• Jiang Ping, Chinese legal scholar who challenged state’s grip, dies at 92
• Xi Jinping says Chinese business having ‘tough time’ in new year message
• Taiwan considers joining ICC to deter potential China invasion
• Chinese President Xi Jinping pledges reform in future-focused New Year’s address
• China eye doctor punches patient, 82, in head mid-surgery to ‘stop her moving’, angers public, triggers official probe
• China to simplify visa applications for US tourists as both countries seek to improve relations
• Chinese fintech giant Ant Group gets approval for no-controller status, ending Jack Ma’s reign before seeking IPO
• Is China reaching the limits of its air pollution control efforts?
• British private schools in China under threat as new ‘patriotic’ law comes in
• Uganda to start building oil pipeline with pipes from China, as opposition mounts
• Woman divorces husband after uncovering affair and love child, awarded 4 properties by China court and wants to recover all money given to lover
• Time is running out for mother desperate to hug Chinese-Israeli hostage in Gaza
• China’s manufacturing PMI falls for third month in a row highlighting challenges world’s second biggest economy faces in 2024
• China-India trade tensions may continue in 2024, but Beijing doesn’t want to rock the boat
• ‘It was bait: young woman in China tricked by employer to take out loan to have plastic surgery
• China property: ordinary buyers eye foreclosed homes at heavy discounts as investors retreat from market
• Taiwan’s mysterious extended-range missile poses limited threat to Chinese mainland, military article says

Jiang Ping, Chinese legal scholar who challenged state’s grip, dies at 92

https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/12/31/jiang-ping-china-legal-dies/2023-12-31T16:40:10.867Z

Jiang Ping, a Chinese legal scholar forced to resign a university president post after backing the 1989 pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square but who remained an influential voice for the rights of citizens against the powers of the state, died Dec. 19 at a hospital in Beijing. He was 92.

His death was announced by the China University of Political Science and Law, where he was a longtime professor and served as president for two years until being pushed out in 1990.

Mr. Jiang occupied an increasingly rare space in China, finding ways to question authorities over crackdowns on dissent and limits on free expression while maintaining a prominent position in a country where opposition voices are often silenced.

“More and more people are genuinely interested in the fate of China’s rule of law,” Mr. Jiang said. He also conceded that the Chinese state has often moved in the opposite direction, including the tightening grip on power by President Xi Jinping.

There was a personal stake for Mr. Jiang. In the 1980s, as China began to move past the purges and persecution of Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, Mr. Jiang was among four legal scholars who helped draft China’s first modern civil rights codes, which set basic legal principles such as due process in the legal system. But there were clear boundaries. Citizens, for example, still could not sue the Communist Party.

Mr. Jiang also had a hand in helping set the foundations for China’s future economic surge, crafting the framework for laws covering property rights, contracts and corporate rules. The work established Mr. Jiang’s reputation as one of China’s leading legal experts and a mentor for generations of rights activists and reformers. “Bow only to the truth,” was among his oft-quoted axioms.

Mr. Jiang decried censorship and indirectly chided Chinese leaders by asserting that the country’s economic modernization could not come at the expense of human rights and judicial accountability. Yet he did not cast himself as an impatient rebel. He believed that younger Chinese and future generations would eventually push leaders to accept more democracy and strengthen the rule of law.

“We should have a spirit of tolerance, which is to say: To what extent can we compromise with reality?” Mr. Jiang said. “Don’t feel bad about compromising. Time will slowly change everything.”

His ability to scold the system without incurring its full wrath added to his mystique in the eyes of his supporters. During the Tiananmen Square protests, Mr. Jiang was one of 10 university presidents who signed an open letter urging authorities to show restraint and open a dialogue with student demonstrators.

He staged a personal sit-in at the gates to his campus in solidarity with Tiananmen crowds. In an oral memoir made public in 2010, Mr. Jiang described two attributes that he believed were essential for intellectuals in China. “One is an independent spirit that does not succumb to any political pressure and dares to think independently,” he said. “The other is a critical spirit.”

Chinese authorities sent tanks and troops into Tiananmen Square in early June 1989 to crush the pro-democracy movement. The following February, Mr. Jiang was ousted as president of the China University of Political Science and Law, one of the centers of student organizing for the protests. Other university leaders seen as sympathetic to the Tiananmen crowds also were forced out.

Mr. Jiang was careful not to make public comments after being pushed out as president and was allowed to remain as a law professor. A friend, however, described to The Washington Post comments by Mr. Jiang at the time: “I’m maintaining my views,” Mr. Jiang was quoted by the friend as saying. “China must move toward democracy and the rule of law. … It has to come.”

Forced labor

Jiang Weilian was born on Dec. 28, 1930, in Dalian in northeastern China. His father was a bank employee; his mother was a homemaker.

He changed his name to Jiang Ping to protect his family from possible retribution during China’s civil war, which pitted Mao’s Communist forces against the rival Kuomintang, which was ruling China. Mr. Jiang left his university studies to join the Communist side in the war’s final years in the late 1940s.

After the Communist Party gained control in 1949, Mr. Jiang and other students were sent to the Soviet Union to continue studies. Mr. Jiang was dispatched to Moscow in 1951 to study law. He recounted a pivotal moment in shaping his political outlook: hearing news of a secret speech by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev denouncing the earlier purges and mass persecution by Joseph Stalin. For Mr. Jiang, the shifting views on Stalin were evidence that power could be challenged and reevaluated. (In 1981, Chinese leaders denounced some of Mao’s brutality but declared that his “contributions to the Chinese revolution far outweigh his mistakes.”)

Mr. Jiang returned to China in 1956 to take a teaching position at the Beijing College of Political Science and Law (now China University of Political Science and Law). Soon, however, he was caught up in Mao’s sweeping enforcement of strict Communist orthodoxy. Mr. Jiang — like many professors, writers and others — was assigned to labor crews for political “reeducation.” His wife, a classmate he met in Moscow, divorced him under political pressure.

While walking across a rail line with a load of steel pipes, he was struck by a train and one of his legs was mangled. He was fitted with a prosthetic leg that he wore the rest of his life.

In the late 1970s, as China began its outreach to the West, Mr. Jiang returned to his teaching position at the university and later was selected to help create the civil codes and other legal statutes aimed at supporting China’s new market-driven visions.

He grew increasingly critical of the overshadowing of the rule of law by what he called “rule by law,” the political leadership using the courts as a lever of power.

“Because the judicial system is tied to the political system, if there is no real political reform, the reforms to the judicial system cannot be fully realized,” Mr. Jiang told Reuters in 2014.

Mr. Jiang’s second wife, Cui Qi, died in July. Survivors include a son; a daughter; a sister, and two grandchildren.

Even as China grew to be a global economic power, Mr. Jiang described the leadership as deeply insecure — relying on force rather than dialogue when confronted with demands for greater freedoms during Tiananmen and the uprisings in Hong Kong.

“Democracy is best in supervision,” he told an interviewer. “We are always talking about improving the supervision mechanism. The best supervision mechanism is press freedom. … You can say whatever you have to say, and the leaders cannot suppress it. Free speech is the fundamental issue.”

Xi Jinping says Chinese business having ‘tough time’ in new year message

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/31/xi-jinping-says-chinese-business-having-tough-time-in-new-year-message

China’s president, Xi Jinping, acknowledged in his new year’s message that “some enterprises had a tough time” in 2023 as data showed a weakening of factory production deepened this month, but he vowed to step up the pace of the economy’s recovery.

Speaking on TV, Xi said: “Along the way, we are bound to encounter headwinds. Some enterprises had a tough time. Some people had difficulty finding jobs and meeting basic needs.”

The world’s second-biggest economy’s recovery remains sluggish, held back by a severe property slump, lacklustre global demand and record youth unemployment. Evergrande, once China’s biggest developer, has embarked on a painful debt restructuring process, while Country Garden, its main rival, defaulted in October.

China’s factory activity shrank more than expected in December after a decline in new orders.

Clouding the economic outlook, the worse-than-expected figures boosted expectations of fresh stimulus measures in the new year.

Xi said China would “consolidate and enhance the positive trend of economic recovery, and achieve stable and long-term economic development.”

In 2024, the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, “we will consolidate and strengthen the momentum of economic recovery, and work to achieve steady and long-term economic development. We will deepen reform and opening up across the board,” he said.

The authorities have cracked down on negative commentary to boost public confidence.

China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), a closely watched survey, fell to 49 in December from 49.4 in November, below the 50 mark that divides growth from contraction. This marked the third month of declines and was the weakest reading since June.

New orders were the main drag, sliding to 48.7, while export new orders also worsened, with a reading of 45.8. Production remained in expansion territory but edged lower to 50.2.

“We must step up policy support, otherwise the trend of slowing growth will continue,” said Nie Wen, an economist at Hwabao Trust. Nie expects the central bank to cut interest rates and banks’ reserve requirement ratios in the coming weeks. “Falling prices have greatly affected companies’ profits and further affected people’s employment and incomes. We may see a vicious cycle.”

China’s central bank said on Thursday that it would step up measures to support the economy and encourage a rebound in prices, amid signs of intensifying deflationary pressures. Top Chinese leaders also pledged to take more steps next year at a meeting to chart the economic course for 2024 earlier this month.

Kevin Lam, senior China+ economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “Overall, the impact of the recent fiscal stimulus is yet to be felt in the economy. We are still not seeing the reconstruction-related demand being filtered through to the manufacturing sector.

“Externally, demand conditions from China’s key trading partners – the US and EU – are expected to be sluggish in the near term, thanks to elevated interest rates prevailing in those economies. This will further hamper manufacturing production in China … We continue to expect China to rely on fiscal policies, mainly through the fixed asset investment channel to stabilise growth, but don’t expect bazooka stimulus seen during the global financial crisis.”

China’s non-manufacturing PMI, which includes services and construction, rose to 50.4 in December, indicating a modest expansion. The construction index rose to 56.9 in December, as many companies rushed to complete their construction projects before lunar new year in February.

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Taiwan considers joining ICC to deter potential China invasion

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/31/taiwan-considers-joining-icc-to-deter-potential-china-invasion

Taiwan’s government is considering joining the international criminal court, in part to increase deterrence of a Chinese attack or invasion.

Supporters also say it would help universalise the international legal system, which has a low presence in Asia, and increase Taiwan’s global participation at a time when Beijing works to keep it as isolated as possible.

The court was established by the Rome statute, which defined four core international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression. It has operated since 2002, prosecuting dozens of alleged war criminals. In March the ICC issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, over the forced deportation of children from Ukraine.

Taiwan joining the ICC would allow investigation and warrants against Chinese leader Xi Jinping under international law if he ordered or oversaw acts of war or war crimes against Taiwan on its territory. Supporters have said this could help deter Xi from acting on his intention to annex Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy whose people overwhelmingly reject the prospect of Chinese subjugation.

“[Taiwan joining the ICC] alone may not deter a decision to attack Taiwan,” said Kevin Chang, an international lawyer and associate professor at Taiwan’s National Chengchi University. “But with China trying to assert leadership in the world, this is a significant calculation China has to make.”

Because of the warrant, Putin did not travel to the Brics conference in South Africa earlier this year as he faced the risk of arrest and deportation to The Hague if he landed in the ICC member state.

Prof Jonathan Hafetz, of Seton Hall law school in the US, said he did not think Taiwanese membership of the ICC would have a strong deterrent effect alone, but would probably introduce “another dimension to the larger geopolitical landscape that China would have to navigate”.

The proposal was formally recommended by an independent annual review of Taiwan’s human rights efforts earlier this year. There since have been a number of discussions among members of Taiwan’s judiciary, government and legal profession.

One mechanism for Taiwan to seek ICC membership is to sign up to the Rome statute. The statute is not a UN treaty, but the UN secretary general is the administrator of its membership, and it is unclear whether he could or would refuse Taiwan.

Under the second mechanism, Taiwan’s administrative wing – its president – could unilaterally declare acceptance of ICC jurisdiction over Taiwan’s territory.

Only Ukraine and Palestine have joined by declaration, with Palestine later signing the Rome statute. Legal experts said it wasn’t clear how the ICC would respond to a state with undetermined status attempting the same. Taiwan is not a UN member state and is only recognised by 13 other countries.

“I believe that [rejecting Taiwan] would be extremely risky on the ICC’s part because that would equate to a definitive determination on the question of Taiwan’s statehood and thereby exclude the whole of Taiwan from the reach of international criminal justice,” said Chang.

Beijing is not party to the ICC, and any future investigation in the event of an attack would see little cooperation from China, but it still wields global influence.

“I think China could try to undercut the legitimacy of any ICC action by underscoring the selective nature of international criminal justice and criticising it as a tool of western powers that is applied inconsistently,” Hafetz said. “China would also likely argue that any recognition by the ICC of jurisdiction over Taiwan … is illegitimate.”

With Taiwan heading to a presidential election on 13 January, imminent movement on the proposal is unlikely, but the Guardian understands there are high-level discussions taking place in government.

Taiwan’s department of human rights and transitional justice, which is tasked with responding to the annual human rights review, told the Guardian the ICC recommendation needed “more assessment from relevant departments”.

Prof Ford Fu-Te Liao, from Taiwan’s Academia Sinica, said there were domestic and international political considerations.

“We have to find first a domestic consensus,” Liao said. “I think before we make a declaration there needs to be some political communication with the ICC and several states who are members, to understand what their views are … I would say European states will play a major part on this issue. They don’t want another Ukraine.”

The Guardian asked the three main political parties vying for the presidency for comment. The campaign team for the ruling party’s candidate, Lai Ching-te, said if elected he would be “happy to see the judicial community continue to discuss any opportunities that can further integrate Taiwan with the international judicial system”.

A spokeswoman for the Taiwan People’s Party said the presidential candidate Ko Wen-je believes Taiwan should establish “more connections with the world in all aspects, so as to make Taiwan safer”. She said the party was “optimistic” about talks on Taiwan signing the Rome statute and it becoming “an additional security barrier”.

The KMT opposition did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Additional research by Chi Hui Lin

Chinese President Xi Jinping pledges reform in future-focused New Year’s address

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3246822/chinese-president-xi-jinping-pledges-reform-future-focused-new-years-address?utm_source=rss_feed

Growth and stability were the two big themes of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s New Year’s address to the country on Sunday night, as he put the focus firmly on future progress.

Flanked by photos of his family and images from his tours around the country, Xi called for continued efforts towards modernisation and pledged further reform and opening up.

“We must persist in seeking progress while maintaining stability, promoting stability through advancement,” he said.

But new industries had to be ready before older ones were phased out so the country’s economic recovery could be consolidated and long-term economic stability reached.

Throughout the address carried by all state broadcast media, the president painted a picture of a resilient economy, saying it had weathered storms to “strengthen its body and bones” and maintained growth momentum in the past year.

In particular, there had been a surge in innovation and development, he said, pointing to progress on China’s C919 commercial jet, the development of a home-grown cruise ship, as well as the launch of various mobile phones and new energy products.

Although generally upbeat about the past year, the president admitted that Chinese companies and people faced difficulties.

“On our way forward, wind and rain are the norm,” he said.

“Some companies are facing operating pressure, some people are encountering difficulties in finding jobs and living, and natural disasters such as floods, typhoons, and earthquakes have occurred in some places.”

He said he was concerned about those factors and “deeply moved” by those “not afraid of the wind and rain, helping each other out, taking challenges head-on, and overcoming difficulties”.

Why Xi’s message to diplomats could mean continued strains in China-US ties

The address comes amid investor concerns about Beijing’s commitment to opening up its economy, a topic that Xi did not tackle in his past two New Year speeches.

Such issues were expected to be discussed at the Communist Party’s agenda-setting third plenum, a meeting that has been postponed with no date set.

Looking further afield, Xi said some parts of the world were “in the flames of war”, and China must embrace the responsibility of a major country in the interests of peace.

“The Chinese people are well aware of the preciousness of peace,” he said.

“We are willing to work with the international community to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and build a better world with the future of mankind in mind and the well-being of the people.

“Despite the changes in the world, peaceful development has always been the main theme, and win-win cooperation has always been the way to go.”

As was the case last year, Xi made only brief mention of Hong Kong and Macau. He promised Beijing would continue to support the special administrative regions “in leveraging their own advantages and maintaining long-term prosperity and stability while better integrating into the overall development of the country”.

He did not elaborate on Taiwan either, saying only that “the reunification of the motherland is a historical necessity”, and “compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait must join hands and share the great glory of national rejuvenation”.

Over the past year, Beijing has stepped up military and political pressure on the self-ruled island, which is in the countdown to keenly contested presidential and legislative elections on January 13. The outcome of the ballot is widely seen as crucial to the island’s relations with Beijing in the coming years.

On Tuesday, Wang Zaixi, former deputy director of Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, made an unusually harsh warning that cross-strait tensions ran the risk of escalating into an armed conflict if William Lai Ching-te, the presidential nominee of Taiwan’s ruling independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, won the race.

Lai is the front runner, ahead of Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang and Ko Wen-je of Taiwan People’s Party – both of whom have called for closer ties with Beijing.

Beijing has long described Lai as a dangerous “separatist” and “troublemaker” and presented the elections in January as a choice between war and peace.

Beijing has never renounced the use of force to achieve Taiwan reunification. Most countries, including the United States, do not formally recognise Taiwan as an independent state but are opposed to the use of force to change the status quo.

China eye doctor punches patient, 82, in head mid-surgery to ‘stop her moving’, angers public, triggers official probe

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/social-welfare/article/3246201/china-eye-doctor-punches-patient-82-head-mid-surgery-stop-her-moving-angers-public-triggers-official?utm_source=rss_feed

An eye doctor in China has been suspended from his job and placed under investigation after a viral social media post revealed that he had punched an 82-year-old woman patient in the head in the middle of an operation.

A branch institute of the franchised AIER Eye Hospital in Guigang in the southwestern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region said in a December 20 statement that its president, surnamed Feng, had been suspended.

He is being investigated for medical malpractice over an incident which took place in 2019, according to a report in Red Star News. At the time, his elderly patient, surnamed Qin, was undergoing treatment for a cataract in her left eye.

The hospital said that after being given a local anaesthetic, the woman felt uncomfortable and began moving and touching her face.

Feng said he told the patient not to move multiple times, but she did not respond because she did not understand Mandarin.

To avoid the possible negative consequences of her movements, the doctor punched the patient’s head several times, said the hospital statement, adding that the medic neither intended to, nor in fact did, cause harm to the patient.

A video clip of the surgery shows two of Feng’s colleagues appearing to help restrain the elderly woman.

The patient’s son, surnamed Su, said he complained to the hospital about the doctor’s actions and received just 500 yuan (US$70) in compensation.

A furore erupted over the four-year-old incident when it went viral in mid-December following the exposure of details online after Su contacted Ai Fen, a Wuhan-based doctor who has been lauded as a hero in the fight against Covid-19 and has two million fans on Weibo.

Ai had also been embroiled in a legal battle with AIER Eye Hospital, which she accused of negligence over eye surgery she had undergone. She lost the lawsuit and was counter-sued by the hospital for defamation.

After the incident flared up again earlier this month, the Guangxi hospital admitted that doctors should not deal with patients rudely under any circumstances and Feng’s action had violated the code of conduct for medical staff.

Medical bosses have also dismissed the hospital’s chief executive officer for failing to report the case to upper-level executives.

The local health authority said an investigation was underway, the results of which would be made public soon.

In a previous case of inappropriate medical behaviour, a gynaecologist in eastern Jiangsu province was suspended in February after he shared a photo on social media about his work which showed the genitals of a patient.

China to simplify visa applications for US tourists as both countries seek to improve relations

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3246810/china-simplify-visa-applications-us-tourists-both-countries-seek-improve-relations?utm_source=rss_feed

China will simplify the visa application process for tourists from the United States as part of its efforts to step up interactions between people from the two countries.

Beijing has also been seeking to woo more international visitors as part of its wider efforts to boost its sluggish economic recovery.

Starting from January 1, those applying for tourist visas within the US will no longer need to submit proof they have a round-trip air ticket and hotel reservation, as well as their itinerary or a letter of invitation, according to a notice published on the website of the Chinese embassy in Washington on Friday.

The measure aims to “further facilitate people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States”, it said.

It added that “since visa applications are processed on a case-by-case basis”, applicants should still refer to the Chinese embassy and consulates-general for specifics.

The move follows a cut in visa fees for US applicants of around 25 per cent until December 31, 2024 announced earlier this month, and a previous decision to allow walk-in visa applications.

China and Singapore agree to let each other’s citizens travel visa-free

The announcement follows an agreement between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping at their summit in San Francisco in November to encourage educational, student, youth, cultural, sports and business exchanges as part of their broader efforts to stabilise relations between the two countries.

Observers on both sides had warned that the years-long, pandemic-induced hiatus in such interactions was fuelling mutual misunderstanding and suspicion.

Earlier, during US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s trip to Beijing in August, the two sides agreed to hold their next Tourism Leadership Summit in China in the first half of 2024 “to further revive and develop tourism cooperation between the two countries”.

During the Biden-Xi summit , the two presidents also agreed to increase the number of direct flights between the two countries in early 2024.

As of November, the number of direct flights between the two countries had reached 70 a week, but that is still well below the pre-Covid total of more than 300 a week.

During his trip to California, Xi told a dinner for US business leaders that China was ready to invite 50,000 young Americans to the country for exchanges and study in the next five years.

However, analysts have warned that it will not be easy to make this goal a reality and Beijing should foster a more open atmosphere if it wants to do so.

Washington issued a travel advisory in June that recommended US citizens “reconsider travel” to mainland China, citing the “arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans, and the risk of wrongful detentions”.

From 72 hours to 30 days: 5 visa-free ways to visit China by land, sea and air

On Sunday state news agency Xinhua published a commentary to mark next year’s 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, which said: “The foundation of civil interactions [between the two countries] is still deep. Win-win cooperation between the two countries is not only possible but also necessary.”

The US visa move comes amid a broader effort by China to attract more foreign visitors as the economy continues to struggle and international views of China take on a more negative tone.

Chinese embassies and consulates in other countries have also announced cuts in visa fees, while the number of countries whose citizens can make visa-free transits has risen to 54.

Last month Beijing said that visitors from six countries – France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia – would not need a visa for stays of up to 15 days until November 30 next year.

Although China reopened its borders in January 2023 after three years of strict Covid controls, international visitors have still largely stayed away.

Chinese travel agencies handled 477,800 foreign tourists in the first six months of this year, only 5.6 per cent the figure for the same period in 2019, according to the Chinese tourism ministry.

Between April and October this year, the country’s border control authorities processed 134 million entries, more than 30 per cent down on the same period four years ago, according to the official Economic Daily.

Analysts attributed the poor figures to the lasting damage from the pandemic as well as China’s negative global image and loss of business confidence.

Some observers also warned that the slow return of international tourists would ultimately reduce the country’s attractiveness to overseas investment and exacerbate geopolitical risks.

Chinese travel firms prepare for return of foreign tourists as outlook improves

However, industry figures have warned that would-be travellers to China face other barriers besides the complex visa paperwork.

The Chinese tourism ministry said earlier this month it is working on a three-year action plan to provide more convenient services to help boost foreign tourism.

The central bank also said on Friday that regulators were looking at ways to address one major problem by making it easier to use foreign bank cards and payment apps in a society that is now largely cash-free.

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Chinese fintech giant Ant Group gets approval for no-controller status, ending Jack Ma’s reign before seeking IPO

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3246806/chinese-fintech-giant-ant-group-gets-approval-no-controller-status-ending-jack-mas-reign-seeking-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s central bank has agreed that Ant Group’s mobile payment app Alipay has no controller, a crucial step in the fintech giant’s overhaul deemed necessary to put its much-anticipated initial public offering back on track.

The restructuring saw the voting rights of founder Jack Ma shrink to just 6.21 per cent from 53.46 per cent. The move is seen as paving the way for Ant to resume its public listing that was derailed in 2020 following a controversial speech given by Ma.

The billionaire’s share of the voting rights are now divided among Hangzhou Junhan Equity Investment – owned by Ma and four others with 31.04 per cent of voting rights – and Hangzhou Junao Equity, another firm owned by five other individuals with 22.42 per cent of voting rights. The companies’ voting shares are equal to their ownership stakes.

The People’s Bank of China announced the decision concerning Alipay.com Co, one of Ant’s major entities in China, on its website on Saturday. Ant is the fintech affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, which owns the South China Morning Post.

An Ant representative said that its “corporate governance optimisation announced on January 7, 2023, has been completed and it will not affect the company’s day-to-day business operations”.

Jack Ma praises rival PDD in rare memo calling on Alibaba staff to change

When it announced the change in January, Ant said the new shareholding structure will be “more transparent and diversified … facilitating the steady development of the company”.

“It’s definitely a clear signal that the government has eased the curbs on China’s big technology platforms,” Dai Ming, a fund manager at Huichen Asset Management in Shanghai, said after the January announcement. “We can also say that it is a step forward for Ant to resume its listing.”

Wang Pengbo, senior financial analyst at consultancy BoTong Analysys, also said at the time that the new structure would be “good for Ant’s long-term development”.

“Although a listing in the immediate future is very unlikely … [the change] paves the way for it to go public in future,” Wang added.

Hangzhou-based Ant has taken several steps to restructure since 2021, after the last-minute scuttling of its planned Shanghai and Hong Kong dual listing late the previous year.

In its January announcement, the company said it would add a fifth independent director, making up more than half of the nine-member board. To further cleave itself from the e-commerce giant it spun out of, certain executives have exited the Alibaba Partnership, a collection of the most powerful executives in the company. That included Ant chairman and CEO Eric Jing Xiandong and former CEO Simon Hu Xiaoming.

The mobile payments industry is set to face stricter regulations in the new year. The State Council earlier this month published rules on non-banking payment institutions, with tougher licensing rules taking effect in May.

Is China reaching the limits of its air pollution control efforts?

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3246697/china-reaching-limits-its-air-pollution-control-efforts?utm_source=rss_feed

In the end, a cold wind from the northwest came to the rescue on Sunday, dispersing the worst pollution Beijing had seen so far this winter.

But eastern China remained blanketed in severe smog and haze, waiting for gusts to help clear the air.

A decade ago, high pollution was usual in winter, but in recent years, such conditions have become uncommon.

In Beijing, for example, the average level in 2022 of especially harmful particulates called PM2.5 was down to one-third of that seen in 2013.

The past decade has seen a positive shift in data but recent nationwide smog alerts raise the question: has China reached the limits of its air pollution control efforts?

Environmentalist Ma Jun, from the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), said China’s decade-long efforts to improve air quality had paid off, with pollution from excessive emissions now a rarity.

“The current pollution surge is mainly due to unfavourable meteorological conditions such as high humidity, atmospheric stability, and temperature inversions, leading to poor atmospheric dispersion, and pollutants are confined to lower areas,” Ma said.

“Weather is playing an increasingly significant role in fluctuations in air quality in various regions.”

But industry and transport sectors in those regions still had significant emissions, meaning parts of the country still depended on favourable weather conditions such as strong winds to improve air qualit

China’s air quality conditions had not yet reached a turning point. “Relaxing pollution controls would be like rowing upstream – any pause would lead to regression,” he said.

In its “Blue Sky Roadmap” report released in 2022, the IPE, an independent non-profit organisation, documented the three steps the country took in the past decade to improve air quality.

China bans new steel plants in ‘blue skies’ plan to cut pollution

The first step, starting in 2013, was to establish a nationwide monitoring system over three years.

Environmental factors are a key part of performance reviews for local officials but in the past they were based on emission cuts, figures that could be manipulated. By monitoring and disclosing key parameters like PM2.5 and ozone, the central government could shift the focus from emission reduction figures to environmental quality indicators, which is far more difficult to distort or falsify.

The second step was to continuously improve pollution forecasting and alert capacity to enable schools and residents to take action to reduce exposure during severe pollution days. Local governments could also focus on emergency emissions reductions, enabling authorities to shut down less important factories temporarily to minimise emissions before pollution builds up.

The third step was to locate and cut down pollution at its source. This was achieved in part by introducing the world’s first real-time disclosure of online monitoring data, a system that discouraged falsified or misleading emissions reports by major companies. The central government also sent thousands of staff to the regions, targeting not just polluting factories but local environmental officials failing in their duties.

In 2015, when air quality monitoring began in 338 cities nationwide, only 73 cities met the air quality standards. By 2021, 218 cities – or about two-thirds of the total – complied.

But China’s journey to air pollution control is not over.

While national performance was generally good, PM2.5 concentrations in the three key regions of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Fen-Wei Plain had not improved in 2022.

That was the assessment of international NGO Clean Air Asia in a report released at the 2023 China Blue Sky Observation Forum, held in Beijing in October.

In fact, while the Yangtze River Delta remained unchanged, the other two regions saw concentrations increase.

Ma said that China’s overall air quality still deviated significantly from the guidelines set out by the World Health Organization (WHO), meaning it was essential to impose stricter air quality management targets.

“China’s emission reduction targets have become more refined. The ‘Continuous Improvement of Air Quality Action Plan’, launched this year, sets less aggressive oals but addresses more fundamental transformations that may synergise pollution control with carbon reductions,” he said.

Unlike before, many collaborative measures are now in place, combining industrial upgrades with fundamental emission reductions.

For example, in China’s steel industry, one of the country’s biggest air polluters, switching from coal-based blast furnace technology to electric furnaces can substantially reduce emissions. Combining those reductions with steel recycling can also curb carbon emissions.

Climate envoy says China has ‘done a lot’ on methane despite criticism of plan

In green transport, improving fuel quality, using qualified catalytic converters for vehicle exhaust, and promoting electric vehicles can mitigate emissions without affecting transport needs.

Aside from industrial upgrades and emission reductions, Ma said two other areas could be targeted for further improvement: updating air quality standards and improving pollution forecasts.

“China is still using the WHO’s 2012 transitional air quality standards. After years of management, maybe it’s time to establish higher standards through research and revision.”

As they face inevitable pollution, forecasting agencies should provide adequate warnings and advise the public on protective measures to minimise risks of exposure during smoggy days.

“While forecast accuracy can be improved, the public should also be made more aware of the Air Quality Health Index to better understand the hazards of polluted weather,” Ma added.

British private schools in China under threat as new ‘patriotic’ law comes in

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/31/british-private-schools-in-china-under-threat-as-new-patriotic-law-comes-in

A new “patriotic” education law is set to put a squeeze on British schools in China as Beijing steps up its efforts to tighten control of what is taught in its classrooms.

Less than five years ago, the Chinese and British media were full of reports about the “boom years” of British education in China. Elite British schools had seized the commercial opportunity of opening campuses to cater to wealthy Chinese families and the children of expats, and were opening new branches at a rapid clip.

But after the Covid pandemic severely battered China’s appeal to foreign teachers, and the country’s government began a renewed push, even for private schools, to focus on patriotism and national security in the curriculum, internationally recognised brands are starting to face significant challenges.

“The rapid growth in both the number of British-partnered schools and school brands is now over,” concluded a report from Venture Education, a consultancy, earlier this year.

In the past two years, several international private schools have closed, including Dulwich’s preschool in Shenzhen.

Julian Fisher, Venture Education’s co-founder, cautioned that reports of British brands’ terminal decline in China might be overblown. But as schools adapt to recent rules governing what children can be taught, and where, “the dust is settling on the regulations and making it clear where the red lines really are”.

On 1 January, China’s new patriotic education law will come into effect, further tightening the screws on classrooms in which part of the appeal is supposed to be western-style teaching. The law requires that “all levels and types of school shall have patriotic education permeate the entire course of school education, doing a good job of ideology and political theory courses, and having patriotic education integrated into all subjects”.

China has about 180,000 private education institutions, with more than 55.6 million enrolled students, according to the British Council. At the school and university level, 13% of students go to private institutions. In practice, some schools have already been incorporating the requirement for patriotic education into their curriculums.

One teacher at a private international school in Beijing, which is linked to a prestigious British institution, said that almost the whole history department left after the school started teaching a Chinese curriculum rather than an international one two years ago.

In the past two years, international collaboration in China has become more difficult in a range of sectors. This year, Beijing passed an anti-espionage law that prohibits the transfer of information relating to national security out of the country, spooking foreign businesses, which worried about the vague wording of the law.

A dedicated private education law was passed in 2021 to regulate a previously freewheeling industry, and international schools – which are divided into those that accept foreign nationals and those who admit Chinese students – will now be subject to more pressure because of wider educational reforms such as the patriotic education law.

On GlassDoor, a job review platform, one former head of department at Harrow Beijing wrote: “It has changed since I worked there and is now heavily state regulated, not an international school in practice any more.”

Harrow Beijing did not respond to a request for comment. The school was previously known as Harrow International Beijing, but on 1 September 2021, a new private education law came into effect, banning private schools that accepted Chinese nationals from including the name of overseas educational institutions in their name, or words such as “international” or “world”.

So Harrow International School became known as LiDe, although it still refers to Harrow on marketing materials. Several other schools went through similar transformations, denting their appeal to wealthy Chinese parents. Nanwai King’s College School Wuxi in Jiangsu, for example, became Wuxi Dipont School of Arts and Science. It is run by a Chinese education provider, but still advertises its links to King’s College School Wimbledon.

The private education law also stated that board members at private schools must be Chinese nationals, and banned the use of foreign teaching materials at the compulsory education level.

“At the 6-15 compulsory education level, China wants complete control over what and how its young people are being taught,” said Fisher.

Schools are instead having to focus on the British-style pastoral and extracurricular opportunities that they can offer wealthy Chinese children, rather than the possibility of having a western-style education.

That may be a turn-off for teachers as well as students. Recruiting foreign teachers to live in China has become increasingly difficult, especially since the zero-Covid era demonstrated how quickly living conditions in Chinese cities could sour. That has left the remaining teachers overstretched. “Morale is relatively low,” said the teacher in Beijing. “Everyone is exhausted.”

Uganda to start building oil pipeline with pipes from China, as opposition mounts

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3246803/uganda-start-building-oil-pipeline-pipes-china-opposition-mounts?utm_source=rss_feed

Uganda is expected to start building the US$5 billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in January after the first shipment of pipes arrived from China, as opposition to the massive project intensifies.

Chinese steel pipe manufacturer Panyu Chu Kong (PCK) Steel Pipe Co – which is contracted to supply the line pipes – delivered the first 100km of pipes on Tuesday.

Ugandan and Tanzanian officials marked their arrival at a storage yard operated by EACOP’s Tanzania logistics partner, Superdoll, at the port of Dar es Salaam.

The shipment means construction of the cross-border 1,443km (896-mile) pipeline can begin. It will carry crude oil from the Lake Albert oilfields in the northwest of Uganda to the Chongoleani peninsula at the port of Tanga on Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coast. Landlocked Uganda aims to deliver its first oil to the international markets by 2025.

Work is already under way on the pumping stations, work camps and storage facilities along the EACOP route as well as the coating plant, which is being built in Tanzania. After coating and welding, the first sections of pipe are due to be laid midway through next year, according to the Petroleum Authority of Uganda.

“The project represents a major inward investment in Uganda and Tanzania,” EACOP, the company overseeing the pipeline’s construction, said in a statement. “EACOP remains committed to delivering this project with the utmost responsibility, contributing to the sustainable growth and prosperity of East Africa.”

The project is facing growing opposition from environmental and rights groups that say the Ugandan oilfields and the pipeline threaten pristine ecosystems, biodiversity hotspots, water resources and community land. Pressure from campaigners under the StopEACOP slogan has seen many North American, European and Japanese banks and insurers withdraw from the project.

Uganda is now increasingly relying on China, which has an outsize role in the country’s oil industry – from bankrolling projects to operating an oilfield, drilling oil wells and building key infrastructure such as the pipeline.

Financing of the pipeline is set at a 60:40 debt-to-equity ratio, meaning US$3 billion will be secured as debt with the remaining US$2 billion to be financed by shareholders through equity contributions. Uganda’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development permanent secretary Irene Batebe in September said Chinese lenders including the Export-Import Bank of China (Eximbank) and China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) had agreed to contribute about half of the debts needed to build the pipeline.

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

French oil multinational TotalEnergies controls a 62 per cent interest in the pipeline; the Uganda National Oil Company holds 15 per cent; Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation has 15 per cent; with Chinese oil giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) taking an 8 per cent stake. Last year, the issue found its way to the floor of the European Parliament, where legislators passed a resolution calling for a halt to the project over environmental and human rights concerns and warned TotalEnergies against backing the project.

Uganda has an estimated 6.5 billion barrels of crude oil – the equivalent of 1.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil.

CNOOC operates the Kingfisher oilfield, located on the eastern shores of Lake Albert in Uganda. It will invest an estimated US$2-3 billion to develop the oilfield, which would produce 40,000 barrels per day at peak production.

The other, larger oilfield is the Tilenga, operated by TotalEnergies, which is estimated to cost between US$4 billion and US$6 billion. It will produce 190,000 barrels per day.

The arrival of the first 100km of pipe (5,600 18-metre sections) comes shortly after a delegation from the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, led by executive director Ernest Rubondo, visited PCK Steel Pipe in Lianyungang in October. “We are committed to ensuring timely delivery and high-quality pipes,” Xie Leshan, the PCK president, said during the visit, which coincided with China’s Belt and Road Initiative forum.

The Ugandan team also met Liu Yongjie, chairman of CNOOC International, in Beijing, discussing progress on the Kingfisher oil project. “This meeting signifies an important development in the ongoing collaboration between Uganda and China in the oil and gas sector,” Rubondo said.

During the trip, the Ugandan delegation also met other Chinese companies contracted to undertake works and services on oil and gas projects in Uganda – Offshore Oil Engineering Co, China Oilfield Services, CenerTech and China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co.

The EACOP will have the capacity to pump up to 230,000 barrels of crude oil a day, from western Uganda to the Indian Ocean coastline of Tanzania.

Chinese embassies take security seriously as threats in Africa heat up

Tim Zajontz, a research fellow at the Centre for International and Comparative Politics at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, said earlier that the Ugandan government was under pressure to finance certain budgetary items and development projects after the World Bank decided to freeze new loans in a reaction to Kampala’s anti-gay law enacted in May.

“But at least in the case of the oil pipeline, I would not overemphasise the causal link, since it had become clear long before the row with the World Bank that Western financiers would back away from the pipeline following protests from environmental and human rights organisations,” Zajontz said. “Chinese funding seems to be Kampala’s Plan B.”

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Woman divorces husband after uncovering affair and love child, awarded 4 properties by China court and wants to recover all money given to lover

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3246392/woman-divorces-husband-after-uncovering-affair-and-love-child-awarded-4-properties-china-court-and?utm_source=rss_feed

A wife sued her husband during a divorce after discovering the man had a second family for 12 years and had financially supported that family.

The court in Zhejiang province in eastern China awarded the woman full ownership of four flats that had previously been under joint ownership, according to City Express.

The woman, Wang Xia, realised her husband, Chen Kai, had an extramarital affair when a group of debt collectors visited their home asking for her husband.

Chen had set up a successful company from scratch 30 years ago but had transferred 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million) to his brother and father to hide that the money was meant to support his other family.

After the affair was exposed, Chen cajoled his wife, knelt on his knees to beg for her forgiveness, and vowed to be loyal in the future, all to convince her not to divorce him.

Wang decided to stay with her husband because she believed it would be better for their son, who was in secondary school.

However, a year later, the son said he supported the divorce, so Wang filed for the separation.

After filing the lawsuit, Wang, a housewife who did not know the details of Chen’s business or financial holdings, asked the court to investigate his assets, which is when they found the 10 million yuan he transferred to his father and brother.

Therefore, the court decided that the wife was not at fault for the divorce and awarded her the four flats as damages. Wang is also trying to claw back ownership of the properties that her husband bought for his other family, but no verdict has been made.

Ugly divorce battles often make headlines in mainland China.

A controversial case made headlines in December when a man was granted temporary access to his ex-wife’s Douyin account after he paid her 200,000 yuan (US$28,000) even though they had been divorced for three years.

Time is running out for mother desperate to hug Chinese-Israeli hostage in Gaza

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3246643/time-running-out-mother-desperate-hug-chinese-israeli-hostage-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed

The plight of Noa Argamani – the Israeli hostage with Chinese heritage snatched by Hamas in its bloody raid on Israel more than 80 days ago – has galvanised supporters among Tel Aviv’s tiny Chinese-Israeli community.

Around 20 people answered the first call to gather in support of Argamani, 26, who was among the hostages taken by Hamas militants when they stormed the Nova music festival near the Gaza border, killing more than 360 people.

Just 10 attended a second demonstration, but while the group is small, it is determined to keep drawing attention to her case in the area outside the city’s Museum of Art that has become known as “hostages square” since the October 7 attack.

Argamani’s mother Liora was born Chong Hong Lee in Wuhan, Hebei province in central China. She met her husband Yaakov in Israel, while attending a professional training programme in 1994 and no longer holds Chinese citizenship.

Rallying the Chinese-Israeli community to gather regularly has not been easy, according to Taili He-Brenners, a 27-year-old Chinese-Israeli who answered a call to action on a group chat to demonstrate in support of Argamani and her family.

‘She is not Chinese’: mother of kidnapped woman confirms daughter is Israeli

He-Brenners, who has regularly turned up to the demonstrations, said she felt an immediate connection to Argamani, whose case revived memories of the pandemic when she sometimes felt “cast out” as an Asian in Israeli society.

“We both share this dual identity, as Chinese and Jewish, [both] enemies of the world. Maybe it’s too dramatic to say. It is how I feel. That also helped me relate to Noa’s cause,” He-Brenners said.

Argamani’s kidnapping was filmed and shared across the world, bringing her story international attention. She has remained in the spotlight largely through the public pleadings of her mother, who is battling terminal brain cancer.

Argamani’s plight also struck a chord with people in Israel who have connections to China – from Chinese Jews to researchers and businesspeople – and they have been appealing for Beijing, Tel Aviv and Washington to press for her release.

So far, their attempts have been unsuccessful. Argamani was absent from the 105 hostages, mainly women and children, returned to Israel during November’s temporary ceasefire and hostage swap.

Despite the release by Hamas of a video showing Argamani shortly after she was taken, her absence from the group as well as recent media reports have raised speculation that she may have been taken by a civilian mob, rather than the militants.

Several of the freed hostages also reported that they saw Argamani during their captivity.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that he had spoken to the Chinese ambassador Cai Run to personally request Beijing’s intervention to secure Argamani’s release.

In a speech to the Knesset on his efforts to free the hostages, Netanyahu said Cai “assured me” that his message had been delivered to China’s President Xi Jinping.

Netanyahu said he also asked President Vladimir Putin to use Russia’s ties with Iran to help with the effort to free the hostages. “The next day Russia’s deputy foreign minister called for the immediate and unconditional release of all the captives.”

Israel appeals to Chinese president to help free hostage Noa Argamani

The Netanyahu administration is facing an intense backlash from the hostages’ families, who say their government’s military campaign is endangering those still in captivity and want negotiations with Hamas to be a priority.

As well as outlining his appeals to the international community, Netanyahu said Israel is making “every effort” to bring the hostages home, but that “military pressure” was required to succeed.

His remarks were drowned out by shouts of “no time, now!” from relatives of the hostages in the public gallery. They also booed Netanyahu when he said the war would not stop “because we have no other land and no other path”.

Speaking to CBS News on October 10, Argamani’s father said the Israeli government should only use “peaceful measures” to get his daughter back.

Galia Lavi, deputy director of the Diane and Guilford Glazer Israel-China Policy Centre at the Institute for National Security Studies, said Netanyahu’s message to Argamani’s supporters was likely to be “political posturing” and unlikely to bring her home.

“I think Netanyahu spoke mainly to his own base, the Israeli base, telling them, ‘I’m doing whatever I can for the hostages.’ I don’t think he actually meant that China will help rescue this poor girl because we are already 80-plus days after the [start of the] war.”

Lavi was one of a group of Israeli scholars and think tankers who began appealing to the Chinese embassy in Israel immediately after hearing the news of Argamani’s disappearance.

According to Lavi, a “very high-level diplomatic official” told her that there is little China can do about Argamani’s case, since she has Israeli citizenship, not Chinese.

China’s positioning of itself as the antithesis of US military power in the Middle East also makes it unlikely Beijing will get involved in hostage negotiations, she said.

Hongda Fan, a professor of Middle East studies at the Shanghai International Studies University, said Netanyahu’s statements were also an effort to put pressure on China.

“I believe that China will do its best to do this, but the influence of China on Iran, and Iran on Hamas, cannot be exaggerated. Ultimately, the release of the hostages depends on effective communication between Hamas and Israel,” he said.

China – which for decades has expressed interest in facilitating a peace process in the region – has called for a two-state solution and a ceasefire to the conflict which began on October 7, a stance consistent with its long-term support of the Palestinians.

Has China ‘clearly estranged Israel’ with its stance on the war in Gaza?

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Tuesday that China “is in communication with all parties on relevant issues”. She added that Beijing stands ready to work with all sides for an early release of the hostages and a ceasefire.

As Israel’s war in Gaza continues – latest estimates put the Palestinian death toll at more than 21,000, while 165 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the conflict – time is running out for Argamani’s mother.

“All that comes to mind before saying goodbye to my family forever is the wish to hug my daughter, my only child, one last time,” Liora Argamani said this week, in a letter to US President Joe Biden, seeking his help to secure her daughter’s release.

Could China play a role in brokering Israeli-Palestinian two-state solution?

An attempt to drum up support for Argamani on Chinese social media was poorly received by China’s online community, with some criticising the young woman and her mother for being citizens of Israel and not China.

The negative comments were attached to a video of Argamani’s mother – speaking in Mandarin – that was shared by the Israeli embassy in China on the social media platform Weibo.

“China is our home. [Noa] really loves China’s culture. She loves China. She loves the Forbidden City. She loves Chinese food. I am Chinese. My fellow countrymen, help us,” Liora Argamani pleaded in the video.

China’s manufacturing PMI falls for third month in a row highlighting challenges world’s second biggest economy faces in 2024

https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3246790/chinas-manufacturing-pmi-falls-third-month-row-highlighting-challenges-worlds-second-biggest-economy?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s key factory activity gauge closed the year with a contraction for a third straight month, suggesting that the world’s second biggest economy may need more policy support to accomplish Beijing’s economic stabilisation goals in 2024.

December’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 49 from November’s 49.4, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics released on Sunday.

This was much worse than the median forecast for 49.5 in a Reuters poll, as China’s first post-Covid year ended with a weaker-than-expected recovery.

Earlier this year, PMI readings fell for five months in a row starting in April. After a brief expansion in September, they started falling again in October

A reading above 50 typically indicates expansion of activity, while a reading below that suggests a contraction.

The statistics bureau pointed to an “increasingly complicated, tough and uncertain” external environment as a key reason for the continued fall.

China may be going through an ‘unusual’ time but 5-year plan remains on track

“A reduction in overseas orders as well as insufficient demand from the domestic market are the major difficulties, as some companies complained in our survey,” Zhao Qinghe, a statistician from the bureau, said.

The non-manufacturing PMI, an indicator for services activity, stood at 50.4 in December, a mild improvement after it had slipped to 50.2 last month, the lowest point since December last year.

The subindex for business activity in the services sector remained unchanged at 49.3 in December compared with November, partly as a result of an unusually long cold snap that affected most parts of the country, Zhao said.

The construction subindex jumped to 56.9 from 55 in November, mainly because some companies accelerated construction before Lunar New Year in February, he said.

Overall, the composite PMI, which is composed of both manufacturing and services, fell to 50.3 slightly down from 50.4 in November.

The past year started on an optimistic note as the country started reopening following years of strict Covid controls. But the rebound was weaker than expected in the face of headwinds such as a bleak export outlook, weak confidence in the private sector and a local government debt crisis.

In recent months, the central government has unveiled a series of measures to prop up growth.

Beijing also pledged to make development the biggest political priority at the central economic work conference earlier this month, vowing to counter a slew of risks in its vast economy and lift confidence in the coming year.

Economic powerhouses told to ‘get bolder’ in 2024 to aid China’s recovery

Beijing is widely expected to announce a GDP growth target of “around 5 per cent” for next year, a similar target to that for 2023, on the condition of more expansionary policies, according to a number of economic and government advisers.

“We believe growth will be stronger next year relative to 2023, based primarily on a cyclical recovery in the property sector,” a research note from Rhodium Group said.

“However, the structural issues left unaddressed in 2023 will continue to drag down China’s potential growth.”

China-India trade tensions may continue in 2024, but Beijing doesn’t want to rock the boat

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3246682/china-india-trade-tensions-may-continue-2024-beijing-doesnt-want-rock-boat?utm_source=rss_feed

India is taking a harder line on more Chinese imports, but analysts said it is unlikely to lead to an all-out trade war.

New Delhi announced earlier this month that it would levy anti-dumping duties of up to 147.2 per cent on Chinese industrial laser machinery for five years.

It is the latest trade move as the overall bilateral relationship has been overshadowed by the border dispute in the Himalayan region and the growing significance of India in the containment strategy employed by the United States against China.

India’s imports of Chinese laser machinery totalled US$174.57 million in 2022, according to the Post’s calculations using data from India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

4 things to ponder as India overtakes China as most populous nation

And India had imported US$167.93 million worth of Chinese laser machinery in the first 10 months of 2023, up from US$147 million a year earlier, the data showed.

Since September, India has launched a spate of anti-dumping investigations into made-in-China products, including vacuum-insulated flasks, tempered glass, unframed glass mirrors and retractable drawer sliders.

At least 32 types of Chinese goods, including consumer goods, machinery and chemical products, have been targeted by India.

For its part, the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing is conducting two inquiries into an insecticide ingredient and a pigment and pesticide ingredient from India.

In February, Beijing also ruled that an Indian phthalocyanine pigment constituted dumping and imposed duties of between 11.9 and 30.7 per cent.

Dumping is usually seen when goods enter a country’s market during the regular trade process at a price below the normal value in the exporter’s domestic market.

“[A trade war] is unlikely as India’s dependence on China continues to grow. India’s deficit is ballooning, but it’s more expensive to import from the United States, Europe or elsewhere,” said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific at Natixis.

“The trade ties are not symmetric. China is better off with India’s increasing dependence and Beijing doesn’t want to rock the boat, fearing India gets into de-risking like the US and EU.”

Have China-India economic ties changed 2 years on from the Galwan border clash?

Despite the tensions, the popularity of Chinese goods in India is enduring, with a survey by community network LocalCircles showing 55 per cent of the 7,000 Indians surveyed said they had bought Chinese products in the past year, Indian media reported earlier this month.

Smartphones, smartwatches and power banks were the most popular Chinese goods, the survey showed.

The survey also found that despite the influence of anti-China sentiment and the growing competition from home-grown brands, Chinese small appliances and accessories remained the preferred choice for Indian consumers.

There has been a broader thaw in ties after the two countries agreed in August at the Brics summit to prioritise further de-escalation on the Himalayan border in the wake of the deadly clash in 2020. India and China make up the five-nation bloc along with Brazil, Russia and South Africa.

India is also a member of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, a strategy led by Washington to exclude Beijing from key supply chains.

The concern for India is its burgeoning trade deficit with China, which stood at US$83 billion in 2022, up by 89 per cent from a year earlier, and accounting for a third of its total.

China’s trade with India grew by 0.8 per cent, year on year, in the first 11 months in 2023, with its exports representing over 86 per cent of the US$124.3 billion overall total and its trade surplus reaching to US$90.27 billion.

At a G20 meeting in New Delhi in August, Indian trade and commerce minister Piyush Goyal asked how China could “supply goods at a rate lower than the cost of raw materials”.

And Divya Murali, a research analyst with the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, said current trade inquiries were a viable way for India to address its concerns.

“China had not resorted to retaliatory measures, [which] indicated India’s moves were not escalatory in the first place,” Murali said.

Renu Singh, a researcher with the Institute for Emerging Market Studies at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said the trade deficit is driven by the fact China exports value-added, intermediate goods like electronics, while India ships resource-intensive, primary products, including petroleum products, agricultural goods and metals.

“India’s exports are substitutable and less lucrative,” she said.

India, though, is betting on bolstering its domestic manufacturing sector amid efforts by global investors to diversify.

Its Production Linked Incentive scheme aims to reduce dependencies in strategic sectors, while it has also curbed Chinese investments, banned apps and scrutinised companies including Xiaomi and Vivo.

“If India starts de-risking, then Chinese exporters may lose India’s market that they increasingly dominate,” added Natixis’ Garcia-Herrero.

“What’s more, India may set an example for the Global South and other developing countries.”

‘It was bait: young woman in China tricked by employer to take out loan to have plastic surgery

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3246233/it-was-bait-young-woman-china-tricked-employer-take-out-loan-have-plastic-surgery?utm_source=rss_feed

A young woman in China claims she was tricked into taking a job at a cosmetic surgery company, only for her employer to pressure her into getting a nose job and incurring 25,000 yuan (US$3,500) in debt.

The woman, surnamed Chen, accepted a position as a receptionist with the company on November 21, with her salary being 4,100 (US$560) per month.

During the interview, the hiring staff asked questions about her interest in cosmetic surgery, which Chen initially thought were routine because “it’s a cosmetic surgery company, so those questions didn’t seem strange.”

However, after signing the employment contract, two employees consistently pressured Chen into getting a cosmetic procedure, suggesting it would boost her career prospects.

Chen would try to push back by pointing out that she had not yet graduated from university and could not afford plastic surgery.

However, when Chen explained her financial constraints, her colleagues continued to pressure her into taking out a loan with an instalment plan.

Eventually, the woman was coaxed into getting a consultation at another clinic, where she took out a 25,000-yuan loan for a nose job that she would pay back over the next two years.

“Everything happened so quickly that I did not even get a chance to refuse,” she recalled with regret.

However, after returning to work following her recovery, Chen felt the mood at her employer shift. Her job duties were shifted from receptionist to consultant, and her colleagues would criticise her professional abilities.

“They would say I sabotaged potential clients and would claim I was causing them to lose money,” said Chen.

At this point, Chen believed her job offer may have been a trap, and negative reviews online confirmed her suspicions.

“The company did not need a receptionist, and I believe the job offer was bait to lure me into taking out a loan for the surgery. After the treatment, they started finding reasons to fire me,” she said.

Upon resigning on December 10, Chen further discovered discrepancies in her contract; the actual salary was only 3,000 yuan (US$420), not the 4,100 yuan initially promised. For six days of work, she was paid just 690 yuan.

“I wanted to start working young to ease my family’s financial burden, but instead, I ended up with tens of thousands of yuan in debt. The only way out is to earn money and pay it off slowly,” Chen told a local media outlet Fengmian News.

Her story resonated with many online observers.

“This isn’t hiring employees; it is acquiring clients,” said one person.

Another said: “Companies that deceive students will eventually collapse. They have no conscience!”

A third added: “Companies like this should be thoroughly investigated. They harm people, especially new graduates who lack experience. Businesses should not exploit the innocence of students.”

China property: ordinary buyers eye foreclosed homes at heavy discounts as investors retreat from market

https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3246531/china-property-ordinary-buyers-eye-foreclosed-homes-heavy-discounts-investors-retreat-market?utm_source=rss_feed

After searching for about two years, Lucas Huang, 28, a Shanghai-based banking industry worker, bought a foreclosed home as his first property in the city’s Pudong district.

Huang was happy to pay 3.6 million yuan (US$500,000) for the 100-square-metre house in December, as this was much cheaper than the average 5 million yuan price tag for a property of the same size in a nearby neighbourhood.

“It is a good buy, I don’t intend to resell it,” Huang said. “Buying a foreclosed home is more cost-effective, especially as it is much cheaper than a new home or regular second-hand home.”

Huang is one of a growing number of ordinary homebuyers – individuals or families looking to occupy their house rather than own it as an investor – in mainland China taking an interest in properties that have been repossessed by banks.

Regular Chinese home seekers, attracted by some of the bargains stemming from oversupply and the country’s sluggish economy, are gradually taking over from investors to become the leading buyers in the foreclosed home market, observers say.

Foreclosed homes – properties that have been recalled by lenders and resold to the public after their owners failed to repay loans – usually sell for below market value. Discounts on a foreclosed property can be as large as 20 per cent to 30 per cent on occasion, according to market data.

The lifting of the mainland’s zero-Covid rules earlier this year triggered a surge in the supply of such properties after delayed lawsuits during the three years of the pandemic caused a backlog.

Nationwide, almost a quarter of a million foreclosed properties were put up for sale in November, twice the amount in October and up 177.35 per cent from same period last year, according to the Hanhai Data Research Institute, a Beijing-based firm that focuses on such properties.

As the supply has soared, the prices have been plunging. In tier-one cities like Beijing, the average selling price of a foreclosed home was 52,600 yuan per square metre in November, down 3.13 per cent compared with the previous month and 10.39 per cent from a year ago.

The discounts were as much as 16.24 per cent versus regular (non-foreclosed) lived-in homes, which went for 62,800 yuan per sq m on average, Hanhai’s data showed.

Hong Kong home prices slump to lowest in 7 years as outlook remains bleak

In Shanghai, the prices have come down a lot in the last couple of years. Huang recalled that the prices of some foreclosed homes were equal to or even higher than second-hand homes late in 2021.

Two years ago, investors dominated the market as there were no purchasing restrictions on such properties. Buyers of foreclosed homes were not required to have a hukou – a household registration document based on birth – in Shanghai previously.

Since that requirement was imposed in January of 2022, forcing many investors out of the market, some previously hesitant individual buyers decided the time was right to make their purchase.

“We can see one trend is that more regular homebuyers rather than investors, are coming to buy,” said Liu Huanhuan, a general manager with Huapai Auction in Shanghai, a firm specialising in distressed assets, particularly in the Yangtze River Delta region.

Apart from the imposition of the hukou restrictions, many investors have fled the market because of the longer reselling period generally required for repossessed homes and the uncertain profitability that comes with an overall downturn in the housing market, Liu said.

Investors have seen a contraction in their returns as China’s housing market has stuttered, according to Ma Hengheng, a professional working in the foreclosed property market.

In the past, investors generally accounted for 70 per cent of transactions in the segment, he said. But now, homebuyers wishing to actually live in their property take up 80 per cent of the overall foreclosed home market.

According to a conservative estimate by Huapai’s Liu,ordinary buyers currently account for about 60 per cent of all the foreclosed homebuyers in tier-one cities, and around 40 per cent in lower-tier cities.

The latest official data showed that China’s new home prices fell for a fifth straight month in November, with 59 out of 70 cities tracked by the National Bureau of Statistics posting declines compared with the previous month.

“Investors dare not buy now,” said Ma. “The whole transaction period is longer in a slowing market. One possibility is they may find market prices are lower next year after buying this year … and the costs may be higher than what they can earn.

“I used to buy foreclosed homes as a way of profit-taking, which earned me several hundred thousand yuan every time.

“But now I’m afraid of purchasing them [as an investment], because you never know if home prices will continue to fall. Reselling will be harder.”

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Taiwan’s mysterious extended-range missile poses limited threat to Chinese mainland, military article says

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3246642/taiwans-mysterious-extended-range-missile-poses-limited-threat-chinese-mainland-military-article?utm_source=rss_feed

The threat posed by an advanced Taiwanese missile that could strike mainland China is limited, according to an article in a major Chinese military magazine.

The missile, an extended-range variant of the Hsiung Feng IIE missile, can strike eastern, southern and central mainland China. But an article in the late November issue of Ordinance Industry Science Technology reasoned that the weapon’s relatively large size, subsonic speed and lack of stealth technology made it vulnerable to detection.

The land attack cruise missile variant, named Hsiung Sheng, has a reported range of up to 1,200km (746 miles) and is a key component of Taiwan’s arsenal that would allow its military to attack deeper into mainland China.

The missile “can be easily detected, tracked, monitored by modern, sensitive and precise anti-air radar systems”, the article said.

It also claimed the Taiwanese military had limited capabilities in reconnaissance and midcourse missile guidance, which would make the Hsiung Sheng less precise and more prone to interference.

Beijing, which considers Taiwan a province that must be reunited with mainland China, has never renounced the use of force to take the self-ruled island. Most countries do not see Taiwan as an independent state, but many, including the United States, oppose any attempt by Beijing to take it by force.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the mainland’s armed forces, has staged major exercises around Taiwan in recent years, and regularly sends warplanes and military ships on missions near the island.

PLA’s Shandong carrier ‘sails through Taiwan Strait’ after western Pacific drills

The article’s author, who writes under the name “Yi Qing”, also said the Hsiung Sheng missile was operated by the 791 Brigade based in Taoyuan and New Taipei City. The Taiwanese air force’s air defence and missile command had previously posted photos on Facebook showing the brigade’s troops holding their insignia, which features a cruise missile.

The photos have since been taken down.

The South China Morning Post has not been able to verify the claims in the article.

In August, Taiwanese newspaper United Daily News published a video of a missile test that it said involved the Hsiung Sheng. The Taiwanese military has declined to confirm which missile was tested.

In a report to Taiwan’s legislature in 2022, the island’s defence ministry said the missile could carry two warheads – a high-explosive one to target command centres and shelters, and a dispersal warhead that can attack airfields.

Little else is known about the missile beyond Taiwanese media reports citing unnamed sources. The Taiwanese government did not publicly acknowledge the existence of the missile until the report was submitted.

Taipei had requested special defence funding from 2022 to 2026 to improve its combat capability in the air and at sea. In that special budget, NT$16.9 billion (US$548 million) was earmarked for the Hsiung Sheng programme.

Taiwan has structured its military strategy around asymmetric warfare, which can allow the weaker side in a war to fight and win against a more capable enemy, which in Taiwan’s case is the PLA.

Taiwan’s 2023 national defence report said military retaliation was one of the ways to weaken an enemy’s offence and frustrate an attack on the island. It said missiles such as the Hsiung Sheng were the “main weapons” for retaliatory combat.

Taiwan’s military must objectively assess PLA then ‘strengthen ourselves’

The Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan. In 1949, it prevailed over the ruling nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) party in the Chinese civil war and founded the People’s Republic of China. The KMT then fled to Taiwan.

The KMT ruled Taiwan until democratic reforms in the 1990s brought peaceful transitions of power between political parties, including the incumbent Democratic Progressive Party.