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• PLA Navy tests South China Sea defences as Vietnam and Philippines expand footprint
• China’s Gen Z seeks solace through ‘emotional consumption’
• Hong Kong property: Chinachem’s Echo House in Cheung Sha Wan a hit with buyers
• China on course for record harvest in boost for food security drive
• Chinese-Americans politically activated by Florida’s ‘alien land laws’
• For China, choosing green hydrogen over shale gas should be a no-brainer
• China property: Sunac’s One Sino Park project in Shanghai sells out in 3 hours
• China snapshot news: robot dog porter, Hong Kong husband sought, stinky ‘nutritious’ lunches
• Philippines strengthens South China Sea strategy with US$56 million Thitu Island upgrade
• Chinese nasal study might explain why men are more vulnerable to respiratory disease
• Singapore seeks to navigate US-China rivalry regardless of presidential election outcome
• State alien land laws drive some China-born US citizens to rethink their politics
• Mainland China lashes out at US$2 billion American arms package for Taiwan
• Chinese woman, scolded at work, stops eating, needs reminders to use toilet
• China leveraging Laos to link up its Southeast Asian economic interests
• Consulate attack highlights China’s ‘delicate’ balancing act in Myanmar
• China vows to take ‘countermeasures’ over US and Taiwan $2bn arms deal
• Chinese tech firms scramble to recruit top AI talent amid short supply
• PLA drills in the dark show mainland China ‘ready for surprises’, such as over Taiwan

PLA Navy tests South China Sea defences as Vietnam and Philippines expand footprint

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3284072/pla-navy-tests-south-china-sea-defences-vietnam-and-philippines-expand-footprint?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s navy has conducted another round of drills in the South China Sea, a contested waterway where rival claimants the Philippines and Vietnam are ramping up land reclamation and construction.

The People’s Liberation Army Navy did not specify where or when the training took place, saying only that the exercise was conducted “in late autumn”.

“A frigate detachment of the Southern Theatre Command Navy conducted a full training and assessment on air defence and missile interception, anti-surface attack and vessel damage control,” it said in a post on Chinese social media on Sunday.

The drills involved launching attacks on targets at sea and in the air while the Chinese vessel came under fire, followed by a search-and-attack exercise with another vessel acting as an adversary.

“The [navy assessors] … created a realistic environment, dynamic situations and practical tasks to increase the difficulty of the test,” it said.

Beijing claims almost all of the resource-rich South China Sea under its “nine-dash line”, a claim that overlaps with those of most of its Southeast Asian neighbours.

Citing the need to counter growing territorial ambitions from Beijing, Manila has plans to upgrade infrastructure and significantly increase naval and air assets in the waters.

One of those projects is the expansion of an airstrip on Thitu Island, part of the Spratly archipelago known in China as the Nanshas.

Extending the airstrip to 1.5km (0.9 miles) will allow bigger aircraft like cargo planes to land, an upgrade that would be essential for transporting troops and supplies to the remote outpost.

Manila has also signed agreements with its allies to hold more joint drills in the waters and to acquire more ships, aircraft and radars.

The agreements are part of a more assertive approach the Philippines has taken towards China.

The two countries have had a series of confrontations in the past year, including coastguard clashes near Second Thomas Shoal and Sabina Shoal.

Meanwhile, Vietnam, which controls 11 of the 29 features in the Spratlys, has also reclaimed more than 2 sq km in the archipelago over the past five months, according to Beijing-based think tank the South China Sea Probing Initiative.

SCSPI director Hu Bo said Vietnam had embarked on a new round of expansion of its occupied features since October 2021 and showed no signs of slowing.

But Beijing has been largely muted on Hanoi’s land reclamation efforts as the two have in recent years managed to improve ties and stop the disputes from dominating the overall relationship.

Chen Xiangmiao, an assistant research fellow at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies in China, said the Philippines, despite being a small country, had been on the offensive in the contested waters since President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr took office.

“The aggressive measures it has taken have disrupted the established development pace in the South China Sea, and posed the biggest source of turmoil in the region,” he said in an opinion piece in nationalist Chinese outlet Guancha.cn on Saturday.

He said interactions between the two countries were likely to normalise to simultaneous “negotiation and competition”.

“Both sides will have to expend considerable effort to manage their differences and potential maritime crises, and maintain a long-term state of careful control,” he said.

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China’s Gen Z seeks solace through ‘emotional consumption’

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3283909/chinas-gen-z-seeks-solace-through-emotional-consumption?utm_source=rss_feed

When Beijing-based Pop Mart estimated its third-quarter revenue surged by 120 to 125 per cent in a business update released on Wednesday, analysts said the performance of China’s leading blind box toy retailer had “far exceeded market expectations”.

The brand, a rare consumption bright spot amid China’s ongoing spending gloom, has millions of young fans who may not earn a lot but are generous spenders on small toys that offer them emotional and social value.

China’s Generation Z, roughly 280 million strong and born between 1996 and 2012, is powering an “emotional consumption” trend that contrasts with a broader slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

Young Chinese consumers are increasingly willing to spend money on items that may seem “useless” and expensive, but bring them joy or enhance their mood, some analysts said.

“They have high emotional needs as they live and work at a fast pace and under high pressure,” said Mo Daiqing, a senior analyst at the Hangzhou-based China E-Commerce Research Centre.

Products like blind box toys, quirky accessories and decorative items have become highly sought after by young people. Such items, often not necessarily functional, serve as sources of comfort, entertainment or self-expression.

The blind box economy is based on the sale of products in opaque packaging that hides the item’s appearance or specific design, creating a sense of intrigue for the buyer that is only revealed on opening.

Known for selling collectable designer toys, often sold in a blind box format, Pop Mart recorded strong growth in sales in both e-commerce platforms and offline stores in the third quarter, while income from overseas markets soared, it said in its business update.

A small Pop Mart blind box is normally priced between 69 and 79 yuan (US$9.70 to US$11), while larger ones can sell for several thousand yuan.

Cao Zuo, a university student in Shanghai who’s a fan of Pop Mart’s toys, said people who continue to buy blind boxes are “paying for love” as they contain “adorable” products that “provide a kind of mental satisfaction”.

“Young people are also generally more impulsive and dare to take unknown risks,” she said.

Such preferences have also contributed to the success of Jellycat, a UK-based plush toy brand that has become one of the most popular stuffed toy brands in China in recent years.

Despite its high prices – several hundred yuan for one small item – its experience stores are always crowded, and customers need to make an appointment in advance to enter. That high demand has even spawned scalpers who make a profit by reselling the appointments.

Nearly 30 per cent of young Chinese people are willing to pay for the healing effect or emotional value of a product, according to the results of a survey released by news app Seashell Finance in July.

In May, the China Consumers Association also pointed out in an annual consumer rights report that in addition to the pursuit of cost-effectiveness, emotional release will become “an important factor affecting the decision-making of the younger generation of consumers”, calling it a new consumption hotspot in the future.

“We expect Pop Mart to continue to maintain rapid growth driven by high-quality [intellectual property],” researchers at Soochow Securities said in a note released on Thursday.

Thanks to a more materially adequate and information-rich life, China’s Gen Z is often insensitive to prices and some buy blind boxes indiscriminately, said Cao, the Shanghai student.

The “designer toys” offered in Pop Mart’s blind boxes “are not just drawn images, but also contain spiritual elements that young people find hard to obtain in reality”, she said.

Mo, the Hangzhou analyst, said that despite their relatively high prices, such items are still affordable to most people because they are not frequently consumed daily necessities.

“People are also focusing more on the shopping experience, which some of the brands, such as Jellycat, do quite well, making consumers feel happy and relaxed,” she added.

Hong Kong property: Chinachem’s Echo House in Cheung Sha Wan a hit with buyers

https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3284062/hong-kong-property-chinachems-echo-house-cheung-sha-wan-hit-buyers?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinachem Group and the Urban Renewal Authority sold out all flats in Echo House on Sunday, the latest project to receive a warm reception from homebuyers following an easing of mortgage financing and a cut in interest rates.

All 198 units in the Cheung Sha Wan project were sold after sales started at 9am, according to agents.

Hong Kong’s property market has seen rising home sales in recent weeks following the policy-easing cycle by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) last month. This was followed by the HKMA increasing the loan-to-value ratio to as much as 70 per cent of the property’s value and raising the debt-servicing ratio from 40 per cent to 50 per cent for both residential and non-residential properties.

These positive developments have reinvigorated the market, said Sammy Po Siu-ming, CEO of Midland Realty’s residential division. “New projects continue to dominate the market.”

With developers actively launching new projects, Po estimates new home sales this month will cross 3,000 units, the most since April. Sales of lived-in homes are also expected to rise by about 15 per cent month on month to nearly 3,400.

“Property prices are likely to rebound in the fourth quarter by about 3 per cent,” he said.

Chinachem said there were 50 times more buyers interested in the project than available units priced at HK$16,154 (US$2,079) per square foot on average.

The private developer, controlled by the estate of the late billionaire Nina Wang, had earlier priced the first 50 units at an average of HK$14,888, the lowest in the district since Henderson Land’s Park One project at HK$13,000 per square foot in 2016, according to data compiled by Midland.

Midland’s Po said since the project was conveniently located near Cheung Sha Wan MTR station and was competitively priced, there were expectations that all units could be sold on the first day.

The flats are likely to yield 4.5 per cent in rent, Po said.

“The project primarily targets end users, making up about 70 per cent of buyers, while investors account for about 30 per cent,” he added. “Midland has recorded several large transactions from clients purchasing properties for rental and personal use, including one client who invested nearly HK$50 million to buy nine one-bedroom units.”

Rival Centaline Property Agency said nearly a third of its clients were buying for investment purposes, said Louis Chan Wing-kit, CEO of the agency’s residential division.

“Two groups of local buyers were interested in purchasing four units,” Chan said. “Based on the discounted price, each client will invest about HK$30 million.”

Last week, CK Asset Holdings and MTR Corp sold more than 80 per cent of the 248 flats on offer at their Blue Coast II project in Wong Chuk Hang. Sun Hung Kai Properties found buyers for 215 of the 256 flats on sale at Cullinan Sky Phase 2 in Kai Tak.

China on course for record harvest in boost for food security drive

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3284063/china-course-record-harvest-boost-food-security-drive?utm_source=rss_feed

China is on track for a record grain output this year in a boost for its drive to improve food security.

The harvest is expected to exceed 700 million tonnes for the first time this year, after nine straight years of production above 650 million tonnes, agriculture vice-minister Zhang Xingwang said on Friday.

At almost 149 million tonnes, the summer harvest saw its biggest jump in nine years, and the autumn harvest, which accounts for three-quarters of the total, had seen a “noticeable improvement” this year, Zhang said.

China, the world’s biggest crop producer and consumer, has doubled down on food security amid climate change, turbulence in the global market and growing tensions with the United States, which is a major agricultural exporter.

Zhang said severe weather events this year had taken their toll on agriculture, but the effect was “relatively mild” compared with previous years.

This year southern and northeastern China were hit by heavy rainfall and floods while some central regions suffered from drought.

Zhang said a total of 9 million hectares of crops was lost as a result, but this was 2.9 million less than the average in previous years.

“While a few individual provinces saw reduced production due to disasters, most provinces have increased production, so obviously, the country, overall, still sees an increase in autumn grain production,” he said.

Zhang said that planting more soybeans and corn had contributed to the bumper harvest. In recent years China has been working to reduce its reliance on imports of the two crops, especially from the United States.

He said the government had increased financial support for grain production to motivate farmers and was devoting more land to high-yield crops such as corn.

There have also been efforts to improve soybean yields with new plantation, irrigation and fertilisation plans.

Over 7o per cent of the overall growth in grain production was expected to come from increased yields per unit area, he said.

China is self sufficient in rice and wheat, two of the main staples, but “there is still a significant gap” between corn production and demand, and the country is largely dependent on imports for soybeans, an important source of animal feed.

“But the supply and demand for grain remains tightly balanced, with no substantial changes,” said Zhang, who vowed to spare no efforts in ensuring food security.

The agriculture ministry also called for advanced technology to play a greater role in improving productivity and reducing waste.

It said agriculture in China was less efficient than other industries and faced a number of environmental challenges and the problem of limited resources.

It also said a global revolution in agricultural technology was taking place and the country must work hard to catch up.

In recent years, regions that serve as China’s main grain producers have been frequently hit by floods or droughts.

Flood warnings were issued for more than 120 rivers in China this year due to heavy rain. As of August, five rivers had recorded their worst flooding on record.

Chinese-Americans politically activated by Florida’s ‘alien land laws’

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3284058/chinese-americans-politically-activated-floridas-alien-land-laws?utm_source=rss_feed

Diana Xue has always followed the politics of her husband, friends and neighbours in Orlando, Florida, and voted Republican.

This Election Day, she will break that pattern.

When Florida’s Republican Party-dominated legislature and Republican governor enacted a law last year banning Chinese nationals without permanent US residency from buying property or land, Xue, who became a US citizen about a decade after coming from China for college, had an “awakening.” She felt then that the Sunshine State had, more or less, legalised discrimination against Chinese people.

Florida has proved reliably Republican in recent years, but Xue said, “Because of this law, I will start to help out, flip every seat I can.”

At least two dozen states have passed or proposed “alien land laws” targeting Chinese nationals and companies from purchasing property or land because of China’s status as a foreign adversary. Other countries are mentioned, but experts say China is the constant focus in political discussions.

Mostly Republican legislators have pushed the land laws amid growing fears of intelligence and economic threats from China. At the time of the Florida law’s signing, Gov. Ron DeSantis called China the “greatest geopolitical threat” to the US and said the law was taking a stand against the Communist Party.

Some China-born people with American citizenship are now feeling alienated by the laws to the point that they are leaning Democratic. Many are afraid of being treated wrongly because of their ethnicity.

US-China tensions hit a fever pitch in February 2023 after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was spotted over Montana. Shortly after, Republican Party-leaning states like Missouri, Texas and Tennessee introduced similar land ownership measures.

The measures all involved restrictions on businesses or people from China and other foreign adversaries, including not buying land within a certain distance from military installations or “critical infrastructure.” Under some of the laws, very narrow exceptions were made for non-tourist visa holders and people who have been granted asylum.

The National Agricultural Law Center now estimates 24 states ban or limit foreigners without residency and foreign businesses or governments from owning private farmland. Interest in farmland ownership restrictions emerged after a Chinese billionaire bought more than 130,000 acres (52,600 hectares) near a US Air Force base in Texas, and Chinese company Fufeng Group sought to build a corn plant near an Air Force base on 300 acres (120 hectares) in North Dakota.

Liu Pengyu, the spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, raised concerns that such laws not only counter market economy principles and international trade rules, but “further fuel hostility towards the Asian and Chinese community in the US, intensify racial discrimination, and seriously undermine the values that the US claims to hold.”

State laws banning Chinese nationals from owning land discourage Chinese investors and spook other foreign investors who would otherwise help the US to rebuild its industrial base, said John Ling, who has worked for decades to attract international, especially Chinese, manufacturing projects to the US.

The laws have also thrown off real estate agents and brokers. Angela Hsu, a commercial real estate lawyer in Atlanta, said it’s been confusing to navigate a law Georgia’s governor signed in April restricting land sales to some Chinese citizens.

“The brokers I’ve talked to, they’re just trying to figure out what they can do safely,” Hsu said.

On the federal level, the House in September approved a bill that would flag as “reportable” farmland sales involving citizens from China, North Korea, Russia and Iran. The odds for it to win approval from the Senate, however, are slim.

China “has been quietly purchasing American agricultural land at an alarming rate, and this bill is a crucial step towards reversing that trend,” said Rep. Dan Newhouse, a Republican from Washington state.

Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, of California, joined multiple Asian-American organizations in opposing the bill, arguing its “broad-brush approach” of targeting people from specific countries amounted to racial profiling.

China owns less than 1 per cent of total foreign-owned farmland in the US, far behind Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, the UK, Germany or Portugal.

After Florida’s land law was signed in May 2023, four Chinese nationals filed a lawsuit. In April, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer representing them asked a federal appeals court to block it.

The saga sparked the Chinese diaspora in Florida to mobilise. Some formed the Florida Asian-American Justice Alliance. Among them was Xue. She became interested studying the Legislature and lobbying. She found that only Democrats like state Rep. Anna Eskamani, who is Iranian American, agreed the law was xenophobic.

“She said, ‘This is discrimination. I’ll stand with you, and I’ll fight with you,’” Xue said.

Hua Wang, board chair of another civic engagement group, United Chinese Americans, said more people are becoming aware that these laws are directly “affecting each one of us.”

“There are people in both Texas and Florida who say for the first time they are becoming interested and they become organised,” Wang said.

Land laws passed in the name of national security echo a pattern from World War II, when the US saw Japanese people as threats, said Chris Suh, a professor of Asian-American history at Emory University. According to Suh, it’s difficult to argue the laws are unconstitutional if on paper they are citizenship-based and other countries are named.

Anti-Chinese sentiment has shaped policies going back over 150 years. Among these was the Page Act of 1875, which strategically limited the entry of Chinese women to the US, and the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, the first broad race-based immigration law.

Policies targeting foreigners hurt the bottom line of all Americans, Suh said, noting that excluding Chinese labourers from railroad work or Japanese immigrants from buying homes did not benefit US railroad tycoons and landowners.

“That’s something to keep in today’s context as well,” Suh said. “One of the key allies of the people who are trying to overturn the alien land law in Florida are the people who are going to lose money if they lose the potential buyers of their land.”

The law makes Chinese immigrants who achieved citizenship worry about things like racism or accusations of being a spy in their own home, Xue said.

“You think it’s nothing to do with you, but people look at you – how you look, what your last name is,” Xue said. “They are not going to ask you ‘are you a US. citizen or not.’”

For China, choosing green hydrogen over shale gas should be a no-brainer

https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3283539/china-choosing-green-hydrogen-over-shale-gas-should-be-no-brainer?utm_source=rss_feed

It has been more than a decade since China started its shale gas trajectory. Now all of that hard work is paying off. Shale gas made up an estimated 12 per cent of China’s natural gas output last year, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

This is no mean feat. Back in 2013, when China was bent on emulating the US shale oil and natural gas success story, it had so many hurdles to surmount that many analysts thought the government should discontinue its support for the fledgling sector.

Notably, some of China’s most prolific shale basins are at least twice as deep underground as many US shale gas plays, making exploration and production not only more difficult but also more capital expenditure intensive.

The sector also has significant aboveground challenges. These include topography, high population density and lack of access to water sources. Though the situation has improved, there is still weak fiscal and regulatory support for the sector and this has kept development costs high while eating into profits.

But since 2013, Chinese companies have gained a greater geological understanding of shale formations and deployed more advanced hydraulic and automation techniques, steadily growing their shale gas production.

China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec) and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), state-run energy giants tasked with developing China’s shale gas resources, saw shale gas production last year jump to 2.51 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d), up markedly from just 0.02 bcf/d in 2013, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights.

China is one of only four countries in the world producing commercial volumes of shale gas. The others are the United States, Canada and Argentina. The EIA estimated in 2015 that China had 1,115 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of technically recoverable shale gas resources. More than half (626 tcf) are in the Sichuan Basin.

Shale gas is a form of natural gas – largely methane – found underground in shale rock formations. However, extracting that gas requires hydraulic fracking, a controversial production method that consists of using large amounts of highly pressurised water, chemicals and sand to penetrate the rock. Energy companies are often keen to tap shale rock for oil and gas but it is a growing point of contention for environmentalists who point to the harmful impact.

Last year, CNPC produced gas from shale in the Low Cambrian formation in the Sichuan Basin at a depth of more than 14,760 feet. It was the first time that commercially viable gas had been produced from this deeper formation.

The Zi 201 well had an initial production rate of 26.1 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/d). The S&P report said that this commercial rate could signify the entry of the formation into a new stage of large-scale shale gas development. If so, it would no doubt placate China’s energy planners and prove wrong those that thought shale gas development in the country was too difficult.

But even amid China’s increasing shale gas success, the question is whether it still needs this expensively produced gas, especially as funds for the sector could be used to boost the country’s renewable energy sector, particularly green hydrogen.

Cost has always been an issue for shale gas development. PetroChina officials found that exploration and production costs for shale gas were some 20-30 per cent higher than for more conventional resources. Green hydrogen, for its part, has numerous applications and can be used in fuel cells to power vehicles as well as provide electricity.

China is the world’s largest hydrogen producer and consumer. Yet much of that production is brown hydrogen, which is produced using fossil fuels, including coal, so it offers no decarbonisation benefits. To its credit, the Chinese government is going long on green hydrogen development, with a plethora of incentives available. China has also set a target of producing up to 200,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually by the end of next year.

The sticking point, at least in the medium term, could be the price tag. It still costs two to three times more to produce green hydrogen, which uses renewable energy, than blue hydrogen, which is made using natural gas.

Simply put, the process of producing green hydrogen, compressing it and then turning it back into electricity is still inefficient. But as the technology progresses, costs are predicted to continue to fall. PwC has forecast that green hydrogen production costs will halve by 2030 and continue to fall steadily at a slightly slower rate until 2050.

In that capacity, green hydrogen is the most promising fuel for power plants not only in China but worldwide. It is carbon-free, has a high production energy efficiency and in time, will become the most cost-competitive power sector fuel choice.

This is especially when juxtaposed against shale gas for the power sector. Problematically, gas used for the power sector emits at least half of the carbon dioxide typically released by coal, the dirtiest burning fossil fuel. Worse yet, gas has methane leakage problems across its entire value chain.

As such, it behoves both Sinopec and CNPC to stoke more investment in the hydrogen sector, even at the cost of slowly defunding emissions-intensive shale gas production. To not do so will jeopardise China’s goal of becoming net zero by 2060, while also failing to modernise its power sector.

China property: Sunac’s One Sino Park project in Shanghai sells out in 3 hours

https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3284054/china-property-sunacs-one-sino-park-project-shanghai-sells-out-three-hours?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s struggling property market is showing signs of recovery following Beijing’s measures to boost the sector, as hundreds of buyers snapped up units in a new luxury residential project in Shanghai.

All 158 units in the third batch of Sunac China Holdings’ One Sino Park were sold out within three hours of the sale starting at 1pm, generating 5.88 billion yuan (US$825.8 million). With the project’s first two phases sold out, the developer has raked in a total of 21.5 billion yuan.

Located in the Dongjiadu area of Huangpu district, the heart of Shanghai’s commercial hub, the flats were priced at 172,000 yuan (US$24,150) per square metre or 40 million yuan per unit. Sunac said there were twice as many buyers as the number of flats on sale.

One Sino Park’s strong performance comes after Beijing unveiled a large-scale stimulus package in late September to support the real estate sector and stimulate demand among homebuyers, who have tightened their purse strings since an industry-wide crisis began in late 2020 following a campaign to rein in debt-laden developers.

Shanghai resident Sun, who did not give his first name, bought a 180-square-metre flat (1,938 sq ft) on the 30th floor, said he was “pleased” to acquire an asset that could “maintain its value”.

“Right now, it doesn’t make sense to hold on to your money; the stock market is not suitable for ‘retail players’ like us, so buying a home is probably the best option at the moment,” he said.

“I’m also doing this for my son. Even though he is only a teenager now, in the next seven to 10 years, this could come in handy.”

Another buyer Wu, who is originally from nearby Zhejiang province, said he felt lucky to have purchased an ideal home in a neighbourhood that has gone through “significant development” over the past decades.

“It may be difficult for the younger generations to imagine, but Dongjiadu used to be a shantytown with old, run-down shacks,” he said.

“I’m not buying to invest or speculate. This new flat is simply for my family to live in. We’ve upgraded and exchanged several properties in the past and benefited from it, so whenever new opportunities like this arise, we’ll continue to keep an eye on them.”

Other measures introduced in recent months include cuts to mortgage rates and down payments, expansion of a property “white list” that qualifies select projects for bank lending, as well as increased funding for local state-owned enterprises to buy up excess housing inventory and convert them into affordable housing.

According to data published this month by the National Bureau of Statistics, home prices fell for a 16th consecutive month in September, with new home prices dropping 6.1 per cent – the largest decline in nine years.

While premium homes seem somewhat insulated from broader market challenges, analysts suggest this is merely a “flash in the pan”, driven by wealthier buyers defying the overall property market downturn. It is not indicative of a meaningful or sustained recovery.

“The surge in the luxury property market isn’t exactly due to recent policies,” said Yan Yuejin, vice-president of Shanghai-based E-House China Real Estate Research Institute.

“It is a trend that has been apparent since the onset of the pandemic. The growth is primarily driven by people looking for alternative places to invest their money, as the stock market has been volatile. For those with substantial funds, luxury properties offer the most attractive opportunity.”

Yan warned that demand in the premium segment could face a correction as additional supply becomes available.

“Many newer second-hand homes have recently entered the market at a faster place, especially those in city centres with premium features. Developers should be mindful of these larger properties, as their quicker listings could divert demand in the luxury housing market,” he said.

With lingering economic uncertainties and subdued buyer confidence in the mass market, policymakers still have more to do to support developers and the broader property industry, according to Edward Chan, director of Greater China property at S&P Global Ratings.

“The overall financing environment for developers is still challenging and inventory levels remain elevated. It is, therefore, essential for the government to continue introducing policies that support developers in securing better financing and reducing inventory, both of which are equally important,” he said.

“Only when developers regain confidence and new home prices stabilise will buyer confidence return.”

China snapshot news: robot dog porter, Hong Kong husband sought, stinky ‘nutritious’ lunches

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3283494/china-snapshot-news-robot-dog-porter-hong-kong-husband-sought-stinky-nutritious-lunches?utm_source=rss_feed

A mixture of diverse, quirky and eye-catching stories have captured public attention and sparked debate across social media in China in recent days.

From a robot dog porter to a viral search for love in Hong Kong, and a food scandal at a school in China. The Post offers you a glimpse into these trending moments.

Robot dog porter

Hikers on Mount Tai in Tai’an, Shandong province in eastern China were surprised to find a robot dog effortlessly carrying heavy loads and navigating up and down the mountain.

The robot is part of a trial by a property management company to explore better solutions for garbage collection in mountainous scenic areas.

During the tests, the robot carried nearly 40kg, showing remarkable stability while climbing stairs and smoothly adjusting its direction of movement.

Reports suggest that the robotic canine is designed to handle loads of up to 120kg.

This has led some to joke that someday it could offer weary tourists a lift up the mountain.

Husband hunt

Photos of a woman holding a heart-shaped placard in a number of shopping malls and near key border ports between Shenzhen and Hong Kong have gone viral on social media.

She is seeking a Hong Kong husband, and her requirements are simple.

“Looking for a Hong Kong husband. No bride price needed, no house or car required, as long as you are from Hong Kong,” her placard reads.

The photos have been met with much interest and comment online.

Some people warned that “the free ones are the most expensive”, while others humorously referred to her as “the saviour of Hong Kong homebodies”.

Stinky lunches

On October 16, a scandal labelled the “stinky meat” incident erupted at Yunzi Changfeng Middle School in Kunming, Yunnan province in southwestern China went viral.

Despite charging an annual tuition of 26,000 yuan (US$3,600) and an additional 14 yuan per meal, parents discovered that students suffered from diarrhoea, vomiting, and even required IV drips after meals.

Further inspection by concerned parents revealed a tub of pork in the school kitchen emitting a foul odour, leading to suspicion that an excessive use of oil and spices in the meals was an attempt to mask the smell of spoiled food.

Adding to the outrage, instead of dealing with the matter immediately and seriously, the school initially blamed the chef.

Subsequent investigations confirmed that the pork was substandard due to improper transport and storage.

Legal action is being taken against the school, the catering company, and other responsible parties according to regulations.

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Philippines strengthens South China Sea strategy with US$56 million Thitu Island upgrade

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3283913/philippines-strengthens-south-china-sea-strategy-us56-million-thitu-island-upgrade?utm_source=rss_feed

Out in the South China Sea, where waves crash against the shores of contested islands, the Philippines is advancing a military strategy to assert its sovereignty over a region where Beijing’s territorial ambitions grow bolder.

At the centre of this bold strategy is the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defence Concept (CADC), a sweeping initiative aimed at enhancing Manila’s military capabilities and fortifying its maritime borders.

The plan is ambitious, encompassing upgrades to crucial infrastructure and a significant increase in naval and air assets. Among the most critical projects is the expansion of the airstrip on Thitu Island, known locally as Pag-asa. This unassuming land mass, the largest of the Spratly Islands claimed by the Philippines, could soon become a pivotal point in the struggle for maritime control.

“[We] are increasing our concentration, our focus and our emphasis on external features all the way up to our 200 nautical-mile exclusive economic zone,” said Philippine Navy spokesman Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad on Tuesday.

The CADC’s implementation “is a long-term process which will be done in different phases”, he said. But this is more than just a military upgrade; it is a declaration of intent.

The planned extension of the airstrip on Thitu Island to 1.5km will allow larger aircraft, such as C-130 cargo planes, to land – essential for transporting troops and supplies to the remote outpost. Lawmakers have earmarked around 3.2 billion pesos (US$55.8 million) for the project and the construction of a shelter port on Lawak Island, 158km (98 miles) to the east.

Military chief Romeo Brawner Jnr has ambitious plans to upgrade all nine territorial features currently occupied by the Philippines, including installing desalination machines and communications equipment, and acquiring more ships, radars and aircraft. This strategy, coinciding with President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s approval in January of “Re-Horizon 3” – a revised defence programme with a US$35 billion budget – reinforces the shift in Manila’s approach to national security.

The Philippine Navy has already begun to bolster its capabilities, receiving two Acero-class patrol gunboats from Israel, equipped with advanced missile systems.

“There’s already progress,” Trinidad stated, referring to the redeployment of forces to the West Philippine Sea. “All of our big navy ships were deployed and focused [there].”

The West Philippine Sea – Manila’s term for the parts of the South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone – has become a battleground for competing territorial claims. China asserts sovereignty over much of the waters, and has employed aggressive tactics against Philippine vessels, including the use of water cannons and high-intensity lasers.

To maintain a presence in the region and enhance its force projection, the Philippines needs more military infrastructure, according to Sherwin Ona, a political-science professor at De La Salle University in Manila.

“This is part of the deterrence strategy that Manila is currently pursuing with the US and other key allies,” he said, adding that improving the airfield on Thitu Island was “crucial” to achieving the goals of the CADC strategy “that will allow the Philippines to protect its maritime zones”.

Located about 500km (310 miles) from Palawan, Thitu Island serves as both a military stronghold and a logistical lifeline for the civilian community living there. “Air transport is the fastest way to supply the community and our troops,” Ona said, highlighting the island’s strategic role.

Improvements to the docking facilities also mean the island can now likely host small patrol vessels and be supplied by naval landing ships, he said.

As the Philippines fortifies its defences, it does so with the knowledge that any enhancement of its military capabilities is likely to be viewed with hostility by China.

“Pag-asa Island stands as the only island outpost of the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea,” said Joshua Espeña, vice-president of the International Development and Security Cooperation think tank, highlighting this strategic calculus.

“Doubling down means supporting not just the military but the overall development objectives of Manila.”

China has not been idle. Its extensive land reclamation efforts and the construction of military bases on artificial islands – including those on Subi, Mischief, and Fiery Cross reefs – have transformed the South China Sea into a heavily militarised zone.

A 2016 ruling by an arbitration tribunal in The Hague, which favoured the Philippines’ territorial claims, has done little to deter Beijing’s ambitions – the Chinese government has roundly rejected the ruling as illegitimate.

Rear Admiral Trinidad on Tuesday reported a “dramatic increase” in the number of security operations conducted by the Philippine military – with 64 successful patrol missions between October 1 and 18 to reinforce Manila’s claims to the region.

“The majority, if not all, of the strategic assets of the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Air Force are now geared towards protecting, securing, and monitoring all the way up to our exclusive economic zone,” he said. “That includes the West Philippine Sea.”

Elaborating on the breadth of these activities, military spokeswoman Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said at the same briefing that they had included sealift missions, maritime patrols and medical evacuations.

“These patrols strengthen our monitoring of activities in the West Philippine Sea while ensuring seamless support for operations like maritime domain awareness, medical evacuation and resupply missions” she said.

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines stands resolute in its mandate to uphold territorial integrity, maritime sovereignty and regional stability while serving and protecting the interests of all Filipinos.”

Chinese nasal study might explain why men are more vulnerable to respiratory disease

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3284040/chinese-nasal-study-might-explain-why-men-are-more-vulnerable-respiratory-disease?utm_source=rss_feed

Men and women have different structures in their nasal microorganisms, according to a study that may explain why men are more susceptible to respiratory diseases.

Scientists in China found that women have a more robust nasal microbiota, which they said implied greater potential to fight respiratory tract infections.

Men usually experience more frequent and serious respiratory tract infections than women across all age groups. This was observed during the Covid-19 pandemic, when men had a higher risk of mortality and severity regardless of age.

While gender is a key factor in many diseases, the exact mechanism behind immunity differences mediated by sex chromosome complement, genes and sex hormones remains unclear, according to the study.

The analyses “identify extensive sex differences in [communities of nasal microorganisms], which may help to further our understanding of the observed sex disparities in the respiratory diseases,” said the team led by BGI-Research, a division of the Shenzhen-headquartered BGI Group, the world’s largest genome research organisation.

The team analysed the nasal microbiome –microorganisms found in the nose and sinus – of nearly 1,600 healthy young adults, through swab samples collected in 2018 in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, in the largest cohort to date. Their average age was around 30 years.

The team said they were responsible for “the first endeavour in cataloguing the human nasal microbial reference genome”.

In addition to revealing sex-specific features in nasal microbial composition and functions, the team also found nearly 2,000 novel gene clusters that could inspire new antibiotics.

“We capture markedly higher ecological stability and antagonistic potentials in the female nasal microbiome compared to the male’s,” the team wrote in the study published in the peer-reviewed journal Genome Biology this month.

“These data, in particular the high number and proportion of novel clusters, suggest that the nasal microbiota may serve as a rich reservoir for new antibiotics or other pharmaceuticals.”

Lead author Guo Ruijin, an associate researcher at BGI-Research, described the study as uncovering “a vast world within the tiny nostrils”.

As drug resistance poses a growing threat to global health, scientists are searching for new antibiotic-producing organisms in extreme environments untouched by pollution and antibiotics, such as deep seas and glaciers. The human body is also a potential source, Guo said.

“The nasal cavity is a dynamic environment with each breath bringing constant changes,” he said. “For the microbiota to cope with the fluctuations, they have evolved capabilities to remain stable, especially when pathogens invade. The defensive weapon is antimicrobial substances, including antibiotics.

“Humans are mobile and exposed to more complicated environments than other animals. We interact with relatively open environments frequently, which lead to the evolution of new antibiotics in our bodies.”

He said the production of antimicrobial substances could be observed from genetic sequences and might inspire the development of new antibiotics.

“The discovery of novel clusters offers valuable insights for drug development, much like many existing pharmaceuticals derived from natural compounds. These compounds could be produced on a large scale by harnessing the high reproductive capacity of microorganisms.”

Singapore seeks to navigate US-China rivalry regardless of presidential election outcome

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3283937/singapore-seeks-navigate-us-china-rivalry-regardless-presidential-election-outcome?utm_source=rss_feed

As the United States presidential election draws closer, Singapore is keeping a close eye on how the outcome could affect its careful tightrope walk between the world’s largest economy and China amid their ongoing geopolitical rivalry and trade war.

The city state has been adapting well to the evolving realities arising from the fallout of the US-China rivalry, analysts say.

Regardless of who becomes the next US leader following the November 5 election – Vice-President Kamala Harris or ex-president Donald Trump – the fundamentals of America’s foreign policies towards China and Asia are unlikely to change drastically as much of the uncertainty has been factored in, according to analysts.

“While Trump may inject greater uncertainty and unpredictability, a Harris presidency will not and cannot suddenly engender stability, peace and predictability,” said Dylan Loh, an assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University’s Public Policy and Global Affairs division.

Last week, Singapore’s Senior Minister and former prime minister Lee Hsien Loong warned that if Trump were to slap tariffs of 60 per cent or higher on Chinese goods in his second term as promised, it would put Singapore in “uncharted territory”.

“On the American side, there are not many issues where the Democrats and the Republicans agree on, but this is one [US policy towards China]. And that is a very serious matter. So whether it is Harris or whether it is Trump, that is not going to be changing,” Lee said at a business event last week.

A second Trump term would likely spell more disruptions for American allies and other countries, he said. “In particular, I think, what you can anticipate is that his attitude towards allies, towards America’s friends, will be different from what the Democrat administration has done in these last four years,” Lee added.

In an interview with The Economist in May, days before he became Singapore’s prime minister, Lawrence Wong described the city state as being neither pro-China nor pro-US but “pro-Singapore”. He stressed that Singapore must brace itself for the possibility of a decade or more of unpredictability as the US and China sought a new equilibrium in their relationship.

Last year, Singapore and China upgraded their free trade agreement, which would give businesses from the city state more access to Chinese markets. China has been Singapore’s biggest trading partner since 2013, with two-way trade totalling US$108.39 billion last year, according to data from both countries.

Singapore also has a free-trade agreement with the US since 2004, Washington’s first with an Asian country.

Meanwhile, regional countries such as Singapore and Malaysia have been closely monitoring the impact of the US-China tech war as global businesses seek a haven from the fallout.

Singapore has become one of the top destinations for global tech firms looking to expand their operations into the region, and is home to 80 of the world’s top 100 technology companies, according to a 2023 article published by the Economic Development Board.

Harris and Trump have so far been vague about their plans for Southeast Asia, according to analysts who spoke to The Post previously

Ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have diverted Washington’s attention from Southeast Asia, which could limit its ability to engage effectively with the region and Singapore, the analysts said.

While Trump was expected to be “more transactional” in dealing with Washington’s regional allies, Harris would likely adopt a “more personal approach” in dealing with the region, they added.

Singapore is expected to be agnostic about the next US president and is unlikely to depart from its hedging policy between Washington and Beijing, according to one analyst.

In an Asia New Zealand Foundation commentary published earlier this week, NTU’s Loh wrote that across the Trump and Joe Biden administrations in the US, ties between Washington and Singapore had not shifted drastically “from its historically strong and progressive character”.

He pointed out that there were important progress made in areas such as critical technologies, clean energy, and financial technologies throughout the two administrations.

Relations between the US and Singapore were based on common interests and pragmatism, said Bilahari Kausikan, a former permanent secretary of Singapore’s foreign ministry.

“There is only one America which plays a vital role in maintaining balance in Asia – a role that is now acknowledged by traditionally non-aligned countries like India and Indonesia and even old enemies like Vietnam – so we will find a way of working with whoever occupies the White House,” he wrote in a Facebook post earlier this week.

If Trump were to carry out his promise to levy tariffs on all imports to promote American manufacturing, it would slow the world economy, Kausikan said.

He was referring to the Republican presidential candidate’s proposal to impose a 20 per cent tariff on goods from all US trading partners and at least 60 per cent on Chinese imports.

Kausikan said Trump could also adopt a tougher stance on Chinese goods using Southeast Asia as a “back door into the US”. While Harris would likely not ignore these issues, she might not “pursue them with the same sharpness” as Trump, Kausikan added.

“We have to understand that the US attitude towards trade has fundamentally changed and adapt ourselves to the new reality,” he said.

Tan See Seng, research adviser at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), said any move to impose higher tariffs on US trading partners could prove “challenging” for Singapore, given the city state’s heavy reliance on global trade.

“If Trump wins, he is likely to reconvene another trade war with China. If that leads to China doubling down on its ongoing effort to ‘decouple’ its economy from the US, Singapore’s economy will be affected but it’s unclear at this point exactly how so,” he added.

On the other hand, Harris would likely take on a more “nuanced strategy” if she were to become president, Tan said. Regardless of the next occupant of the White House, Singapore would have to find a “sweet spot” to manage its ties with China and the US, he added.

The dynamics within the Democratic and Republican parties would also influence the approach of the US towards China, said Chong Ja Ian, a political scientist from the National University of Singapore.

Some Republicans have been calling for a tougher approach towards Beijing while others from the same party preferred for Washington to maintain the status quo, he said.

“We’re not sure, even after the presidential election, which of these voices will win out within the different parties. If Trump wins, he cycles through these people quickly so there could be a lot of vacillation among these different kinds of voices,” he said.

In comparison, Washington’s China policy could be more “gradual” under a Harris administration, he added.

Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries have learnt to navigate through the US presidential cycles every four years, including their impact on Washington’s relationship with China, analysts said.

Tan from RSIS said: “China may respond a little differently to the US depending on who is leading America and Singapore will need to adroitly go with the flow.”

State alien land laws drive some China-born US citizens to rethink their politics

https://apnews.com/article/us-china-alien-land-laws-a8a832335fbfda53ffa262f1e0f6e264Diana Xue poses for a photo at her home Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. Xue is a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China who used to vote more Republican but has changed her mind after Florida passed the alien land law. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

2024-10-27T03:55:50Z

Diana Xue has always followed the politics of her husband, friends and neighbors in Orlando, Florida, and voted Republican.

This Election Day, she’ll break that pattern.

When Florida’s GOP-dominated Legislature and Republican governor enacted a law last year banning Chinese nationals without permanent U.S. residency from buying property or land, Xue, who became a U.S. citizen about a decade after coming from China for college, had an “awakening.” She felt then that the Sunshine State had, more or less, legalized discrimination against Chinese people.

Florida has proved reliably Republican in recent years, but Xue said, “Because of this law, I will start to help out, flip every seat I can.”

At least two dozen states have passed or proposed “alien land laws” targeting Chinese nationals and companies from purchasing property or land because of China’s status as a foreign adversary. Other countries are mentioned, but experts say China is the constant focus in political discussions.

Mostly Republican legislators have pushed the land laws amid growing fears of intelligence and economic threats from China. At the time of the Florida law’s signing, Gov. Ron DeSantis called China the “greatest geopolitical threat” to the U.S. and said the law was taking a stand against the Chinese Communist Party.

Some China-born people with American citizenship are now feeling alienated by the laws to the point that they are leaning Democratic. Many are afraid of being treated wrongly because of their ethnicity.

U.S.-China tensions hit a fever pitch in February 2023 after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was spotted over Montana. Shortly after, GOP-leaning states like Missouri, Texas and Tennessee introduced similar land ownership measures.

The measures all involved restrictions on businesses or people from China and other foreign adversaries, including not buying land within a certain distance from military installations or “critical infrastructure.” Under some of the laws, very narrow exceptions were made for non-tourist visa holders and people who have been granted asylum.

The National Agricultural Law Center now estimates 24 states ban or limit foreigners without residency and foreign businesses or governments from owning private farmland. Interest in farmland ownership restrictions emerged after a Chinese billionaire bought more than 130,000 acres (52,600 hectares) near a U.S. Air Force base in Texas, and Chinese company Fufeng Group sought to build a corn plant near an Air Force base on 300 acres (120 hectares) in North Dakota.

Liu Pengyu, the spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, raised concerns that such laws not only counter market economy principles and international trade rules, but “further fuel hostility towards the Asian and Chinese community in the U.S., intensify racial discrimination, and seriously undermine the values that the U.S. claims to hold.”

State laws banning Chinese nationals from owning land discourage Chinese investors and spook other foreign investors who would otherwise help the U.S. to rebuild its industrial base, said John Ling, who has worked for decades to attract international, especially Chinese, manufacturing projects to the U.S.

The laws have also thrown off real estate agents and brokers. Angela Hsu, a commercial real estate attorney in Atlanta, said it’s been confusing to navigate a law Georgia’s governor signed in April restricting land sales to some Chinese citizens.

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“The brokers I’ve talked to, they’re just trying to figure out what they can do safely,” Hsu said.

On the federal level, the House in September approved a bill that would flag as “reportable” farmland sales involving citizens from China, North Korea, Russia and Iran. The odds for it to win approval from the Senate, however, are slim.

China “has been quietly purchasing American agricultural land at an alarming rate, and this bill is a crucial step towards reversing that trend,” said Rep. Dan Newhouse, a Republican from Washington state.

Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, of California, joined multiple Asian American organizations in opposing the bill, arguing its “broad-brush approach” of targeting people from specific countries amounted to racial profiling.

China owns less than 1% of total foreign-owned farmland in the U.S., far behind Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, the U.K., Germany or Portugal.

After Florida’s land law was signed in May 2023, four Chinese nationals filed a lawsuit. In April, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney representing them asked a federal appeals court to block it.

The saga sparked the Chinese diaspora in Florida to mobilize. Some formed the Florida Asian American Justice Alliance. Among them was Xue. She became interested studying the Legislature and lobbying. She found that only Democrats like state Rep. Anna Eskamani, who is Iranian American, agreed the law was xenophobic.

“She said, ‘This is discrimination. I’ll stand with you, and I’ll fight with you,’” Xue said.

Hua Wang, board chair of another civic engagement group, United Chinese Americans, said more people are becoming aware that these laws are directly “affecting each one of us.”

“There are people in both Texas and Florida who say for the first time they are becoming interested and they become organized,” Wang said.

Land laws passed in the name of national security echo a pattern from World War II, when the U.S. saw Japanese people as threats, said Chris Suh, a professor of Asian American history at Emory University. It’s difficult to argue the laws are unconstitutional if on paper they are citizenship-based and other countries are named, Suh said.

Anti-Chinese sentiment has shaped policies going back over 150 years. Among these was the Page Act of 1875, which strategically limited the entry of Chinese women to the U.S., and the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, the first broad race-based immigration law.

Policies targeting foreigners hurt the bottom line of all Americans, Suh said, noting that excluding Chinese laborers from railroad work or Japanese immigrants from buying homes didn’t benefit U.S. railroad tycoons and landowners.

“That’s something to keep in today’s context as well,” Suh said. “One of the key allies of the the people who are trying to overturn the alien land law in Florida are the people who are going to lose money if they lose the potential buyers of their land.”

The law makes Chinese immigrants who achieved citizenship worry about things like racism or accusations of being a spy in their own home, Xue said.

“You think it’s nothing to do with you, but people look at you — how you look, how your last name is,” Xue said. “They are not going to ask you are you a U.S. citizen or not.”

___

Terry Tang reported from Phoenix. Didi Tang reported from Washington.

TERRY TANG Tang reports on race and ethnicity issues, including Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, for The Associated Press. She is based in Phoenix and previously covered breaking news in the Southwest. twitter mailto

Mainland China lashes out at US$2 billion American arms package for Taiwan

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3284036/mainland-china-lashes-out-us2bn-american-arms-package-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing lashed out against the latest US arms sale to Taiwan and pledged to take countermeasures to defend its sovereignty.

The Pentagon said on Friday that it has approved the sales of nearly US$2 billion, including the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, an advanced defensive system valued at almost US$1.2 billion. It will be the first time the weapons, which have been used on the battlefield in Ukraine, have been supplied to Taiwan.

The deal also includes radar systems worth an estimated US$828 million.

China “has lodged serious protests with the US”, the foreign ministry said on Saturday, pledging “resolute countermeasures and to take all measures necessary to firmly defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity”.

It added: “The sales seriously undermine China’s sovereignty and security interests, harm China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and send a gravely wrong message to ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces.”

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China and has never renounced the use of force to reunite it with the mainland. The United States, in common with most countries, does not officially recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the island by force and is committed to providing it with arms to defend itself.

Beijing has ramped up military drills in the Taiwan Strait since the island’s leader William Lai Ching-te took office in May and made a series of comments that Beijing sees as promoting independence.

Lai’s office thanked US President Joe Biden’s administration for the latest arms sale, saying it shows “the unwavering commitment of the US government to the security of Taiwan”.

“Strengthening Taiwan’s self-defence capabilities is the foundation for maintaining regional stability,” Karen Kuo, a spokeswoman for the office, said.

“Taiwan will continue to strengthen its self-defence capabilities as it works to maintain the rules-based international order, ensuring the peace, stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region.”

Beijing accused the US of using the island to contain China and said its military support for the island contradicted its commitment not to support the separatist agenda.

The move also undermines both nations’ efforts to stabilise relations, it added and urged the US to “stop the dangerous moves that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”.

The Pentagon said: “The proposed sale will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region.”

Separately, on Friday, the national security advisers of the US, South Korea and Japan discussed the need to maintain a peaceful Taiwan Strait at a meeting in Washington.

“They reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and called for the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues,” according to the White House.

Chinese woman, scolded at work, stops eating, needs reminders to use toilet

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3283564/chinese-woman-scolded-work-stops-eating-needs-reminders-use-toilet?utm_source=rss_feed

A Chinese woman in her 20s became a “stiff wooden person” and ceased eating, drinking, and moving after being scolded by her supervisor at work.

The woman, identified simply as Li from central China’s Henan province, suddenly became unresponsive and could no longer eat, drink, move, or engage in conversation, according to a report by Chinese media outlet Hongxing News on October 15.

It was revealed that Li had been reprimanded by her team leader a month prior, leading to her prolonged unhappiness.

As her condition worsened, her head would hang in mid-air if her family removed the pillow beneath it, and she required help from her family to remind her to use the toilet.

Her doctor, Jia Dehuan, at the Zhengzhou Eighth People’s Hospital, described Li as resembling a “wooden” figure.

Jia explained that Li was experiencing catatonic stupor, a symptom of depression.

She noted that Li had an introverted personality and struggled to open up to those around her, which ultimately contributed to her more severe condition.

Li reportedly acknowledged her situation and expressed a desire to manage her mood more effectively from now on.

The case has caused a stir on mainland social media.

“She had been torturing herself due to her boss’s actions,” commented one user on Douyin.

Another added: “If your job is too demanding, it’s better to leave rather than suffer in silence.”

A third observer noted: “I also feel work-related stress at times, but I cannot quit because finding another job is so challenging.”

China reported a decrease in unemployment among the urban labour force aged 16 to 24, excluding students, which fell from 18.8 per cent in August to 17.6 per cent in September.

The overall urban unemployment rate remained stable, averaging 5.1 per cent in the first three quarters, down 0.2 per cent compared to the same period last year.

In June, the government introduced measures to offer companies employment subsidies and job expansion allowances to enhance the youth employment rate.

On Chinese social media platforms such as community-focused Douban, many expressed their struggles in finding well-paying jobs and a reluctance to resign despite the demands of long working hours and heavy workloads.

A survey by the Chinese Psychological Society on workplace mental health found that up to 4.8 per cent of Chinese employees experienced workplace depression.

Nearly 80 per cent of employees reported feelings of agitation at work, 60 per cent reported anxiety, and nearly 40 per cent reported symptoms of depression, according to Shangguan News last year.

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China leveraging Laos to link up its Southeast Asian economic interests

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3283908/china-leveraging-laos-link-its-southeast-asian-economic-interests?utm_source=rss_feed

China aims to scale up infrastructure construction in uniquely strategic Laos to accelerate trade and investment throughout Southeast Asia as Chinese businesses scout for space to grow offshore, analysts said.

Premier Li Qiang said during a four-day visit to the Southeast Asian nation earlier this month that he would work with Laotian officials to turn Laos from landlocked to “land-linked”, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Laos, relatively undeveloped and small at just 7.4 million people, matters to Beijing because it shares borders not only with China, but also with the larger Southeast Asian economies of Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

“Laos is seen as a transport hub for China to export Chinese products to the other countries in the subregion and import products from those countries to China,” said Supitcha Punya, an assistant professor of political science and public administration with Chiang Mai University in Thailand.

China would eventually add roads, airports and dry ports tethered to a 400km (249 mile), US$5.9 billion railway that was finished in 2021, the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (Amro) in Singapore said in January last year.

The additions would boost China’s economic reach in Southeast Asia for its own landlocked western regions, said Naubahar Sharif, head of public policy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) bloc has a combined population of about 673 million, including several manufacturing hubs and some of the world’s fastest growing economies.

Laos is the only Asean nation with a direct railway route from its capital, Vientiane, to China, Sharif added.

A Bangkok-Nong Khai high-speed railway in Thailand is expected to link with the tracks in Laos to make it a “transit point”, giving China access to the Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, while also offering a “boost for seaborne trade”, Sharif said.

China is building much of the Thai railway and will help operate it.

Japan was Southeast Asia’s biggest provider of financial, infrastructure and technical help until the 2000s.

But for Chinese investors, Southeast Asia offers a haven from rising wages and operating costs at home, the consultancy firm Dezan Shira & Associates said.

China-Asean trade and investment has grown steadily since 2010, spurred by free-trade agreements and, since 2018, Chinese investors’ use of Southeast Asian bases to avoid US tariffs on direct shipments of exports.

Two-way trade reached US$911.7 billion in 2023, while Chinese direct investment in Asean last year jumped by more than 34 per cent from 2022 to US$25.12 billion.

This month, China and Laos signed a joint statement aimed at improving a “connectivity development corridor” between the two countries and Thailand, according to the official Lao News Agency.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency said the two sides had agreed to work toward syncing the China-Laos Railway with the Thai railway system just across the Laotian border.

The Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is separately lending US$10 million for the Thanaleng dry port, a cargo terminal on the Lao side of the Mekong River boundary with Thailand.

In February, Laos opened its third-largest airport, Bokeo International, which took funding from a Chinese developer.

And the Mekong River that runs from China to four Southeast Asian countries, including Laos, represents “vital waterway with significant untapped potential for enhancing regional trade and transport networks” for China, Amro economist Poh Lynn Ng said.

China could use Laos to transport goods or people into Cambodia, where Chinese have invested heavily in property, analysts said.

In neighbouring Vietnam, a prime destination for Chinese manufacturers keen to sidestep the US-China trade war, officials have approved a high-speed rail project to be synced with tracks in China.

China particularly values the potential for agriculture, energy and tourism in Laos, Punya said.

Laotians, meanwhile, see China as a means to economic growth and job opportunities, the assistant professor said.

In August, Laotian durian growers met Chinese importers to discuss shipping the pricey, pungent fruit to the lucrative China market, the Lao News Agency said.

It said that by 2029, Laos expected to harvest 270,000 durian trees for a crop worth more than US$155.5 million.

China and Laos would seek more trade and investment deals, especially in mining and industry, Beijing’s foreign ministry said.

“Laos is rich in natural resources, which are attractive for many investors, including Chinese ones,” Punya added.

Consulate attack highlights China’s ‘delicate’ balancing act in Myanmar

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3284004/consulate-attack-highlights-chinas-delicate-balancing-act-myanmar?utm_source=rss_feed

An attack on China’s consulate in Myanmar’s second-largest city Mandalay highlights the challenges Beijing faces in the war-torn country, as it tries to find a balance between the ruling junta and armed opposition, observers say.

No casualties were reported after an explosive device was detonated on October 18, damaging the two-storey Chinese consulate in central Mandalay, according to China’s foreign ministry.

Analysts say the blast has again raised doubt over whether the military government can protect Chinese interests and assets amid an increasingly violent civil war, ahead of a reported China visit by junta chief Min Aung Hlaing next month.

Beijing, which is a major ally and arms supplier of Myanmar’s military while maintaining close contact with rebel groups near its border, condemned the attack and lodged a “serious protest” with the junta.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian on Monday called on Myanmar to “get to the bottom of the incident, make an all-out effort to hunt down the perpetrators and bring them to justice in accordance with the law … and prevent similar incidents from happening again”.

Details of the attack are sketchy and it remains unclear who was responsible. The junta blamed “terrorists” in a statement on Saturday and said it was investigating in cooperation with consulate officials.

According to The Irrawaddy news portal, a loud explosion was heard when the street-side building was hit by a hand grenade, damaging its roof.

Jason Tower, a Myanmar expert at the United States Institute of Peace, said the attack demonstrated “the continued failure of the Myanmar military regime to provide even the most basic level of security to the interests and assets of its most critical external supporter”.

“Such failures on the part of the junta are common … making very clear the limits of the junta’s ability to secure vital infrastructure, such as the China-Myanmar pipeline project, or Chinese factories in Yangon,” he said, noting there had been at least four attacks on China-backed infrastructure projects, businesses or other assets since a military coup in 2021.

Analysts said the attack came at a “sensitive time”, as Beijing has bolstered its support for the internationally isolated junta since the rebels in early August captured Lashio, the military regime’s northeastern command and the capital of northern Shan State bordering the Chinese province of Yunnan.

Soon after the rebel’s “watershed” victory, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi met Min Aung Hlaing during a rare trip to Myanmar in August, a move widely perceived as signalling Beijing’s support for the junta without officially recognising it.

Foreign Minister Wang expressed concern over the situation in Myanmar, once a key part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, and renewed mediation efforts to push for talks to end hostilities near China’s border.

Amara Thiha, a Myanmar researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, said the fact that the perpetrators of the attack had not been identified underlined the broader security challenges in Mandalay and beyond.

He said the pro-democracy resistance and the shadow National Unity Government had in the past frequently planned attacks on military installations in Mandalay.

“While the NUG has denied involvement in the recent attack, it is possible that unaffiliated or rogue groups carried out the incident,” he said, adding that Mandalay was likely targeted due to its relatively weaker security measures compared to commercial hub Yangon.

He said the consulate attack may have been influenced by recent media reports in Myanmar suggesting Beijing’s growing alignment with the junta.

“These perceptions, whether accurate or not, could have motivated the attackers or shaped their intent,” Thiha said.

“While this incident may not have an immediate or lasting impact on China’s ties with the junta, it highlights the precarious situation Beijing faces. China’s role in Myanmar remains crucial, but any perception of overt alignment with the junta may provoke further unrest, potentially making Beijing’s position even more delicate in the ongoing conflict.”

But Zachary Abuza, a Southeast Asia expert and professor at the National War College in Washington, said it was unlikely that this attack was perpetrated by the armed opposition, which had “gone out of its way to protect Chinese economic and commercial interests”.

“It’s far more likely that this was a false flag operation perpetrated by the military, which wants to label the armed opposition as ‘terrorists’. The junta needs Chinese military, economic and political support more than ever, and they have to portray the NUG, and allied ethnic armed organisations … as fundamentally hostile to China’s interests in the country,” he said.

Observers agreed that the timing of the attack could potentially be linked to the junta chief’s planned visit to China next month, first reported by The Irrawaddy, and the armed rebels’ recent progress on the battlefield.

If confirmed, it would be Min Aung Hlaing’s first official visit to China since the coup, prompting speculation that Beijing could have had a change of heart over whether to officially recognise the junta.

But Thiha said the visit could reflect a shift in the junta’s approach – despite its distrust over Beijing’s interference – rather than a Chinese policy change.

“It does not signal a shift in Beijing’s policy,” he said. “For China, the priority appears to be maintaining stability and ensuring that the central administration does not disintegrate, rather than outright support for the junta.”

Thiha noted that armed rebel group the Ta’ang National Liberation Army seized the small town and military base of Hsipaw early this month – located between Mandalay and Yunnan – stoking tensions near the Chinese border.

He said that signalled growing strength among ethnic armed groups, potentially complicating Beijing’s balancing act between maintaining ties with the junta and managing relations with the armed opposition.

Abuza agreed. “And as a reminder, China does not like Min Aung Hlaing. They view him as totally incompetent and unable to protect Chinese interests, despite Chinese economic, diplomatic and military assistance,” he said.

However, according to Abuza, Beijing fears the military being defeated in Myanmar and considers a strong central government is needed to avoid a worsening of the conflict.

“That’s why they are pushing for ‘elections’ [proposed by the junta] as an off-ramp to the current situation, but one that will give the military a seat in a future government,” he said.

Tower said the attack would overshadow a Min Aung Hlaing trip to China, noting that Beijing had rejected the junta chief’s previous requests for an official visit, including to attend the belt and road summit in September.

“This incident, coupled with major losses experienced in both Kachin and Shan State over the past two weeks, is almost certain to further weaken Chinese confidence in Min Aung Hlaing’s abilities to turn things around on the battlefield,” he said.

Tower said the attack should be cause for Beijing to rethink its approach of applying pressure on armed rebel groups to abandon newly captured territories and to stop efforts to liberate major townships.

“Given that the military has such limited ability to protect critical Chinese assets in Myanmar, it is almost a certainty that China will need to depend more and more on ethnic armed organisations and even the NUG to secure its interests,” he said. “If China continues to bully and pressure these important security partners, it is likely that it will become increasingly difficult for them to play such a role, especially as popular anti-China sentiment rises.”

According to Tower, Min Aung Hlaing’s visit is “almost certain” to focus on the security situation in Myanmar, including recent battlefield losses in Kachin and Northern Shan, as “part of a request for stronger Chinese support for his increasingly feeble regime”.

“For its part, China is likely to push Min Aung Hlaing to give greater assurances vis-a-vis China’s assets and investments in the country and is also likely to push the general on his plans for achieving what the Chinese refer to as a ‘soft landing’,” he said.

Myanmar features prominently in Beijing’s regional strategy, particularly given that it represents the only source of pipeline oil and gas to China’s southwest.

“China aims to establish dominance in the Indian Ocean region by harnessing Myanmar’s economy to that of Yunnan’s,” he said. “It has also sent recent signals of a preference for integrating Myanmar into Chinese dominated multilateral platforms that could compete with Asean centrality vis-a-vis Myanmar.”

China vows to take ‘countermeasures’ over US and Taiwan $2bn arms deal

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/27/us-taiwan-arms-deal-china-vows-countermeasures-nasams

China will take “countermeasures” to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the government said, lambasting a $2bn arms sale package by the United States to Taiwan.

The Pentagon on Friday said the United States had approved a potential $2bn arms sale package to Taiwan, including the delivery for the first time to the island of an advanced air defence missile system battle-tested in Ukraine, including advanced surface-to-air missile systems and radar. The deal awaits approval by Congress.

In a statement late on Saturday, China’s foreign ministry said it strongly condemned and firmly opposed the sales and had lodged “solemn representations” with the US.

China urges the US to immediately stop arming Taiwan and stop its dangerous moves that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, it added.

“China will take resolute countermeasures and take all measures necessary to firmly defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,” the ministry said, without elaborating.

The US is bound by law to provide Chinese-claimed Taiwan with the means to defend itself despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, to the anger of Beijing.

The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the new sale consisted of $1.16bn in missile systems, and radar systems worth an estimated $828m.

The missile system sale is for three National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (Nasams) medium-range air defence solutions that includes the advanced AMRAAM Extended Range surface to air missiles, it added.

“This proposed sale serves US national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernise its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability,” it said in a statement. “The proposed sale will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region.”

Demand for Nasams has increased since the system was employed in Ukraine. Taiwan’s defence ministry welcomed the announcement, noting the “proven” use of Nasams in Ukraine and saying it would help Taiwan’s air defence capabilities in the face of China’s frequent military manoeuvres.

China has over the past five years stepped up its military activities around democratically governed Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, including staging a new round of war games earlier this month.

Taiwan’s government welcomed the new arms sale, the 17th of the Biden administration to the island.

“In the face of China’s threats, Taiwan is duty-bound to protect its homeland, and will continue to demonstrate its determination to defend itself,” Taiwan’s foreign ministry said, responding to the arms sale.

Beijing’s foreign ministry hit back in its statement late on Saturday, saying the latest arms package “seriously damages China-US relations, and endangers peace and stability” in the strait.

China has refused to rule out using force to bring Taiwan under its control.

In September, Beijing sanctioned US defence companies in retaliation for Washington’s approval of the sale of military equipment to Taiwan.

Chinese tech firms scramble to recruit top AI talent amid short supply

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3283876/chinese-tech-firms-scramble-recruit-top-ai-talent-amid-short-supply?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese tech firms are scrambling to hire more artificial intelligence (AI) talent, especially anyone with a track record of success, amid a shortage of top AI brains in the country, according to local media reports and industry data.

Moonshot AI, one of the country’s top AI start-ups, has recruited Tan Xu, the former principal research manager for the Machine Learning Group at Microsoft Research Asia. The Beijing-based company called Tan the “industry’s top audio technology and machine learning expert”.

“[Tan] will work with the team to research and develop more advanced and useful intelligent assistants for Kimi users,” the company said in a statement on Friday, referring to its Kimi AI chatbot.

Other Chinese firms are ramping up similar efforts to enlist top industry experts to help build rival services. TikTok parent ByteDance is undertaking an aggressive recruitment programme targeting talent from AI start-ups such as 01.AI, co-founded by former Google China head Lee Kai-fu, and Beijing-based Seq-AI, according to local media reports.

ByteDance’s latest high-profile hire is Zhou Chang, an AI scientist from Alibaba Group Holding, according to local media. Zhou was one of the key researchers behind Alibaba’s Tongyi Qianwen large language model (LLM). ByteDance declined to comment. Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At the same time, China’s top AI talent has been starting their own ventures, or joining academia. In May, Fu Ruiji, a tech leader from Kuaishou’s Knowledge Graph and LLM projects, announced he would leave China’s No 2 short video app to “prepare for an AI start-up project”, while Yang Hongxia, who was involved in research and development of LLMs at ByteDance, has taken up a role at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

The poaching of AI experts highlights the short supply of such talent in China. For every five new AI jobs in China, there are only two qualified workers available in the market, a study published late last year by career social network site Maimai showed.

A McKinsey report published last year estimated that by 2030, demand in China for professionals skilled in AI product development will increase sixfold, rising from one million to six million individuals, as companies strive to tap into the potential value the technology can deliver.

Local and overseas universities and existing top-tier talent are projected to supply only about two million of the AI professionals needed by 2030, leaving a shortfall of four million, the consultancy said.

PLA drills in the dark show mainland China ‘ready for surprises’, such as over Taiwan

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3283935/pla-drills-dark-show-mainland-china-ready-surprises-such-over-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed

The People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) stronger emphasis on nighttime training signals readiness for “surprises”, including in a possible war scenario over Taiwan, military experts say.

Beijing’s most senior uniformed military official, Zhang Youxia, oversaw the latest such drills, which were held earlier this week in Hebei, a province bordering the capital.

Zhang is first-ranked vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, led by President Xi Jinping. He is also a member of the Politburo, Beijing’s top decision-making body.

He inspected live-fire drills during a three-day “combined military operation” that started last Sunday, according to state news agency Xinhua.

This came less than a week after the latest large-scale PLA drills around Taiwan, a 13-hour exercise dubbed Joint-Sword 2024B that began before sunrise on October 14.

Fu Zhengnan, a researcher at the PLA’s Academy of Military Sciences, told state media that the Joint-Sword drill was “closer to real combat” than previous exercises, citing indicators including the decision to train at night and in the early morning.

Lyle Goldstein, director for Asia Engagement at Washington-based think tank Defence Priorities and head of the China Initiative at Brown University, pointed to the “surprise” element.

“The PLA has operated at an elevated state of readiness for years, conducting high-intensity combat training at night. These include highly complex and dangerous exercises like amphibious warfare,” Goldstein said.

“This may reflect a general conception that advanced and well-trained soldiers can realise advantages by attacking at night. In particular, this may aid in increasing the possibility for ‘surprise’, as well as undermine opponents that lack the proper night-vision equipment or training.”

Malcolm Davis, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, agreed.

“Nighttime operations are an essential requirement for any air force – simply put, you can’t stop military operations at night because the enemy won’t,” Davis said.

“For the PLA, practising 24-hour air operations would be essential if China sought to impose unification on Taiwan. Non-stop air operations provide tactical advantages, including reduced visibility to the enemy and the element of surprise.”

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. While most countries including the United States, a major backer, do not recognise self-governed Taiwan as an independent state, Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the island by force and is committed to arming it for defence.

Night drills are nothing new for the PLA. But they have featured more frequently across different theatre commands and forces in recent months, as Beijing steps up pressure on Taiwan and its new independence-leaning leader, William Lai Ching-te.

Recent reports from the PLA Daily, the official paper of the mainland military, confirm that nighttime exercises have been stepped up across different units.

A report on Thursday said the 71st Group Army, a unit of the Eastern Theatre Command responsible for Taiwan, had conducted a night air defence drill along the mainland east coast – simulating low-altitude enemy attacks.

On Wednesday, the paper said the Southern Theatre Command Air Force had held late-night flight training to boost round-the-clock operational endurance.

No dates were given for either exercise.

Last week’s reports included recent photos and video footage of PLA Navy pilots carrying out carrier-based drills in the dark, as well as exercises by the western Xinjiang Military District that focused on live-fire precision, rapid redeployment, and coordination under challenging high-altitude, nighttime conditions.

Song Zhongping, a former PLA instructor, said Zhang’s presence at the nighttime drills “signals Beijing’s serious commitment, attention, and preparation for a real military conflict”.

Hong Kong-based military commentator Leung Kwok-leung recalled that both Gulf wars started by Washington were launched during the night.

Former Taiwanese defence chief Andrew Nien-dzu Yang said the PLA had “demonstrated advantage and control in the region” through intensified nighttime operations, reflecting its “improved coercive power”.

Taiwan, the US, and their allies now believe that “the PLA can execute advanced operational activities anytime, anywhere, and against any coalition”, said Yang, who is now head of Taipei-based think tank the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies.

He said the PLA had shown it could identify and exploit “loopholes” in regional defences, as seen when the US carrier battle group was absent during the Joint-Sword drill.

The Taiwanese military has also lately focused on nighttime training, with the Penghu Defence Command carrying out its first-ever night live-fire exercises on Thursday.

The drills on Penghu, a group of outlying islands 120km (74 miles) from mainland China, demonstrated “24/7 ability to defend the homeland”, Taiwan’s defence ministry said on social media.

“The hypothetical scenario for this exercise was enemy forces taking advantage of poor nighttime visibility to attempt a landing,” Agence France-Presse quoted Lieutenant Commander Chen Jyun-Yan as saying.

Local media said the Penghu islands, located in the narrow Taiwan Strait separating Taiwan from mainland China, were strategically critical to “countering enemy landings”.

The predawn drills featured recently upgraded US-made M60A3 main battle tanks, fitted out with new engines to extend the lifespan of all 460 in the Taiwanese military.

Taiwan’s largest annual military exercise, the Han Kuang drills, took place in July. These had also originally aimed to include night elements to test “24-hour defence capabilities”, but the plan was shelved due to a typhoon.

According to Xinhua, another focus of Zhang’s latest inspection was boosting “joint operations on the basis of the network information system” – which involves a combination of intelligence gathering and disruption.

Goldstein said the PLA had long recognised the value of speeding up the “kill chain” – which requires an advanced system for intelligence sharing, surveillance and rapid decision-making. All these elements were tested in the recent “combined military operation”, he said.

According to Goldstein, the PLA aims to “maximally disrupt Taiwan’s information and command networks in a conflict scenario”, and has taken major electronic warfare lessons from Russia’s military operations in Ukraine.

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