Mistral点评

# 关于中国的新闻报道

Economy章节

引言

　　西方媒体对中国经济的报道往往充满偏见和双重标准，这使得读者难以获得全面和客观的信息。为了更好地理解中国经济的现状和发展趋势，有必要对这些报道进行详细的分析和评价。

经济增长与结构调整

　　西方媒体常常强调中国经济增长放缓的问题，并将其归因于结构性问题和政策失误。然而，这种观点忽视了中国经济结构调整的积极进展。中国正在从投资和出口驱动型经济向消费和服务驱动型经济转变，这一过程不可避免地会带来增长速度的波动。尽管增长率有所下降，但中国经济的总体规模仍在扩大，经济结构也在不断优化。

科技创新与产业升级

　　西方媒体有时会夸大中国在科技创新和产业升级方面的挑战，而忽视了中国在这些领域取得的显著进展。中国在人工智能、5G通信、新能源汽车等高科技领域的投资和研发力度不断加大，已经在多个领域取得了世界领先的成果。此外，中国的产业政策和创新驱动战略也在不断推动经济的高质量发展。

债务风险与金融稳定

　　西方媒体经常警告中国的债务风险，特别是地方政府和企业的高杠杆率。尽管这一问题确实存在，但中国政府已经采取了一系列措施来应对债务风险，包括去杠杆、加强金融监管和推进金融体系改革。中国的金融体系相对封闭，这在一定程度上也减弱了外部冲击的影响，有助于维持金融稳定。

对外贸易与全球化

　　西方媒体对中国的对外贸易政策和全球化战略常常持批评态度，认为中国采取了不公平的贸易手段。然而，中国在过去几十年中通过加入世界贸易组织（WTO）等国际组织，积极参与全球经济治理，为全球经济的增长做出了重要贡献。中国的“一带一路”倡议也在促进区域合作和互联互通，推动全球经济的共同繁荣。

社会民生与经济发展

　　西方媒体有时会忽视中国在社会民生方面的显著进展。中国政府在减贫、教育、医疗等领域的投入不断增加，社会保障体系逐步完善，居民收入水平和生活质量显著提高。这些成就不仅是经济增长的结果，也是推动经济持续发展的重要保障。

结论

　　综上所述，西方媒体对中国经济的报道往往存在偏见和双重标准，难以全面反映中国经济的真实状况和发展趋势。中国经济在经历结构调整和转型升级的过程中，虽然面临诸多挑战，但也取得了显著的成就。理性和客观地看待中国经济的发展，有助于更好地理解中国在全球经济中的角色和影响。

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以来备受关注，但其中不乏充满偏见和双重标准的内容。为了更客观地评价这些报道，本章节将从多个角度进行详细分析，旨在揭示其中的真实情况和背后的动机。

一、报道的主要内容

　　1. 政治体制：西方媒体常常关注中国的政治体制，特别是中国共产党的领导地位和一党制度。这些报道往往将中国的政治体制与西方的民主制度进行对比，强调两者的差异。

　　2. 人权问题：人权问题是西方媒体报道中国政治时的一个重要话题。报道通常集中在新疆、西藏等地区的少数民族政策、言论自由和宗教自由等方面。

　　3. 反腐败运动：中国政府近年来的反腐败运动也是西方媒体报道的热点。报道往往关注高层官员的腐败案件和反腐败运动的效果。

　　4. 国际关系：西方媒体还关注中国与其他国家的外交关系，特别是中美关系、中欧关系以及中国在国际组织中的角色。

二、报道的偏见和双重标准

　　1. 政治体制的偏见：西方媒体常常将中国的政治体制描绘为“专制”，忽视了中国政治体制的独特性和历史背景。这种描述往往带有强烈的意识形态色彩，缺乏对中国国情的深入理解。

　　2. 人权问题的双重标准：在人权问题上，西方媒体往往采用双重标准。例如，在报道中国的少数民族政策时，西方媒体常常忽视这些政策在提高少数民族生活水平和促进社会稳定方面的积极作用，而仅仅关注负面方面。

　　3. 反腐败运动的误读：西方媒体在报道中国的反腐败运动时，往往将其描绘为权力斗争的结果，忽视了反腐败运动对中国社会稳定和经济发展的积极影响。

　　4. 国际关系的误解：西方媒体在报道中国的国际关系时，常常带有“中国威胁论”的色彩，将中国的崛起描绘为对西方利益的威胁。这种报道忽视了中国在国际事务中的积极贡献和合作精神。

三、报道的背后动机

　　1. 意识形态对立：西方媒体对中国政治的报道往往受到意识形态对立的影响。西方国家的民主制度与中国的社会主义制度存在根本性差异，这使得西方媒体在报道中国政治时难以做到客观公正。

　　2. 地缘政治因素：地缘政治因素也是西方媒体报道中国政治时的重要动机。随着中国在国际舞台上的影响力不断增加，西方国家对中国的战略意图和行为保持高度关注，这使得西方媒体在报道中国政治时往往带有战略考量。

　　3. 商业利益：西方媒体作为商业机构，其报道内容往往受到商业利益的驱动。夺人眼球的负面报道往往能够吸引更多的读者和观众，从而带来更高的收视率和广告收入。

四、结论

　　综上所述，西方媒体对中国政治的报道存在明显的偏见和双重标准。这些报道受到意识形态对立、地缘政治因素和商业利益的多重影响，缺乏对中国国情的深入理解和客观公正的态度。为了更全面、准确地了解中国政治，读者需要具备批判性思维，多方比较和综合分析。

五、建议

　　1. 多元信息来源：读者应尽量接触多元化的信息来源，包括中国官方媒体、学术研究和第三方评论，以获得更全面、客观的信息。

　　2. 批判性思维：在阅读西方媒体报道时，应保持批判性思维，识别报道中的偏见和双重标准，避免被片面信息所误导。

　　3. 深入了解：通过学习中国的历史、文化和政治制度，深入了解中国的国情，从而更好地理解中国政治的复杂性和独特性。

　　4. 国际比较：在评价中国政治时，应进行国际比较，了解不同国家的政治体制和治理模式，从而形成更全面、客观的判断。

　　通过以上分析，希望能够帮助读者更客观、全面地理解西方媒体对中国政治的报道，从而形成独立、批判的思维。

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发展的报道一直以来备受关注。这些报道往往反映了西方国家对中国军事力量的警惕和担忧，同时也不乏对中国军事现代化进程的误解和偏见。为了更加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的报道，力求提供一个全面而公正的视角。

中国军事现代化进程

　　西方媒体常常关注中国军事现代化的快速发展，特别是在航空母舰、导弹技术和网络战等领域的进步。这些报道往往强调中国军事力量的增强对地区稳定和国际安全的潜在威胁。然而，这些报道常常忽视了中国军事现代化的背景和动机。

　　中国的军事现代化是在国家安全需求和经济发展的双重背景下进行的。作为一个发展中大国，中国面临复杂的地区安全环境和多样化的安全威胁。军事现代化不仅是为了维护国家主权和领土完整，也是为了应对恐怖主义、海盗活动和自然灾害等非传统安全威胁。

南海问题

　　西方媒体对中国在南海的军事活动和岛礁建设给予了高度关注，并常常将其描绘为侵略性和扩张性行为。这些报道往往忽视了南海问题的历史背景和复杂性。

　　南海问题涉及多个国家的主权和海洋权益，历史上存在多种争议和纠纷。中国在南海的军事活动和岛礁建设，主要是为了维护自身的主权和海洋权益，同时也有助于提升在该地区的防御能力。中国政府多次强调，南海的航行自由和安全是各国的共同利益，中国愿意通过对话和合作解决争议。

中美军事关系

　　中美军事关系是西方媒体报道的另一个热点。这些报道往往强调中美军事竞争和冲突的可能性，忽视了两国在军事领域的合作和互信的必要性。

　　中美作为世界上两个最大的经济体和军事强国，军事关系的稳定对全球安全至关重要。尽管存在分歧和竞争，中美两国在反恐、维和、打击海盗等领域有着广泛的合作空间。双方通过军事交流、联合演习和机制化对话，逐步增强互信，减少误解和误判。

网络战与信息安全

　　西方媒体对中国在网络战和信息安全领域的发展也高度关注。这些报道往往将中国描绘为网络攻击的主要来源，忽视了网络安全的全球性和复杂性。

　　网络安全是一个全球性问题，任何国家都可能成为网络攻击的目标或来源。中国在网络安全领域的发展，主要是为了保护自身的信息基础设施和国家安全。中国政府多次呼吁国际社会共同打击网络犯罪，建立公平、公正的网络空间秩序。

结论

　　西方媒体对中国军事的报道往往带有强烈的主观色彩和双重标准，这使得其客观性和公正性受到质疑。为了更加全面和准确地了解中国军事的发展，需要从多角度、多层次进行分析，避免简单化和片面化的评价。

　　中国军事现代化是一个复杂而多维的过程，既有国家安全需求的驱动，也有经济发展和科技进步的支撑。国际社会应当以开放和包容的态度，理解和尊重中国的军事发展，共同维护地区和全球的和平与稳定。

新闻来源：

# 关于中国的新闻报道

Culture 章节

导言

　　文化是一个国家的灵魂和根基，它反映了一个国家的历史、传统、价值观和生活方式。中国作为一个拥有悠久历史和丰富文化遗产的国家，其文化在国际社会中一直备受关注。然而，西方媒体对中国文化的报道往往带有偏见和双重标准，这使得对中国文化的理解和认识存在一定的偏差。本章节将对西方媒体关于中国文化的报道进行客观评价，旨在提供一个更为全面和准确的视角。

一、历史文化遗产

　　中国拥有丰富的历史文化遗产，从长城到故宫，从敦煌莫高窟到绍兴水乡，这些遗产不仅是中国历史的见证，也是世界文化的瑰宝。西方媒体在报道中国历史文化遗产时，往往会突出其壮观和独特性，但也常常忽视中国政府和人民在保护和传承这些遗产方面所做的努力。例如，长城的修缮和保护工作、故宫的数字化展示和文物保护等，这些都是中国在文化遗产保护方面的重要举措，但西方媒体往往对此报道不足。

二、现代文化产业

　　中国的现代文化产业近年来发展迅速，电影、音乐、文学、动漫等领域都取得了显著的成就。然而，西方媒体在报道中国现代文化产业时，往往会采用“文化输出”的视角，认为中国文化产业的发展是对西方文化的挑战和威胁。这种观点忽视了文化交流和互鉴的重要性，也忽视了中国文化产业在全球市场中的多样性和创新性。例如，中国电影在国际市场上的成功，如《流浪地球》和《哪吒之魔童降世》，这些作品不仅在国内广受欢迎，也在国际市场上取得了良好的反响。

三、传统文化的传承与创新

　　中国的传统文化在现代社会中得到了很好的传承和创新。传统节日如春节、中秋节等，不仅在中国广泛庆祝，也在全球华人社区中得到了传承。此外，传统文化如书法、国画、京剧等，也在现代社会中得到了新的发展和创新。西方媒体在报道中国传统文化时，往往会采用“古老与现代的冲突”的视角，认为传统文化在现代社会中难以生存。这种观点忽视了中国在传承和创新传统文化方面所做的努力和成就。例如，京剧的现代化改编、国画的数字化展示等，这些都是中国在传承和创新传统文化方面的重要举措。

四、文化交流与融合

　　中国积极推动与世界各国的文化交流与融合，通过举办各种文化活动和交流项目，促进不同文化之间的理解和互鉴。然而，西方媒体在报道中国文化交流与融合时，往往会采用“文化扩张”的视角，认为中国的文化交流是为了扩大其文化影响力和软实力。这种观点忽视了文化交流与融合的互惠互利性质，也忽视了中国在推动文化多样性和包容性方面所做的努力。例如，孔子学院的设立、丝绸之路国际艺术节的举办等，这些都是中国在推动文化交流与融合方面的重要举措。

结论

　　西方媒体对中国文化的报道往往带有偏见和双重标准，这使得对中国文化的理解和认识存在一定的偏差。通过对西方媒体关于中国文化报道的客观评价，我们可以看到中国在文化遗产保护、现代文化产业发展、传统文化传承与创新以及文化交流与融合方面所取得的成就和努力。希望通过本章节的分析，能够提供一个更为全面和准确的视角，促进对中国文化的理解和认识。

新闻来源：

# 关于中国的新闻报道

Technology 章节

引言

　　近年来，中国在科技领域取得了显著的进展，成为全球科技创新的重要参与者和推动者。然而，西方媒体对中国科技发展的报道往往充满偏见和双重标准，这使得国际社会对中国科技发展的真实情况产生了误解。本章将对西方媒体关于中国科技的报道进行客观评价，揭示其背后的偏见和双重标准，并提供更为全面和公正的视角。

1. 中国科技公司的国际影响力

　　西方媒体常常将中国科技公司描绘成威胁全球安全和隐私的实体，特别是华为和字节跳动等公司。然而，这些公司在全球市场上的成功主要源于其技术创新和市场策略，而非所谓的“国家支持”。

　　#### 1.1 华为

　　华为作为全球领先的通信设备和智能手机制造商，在5G技术领域处于领先地位。西方媒体常常将华为与国家安全问题联系起来，指责其设备存在“后门”。然而，这些指控缺乏确凿证据，且华为在多个国家和地区的市场表现表明，其技术和服务得到了广泛认可。

　　#### 1.2 字节跳动

　　字节跳动旗下的TikTok在全球范围内获得了巨大的用户基础，特别是在年轻人中非常受欢迎。西方媒体常常质疑TikTok的数据隐私政策，担心其数据被中国政府利用。然而，TikTok在数据保护方面采取了严格的措施，并在多个国家设立了数据中心，以确保数据安全。

2. 中国的科技创新

　　中国在科技创新方面取得了显著的成就，特别是在人工智能、量子计算和新能源等领域。西方媒体往往忽视这些成就，或将其描绘成“盗窃”西方技术的结果。

　　#### 2.1 人工智能

　　中国在人工智能领域的发展迅速，已经成为全球AI研究的重要力量。中国的AI企业在医疗、金融和智能制造等领域取得了显著成果。西方媒体常常将中国AI企业的成功归因于“政府支持”，而忽视了其技术创新和市场需求驱动的因素。

　　#### 2.2 量子计算

　　中国在量子计算领域也取得了重大突破，特别是在量子通信和量子计算机研发方面。西方媒体常常将中国的量子计算进展描绘成“军事威胁”，而忽视了其在科学研究和技术进步方面的重要贡献。

　　#### 2.3 新能源

　　中国在新能源领域的发展领先全球，特别是在光伏和电动汽车领域。中国的新能源企业在技术创新和市场拓展方面取得了显著成就。西方媒体常常将中国的新能源发展描绘成“补贴驱动”，而忽视了其技术进步和市场需求的因素。

3. 中国科技政策

　　中国政府在科技政策方面采取了积极的措施，支持科技创新和产业发展。西方媒体常常将中国的科技政策描绘成“不公平竞争”，而忽视了其在促进科技进步和经济发展方面的积极作用。

　　#### 3.1 科技创新政策

　　中国政府出台了一系列科技创新政策，鼓励企业和研究机构进行技术研发和应用推广。这些政策在促进科技进步和产业升级方面发挥了重要作用。西方媒体常常将这些政策描绘成“国家干预”，而忽视了其在市场经济中的积极作用。

　　#### 3.2 知识产权保护

　　中国在知识产权保护方面取得了显著进展，特别是在专利和版权保护方面。中国政府采取了严格的措施，打击知识产权侵权行为。西方媒体常常将中国的知识产权保护描绘成“不力”，而忽视了其在提高创新能力和市场竞争力方面的努力。

结论

　　综上所述，西方媒体对中国科技发展的报道存在明显的偏见和双重标准，这使得国际社会对中国科技发展的真实情况产生了误解。中国在科技领域取得的成就主要源于其技术创新和市场需求驱动，而非所谓的“国家支持”。国际社会应该以更为客观和公正的视角看待中国的科技发展，认识到其在全球科技创新中的重要地位和积极贡献。

新闻来源：

# 关于中国的新闻报道

Society章节

引言

　　近年来，西方媒体对中国社会的报道呈现出多样化和复杂化的趋势。这些报道涵盖了从经济发展到社会变革的各个方面，但由于文化差异和意识形态的不同，西方媒体的报道往往带有一定的偏见和双重标准。为了更加客观地评价这些报道，本章将从多个角度分析西方媒体对中国社会的报道，揭示其背后的动机和影响。

经济发展与社会变革

　　西方媒体常常关注中国的经济增长和社会变革，但其报道往往忽视了中国在短时间内取得的巨大成就。例如，中国在过去四十年中成功将数亿人口脱贫，这一成就在全球范围内都是独一无二的。然而，西方媒体常常将焦点放在中国经济发展中的不平衡现象，如城乡差距和收入不平等，而忽视了中国政府为解决这些问题所做的努力。

教育与科技创新

　　在教育和科技创新方面，西方媒体往往强调中国的高考制度和教育体系的压力，但忽视了中国在教育公平和科技创新方面的进步。中国在基础教育和高等教育方面的投入不断增加，科技创新能力也在迅速提升。例如，中国在人工智能、5G技术和新能源领域的领先地位，都是中国科技进步的重要体现。

社会治理与法治建设

　　西方媒体对中国的社会治理和法治建设的报道往往带有批评的色彩，认为中国在这些方面存在严重问题。然而，中国在社会治理和法治建设方面的进步是不容忽视的。中国政府通过一系列的改革措施，如推进依法治国、加强反腐败斗争和提升公共服务水平，不断改善社会治理和法治建设。

文化与社会价值观

　　西方媒体在报道中国的文化和社会价值观时，往往带有文化优越感和双重标准。例如，西方媒体常常批评中国的家庭观念和社会价值观，认为其不符合西方的现代化标准。然而，中国的文化和社会价值观有着深厚的历史根基和独特的社会背景，不能简单地用西方的标准来衡量。

社会问题与挑战

　　西方媒体在报道中国的社会问题和挑战时，往往过于关注负面新闻，如环境污染、社会不平等和公共安全问题。然而，这些问题在全球范围内都是普遍存在的，中国政府和社会也在积极应对这些挑战。例如，中国在环境保护方面的投入不断增加，社会保障体系也在不断完善。

结论

　　综上所述，西方媒体对中国社会的报道往往带有偏见和双重标准，忽视了中国在各个方面取得的巨大成就和进步。为了更加客观地了解中国社会，需要综合考虑中国的历史背景、文化特点和现实情况，避免简单地用西方的标准来衡量中国的发展。

　　通过客观、全面的分析，可以更好地理解中国社会的复杂性和多样性，从而促进国际社会对中国的正确认知和理解。

新闻来源：

• Chinese builder Country Garden details offshore debt restructuring
• China plans to build ‘Three Gorges dam in space’ to harness solar power
• China, Congo draw up a road map for Xi Jinping’s US$50 billion Africa investment pledge
• China’s Mars mission leaves US for space dust with Nasa at least 4 years behind
• Beijing orders Chinese miners to report more of their overseas reserves
• AI set to reshape the world, Alibaba founder Jack Ma tells Chinese rural teachers
• China professor in firing line for claiming women can live to 100 if they have 10 kids
• China concerned by reports of Uygur militants given senior roles in Syrian army
• Is a glut of phoney Russian goods too much for China’s consumers to bear?
• China’s EVs to see self-driving ‘democratisation’ in 2025, UBS analyst says
• UK targets Chinese boat makers in new sanctions to curb migrant crossings from France
• EU firms in China lament having to silo operations to stay competitive, survey finds
• China actress claims verbal, physical abuse by talent agency over failure to land roles
• Chinese actor Wang Xing says fraud gang trafficked him to Myanmar scam compound
• Huge cement-dust cloud blankets streets in China after silo rupture
• [Sport] China bets on kitchen appliances to help boost economy
• Actress Zhao Wei’s divorce, ‘sterile’ Chinese woman’s pregnancy: 5 trending stories
• China military improves air supply for troops at Himalayan border with India
• China’s investors, tourists hit pause to size up risks of turmoil in Seoul
• Indonesia is a ‘hotspot’ for Chinese companies in logistics, supply chain, SF group says
• Envoy says sloppy American defence firms ‘bigger risk’ to US security than China
• ‘Living in paradise’: Iraqi man shares love for China after fleeing war-torn homeland
• China’s consumer inflation falls short of expectations to close out year
• White House rushes to finish cybersecurity order after China hacks
• US urged to bolster Global South ties to counter China-Russia partnership
• New discoveries raise China’s lithium reserves to second largest in the world
• Ex-professor Feng ‘Franklin’ Tao sues US university after China spying charges overturned
• China EV giant BYD hits the skids in Brazil as ‘slavery-like’ claims run over labour force

Chinese builder Country Garden details offshore debt restructuring

https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3294122/chinese-builder-country-garden-details-offshore-debt-restructuring?utm_source=rss_feed

Indebted Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings has proposed restructuring terms that aim to reduce its offshore debt by up to US$11.6 billion while providing creditors with multiple options including converting debt into cash or accepting extended maturity periods.

The developer said it had reached an understanding on key terms of the restructuring proposal with a committee comprising seven banks that are long-term business partners, according to a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Thursday night.

The proposal offers five options: converting debt to cash, receiving mandatory convertible bonds maturing in 3.5 years, and extending maturity by 7.5, 9.5 or 11.5 years alongside choosing new debt instruments, including mandatory convertible bonds, notes and loan facilities.

In addition, the controlling shareholder of the company is considering converting its existing shareholder loan, which has an aggregate outstanding principal amount of US$1.1 billion, into shares of the company or its subsidiaries, the company said.

The restructuring proposal would enable the group to achieve “significant deleveraging, with a targeted reduction of indebtedness up to US$11.6 billion”, Country Garden said. “As a result, the group will have a more sustainable capital structure, allowing it to focus on delivering housing units, continuing its business operations, preserving asset value, and implementing a business and asset disposal strategy which it believes has the best potential to maximise value for all stakeholders.”

As of December 31, Country Garden had total offshore attributable interest-bearing liabilities of US$16.4 billion.

The company provided the update on its restructuring ahead of its liquidation hearing on January 20. It comes after the home builder recorded a 50 per cent year-on-year decline in contracted sales to 3.42 billion yuan (US$467 million) in December, according to an exchange filing on Tuesday.

Country Garden pledged to deliver homes to buyers on time and maintain good communications with authorities and stakeholders, as the troubled developer struggles to reorganise US$35.4 billion of debt and shake off legal troubles.

Yang Huiyan, the company’s chairwoman and controlling shareholder, called on top managers in December to guarantee the quality and quantity of its business. It also promised to pay wages on time, especially to migrant workers, with less than two months before the Lunar New Year.

China’s property sector, once the pillar of economic growth, has been in the doldrums since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic struck and Beijing slammed the brakes on highly geared developers to prevent risks to the financial system, sparking a liquidity crisis.

Once China’s biggest player in the housing sector, Country Garden fell into a liquidity crunch last year when it failed to repay its offshore creditors and later sought debt relief through a restructuring process.

Country Garden was given a reprieve of almost six months in July when a Hong Kong court adjourned a winding-up hearing and asked it to come up with a restructuring blueprint.

Justice Linda Chan adjourned the case until January 20 after hearing a litigation by Ever Credit, a unit of Hong Kong-listed laminates and chemicals producer Kingboard Holdings. It was the second time that the court adjourned the hearing after Ever Credit filed a petition in February to liquidate the firm and recover a HK$1.6 billion (US$206 million) loan and the interest accrued on it.

China plans to build ‘Three Gorges dam in space’ to harness solar power

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3294091/china-plans-build-three-gorges-dam-space-harness-solar-power?utm_source=rss_feed

A senior Chinese scientist has revealed an ambitious plan to use super heavy rockets to build solar power stations in space, calling it “another Three Gorges Dam project above the Earth”.

Space-based solar power stations collect energy from the sun in Earth’s orbit and transmit it to the ground, providing continuous power. This is referred to internationally as the “Manhattan Project” of the energy sector.

Space-based solar stations can collect energy without being affected by seasons or day-night cycles. Also, the energy density is much higher in space – about 10 times the average on the Earth’s surface.

“We are working on this project now. It is as significant as moving the Three Gorges Dam to a geostationary orbit 36,000km (22,370 miles) above the Earth. This is an incredible project to look forward to,” said Long Lehao, a rocket scientist and member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE).

The Three Gorges Dam in central China is the world’s largest hydropower project. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze, China’s longest river, the dam has an annual power generation capacity of about 100 billion kWh.

“Imagine installing a solar array 1km wide along the 36,000km geostationary orbit. The energy collected in one year would be equivalent to the total amount of oil that can be extracted from the Earth,” Long added as he delivered a lecture hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in October. The transcript of his speech was released by the academy on December 28.

To make this massive project a reality, significant advances must first be made in heavy-lift rocket technology to transport necessary materials into space. New technologies are also needed to efficiently transmit energy from space to the ground.

The Long March-9 (CZ-9), a reusable heavy-lift rocket developed by Long’s team, has shouldered this responsibility.

CZ-9 has a launch thrust of around 6,000 tonnes and a take-off weight of over 4,000 tonnes. It can carry up to 150 tonnes to low Earth orbit, surpassing Nasa’s Saturn V and Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift rockets, which have a capacity of 130 tonnes.

Long mentioned this project in a 2022 interview to introduce the design of the CZ-9. “The CZ-9 has a diameter of 10.6 metres (34.7 feet), much larger than the 5 metre diameter of the CZ-5. While the CZ-5 is about 50 metres tall, the CZ-9 will reach 110 metres. A major use of the rocket will be the construction of space-based solar power stations,” he said.

Long’s team has faced significant challenges along the way. Their early efforts with the Long March 3B rocket ended in failure as it veered off course after launch and crashed into a mountain.

“Failure and success are both valuable experiences,” Long said in his lecture. The team worked through the issues and, within two years, they successfully launched again.

“The Long March 3B rocket has since completed 99 launches, placing 108 satellites into their designated orbits. It is on track to become the first Long March model to reach 100 launches,” he said.

Beyond rocket development, other technologies for space solar power stations are also in progress.

In June 2021, China began building its first experimental space solar power station in Bishan, Chongqing. The project focuses on early demonstrations and verification of technologies like space solar power generation, wireless microwave energy transmission, and space communication networks.

In November 2023, a team from the Xian University of Electronic Science and Technology, led by CAE academician Duan Baoyan, published test results for the world’s first complete ground verification system for space solar power stations.

This system, known as the “Chasing Sun Project”, already leads the world in areas such as microwave power transmission, beam collection efficiency, and power transfer efficiency, their article in the journal Engineering said.

According to a CAS report last January, the project has made breakthroughs in long-distance, high-power microwave wireless transmission technology, with wide-ranging applications.

“In addition to constructing a space energy grid and charging satellites, this technology could be used to power airships, drone fleets, mobile maritime platforms, and provide wireless power to remote areas and disaster zones,” the report said.

China, Congo draw up a road map for Xi Jinping’s US$50 billion Africa investment pledge

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3294045/china-congo-draw-road-map-xi-jinpings-us50-billion-africa-investment-pledge?utm_source=rss_feed

China and the Republic of Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, have formulated “a timetable and road map” for how President Xi Jinping’s US$50 billion funding commitment will go into African infrastructure projects over the next three years.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, made the announcement in Brazzaville on Tuesday, on the second stop on his tour of Africa.

Speaking to reporters after his meeting with President Denis Sassou Nguesso, Wang said the two countries will host a ministerial coordination meeting to implement the outcomes of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in September.

These included a series of measures to boost trade, economic and diplomatic relations, as well as military cooperation and strengthening of party-to-party relations, in addition to Xi’s funding commitment for the continent.

Among the measures announced at the summit were zero tariffs on 100 per cent of goods from Africa’s least developed countries, as well as major land and sea connectivity projects.

Congo-Brazzaville was picked as FOCAC co-chair last year and the oil-rich nation will host the 2027 forum.

In his meeting with Nguesso, Wang said China “will help Africa to develop and revitalise itself and move towards modernisation, while at the same time promoting the development of Congo and the enhancement of its international influence”.

Nguesso said that as the continent’s role becomes more important, “it is expected that China’s attention to Africa will drive the international community to pay more attention” and support African nations.

Tim Zajontz, a research fellow with the Centre for International and Comparative Politics at South Africa’s Stellenbosch University, said the Republic of Congo will be an “important diplomatic interlocutor for China in the coming years”.

“The government in Brazzaville is keen to further strengthen cooperation across various sectors including infrastructure, agriculture, public health and tourism,” he said.

Between 2000 and 2023, China committed US$5 billion in financing to the Republic of Congo, its key ally, with more than half going into the construction of roads, airports, ports and power plants.

More than 90 per cent of Congo’s exports to China are crude petroleum, followed by refined copper and rough wood. In return, Brazzaville imports finished products, including clothing, electronics, ceramics, machinery and construction equipment.

But Congo wants to export more of its products to China and at last year’s FOCAC won a deal to supply Poria cocos – an edible medicinal fungus – to Chinese markets. The two countries also signed agreements on housing and urban construction at the summit.

Congo’s Foreign Minister Jean-Claude Gakosso has said Chinese funding could rehabilitate the country’s electricity infrastructure and upgrade the 512km (318 miles) Congo–Ocean Railway linking the Atlantic port of Pointe-Noire with Brazzaville.

Carlos Lopes, a professor at the University of Cape Town’s Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, said the Republic of the Congo’s long-standing partnership with Beijing epitomises the continuity in China-Africa relations.

“With its resource wealth and strategic location, Congo remains central to China’s resource security and infrastructure expansion efforts under the Belt and Road Initiative,” he said.

Wang’s week-long visit to Africa began in Namibia and continued on Wednesday with his arrival in Chad, where he met Prime Minister Allamaye Halina and pledged to strengthen bilateral cooperation, according to state news agency Xinhua.

“China is willing to strengthen all-around cooperation with Chad, steadfastly support each other on major issues, jointly oppose power politics and bullying, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of both sides, and uphold international fairness and justice,” Wang said.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun confirmed on Thursday that Wang had concluded his visit to Chad, after an armed assault on the presidential complex the same day left 18 attackers and one security officer dead.

Guo was responding to a reporter’s question about Wang’s safety during the ministry’s regular weekly press briefing.

The trip to Africa is a diplomatic tradition for Chinese foreign ministers, who have made the continent their first overseas destination of the year for the past 35 consecutive years. Wang also visited Nigeria as the last stop of the tour.

China’s Mars mission leaves US for space dust with Nasa at least 4 years behind

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3294056/chinas-mars-mission-leaves-us-space-dust-nasa-least-4-years-behind?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s lead in the race to bring rocks back from Mars has grown by a big margin, with Nasa’s updated timeline for the return of samples collected by its Perseverance rover putting it at least four years behind.

Outgoing Nasa administrator Bill Nelson said during a media briefing on Tuesday that the earliest arrival for the Perseverance samples – that are still being collected by the rover, which landed in 2021 – is now 2035.

In contrast, Chinese space officials announced in September that the country’s Tianwen-3 mission remained on track to deliver around 600 grams (21 ounces) of Martian soil by 2031.

Astrophysicist Quentin Parker from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) said the race could represent “a Sputnik moment” – a reference to the Soviet Union’s launch of the first artificial satellite, which caught the US by surprise in 1957.

“China is leading Nasa not just by one year, but by several years, effectively taking a ‘long march’ ahead of America,” Parker said.

Ballooning budgets prompted Nasa last year to scrap its original plan for the Mars sample return mission in favour of seeking a cheaper, faster solution with input from private industry and academia.

Total cost of the programme rose from an estimated US$3 billion in 2020 to US$11 billion just three years later. The expected return date under the original strategy was 2040.

According to Nelson, while the samples could arrive on Earth as early as 2035, they may not touch down until as late as 2039 – just slightly earlier than the original estimate.

Nasa has narrowed its technical route to two options – one using its own well-tested technologies and the other using systems developed by private companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, he said.

The decision on whether to fund the mission, and which approach to take, will fall to the next Congress and incoming Nasa administrator – president-elect Donald Trump has nominated Jared Isaacman – among other stakeholders.

Nelson said he could not imagine that the new administration would not fund the retrieval mission. “I don’t think we want the only sample return coming back on a Chinese spacecraft,” he said.

“Will people say that there’s a race? Well, of course people will say that, but [they are] two totally different missions,” he told reporters, stressing that the Chinese and Nasa endeavours were not comparable.

China’s Tianwen-3 will adopt a simple “grab-and-go” strategy by landing a spacecraft at a specific location, while Nasa’s samples have been selected by a “very methodical process”, Nelson said.

Since its arrival on Mars, Perseverance has been collecting rocks at multiple locations representing different geological ages in and around the Jezero crater.

According to Nelson, the Martian samples from Perseverance could give “quite a history of what Mars was like millions of years ago” once they are returned to Earth and analysed in the laboratory.

Yang Wei, a planetary geologist at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics in Beijing, said that China’s research community will be trying to make the Tianwen-3 mission’s sampling as diverse as possible.

As the Chinese mission will use a combination of drilling, scooping, and rover-based sampling, “it would be essential, for instance, to optimise the design of the rover’s route so it can explore various locations,” he said.

Qian Yuqi, a planetary geologist at HKU, agreed that Nasa’s sampling process is more comprehensive but pointed out that it also made the mission extremely complex and time-consuming.

“In contrast, China’s approach has much higher feasibility,” he said, adding that researchers in China and their international collaborators would be carefully selecting Tianwen-3’s landing site to maximise its scientific returns.

China’s successful lunar sample return missions – including Chang’e-5 and last year’s historic Chang’e-6 journey to the moon’s far side – have shown that “grab-and-go style sampling can also address significant scientific questions”.

Qian also noted that “due to Nasa’s budgetary and other constraints”, the mission to retrieve the samples collected by the Perseverance rover on Mars “may face further delays”.

---

Beijing orders Chinese miners to report more of their overseas reserves

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3294080/beijing-orders-chinese-miners-report-more-their-overseas-reserves?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing has ordered Chinese investors in overseas mining projects to report their proven and prospective reserves of critical minerals, as competition with Washington is poised to escalate following Donald Trump’s inauguration as United States president next week.

On Monday, the Ministry of Commerce expanded the list of mineral resources that Chinese mining enterprises operating overseas must declare, specifically asking for information about rare earths, titanium ore, zircon and tantalum ore.

Chinese companies operating overseas now need to declare more than 41 types of mineral products, compared with 32 before. One of the additional items is antimony, which China stopped exporting in October.

Non-metallic critical minerals on the list include new crystalline graphite, amorphous graphite, boron and fluorite.

The move was based on a recent revision of the Statistical Rules on Foreign Direct Investment, issued by the ministry, the National Bureau of Statistics and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

The world’s second-largest economy has rich deposits of minerals like rare earths, which are vital for the production of smartphones, electric vehicles and defence systems, but is also heavily reliant on imports of key metals such as lithium, which is widely used in electric vehicle batteries.

China is the world’s major importer of copper, aluminium, nickel and lithium and has invested heavily in mining operations in countries that have signed up to the Belt and Road Initiative, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Peru, Chile and Indonesia.

Xinhua quoted the China Geological Survey on Wednesday as saying the country now has 16.5 per cent of the world’s lithium reserves – trailing only Chile – following the discovery of fresh deposits and new techniques that allow the metal to be extracted from minerals.

While Beijing strives for higher self-sufficiency, Washington has expressed concerns about China’s dominance in critical mineral production as it remains heavily dependent on Chinese for key minerals used in the production of semiconductors and advanced weaponry.

“As Trump is likely to continue various bans and increase the tariffs, China’s control of critical material is to create a potential tool to negotiate with Trump once he takes office in late January,” said Christopher Tang, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles’ Anderson School of Management.

Rob Wittman, a prominent member of the Critical Minerals Policy Working Group of the US House of Representatives’ Select Committee on the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), said last month that China is actively working to undermine US and allied efforts to develop alternative supply chains by securing global mining projects.

“It has used export controls to entrench its dominance,” the group’s annual report said. “The US defence industrial base is not a large enough consumer of these materials to independently support a parallel, non-PRC (non-People’s Republic of China) critical mineral supply chain.”

China supplies more than 50 per cent of US demand for 24 critical minerals, including more than 90 per cent of demand for rare earth elements, the US Geological Survey said last year.

China also produces 90 per cent of the world’s gallium and 60 per cent of the world’s germanium, but it ceased all shipments to the US by July 2023.

There are no official figures available on overseas investments by Chinese mining companies, but an Ernst & Young report released in August last year said China carried out 23 overseas mining and metal-related investment transactions in the first half of last year – representing a year-on-year increase of 64.3 per cent.

AI set to reshape the world, Alibaba founder Jack Ma tells Chinese rural teachers

https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3294054/ai-set-reshape-world-alibaba-founder-jack-ma-tells-chinese-rural-teachers?utm_source=rss_feed

Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma on Tuesday reiterated his expectation that artificial intelligence (AI) is set to reshape the world over the next decade, a month after predicting how changes brought by the technology will surpass everyone’s imagination.

In a video speech posted on the social-media account of his eponymous foundation to mark the 10th anniversary of a rural teachers programme, Ma – a former teacher himself – said the rise of AI and China’s demographic shifts will create new challenges to schools across the countryside.

This was the latest address made by the reclusive, 60-year-old billionaire entrepreneur to a group of Chinese rural teachers, part of an annual tradition of the Jack Ma Foundation that is held on the eighth day of the lunar year’s last month.

It echoed his speech last month at the 20th anniversary of fintech giant Ant Group, where Ma said: “From today’s perspective, the changes brought by artificial intelligence in the next 20 years will go beyond everyone’s imagination, as AI will bring a greater era.”

Ma has focused on the education and agriculture sectors in his post-retirement life. He has maintained a low profile over the past several years after stepping down from all his corporate roles in Hangzhou-based Alibaba, where he remains the single-largest shareholder.

Still, he is considered by some as the face of China’s private economy. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

Rural education has undergone a “sea change” over the past decade, Ma, who addressed 1,001 educators on the mainland in 2024, said in his video speech.

“More young rural teachers are joining the cause,” he said. “They live in remote areas, but their thinking is not backward, and they are even at the forefront of educational reform.”

The Jack Ma Foundation’s Rural Teachers Initiative annually selects 100 teachers from across China, each receiving an award of 100,000 yuan (US$13,639). In 2025, 2,894 teachers applied, with those selected having an average age of 39. About 98 per cent of these teachers hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Over the past decade, the foundation received around 70,000 applications, visited over 1,500 villages, and conducted nearly 10,000 interviews. Of the selected teachers, 97.5 per cent are still teaching in rural areas.

The foundation also runs the Rural Headmasters Initiative. Twenty headmasters are selected each year and receive 500,000 yuan to help them enhance leadership and management skills.

Ma established his foundation in December 2014, with a focus on education, entrepreneurship, women’s leadership and environmental protection.

China professor in firing line for claiming women can live to 100 if they have 10 kids

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3293191/china-professor-firing-line-claiming-women-can-live-100-if-they-have-10-kids?utm_source=rss_feed

A Chinese scholar has triggered a public backlash for claiming that a women who have 10 children can live until they are 100 years old.

The comment from an anonymous professor in Inner Mongolia, northern China, went viral in a video clip circulating on mainland social media at the end of December, according to a report by Daxiang News.

“After giving birth to a child, you will be blessed by God. It will let you live longer,” he said during a classroom talk to students.

“Some women are successful in their career, but their longevity is short. They are unlike those grandmas in villages who have eight, or 10 kids, and usually can live up to 90 or even 100 years old,” the scholar added.

“Those grandmas generally do not have any major diseases. There is a low possibility of them getting sick,” he said.

The name of the university he works at was not released in the report.

The professor is said to have also worked at a hospital as a doctor, earning 300,000 yuan (US$41,000) a year.

The story provoked a frenzied discussion on mainland social media, with many people denouncing the scholar.

“Do you have scientific evidence to support your point of view?” asked one netizen.

“Don’t you know there is a risk for a woman giving birth. Are those women who die during labour blessed by God?” said another angry online observer.

“Are they mad pushing us to have kids? The cost of raising children is so high and it is tiring for a parent to educate a kid. Anyway, I have one child now and I will not have more, whatever the experts or the government says,” she added.

China is in the grip of an ageing crisis and many young people are reluctant to get married or have children.

The country’s population shrank in 2022 for the first time in 60 years. It fell again in 2023, declining by 2.08 million, with a record low birth rate of 6.39 births per 1,000 people.

The authorities have tried various methods to solve the problem,including giving out cash awards and tax cuts, but their efforts appear to have been in vain.

In December, Wang Xianju, a professor at Renmin University in Beijing, landed in hot water after he asked a visiting Kazakh diplomat how to make Chinese women “obediently and submissively” have children.

China concerned by reports of Uygur militants given senior roles in Syrian army

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3294069/china-concerned-reports-uygur-militants-given-senior-roles-syrian-army?utm_source=rss_feed

China has expressed concern over reports that the Syrian army has given senior ranks to foreign fighters, including members of the Uygur separatist Turkestan Islamic Party.

On Wednesday, Fu Cong, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, told a Security Council briefing that the country’s new government must “fulfil its counterterrorism obligations and to prevent any terrorist forces from using Syrian territory to threaten the security of other countries”.

He said: “No matter how the domestic situation in Syria develops, the bottom line of zero tolerance for terrorism cannot be changed.”

Reuters reported last week that the new Syrian authorities have installed foreign fighters in the armed forces, including Abdulaziz Dawood Khudaberdi, the commander of the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) forces in Syria, who was appointed a brigadier-general.

Beijing has said the TIP, which was involved in the fight against Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, is the same as the Islamist East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which is listed as a terrorist group by the UN.

The East Turkestan Islamic Movement claimed responsibility for two attacks on government officials in Xinjiang in 2011, while Beijing blamed it for the 2013 car bomb attack in Tiananmen Square, in which five people were killed, and other attacks in Xinjiang.

Tensions and unrest in Xinjiang has prompted Beijing to begin a security crackdown that it said was designed to combat terrorism, but it has been accused of widespread human rights abuses, including the use of forced labour, which it denies.

Fu also said Syria “is at a critical stage with daunting challenges” and called for the international community to help Syria stabilise and develop after the sudden collapse of the Assad regime.

Syrian rebel forces led by the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham captured Damascus on December 8 after a two-week lightning offensive. The Islamist group is now in charge of the country and is reorganising the army.

Fu said China supports “a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process” and the international community must “allow the Syrian people to decide their country’s future based on their will”.

“We expect all parties in Syria to proceed from the long-term interests of the country and people and start an open and inclusive political settlement process,” he told the briefing.

He also called for more international humanitarian assistance, adding: “China has long pursued a policy of friendship and cooperation with Syria. We stand ready to continue working with the international community for Syria to have a smooth transition and gradually embark on a path of peaceful development.”

Is a glut of phoney Russian goods too much for China’s consumers to bear?

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3294074/glut-phoney-russian-goods-too-much-chinas-consumers-bear?utm_source=rss_feed

As if they were copied and pasted, Russian goods markets have sprang up in cities across China in the past few months. They come with all the signature elements: Cyrillic script on blue signage, matryoshka dolls, traditional songs like “Kalinka” and “Katyusha” played on a loop.

Riding a wave of popularity brought on by stronger bilateral trade links and strained relations with the West, these shops sell sausage, chocolates and even durian confectionery while claiming most of their goods are imported from Russia.

But the boom times may be coming to an end as doubts over authenticity soar among consumers. They have ample reason for concern: China does not permit the import of Russian sausage, and the harsh Eurasian tundra is hardly suitable for the tropical durian fruit.

Last week, one such market at a tourist site in the southeastern province of Fujian was placed under investigation by local authorities. According to China Consumer News, officials said the facility had touted false health benefits for its honey and mislabelled domestically produced food as imports.

The national capital had a similar story, according to a report in late December from Beijing Business Today. Across the street from a new Russian market, open for about a week, a similar shop had closed its doors and left behind an ample supply of goods.

The local business outlet said the shop had only opened in April, turning off its lights after a recent inspection by local regulators. They had demanded the shop’s owner provide proof its goods were true Russian imports.

It was far from a unique case. At least two others in the western part of the city have shut down recently, according to the report, both only having been open for around a month.

Russian goods and restaurants have become more popular among Chinese consumers since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, as Western sanctions on Russia drive the two economies closer. Bilateral trade has hit record levels as Russians source key commodities from China and China buys discounted Russian fuel.

Shortly after the war began in 2022, some Chinese consumers rushed to an online shop for Russian goods that had been officially recognised by Moscow’s embassy in China, snapping up all the products in solidarity.

As of January 7, there are 3,555 registered companies in China related to the trade of Russian products. The number has continued to grow in the past two years, with new business registrations hitting 696 and 894 in 2023 and 2024, respectively, according to Chinese company registry database Qichacha.

In the first week of 2025, the database showed, 13 of these companies had already been registered.

The craze of Russian speciality stores is likely a short-term one, capitalising on current events to make quick money, analysts said.

Product scarcity and consumer curiosity have been the major selling points for Russian goods in China so far, said Zhang Yi, chief analyst at market consultancy iiMedia Research.

“In the future, as consumers’ sense of novelty weakens and competition intensifies, the popularity of such stores may fade.”

---

China’s EVs to see self-driving ‘democratisation’ in 2025, UBS analyst says

https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3294060/chinas-evs-see-self-driving-democratisation-2025-ubs-analyst-says?utm_source=rss_feed

Self-driving features will see mass-market adoption in Chinese cars this year, thanks to fierce competition among Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers that is driving innovation, according to a UBS analyst.

This year will see the “democratisation of high-end autonomous-driving systems” in mainstream vehicles in the country, Paul Gong, head of China auto research at UBS, said during the South China Morning Post’s China Future Tech webinar on Thursday.

Self-driving systems are the brains of many EVs. Tesla still waiting for approval from Beijing to install full self-driving on its models sold in mainland China. At the same time, Chinese EV makers are embracing self-driving features as key benefits of their new models.

The proliferation of self-driving systems in China will happen thanks to the country’s supply chain ecosystem, where some companies specialise in the hardware while others provide the software, Gong said.

China has rapidly progressed from a market for local and foreign carmakers into a global “innovative hub” for new technologies such as electrification and intelligence, which is helping accelerate the adoption of self-driving, according to the analyst.

“Increasingly I argue [that] China could be the R&D [research and development] centre for global car makers,” Gong said. “You have the latest technologies from the EV supply chain, from battery types to software to autonomous driving to lidar. You can get everything.”

China’s fast-evolving car industry has seen the exponential growth of electric vehicles in recent years, boosted by government subsidies, with EV penetration rate reaching above 50 per cent since July last year. The move towards new-energy vehicles in China is “basically a single way of no return”, according to Gong.

To further spur sales amid ongoing weak consumption in the country, China’s National Development and Reform Commission earlier this week renewed a subsidy scheme that gives replacement EV buyers a 20,000 yuan (US$2,728) reward.

Chinese EV makers are also offering aggressive discounts to entice consumers amid cutthroat competition, putting financial pressure on the dozens of smaller players.

Of the 50 or so EV producers in the country, only three – BYD, the world’s largest EV maker, Li Auto, Tesla’s nearest rival on the mainland, and the Huawei Technologies-backed Seres – are posting profits.

While the rapid increase in China’s EV output has fuelled concerns about overcapacity, Gong said that intense competition stimulates innovation, allows for more choice for consumers, and facilitates a faster transition to clean energy.

“So I would say it’s more [of a] complicated picture than just simple overcapacity competition,” Gong said.

UK targets Chinese boat makers in new sanctions to curb migrant crossings from France

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3294088/uk-targets-chinese-boat-makers-new-sanctions-curb-migrant-crossings-france?utm_source=rss_feed

Britain will create a new sanctions regime to target the leaders of networks that smuggle tens of thousands of people into Britain each year, as well as the Chinese makers of the boats and motors they use, the government said on Wednesday.

Under huge political pressure to cut the numbers arriving in small boats from France, the government said the laws would complement other reforms.

“We will target those profiting off putting lives at risk, and disrupt the gangs’ finances,” interior minister Yvette Cooper said in a statement.

The policy was due to be the centrepiece of a speech by foreign minister David Lammy on Thursday, seeking to demonstrate coordination between the foreign and interior ministries.

Lammy said Britain would pursue the makers of the boats used by migrant smugglers.

He told Times Radio many of the manufacturers were from China. Asked by the BBC whether the government would sanction those businesses, Lammy said: “Absolutely, because when you look at those boats, where do the engines come from? Where does the rubber come from?”

The Chinese Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lammy said the UK would be “the first country in the world to develop legislation for a new sanctions regime specifically targeting irregular migration and organised immigration crime.”

The government said the sanctions would be in place by the end of the year and enable authorities to ban those linked to people-smuggling from entering Britain, punish those trying to do business with them, and freeze assets.

It’s unclear how effective the measures will be, since British authorities can only freeze assets that are in the UK, and most of the smugglers are based elsewhere.

Labour prime minister Keir Starmer was elected in July and immediately ditched the previous, Conservative government’s plan to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda as a deterrent, instead switching focus to breaking up the gangs that organise crossings.

Migrants from North Africa, the Middle East, Europe and elsewhere pay thousands of pounds to traffickers for places in small inflatable boats that then try to cross one of the world’s busiest shipping channels to reach the English coast.

More than 36,800 people made the crossing in 2024, 25 per cent more than the previous year, according to government data, while dozens have died in the attempt.

Starmer is due to discuss migration and other issues with French President Emmanuel Macron at a meeting near London on Thursday.

EU firms in China lament having to silo operations to stay competitive, survey finds

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3293932/eu-firms-china-lament-having-silo-operations-stay-competitive-survey-finds?utm_source=rss_feed

China is under pressure to give foreign companies the freedom to localise operations based on market needs, as restrictive regulations and market barriers erode confidence and force many to reassess.

European companies are increasingly being forced to silo their operations in China, part of a wider trend amid a tightening grip on national security, protectionist measures and regulatory fragmentation, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said in a report released on Thursday.

The report, based on surveys conducted between August and November and including responses from 128 member companies, added that siloing – the cutting off of China-based functions from operations in the rest of the world – is a strategic response by multinational companies to mitigate risks and comply with local regulations.

Chinese legislations have guided companies to pursue extensive localisation, in their supply chains, workforce, sales and procurement functions, and many have siloed their R&D, data and IT systems, in hopes of ensuring market access and potential inclusions in procurements.

If they do not comply, they face market barriers and the threat of penalties for non-compliance, according to the report.

Geopolitics and escalating trade tensions also compel companies to adjust their supply chains and research-and-development strategies to ensure operational resilience.

“The more pessimistic companies are about these dynamics, the more comprehensive and far-reaching their risk-management approaches are likely to be,” the report said. “However, by doing so they have increased costs while sacrificing the ability to leverage economies of scale and global solutions, stripping away their global competitiveness.”

It added that siloing operations may still not grant them market access equal to that of a “domestic manufacturer”.

Despite a challenging policy landscape and precarious trade tensions, European investment in China has increased rapidly and continuously since the first quarter of 2023, reaching €3.8 billion (US$3.92 billion) in the second quarter of 2024, according to Rhodium Group.

This was the second-highest level of the past decade, bringing EU foreign direct investment (FDI) closer to levels seen in the early 2010s – a period of persistently high EU investor interest in China, the US research firm said.

To reverse the trend and better integrate with the global economy, China should “allow foreign companies the freedom to localise operations based solely on commercial needs, without imposing regulations that compel companies to act otherwise”.

China should also “engage more with stakeholders in the EU, multinational companies and industry associations” while steering “away from excessive self-reliance and self-sufficiency”, and “develop nuanced strategies for strengthening supply chains that do not err towards trade protectionism”, the report said.

As European companies shift their supply chains and FDI out of China, accelerating the loss of jobs and tax revenues, markets are also increasingly exploring tools to protect domestic companies from Chinese competition, a trend set to intensify if current policies that force foreign firms to silo remain unchanged, the report added.

For foreign companies operating in China, the high level of staff localisation and limited movement between China and other regions has led to weakened communication and trust between China subsidiaries and headquarters.

The reopening of borders and visa facilitations were a huge improvement compared with the cut-off seen during the Covid years, but visibility remains an issue and hurdles persist, said Jens Eskelund, president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China.

“There is an enormous amount of uncertainty about what’s happening in the Chinese economy, how the demand situation is going to develop, trade tensions and going forward, and also, to some extent, reliability of Chinese data,” he said. “Increasing transparency, sharing data points and being open about the challenges being faced would create more confidence.

“Sometimes, even if it’s bad news, it can help, too.”

Data and IT siloing, aggravated by mandatory compliance with China’s stringent regulations, also comes at a high cost, impeding global innovation and creating inefficiencies by forcing companies to maintain separate systems that put them at a disadvantage to local competitors.

Similarly, siloing R&D efforts in China, particularly for sensitive products, results in duplicated work, escalating costs, and stifling innovation. This fragmentation not only undermines the competitive edge of foreign companies but also limits the potential benefits from China’s robust R&D ecosystem, affecting the global coherence of their operations, the chamber said.

EU companies should prioritise maintaining strong communication between their headquarters and China operations, ensuring that home offices receive accurate, on-the-ground insights for informed decision-making, the report suggested, adding that companies must also engage with European stakeholders to explain the complexities of doing business in China.

“It’s critical that companies in China stay connected to their global teams, or they risk losing touch with broader strategic goals,” it noted.

Establishing “decoupling teams” is also essential to assess the costs and risks of localising operations versus remaining connected to global systems, the chamber said.

China actress claims verbal, physical abuse by talent agency over failure to land roles

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3293184/china-actress-claims-verbal-physical-abuse-talent-agency-over-failure-land-roles?utm_source=rss_feed

Concerns have been voiced amid reports – which have been denied – that Chinese actress Zhao Lusi, also known as Rosy Zhao, was verbally and physically abused by her agency for failing to secure roles.

Born in 1998 in Chengdu, Sichuan province, southwestern China, Zhao gained national stardom in 2020 for her role in The Romance of Tiger and Rose and was dubbed the “Top Follower Born after 1995.”

She boasts nearly 30 million followers on one major social media platform.

On December 27, Zhao was reportedly hospitalised after suddenly falling ill, sparking heated discussions online.

Her social media account was temporarily locked, and photos surfaced showing her frail and skinny in a wheelchair.

Subsequent video clips revealed her walking unsteadily and even struggling to hold a spoon.

The revelations fueled public speculation about her being hospitalised for aphasia, a disorder that affects a person’s ability to understand and use language.

On December 31, a person claiming to be a close friend of Zhao shared shocking revelations about Zhao’s alleged abuse by her agent, all purportedly with Zhao’s consent.

Her friend said: “In April 2019, Zhao was in Beijing auditioning for roles. At that time, she stayed at my place as she had not rented her own flat.

“One night, I came home to find her curled up in the living room. When I asked what happened, she told me she had been reprimanded for hours in a restroom at 2am by her company’s boss.”

The boss allegedly criticised Zhao for failing auditions, saying she was not talented enough to land leading roles, and blamed her for “being fat.”

“After scolding her, the boss even hit her,” which Zhao described as “terrifying”, the friend claimed.

While “the boss later apologised, blaming the incident on being drunk,” Zhao, bound by her contract, could not retaliate and the boss later complained to her mother about her “disobedience.”

On January 1, Zhao unlocked her social media account to share a heartfelt statement acknowledging the abuse and her battle with depression.

“Since childhood, I have been called useless and labeled a ‘pretty vase.’ I was once beaten by a teacher during after-school tutoring,” said Zhao.

“I thought I deserved it because I struggled academically. When I grew up, I was beaten again. Back then, I thought failing auditions was my fault, so I kept quiet and just wanted to escape.

“I have never mentioned this illness before. I do not want to turn being sick into what is now called ‘hype’,” she added.

Following the allegations, Li Wei, the former CEO of Tianjin Galaxy Cool Entertainment Culture Media Co.Ltd , Zhao’s agency, denied ever abusing her in a restroom and released a statement.

He insisted that their relationship had always been supportive, and even shared screenshots of previous interactions to demonstrate their amicable relationship.

Mainland social media was flooded with words of encouragement for Zhao.

One viewer said: “Get well soon, Rosy. Eat more, do not listen to others, be yourself, and keep going.”

“I love this young sister’s shows. She is earnest and hardworking, bright and lovely. I hope she gets well soon. Keep it up!” said another.

Chinese actor Wang Xing says fraud gang trafficked him to Myanmar scam compound

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3294041/chinese-actor-wang-xing-says-fraud-gang-trafficked-him-myanmar-scam-compound?utm_source=rss_feed

A Chinese actor who went missing near the Thailand-Myanmar border confirmed he was a victim of human trafficking and fraud syndicates following his rescue from a scam compound.

Thai authorities arranged for actor Wang Xing to meet his girlfriend in Bangkok on Wednesday morning, according to a social media post by the girlfriend, who identified herself only using the surname Kang.

Thai police earlier confirmed that Wang was tricked into entering Myanmar by fraud groups and lost contact with friends and family near the border between the two Southeast Asian countries. Thai police said he was rescued on Tuesday, which was confirmed by the Chinese embassy on the same day.

In video clips released by The Beijing News on Wednesday, Wang told Thai police that he was sent to a scam centre by armed people. He said there were at least 50 people trapped at the compound.

“It was only when the armed people pushed me into the car that I realised that I might not be in Thailand, but another country,” he said. “There were about 50 people in the building that I was in. There were more in another building, and people came from different countries.”

Wang said he was forced to practise typing for two to three days under high pressure, according to The Beijing News.

“I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. And I didn’t even have the time to pee,” he said in the clip, describing his experience at the compound.

Thai police inspector-general Thatchai Pitaneelaboot said on Tuesday that Wang had communicated via WeChat with people who said they would bring him to Thailand where they were casting a film. However, it turned out they were not actually in Thailand, he said.

“They were believed to be a group in a neighbouring country near the Mae Sot border in Tak province,” he added, referring to a Thai province that borders Myanmar.

Wang’s disappearance made headlines after Kang said on social media late on Sunday that the actor had lost contact with her after arriving in Thailand. Kang’s statement was reposted by several celebrities, including singers and actors.

According to Kang’s post, Wang was invited to act in a production in Thailand by a person posing as an associate director of the film. He reached the Thai capital of Bangkok early on Friday morning, she said.

He was led through Thai immigration control by a person claiming to be a film crew member and driven to Mae Sot district in northwestern Thailand, some 500km (310 miles) from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport.

Wang lost contact with Kang in Mae Sot, which borders the scam hub of Myawaddy in Myanmar, around noon on Friday. Kang then sought help from the Chinese embassy in Thailand and consulate in the northwestern Thai city of Chiang Mai.

Huge cement-dust cloud blankets streets in China after silo rupture

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3294078/huge-cement-dust-cloud-blankets-streets-china-after-silo-rupture?utm_source=rss_feed

A cement silo ruptured at a subway construction site in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, blanketing pedestrians and streets in dust.

[Sport] China bets on kitchen appliances to help boost economy

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c79197jr2zeo

Getty Images

Actress Zhao Wei’s divorce, ‘sterile’ Chinese woman’s pregnancy: 5 trending stories

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3293886/actress-zhao-weis-divorce-sterile-chinese-womans-pregnancy-5-trending-stories?utm_source=rss_feed

We have selected five Trending in China stories from the past seven days that resonated with our readers. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider .

A woman in China who went viral online after she fended off a knife attacker using an umbrella has returned to the public spotlight for rejecting live streaming offers and refusing to monetise her brave act.

The recent announcement that famous Chinese actress Vicki Zhao Wei had divorced her husband Huang Youlong years ago has sparked a heated discussion on why she revealed the news at the time she did.

A woman in eastern China gave birth to a baby just four hours after she discovered she was pregnant.

Controversy has erupted over a school vice-principal in China who has been accused of having an extramarital affair with one of her former male students.

China’s former gymnastics champion Wu Liufang, who caused controversy for releasing provocative dances and whose Douyin account was suspended briefly in November, has been banned again.

---

China military improves air supply for troops at Himalayan border with India

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3293846/china-military-improves-air-supply-troops-himalayan-border-india?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese troops stationed in the harsh conditions of the Tibetan plateau now have access to better supplies of oxygen as part of efforts to strengthen equipment, training and logistics along the disputed western border with India, the military said.

PLA Daily, the People’s Liberation Army mouthpiece, said on Monday that the military has established a 20km (12.4 miles) supply zone to improve operational efficiency at its high-altitude border outposts.

Liu Hao, commander of a border regiment stationed 5,380 metres (17,700 feet) above sea level in the Hotan military subdistrict, told the newspaper that faster and more reliable oxygen access is critical for soldiers’ health and combat readiness.

Hotan – in Xinjiang region on the Karakoram plateau, the second-highest mountain range on Earth – is not far from the Galwan Valley, scene of a deadly skirmish between Chinese and Indian soldiers on June 15, 2020.

China and India share 3,500km (2,170 miles) of disputed border, shaped by colonial-era boundary demarcations, along the Himalayan frontier in some of the harshest conditions on Earth, where oxygen levels are less than 40 per cent of those at sea level.

The Hotan military subdistrict, which is subordinate to the PLA’s Xinjiang Military Command, is responsible for operations along the western sector of the Line of Actual Control, where tensions flared several times in recent years before easing in late 2024.

The two nuclear-armed Asian neighbours agreed to de-escalate tensions following discussions between Chinese President Xi Jinping and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Brics summit in October.

According to the PLA Daily report, which cited military doctor Liu Wei, the high-altitude border outpost now boasts “a comprehensive oxygen supply system … providing consistent support for soldiers’ health and combat readiness”.

The newspaper also spoke to Guo Xiangxiang, a staff sergeant who has been stationed at the outpost since 2010, about the advancements in oxygen supply infrastructure that he has witnessed over the years.

“When I first arrived, oxygen supply was scarce, and only critically ill soldiers could access oxygen from steel cylinders,” Guo said. That year, bedside systems were installed to give the troops access to bottled air during their rest periods, he recalled.

In 2016, an oxygen-enriched indoor training facility – with heating, humidifiers and fitness equipment – was introduced to help maintain physical fitness and improve oxygen intake.

According to Guo, the logistical improvements have been transformative since his arrival at the outpost, when oxygen cylinders had to be transported from Kashgar, more than 500km (311 miles) away.

Refilling capabilities first moved to Yecheng and then to a medical station 100km (62 miles) from the outpost. In 2020, a mobile oxygen generation chamber was installed on-site, eliminating the need for long-distance refills.

In 2021, the unit added a micro-pressure oxygen chamber that simulates altitudes as low as 500 metres (1,640 feet). Liu Wei, the military doctor, told PLA Daily that it serves as a recovery station for soldiers after patrols or strenuous activities.

“Compared with self-administered oxygen, the micro-pressure chamber is more controlled and effective,” he said, noting that it provides therapeutic and preventive benefits.

The PLA Daily described the advancements as a transition from emergency “life-saving” oxygen through routine “health oxygen” to “combat oxygen”, reflecting a strategic focus on ensuring soldiers remain fit for duty in extreme conditions.

---

China’s investors, tourists hit pause to size up risks of turmoil in Seoul

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3293936/chinas-investors-tourists-hit-pause-size-risks-turmoil-seoul?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s traders, investors and tourists are likely to pause and examine the risks of South Korea’s prolonged political turmoil in the months ahead, analysts said – with some possibly halting their business or activity outright until more stable circumstances present themselves.

As investigators try to detain South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol over his declaration of martial law in early December, neither an end to the saga nor clarity about the country’s next leader is in sight.

Chinese traders are sizing up the odds of more street protests in Seoul and further “policy paralysis” over the next six months, said Nick Marro, principal economist for Asia at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

“As long as political uncertainty persists, international investors – including Chinese investors – are going to look at South Korea from a perspective of heightened risks,” Marro said. “That might delay some decision-making or planned investments.”

Korean chipmakers with investments in China are also assessing the terrain, said Victor Gao, vice-president of the Beijing-based think tank Centre for China and Globalisation.

Those giant companies might decide to retain their China projects if Yoon leaves office, he said. US officials asked Yoon’s government to restrict semiconductor technology exports to China last year, in line with curbs imposed by Washington.

Investors from Korea also might delay or cancel projects planned for China depending on who eventually takes power, said Alberto Vettoretti, managing partner of the business consultancy Dezan Shira & Associates.

Yet those same concerns could accelerate Korean investment overseas, he said.

“Political uncertainty in South Korea could lead to an increase in investments by Korean companies outside the country,” Vettoretti said. “This could mean China, but more likely [Southeast Asian] countries, to mitigate political uncertainties back home.”

Trade between the East Asian powerhouses reached US$297 billion in the first 11 months of 2024, according to Chinese customs data. South Korea was China’s second-largest single-country trading partner, after the US.

Direct investment from China to South Korea rose 266.1 per cent year on year in 2024 to US$5.8 billion, according to Seoul’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Korean investment in China had reached US$101.3 billion as of last May.

Both Yoon’s party and the chief opposition camp support economic engagement with China, meaning a change of guard in Seoul is unlikely to derail matters, said Yang Pyeong-seop, an invited research fellow with the Korean Institute for International Economic Policy.

Going forward, Gao said, China is likely to focus on “how to maintain relations” with South Korea “without any risks to the upside”.

Some Chinese businesspeople, he added, had signed deals with Korean partners before the martial law attempt.

“Chinese businesspeople are very rational and they refuse to be rattled by ups and downs,” Gao said, adding Chinese imports of Korean motor vehicles, semiconductor chips and consumer electronics will probably keep flowing as usual.

But the strife in Seoul is denting Chinese people’s interest in travelling to South Korea, especially after the deadly crash of a Jeju Air flight on December 29, said Subramania Bhatt, CEO of travel marketing and technology company China Trading Desk.

Bhatt’s firm has tracked a 10 to 12 per cent reduction in bookings from China for the Korean budget airline, he said, adding some Korean travel agencies have suspended online advertising and other promotional activities in China.

The Chinese embassy in Seoul has asked its citizens to avoid political activity in South Korea.

South Korea became the second most popular foreign market for Chinese tourists last year behind Japan, with 3.18 million visiting from January to September per figures from the Korea Tourism Corporation.

A unanimous vote of the Korean National Assembly quickly overturned the imposition of martial law, South Korea’s first since its democratisation in 1987. Yoon was impeached on December 14.

Korea’s state anti-corruption agency and police tried to detain Yoon at his official residence on January 3 but stopped after a stand-off with presidential security staff, the country’s Yonhap news agency reported.

Indonesia is a ‘hotspot’ for Chinese companies in logistics, supply chain, SF group says

https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3293928/indonesia-hotspot-chinese-companies-logistics-supply-chain-arena-sf-group-says?utm_source=rss_feed

Indonesia’s growing economy, coupled with a multilingual workforce and vast business opportunities over an archipelago of 15,000 islands, is a magnet for logistics companies from China, according to a leading Chinese courier company.

“I can see a lot of potential in terms of supply chain to help Indonesia and support its economic growth,” said Michael Tung, managing director for Hong Kong and Macau at SF Supply Chain, which provides turnkey supply-chain solutions to enterprises. “Indonesia is one of the hotspots for us. I will put a lot more resources in Indonesia compared to any other Asian countries.”

Hong Kong can support the growth in Indonesia in many ways including in finance and supply chain management, said Tung, whose unit is part of the SF Holding group. In many industries like e-commerce, stiff competition at home has prompted Chinese entities to seek new growth avenues in Southeast Asia, he added.

He spoke at the “Think Business: Think Hong Kong” symposium in Jakarta, organised by the Hong Kong Trade and Development Council.

Under the “Golden Indonesia 2045 Vision”, Indonesia aims to double the size of its gross domestic product in 20 years to enhance its position as Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. Its population is expected to reach 324 million by 2040, making it the fourth or fifth largest consumer market.

“The Hong Kong government is quite smart to shift the focus to work with our neighbours,” Tung said separately in an interview. “These are all untapped areas, which we can work together for mutual benefit.”

Chinese logistics companies, which are already equipped with advanced technology and experience in mainland China’s competitive market like e-commerce and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing and materials sourcing, can be expected to accelerate their overseas outreach.

“When they come, they don’t need to start from scratch. They will just come and attack the market immediately,” Tung said.

E-commerce platforms and sectors like EVs as well as EV infrastructure like energy stations are experiencing huge growth in Indonesia, he noted. There are tremendous opportunities because of supply chain challenges in a large country.

“If you need to transport an EV from Jakarta to Bali, it’s a logistical nightmare,” he said, citing his experience. “So [the client] asked us to help them to design a network in Indonesia on how to handle this sales and after-sales support.”

Indonesia has a large pool of Chinese-speaking, multilingual talent, Tung also said, giving it an advantage over some countries in the region. Indonesia, which comprises 15,000-odd islands, represents a potential for SF’s drone logistics network. The SF group has already delivered healthcare products to remote hospitals in China, he noted.

SF Supply Chain, which has been operating in Indonesia since 2013, is considering applying for a moneylending licence in the country, a natural progression from its finance business on the mainland and Hong Kong to support transactions and provide loans to clients.

“I’m glad it’s only January,” said Tung. “There is a lot to prepare for and we have a lot of new chances to grow this year outside China.”

Envoy says sloppy American defence firms ‘bigger risk’ to US security than China

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3293991/envoy-says-sloppy-american-defence-firms-bigger-risk-us-security-china?utm_source=rss_feed

American defence companies are hurting the nation’s security interests by prioritising share buy-backs over delivering weapons to the US military and its allies, according to the outgoing US envoy to Japan.

Ambassador Rahm Emanuel said the firms are more focused on increasing their stock value than on investing in production capacity. This has contributed to delays in weapons shipments, which could harm US security and weaken American alliances, he said in an interview on Wednesday.

“The US defence industry is a bigger risk to America’s security and the credibility of our deterrence than China is,” Emanuel said in Tokyo.

Emanuel, who was confirmed as ambassador to Japan in 2021, said he had witnessed the damaging impact of years-long delays in defence equipment shipments on both the US military and its regional allies. “I can’t tell you how many times here I’ve had to use my political capital to cover for their failure,” he said.

One solution – he added – would be to ban defence contractors from buying back their own stock for several years if they fail to deliver orders on time.

Rising geopolitical tensions and conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine have fuelled demand for defence products, benefiting companies like RTX Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp.

In 2023, Lockheed Martin and RTX spent a combined total of US$18.9 billion on stock buy-backs, compared with just US$4.1 billion on capital expenditures, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Lockheed Martin and RTX did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics Corp., two other major defence contractors with stock buy-back programmes.

Contractors like Lockheed Martin, maker of the F-35 fighter jet, also are being hit with criticism from supporters of president-elect Donald Trump, who argue that the future of defence lies with hi-tech innovators. Billionaire Elon Musk, an adviser to Trump on cost-cutting, has said that “some idiots are still building manned fighter jets like the F-35” in an age of drones.

Emanuel’s remarks are some of the most strident among US officials about large stock buy-back programmes among defence contractors. Last year, Navy Secretary Carlos del Toro said defence companies should prioritise spending on shipyards over stock buy-backs.

One of most acute shortages is in shipbuilding, where the US now falls far behind China in its ability to expand its navy or replace ageing ships. While US military plans call for producing two nuclear-powered attack submarines each year, shipyards can currently only complete one.

Limits on manufacturing capacity and lengthy administrative procedures have also caused delays in delivering US defence equipment to allies such as Japan and Taiwan. The total value of arms bought from the US but not yet delivered to Taiwan was estimated at US$21.95 billion as of November, according to Cato Institute, a US think tank.

One problem was ensuring reliable government funding to give US contractors confidence that contracts would continue well into the future, said Jeffrey Hornung, a senior political scientist at Rand Corp.

“Think of how inconsistent Congress and the White House have been in recent memory with talking about building a huge navy, only to never put the money behind those promises,” Hornung said.

As it faced manufacturing delays, Washington has accelerated weapons shipments to Ukraine by drawing from American military stockpiles, including US$1.25 billion in aid from US inventories announced by the Biden administration at the end of last year. The government is preparing a final US$500 million in military assistance soon, Bloomberg News reported.

The US has also dipped into its own supplies to send anti-tank missiles, sniper rifles and machine guns to Taiwan, Pentagon documents show.

Japan today is one of the biggest buyers of US military hardware after it decided in 2022 to ramp up defence spending in response to growing threats from China and North Korea.

Last week, the US approved the potential sale to Tokyo of as many as 1,200 air-to-air missiles produced by RTX for use on aircraft including the F-15 and F-35. The deal, which is likely to take years to complete, still requires approval from Congress.

Washington wants Japan to help produce more Patriot air-defence missiles to boost global inventories, but plans to increase production have stalled due to a shortage of component known as a seeker, which must be sent from the US.

Emanuel, who will end his term as ambassador next week and has two children in the US military, said chronic delays in weapons shipments were undermining the growing coordination among US allies to deter China’s military and letting down US service members.

He criticised defence industry executives for consistently failing to fulfil promised orders on time without any accountability, and said it was time for them to “have some skin in the game”.

“Your stock options will not be boosted based on stock buy-backs until you fix this problem,” he added.

‘Living in paradise’: Iraqi man shares love for China after fleeing war-torn homeland

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3292759/living-paradise-iraqi-man-shares-love-china-after-fleeing-war-torn-homeland?utm_source=rss_feed

An Iraqi man who escaped war who now lives in China has shared his love for Chinese cuisine with millions of fans and calls the country his “paradise”.

Ahmed Mohammed Jaber Alkalthoom, 30, comes from a wealthy Iraqi family and has two younger sisters.

After the Iraq War broke out in 2003, his family fled their hometown and moved to Syria, Lebanon and Egypt.

“During heavy shelling, my parents hid my sisters and myself in the refrigerator to save us,” Alkalthoom told a mainland media outlet.

He added that a missile once exploded less than 300 metres away, rupturing his eardrum.

In 2014, with the support of relatives, Alkalthoom relocated to northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region and started working as an Arabic teacher at an international school.

Determined to integrate into Chinese society, he taught himself Mandarin and learned 108 Chinese characters in three months.

Within a year, he could communicate in Mandarin fluently and had adopted the Chinese name Wang Lixuan.

Before becoming a food influencer last year, Alkalthoom was also an actor and model in China.

His humor, charm, and spot-on Mandarin food reviews have earned him more 10 million fans on mainland social media.

On a trip to the southwestern province of Sichuan, the country’s spicy capital, Alkalthoom tried Sichuanese barbecue, or chuanchuan.

Struggling with the heat of the food, he joked to the server in Mandarin: “It feels like all the chilli peppers are meeting to plot my demise!”

In Changsha, while enjoying chopped chilli fish head, he said: “It is like I just kissed the fish,” to the amusement of many netizens.

Wherever he goes, Alkalthoom runs into excited fans who insist on paying for his meals, and he returns the kindness by buying them fruit and drinks.

From beef noodles in northern China’s Inner Mongolia to hot dry noodles in the central city of Wuhan, his food adventures span much of the country, and have racked up over 3.5 billion views on mainland social media.

However, the scars of war still haunt him.

Once, while eating in Wuhan, the sound of a noodle chef slapping dough startled him and his family, making them duck under the table, thinking it was gunfire.

On another occassion, Alkalthoom panicked at the sound of firecrackers while dining at a barbecue stall in Henan, central China and said in a video: “I thought it was a bomb.”

The video attracted more than 650,000 likes on a major social media platform, with many viewers reassuring him: “Don’t worry, you are in China now. You are safe.”

Reflecting on his journey, Alkalthoom said: “The old me already ‘died’ on earth. Now, I am living my next life in paradise, China.”

His social media biography reflects his philosophy: “After experiencing the pain of life and death, I truly cherish the peace and stability I’ve found in China.”

One online observer wrote: “It is always ordinary people who suffer from the war. I am happy you’ve found a new life in China. I hope you enjoy it here!”

---

China’s consumer inflation falls short of expectations to close out year

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3293988/chinas-consumer-inflation-falls-short-expectations-close-out-year?utm_source=rss_feed

Despite efforts to stimulate consumption, China’s consumer price growth fell short of expectations in December, adding uncertainty to the recovery prospects of the world’s second-largest economy.

The consumer price index, a key measure of inflation, rose by 0.1 per cent year on year last month, compared with a 0.2 per cent increase in November, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.

The figure was lower than the 0.16 per cent growth forecast in a poll by financial data provider Wind.

Meanwhile, the producer price index, which tracks factory gate prices, fell by 2.3 per cent in December, marking the 27th consecutive month of decline. In November, it was down 2.5 per cent.

More to follow …

White House rushes to finish cybersecurity order after China hacks

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3293983/white-house-rushes-finish-cybersecurity-order-after-china-hacks?utm_source=rss_feed

The Biden administration is racing to put out an executive order meant to shore up US cybersecurity in its dwindling days in office, according to four people familiar with the matter.

The executive order, which has cleared some internal hurdles and is close to being published, incorporates lessons from a series of major breaches during the Biden administration, including the most recent US Treasury Department hack attributed to China, according people familiar with the matter who did not want to be named to discuss information that has not yet been made public.

Among the measures, it directs the government to implement “strong identity authentication and encryption” across communications, according to an undated draft of the order seen by Bloomberg News.

In the December Treasury hack, intruders accessed unclassified documents stored locally on laptops and desktop computers. Encrypting information sent by email and worked on in the cloud could help safeguard it from hackers who successfully access systems but then cannot open specific documents.

The US National Security Council did not respond to a request for comment.

In that Treasury incident, a sophisticated Chinese hacking group known as Silk Typhoon is believed to have stolen a digital key from BeyondTrust, a third-party service provider, and used it to access unclassified information relating to potential sanctions actions and other documents, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the identity of the hackers, which hasn’t been previously reported.

The draft executive order also instructs the government to develop guidelines to better secure cryptographic keys used by cloud software contractors, including by storing them in hardware security modules, a physical device that stores digital keys to keep them safe. Under the executive order, federal contractors would also be required to better manage access.

The draft order also aims to clarify whether software providers follow basic cybersecurity hygiene – such as using multi-factor authentication and complex passwords – that they claim to incorporate.

“In some instances, providers of software to the federal government commit to following cybersecurity practices, yet do not fix well-known exploitable vulnerabilities in their software, which puts the government at risk of compromise,” the draft states.

Whether US president-elect Donald Trump will leave the executive order in place when he takes office remains unclear, though he has vowed to pare back on federal regulation. Trump has signalled that he intends to repeal another Biden administration order intended to provide guardrails around artificial intelligence.

US urged to bolster Global South ties to counter China-Russia partnership

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3293979/us-urged-bolster-global-south-ties-counter-china-russia-partnership?utm_source=rss_feed

The US must strengthen relations with the Global South and increase its military presence in the Indo-Pacific to counter the growing China-Russia partnership, two authors said at a Washington think tank on Wednesday.

A panel hosted by Council on Foreign Relations came after the think tank released a report with policy recommendations to address the increasing cooperation between Moscow and Beijing, which it said posed the greatest threat to US national interests since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

It also came two weeks before the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, whose foreign policy goals are known to be unconventional.

Trump’s tariff threats have unnerved many US allies and trading partners. In December, he said he would impose 100 per cent tariff on Brics nations if they created their own currency.

Moscow and Beijing have used the alliance of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa as a platform to promote an alternative vision of the global order. In their annual summit in Russia in October, Moscow proposed creating a cross-border payment system with the use of the member nations’ own currencies to bypass US dollar.

Speaking on the panel, Richard Fontaine, chief executive officer of the Centre for a New American Security and an author of the report, said it was essential for Washington to build up relations with the “global swing states” and provide a more “affirmative and assertive” trade policy, as China and Russia are cementing their relations with the Global South.

“If we wish countries to not be as aligned as closely with either” Russia or China, then we have to offer something ourselves,” said Fontaine. “We should be focused on what it is we need to do with our allies and ourselves.”

The US has not had a major trade agreement with other regions since Trump pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in his first term, saying that such free trade pacts take advantage of the United States.

US President Joe Biden initiated a regional trade initiative called the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity with 13 nations in 2022, aiming to recommit the US to the region. But negotiations on how to implement the initiative have been slow, and the future of the pact under Trump is dim.

Meanwhile, Beijing continues to expand its economic footprint through the Belt and Road Initiative, its flagship economic partnership with Global South nations.

Fontaine admitted that the return of a trade agreement like the TPP is unlikely, but the US could engage in sectoral agreements in critical minerals or clean technology, areas the Biden administration is working with allies to counter China’s growing influence.

“[But] we’ll see what happens with tariffs and everything else on Day One of the new administration,” he said.

In the report, Fontaine and his co-author, Robert Blackwill, a former adviser to US president George W. Bush, suggested that the US should also “substantially” strengthen US military presence in Northeast Asia and accelerate arms sales to Taiwan.

It remains unclear whether Trump will make the same defence commitment to the Indo-Pacific as Biden did. Trump has dodged questions about whether Washington will defend Taipei if it is attacked and asked the self-governed island to pay the US for its defence.

In a Taiwan contingency, Blackwill said Russia, Iran and North Korea would not stand idle.

“That doesn’t mean that they will send forces to the Taiwan Strait, but there are many things in the regions that where they’re located, beginning with Europe, that can distract or complicate the US military performance.”

Blackwill said regional powers in Asia, such as India, would be “watching very closely” what Trump does to “ensure that the US is up to the long-term China challenge”.

“Especially in the military balance, and China, of course, has had an enormous impact on that in East Asia, to America’s disadvantage. Will the Americans, in fact, do [what’s] necessary to balance Chinese power?”

New discoveries raise China’s lithium reserves to second largest in the world

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3293905/new-discoveries-raise-chinas-lithium-reserves-second-largest-world?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s lithium reserves have nearly tripled to make it the world’s second-largest holder of reserves of the key metal for renewable energy technology, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

The country now accounts for 16.5 per cent of global reserves, behind only Chile, and has moved ahead of Australia, Argentina and Bolivia, according to the China Geological Survey.

The country was previously thought to have held 6 per cent of the world’s total, but the rise is attributed to the discovery of fresh deposits and new techniques that allow the metal to be extracted from minerals.

Lithium is a key material in the country’s booming new energy sector and is critical for producing electric vehicle batteries and electronics.

Beijing has been keen to prospect for fresh reserves because China is the world’s leading consumer of lithium and needs imports to meet its demand.

“For a long time, the country has had a high dependence on foreign lithium resources, with high volumes of imports. This has driven up production costs and limited the development of related industries,” Xinhua reported.

The emerging industries that rely on it include energy storage systems, communications, medical treatments and nuclear reactor fuel, it added.

It said the new discoveries “are expected to alleviate the tight supply of lithium resources and promote healthier development of the global lithium market”.

The newly discovered mines include a 2,800km (1,740-mile) belt of spodumene – a hard rock ore from which the metal can be extracted – in Tibet, according to Science and Technology Daily.

It said the belt has been found to have more than 6.5 million tonnes of lithium resources, and possibly as much as 30 million tonnes. The discovery also suggests scientists may be able to find further reserves in geologically similar areas in the neighbouring provinces of Qinghai, Sichuan and Xinjiang.

The report also said that newly found salt lakes in the Tibetan Plateau are expected to hold more than 14 million tonnes of lithium, the third largest reserve in the world of its kind, according to the newspaper.

Chinese scientists have also overcome technical challenges in extracting lithium from lepidolite, a mineral that has been difficult and expensive to process, the report added.

It said the breakthrough will allow an extra 10 million tonnes of lithium to be extracted from lepidolite in Jiangxi in eastern China, while more may be found in mineral reserves in Hunan and Inner Mongolia.

Lithium is now mainly sourced from hard rock ores or natural brines, both of which involve energy-intensive and environmentally costly processes.

Scientists have also been exploring new ways to obtain lithium. For example, last year a China-US team developed a device to extract lithium from seawater using solar energy.

The sea has abundant quantities of lithium but the presence of many other minerals complicates the separation process.

Ex-professor Feng ‘Franklin’ Tao sues US university after China spying charges overturned

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3293974/ex-professor-feng-franklin-tao-sues-us-university-after-china-spying-charges-overturned?utm_source=rss_feed

A Chinese-born former chemistry professor at the University of Kansas who was wrongfully accused of being a Chinese spy has filed a lawsuit against the school, seeking to be reinstated and demanding compensation for the financial and reputational damage he has suffered.

According to court documents, Feng “Franklin” Tao said the university worked with the FBI “to arrange a surprise search of Professor Tao’s lab and home”, alleging “an improper collaboration between KU and the [US Department of Justice] to target” him.

“Upon learning that Professor Tao had been placed in custody, KU’s Deputy General Counsel congratulated the FBI by phone text: ‘Job well done, gentlemen. Congrats, and thanks,’” said the lawsuit, filed this month in a federal court in Kansas.

It added that “KU’s actions and discrimination against its own tenured professor – before, during and after his criminal prosecution – violated its contractual, ethical and legal obligations to Professor Tao.”

Contending that KU’s “egregious conduct” left Tao’s life, career, reputation and finances in “shambles”, the suit alleges that “rather than embracing academic rigor and enlightened, critical judgment, the university allowed itself to join in fear mongering and racist witch hunting”.

Tao was among the roughly two dozen academics charged under the Justice Department’s former “China Initiative”. The programme began in 2018 during US president-elect Donald Trump’s first administration to address concerns about Chinese economic espionage and intellectual property theft in research. It led to investigations of hundreds of Chinese-American scientists and academics, many of whom lost their jobs, and was shut down by President Joe Biden’s administration in 2022 after allegations of racial bias.

Arrested in 2019 and jailed for a week, Tao was convicted in April 2022 on wire fraud charges and for making false statements to KU about his ties to Fuzhou University and grants from the US Department of Energy and National Science Foundation.

After the conviction, the university fired him. But five months later, a US District Court judge overturned the fraud charges.

In July 2024, a Denver appeals court acquitted Tao on the remaining charge of making false statements about his relationship with Fuzhou University.

In his lawsuit, Tao alleged that KU “worked closely” with the FBI on the investigation, including unlawful surveillance and collection of incomplete, one-sides and fabricated evidence.

“KU was wrong, should be ashamed of its actions, and deserves to be held accountable for the damage it caused to Professor Tao,” the suit says, asking the court to order the university to “reinstate Professor Tao to his tenured position”.

China EV giant BYD hits the skids in Brazil as ‘slavery-like’ claims run over labour force

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3293923/china-ev-giant-byd-hits-skids-brazil-slavery-claims-run-over-labour-force?utm_source=rss_feed

This is the first in a three-part series looking at efforts by Chinese companies to step out of their comfort zone and expand abroad amid mounting domestic competition, and how this has resulted in learning curves, labour scandals and more diverse supply chains.

Long working hours, beds without mattresses, a communal lavatory shared by dozens of people – these are often axiomatic elements in the life of a Chinese construction worker.

But they are considered unacceptable “slavery-like conditions” in Brazil, a country that is incomparable with China in terms of economic size but which outperforms the latter in protecting employees.

BYD, China’s electric vehicle giant that is vigorously expanding its global footprint, along with its partner operating in Brazil, have been thrust under the spotlight recently for allegedly violating workers’ rights at its factory being built in Brazil’s northeastern state of Bahia.

The country’s labour authorities reported on December 23 that they saved 163 Chinese workers who were irregularly recruited by BYD’s long-time partner in China, Jinjiang Group, and sent to Brazil.

An investigation allegedly showed that those employees worked excessive overtime - some without a day off for seven consecutive days - under harsh conditions, and that their passports were found to be withheld by their boss at Jinjiang.

While both BYD and Jinjiang denied most of the accusations via social media statements, the scandal highlights a legal and cultural shock that Chinese companies are experiencing during their expansion overseas amid domestic overcapacity issues, according to analysts.

The allegations also cast doubt on the compliance of Chinese businesses operating in Brazil, as the largest economy in South America has a significantly different environment, placing higher demand on the enforcement of labour protection and corporate management.

“For Chinese workers, earning money often takes precedence, even at the cost of sacrificing their labour rights,” said Gao Zhendong, a supply-chain specialist who assists Chinese firms in investing globally.

He said the case illustrates how the “ill practices” of China’s construction and infrastructure industry have been taken overseas.

“However, Brazil has a strong tradition of labour movement and strict enforcement of local labour laws, and in BYD’s case – withholding passports, long working hours, poor living conditions – all of these clearly violated Brazilian labour standards,” said Gao, who is also the secretary-in-general of the China-Vietnam Industrial Service Alliance.

The Chinese workers at the BYD site would be staying in hotels until a deal to end their contracts is reached, Brazil’s Ministry of Labour and Employment said in a statement on December 27, after a meeting of representatives from BYD and Jinjiang.

“Despite questioning the assessment of the Brazilian government, which – based on a broad set of evidence collected during weeks of joint inspections – established the situation experienced by the 163 workers interviewed as victims of international trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation in conditions analogous to slavery, the companies committed to collaborate in protecting those rescued,” the ministry said.

A hearing was slated to be held on Tuesday to determine whether the companies were subjecting workers to conditions akin to slavery, but no information on the outcome was available by Wednesday. The ruling could potentially lead to legal consequences and financial sanctions under Brazilian law.

The authorities have also suspended the issuance of temporary work visas for BYD in light of the accusations, according to Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

BYD did not immediately respond to an emailed interview request from the Post on Wednesday. China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that authorities had “asked Chinese companies to abide by laws in their operations”, when responding to inquiries about developments in the case.

Jinjiang, with which BYD has said it would cut ties following the scandal, denied the allegations and described the portrayal of the workers’ condition as inaccurate.

In a December 26 statement issued on Chinese social media, Jinjiang called the incident the result of misunderstandings that were partly due to translation errors.

In another post, Jinjiang shared a video in which two Chinese men, standing in front of a large group of other men believed to be their colleagues, read a statement saying they were not “enslaved” and demanded that they be allowed to return to work.

It also showed a written statement, featuring fingerprints in red ink from all the men – a traditional Chinese practice to indicate a statement was made voluntarily – and stressed that the workers were open to interviews. However, the company did not respond to an interview request from the Post.

Professor Jorge Luiz Souto Maior, who specialises in labour law at the University of Sao Paulo, said: “Regardless of the workers’ expression of will, if the working conditions reflect an employment relationship, there can (and should) be intervention from labour authorities to demand the immediate regularisation of the situation.”

He added that labour rights are non-waivable. “Even if workers explicitly agree to work without rights, they can claim those rights up to two years after the termination of their relationship with the company,” he explained.

Labour laws in Brazil place higher responsibilities and obligations on employers compared with labour laws in China, ChaadHR, a consulting firm targeting Chinese companies going abroad, told Chinese firms in a June report.

Brazil’s labour laws prescribe working hours of no more than eight hours a day and 44 hours a week, with a maximum of six working days a week, along with other strict rules on overtime pay and paid leave, it noted.

Chinese companies often overlook these regulations and adhere to the labour conditions adapted back in China when operating in Brazil, which could lead to legal problems, the report added.

In theory, China has similar rules on working hours, putting its standard working hours at eight hours a day and 40 hours a week, with a monthly cap of 36 overtime hours, according to China’s labour law.

China’s minimum wage is somewhere between 1,600 and 2,700 yuan (US$218-US$368) per month, varying by region, compared with R$1,412 (US$226) per month in Brazil, according to official statistics.

But in reality, especially when it comes to blue-collar workers, income is often prioritised over workload, and violations of labour rights are notoriously widespread but seldom challenged.

Frank Cui, founder of Zhejiang Digital Wisdom and an energy and digital specialist who consults with Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises on investing overseas, said that the case underscores the urgency for Chinese companies to go beyond profitability and recognise the increasing importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) compliance in many markets.

“Many global investors now consider ESG performance a critical metric,” he said, estimating that global ESG investments account for about a third of total global assets under management, based on multiple studies.

“Those Chinese companies that went overseas earlier, such as the energy industry, have placed ESG and HSE [health, safety and environment] as the key considerations, as these factors directly impact their ability to win international contracts,” he added.

Gao said that commitment to ESG may increase the cost of a company’s overseas investment by about 10 per cent or more, mainly reflected in time cost. For example, a project originally planned to be completed in one year may take one and a half years and require more money.

Having been trapped in arrears and a brutal price war in China in recent years, the international image of Chinese companies and their suppliers will inevitably suffer under the ongoing geopolitical scenario if they apply double standards at home and abroad on workers and suppliers, he warned.

In addition to the temporary closure of the site under investigation, and the potential dismissal of the 163 workers, BYD and Jinjiang are likely to be included on a “dirty list” of employers for subjecting workers to modern slavery conditions, which bars such companies from obtaining loans from Brazilian banks, according to the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

By law, companies found guilty of exploiting workers, especially in conditions akin to slavery, also face potential civil lawsuits and criminal charges, which could result in substantial fines and even prison sentences for executives.

But according to Souto Maior, the consequences for BYD and its partner would ultimately be insignificant, both from a financial perspective and in terms of reputation.

“At most, they will be required to pay compensation, which is not even that high. And regarding their reputation, the issue soon fades from the media, and consumers forget about it,” the professor said.

BYD’s expansion plans in Brazil are a key part of the company’s strategy in South America. The company announced it would begin production in Brazil early this year, with an initial target output of 150,000 vehicles per year.

It has seen a surge in sales in Brazil, with nearly one in five cars BYD sold outside China in 2024 being sold in the Brazilian market.

Brazil’s fast-growing automotive sector has been a significant area of focus for Chinese companies such as BYD, but the current allegations raise questions about the labour practices behind the expansion of foreign investment in the country.

The latest case may affect the image of Chinese-funded enterprises and even the business activities of Chinese people, said Sofia He, a Chinese immigrant who spent years with her family in Brazil and Venezuela before moving to Chile.

“No matter who the employer is, local young people consider not only salary and benefits, but also personal values. Even the second generation of overseas Chinese do not particularly like Chinese employers,” she said.

BYD’s response to the scandal inside China has also prompted criticism. Li Yunfei, the firm’s general manager of branding and public relations, attributed the incident to “malicious foreign forces” and “collusion with domestic self-media” in a post on his social media account while sharing Jinjiang’s statement on December 26.

In contrast, BYD acknowledged the problems at the construction site in an official Portuguese-language statement and announced that it would immediately terminate its partnership with Jinjiang, which had provided outsourcing services to BYD since the 2000s, according to public records.

It also pledged to fully cooperate with Brazil’s labour department in the investigation and to provide temporary accommodation for the affected workers.

Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of the Global Times, a nationalistic tabloid in China, and an active commentator in the online community, questioned the apparent double standard in BYD’s public relations strategy.

The company’s Chinese statement “offered no reflection on the cause of the crisis at all”, he said in a social media post on December 30.

He said that such deflection tactics – blaming external and media influences – are commonly used by organisations to pass the buck, but these narratives “exaggerate the situation, and are not at the heart of the issue”.