disrupt the pursuit of its objectives in the region.

Beijing earmarked a total of 360 billion yuan (US$50.6 billion) – including 210 billion yuan in loans, 80 billion yuan in aid, and at least 70 billion yuan of Chinese companies’ investment – to Africa over the next three years as President Xi Jinping welcomed delegations from more than 50 African nations at the three-day Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing this week.

The fresh promises came as China is attempting to restructure its overseas investments and loans while continuing to position itself as a global leader with a diplomatic commitment to developing countries.

“The FOCAC suggests [China] doesn’t just want to maintain relationships with African countries but upgrade them, both politically and economically,” said Hannah Ryder, chief executive of Beijing-based consultancy Development Reimagined.

On top of the financial aid, Xi also vowed to open markets to 33 countries in the continent designated by the United Nations as “least developed”, which will entitle them to zero-tariff treatment. The president also said China would launch at least 30 clean energy projects in Africa and create a minimum of one million jobs.

China is the continent’s biggest trade partner and bilateral lender – a position that has drawn scrutiny from the West and international organisations, with some claiming the loans create “debt traps” later used for political and economic leverage. Beijing has repeatedly rejected this accusation.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who attended the FOCAC summit, praised cooperation between China and Africa as crucial – but also warned that Africa’s debt situation is “unsustainable” and “a recipe for social unrest”.

In research on Chinese debt exposure in Africa published in late 2022, the London-based think tank Chatham House concluded that Chinese lenders accounted for 12 per cent of Africa’s private and public external debt, a more than fivefold increase to US$696 billion from 2000 to 2020.

However, traditional lending to Africa through China’s state-run policy banks has been slowing down. Despite an explosion in volume from US$98.7 million in 2000 to a high of US$28.8 billion in 2016, it fell in subsequent years and plummeted during the Covid pandemic. The downward trend kept up until last year, according to research published in August by the Boston University Global Development Policy Centre.

China loaned US$4.61 billion to eight African and two regional financial institutions last year, the first uptick in seven years. But the centre added this increase does not necessarily represent a return to the annual commitment figures of US$10 billion or more observed in the early years of the Belt and Road Initiative – Xi’s multibillion-dollar strategy for regional integration among developing countries via infrastructure projects.

“These trends highlight the evolving nature of the partnership, shifting from heavy infrastructure to more targeted investments in renewables and industrial cooperation,” said Alice Usanase, an analyst of frontier and emerging market investments.

Weak domestic demand and high levels of local government debt have weighed down China’s economic growth and made lenders more risk-averse, not only in Africa but in all debts and investments. Xi said the country would invest in “small yet smart” projects “on the basis of market and business operations” during last October’s Belt and Road Forum.

The International Monetary Fund estimates the total outstanding liabilities of Chinese local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) – hybrid public-corporate entities created to skirt restrictions on local government borrowing- were at more than 60 trillion yuan (US$8.5 trillion) as of the end of 2023. China’s gross domestic product for that year was about 126 trillion yuan.

China also faces increasing economic sanctions from the West, including new tariffs on its electric vehicle exports from the European Union, Canada and the United States.

“As China continues to seek new markets amid rising protectionism from the West, Africa’s growing consumer base and role in the global green economy make it an increasingly important partner,” Usanase said.

Ryder, of the Beijing consultancy, said China also has an interest in supporting African countries in their transition to manufacturing powerhouses.

“Labour costs will continue to rise in China with demographic shifts, while the African continent as a whole will have a great deal of labour, capable of producing products that Chinese consumers will want,” Ryder said.

“Injecting capital – through loans and investment – into Africa can accelerate this process, and all this can provide work for Chinese firms as they seek to avoid high domestic competition or continue construction projects.”

Alex Vines, research director and head of the Africa programme at Chatham House, said despite growing political and economic tensions, China and the West have reason to cooperate on resolving the debt distress of African nations and institutions.

Though Chinese lending to Africa is likely to be at lower levels compared to the past, Vines added, China will continue to deepen relations to further its broader geopolitical goals.

“Do not forget, 25 per cent of the UN General Assembly is made up of African states – numbers matter, [as do] the 53 African states with diplomatic relations with Beijing.”

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China to supply warships to Cambodia as scrutiny over Ream naval base heightens

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3277540/china-supply-warships-cambodia-scrutiny-over-ream-naval-base-heightens?utm_source=rss_feed

China will provide two warships to Cambodia in the latest sign of the increasingly close relationship between their militaries that has caused concern in the United States.

The ships are likely to be newly built Type 056 corvettes, according to the Associated Press, a type of vessel that has previously spent months at the Ream naval base following a Chinese-funded upgrade.

Maly Socheata, a spokeswoman for Cambodia’s defence ministry, said the ships were being provided after Cambodia had requested Chinese support and could be delivered as early as next year.

“It is in the aim of strengthening the capacity and ability of Cambodia to protect and maintain peace, stability, security as well as for supporting search and rescue operations and other humanitarian activities,” she said.

“Cooperation has to comply with the goals and the principles of the Cambodian constitution, especially the protection of its sovereignty, integrity and independence.”

China’s use of the Ream naval base after it provided funding for its expansion has attracted attention in the US, which is worried that it may give Beijing easy access to the Malacca Strait, a critical shipping route between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.

While China is known to operate only one foreign military base – in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa – the relationship with Cambodia has prompted speculation it is looking to enhance its international reach.

In December, two Chinese warships, including the Wenshan, a Type 056 corvette, docked at the Ream naval base as part of a joint exercise, becoming the first foreign ships to use its new facilities.

According to the Washington-based think tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in April, the Chinese ships spent more than four months at Ream after the exercise, heightening suspicions that China was being given “extended and exclusive” access to a new pier.

While Phnom Penh has said the upgraded facilities will be open to visits from all navies, the Chinese ships are the only vessels to use them so far.

The Cambodian defence ministry said one of the reasons why the Chinese vessels stayed in Ream was because it was considering acquiring similar warships.

The country’s former prime minister Hun Sen has denied there is a secret agreement to grant China a permanent military presence at Ream, saying the constitution does not allow foreign military bases to be established on its territory.

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Chinese budget smartphone brand Transsion says finance head detained in investigation

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3277607/chinese-budget-smartphone-brand-transsion-says-finance-head-detained-investigation?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s Transsion, a leading smartphone vendor in Africa, said on Saturday that its finance head has been detained as part of an investigation, according to a corporate filing.

The Shenzhen-based budget handset maker said it received notice on Friday of a lien and a case filing issued by the district supervisory committee of Dandong, a city in northeastern Liaoning province, claiming its financial director Xiao Yonghui was detained as part of an investigation.

“As of the filing date, the company is not aware of the progress or conclusion of the investigation,” it said in its filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange. It did not specify why Xiao is being investigated.

The company’s board said in the filing that the it has a comprehensive governance and internal control structure, and the incident will not have a significant impact on operations.

Transsion did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

Its shares closed down 1.3 per cent to 81.1 yuan (US$11.44) in Shanghai on Friday, prior to the announcement.

Transsion is one of the largest Chinese smartphone vendors, with a focus on developing markets in fast-growing regions such as Africa and South Asia.

Founded in 2006, it markets brands such as Tecno, Itel and Infinix, as well as digital accessory brand Oraimo, in more than 70 countries and regions globally. Some of its biggest markets include Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia in Africa; India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in South Asia; and Colombia and Brazil in Latin America.

This positioning has enabled Transsion to maintain robust growth despite a softening smartphone market.

Transsion’s handset shipments grew 30.8 per cent last year to 94.9 million units, grabbing 8.3 per cent of the global market, making it the world’s fifth-largest smartphone vendor, according to data compiled by market consultancy IDC.

The company is expected to ship 100 million units annually for the first time this year, Zaker Li, principal analyst at consultancy Omdia, said in a research note last month.

“Much of Transsion’s success is due to a booming market for low-end devices and aggressive expansion into India, Pakistan and Russia,” Li said in the note.

Transsion shipped 25.5 million devices in the second quarter, according to Omdia, coming in behind Samsung Electronics and Apple in the top two spots, and domestic rivals Xiaomi and Vivo.

Mainland China jail term for Taiwanese ‘separatist’ prompts travel warning from Taipei

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3277608/mainland-china-jail-term-taiwanese-separatist-prompts-travel-warning-taipei?utm_source=rss_feed

A Taiwanese political activist has been sentenced to nine years in prison in mainland China on charges of “separatism”, a cross-strait first prompting an official travel warning from Taipei.

Yang Chih-yuan, 34, was formally arrested in April last year, eight months after being detained in the eastern mainland city of Wenzhou.

According to the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), the mainland body overseeing cross-strait matters, Yang was found guilty of “long-term involvement in acts of secession, actively advocating the idea of ‘Taiwan independence’ and playing a key role in ‘Taiwan independence’ organisations such as the ‘Taiwan National Party’.”

He was also accused of attempting to promote “Taiwan’s statehood” and push for Taiwan’s membership in the United Nations, mainland state news agency Xinhua reported, citing TAO spokesman Chen Binhua.

The ruling by the Intermediate People’s Court in Wenzhou, in the coastal province of Zhejiang, was handed down on August 26, but the details were not announced until Friday.

Yang had been taken into custody by national security agents in Wenzhou in August 2022, as then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi concluded a visit to Taiwan and Beijing announced it would crack down on “Taiwanese separatists”. The purpose of his visit to the mainland has not been officially confirmed.

Beijing, which sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary, was infuriated by Pelosi’s visit, saying it showed support for separatist forces, and launched unprecedented live-fire military exercises around the island as well as economic sanctions on some Taiwanese industries, businesses and individuals.

Like most countries, the United States does not recognise Taiwan as independent but opposes any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

At the time of his detention, Yang was accused of being a long-time advocate of “Taiwan independence”, a red line for Beijing, and having founded a “Taiwan Nationalist Party”, which is illegal according to mainland Chinese law.

He is the first person from Taiwan to be found guilty of separatism by a mainland court. The sentencing comes at a time when relations across the Taiwan Strait have deteriorated significantly, especially since William Lai Ching-te took over as Taiwanese leader in May.

Lai, who represents Taiwan’s independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), has been branded as a “troublemaker” by Beijing. He marked his first 100 days in office on August 27, a day after Yang received his sentence.

The court decision was first revealed by Liang Wen-chieh, a deputy minister with Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, the island’s top cross-strait policy planner.

The government in Taipei and Yang’s family rejected the ruling, Liang said.

“The government expresses its strong condemnation and demands that the verdict and the evidence on which it was based be made public,” he told reporters in Taipei on Thursday.

Liang also accused Beijing of using the case “to intimidate the people of Taiwan”, adding that travellers from the island of 23 million should be cautious when considering travelling across the strait.

Chen at the TAO rejected those claims, saying that the Lai government had tried to “steal concepts and confuse right and wrong … to intimidate and prevent Taiwan compatriots from taking part in normal cross-strait exchanges and cooperation, and to instigate confrontation and antagonism”.

According to Chinese criminal law, a leader or key figure in an organisation that “plots or acts to split the country or undermine national unification” could be jailed for 10 years to life.

Those who commit “particularly serious harms” may be sentenced to death, and those who actively participate could be jailed for up to 10 years.

Beijing released its first Anti-Secession Law in 2005. It has in recent years steadily stepped up its crackdown on “Taiwan separatists” after cross-strait ties soured since Tsai Ing-wen, Lai’s predecessor and also of the DPP, took office in 2016 and ramped up exchanges with Washington.

In one of its latest such moves, Beijing released a judicial guideline in June that said “Taiwan independence” separatists could face the death penalty in extreme secession cases deemed to have “severely endangered the state and the people”.

Hello, Jarvis? China’s new AI app stirs dreams of Tony Stark’s assistant becoming reality

https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3277559/hello-jarvis-chinas-new-ai-app-stirs-dreams-tony-starks-assistant-becoming-reality?utm_source=rss_feed

The latest artificial intelligence (AI) app announced in China appears to be raising the hopes of consumers for a future in which a version of Jarvis, the smart virtual assistant of Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, becomes commonplace in the world’s second-largest economy.

The fictional Jarvis – an acronym that stands for “Just a Rather Very Intelligent System” – is a sophisticated AI assistant that made its debut in the 2008 film , in which it manages and operates the internal systems of Stark’s laboratory, home and superhero armours.

Ant Group, the fintech affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, made its foray into Jarvis-like territory when it launched on Thursday the Zhixiaobao app – a so-called life assistant that can help users order meals, hail taxis, book tickets, and discover local dining and entertainment options, while accessing third-party services in the firm’s Alipay payment platform more easily. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

The app also provides a number of built-in AI agents – such as “English-language tutor” and “fitness pro” – each with specific domain knowledge that makes them an expert in their own fields.

This development forms part of Ant Group’s efforts to turn AI into a “practical, user-focused solution”, which would make Zhixiaobao a “valuable tool in everyday life”, company president and chief financial officer Cyril Han Xinyi said in a statement.

Zhixiaobao – a play on Zhifubao, the Chinese name of Alipay – reflects how China’s nascent AI industry is further burnishing its reputation, as a number of innovative services have already been widely deployed overseas.

Social media giant ByteDance’s CapCut video-editing software and Doubao model led global AI app downloads in July, according to industry research firm Unique Capital, in a sign that the TikTok owner’s generative AI (GenAI) push is paying off.

Chinese-developed AI-powered education apps – including Question. AI, developed by Beijing-based educational technology start-up Zuoyebang, and ByteDance’s Gauth – were ranked among the top three free educational apps in the United States on Apple’s App Store and Google Play from February to May, according to mobile app intelligence service AppMagic.

To use Zhixiaobao, which was built on Ant Group’s foundational Bailing large language model (LLM), users can either download the mobile app or simply pull down the homepage of the Alipay app. LLMs – the technology underpinning GenAI services like ChatGPT – are deep-learning algorithms that can recognise, summarise, translate, predict and generate content using very large data sets.

With just a simple voice prompt – for example, “help book a flight next Friday from Beijing to Xiamen, take-off time before noon” – Zhixiaobao comes up with a list of flights to choose from. One click on the selected flight takes users directly to booking, which is processed by Alibaba’s online travel service Fliggy.

Commands to order food deliveries, create a pie chart analysis of monthly expenditures, mobile top-up, check on parcel delivery status or make hospital appointments can immediately be carried out on the app by tapping various Alibaba services, including shopping platform Taobao, logistics service Cainiao, food delivery unit Ele.me and online mapping unit Gaode.

Zhixiaobao users can tap into more than 8,000 digital life services and more than 4 million mini-apps provided by Alipay to make it useful for almost all online functions on the mainland.

Earlier this week, Chinese internet search giant Baidu announced the Chinese rebranding of its flagship AI app Ernie Bot, with about 200 million users as of April, to Wenxiaoyan – reflecting the tool’s position as a “new search” assistant, according to Xue Su, vice-president and head of AI innovation business at Baidu.

While less sophisticated as the fictional Jarvis, Wenxiaoyan proved useful in finding relevant information, according to a test conducted by the Post.

While watching a short video about a diner from within the app, Wenxiaoyan was able to quickly prepare a list of items relevant to the video, such as signature recommendations, and respond to a question about the transport route to the place. This showed how Wenxiaoyan has evolved from traditional text-based chatbot a more flexible search assistant using voice commands, camera-captured images and video content.

Wenxiaoyan’s so-called “memory” function helps the app pick up and remember users’ personal details – including anniversaries, personal food preferences or daily anecdotes – for context in conversations. Frequent use of Wenxiaoyan enables the app to know its user better. That not only makes it a valuable repository of personal history, but also makes it harder for consumers to switch to a different service.

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South China Sea: how should the Philippines respond to China’s Sabina Shoal moves?

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3277527/south-china-sea-how-should-philippines-respond-chinas-sabina-shoal-moves?utm_source=rss_feed

A string of recent stand-offs at Sabina Shoal have sparked calls for the Philippines to urgently rethink its South China Sea strategy – though opinions are divided over its best course of action.

Should Manila lean on its long-time ally, the United States, risking further conflict? Or might it find a more effective path by mirroring Vietnam’s diplomatic balancing act?

The debate rages as the disputed atoll, known to Manila as Escoda Shoal, has emerged as the latest flashpoint in the contested waters, with recent collisions – including an encounter between Philippine and Chinese coastguard ships last Saturday – triggering a cascade of blame and accusations.

The escalation at Sabina Shoal was due to the “long-time” presence of the Philippine coastguard vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua and “its intention to occupy the place”, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular briefing on Monday, reiterating calls for Manila to remove the ship.

Philippine officials showed footage of one of the country’s vessels sustaining a huge hole after being rammed three times by Chinese ships. The government said it had conveyed “displeasure” to Beijing over the clash.

“We were surprised by this incident,” Manila’s top diplomat Enrique Manalo told reporters on Monday, confirming that a formal complaint had been lodged. China is “raising tensions over what was basically just innocent movement by a Philippine vessel,” he said.

Beijing, for its part, said on Monday that it was the Philippine coastguard vessel that moved in “an unprofessional and dangerous way and caused a collision”.

Since Saturday’s encounter, the US and its allies have denounced Beijing’s moves, with Washington describing it as “escalatory” and warning that its defence treaty with the Philippines extends to armed attacks in the South China Sea.

The European Union and Australia separately criticised the “dangerous” moves by the Chinese coastguard, while Japan’s envoy in Manila said Tokyo “opposes any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion” in the South China Sea.

When Manila deployed the BRP Teresa Magbanua to Sabina Shoal more than four months ago, it said the move was meant to deter China from building on the shoal, similar to its island-building efforts elsewhere in the key waterway. Sabina Shoal is located some 146km west of the Philippines’ Palawan island and around 1,200km from the nearest major Chinese land mass, Hainan.

A US proposal made last month to start providing military escorts for the Philippines’ South China Sea resupply missions would be counterproductive, argue some observers, who advocate for a more diplomatic approach.

“Manila could benefit from adopting a strategy similar to Vietnam’s, which balances relations with both China and the US,” said Sylvia Monika Gorska, a PhD student in international relations at the University of Central Lancashire specialising in Asian geopolitics.

“By fostering stronger regional ties, rather than involving the US, and working towards a unified Asean stance, the Philippines can harness the collective power of the region to push for a more rules-based approach to resolving conflicts with China.”

China appears intent on exhausting the Philippines’ capacity to maintain a presence at Sabina Shoal, Gorska said, with the aim of establishing uncontested control over the area’s resources, including its fishing grounds and any potential oil and gas reserves.

Breaking the deadlock with Beijing would be challenging without additional pressure, according to Abdul Rahman Yaacob, a research fellow with the Australia-based Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia programme, who saw value in Washington’s escort proposal.

He said there was a good chance that “if the US provides an escort for Filipino supply vessels or conducts a joint supply mission with the Philippines, the Chinese will not harass the US.”

Yaacob outlined various strategies, from operational measures to diplomatic protests, while acknowledging the challenges of engaging China, which might ignore any formal complaints.

Operationally, he said Manila should reassess its supply missions and their execution. “This situation is not sustainable,” Yaacob said. “Not only are many supply missions being blocked, but Philippine vessels are also sustaining damage.”

Most importantly, “the Philippines should aim to maintain a round-the-clock presence in places like the Sabina Shoal to deter any Chinese reclaiming efforts or building military facilities there,” he said.

Manila might benefit from regional naval cooperation while also considering the option of US involvement, according to Don McLain Gill, a geopolitical analyst and international studies lecturer at De La Salle University in the Philippine capital.

“China is showing signs of frustration because of the delays the Philippine coastguard has caused towards its illegal and expansionist ambitions in the West Philippine Sea, particularly the Sabina Shoal,” he said, using Manila’s name for the parts of the South China Sea it claims.

“It wants to drive all Philippine ships out, especially through the use of force and cutting off supplies.”

The only effective response to China’s persistent harassment is a “hardline” stance that includes enhancing the Philippine coastguard’s surface capabilities, according to security analyst Joshua Espena, vice-president of the Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation think tank.

This should be done in coordination with the Philippine military “for hard-knock conventional deterrent capabilities”, he told This Week in Asia.

Espena said “this move may up the ante, but it can help Manila play the game with better chances” and establish a more favourable pattern of engagement.

He emphasised that a strategy of escalation could create a “healthy respect for a balance of power”, making it more likely that China would acknowledge the Philippines’ position “at the diplomatic table in the long run”.

China’s actions align with its long-term objective of denying the Philippines access to the South China Sea, Espena said.

Countering this would require “radical defence industrial development” and working extensively with allies and partners, he said.

The US proposal to escort Philippine vessels on resupply missions was made last month by US Indo-Pacific Command chief Admiral Sam Paparo during a visit to Manila, where he cited the Mutual Defence Treaty binding Washington and Manila.

However, Philippine military chief General Romeo Brawner Jnr responded that the Philippines would only accept such assistance if it was unable to deliver essential supplies itself to personnel stationed at Second Thomas Shoal.

While the Philippines could call upon its allies to plug gaps in its capabilities, Espena stressed the importance of self-reliance in securing its interests in the territorial dispute with China.

“You need allies and partners … but the Philippines should be able to do the brunt of the work by itself for maximum effect,” he said.

Additional reporting by Bloomberg

China’s super-radar detects plasma bubble over the pyramids in Giza

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3277286/chinas-super-radar-detects-plasma-bubble-over-pyramids-giza?utm_source=rss_feed

With the aid of the world’s most powerful radar of its kind, Chinese scientists have detected plasma bubbles appearing over both the Egyptian pyramids and the Midway Islands, almost simultaneously.

Equatorial plasma bubbles are anomalous weather phenomena in low-latitude regions, caused by the sudden disappearance of a large number of charged particles in the ionosphere – part of the Earth’s upper atmosphere.

Resembling a bubble, this electron-depleted region can play havoc with GPS positioning devices and can also interrupt satellite communications. And they can reach sizes that are hundreds of kilometres in diameter.

But thanks to the low latitude long range ionospheric radar (LARID), built last year, China has become the first country in the world able to detect these plasma bubbles on radar.

On August 27, the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, a subsidiary of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, posted on its website the test results of the largest radar detection of plasma bubbles to date.

These plasma bubbles, triggered by a solar storm, appeared clearly on China’s radar screens from November 4-6 last year, with the farthest detectable radar echoes returning from North Africa and the central Pacific. By analysing these signals, scientists not only observed the detailed formation process of the plasma bubbles but also tracked their movement in real-time.

Located on Hainan Island, the southern tip of the Chinese mainland, the giant LARID radar has a detection range of 9,600km (5,965 miles) – about as far as Hawaii to its east or Libya to its west.

Due to the curvature of the Earth, conventional radars have difficulty seeing targets below the horizon. LARID can emit high-power electromagnetic waves into the air, which repeatedly bounce between the ionosphere and the ground to travel considerable distances.

Upon encountering plasma bubbles, a portion of the signal is reflected back and received by LARID’s antenna array.

Operating in the 8-22MHz frequency band, LARID consists of two radar subsystems, facing eastward and westward, each containing 24 sets of transceiver antennas.

LARID adopts an advanced fully digital phased array system, allowing for real-time adjustments to detection frequency, range, scanning field and radar coding parameters based on actual needs, according to the project team.

Operating a radar with a total detection range covering nearly half the Earth was previously considered impossible.

The propagation path of over-the-horizon radio waves is incredibly complex, and extreme weather events such as geomagnetic storms pose significant challenges to signal reception and analysis.

Initially, LARID’s effective detection range was only 3,000km. However, with operational experience as well as the application of powerful technologies, such as novel signal coding and geophysical simulation models, its performance has improved rapidly.

In less than half a year, the maximum detection range has tripled.

Plasma bubbles can have a significant impact on modern warfare, and there have been many related studies supported by military forces worldwide, including the US Navy.

However, due to the lack of large-scale, long-term observation facilities over the oceans, human understanding and early warning capabilities regarding these events are still quite limited.

Chinese scientists have proposed the construction of three to four additional over-the-horizon radars similar to LARID in low-latitude regions globally.

This super radar network is expected to achieve seamless real-time monitoring of equatorial plasma bubbles worldwide.

Due to its low resolution, LARID cannot be used to detect military targets such as aircraft or warships.

However, according to reports from official Chinese media, over-the-horizon military radars using similar technologies have been widely deployed by the Chinese military and have detected targets including F-22 stealth fighter jets.

Signals emitted by over-the-horizon radars have wavelengths that reach several metres, making it difficult for stealth coatings on aircraft to absorb them.

Some new Chinese warships, such as the 055-type destroyers, are also equipped with radars capable of detecting stealth aircraft in a similar manner.

Several military experts estimated that their detection range could reach hundreds of kilometres.

China man, 30, worked 104 days with 1 day off, dies from organ failure, court orders compensation

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3277316/china-man-30-worked-104-days-1-day-dies-organ-failure-court-orders-compensation?utm_source=rss_feed

The Chinese work culture of overworking is under scrutiny again after a 30-year-old man in eastern China died from organ failure following 104 consecutive workdays with only one rest day.

A court in Zhejiang province ruled that the company was 20 per cent responsible for the man’s death, who was identified as A’bao, reported Guangzhou Daily.

The court found that A’bao died from multiple organ failure due to a pneumococcal infection, often linked to a weakened immune system.

The incident has ignited widespread outrage in China and sparked a conversation about how workers are treated in the country.

In February last year, A’bao signed a contract to work as a painter for a company whose name was not disclosed by the court. The contract was meant to last until January this year. He was subsequently assigned to a project in Zhoushan in Zhejiang province in eastern China.

A’bao worked every day for 104 days from February to May last year after signing the contract, with only one rest day on April 6. On May 25, he took a sick day off because he felt unwell and spent that day resting at his dormitory.

On May 28, A’bao’s condition rapidly deteriorated. He was rushed to hospital by his colleagues, where he was diagnosed with a lung infection and respiratory failure. He died on June 1.

During the initial investigation into his death, social security officials said that, because more than 48 hours had passed between A’bao’s illness and his death, it could not be classified as a work-related injury.

His family then filed a lawsuit for compensation, alleging employer negligence.

In response, the company argued that A’bao’s workload was manageable and that any overtime was voluntary. They further contended that his death resulted from pre-existing health issues and a lack of timely medical intervention, which worsened his condition.

The court determined that A’bao’s capacity to work for 104 consecutive days was a clear violation of Chinese Labour Law, which mandates a maximum of 8 working hours per day and an average of 44 hours per week.

It ruled that the company’s breach of labour regulations played a significant role in A’bao’s deteriorating immune system and eventual death, holding the company 20 per cent liable for the tragedy.

The court awarded the family a total of 400,000 yuan (US$56,000) in compensation, including 10,000 yuan for emotional distress caused by the death.

The company appealed the ruling, but the Zhoushan Intermediate People’s Court upheld the original verdict in August.

The case provoked widespread discussions and outrage on Chinese social media.

“Painting is a job that is inherently harmful to our health. At 30, he lost his life, and his family was shattered. The court only awarded 400,000 yuan. What’s even more outrageous is that the company appealed the initial judgment, showing no sympathy, basic humanity, or self-reflection,” someone wrote online.

Another person echoed that point: “It’s heartbreaking to see this. Working like this is truly exchanging one’s life for money.”

A third person wrote: “The cost of breaking the law for companies is too low, and it seems the labour law only exists to restrain the workers.”

A’bao’s death is not an isolated incident, as tragic deaths associated with harsh working conditions in China are relatively common.

In August 2019, an employee known by the alias Zhu Bin died suddenly while commuting home after work. Zhu was later discovered to have worked the entire month of July without rest and clocked 130 hours of overtime.

The court ruled that Zhu’s employer was 30 per cent responsible for Zhu’s death and ordered 360,000 yuan (US$50,000) in compensation.

Super Typhoon Yagi pummels China’s Hainan, killing 2 and injuring 92

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3277595/super-typhoon-yagi-pummels-chinas-hainan-killing-2-and-injuring-92?utm_source=rss_feed

At least two people died and 92 were injured in China’s Hainan as Super Typhoon Yagi – the world’s second-strongest tropical cyclone this year – struck the southern island province, state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday.

After sweeping Hong Kong, Yagi, the 11th typhoon this year, made landfall twice in mainland China on Friday, first hitting Hainan and later the southern province of Guangdong.

It is expected to make landfall again somewhere between the city of Fangchenggang in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and northern Vietnam on Saturday afternoon.

More than 1 million people have been evacuated in the affected areas, with work, classes and businesses suspended and over 100 flights cancelled on Friday.

Heavy rain and gusty winds pounded Hainan, with the epicentre at Wenchang city – home to one of the country’s rocket launch sites. The city is facing power outages in some areas.

Videos circulating on social media show the province’s iconic coconut trees battered, snapped and toppled. Fallen billboards, destroyed roofs and overturned vehicles were everywhere.

Residents said it was “horrible” to see the windows of their homes smashed and their furniture waterlogged by the storm. Some said they were worried about stray cats and dogs.

Yagi, which packed winds of up to about 245km/h (152mph) near its centre, made landfall in Wenchang at around 4pm on Friday, according to the Hainan meteorological service.

From 1949 to 2023, 106 typhoons landed in Hainan, but only nine were classified as super typhoons.

Guangdong’s provincial governor Wang Weizhong urged local officials to “spare no effort” and “win the hard battle” against Yagi after it landed in Zhanjiang city on Friday night. The storm is expected to bring heavy rainfall and gales to western Guangdong province and the Pearl River Delta on Saturday.

Yagi was classified as a tropical storm when it blew out of the northwestern Philippines into the South China Sea on Wednesday, leaving at least 13 dead in the Philippines.

Packing maximum sustained winds of 209km/h near its eye, Yagi ranks as the second most powerful tropical cyclone of 2024, after Hurricane Beryl, a Category 5 hurricane that swept the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico in early July.

Typhoons are becoming stronger, fuelled by warmer oceans amid climate change, according to scientists. Last week, Typhoon Shanshan slammed into southwestern Japan – the strongest storm to hit the country in decades.

Additional reporting by Associated Press and Reuters

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China colleagues, both married to others, fired for kissing in office, sue company

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3277304/china-colleagues-both-married-others-fired-kissing-office-sue-company?utm_source=rss_feed

Two colleagues sued their company after being terminated for having an affair and openly kissing at work.

The man, known as Liu, and the woman, identified as Chen, were both employed in the same department of a pharmaceutical company in Sichuan province, southwestern China, according to a report from City Locale on August 28.

Their affair came to light when Liu’s wife shared their chat records with the company’s tennis chat group and the general manager in March 2020, leading to their subsequent termination.

The records included messages such as “I love you” and “I want to look at you all the time”.

After their affair was exposed Liu asked for leave to “take care of family issues” and Chen’s husband confronted her and Liu in the presence of their colleagues.

However, the affair continued, and they were spotted kissing again while at work.

A female colleague intervened in October 2020, asking Chen to stop the behaviour, which escalated into an argument.

The next day, seven colleagues wrote a joint complaint letter to the general manager.

The company fired Liu and Chen saying they “went off the rails and violated rules outlined in the employee handbook”.

Both filed lawsuits against the company. Chen asked for compensation of 26,000 yuan (US$3,700), while Liu, who had a more senior position in the company, asked for more than 230,000 yuan (US$32,000).

The company’s defence was that the employee handbook clearly states it has “the right to break the labour relationship with employees who are morally corrupt, tarnish the company’s reputation and have a negative influence on the company.”

The courts supported the company and dismissed their lawsuits.

“What a crazy world!” someone wrote on Douyin.

“Obviously they did not work hard enough if they had the energy to find colleagues attractive,” another said.

“Shame on them to even sue the company,” a third commented.

In 2020, a Chinese man was fired by his company in northeastern China’s Liaoning province for calling his female colleague “slutty”.

He sued the company with the justification that the Chinese character he was using, sao, was referring to the ancient Chinese poem Li Sao.

The court rejected his justification and dismissed his request for the company to compensate him with 470,000 yuan (US$66,000).

Japan PM candidate Taro Kono risks sinking campaign with nuclear sub plan to counter China

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3277526/japan-pm-candidate-taro-kono-risks-sinking-campaign-nuclear-sub-plan-counter-china?utm_source=rss_feed

One of the top contenders to be Japan’s next prime minister may have sunk his campaign by declaring that the nation should deploy nuclear submarines to counter the growing security threat posed by China.

Taro Kono, the Minister for Digital Transformation and a candidate for the presidency of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, proposed the idea during his policy outline on Thursday, questioned if Japan’s current defences are sufficient to protect the nation from its regional rivals.

“Do we need to deploy nuclear submarines that can remain submerged for long hours by Japan joining Aukus [the Australia-UK-US security alliance] … and foiling attempts [by our enemies’ warships] to pass through the East China Sea into the Pacific Ocean?” Kono asked.

Kono’s comments were quickly opposed by Yoshimasa Hayashi, the chief cabinet secretary and another candidate to take over from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida when the party votes for a new leader on September 27.

“We do not have any plans to possess nuclear-powered submarines,” Hayashi told a press conference in Tokyo. “Based on the current interpretation of the [atomic energy] law, it is difficult for Japan to acquire one.”

Beyond the legal hurdles to overcome, there remains deep hostility to the idea of developing or deploying nuclear weapons or nuclear-powered warships, a legacy of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

“Many people will doubt their own ears when they hear that Kono is planning to take Japan to war again with the deployment of nuclear submarines,” wrote one commenter on a TV Asahi report.

Another comment read, “It is obvious that this can never be realised. Having a nuclear submarine is only a policy designed to attract conservative voters.”

A former Minister of Defense and Foreign Minister, Kono has gained a reputation as a savvy political operator with the ability to navigate political and bureaucratic challenges.

However, he is viewed as too centrist in his policies within a party that is currently led by another centrist, Kishida. As a result, Kono sits third in opinion polls.

Stephen Nagy, a professor of international relations at Tokyo’s International Christian University, believes that Kono would make a “more than competent leader,” but that he has “shot himself in the foot” with these comments.

“Personally, I feel this would fit in with the broader defence architecture that Japan is developing and that these submarines would be some of the quietest in the world and able to stay submerged for long periods of time, which would make them an excellent deterrent against Japan’s rivals,” he told This Week in Asia.

“What he is proposing is that these submarines would be nuclear-powered, and I don’t see that as a step towards Japan acquiring nuclear weapons,” he added.

“But even though this is not controversial, Kono’s rivals will try to turn it into the idea that he wants to make Japan a nuclear power.”

That will also be seized upon by sections of the public because of Japan’s, “historic experience and the narrative that this is the only country in the world that has been the target of an atomic attack,” Nagy said.

And despite Kono’s claims that it is time for Japan to at least discuss the issue because of the quantitative advantage that China holds over Japan in warships, Nagy believes he “is on the right page in terms of strategy and the nation’s allies.”

However, that will not be enough to overcome resistance to his proposals, he added.

Hiromi Murakami, a professor of political science at the Tokyo campus of Temple University, agreed that the issue should arguably not be nearly as controversial as it has become.

“Whenever Japanese people hear the word ‘nuclear’ in connection with defence, their immediate response is always ‘nuclear? Oh no, no, unthinkable’,” she said.

“But if it could be put into context so it is clear that this is not an issue of nuclear weapons but only the nuclear power plant and that it is important to our national security, then more people would understand,” she said.

“If Kono can communicate that to more people then I think the criticisms will be less, and it does not have to mean this is the end of his candidacy,” she added.

Super Typhoon Yagi hits China’s Hainan forcing one million to leave their homes

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/sep/07/super-typhoon-yagi-hits-chinas-hainan-forcing-1-million-to-leave-their-homes

Asia’s strongest storm this year, Super Typhoon Yagi, landed in China’s Hainan on Friday, bringing violent gales and heavy rain that triggered widespread power outages, paralysing the tourist island province and forcing about a million people in the country’s south to leave their homes.

Packing maximum sustained winds of 234km/h near its centre, Yagi registers as the world’s second-most powerful tropical cyclone so far this year – after the category-5 Atlantic Hurricane Beryl – and the most severe of 2024 in the Pacific basin.

After more than doubling in strength since killing 16 people in the northern Philippines earlier this week, Yagi slammed into the city of Wenchang in Hainan on Friday afternoon.

A little more than an hour after Yagi’s arrival, Hainan saw power outages that affected 830,000 households in the province, the official news agency Xinhua said.

The provincial power supply department had put together a 7,000-member emergency team that would embark on repairs as soon as conditions permitted, Xinhua added. By Friday night, power to 260,000 households had been restored.

Ahead of Yagi’s arrival, the island known for its sandy beaches and glitzy hotels had cancelled flights and ferries, shuttered businesses and told its population of more than 10 million to avoid going out.

The typhoon had already shut schools, businesses and transport links in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong province as well as airports in Vietnam, which it is predicted to hit, along with Laos, over the weekend.

On Friday night, Yagi crossed Qiongzhou Strait north of Hainan and made its second landfall in Guangdong with winds still exceeding 200km/h. In Guangdong, more than 574,500 people had been evacuated from areas at risk by noon, more than two-thirds of them from the city of Zhanjiang.

In the financial hub of Hong Kong, the stock exchange was shuttered while schools remained closed.

Hong Kong’s airport authority said operations had largely returned to normal after 50 flights were cancelled on Thursday, and the city of more than 7 million people also lowered its typhoon warning by a notch after midday, as Yagi moved west towards Vietnam.

The world’s longest sea crossing, the main bridge linking Hong Kong with Macau and Zhuhai in Guangdong, also reopened on Friday afternoon after being shut since Thursday.

Yagi is the most severe storm to land in Hainan since 2014, when Typhoon Rammasun slammed into the island province as a category-5 tropical cyclone. Rammasun killed 88 people in Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan and caused economic losses of more than 44bn yuan ($6.25bn).

Formed over the warm seas east of the Philippines and following a similar path to Rammasun, Yagi arrived in China as a category-4 typhoon, ushering in winds strong enough to overturn vehicles, uproot trees and severely damage roads, bridges and buildings.

No fatalities have been reported so far in Hainan.

Typhoons are becoming stronger, fuelled by warmer oceans amid climate change, scientists say. Last week, Typhoon Shanshan slammed into south-western Japan, the strongest storm to hit the country in decades.

China kindergarten principal fired for accepting chocolate gift worth less than US$1, sues school

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3277293/china-kindergarten-principal-fired-accepting-chocolate-gift-worth-less-us1-sues-school?utm_source=rss_feed

A nursery school in China fired its principal because she accepted a small box of chocolates, worth 85 US cents, from a pupil.

Wang, the head of Sanxia Kindergarten in Chongqing, southwestern China, took legal action against her former employer after being dismissed in September last year, reported China National Radio.

Surveillance footage of the nursery showed a boy handing a plastic bag containing the box of chocolate to Wang, who was sitting at the front of the classroom with another teacher.

Wang accepted the gift, which cost 6.16 yuan, from the boy and hugged him.

She later shared the chocolate with other children in the kindergarten, the report said.

It is a common practice among young pupils in China to send gifts or greeting cards to their teachers ahead of the annual Teachers’ Day on September 10.

In some cases, competitive parents will buy extravagant gifts for their children to give to teachers.

Wang said she was informed by the kindergarten that she was fired because she accepted the gift from the boy.

The nursery claimed that Wang violated a Ministry of Education rule that prohibits teachers from requesting or accepting gifts or money from students or their parents in any form.

Wang filed her lawsuit at the Jiulongpo District People’s Court.

At the first hearing, the school’s defence was that taking the gift, regardless of its value, broke the Ministry of Education rule. It said Wang’s action harmed the kindergarten.

The court reached a verdict in March, ruling that the kindergarten had fired Wang illegally and ordered it to pay compensation.

It decided the chocolate was given out of love and respect from the student, and the teacher’s action should not be characterised as accepting gifts.

The kindergarten filed an appeal and, in August, the Chongqing No 5 Intermediate People’s Court upheld the original verdict after the second hearing of the case.

The dismissal of Wang trended on mainland social media attracting 7.2 million views on Douyin alone.

“How ridiculous! She was fired for accepting a gift worth just six yuan?” one internet user said.

“As a teacher, I feel bitterly disappointed. How serious the punishment was,” another person commented.

In an editorial published in September, Shanghai TV said: “What the public opposes is teachers soliciting gifts and parents competing to buy expensive gifts, not children’s thanksgiving deeds.”

Southeast Asia’s struggle to stay afloat amid a flood of cheap Chinese imports

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3277522/southeast-asias-struggle-stay-afloat-amid-flood-cheap-chinese-imports?utm_source=rss_feed

Across Southeast Asia, a tidal wave of cheap Chinese imports is swamping local industries, leaving devastation and joblessness in its wake.

Half of the ceramics factories in Thailand’s northern Lampang province have closed. In Indonesia, thousands of textile workers have lost their jobs. Malaysia’s manufacturers, meanwhile, say the government’s attempt at stemming the tide – a meagre 10 per cent tax on e-commerce – has shield them from the deluge.

For Meelarp Tangsuwana, who founded his ceramics factory 35 years ago, the numbers just don’t add up. His company, like many others in Lampang, produces hand-painted soup bowls, lovingly crafted and sold for 18 baht (53 US cents) each to food stalls across Thailand and beyond. Yet Chinese competitors are flooding the market with identical bowls – minus the artistry – priced at a mere 8 baht.

“I don’t understand how it’s possible to drop the costs that low,” he said.

Meelarp’s despair resonates throughout the region, where makers of textiles, cosmetics, electronics and kitchenware find themselves outmatched by Chinese manufacturers, whose highly automated supply chains and relentless pursuit of new markets are reshaping the competitive landscape.

“As Western markets become less accessible to Chinese goods, Southeast Asia has increasingly become a focal point for Chinese exports,” said Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat, director of the Jakarta-based Centre of Economic and Law Studies think tank’s China-Indonesia desk.

The flood of Chinese goods has been aided by the world’s largest e-commerce market, as well as new railways and upgraded ports that streamline logistics. An intricate web of free trade agreements – from the Asean Free Trade Area to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership – further paves the way for Chinese products to penetrate local markets.

Chinese manufacturers excel at economies of scale and “meeting demand for consumer products on e-commerce platforms”, explains Yeah Kim Leng, an economics professor at Malaysia’s Sunway University.

But this provides little consolation to Meelarp, who fears for the future of Thai ceramics and countless other small and medium-sized enterprises.

Without decisive action from the Thai government – such as enforcing tariffs, curbing the dumping of unsold Chinese goods and cracking down on illegal operations – these artisans may have nowhere to turn.

“It’s up to the government now to protect us and our craftsmanship,” Meerlap said – a plea that echoes the hopes of many Southeast Asian tradespeople.

Alarmed by the rapid pace of business closures, Thailand’s new government is taking a tougher stance after years of fostering ties with its largest trading partner through reciprocal market access, logistics investments and visa-free agreements.

Since the pandemic, Chinese companies have infused life into parts of Thailand’s stagnant economy. However, experts warn that the country – like many of its fellow Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states – must now strike a delicate balance between protecting its own businesses and adhering to the trade agreements it has willingly signed.

On Wednesday, Thailand’s commerce minister pledged to tackle the influx of illegally imported goods and support local businesses enduring a barrage of low-cost competition.

E-commerce platforms like Temu are under scrutiny for their role in flooding the market with cheap products and may soon be mandated to register locally and face higher tax rates.

In late August, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose daughter Paetongtharn now leads the country, called for “small steps of protectionism” to combat the deluge of cheap Chinese goods. But for many Thais struggling to stay afloat, these measures feel long overdue. The country’s small and medium enterprises, which operate on razor-thin margins, are bearing the brunt of the fallout.

“They’re not here to trade with us … they’re here to kill our business,” Thongyu Khongkan, president of the Land Transport Federation of Thailand, told This Week in Asia. His frustrations are echoed by many, especially given that trade between Thailand and China reached a staggering US$105.1 billion from January to October last year, according to embassy figures.

As reports mounted of Thai companies folding amid the price war, the Chinese embassy in Bangkok responded with a lengthy social media statement.

“China and Thailand are good neighbours, we are like family. China is Thailand’s biggest trade partner and we’re also Thailand’s biggest agriculture export market. During the past few years China has imported more than 40 per cent of all Thai agriculture exports,” the embassy wrote in Thai on its Facebook page.

“In terms of cheap goods, most are daily products, food, health, jewellery, clothes – they don’t even make up 10 per cent of imported goods from China – they are also only worth half the agricultural produce that Thailand is exporting to China.”

The Chinese government had called on its people and companies to follow other countries’ rules and “encourages the Thai government to be very strict in enforcing the law”, the embassy said – promising support in using new e-commerce platforms and embracing “this opportunity of the internet era”.

But recent police raids in Bangkok, which netted millions of baht worth of illegally imported cosmetics and other goods, paint a different picture. Authorities arrested one Chinese woman, whose operation is believed to be just the tip of a vast iceberg of criminal enterprises that exploit loopholes and hire Thai surrogates to run Chinese businesses that flood the market with illegally imported products.

In response, some Thai consumers are rallying around “buy local” campaigns that spotlight Chinese goods seemingly dumped on the market.

Yet Thongyu warns that critical sectors of the Thai economy – logistics, in particular – have already slipped into Chinese hands, with what’s being called “zero dollar transport”. This term describes a circular economy in which Chinese front companies pay Chinese suppliers – often using untaxed, potentially illicit funds – to move goods in Chinese-owned trucks.

“I used to run truck loads of durians to Laos charging 80,000 baht (US$2,330), but Chinese companies are undercutting our price at 30,000 baht per load, which is impossible for Thai businesses to match,” Thongyu said. Not only that, “while Thais pay 250 baht per square metre for warehouse space, Chinese firms offer it for only 70 baht”.

He said many unprofitable Thai logistics companies are being bought out and transformed into fronts for new Chinese owners, allowing these operations to evade taxes and regulatory scrutiny.

Legal loopholes also enable foreign investors to gradually increase their stakes in local enterprises or import goods under trade agreements to assemble in non-Thai-owned companies. The impact has been catastrophic for many Thai logistics firms.

Pinij Srianchalee, 56, is among the thousands forced out of work by this relentless price war. For a decade, he operated a cooling truck transporting durians and mangosteens from Thailand’s fruit hub of Chantaburi to Boten on the Laos border.

The 48-hour return trip once yielded Pinij US$3,800 to US$4,500, with his container filled with Chinese produce destined for Thailand.

Last year, China imported around 1.43 million tonnes of fresh durians, a 70 per cent increase from the previous year, with Thailand supplying 929,000 tonnes of that total.

However, as “zero dollar transport” became entrenched over the past few years, Pinij found his income had halved. “It’s so low that I don’t even think anyone who can operate at that price can make anything [in terms of profit],” he said, openly questioning the sources of the income that allow Chinese companies to undercut his business.

“They’re colluding and fixing prices, squeezing us until we can’t survive,” Pinij said. “Once we’re gone, Chinese companies will control the entire supply chain.”

In a bid to curb the influx of cheap Chinese products, Malaysia’s government imposed a 10 per cent levy on imported goods valued at 500 ringgit (US$115) or less back in January.

But retailers argue this measure is insufficient, as they report losing up to 30 per cent of sales to online businesses shipping goods directly from China.

“I am very disappointed with the Malaysian government,” said Ameer Ali Mydin, vice-president of the Malaysia Retailers Association. “Because we have not tightened up any rules or regulations, Malaysia has become a dumping ground for excess capacity from China.”

For 15 consecutive years, China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner, exporting 259 billion ringgit (US$59 billion) worth of goods – ranging from electronics to machinery – this year alone.

Meanwhile, the e-commerce sector is projected to surge by 12.8 per cent, reaching a value of 50.3 billion ringgit as consumers increasingly turn to online shopping, according to an April report from data and analytics firm GlobalData.

Chinese exporters are aggressively targeting Southeast Asia, driven by waning domestic demand and rising trade barriers in US and European markets, Malaysian economics professor Yeah said.

“Those that leverage on the cost and product competitiveness of Chinese manufacturers are able to survive, if not thrive, the changing dynamics caused by economic integration through cross border trade and investment,” he told This Week in Asia.

However, Ameer says that direct overseas shipping has already had a “tremendous” impact on local industries. He advocates for introducing a flat tax of up to 20 per cent on all overseas online purchases to level the playing field.

Physical retail generates significant spillover benefits for other local businesses such as restaurants and cinemas, he said, as shoppers often engage in other activities while outside the house.

“When people go online to shop, it not only affects Malaysian retailers selling the same item but also affects local manufacturers, transporters … it affects everything,” Ameer said.

“I have nothing against people buying things online, but I think people should buy … from companies that are established or operating in Malaysia.”

In July, textile workers took to the streets of Jakarta, demanding support as they lost market share to Chinese apparel and textiles flourishing on e-commerce platforms like Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop.

At least 12 factories closed from January to July this year, according to the Nusantara Trade Union Confederation, resulting in more than 13,000 job losses.

The protests prompted the government to introduce new import tariffs ranging from 100 to 200 per cent on certain goods from China, including textiles, clothing, footwear, ceramics and electronics.

“The United States can impose a 200 per cent tariff on imported ceramics or clothes, so we can do it as well,” Indonesia’s Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said in July, justifying the increase.

He warned that if the country continues to be “flooded with imported goods”, small and medium enterprises could face imminent collapse.

Government data reveals that such businesses account for around 60 per cent of Indonesia’s economic output and employ around 120 million people.

Many pivoted to e-commerce in recent years, after the platforms experienced a surge of popularity amid the pandemic, only to find themselves competing against cheaper Chinese imports.

China is Indonesia’s largest trading partner and has benefited from low duties under regional trade agreements, with trade between the two nations exceeding US$127 billion last year.

Asean free trade agreements have facilitated this access, allowing for an increase in the flow of Chinese goods into Southeast Asia.

These agreements were designed to promote intraregional trade, but “they can also inadvertently increase the flow of goods from China,” said Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat from the Centre of Economic and Law Studies.

The pressure on textile factories is palpable. Nandi Herdiaman, head of the IPKB, a local organisation for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, said fierce competition from Chinese imports was the primary driver behind bankruptcies and lay-offs in the textile sector.

“Many of these imported products enter Indonesia at very low prices, even through illegal channels, which makes it difficult for local products to compete,” he said, adding that domestic output had plummeted by about 70 per cent.

Indonesia hopes the new tariffs will not provoke retaliatory measures but instead encourage Chinese manufacturers to invest more sustainably in local enterprises.

Danang Girindrawardana, executive director of the Indonesian Textile Association, views the tariffs as a positive move, stressing to This Week in Asia the importance of “protecting domestic industry” and creating jobs.

In the short term, if enforced at borders, these tariffs may help alleviate the volume of imports and provide some breathing room for local industries to recover, according to Nandi.

However, a broader vision may be essential for long-term survival. This includes “tightening supervision of illegal imports, implementing strict quality standards and supporting innovation” to boost the production capacity of local industry, he said.

China could tow Philippine ship from disputed Sabina Shoal, but is it worth the backlash?

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3277494/china-could-tow-philippine-ship-disputed-sabina-shoal-it-worth-backlash?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing appears to be carefully weighing plans to tow a Philippine vessel it says is “illegally” deployed at a disputed atoll that has become a new flashpoint in the South China Sea.

However, observers warned that any miscalculation could trigger armed conflict that would invoke a mutual treaty drawing in the US.

Two Chinese navy tug boats – Nantuo 175 and 185 – were among the Chinese vessels surrounding the BRP Teresa Magbanua, a 2,600-tonne Philippine coastguard ship involved in collisions with Chinese vessels last Saturday, according to a photo posted by Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

While the photo is believed to have been taken before the collision, the presence of Chinese tug boats raised speculation about whether Beijing might try to drive the Philippine vessel out of Sabina Shoal – a disputed atoll known as Xianbin Jiao in China and Escoda Shoal in the Philippines.

China has repeatedly urged the Philippines to remove the Teresa Magbanua. Beijing worries Manila might establish a permanent presence at Sabina Shoal as it did on Second Thomas Shoal, another contested reef known as Renai Jiao in China and Ayungin Shoal in the Philippines.

In 1999, Manila grounded the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era warship, on Second Thomas Shoal, turning it into a military outpost.

Hu Bo, director of South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI), a Beijing-based think tank, said towing the Teresa Magbanua was “one of the options”.

“The ship at Sabina Shoal can of course be pulled away, but whether it should be towed or not depends on how the situation develops,” Hu said. “The best way out is that the ship leaves on its own.”

“But if the Philippines escalates its provocation, I don’t think we can rule out further actions by China,” he added.

Ray Powell, a former US Air Force official, said the presence of the two Chinese tugboats “may indicate a willingness by Beijing to attempt to push or tow” the Teresa Magbanua out of Sabina Shoal.

But he said any further action by Beijing should be considered carefully to avoid the risk of drawing in the US, which is obliged under a mutual defence treaty to help defend Manila in major conflicts, including in the South China Sea.

“A direct armed attack on the ship would certainly invoke the treaty, but China may calculate that they have already created a permission structure for lesser aggressions.”

Chen Xiangmiao, an associate research fellow at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, a think tank in the southern Chinese province of Hainan, said it would not be easy for Beijing to remove the Philippine ship by force.

Risks of armed conflict would be high if Beijing forcibly towed the Teresa Magbanua, one of the largest and the most advanced Philippine coastguard ships, he said.

“It will be a headache to Beijing if there are any casualties,” he said. “That’s why China has not taken further actions – to avoid escalation in tensions.”

Hu said if Beijing moved to tow the Philippine vessel, “frictions would definitely escalate, but it won’t necessarily be an armed conflict”.

Sitting in the east of the Spratly Islands, or Nansha Islands in Chinese, Sabina Shoal is closer to the coast of Palawan, the nearest Philippine province, than Second Thomas Shoal. The atoll has been a meeting point for Philippine resupply missions to Second Thomas Shoal.

Tensions heated up earlier this year after Manila accused Beijing of attempting to reclaim land at Sabina Shoal. It sent the Teresa Magbanua to the area in April.

Confrontations escalated in July after Manila accused Beijing of trying to “intimidate” its forces, including by deploying its largest coastguard vessel, the 12,000-tonne CCG-5901, near Sabina Shoal. Beijing denied the accusation and said Manila was “vilifying” China and trying to “mislead the international community”.

In August alone, the coastguards of the two countries engaged in multiple – and sometimes violent – maritime and air confrontations near Sabina Shoal.

Beijing has also repeatedly blocked resupply missions to the Teresa Magbanua – apparently in the hope that time would tip the scales in its favour as the Philippine ship is eventually forced to leave to replenish supplies.

Chen, in Hainan, said that without enough supplies and fuel, the Teresa Magbanua was unlikely to be able to sustain its presence at sea.

“Drones or helicopters are limited in capacity when being used to resupply such a big ship that has been away from port for a long time and needs repair.”

Following last week’s collision, the Philippine Coast Guard said the Teresa Magbanua had sustained damage, including a 90cm (35-inch) dent near its flight deck and a hull breach measuring 1.5 (4.9 feet) metres wide at the stern.

Powell noted that while Beijing has drawn parallels between Sabina Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippine warship was run aground 25 years ago, the situation probably reminded Manila of another South China Sea feature, Scarborough Shoal, which it lost control of in a 2012 stand-off with China.

“For the Philippines, the analogy is less about Second Thomas Shoal than about Scarborough Shoal,” said Powell, who is now the director of SeaLight, a project at the Gordian Knot Centre for National Security Innovation at Stanford University, which monitors maritime activities in the South China Sea.

“Given the number of ships that China has flooded into Sabina Shoal, it has become clear to Manila that it needs to maintain a Philippine presence there or lose effective control of a maritime feature located just 70 nautical miles from its coastline,” he said.

After losing control of the Scarborough Shoal, Manila took Beijing to an international tribunal in The Hague. In 2016, the tribunal backed Manila, rejecting Beijing’s claims to the South China Sea – a ruling Beijing has dismissed.

Since last Saturday’s collision, there have been renewed calls in the Philippines to accept a US offer to escort Manila’s resupply missions to the disputed waters. Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner said earlier that the option would only be accepted if troops in the Second Thomas Shoal or Sabina Shoal were “on the verge of dying”.

In an interview with a local radio station on Monday, Antonio Carpio, a retired associate justice in the Philippines, reiterated his call for the Philippine government to file another arbitration case against China.

“We bring it to the next level, not just a note verbale, not just a diplomatic protest, let’s file a case,” he said, according to Philippine news portal Inquirer.net.

[Sport] Thieves snatched his phone in London - it was in China a month later

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3rdy132q3lo

Akara Etteh

PC Mat Evans

After 30 years, China’s BeiDou is a GPS rival. Will the world enter its orbit?

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3277511/after-30-years-chinas-beidou-gps-rival-will-world-enter-its-orbit?utm_source=rss_feed

In the more than 30 years since the Chinese ship Yinhe was stranded in international waters, its global positioning system (GPS) jammed by the United States, the world's second-largest economy has developed its own satellite navigation network to capture a share of the lucrative, highly technological market – and ensure such an incident can never be repeated.

As the reach of its indigenous system grows and begins to match that of its American rival, so too do Beijing’s ambitions. It wants BeiDou – named for the seven bright stars in the northern sky used for guidance in pre-satellite times – to appeal to enough international users that the system can chip away at the US-run GPS network’s decades-long dominance.

With slick pitches of the service to international bodies, plans to amplify signal strength overseas and a flurry of investments, subsidies and donations incentivising BeiDou’s adoption by the developing world, China’s promotion of its system has only been dwarfed by the network’s own coverage levels.

Numerous hurdles stand in the way of such a sea change, analysts said. But by pouring billions into BeiDou’s development and offering it as a free service, Beijing is making a long-term investment in the system – and its value in the broader geopolitical context.

“There are realms where Beijing can incentivise overseas adoption – in global maritime and aviation safety and in developing countries less aligned with the West – to advance China’s interests,” said Michael Shin, a professor of geospatial technologies with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

With the humiliation of the Yinhe incident fresh in its mind, China began work on its own navigation system in 1994, launching the first satellite in an experimental regional network six years later.

Today, its globe-spanning constellation is accurate enough to outperform GPS in several regions of the world, according to Harvard University’s Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs.

The system has proven useful for China’s growing merchant navy. Shipping giant Cosco, owner of the Yinhe, has installed domestically produced signal receivers across its 600-strong fleet. Almost all Chinese vessels have switched from GPS to BeiDou, or are using both.

The near-universal domestic adoption of BeiDou has come at an opportune moment for China, as complementary concerns over the country’s self-sufficiency and national security have reached their peak. Similar to China’s home-grown C919 airliner, BeiDou serves as an indigenous alternative for a vital technology once only accessible via import - a potential point of weakness, now corrected.

But Beijing is interested in far more than a replacement for GPS – it also sees its network as a means to enhance its international standing.

In a milestone for BeiDou’s profile, it became the fourth system – following GPS, Europe’s Galileo and Russia’s Glonass – to be included in the Cospas-Sarsat international search and rescue network in November 2022. And last year, China’s system was recognised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation as a universal standard for flight guidance.

Wang Yanan, an aviation analyst with Beihang University, said at a June seminar BeiDou’s expanded use in worldwide transport could address “vulnerabilities” arising from reliance on a single constellation.

“It’s safer to incorporate the Chinese system to achieve complementarity from multiple constellations. Ours can provide the same performance as other systems at zero to low cost for transport companies,” Wang said.

Elsewhere in the developing world, BeiDou’s presence is becoming more palpable.

Per the China Satellite Navigation Office, its signals are readily available across Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, with a userbase mostly in the agriculture, transport and infrastructure sectors.

Its operator claims the system is in extensive commercial use for port management in Pakistan, land planning and river transport in Myanmar, precision agriculture and pest control in Laos, urban planning in Brunei and maritime patrols in Indonesia.

In Saudi Arabia, the Chinese system is being used for urban development and positioning of personnel and vehicles deep in the desert. And in Burkina Faso in West Africa, state news agency Xinhua said it helps slash construction time on infrastructure projects by up to 20 per cent.

Its more widespread adoption is not a cost-based concession, either; BeiDou is already beating the competition in some areas, with a positioning precision of 4.4 metres or higher for any location on the planet that puts it on par with Western systems.

In China and at ground stations across Southeast Asia and Africa, the network’s accuracy is one notch above GPS. Signals are most reliable in low- and medium-latitude areas in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

It also supports text messages of up to 1,000 characters each between users and control centres, a feature not available on GPS, according to BeiDou’s operator.

“My understanding is that BeiDou has surpassed GPS in number of satellites, monitoring stations, and, in some countries, locational accuracy,” said Shin of UCLA.

Still, analysts say the system is no match for the omnipresence of GPS, and that when aiming to expand its use, China should not forget that Europe and Russia have failed to upend the US network.

Shin argued that with numerous international users sticking to the American tool despite the contextual superiority of the Chinese option, there are “important geopolitical considerations” to consider.

He said it would be “unlikely” for BeiDou to replace mainstream incumbents to any significant extent. “American services are utilised worldwide and deeply integrated into numerous industries, with a reputation for reliability.”

Godfrey Yeung, an associate professor of geography with the National University of Singapore (NUS), said China’s network is only a “secondary option” for international users.

“Beijing should not position it to challenge the status quo. Europe and Russia have failed to challenge GPS, as the latter has been freely accessible since the 1980s,” Yeung said.

Others have said competition has been eschewed, as greater interoperability means different systems are able to converge.

Most consumer electronics – including smartphones of foreign and Chinese make – support GPS and at least another system for more accurate positioning.

A report from the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a body of the US Congress, said the two systems are not in contention for market share.

“The satellite navigation industry is trending toward ‘multi-constellation’ receivers compatible with all major networks,” the commission said.

Even with BeiDou unlikely to redraw the global navigation map, Beijing remains committed to incorporating the system into its broader strategies.

At an event marking the programme’s 30th anniversary on Tuesday, an initiative backed by the National Development and Reform Commission – the country’s top economic planner – was put forward to encourage commercial adoption of BeiDou, as well as the development of related industries.

More exchanges with developing countries were mentioned, as well as the promotion of BeiDou’s achievements and technological virtues. Central authorities, local governments and private firms with investments abroad were encouraged to join in these efforts.

“China’s tech and industrial policies are forward-looking to nurture an important industry and industrial chain,” said Yeung of NUS. “The return on investment in BeiDou should not be assessed by the number of users only, but by its value for a host of strategic sectors and their overseas interests.”

China is already incentivising the use of its system through the Belt and Road Initiative, its regional infrastructure plan, as well as its outbound investments.

“Beijing may couple the navigation network to Chinese investments in infrastructure like ports and railways in developing countries,” said UCLA’s Shin. “By subsidising the pricing, and integrating it with other Chinese technologies, services and products, this strategy can increase foreign adoption and tech dependency on China.”

The US-China Commission report also mentioned BeiDou’s utility in serving China’s overseas investments and interests.

“China has sought to incentivise countries to use its services and access to build ground stations in Asia and Africa to enhance the system’s accuracy and, by extension, Chinese companies’ commercial prospects,” it said.

Industrial associations have echoed calls to make major outbound investments contingent on BeiDou adoption.

“The government should create conditions for the system to ‘hitch a ride’ on outbound investments and projects to penetrate more countries,” said Yu Xiancheng, director of the Global Navigation Satellite System and Location-Based Service Association of China.

Through subsidies, government procurements and agreements with foreign countries, Yu said, Beijing can help navigation enterprises and service providers establish monetisation models overseas to support internationalisation.

But for the Chinese system to grow its reputation and gain more traction abroad, Shin said, Beijing should refrain from exploiting its reach for a short-term payoff.

“GPS signals have been scrambled over Gaza and Ukraine for military purposes. Any tech that involves data can be a risk, and location data is of particular concern. China has to assuage foreign users.”

Georgia Tech to end China partnerships amid US concerns over military ties

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3277573/georgia-tech-end-china-partnerships-amid-us-concerns-over-military-ties?utm_source=rss_feed

Georgia Tech is ending its research and educational partnerships in the Chinese cities of Tianjin and Shenzhen, the US university said on Friday, following scrutiny from Congress over its collaboration with entities allegedly linked to China’s military.

In May, the US House of Representatives’ select committee on China wrote to Georgia Tech asking for details on its research with China’s northeastern Tianjin University on cutting-edge semiconductor technologies.

The Chinese school and its affiliates were added in 2020 to the US Commerce Department’s export restrictions list for actions contrary to US national security, including trade secret theft and research collaboration to advance China’s military.

Spokeswoman Abbigail Tumpey said in an email that Georgia Tech has been assessing its posture in China since Tianjin University was added to the entity list.

“Tianjin University has had ample time to correct the situation. To date, Tianjin University remains on the Entity List, making Georgia Tech’s participation with Tianjin University, and subsequently Georgia Tech Shenzhen Institute (GTSI), no longer tenable,” Tumpey said.

Georgia Tech, a top tier US engineering school and major recipient of US Defence Department funding, said in an accompanying statement it would discontinue its participation in the Shenzhen institute, but that the around 300 students currently in programmes there would have the opportunity to fulfil their degree requirements.

In January, Georgia Tech touted that its researchers based in Atlanta and at the Tianjin International Centre for Nanoparticles and Nanosystems had created the world’s first functional semiconductor made from the nanomaterial graphene. It said this could lead to a “paradigm shift” in electronics and yield faster computing.

The US and China, intense geopolitical and scientific rivals, both view semiconductors as a strategic industry with civilian and military uses, including quantum computing and advanced weapons systems.

In its May letter, the select committee noted the Tianjin research centre is affiliated with a Chinese company with subsidiaries that supply China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

A Georgia Tech scientist who led the Tianjin project has defended the research, saying all the results were available to the public and that the collaboration had passed extensive legal reviews.

China’s embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

“It shouldn’t have taken a congressional investigation to spur Georgia Tech to end its partnership with a blacklisted Chinese entity,” said US congresswoman Virginia Foxx, Republican chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, who had joined the select committee on its letter.

“Nonetheless, we’re glad that Georgia Tech has made the right call and we hope other universities follow its lead,” Foxx said in an email.

US agencies and Congress have stepped up scrutiny of China’s state-sponsored influence and technology transfers at American colleges and universities, concerned that Beijing uses open and federally funded research environments in the US to circumvent export controls and other national security laws.

The Justice Department under US President Joe Biden’s administration ended a programme from former US president Donald Trump’s administration called the China Initiative intended to combat Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft. Critics had said that programme spurred racial profiling against Asian-Americans and chilled scientific research.