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• [Sport] Eight dead after stabbing at school in eastern China
• Eight killed and 17 injured after stabbing incident in China
• [Sport] Megaport opens up Latin America to Chinese trade as US looks on
• Chinese navy training ship Po Lang will dock in Hong Kong on Monday next week
• How Beijing flipped the South China Sea game with a single island
• Mainland China frees Taiwanese fishing boat and skipper held near Quemoy in July
• Social media skits encourage Americans to sip Chinese tea
• Meet the Hong Kong woman sharing Peru’s natural beauty with Chinese travellers
• Donald Trump wants peace with China ‘through US strength’, ex-CIA leader says
• Why Chinese companies are also waiting for Sudan’s civil war to end
• China’s Xi urges Japan to ‘face history squarely’ as leaders pledge stable ties
• China ‘Song Hye-kyo 2.0’ pilot looks like South Korean K-drama star, wows air show fans
• In final talks, Biden to press China’s Xi on North Korea’s ties with Russia
• China’s genetically modified sweet tomatoes, AI robot lifeguards: 5 top science stories
• China’s C919 order backlog raises urgency for foreign-part acquisitions, new suppliers
• Nationalistic Chinese bloggers warned over costs of shouting down scientists
• Xi Jinping weighs pros and cons of China’s shrinking population
• China aquariums opt for robotic whales to cut costs, leaving visitors feel deceived
• What I gained (and lost) as a native Chinese writing in English
• China’s first-wave tycoons are retiring. Are their kids ready to step up?

[Sport] Eight dead after stabbing at school in eastern China

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd6vz299qvgo

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Eight killed and 17 injured after stabbing incident in China

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/16/eight-killed-and-17-injured-after-stabbing-incident-in-china

Eight people were killed and 17 others injured when a 21-year-old student went on a stabbing spree in China’s eastern city of Wuxi on Saturday evening, police said.

The incident comes days after a hit-and-run incident in which 35 people were killed and 43 others injured after a car drove into a group of people outside a sports centre in the southern city of Zhuhai.

More details soon ….

[Sport] Megaport opens up Latin America to Chinese trade as US looks on

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg79y3rz1eo

Reuters

Reuters

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Chinese navy training ship Po Lang will dock in Hong Kong on Monday next week

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3286882/chinese-navy-training-ship-po-lang-will-dock-hong-kong-monday-next-week?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese navy training ship Po Lang will dock in Hong Kong from Monday to Wednesday next week.

The People’s Liberation Army Hong Kong garrison said on Saturday the vessel would make a “technical stop” in the city.

The garrison revealed the news with a 51-second video titled “Heading home, next stop Hong Kong”.

Po Lang, a triple-masted tall ship, which is on a voyage to conduct training for navy personnel, set off from the mainland Chinese city of Dalian in August and has visited Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Singapore in recent months.

Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, earlier said the ongoing mission of Po Lang was aimed at enhancing professional capabilities of midshipmen, strengthening exchanges, as well as cooperation and mutual trust between the Chinese PLA Navy and others around the world.

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How Beijing flipped the South China Sea game with a single island

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3286485/how-beijing-flipped-south-china-sea-game-single-island?utm_source=rss_feed

A massive base in the southern part of the South China Sea has made China the country with the fastest response time to emergencies in the region, according to a study by Chinese scientists.

“China’s accessibility [to a scene] for search and rescue operations has significantly improved after the incorporation of the Yongshu Reef port,” a team of scientists led by Su Fenzhen, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, wrote in a peer-reviewed academic paper published this month.

Yongshu is the Chinese name for Fiery Cross Reef, which is part of the Spratly Islands claimed by multiple countries and known as the Nansha Islands in China.

“The average minimum accessible time has dropped significantly to 15.54 hours, with an area coverage rate now exceeding 99 per cent,” Su and his colleagues said.

Previously, the average time it took to reach the Spratlys from Chinese ports was over 33 hours, according to the researchers’ calculations. This made China an underdog among other countries in the region.

Malaysia had the shortest average accessible time of just 16.26 hours. Brunei, the Philippines and Vietnam also enjoyed much faster response times than China, “with average accessible times in the waters all less than 19 hours”, the team wrote.

Fiery Cross Reef is located more than 1,200km (746 miles) from the coastline of the Chinese mainland. Both Vietnam and the Philippines claim sovereignty over it.

China did not establish permanent facilities there until 1987, when the land area above sea level was smaller than a football field.

Starting in 2014, China began large-scale artificial island construction in the area, and the island’s size increased hundreds of times in a short period.

Some observers predict that the island will become China’s most advanced military facility and most important strategic base in the South China Sea, with the potential to reach 60 sq km (23 square miles) – comparable to the size of Manhattan in New York.

In 2019, the Chinese government established a rescue centre on the reef. The facility not only has a fleet of powerful rescue ships but is also equipped with planes and divers.

“Marine accidents frequently occur in the Nansha waters, involving reasons such as resource development, freedom of navigation and maritime safety,” Su’s team wrote.

“These waters are not only an important strategic passage for China’s maritime trade, but also a crucial marine resource base, holding significant strategic importance for China’s maritime transport, national defence and resource development.

“In the face of potential maritime emergencies, being able to arrive at the scene first and having rapid emergency response capabilities are of great significance for safeguarding people’s lives and property,” they wrote.

The study was published in the Chinese academic journal Tropical Geography on November 5.

According to information from the Chinese Ministry of Transport’s website, there have been several recent examples of Chinese rescues in the area.

In March last year, a Panamanian cargo ship lost power in the southwestern waters of the Spratly Islands. A rescue ship was dispatched from Fiery Cross to tow the giant vessel 1,100 nautical miles (2037km) to the mouth of the Pearl River in southern China.

Then last September, an unidentified foreign cargo ship suffered engine failure west of the Fiery Cross Reef, just as a typhoon was passing through. With the Chinese military base less than 10km away, a rescue team swiftly towed the ship to safety and guarded it until its engine could be repaired.

While Vietnam occupies 29 sites in the Spratly Islands and the Philippines occupies 11, China currently only occupies seven, although these have the largest area and facilities.

Among them, Mischief Reef – known as Meiji in China – and Subi Reef – known as Zhubi in China – are even larger than Fiery Cross.

Su’s team suggested that China should further strengthen its capabilities by building more transit bases as well as search and rescue facilities on remote islands and reefs.

“Meanwhile, China should also enhance joint search and rescue cooperation with neighbouring countries to improve rescue efficiency,” they said.

Mainland China frees Taiwanese fishing boat and skipper held near Quemoy in July

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3286873/mainland-china-frees-taiwanese-fishing-boat-and-skipper-held-near-quemoy-july?utm_source=rss_feed

Authorities in mainland China have returned a Taiwanese fishing boat and released its captain, more than four months after they were seized near Quemoy islands.

The Da Jin Man 88 and its captain, surnamed Hong, were repatriated on Friday, according to media reports in Taiwan.

Hong and four other crewmen were detained when their vessel was seized in early July by the China Coast Guard. He remained in custody pending investigations after the others – one from Taiwan and the rest Indonesian – were released in mid-August.

Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) said on Friday that Hong had been released after relevant departments imposed penalties, but did not elaborate further.

Taiwan’s official Central News Agency reported that the boat and Hong were released after a fine of about 210,000 yuan (US$29,000).

Taiwanese coastguard patrol vessels escorted the boat to a port in Penghu, according to the report.

Quemoy, also known as Kinmen, and Penghu are offshore archipelagos controlled by Taiwan.

According to TAO, mainland coastguard authorities had carried out necessary law enforcement actions.

The handling “effectively maintained the fishing production order, marine fishery resources, and ecological environment in the area, serving as a strong deterrent against illegal activities”, TAO spokesman Chen Binhua said.

He said the Da Jin Man 88 had violated fisheries regulations by carrying out operations in “prohibited fishing areas and during fishing moratorium periods”.

Beijing in 1999 imposed a fishing ban between May and August in its waters to protect fishing grounds and the marine environment.

The Taiwanese boat allegedly used trawl nets smaller than the minimum mesh size allowed during the moratorium season, Chen said.

The vessel was detained in Beijing-controlled waters near Quemoy, a Taiwanese defence outpost close to the mainland coast.

The boat, which was carrying 1.33 tonnes (around 3,000lbs) of catch, and its crew were then placed under investigation by coastguard authorities for suspected illegal fishing.

The case marked the first such detention since June 16, when the mainland coastguard tightened law enforcement patrols around Quemoy after a series of fishing incidents.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise self-governed Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons

In August, a former Taiwanese soldier from Quemoy identified by his surname Hu, was released after being held on the mainland for nearly five months.

Hu was detained in mid-March after his boat’s engine failed during a fishing trip with a civilian friend and the vessel drifted into mainland waters.

The friend was released shortly after the incident, but Hu remained in detention, with mainland authorities saying he had “intentionally concealed information” about his military service.

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Social media skits encourage Americans to sip Chinese tea

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3286756/social-media-skits-encourage-americans-sip-chinese-tea?utm_source=rss_feed

When American Jesse Appell drank his first cup of Chinese tea brewed from loose leaves in Beijing’s Maliandao market 13 years ago he was astonished to find there were 1,000 vendors to choose from.

Appell, from Boston, was a Fulbright scholar studying Chinese at Beijing Language and Culture University at the time.

Now 34, he liked Chinese tea so much that he eventually found a way to sell it to fellow non-Chinese Americans, a group that normally does not drink it, racking up more than 30,000 orders in the process. He did it by first selling Americans on Chinese culture – his chief mission – and then the tea followed.

Three years ago, Appell began challenging the usual American preferences for tea bags, tea powder or just coffee by producing Instagram and TikTok skits featuring the Chinese comedic performing art of crosstalk.

His appeal to American consumers has helped create business for the Chinese tea growers, packers and shippers who run the world’s largest tea-producing sector. Appell said one of his suppliers in southwest China’s Yunnan province has earned more than US$200,000 from wholesale tea that eventually went to American consumers.

“When I go back there every year, they’re super nice to me,” he said.

Despite the efforts of people like Appell, shipments of Chinese tea to the United States fell last year, mirroring a decline in global exports.

China shipped 9,949 tonnes of tea to the US last year, down 33.4 per cent year on year, while the value of China’s worldwide tea exports dropped by 16.3 per cent to US$1.74 billion, marking a second straight annual decline, Chinese customs data shows.

Appell lived in China, mostly Beijing, from 2010 until the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, largely to learn crosstalk from a professional performer in Beijing.

He launched his company, Jesse’s Teahouse, three years ago and now lives in Los Angeles. The company’s website, where orders can be placed, racks up 2,000 visitors a day. About half his 1 million social media followers tune in via TikTok. The others are spread across the likes of Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Appell sometimes posts videos of himself preparing tea leaves, pouring water or sipping from a sparkling white teacup. Some skits run on jokes.

Tea and related paraphernalia such as bamboo trays from China reach Jesse’s Teahouse through a logistics hub in the US state of New Jersey before delivery to customers. A quarter to half of his business income comes from tea brewing equipment.

Sales, however, are something of a by-product of Appell’s use of social media to introduce Chinese culture to Americans through crosstalk and the art of drinking tea. His Apple podcast landing page describes tea as a link between people and conversations.

He began posting skits on social media in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, when people were stuck at home, and his audience numbers exploded.

Around the same time he set up an online tea drinkers’ club and began posting how-to videos on brewing techniques. One video on YouTube on how to make “tea oranges”, tiny dried citrus fruits packed with Puer tea from Yunnan, was watched by more than 37,000 people.

Social media fans may still see tea largely as an ingredient in his personal cross-Pacific journey, Appell said.

“Whoever’s out there is commenting on the videos and interacting,” he said. “What does happen is, you get more followers and I think that ultimately I sell more tea by documenting my journey as an intercultural person who drinks tea.”

He acknowledged that nudging non-Chinese Americans towards tea takes a while to steep.

Some Americans go for boba tea, a sweetened tea-based drink from Taiwan that is out of character with Appell’s unflavoured tea, which is poured from clay pots into ceramic cups. But Appell sees boba as a cross-Pacific “bridge” that could lead to tea becoming more popular.

He is consoled by remembering that many Americans began making coffee from canned ground beans before shifting to fresh brews.

Americans seldom drink Chinese loose-leaf tea until the tea comes to them first, such as during a trip to China, other US-based vendors have found. A sense of adventure helps too, said Grace Ng, retail manager at the China Live eatery complex in San Francisco.

“People nowadays like to have new inventions, like new cuisine, East meets West, especially young people, when they try new things they like to mix ideas,” said Ng, whose restaurant store sells bags of loose-leaf Chinese teas.

Repeat tea shoppers in the US have often travelled more than once to China, though the occasional drinker will find that tea’s flavour “really speaks” to them, said David Lau, co-founder of Asha Tea House, also in San Francisco.

The tea in the boxes of tea bags sold in American supermarkets typically comes from former British colonies such as India and Sri Lanka, keeping China relatively unknown as a source aside from the free stuff found in Chinese restaurants, Appell has discovered.

Loose-leaf tea consumption in the US is hardly headed towards the ubiquity that it enjoys in China, Appell conceded, calling it a “niche hobby”.

“Coffee can be an experience and hobby and I don’t think we need to recreate that with tea, but just go beyond powder,” he said.

Meet the Hong Kong woman sharing Peru’s natural beauty with Chinese travellers

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3286863/meet-hong-kong-woman-sharing-perus-natural-beauty-chinese-travellers?utm_source=rss_feed

Lee Shuen never thought she would move to Peru after deciding in 2013 to take a break from her busy career in Hong Kong and embark on a nine-month trip to South America.

After witnessing the magnificent Andes, which stretch across several countries on the continent, she relocated to the former Inca empire capital of Cusco and started a travel agency in 2015 with a Peruvian business partner.

Her life in Cusco, located close to the mountain range, is a far cry from her Hong Kong life of organising meetings, conferences and exhibitions. Instead, she shows tourists the beauty of the country that she now calls home.

Lee also met her partner, a native Peruvian, in 2016. He shared local spiritual knowledge and showed her around the mountains. The couple also have a seven-year-old son together.

She said she had considered running her business with her boyfriend, who also speaks English, but noted he wanted to continue his career as a musician playing traditional Peruvian instruments.

“Chinese save for rainy days but Peruvians do not,” the 45-year-old said. “It’s just a difference in life goals.”

Peru’s hosting of the high-profile Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit has also put the country in the international spotlight this week.

Lee said the country’s beauty lay in its slow-paced, laid-back lifestyle, but added that she sometimes missed the convenience of life in Hong Kong – where she could buy trendy things or sample different cuisines more easily.

But moving to Peru has also brought about some changes in her life. She said she no longer overspent on things and had learned to enjoy nature and the simple things in life.

Lee said she proudly called herself a Peruvian from Hong Kong.

“When I come to Peru, I am willing to accept their culture and speak their language, not only Spanish but also Cusco slang. Peruvians recognise me as part of their community,” she said.

“But as a Hongkonger in a foreign land, I am obliged to tell people more about Hong Kong.”

Lee said she was always correcting people’s impressions of the city, noting 60 per cent of Peruvians she met thought Hong Kong was part of Japan and the rest considered the city to be practically the same as China.

She often patiently explains that Hong Kong is part of China and people speak Cantonese rather than Mandarin, similar to how Cusco residents speak Quechua and Spanish.

As Hong Kong seeks to step up economic ties with Peru, Lee hopes she can share Peruvian culture with city residents amid a growing demand for “in-depth” tourism.

Lee started her company, Tupaq Peru Travel, in 2019 after parting ways with her former business partner.

Her travel agency focuses on creating tailor-made itineraries for Chinese-speaking travellers from Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China and Southeast Asia that include Unesco World Heritage site Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain, known locally as Vinicunca.

She noted demand for in-depth tourism had increased since 2019, with her business going from hosting 13 groups at the time to 20 so far this year.

The rise has prompted her to offer unique travel tours featuring Peruvian traditional festivals and culture from next year.

One example was Qoyllur Rit’i, or the “Snow Star Festival”, a period from May to June when Native Peruvians worship at high mountains and glaciers.

Lee was also excited to organise local food tours for Hongkongers as Lima is home to three of the world’s 50 best restaurants this year. The country’s culinary offerings included dishes such as alpaca and Peruvian guinea pig, she said.

Alex Lee Chun-ting, general manager of Miramar Travel, one of Hong Kong’s major travel agencies, also said the number of people signing up for South American tours had shot up after the Covid-19 pandemic.

He attributed the trend to “revenge travel” and improved access to flights, saying Hongkongers could only previously fly to South America via the United States or Europe, with the former requiring a timely and costly visa process.

“Now, Middle Eastern airline companies also offer such flights. Their economy seats are comfortable and provide charging facilities and Wi-fi. It no longer deters people from taking long-haul flights,” he said.

Alex Lee said his company offered South American tours spanning 13 to 29 days for a price tag of between HK$50,000 (US$6,400) to HK$200,000.

The company’s one-month tour package involving six countries tended to be popular among travellers in their fifties and sixties, as busy working class or elderly travellers hoped to explore as much as they could given their tight schedules and physical ability, he said.

He noted that demand was also strong for in-depth packages spanning two to three countries among those in their thirties and forties, citing the demographic’s tighter budgets.

Lee said that while he saw growth in South American markets, their business potential would be limited to those with higher incomes.

“Many customers enrolled in the tours said their money was well spent … But the fact is that not a lot of people can afford them,” he said.

Former Peruvian foreign trade and tourism minister Edgar Vasque said his country’s tourism sector was still recovering from the pandemic and hoped the freshly signed free-trade deal with Hongkongers could make the nation more visible to the city’s residents.

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Donald Trump wants peace with China ‘through US strength’, ex-CIA leader says

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3286867/donald-trump-wants-peace-china-through-us-strength-says-ex-cia-leader?utm_source=rss_feed

Donald Trump will be hawkish towards China but does not want a war, according to a former deputy assistant director of the CIA.

Dennis Wilder told a forum in Hong Kong on Friday, that the president-elect’s philosophy was “peace through strength” and his “goal is to make it clear to Beijing that it shouldn’t even think about fighting”.

“Trump is anti-war and unlikely to engage in conflict during his term,” Wilder, who is now a senior fellow at Georgetown University, said.

Wilder added: “The defence budget will likely increase by five per cent, with more missile units, ships, and air capabilities,” he said.

He said Trump believes strength prevents challenges and sees Joe Biden’s “weakness” as the reason for Russia’s attack on Ukraine and Beijing’s confidence against the United States.

Wilder said he expected talks between the two countries’ militaries would continue and pointed to a recent meeting in Qingdao as evidence that the defence dialogue would probably survive under the new Trump’s administration.

He also said Trump’s choice of Fox News host Pete Hegseth as defence secretary would help address the US military’s biggest recruitment challenges.

Rick Waters, Biden’s former deputy assistant secretary of state for China and Taiwan, said of Hegseth at the event: “When you’re in a commentator’s role, you’re gonna have a very different message and narrative than you will in a confirmed cabinet position.”

Another speaker at the forum, Neil Bush, son and brother of the former presidents George Bush, described Trump as a “pacifist” who seeks to avoid war.

“If Trump wants warm relations with President Xi [Jinping], he can make it happen,” Bush said, expressing hope for a “win-win century ahead”.

Bush, founder of George H.W. Bush Foundation on US-China Relations, called Hegseth an “honourable, good guy” and expressed confidence in his abilities.

But other speakers at the forum, organised by the China-United States Exchange Foundation, a non-profit think tank, were more critical of Hegseth, who does not have command-level experience.

“Hegseth has very little appetite and interest in engaging in serious diplomacy with the other side,” said Brian Wong, a fellow at the Centre on Contemporary China and the World at the University of Hong Kong,adding that this meant that talks would not talk place at a ministerial level.

Wong highlighted the importance of military-to-military dialogue as a mechanism to avoid misunderstandings. They signal “both sides are willing to accept certain prohibited zones where competition, no matter how vigorous and intense, must not spill over,” Wong said.

He warned that Hegseth may suspend such talks as a strategic preference. “It doesn’t even take a sort of black swan or grey rhino event for that sort of disruption to take place. And that’s what worries me the most about all of this,” he said.

Wong suggested that Trump’s administration could well seek to “withhold military-to-military dialogue as a bargaining chip and as a tool of leverage to force Beijing into granting certain concessions.”

Da Wei, director of the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University in Beijing warned that Trump’s deterrence strategy had inherent risks due to its unpredictable and dynamic nature.

“This is not a static situation; it is filled with moving parts, making miscalculations increasingly likely,” Da said.

“Just because you don’t want to fight doesn’t mean a fight won’t happen,” he added.

He warned that China would not accept US dominance framed as a path to peace. “This logic fuels an arms race that risks spiralling out of control,” he said.

Why Chinese companies are also waiting for Sudan’s civil war to end

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3286567/why-chinese-companies-are-also-waiting-sudans-civil-war-end?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese companies are ready to return to Sudan at a moment’s notice, according to a Chinese official, once security and stability are restored in the northeast African nation engulfed in a civil war.

Multibillion-dollar Chinese oil and gas projects have been stalled or destroyed since the fighting began in April last year. Chinese-built and funded operations have been grounded, with more than 1,300 Chinese citizens evacuated since then.

Zheng Xiang, the chargé d’affaires of the Chinese embassy in Sudan, recently told state-owned Sudan News Agency that Chinese companies were keen to resume operations to help in the country’s reconstruction, while discussions with lenders were on to resolve its debt problems.

“We hope that security and stability will prevail in the near future to resume work as soon as possible,” Zheng said in the interview released this week.

The promise comes on the back of a meeting between Sudan’s de facto leader Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in Beijing in September.

Agreements made during that meeting set the wheels in motion.

“We have communicated with the Sudanese side. We are working together to implement the outcomes of the summit on the ground step by step,” Zheng said.

The issue of Sudan’s debt to China was also discussed in November when a high-level Sudanese delegation visited Beijing.

“We believe that the issue of debts will not be an obstacle to economic and trade cooperation between China and Sudan,” Zheng said.

According to Boston University’s Global Development Policy Centre, Chinese lenders advanced 66 loans to Sudan worth US$6.3 billion between 2000 and 2018, but repayments stalled when the country descended into civil war last year.

That was when fighting broke out between two rival factions – the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) – for control of the country. So far, at least 24,000 people have been killed, according to Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a group monitoring the conflict since it started.

At the time, China had been in discussions over funding key oil and gas projects in Sudan, including an oil refinery and a mega slaughterhouse.

The two countries have a long history of cooperation in oil and gas, dating back to a 1990s deal to develop oilfields through the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). Sudan supplied about 5 per cent of China’s imported oil at the time. But production has fallen considerably since 2011, when the oil-rich south broke away to become the independent nation of South Sudan.

At FOCAC, Al-Burhan also met CNPC CEO Dai Houliang and “held discussions on the process of cooperation between China and Sudan in the fields of oil and gas”, according to Zheng.

He said CNPC showed great interest in working with the Sudanese side to continue the partnership, adding that the idea of building an oil refinery in Sudan had been raised at a meeting between Chinese and Sudanese officials.

“We remain in communication and discussion with the Sudanese side about this vital issue,” Zheng said.

During a recent trip to China, Sudan’s energy and oil minister Dr Mohi-Eddin Naeem Mohamed Saeed called on Beijing to expand investment in upstream and downstream operations. In a speech at the Oil and Gas Equipment Conference and Exhibition in the city of Xian, he stressed the need to work with Chinese companies to rehabilitate infrastructure in the petroleum sector that had been destroyed by war.

Earlier, in August, the minister said Sudan was negotiating with Chinese companies to rehabilitate the Khartoum refinery, inspect and repair pipelines, and resume oil exploration. The refinery was built by CNPC and has been operational since 2000. It previously had a daily production capacity of 100,000 barrels.

Talks are also being held over the building of a large slaughterhouse in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, Zheng said. In 2020, China agreed to provide US$63 million to fund the construction. However the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2021 military coup and the civil war have delayed it.

Zheng reaffirmed China’s interest in the project, though. He said discussions were being held over the details of the slaughterhouse.

He also talked about the Al-Geneina-Adri railway that would see a train line run from Port Sudan to the middle and west of the African continent, saying it was a “huge and important project”.

An in-depth economic study had been undertaken and the two countries had agreed to implement the project in stages, according to Zheng.

“This year, we met with the minister of transport and also discussed the issue and the eastern path of this vital project,” he said.

Zheng said Khartoum had various proposals, including starting the railway from eastern Sudan and extending it through the regions of Kordofan and Darfur and then on to West Africa.

The second option is to start from eastern Sudan and extend to Wadi Halfa in the far north of the country.

Zheng said consultations will continue with the Sudanese side “to determine the priorities of this project and then determine the implementation … in different stages”.

China’s Xi urges Japan to ‘face history squarely’ as leaders pledge stable ties

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3286861/chinas-xi-urges-japan-face-history-squarely-leaders-pledge-stable-ties?utm_source=rss_feed

China hopes to work with Japan to “constructively manage differences”, President Xi Jinping told Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba as the pair met on the sidelines of the Peru Apec summit on Friday.

The two leaders agreed to foster “stable” relations in what was their first in-person talks since Ishiba took office in October.

According to the Chinese foreign ministry, Xi said he hoped that Japan could “face history squarely” and “properly handle” major issues, including historical matters and Taiwan.

He also called for increased bilateral collaboration to safeguard the global free trade system, and ensure the stability and smooth operation of supply and industrial chains, citing the two countries’ “deeply intertwined” economic interests.

Both China and Japan appeared to be carefully evaluating what US president-elect Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House would mean for the power balance in the Asia-Pacific region.

“We hope Japan will work together with China to establish accurate mutual understanding and steer bilateral relations in the right direction from a strategic and comprehensive perspective,” Xi told Isihba, while urging the two sides to “constructively manage differences, and safeguard the political foundation of bilateral relations”.

“The two sides should enhance collaboration in international and regional affairs, uphold true multilateralism, promote open regionalism, and jointly address global challenges,” Xi said.

Ishiba said Japan was “willing to engage in candid dialogue with China at all levels in the spirit of facing history squarely and looking to the future, to enhance mutual understanding and trust”, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

He also urged that China honour its promise to resume imports of Japanese seafood.

While China-Japan ties have long contended with historical wartime grievances, tensions have spiked in recent years over territorial claims in the East China Sea, Japan’s export limits on semiconductors crucial to China’s chip sector, and its decision to release treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, which triggered the seafood ban last year.

Ishiba said Japan had no intentions of decoupling or severing supply chains with China, and hoped to work closely within frameworks such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

According to readout from the Japanese foreign ministry on Saturday, Ishiba also expressed “serious concerns” over China’s increasingly aggressive military manoeuvres near Japan.

He further urged Xi to “strengthen measures to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens” living in China.

Xi promised that the “safety of foreign nationals including Japanese people will be secured”, the readout from Tokyo said.

A Japanese schoolboy was stabbed to death in the Chinese city of Shenzhen in September, barely three months after a Chinese national died trying to protect a Japanese mother and her child from a knife attack in Suzhou. The attacks have worsened Japanese public sentiment towards China.

Relations have also been hit as Beijing builds up its military capacity in the region and Tokyo boosts security ties with the United States and its allies.

Ishiba also expressed Tokyo’s “serious concerns” over the situation surrounding the South China Sea, Hong Kong and Xinjiang, while emphasising that “the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait is extremely important to Japan and the international community”, the Japanese readout said.

Beijing has stepped up naval and air operations around Taiwan and in the South China Sea to uphold its territorial claims. It is also accused of rights clampdowns in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, which it has steadfastly denied.

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

China also claims sovereignty over most South China Sea features, but this is disputed by several neighbours in Southeast Asia.

Ishiba’s meeting with Xi on the margins of the Apec summit in the Peruvian capital Lima came days after he retained his post in a parliamentary vote, despite having recently led Japan’s ruling coalition to its worst general election result in 15 years.

Xi also met leaders from several other countries including South Korea, Chile, Singapore and New Zealand on the Apec sidelines.

China ‘Song Hye-kyo 2.0’ pilot looks like South Korean K-drama star, wows air show fans

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3286581/china-song-hye-kyo-20-pilot-looks-south-korean-k-drama-star-wows-air-show-fans?utm_source=rss_feed

A rising-star female military pilot in China has captured attention at the Zhuhai air show due to her striking resemblance to South Korean actress Song Hye-kyo.

Xu Fengcan, a second lieutenant pilot in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), served as a commentator at the air show, the country’s biggest, which is also known as the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition.

She received a lot of visitors, including foreign pilots, who queued for photo opportunities with her, Zhejiang TV reported.

Xu, 25, is favoured by the mainland public largely due to her likeness to the South Korean star, earning her a nickname, Song Hye-kyo 2.0.

Song, 42, has enjoyed popularity in China for two decades as audiences are attracted by her pure, natural and easy-going temperament.

Xu, and her resemblance to Song, first came under the spotlight in November 2022 when she was introducing a new helicopter model at that year’s Zhuhai Airshow in an interview with the state broadcaster CCTV.

Besides looking good, Xu is celebrated for her extraordinary performance in the military.

A native of Zhejiang province in eastern China, Xu was picked to be one of the first batch of female pilots in 2017 to be trained by the PLA’s land force alone upon her graduation from secondary school.

In 2020, Xu became the land force’s first female pilot to successfully complete the flying tasks independently after training.

She graduated from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Aviation School in 2021 and began to fly a battle helicopter.

She is one of the first pilots for Harbin Z-20, a Chinese medium-lift utility helicopter produced by the Harbin Aircraft Industry Group (HAIG).

Last year, Xu was elected to be a deputy of the National People’s Congress, a position of political prestige in China.

She was nominated as one of three ambassadors for China’s military schools in June.

“What has been motivating me to pursue my blue sky dream? I think it is the passion for the flying cause and the love for this military uniform,” Xu said in a promotion video.

She described herself as a person ready to meet challenges.

“I once told myself, ‘If you can overcome the difficulties in flying the rather complicated planes, like Harbin Z-20, it would improve your flying ability tremendously’,” Xu was quoted as saying by the state broadcaster CCTV.

Xu’s story has sparked an online discussion in China.

“She is both beautiful and valiant! Thumbs up for her,” said one online observer.

Another person said: “This is the real star we should admire.”

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In final talks, Biden to press China’s Xi on North Korea’s ties with Russia

https://apnews.com/article/biden-xi-china-north-korea-russia-88725252ce926384aaf36004b9f863b3President Joe Biden listens during a trilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan Shigeru Ishiba and the President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

2024-11-16T05:01:40Z

LIMA, Peru (AP) — President Joe Biden is expected to use his final meeting with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, to urge him to dissuade North Korea from further deepening its support for Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Saturday’s talks on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru come just over two months before Biden leaves office and makes way for Republican President-elect Donald Trump. It will be Biden’s last check-in with Xi — someone the Democrat saw as his most consequential peer on the world stage.

With the final meeting, officials say Biden will be looking for Xi to step up Chinese engagement to prevent an already dangerous moment with North Korea from further escalating.

Biden on Friday, along with South Korean President Yoon Seok Yul and Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, condemned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s decision to send thousands of troops to help Moscow repel Ukrainian forces who have seized territory in Russia’s Kursk border region.

Biden called it “dangerous and destabilizing cooperation.”

White House officials also have expressed frustration with Beijing, which accounts for the vast majority of North Korea’s trade, for not doing more to rein in Pyongyang.

Biden, Yoon and Ishiba spent most of their 50-minute discussion focused on the issue, agreeing it “should not be in Beijing’s interest to have this destabilizing cooperation in the region,” according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss their private conversations.

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The North Koreans also have provided Russia with artillery and other munitions, according to U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials. And the U.S., Japan and South Korea have expressed alarm over Pyongyang’s stepped-up cadence of ballistic missile tests.

Kim ordered testing exercises in the lead-up to this month’s U.S. election and is claiming progress on efforts to build capability to strike the U.S. mainland.

Biden and Xi have much beyond North Korea to discuss, including China’s indirect support for Russia, human rights issues, technology and Taiwan, the self-ruled democracy that Beijing claims as its own.

There’s also much uncertainty about what lies ahead in the U.S.-China relationship under Trump, who campaigned promising to levy 60% tariffs on Chinese imports.

Already, many American companies, including Nike and eyewear retailer Warby Parker, have been diversifying their sourcing away from China. Shoe brand Steve Madden says it plans to cut imports from China by as much as 45% next year.

“When Xi meets with Biden, part of his audience is not solely the White House or the U.S. government,” said Victor Cha, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “It’s about American CEOs and continued U.S. investment or trying to renew U.S. investment in China and get rid of the perception that there’s a hostile business environment in China.”

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden administration officials will advise the Trump team that managing the intense competition with Beijing will likely be the most significant foreign policy challenge they will face.

Administration officials are concerned that tensions between China and Taiwan could devolve into all-out war if there is a miscalculation by either side, with catastrophic consequences for the world.

Sullivan said the Trump administration will have to deal with the Chinese military’s frequent harassment of its regional neighbors.

Skirmishes between the Philippine and Chinese coast guards in the disputed South China Sea have become a persistent problem. Chinese coast guard ships also regularly approach disputed Japanese-controlled East China Sea islands near Taiwan.

Ishiba met with Xi on Friday. Afterward, the Japanese prime minister said he told Xi he was “extremely concerned about the situation in the East China Sea and escalating activity of the People’s Liberation Army.”

The White House worked for months to arrange Saturday’s meeting between Xi and Biden, something the Democrat badly wanted to do before leaving office in January.

Sullivan traveled to Beijing in late August to meet with his Chinese counterpart and also sat down with Xi. Beijing agreed to the meeting earlier this week.

It’s a big moment for Biden as he wraps up more than 50 years in politics. He saw his relationship with Xi as among the most consequential on the international stage and put much effort into cultivating that relationship.

Biden and Xi first got to know each other on travels across the U.S. and China when both were vice presidents, interactions that both have said left a lasting impression.

But the last four years have presented a steady stream of difficult moments.

The FBI this week offered new details of a federal investigation into Chinese government efforts to hack into U.S. telecommunications networks. The initial findings have revealed a “broad and significant” cyberespionage campaign aimed at stealing information from Americans who work in government and politics.

U.S. intelligence officials also have assessed China has surged sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weaponry for use in its war against Ukraine.

And tensions flared last year after Biden ordered the shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon that traversed the United States.

___

Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed.

AAMER MADHANI Aamer Madhani is a White House reporter. twitter mailto

China’s genetically modified sweet tomatoes, AI robot lifeguards: 5 top science stories

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3286848/chinas-genetically-modified-sweet-tomatoes-ai-robot-lifeguards-5-top-science-stories?utm_source=rss_feed

CRISPR technology has been used to modify tomatoes by removing genes that control sugar content, increasing glucose and fructose levels without affecting yield, potentially offering sweeter tomatoes for consumers and higher economic value for producers.

Chinese and US scientists have discovered surprisingly young volcanic activity dating back 2.8 billion years on the moon’s far side. Using samples from the Chang’e-6 mission, they have revealed new insights into lunar history and challenged previous beliefs.

A Chinese military study reveals that low-level terahertz waves that are within US safety limits, and are crucial for 6G wireless technology, may harm male fertility after damage was observed to testicular tissue in mice. The research indicates potential harmful effects of exposure even at low levels, sparking health concerns.

A commercial satellite launched aboard a Lijian-1 rocket showcases cutting-edge technology that surpasses international standards in imaging, data transmission and electric propulsion. This technological leap signals a re-evaluation of commercial space policies by China’s space administration.

Scientists revolutionise water safety technology with a robot lifeguard designed to patrol 24/7 on Luohe city riverside in Henan province. It can monitor vast areas with 100 cameras and can swiftly identify drowning incidents, deploying a life-saving buoy and rescue arm, potentially saving lives faster than humans.

Part of this article was produced with the assistance of generative AI.

China’s C919 order backlog raises urgency for foreign-part acquisitions, new suppliers

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3286779/chinas-c919-order-backlog-raises-urgency-foreign-part-acquisitions-new-suppliers?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s chief civilian aircraft maker may need to find more foreign suppliers to accelerate production of its C919 narrowbody passenger planes as it aims to fill hundreds of orders amid upheavals in the global supply chain, as to satisfy the different configuration needs among buyers, according to analysts and a company source.

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), which has delivered a total of 12 C919 aircraft since late 2022, is working against the clock to elevate the production capabilities at its Shanghai factory, but worries persist over the acquisition of key parts and supplies.

Also, some clients of the state-run Chinese manufacturer prefer that certain parts be sourced from specific overseas producers, a Comac staff member said on the sidelines of the Zhuhai air show this week.

“A client may specify the use of a particular product from a particular supplier,” said the staffer member, who declined to be named for lack of authorisation to talk with media.

“For instance, the big three [state-owned Chinese airlines, Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines,] opted for different configurations when each committed to procure 100 C919s”.

Flagship carrier Air China, for instance, has picked an extended-range variant of the single-aisle plane that can fly up to 5,555km (3,451 miles) while the other two carriers went for the standard model that can fly 4,075km.

The C919 aircraft, China’s first home-made jet of such scale, compares in terms of specifications to the Airbus 320 and Boeing’s 737 families. Comac is positioning itself to compete with both foreign firms in the domestic market.

The Shanghai-based manufacturer has received 360 firm orders from domestic airlines – including a deal involving 60 aircraft for Hainan Airlines, signed on Tuesday – and it is trying to sell the C919 overseas.

Comac has already been sourcing the same or similar categories of some components from more than one overseas supplier to meet different customer requirements, the Comac staff member said.

C919’s cockpit control systems, cabin oxygen system, emergency passenger exit devices and electric wiring are from CFM International and US-based Collins Aviation, according to supplier information from Comac.

For now, Comac is using engines from CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aerospace of the US and France’s Safran Aircraft Engines. However, the supplier is already juggling orders from Airbus and Boeing for its top-of-the-line LEAP engines.

At home, Aero Engine Corporation of China is developing China’s first turbofan engine, the CJ-1000, at its base in Shanghai. A turbofan gives thrust to a jet by using energy from a gas turbine to push incoming air toward the rear of the plane.

Chinese officials hope to source hi-tech components domestically to drive industrial self-sufficiency, a mission spurred on by China’s trade tensions with the West. US officials have restricted transfers of certain technology to China on national security grounds, though most aircraft parts remain fair game.

The Chinese aircraft engine will require “years of R&D” at no small expense, meaning “there are a lot of unknowns”, said Mayur Patel, the Asia head for industry data platform OAG Aviation.

“It’s a long shot away,” he said. “They’re trying to make inroads, but it just takes time.”

Comac, like Boeing in some cases, could speed up production by finishing its planes except for the engines – and just leave space along the wings for their eventual installation – Patel said.

Nationalistic Chinese bloggers warned over costs of shouting down scientists

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3286815/nationalistic-chinese-bloggers-warned-over-costs-shouting-down-scientists?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese bloggers riding on strong national confidence in science and technology prowess are launching “unscrupulous hype and personal attacks” to shut down differing opinions online, state-affiliated media has warned.

Several Chinese scientists were recently labelled pro-American after they said there was a US-China gap in basic research or commented negatively on the tech ecosystem, as many internet influencers sought to whip up nationalistic sentiment to boost traffic.

But eliminating viewpoints comes with risks, a state-affiliated media outlet has warned.

“While China has made remarkable achievements in science and technology in recent years, it would only impede its further advance by being overconfident and turning a blind eye to the problems,” online outlet The Paper, run by the state-owned Shanghai United Media Group, wrote in an editorial last week.

“The fandom culture is worryingly penetrating into the discussions of science topics, which could cost the reputation of scientists and the future of China’s technology sector,” the article warned.

Among victims of the online trend is He Zuoxiu, a 97-year-old physicist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). In several video clips circulating online, He and Qing Chengrui, his wife and CAS colleague, said China lagged a long way behind the US, Germany and other Western countries in the quality of basic research, noting that most advanced medical equipment in Chinese hospitals was imported.

The clips were widely cited by bloggers on prominent Chinese social media platforms. They lashed out at what they called “unpatriotic” remarks and called the couple ignorant of China’s reality. Most of the posts received thousands of views.

Also at the centre of controversy is Chinese-American mathematician Yau Shing-Tung, director of the Yau Mathematical Sciences Centre at Tsinghua University and professor emeritus at Harvard University.

Yau was 33 when he became the first Chinese winner of the Fields Medal, the mathematics equivalent of the Nobel Prize, in 1982.

Delivering a speech at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan in April, Yau said the level of China’s maths research had not yet reached the level of the US in the 1940s, and called for Chinese researchers to work harder to catch up.

He was later besieged by bloggers who said he was bragging about the US and downplaying China’s edge in applied science.

Beijing has attached great importance to innovation in recent years as it tackles a tech war with the US.

Last month, President Xi Jinping reiterated his call for science and technology to lead the modernisation of China as he toured the eastern high-end manufacturing hub of Hefei.

In a bid to boost confidence at home, state media has been praising “Chinese wisdom” and “Chinese solutions” for supplying the 5G communication network, high-speed trains and affordable electric vehicles to the world.

“We believe the future is bright with China’s continued investment in science,” The Paper’s editorial read. “We should have confidence, but should not be overconfident. We should be sober and welcome scientists to share their opinions.”

Another researcher who sparked a wave of outrage online was Sun Ninghui, a computer scientist with CAS who took a rare swipe at Chinese technology giant Huawei.

A video posted on social media in September showed Sun criticising Huawei’s development model as too closed and monopolistic, telling a forum in Beijing that the company’s control of the industrial chain would not help China defeat the US in the tech war.

Many Chinese consumers see the Huawei brand as a symbol of national pride. Meng Wanzhou, daughter of founder Ren Zhengfei and Huawei Technologies chief financial officer was hailed as a national hero when she returned on a chartered flight in 2021 after being under house arrest in Canada for nearly three years.

In September, Huawei launched Mate XT – the world’s first trifold smartphone – in its latest move to challenge Apple’s tech supremacy and market in China while underscoring its ability to navigate US sanctions that left it struggling for almost four years.

Sun argued that Huawei was squeezing out smaller players in the supply chain.

“From chip manufacturing to software to large AI models to computing power networks, it’s best for everyone else not to participate, and [Huawei] will take over everything,” he said.

“I think we are using this kind of Chinese-style closure and monopoly to fight Western-style monopoly and containment, which we certainly can’t win,” he said.

Sun’s comments sparked furious criticism from internet users, with some bloggers accusing him of vested interests. Huawei did not respond to a request from the South China Morning Post for comment.

The Paper editorial said it was a good thing that the science and technology sector was more in focus.

However, “extreme and emotional expressions by many internet influencers for the sake of exposure would be very hazardous to the tech industry”, it said.

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Xi Jinping weighs pros and cons of China’s shrinking population

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3286813/xi-jinping-weighs-pros-and-cons-chinas-shrinking-population?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s shrinking population brings both negative and positive effects, President Xi Jinping has said, noting that a lighter environmental burden is among the benefits of a smaller population.

The Chinese leader also defended the “correctness and effectiveness” of past birth control policies, according to excerpts from a speech to the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission.

He made the speech in May last year but the excerpts were published for the first time on Friday in Qiushi, the Communist Party’s top theoretical journal.

The impact of population decline “must be viewed in a dialectical manner”, Xi told commission officials.

The drop could bring positive effects, he said, such as “easing pressure on resources and the environment” as well as forcing economic development.

But Xi also acknowledged the negative effects, such as a reduced labour force and weaker consumer and investment momentum.

“Overall, the impact of population decline on economic and social development has both positive and negative aspects. We cannot look at it from just one side. Some issues require long-term consideration, and we should avoid rushing to conclusions … and we should work to maximise benefits while avoiding harm,” he said.

China faces deepening demographic challenges as its birth rate plummets. Only 9 million births were reported in the country in 2023, the lowest since records began in 1949, as the population dropped for the second year in a row to 1.4 billion, a decline of more than 2 million.

National and local governments have rolled out a raft of policies, such as cash subsidies and extended maternity and paternity leave. But demographers argue these have failed to address deeper issues such as high living costs, insufficient childcare support and persistent gender inequality.

According to the article published on Friday, Xi noted that China’s demographic changes arrived as the country “completed in a few decades what took developed nations over a hundred years to achieve in terms of industrialisation”.

“The pace of population transition is fast, the population decline has come earlier than expected, but overall it follows the general pattern of modernisation development worldwide,” he was quoted as saying by the party journal, which regularly highlights internal leadership speeches months after they are given.

Regarding China’s historic birth control policies, Xi said their “correctness and effectiveness should be fully affirmed”.

The policies “effectively controlled rapid population growth and the pressures it brought, and strongly supported the reform and opening-up”, he said.

China’s one-child policy started in 1980 and was strictly enforced with punishment, including fines for violators and often forced abortion. It officially ended in January 2016 in favour of a two-child policy amid an ageing population and shrinking workforce.

This was followed by a three-child policy in May 2021, after a national census showed a fourth consecutive drop in the annual birth rate.

Friday’s Qiushi article noted Xi’s call for continued reforms and innovation to promote high-quality population development.

But he said rushed decisions leading to “measures introduced hastily that may easily raise controversies” must be avoided.

China aquariums opt for robotic whales to cut costs, leaving visitors feel deceived

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/environment/article/3286578/china-aquariums-opt-robotic-whales-cut-costs-leaving-visitors-feel-deceived?utm_source=rss_feed

An aquarium in southern China has come under scrutiny for showcasing a robotic whale shark instead of a live one, igniting passionate debates around animal welfare and consumer rights.

Videos circulating online depict a life-size robotic whale shark gliding through the waters of Xiaomeisha Sea World in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, following its reopening in October.

The robotic exhibit elicited mixed reactions from visitors. Some were captivated by its innovative design, while others felt deceived. The aquarium charges 230 yuan (US$32) for admission.

Some visitors expressed dissatisfaction and sought compensation on the aquarium’s page on Dazhong Dianping, the restaurant and review service operated by Meituan.

One commenter stated: “I cannot believe the whale shark is fake. It’s outrageous to charge over 200 yuan for a ticket.”

Another visitor threatened to “report the place and have it shut down” due to the counterfeit whale shark.

Conversely, some supported the aquarium’s approach.

A self-proclaimed cyberpunk enthusiast remarked on Xiaohongshu: “It’s a wonderful alternative to showcase large marine creatures without imprisoning them in a tank. Rather than obscuring the whale shark’s true identity from visitors, the aquarium should embrace this opportunity to educate the public on the importance of animal protection.”

This is not the first instance of a Chinese aquarium utilising a robotic whale shark in place of a living one.

According to the National Business Daily, a similar robot made its debut at Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park in 2022.

Developed through a collaboration between Haichang Ocean Park Holdings Ltd and the 111 Factory under the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, the Shanghai robot measures 4.7 metres in length, weighs 430kg, and is designed to emulate the movements of real whale sharks when operated by humans.

Usually kept in a tank and activated only during performances, visitor feedback indicated that the robot’s movements did not closely mimic those of a real whale shark.

Each robotic whale shark comes at a cost of millions of yuan (hundreds of thousands of US dollars), yet this is significantly cheaper than the expenses associated with maintaining live specimens.

The world’s largest fish can cost over 100 million yuan (US$14 million) to keep and care for.

While whale sharks can live between 80 and 130 years in the wild, they often do not survive longer than five years in aquariums, according to Li Jianping, dean of the Academy of Future Ocean at the Ocean University of China.

Although the aquarium may provide optimal water quality and temperature control, the limited space is insufficient for their needs.

A spokesperson from Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park indicated that capturing whale sharks is prohibited in China, as they are classified as a national second-class protected species. Presenting robotic whale sharks serves as a means to both protect this marine life and promote ocean education.

While some visitors at Xiaomeisha Sea World expressed feelings of being “cheated” and even requested refunds, others praised the aquariums for their evolving commitment to animal protection, stating it was acceptable as long as consumers were informed about the robotic shark in advance.

Lawyer Wang Rongmei from Beijing’s Jingsh Law Firm commented that the park does not breach any laws, provided it does not advertise having live whale sharks.

Li from Ocean University expressed optimism for future technological advancements that could enable the robots to move in a more lifelike manner.

“The ideal aquarium should be nature itself,” he concluded.

What I gained (and lost) as a native Chinese writing in English

https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3286682/what-i-gained-and-lost-native-chinese-writing-english?utm_source=rss_feed

Language is the soul of cultural expression. For a multilingual writer, the most fundamental decision is about which language to write in. Many non-native speakers of English are drawn to it for its practical advantages and artistic possibilities.

As a native Chinese writing in English, I remain fascinated by this matter, for it touches the very essence of culture and identity.

I was born and raised on the banks of the Yangtze River and my tongue bathed in the cadences of Nanjing dialect; I didn’t start learning English until I was 22.

Why write in English then, you may ask. More than 30 years ago, when I was living in Oxford, England, a Chinese publisher invited me to write a book about the Western image of Mao Zedong, which was planned to coincide with the centenary of his birth. I eagerly accepted, excited to discover if and how Western views of the chairman would mirror broader Western perceptions of China.

Painstaking research ensued as I spent countless hours in the Bodleian Library and interviewed Westerners from various walks of life. However, my completed manuscript didn’t make it past Chinese censors, for being “too negative”. While grieving for my stillborn brainchild, I came to a decision: from that moment on, I would write in English, a language that would free me from the grip of censorship. To seal my decision, I even began keeping a diary in English.

And writing in English turned out to be a liberation – politically and creatively. My adopted language allowed me to explore and express thoughts and ideas in ways that Chinese didn’t always permit. For example, in my memoir “Socialism is Great!”, a sex scene would have been far less explicit had I written it in Chinese.

Our culture, deeply influenced by Confucianism, often treats sexual matters with prudence and veils romantic feelings in layers of restraint.

The relationship between a writer and their working language is always intriguing and complex, a dance with one’s culture and identity. For me, English represents hope. At 16, I was taken out of school and put to work in a rocket factory by my poverty-stricken family. Bored to death while greasing machine parts, I decided to teach myself English as a means of escape. Not particularly gifted, I struggled to learn a new language, but persevered.

My only sanctuary within the factory compound was a rubbish dump around the corner from my workshop. So whenever I could, I would go there to study. There, despite the buzzing flies and the stench rising from rotten food, I could feel the walls around me crumbling and my horizons expanding. English changed my life; I didn’t just learn my ABC, but an entire package of Western culture.

That said, I don’t believe that writing in another language makes me any less Chinese. Identity is rooted in one’s cultural background and personal experience. By the time I picked up English in my 20s, my sensibility – indeed, my core identity – had already been shaped. It is Chinese, and will remain so. In my writing, I deliberately borrow from Chinese syntax, metaphors and antiquated sayings, hoping to create a unique voice that reflects my hybrid identity.

Writing in a different language often brings about fresh perspectives. Samuel Beckett, the Irish author, experimented with writing in French, choosing it over his native English to avoid being tied to certain stylistic habits. He wrote in French, then translated it into English.

Jhumpa Lahiri, the American writer born to Bengali parents in England, also found liberation in a new language. In her memoir In Other Words, written in Italian, she reflects on her journey of learning the language, and how she feels a sense of freedom in Italian that she does not in English.

Writers choose or reject languages for different reasons. In a poignant essay titled “To speak is to blunder”, my fellow Chinese-born writer Yiyun Li describes how she “disowned” her mother tongue as a way to detach herself from certain cultural and emotional burdens.

For Vladimir Nabokov, the Russian émigré author renowned for his lyricism in English, the switch to writing in a second language was an experience tinged with sorrow. He famously said in an interview: “My private tragedy, which cannot, indeed should not, be anybody’s concern, is that I had to abandon my natural language, my natural idiom”.

“Tragedy”: an uncompromising word. I can only guess it reflects his profound sense of loss, in leaving both his homeland and his native tongue. Perhaps his decision to write in English would not have felt so tragic, if he had not been forced into exile.

My own choice of English was forced upon me by circumstance. My switch to English was challenging and has been rewarding, but I have also paid a price: losing a potential readership in my motherland.

In a globalised world where an increasing number of Chinese-born writers live and work abroad, more are also writing in English, notably Xiaolu Guo, Yang Huang and Ling Ma. For these authors, English may serve as a bridge, a way to communicate across cultures while still infusing their work with elements of their Chinese identity. To which I say: may a hundred flowers bloom.

Language, like identity, need not be singular or fixed. Writing in English has meant both loss and gain for me – it is a way of expressing my Chinese soul to the world.

China’s first-wave tycoons are retiring. Are their kids ready to step up?

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3286500/chinas-first-wave-tycoons-are-retiring-are-their-kids-ready-step?utm_source=rss_feed

When Zong Qinghou – at one time the richest person in China – died in February at 79, the battle to take over his Hangzhou Wahaha Group quickly descended into a drama worthy of the HBO series Succession.

As Zong’s only child, Kelly Zong Fuli inherited her father’s multi-billion-dollar fortune, becoming the country’s wealthiest woman overnight. But gaining control of the sprawling food and beverage empire he had built from the ground up proved far more complex.

Kelly Zong was forced to fend off challenges from other figures within Wahaha, in a struggle filled with twists and turns that kept the public guessing for weeks.

The spectacle shone a light on a looming crisis facing China’s business dynasties. The first generation of the country’s entrepreneurs has reached old age, and their children are confronting the daunting task of taking over their parents’ work – running some of the most successful companies in the world’s second-largest economy.

Between 2017 and 2022, about three-quarters of the country’s family-owned companies reported succession issues, according to surveys from a research association under the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.

That includes many of China’s most storied firms. More than 80 per cent of the entrepreneurs on the 2022 edition of the New Fortune 500 Rich List – a ranking of the country’s highest net worth individuals – were aged 50 or above, while 31 per cent were over 60 and 11 per cent were over 70.

As a result, the spotlight is descending upon these ageing founders’ children, often referred to as “second-generation entrepreneurs”. In many cases, they are considered natural heirs to the family business once their parents step aside.

“In traditional Chinese thinking, passing the family business from father to son is seen as natural,” said Chen Gong, founder of the Beijing-based policy think tank Anbound. “In China, ‘success’ is often linked with lasting legacy, and there’s this deep-seated desire to hold onto wealth forever.”

But Chinese scions like Kelly Zong often face formidable challenges when they take over. They not only have to fight hard to win over sceptical investors and executives; they also need to develop a strategy to lead the firm through a delicate period for China’s economy.

For the younger Zong, simply establishing control over Wahaha proved a struggle. Though Zong Qinghou had built the company from a local bottled water distributor into a corporate colossus, he had long ceased to be majority owner.

By the time of his death, 46 per cent of Hangzhou Wahaha Group was reportedly held by state-owned entities in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, 24.6 per cent by an employee ownership trust, and just 29.4 per cent by Zong himself.

As sole named heir, Kelly Zong was entitled to inherit her father’s equity. But this did not mean she automatically gained management rights over the company, Shanghai-based law firm Sunhold explained in an article published in August.

“According to the new Company Law, ordinary matters require approval by shareholders representing over 50 per cent of voting rights. Thus, even if Kelly Zong inherits Zong’s shares in Wahaha, she would still fall short of the 51 per cent majority needed to control and manage the group,” the firm wrote.

The result was a tense stand-off between Kelly Zong and Wahaha’s other major shareholders, which resulted in her briefly resigning as general manager of the company before being reinstated within the week.

Zong is not the only child of a Chinese tycoon aspiring to step out of their parent’s shadow. Many of China’s second-generation entrepreneurs face similar predicaments as they try to prove themselves under the harsh glare of public scrutiny.

He Jianfeng, son of He Xiangjian – founder of leading Chinese appliance manufacturer Midea – struck out on his own by starting an investment company. But that venture pales in comparison to his father’s immense conglomerate, valued at about 420 billion yuan (US$59 billion).

With He Xiangjian now in his 80s, there has been mounting speculation about the future of Midea. The younger He was removed from the company’s board in June and has faced setbacks in his investments.

In late 2023, he acquired a 29.4 per cent stake in home furnishings brand Kuka for 8.88 billion yuan. But Kuka’s share price has since fallen from 36.7 yuan to 22.57 yuan, dealing He a paper loss of roughly 3.4 billion yuan.

Wang Sicong, the only son of property magnate Wang Jianlin, has also encountered obstacles while following his own path. Born in 1988, he has pursued a strikingly different investment strategy from his father, whose Wanda Group spans commercial real estate, entertainment and sports.

Through his private equity firm, Prometheus Capital, Wang Sicong has invested over 3 billion yuan in emerging sectors like esports and live streaming. These ventures won him a huge following among young Chinese, with his professional esports team IG winning the League of Legends World Championship in 2018.

However, a string of bankruptcies pushed Prometheus Capital into a debt crisis in 2020, leading many to question Wang’s business acumen. He remains an active investor, but still appears to be searching for the right balance between his family’s traditional business model and his own entrepreneurial leanings.

Second-generation entrepreneurs often have a fundamentally different outlook compared to their parents, who grew up in poverty and often built their companies from scratch, said Anbound’s Chen.

“For first-generation entrepreneurs, their love for their businesses resembles that of a father for his child or a husband for his wife,” Chen said. “This profound love drives them to dedicate their lives to creating, managing and nurturing their enterprises.”

But their children have enjoyed a far more privileged life. In some cases, they are reluctant to take over the family business, Chen said, as the stress of leading a huge company can be unappealing.

Easton Li, 28, never had an interest in his father’s cultural tourism business. As a teenager, he moved abroad to attend high school and dreamed of becoming a rapper, railing against the world’s injustices.

He began work at the firm in 2020, handling the company finances as his father’s chronic kidney condition worsened. By 2022, Li found himself general manager of a company with millions of yuan in annual revenue. All this took place during a low point for the travel sector, as strict pandemic controls brought tourism to a standstill.

Li felt completely unprepared for his new role. His expensive overseas education was of little use; in fact, in the tight-knit business world he had entered, it often marked him as an outsider.

“China’s social landscape, with all its expectations around relationships and subtle interactions, felt completely foreign to me,” Li said. “It wasn’t just the usual shift from school to the workforce; my straight-shooting nature, shaped by a Western education, made it tough to fit in the beginning.”

This wave of transitions is being made more difficult by a broader economic slowdown, most notably a prolonged slump in the property market.

The biggest difference for Li compared to his father’s era is how easily accessible information has become.

“Back then, if you had information others didn’t, you could make money,” he said. “Now, opportunities feel so limited, especially in the real economy.”

What’s more, he said, the country’s growth industries have been saturated.

“Most of the major developments in the past decade – infrastructure, 5G, renewable energy, even AI – are out of reach for regular people. The early movers and big companies have already monopolised these sectors. Small private businesses struggle to get loans, yet banks keep pushing funds on the large corporations.”

Li’s father started the business in 1999, part of a wave of pioneers who emerged during China’s initial period of private economic growth. But sustaining a successful business has become far more of an uphill battle since those heady days.

In tourism, for example, despite a recent resurgence in activity operators lament low revenues as Chinese consumers become more cautious with their spending, especially on non-essential items.

During the 2000s and early 2010s, private enterprises capitalised on China’s rapid economic expansion to thrive, particularly in the manufacturing, real estate, internet and consumer goods sectors.

The fortunes of the previous generation were rooted in the abundant opportunities presented by a transformative era, Anbound’s Chen said. But in a more uncertain climate, he added, “whether these second-generation entrepreneurs, who grew up with privilege, can weather the storms their ‘ninja’ parents did remains in question.”

For many in this new generation, it is not just a transition of power. They must also navigate an entirely new business environment as the pace of growth has slowed, regulatory tides have shifted, and changes to industrial structures have necessitated a deeper and more rapid modernisation.

Vic Xu, general manager of his father’s hardware and machinery company in Zhangjiagang – a city in eastern China’s Jiangsu province – expressed frustration over the drastically different landscape than the one in which his parents and grandparents were enmeshed.

“In the past, the focus was more on economic growth, and policies were more favourable to business development,” Xu said. “Now, regulations around environmental protection and safety are far stricter than they used to be, and that’s a huge burden on most small and medium-sized enterprises.”

Xu, who joined the family business in 2019, said attitudes towards certain industries have also changed considerably.

“Back in my father’s time, China was transitioning from an agricultural society to an industrial nation, and many viewed factory jobs and technical skills as valuable opportunities,” he said. “Now, having gone through the one-child policy era with declining birth rates, fewer people are willing to work in factories, even though traditional industries still require a human workforce.”

Xu has adapted as best he can to these hurdles, he said, exploring more efficient production methods and investing in automation to reduce reliance on manual labour, though skilled individuals and personnel with technical knowledge remain in high demand.

And while the life of the second-generation entrepreneur can be complicated, Xu’s tenure shows youth can also bring advantages; the newly minted manager has made use of his overseas experience for his father’s firm, adopting practices he learned while studying in the United States and working at a Japanese company.