• UK’s investment minister: Britain ‘not closed’ to Chinese money
• China’s Fujian aircraft carrier spotted in new position, bringing it a step closer to sea trial, analysts say
• China’s economic salvation lies in a ‘consumer-based society’ with market rules that don’t rattle investors: Beijing adviser
• Climate change: Hong Kong has unique role to play as China’s offshore capital hub for green finance, says UN envoy
• Chinese academics tout alternative path to modernisation at forum
• Woman in China cons ‘friend’ out of US$250,000 by posing as rich scion in online romance scam, hires cousin of victim to maintain wealth illusion
• China’s growing sway over Indonesian media raises fears of ‘silencing’, threats against reporters
• China and US to hold summit on methane, non-CO2 greenhouse gases at Cop28
• Beijing frets over Taiwan opposition split as parties go on the attack over China ties
• China“s respiratory illness surge not as high as pre-pandemic- WHO official
• China, IMF and investors can’t reach a deal on Zambia’s debt. What does it mean for other distressed African nations?
• China leads the world in EV infrastructure but lags behind in consumer spending power: Euromonitor
• Japan faces ‘nightmare scenario’ as growing Russia-China ties could threaten US-led order
• Games of death: online anger as family of China student who died after marathon live-stream gaming sessions offered US$700 ‘humanitarian’ payout
• [Business] Zhongzhi Enterprise Group: China investigates major shadow bank for 'crimes'
• China’s new stealth aircraft can find and kill the B-21 ‘Raider’ with hypersonic missiles, computer simulation suggests
• China, Japan and South Korea, amid regional rivalries, line up leaders’ summit
• China’s President Xi Jinping to visit Shanghai on Tuesday, his first trip to nation’s commercial hub since 2021
• China needs to ‘spell out, ram home’ impact of private sector to allow economy to flourish, economist says
• Greenpeace accuses Chinese oil and gas firms like PetroChina and CNOOC of ‘greenwashing’ LNG purchases
• China’s respiratory disease surge, Hongkongers in the UK, Archie’s Bollywood debut: 6 weekend reads you may have missed
• Malaysia scraps visa requirements for travellers from China, India
• ‘He will be extraordinary’: proud China father praises ‘emotional strength’ of poorly-performing son in emotional school speech
• Hong Kong, Chinese buyers shrug off high prices and interest rates to pile into prime Australian property
• China’s loss is India’s gain as Western drug makers pivot – despite quality, oversight concerns
• Chinese scientists achieve breakthrough in early detection of ‘king cancer’ that killed Steve Jobs
• With China’s help, Fiji targets self-sufficiency in rice in 20 years
• Thailand wants to build a brand new shipping route. Why isn’t China buying?

UK’s investment minister: Britain ‘not closed’ to Chinese money

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3243013/uks-investment-minister-britain-not-closed-chinese-money?utm_source=rss_feed

The British government’s minister for investment says political tensions between Beijing and Washington do not mean the UK is closed to Chinese money.

While the geopolitical picture remains fraught, Dominic Johnson said he is still looking to attract Chinese investors, particularly electric vehicle manufacturers.

“I welcome strong business collaboration between the UK and China,” Johnson said on the sidelines of the UK’s Global Investment Summit in London.

“China has a very powerful electric car industry. I’d much rather they made great cars in the UK that we could then capitalise from and export,” noting one of his ambitions is “to attract a Chinese car manufacturer.”

UK official’s visit shows Hong Kong values global cooperation: John Lee

While some lawmakers in his governing Conservative Party have expressed concern about the prospect of a United Arab Emirates-backed investment vehicle taking over the Telegraph newspaper, Johnson welcomes such interest.

“The UAE is a great partner for the UK,” he said. “We’re an open and liberal economy and where it is possible I welcome their investment.”

China’s Fujian aircraft carrier spotted in new position, bringing it a step closer to sea trial, analysts say

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3242991/chinas-fujian-aircraft-carrier-spotted-new-position-bringing-it-step-closer-sea-trial-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, has moved dozens of metres from its usual berthing place in what analysts say could be a sign the warship is moving towards a sea trial.

The country’s third carrier moved around 27 metres (89 feet) from the quay in the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai on November 19, then returned to its normal position within two days, according to imagery from the Sentinel-2 satellite operated by the European Space Agency.

Aircraft carriers are a part of the Chinese navy’s goal to operate in the open sea. Military exercises show they would also play a key role in any strategy for an attack on Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its own and has vowed to unite with the Chinese mainland, by force if necessary.

China’s giant Fujian aircraft carrier on track for ‘2025 PLA handover’

The Fujian is China’s first carrier to be equipped with electromagnetic catapults to launch planes from its deck. Its two aircraft carriers in operation, the Liaoning and the Shandong, use ski-jump take-off ramps instead.

With this technological advancement, the People’s Liberation Army leapfrogged the less power-efficient steam catapults used by the US Navy’s Nimitz-class carriers that began operating in the 1970s.

On Sunday, undated video clips began circulating on social media platform Weibo that apparently showed the Fujian launching an object into the basin where it was berthed in what could be a dead-load test. The test involves launching a wheeled vehicle with the mass of an aircraft to emulate a plane taking off.

The clips show a water splash in front of the Fujian’s bow, but not a vehicle leaving the flight deck. The authenticity of the clip cannot be verified, but passengers on commercial planes have been known to take videos of the Fujian as their planes leave or approach the nearby Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

H.I. Sutton, a naval analyst who was the first to notice the Fujian being moved by tugs, said on his website that this could indicate the vessel was a step closer to sea trials.

Sea trials test how well a ship’s systems and components operate and such trials for the Fujian are likely to take more than a year.

Song Zhongping, a former PLA instructor, said the Fujian could have been moved away from the quay to launch the test vehicles.

“Catapulting the small vehicle itself is a step in the testing of the aircraft carrier for sea trials,” he said. “I don’t know if the video is real, but this is something that needs to be done eventually.”

He pointed to signs such as the berthing of the Fujian’s support ship, the Lidaoyuan, behind the Fujian in the Jiangnan shipyard since March as indicators that sea trials would start soon.

The covers protecting the three electromagnetic catapults were removed from June to October. Photos circulating on Chinese social media also showed smoke coming out of the Fujian’s chimney in September.

‘Substantial threat’ from PLA’s Fujian carrier: Taiwanese defence ministry

The Fujian, a 316-metre supercarrier, was launched in June 2022.

According to analysts, aircraft carriers could be used to block foreign forces from aiding Taiwan from the east, including US forces based in Guam and Japan’s Okinawa.

In April, the self-ruled island’s defence ministry said it had detected the PLA’s J-15 fighter jets for the first time during a major drill targeting Taiwan, which was part of Beijing’s response to a meeting between former US House speaker Kevin McCarthy and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California.

Because J-15 jets are designed to be carrier-borne, their presence in the east of Taiwan suggested that they had taken off from the PLA’s Shandong aircraft carrier, which was positioned nearby.

The PLA has developed a variant, the J-15T, to be used with catapults.

China’s economic salvation lies in a ‘consumer-based society’ with market rules that don’t rattle investors: Beijing adviser

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3242975/chinas-economic-salvation-lies-consumer-based-society-market-rules-dont-rattle-investors-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed

China needs to cultivate a more open, rule-based domestic market and expand its middle class to retain its shine to foreign investors and counter external headwinds as the world’s supply chains are realigned, according to a prominent political economist.

Zheng Yongnian, an adviser to Beijing’s policymakers, on Saturday published his views about how China should navigate through the global economic downturn by means of a more liberalised market.

The post was widely shared on the dominant social media platform, WeChat, after being uploaded by the official account of a much smaller and more exclusive social-networking platform for leading Chinese entrepreneurs, known as Zhenghe Island.

“Now that international demand is weakening, China’s top priority is to foster a stronger domestic market,” said Zheng, who is president of the Institute for International Affairs, Qianhai – a think tank based in Shenzhen, just across the border from Hong Kong.

US middle class feels it is ‘dying’ while China’s has its own problems

Countering what has been an unprecedented stretch of mounting external challenges will require China to build a consumer-based society, by expanding the proportion of its less than 30 per cent middle class to half or even 70 per cent of the population, Zheng foresees.

If China’s middle-class population swells to between 700 million and 800 million by 2035 – from the current 400 million – it would create a lasting appeal to overseas investors, he said.

He also called on Beijing to accelerate progress in cultivating a rules-based unified domestic market to break down market barriers and put an end to the inconsistent and unpredictable regulation changes that foreign firms often cite as a detriment to doing business in China.

“The lack of consistent rules in the country reflects the absence of a unified market, which results in China’s market being big but not strong enough,” he contended. “The key lies in a shared set of rules, regulation, standardisation and management.”

China first proposed the idea of a unified domestic market in 2013 before Beijing released guidelines on accelerating its establishment in April 2022, but Zheng has raised concerns about implementing the plans at local levels, as well as about a lack of rule compliance among some Chinese enterprises.

“This lack of consistency in rules even affects deals between Chinese companies – some local private firms prefer to do business with foreign companies, as business with Chinese ones is sometimes not bound by the rules, which leads to higher costs,” Zheng added.

Top leaders, including President Xi Jinping, have reiterated that China will become more aligned with international rules and standards while continuing to open up market access to foreign investors.

Zheng said Beijing should strive to open up while fostering domestic market.

“As long as China continues to embrace opening up, and is on the way to becoming the world’s largest consumer market with a rapidly expanding middle class, US investors will not abandon the Chinese market,” Zheng added.

He also said there is room for China to unveil more detailed and tailor-made measures that cater to foreign investors from different sectors, to meet demand and retain the nation’s market allure.

It can seek to attract Wall Street investors with cooperation potential in the finance and tech realms while also luring more investors from Europe and Japan by further opening up the manufacturing sector.

“We are undergoing major changes unseen in a century, which further demands that we open up, be inclusive and stick to the facts,” Zheng said.

Climate change: Hong Kong has unique role to play as China’s offshore capital hub for green finance, says UN envoy

https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3242978/climate-change-hong-kong-has-unique-role-play-chinas-offshore-capital-hub-green-finance-says-un?utm_source=rss_feed

Hong Kong has a unique role to play as China’s offshore capital hub for green finance, as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases needs to accelerate environmentally friendly projects if it is to transition to a low carbon economy, according to the United Nations’ resident coordinator in China.

In a world confronted by the challenges of climate change and environmental degradation, green finance has emerged as a vital tool in the transition to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly economy, said Siddharth Chatterjee while speaking at the Hong Kong Financial Forum 2023 on Monday afternoon.

“While China is working to address its environmental and climate challenges, it remains the largest emitter of greenhouse gases,” he said. “China must build on the substantial progress it has made in green finance by expanding and accelerating projects with environmental benefits.

“This is where Hong Kong has a unique role to play as China’s offshore capital hub, for both traditional finance, and green finance.”

The city accounted for a third of sustainable debt – including both bonds and loans – issued across Asia last year, according to Joseph Chan, undersecretary for financial services and the treasury. The value of such debt increased by more than 40 per cent year on year in 2022 to US$80.5 billion, Chan said in June at the Redefining Hong Kong conference organised by the Post.

Hong Kong has made headway selling green bonds to retail investors. The most recent tranche in September attracted a record number of subscribers.

To tackle climate change and shift to a sustainable economic model will require a huge amount of investment, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said at Monday’s forum.

“Asia’s green transformation will require around US$66 trillion in investment over the next 30 years, highlighting the huge demand for green financing in the region,” said Chan.

“With such large demand for [green] financing, we cannot only rely on the government but must utilise market resources to achieve this.

“The funding gap is large, but this also represents great business opportunities for green finance.”

Sustainable finance benefits not only the environment but also has the potential to open up new economic opportunities, create jobs in the renewable energy sector, and improve energy security, said Chatterjee.

“Green finance has the ability to generate positive change by incorporating environmental factors into financial decision-making,” he said. “It has the potential to attract finance for environmentally friendly initiatives, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and aid in the development of sustainable technology and infrastructure.”

He said China should focus on extending green financing beyond just bonds, and actively incorporate these concepts into the Belt and Road Initiative – China’s plan to grow global trade.

Chatterjee highlighted the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s issuance of the world’s first green interbank regular cooperation bond to fund green belt and road projects in 2019. The bond was denominated in yuan, US dollars and euros totalling US$2.2 billion.

“The example of China embracing green financing can serve as an example of how other countries and the private sector can embrace financial sustainability while protecting the environment,” said Chatterjee.

Chinese academics tout alternative path to modernisation at forum

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3242990/chinese-academics-tout-alternative-path-modernisation-forum?utm_source=rss_feed

China is on an alternative path to modernisation that is more sustainable than the Western development model, academics told a state-sponsored forum.

The China studies conference was hosted by the State Council Information Office on Friday. A letter from the president was read out at the gathering of hundreds of Chinese and foreign academics in Shanghai.

At a panel event, Su Changhe, a professor at Fudan University’s School of International Relations and Public Affairs, said a key cause of turmoil in the world was that many countries had tried to copy the Western development path.

Su said that model did not represent the future of “political civilisation”.

“Now, as countries explore their own development paths – including China’s progress – the previously dominant or monopolised global knowledge landscape of the West is beginning to shift,” he said.

He added that the changes taking place in China were not unique to the country but encompassed “general knowledge about the path to human modernisation”.

Zhang Zhiqiang, director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Philosophy, said China’s model could guarantee both economic development and social stability.

“In the course of modernisation in the West, long-term economic development has inevitably brought conflict and polarisation,” he said. “But in China, a positive correlation has formed between economic development and long-term social stability.”

Xi highlights importance of innovation in ‘Chinese-style modernisation’

Zhang Guanzi, director of the Institute of Information Studies at the same academy, said China’s path was more sustainable than the West’s, which was “heavily focused on the material aspects of modernisation”, leading to environmental and other challenges.

“In just a few decades, China has achieved what it took developed countries several centuries to do – demonstrating a potential and capacity to overtake them on progress,” he said.

Beijing has been trying to push a narrative that its development path offers an alternative to the Western approach.

President Xi Jinping in February said China’s progress debunked “the myth that modernisation means Westernisation”. He urged members of the ruling Communist Party to promote China’s path, which he said “presents another picture of modernisation”.

At Friday’s forum, in a letter read out by Li Shulei, the party’s propaganda chief, Xi said: “Chinese civilisation has a long history and has been enriched by exchanges and mutual learning with other civilisations in the world, giving Chinese-style modernisation a profound heritage.”

The organiser said more than 400 experts and academics from China and countries including Poland, Germany and South Korea attended the conference. Its theme was “Chinese civilisation and China’s path – a global perspective”.

While many speakers highlighted the advantages of China’s approach to modernisation, some stressed the importance of cooperation with other countries.

Also at the panel event, Yang Jiemian, director of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies’ academic committee, said China’s development should not be seen as a “national solo” but as a “global orchestra”.

Wu Xiaoming, a philosophy professor at Fudan University, said China was seeking a path suitable for its own circumstances after learning from other nations.

But he said that did not mean the country should pursue isolationism. “Quite the opposite – such independence means that we need to be capable of truly establishing ourselves after the process of learning from others.”

Woman in China cons ‘friend’ out of US$250,000 by posing as rich scion in online romance scam, hires cousin of victim to maintain wealth illusion

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3242435/woman-china-cons-friend-out-us250000-posing-rich-scion-online-romance-scam-hires-cousin-victim?utm_source=rss_feed

A woman in China defrauded her friend out of more than 1.79 million yuan (US$250,000) by posing as the son of a wealthy business executive and sustaining a fabricated romance.

The fraud, reported by The Paper, began in early 2016 when a woman, surnamed Chen, from Shanghai met another woman, surnamed Ma, and they became friends.

Capitalising on the fact that Ma was single, Chen made up a story about a childhood male friend called Shen Ping who lived abroad, saying he was the son of the head of a renowned elevator company.

Chen then created a WeChat account in the name of Shen Ping.

Ma was captivated and soon established an online relationship with the fictional character.

From late 2018, as the “romantic relationship” progressed, Shen Ping frequently asked Ma for money, citing bank account issues, family emergencies, the buying of gifts for clients, and the capital needs of the elevator company.

Over the course of their “relationship”, Ma lent the fictional Shen Ping a total of three-and-a-half million yuan, receiving only small sums in return as holiday red envelopes.

The individual transactions, often of around 10,000 yuan (US$1,400), were documented in online records which have been revealed in trending videos online.

To maintain the illusion of wealth, when Ma’s cousin Xiaoma approached the fictional Shen Ping in 2019 seeking employment, the character readily agreed to hire him, taking the scam to an even more elaborate level.

Shen Ping personally paid Xiaoma’s salary and even enlisted a third-party company to cover Xiaoma’s social insurance.

But Shen Ping devised a way to “reclaim” these expenses.

He instructed Xiaoma to use his own money to purchase an item called “OK card” – prepaid cash gift card – for the company on numerous occasions.

Despite never meeting his employer in person or visiting the office during his three years of “employment”, Xiaoma bought these cards and advanced nearly one million yuan (US$140,000) to Shen Ping.

Investigations revealed that Chen, the mastermind behind the scam, paid about 500,000 yuan to cover Xiaoma’s wages and insurance.

However, Chen’s elaborate scheme netted her a significant profit of nearly 1.8 million yuan from Ma and 1.12 million yuan from Ma’s cousin.

The Shanghai Jing’an People’s Procuratorate has now charged Chen with fraud.

The case has shocked mainland social media.

“The plot of a TV drama has become reality,” said one online observer.

“This woman is truly terrifying. She even invested her own money to deceive her friend. It’s simply incomprehensible!” added another.

China’s growing sway over Indonesian media raises fears of ‘silencing’, threats against reporters

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3242961/chinas-growing-sway-over-indonesian-media-raises-fears-silencing-threats-against-reporters?utm_source=rss_feed

A year after a report revealed China’s growing influence over Indonesian media, journalists and analysts are again raising the alarm over what they perceive is Beijing’s continuous sway on local news coverage.

The report, published in September last year by Freedom House, a Washington-based NGO that promotes democracy and human rights, found that Beijing had between 2019 and 2021 “successfully pushed for new agreements with the country’s national news agency and a major free-to-air television network, opened new diplomatic social media accounts, and appealed to Indonesia’s Muslim community through trips to Xinjiang that presented a government-controlled perspective of the region”.

“There are multiple objectives to this, but the main objective is to make the world safer for the Chinese Communist Party, to be able to invest abroad and have countries welcome Chinese investments,” said Sarah Cook, Freedom House’s senior adviser for China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, at an event last Wednesday hosted by Jakarta-based think tank Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios).

Indonesian leader Jokowi’s US visit falls short – could China stand to benefit?

According to Zulfikar Rahmat, Celios’ director of China-Indonesia Studies, Beijing’s efforts to push for positive narratives about China in Indonesia were ongoing and focused on two particular issues: the treatment of the Uygur Muslim minority in Xinjiang and Indonesia’s participation in China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

“China wants to push the narrative that the situation in Xinjiang is fine and that the news related to the human rights issue in Xinjiang is Western propaganda,” Zulfikar said.

“Second, they want to push the narrative that [the belt and road] is providing benefits to Indonesia, especially in the context of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train. There have been several attempts to cover up stories related to problems with the high-speed train.”

The US$7.2 billion train project, officially named Whoosh, is the flagship belt and road project in Indonesia. Its commercial operations started on October 17 after years of delay and overshot budgets.

Sasmito, head of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) in Indonesia, urged Indonesian journalists to “be more critical of news sourced from Chinese state media”.

“When we talk about the press, we talk about the public interest, not economic interests. We do not reject investment from any country, but we also need to criticise Chinese investments in Indonesia and compare [them] with [investments from] other countries,” said Sasmito, who goes by one name only.

According to Zulfikar, two of the most prominent content-sharing deals between Chinese state-owned news corporations and Indonesian media were signed in 2019. The first was between Xinhua and Indonesian state news agency Antara, and the second was between Metro TV, a major Indonesian broadcaster, and China Global Television Network.

Zulfikar said while both deals ensured “more positive and less critical coverage of China” in Indonesia, pro-Beijing news has yet to dominate local coverage as readers and the media still have access to other diverse sources such as international newswires.

In jab at Jokowi, Indonesia’s presidential hopefuls vow pivot from China focus

The papers that are involved in content-sharing deals with Chinese media also tend not to promote Beijing’s narratives when they contradict Indonesia’s national interests, such as China’s aggression in the South China Sea, Zulfikar said.

Subsidised trips for Indonesian journalists to China are one of the ways Beijing is expanding its influence, but it has not always been successful, he said.

“In 2019, 10 journalists from the Indonesian Press Council joined a choreographed visit to Beijing. Upon returning to Indonesia, one journalist from a local media outlet [in Lombok] wrote an article saying that Xinjiang is [an issue] created by the Western propaganda,” Zulfikar said.

But another journalist, who works for a national newspaper that described itself as a publication for the Muslim community, wrote that Muslims in Xinjiang were being subjected to discrimination after returning from his visit.

“Shortly after, he received a WhatsApp text [from China’s embassy in Indonesia] demanding him to take down the article,” Zulfikar said.

Sasmito from AJI condemned any kind of threat or intimidation against journalists. “A journalist’s job is to verify facts, to find out whether the statements made by China are in accordance with the facts on the ground,” he said.

AJI had received reports of intimidation from several Indonesian media outlets that had covered problematic belt and road projects, Sasmito said.

For example, KompasTV, a prominent news channel, was sued in May by a YouTuber affiliated with PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), the joint venture between Indonesian and Chinese consortiums behind the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail. KCIC had worked with 25 content creators including the YouTuber to promote the project.

Indonesia’s nickel sector can rebound from Tesla EV setback with policy revamp

KompasTV used the YouTuber’s footage as part of a news report highlighting the 8.5 trillion rupiah (US$546.6 million) in debt that KCIC had taken on to build the fast train. The channel had used the same footage before – without incident – to report on the project last year.

Rosiana Silalahi, editor-in-chief of KompasTV, said in her statement on May 11 that the channel’s video took the footage from KCIC’s official YouTube account - the latter did not highlight the joint venture’s debt.

This time, the YouTuber filed a copyright claim on the report and demanded the channel pay 1.3 billion rupiah. The lawsuit could have led to the end of KompasTV’s YouTube channel if the claim had been successful, but it ultimately failed, according to Sasmito.

“We have received information that there are other media outlets that have experienced the same thing, but they do not dare officially report it to the AJI or press council,” Sasmito added.

Prabowo slams West’s ‘unfair’ treatment of Indonesia: ‘we don’t need Europe’

Sartika Nur Shalati, an environmental researcher in Jakarta, said she was “shocked” to find out Indonesian journalists were subjected to intimidation due to their reporting on Chinese investments in Indonesia. “I thought intimidation was only faced by researchers from NGOs that have criticised Chinese investment, especially infrastructure projects,” she said.

In 2019, Sartika launched a report based on her research on three China-funded coal power plants in South Sumatra, where she found evidence of labour rights violations and environmental destruction, she said.

“A few days after the report was published, three men dropped by our old office in Jakarta, which was already occupied by another company. My friend who worked there said that they forcibly demanded to know our new address, but she didn’t tell them,” she said.

After that incident, Sartika worked from home for a week. She also received phone calls from unknown numbers but did not pick up.

“Now I’m a bit careful about doing research whose topics involve China, I’m afraid that actions we take could be subject to silencing,” she said.

China and US to hold summit on methane, non-CO2 greenhouse gases at Cop28

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3242974/china-and-us-hold-summit-methane-non-co2-greenhouse-gases-cop28?utm_source=rss_feed

China and the US will hold a joint summit on methane and non-carbon dioxide (CO2) greenhouse gases during the UN climate change conference to continue dialogue and strengthen cooperation on key topics, a Chinese environment official said.

Xia Yingxian, director of the environment ministry’s department of climate change and deputy head of China’s delegation to the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop28), told news outlet The Paper on Monday that China hoped to join all parties to push for a successful “global stocktake” – an evaluation of progress on climate action at the global level.

China’s foreign ministry announced last week that Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang will be in Dubai for the summit from November 30 to December 2. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Ding’s attendance would “demonstrate China’s positive response to climate change”.

Early progress hours before Biden-Xi meeting: a rare US-China climate accord

Climate change cooperation is a key area of consensus between Beijing and Washington as leaders of both countries aim to stabilise ties.

Shortly before Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the US earlier this month, the two sides promised to step up joint action to combat global warming in a deal known as the Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis.

Under the agreement, the world’s top two carbon emitters vowed to include methane in their respective 2035 emission-cutting plans – the first time China has made such a pledge – and work together to control other non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions, as well as curb forest loss and plastic pollution.

“Under the frame of the statements, China and the US will develop specific cooperative plans and projects focusing on energy transition, methane and other non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gases and the circular economy,” Xia said.

He added that China had taken a series of measures to address climate change, including announcing a carbon peak and carbon neutrality target, promoting structural adjustment in industry, energy and transport, and increasing forest carbon sinks.

“In 2022, China decreased its carbon intensity by over 51 per cent, compared with 2005 levels, with non-fossil energy accounting for 17.5 per cent of energy consumption,” he said.

“As of June, the number of new energy vehicles in the country reached 16.2 million, and more than half of the world’s new energy vehicles are being driven in China.”

Xia also stressed cooperation with international society, saying China would continue its South-South cooperation and help developing countries with the construction of low-carbon zones and other projects designed to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

After wrapping up talks with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua in California earlier this month, US climate envoy John Kerry said Beijing was “serious” about its climate change efforts and plans to scale up clean energy.

He said China, despite its coal-dependent power system, was building more renewable energy plants than the rest of the world combined, echoing reports that the country was shoring up its position as the world leader in renewable power.

Beijing frets over Taiwan opposition split as parties go on the attack over China ties

https://reuters.com/article/taiwan-election-china/beijing-frets-over-taiwan-opposition-split-as-parties-go-on-the-attack-over-china-ties-idUSKBN32M0BL

Beijing is fretting that a split in Taiwan's opposition could pave the way for the island's ruling party - which the Chinese government despises - to stay in power, as China took centre stage in election campaigning over the weekend.

China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, looms large over the Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary election as it has ramped up military pressure against the island.

Last week, negotiations for a united presidential ticket between the two main opposition parties, which seek closer ties with China, imploded, giving a boost to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), already leading opinion polls.

China's official response so far has been a brief statement from its Taiwan Affairs Office late Friday saying it hopes the election result will help maintain peace and stability, and reiterating that Taiwan faces "a choice between war and peace".

But on Chinese social media, the drama has been followed with a sense of despair at the opposition's disunity.

Zhang Xuesong, director of strategic research at Chinese think tank CICG Asia-Pacific, wrote on his Weibo social media account that the disintegration of the talks was a "loss for cross-Taiwan Strait peace".

"That was an extremely frustrating day," he added. "Of course, the only thing that gives us confidence is that Taiwan is one step closer to finally being reunified."

Other Chinese Weibo accounts that follow Taiwan have been similarly despondent.

State-run Shenzhen Television wrote that the breakdown in talks signalled "a chaotic battle" to come in the election.

One Chinese Weibo user wrote simply: "I saw news that the talks broke down, and now I've lost hope."

The DPP has defied Chinese pressure. Beijing views DPP presidential candidate Lai Ching-te as a separatist and has rebuffed repeated offers of talks from both him and Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.

Speaking at a campaign rally on Sunday night in Taipei's sister city New Taipei, Lai said that if Taiwan accepts it is part of China - Beijing's bottom line for talks - it will lose sovereignty.

"With no sovereignty, you will have no ownership over your land, your homes," Lai said.

Hou Yu-ih, the candidate for Taiwan's largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), told his supporters that a vote for Lai was a vote for war and only he could bring peace. Lai and the DPP strongly dispute that point of view.

On Monday, China's Taiwan Affairs Office repeated its attacks on Lai and running mate Hsiao Bi-khim, formerly Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the United States.

Lai and Hsiao "distorted facts and downplayed the harmfulness and danger of 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities to deceive voters in the 2024 leadership election in Taiwan", it said.

Opinion polls since the opposition talks collapsed have given a mixed picture.

The Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation said that just more than half of respondents to the question of who they regarded as having the "best prospects" of winning answered Lai.

Television station ETtoday put Lai at about 35%, with Hou nipping at his heels with 33% and former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je from the small Taiwan People's Party at 21%.

A split opposition gives Lai an increased chance of victory in Taiwan's first-past-the-post system. In 2020's election, the DPP won in a landslide, taking 56% of the vote, but only had to face one main opponent, the KMT's Han Kuo-yu.

China“s respiratory illness surge not as high as pre-pandemic- WHO official

https://reuters.com/article/china-health/chinas-respiratory-illness-surge-not-as-high-as-pre-pandemic-who-official-idUSKBN32M0C9

The spike in respiratory illnesses that China is currently going through is not as high as before the COVID-19 pandemic, a World Health Organisation official said, reiterating that no new or unusual pathogens had been found in the recent cases.

Maria Van Kerkhove, acting director of the WHO's department of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, said the increase appeared to be driven by a rise in the number of children contracting pathogens that two years of COVID restrictions have kept them away from.

"We asked about comparisons prior to the pandemic. And the waves that they’re seeing now, the peak is not as high as what they saw in 2018-2019," Van Kerkhove told health news outlet STAT in an interview on Friday.

"This is not an indication of a novel pathogen. This is expected. This is what most countries dealt with a year or two ago," she added.

China's National Health Commission spokesperson Mi Feng said on Sunday the surge in acute respiratory illnesses was linked to the simultaneous circulation of several kinds of pathogens, most prominently influenza.

The spike become a global issue last week when the World Health Organization asked China for more information, citing a report on clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children by the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases.

China and the WHO have faced questions about the transparency of reporting early in the pandemic, which emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019. The WHO said on Friday no new or unusual pathogens had been found in the recent illnesses.

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China, IMF and investors can’t reach a deal on Zambia’s debt. What does it mean for other distressed African nations?

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3242933/china-imf-and-investors-cant-reach-deal-zambias-debt-what-does-it-mean-other-distressed-african?utm_source=rss_feed

When Zambia struck a debt deal with bilateral creditors to restructure US$6.3 billion in loans in June, Lusaka said it “a significant step” to restore debt sustainability.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) went further, saying it was a “breakthrough” and precedent-setting.

The IMF said it would use the deal as a template for other nations such as Ethiopia and Ghana that are also seeking debt restructuring under the G20’s Common Framework.

Under the deal, China – as Zambia’s largest bilateral lender – has the biggest burden by agreeing to restructure US$4.1 billion of the total, with France, Britain, South Africa, Israel and India shouldering the rest.

As part of the agreement, Beijing and the other creditor countries – known as the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) – pushed for comparability of treatment (CoT) principle in which private bondholders would have to offer comparable debt relief.

Zambia proceeded to seek debt restructuring from private bondholders but the terms they reached in October were rejected by the OCC and the IMF.

The OCC also rejected a revised deal tweaked with the IMF in mid-November, saying it did not provide enough debt relief and did not meet the CoT criteria.

The setbacks have not only thrown into question the prospects for the Zambia deal, they might also discourage other debt-ridden African countries to follow similar paths, according to analysts.

The impasse is over just how big and what kind of a loss private bondholders should take.

Patrick Curran, a senior economist at research firm Tellimer, said official creditors were averse to nominal haircuts, preferring longer maturity extensions and lower interest payments instead. Bondholders, on the other hand, tended to prefer some level of upfront nominal haircuts in exchange for earlier payments in the form of higher coupons and shorter maturities.

China is responsible for restructuring the largest portion of the debt and without its approval no restructuring can go ahead.

Zambia and the IMF viewed the revised deal as sustainable and compatible with the CoT principle, but China and other official bilateral creditors want bondholders to take a larger haircut than what Zambia’s government or the IMF deemed necessary.

This did not go down well with private investors, who said the decision was “extraordinary” and would have “significant adverse consequences, most immediately for Zambia”.

Curran said the restructuring talks appeared to have hit a stalemate, with no further progress possible unless the OCC softened its position on the CoT principle.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), this dispute could put restructures in jeopardy, and Zambia’s protracted debt restructuring negotiations would likely discourage other heavily indebted African nations from seeking similar deals.

For Zambia, the stakes are high.

It has been in a crisis since 2020 when it defaulted on some of its foreign debt at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Until the issue is resolved Lusaka cannot attract much-needed foreign direct investment and there is no access to the international capital markets, according to Zambian officials. Further, the protracted debt negotiations have hit domestic bond markets, with the Zambian currency the Kwacha falling by 30 per cent against the US dollar this year.

Why China is on track to control African mineral transport route via Tazara line

Zambia’s troubles could also signal the difficult road ahead for Ethiopia, which recently also secured a debt restructuring deal in principle with its official bilateral creditors, and is seeking to start talks to restructure a US$1 billion Eurobond maturing next year.

Ethiopia, which is a key Chinese ally, had already secured a debt deal with China in August when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Brics Summit in Johannesburg. Xi promised to suspend Ethiopia’s payments on debt maturing in 2023 and 2024 as part of the common framework for debt restructuring.

China is Ethiopia’s largest bilateral creditor, having advanced an estimated US$13.7 billion in debt to China between 2000 and 2021, according to Boston University data.

Curran said the rejection of the Zambian deal “is a dangerous precedent and could serve as a major hindrance not only in Zambia’s restructuring but also in future restructurings”.

“We will be keenly watching how the process unfolds in Zambia and assessing the implications for other current and impending restructuring cases both within the [G20] Common Framework, like Ghana and Ethiopia, and outside it, like Sri Lanka,” he said, referring to a multilateral mechanism for forgiving and restructuring sovereign debt.

IMF report says Chinese loans not main debt burden in sub-Saharan Africa

Charlie Robertson, head of macro strategy at FIM Partners, an asset management firm, said foreign bondholders owned roughly US$3 billion of Zambia’s debt, “so have a bigger role than in Ethiopia but … interestingly, the gross domestic product impact from default is not very high, it is usually about 2 percentage points off growth”.

However, Robertson said longer restructuring may not necessarily hit foreign investor confidence in primary commodity exporters like Zambia and Ethiopia.

“It probably doesn’t make much difference in fact. A copper mine or a rose plantation might still get invested in even in a default situation,” Robertson said, referring to Zambia, which is one of the top copper producers in Africa, while Ethiopia has attracted investments in the horticulture industry.

Nevertheless, Robertson said he suspected “the protracted negotiations will deter other African countries from defaulting”.

“And given the bandwidth that these defaults require from institutions like the IMF … I imagine they will be keen to minimise the number of countries that do default, by being flexible, as they are with Kenya for example,” Robertson said.

On Ethiopia’s restructuring, Mark Bohlund, a senior credit research analyst at REDD Intelligence, said although there was not an up-to-date breakdown of the bilateral debt, most Ethiopia’s non-Paris Club debt of US$6.85 billion was owed to China. But India and Turkey were among the larger creditors.

Bohlund said he expected the “Ethiopia debt restructuring will be easier as we are likely talking about a maturity extension of principal payments rather than any writedown”.

He said with bondholders well aware that Ethiopia was in no position to make the US$1 billion principal payment next December, they would most likely accept an extension of the maturity even if it was at the current coupon rate, “which is pretty attractive if you have bought the bond at the current discounted rate”.

“It is clear that China will be looking closer at the comparability of treatment, as evidenced in Zambia. But should be less of an issue in Ethiopia,” Bohlund said.

China leads the world in EV infrastructure but lags behind in consumer spending power: Euromonitor

https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3242892/china-leads-world-ev-infrastructure-lags-behind-consumer-spending-power-euromonitor?utm_source=rss_feed

China leads the world in developing infrastructure to support the growth of electric vehicles (EV), but trails major European countries in consumer spending power on battery-powered cars, according to a report by Euromonitor International.

The country ranked seventh among 40 countries in an index evaluating the most prepared markets for EVs, improving seven places compared with 2022, according to the report by the market research company published on Monday.

The 40 countries together account for about 90 per cent of the total car market globally, according to Euromonitor. Their EV readiness is measured across four pillars: market maturity, infrastructure maturity, cost of ownership and consumer spending power.

“Importantly, China has seen a swift rise in fast charging stations, which has helped fuel greater consumer confidence in buying an EV,” said Fransua Vytautas Razvadauskas, insights manager of mobility at Euromonitor.

China recorded the highest score of any country in the infrastructure maturity pillar, largely because of the country’s strong investment in public charging stations and fast chargers, which encouraged the adoption of EVs, according to Euromonitor.

Last year, China had 1.8 million public charging stations, about 65 per cent of the global total, and the country also had the highest ratio of fast chargers on highways at 534 per 100 kilometres of highway length, the report said.

What is China’s perfect EV? It needs brains and brawn to start with

However, China ranked 36th in average consumer spending power, just ahead of Indonesia, Bulgaria, Thailand and India, because of its relatively lower disposable household income, the report added.

“Worsening economic conditions, the cost-of-living crisis and higher interest rates [globally] are making it more difficult for consumers to purchase new vehicles,” said Razvadauskas.

Overall, Norway, Switzerland and Sweden are the top three most EV-friendly markets in the index, largely because of their EV market maturity and overall consumer buying power, according to Euromonitor.

While India, South Africa and Brazil took the last three spots on account of limited government incentives and low incomes, the undersupply of public charging stations remains a challenge for many emerging and developing economies.

China is likely to remain the world’s largest EV market globally with sales forecast to surpass 8.5 million units by the end of this year, accounting for 60 per cent of the global total, according to industry players and analysts.

The Chinese government has set a target that at least 20 per cent of cars sold annually by 2025 should be new energy vehicles, an umbrella term that includes battery-powered cars, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

By 2035, that figure rises to more than 50 per cent, as it is one of the measures to support the country’s goal of reaching peak carbon emissions by the end of this decade and net-zero emissions by 2060.

Hong Kong must prioritise EV charging facilities as sales soar, panel hears

China is also expected to continue ramping up its investment in EV infrastructure, especially in rural areas, to balance the distribution of public charging stations and further boost EV penetration across the nation. The government issued a plan in May to expedite the construction of charging stations in remote regions.

China’s EV makers, including BYD, Nio, and Xpeng, are also pinning their hopes on new, less expensive models as consumers tighten their belts amid economic uncertainty and move away from the premium end of the market.

Leading Chinese EV players are also seen intensifying expansion into foreign markets as domestic demand cools and the need to use excess production capacity grows.

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Japan faces ‘nightmare scenario’ as growing Russia-China ties could threaten US-led order

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3242945/japan-faces-nightmare-scenario-growing-russia-china-ties-could-threaten-us-led-order?utm_source=rss_feed

A new Japanese security report has stated that China and Russia have a shared ambition of creating a global order heavily tilted in their favour, underlining one of Tokyo’s greatest fears – that the two powers may effectively become military allies.

The National Institute of Defence Studies (NIDS), a think tank affiliated with Japan’s defence ministry, last week released its China Security Report 2024, warning that “the contest between the United States and China-Russia over the international order will accelerate” over the coming decade or so.

It pointed out that while Beijing and Moscow had a more complicated relationship in the past, those ideological and political differences had been largely set aside to enable Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to pool at least some of their powers to challenge the status quo.

China wants to deepen ‘everlasting’ good ties with Russia: Xi Jinping

Garren Mulloy, a professor of international relations at Daito Bunka University and a specialist in military issues, said the NIDS report echoed a number of recent white papers and studies in Japan in recent years, but was significant because “it has a greater degree of clarity regarding the non-benevolent characteristics of China and Russia in the modern world”.

Much of the report was focused on efforts by both Moscow and Beijing to undermine and ultimately upset the current world order, Mulloy said, with this now identifiable as an “approach that is more coordinated than in the past to change the extant rules-based order”.

According to the report, the two leaders shared a “common strategic goal” of creating a parallel international order, “based on the fundamental values of freedom and democracy”.

It also stated Xi was showing China’s willingness to challenge the existing order by unilaterally claiming territory in the South China Sea and making similar claims elsewhere, not least against Taiwan. Similarly, Putin is pushing ahead with the war in Ukraine, while Russian naval and air units have been active close to Japanese territory, according to NIDS.

Most alarmingly for Tokyo, the report stated that Chinese and Russian warships and aircraft had carried out joint exercises in the Sea of Japan and also completed a joint circumnavigation of the main Japanese islands earlier in the year.

“Japan cannot allow China and Russia to create a non-democratic international order that tolerates unilateral changes to the status quo by force,” the NIDS study warned. “Japan must further strengthen the necessary defence capabilities to deter attempts to change the status quo by reliance on force.”

US, Australia, Japan would join Philippines-China ‘fight’, says analyst

A key element of the nation’s future security would be to “deepen multifaceted cooperation with the United States, which wishes to maintain the existing order and has strong deterrence capabilities, including nuclear”.

The report also recommended that Japan step up “economic and people-to-people exchanges” with the nations of Southeast Asia and the Pacific and use diplomacy with emerging and developing nations in the Indo-Pacific region to “expand common interests” – namely, protecting the existing international order.

“It demands that Japan take more proactive and independent actions to secure its national interests and maintain peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region,” the paper said.

Academic Mulloy said Tokyo was “alarmed” at the increasing collaboration and cooperation between the two nations’ armed forces in exercises close to Japan, although this was only part of a “nightmare scenario” for Japan.

“This emerging alliance is not the absolute worst-case situation for Japan to find itself in, but it’s a part of it,” he said. “The very worst situation would be this alliance developing and the US withdrawing its forces from the Indo-Pacific region.”

Despite the report’s gloomy outlook, Mulloy pointed out a couple of positives in the current state of regional geopolitics, not least the fact that Russia and China could not be considered a formal security alliance at present, and obstacles laid in the way of that outcome.

Equally, Russia’s war in Ukraine and deep economic problems at home make Moscow very much the junior partner in the relationship, with Mulloy stating that while China was aiming to “displace many of the elements of the liberal international order and then replace them with its own structures that are less bound by international law and order, Russia does not have the strategic architecture in place to carry out” such changes.

“It is clear that Russia is more aligned with China than China is to Russia because Moscow has far fewer options and much less power,” he added.

In addition, the foreign ministers of Japan, China and South Korea met in Busan on Sunday, the first such in-person meetings for the three officials in recent years. While there was no immediate breakthrough on issues that have bedevilled bilateral and trilateral relations, the trio did agree to step up efforts to arrange a summit of their leaders in the near future.

“It was positive that Japan and China could find some common ground,” Mulloy said. “Japan can afford to let relations with Russia run down and reduce trade because it does not really have any impact here. But not having trade ties with China would have a far more serious impact on Japan.”

Games of death: online anger as family of China student who died after marathon live-stream gaming sessions offered US$700 ‘humanitarian’ payout

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3242427/games-death-online-anger-family-china-student-who-died-after-marathon-live-stream-gaming-sessions?utm_source=rss_feed

An undergraduate student in China has died after a series of marathon live-stream gaming sessions squeezed into less than a month.

The student’s employer has denied responsibility for his death and offered just 5,000 yuan (US$700) in “humanitarian concern” compensation, sparking outrage on mainland social media.

The young man, Li Hao, from the Ping Ding Shan Vocational and Technical College in Henan province in central China, died suddenly on November 10 after his final overnight gaming live-stream, reported The Paper.

According to his father, the student joined the company in mid-October to comply a six-month internship requirement.

“He had actively sought internship opportunities since the summer. By mid-October, he told us he had secured a position as a gaming live-streamer in Zhengzhou, earning a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan (US$420),” the student’s father said.

A month after Li joined the company, his father received the devastating news that his son had died on the job.

“He started having problems at 5pm on November 10,” his father said. “He was still asleep at that time, but his roommate noticed he was breathing rapidly and couldn’t be woken.

“They quickly called an ambulance and performed CPR on him under the guidance of a doctor. Unfortunately, they couldn’t save him.”

Records show Li conducted 89 live-streaming sessions between October 15 and November 10.

After November 5, he started live-streaming sessions that went through the night. The night before his death, he live-streamed from 9pm until 6am, his fifth consecutive overnight shift.

His employer denied all responsibility, claiming it had a cooperation agreement with Li, rather than directly employing him.

“We provide a venue,” said Zhang, the company’s legal representative, adding: “We only take commission from viewer gifts given to the live-streamer.”

He claimed the company was not aware of Li’s late-night live-streams and implied the young man had not properly managed his schedule.

“Many live-streamers have difficulty in properly managing the extent of their live-streaming,” Zhang said.

However, Li’s father noted the employment agreement requires a minimum of 240 hours of live-streaming per month to qualify for a base salary.

Yet the company continued to deny any responsibility and said 5,000 yuan would be offered to the family as a gesture of “humanitarian concern”.

The tragedy has sparked widespread outrage on mainland social media.

“Companies like this should go bankrupt sooner!” one online observer said.

“Such ‘scam’ companies are very enthusiastic about sharing the profits, but as soon as something bad happens, they immediately distance themselves,” added another.

[Business] Zhongzhi Enterprise Group: China investigates major shadow bank for 'crimes'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67539910?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

China’s new stealth aircraft can find and kill the B-21 ‘Raider’ with hypersonic missiles, computer simulation suggests

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3242527/chinas-new-stealth-aircraft-can-find-and-kill-b-21-raider-hypersonic-missiles-computer-simulation?utm_source=rss_feed

As the race heats up between China and the US to develop the next-generation stealth aircraft armed with the latest weapons, a Chinese research team has staged a virtual duel between the two rivals to see what it would take to win a future air battle.

The results suggested that, with a combination of advanced hardware and new tactics, China could detect the opponents first.

In one war game, a B-21-like stealth platform and its companion drone were both shot down by China’s air-to-air missiles, which can reach a top speed of Mach 6.

But should the US mount a counterstrike, the seesawing fight for air dominance between the two most powerful countries on Earth would get so complex and intense, “it could take hours before the dust settles,” said the team, led by associate professor Chen Jun with the Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xian, in a paper published in peer-reviewed journal Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica last month.

After months of delay, America’s new Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider took its first flight on November 10.

Though only capable of cruising at about 1,000km/h, slightly below the speed of sound, the next-gen stealth bomber will play a central role in the US Air Force’s Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) strategy that is tailored towards potential battles with the Chinese military.

Beijing, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan and most of the South China Sea, has built up some strong area denial capabilities including large radar networks and hypersonic anti-ship missiles to prevent foreign intervention.

Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state but are opposed to any use of force to change the status quo.

The B-21 has a radar signature reportedly as small as a mosquito. In a conflict, it could get deep behind enemy lines and dump a large number of missiles or bombs on China’s coast, crippling the PLA’s core defence infrastructure.

Unlike previous bombers such as the B-2, the B-21 can also fly with stealth drones and carry dozens of air-to-air missiles in its large weapon bay, making it a formidable platform for air combat.

The PCA strategy could pose a severe threat to China’s air defence that has relied heavily on radar warning systems based on land, sea or airborne platforms.

It has forced China to develop countermeasures with new technology, according to Chen and his colleagues whose university is currently under sanctions by the US due to its close links to the Chinese military.

In the team’s simulation, the researchers demonstrated some of China’s new capabilities under development.

For example, heading to the virtual war zone, a Chinese aircraft had turned off its radar and maintained radio silence – but it could still survey the surrounding environment with cutting-edge technologies. Its body, for instance, covered with “conformal skin”, could pick up electric or heat signals from a target in the distance.

New US nuclear stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, takes its first test flight

The Chinese stealth aircraft and its drone wingman, with supersonic cruising speeds, could also fly considerably faster than the American rivals.

China’s hypersonic missiles are built with special features to track and kill stealth aircraft. Using new solid fuel “pulse engine” that can adjust power output at will throughout the flight, the missile can first go up to near space and come down on the enemy aircraft at an extremely high speed, according to Chen’s team.

This unusual approach, which is considerably harder to predict and can cover a much longer distance than traditional trajectories, was first proposed by Qian Xuesen, the father of China’s rocket programme, in the 1940s.

But hardware alone cannot guarantee victory, the researchers said. In one simulated fight, the US stealth aircraft, also equipped with cutting-edge sensors, detected the launch of the missile at an early stage and made a sharp turn to evade the attack. With a quick calculation, the Chinese missile concluded it would have a good chance of missing the target.

The attack mission was automatically passed to another hypersonic missile, which was on its way to attack the B-21’s drone. The US aircraft did not expect that the Chinese missiles could switch target on the fly, and failed to make any effective response before impact.

At present, decision-making in air battles rests mostly on the pilots. But the new Chinese anti-PCA tactic has a higher degree of freedom that allows the decision-making to move quickly between human, drone and missiles at different stages of the combat using AI technology, according to Chen’s team.

It is generally believed that hypersonic weapons can only attack fixed or slow-moving targets due to the difficulty of in-flight control at high speed. But in the simulated battle, the Chinese missiles could make a sharp turn soon after launch, allowing the AI to come up with some attack plans previously thought unfeasible.

Implementing this new tactic would require powerful AI algorithms that can run on relatively slow chips on a flying military platform. Some long-respected practices in air force training and operation would also undergo some profound changes, but who made the reform first could be the new ruler of the sky, according to the researchers.

Chinese military has revealed numerous types of hypersonic missiles but the version for air combat remains classified. The Chinese Air Force has confirmed that a large and advanced stealth aircraft is under development but the time of first flight remains uncertain.

The number of J-20 aircraft – China’s workhorse stealth fighter – is expected to be larger than the number of America’s F-22 Raptors but considerably lower than the number of their F-35 combat aircraft. The Chinese military is reportedly testing a two-seat version of the J-20 that can fly in formation with a number of drones.

China, Japan and South Korea, amid regional rivalries, line up leaders’ summit

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/27/china-japan-south-korea-asia-summit-leaders-meeting-busan

The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea will meet, possibly next year, in the latest attempt to ease regional tensions heightened by North Korea’s weapons programme and a more visible US military presence.

During a meeting in the South Korean port city of Busan on Sunday, the three Asian countries’ foreign ministers agreed to step up cooperation in key areas, including security, and to lay the groundwork for what would be the first leaders’ summit in four years.

The weekend’s trilateral meeting – the first between the neighbours’ foreign ministers since 2019 – came soon after the Chinese and US presidents, Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, met on the sidelines of the Apec summit in California.

The Asia summit – preparations for which began in September during talks between the countries’ deputy foreign ministers – is in part designed to address Chinese concerns over closer security ties between Japan, South Korea and the US.

While not expected to take place this year, the meeting between Xi of China, the South Korean president, Yoon Suk-yeol, and the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, is expected “in the near future”, according to South Korea’s national security adviser, Cho Tae-yong.

“The three ministers reaffirmed … to hold the summit, the pinnacle of the trilateral cooperation system, at the earliest, mutually convenient time,” South Korea’s foreign minister, Park Jin, told reporters. “We agreed to expedite the necessary preparations.”

In comments clearly aimed at security cooperation between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington, the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, urged the three countries to “oppose ideological demarcation and resist putting regional cooperation into camps”.

North Korea was also on the agenda during Sunday’s 100-minute meeting, a few days after Pyongyang successfully put a spy satellite incorporating banned ballistic missile technology into orbit, in its latest show of defiance against UN-led sanctions targeting its nuclear and missile programmes.

Kamikawa and Jin condemned the launch and agreed to strengthen their response to recent deals to supply North Korean munitions to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine. Park reportedly asked for China to play a “constructive” role in encouraging Pyongyang to denuclearise.

China is North Korea’s main ally and biggest aid donor, but few believe Beijing has the diplomatic clout to convince the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, to abandon his nuclear ambitions.

The region’s wartime legacy cast a shadow over this weekend’s talks, however, following a South Korean high court ruling last week demanding that Japan compensate 16 women who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels before and during the second world war.

Kamikawa described the ruling as “extremely regrettable” and requested that Seoul take measures to correct the “violation of international law”.

Historians say tens of thousands of “comfort women” were coerced into working in the brothels during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean peninsula. Japan insists that all compensation claims relating to that period were settled when the countries normalised bilateral ties in 1965.

China, South Korea and Japan – which together account for about a quarter of global GDP – agreed to hold annual summits from 2008, but the meetings were derailed by historical and territorial disagreements, and the Covid-19 pandemic.

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China’s President Xi Jinping to visit Shanghai on Tuesday, his first trip to nation’s commercial hub since 2021

https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3242911/chinas-president-xi-jinping-visit-shanghai-tuesday-his-first-trip-nations-commercial-hub-2021?utm_source=rss_feed

President Xi Jinping will visit Shanghai on Tuesday in his first visit to China’s commercial hub since 2021, according to several sources familiar with the matter.

He is scheduled to visit the Shanghai Futures Exchange and some technology companies operating in the city, according to several people familiar with the plan, who declined to be named for discussing a confidential itinerary.

Xi is tentatively scheduled to remain in Shanghai for three days, according to the sources, although the final plan is still subject to change, they said.

The visit, the first since Shanghai’s two-month lockdown during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, was previously scheduled as a stopover in the Chinese president’s trip to San Francisco for the annual leaders’ meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, but was ultimately postponed, sources said.

A trip to Shanghai, hot on the heels of the conclusion of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) early this month, underscores Xi’s determination to restore the nation’s economic growth pace. With a population of more than 25 million residents contributing nearly 4 per cent of China’s economic output, Shanghai is home to some of the largest foreign investors in China, including Tesla, General Motors and Walt Disney.

The visit also coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the creation of the Shanghai free-trade zone (FTZ), a testing ground for China’s economic reforms.

Xi is expected to encourage city officials to conduct more market liberalisation to spur cross-border trade and capital flows via the mainland’s gateway city amid mounting worries about China’s decoupling from the West.

US-China thaw means Beijing can focus on development, not security

“Shanghai’s role as an economic locomotive will be further highlighted following the top leader’s visit,” said Ding Haifeng, a consultant at Shanghai financial advisory firm Integrity. “Local government officials and corporate executives will have greater freedom in bolstering business activities in the country’s commercial and financial hub.”

In November 2018, Xi announced during the first CIIE that a 120-square-kilometre area in the coastal Lingang New City would be given FTZ status to attract global investors.

Tesla began delivering its Shanghai-made vehicles from its Lingang-based Gigafactory 3, the company’s largest production hub worldwide, in January 2020.

The Yangshan deep water port, the world’s largest terminal for container carriers, is linked to the Lingang FTZ by the 32km Donghai Bridge. It handled 24 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) last year.

More to follow …

China needs to ‘spell out, ram home’ impact of private sector to allow economy to flourish, economist says

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3242726/china-needs-spell-out-ram-home-impact-private-sector-allow-economy-flourish-economist-says?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing’s policymakers need to ditch outdated doctrines and introduce new theories to accommodate the private economy in China, according to a prominent economist, as part of important moves to settle the fragile nerves of entrepreneurs and rebuild their confidence.

Private investment in China has defied Beijing’s efforts after it rolled out a 31-point package in July and remained in contraction in the first 10 months of the year.

“We sorely need new guiding theories to spell out and ram home the nature and contributions of the private sector, its role in the common prosperity drive and how it relates to the state sector,” said Teng Tai, a member of a think tank under the semi-official All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.

“The Chinese economy will surely flourish if private firms can thrive,” Teng added in a column published on Chinese news portal Sina last week.

Beijing asks powerhouse planners why private investors are playing hard to get

Reviving investor confidence, including both private entrepreneurs and foreign-funded companies, should be a key task for China’s leadership, who are set to convene at the central economic work conference – typically held in December in Beijing – to map out the economic and policy direction for the coming year.

Authorities have pledged “unwavering support” for private firms and vowed to make them “bigger, better and stronger” to match the backing enjoyed by state-owned enterprises.

Beijing often highlights the importance of the private sector, which accounts for half of China’s fixed-asset investment and government tax revenues, as well as 60 per cent of its gross domestic product and 80 per cent of its urban jobs.

But private businesses, including internet platforms, tutoring services, as well as the gaming and property sectors, were hit hard by regulatory campaigns in the past several years.

There were also calls from former officials, economists and key opinion leaders for the elimination of private ownership, which had initially thrived in 2018.

Beijing, though, should update its theories concerning the economy and ownership to institutionalise guarantees and protections and instil optimism in the private economy, said Teng.

He warned against a “textbook-bound mindset”, including using Marxist methods and words such as “exploiter” to label China’s private entrepreneurs.

New theories are, Teng added, pivotal in dispelling misgivings and misunderstandings, and should recognise the legitimate wealth that private entrepreneurs have amassed via their management skills, capital investment, innovation and risk-taking.

He added the public should be guided to respect the contributions and fortunes of the private sector.

“All businesses should be treated equally in our socialist market economy,” said Teng, who is also the director of the Beijing-based Wanb Institute.

July’s plan, seen as Beijing’s strongest message ever to China’s private sector, included reassurances of increased theoretical study, as well as publicity, to guide the public to “correctly understand and respect” the wealth of private entrepreneurs.

It also vowed to fight incorrect notions that belittled or denied the role of the sector, although private businesses have remained unconvinced.

‘Unleash their vigour’: China’s new bureau for private firms takes policy lead

In September, a private economy development bureau was also created under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to shoulder the responsibility of coordinating a raft of new support policies.

And on Monday, a 25-point policy package was announced by eight financial regulators and business chambers to help private businesses obtain more and easier funding.

The document was co-issued by the People’s Bank of China, National Administration of Financial Regulation, China Securities Regulatory Commission, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the NDRC, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Finance and All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.

It promised to increase the proportion of loans for private enterprises and proactively tailor financial services to the needs of the industrial and supply chains.

It also vowed to ensure “continuous funding services” for private enterprises, warning against “blindly stopping, suppressing, withdrawing or cutting off loans”.

Private businesses encountering difficulties but with competitive products, projects or technologies would also be provided with more advanced funding, the document added.

Private developers are also ensured “stable credit and funding channels, including loans and bonds”.

Yang Weimin, a long-term aide to former economic tsar Liu He at the Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Leading Group, had earlier echoed the calls for more policy support.

“The government must articulate the role of the private sector and abide by the law to create stable expectations for businesses to thrive,” he said in an interview with mainland media outlet Caixin in October.

Greenpeace accuses Chinese oil and gas firms like PetroChina and CNOOC of ‘greenwashing’ LNG purchases

https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3242907/greenpeace-accuses-chinese-oil-and-gas-firms-petrochina-and-cnooc-greenwashing-lng-purchases?utm_source=rss_feed

Big oil and gas companies in China and elsewhere are using low-quality carbon offsets to “greenwash” their imports of natural gas while failing to make strong emissions cutting commitments, environment group Greenpeace said on Monday.

Firms like PetroChina and CNOOC Gas and Power have signed long-term contracts with Shell to buy “carbon neutral” liquefied natural gas (LNG), which uses “forest offsets” to balance out carbon emissions.

Greenpeace, which has long opposed fossil fuel producers counting carbon offsets towards their emissions reduction goals, said the “carbon neutral” branding was misleading the public.

“For oil and gas companies in particular, carbon offsets are a smokescreen to obscure their continued, redoubled carbon emissions,” said Li Jiatong, project leader with Greenpeace in Beijing.

PetroChina did not respond to a request for comment. CNOOC Oil and Gas’s parent company said it was not itself involved in LNG purchases. Shell declined to comment on Greenpeace’s report.

Many of the offsets were not being measured consistently and sometimes were being double counted, Greenpeace said. And some forests tied to offset schemes were vulnerable to fires that could turn them into a carbon source, rather than a carbon sink.

Greenpeace said credits from 15 forestry carbon sink projects in China, involving Shell, PetroChina, CNOOC and other companies, have already been banked, but 80 per cent of the projects planted trees that are at medium- to high-risk of burning down.

Rising sales of “carbon neutral” LNG are being driven by a surge in gas demand, particularly in Asia. Around 85 per cent of carbon neutral cargoes have been sold to Asian buyers, Greenpeace said.

Global decarbonisation efforts need urgent course change to limit climate change

China’s gas consumption is expected to reach 250 billion cubic metres (bcm) by 2026, up from 216 bcm last year, accounting for almost half of new global demand over the period, the International Energy Agency said.

The idea of “carbon neutral” gas is likely to be on the agenda during COP28 talks starting this week, said Polly Hemming, director of the Climate and Energy Program at the Australia Institute.

While it is still a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, gas is cleaner than coal and has been described as a “bridge fuel” in the global energy transition, but anti-fossil fuel groups oppose any new gas projects.

“Stapling those offsets to fossil fuels and claiming that they are net zero – it’s bonkers,” said Hemming.

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China’s respiratory disease surge, Hongkongers in the UK, Archie’s Bollywood debut: 6 weekend reads you may have missed

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3242903/chinas-respiratory-disease-surge-hongkongers-uk-archies-bollywood-debut-6-weekend-reads-you-may-have?utm_source=rss_feed

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

Malaysia scraps visa requirements for travellers from China, India

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3242897/malaysia-scraps-visa-requirements-travellers-china-india?utm_source=rss_feed

Malaysia will scrap entry visa requirements for citizens of China and India visiting the nation beginning December 1, according to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Chinese and Indian nationals may stay for up to 30 days visa-free, Anwar said in a speech at his People’s Justice Party’s annual congress in Putrajaya late on Sunday.

Malaysia is counting on extra tourist arrivals – and their spending – to support economic growth. Anwar last month announced plans to improve visa facilities next year to encourage the entry of tourists and investors, “especially from India and China”.

“Next year, Malaysia will be celebrating 50 years of diplomatic ties with China,” he said during the congress on Sunday, adding that the visa exemption would be subject to security screening.

“Those [from these countries] with criminal records and risk of violence will not be given the visa,” Anwar said.

Countries whose nationals already enjoy visa exemptions in Malaysia include Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Turkey and Jordan.

China to allow citizens of 6 nations visa-free entry to country

China on Friday said it would allow citizens of six countries including Malaysia to enter the country without a visa. The move takes effect from December 1 and will last until November 30 of next year, and will allow leisure, business and family travellers from those nations to stay in China for up to 15 days visa-free.

China and India are Malaysia’s fourth and fifth-largest tourism source markets, respectively.

According to government data, Malaysia recorded 9.16 million tourist arrivals between January and June this year, with 498,540 from China and 283,885 from India. That compared to 1.5 million arrivals from China and 354,486 from India in the same period of 2019, prior to the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Anwar said he would also be meeting Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on Monday.

“I will be heading to the border of Sadao [Thailand] and Bukit Kayu Hitam with the Thai prime minister,” he said. “We have taken this approach to ensure two-way travel is good, efficient and will encourage more two-way travel between Thailand and Malaysia.”

‘Dangerous places’: insurgents, drugs and tourists at the Malaysia-Thai border

Anwar said this would also spur development in Southern Thailand and northern Peninsular Malaysia, adding that the necessary measures would be taken to encourage tourism, including upgrading transport infrastructure at airports.

As for Singapore, Anwar said relations between the two neighbours were stronger now, adding that there must be political would to resolve any issues to ensure win-win solutions for both countries.

He said the special economic zone in Johor would ensure stronger cooperation with Singapore.

Additional reporting by Reuters,

‘He will be extraordinary’: proud China father praises ‘emotional strength’ of poorly-performing son in emotional school speech

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3242322/he-will-be-extraordinary-proud-china-father-praises-emotional-strength-poorly-performing-son?utm_source=rss_feed

A speech by a father in China in which he expressed the belief that his academically-poor-performing son has a bright future has captivated mainland social media and reignited a discussion about parenting styles.

During a teacher-parent meeting at an elite elementary school in Qingdao, Shandong province in eastern China, a man, whose son was bottom of the class was invited to speak about his child, Zhengfa Channel reported.

“My son is a struggling student, but I still believe he will be able to make great contributions to society when he grows up,” the father said in a viral video shot in a classroom on November 17.

The father, who was not identified in the report, then apologised to the teachers because his son’s low grades had brought down the average mark of the class.

“But I still believe he will have a bright future,” the father insisted, adding: “It is because of two factors. Firstly, despite my son’s poor scores, he still feels relieved. He also eats, drinks, plays and sleeps well. He seems never worried about his studies and this makes me admire him.

“This means he has a very strong mentality, even better than mine. I am the holder of a psychologist consultant’s certificate. Strong mentality and a high emotional quotient are crucial to success in our careers,” the father said.

The second reason he gave was that the boy was making gradual progress in his studies thanks to his teachers.

“Sometimes he can score 60 out of 100 in tests. So I think he has a chance to become an extraordinary person in the future,” the father added.

People on mainland social media have praised the father.

On Douyin alone, the video of his two-minute speech has been viewed 8.3 million times and has attracted more than 200,000 likes.

“This is the most clear-minded parent in China,” said one online observer.

“Life is a marathon. It is too early to say a person has won or lost at such a young age,” said another.

“Every kid aspires for his parents’ recognition and support. If you don’t accept his shortcomings, how will he be able to face the challenges in society?” said a third.

Good parenting stories frequently make headlines in China.

In September, a mother in Zhejiang province in the east of the country comforted her teenage daughter with a hug and kisses after the girl asked why she was not as beautiful as her mother.

A video clip of the pair’s interaction touched many hearts on mainland social media.

Also, a woman in Shanghai won online praise for her tolerant attitude towards her son, a secondary school pupil, after he left a note asking her to ignore his teacher’s complaints about his low scores.

Hong Kong, Chinese buyers shrug off high prices and interest rates to pile into prime Australian property

https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3242843/hong-kong-chinese-buyers-shrug-high-prices-and-interest-rates-pile-prime-australian-property?utm_source=rss_feed

Hong Kong and mainland China-based buyers are snapping up residential units in Australia despite elevated interest rates and surging home prices Down Under, according to agents.

Average home prices in some major Australian cities rose by about 1 per cent month on month in October, according to CoreLogic, a property data services provider in Australia and New Zealand.

In some cities such as Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide prices are at a record-high, having increased by as much as 11 per cent over the past 12 months, said Daniel Ho, co-founder and group managing director of property listing portal Juwai IQI.

The surge in home prices comes despite Australia’s central bank this month hiking interest rates by 25 basis points to control inflation that continues to trend higher than the target annual rate of between 2 per cent and 3 per cent. The interest rate now stands at 4.25 per cent, a 12-year high.

However, foreign buyers, including those from Hong Kong and mainland China, have shrugged off the rate increases to pile into Australian property.

Recently, a buyer from Hong Kong paid A$3.8 million (US$2.5 million) for a four-bedroom flat in Sydney, said Peter Li, general manager of Plus Agency, a property agency with more than A$200 million in annual sales.

Another Chinese buyer paid A$3 million for a custom-tailored duplex in a suburb in Sydney, Li said.

Other agents have reported similar upswings in overseas buying sentiment, after the Australian government approved 40 per cent more foreign homebuyers in the third quarter from a year earlier.

Buyers from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam top the list, they said.

Ken Jacobs, a Sydney-based luxury property agent, said he “negotiated several significant properties for buyers from China and Hong Kong who have recently been granted permanent residency”.

“Foreign buying is surging because of China’s newly opened borders, an increase in foreign students and a steep rise in immigration,” said Juwai IQI’s Ho. “Sales to foreign buyers have increased for four quarters in a row and are now at a five-and-a-half-year high.”

The Chinese are the most active foreign buyers in Australia, and this year they have returned in great numbers, he added.

Australia’s population grew by 2.2 per cent to 26.5 million in the 12 months to March, according to the latest official data. Net overseas migration accounted for more than 80 per cent of the population growth.

Chinese buyers throng Australia in ‘serious mood’ about buying homes

Separately, approved monthly total homes in the country this year have ranged between 12,338 and 15,218 units as of September, lower than the 12,929 and 23,137 units approved monthly from 2019 to 2022.

Given the limited number of approved new residential units as well as the rising demand for homes including those from overseas buyers, prices are likely to remain firm in the coming year, property agents said.

“The main reason is the shortage of quality houses coming onto the market, which is not matching demand,” Jacobs said. “Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong buyers are significant, but there is also increasing interest from US and European buyers.”

Demand and transactions have increased, according to Plus Agency’s Li.

“We see many more foreign buyer inquiries, and transactions are up, too, but not in proportion to inquiries,” Li said. “Foreign buyer inquiries are up about 400 per cent compared with last year, while transactions are up about 20 per cent.

“The big trend we have seen is that overseas buyers are willing to pay a premium of 20 per cent or more for homes they can customise to their own tastes.”

Meanwhile, home price trends in Australia next year will hinge on supply, which is expected to remain below demand, and interest rates, said Juwai IQI’s Ho.

“Most analysts think prices will rise by up to 5 per cent in 2024, but one well-respected forecaster predicts a drop of up to 4 per cent,” said Ho.

“It will be a battle of attrition between interest rates on the one hand and a housing shortage on the other. Will interest rates eventually be able to force price falls? We’ll find out next year.”

China’s loss is India’s gain as Western drug makers pivot – despite quality, oversight concerns

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3242890/chinas-loss-indias-gain-western-drug-makers-pivot-despite-quality-oversight-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed

Drug makers are seeking to limit their reliance on Chinese contractors who produce drugs used in clinical trials and early-stage manufacturing, a move that is benefiting rivals in India, according to interviews with 10 industry executives and experts.

China has for nearly 20 years been the preferred location for a range of pharmaceutical research and manufacturing services due to the low cost and speed offered by contract drug makers there.

That relationship largely held firm despite a US-China trade war under former US president Donald Trump and supply chain havoc experienced by other industries during the Covid-19 pandemic. But increasing tensions with China have prompted more Western governments to recommend that companies “de-risk” supply chains from exposure to the Asian superpower.

That is leading some biotech companies to consider using manufacturers in India to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients for clinical trials or other outsourced work.

“Today you’re probably not sending an RFP (request for proposal) to a Chinese company,” said Tommy Erdei, global co-head of healthcare investment banking at Jefferies. “It’s like, ‘I don’t want to know, it doesn’t matter if they can do it for cheaper, I’m not going to start putting my product into China’.”

Dr Ashish Nimgaonkar, the founder of Glyscend Therapeutics, a US-based biotech firm testing treatments for type 2 diabetes and obesity in early trials, agreed. “All of the factors over the past several years have made China a less attractive option for us,” he said.

De-risk? Decouple? It’s just the West disrupting supply chains, Beijing says

Nimgaonkar said that when Glyscend issues an RFP later in the development stage of the medicines it has in trials, Indian contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs) would be preferred over Chinese ones.

Four of India’s largest CDMOs – Syngene, Aragen Life Sciences, Piramal Pharma Solutions, and Sai Life Sciences – said they have this year seen increased interest and requests from Western pharmaceutical companies, including major multinationals.

Sai declined to comment on profit growth but said sales have grown 25-30 per cent in recent years. The other companies said they reported strong profit growth in the most recent quarter.

Top executives at the firms said some customers want to add India as a second source, in addition to China, for manufacturing. Others are seeking to leave China and even making requests to originate supply chains in India.

The full benefit for these Indian manufacturers will not be immediate, said Peter DeYoung, CEO of Piramal Pharma Solutions.

It will take time for treatments in early development to make it to the market, when contracts would become more lucrative for outsourcing firms like his, he said.

Chinese CDMOs are established makers of biologic drugs, which require a higher threshold of regulatory approval than conventional medicines, said Helen Chen, Greater China Managing Partner at L.E.K. Consulting in Shanghai.

Hiring a new firm for complex work such as biologic manufacturing can take three to five years, she added. “It’s really not something that [companies] just pick up and move like shoes.”

India is seeking a bigger foothold in the pharmaceutical services sector to boost sales and reputation for its US$42 billion pharmaceuticals industry.

But concerns over lax oversight persist. Nimgaonkar said Indian CDMOs need to do more to ensure their reputation on quality standards matches Western and Chinese ones.

In February, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned against using an eye drop made in India linked to the outbreak of a drug-resistant bacteria in the United States that caused one death.

India-based research firm Mordor Intelligence estimates revenue from India’s CDMO industry at US$15.6 billion this year compared to US$27.1 billion in China. But it estimates revenues from India’s industry will grow, on average, at more than 11 per cent annually over the next five years, compared to about 9.6 per cent for China.

Quality of India-made drugs in spotlight amid US ‘superbug’ outbreak

The Indian CDMOs said that their facilities are routinely inspected by the FDA. The FDA declined to comment.

Piramal Pharma has this year received requests from clients for “backward integration to India”, which means that even the most basic raw materials are sourced from the country instead of China, said DeYoung. Piramal buys about 15 per cent of its raw materials from China but is trying to reduce that.

Sai Life Sciences said it almost doubled manufacturing capacity since 2019 and is adding another 25 per cent in the next year or so to meet demand.

Ramesh Subramanian, chief commercial officer of Aragen, a privately-owned Indian firm that has grown from 2,500 to 4,500 employees in the past five years, said revenue growth of 21 per cent last year was partly driven by new contracts with Western biotech firms. Aragen counts seven of the 10 biggest pharmaceutical companies as clients, he said, declining to name them.

The shift is particularly evident in drug discovery work for conventional pharmaceuticals.

“New biotechs are deciding to put eggs in both the Indian and China baskets from the start,” Subramanian said.

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Chinese scientists achieve breakthrough in early detection of ‘king cancer’ that killed Steve Jobs

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3242671/chinese-scientists-achieve-breakthrough-early-detection-king-cancer-killed-steve-jobs?utm_source=rss_feed

An artificial intelligence tool developed by Chinese scientists has led to a breakthrough in early-stage screening of one of the most fatal cancers.

Pancreatic cancer, often called the “king of cancers”, has an average five-year survival rate of less than 10 per cent. It killed Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 2011, and more recently, it was the cause of death last month of Wu Zunyou, chief scientist at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

One of the main reasons pancreatic cancer has such a high death rate is the difficulty in early detection. It is rarely found in its early stages, when the chance of curing it is at its greatest. That is because it often does not cause symptoms until it has spread to other organs, according to the Mayo Clinic.

But the early screening model, developed jointly by AI scientists from tech firm Alibaba Group’s DAMO Academy and clinical researchers from hospitals including the Shanghai Institution of Pancreatic Diseases, has shown promising results. Alibaba is the owner of the South China Morning Post.

The model combines a non-contrast computed tomography (CAT) scan with an AI algorithm. In a paper published by the peer-reviewed journal Nature Medicine on Monday, the team said the specificity of the early screening model reached 99.9 per cent, implying there is only one false-positive case in every 1,000 tests.

Meanwhile, its sensitivity, or ability to detect pancreatic tumours, could reach 92.9 per cent, beating mean radiologist performance by 34.1 per cent.

One of the paper’s reviewers, Li Ruijiang, an associate professor of radiation oncology at the Stanford School of Medicine, said the work represented “an important step in the right direction for pancreatic cancer screening”.

Yet AI-based imaging applications have not been granted approval by Chinese authorities, according to a doctor from the Cancer Hospital at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences who declined to be named. So despite its impressive initial results, there is still a long way to go before the technology could be used in clinical practice.

The early screening model developed by the team is tailored for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common subtype of pancreatic cancer, which accounts for over 95 per cent of all cases. PDAC causes around 466,000 deaths per year worldwide.

In the United States, pancreatic cancer is now the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths for both men and women, and trends indicate that it will be the second leading cause of cancer death in the country by 2030.

Research published in April by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), which looked at trends in age-standardised cancer incidence, survival and mortality rates between 2000 and 2019, found that death rates from pancreatic cancer have been steadily increasing – 0.2 per cent every year from 2006 to 2019.

Chinese cancer drug makes historic foray into US amid medicine crisis

Early or incidental detection can significantly improve a patient’s chance of survival. Studies have shown that high-risk patients who had PDAC detected in early screening have a median overall survival of 9.8 years, while those with late diagnoses have a median survival of 1.5 years.

However, there is a lack of effective and easily accessible screening technology for the general population.

With the prevalence of pancreatic cancer relatively low – there are fewer than 13 cases per 100,000 – the use of expensive contrast-enhanced CAT scans across the general population is uneconomic.

“On the other hand, existing early screening tools for pancreatic cancer are generally poor in accuracy, leading to many cases of misdiagnosis and unnecessary panic,” said lead author Cao Kai from the Shanghai Institution of Pancreatic Diseases in an interview with mainland media website Zhishifenzi.

It was during a conversation last year between Cao and Lu Le, the leader of DAMO Academy’s medical team, that they came up with the idea of using AI to assist in early cancer screening.

The pair quickly took action and, together with more than 10 prestigious medical institutions, they initiated a research project aimed at developing a technology that would combine non-contrast CAT scans, which are widely used in medical facilities and hospitals, with AI to create a model suitable for large-scale pancreatic cancer screening.

Their brainchild was an algorithm for “pancreatic cancer detection with artificial intelligence” – known as PANDA. It was trained based on more than 3,200 image sets from a high-volume pancreatic cancer institution in China, about 70 per cent of which stemmed from patients with a pancreatic lesion.

Thanks to the large data set, meticulous data processing and innovative training strategy design, PANDA was trained as a highly perceptive AI imaging expert.

Researchers at DAMO Academy discovered that subtle density differences in non-contrast CAT scans, which may be difficult to detect with the naked eye, can be picked up by AI.

When applying PANDA to real-world clinical scenarios involving 20,530 patients to validate its accuracy, the researchers found that the AI tool could achieve impressive sensitivity of up to 92.9 per cent and a specificity of 99.9 per cent.

According to information provided by Alibaba Cloud, the PANDA model has been used more than 500,000 times in settings including hospitals and medical examinations, and has detected multiple cases of early-stage pancreatic cancer that were previously missed.

“The accuracy metrics of the PANDA algorithm are superior to those of several acknowledged screening methods,” German clinical expert Joerg Kleeff and his colleague wrote in a comment piece published in the same Nature issue.

Beijing to restrict use of generative AI in online healthcare activities

However, they also warned that further assessment was needed before the AI-based screening could become widespread practice.

They pointed out that any potential screening method for pancreatic cancer should detect early stages such as “T1 lesions”, which are smaller than 2cm (0.79 inches) in diameter, but the AI model from China did not report specificity and predictive values for this subgroup.

“The value of any screening method for cancer lies in reducing all-cause mortality. The study was of retrospective design and so could not assess the effect of screening on the mortality of included patients,” they said, adding that AI-based screening should be evaluated with the same rigour as conventional screening.

“This AI model is still at the early stage and warrants more validation efforts,” the doctor at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences said. He added that given the low prevalence of pancreatic cancer, the demand for this AI tool would be limited.

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With China’s help, Fiji targets self-sufficiency in rice in 20 years

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3242815/chinas-help-fiji-targets-self-sufficiency-rice-20-years?utm_source=rss_feed

The South Pacific nation of Fiji is embarking on a mission to achieve rice self-sufficiency within the next two decades, a goal that may be attainable with Chinese assistance and high-yield farming techniques.

Fiji’s newfound enthusiasm for growing rice was precipitated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused supply-chain disruptions that made clear that depending on the import of staple grains such as rice was a food security threat.

The Observatory of Economic Complexity estimated that in 2021, Fiji imported rice worth US$28.7 million, predominantly from China, Vietnam and Thailand.

“Fiji does not possess a comparative advantage in rice production due to its low average yield per hectare and high production costs. Importing rice from countries with more efficient production practices results in lower prices for consumers in Fiji,” said economics professor Baljeet Singh of the University of the South Pacific.

“This aspect is of paramount importance, particularly in ensuring food security and enhancing affordability for the population,” he added.

Rice, rice, maybe? Asia’s middle class seek out low-carb alternatives

Fiji once had a thriving rice industry, with production hitting a peak of 33,000 tonnes in 1987. That declined to 8,209 tonnes in 2020, this despite the increase in rice consumption in the country since the 1990s, Singh said, adding that about 60,000 tonnes are required for self-sufficiency.

“Rice cultivation received paramount attention from the government during the period spanning from 1970 to 1990. Achieving self-sufficiency in rice production stood as a pivotal goal within developmental plans, with the ambitious target to attain a 90 per cent self-sufficiency rate by the year 1990,” Singh told This Week in Asia.

Although Fiji had achieved 66 per cent self-sufficiency by 1987, rice production dropped as a result of the 1987 coup led by Sitiveni Rabuka, a lieutenant colonel.

The takeover was staged in protest of Indo-Fijian domination of the economy and politics. At the time, most rice farmers and rice consumers were Indo-Fijian.

There had been large government investments in the rice industry in the two decades before the coup, with support extended to farmers through fertiliser subsidies, credit facilities, extension services and access to irrigated water that resulted in the production peak of 1987.

“[The coup] led to a substantial shift in government policy, transitioning from import substitution to export promotion. All previous governmental support for the rice industry was withdrawn, precipitating a gradual decline in rice production from the early 1990s onwards,” Singh said.

However, in the past two decades, there has been a significant transformation in the eating habits of indigenous Fijians, largely due to the proliferation of Asian – particularly Chinese – food outlets which have popularised rice over the traditional yam, taro and cassava-based diet.

It was not until the pandemic that the government began supporting the rice industry again by launching the “We Rice Up” programme in an attempt to increase yields and return the industry to its glory days.

Despite the efforts, the agriculture industry is suffering from a serious manpower crisis, according to Raj Sharma, chairman of rice milling company Fiji Rice Pte Ltd.

“Aged farmers and an extreme shortage of labour on farms require an alternative, which is mechanisation,” he told This Week in Asia.

China rice development assistance to Fiji aims to overcome these challenges by utilising new high-breed seeds and technology-driven rice farming techniques.

Since January 2015, under the development assistance programme, China has helped rejuvenate five local rice varieties and introduced 16 Chinese rice varieties. It has also trained more than 4,000 local agricultural officials and farmers. Additionally, since October 2022, China has dispatched six experts to Fiji to implement a three-year programme to introduce mechanised rice farming.

In an interview with This Week in Asia, Chinese agri-technician and team leader Chen Huazao explained the team’s plan to train Fijians in enhancing rice farm yields.

“We will promote mechanised direct planting technology of rice,” he said. “Targeted training on rice production technology is being provided to local rice farmers, rice technicians and students of agriculture colleges.”

‘We’re on our own’: Asian rice farmers brace for El Nino’s wrath as crops wither

Chen said in July, a team of experts from China came to Fiji and, in collaboration with the Fiji Academy of Agriculture Sciences, conducted field research to understand Fiji’s production situation and “identify problems, analyse them and work to solve them effectively”.

When asked if the introduction of new high-yield rice seeds and machinery might create dependency on China, Chen said the seeds would be of Fijian varieties, eliminating the need to source them from China in subsequent seasons. The first batch of machinery and spare parts would be provided for free, he added.

“Use of high-yield and high-quality rice varieties, through scientific cultivation management measures, can achieve high-yield rice cultivation, so that more Fijian rice farmers can benefit from it,” Chen said.

According to Sharma, the Chinese-led scheme to encourage dry land cultivation is going well, but the inputs (machines and seeds) are high and the “farmers don’t have the funding to get that high level of input”. Sharma welcomed the government decision to subsidise the costs of that input and offer grants for land preparation, fertilisers and weedicides.

Dry land farmer Parvin Kumar from Rakiraki says he would like some training from the Chinese to improve the yield on his farm, which does not have a proper irrigation system. “If the government can help get machinery, everyone could do farming,” he told This Week in Asia.

Chen said the mechanised rice cultivation methods being introduced would help transform the industry into a technology-driven and “scientific” one, and thereby encourage more young Fijians to take up farming.

Sharma welcomed the idea, but said there was a need to identify youth at the farm level. “It could be at the level of the clusters of rural youth groups, as many of them migrate to urban areas looking for employment,” he said.

The government should also collaborate with village communities and promote agricultural involvement among young people, said Singh of the University of the South Pacific.

“Policymakers should specifically target school dropouts, equipping them with the essential training and farming machinery,” he added.

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Thailand wants to build a brand new shipping route. Why isn’t China buying?

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3242721/thailand-wants-build-brand-new-shipping-route-why-isnt-china-buying?utm_source=rss_feed

When Beijing goes on the hunt for weak links in its economic chain, the Malacca Strait is a place Chinese officials and academics often cite as a point of exceptional vulnerability. Many essential materials – particularly crude oil and minerals, which carry vast strategic importance – are shipped through it.

For decades Chinese authorities have searched for alternatives, investing heavily in gas pipelines from Central Asia, the China-Pakistan economic corridor, a pipeline linking Myanmar’s ports in the Andaman Sea with Southwest China’s Yunnan province and a network of China-Europe freight trains.

The latest option to come across Beijing’s desk is the Land Bridge project in Thailand, which uses rail links to connect the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand and bypass Malacca entirely.

The project, a replacement for the more controversial and expensive Kra Canal, was brought up by Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin when he attended the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in mid-October.

At the forum, Srettha went so far as to scrawl a simple illustration of one projected path for the land bridge, which he posted online.

China has long been viewed as a potential patron and user, since a vast majority of its crude oil is presently sourced from the Middle East.

It has also spent big on its Belt and Road Initiative – an infrastructure strategy to enhance regional connectivity with more than 3,000 projects either complete or in the works.

However, analysts have observed low Chinese interest in the Thai plan, at least for the moment.

“China is not convinced [of what] it can expect from the project,” said Lu Xiang, a senior researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a Beijing-based governmental think tank.

He explained Beijing’s prudence by adding the land bridge is not the kind of high-profile, strategic project that China would throw its weight behind.

“It doesn’t look like an alternative route,” he said, adding offloading and reloading would be complex and may not cut costs to a significant degree.

Without a viable substitute, the strait is likely to remain an essential route for bringing crude from the Middle East to East Asia and consumer goods back from China.

In one effort among many to safeguard energy security and mitigate reliance on a single avenue for fuel transport, Beijing has spent heavily to jointly build the Power of Siberia pipeline with Russia.

Lu said Chinese companies may make their own assessments and explore options with their Thai partners.

“For now China may remain ambivalent, but it won’t mind the Thais engaging some commercial entities in China,” he added.

Zhu Feng, dean of the Institute of International Relations at Nanjing University, said the future of the project depends on the resolve of the Thai authorities and how political dynamics shift.

“China is unlikely to fund the project, but Chinese companies are likely to be major contractors if the project gets going,” he said.

Zhu added the belt and road will be centred around rational business decisions based on investment returns for the next 10 years, and there would be fewer state-led investments to build mega projects overseas.

The project, which would link ports in the provinces of Chumpon and Ranong, is estimated to cost 1 trillion baht (US$27.7 billion) and involve a 90km (55-mile) railway and road bridge on both sides of the Gulf of Thailand and the Indian Ocean.

It could create 280,000 local jobs, Thai media reported, and Bangkok hopes to break ground in 2025 for a projected annual carrying capacity of 10 million containers after completion.

The Thai government is planning to roll out roadshows for promotional and fundraising purposes in the coming months, transport minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit was quoted as saying.

At present, it is unclear whether it will adopt a public-private partnership or build-operate-transfer model.

‘Huge potential’: China looks to belt and road to feed demand for minerals

The bidding process for the contract is expected to start between April and June of next year, according to the Hong Kong Trade and Development Council, while the first phase of operational construction is projected to begin in 2030.

Interest in collaboration also likely lies in Beijing’s proven capacity for infrastructure building, as seen in marquee projects like the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai cross-sea bridge and the 135km Pinglu canal in Southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Southeast Asia, with its lower manufacturing costs and potential customer base of over 600 million, is a battleground for attention and investment as China’s rivalry with the United States heats up.

Asean is now China’s top export destination, replacing the US and the European Union. The country’s exports to the region totalled US$428.8 billion in the first 10 months of the year, customs data showed.

“Asean is more like a manufacturing hinterland of China,” said Louise Chan, deputy director of Hong Kong Trade and Development Council Research.

Chan estimated that connecting the southern part of Thailand through land bridges will save four to five days’ travel time.

However, environmental assessments and damage to the existing agriculture business could be obstacles to construction.

“Money is still a problem”, he added. “Venture capital is quite cautious with the current economic situation.”

Thailand is a major member of the belt and road. But progress on projects like high-speed rail has been slow.

Beijing has not publicly commented on the canal or the land bridge, and neither were included on the list of belt and road projects released by the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planner.

The Kra Canal, an earlier option floated as a possible bypass of the Malacca Strait, has not garnered much attention. In 2015, the official Xinhua news agency brought up the project only to discuss its difficulty, and mentions in Chinese media have been practically nonexistent since.

If either the rail links or canal became viable, it would be a tremendous change. It would not only cut shipping costs and travel time, but also completely reshape Southeast Asia’s economic and trade landscape.

But a project’s potential is quite different from the more complicated reality. “In terms of decreasing the amount of oil going through Malacca, offloading, transporting by train and then onloading would be expensive,” said David Zweig, an emeritus professor of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Game changer or white elephant? China eyes Asean links with shipping canal

“China is already quite busy on the Kunming-Kuala Lumpur railway (completed to Vientiane),” he added, “so they may not want to take on another project”.

Those considerations aside, interest in reducing dependency on the strait remains apparent.

The world’s second-largest economy built a 2,380km gas pipeline in 2013 with an annual transport capacity of 12 billion cubic metres, and a separate crude oil pipeline via Myanmar to bypass Malacca with an annual transport capacity of 22 million tonnes.

Rail links are also being extended to countries in Southeast Asia.

Another route is through Pakistan’s Gwadar Port, which can quickly reach the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in China’s far west, though the security of Chinese projects there could be in doubt after a series of violent attacks by militants.

Tjia Yin-nor, an associate professor of public affairs with City University of Hong Kong, said Beijing will probably not be eager to get involved in big-ticket projects any time soon, as they have announced a turn to “small yet smart” endeavours.

The pivot marked a major shift in the country’s long-term focus.

“Initiative-related international development cooperation has been declining since 2019 both in terms of number of projects and the amount of funding,” she said.

“They will be more cautious in identifying quality projects for investment.”

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