英文媒体关于中国的报道汇总 2023-10-27
October 28, 2023 51 min 10673 words
根据您提供的文字信息,我总结了以下主要内容- 1. 美国总统拜登与中国外长王毅会面,白宫表示这是保持中美关系沟通渠道开放的良机。双方需要负责任地管理竞争关系,维护开放的沟通渠道。 2. 中国前总理李克强因心脏病发作在上海逝世,终年68岁。李克强曾在习近平领导下担任10年总理,是改革派人士,但近年来在习近平加强集权过程中被边缘化。 3. 中国针对天然和人造石墨进行了出口管制,这可能会对还在使用天然石墨的国外电池企业产生不成比例的影响。 4. 中国在太空竞赛中取得进展,成功发射载人飞船和三名宇航员,宇航员平均年龄38岁,是中国载人飞船史上最年轻的航天员团队。中国计划在2030年前实现载人登月。 5. 中国前总理李克强因突发心脏病在上海逝世,终年68岁。李克强担任总理10年,是改革派人士,但在习近平加强集权过程中被边缘化。 6. 中国外长王毅访美,称中美存在分歧但也有共同利益,需要通过深入全面的对话减少误解、稳定中美关系。王毅将与美国官员就中美领导人料想中的11月会晤做准备。 7. 中国政府批准发行1万亿元国债刺激经济,这超过了预算赤字目标。这被视为北京支持增长的信号。新任财政部长、改革派人士刘奂安的就任也被此消息掩盖。 8. 中国面临通缩压力,但不太可能出现“雷曼时刻”式的金融危机。中国能够控制资金流向,可以要求银行再融资。中国政府也可直接投入资金避免房地产企业像恒大这样的倒闭危机。 9. 恒大仍在努力避免完全崩溃,主要因为中国政府没有让其破产。恒大问题突显了中国经济依赖房地产投资的不可持续性,中国政府也意识到这一点。 总体来说,这些报道反映出中国经济正处于下行周期,面临通缩压力,需进一步推进体制改革。中美关系维持着战略竞争,但双方意识到需要通过对话管控分歧、防止冲突。中国空间站计划和载人登月计划反映国家雄心壮志。前总理李克强作为一位重要的改革派人士,其逝世代表一代人的离开。我认为这些报道大体neutral,比较客观全面地反映了中国国内外的一些重大事件与现实处境。需要注意的 是,中国正处在新的历史方向上的探索过程中,外界对中国发展道路并不具备预判判断能力,不应对中国经济前景过度悲观。中国仍需要探索适合自身国情的改革开放道路,这需要一个过程。中美关系也需要双方共同努力,西方媒体报道中不应渲染对抗情绪。
- Biden met with China“s Wang Yi -White House
- Biden meets Wang as US-China gear up towards expected leaders summit
- Blinken, Wang meet as US-China gear up towards expected leaders summit
- China“s ex-premier Li Keqiang, sidelined by Xi Jinping, dies at 68
- China“s ex-premier leaves an unfinished reform legacy
- Analysis: Global EV battery supply chain puzzles over China graphite curbs
- Explainer: China imposes growth limits on vast oil refining industry
- Taiwan election may open ‘window’ for better China ties, report says
- China“s Wang tells Blinken “in-depth“ dialogue can steady ties
- Xi Jinping steps up his attempt to rescue China’s economy | Finance & economics
- [Business] How does China fix the Evergrande mess?
- China ex-Premier Li Keqiang, sidelined by Xi Jinping, dies at 68
- China’s former premier Li Keqiang dies at 68
- Li Keqiang, former premier of China, dies aged 68 - state media
- [Uk] Former China premier Li Keqiang dead at 68
- China“s former premier Li Keqiang has died - state media
- China“s Wang to Blinken: “In-depth“ dialogue can steady ties
- US, China need “comprehensive“ dialogue to stabilize ties, China“s Wang says
- China Sends Its Youngest-ever Crew, Enters New Space Race
Biden met with China“s Wang Yi -White House
https://reuters.com/article/usa-china-wang-biden/biden-met-with-chinas-wang-yi-white-house-idUSKBN31R1PQU.S. President Joe Biden met with China's top diplomat Wang Yi on Friday, the White House said.
The White House said Biden emphasized that the United States and China "need to manage competition in the relationship responsibly and maintain open lines of communication."
(This story has been refiled to add a dropped letter in the headline)
Biden meets Wang as US-China gear up towards expected leaders summit
https://reuters.com/article/usa-china/biden-meets-wang-as-us-china-gear-up-towards-expected-leaders-summit-idUSKBN31R1C3U.S. President Joe Biden met China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday, holding an hour of talks that the White House characterized as a "good opportunity" in keeping lines of communication open between the two geopolitical rivals.
Wang earlier held a second day of meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as the two countries seek to manage differences while laying groundwork for an expected summit between Biden and his counterpart Xi Jinping in November.
Biden still hopes to see Xi in the near future, White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters, but could not say whether an agreement was struck for the two presidents to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit next month in San Francisco.
China has yet to announce whether Xi will attend.
"The president has said that he fully expects to meet again with President Xi. These are two guys that have a long-standing relationship and we're confident that that's going to happen," Kirby said.
"In his view, this was a positive development and a good opportunity to keep the conversation going," Kirby said of Biden's meeting with Wang, which Blinken and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also attended.
Wang arrived at the State Department late on Thursday - the first visit by a Chinese foreign minister to Washington during the Biden administration - and held a meeting with Blinken followed by a dinner. Sullivan was due to meet Wang separately on Friday afternoon.
On Thursday, Wang told Blinken that the two countries have disagreements and need "in-depth" and "comprehensive" dialogue to reduce misunderstandings and stabilize ties. "Not only should we resume dialogue, the dialogue should be in-depth and comprehensive," Wang said.
Wang's three-day visit follows a flurry of bilateral diplomatic engagements in recent months, largely at U.S. request, aimed at salvaging what were rapidly deteriorating ties early in the year following the U.S. downing of an alleged Chinese spy balloon.
The U.S. sought to prevent relations, severely strained by intense economic competition and disagreements on a host of issues - including trade, Taiwan, human rights and the South China Sea - from veering into conflict.
But some in Washington have questioned whether a slate of mostly unreciprocated U.S. Cabinet-level official visits to Beijing over the past six months, including by Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, played into Beijing's hand.
The trips by Yellen and Raimondo led to new bilateral economic and commercial working groups, which critics worry will only pull U.S. focus away from - and possibly delay - sanctions, export controls and broader measures intended to enhance U.S. competition with China.
The Israel-Hamas conflict has added a fresh dynamic to the testy relationship between the superpowers, and Washington is hoping Beijing can use its influence with Iran to prevent an escalation into a wider war in the Middle East.
Kirby said events in the Middle East were on the agenda in talks with Wang. He said the U.S. also raised concerns about the South China Sea, disputed waters where China and the Philippines have had several high-profile confrontations. Beijing says Washington has no right to get involved.
However, while both Beijing and Washington have spoken about looking for areas where they can work together, and Xi said on Wednesday that China was willing to cooperate on global challenges, experts do not expect immediate progress.
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Blinken, Wang meet as US-China gear up towards expected leaders summit
https://reuters.com/article/usa-china/blinken-wang-meet-as-us-china-gear-up-towards-expected-leaders-summit-idUSKBN31R1C3U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's top diplomat Wang Yi reconvened for a second day of meetings on Friday as the two rival powers discuss how to manage differences while laying groundwork for an expected summit between President Joe Biden and his counterpart Xi Jinping.
Wang arrived at the State Department late on Thursday and held a meeting with Blinken followed by a dinner. The two diplomats engaged again on Friday morning, sitting across from each other at a wide table with their senior aides before journalists were ushered out of the closed-door meeting.
Wang is set to head to the White House and meet with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan later on Friday. He is also expected to speak with Biden, although it is unclear how substantial their interaction will be.
Wang's three-day visit is the latest in a flurry of diplomatic engagements between China and the U.S., and the trip primarily is to prepare for an expected Xi-Biden summit in November on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting in San Francisco. China has yet to announce whether Xi will attend.
The Israel-Hamas conflict has added a fresh dynamic to the testy relationship between the superpowers, and Washington is hoping Beijing can use its influence with Iran to prevent an escalation into a wider war in the Middle East.
On Thursday, Wang told Blinken that the two countries have disagreements and need "in-depth" and "comprehensive" dialogue to reduce misunderstandings and stabilize ties. "Not only should we resume dialogue, the dialogue should be in-depth and comprehensive," Wang said, speaking through an interpreter.
The Biden administration's priority with Beijing has been to prevent intense competition between the two largest economies and disagreements on a host of issues - including trade, Taiwan, human rights and the South China Sea - from veering into conflict.
However, while both Beijing and Washington have spoken about looking for areas where they can work together, and Xi said on Wednesday that China was willing to cooperate on global challenges, experts do not expect immediate progress.
China“s ex-premier Li Keqiang, sidelined by Xi Jinping, dies at 68
https://reuters.com/article/china-obituary-likeqiang/chinas-ex-premier-li-keqiang-sidelined-by-xi-jinping-dies-at-68-idUSKBN31R00KChinese former Premier Li Keqiang died of a heart attack on Friday, barely seven months after retiring from a decade in office during which his reformist star had dimmed. He was 68.
Once viewed as a top Communist Party leadership contender, Li was sidelined in recent years by President Xi Jinping, who tightened his grip on power and steered the world's second-largest economy in a more statist direction.
The elite economist Li had supported a more open market economy, advocating supply-side reforms in an approach dubbed "Likonomics" that was never fully implemented.
Ultimately, he had to bend to Xi's preference for more state control, and his former power base waned in influence as Xi installed his own acolytes to powerful positions.
"Comrade Li Keqiang, while resting in Shanghai in recent days, experienced a sudden heart attack on Oct. 26 and after all-out efforts to revive him failed, died in Shanghai at ten minutes past midnight on Oct. 27," state broadcaster CCTV reported.
An official obituary published by state media Xinhua on Friday called his death a "huge loss to the party and nation", describing him as an "outstanding leader".
"We must turn our grief into strength, learn from his revolutionary spirit, noble character and fine style," Xinhua said.
The obituary listed his policy achievements and said four times that Li carried out his work under the "strong leadership" of Xi.
There was an outpouring of grief and shock on Chinese social media, with some government websites going black-and-white in an official sign of mourning. The Weibo microblogging platform turned its "like" button into a "mourn" icon in the shape of a chrysanthemum on its mobile app.
"He's only 68. He probably hasn't enjoyed his life yet, right? He's been busy all the time taking care of the country’s important responsibilities," said a 74-year-old Shanghai retiree surnamed Xu. "We're all very sad."
Li was premier and head of China's cabinet under Xi for a decade until stepping down from all political positions in March.
Laying a wreath in August 2022 at a statue of Deng Xiaoping - the leader who brought transformational reform to China's economy - Li vowed: "Reform and opening up will not stop. The Yangtze and Yellow River will not reverse course."
Video clips of the speech, which went viral but were later censored from Chinese social media, were widely viewed as a coded criticism of Xi's policies.
Li also sparked debate on poverty and income inequality in 2020 when he said that 600 million people in the increasingly rich nation earned less than $140 per month.
Some Chinese intellectuals and members of the liberal elite expressed shock and dismay on a semi-private WeChat channel at the passing of a beacon of liberal economic reform, with some saying it signalled the end of an era.
"Li will probably be remembered as an advocate for the freer market and for the have-nots," said Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist at Australian National University. "But most of all, he will be remembered for what could have been."
Alfred Wu, associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore, said: "All these types of people no longer exist anymore in Chinese politics."
Li was less influential than his immediate predecessors as premier, Zhu Rongji and Wen Jiabao, Wu said. "He was sidelined, but what more could he have done? It was very hard for him, with the constraints he faced under Xi."
Adam Ni, an independent China political analyst, described Li as "a premier who stood powerless as China took a sharp turn away from reform and opening".
A glowing 2014 state media profile of Li, praising him as "a calm and tough wall-breaker", went viral shortly after his death was announced. It emphasised his hard work and tenacity in pushing for economic reforms.
Li's frequent visits to disaster sites and his easy camaraderie when speaking to ordinary people were also highlighted on Chinese state media.
Some social media users mentioned a song called "Sorry it wasn't you", in another veiled reference to Xi. The song went viral around the death of former President Jiang Zemin in November last year before being censored.
Retired Chinese leaders typically keep a low profile. Li was last seen in public during an August private tour of the Mogao Grottoes, a tourist attraction in northwest China. Social media videos showed him in good spirits, walking up stairs unaided and waving to excited crowds. Reuters could not independently verify the footage.
Li was born in Anhui province in eastern China, a poor farming area where his father was an official and where he was sent to work in the fields during the Cultural Revolution.
While studying law at the prestigious Peking University, Li befriended ardent pro-democracy advocates, some of whom would become outright challengers to party control.
The confident English speaker was immersed in the intellectual and political ferment of the decade of reform under Deng. That period ended in the 1989 pro-democracy Tiananmen Square protests that the military crushed.
After graduation, Li joined the Communist Party's Youth League, then a reformist-tinged ladder to higher office.
He rose in the Youth League while completing a master’s degree in law and then an economics doctorate under Professor Li Yining, a well-known advocate of market reforms.
Before entering elite politics in Beijing he served as the provincial party chief in Henan, a poor region in central China, and the rustbelt province of Liaoning bordering North Korea.
His patron was Hu Jintao, a former president from a political faction loosely based around the Youth League. After Xi took over as party chief in 2012, he took steps to break up the faction.
Li is survived by his wife Cheng Hong, a professor of English, and their daughter.
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China“s ex-premier leaves an unfinished reform legacy
https://reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-reforms-likeqiang/chinas-ex-premier-leaves-an-unfinished-reform-legacy-idUSKBN31R0YXWhen China's Communist Party released the names of its 205-person Central Committee a year ago, there was a glaring omission: Li Keqiang, the premier.
The exclusion of Li, who died of a heart attack on Friday at the age of 68, seemed to confirm what many long assumed - that his brand of economic reform had been officially scrapped in favor of President Xi Jinping's state-led approach to the economy.
Reform is once again on the minds of China's policy makers and analysts as it struggles to revive flagging consumer demand and fend off Japan-style economic stagnation.
But rather than push changes advocated by many economists, such as renewed urbanisation and more space for private enterprise, China under Xi has put more power in the hands of the state.
"It’s not an exaggeration to say that an era is over – an era when reforms could be steadily pushed forward," said a government policy adviser who declined to be identified.
Li retired in March after a decade as China's second most senior leader and an advocate for private business but his power had been limited after Xi made himself China's most powerful leader in decades and tightened control over the economy and society.
The English-speaking premier, who held a PhD in economics from the elite Peking University, focused on improving conditions for entrepreneurs, wooing foreign investors, cutting red tape and boosting incomes for the poor.
But ambitious market-based reforms Beijing unveiled in 2013 quickly ran into trouble, including a 2015 stock market crash following a botched currency reform. Under Xi's leadership, the world's second-largest economy gradually turned back to old policies that have added to China's debt pile and industrial overcapacity.
"The scope for Li's policymaking and implementation had became more subordinated under President Xi Jinping, who had unabashedly dominated in politics and policy making, relegating Li to playing second fiddle," said Dali Yang, a politics professor at University of Chicago.
China's economic miracle started in 1978 when Deng Xiaoping launched historic reforms, allowing more private enterprises and opening the economy to foreign investment.
Li was not the only pro-reform leader who ended up out of the picture. Former economic tsar Liu He, former banking regulator Guo Shuqing, and former central bank chief Yi Gang, have all left government.
Xi has instead packed the government with his allies, mostly officials with limited international or financial experience.
Beijing is unleashing a round of stimulus in a bid to shore up the economic recovery but economists warn China could be headed for a long-period of deflation and stagnant growth that fails to lift living standards for its 1.4 billion people.
Some government advisers have been beating the drum for reforms, focusing on spurring urbanisation and household spending power, reducing reliance on investment and leveling the playing field between state-owned enterprises and private firms.
A Communist Party plenum, expected in November and which has traditionally focused on reforms, could disappoint those awaiting big changes.
"I don't expect any breakthroughs on reforms," said the government policy adviser.
Analysis: Global EV battery supply chain puzzles over China graphite curbs
https://reuters.com/article/china-graphite/analysis-global-ev-battery-supply-chain-puzzles-over-china-graphite-curbs-idUSKBN31R0YQBeijing's move to restrict graphite exports will have a disproportionate impact on foreign makers of electric vehicle battery components who have not yet shifted to using as much synthetic material as Chinese counterparts, industry insiders and experts said.
China's latest limit on critical mineral exports, which Beijing said is not targeted at a specific sector, has fuelled uncertainty in the global EV supply chain since it was announced last Friday.
Some Chinese manufacturers, including those with operations overseas, said they expect limited impact from the rules as most EV batteries they make use a grade of synthetic material that is unaffected by the curbs.
China dominates the global EV battery supply chain including production of graphite - the single largest component. Graphite companies in the country process both the natural material mined domestically and overseas, as well as synthetic forms.
Japan, South Korea and the United States are top buyers of both natural and synthetic Chinese graphite, and analysts warned the new measures could slow or reduce graphite supplies needed by companies there to produce anodes - the negative electrodes of EV batteries.
Under the new rules, China will require export permits starting Dec. 1 for high-end synthetic graphite, as well as key forms of natural graphite.
Several executives in China and globally at companies that use graphite said they were still seeking further clarity on the new measures.
An employee at Qingdao Haida, a major Chinese graphite processor, who declined to be named as they was not authorised to speak on behalf of the company, told Reuters that the company's products include spherical graphite, which is used in lithium ion battery anodes and is covered by the new rules and is exported to South Korea and Japan.
"We haven't got any instructions from MOFCOM (China's Ministry of Commerce) on how to apply for export permits but it will definitely make the exporting process more inconvenient," the person said.
Haida did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China's recent move to require export permits for gallium and germanium products has choked off international shipments of the chipmaking metals.
The commerce ministry did not respond to further queries from Reuters. A source familiar with the Chinese government's thinking noted that graphite was also used in military equipment.
But Chinese companies, which have been building overseas plants, said the restrictions will have little effect on their operations abroad. The Chinese firms use synthetic graphite, but not the high grade form covered under the new measures, with a density of 1.73 grams per cubic centimetre and above.
China produces large quantities of synthetic graphite, which enables lower battery charge times.
While adoption among foreign manufacturers is growing, their shift from natural to synthetic graphite has been slower, in part because it is more polluting to produce petroleum-based synthetic graphite and natural graphite anodes also tend to be cheaper, which makes them vulnerable to the Chinese curbs.
Volkswagen-backed Chinese firm Gotion High Tech (002074.SZ), which produces batteries in Germany and plans a U.S. plant, said graphite used in its batteries has a density lower than 1.7 grams per cubic centimetre, which would make it unaffected by the restrictions.
Similarly, BTR New Material Technology (835185.BJE), the world's largest anode producer, told Shanghai government-run media outlet The Paper that the rule's impact on it would be limited, as its products have a density of between 1.5 and 1.7 gram per cubic centimetre for EV batteries.
Ningbo Shanshan (600884.SS), another leading Chinese anode maker, told The Paper that the restrictions would have no impact on its exports of artificial graphite products.
BTR and Shanshan, which have announced plans to build factories in Indonesia and Finland, respectively, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
Global companies using natural graphite include Hitachi Chemical, part of Japan's Resonac Holdings Corp (4004.T), South Korea's POSCO Future M (003670.KS) and Japan's Mitsubishi Chemical, which produces natural graphite at two plants in China, according to research firm CRU Group.
A Resonac spokesperson said it did not see any impact for now and was watching the situation. He declined to comment on details of graphite procurement, but said there were various routes, depending on individual products.
Mitsubishi Chemical did not respond to a request for comment, and POSCO declined to comment.
Australia-based Tesla supplier Syrah Resources, which mines graphite in Mozambique and is building a plant to produce anodes in the U.S. state of Louisiana, said on Thursday it expects buyers outside of China to step up purchases of natural graphite ahead of the stricter controls taking effect.
India's Epsilon Advanced Materials (EAM) said this week it plans to open a $650 million plant to make battery materials and components including synthetic graphite in the U.S. state of North Carolina, and is in talks with suppliers about sourcing raw materials including natural graphite.
"We believe that limiting the amount of graphite exported from China - and likely the price increase for graphite that it will create - exacerbates the challenges (and) exemplifies the need to develop synthetic graphite for the U.S. locally," EAM CEO Sunit Kapur told Reuters.
Explainer: China imposes growth limits on vast oil refining industry
https://reuters.com/article/china-oil-refining/explainer-china-imposes-growth-limits-on-vast-oil-refining-industry-idUSKBN31R0SEChina has set a minimum size for new oil refineries and will ban small crude processors that claim to be chemicals or bitumen producers under a plan to limit total capacity at 1 billion metric tons, or 20 million barrels per day, by 2025.
Following are key details on China's steps, outlined this week, to rein in a refining industry that recently surpassed the United States to become the world's largest.
The overall capacity cap, first unveiled in October 2021 as part of a plan to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030, is aimed at curbing excessive domestic refinery production and supply overhang to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
China has long sought - and sometimes struggled - to remove excess capacity in highly polluting heavy industrial sectors such as steel and cement.
The think tank Sinocarbon says the refining and petrochemical sectors accounted for 8% of emissions in 2020.
The cap will also help curb China's already high reliance on imported crude oil, which stood at 76% last year.
Refining capacity in China increased last year to 920 million metric tons per year, or 18.4 million bpd.
The industry's recent growth has been driven since 2019 by the creation of three large independent refiners - Zhejiang Petrochemical, Hengli Petrochemical and Shenghong Petrochemical - adding a combined 1.52 million bpd capacity that is highly integrated with petrochemicals making.
Together with dominant state refiner Sinopec and its rival PetroChina, as well as an army of about 60 smaller independent processors known as "teapots", the refining sector has ballooned into the world's largest, surpassing the United States last year.
That growth has resulted in a low refinery utilization rate of 73% in 2022, based on official output data, compared with more than 91% in the U.S., which means China has surplus capacity to allow for large volumes of refined fuel exports.
The measures could force more closures of small, inefficient plants, which have already taken place in teapot hub Shandong province, where some 400,000-bpd worth of capacity was mothballed in 2020 and 2021 to make way for the new Yulong Petrochemical plant of a similar size.
Others players are expected to look abroad for growth. Polyester fiber maker Tongku Group and Rongsheng Petrochemical are both exploring building new refineries in Southeast Asia.
Many teapots, meanwhile, have over the years quietly expanded processing capacity, invested in oil storage or moved up the product value chain to make energy transition chemicals.
Apart from increasing scrutiny in approving new plants, the government can wield the powerful tool of crude oil import quotas, to which all independent refiners are subjected.
In recent years, the cap has stood at an annual 243 million tons, or 4.86 million bpd and actual grants have run below that.
Thanks to rigid quota management and crackdowns on illegal quota trading, China has already managed to limit refinery operations to some extent.
Meanwhile, the government also maintains tight control over refined fuel exports, allowing only state refiners and one independent major refiner, Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp, the right to export.
China has about 34 refineries of 200,000 bpd or more, with combined processing capacity of 480 million tons, or 9.6 million bpd, according to Sinopec.
Most of these plants are run by Sinopec , PetroChina and China National Offshore Oil Company. Together, the three state giants operate nearly 12 million bpd of processing capacity.
Four new refineries with combined capacity of 1.2 million bpd are planned, including the 400,000 bpd Yulong Petrochemical complex in Shandong, the 300,000-bpd Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Company in Liaoning province in the northeast, and the 320,000-bpd Sinopec Gulei refinery, as well as the 300,000-bpd expansion at Sinopec Zhenhai.
(ton=7.3 barrels for crude oil conversion)
Taiwan election may open ‘window’ for better China ties, report says
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/27/taiwan-election-china-international-crisis-group-us-reportTaiwan’s presidential election in January is a window of opportunity to resume dialogue between Taipei and Beijing, reduce tensions and lower the risk of conflict, a report has said.
A war over Taiwan is not inevitable but “the current trajectory is dangerous”, the report, by the International Crisis Group, says.
Taiwan is now considered the greatest potential flashpoint for conflict between China and the US, which is Taiwan’s strongest supporter. It called for all parties to take a step back, clarify their positions, and “re-establish a baseline level of trust”.
The government of China, led by Xi Jinping, considers Taiwan to be a Chinese province and has insisted it will be “reunified”. It seeks to achieve this by peaceful means but has not ruled out using force.
Taiwan’s government, led by the Democratic Progress party’s Tsai Ing-wen, says Taiwan is already a sovereign nation, and its people overwhelmingly reject the prospect of Chinese rule in favour of the complicated but peaceful status quo. Recent polling by Taiwan’s mainland affairs council found 85.3% of the public were opposed to Beijing’s proposal of “one country, two systems”.
Beijing cut off all dialogue with Taipei after Tsai’s election in 2016 in response to the DPP’s position. It has spent years actively deepening Taiwan’s international isolation and punishing it economically, which has only strengthened Taiwanese opposition to unification, leaving the two sides at a dangerous impasse.
Tsai will step down early next year at the end of her second and final term, and the report says the handover could present “a window of opportunity to resume cross-strait dialogue”. In the event of a DPP victory – noting that the opposition KMT already had “an understanding” with Beijing – the report advises the two sides to find a “mutually acceptable political formulation” of the cross-strait relationship.
However if this was a bridge too far under current hostilities, a new DPP government could identify other areas to restart dialogue as incentives for Beijing, in return for a reduction in economic, military and political pressure. At the same time, Taiwan had to improve its defences in order to provide “a credible threat that China will be biting off more than it can chew if it pursues invasion”.
Beijing has increased its military and coercive actions towards Taiwan, including rehearsals of an attack on Taiwan, cyberattacks and drastically scaling up its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) incursions into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone. On Monday, Taiwan’s defence ministry reported that PLA aircraft had carried out multiple operations, including an encirclement of the main island.
The report says the US, which provides weapons to Taiwan for its self-defence but has also become more vocally supportive, also has a part to play in reducing tensions. It noted high-level meetings between officials, and US politicians who were scoring political points with increasingly hawkish stances. It says Washington’s recent behaviour “may well be making conflict more likely”.
“A Chinese invasion of Taiwan is unlikely any time soon, but the risk of conflict is rising,” according to the report by the International Crisis Group’s senior China analyst, Amanda Hsiao.
“Managing it requires the parties to re-establish a baseline level of trust by shoring up longstanding political understandings. Washington should credibly assure Beijing that it does not seek to keep Taiwan permanently separated from the mainland. Taipei should credibly assure Beijing that it does not seek formal independence. Beijing should credibly assure Washington and Taipei that it has not decided to unify with Taiwan through military force.”
Additional research by Chi Hui Lin
China“s Wang tells Blinken “in-depth“ dialogue can steady ties
https://reuters.com/article/usa-china/chinas-wang-tells-blinken-in-depth-dialogue-can-steady-ties-idUSKBN31Q09NThe United States and China have disagreements and need "in-depth" and "comprehensive" dialogue to reduce misunderstandings and stabilize ties, China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, said on Thursday, kicking off a long-anticipated visit to Washington.
Standing next to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Wang said the two countries share important common interests and challenges that they need to resolve together.
"Therefore, China and the United States need to have dialogue. Not only should we resume dialogue, the dialogue should be in-depth and comprehensive," Wang said, speaking through an interpreter.
Dialogue would help reduce misunderstandings, help stabilize the relationship and "return it to the track of healthy, stable and sustainable development," he said.
Blinken responded: "I agree with what the foreign minister said."
Before Wang spoke, Blinken had said he looked forward to constructive talks with his Chinese counterpart. During the meeting, Blinken expressed his condolences on the passing of China's former premier, Li Keqiang.
Wang's three-day visit is the latest in a flurry of diplomatic engagements between the two strategic rivals as they seek to manage their differences to avoid conflict. The trip primarily is to prepare for an expected summit between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping in November.
Blinken and Wang will continue their discussions on Friday.
The Israel-Hamas conflict has added a fresh dynamic to the testy relationship of the superpowers, and Washington is hoping Beijing can use its influence with Iran to prevent an escalation into a wider war in the Middle East.
Wang is expected to meet U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Friday. He is also expected to speak with Biden during his visit to the White House, although it is unclear how substantial their interaction will be.
The Biden administration's priority with Beijing has been to prevent intense competition between the two largest economies and disagreements on a host of issues - including trade, Taiwan and the South China Sea - from veering into conflict.
However, while both Beijing and Washington have spoken of looking for areas where they can work together, and Xi said on Wednesday China was willing to cooperate on global challenges, experts do not expect immediate progress.
Policy analysts in China and the U.S. say both sides share an interest in averting a wider war in the Middle East and that China, as a major oil purchaser, could exert considerable influence on Iran. Whether it will remains to be seen.
"The Chinese certainly have an interest in preventing a direct U.S.-Iranian confrontation, as they are major oil consumers and that would spike prices," said Jon Alterman, head of the Middle East program at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"Still, the Chinese are unlikely to do any heavy lifting here. I expect they'll want a seat at the table when the Israel-Gaza struggle gets resolved, but they don't feel much need or ability to hasten resolution."
Shi Yinhong, professor of international relations at Renmin University of China, said Beijing exerting its influence over Iran was "almost the only serious and practical U.S. expectation of China on the Middle East situation."
However Shi added: "The U.S. position on Iran is far from acceptable to China and vice versa. Mutual compromise on this issue could be too limited and small to be of any significance."
Wang's visit to Washington comes after several top U.S. officials, including Blinken, visited Beijing in the past several months.
Analysts expect Wang's talks to focus on preparations for an anticipated meeting between Biden and Xi on the sidelines of the summit of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries in San Francisco from Nov. 11 to 17. It would be Biden and Xi's first in-person meeting since a summit in Bali last November.
The two sides go into APEC from different economic perspectives, with economic policy analysts saying the U.S. has weathered challenging global conditions after the COVID-19 pandemic somewhat better than China.
U.S. and Chinese officials held a virtual meeting on Monday on macroeconomic developments.
U.S. officials said Taiwan and the South and East China Seas, where they accused Beijing of "destabilizing and dangerous actions" against rival territorial claimants, would also be on the agenda. Re-establishing military-to-military ties with China remains a top priority to avoid unintended conflict, they said.
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Xi Jinping steps up his attempt to rescue China’s economy | Finance & economics
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2023/10/25/xi-jinping-steps-up-his-attempt-to-rescue-chinas-economyWhen China reported faster-than-expected economic growth for the third quarter of this year, some analysts felt a twinge of concern. They worried that China’s rulers might now rest on their laurels. Rather than pressing on with efforts to revive demand, policymakers might instead wait and see if they had already done enough. The growth target for this year is, after all, only 5%. And the central government likes to keep its fiscal powder dry.
This fear was allayed on October 24th when officials approved the sale of an extra 1trn-yuan ($137bn) of central-government bonds. The sale will force the central government to revise its official deficit for the year from 3% of gdp to a hefty 3.8%. As a consequence, the headline deficit in China’s year of reopening will be bigger than it was in 2020, the year of its first lockdowns.
The money will be spent on helping local governments cope with natural disasters, such as recent floods. It will help relieve the strain felt by many cities and provinces. Revenues from land sales have been hit by a property slump. Off-balance-sheet debt has become harder to service, owing to a weak economy and wary investors. This year’s quota of “special” infrastructure bonds has been nearly exhausted. Help was therefore required to prevent sharp cuts in local-government outlays.
But even analysts who had expected stimulus of this size were surprised. Officials could have lifted the economy by pulling less conspicuous levers. They could, for example, have allowed local governments to issue more bonds or instructed state-directed “policy banks” to expand lending. By putting the 1trn yuan on its tab, Beijing signalled its support for growth. It was a statement as well as a stimulus.
The bond sale will occur under a new finance minister, Lan Fo’an, whose job was confirmed the same day. Mr Lan has served as governor of coal-rich Shanxi, but spent more time in Guangdong, a coastal powerhouse. His step up was, though, overshadowed by news that Xi Jinping had paid his first known visit to China’s central bank.
What prompted the visit? It may indicate that the country’s president is paying close attention to the economy at a busy time in the policymaking calendar. Officials will soon gather for a twice-a-decade conference on China’s financial system; another, annual meeting in December will help set economic policy for next year.
Mr Xi may have also wished to raise the stature of the central bank, which has recently lost some of its staff, regional branches and regulatory powers, even as it has been thrust into prominence by China’s economic struggles. It is fighting a two-front battle to prevent deflation by lowering borrowing costs, while at the same time trying to stop China’s currency, the yuan, falling too quickly against the dollar.
In most countries, a president’s visit to the central bank would not excite much comment or interest. Certainly, it would not overshadow the arrival of a new finance minister. But in China, the finance minister has little clout and the president has plenty. Not much the finance minister does compels attention. Nothing the president does escapes it. ■
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[Business] How does China fix the Evergrande mess?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67191262?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGAThe Chinese property developer Evergrande owes more than $325bn (£269bn). That's more than Russia's entire national debt.
For two years, the company has been lurching from crisis to crisis, repeatedly failing to make payments on its multi-billion dollar loans.
Now its founder is under police surveillance, its shares are practically worthless and more than a million people in China are still waiting for their homes to be completed. On Monday, a court in Hong Kong could open a new chapter in the crisis by ordering the liquidation of some of Evergrande assets to pay back frustrated foreign investors.
Evergrande has become the poster child of China's flailing real estate sector. Its name, along with other major developers such as Country Garden, has become associated with unsustainable debt and impending financial disaster. Yet, Evergrande clings to survival.
In most Western countries, a failing privately-owned business such as Evergrande would either be liquidated or, in extreme cases, bailed out by the government. But things are done differently in China.
The world's second-largest economy is neither capitalist nor communist. It is unique, which makes it hard to predict Evergrande's fate.
But for now, Beijing has eased pressure on the firm in ways other countries cannot.
"It's alive only because the government hasn't let it die," says Leland Miller, chief executive of China Beige Book, an analytical platform that tracks the Chinese marketplace.
Zombie mode
Unlike Western countries, China is not a free market. When a problem arises, Mr Miller explains, the state can simply move tidal waves of money to patch it up.
The majority of the money Evergrande owes is to creditors in China, including ordinary homeowners, suppliers and banks. And the government's control over them is key to explaining the company's zombie-like state.
"The banking system in China is still almost exclusively state-run," says Dexter Roberts, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. "So if Beijing tells those banks to find a way to roll over the debt, then they're going to do that. Ultimately, they answer to the state and they're well aware of that."
Mr Miller agrees: "The Chinese state can order lenders to lend, suppliers to supply, borrowers to borrow. Evergrande is neither dead nor alive, but in this system it doesn't really matter."
Not all of Evergrande's creditors are Chinese. A small group of frustrated lenders outside of China have scheduled a court hearing in Hong Kong on 30 October. A judge could order a liquidation of company assets to be distributed to these foreign creditors.
However, this would be unprecedented in scale and complexity. And it would almost certainly need the approval of Chinese authorities.
So what happens to Evergrande? Some analysts say that China's leadership is yet to decide.
"A lot of the Chinese system is still modelled on the Soviet Union and there were no bankruptcies in the Soviet Union," says Logan Wright, director of China Market Research at Rhodium Group.
"You have to remember that Western capitalism has had a long time to establish a process for failed companies and how you manage their debts. In China, there isn't the same kind of template."
The Chinese government could let Evergrande collapse. But, according to Mr Roberts, Beijing would then have to clean up the mess, which would be a huge political headache.
The knock-on effects for local governments - which rely on land sales - suppliers and banks would be "potentially catastrophic", he added.
Other analysts argue that Evergrande's collapse, if it were to happen, could hurt the future of the Communist Party itself.
"Social stability is at stake," says Shitong Qiao, an expert in Chinese property law at Duke University in the US.
"A collapse would not just leave many Chinese banks with bad debt, it would also leave hundreds of thousands of Chinese homebuyers without an apartment that they have paid for."
On more than one occasion, there have been chaotic scenes at Evergrande's headquarters in Shenzhen, when protesters scolded executives and home buyers demanded refunds on their purchases. Last year, many of them joined a mortgage strike until their homes were completed.
A collapse could shatter confidence in the housing market, plunging prices further. That would leave people noticeably poorer in a country where they invest their life-savings in new homes. And it would be a blow to an already sluggish economy - the property sector accounts for a quarter of it.
All of this could lead to more public anger and even instability. And that is perhaps the biggest threat to the Party, whose grip on power has long been bolstered by China's prosperity.
Too big to fail?
Does that mean Evergrande is - to borrow a Western phrase - "too big to fail".
It is tempting to draw parallels with the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008, which saw the collapse of Wall Street investment giant Lehman Brothers and a global recession. Back then failing banks and institutions around the world were bailed out by their governments and central banks.
But China is different. Its financial system is not as enmeshed with the property sector as it is in the US.
And Beijing, which has firm control over money flows, seems in no rush to bail out Evergrande.
"The system is designed to ensure that an acute crisis will always be very unlikely," Mr Miller says. "It's not susceptible to a western-style 'Lehman moment'".
A bailout would also not fit with the ideology of China's leadership. In fact, some argue that the Party deliberately triggered Evergrande's decline because the firm's success relied on a flawed economic model.
Evergrande's rise was fuelled by heavy borrowing to build houses for middle-class Chinese looking to make money from property. But property developers borrowed too much money to build too many houses that not enough people want to buy.
"This is not a sustainable economic model and the government knew this," Mr Roberts says.
This "investment-led growth" - or building for building's sake - drove China's rise well before Xi Jinping came to power in 2012.
But over time the Party's refrain, encouraged by Mr Xi, became "houses are for living in, not for speculation".
Things came to a head in 2020 when the government, fearing a bubble in the property market, introduced new financial regulatory guidelines, known as its "three red lines".
They severely restricted developers' ability to borrow more money, eventually causing the crisis that has mired Evergrande and the rest of China's property sector.
For China's leaders, the painful but necessary measure was the only way to rein in unsustainable debt. Except they didn't anticipate how much worse it would get, especially as China's economy took a hit from sweeping zero-Covid lockdowns.
"But still, bailing out Evergrande now would effectively make a mockery of everything the government is trying to do in terms of de-leveraging the sector and changing the economy," Mr Roberts says.
Mr Wright agrees it would be seen as a backward step: "What kind of signal are you sending to the rest of the industry if you bail out Evergrande?"
In other words, China's leadership is stuck. A collapse would be disastrous and a bailout would be ideologically untenable.
"This may be a contrarian view - but I absolutely believe Beijing has a strategy here," Mr Miller says.
"For years foreign investors have lectured Beijing that it needs to stop relying on artificially high levels of growth driven by property sector borrowing. Now that the Party is finally doing that - it was never going to be a painless process."
What new model Mr Xi, who has increasingly centralised power in his hands, wants is unclear.
At last year's Party Congress, when he secured a historic third term as leader, he warned against continuing China's "unsustainable" economic model, driven by what he calls "money worship" and "vested interests". Rebuking the dangers of unfettered capitalism, he said: "The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics."
Amid the chaos of Evergrande, the arrest of its billionaire founder and chairman Hui Ka Yan reinforced the idea that the Party, rather than private businessmen, is still firmly in charge.
According to Mr Miller, China is consciously paying the price for "gross economic mismanagement", but its continued grip over the economy suggests it has a plan.
But others insist that is not so clear.
"Capitalism is a profit and loss system," Mr Wright says. "It will be interesting to see how China deals with the losses part".
China ex-Premier Li Keqiang, sidelined by Xi Jinping, dies at 68
https://reuters.com/article/china-obituary-likeqiang/china-ex-premier-li-keqiang-sidelined-by-xi-jinping-dies-at-68-idUSKBN31R00KChina's former Premier Li Keqiang died of a heart attack on Friday, aged 68, just 10 months after retiring from a decade of office during which his star had dimmed.
Once viewed as a top Communist Party leadership contender, Li was sidelined in recent years by President Xi Jinping, who tightened his grip on power and steered the world's second-largest economy in a more statist direction.
The elite Peking University-educated economist was seen as a supporter of a more liberal market economy but had to bend to Xi's preference for more state control.
"Comrade Li Keqiang, while resting in Shanghai in recent days, experienced a sudden heart attack on Oct. 26 and after all-out efforts to revive him failed, died in Shanghai at ten minutes past midnight on Oct. 27," state broadcaster CCTV reported. An obituary will be published later, it said.
Li was premier and head of China's cabinet under Xi for a decade until stepping down in March.
"No matter how the international winds and clouds change, China will unswervingly expand its opening up." Li said at his last public appearance in a press conference in March. "The Yangtze River and the Yellow River will not flow backwards."
He was born in Anhui province in eastern China, a poor farming area where his father was an official and where he was sent to toil in the fields during the Cultural Revolution.
He memorably said in 2020 that 600 million people in China earned less than the equivalent of $140 per month, sparking a wider debate on poverty and income inequality.
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China’s former premier Li Keqiang dies at 68
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/10/26/china-premier-li-keqiang-dead/2023-10-27T00:21:59.087ZChina’s former premier Li Keqiang died of a heart attack on Friday in Shanghai, according to state broadcaster CCTV. He was 68.
Li served as premier under Chinese leader Xi Jinping from 2013 until March of this year, when he was replaced by a close ally of Xi’s.
As China’s premier, he was charged with the day-to-day running of the government and leading the economy but was largely sidelined during his tenure.
Li Keqiang, former premier of China, dies aged 68 - state media
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/27/li-keqiang-former-premier-of-china-dies-aged-68-state-mediaChina’s former premier, Li Keqiang, has died, according to state media. He was 68.
Li had a sudden heart attack and died in Shanghai in the early hours on Friday morning, according to China’s Xinhua news agency.
Li became premier – the second highest ranked position in China’s political system – in 2013 and served for 10 years until March 2023 when he was replaced by Li Qiang.
The son of a local official in the impoverished province of Anhui, he rose up the ranks through his involvement in the Communist Youth League. By 1998 he was the country’s youngest governor, in the densely populated central province of Henan, later becoming party secretary.
After a stint as party chief of the northern province of Liaoning, he was promoted to be a vice-premier under former premier Wen Jiabao from 2008 to 2013, overseeing economic development and macroeconomic management.
Li was seen as former leader Hu Jintao’s preferred successor as president, but the leadership chose Xi Jinping in 2012.
This is a breaking news story, please check back for updates
[Uk] Former China premier Li Keqiang dead at 68
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67235777?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGAFormer Chinese premier Li Keqiang has died at 68, state media has reported.
He was the second most powerful man in the ruling Chinese Communist Party until he retired last year.
State media said he had been "resting" in Shanghai when he suffered a sudden heart attack on Thursday.
He passed away ten minutes past midnight on Friday despite "all-out efforts" to revive him, state broadcaster CCTV said.
Li rose through the party ranks despite not having any power base, and at one point was even pegged for the top role of president.
But analysts said he became increasing sidelined towards the end of his career as Chinese President Xi Jinping gathered power around himself. In his final term, he became the only incumbent top official who didn't belong to President Xi 's loyalists group.
The elite Peking University-educated leader was known for being pragmatic in economic policies.
"He was a very enthusiastic open man who really strove to get China ahead and facilitated open dialogue with people from all walks of life," Bert Hofman, a professor at the National University of Singapore told the BBC's Newsday program.
He developed a reputation as a leader who works for the less privileged, with policies that focus on reducing the wealth gap and providing affordable housing.
A trained economist, he was initially given the reins of China's economy, but in recent years was sidelined in that role.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
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China“s former premier Li Keqiang has died - state media
https://reuters.com/article/china-obituary-likeqiang/chinas-former-premier-li-keqiang-has-died-state-media-idUSKBN31R00KChina's former Premier Li Keqiang has died, state media said on Friday.
China“s Wang to Blinken: “In-depth“ dialogue can steady ties
https://reuters.com/article/usa-china/chinas-wang-to-blinken-in-depth-dialogue-can-steady-ties-idUSKBN31Q09NThe United States and China have disagreements and need "in-depth" and "comprehensive" dialogue to reduce misunderstandings and stabilize ties, China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, said on Thursday, kicking off a long-anticipated visit to Washington.
Standing next to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Wang said the two countries share important common interests and challenges that they need to resolve together.
"Therefore, China and the United States need to have dialogue. Not only should we resume dialogue, the dialogue should be in-depth and comprehensive," Wang said, speaking through an interpreter.
Dialogue would help reduce misunderstandings, help stabilize the relationship and "return it to the track of healthy, stable and sustainable development," he said.
Blinken responded: "I agree with what the foreign minister said."
Before Wang spoke, Blinken had said he looked forward to constructive talks with his Chinese counterpart.
Wang's three-day visit is the latest in a flurry of diplomatic engagements between the two strategic rivals as they seek to manage their differences to avoid conflict. The trip primarily is to prepare for an expected summit between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping in November.
The Israel-Hamas conflict has added a fresh dynamic to the testy relationship of the superpowers, and Washington is hoping Beijing can use its influence with Iran to prevent an escalation into a wider war in the Middle East.
Wang is expected to meet with U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan on Friday. He is also expected to speak with Biden during his visit to the White House, although it is unclear how substantial their interaction will be.
The Biden administration's priority with Beijing has been to prevent intense competition between the two largest economies and disagreements on a host of issues - including trade, Taiwan and the South China Sea - from veering into conflict.
However, while both Beijing and Washington have spoken of looking for areas where they can work together, and Xi on Wednesday said China was willing to cooperate on global challenges, experts do not expect immediate progress.
Policy analysts in China and the U.S. say both sides share an interest in averting a wider war in the Middle East and that China, as a major oil purchaser, could exert considerable influence on Iran. Whether it will remains to be seen.
"The Chinese certainly have an interest in preventing a direct U.S.-Iranian confrontation, as they are major oil consumers and that would spike prices," said Jon Alterman, head of the Middle East program at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"Still, the Chinese are unlikely to do any heavy lifting here. I expect they'll want a seat at the table when the Israel-Gaza struggle gets resolved, but they don't feel much need or ability to hasten resolution."
Shi Yinhong, professor of international relations at Renmin University of China, said Beijing exerting its influence over Iran was "almost the only serious and practical U.S. expectation of China on the Middle East situation."
However Shi added: "The U.S. position on Iran is far from acceptable to China and vice versa. Mutual compromise on this issue could be too limited and small to be of any significance."
Wang's visit to Washington comes after several top U.S. officials, including Blinken, visited Beijing in the past several months.
Analysts expect Wang's talks to focus on preparations for an anticipated meeting between Biden and Xi on the sidelines of the summit of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries in San Francisco from Nov. 11 to 17. It would be Biden and Xi's first in-person meeting since a summit in Bali last November.
The two sides go into APEC from different economic perspectives, with economic policy analysts saying the U.S. has weathered challenging global conditions after the COVID-19 pandemic somewhat better than China.
U.S. and Chinese officials held a virtual meeting on Monday on macroeconomic developments.
U.S. officials said Taiwan and the South and East China Seas, where they accused Beijing of "destabilizing and dangerous actions" against rival territorial claimants, would also be on the agenda. Re-establishing military-to-military ties with China remains a top priority to avoid unintended conflict, they said.
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US, China need “comprehensive“ dialogue to stabilize ties, China“s Wang says
https://reuters.com/article/usa-china-blinken/us-china-need-comprehensive-dialogue-to-stabilize-ties-chinas-wang-says-idUSKBN31Q2E5The United States and China have disagreements but they also share common interests, and the two countries need "in-depth" and "comprehensive" dialogue to reduce misunderstandings and stabilize bilateral relations, China's top diplomat Wang Yi said on Thursday as he began his visit to Washington.
In brief remarks through an interpreter before his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department, Wang said he hoped his discussion with the top U.S. diplomat will be "constructive and forward-looking."
China Sends Its Youngest-ever Crew, Enters New Space Race
https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/china-sends-its-youngest-ever-crew-enters-new-space-race/7328287.htmlChina launched its youngest-ever crew for its orbiting space station Thursday. The launch is part of the country’s plan to put astronauts on the moon before 2030.
The Shenzhou 17 spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China at 03:14 UTC. The China Manned Space Agency said the average age of the three-member crew is the youngest since the launch of the space station. Their average age is 38, state media China Daily said.
The three astronauts are Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, and Jiang Xinlin. They will replace a crew that has been on the station for six months.
The new crew will perform experiments in space medicine, space technology, and other areas during their mission. And they will help to place and do possible repairs to equipment inside and outside the station, the agency said.
New space race
China also has plans to place astronauts on the moon before the end of 2030 in competition with the United States in space exploration. This follows other competition for influence between the world’s two largest economies in the technology, military, and diplomatic fields.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Chinese space agency also announced plans to send a new telescope to look deep into the universe. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the telescope would permit for mapping of the sky, but no timeline was given for when it would be placed.
In 2022, the Chinese government built its own space station after it was not permitted to join the U.S.-led International Space Station. The Americans worried that the Chinese space program was under the control of its military, the People’s Liberation Army.
China’s first manned space mission in 2003 made it the third country after the former Soviet Union and the U.S. to put a person into space using its own resources.
The American space program is believed to be far ahead of China at this time. But, China has made some important steps. They include bringing back samples from the moon’s surface for the first time in many years and landing a vehicle on the less explored far side of the moon.
The U.S., meanwhile, aims to put astronauts back on the moon’s surface by the end of 2025. It is aided by private American companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin.
In addition to their moon, or lunar, programs, the two countries have also separately landed vehicles on Mars. And China plans to follow the U.S. in landing a spacecraft on an asteroid.
I’m Gregory Stachel.
Andy Wong reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted the story for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
spacecraft – n. something (such as a leaf, skeleton, or footprint) that is from a plant or animal which lived in ancient times and that you can see in some rocks
mission – n. a flight by an aircraft or spacecraft to perform a specific task
sample – n. a small amount of something that gives you information about the thing it was taken from
asteroid – n. any one of thousands of small planets that circle around the sun