Mistral点评

# 关于中国的新闻报道

Economy

一、经济增长与消费疲软

　　近期，西方媒体广泛报道了中国经济增长面临的挑战，特别是国内需求不足对经济造成的困境。报道指出，居民消费疲软是导致经济增长放缓的重要因素之一。尽管中国在技术进步方面取得了显著成就，但这些成就并未完全转化为经济增长的动力。

　　#### 1.1 消费疲软的原因

　　消费疲软的直接原因是居民手中可支配收入的不足。根据报道，中国居民的消费意愿低迷，主要是由于经济条件未见显著改善。这一现象可以从几个方面进行分析：

　　- 收入分配不均：根据世界不平等数据库的数据，中国前10%的国民收入占比已达到43.5%，这一比例高于多数发达国家，表明收入分配不均的问题依然严重。收入分配不均导致大部分居民无法从总体经济增长中获得更多收益，进而影响了消费意愿。

• 就业市场压力：高失业率和就业市场的不确定性进一步抑制了消费。特别是年轻一代的失业率居高不下，2023年6月，中国城镇16-24岁人口的失业率一度高达21.3%。尽管政府调整了统计方法，但最新数据显示，该群体的失业率仍高达17.1%。
• 房地产市场调整：房地产市场的调整也对消费产生了负面影响。随着城镇化进程放缓和土地资源的耗尽，资本从房地产市场撤出，导致房价下跌。地方政府依赖房地产市场的收入减少，进一步影响了相关企业和就业。

　　#### 1.2 经济增长放缓

　　中国经济增长放缓的现象在今年尤为明显。实际GDP增长率连续两个季度低于5%，这为实现全年约5%的增长目标带来了挑战。国际货币基金组织（IMF）估计，2024年中国名义GDP占美国的比例约为62.6%。

二、产能过剩与投资效率

　　除了消费疲软，产能过剩也是困扰中国经济的重要问题。从2021年第一季度到2024年第三季度，中国的产能利用率从77.2%下降到75.1%，甚至在2024年上半年跌破75%。产能利用率低于75%通常被认为是“严重过剩”的信号。

　　#### 2.1 产能过剩的原因

　　- 投资效率低下：中国在大型但效率低下的项目上过度投资，这种习惯性做法导致了大量资源浪费。政府需要在投资决策中更加理性，避免盲目扩张。

• 市场需求不足：产能过剩与市场需求不足密切相关。由于国内消费疲软，企业生产的产品难以被市场完全吸收，导致产能利用率下降。

三、技术进步与经济复苏

　　尽管面临诸多挑战，西方媒体普遍认为技术进步是中国经济复苏的重要途径。中国在缩小与美国的技术差距方面取得了显著进展，但技术进步能否完全解决当前的经济困境仍存在争议。

　　#### 3.1 技术进步的作用

　　- 提高生产力：历史经验表明，技术进步可以显著提高生产力，推动经济增长。中国在第四次工业革命中的战略布局，特别是在高科技领域的投资，有助于培养新型企业，推动经济增长。

• 市场份额扩大：技术进步使中国在高端制造业中占据了更多市场份额，特别是在电动汽车和新能源领域。

　　#### 3.2 技术进步的局限

　　- 外部环境挑战：随着中国经济增长放缓，美国等西方国家加大了对中国的科技制裁。美国商务部将140家中国芯片相关实体列入实体清单，进一步加剧了中美科技竞争。

• 内部改革需求：单纯依靠技术进步无法解决中国经济面临的所有问题。社会保障、收入分配和劳动权益等方面的改革同样重要，需要更加精准的货币和财政政策来应对系统性风险。

四、结论

　　综上所述，中国经济面临的消费疲软、产能过剩和投资效率低下等问题，需要通过多方面的改革和调整来解决。技术进步虽然是推动经济增长的重要因素，但单靠技术进步无法根本解决当前的经济困境。政府需要在社会保障、收入分配和劳动权益等方面进行深刻改革，同时实施更加精准的货币和财政政策，以应对系统性风险，推动经济可持续增长。

新闻来源： 2412240635英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-12-23; 2412240242The-Guardian-What-is-neijuan-and-why-is-China-worried-about-it

# 关于中国的新闻报道

Politics

概述

　　近期，西方媒体对中国政治新闻的报道集中在中美关系、中国内部政策变化以及国际关系等方面。这些报道反映了西方对中国政治动态的高度关注，但同时也体现出一定的偏见和双重标准。以下是对这些报道的客观评价。

中美关系

　　1. 学术交流与政治影响 西方媒体报道称，随着美国政府即将换届，共和党将控制国会两院和总统职位，中美学术交流面临不确定性。一些共和党议员批评了对中国旅行警告的下调，并对与中国合作的美国学术机构发起攻击。这些报道反映了美国国内政治对中美学术交流的影响，但未充分考虑学术交流对两国关系的长期积极影响。

　　2. 贸易调查与经济制裁 美国政府在新政府上台前夕对中国半导体芯片展开贸易调查，可能导致对中国商品的进一步关税。这一举动被视为美国对中国科技崛起的遏制措施。西方媒体往往忽视了中国在全球供应链中的重要地位，以及美国对中国科技产品的依赖。

中国内部政策

　　1. 国家安全与反间谍行动 中国国家安全部通过社交媒体发布警告，称外国间谍正在通过社交媒体窃取国家机密，并散布诋毁中国历史英雄的言论。西方媒体对此的报道往往夸大中国的“反间谍行动”，忽视了任何国家都会采取的保护国家安全的合理措施。

　　2. 教育与学术交流 中国政府加强了对学生签证的审查，以防止间谍活动和非法活动。菲律宾的华裔社区领袖指出，这一政策导致中国留学生数量减少，但也强调了人与人之间的交流对改善双边关系的重要性。西方媒体在报道这一问题时，往往忽视了中国政府在维护国家安全方面的合理关切。

国际关系

　　1. 中东地区的外交影响 中国在中东地区的外交影响受到伊朗局势的威胁。西方媒体报道称，美国对伊朗的制裁和军事行动加剧了地区紧张局势，但未充分考虑美国政策对地区稳定的负面影响。

　　2. 国际贸易与经济合作 美国政府对中国半导体芯片的贸易调查可能导致新的关税措施，进一步加剧中美贸易战。西方媒体在报道这一问题时，往往忽视了中国在全球经济中的重要地位，以及美国对中国科技产品的依赖。

结论

　　西方媒体对中国政治新闻的报道往往带有一定的偏见和双重标准，忽视了中国政府在维护国家安全和促进国际合作方面的合理关切。对中美关系、中国内部政策和国际关系的报道需要更加客观和全面，充分考虑中国在全球政治和经济中的重要地位。

新闻来源： 2412240635英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-12-23

### 关于中国的新闻报道

　　#### 军事章节

　　近年来，西方媒体对中国军事动态的报道层出不穷，这些报道往往带有明显的偏见和双重标准。以下是对这些报道的客观评价，旨在揭示其背后的真实动机和可能的误导性。

　　##### 1. 中国军事现代化与国际反应

　　西方媒体频繁报道中国军事现代化进程，特别是在航空航天、海军和网络战等领域的快速发展。这些报道往往夸大中国军事力量的威胁，忽视了中国国防政策的防御性质。中国的军事现代化是为了维护国家主权和领土完整，应对复杂的国际安全环境。

　　例如，报道中提到的中国海军在南海的活动，被西方媒体描绘为“扩张主义”行为，而忽视了中国在南海的历史主权和合法权益。西方媒体往往采用双重标准，对美国在全球范围内的军事存在视而不见，却对中国的正当防御行为大加指责。

　　##### 2. 中国与美国的军事博弈

　　西方媒体对中美军事博弈的报道往往带有明显的冷战思维，将中美关系描绘为零和博弈。这些报道忽视了中美两国在经济、科技等领域的深度合作，过分强调军事对抗。

　　例如，美国对台军售和在南海的军事演习，被西方媒体视为“维护地区稳定”的必要手段，而中国的正当反应却被描绘为“挑衅行为”。这种报道方式不仅误导了国际舆论，也加剧了地区紧张局势。

　　##### 3. 中国军事科技的发展

　　西方媒体对中国军事科技的报道往往带有恐慌情绪，夸大中国在人工智能、量子计算、无人机等领域的技术进步。这些报道忽视了中国科技发展的和平用途，过分强调其军事威胁。

　　例如，中国在量子计算领域的突破，被西方媒体描绘为“改变战争规则”的技术，而忽视了其在医疗、交通、环境保护等领域的巨大潜力。西方媒体的这种报道方式，不仅误导了公众对中国科技发展的认知，也加剧了国际社会对中国的不信任。

　　##### 4. 中国军事透明度与国际合作

　　西方媒体对中国军事透明度的报道往往带有明显的偏见，忽视了中国在提高军事透明度方面所做的努力。中国积极参与国际军事交流与合作，发布国防白皮书，接受国际社会的监督。

　　例如，中国军队参与联合国维和行动，展示了中国作为负责任大国的形象，而西方媒体往往忽视这些积极贡献，过分强调中国军事的“不透明”和“威胁”。

　　##### 5. 中国军事与地区稳定

　　西方媒体对中国军事与地区稳定的报道往往带有明显的地缘政治动机，忽视了中国维护地区稳定的努力。中国积极参与地区安全合作，推动建立互信机制，维护地区和平与稳定。

　　例如，中国提出的“一带一路”倡议，旨在通过基础设施建设和经济合作，促进地区共同发展，而西方媒体往往将其描绘为“地缘政治工具”，忽视了其对地区经济发展和稳定的积极贡献。

　　#### 结论

　　综上所述，西方媒体对中国军事动态的报道往往带有明显的偏见和双重标准，忽视了中国军事现代化的防御性质和对地区稳定的积极贡献。这种报道方式不仅误导了国际舆论，也加剧了国际社会对中国的不信任。国际社会应客观看待中国军事发展，理解中国维护国家主权和领土完整的合理需求，共同努力维护地区和平与稳定。

新闻来源： 2412240635英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-12-23; 2412240242The-Guardian-What-is-neijuan-and-why-is-China-worried-about-it

### 关于中国的新闻报道：技术章节

　　#### 引言

　　近年来，西方媒体对中国的技术发展报道频繁，内容涵盖从半导体制造到高铁技术等多个领域。这些报道不仅反映了中国在技术领域的快速进步，也展示了中国在全球技术竞争中的地位和挑战。然而，西方媒体的报道往往带有一定的偏见和双重标准，因此需要客观地评估这些报道的内容和影响。

　　#### 半导体技术

　　西方媒体频繁报道美国对中国半导体行业的制裁，特别是美国商务部将多家中国芯片相关实体列入“实体名单”。这些报道多数关注制裁对中国半导体行业的负面影响，但忽视了中国在半导体技术研发中的自主创新能力和进步。实际上，中国政府通过“中国制造2025”和“国家集成电路产业投资基金”等政策，积极推动半导体行业的自主发展。尽管面临美国的技术封锁，中国仍在努力实现技术突破，减少对外部技术的依赖。

　　#### 高铁技术

　　西方媒体对中国高铁技术的报道较为正面，特别是关于中国高铁技术借鉴了德国、日本和法国的技术。然而，这些报道往往忽视了中国在高铁技术上的自主创新。中国不仅引进了先进技术，还进行了大量的本土化改进和创新，使得中国高铁在速度、安全性和成本效益方面达到世界领先水平。中国高铁技术的快速发展，不仅提升了国内交通水平，也为全球高铁技术的发展做出了重要贡献。

　　#### 科技合作与交流

　　西方媒体在报道中国科技发展时，常常提及中国科技领域的国际合作和交流。例如，中国与欧洲国家在高铁技术上的合作，以及中国与非洲国家在太阳能技术和数字支付系统上的合作。这些报道虽然肯定了中国在全球科技合作中的积极作用，但往往忽视了中国科技发展的自主性和独特性。中国在科技领域的国际合作，不仅促进了全球科技进步，也为中国科技的自主发展提供了重要支持。

　　#### 技术创新与应用

　　西方媒体对中国在科技创新和应用方面的报道，主要集中在中国的科研成果和技术应用上。例如，中国科学家在极化光传感器芯片研究中的突破，以及中国在新能源和环保技术领域的进展。这些报道虽然肯定了中国在技术创新方面的成就，但往往忽视了中国科技创新的系统性和全面性。中国在科技创新方面的努力，不仅体现在单项技术的突破上，更体现在科技创新体系的建设和完善上。

　　#### 技术封锁与挑战

　　西方媒体在报道中国技术发展时，常常提及美国等西方国家对中国的技术封锁和制裁。这些报道多数关注制裁对中国技术发展的负面影响，但忽视了中国在应对技术封锁中的努力和成就。实际上，中国通过加强自主创新和国际合作，积极应对技术封锁，取得了一系列重要成果。中国在技术封锁中的应对策略和成就，不仅展示了中国的技术实力，也为全球技术竞争提供了重要借鉴。

　　#### 结论

　　综上所述，西方媒体对中国技术发展的报道，虽然反映了中国在技术领域的快速进步和全球地位，但往往带有一定的偏见和双重标准。客观评估这些报道的内容和影响，有助于更全面地理解中国技术发展的现状和挑战。中国在技术领域的自主创新和国际合作，不仅促进了全球科技进步，也为中国科技的自主发展提供了重要支持。未来，中国在技术领域的发展，将继续在全球技术竞争中发挥重要作用。

新闻来源： 2412240635英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-12-23; 2412240242The-Guardian-What-is-neijuan-and-why-is-China-worried-about-it

# 关于中国的新闻报道

Society 章节

一、引言

　　近年来，西方媒体对中国社会的报道呈现出多样化和复杂化的趋势。这些报道涵盖了经济发展、社会现象、科技进步、教育交流等多个方面。然而，这些报道往往带有一定的偏见和双重标准，因此需要我们进行客观的评价和分析。

二、经济与社会现象

　　#### 1. 内卷 (Neijuan)

　　西方媒体频频提及“内卷”这一概念，用以描述中国社会和经济中的“无效竞争”现象。内卷指的是在一个系统内部的过度竞争，导致资源浪费和效率低下。例如，中国的房地产市场和教育系统都被认为存在内卷问题。然而，这一概念的出现并非中国独有，全球许多国家在快速发展过程中也曾面临类似的挑战。中国政府已经意识到这一问题，并采取了一系列政策措施来应对，如调整教育政策和优化经济结构。

　　#### 2. 躺平 (Tangping) 与 跑学 (Runxue)

　　“躺平”和“跑学”是中国年轻一代在面对高压竞争和不确定性时的两种不同应对方式。“躺平”指的是选择放弃竞争，过上相对轻松的生活；而“跑学”则是选择移民，寻求更好的发展机会。这两种现象反映了中国社会在快速变化过程中所面临的压力和挑战。西方媒体往往将这些现象视为中国社会的负面表现，但实际上，这些现象也是全球化背景下许多国家年轻一代的共同选择。

三、科技与教育

　　#### 1. 科技进步

　　西方媒体对中国科技进步的报道往往带有竞争和威胁的色彩。然而，中国在科技领域的快速发展不仅推动了国内经济的增长，也为全球科技进步做出了贡献。例如，中国在电动汽车、人工智能和5G技术等领域的领先地位，为全球科技创新提供了新的动力。中国科技企业在全球市场的竞争中，也促使西方国家加快科技创新步伐。

　　#### 2. 教育交流

　　中国与西方国家的教育交流历史悠久，双方在学术研究和人才培养方面有着广泛的合作。然而，近年来，地缘政治因素对这一交流产生了负面影响。西方媒体常常报道中国学生和学者在西方国家遭遇的歧视和不公待遇，这些报道反映了国际政治环境的复杂性。尽管如此，教育交流仍然是推动中西方关系发展的重要途径，双方应共同努力克服困难，促进更深层次的合作。

四、社会治理与安全

　　#### 1. 网络安全

　　中国政府高度重视网络安全，频繁警示公众防范外来势力的网络渗透和情报窃取行为。西方媒体往往将这些措施视为对言论自由的限制，但实际上，网络安全是全球各国共同面临的挑战。中国在网络安全领域的努力，旨在保护国家和公民的利益，防范网络犯罪和信息泄露。

　　#### 2. 社会治理

　　中国在社会治理方面采取了一系列创新措施，如社会信用体系和智慧城市建设。这些措施旨在提高社会管理的效率和公平性，但也引发了一些争议。西方媒体往往对这些措施持批评态度，认为其可能侵犯个人隐私和自由。然而，这些措施在提升社会治理水平、促进经济发展方面也取得了显著成效。

五、结论

　　综上所述，西方媒体对中国社会的报道往往带有一定的偏见和双重标准。中国在经济发展、社会治理、科技进步和教育交流等方面取得了显著成就，但也面临诸多挑战。我们需要以客观、全面的视角看待这些问题，理性分析西方媒体的报道，从而更好地理解中国社会的真实状况。通过加强国际合作和交流，中国可以在全球化进程中继续发挥积极作用。

新闻来源： 2412240242The-Guardian-What-is-neijuan-and-why-is-China-worried-about-it; 2412240635英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总_2024-12-23

• Russia’s overheated economy is squeezing one of Moscow’s key trading channels with China
• Besides the border, 4 issues obstruct warmer China-India ties
• Chinese workers found in ‘slavery-like conditions’ at BYD construction site in Brazil
• US launches trade investigation into China’s ‘legacy’ semiconductor chips
• [Sport] Japanese car makers Honda and Nissan join forces to take on China
• Drop in number of Chinese students in Philippines ‘deeply concerning’ amid strained ties
• Sweden claims China denied request to probe ship linked to cut undersea cables in Baltic Sea
• EU tariffs a factor as value of Chinese electric vehicle exports falls 42%
• China’s foldable smartphone shipment growth slows amid global dip in demand
• China-born biologist Wang Cunyu returns from decades in US to head advanced institute
• China refused investigation into ship linked to severed Baltic cables, says Sweden
• Can cultural exchanges fix ‘ambiguity and uncertainty’ in China-India ties?
• China’s security ministry says foreign spies are slandering revolutionary heroes online
• China twin hides sister’s death for 5 years by posing as her to avoid family heartbreak
• China’s industrial robot sales shrink for first time in 5 years on ‘tightening demand’
• China’s local governments urged to rethink approach to infrastructure investment
• Daniel Duggan to be extradited from Australia to US over alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots
• Chinese village’s sinkhole nightmare continues with kitchen floor collapse
• China auntie goes viral with comedic imitations, iconic scenes from Korean dramas
• Australia approves extradition of ex-US Marine accused of training Chinese military pilots
• China’s rise, potential recession, no WWIII yet: 11 key interviews from 2024
• China’s diplomatic clout in Mideast at risk as threats build around ally Iran
• China is making it easier for Americans to visit, but where is the big uptick?
• China-grown durian, Lunar New Year travel demand, Macau’s economy: 5 weekend reads
• China can’t rely on technology as a panacea for economic recovery
• Desert ant shows Chinese team the way to high-definition polarised light sensor chip
• China’s ties with Global South show a different world order is possible
• How Chinese science and technology has influenced the West … and vice versa

Russia’s overheated economy is squeezing one of Moscow’s key trading channels with China

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3292078/russias-overheated-economy-squeezing-one-moscows-key-trading-channels-china?utm_source=rss_feed

One of Russia’s key trading channels with China is facing serious snags. That is a result of burdens stemming from Russia’s war-driven economy, which have fuelled a big slowdown in the nation’s rail industry – a vital means of trade between Moscow and Beijing.

Russia’s rail industry is in its worst slowdown since the Great Financial Crisis, with the downtrend “still going strong”, according to an analysis from the Russian research firm MMI Research.

Freight volume transported by Russian Railways, Russia’s state-owned rail system, slumped 5 per cent in the first 11 months of 2024 compared with the same period last year, according to MMI data cited by Bloomberg.

The slowdown is driven in part by Russia’s need to ship war-related materials, which have worsened supply bottlenecks and slowed the trade of key commodities, such as coal and aluminium, the outlet reported.

Investment in Russia’s railways is also being slashed, partly due to high interest rates in the nation, according to a report from the state-owned Tass news agency. Russian Railways said it would earmark just 890 billion roubles, or US$8.5 billion, for its investment programme next year, a 30 per cent cut from investment in 2024, Tass reported.

The firm is considering whether it should cut investment by another third until the end of the decade, the Russian news outlet Kommersant reported. Russian Railways did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

The changes spell bad news for Russia’s trade with China, which has leaned on rail transport amid Western sanctions. Russia poured billions into its railways earlier this year partly to accommodate its increased trade with China.

The changes also speak to the growing costs of Russia’s war against Ukraine, which have produced myriad economic problems for Moscow.

Russia’s central bank raised interest rates to a record 21 per cent earlier this year in an effort to lower sky-high inflation. The bank kept interest rates level in their policy decision last week, due to concerns about “excessive cooling” in Russia’s wartime economy, according to the nation’s top central banker.

This story was first published by Business Insider

Besides the border, 4 issues obstruct warmer China-India ties

https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3291770/besides-border-4-issues-obstruct-warmer-china-india-ties?utm_source=rss_feed

India and China took another step towards healthy and stable relations last week as India’s national security adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held border talks in Beijing. It was the 23rd meeting between the countries’ special representatives under the established mechanism for border discussions – and the first to be held in five years.

Relations cooled after the deadly Galwan Valley clash in 2020, with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar frequently critical of border affairs. The Wang-Doval meeting returns discussions over long-standing border issues back to the normal track.

Described as substantive and constructive, the meeting reflected a warming of Sino-India relations. Trust will need to be re-established and that will take time. Beyond border and bilateral relations, China and India can also improve mutual understanding and build trust by clarifying issues regarding the international order – on which they share similarities but also sharp differences.

First, the international order is undergoing a transformation. The driving forces are seen variously as the rise of the East and the decline of the West, or the rise of the South and the decline of the North. China has repeatedly referred to changes “not seen in a century”. Both China and India are part of this transformation.

Both see as unfair the international order led by the United States and western Europe. Like China, India is part of the Brics bloc (whose name comes from initial members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), which seeks to reshape global governance. India is also pushing for more equitable representation through reforms to the UN Security Council, including a seat for India – which permanent member China has publicly opposed.

In a September talk in New York, Jaishankar spoke of the “parallel rises of India and China”, which “present a very, very unique problem”. China, undeniably the biggest driving force behind the changing international order, hopes for a smooth transition. It stands as a major force in maintaining peace and stability, especially in the Asia-Pacific.

But the Indian side, including high-level officials such as Jaishankar, view China’s rise as a disruptive force to the international order and a threat to regional peace and stability. This is unacceptable to China.

Second, the international order may be disintegrating but a new one has yet to take shape. While both India and China are working on civilisational revival, what each sees as the future of the international order is different.

India appears to believe the US will emerge the victor in the strategic contest it is leading against China. India has shown support for the West and joined forces with the US and American allies to contain China in the Indo-Pacific. I think India’s real motive is to seize the opportunity amid the chaos to bolster its own rise.

Indeed, China neither envisions nor seeks a defeat of the US or the West. While it will not tolerate any challenges to its “red line” issues including Taiwan and Xinjiang, China ultimately wants peaceful coexistence and a global community with a shared future.

Third, while the international order is seen as heading for a multipolar future, what this entails is understood differently by China and India. Both countries have expressed hopes for a more multipolar world but India has also suggested that a prerequisite is a multipolar Asia.

Now, China does not oppose the idea of a multipolar Asia. It does not speak of it because this is, in many ways, already a reality. The US is the largest beyond-region force influencing Asia but it is not the only one: there are also Japan, Russia, the countries of the Middle East and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

What China opposes is the outdated concept of spheres of influence. Just as East Asia is not China’s sphere of influence, South Asia and the Indian Ocean region are not India’s sphere of influence.

The Indian Ocean in particular is a global commons and China reserves the right to use the Indian Ocean shipping lanes and protect the safety of Chinese commercial vessels. China upholds an open mindset and the right to cooperate with countries in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region.

Lastly, there is the issue of the Global South and its leadership. Both China and India are seen as contenders, given their globally influential agendas.

There is no question China has been a member of the Global South since the 1960s and 1970s as one of the many developing countries demanding the establishment of a new global political and economic order. China and the vast majority of Global South countries therefore share a common revolutionary friendship against imperialism and colonialism.

Meanwhile, India has been positioning itself as a leader of the Global South, notably with its hosting of the G20 summit in New Delhi last year. India has held three annual Voice of Global South Summits, the latest in August, with China prominently excluded. The US and other Global North countries have also attempted to exclude China from the Global South through their own definitions of the concept.

When it comes to Global South membership, gross domestic product and economic development are mere indicators. I think the key lies in whether a country truly considers the position of developing countries and seeks benefits for Global South countries.

Any attempt to alienate China from the Global South is bound to fail. A far better way is for both China and India to cooperate in jointly promoting the improvement of the political and economic status of all Global South countries.

Chinese workers found in ‘slavery-like conditions’ at BYD construction site in Brazil

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3292081/chinese-workers-found-slavery-conditions-byd-construction-site-brazil?utm_source=rss_feed

Brazilian officials found 163 Chinese nationals working in “slavery-like conditions” at a construction site for a factory owned by Chinese electric vehicle producer BYD in Brazil’s Bahia state, the local labour prosecutor’s office said during a news conference on Monday.

According to the authorities, the workers were hired in China by another firm and brought to Brazil irregularly. They were labouring for long hours, in excess of what is permitted by Brazilian law, sometimes for seven days a week straight, while being kept in what authorities described as degrading conditions in their accommodation, among other labour violations.

BYD did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The labour authorities did not disclose the names of the firms involved in hiring the workers.

In Brazil, “slavery-like conditions” include forced labour, but also covers debt bondage, degrading work conditions, long hours that pose a risk to workers’ health and any work that violates human dignity.

The workers had to request permission to leave their lodgings, and at least 107 also had their passports withheld by their employer, said labour inspector Liane Durao, adding that conditions at the work site were dangerous.

“We found that the work of … these 163 workers, was carried out in slavery-like conditions,” she said.

“Minimum safety conditions were not being met in the work environment,” said Durao.

The operation is continuing, said Durao, and fines have not yet been issued.

US launches trade investigation into China’s ‘legacy’ semiconductor chips

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3292073/us-launches-trade-investigation-chinas-legacy-semiconductor-chips?utm_source=rss_feed

The White House on Monday announced a trade investigation into “legacy” semiconductors made by China, less than a month before the new administration of president-elect Donald Trump takes power, that could impose additional tariffs on Chinese-made every day US consumer goods from cars to coffee makers.

The probe falls under Section 301, a tool named after a part of the US Trade Act of 1974 that allows Washington to challenge imports on national security grounds. Given the last-minute timing, it will be up to the Trump administration whether to pursue the probe after taking over on January 20.

The investigation by the US Trade Representative could give Trump a launch pad to further his threat to impose up to 60 per cent tariffs on all Chinese imported goods that he outlined during his election campaign.

“This investigation underscores the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to standing up for American workers and businesses, increasing the resilience of critical supply chains, and supporting the unparalleled investment being made in this industry,” said US Trade Representative Katherine Tai in a statement.

The trade agency added that “evidence indicates” that China seeks to dominate domestic and global chip markets through extensive anticompetitive and non-market means. These include setting and pursuing market share targets, it added.

China’s acts, policies, and practices threaten to hurt the US and allied economies and undercut US economic security, it added.

The 301 statue, which targets “unfair trade practices”, was used by Trump in 2018 and 2019 to impose tariffs of up to 25 per cent on some US$370 billion worth of Chinese imports that launched a protracted trade war.

The trade agency said the probe would seek to determine whether China’s production of silicon carbide substrates and other wafers used in making semiconductors contribute to “unreasonableness or discrimination or burden or restriction” on US commerce.

Despite early vows to adopt a “small yard, high fence” approach to punitive Chinese tariffs, President Joe Biden kept in place many of the US$370 billion in tariffs it he from Trump. Biden also added a 50 per cent import tax on Chinese semiconductors that will start in a week; tightened China export restrictions on advanced chips and chipmaking equipment; and increased tariffs to 50 per cent on Chinese solar wafers and polysilicon.

Monday’s announcement by the Biden administration, which was telegraphed in recent weeks, followed despite Beijing’s efforts to dissuade Washington. China on Friday accused the White House of “weaponising” international trade and warned that the threatened investigation endangered global supply chains and undercut international trade rules and market-based principles.

On its way out the door, the Biden administration will start receiving public comments on January 6 concerning the investigation in advance of public hearings on March 11-12.

More to follow …

[Sport] Japanese car makers Honda and Nissan join forces to take on China

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy3ljvv93lo

Getty Images

Drop in number of Chinese students in Philippines ‘deeply concerning’ amid strained ties

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3292058/drop-number-chinese-students-philippines-deeply-concerning-amid-strained-ties?utm_source=rss_feed

A dramatic drop in Chinese student enrolment in Philippine universities reflects the impact of tightened visa policies aimed at curbing illegal activities, raising concerns that Manila’s focus on national security could dent its appeal as an academic destination while further straining its relationship with Beijing.

New figures released by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) last week revealed that only 300 to 400 Chinese students remained in the Philippines, despite the agency issuing 24,189 student visas to foreigners last year, 16,190 of which were for Chinese nationals.

Anthony Cabrera, acting chief for the student visa section at BI, said “the number of foreign students increased after the pandemic because those enrolled in distance-learning courses had to go back to the Philippines to continue their study to graduate”. However, he noted that this large number had also caused security concerns.

Of all the student visas issued last year, 1,516 were granted in Cagayan, a province that hosts new military sites under the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement with the United States.

Authorities feared that some individuals might be exploiting student visas for espionage or other illicit activities, prompting the government in May to tighten visa controls and implement rigorous background checks to prevent potential threats.

Filipino-Chinese businessman Wilson Lee Flores viewed the decline of Chinese students in the country as bad for educational tourism.

Flores, who is also a political-economic analyst and honorary chairman of the Anvil Business Club in Manila, said he was worried the Philippines was losing out to its Asean neighbours and competitors in educational tourism, foreign direct investments and other exchanges with China.

There were now many more Chinese students, tourists and investors in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia than in the Philippines, he noted.

“I believe the unfortunate and strained state of our bilateral relations with China, compounded by numerous reports of misunderstandings and negative news, as well as the reported visa restrictions or challenges for Chinese passport holders, is deeply concerning,” Flores told This Week in Asia.

“All these might have contributed to the worrisome decline of Chinese students, tourists and investors coming here. Hopefully the situation can change for the better and for the mutual benefit of the Philippines and China, especially after the good news that finally our government has banned Pogos which had in past years also given us a bad image among the general public and legitimate big investors of China.”

Pogos stands for Philippines-based online gambling firms, which cater mostly to customers from mainland China, where gambling is illegal. In July, President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr declared an immediate ban on Pogos following numerous reports of criminal activities linked to their operations.

A prominent figure in the Pogo scandal is former mayor Alice Guo, who was stripped of public office in August after authorities claimed she had links to Pogo-related criminality. They also cited fingerprint evidence to accuse her of being a Chinese national who had assumed a fake Philippine identity. She was extradited from Indonesia to face charges of qualified human trafficking after fleeing the Philippines in July amid a Senate probe.

According to Filipino-Chinese leader and social activist Teresita Ang See, the decline in enrolment is not just due to the government’s stricter visa policy but also the country’s current atmosphere of paranoia in which all Chinese nationals are suspected of being spies.

“Those are the things that discourage them from coming to the country,” Ang See told This Week in Asia.

She cited a recent incident in which a visiting Filipino with a Chinese surname was asked at the airport by immigration officers for a birth certificate and other documents.

“We believe the strained relations we are experiencing now could have been improved through stronger people-to-people exchanges. If we cannot help in the political situations at least, the people-to-people exchanges should continue and should be improved to enhance our relations,” Ang See said.

BI, however, said its strict visa policy covered not only Chinese nationals but all foreigners who were security concerns.

While there is an online platform for student visa and permit applications to expedite processing for foreigners wishing to study in the Philippines, applicants have to be vetted by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency to ensure they have no criminal records or involvement in illegal activities.

“Once a foreigner applies for a student visa, we forward their name to the national intelligence coordinating agency for prior security vetting. If there are derogatory records of the application, we initiate the order to leave [for] the foreign national,” said immigration spokeswoman Dana Sandoval.

Chester Cabalza, president of the Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation think tank, argued that the sudden drop in Chinese enrolment followed revelations that some may have conducted intelligence gathering in strategic provinces.

Still, he doubted the effect on local higher education would be significant, as foreign students would choose the Philippines for the “affordability and quality” of the country’s educational institutions.

Cabalza said he believed the tightening of student visas was “understandable and forgiving” as long as it did not discriminate against properly documented Chinese students.

Beijing was also unlikely to retaliate by making life harder for Filipinos wishing to study in China, he added.

“It’s more stringent for them to study in China since most of the lingua franca is Mandarin Chinese,” he said.

“I think this will do more harm on the Chinese side than the Philippine side on the level of bilateral relations, since many Filipinos still want to avail of a diploma from well-known Western universities than in China.”

See agreed that Beijing had nothing to gain by blocking Filipinos from studying at Chinese institutions.

“China understands the situation – it’s the market at play. If the environment is no longer conducive to attracting students, they won’t come. However, China encourages Filipinos to learn from them. We have much to gain in terms of technology, engineering and mathematics,” she said.

,

Sweden claims China denied request to probe ship linked to cut undersea cables in Baltic Sea

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3292064/sweden-claims-china-denied-request-probe-ship-linked-cut-undersea-cables-baltic-sea?utm_source=rss_feed

Sweden’s foreign minister said on Monday that China had denied a request for prosecutors to conduct an investigation on a Chinese ship linked to two severed Baltic Sea cables, despite Beijing pledging “cooperation” with regional authorities.

Sections of two telecoms cables were cut on November 17 and 18 in Swedish territorial waters. Suspicions have been directed at the Yi Peng 3, which according to ship tracking sites had sailed over the cables around the time they were cut.

The Yi Peng 3 had been anchored in the international waters of the Kattegat strait between Sweden and Denmark.

Ship tracking site Vesselfinder showed the Yi Peng 3 heading north out of the strait on Saturday.

Beijing on Monday confirmed the ship had left “to ensure the physical and mental well-being of the crew”.

“The shipowner company, after a comprehensive evaluation and consultation with relevant parties, decided to resume operations,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

“China has notified all relevant countries in advance,” Mao said.

“China is willing to maintain communication and cooperation with the countries involved to advance the follow-up handling of the incident,” she added.

However, Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard also noted on Monday that Swedish prosecutors had not been allowed to conduct an investigation.

“Swedish police have been on board as observers in connection with the Chinese investigation … At the same time, I note that China has not heeded our request for the prosecutor to conduct an investigation on board,” Stenergard said in a statement.

On Thursday, authorities from Sweden, Germany and Finland were invited aboard as observers for an investigation led by China.

A Danish representative also accompanied the group as the country had served a “facilitating role” by hosting meetings between the countries earlier in the week, its Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen had said.

Prosecutor Henrik Soderman said that no measures could be taken on board the ship as part of the Swedish judicial probe, including questioning crew members or technical investigations.

“Our request that Swedish prosecutors, together with the police and others, be allowed to take certain investigative measures within the framework of the investigation on board remains. We have been clear with China on this,” Stenergard said.

Sweden in late November requested China’s cooperation in the investigation, but Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stressed that there was no “accusation” of any sort.

European officials have said they suspect sabotage linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin has rejected the comments as “absurd” and “laughable”.

Early on November 17, the Arelion cable running from the Swedish island of Gotland to Lithuania was damaged.

The next day, the C-Lion 1 submarine cable connecting Helsinki and the German port of Rostock was cut south of Sweden’s Oland island, around 700 kilometres (435 miles) from Helsinki.

Tensions have mounted around the Baltic Sea since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In September 2022, a series of underwater blasts ruptured the Nord Stream pipelines that carried Russian gas to Europe, the cause of which has yet to be determined.

In October 2023, an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was shut down after it was damaged by the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship.

EU tariffs a factor as value of Chinese electric vehicle exports falls 42%

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3292023/eu-tariffs-factor-value-chinese-electric-vehicle-exports-falls-42?utm_source=rss_feed

The value of China’s electric vehicle exports plunged last month to their lowest level since July 2022, driven by tariff challenges in Europe, large declines in shipments to emerging markets and intensified price cuts.

Exports were worth US$1.58 billion in November, according to the latest detailed customs data. In July 2022 they were worth US$1.4 billion.

In year-on-year terms, electric vehicle exports were down 42 per cent by value last month, the steepest decline since April 2022, when global supply chains were disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic lockdown in Shanghai and the conflict in Ukraine. By volume, exports were down 19 per cent last month, indicating that falling prices were a big factor in the larger decline in export value.

Liang Yan, an economist at Willamette University in the US state of Oregon, said the decline was largely due to the European Union’s implementation of tariffs at the end of October, as the bloc now accounted for around a quarter of the total value of China’s electric vehicle exports, as well as weakening shipments to emerging markets.

The value of electric vehicle exports to the EU dropped 36 per cent year on year in November, while export volume declined by 23 per cent. On October 31, the bloc began to enforce new import tariffs of up to 45 per cent on electric vehicles produced in China.

Exports to emerging markets also fell, with the value of China’s electric vehicle exports to members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations last month down by a quarter year on year and those to Latin America plunging 47 per cent.

Liang said China’s electric vehicle makers seemed to be focusing more on plug-in hybrids for the EU market to sidestep the tariffs, and the industry was still performing well domestically.

“Domestic sales are going strong, and China’s electric vehicle makers are building supply chains in the EU, Southeast Asia and Latin America,” she said, adding that they would also boost parts exports to facilitate overseas production.

Spurred by a 20,000 yuan (US$2,740) incentive for consumers trading in petrol-powered cars for electric vehicles, sales of electric vehicles and hybrids in China surged 47.4 per cent year on year last month to 1.5 million units.

In the first 11 months of the year, 9.7 million electric vehicles were sold in China, up 40 per cent year on year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

China’s foldable smartphone shipment growth slows amid global dip in demand

https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3292061/chinas-foldable-smartphone-shipment-growth-slows-amid-global-dip-demand?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s foldable smartphone shipments are seeing growth slow this year, according to Counterpoint Research, even as the country is poised to account for more than 50 per cent of the handset segment’s 2024 global shipments.

Foldable handset shipments in China, the world’s largest smartphone market, are expected to reach 9.1 million units this year, up 2 per cent from 2023, according to Counterpoint’s latest market report published on Friday.

That is in stark contrast with the triple-digit annual percentage growth rates recorded in previous years, including 103 per cent in 2023, 191 per cent in 2022 and 442 per cent in 2020.

China’s slower foldable handset shipment forecast reflects the recent worldwide dip in demand.

Global foldable handset shipments saw a 1 per cent year-on-year decline in the three months ended September after six consecutive quarters of growth, according to a Counterpoint report from November.

That marked the first-ever third-quarter decline in the segment’s history, attributed mainly to Samsung Electronics’ “relatively underwhelming performance” with its Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Fold 6 models, the report said.

The global foldable smartphone segment has entered “a transitionary phase, where it is facing challenges as it progresses from a niche segment to the mainstream”, Counterpoint senior analyst Jene Park wrote in a separate report.

“If manufacturers give serious consideration to improving price accessibility, along with achieving further technological reliability and enhancing consumer perceptions, this phase can be overcome.”

To attract more consumers and foster broader adoption, “innovative and more compelling use cases will be essential”, Friday’s Counterpoint report said. Despite the slowdown, Counterpoint indicated that China’s foldable handset segment “remains a bright spot in the country’s saturated smartphone market”.

Huawei Technologies remains the bestselling foldable smartphone vendor on the mainland, accounting for around half of the total domestic shipments, according to Counterpoint.

US-sanctioned Huawei launched its Mate XT, the world’s first trifold smartphone, in September and the new Mate X6 in November, which are both expected by Counterpoint to help cement the Shenzhen-based firm’s leading position in this segment.

Huawei’s foldable smartphone shipments in the third quarter totalled 1.12 million units in China, up 97 per cent from a year earlier, according to data from research firm CINNO. In the September quarter, Huawei accounted for 85 per cent of high-end foldable handsets – models priced above 10,000 yuan (US$1,370) – on the mainland, CINNO data showed.

China-born biologist Wang Cunyu returns from decades in US to head advanced institute

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3292050/china-born-biologist-wang-cunyu-returns-decades-us-head-advanced-institute?utm_source=rss_feed

Distinguished biologist Wang Cunyu has left the University of California, Los Angeles and joined Peking University to head its Institute of Advanced Clinical Medicine (IACM).

Wang – who left China in 1990 and has been in the United States for more than three decades – delivered a speech as the institute’s newly appointed head at a conference last week to mark the body’s anniversary on December 18, the Peking University Health Science Centre said on Friday.

Wang was quoted as saying that it was his great honour and responsibility to return to his alma mater and develop the institute.

He said he would lead the team to “take root in clinical needs, make full use of the unique advantages of cross-disciplines and bridge the gap between basic research and clinical application”, and would devote himself to building the institute into a major force in global medical innovation.

Previously, Wang was a professor and associate dean for graduate studies at the UCLA school of dentistry, and the first person to hold the school’s Dr No-Hee Park Endowed Chair in Dentistry. He is also a professor in the department of bioengineering and a member of the university’s cancer centre.

According to the UCLA’s website, his research focuses on three areas related to human health and medicine. These include molecular signalling, epigenetics – the study of how behaviour and environment can affect gene activity – and therapeutics of oral, head and neck cancer.

Wang was born in 1963 in Xinghua in eastern China’s Jiangsu province. He studied at Nanjing Medical University and Peking University’s school of dentistry, where he obtained his undergraduate and doctoral degrees in 1985 and 1989 respectively.

In 1990, he moved to the US to study at one of the world’s leading centres for dental and craniofacial research – the Forsyth Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts – as a postdoctoral fellow to investigate oral inflammation and bone resorption.

In 1999, Wang received a doctorate in genetics and molecular biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the US, before joining the University of Michigan school of dentistry as an associate professor in 1999. He joined the UCLA faculty in 2007.

Among his scientific achievements is a landmark study on the regulation of cancer cell death, which was named one of the top 10 important discoveries by Science magazine in 1996. He has published more than 150 peer-reviewed papers in prestigious journals, including Science, Cell, Nature Biotechnology and Nature Medicine.

In 2011, he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine – one of the highest honours in medicine and public health in the US – as the first Chinese-American from the mainland to be admitted in 30 years.

In 2013, he was elected as a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He also received the distinguished scientist award for basic research in biological mineralisation from the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research the same year.

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China refused investigation into ship linked to severed Baltic cables, says Sweden

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/23/china-refused-investigation-into-ship-linked-to-severed-baltic-cables-says-sweden

Sweden’s foreign minister has said China has denied a request for prosecutors to conduct an investigation on a Chinese ship linked to the cutting of two Baltic Sea cables.

Sections of two telecom cables were cut on 17 and 18 November in Swedish territorial waters of the Baltic. Suspicions have been directed at a Chinese ship, the Yi Peng 3, which according to ship tracking sites sailed over the cables around the time they were cut.

The Swedish foreign minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard, told Agence France-Presse: “Swedish police have been on board [Yi Peng 3] as observers in connection with the Chinese investigation … At the same time, I note that China has not heeded our request for the prosecutor to conduct an investigation onboard.”

Earlier on Monday, Beijing had promised to continue cooperation with regional authorities over the Yi Peng 3.

The ship tracking site Vesselfinder showed the Yi Peng 3, which had been anchored in the international waters of the Kattegat strait between Sweden and Denmark, steaming north out of the strait on Saturday.

Beijing said on Monday that the ship had left “to ensure the physical and mental wellbeing of the crew”.

“The shipowner company, after a comprehensive evaluation and consultation with relevant parties, decided to resume operations,” said Mao Ning, a foreign ministry spokesperson. “China has notified all relevant countries in advance. China is willing to maintain communication and cooperation with the countries involved to advance the follow-up handling of the incident.”

European officials have said they suspect sabotage linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin has rejected the comments as “absurd” and “laughable”.

On Thursday, authorities from Sweden, Germany and Finland were invited onboard the vessel for an investigation led by China.

A Danish representative accompanied the group as the country had served a “facilitating role” by hosting meetings between the countries earlier in the week, its foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said.

In late November, Sweden requested China’s cooperation in the investigation. The Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, stressed that there was no “accusation” of any sort.

Early on 17 November, the Arelion cable running from the Swedish island of Gotland to Lithuania was damaged. The next day, the C-Lion 1 submarine cable connecting Helsinki and the German port of Rostock was cut south of Sweden’s Öland island, about 435 miles (700km) from Helsinki.

Tensions have mounted around the Baltic Sea since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In September 2022, a series of underwater blasts ruptured the Nord Stream pipelines that carried Russian gas to Europe, the cause of which has yet to be determined.

In October 2023, an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was shut down after it was damaged by the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship.

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Can cultural exchanges fix ‘ambiguity and uncertainty’ in China-India ties?

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3292056/can-cultural-exchanges-fix-ambiguity-and-uncertainty-china-india-ties?utm_source=rss_feed

China and India should work harder to promote exchanges and bridge the perception gap between two countries, according to a leading Chinese expert on South Asia.

Zhang Jiadong, director of the South Asian Studies Centre at Fudan University, said the level of people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and India lagged “far behind”, considering the strength and international status of the two Asian powers.

This has resulted in “ambiguity and uncertainty” in their understanding of each other, Zhang said in an article published in the Global Times on Monday.

“This problem needs more frequent people-to-people and cultural exchanges to alleviate it,” he wrote.

The academic noted that after years of tensions as a result of conflicts along their disputed Himalayan border, a lack of robust exchanges between China and India had contributed to misunderstandings – exchanges that were vital for fostering mutual trust.

Zhang’s commentary came as he and other Chinese scholars, including those from the Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences, wrapped up talks with a delegation from the India Foundation – a think tank affiliated with India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party – in China’s Tibet autonomous region.

The discussions in regional capital Lhasa, aimed at easing tensions between the two nations, were the second phase of the Dialogue on China-India Relations. The first phase was held at Fudan University in Shanghai last month. The dialogue is an example of “track 2” diplomacy, which brings together non-state actors from both sides for discussions.

For decades, China-India relations have been troubled by the dispute over their shared border.

In 2020, bilateral ties plunged to their lowest point in decades following a series of stand-offs along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that separates Indian-controlled Ladakh and Chinese-controlled Aksai Chin. One clash in the Galwan River valley in June of that year left 20 Indian troops and at least four Chinese soldiers dead.

Direct flights between China and India were cut during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage – a spiritual sojourn undertaken by followers of Hinduism, Buddhism and other religions to Tibet’s Mount Kailash and Mapham Yumtso Lake has not yet resumed.

However, the two sides have made efforts to bridge the gap in bilateral relations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Brics summit in Russia in October, just a day after the countries announced an agreement on troop disengagement at the border, which led to the end of the high-altitude stand-off.

On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval held their first special representatives meeting in five years. During the meeting, Wang said it was crucial for both sides to establish a correct understanding of each other and resolve differences through dialogues.

Zhang said that to do so, China and India had some catching up to do when it came to people-to-people exchanges.

He noted that Beijing and New Delhi had been working to resume stalled exchanges, and the countries held their first track 2 dialogue since 2020 in India last November.

But other activities, including student exchanges, have not recovered as quickly.

During the 2019-2020 academic year, there were about 20,000 Indian students studying in China, according to Zhang.

After the Galwan Valley clash in 2020, the number of newly registered Indian students in China dropped to nearly zero. The figure then rose to 8,580 during the 2021-2022 school year before dropping to 6,500 the next year, he said.

The number of Chinese students studying in India is even smaller, with just 166 enrolled for the 2020-2021 academic year, which dropped to 25 for 2023-2024.

China’s security ministry says foreign spies are slandering revolutionary heroes online

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3292010/chinas-security-ministry-says-foreign-spies-are-slandering-revolutionary-heroes-online?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s leading anti-spy agency has blamed foreign agents for comments on social media that it says distort history and “slander” revolutionary heroes.

“There are foreign spy agencies flooding online comment sections with unofficial and fake history about our country’s historical heroes, trying to discredit and slander our historical culture and heroic role models, and dispel people’s admiration for heroes and their identification with our historical culture,” the Ministry of State Security said in a social media post on Monday.

The post on the ministry’s official WeChat account warned that “some foreign spy agencies” are “stealing state secrets, disrupting online order and posing a threat to national security”.

Foreign spies pretend to be interested in politics, military matters, economics or science and technology and try to steal information by interacting with social media users, the ministry said.

It said officers had discovered that spies were using “manual screening or algorithmic capture” to entice people to post sensitive information such as the “parameters, serial numbers and developers of our research equipment” in the comments under a video about a “certain Chinese technology project”.

The spies also recruit trolls or use bots to “recklessly fabricate and spread false statements that discredit our government and policies”, the ministry added.

The security ministry has become increasingly active on social media with warnings about the risk posed by foreigners.

It said foreign spies “maliciously [post] sensitive topics” on Chinese social media and “flood the screen with provocative and reactionary comments, inflaming public sentiment, and try to provoke disputes and create chaos”.

The post did not say which countries were responsible for doing this or what social media platforms they were targeting.

The ministry warned government employees in sensitive positions not to post classified information online or reveal their jobs “to avoid being exploited by people with ulterior motives”.

It also asked social media users to report any “reactionary, sensitive or other negative information that endangers our national security” and avoid posting “rumours or slanderous comments that discredit our country’s history, revolutionary process, development and construction”.

China has a strict law protecting the Communist Party’s heroes and martyrs.

Some have questioned whether heroic stories about these people have been embellished for propaganda purposes, but Beijing calls discussion or research that challenges its official version of history “historical nihilism”.

Journalist Luo Changping was jailed for seven months in 2021 for “insulting” soldiers who died in the Korean War.

The Chinese authorities have been increasingly vocal about national security and changed the law last year to broaden the definition of espionage.

The ministry opened a WeChat account in August last year and has since used the social media platform to warn that public foreign spy agencies are targeting Chinese citizens and companies.

China twin hides sister’s death for 5 years by posing as her to avoid family heartbreak

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3291321/china-twin-hides-sisters-death-5-years-posing-her-avoid-family-heartbreak?utm_source=rss_feed

A Chinese Canadian lifestyle influencer has told of her attempt to hide the death of her twin sister from her elderly family for five years, sparking disbelief from international online observers but understanding from people in China.

Annie Niu, a key opinion leader with 200,000 followers, recently posted a video saying she just revealed to her family in China that her identical twin sister, whose name she did not disclose, died from viral meningitis five years ago.

Niu, 34, confessed in a 2022 video that she had been calling her grandparents pretending to be her sister for three years because their voices were similar.

She continued doing so for her grandma until she passed away in July. On her deathbed, her father told her that her granddaughter would be waiting for her in heaven.

Her grandfather was also in the dark.

After she told her family the truth, they took down all the family photos with her in them. She said nearly all the 17 photos she counted last time were removed, leaving the walls empty.

Both Niu’s videos attracted more than 7 million online views, with many people expressing shock and disbelief.

“I don’t think that’s fair, “ one person said.

“How did they not know for five years?” said another.

Niu explained that it was because her grandparents were both 92 and her father asked her to withhold the information fearing causing them more heartbreak.

Niu and her sister grew up in China and moved to Canada with their parents around 10. They lived apart from their grandparents and other relatives in China, which made the white lies easier.

Meanwhile, some were empathetic with Niu.

One online observer said: “After my dad passed away my grandma stopped eating and basically died of a broken heart. She passed away two weeks after my dad.”

Netizens in China said it is a common practice in Chinese culture.

It is considered ominous to see your offspring die before yourself.

As of taking down pictures, some interpreted that it was to avoid them evoking sadness.

In December, a 38-year-old Chinese woman in the southwestern province of Guizhou dressed like her mother, who died from illness six months ago, to see her grandma with Alzheimer’s disease and comfort her.

In March, a Chinese man from the northeastern province of Liaoning used artificial intelligence to disguise himself as his deceased father in video calls, to hide his death from his frail grandmother.

Both cases drew a wave of compassionate reactions online.

China’s industrial robot sales shrink for first time in 5 years on ‘tightening demand’

https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3292040/chinas-industrial-robot-sales-shrink-first-time-5-years-tightening-demand?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s industrial robot sales are expected to record its first decline in five years amid sluggish demand in the manufacturing industry, new market research shows.

The country’s total industrial robot deliveries this year are estimated to reach 300,000 units, down 5 per cent from 2023, according to the latest report from market consultancy Shenzhen Gaogong Industrial Institute (GGII).

That decline was attributed by the report to the “obviously tightening demand” from the manufacturing industry, especially the automobile and renewable energy sectors, as companies slowed down fixed-asset investments amid increased pressure on profitability.

The lower-than-expected volume of industrial robot sales marks the first decline since 2020, according to GGII data. The institute previously forecast a record 320,000-unit sales this year.

“Industrial robot manufacturers are experiencing a test of survival,” the report said. It pointed out that the slow demand has led to a price war in the industry.

This year’s sales decline has also come at a time when China already surpassed Germany and Japan in the adoption of industrial robots.

Growth in domestic demand for industrial robots has gradually slowed over the past few years. Sales saw a 54 per cent surge in 2021, when China started to double down on the adoption of industrial robots.

That growth, however, significantly decreased to 16 per cent and 4.3 per cent in 2022 and 2023, respectively, owing to the impact of Covid-19-related restrictions and global geopolitical headwinds.

While the decline in orders has become “a common problem in the industry”, foreign industrial robot vendors on the mainland are having a tougher time, as quarterly order volumes of some suppliers have fallen by more than 40 per cent from a year ago, according to the GGII report.

China has ramped up the use of industrial robots, along with other hardware and software, over the past few years to boost productivity, reduce workforce expenses and improve the international competitiveness of its manufacturing supply chain.

In late 2021, the country unveiled its 14th five-year plan for the development of the robotics industry. The goal was to achieve a minimum annual growth of 20 per cent in robotics sales and develop a group of industry champions to double robot density by 2025.

China had 470 robots per 10,000 employees in 2023, up from 402 units a year earlier. The country now ranks third in terms of robot-to-factory-worker ratio, behind South Korea and Singapore, according to a report published in November by the International Federation of Robotics.

China’s local governments urged to rethink approach to infrastructure investment

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3292013/chinas-local-governments-urged-rethink-approach-infrastructure-investment?utm_source=rss_feed

China must address a rising problem of overinvestment in large but inefficient projects that is more rooted in habitual practice than any consideration of economic productivity, think tank scholars said.

Governments must make rational adjustments and “know where to hit the brakes and where to step on the gas” in order to ensure sustainable economic growth and avoid the pitfalls of overambitious spending that were seen in past projects of questionable utility, Chen Gong, the founder of the independent Anbound think tank, said during a discussion session in Hangzhou last week.

“One of the gravest challenges China’s future faces is how to compress inefficient and already excessive investments,” he said, adding that it is no longer feasible to approach future development using past methods that were often marked by low investment efficiency and rising local government debt.

The comments came as China struggles to find more sustainable growth drivers amid slowing economic expansion, with investment in infrastructure projects remaining a popular option to prop up economic activity.

China’s local governments have long relied on large construction projects to drive short-term regional growth, but many have been poorly planned and wasteful, failing to deliver the anticipated returns.

Local governments are burdened with massive levels of debt, with abandoned projects – such as unfinished flats and abandoned railway stations – leaving them unable to pay teachers and public servants, or maintain essential services like transport.

“It’s a kind of ingrained mindset – what works at the top is simply replicated at the local level,” said Zhao Zhijiang, a researcher with Anbound. “Many localities adopt a one-size-fits-all approach, but in the end, it becomes clear that solutions must be tailored to local conditions.”

China should allow more space for market forces to operate, “letting venture capital focus on what it does best”, and shift greater attention to education strategies and talent development in critical sectors such as semiconductors, biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals, he added.

Beijing has been tightening curbs and cleaning up the hidden debt piles of local governments to defuse financial risks. The nation’s top legislative body announced last month a 6 trillion yuan (US$837 billion) debt-swap plan, aiming to reduce 12 trillion yuan of local “hidden” debts in five years and enable local authorities to pursue the revitalisation of their economies.

By the end of last year, local governments had 14.3 trillion yuan in hidden debts, Finance Minister Lan Foan said last month.

China has around 1,300 high-speed-railway stations across the country, according to China Railway, but at least 26 remain unused or have been shut down due to factors such as remote locations, inadequate supporting infrastructure and low passenger traffic, according to state media reports.

In December last year, the Haitou high-speed-railway station in Danzhou, Hainan province, was put into operation after media reports questioned why it had not opened.

The station had become a symbol of the country’s inefficient investment in infrastructure projects, having remained idle for eight years after its completion, despite having cost more than 40 million yuan to build.

With daily ridership of fewer than 100 people, operating the station would lead to significant financial losses, local authorities said only months before it opened.

Hele station, another high-speed-railway station in Hainan, was put into use in October, 14 years after the completion of construction.

Daniel Duggan to be extradited from Australia to US over alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2024/dec/23/daniel-duggan-australia-extradition-us-alleged-china-fighter-pilot-training-ntwnfb

An Australian pilot will be surrendered to the United States as early as next week after the federal government approved the extradition of the former US Marine pilot to face charges over allegedly training Chinese fighter pilots.

Daniel Duggan, who has been in maximum security prison in Australia for more than two years fighting his extradition, will be handed over to American authorities in the early part of 2025. In a statement, his family said they were “devastated” at the decision after the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, on Monday confirmed he had approved Duggan’s extradition to the US.

“Acknowledging the public interest in this matter, I confirm that on 19 December 2024 I determined under section 22 of the Extradition Act 1988 (Cth) that Daniel Duggan should be extradited to the United States to face prosecution for the offences of which he is accused,” Dreyfus said in a statement.

“Mr Duggan was given the opportunity to provide representations as to why he should not be surrendered to the United States. In arriving at my decision, I took into consideration all material in front of me.”

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The US has sought the extradition of Duggan, 55, on charges of arms trafficking and money laundering arising from his alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots more than a decade ago. The allegations have not been tested in court.

A US indictment alleges he taught Chinese fighter pilots to land jets on aircraft carriers – known as “carrier-arrested landings” – in defiance of arms trafficking laws. The indictment details payments Duggan allegedly received in 2011 and 2012 for training Chinese fighter pilots at a test flight academy “based in South Africa, with a presence in the People’s Republic of China”.

The father of six – whose children are aged between six and 18 and are all Australian citizens – faces a potential 60-year prison term if convicted in the US.

“We are shocked and absolutely heartbroken by this callous and inhumane decision which has been delivered just before Christmas with no explanation or justification from the government,” Duggan’s wife, Saffrine, said in a statement.

The family said they received a short letter from the attorney general’s department on Friday confirming Dreyfus’ decision, which set out that Duggan would be escorted to the US sometime after 30 December and before 17 February.

Duggan’s family said they were considering their legal options, “including requesting specific reasons for the government’s decision”, which they claimed the letter did not address.

“We feel abandoned by the Australian government and deeply disappointed that they have completely failed in their duty to protect an Australian family,” Saffrine said.

“It is very difficult to explain to the children why this is happening to their father, especially now, at this time of year. We are all terrified that we may not see him for a very long time. My children are very, very sad.”

The family said Duggan maintained his innocence and denied the allegations made against him.

Dreyfus noted in his statement that Duggan was found in May by a New South Wales magistrate to be eligible for surrender to the US.

“To ensure the safety of all persons involved and to uphold the integrity of the surrender process, as a matter of longstanding practice, the Australian government does not comment on operational matters relating to extradition, including the timing of and specific arrangements for a person’s surrender,” the attorney general said.

Chinese village’s sinkhole nightmare continues with kitchen floor collapse

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3291950/chinese-villages-sinkhole-nightmare-continues-kitchen-floor-collapse?utm_source=rss_feed

A woman returned to a small village in southwestern China to find her kitchen floor on the verge of collapsing, just before the latest sinkhole – of more than 30 recorded in the past 17 months – in the area opened up beneath her home.

The Baxiangping community within Xiangping village, northeast of Fuquan city, was declared at risk of a geological disaster in May, with two reports blaming a combination of depleted groundwater, caused by mining and heavy rainfall.

According to the online Red Star News, local resident Hu Yuzhen returned home on December 9 after several days away to find that the cement floor of her kitchen was cracked and sunken, with audible underground activity occurring beneath it.

She went to fetch the village’s geological monitor and by the time they got back to the house a hole had opened up measuring two metres (6.56 feet) wide and three metres (9.84 feet) deep, the Chengdu-based news outlet said in a report on Sunday.

It was the 32nd sinkhole recorded in the Baxiangping group of karst formations – the distinct, erosion-prone terrain that is known for land depressions and subsidence – since August 2023.

Most of the sinkholes appeared in the village’s surrounding fields, especially during the April flood season and throughout the summer, with the city’s natural resources bureau finding in May that both natural and man-made factors were responsible.

Villagers also reported other signs that changes were occurring below ground, including the drying up of springs that were previously used for both drinking and irrigation.

Analysis by the provincial geology and mineral resources bureau, which looked into both the sinkholes and the disappearing spring water, concluded that the Gantangbian and Hongda coal mines had caused the long-term drainage of groundwater.

This in turn led to a drop in groundwater levels underneath the village, as well as a change in the direction of flow that carried away the water that originally filled the cracks, according to its report in May.

Sinkholes vary greatly in size and can form naturally or as a result of human activities, such as construction or water use. They occur when the surface layer collapses into an underground void or cavity that forms as soluble rocks are dissolved by groundwater.

The sudden change in groundwater levels was blamed on an incident in July last year at the Gantangbian mine, just days before the first sinkhole appeared, according to the report which was also quoted by Red Star News.

Li Qingfeng, a senior engineer for the Guizhou bureau, told state broadcaster CCTV on December 14 that there are many caves in the area “which is a prerequisite for the formation of karst collapse”.

“The long-term mining and drainage of groundwater by the two surrounding coal mines [combined with the] effects of heavy rainfall on the surface have induced the formation of ground collapse,” he said.

“Although the mining areas of these two coal mines are more than 1km (0.6 miles) away from the Baxiangping formation, when the groundwater is drained from the coal mine, the groundwater below the Baxiangping formation will be discharged.”

Yang Bingtao, deputy mayor of Fuquan, told Red Star News that the government will help the displaced, including with financing and building new homes. The city authorities will also work with the mines to compensate the villagers for losses, he said.

China auntie goes viral with comedic imitations, iconic scenes from Korean dramas

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3291142/china-auntie-goes-viral-comedic-imitations-iconic-scenes-korean-dramas?utm_source=rss_feed

An elderly Chinese aunt has captured hearts online by parodying iconic scenes from classic Korean dramas with hilarious and exaggerated acting.

The woman’s performances have sparked an outpouring of affection and pleas for her to continue bringing joy.

In recent years, South Korean TV dramas have seen a massive surge in popularity in the West, notably with Squid Game, which was released in September 2021 and watched by one in four people in the United States.

However, recently, a Chinese aunt has brought her unique style to performances, adding a delightful flavor to the Korean drama craze.

The 66-year-old, Zhen Yingzi, from Qingdao, Shandong province in northern China, is known online as “Silly Aunt Yingzi”, where she boasts 811,000 followers.

Her profile modestly states: “I have no education or background. We are a family of twelve sisters, relying solely on ourselves.”

Since launching her social media account, Zhen has humorously parodied scenes from more than 402 Chinese and Korean dramas, including hits like Descendants of the Sun, My Love from the Star, and The Heirs, many of which were performed in the local Qingdao dialect.

Her recent rise to international fame came after a Vietnamese TikTok user, identified as tamsucuachocon99, reposted her videos alongside the original scenes for comparison, delighting and surprising viewers worldwide.

In one scene mimicking Descendants of the Sun, where the character Mo-yeon, portrayed by Song Hye-kyo, encounters another Si-jin, played by Song Joong-ki, Zhen dons a wig that matches Song Hye-kyo’s hairstyle and length, complete with a white veil.

When the veil blows off, she runs to retrieve it, only to look up and see a group of elderly men dressed as soldiers, imitating Si-jin and his companions.

However, some of the “soldiers” wore mismatched outfits, wearing Dr Martin boots or red floral pants, while all of them humorously held popsicles or sausages in their hands for comedic effect.

The video amassed 5 million views and 206,000 likes on TikTok.

Due to the absurd and hilarious visuals, many viewers admitted that they might never watch Korean dramas in the same way again.

One person said: “This is the Descendants of the Sun after 500 years.”

“Please, don’t stop making these videos, life would be so dull without them,” said another.

In an interview with Zaker, Aunt Zhen explained that she had always loved taking photos when she was young and has now extended this passion to short video production.

She said that her production team comprises close friends and family.

Her daughter manages costumes and makeup, her son-in-law works as the director and prop master, and her friends and relatives star as her acting partners.

Though all the actors are over 60, Zhen maintains rigorous standards, paying meticulous attention to every detail from camera angles to facial expressions, often requiring countless scene reshoots.

Despite the challenges, Zhen said that she finds tremendous joy in the process and is proud of each video they produce.

Chinese netizens are also fascinated about her passion for acting.

“I must be addicted. I didn’t feel anything watching the original version, but the elderly version feels so inspiring!” one online viewer commented.

Another asked: “Can I fund this production? I want my dad to join!”

Australia approves extradition of ex-US Marine accused of training Chinese military pilots

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3291970/australia-approves-extradition-ex-us-marine-accused-training-chinese-military-pilots?utm_source=rss_feed

Former US Marine Corps pilot Daniel Duggan will be extradited from Australia to the United States over allegations that he illegally trained Chinese aviators.

Australia’s Attorney General Mark Dreyfus approved the extradition on Monday, ending the Boston-born 55-year-old’s nearly two-year attempt to avoid being returned to the US.

Duggan, who served in the Marines for 12 years before immigrating to Australia and giving up his US citizenship, has been in a maximum-security prison since he was arrested in 2022 at his family home in the state of New South Wales. He is the father of six children.

Dreyfus confirmed in a statement on Monday he had approved the extradition but did not say when Duggan would be transferred to the US.

“Duggan was given the opportunity to provide representations as to why he should not be surrendered to the United States. In arriving at my decision, I took into consideration all material in front of me,” Dreyfus said in the statement.

In May, a Sydney judge ruled Duggan could be extradited to the US, leaving an appeal to the attorney general as Duggan’s last hope of remaining in Australia.

In a 2016 indictment from the US District Court in Washington DC unsealed in late 2022, prosecutors said Duggan conspired with others to provide training to Chinese military pilots in 2010 and 2012, and possibly at other times, without applying for an appropriate license.

Prosecutors say he received payments totalling around A$88,000 (US$61,000) and international travel from another conspirator for what was sometimes described as “personal development training”.

If convicted, Duggan faces up to 60 years in prison. He denies the allegations.

“We feel abandoned by the Australian government and deeply disappointed that they have completely failed in their duty to protect an Australian family,” his wife, Saffrine Duggan, said in a statement on Monday. “We are now considering our options.”

China’s rise, potential recession, no WWIII yet: 11 key interviews from 2024

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3291966/chinas-rise-potential-recession-no-wwiii-yet-11-key-interviews-2024?utm_source=rss_feed

Catch up on some 2024 entries in . If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider .

Amid numerous risk factors, China’s ascension and America’s predominance appear destined for conflict. But Graham Allison says recent “trend lines” could change trajectories towards a more “constructive relationship”.

An expert on the contested waterway, Wu Shicun calls for rival claimants to work together to demilitarise – and says Beijing should take the lead.

Shen Zhihua warns about the economic decoupling that sent US-Soviet relations spiralling into confrontation. China should make its diplomatic position clear as the countries realign over ideology, the head of a Cold War history research centre says.

US historian Jay Winter explains how the nature of war shifted after WWI and WWII, and what that means for the world today.

Huang Yiping of Peking University talks the re-election of Donald Trump and why China needs its own Marshall Plan.

Political scientist Elizabeth Economy gives her view on the big issues in the relationship and why US policy on China has changed.

The retired academic speaks out about his country’s legal system, the Cultural Revolution, private enterprise protection, nationalism and why 2008 was China’s “first year”.

With China’s never-before-seen levels of economic upheaval, Richard Koo warns “the consequences could be dire” if a so-called balance-sheet recession takes hold. Koo’s theories influenced Western policy after the global financial crisis, and now he has strong advice for Chinese policymakers and disillusioned young people.

American economist Jeffrey Sachs on the US deep state’s reaction to China’s success, and why we’re not seeing the end of globalisation.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are likely to increase tariffs on Chinese imports, the Nobel laureate says, but the former president threatens “every dimension” of the US economy.

Political scientist Li Cheng talks geopolitics, Trump, Taiwan and Hong Kong in a wide-ranging interview. He also looks at President Xi Jinping’s “decisive” move to fire the foreign and defence ministers last year.

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China’s diplomatic clout in Mideast at risk as threats build around ally Iran

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3291972/chinas-diplomatic-clout-mideast-risk-threats-build-around-ally-iran?utm_source=rss_feed

When Beijing brokered a historic peace deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia last year, it was seen as a milestone for China’s proactive engagement with the Middle East.

For Tehran, which has been under economic and geopolitical pressure from US President Joe Biden’s administration, the deal marked a diplomatic breakthrough and a potential opportunity to end isolation, with Beijing’s help.

However, with the downfall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, and the catastrophic loss of Hamas and Hezbollah during its war against Israel, Tehran faces mounting geopolitical threats with splintered regional proxies.

Experts said that with Donald Trump’s hawkish Middle East policy cabinet, China-Iran relations were likely to strengthen under the common pressure.

But China’s ability to remain a mediator could be at risk amid the growing risk of confrontation between Tehran and regional powers, which could complicate China’s diplomatic legacy in the region.

“It is almost certain that Trump’s second term will continue to exert strong pressure on Iran, which, coupled with Israel’s pounding and destruction of Iranian-backed forces such as Hamas and Hezbollah over the past year …[It] will force Iran to opt for closer cooperation with other powers, including China and Russia,” said Fan Hongda, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute, Shanghai International Studies University.

Iran has experienced economic hardship since Trump’s first presidency. After withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal – a multipolar framework to negotiate Iran’s nuclear issue – Trump imposed harsher economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic, a campaign Washington called “maximum pressure” and whose impact has lasted until today.

On the security front, the Trump administration coordinated the assassination of Qassem Soleimani in 2020, a major Iranian general and commander, dragging US-Iran relations to one of their most dangerous points in decades.

The harsh stance is likely to continue with Trump’s Tehran-hawkish Middle East cabinet – including Massad Boulos, the president’s Middle East adviser, Steve Witkoff, the special envoy to the Middle East, and Mike Huckabee, the ambassador to Israel.

This month, Boulous told French media outlet Le Point that Trump would certainly pursue the “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran in the clearest indication yet that the incoming administration would enforce Iran’s economic and geopolitical isolation.

Clemens Chay, a research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute said Tehran had two reasons for further strengthening ties with Beijing: “First, to show that little success is achieved from isolating the Islamic Republic. Second, to maintain Iran’s economic lifelines”.

In contrast to Washington’s hostility, China’s relations with Iran have grown economically and politically in the past few years, and it has been a major force trying to stop Iran being totally isolated.

China, the world’s second-largest economy, is a crucial trading partner and oil buyer for the Islamic Republic, reportedly through trade transit to circumvent sanctions.

Beijing has invited Tehran to join Brics and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) – two Beijing-led regional blocs – to avoid Tehran falling into further international isolation.

Chay said “this equally reveals the asymmetry in China-Iran ties where a disproportionate relationship is shaped as a result of Tehran’s dire needs”.

But James Dorsey, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University, said Beijing might not be willing to seek closer relations with Tehran if Trump conducts a hawkish stance towards their partnership.

“[Iran] is already quite close to China. I don’t think China wants to be closer to [Iran]. China does not want to violate US sanctions,” Dorsey said.

“Sure, China and Iran have common interests, but they also have differing interests … but finally [the two countries’ relations] are depending on what Trump will do [to China and Iran].”

Iran is one of China’s Middle Eastern partners in the Belt and Road Initiative, yet it has seen significantly fewer investments over the past decade compared with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and neighbouring Pakistan.

A landmark 25-year cooperation agreement signed in 2021 between the two countries has also seen little implementation, which even drew arguments inside Tehran.

On the diplomatic front, Iran is still an important pillar for China’s ambition as a mediator in the region, especially after Beijing brokered a historic peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran last year.

However, observers caution that Beijing’s growing role as a mediator could be at stake in the next four years, given the changing circumstances of Iran and its regional rivals.

Wen Shaobiao, a Middle East specialist at Shanghai International Studies University, said Trump’s unyielding support for Israel and harsh approach to Iran could shrink China’s space as a regional mediator.

He predicted that if Trump took a hardline attitude to support Israel, the Gaza war could be ended in a timely manner. Trump would continue to push his diplomatic legacy in the region, the Abraham Accords, which encourages Israel – Iran’s biggest rival in the region – to establish diplomatic relations with Arab countries.

Biden’s effort to connect Saudi Arabia and Israel last year, reported to be concluded soon, was interrupted by the Israel-Gaza war.

“China has always insisted that the Palestinian-Israeli issue is the core issue in the Middle East and calls for the ‘two-state solution’. The Abraham Accords, however, are trying to marginalise the Palestinian-Israeli problem. The conflict between China and the United States on this issue will become more distinct,” Wen said.

Jesse Marks, a non-resident fellow with the Stimson Centre’s China programme and a former US defence adviser, said the growing conflicts in the Middle East – especially the recent regime change in Syria – risk further confrontation between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Syria has been one of the major battlegrounds for the Saudi-Iran decade-long confrontation. Tehran openly backed Assad’s regime with force but Riyadh opposed the regime on the diplomatic front.

Riyadh was seen as one of the major blocks to Syria’s full membership of the Arab League. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia resigned from the UN Security Council over China and Russia’s veto of Assad sanctions, creating one of China’s few diplomatic disputes with the kingdom.

“China has invested in building stronger engagement between Saudi Arabia and Iran. But the instability and escalation likely to follow in Syria will fuel disagreements and tensions across the region,” Marks said.

“Beijing will have to carefully navigate a politically explosive environment as many of its key partners find themselves on opposing sides over Syria’s future.”

China is making it easier for Americans to visit, but where is the big uptick?

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3291883/china-making-it-easier-americans-visit-where-big-uptick?utm_source=rss_feed

A year ago in Woodside, California, the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies met and agreed to improve “people-to-people” exchanges. During the summit with US President Joe Biden, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said the country was ready to receive 50,000 young Americans over the next five years.

Since then, China has made it easier for Americans to visit. This includes faster, simpler and cheaper visa processing, especially for students, as well as discounted flights on national carriers. China’s consulates around the United States, along with China-based institutions, have mobilised to facilitate the movement of people and meet the high-level targets set.

There have already been some dividends. One year on, Beijing says that about 14,000 young Americans have made it to mainland China. Overall numbers of American visitors are not available, but all indications point to an improvement since the downturn experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic, though they remain a fraction of 2019 figures.

Beijing’s eagerness to increase the number of tourists and students to boost the Chinese economy and have people “see the country for themselves” has also contributed to a lowering of the US’ travel warning for mainland China.

In November, China released a handful of American detainees and Uygurs as part of a deal to get the warning lowered from “reconsider travel” to simply “exercise increased caution”. There are no longer Americans “wrongfully detained” in China, according to the White House’s National Security Council, though it notes that Americans may still be subject to exit bans.

Earlier this month, China announced an expansion of its visa-free transit policy, which allows Americans and citizens from a few dozen other countries to stay in certain Chinese cities for a limited period without a visa while transiting to a third destination.

But China may have a long way to go before it sees a significant increase in numbers in response to policy changes, as young and older Americans alike say expenses, geopolitics and the availability of organised programmes are more relevant factors.

And with a change in government coming in January – Republicans will control both chambers of Congress in addition to the presidency – the future of US-China exchange appears increasingly at risk. In recent weeks, Republicans in the House of Representatives have criticised the easing of the travel advisory and launched a series of attacks against American academic institutions that work with China.

Rosie Levine, executive director of the US-China Education Trust, a Washington-based non-profit organisation facilitating student and scholars exchange, said the travel warning downgrade was “pretty significant” as it lowered bureaucratic hurdles on US campuses that had been restricting travel to China.

But lawmakers’ calls to raise the advisory and the overall negative tenor of the bilateral relationship had created “an atmosphere of uncertainty” for future planning, she said.

While American scholars have gradually resumed trips to China over the past year, Levine noted that research conditions in China weighed more heavily on academics’ individual decision-making than policies like the travel advisory.

“They don’t feel comfortable being in China, given the type of work and research that they do,” she said.

There is a lot of “pent-up demand” from American undergraduates, however, according to Tara Sun Vanacore, a senior programme manager for China at CET Academic Programs, a Washington-based study abroad company, who noted that enrolment in their mainland China initiatives had reached pre-pandemic levels this past summer.

Now with the travel advisory downgrade, she is seeing increased interest, including for US faculty-led student programming that previously saw administrative opposition. The high-level support from Xi had also made it easier for CET to access opportunities provided by local Chinese partners, she said.

But Vanacore echoed others in noting that significant challenges remained, including a shrinking pool of students eligible to pursue language studies in China – a trend she attributed to the closure of Chinese-language programmes in the US.

She also cited the disappearance of US government funding for study in mainland China like the Critical Language Scholarship, which students used for CET programming; the increased availability of language programmes in Taiwan; as well as persisting concerns about security.

Mark Sidel, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that while new bilateral dialogues were opening at the university level, the appetite for exchange could depend on the politics of different states, citing restrictive policies in Florida and Texas.

Sidel does not expect a sharp increase in Americans going to China in the next two years. “Attitudes towards China in the US have become quite hardened,” he said, adding that it was unclear how long Beijing wanted to sustain what he called a “controlled, structured opening” for certain groups of Americans.

Beijing’s count of young Americans, according to the Chinese embassy in Washington, includes those who go on summer school, study tours, academic seminars, performances and sports events. The trips usually last about one to four weeks, embassy representative Liu Pengyu said.

Washington’s estimates of young Americans are much smaller, as they mostly count students pursuing university credit. Upper estimates from US ambassador to China Nicholas Burns for the 2023-2024 academic year hover around 1,000. This is down from more than 11,000 American students recorded in 2019.

Some US-based China experts noting the discrepancy have questioned the utility of short-term engagements for advancing US strategic interests, particularly in fostering the next generation of China scholars. Others, like Sidel, say there could be great value even in short-term trips.

“The alternative often isn’t that they go for six months or a year. The alternative to the short trips is that they don’t go at all,” he said. “Short trips can spark an interest in going back to China, sometimes for a longer visit or for more study.”

Such a trip has already kindled longer-term interest in at least one young American.

Mirika Jambudi, a second-year biology student at Harvard College, said she found her 10-day trip to China in August eye-opening and planned to continue her engagement through campus groups and future study abroad in China.

“I think it’s really important just being able to form your own opinions based on what you’ve personally experienced versus having other people feed into your perception of something,” she said.

But Jambudi said she would not have gone as early as she did had there not been an organised opportunity through Harvard. “As someone who doesn’t speak Mandarin, it would be really hard for me to go and then navigate around the country by myself,” she said.

“I don’t know if that would have been my first abroad trip … but it would have been something I would have done in my lifetime.”

For Americans already based in Asia, the extension of visa-free transit has been welcome news.

Annie Ding, an American based in Singapore, posted on Facebook that she planned to use the new policy to make a trip to Shanghai, departing from Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur and returning to Singapore.

For Americans based in the US, however, the policy expansion has limited appeal.

“I’ve always wanted to go to Shanghai,” said Angela Veckhoven, a South Carolina native who works in legal affairs in Washington. “But I don’t make trips to Asia often, and as a first-timer, China is not a place I would merely ‘stop over’ in.”

Veckhoven, 61, noted that needing to get a Chinese visa would not be a deterrent. “It’s mainly the travel expenses, and I would also consider the political situation of a place,” she said.

Danny Evans, the CEO of Baltimore-based travel and international education consultancy Millenium Envoys, said the visa-free transit policy may be useful for travellers who were already planning to be in the region and “indecisive” about going to China, but said he would still recommend his clients to get a visa for flexibility purposes.

Other Americans, though initially excited about the expansion of the visa-free transit, said the core obstacles preventing them going to China had not changed.

Said an analyst at a Virginia-based research institute who asked not to be identified: “I miss China and would love to go back, but am concerned it will jeopardise my US government security clearance.”

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China-grown durian, Lunar New Year travel demand, Macau’s economy: 5 weekend reads

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3291930/china-grown-durian-lunar-new-year-travel-demand-macaus-economy-5-weekend-reads?utm_source=rss_feed

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider .

China can’t rely on technology as a panacea for economic recovery

https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3291378/china-cant-rely-technology-panacea-economic-recovery?utm_source=rss_feed

Since 2022, China’s economy has been haunted by a weak recovery. Real gross domestic product (GDP) growth has fallen below 5 per cent for two consecutive quarters this year, posing challenges for Beijing to achieve its annual growth target of around 5 per cent.

The International Monetary Fund estimates that the proportion of China’s nominal GDP in US dollars relative to that of the US will be around 62.6 per cent in 2024.

How can China get out of its current economic dilemma? Domestic technological advancement is usually thought of as a solution. The history of each industrial revolution tells us that technological advancement can raise productivity so it’s imperative for China to move forward in this regard.

As the Chinese economy slows down, the US is tightening tech sanctions. Recently, in an escalation of the tech war, 140 Chinese chip-related entities were added to the Entity List of the US Department of Commerce. Now, at least 1,000 Chinese entities across multiple industries have been added to the Entity List, restricting them from accessing US technologies.

In addition to the blacklist, Chinese companies face warped supply chains due to other restrictive measures such as rigorous tariff and foreign investment reviews, laws that limit tech cooperation with China and attempts to put pressure on allies to restrict tech exports.

That’s why Beijing is pushing forward its campaign to become self-reliant in core technology, with industrial policies such as Made in China 2025 and the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, also known as the “Big Fund”. This is the only way China can mitigate its dependence on foreign technology, decrease its vulnerability to fluctuations in the global market and safeguard economic security.

Domestic technological advancement also helps China enlarge market shares in high-end industries once dominated by the West. With the coming of the fourth industrial revolution, China’s strategy will also cultivate new types of businesses that give more momentum to economic growth. However, it might not be enough to lift China from its economic woes.

China has narrowed the technology gap with the US. As evaluated by Ray Dalio, founder and CEO of Bridgewater Associates, the power of China’s innovation and technology, measured by Z-score, has risen from 1.6 to 1.8 in the past two years. The US’ score declined from 2.1 to 1.9 during the same period. However, there’s largely no discernible improvement in China’s economic conditions over the past two years. Why?

Potential overcapacity coexists alongside weak consumption in China. From the first quarter of 2021 to the third quarter of 2024, China’s capacity utilisation rate decreased from 77.2 per cent to 75.1 per cent. The rate even fell below 75 per cent in the first half of 2024. A rate below 75 per cent is generally recognised as “serious overcapacity”.

In contrast, China’s Consumer Price Index growth hasn’t surpassed 1 per cent since February 2023. Meanwhile, in the first three quarters of 2024, total retail sales increased by 3.3 per cent, whereas the GDP, industrial production and fixed asset investment grew by more than 3.3 per cent.

At the recently concluded central economic work conference, Chinese leaders acknowledged that insufficient domestic demand is creating hardships for China’s economy. Weak consumption is restraining China’s economic growth, potentially indicating that the value generated from technological advancement is not being fully absorbed.

Why might residents be reluctant to increase their consumption? The immediate cause is the scarcity of funds. According to the World Inequality Database, the top 10 per cent of China’s national income share rose to 43.5 per cent in 2023. It’s slightly lower than the figure for the US (46.8 per cent) but higher than Australia’s (32.9 per cent), South Korea’s (35.5 per cent), the UK’s (36.2 per cent) and France’s (34.3 per cent). Decades ago, China’s figure was lower than 30 per cent.

The polarisation of wealth restricts most residents from deriving greater returns from the gross output. Meanwhile, excessive unpaid overtime work coupled with the burden of supporting the elderly further undermines the purchasing power of the low-and middle-income community, most of the population.

Low consumption impacts corporate performances, resulting in fewer recruitment activities and an increase in staff reductions. As the unemployment rate climbs, fewer people are consuming, forming a vicious cycle.

It also appears that consumers also lack confidence. By comparing M1 (cash in circulation plus demand deposit in commercial banks) with M2 (M1 plus fixed time deposits in commercial banks), one finds that M2 grew by 6.8 per cent year on year but M1 dropped by 7.4 per cent year on year in the first three quarters, indicating a prevailing sentiment of risk aversion.

That aversion could be chain reaction brought on by the end of the real estate boom. As urbanisation decelerated and land resources became exhausted, capital began to withdraw from the real estate sector, causing a decline in housing prices.

Local governments whose revenues once relied on real estate became mired in debt, affecting contracting enterprises and their employees. Irrational expansions of some real estate developers also triggered a severe debt crisis that spilled over to other industries. As a result, the market was infused with more default risks.

In short, it’s not feasible to solely count on domestic technological advancement. Not only do social security, wealth distribution and labour rights have ample room for improvement, but there is also a pressing need to implement more targeted monetary and fiscal policies to deal with systemic risks. Targeting policies to address these problems will effectively boost China’s sustainable economic development.

Desert ant shows Chinese team the way to high-definition polarised light sensor chip

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3291889/desert-ant-shows-chinese-team-way-high-definition-polarised-light-sensor-chip?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese researchers inspired by the eyes of the desert ant have developed a compact chip to detect the orientation of polarised light.

The chip can have a wide range of uses including in navigation, fingerprint detection, and even identifying cancerous tissue, the team said.

Polarisation photodetectors (pol-PDs) are special light sensors that can sense the direction of polarised light. By identifying differences in incoming light, these photodetectors can distinguish contrast and enhance image quality.

Such photodetectors have widespread applications in areas including “geological remote sensing, machine vision [and] biological medicine”, the team wrote in a paper published in peer-reviewed journal Science Advances on December 4.

The challenge is that commercial polarised photodetectors are hard to miniaturise, as they are made bulky and complex by the complicated optical systems and parts needed for them to function, the team said.

In the new study led by bio-inspired materials expert Li Mingzhu’s team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who worked alongside researchers from Beihang University and Imperial College London, the scientists turned to the eyes of desert ants to inspire a simpler design.

While our eyes consist of a single eye unit, compound eyes found in insects and crustaceans are made up of many small units containing photoreceptor cells.

Desert ants can have hundreds of these units, allowing them to find their way across barren deserts without landmarks and return to their nest just by perceiving polarised sunlight, the researchers said.

Inspired by this unique polarisation vision, the team developed a new nanoimprinting crystallisation method that they used to create thin, crystalline films, which they then built into a chip without the need for additional bulky polarisation optical parts.

“Our pol-PD has a high detectivity, two orders of magnitude greater than that of commercial photodetectors, and exhibits high polarisation sensitivity,” the team wrote.

They said their compact optoelectronic device demonstrated “excellent performance in a wide range of applications including accurate bionic navigation, sharp image restoration in hazy scenes, stress visualisation of polymers, and detection of cancerous areas in tissues without histological staining”.

The team found that while their photodetector could see a fingerprint impression in sharp detail, a camera capturing the same image did not show the fingerprint.

Li and her team developed a one-step method to create highly crystalline perovskite thin films with a grating array – or a pattern of grooves – which they then integrated into a chip.

The bio-inspired polarisation photodetectors were able to achieve “highly sensitive single-shot polarisation imaging”, meaning it can capture images in a single exposure, the team said in their paper.

“Our pol-PD provides a simple cost-effective polarisation imaging system with high sensitivity and enables the widespread adoption of polarisation imaging.”

China’s ties with Global South show a different world order is possible

https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3291558/chinas-ties-global-south-show-different-world-order-possible?utm_source=rss_feed

The Global South’s quest for a more equitable world order gained fresh momentum at the 22nd Doha Forum in early December. During the two-day event, world leaders gathered to discuss China’s evolving role in international development. The high-level dialogue came at a critical time when the global trade landscape faces new uncertainties.

As major economies like the United States and European Union signal a return to protectionist policies – with tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, solar panels and semiconductors and carbon border adjustment mechanisms – China’s recent announcement that it would cut tariffs for more than 40 least-developed countries has drawn significant attention.

This strategic approach was evident at the sub-forum session “China’s Role in the Rising Global South: Redefining the Future World Order” where leaders from around the world shared perspectives on development partnerships, highlighting a stark contrast to the bleak future of international economic engagement.

China’s expanding engagement with the Global South represents more than just trade statistics; it represents an alternative model of international cooperation. While serving as the primary trading partner for at least 120 countries, China has moved beyond mere commercial relationships to establish comprehensive development partnerships.

The Belt and Road Initiative, now encompassing 150 nations, has become a platform for sustainable development beyond simply building infrastructure. Bolstered by institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the New Development Bank and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, China’s approach is reshaping how developing nations think about economic partnerships.

The impact of this cooperation model is already evident. Rwandan President Paul Kagame revealed that his country’s trade with China surged from US$30 million to over US$150 million after recent tariff reductions, with a remarkable 274 per cent growth since 2018.

Rwandan farmers now earn US$4 more for every kilogram of coffee beans sold to China. The partnership has also led to significant infrastructure development, including hydropower stations and the renovation of the Masaka Hospital.

Even more telling was Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba’s observation about Chinese companies undertaking essential infrastructure projects such as building roads and opening mines.

Trade relations between China and Namibia are rooted in equitable cooperation rather than coercion. Namibia has increased its agricultural exports to China, including beef, mutton and dried fruit. Namibia is also exploring innovative partnerships in green hydrogen development. These practical outcomes represent a fundamental shift in how Global South nations view development partnerships.

China is essentially rewriting the traditional rules of development cooperation. Over the past two decades, emerging markets and developing economies have come to account for 80 per cent of global growth. Brics nations have been at the forefront of this endeavour, making up around 35 per cent of global gross domestic product.

The economic influence of countries within Brics has increasingly translated into diplomatic capacity as evidenced by China’s successful mediation between Saudi Arabia and Iran and its role in uniting rival political factions in Palestine.

Strong endorsements from Global South leaders at the Doha Forum reflect this evolving dynamic. Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley, invoking the spirit of the Bandung Conference, has articulated what many developing nations have long felt but rarely expressed: the Western monopoly on defining the global order must end.

Her belief that all nations, regardless of size, should have a voice in shaping the multipolar world order found immediate resonance with other leaders, particularly as developing nations seek to chart development paths that align with their specific needs and circumstances.

Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina’s perspective was particularly revealing. He highlighted how major powers that once benefited from relations with China are now discouraging other nations from pursuing similar partnerships.

As Namibia’s Mbumba succinctly put it, “We Africans are learning how to do things for ourselves and with whom to do them”, from a position of strength. This growing confidence, coupled with the Rwandan president’s note that Chinese partnerships don’t “come with a lot of strings attached”, reflects a fundamental shift in international relationships.

The cooperation between China and Global South countries shows remarkable potential in innovative sectors, as highlighted at the Doha Forum, which was themed around “The Innovative Imperative”. Leaders explored multiple areas of collaboration where developing nations are bridging technology gaps while pursuing sustainable development. Climate-related technology, the digital economy and green energy transitions are becoming new pillars of cooperation.

There are already tangible results across the continent: Chinese solar technology has helped African households gain better access to electricity, digital payment systems developed through Chinese-African cooperation are boosting financial inclusion and joint forums are accelerating the development of drought-resistant crops.

While some of them start small, these initiatives are creating transformative changes in people’s daily lives and laying the groundwork for sustainable development.

The vision emerging from the Doha Forum signals a new chapter in international development. As Barbados’ Mottley expressed, a more inclusive world order is taking shape – one that requires collaborative efforts from multiple global institutions. While China has played a pioneering role, the ultimate goal remains a truly open and cooperative global development ecosystem.

Institutions like the World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and other multilateral organisations must work together to support the developmental needs of the Global South. The future lies not in competing narratives but in collaborative solutions. By uniting diverse strengths, we can forge more equitable global partnerships.

How Chinese science and technology has influenced the West … and vice versa

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3291760/how-chinese-science-and-technology-has-influenced-west-and-vice-versa?utm_source=rss_feed

Han Qi is a professor of Chinese history and culture at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has published a large body of work on East-West cultural exchanges in history – in particular the transmission of science between China and Europe. This interview first appeared in . For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click .

There are people who believe that China only has traditions in technology, but not in science. However, in fields like astronomy, China actually has a very long tradition of astronomical observation dating back more than 2,000 years. China has the longest and most complete records of astronomical observations, including solar and lunar eclipses, and records of stars, meteors and supernovas. Europeans do not have the same level of observational astronomy records, so Chinese records have actually had an influence on the West.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, many people began to study the universe. For a long time both Western and Chinese astronomers were not sure about the changing rule of the values of the obliquity of the ecliptic. In 1722, a French Jesuit missionary named Antoine Gaubil arrived in Beijing and checked over numerous Chinese historical records. After compiling the records, he sent them to France. In the early 19th century, there was a famous French astronomer and mathematician named Pierre-Simon Laplace who read the compiled manuscript and performed some calculations and conducted research based on it. This was a way in which Chinese astronomical observations have had a very direct impact on science up until today.

In the 20th century, contemporary astronomers also searched for new evidence from China’s records. In the 1950s, a Russian astrophysicist met the then vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The astrophysicist said they were studying radio astronomy and wanted to know about Chinese records of supernovas. So researchers at the academy went and found the records, and later they ended up writing a paper that was originally published in Chinese and later translated into English. This became one of the most cited astrophysics papers, and was of great importance to the field.

So these ancient Chinese scientific observations have influenced both European and American astronomers. Even now, some people are still using these records to find the earliest star explosions using large telescopes. This is the influence of Chinese astronomical records on both current and past astronomy.

Yes. The former vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences that I just mentioned, Zhu Kezhen, studied the climate. China has many historical records that reflect changes in the climate. Zhu wrote a paper about China’s climate over a period of 5,000 years, which was very influential in the field of climate and environmental studies. It showed how Chinese records, including botanical records, could be used to infer the past climate, and is an important example of the contemporary contributions of these records to science.

There are many aspects within science and technology, but generally we know that there are the so-called four great inventions, whose coinage actually appeared quite late. [It] was coined in 1925 by Thomas Francis Carter, a professor at Columbia University in the United States, who wrote The Invention of Printing in China and Its Spread Westward. He mentioned the four great inventions for the first time in that book, which included printing, paper, gunpowder and the compass. In the past, Europeans did not believe paper was invented by the Chinese and instead thought it had come from the Arabic world. Over time, they began to believe it had come from China as there were many unearthed relics and documents.

In AD751 – during the Tang dynasty – there was a clash between Muslim and Chinese armies called the Battle of Talas, and during that battle some Chinese soldiers with the ability to make paper were arrested. Following this, a papermaking industry began in Samarkand, Uzbekistan which later spread to the Western world. So, many people in Europe initially thought that Arabs might have been the inventors of paper.

Before the coinage of the four great inventions there were the three great inventions – which did not include paper – mentioned by European scholars like philosopher Francis Bacon, although they did not know that it had come from China at first. Over time people slowly began to trace back the inventions and determined they had originated from China. In science, the four great inventions have had the most important influence on the West.

Some scholars still do not believe that there is enough reliable evidence to prove that printing followed westward transmission from China. However we know that printing began to be used in China during the Tang dynasty in the 7th century, and later came movable type printing. Using historical records, we can see a slow westward movement of printing across China. So this should have also reached the West, but we have not found any historical records to show which European may have seen China’s movable type or woodblock printing. No matter what, this was probably one of the largest impacts China has had on the world, although its spread was a slow process.

In terms of the compass, although we also do not have specific evidence, China’s compass likely preceded the Arabic compass by a few decades. There is a lot of evidence that the compass was adopted in the Song dynasty, and at the time Chinese and Arabic countries had frequent exchanges due to the Maritime Silk Road. China has had communications with Arabic countries through the sea since the Tang dynasty, which then expanded during the Song dynasty as can be seen through navigational records. During the Song dynasty, the compass appeared in many Chinese books, and this appearance was delayed by several decades in Arabic records. The ocean is a very important transmission pathway.

As for the spread of gunpowder, this had to have had something to do with war. Among the four great inventions, paper was invented quite early as we already had it in the Han dynasty. However the compass and gunpowder were adopted later, during the Song dynasty. The reason why so many inventions may have emerged during the Song dynasty could have been because its territory was smaller than the Tang dynasty, and it was surrounded by enemies including the Liao dynasty and Western Xia, which meant conflict. So gunpowder became a necessity in this period, and the westward spread of gunpowder likely happened when the Yuan dynasty later invaded the Song dynasty.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, individuals like the Italian scholar Gerolamo Cardano and Francis Bacon came to believe the three great inventions were very important, so they started thinking about information on when they had been invented.

The step-by-step transfer of technology along the Silk Road is very clear, showing a westward transmission first across China to Xinjiang, and then to Rome. Besides the four great inventions, which have had a significant influence on culture, there are other important Chinese inventions like silk and porcelain that have also had an enormous influence on daily life. Europeans actually learned how to make porcelain from China very late, at around 1700. At the time there were many Jesuit missionaries, particularly from France, who arrived in Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province – the capital of blue and white porcelain.

In the 1720s, a French missionary arrived in Jingdezhen and some workers taught him how to make porcelain, which he wrote out in a letter that was sent back to France, and later translated into many languages. In that letter, he outlined techniques for making porcelain, such as the special kind of clay used to make it called Gaolingtu. The English terminology used for this material is Kaolin clay, which directly comes from the Chinese name and was not translated. The firing temperature of Kaolin clay is higher than the clay used in other pottery, so Europeans believed as long as they could find this clay they could make porcelain.

They looked for it in different places, including Germany and France, and around 1700 they found it in Meissen, Germany and this region came to have a porcelain manufacturing industry. Then around 1770, it was also found in France. So it took several hundred years for them to learn how to make porcelain. Some of the blue and white pigments used in China may have actually been due to the influence of Persians, and was also the result of exchanges.

So I believe the four great inventions and porcelain have had the greatest impact on the world, although there are many other smaller inventions.

China has always had a strong tradition in technology. You can see now that China has suddenly developed lots of technologies that have reached world-leading levels, and many are based on conceptual knowledge. Some of the ideas used may be Western ideas – such as batteries or solar energy – but China can make it the best and the cheapest, allowing people around the world to access it. China has made significant contributions to technology, but from the perspective of modern science, China does not have a strong tradition and has been influenced by the West.

I spoke about how China has influenced other countries, however other countries have also had an influence on China. One important example is the spread of knowledge from India, which brought Buddhism to the country, but also brought Indian astronomy and cosmology that reached Xian, traditionally known as Changan. In the Tang dynasty, there were foreign experts including Persian and Indian astronomers that worked for China’s bureau of astronomy, and this likely also was the case previously. Indian astronomers were influenced by Greek knowledge, and therefore this also influenced China.

There were fewer foreigners in the Song dynasty, however in the Yuan dynasty, whose historical capital was what is now Beijing, there were many Muslim astronomers. During the Yuan dynasty, astronomy made great progress and precision of astronomical observations increased, which was likely due to Arabic or Persian influence. So knowledge from outside China within astronomy has been influential from the Tang dynasty up until now.

In 1582, Italian Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci came to China and brought European astronomy to Beijing, including knowledge from Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, and Alexandrian mathematician Ptolemy. From the Ming dynasty to the Qing dynasty foreign missionaries have been in the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. Therefore a lot of calendar making in China was influenced by foreigners from 1629 into the early 19th century.

In addition to astronomy, many mathematics concepts were also brought over to China, including Euclidean geometry, algebra, logarithms and trigonometry. After the opium wars, protestant missionaries began to preach about modern science in China. This marked a different period in scientific transfer.

Traditional Chinese mathematics is very different from Western mathematics. European and Arabic countries have a tradition of geometry, and of logic and deduction. China’s mathematics was originally based on calculation, so rather than aspects like geometry, China was strong in calculation and solving equations, especially in the Song and Yuan dynasties. Their traditional methods of calculation are similar to modern day computer calculations, so China has historically had a strong suit in arithmetics and equations. Now, many contemporary mathematicians believe that these Chinese calculation traditions also had some influence on the West, but contemporary mathematics is very different from the field then.

There is a calculation method outlined in a book called Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Procedures. A famous Chinese mathematician called Wu Wenjun thought that this idea was very useful, and used computers to prove it. People originally thought it was not very important, but he thought it was and used it in his research. So this is an example of traditional science that also had a contemporary value. Some people thought it was exaggerated, but he himself said his computation method was influenced by ancient Chinese mathematics.

Traditional Chinese science did not feature things like what is now modern physics or chemistry, so these came from Europe. So some people think that China did not have any of what we know as modern science, however this is not entirely true. In addition to astronomy, mathematics and some other technologies I mentioned, China still has a tradition in scientific fields like botany, agriculture and medicine. Chinese medicine has some wonderful therapeutic effects, there was even a Nobel Prize for a malaria cure that was derived from a traditional Chinese medicine recipe, and this saved so many people.

After European missionaries came to China, they wanted to introduce their religion and sciences to the country, however some Chinese conservatives strongly opposed this. The second emperor of the Qing dynasty, Kangxi, wanted to prove whether a European method or a Chinese method was correct. They found a way to put a gnomon on the ground along with a ruler and determined who was correct based on whether or not they could correctly predict how the sun would fall at noon.

The emperor, the conservatives and the European missionaries all came together to see whose prediction was correct – which ended up being the missionaries – so the emperor decided to adopt the Western method. So in this event, the observation of a gnomon shadow affected the emperor’s decision-making on policy. After this the emperor kept asking the Europeans if they had any new methods or theories, and from the age of 14 through to his 60s to 70s he was always curious about the Western methods.

This event totally changed the emperor’s viewpoint, so he admired the Western method. But later he found that the Western methods also had their issues, so he believed that the Chinese should be independent and not completely trust the foreigners. This emperor was very smart, but the rest of the Qing dynasty emperors were not interested in science like he was. When I found this case I thought it was very interesting and wrote a paper about it.

The exchange of information is very important. However if we go back to ancient times we don’t always have special records of the exchange of information. I’ll give an example of why exchanging information is so important. In the 18th century, there was a type of metal called white copper that was produced in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, and no other country had such production. The so-called white copper actually contained nickel, so it resembled silver.

Missionaries who came to China saw that they had white copper and relayed this information back to their countries, and it was then exported to Europe. After the white copper arrived in Europe, the British and Germans tried to imitate it, and the Germans eventually succeeded in making it. This is the influence of information transfer. If the Europeans had not found out about this metal through their missionaries, they might not have tried to ever make it. The information stimulus promoted the technology transfer.

In another case in the 18th century, a place called Zigong in Sichuan province had many salt wells. After drilling down to the salt water, they would boil the water to get salt. In China, this technology has been significantly developed since the Song dynasty. In the 19th century, China was able to use very small wells to drill very deep into the ground. Guess how deep these wells reached? Almost 1,000 metres [3,280 feet]. When I visited a museum there I was shocked. This is a very impressive Chinese technology. In the 19th century once French missionaries arrived in Zigong, they did fieldwork to learn about this method and then introduced it to the West. This information later influenced how the United States and Germany developed oil and gas drilling. If there had been no missionaries who came to this area, then it would have been impossible to transfer this technology. If information is not available, then many ideas are not available as well.

There are now many technologies that if the US has it and China hears about it, they may soon have it too. It was the same back then. A little information could quickly change the development of technology. If there is direct cooperation, of course it may be faster. This includes the current high-speed train technology in China which is influenced by Germany, Japan or France. Of course you need to have a solid technological foundation and industrial background in order to do so – if you have no background it would be impossible. China now has a relatively comprehensive industrial base, so now the development of technology is very, very fast – 30 years ago we could not have imagined that China would make such great technological progress.

The development of science is very complicated. For example the emperor I mentioned, his words impacted policymaking and scientific transfer. Many factors influence the transmission and development of science, such as people and religion. Many of the earliest people who came to China were missionaries, but it may have been different if it were members of science societies who had come.

So behind the dissemination of science there is the influence of the ruler and of policymakers, and there are also political and religious factors that impact the transfer of knowledge. Other factors like open-door policies and such related to political factors also have an impact. So if we look at the past, we can see that different factors affected the development and spread of science, and we can try and avoid the limiting factors.