英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总 2024-12-30
December 31, 2024 83 min 17662 words
这些西方媒体的报道充满了对中国的偏见和歧视。他们或无视事实，或断章取义，或捕风捉影，或编造谎言，企图误导国际社会，抹黑中国。这些报道充满了冷战思维和意识形态偏见，体现了他们根深蒂固的霸权主义和强权政治。他们不愿意看到中国的发展进步，不愿意看到中国的国际影响力不断提升，不愿意看到中国人民过上幸福生活。他们企图通过这些充满偏见的报道来遏制中国的发展，阻碍中国的发展进步，从而维护他们的霸权地位。但这是徒劳的，中国的发展进步是任何势力都阻挡不了的。中国将继续坚持走和平发展道路，坚持对外开放，积极参与国际事务，为世界和平与发展作出贡献。
Mistral点评
# 关于中国的新闻报道
Economy 经济
引言
近年来，西方媒体对中国经济的报道呈现出复杂且多样的特征。这些报道往往夹杂着偏见和双重标准，导致对中国经济现状和发展趋势的理解存在较大偏差。为了更客观地评价这些报道，本章节将从多个角度分析西方媒体对中国经济的报道，并提供更为全面和客观的视角。
经济增长与挑战
西方媒体常常关注中国的经济增长率，并以此作为评判中国经济健康状况的主要指标。然而，这些报道往往忽视了中国经济结构的变化和长期发展战略。中国经济正在从高速增长阶段转向高质量发展阶段，这意味着增长率的放缓并不一定代表经济的衰退，而是结构调整和优化的结果。
#### 增长率放缓的原因
1. 结构调整：中国政府致力于推动经济结构从制造业向服务业和高科技产业转型，这一过程必然伴随着增长率的波动。 2. 环境保护：为了应对环境污染和气候变化，中国加大了环保力度，这在短期内可能对经济增长产生负面影响，但从长远来看有助于可持续发展。 3. 消费升级：随着居民收入的提高，中国消费市场正在经历升级，这对经济增长模式提出了新的要求。
贸易与全球化
西方媒体对中国在国际贸易中的角色和影响力关注颇多，尤其是在中美贸易摩擦的背景下。这些报道往往突出中国的贸易顺差和对全球市场的依赖，但忽视了中国在全球供应链中的重要地位和对全球经济的贡献。
#### 贸易顺差与逆差
1. 贸易顺差：中国的贸易顺差在一定程度上反映了其在制造业领域的竞争优势，但这并不意味着中国在国际贸易中占据绝对优势。中国也面临着贸易逆差的挑战，尤其是在能源和高科技产品方面。 2. 全球供应链：中国是全球供应链的重要一环，其制造业和出口贸易对全球经济的稳定和增长起到了关键作用。西方媒体在报道中国贸易问题时，往往忽视了这一点。
金融市场与货币政策
西方媒体对中国金融市场和货币政策的报道常常充满猜测和不确定性。这些报道往往过度关注短期波动，而忽视了中国金融体系的长期稳定性和韧性。
#### 股市波动
1. 短期波动：中国股市的波动性较高，这在一定程度上反映了市场的不成熟和投资者的非理性行为。然而，这并不意味着中国金融市场整体不稳定。 2. 长期趋势：从长期来看，中国金融市场正在逐步完善，监管体系不断健全，市场化改革也在稳步推进。
#### 货币政策
1. 人民币汇率：西方媒体对人民币汇率的报道往往带有倾向性，认为中国政府通过操控汇率获得贸易优势。然而，人民币汇率的形成机制日益市场化，中国央行的干预主要是为了维持汇率的稳定和避免过度波动。 2. 货币政策工具：中国央行拥有多种货币政策工具，能够在需要时有效干预市场，维持经济稳定。西方媒体在报道中国货币政策时，往往忽视了这些工具的多样性和灵活性。
创新与科技
西方媒体对中国在科技创新领域的报道往往带有矛盾的态度。一方面，他们承认中国在科技创新方面取得的显著进展；另一方面，他们又对中国的创新能力和知识产权保护表示质疑。
#### 科技创新
1. 研发投入：中国在研发领域的投入持续增加，科技创新能力不断提升。中国在人工智能、5G、新能源等领域已经处于世界领先地位。 2. 知识产权保护：中国在知识产权保护方面取得了显著进展，但仍需进一步完善相关法律和执法机制。西方媒体在报道中国知识产权问题时，往往忽视了这些进步。
结论
综上所述，西方媒体对中国经济的报道存在较多偏见和双重标准，导致对中国经济现状和发展趋势的理解存在较大偏差。为了更客观地评价中国经济，需要综合考虑中国经济结构调整、全球化背景、金融市场发展和科技创新等多方面因素。通过全面和客观的分析，可以更好地理解中国经济的复杂性和多样性，从而做出更为准确的判断。
新闻来源：
# 关于中国的新闻报道
Politics 章节
引言
西方媒体对中国政治的报道一直是国际舆论场中的热点话题。这些报道往往反映了西方媒体对中国政治体制、政策和行为的观察和解读。然而，这些报道常常受到偏见和双重标准的影响，导致其客观性和准确性受到质疑。本章节将对西方媒体关于中国政治的报道进行客观评价，旨在揭示其中的真实情况和可能存在的偏差。
政治体制
西方媒体常常将中国的政治体制描绘为“威权主义”，强调其与西方民主制度的差异。这些报道往往忽视了中国政治体制的独特历史背景和文化基础。中国的政治体制是在其独特的历史和文化环境中逐渐发展起来的，具有其特定的逻辑和合理性。
1. 集中决策与高效执行：中国的政治体制在集中决策和高效执行方面具有显著优势，这在应对突发公共事件和推动大规模基础设施建设方面尤为明显。例如，在新冠疫情期间，中国政府能够迅速动员资源，采取严格的防控措施，有效遏制了疫情的蔓延。
2. 民众支持与参与：西方媒体常常忽视了中国民众对政府的支持和参与程度。根据多项民意调查，中国民众对政府的满意度较高，这与西方媒体常常描绘的“反抗”和“不满”形成鲜明对比。
政策与决策
西方媒体对中国政府的政策和决策往往持批评态度，特别是在涉及人权、言论自由和少数民族问题上。然而，这些批评往往忽视了中国政府在这些领域的复杂性和多样性。
1. 人权与言论自由：中国政府在人权和言论自由方面的政策常常受到西方媒体的批评。然而，中国政府强调的是“集体人权”，即在保障个人权利的同时，更加注重社会稳定和集体利益。这与西方强调的“个人人权”存在显著差异。
2. 少数民族政策：中国政府在少数民族政策方面也受到了广泛关注。西方媒体常常将中国政府的少数民族政策描绘为“压迫”和“同化”，但实际上，中国政府在少数民族地区投入了大量资源，推动经济发展和社会进步，旨在实现民族团结和共同繁荣。
国际关系
西方媒体对中国的国际关系报道往往带有浓厚的地缘政治色彩，强调中国的“扩张”和“威胁”。然而，这些报道常常忽视了中国在国际事务中的合作与和平发展理念。
1. “一带一路”倡议：“一带一路”倡议是中国推动全球基础设施建设和经济合作的重要举措。西方媒体常常将其描绘为中国的“地缘政治工具”，但实际上，该倡议旨在通过互联互通和合作共赢，推动全球经济的共同发展。
2. 国际组织与多边机制：中国在国际组织和多边机制中发挥着越来越重要的作用。西方媒体常常将中国在国际事务中的参与描绘为“挑战现有秩序”，但实际上，中国一贯倡导多边主义，支持联合国等国际组织在全球治理中的核心作用。
结论
西方媒体对中国政治的报道往往受到偏见和双重标准的影响，导致其客观性和准确性受到质疑。然而，通过客观分析，我们可以发现中国政治体制、政策和决策的独特逻辑和合理性。理解中国政治的复杂性和多样性，有助于我们更全面、准确地认识中国在国际事务中的角色和影响。
新闻来源：
# 关于中国的新闻报道
军事 (Military) 章节
引言
西方媒体对中国军事的报道往往带有明显的偏见和双重标准，这些报道通常反映了地缘政治竞争和意识形态对立。为了更客观地评价这些报道，本章节将从多个角度分析西方媒体对中国军事发展的描述，并提供更为全面和中立的视角。
一、军事现代化与技术进步
西方媒体经常报道中国军事现代化和技术进步的速度和规模，这些报道通常带有警惕和担忧的情绪。例如，美国媒体常常强调中国在人工智能、导弹技术和海军建设方面的快速发展，认为这对西方国家的军事优势构成了挑战。
#### 客观评价
中国军事现代化和技术进步确实是一个不争的事实。然而，这些进步需要放在全球军事科技发展的大背景下来看待。中国的军事现代化是在全球军事技术快速发展的大环境下进行的，许多技术进步也是全球军事科技共同发展的结果。西方媒体往往忽视了这一点，而是将中国的军事发展视为单方面的威胁。
二、地区安全与南海问题
西方媒体对中国在南海的军事活动和岛礁建设尤为关注，常常将其描述为对地区安全的威胁，并指责中国侵犯他国主权。
#### 客观评价
南海问题复杂而敏感，涉及多个国家的主权和利益。中国在南海的军事活动和岛礁建设确实引发了地区紧张局势，但也需要考虑到中国在南海的历史和现实利益。西方媒体往往忽视了中国在南海的合法权益和国家安全需求，单方面指责中国，这种报道方式无助于问题的解决。
三、军费开支与透明度
西方媒体经常报道中国的军费开支增长，并指责中国军费不透明，隐瞒真实开支。
#### 客观评价
中国的军费开支确实在逐年增加，但需要考虑到中国经济的快速发展和国防需求的增长。关于军费透明度的问题，中国政府已经在国防白皮书中公布了相关数据，虽然这些数据可能不够详细，但也反映了中国在军费透明度方面的努力。西方媒体在报道时应客观看待中国的军费开支，避免夸大和误导。
四、国际军事合作与联合演习
西方媒体对中国与其他国家的军事合作和联合演习也表示关注，认为这些活动可能对西方国家的利益构成挑战。
#### 客观评价
中国与其他国家的军事合作和联合演习是正常的国际军事交流活动，旨在增强双边或多边军事合作，提升共同应对安全威胁的能力。西方媒体在报道这些活动时，应避免过度解读，客观分析其背景和目的。
结论
西方媒体对中国军事的报道往往带有明显的偏见和双重标准，这些报道需要在更为全面和中立的视角下进行评价。中国的军事现代化和技术进步、地区安全与南海问题、军费开支与透明度、国际军事合作与联合演习等方面，都需要在全球军事发展和地缘政治背景下进行客观分析。只有这样，才能更准确地理解中国军事的发展动态及其对全球安全的影响。
新闻来源：
# 关于中国的新闻报道
Culture 章节
引言
西方媒体对中国文化的报道历来充满复杂性和多样性，既有对中国悠久历史和丰富文化遗产的赞赏，也不乏带有偏见和双重标准的评论。为了客观评价这些报道，本章节将详细分析西方媒体在文化领域对中国的报道，涵盖传统文化、现代文化、文化交流和文化政策等多个方面。
传统文化
西方媒体对中国传统文化的报道通常集中在古代建筑、传统节日、民间艺术和历史遗迹等方面。例如，对故宫、长城、兵马俑等世界文化遗产的报道往往充满敬意和赞叹。然而，一些报道也存在将中国传统文化过度神秘化和异域化的倾向，忽视了这些文化元素在现代中国社会中的实际影响和持续发展。
#### 分析与评价
1. 正面报道：西方媒体对中国传统文化的正面报道有助于提升中国文化在国际上的知名度和影响力。例如，对春节、端午节等传统节日的报道，通常会介绍其历史背景和庆祝方式，增进了国际社会对中国文化的理解。
2. 负面报道：一些报道存在将中国传统文化过度神秘化的倾向，忽视了其在现代社会中的实际影响和发展，这种报道方式容易导致西方读者对中国文化产生片面和刻板的印象。
现代文化
现代文化是西方媒体关注的另一个重要领域，主要包括电影、音乐、文学、艺术和时尚等。例如，对张艺谋、李安等中国导演的电影作品的报道，通常会提及其在国际电影节上获得的奖项和认可。然而，一些报道也存在将中国现代文化政治化和意识形态化的倾向，忽视了其艺术价值和创新能力。
#### 分析与评价
1. 正面报道：西方媒体对中国现代文化的正面报道有助于提升中国文化产业在国际上的竞争力和影响力。例如，对中国电影、音乐和艺术作品的报道，通常会介绍其创作背景和艺术特色，增进了国际社会对中国现代文化的理解和认可。
2. 负面报道：一些报道存在将中国现代文化政治化和意识形态化的倾向，忽视了其艺术价值和创新能力，这种报道方式容易导致西方读者对中国现代文化产生误解和偏见。
文化交流
文化交流是促进国际理解和合作的重要手段，西方媒体对中国与其他国家之间的文化交流活动也有大量报道。例如，对孔子学院、丝绸之路文化节和中国文化年等活动的报道，通常会介绍其活动内容和意义。然而，一些报道也存在将中国文化交流活动政治化和工具化的倾向，忽视了其文化价值和交流意义。
#### 分析与评价
1. 正面报道：西方媒体对中国文化交流活动的正面报道有助于促进国际社会对中国文化的理解和认可。例如，对孔子学院、丝绸之路文化节和中国文化年等活动的报道，通常会介绍其活动内容和意义，增进了国际社会对中国文化的理解和认可。
2. 负面报道：一些报道存在将中国文化交流活动政治化和工具化的倾向，忽视了其文化价值和交流意义，这种报道方式容易导致西方读者对中国文化交流活动产生误解和偏见。
文化政策
文化政策是指导和支持文化发展的重要手段，西方媒体对中国文化政策的报道也颇受关注。例如，对中国文化产业政策、文化遗产保护政策和文化交流政策的报道，通常会介绍其政策背景和实施效果。然而，一些报道也存在将中国文化政策意识形态化和工具化的倾向，忽视了其政策目标和实际效果。
#### 分析与评价
1. 正面报道：西方媒体对中国文化政策的正面报道有助于提升中国文化政策在国际上的认可度和影响力。例如，对中国文化产业政策、文化遗产保护政策和文化交流政策的报道，通常会介绍其政策背景和实施效果，增进了国际社会对中国文化政策的理解和认可。
2. 负面报道：一些报道存在将中国文化政策意识形态化和工具化的倾向，忽视了其政策目标和实际效果，这种报道方式容易导致西方读者对中国文化政策产生误解和偏见。
结论
西方媒体对中国文化的报道既有正面的也有负面的，既有客观公正的也有带有偏见和双重标准的。为了客观评价这些报道，需要综合考虑其报道内容、报道方式和报道背景，避免片面和极端的评价。同时，中国也需要加强文化自信和文化建设，积极参与国际文化交流和合作，提升中国文化在国际上的影响力和竞争力。
新闻来源：
# 关于中国的新闻报道
Technology
1. 引言
近年来，中国在科技领域的快速发展引起了全球的广泛关注。西方媒体对中国科技新闻的报道多样且复杂，既有对中国科技创新的肯定，也有对中国科技政策的质疑和批评。为了全面理解这些报道，本章将从多个角度对西方媒体关于中国科技新闻的报道进行客观评价。
2. 科技创新
#### 2.1 5G技术
西方媒体普遍承认中国在5G技术领域的领先地位。华为等中国企业在5G基础设施建设和技术研发方面取得了显著成就。然而，部分媒体也提及华为在国际市场上面临的政治压力和安全问题。这些报道往往强调华为与中国政府的关系，认为这可能带来网络安全风险。
#### 2.2 人工智能
中国在人工智能（AI）领域的快速发展同样受到关注。报道指出，中国政府通过一系列政策支持AI产业的发展，培养了大量AI人才，推动了AI技术在各行业的应用。然而，西方媒体也常常提及中国AI技术在监控和社会管理方面的应用，认为这可能侵犯个人隐私和自由。
3. 科技政策
#### 3.1 政府支持
西方媒体常常提到中国政府在科技领域的强力支持。通过政策引导和资金投入，中国政府推动了科技创新和产业升级。然而，部分媒体认为这种强力支持可能导致市场失衡，扭曲竞争环境。
#### 3.2 知识产权保护
知识产权保护一直是西方媒体关注的焦点。报道指出，中国在知识产权保护方面取得了显著进展，但仍存在一些问题。部分媒体认为，中国在知识产权保护上的不足可能影响外资企业的投资信心。
4. 国际合作与竞争
#### 4.1 国际合作
西方媒体报道了中国在科技领域与其他国家的合作。中国与欧洲、非洲等地区的科技合作项目受到关注，认为这些合作有助于推动全球科技进步。然而，部分媒体也提及这些合作可能带来的政治和经济风险。
#### 4.2 国际竞争
中国与西方国家在科技领域的竞争也是媒体关注的重点。报道指出，中美科技竞争不断加剧，双方在半导体、量子计算等领域展开激烈竞争。部分媒体认为，这种竞争可能导致技术封锁和贸易战，不利于全球科技发展。
5. 结论
综上所述，西方媒体对中国科技新闻的报道既有肯定也有质疑。中国在5G技术、人工智能等领域的显著成就得到了广泛认可，但在科技政策、知识产权保护等方面仍存在争议。国际合作与竞争是科技发展的重要驱动力，但也需要平衡政治和经济风险。
未来，中国在科技领域的发展将继续受到全球关注。西方媒体在报道中应保持客观公正，避免偏见和双重标准，以推动全球科技进步和合作。
新闻来源：
# 关于中国的新闻报道
Society 章节
引言
西方媒体对中国社会的报道往往充满了偏见和双重标准，这些报道在一定程度上影响了国际社会对中国社会现状的理解。为了更客观地评价这些报道，本章节将从多个角度对西方媒体关于中国社会的报道进行详细分析，旨在提供一个更为全面和客观的视角。
社会结构与变迁
西方媒体常常强调中国社会的快速变迁和由此带来的社会问题。实际上，中国在过去几十年中经历了前所未有的经济增长和社会变革。这些变迁不仅带来了巨大的经济发展机遇，也带来了一系列社会挑战，如城乡差距、收入不平等等。
#### 城乡差距
西方媒体常常报道中国的城乡差距问题，认为这是中国社会不平等的一个重要体现。的确，中国的城乡差距在一定程度上限制了农村地区的发展。然而，中国政府近年来也在积极推进城乡一体化发展，通过基础设施建设、教育和医疗资源的均衡分配等措施，逐步缩小城乡差距。
#### 收入不平等
收入不平等是一个全球性问题，中国也不例外。西方媒体往往夸大中国的收入不平等问题，却忽视了中国政府在减贫和社会保障方面所做的努力。事实上，中国在过去十年中通过精准扶贫等政策，成功使数亿人脱贫，这是一个前所未有的成就。
社会治理与公共服务
西方媒体在报道中国社会治理和公共服务时，往往关注负面新闻，如环境污染、食品安全等问题。然而，这些报道往往忽视了中国在社会治理和公共服务方面所取得的显著进展。
#### 环境治理
中国在环境治理方面面临巨大挑战，但也取得了显著成效。近年来，中国政府加大了对环境保护的投入，推动绿色发展，实施了一系列严格的环保政策和法规。尽管仍存在一些问题，但中国在环境治理方面的努力和成效是不可忽视的。
#### 公共服务
在公共服务方面，中国政府不断加大投入，改善医疗、教育、社会保障等领域的公共服务。尽管仍有不少需要改进的地方，但中国在公共服务水平提升方面取得了显著进展，城乡居民的生活质量得到了显著提高。
社会文化与价值观
西方媒体在报道中国社会文化和价值观时，往往带有文化偏见，认为中国的传统文化和现代化进程之间存在矛盾。然而，中国社会在文化和价值观方面呈现出多样化和包容性。
#### 文化多样性
中国是一个多民族国家，拥有丰富的文化多样性。中国政府在保护和传承传统文化的同时，也积极推动文化创新和发展。通过一系列文化政策和措施，中国不仅保护了传统文化，还促进了文化产业的繁荣发展。
#### 价值观变迁
随着经济和社会的发展，中国社会的价值观也在不断变迁。现代化进程带来了新的价值观念，如个人主义、消费主义等，但传统的家庭观念、孝道等仍然在社会中占有重要地位。中国社会在价值观方面呈现出多元共存的特点。
结论
综上所述，西方媒体对中国社会的报道往往存在偏见和双重标准，这些报道在一定程度上歪曲了中国社会的真实情况。通过客观分析，我们可以看到中国社会在快速变迁中面临的挑战和取得的成就。理解中国社会的复杂性和多样性，有助于更全面地认识中国的发展现状和未来走向。
新闻来源：
- [Sport] 'It was destiny': How Jimmy Carter embraced China and changed history
- [Sport] Share Covid data, World Health Organization tells China
- Five years on, WHO urges China to share Covid-19 origins data
- ByteDance leads China’s Big Tech sector in capital spending with US$11 billion for 2024
- China’s C919 preps for busy 2025 as manufacturer makes expansion plans
- Donald Trump’s first 100 days: can Beijing stop downwards spiral in US-China ties?
- China mandates 30% EVs in government fleets in boost for carmakers, decarbonisation
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- Local officials replaced in wake of China’s worst lone wolf car attack in Zhuhai
- A Trump defence pick points to focus shift from North Korea to China for US Forces Korea
- Did China’s Baidu discover scaling laws before OpenAI? A debate rekindles in AI circles
- Visa-free China, students embrace being single, Tibet mega dam: 5 weekend reads you missed
- China classmates embrace girl with different coloured eyes dispelling bias fears of mum
- ‘Phase 2 China shock is coming’: historian Adam Tooze on Europe, America and manufacturing
[Sport] 'It was destiny': How Jimmy Carter embraced China and changed history
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn446nmjp1vo'It was destiny': How Jimmy Carter embraced China and changed history
On a bright January morning in 1979, then US president Jimmy Carter greeted a historic guest in Washington: Deng Xiaoping, the man who unlocked China's economy.
The first leader of Communist China to visit the United States, Deng had arrived the previous evening, to light snow and a welcome by the US vice-president, the secretary of state and their spouses.
It was the start of a diplomatic relationship that would forever change the world, setting the stage for China's economic ascent - and later, its rivalry with the US.
Establishing formal ties with China was among Carter's more remarkable legacies, during a turbulent presidency that ended with one term.
Born on 1 October, the same date as the founding of the People's Republic of China, "he liked to say it was destiny that brought him and China together", said Yawei Liu, a close friend of Carter's.
Even after leaving office, he painstakingly cultivated a close bond with the Chinese people - but that was affected as ties between Washington and Beijing cooled.
Yet he remains one of a small group of US statesmen cherished by Beijing for helping to bring Communist China out of isolation in the 1970s.
Beijing has expressed its condolences, calling Carter the "driving force" behind the 1979 agreement. But the Chinese internet has gone much further, referring to him as "Meirenzong" or the "benevolent American", giving him a title that was once reserved for emperors.
Wooing Beijing
Carter's first encounter with China was in 1949, while the country was suffering the final convulsions of a bloody decades-long civil war.
As a young US naval officer, his submarine unit was dispatched to Qingdao in eastern China. They were to aid Kuomintang troops who were fending off a Communist siege by Mao Zedong's army.
Just kilometres away behind enemy lines was a Chinese commander named Deng Xiaoping.
When they finally met decades later, it was as leaders of their respective countries.
It was an earlier US President, Richard Nixon, and his secretary of state Henry Kissinger who had laid the groundwork for wooing what was then Mao's China. With Beijing and Moscow at loggerheads, they had sensed an opportunity to draw away a Soviet ally.
But those efforts culminated under Carter - and Deng - who pushed for deeper ties. For months, the US president dispatched trusted negotiators for secret talks with Beijing.
The breakthrough came in late 1978. In the middle of December, the two countries announced that they would "recognise each other and establish diplomatic relations from January 1, 1979".
The world was surprised and Beijing was elated, but the island of Taiwan, which had long relied on US support against Chinese claims, was crushed. Carter is still a controversial figure there.
Previously, the US had only recognised the government of Taiwan, which China viewed as a renegade province. And for years US support for Taiwan had been the sticking point in negotiations.
Switching recognition to Beijing meant the US had finally acknowledged China's position that there was only one Chinese government - and it was in Beijing. This is the One China policy, which, to this day, forms the cornerstone of US-China relations.
But the pivot raised inevitable questions about US commitment to its allies. Uneasy with Carter's decision, Congress eventually forced through a law codifying its right to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons, thus creating a lasting contradiction in US foreign policy.
Still historians agree that 1979 signalled an extraordinary set of moves that reoriented global power: not only did it unite the US and China against the Soviet Union, but also paved the way for peace and rapid economic growth in East Asia.
A 'unique' friendship
But Carter could not have done it without his special relationship with Deng Xiaoping. "It's a pleasure to negotiate with him," Carter wrote in his diary after spending a day with Deng during his January visit, according to Deng's biographer Ezra Vogel.
"The two of them followed common sense, there were actually significant similarities in their no-nonsense personalities," said Dali Yang, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago. "There was something really unique between the two men that really established trust."
Deng Xiaoping had survived three political purges under Mao to emerge as one of China's most consequential leaders. Historians credit his vision, self-assurance, frankness and sharp wit in no small part for this crucial diplomatic win.
He sensed the opportunity Carter offered, Vogel writes - to both thwart Soviet power and to kickstart the modernisation that had begun in Japan, Taiwan and even South Korea. He knew it would elude China without US help.
Deng's visit to the US began with a warm first meeting at the White House, where he chuckled while revealing his Qingdao connection to Carter, according to Chinese reports. He was exuberant as the two clasped hands in front of cameras in the Rose Garden, saying: "Now our two countries' peoples are shaking hands."
Over the next few days, Deng staged a whirlwind charm offensive on the Americans as he toured several states with Carter. In one famous image, Deng is seen grinning as he dons a cowboy hat at a Texan rodeo. "Deng avoids politics, goes Texan," read a local newspaper headline.
Carter described Deng as "smart, tough, intelligent, frank, courageous, personable, self-assured, friendly", according to Vogel.
He later wrote in his diary the trip was "one of the delightful experiences of my Presidency… to me, everything went right, and the Chinese leader seemed equally pleased."
"Carter was really a catalytic agent for what was more than a diplomatic rapprochement - it was a dramatic moment of signalling," said Orville Schell, the director of the Asia Society's Centre on US-China Relations who, as a journalist in 1979, covered Deng's trip.
"He introduced Deng to the country and actually to the world. It made what had been a contentious relationship to something very congenial. The way Carter and Deng interacted, these were signals that it was okay to both peoples to set history aside and start a new relationship."
Under Carter, China was granted "most favoured nation" trade status, boosting its economy and creating jobs. Within a year, two-way trade between the two countries doubled.
Throughout the next decade China became an important trade partner not just for the US but also the world, which was "extraordinarily important" for China's growth, noted Prof Yang.
A lifelong connection
Carter's connection with China endured long after his presidency ended.
In the 1990s his non-profit group The Carter Center played a significant role in China's nascent grassroots democracy where - on the invitation of the Chinese government - it observed village elections, trained officials and educated voters.
Unusually for a former US president, Carter returned several times to China on personal visits. On one trip, he and his wife Rosalynn helped to build shelters for victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
His commitment to humanitarian work, his humble background as the son of a peanut farmer, and "folksy style" - which stood in contrast to the formal public personas of Chinese leaders - endeared him to many Chinese, according to Prof Yang: "He will be seen as a role model of a leader who cares, not just in rhetoric but also in actions."
"Everywhere he travelled in China, people showed their warm feelings for him… The Chinese people really liked him for his courage and his honesty," said Dr Liu, a senior adviser with the Carter Center. He accompanied Carter on several trips, including a 2014 tour where he was fêted by local officials and universities.
In Qingdao, the city put on a surprise fireworks show for his 90th birthday. In Beijing, Deng's daughter hosted a banquet and presented a gift - a copy of the People's Daily front page of the 1979 communique. "Both were moved to tears," Dr Liu recalled.
That was to be his last visit. As the US-China relationship grew rockier, so too did Carter's ties with the Chinese leadership, particularly after Xi Jinping took power.
On the eve of his 2014 visit, top government officials instructed universities not to sponsor his events, prompting a last-minute scramble to change venues, Carter noted.
A state dinner held for him at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing was sparsely attended, recalled Mr Schell. Notably, it was hosted by then vice-president Li Yuanchao, while Xi was said to be entertaining another dignitary elsewhere in the complex.
"He wouldn't even come to tip his hat to Carter. That really showed the state of relations," Mr Schell said. "Carter was really very angry. Two of his aides told me he even felt like leaving early because he felt disrespected."
The Carter Center's activities in China were eventually curtailed, and a website they maintained to document the village elections was taken offline. No clear explanation was given at the time, but Dr Liu attributed this to China's growing suspicion of foreign organisations following the 2010 Arab Spring.
Though Carter said little about the snub publicly, it would have been felt no less acutely, given the lengths he had gone to advocate for engagement.
It has also raised questions whether his approach on human rights with China - he characterised it as "patience" but others criticised it as soft-pedalling - was justified in the end.
Carter often "made a tremendous effort… not to stick fingers into China's eyes on the human rights question," Mr Schell noted. "He did temper himself even when he was out of office, as The Carter Center had a real stake in the country."
Some see his decision to engage with Communist China as born out of an American sincerity at the time. Following the violent chaos of the Cultural Revolution, there was "a disbelief among many Americans - how could the Chinese be living in angry isolation?" Prof Yang said. "There was a genuine desire among American leaders to really help."
Others say that in attempting to shore up support against the Soviets, the US set the course for China's rise and ended up creating one of its greatest rivals.
But these actions also benefited millions of Chinese, helping to lift them out of poverty and - for a time - widening political freedom at the local level.
"I think all of us from that generation were children of engagement," Mr Schell said. "We were hoping Carter would find the formula that would slowly bring China into a comfortable relationship with [the] US and the rest of the world."
Toward the end of his life, Carter grew more alarmed about the growing distrust between the US and China, and frequently warned of a possible "modern Cold War".
"In 1979, Deng Xiaoping and I knew we were advancing the cause of peace. While today's leaders face a different world, the cause of peace remains just as important," he wrote on the 40th anniversary of normalisation of relations.
"[Leaders] must accept our conviction that the United States and China need to build their futures together, for themselves and for humanity at large."
[Sport] Share Covid data, World Health Organization tells China
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1d3y5zvxzeoShare Covid data, World Health Organization tells China
The World Health Organization has urged China to share data on the origins of the Covid pandemic, five years on from its start in the city of Wuhan.
"This is a moral and scientific imperative," the WHO said in a statement to mark what it called the "milestone" anniversary.
"Without transparency, sharing, and co-operation among countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics," it added.
Many scientists think the virus transferred naturally from animals to humans, but some suspicions persist that it escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan.
China has not responded to Monday's WHO statement. In the past it has strongly rejected the lab leak theory.
In September, a team of scientists said it was "beyond reasonable doubt" that the Covid pandemic started with infected animals sold at a market, rather than a laboratory leak.
They came to this conclusion after analysing hundreds of samples collected from Wuhan in January 2020.
In its statement, the WHO went back to the early days of Covid and traced its evolution from a local phenomenon to a global scourge, leading to lockdowns around the world and the ultimately successful race to develop vaccines.
"Five years ago on 31 December 2019, WHO's Country Office in China picked up a media statement by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission from their website on cases of 'viral pneumonia' in Wuhan, China," the organisation said.
"In the weeks, months and years that unfolded after that, Covid-19 came to shape our lives and our world," it went on.
The WHO said it "went to work immediately" as 2020 dawned. It recalled how its employees activated emergency systems on 1 January and informed the world three days later.
"By 9-12 January, WHO had published its first set of comprehensive guidance for countries, and on 13 January, we brought together partners to publish the blueprint of the first Sars-CoV-2 laboratory test," it added.
The WHO said it wanted to "honour the lives changed and lost, recognise those who are suffering from Covid-19 and long Covid, express gratitude to the health workers who sacrificed so much to care for us, and commit to learning from Covid-19 to build a healthier tomorrow".
In May 2023, the WHO declared that Covid-19 no longer represented a "global health emergency".
Its director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said at the time that at least seven million people had died in the pandemic.
But he added that the true figure was "likely" closer to 20 million deaths - nearly three times the official estimate.
Since then, the WHO has repeatedly warned against complacency about the possible emergence of future Covid-like illnesses.
Dr Ghebreyesus has said the next pandemic "can come at any moment" and has urged the world to be prepared.
Five years on, WHO urges China to share Covid-19 origins data
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3292810/five-years-who-urges-china-share-covid-19-origins-data?utm_source=rss_feedThe World Health Organization on Monday implored China to share data and access to help understand how Covid-19 began, five years on from the start of the pandemic that upended the planet.
Covid-19 killed millions of people, shredded economies and crippled health systems.
“We continue to call on China to share data and access so we can understand the origins of Covid-19. This is a moral and scientific imperative,” the WHO said in a statement.
“Without transparency, sharing, and cooperation among countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics.”
The WHO recounted how on December 31, 2019, its country office in China picked up a media statement from the health authorities in Wuhan concerning cases of “viral pneumonia” in the city.
“In the weeks, months and years that unfolded after that, Covid-19 came to shape our lives and our world,” the UN health agency said.
“As we mark this milestone, let’s take a moment to honour the lives changed and lost, recognise those who are suffering from Covid-19 and Long Covid, express gratitude to the health workers who sacrificed so much to care for us, and commit to learning from Covid-19 to build a healthier tomorrow.”
Earlier this month, the WHO’s Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressed the issue of whether the world was better prepared for the next pandemic than it was for Covid-19.
“The answer is yes, and no,” he told a press conference.
“If the next pandemic arrived today, the world would still face some of the same weaknesses and vulnerabilities that gave Covid-19 a foothold five years ago.
“But the world has also learned many of the painful lessons the pandemic taught us, and has taken significant steps to strengthen its defences against future epidemics and pandemics.”
In December 2021, spooked by the devastation caused by Covid-19, countries decided to start drafting an accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
The WHO’s 194 member states negotiating the treaty have agreed on most of what it should include, but are stuck on the practicalities.
A key fault-line lies between Western nations with major pharmaceutical industry sectors and poorer countries wary of being sidelined when the next pandemic strikes.
While the outstanding issues are few, they include the heart of the agreement: the obligation to quickly share emerging pathogens, and then the pandemic-fighting benefits derived from them such as vaccines.
The deadline for the negotiations is May 2025.
ByteDance leads China’s Big Tech sector in capital spending with US$11 billion for 2024
https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3292770/bytedance-leads-chinas-big-tech-sector-capital-spending-us11-billion-2024?utm_source=rss_feedTikTok owner ByteDance was China’s biggest investor in technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) in 2024, with its outlay almost matching the combined spending of rivals Baidu, Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings, according to new research.
Beijing-based ByteDance, founded by Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Yiming, invested an estimated 80 billion yuan (US$11 billion) on capital expenditure during the year – including AI – while Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent’s spent about 100 billion yuan among them, according to a research note issued by Zheshang Securities’ analysts Liu Wenshu, Tong Fei and Ye Guangliang.
Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
ByteDance, which generates strong cash flow from Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, is expected to double its capital spending to 160 billion yuan in 2025, including 90 billion yuan for computing power and the rest for infrastructure such as internet data centres, according to the report, which did not break out how much was specifically spent on AI.
China’s Big Tech firms are accelerating their spending on tech like AI, but remain behind their deep-pocketed US peers. ByteDance’s US$11 billion in capex is still well below the US$44.5 billion spent by Microsoft alone, according to the research note.
ByteDance’ large expenditure seems to have delivered results. The company’s AI chatbot Doubao is on par with OpenAI’s GPT-4o based on indicators such as reasoning, coding, ability to follow instructions, and overall ability, according to the Zheshang Securities note.
Meanwhile, the new underlying model for Doubao, introduced this month, costs 0.003 yuan (US$0.00041) per thousand token uses, compared to 0.0175 yuan for ChatGPT, according to figures provided by ByteDance and quoted by the securities analysts. ChatGPT is not officially available in China.
Zheshang Securities also believes ByteDance’s massive spending on computing power will drive progress in China’s AI industry.
The report said ByteDance has also invested heavily in promoting its AI products, with advertising spending for Doubao surging to 124 million yuan in the first 10 days of June, up from nearly 18 million yuan for the two month period of April and May.
The report noted that the benefits of making Doubao free-of-charge to the public include rapid growth in users numbers, which in turn has given the model access to massive amounts of training data. The growth of ByteDance’s AI capabilities will also reinforce its core businesses of short-video platform Douyin and news app Jinri Toutiao by enhancing their recommendation and search algorithms.
Since its launch in May, Doubao has surged to become the most popular AI chatbot in China, with nearly 60 million monthly active users (MAUs) by November. Globally, it is the second most popular AI product in terms of MAUs after OpenAI’s ChatGPT, according to a November ranking by Aicpb.com.
ByteDance’s AI portfolio now includes around 20 AI products, offering large language model-powered chatbots, text-generated videos, text-to-image generation, music generation, and video editing tools.
China’s C919 preps for busy 2025 as manufacturer makes expansion plans
https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3292781/chinas-c919-preps-busy-2025-manufacturer-makes-expansion-plans?utm_source=rss_feedAfter a banner year, China’s leading aircraft manufacturer is set to ring in an even busier 2025 as it scales up production to fulfil a bevy of orders for its home-grown planes – particularly the C919 narrowbody jet.
The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) is planning a series of expansions for the new year, previewing new projects on Saturday to boost factory output in its home base of Shanghai.
In a statement, the manufacturer said it will intensify cooperation with industrial chain partners in the coming year.
Though details were scarce, Comac said it will augment its capacity by building next to its existing facilities in China’s financial centre – a necessary move as the company’s backlog of invoices grows and turbulence on the horizon for global supply chains in the coming year.
“To build more planes, it first needs more production lines in Shanghai,” said a source with Comac subsidiary Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing.
In October, Comac renewed deals with Shanghai officials intended to put the Chinese city on a par with Everett in the United States and Toulouse in France – enormous production hubs for aerospace manufacturers Boeing and Airbus, respectively.
The agreements covered projects worth 26 billion yuan (US$3.56 billion), according to local media.
“Comac and Shanghai will launch more projects and programmes in 2025 and fast track construction,” said the source, who requested anonymity in compliance with company policy. “The challenge for Comac is to make more C919s at a faster rate, so everything will go into overdrive next year.”
He added the manufacturer’s production base already has an army of 10,000 workers, including 5,300 skilled personnel and 3,000 technical personnel.
In recent speeches from Comac’s top brass, the urgency has been palpable.
“The C919 is entering a new journey. There are more models, faster production rates and more deliveries of differentiated models to multiple airlines. These changes have put forward new and higher requirements,” said company president He Dongfeng in a Thursday meeting, according to a report on the manufacturer’s website.
Comac has delivered only 15 C919s so far, with the latest provided to flag carrier Air China on Friday. At least 365 unit orders are currently outstanding, with fulfilment set to stretch into the early 2030s. The company is also working tirelessly to certify the jet for overseas use.
But production rates have revved up. With two deliveries made in December and a third delivery to China Eastern Airlines by year’s end, Comac will wrap up 2024 with a record-breaking 13 shipments.
In the meantime, all aircraft makers are navigating pronounced headwinds in supply chains that are feared to persist or intensify in 2025.
The International Air Transport Association has warned the industry may continue to be disrupted because of a shortage of aircraft parts, as well as rising costs.
Although the C919 has been hailed as an exemplar of Chinese manufacturing, Comac still relies on Western suppliers for several essential components, including engines, avionics and landing gear.
Donald Trump’s first 100 days: can Beijing stop downwards spiral in US-China ties?
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3292786/donald-trumps-first-100-days-can-beijing-stop-downwards-spiral-us-china-ties?utm_source=rss_feedThe first 100 days of Donald Trump’s second term could offer the Chinese leadership an “extremely important” window of opportunity to make contact with him in an effort to avoid an immediate spike in tensions.
The period may provide an early test of the US president-elect’s approach towards China in his second term and this – as well as uncertainty over some of his policies – has led some observers to suggest that Beijing’s efforts to connect with Trump and his senior aides before he returns to the White House will help set the course for the relationship.
However, they do not expect these to have a far-reaching impact, given Trump’s “unpredictability” and deep-seated structural strains between the two powers.
Relations are expected to deteriorate further under Trump who is expected to take a hard line approach on issues such as Taiwan, the South China Sea and fentanyl, and may even revive the debate about the origins of Covid-19.
He has already pledged to impose new duties on Chinese products as soon as he takes office, raising questions about whether Beijing will retaliate with new restrictions of its own.
“If the opening phase proves that his policy is successful and effective, he is likely to continue on that path after the 100-day mark,” Wu Xinbo, dean of the institute of international studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said. “If he feels that it has not had the desired effect, he may then begin to adjust it later on.”
Wu also said it was not clear what Trump’s priorities would be or what approach he would adopt to achieve his goals.
“I think his team probably has differing opinions on those matters and it will not be easy to reach a quick consensus,” he said. “Of course, in the end, it will be up to Trump to make the final decision. That is why it is necessary to communicate with Trump himself.”
China’s efforts to contact the president-elect may shape how ties develop when he takes office next month, according to Wu.
“Whether China-US relations can have a smooth and relatively stable start or have tension and volatility right off the bat, I think that depends on how well the two sides communicate during [the transition period],” he said.
Trump and aides have already been talking to international leaders, with several politicians and ambassadors travelling to visit his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida where much of the transition work is being carried out.
But Beijing appears to be having trouble engaging with the Trump team, which includes several prominent hawks, although it still appears to be looking at ways to cultivate relations with the next occupant of the White House, including through private avenues.
Chinese leaders have also been trying to send signals about future policies, including through unofficial intermediaries, while trying to reinforce existing communication channels.
“From the current US presidential transition to the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency, there is no doubt that establishing and strengthening communication with Trump himself and members of his team is extremely important,” said Zhou Chao, a research fellow for the geopolitical strategy programme at Beijing-based think tank Anbound.
Zhou said Beijing must stay alert to the current US administration’s efforts to step up the pressure on China in its final days in office and apparent attempts to reduce Trump’s room for manoeuvre.
He cited examples such as Washington barring Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC from shipping certain advanced chips made with 7-nanometre or smaller processes to mainland China, new American arms sales to Taiwan and the blacklisting of 140 additional mainland Chinese tech companies.
He said it was essential for Beijing to have “more direct” exchanges with Trump’s team to “foster mutual understanding”.
While a US presidential term lasts four years, the first 100 days of a new administration in office are a broadly recognised benchmark for measuring its performance, a tradition that dates back to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who triggered a series of drastic measures to tackle the Great Depression within that time frame.
During the first three months of Trump’s previous presidency beginning in 2017, he spoke to President Xi Jinping via phone within weeks of taking office and hosted the Chinese leader at Mar-a-Lago in April.
However, the following year – just months after Trump’s own visit to China – he started a trade war that is still ongoing and widely expected to intensify over the next four years.
Wu from Fudan warned that it was hard to see how communicating with Trump during the transition period this time would have a lasting impact on his China policy.
“Trump’s style is characterised by his changeability and unpredictability,” he added.
In an article published in Foreign Affairs on December 20, Yan Xuetong, dean of the institute of international relations at Tsinghua University, also argued that “China will exercise extreme caution when reaching out to Trump” this time.
China-US tensions are the “new normal” and unlikely to see a major reversal, but there may be areas where tensions can be eased, according to Li Cheng, founding director of the University of Hong Kong’s Centre on Contemporary China and the World.
He said that at any time “there may be some opportunities”.
“But that does not rule out a window of opportunity,” Li added, warning that “structural” factors were limiting the scope for action.
“The US has a lot of concerns or fears about China and it lacks self-confidence. Its analysis and judgment of China, whether by Republicans or Democrats, includes huge mistakes,” he said. “This is not something that will change in the short term.”
Zhou said the basic framework of the second Trump administration’s policy towards China might include ongoing efforts to limit its access to hi-tech products, greater military pressure in the Pacific and more decoupling, all while looking to work with Beijing to counter the trade in illicit drugs.
He said it only remained for Trump to decide the exact policies to adopt, adding it was crucial for China to talk to him and his team to “fully understand each other’s needs and limits … to avoid a complete deterioration of bilateral relations, especially on highly sensitive issues such as the Taiwan Strait”.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China and has never ruled out the use of force to reunify it with the mainland. The US, in common with most countries, does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state but is opposed to any attempt to take it by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.
Trump’s team confirmed in December that he had invited Xi to his inauguration in January, and in an interview broadcast on Sunday, the president-elect told NBC news that he had spoken to the Chinese leader last week. Beijing has not commented on the claims.
Li said the invitation was a “very clear signal” Trump wanted to get off to a “good start” with Xi, and he may hope “to have contact with President Xi early in his presidency, whether in the US, China or elsewhere”.
He said that it was difficult to say whether meetings between the two leaders would have decisive implications for the relationship as American bureaucrats and interest groups could hijack the president’s foreign policy.
Meanwhile, a delegation led by Lu Kang, a deputy minister in the Communist Party’s international department, spent a week in the US at the start of the month, meeting White House and State Department officials as well as members of Congress.
This month the Chinese Commerce Ministry also said it was “open to engaging and communicating with the new US administration’s economic and trade team”.
Xi has said he wants to “maintain dialogue” but warned that “there will be no winners” in a tariff or tech war.
Meeting Harvard University professor Graham Allison earlier this month, Wang Huning, China’s No 4 official, had similar messages and said China’s approach has been “consistent and stable”.
The 84-year-old professor is seen as someone who may be able to act as a channel for messages from Beijing – a similar role to that once played by his mentor, former secretary of state Henry Kissinger.
Backchannel diplomacy could be especially important because Trump has nominated so many China hawks to fill prominent roles, including his pick for secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who has been sanctioned by Beijing in retaliation for sanctions on Chinese officials over Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
Analysts have touted a roster of billionaires – including Tesla boss Elon Musk, Blackstone chief executive Stephen Schwarzman, casino mogul Steve Wynn, and Linda McMahon, whom Trump tapped to lead the Department of Education – as potential channels, along with Donald Trump Jnr.
But Ho-fung Hung, professor in political economy at Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, warned: “Trump is more in command this time compared to the last time, and he is known for being deliberately unpredictable as a negotiation tactic.
“Any backchannel trying to communicate the administration’s intention and bottom line to Beijing will have difficulty identifying what to communicate.”
Additional reporting Ziwen Zhao and Dewey Sim
China mandates 30% EVs in government fleets in boost for carmakers, decarbonisation
https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3292792/china-mandates-30-evs-government-fleets-boost-carmakers-decarbonisation?utm_source=rss_feedChinese government departments have been told to prioritise electric vehicle (EVs) purchases for official use, as Beijing ramps up efforts to promote the use of environmentally friendly vehicles while providing another boost for the industry.
A circular from the Ministry of Finance on Monday said that ministry-level authorities and their units across the country should make sure that EVs account for at least 30 per cent of their total annual purchases. The minimum requirement will be raised in the coming years.
“The circular has been released to better regulate government procurement of new-energy vehicles [NEVs],” the statement said. “The goal is to promote the use of electric cars.”
Sales of pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in China, the world’s largest automotive and EV market, account for more than 60 per cent of the global total. Since July, demand for EVs has outpaced that for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
“Government departments at different levels will be able to meet the requirement easily now that the market abounds with EV models that are seen as value for money,” said Gao Shen, an independent analyst in Shanghai. With charging infrastructure rapidly expanding, EVs will grow in popularity on the mainland, he added.
In October, the National Government Offices Administration (NGOA) issued a similar notice on EV purchases, urging government fleets to be expanded with more battery-powered vehicles.
The agency, responsible for managing central government procurement, government employees’ housing and issues relating to logistics, said 30 per cent of new cars should be NEVs. The NGOA asked relevant departments to buy EVs priced under 180,000 yuan (US$24,660).
Domestic carmakers such as BYD, the world’s largest EV builder and Nio dominate the mainland’s EV segment, accounting for more than 80 per cent of the market.
An accelerated pace of electrification on the mainland has also eroded the competitiveness of foreign marques such as Volkswagen and Toyota, with their market share slumping to about 40 per cent this year from 63 per cent in 2015.
Beijing, in a bid to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, has been doling out incentives such as cash subsidies and sales tax exemptions, while rapidly building charging facilities across the country to support the automotive industry’s transition to EVs over the past decade. However, a 20,000 yuan subsidy for EV buyers to replace ICE cars ends on December 31.
China is home to about 50 major EV players, but only BYD, Li Auto and Huawei Technologies-backed Aito are profitable, according to industry data.
Meanwhile, Chinese EV makers are constantly slashing prices to gain a bigger slice of the market.
Last week, BYD reduced the price of its Sealion 05 hybrid SUV by 11.5 per cent to 99,800 yuan, while Tesla cut the price of its Model Y SUV by 4 per cent.
China charges Myanmar Golden Triangle syndicate suspects with murder and telecoms fraud
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3292779/china-charges-myanmar-golden-triangle-syndicate-suspects-murder-and-telecoms-fraud?utm_source=rss_feedChinese authorities have charged 16 Myanmar citizens with crimes including murder and telecoms fraud as part of a crackdown on cross-border cybercrime.
Criminal gangs are accused of luring hundreds of thousands of people to cross the border into Myanmar and then forcing them to take part in telecoms scams in the so-called Golden Triangle.
Myanmar authorities have handed over more than 31,000 telecoms fraud suspects to China since law enforcement officers from both countries started targeting cross-border gangs last September.
Crime syndicates are believed to have made millions of US dollars a day from the scams, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Last year Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that the authorities believe that up to 100,000 people in one city alone – Myawaddy on the border between Myanmar and Thailand – were involved in telecoms fraud.
The latest charges, filed in the eastern province of Zhejiang, involve 39 people, 16 of whom are citizens of Myanmar. They are accused of offences that include murder, fraud, unlawful detention, organised gambling and prostitution, and drug trafficking
The suspects include members of the Ming family, an ethnically Chinese family accused of running a cross border crime syncdicate. The head of the family Ming Xuechang, died in an apparent suicide last November after being detained.
His son Ming Guoping (also known as Mg Myin Shaut Phyin), daughter Ming Julan (Myin Shut Lan) and granddaughter Ming Zhenzhen (Ma Thiri Maung) – who are all believed to be citizens of Myanmar – were handed over to the Chinese authorities in November last year.
Ming Guoping, 43, was a leader of the Kokang Border Guard Force, which operates under the command of the Myanmar military.
Xinhua said the 39 suspects are either members of the Ming family syndicate or its associated groups, entrenched themselves in Kokang, a region in Shan state on the border with the Chinese province of Yunnan.
The suspects are either Chinese citizens or ethnically Chinese Myanmar citizens and are accused of targeting Chinese-speaking victims.
“They have relied on armed forces to carry out large-scale telecoms and online fraud targeting Chinese citizens, among other crimes,” Xinhua reported.
A commentary by the news agency said the charges would “serve as a strong deterrent to overseas telecoms fraud criminals, demonstrating [China’s] strength and spirit of the rule of law.”
Prosecutors told Xinhua that Chinese authorities have jurisdiction over the case because crimes that took place outside China’s borders violated the personal rights of Chinese citizens.
It also alleged that some of the crimes had taken place inside China, including sex trafficking and organising gambling establishments.
The Chinese and Myanmar police worked together to investigate the case and hand over suspects, Xinhua added.
This case is not the first time that the Chinese judicial authorities have targeted cross-border crime. In one of the most notorious cases, the Golden Triangle drug lord Naw Kham and three associates were executed in 2013 for murdering 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong between Thailand and Laos.
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Huawei slashes prices in fight for China’s high-end smartphone market share
https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3292753/huawei-slashes-prices-fight-chinas-high-end-smartphone-market-share?utm_source=rss_feedChinese tech giant Huawei Technologies has slashed prices for a range of high-end handsets in new efforts to boost sales amid cutthroat competition in the world’s biggest smartphone market.
The company reduced the price of its top-of-the-line Pura 70 Ultra device, launched in April, to 8,999 yuan (US$1,233) for the 1 terabyte version – an 18 per cent discount from the original price of 10,999 yuan, Huawei’s official online store Vmall showed. The 512 gigabyte version is being sold at a steeper markdown of 20 per cent.
The Mate X5, a foldable smartphone launched in September 2023, is being offered at 2,500 yuan less than its original starting price of 12,999 yuan, translating to a 19 per cent discount. The model had been China’s top-selling foldable handset since its launch, according to data by research firm CINNO.
Huawei already made rare price cuts of up to 1,000 yuan for the Pura 70 series in July. The latest discounts come after the company released in November the flagship Mate 70 series and the foldable Mate X6, as it gunned for a larger share of a market dominated by Apple and several Chinese rivals.
The Shenzhen-based company’s domestic shipments of premium-priced smartphones – handsets that cost more than US$600 – surged 34 per cent in the September quarter, according to consultancy Canalys. That gave Huawei a 33 per cent share of its home market, closing in on Apple, which continued to lead with a 52 per cent share.
However, the latest Mate 70 series faces subdued sales because of its weaker processors compared to competitors, according to analysts at research firm TechInsights. Total shipments of the Mate 70 series handsets are expected to exceed 10 million units throughout its life cycle, according to Counterpoint Research.
The industry was closely monitoring the Mate 70’s release for insights into Huawei’s progress in chip development. Last year, the US-blacklisted firm surprised the world by incorporating a 7-nanometre chip in its Mate 60 series smartphones.
The sales performance of Huawei’s foldable handsets is also of interest to analysts, as the company remains the bestselling foldable smartphone vendor in China, accounting for around half of total domestic shipments, according to the latest data by Counterpoint.
In September, Huawei launched the world’s first trifold smartphone, the Mate XT. Along with the Mate X6, the devices are expected to help cement the company’s leading position in the segment, according to Counterpoint.
Huawei shipped 1.12 million foldable handsets in the third quarter, up 97 per cent year on year, according to CINNO. The Mate X5 was a main contributor to the surge in shipments, the research firm said.
Chinese tunnel crews punch through Xinjiang mountains for record-setting expressway
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3292756/chinese-tunnel-crews-punch-through-xinjiang-mountains-record-setting-expressway?utm_source=rss_feedMore than four years after they started, construction crews in western China have bored through more than 22km of mountain rock to complete a milestone in the world’s longest expressway tunnel.
The crews working on the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel punched through the final section of rock in the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Monday morning, more than a year and a half ahead of schedule, state media reported.
The 22.1km (13.7-mile) expressway tunnel is expected to be the longest of its kind, and improve links within the region and with neighbouring countries.
The mountain range divides Xinjiang into north and south, and the tunnel will cut travel time between the two areas from about three hours to just 20 minutes.
Work started on the project in April 2020, with crews deploying boring machines built specifically for the job.
The project comprises two traffic tunnels and a service tunnel running between them.
Project manager Wang Heqi told state broadcaster CCTV that the service tunnel allowed crews to divide the main tunnels into multiple segments, and work on them inside the service tunnel, saving a lot of time.
The report said there was still road-building, electrical engineering, and interior design work to be completed before the project opened as part of the Urumqi-Yuli expressway in October 2025.
The expressway is expected to cut the journey between two most populous cities in Xinjiang – the regional capital Urumqi and Korla – from over seven hours to about three hours.
Zhou Rongfeng, director of the Ministry of Transport’s highway bureau, told CCTV that the project would improve connectivity between the region’s northern and southern areas.
“The expressway will offer significant support for coordinating socioeconomic development of Xinjiang, strengthening unity among ethnicities,” Zhou said.
He also said it would “promote the Belt and Road Initiative” and the domestic and international “dual-circulation” consumer economy.
Li Lifan, a researcher on Central Asia at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said the project was part of a broader “sea-highway-railway” transport plan.
“The tunnel and the expressway network will help connect the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway under construction to other parts of China, especially the eastern coast,” Li said.
China sees the Central Asia railway as a belt and road demonstration project and as a way to connect Central Asia to China’s Pacific Ocean ports.
It is also looking to use Xinjiang’s geographical advantages in the initiative to diffuse geopolitical pressures from the West. Xinjiang borders some countries deemed core to President Xi Jinping’s signature schemes, including Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan.
As part of this process, authorities in Xinjiang have been strengthening ties with these countries by establishing local government cooperation with the neighbouring region of Zhetysu in Kazakhstan, and opening the Khunjerab border crossing with Pakistan year round.
Li said Xinjiang’s upgraded expressway network would contribute to better ties between China and its neighbours.
“With improved infrastructure, southwest Xinjiang will attract more investment from leading Chinese firms, and more firms from Central Asia and Pakistan will set up joint ventures there. This would be beneficial to the construction of economic corridors running through these countries,” he said.
Is Australia taking myopic approach in wooing Pacific nations to counter China?
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3292755/australia-taking-myopic-approach-wooing-pacific-nations-counter-china?utm_source=rss_feedAustralia’s recent courtship of several Pacific island nations signals Canberra’s commitment to the region, but it is not expected to gain any lasting benefits from the outreach amid its competition with China over short-term deals, according to analysts.
On December 20, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his country would spend A$190 million (US$118 million) over four years to boost the Solomon Islands’ police force and create a police training centre in its capital Honiara.
Albanese and his Solomons counterpart Jeremiah Manele said in a joint statement the package would help the South Pacific nation to build “enduring” security capabilities, “thereby reducing its reliance on external partners over time”.
China’s law enforcement instructors are already based in the Solomons Islands after both countries signed a security pact in 2022, which spurred the United States and Australia to pitch deals to Pacific island nations to limit Beijing’s security ambitions in the region.
Alan Tidwell, director at the Centre for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Studies at Georgetown University, said Australia has shown its commitment to the Pacific by making pledges to the Solomon Islands, Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
“Canberra’s deals highlight efforts to counter [China] as well as maintain its role as the West’s primary shaper of the region,” Tidwell added.
On December 9, Australia concluded an economic and security treaty with Nauru, pledging A$100 million (US$64 million) over five years to boost security in the Pacific island nation, which is also being courted by China.
Australia followed up three days later by signing a deal with Papua New Guinea (PNG), under which it would provide A$600 million (US$384 million) over 10 years to allow a PNG team to participate in Australia’s National Rugby League in exchange for Port Moresby’s commitment to Canberra as its major security partner.
Moses Sakai, a research fellow at the PNG National Research Institute, said China’s growing economic and security influence in the Pacific was a challenge to Australia’s status as a regional leader.
For the Pacific Island nations, the primary goal of their external engagements – whether with Australia, China or other countries – was to address “national security concerns” by tackling law and order challenges, Sakai said.
Ying Zhu, co-director of C-EDGE, UniSA Business School at the University of South Australia, said Albanese had done a better job in balancing Chinese influence in the region compared with the previous Australian government.
“However, people may say the effort is not enough given the overall financial support is relatively small,” Ying said. Nonetheless, Pacific Island countries would also assess Australia’s support in terms of its “sincerity”, he added.
Apart from signing security agreements with the Solomon Islands in 2022 and providing policing help to Kiribati, China has supported key infrastructure projects in the region including building a 10,000-seat sports stadium in the Solomon Islands, the presidential palace in Vanuatu, and an airstrip in Kiribati.
China has surpassed the United States as the second-largest donor to the Pacific island nations, while Australia remains the largest donor, according to a report published by the Lowy Institute last month.
In contrast with an 18 per cent decline in total development finance from all countries to the island nations in 2022, China increased its financing to the region that year by 6 per cent to US$256 million, the report said.
Solstice Middleby, a PhD candidate in Pacific Regionalism at the University of Adelaide, said Australia was engaging in “short-term transactional competition” with China in the Pacific, an approach that would “neither generate lasting influence nor deliver tangible benefits” for the people of the Pacific.
“Increasingly conditional funding announcements and deals, no matter how large, are met with growing scepticism by Pacific societies,” said Middleby, a former Australian diplomat to the Pacific, as such initiatives had previously fallen short.
Middleby cited Australia’s A$3 billion security spending in the Solomon Islands from 2003 to 2017 under the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), saying “underlying security issues remain” despite its support.
“This eye-watering figure did little to curb China’s growing [regional] engagement,” Middleby said, noting that the people of Pacific island nations knew that much of the funds from Canberra had benefitted Australian federal police officers, advisers, and private development firms.
“This inequality is starkly visible in cities like Honiara, where expat-filled cafes thrive while local communities queue outside parliament seeking school fees from parliamentarians. These funding packages are often reallocated rather than new money, essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul, further undermining Australia’s credibility,” Middleby said.
In response to Australia’s funding support to Honiara, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on 20 December that no country should treat Pacific island nations as its “backyard”.
It was essential to let Pacific island nations make their own decisions, put development first, and stay open and inclusive, Lin added.
With Pacific countries highly protective of their sovereignty, security deals involving Australia that “lack broad and deep local commitment” would not endure in the longer term, Middleby said.
“These packages and agreements increasingly seem like short-term signals to the US rather than genuine efforts to support Pacific security or development,” she added.
Instead of pouring security funds into the region, the focus should be on expanding industries and jobs and improving access to education and healthcare, according to Middleby.
She called for “a more progressive and sophisticated approach to China” with the Asian power recognised as not only a major economic and technological partner for Australia but also for the Pacific.
Australia should work with Pacific nations to partner with China in areas aligned with the region’s priorities, such as tackling climate challenges, Middleby said.
“By acknowledging and constructively engaging in this role, rather than seeking to deny it, Australia could foster a peaceful and stable region rather than the increasingly militarised one we are encouraging,” she added.
China Future Tech webinar | Chinese carmakers in a changing landscape
https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3292732/china-future-tech-webinar-chinese-carmakers-changing-landscape?utm_source=rss_feedBookmark this article and join the live stream on Thursday, January 9, at 10.30am HKT
Chinese makers of electric vehicles had an eventful 2024, marked by new production and sales records as well as fierce competition that left some upstarts by the wayside and few EV manufacturers with profits to match their industriousness.
Since July, the EV penetration rate has exceeded 50 per cent in China, buttressed by government consumption subsidies. Meanwhile, as domestic EV sales rise, some foreign carmakers are facing an existential challenge in China, which has been responsible for a significant proportion of their global sales over the past couple of decades.
Meanwhile, Chinese EV exports weakened in 2024 as the European Union, the United States and Canada all erected significant tariff barriers to EVs that are made in China.
South China Morning Post Shanghai bureau chief Daniel Ren recently summarised some of these trends in a China Future Tech industry briefing (exclusively for SCMP Plus subscribers – click here for a free trial), and he’ll take part in a panel moderated by SCMP Plus editor Jacques van Wersch.
Join Jacques, Daniel, SCMP technology editor Zhou Xin as well as special guest Paul Gong, UBS head of China Autos Research, for a discussion of the following topics, among others:
The live webinar will be available for all logged-in readers. in advance for direct answers and valuable insights unique to this event
SCMP’s is your go-to destination for the latest news, insights and opinions on six transformative sectors shaping China’s technological dominance. Explore in-depth coverage of EVs, AI, semiconductors, aerospace, robotics and biomedicine sectors. Follow us now.
China’s cattle farmers, in beef with importers, lobby for trade probe as prices drop
https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3292742/chinas-cattle-farmers-beef-importers-lobby-trade-probe-prices-drop?utm_source=rss_feedChina’s beef farmers, struggling with steep losses as domestic prices plunge to an 11-year low, have successfully petitioned for the country to look into what they term a market-distorting surge of inexpensive imports.
An official investigation into shipments of the meat began on Friday after numerous industry associations called for action to guarantee the security of domestic agriculture.
The average wholesale price of beef in China dropped to 59.8 yuan (US$8.19) per kilogram last week, down 16.4 per cent for December year on year. This was the lowest recorded price since September 2013, according to data released by the country’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Meanwhile, the retail price of boneless beef fell to 65.5 yuan (US$8.98) per kilogram in November, down 18.6 per cent year on year and reaching its lowest level since October 2018, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The China Animal Agriculture Association (CAAA) attributed the slump to a surfeit of imported beef, noting inbound shipments have grown eightfold over the 10 years leading up to 2023.
These imports have surmounted one-third of domestic production in terms of scale, with their proportion of the country’s supply continuing to rise this year.
“Large quantities of imported beef are deepening the woes of a domestic cattle market already reeling from low demand and widespread losses,” the CAAA told Shanghai-based news outlet Cailian Press on Friday.
The association said farmers faced an average loss of more than 1,600 yuan per slaughtered cow in November, marking eight consecutive months of losses of more than 1,000 yuan per animal. Over 65 per cent of domestic farms are operating at a loss, the group said.
“Many farmers are currently raising cattle on credit,” the CAAA said. “If the price of beef is low, they won’t be able to pay back the loans. Even if they can, they will be heavily in debt and have to leave the industry.”
Wang Zhangai, who keeps livestock in the central province of Henan, is gradually downsizing his herd of around 70 cattle. He said he may have to shut down his business completely by next year, unless authorities step in to address the adverse effects of imports.
“Officially, a loss of 1,600 yuan is incurred for every [head of] cattle sold, but in reality, it exceeds 2,000 yuan,” Wang said. “The entire industry is in recession, and most of us can’t hold on.”
China imported 2.64 million tonnes of beef in the first 11 months of 2024 according to customs data, a 4 per cent increase year on year. However, the value of those imports dropped by 5 per cent to US$12.55 billion, leading to a 9 per cent decline in the unit import price of beef.
Last year, China logged a record 2.77 million tonnes in beef imports, with the unit import price falling by 21 per cent compared to 2022.
Brazil’s share of China’s beef imports grew from 25 per cent in 2019 to 44 per cent this year, reaching a value of US$5.48 billion for the period from January to November.
However, the unit price of beef imported from Brazil dropped nearly 10 per cent this year, following a 25 per cent decline last year.
Unit import prices for beef from major suppliers like Argentina, New Zealand and Uruguay have all fallen significantly in 2024, with drops of 10 per cent to 20 per cent.
On Friday, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced an investigation into imported beef would be carried out after complaints from 10 domestic industry associations. The inquiry is expected to last about eight months, but the ministry said it may be “appropriately extended” under “special circumstances”.
In a joint statement issued the same day, three ministries of Brazil’s government said they will work over the coming months to prove its beef exports are “complementary” to China’s domestic production.
“The Brazilian government reaffirms its commitment to defending the interests of Brazilian agribusiness, respecting the sovereign decisions of our main trade partner.”
Archaeologists confirm southern China’s oldest city is more than 3,000 years old
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3292713/archaeologists-confirm-southern-chinas-oldest-city-more-3000-years-old?utm_source=rss_feedArchaeological remains of a city in Guangxi autonomous region are the earliest found so far in southern China, dating some 3,000 years to the early Shang dynasty (c1600-1050BC).
A panel of experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Archaeology, Hubei University, and the Guangzhou Municipal Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology confirmed the site’s age at a meeting in December.
The panel made the determination after examining relics excavated from the site in Gongcheng Yao autonomous county near the city of Guilin, according to reports carried by state broadcaster CCTV and Guangming Daily.
The Niuluchong site was discovered in 2022 when a construction project on the previously unused land stumbled upon patterned bricks and broken pottery, the Guangming Daily report said.
Excavations in April suggested that the site dated from between the late Neolithic period and the Shang dynasty. A three month-long “rescue” dig that began in September helped to confirm the site’s age.
In an interview with CCTV, the excavation team leader He Anyi said this year’s finds included double city walls and moats.
“[The site] is about 165 metres (541ft) long from north to south and 140 metres (459ft) long from east to west, with a total area of 23,100 square metres (75,787 sq ft),” he said.
“The north and west walls of the entire city site are well preserved, among which the west wall is the best preserved, and the highest part of the west wall may be about 1.4 metres (4.59ft).”
The archaeologists also found other structural remains at the site including ash pits and pillar holes, as well as cultural relics like pottery and stone tools.
The panel’s determination makes the Niuluchong site the earliest known city in the ancient region of Lingnan. The archaeologists also noted that moats are rare among the region’s other early settlements.
Lingnan is generally considered to span the southern coast of China across the modern provinces of Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan. Its extent is still the subject of scholarly debate. Some academics include Hong Kong, Macau and northern Vietnam within its borders.
Lingnan was the starting point for the Maritime Silk Road which flourished for 1,500 years from the Han to Ming dynasties, connecting China with coastal states in Asia and Africa, according to the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
The region’s rich cultural and historical heritage includes the Baiyue collection of ethnic groups who lived in what is now southern China and northern Vietnam in the first millennium BC, which encompassed the Shang dynasty.
According to He, excavation of the site will continue, with the team hoping to find other remains, including things such as carbonised rice grains.
The archaeologists will also be spending time in a laboratory, piecing together and analysing some of the relics, including a “severely rusted” bronze artefact that appears to be a sword, he said.
Cambricon, China’s AI chip star, soars 383% amid push for self-sufficiency
https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3292723/cambricon-chinas-ai-chip-star-soars-383-amid-push-self-sufficiency?utm_source=rss_feedChina’s top-performing stock of 2024 is expected to see additional tailwinds into next year from the nation’s drive for greater self-sufficiency in artificial intelligence (AI).
Shares of AI chip designer Cambricon Technologies have climbed 383 per cent this year, topping the benchmark CSI 300 Index and driving its market value to US$37 billion. The Shanghai-listed stock has even outpaced global AI chip leaders Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.
Cambricon has climbed on investor enthusiasm over China’s stepped up support for the local tech industry in the face of US trade restrictions. The stock may also benefit from its addition this month to the Shanghai Stock Exchange 50 Index, as funds tracking the large-cap gauge add shares.
“The localisation of AI chips has become a big trend,” according to Minsheng Securities. Top domestic manufacturers like Huawei Technologies and Cambricon “continue to catch up with overseas leaders” in terms of product capabilities, the firm’s analysts wrote in a note.
Beijing-based Cambricon was founded in 2016 and is still making losses. Demand has surged, however, with sales jumping more than 280 per cent in the third quarter compared with the year-ago period. Growth looks poised to continue.
Graphics processing unit localisation “could see significant growth in 2025”, with Nvidia market share falling to 50 to 60 per cent from more than 80 per cent in 2024, Citigroup analysts including Karen Huang wrote in a note.
Huawei is likely to benefit the most, followed by Cambricon, she added.
China’s push to produce essential technology at home drove many of the other biggest stock gains in China this year as well.
Shares of optical module maker Eoptolink Technology and data provider Range Intelligent Computing Technology Group more than doubled in value.
A gauge of AI-related stocks climbed 26 per cent, beating the CSI 300’s 16 per cent gain.
China school probed for feeding young pupils leftovers from dog food bucket
https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3292142/china-school-probed-feeding-young-pupils-leftovers-dog-food-bucket?utm_source=rss_feedA school in northeastern China has infuriated the public by feeding young students dishes which had been kept in a bucket used for dog food.
Earlier this month, several parents noticed the practice taking place in the canteen of Wulidianzi School in Huanren county, Liaoning province, northeastern China.
Workers were seen throwing food left over by older students into a bucket in preparation for taking it home to feed their dogs.
But minutes later, when younger pupils came to the canteen to eat, the workers emptied the previously waste food out of the dog bucket and served it to the children, Daxiang News reported.
Some students vomited as a result, the report said, without elaborating.
When a group of angry parents gathered at the school to denounce the practice, the school only agreed to let them watch the canteen’s surveillance recordings, but refused to let them record the footage.
“All the parents watching the surveillance video cried,” a mother was quoted as saying.
“I want to ask the headmaster, you also have a kid and are you willing to let your kid eat this kind of food?”
The county government said a team has been formed to investigate the incident.
The story caused a stir on mainland social media, with the majority of internet users condemning the school.
“They are not our enemy. They are our kids, the future of our country. How do you dare to give them such food?” said one netizen.
“Both the school and the relevant staffers should receive a severe punishment. We should let those violating the food safety rules bear an enormously high cost, otherwise they will not be deterred,” said another.
A third person said: “The school canteen’s surveillance system should be connected to the parents’ mobile phones, so they can monitor them strictly.”
Food safety scares on educational campuses frequently make headlines in China.
Last year, a college in eastern Jiangxi province gripped the national attention after a student found a mouse head in a dish served at the school’s canteen.
At first, the school management claimed it was a piece of duck head, which was found not to be the case after an official investigation.
The management of the college received a “highest-level” punishment.
Hong Kong logs 98,000 mainland Chinese visitors during pre-New Year’s Eve travel
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3292727/hong-kong-logs-98000-mainland-visitors-during-pre-new-years-eve-travel?utm_source=rss_feedHong Kong welcomed more than 98,000 visitors from mainland China on Sunday, a 16 per cent increase year on year, while one bus operator expected a spike in demand for overnight cross-border services on New Year’s Eve.
On Sunday, 98,912 mainland residents arrived in the city, up from the 84,821 on the same day last year, according to official data released on Monday. The border crossing at the Lok Ma Chau spur line recorded the biggest increase in visitors, accounting for 6,000 out of the more than 14,000.
Paul Tse Wai-chun, deputy chief operating officer of Eternal East Cross-Border Coach Management, estimated on Monday that demand for cross-border bus services on January 1 would increase by about 10 to 15 per cent after the multi-entry scheme was revived earlier this month.
The resumption of the multi-entry scheme allows Shenzhen residents to make unlimited trips to Hong Kong within a year, with each stay capped at seven days.
Tse’s company operates direct cross-border bus services from the West Kowloon Cultural District to Shenzhen Bay.
He expected between 30 and 40 trips from midnight to 6am on Wednesday, with the peak hour for border-crossing by bus to be between 1.30am and 2.30am after MTR services had ended.
Tse also predicted that 60 to 70 per cent of Shenzhen residents would return to the mainland by rail, and expressed confidence that there would be enough buses to accommodate the remaining passengers.
“We will be running bus services every half an hour from Yau Ma Tei to the Shenzhen Bay border, but we might increase the frequency based on demand,” he told a radio show.
Last New Year’s Eve, thousands of mainland tourists were left stranded in Hong Kong after countdown celebrations, with many stuck at a bus stop in the early hours waiting for cross-border buses.
He added that with last year’s experience, the government had made arrangements this year to cope with the number of cross-border visitors and implement traffic control measures so tour buses do not get stuck in a jam with other private vehicles.
The Immigration Department earlier estimated that more than 13 million passengers, including residents and visitors, would pass through Hong Kong’s sea, land and air checkpoints during the festive period, starting from December 21 to New Year’s Day.
Clearance services at the Shenzhen Bay checkpoint, which usually closes at midnight, will operate overnight on Tuesday.
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge port and the Lok Ma Chau checkpoint will operate round the clock as usual.
Close to 85 per cent of them were expected to pass through land border checkpoints to and from the mainland.
Most MTR services will also run overnight.
The operating hours of the Lo Wu checkpoint will be extended to 2am, with the last train to Lo Wu scheduled to depart from Admiralty at 12.56am. The last train to Admiralty is scheduled to depart from Lo Wu at 2.30am.
According to data from Trip.com, inbound flight bookings increased by 52 per cent year-on-year and high-speed rail trips to Hong Kong grew by 25 per cent in 2024, with August being the peak travel month.
Travellers mainly come from Taiwan, mainland China, Thailand, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia, with over 70 per cent being millennials and Generation Z travellers born after 1997.
On top of traditional tourist hotspots such as Tsim Sha Tsui, hotels in areas including Tin Shui Wai and Tuen Mun, which are close to mainland China, were also popular with travellers.
Local officials replaced in wake of China’s worst lone wolf car attack in Zhuhai
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3292730/local-officials-replaced-wake-chinas-worst-lone-wolf-car-attack-zhuhai?utm_source=rss_feedHeads have continued to roll among senior local Communist Party officials in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai more than a month after a deadly car attack left 35 people dead, although the departures have not been explicitly linked with the incident.
Zhang Qiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Zhuhai Municipal People’s Congress, the city’s legislature, and a former vice-mayor is the latest to come under investigation or be replaced since the incident.
The provincial anti-corruption watchdog, Guangdong’s Commission for Discipline Inspection, said on Sunday that Zhang, 58, is suspected of “serious disciplinary and law violations”.
Zhang held a number of law enforcement positions in the city over the past decade, including deputy procurator-general, director of the public security bureau and as secretary of the city party’s political and legal affairs committee – the top security role.
According to the official website for Xiangzhou district, where the car attack happened, its local party secretary was replaced early last week, a move that followed the departure earlier this month of the district’s mayor.
The same fate has befallen the mayor of Zhuhai, along with a deputy mayor of the city and its police chief.
According to a report last week in the party newspaper Zhuhai Special Zone Daily, the city’s top security official has also been replaced as secretary of the political and legal affairs committee.
Neither the official statements nor media reports have attributed the personnel changes to last month’s attacks or given any indication of what the next steps might be for the replaced officials.
Meanwhile, 62-year-old Fan Weiqiu was sentenced to death on Friday for the attack after a hearing in the Zhuhai Intermediate People’s Court. He was also deprived of his political rights for life.
The court heard that Fan deliberately drove his SUV into a group of people exercising outside a sports centre in Zhuhai just before 8pm on 11 November, killing 35 people and injuring 43 others.
“Fan’s criminal motives were extremely despicable, the nature of the crime was particularly heinous, the methods used were especially brutal, the consequences of the crime were particularly severe and the social harm was significant. Therefore he should be punished severely according to the law,” the court said.
It was the second time this month that a Chinese court has handed down a verdict after a lone wolf attack. Last week, a man in Hunan received a suspended death sentence for ramming his SUV into a group of primary schoolchildren and their parents.
In both cases, the rapid progress of the hearings and subsequent sentences were unusual in China’s legal system. Lone wolf attacks are still rare in China but have been on the rise in recent years, with the Zhuhai case as the worst.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, along with senior officials and the country’s top law enforcement agencies, have repeatedly stressed the need to deal severely with similar cases and ensure public safety.
A Trump defence pick points to focus shift from North Korea to China for US Forces Korea
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3292710/trump-defence-pick-points-focus-shift-north-korea-china-us-forces-korea?utm_source=rss_feedUS president-elect Donald Trump’s pick for senior defence official may signal his incoming administration’s move to adjust the role of US troops in South Korea to focus more on containing China, analysts said.
On December 22, Elbridge Colby, who was the deputy assistant secretary of defence for strategy and force development during Trump’s first term, was announced as the next under secretary of defence for policy, the No. 3 rank in the Pentagon responsible for the formation of national security and defence policy.
On his Truth Social account, Trump wrote that Colby would work closely with the secretary of defence nominee Pete Hegseth to “restore” Washington’s military power and achieve a policy of “peace through strength”.
Colby has been calling for US military resources to be concentrated on a denial strategy against China’s rise in the Indo-Pacific, instead of dispersing US defence resources to other regions such as Europe, aligning with Trump’s campaign pledge to end the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
A major contrast between traditional US strategies in the Indo-Pacific region and Colby’s overall policy agenda appears in the roles played by the US Forces Korea (USFK) stationed in South Korea, a contingent that primarily focuses on responding to North Korean threats.
Traditional defence officials in Trump’s previous administration advocated for the USFK’s role in responding to North Korean threats with a more hawkish stance against its nuclear and missile development.
However, Colby is sceptical that Pyongyang will give up its nuclear weapons and believes that US troops in South Korea must instead be used to contain China’s military threat, leaving Seoul to defend itself against North Korea.
South Korea hosts 28,500 US troops in its territory – mostly army and air force personnel. Trump repeatedly said during his presidential campaign that South Korea must defend itself and should pay up to US$10 billion for stationing US troops in the country – nine times greater than the US$1.14 billion expected to be paid in 2026.
In his 2021 book The Strategy of Denial: American Defence in an Age of Great Power Conflict, Colby argued that South Korea was likely to “grow increasingly challenging to defend from a determined Chinese assault” because of its proximity to China, but that including South Korea in the US defence perimeter against Beijing would be “worth the challenges”.
“[South] Korea is important to the effective defence of Japan; if China were able to use South Korea as a base of operations, it would greatly complicate the defence of Japan,” Colby wrote.
“Particularly given that the conventional military threat from North Korea has substantially receded in recent decades, if that from China grows, then South Korea and the United States can increasingly redirect their defence preparations toward defending against a potential assault by China.”
Colby’s views were reiterated in his interview with the Korean news agency Yonhap in May, where he said US forces on the Korean peninsula “should not be held hostage to dealing with the North Korean problem” as it is not the primary issue for Washington and that the US should be “focused on China and the defence of South Korea from China over time”.
“South Korea is going to have to take primary, essentially overwhelming, responsibility for its own self-defence against North Korea because we don’t have a military that can fight North Korea and then be ready to fight China,” Colby said.
“The fundamental fact is that North Korea is not a primary threat to the US. It would not be rational to lose multiple American cities to just deal with North Korea. That’s a different calculation for South Korea … We need to realistically evaluate an approach.”
He also said “all options” should be on the table to ensure South Korea’s security, including its nuclear armament in the face of a nuclear build-up in North Korea and China.
Patrick Cronin, chair for Asia-Pacific Security at Hudson Institute, said the second Trump administration expected allies to “shoulder more burdens to maintain a favourable balance of power,” such as including South Korea in US-led regional contingency plans.
“It is reasonable to expect Elbridge Colby, if confirmed as under secretary of defence, to elevate those efforts,” Cronin said. “There are myriad ways, both direct and indirect, that South Korea could help contribute to security on and off the peninsula.”.
Kim Heung-kyu, director of the US-China Policy Institute at Ajou University in Suwon, South Korea, said that with the nomination of Colby, the role of American troops in South Korea was expected to be “more focused on checking China than on the existing mission of suppressing North Korea”.
“The importance of the USFK will be emphasised as it is the closest US military located to China.”
He said it was inevitable, however, that the US military presence in South Korea would be reorganised and dispersed because of restructuring “according to the strategy vis-a-vis China”.
He said Trump would try to “enhance his prestige and secure strategic flexibility by managing his relationship with North Korea” through negotiations, which could lead to discussions about South Korea’s nuclear armament.
“China will naturally oppose South Korea’s nuclear armament, but considering the stability of the Korean peninsula and its relationship with South Korea, it cannot unconditionally oppose South Korea’s nuclear armament. Instead, [Beijing’s] efforts should be made to establish an alternative military cooperation system that can stabilise this region or the Korean peninsula,” Kim said.
Yoon Suk-joon, a senior fellow at the Korea Institute for Military Affairs in Seoul and a specialist in the Chinese military, said the role of the USFK was now “beyond the Korean peninsula”, meaning that Washington sought to expand the scope of the alliance with Seoul to bring South Korea’s military into its Indo-Pacific strategy.
Yoon said the US Department of Defence and other institutions “think it would be more appropriate for an operational commander to go to the Indo-Pacific and North Pacific who can take care of North Korea, Russia and China together. That means that the role of the US military commander in South Korea is now aimed not only at North Korea, but also at Russia and China”.
Kang Jun-young, a professor of Chinese studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, said that in the South Korea-US-Japan trilateral security cooperation, South Korea’s priority was North Korea’s nuclear weapons, while the US and Japan’s priority was to contain China. A problem may arise in “how to fill this gap”.
“Perspectives from the Trump administration, especially from the defence sector, [are] that China and the US could eventually go to war and – even if it is not a direct war between them – problems could arise in the Taiwan Strait or other places,” said Kang. “So the role of US forces in Korea should be adjusted in preparation for that.”
Did China’s Baidu discover scaling laws before OpenAI? A debate rekindles in AI circles
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3292417/did-chinas-baidu-discover-scaling-laws-openai-debate-rekindles-ai-circles?utm_source=rss_feedRecent community discussions have reignited the debate over whether Chinese tech giant Baidu may have developed the key theoretical groundwork for large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) models before America’s OpenAI.
Large models, or “foundation models”, are at the forefront of AI development, with their rapid iterations driving cutting-edge applications. While the United States is generally viewed as leading advanced AI model innovation, some argue that China may have started exploring these concepts earlier.
Central to large-model development is the “scaling law” – a principle that asserts the larger the training data and model parameters, the stronger the model’s intelligence capabilities. Widely credited to OpenAI’s 2020 paper, “Scaling Laws for Neural Language Models”, this idea has since become a cornerstone in AI research.
The OpenAI paper showed that increasing model parameters, training data and compute resources boosts performance following a power-law relationship. This insight guided the development of subsequent large-scale AI models.
However, Dario Amodei, a co-author of the OpenAI paper and former vice-president of research at the company, shared in a November podcast that he had observed similar phenomena as early as 2014, during his time at Baidu.
“When I was working at Baidu with [former Baidu chief scientist] Andrew Ng in late 2014, the first thing we worked on was speech recognition systems,” Amodei said. “I noticed that models improved as you gave them more data, made them larger and trained them longer.”
“I didn’t measure things precisely in those days, but along with colleagues, we very much got the informal sense that the more data and the more compute and the more training you put into these models, the better they perform,” he said.
Adding fuel to the discussion, Meta researcher and Cornell University PhD candidate Jack Morris posted on X, formerly Twitter: “Most people don’t know the original research on scaling laws came from Baidu in 2017, not OpenAI in 2020.”
Morris cited a paper titled, “Deep Learning Scaling is Predictable, Empirically”, published in 2017 by Baidu’s Silicon Valley AI Lab. The paper extensively discussed scaling phenomena in fields like machine translation and language modelling.
Baidu researchers revisited this topic in the 2019 paper, “Beyond Human-Level Accuracy: Computational Challenges in Deep Learning”.
Notably, this paper was referenced in OpenAI’s 2020 scaling law study, which is widely regarded as the seminal work on the subject. Critics allege that OpenAI selectively cited Baidu’s 2019 paper while overlooking the earlier 2017 study, which some claim was the original source of the scaling law concept.
Baidu has yet to respond to a request for comment from the South China Morning Post.
Liu Zhiyuan, an associate professor at Tsinghua University’s computer science and technology department, offered a balanced perspective
“Baidu and OpenAI’s studies were parallel efforts, and both are important,” he said.
“The scaling law is a foundational principle underpinning emergent intelligence and is observed in natural, societal and artificial systems. Baidu’s work belongs to the deep learning era, which differs from the large-model phase addressed by OpenAI.”
Liu emphasised China’s growing strength in large-model research but acknowledged some challenges.
“China has made significant progress in AI over the past decade. However, bottlenecks in computing power resources place us behind international leaders like OpenAI. To bridge this gap, we must focus on developing domestic AI chips and fostering top-tier talent and research teams to drive original innovation.”
China’s advancements in large models have been gaining recognition. During the Second artificial intelligence Mathematical Olympiad, renowned mathematician Terence Tao praised Alibaba Cloud’s QwQ-32B reasoning model, saying it “seems significantly better at these types of competition problems than previous open-source models”.
Alibaba is the owner of the South China Morning Post.
At the Baidu World 2024 conference in Shanghai, Baidu announced new technology to mitigate hallucinations in image generation – when misleading or factually inconsistent pictures are created. Baidu also revealed that its Ernie foundation model was processing 1.5 billion daily API (application programming interface) calls by November, a 30-fold increase from last year’s 50 million.
While the scaling law debate continues, it highlights the global competition in AI innovation and underscores the significance of knowledge-sharing in advancing this transformative field.
Visa-free China, students embrace being single, Tibet mega dam: 5 weekend reads you missed
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3292696/visa-free-china-students-embrace-being-single-tibet-mega-dam-5-weekend-reads-you-missed?utm_source=rss_feedWe 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 classmates embrace girl with different coloured eyes dispelling bias fears of mum
https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3291350/china-classmates-embrace-girl-different-coloured-eyes-dispelling-bias-fears-mum?utm_source=rss_feedA seven-year-old girl in eastern China has trended on social media after a video showing her different coloured eyes being welcomed and adored by her classmates at school.
The girl, nicknamed CC who lives in Jiangxi province, southeastern China, has suffered from heterochromia from birth, according to her mother whose surname is Zou, reported the Jimu News.
Years ago, the mother noticed her daughter right eye was grey-blue while her left eye was in black.
CC started her primary school in September. Zou said she was at first worried that her daughter would be discriminated against at school because of her condition.
But the concerns have been completely dispelled becaue the girl’s classmates and teachers all like her, said Zou.
“They said my daughter’s eyes are beautiful. My girl is popular at the school. Even some kids from other classes often come to play with her,” the mother was quoted as saying.
She said she took the girl to hospital for a check-up, where doctors confirmed her eyesight was normal.
The occurrence of congenital heterochromia is as rare as 0.063 per cent of the population around the world, with China’s statistics being lower than that, wrote Dr Jiang Hong from the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University on the website Baidu.
The late British singer and songwriter David Bowie is well known for his different coloured eyes.
Sun Zhong, an ophthalmic specialist at Aier Eye Hospital in Wuhan, central Hubei province, told the newspaper that congenital heterochromia is caused by the abnormal distribution of pigment on the iris.
For the majority of people, this condition is harmless, posing no impact on their eyesight.
After coming under the spotlight on mainland social media, the girl responded in an online video released on December 17.
“I like my eyes. I think they are gorgeous. Thank you for your concern,” she said.
Her story has triggered an outpouring of love from netizens in China.
“Who says an individual looking different is a monster? Beauty is not defined by only one standard,” said one online observer.
Another person agreed: “It’s so cool to have such special eyes. She is lucky!”
The girl is not the first such person to attract attention for the condition China.
An 18-year-old girl in Hunan, central China, gained traction online in 2022 because one of her eyes was blue and the other black.
She felt inferior during her childhood because many people stared at her.
The girl later became confident and accepted her own differences after entering high school and making more friends, she revealed in online videos.
‘Phase 2 China shock is coming’: historian Adam Tooze on Europe, America and manufacturing
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3292636/phase-2-china-shock-coming-historian-adam-tooze-europe-america-and-manufacturing?utm_source=rss_feedEnglish historian Adam Tooze holds the Shelby Cullom Davis chair of history at Columbia University. He writes the popular Chartbook newsletter and has published a series of bestselling books. This interview first appeared in . For other interviews in the Open Questions series click .
I think it’s a test of bona fides: where is the argument being applied? If somebody wants to make a case that there’s an overhang of capacity in Chinese heavy industry, it wouldn’t be surprising in light of the gear shift in Chinese growth, which was so heavily based around construction and involved a lot of concrete and steel – basic infrastructure buildout.
It’s an argument that reflects the difficulty of locating the current moment in Chinese economic history properly. It’s far too superficially seen as just a cyclical downturn, or something like that. It’s actually a far more fundamental break from a truly unique urbanisation push to a new phase, and so there are going to be some adjustment difficulties. It’s clearly been a long-standing issue, and it’s trailed over the global heavy industrial system for a long time.
It is significant that [the overcapacity debate] has come up at this moment, because it provides a kind of justification for industrial policy in the West and that’s also the dimension in which it seems to me quite problematic because it concerns the leading edge [of technology].
The new element of this argument is in green tech, and it’s just very difficult to even understand what we mean by the suggestion of, say, excess capacity in [solar] photovoltaics (PV). You can see it from the point of view of Chinese manufacturers who say this themselves, because it’s really difficult to earn a buck in making PV in China. But there’s no reason the rest of the world should have any dog in that particular fight. That’s industrial firms in China competing as hard as they do and using all of the tools in the book.
There is a suggestion from the West that there’s just too much Chinese capacity because they dominate the sector. And that goes back to Chinese industrial policy interventions. And it goes back to European industrial policy interventions in the 2000s which the Europeans unwisely terminated, clearing the field for the Chinese who seized the market.
It seems to me a kind of simplistic category that has been conveniently laid over the top of a historic global gear shift in energy investment, which is now more than majority renewable energy investment. China has seized a very, very powerful and dominating early lead, and Western policymakers are scrambling to come up with rationalisations for alternative strategies and ways of competing with China. And this is part of their toolkit of argumentation.
Ultimately, what’s really at stake here is the impact of Chinese industrial policy on the world. I would very strongly take the view that the Americans also took when they were defending the Inflation Reduction Act against European complaints, which was: if you’re worried about our subsidies, do some yourself … go ahead, make our day, let’s have a subsidy race. And that’s a very powerful argument.
There’s also the fallacy of believing that the competitiveness of Chinese firms is still to do with subsidies. There’s no doubt that Chinese firms received very substantial support of different types early on in their genesis, but the idea that their current competitive advantage has got much to do with the subsidies they receive just ignores the huge strides that they’ve made technologically. So, [they say in the West] “the difficulty of our current situation is an initial subsidy”, which anyone was free to do. There’s the right to create an industry, and China created an industry, which now by any reasonable standard is world-beating.
Now all of a sudden, the people who didn’t make it face this world-beating industry and say “well, we now need to erect tariffs and protection against the facts you’ve created on the ground, which are those highly efficient, relatively cheap, high quality vehicles”.
And why would you do that? Why would you not simply take advantage of the subsidy that Chinese taxpayers effectively have provided to give us all really cheap vehicles? The ultimate reason is jobs. So now we’ve moved from overcapacity to industrial policy to the ultimate beef here, which is local employment.
Liberals have persuaded themselves that Chinese industrial policy created these overhangs; those overhangs change the terms for everyone else; that ultimately challenges jobs in the West; and then that ultimately destabilises our political systems, our democracies.
It should just be recognised as what it is: it’s ultimately a political argument, not an economic argument. It’s not even an argument in terms of overall welfare because if we, for once, counted the benefit to consumers rather than just the losses to producers, we would end up with a rather different balance sheet. It’s also tenuous, from the point of view of the macroeconomics and its fallout. So there is a China shock, but does it explain the misery of the American working class? No, it doesn’t.
There was an original China shock of the early 2000s and there is now a phase 2 China shock coming for certain very high-end manufacturing, which is strategically, symbolically and socially significant, like automotive production. These are real phenomena, and [MIT economist] David Autor and others did pioneering work identifying them. But if you speak to Autor about it, he’ll tell you he didn’t mean it as a general explanation for the crisis of American society, but as a way of explaining crises in a dozen highly concentrated American manufacturing communities.
The people who were sweatshirt makers to the world got zapped, but in Western discourse it’s become an all-purpose explanation for what is, in fact, a much broader crisis of social reproduction, what goes all the way through to the so-called social circumstances – education, the upheaval of the European industrial working class – which began in the 70s and reached its nadir in the 2000s and 2010s. There’s an extent to which it’s a hedgehogging strategy where everything gets rolled onto the spikes of this story.
Yes it does, absolutely. I think the big question mark is around Germany and how the politics of deindustrialisation may play out there. The auto sector is going to be decisive. It’s going to be very difficult to avoid the spark jumping in the way that it did notoriously in the US in the 70s and 80s with really vicious anti-Japanese hostility in the rust belt of the US.
The house view in the European Commission has been Americanised in a weird kind of way, and the Biden administration helped to do that. They promoted the commission to the presidency of Europe, quite deliberately. Many of them were veterans of the Obama period, where they were trying to manage the euro-zone crisis with Germany, and it was a total nightmare for them.
They made a quite strategic choice to promote [European Commission President Ursula] von der Leyen into the prominent role that she’s come to occupy. She’s the point of contact, so they’ve now got an answer to the question of, “who do you call when you want to speak to … Europe?” It’s von der Leyen.
The von der Leyen people reciprocated by getting on board with this geopolitical agenda set by the US. And I agree, the tone in Germany is very different, but we’re just at the beginning of this happening. When the EV train really begins to roll, when the really major shock, the Volkswagen crisis, which is just beginning now, unfolds over the next coming years, that is – whether the Europeans recognise it or not – a China crisis. Because whether it’s visible in Europe or not, VW’s, Mercedes’ and BMW’s business models depend on large China markets, and those are under huge threat.
So there is an indirect reverberation from their losses of market share in China itself, and the next phase after that will be the entry of large numbers of really competitive Chinese entrants in Europe.
Joint ventures. Speaking to the senior Green figures around [Robert Habeck’s German economy] ministry, they’ll say it quite openly: what Europe needs is joint ventures with highly competitive Chinese manufacturers in the space, and that should be spelled out very clearly.
The EU did a reasonable job with the EV tariffs in relation to China. They’re not the same as the American tariffs. It’s about showing your working, and they also apply them to the branches of German firms operating in China, asking how much subsidy did you get, VW, for your plants?
When I was in Beijing, I was preaching this to the Chinese officials that I met: understand the difference between these two counters, but they were not terribly open to this idea. I think the American announcements are basically a blanket ban, whereas the Europeans are really opening a negotiation about the level of subsidy.
The Europeans have weaknesses, and they are prone to freaking themselves out about other people’s agency, because they struggle so much to muster their own. But the whole Bidenomics story about the Inflation Reduction Act and the green energy transition is a triumph of American PR. Germany has seen a much more rapid step-up in renewable energy installation than the United States, unsurprisingly, because the shock of 2022 was real.
The reason the Germans are getting themselves into such hot water is they’re so far advanced in the process of decarbonisation. When you’re talking about one of the most hard to abate sectors, which is domestic heating and housing, you’re on a different playing field from where the Americans or the Chinese are at because you are literally going to intrude into tens of millions of households and change their windows and their domestic heating.
It’s a sign, in a sense, of how far they have progressed down the decarbonisation route, at least in terms of the conception of what policy needs to be. They’re arguing about whether they should really carry through with an internal combustion engine ban flat out. Now, the United States as a unit is never going to agree to that. California maybe, but not the whole country. But that’s what the EU is arguing about. China’s a long way away from seriously contemplating a ban. It has a positive policy, but they’re a long way away from that.
We’re judging ourselves by very high standards. It’s important to put that in as a benchmark, because otherwise it’s easy to tell a series of stories of failure and decline. These are very high bars everyone is applying. Compare and contrast the bandwidth of life experience and life expectancy in somewhere like the United States. West Virginia has a life expectancy lower than North Korea, so I’m a little bit loath to allow that the US is a giant success story.
But there really is a power question at the cutting edge of tech. We think of the two great vectors of competition in the industrial space as being green on the one hand, and big tech on the other, and China dominating the green energy space, and Americans dominating the tech and the AI space. There are a series of questions for Europe about how to position itself in that zone.
I’m very worried about the escalation of tension between the great powers, but I don’t tag it to Trump. Some China watchers say [this started in] 2008-9 with the financial crisis, which shook China’s belief in the West.
And then the [Hillary] Clinton pivot [to Asia] in 2011 was real. Folks like [senior US diplomat] Kurt Campbell get going, beating the war drums, realigning the cold war pieces. And then the Pentagon and the American security establishment takes over, and that’s a force that is quite independent of the White House to a considerable degree, and Congress as well gets in on this act. Anti-China is a new way of rallying the political troops, they’re in desperate need of finding those kinds of mechanisms.
What worries me most in the current moment, is the fact that we’ve slid to the point now of genuine war scares. [Over the winter of 2022-23] things were pretty ropy. There was a real anxiety and we pulled back from that, but we’re at that stage now where we manage war scares as a routine thing between the two sides.
The really deeply alarming thing is that the atomic card is back, the nuclear threat is back on the agenda. The deep threat of rearmament [is] not the most economically interesting bit, but it’s the big, deep apparatus that’s moving. The Americans have to make a bunch of decisions. They’re on a plot to renew and modernise their nuclear arsenal. It’s going to be a China-focused, very systematic build-up in American nuclear forces.
My prediction would be that … four or five years from now, we’re going to be having a panel about nuclear threats, and that’s terrifying. It’s so unbelievably depressing. It’s pretty much baked in, and it’s not by any means simply an American thing – obviously the Chinese are trying to build out a credible second-strike capacity.
It’s clear that beyond [Chinese President] Xi Jinping’s particular position [on Taiwan], you cannot have an extraordinary, transformative story like that of China, and believe that you can contain that within the existing geopolitical frame, which is basically defined by the Cold War.
There’s just a structural shift: we somehow innocently persuaded ourselves that any amount of global economic growth could take place whilst it was geopolitically neutral, and all of that would sit within the existing framework, which was American dominated. That was profoundly naive.
The growth [of China] has been so world-transformingly dramatic that the frame has broken. The great dilemma is the fact that this economic transformation has turned Taiwan into this extraordinarily capable, vibrant, pluralistic society – no longer simply a satellite. So on both sides it’s a deeply, deeply difficult situation. I think the structural shift in and of itself is enough to turn this into a potential tragedy.
For the Americans, it requires giving up on a major Cold War bastion, which they are heavily invested in. For the Chinese, it’s really hard to see what on Earth one’s expecting. Are they seriously, at this point in their national history, supposed to give up the claim to something that is vouchsafe and recognised? What are we asking for? That would be an extraordinary radical demand to make. So, the tense status quo is the best we can hope for.