• US says tin mill products from China, South Korea, Canada and Germany being dumped
• Tesla recalls 1.6m cars in China over Autopilot and steering defects
• China’s ‘king of software’, Wang Wenjing, steps down as president of enterprise management systems firm Yonyou amid mounting losses
• China’s military starts fresh exercise day after US-Philippine patrol ends
• Taiwan reports 17 ‘airborne balloons’ approaching from mainland China in run-up to election
• Chinese, US scientists create world’s first graphene semiconductor in feat that could transform computer chips
• [Technology] Tesla recalls more than 1.6 million cars in China over steering software issues
• China’s Xinjiang region says all new religious buildings must ‘reflect Chinese characteristics’
• China’s primary sector workforce sees first increase in decades as migrants back on the farm
• Beijing must harness AI to boost China’s image on the ‘global stage’, party newspaper says
• Family in China pushes daughter to marry man who raped her even offering to cut bride price but court jails him
• Beijing has ‘a lot of legal weapons’ to challenge Manila’s claims in South China Sea, international law expert says
• China unveils new artificial intelligence guidelines for scientists and bans use in funding applications
• Hong Kong test for minibus drivers from mainland China tricky because of different road rules, lack of local knowledge, trade chiefs say
• ‘Overjoyed despite fear’: China couple hold wedding amid ruins of deadly earthquake, give thanks for help of nation
• Shop till you drop: trips to mainland Chinese bulk retailers a hit with young Hongkongers
• Clever or con? Young China merchant sells 70,000 virtual ‘Einstein brains’ online to university students seeking advice, ‘spiritual nourishment’
• It’s not Beijing that’s turning Hong Kong into just another Chinese city
• China steps up efforts to adapt as US-led ‘reshoring’ campaign seems set in stone
• Xi Jinping and China face another tough year | China
• More than 100 mainland Chinese pupils allowed to sit Hong Kong DSE exams as candidates of their schools for first time will still need to travel to city
• Donald Trump reaped US$5.5 million from China and its state entities during presidency: US House report
• China is on track to be world AI leader by 2030, with Hong Kong’s help
• US lawmakers ask Joe Biden administration to bar investments in Chinese tech firm Quectel
• Fallout from Taiwan elections risks creating further mistrust in US-China relations, analyst warns

US says tin mill products from China, South Korea, Canada and Germany being dumped

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3247483/us-says-tin-mill-products-china-south-korea-canada-and-germany-being-dumped?utm_source=rss_feed

The US Commerce Department said on Friday it found that imports of tin mill products from Canada, China, Germany, and South Korea are being dumped on to the US market and imports of tin mill products from China are also being subsidised.

The department also found that imports of tin mill products – a shiny silver metal widely used in cans for food, paint, aerosol products and other containers – from the Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Kingdom are not being dumped, it said in a statement.

The Commerce Department imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties on the tin-plated steel imports from Canada, Germany and China in August.

The department said the highest preliminary anti-dumping duties of 122.5 per cent will be imposed on tin mill steel imported from China.

Tesla recalls 1.6m cars in China over Autopilot and steering defects

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/jan/05/tesla-china-recall-autopilot

Tesla is recalling more than 1.6m Model S, X, 3 and Y electric vehicles exported to China for problems with their automatic assisted steering and door latch controls.

The recall, Tesla’s largest-ever in China, affects the majority of the cars it has sold in the country, according to Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation announced the recall on Friday. The agency said Tesla in Beijing and Shanghai would use remote upgrades to fix the problems, so in most cases car owners would not need to visit Tesla service centers.

The recall follows another in the US last month of more than 2m of Tesla EVs to improve its system for monitoring drivers.

The Chinese recall due to problems with the automatic steering assist function applies to 1.6m imported Tesla Model S, Model X, Model 3 and Model Ys. When the automatic steering function is engaged, drivers might misuse the combined driving function, increasing a risk of accidents, the notice said.

The recall to fix the door unlock logic control for imported Model S and Model X EVs affects 7,538 vehicles made between 26 October 2022 and 16 November 2023. It is needed to prevent door latches from coming open during a collision.

The recall followed a two-year investigation by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into a series of crashes – some deadly – that occurred while the Autopilot partially automated driving system was in use. The investigation found the system was defective.

The upgrades are intended to get drivers who use the Autopilot system to pay closer attention to the road. Documents filed by Tesla to the US government said the online software change will increase warnings and alerts to drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel.

However, research conducted by the NHTSA, the National Transportation Safety Board and other investigators show that merely measuring torque on the steering wheel does not ensure drivers are paying sufficient attention.

China is a major market and manufacturing center for Tesla, and the company’s chief executive, Elon Musk, has built close ties with Chinese officials even as US-China relations soured. The company built an electric vehicle plant in Shanghai in 2019 that assembles cars for China, Europe and other overseas markets.

Tesla is the No 2 seller in the booming Chinese market for electric vehicles. The market leader is Chinese auto company BYD, which recently overtook its US rival.

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China’s ‘king of software’, Wang Wenjing, steps down as president of enterprise management systems firm Yonyou amid mounting losses

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3247446/chinas-king-software-wang-wenjing-steps-down-president-enterprise-management-systems-firm-yonyou?utm_source=rss_feed

Tech billionaire Wang Wenjing, who was once known as China’s “king of software”, has stepped down as president of enterprise management systems provider Yonyou Network Technology, as the company he founded in 1988 continues to struggle with sluggish sales and mounting losses amid the mainland’s weak post-pandemic economic recovery.

Wang had tendered his resignation with immediate effect, according to Yonyou’s filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Wednesday. “The company’s board expresses its sincere gratitude to Wang for his contribution,” the Beijing-based firm said.

The 60-year-old Wang – with a net worth of US$3.1 billion as of January 5, according to Forbes – will remain in his roles as Yonyou chairman and chief executive, overseeing corporate strategy and product development, according to a separate statement released by the firm.

Veteran Yonyou executive Chen Qiangbin, 48, takes over as company president, with a focus on operations and management, according to the company. After joining Yonyou in 2000, Chen was involved in software development, sales and then served as general manager at the firm’s branch offices in Beijing, northern Hebei province and southwestern Sichuan province.

Yonyou, ranked by research firm Gartner as one of the world’s top 10 enterprise resource planning (ERP) software providers, saw its shares close down 2.48 per cent to 16.49 yuan (US$2.32) on Friday.

ERP refers to software designed to automate business processes, as well as provide insights and internal controls, often in real time. It manages operations including accounting and finance, procurement, supply chain, manufacturing, human resources and collaboration.

In recent years, Yonyou changed its focus from selling licences of its ERP and other enterprise management software to collecting service fees by providing these systems via a software-as-a-service model called Yonyou BIP. By 2022, cloud-based services accounted for nearly 70 per cent of the firm’s revenue.

Still, the senior management shuffle at Yonyou reflects the company’s effort to try and turn around its business after about two years of stagnant revenue growth and widening losses, as fresh opportunities beckon from Beijing’s digitalisation drive.

China’s digital economy push for 12 sectors sets sights on finance, tech, farms

Yonyou initiated one of its largest organisational changes last year, when it set up 23 industry client and solution business units to cover a range of industries including manufacturing, consumer products, energy, logistics and the public sector. The move was expected to make its operations more focused on vertical industries, instead of regional markets.

Even as China’s weak macroeconomic environment has driven a round of poor earnings from cybersecurity and finance software stocks, Yonyou’s third-quarter results last year – with “positive revenue growth across all segments” – “indicate that ERP demand has been resilient”, according to a November research note by Jefferies.

While it reported 2 per cent revenue growth in the first three quarters of last year, Yonyou saw its losses widen 91 per cent year on year to 1 billion yuan.

Wang, who was 24 when he founded Yonyou after leaving a job in government, initially provided accounting software to businesses and quickly became a dominant player in that market. When Yonyou – first known as Ufsoft and then Ufida – expanded into ERP and other enterprise management systems, it surpassed the performance of major foreign ERP players like Oracle and SAP in the Chinese market.

Yonyou currently has more than 230 branch offices worldwide – including in the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, Australia, New Zealand and a number of countries in Southeast Asia.

China’s military starts fresh exercise day after US-Philippine patrol ends

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3247471/chinas-military-starts-fresh-exercise-day-after-us-philippine-patrol-ends?utm_source=rss_feed

China began a new military exercise in the South China Sea on Friday following the end of a two-day joint patrol by the United States and Philippines in the disputed waters.

The People’s Liberation Army Southern Theatre Command announced that the navy and air force were conducting a “routine” exercise, without giving details of the location or scale of the drill.

The command carried out another patrol on Wednesday and Thursday while the US-Philippine exercise, which included the aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS Carl Vinson, was taking place.

The Philippine Navy said on Thursday that two PLA Navy vessels – a Type 052D guided-missile destroyer and a Type 054A frigate, – had been “shadowing” the joint patrol from a distance. Philippine media reports added that the two ships had failed to respond to five warning messages.

In a post on its official social media accounts, Southern Theatre Command said the PLA has full control of “any military activities that disrupt and create hotspots in the South China Sea” and pledged it would “remain on high alert at all times, resolutely safeguarding national sovereignty, security and maritime rights and interests”.

Tensions between Manila and Beijing over the South China Sea rose significantly last year after several confrontations where Chinese coastguard vessels blocked Philippine efforts to supply troops stationed on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal.

Beijing has ‘weapons’ to challenge Manila’s South China Sea claims: legal expert

Meanwhile, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has been strengthening Manila’s alliance with the US, resulting in closer military cooperation between the two countries.

In November the two countries held a three-day joint naval drill in waters near Taiwan and the South China Sea, which prompted a live-fire training exercise by the PLA in response.

The Philippine military said this week’s joint patrol marked a “significant leap” in their alliance and interoperability.

“Our alliance is stronger than ever, sending a message to the world. We are advancing a rules-based international order and a free and open Indo-Pacific region in the face of regional challenges,” Philippine armed forces chief Romeo Brawner Jnr said on Wednesday.

Beijing has condemned the manoeuvres as “provocative military activities” aimed at “flaunting their military might”, adding that they were “detrimental to the management and control of the maritime situation and related disputes”.

“China will continue to resolutely safeguard our own territorial sovereignty and maritime interests,” the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday.

Taiwan reports 17 ‘airborne balloons’ approaching from mainland China in run-up to election

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3247474/taiwan-reports-17-airborne-balloons-approaching-mainland-china-run-election?utm_source=rss_feed

As Taiwan’s general elections on January 13 draw near, the island’s defence ministry reported it had seen 17 balloons from mainland China cross the median line in the Taiwan Strait since the beginning of December.

Since New Year’s Day, balloons have crossed the median line daily, with some floating above the island, according to the ministry. The data for Friday is not yet available.

For decades, Beijing and Taipei tacitly agreed not to let military actions cross the median line, which separates mainland China from the self-ruled island. But since 2019, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has sent planes across the line nearly every day. Beijing has never officially recognised the line as a de facto border.

The first balloon was reported on December 7. The Taiwanese defence ministry identified the objects as weather balloons until Tuesday, when it started describing them as “airborne balloons”.

The Taiwanese defence ministry told the Post in a statement that the “Communist Party is using drones and airborne balloons as a way of grey-zone attack and intrusion”.

It added that Beijing was trying to “affect morale” among the Taiwanese people as part of its “cognitive warfare”.

Grey-zone warfare refers to strategies short of armed conflict that can leverage economic power and information to influence the policy and behaviour of an adversary.

Taiwanese defence ministry spokesman Major General Sun Li-fang said at a news conference on December 26 that the Communist Party “combines its misinformation and disinformation with military action”. He made the remarks when commenting on the balloons, implying that they were related to the PLA.

The Taiwanese government has accused Beijing of interfering in the election, in which as many as 19.5 million voters will choose their next president, vice-president and lawmakers.

Senior Beijing officials, including Taiwan Affairs Office director Song Tao, have told the Taiwanese people to “stand on the right side of history” and push for the reunification of China.

Fallout from Taiwan elections may ‘heighten risk of US-China missteps’

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

Taiwan’s defence ministry did not respond to questions on Friday about whether the balloons were released by the PLA or whether it was withholding information about balloons from mainland China detected before December.

It also did not respond to a question asking if Taipei believed the balloons were intended to interfere with the January 13 elections.

Lu Li-shih, a former instructor at Taiwan’s naval academy, said balloons had appeared over Taiwan before, but the government chose not to disclose this in its daily military activity report until December.

Cheng Ming-dean, Taiwan’s former director of weather, told Taiwanese media in February that balloons were spotted in 2021 and 2022. The Financial Times also cited unnamed people who said Chinese military balloons flew over Taiwan once a month on average.

Who is running in Taiwan’s presidential race and what does it mean for Beijing?

When asked about the incidents on Thursday, White House spokesman John Kirby declined to comment but urged others not to interfere with the elections.

Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a fax requesting comment on Friday.

A balloon from mainland China was detected over the US in February, which delayed a push to warm US-China relations in the first half of 2023. Washington said the balloon was used for espionage and shot it down. Beijing said it was a weather balloon that accidentally went astray due to forces out of its control.

There is no evidence suggesting that the balloons over Taiwan were related to the balloon incident involving the US.

Chinese, US scientists create world’s first graphene semiconductor in feat that could transform computer chips

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3247470/chinese-us-scientists-create-worlds-first-graphene-semiconductor-feat-could-transform-computer-chips?utm_source=rss_feed

A Chinese-US research team has synthesised a functional semiconductor out of graphene for the first time, in a possible leap forward for superfast computing beyond silicon chips.

Graphene is a simple material, made up of just a single layer of carbon atoms, said to be a million times thinner than human hair. But it is stronger than almost anything else in nature, and beats silicon hands down when it comes to electronic potential.

Ever since graphene was discovered in 2004, scientists have tried to use it, in combination with other carbon materials, to devise a new kind of chip – one that would use less power and work faster than any semiconductor in existence.

This long-elusive feat might now be close to reality, according to nano scientists at China’s Tianjin University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, whose findings were published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.

Chinese state media hailed the feat as a momentous step forward for the use of graphene in chip manufacturing.

“This research has not only maintained graphene’s remarkable stability but also introduced fresh electronic traits, clearing the path for graphene-based chips,” Beijing-based Science and Technology Daily said in a report on Friday.

The study was led by professors Ma Lei from Tianjin University and Walt de Heer from Georgia Tech. Both have focused on graphene electronics and other two-dimensional materials since they set up the Tianjin International Centre for Nanoparticles and Nanosystems at Tianjin University in 2018.

Chinese scientists master the art of ‘atomic origami’

Known as the first stable two-dimensional material at room temperature, graphene’s distinctive electronic structure also means it has zero “bandgap” – meaning there is no energy difference when electrons in semiconductors jump between low and high energy bands. The lack of this natural gap hinders graphene’s semiconductor capabilities, making it less suitable for electronic devices.

Overcoming this challenge without losing graphene’s intrinsic properties is a key step towards its practical use in electronics, Ma told China Business Network.

“The reason our research is valued is that it can truly make graphene electronics practical in the future and remove the biggest obstacle.”

The new method creates a special layer on graphene that generates the needed gap for electrons and allows them to move very quickly, much faster than in silicon and similar materials.

This is a big step forward for using graphene in electronic devices, giving it the right properties to function well as a semiconductor.

To achieve this breakthrough, Ma and his team used a method called quasi-equilibrium annealing, which involves carefully heating and cooling a material to modify its structure.

The process begins with heating a silicon carbide substrate in a furnace and then maintaining it at various temperatures for specific durations. This results in the formation of smooth, flat surfaces, ideal for adding a layer known as “epigraphene”.

The layer is crucial as it introduces a necessary electron gap, making graphene suitable for electronic devices.

It also ensures that the graphene is durable and easy to work with, holding out promise for its widespread commercial application in electronic devices.

Instant charging in sight as China makes progress on graphene

“It not only opens new paths for high-performance electronic devices beyond traditional silicon-based technology but also injects new energy into the semiconductor industry,” a report on the Tianjin University website said.

“The emergence of graphene semiconductors is timely, heralding a fundamental transformation in electronics. This innovation fulfils the growing demand for higher computing speeds and miniaturised integrated electronic devices.”

As for the practical application of graphene semiconductors, Ma said the material could be cost-competitive in comparison with semiconductor materials currently in the market, while offering superior performance.

However, the journey is likely to be a long one. Ma estimated that it might take another 10 to 15 years to fully realise the industrial implementation of graphene semiconductors.

[Technology] Tesla recalls more than 1.6 million cars in China over steering software issues

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67891080?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

China’s Xinjiang region says all new religious buildings must ‘reflect Chinese characteristics’

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3247467/chinas-xinjiang-region-says-all-new-religious-buildings-must-reflect-chinese-characteristics?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s Xinjiang region has announced a new set of religious rules that say all new places of worship must reflect “Chinese characteristics and style”.

The far-western region is home to large numbers of the mainly Muslim Uygur majority, and the regulations say specifically that any mosque renovations that would change the existing layout or functions must be approved by the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region authorities.

International campaign launched to support Ilham Tohti for Nobel Peace Prize

The revised version of the region’s regulations on the management of religious affairs was announced on Thursday by the official Xinjiang Daily newspaper. The changes will come into force in February.

The rules state: “Newly built, renovated, expanded or rebuilt religious venues should reflect Chinese characteristics and culture in aspects such as architecture, sculpture, paintings [and] decorations.”

They also say for the first time that interpretations of religious doctrine must “meet the requirements of contemporary China’s development and China’s outstanding traditional culture”.

The new rules also contain fewer references to “extremism” and “terrorism” compared with the previous version issued in 2014, but still emphasise the need to combat “separatism”.

China has been accused of systemic human rights violations against the region’s minorities, including the extensive use of re-education camps and forced labour, as well as tearing down large mosques and other Muslim sites.

The accusations have prompted a series of sanctions from the United States and other Western countries, while the United Nations said in a report that its actions “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity”.

China has denied human rights abuses in the region and says its policies are designed to counter extremism and terrorism. It has also said that Xinjiang has experienced “huge economic development” and “significant achievements on human rights” in the past decade.

It has also faced claims that it has ordered mosques around the country to remove features such as Arabic-style domes and minarets and replace them with traditional Chinese features.

A spokesman for the Xinjiang regional government told reporters in 2021 that some mosques in the region had been renovated or moved to ensure they are “safer” and “more reasonably located”.

The central government in Beijing has rarely commented about alterations to mosques, but in June 2022 a prime-time news report by the state broadcaster CCTV hailed the removal of a mosque’s domes in Xining in Qinghai province as a successful example of “protecting traditional heritage”.

China has long-standing policies to control religious activities, with Xinjiang facing some of the tightest controls.

China-Kazakhstan to share migration data, closing dual citizenship path

In recent years there has been a push to “Sinicise” religion, while President Xi Jinping has also repeatedly stressed the importance of fostering a sense of Chinese identity among the country’s minority groups.

Xinjiang’s new rules also impose new controls on large-scale religious gatherings, which will require approval from the local government at least one month in advance.

Meanwhile, religious content posted online must be screened by the regional government, and religious bodies and institutions must also report changes in significant personnel to the local authorities.

However, the new rules do ease some restrictions, including a ban on any donations from individuals or overseas groups to religious groups in Xinjiang.

They now say that donations of more than 10,000 yuan (US$1,400) of this kind must be reported to the authorities.

China’s primary sector workforce sees first increase in decades as migrants back on the farm

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3247440/chinas-primary-sector-workforce-sees-first-increase-decades-migrants-back-farm?utm_source=rss_feed

Both the number and share of workers employed in China’s primary industries rose for the first time in two decades in 2022 – a trend that may continue, analysts said, absent a solid recovery in the manufacturing and services sectors.

About 176.6 million people – 24.1 per cent of the nation’s total employed – were engaged in agriculture, fishing, forestry, mining and other activities involving the extraction of natural resources in 2022, according to the 2023 China Population and Employment Statistical Yearbook. The data compendium was recently published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The same numbers stood at 170.7 million and 22.9 per cent in 2021.

The number of employed people in the sector started to fall in 2003, and their proportion has been in steady decline since 1999.

Experts said the rise may reflect a return of migrant workers to their rural hometowns amid strict pandemic controls and a bleak urban job market in 2022, and it may continue if other sectors do not compensate with a return to sustained growth.

“It [shows] urban services sectors, as well as small and medium enterprises, both major job creators, have shrunk gravely,” said Wang Dan, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank China.

The trend might endure in the near-term, she said, as slashed household consumption continues to cripple the service sector and manufacturing is unable to absorb surplus labour.

“Migrant workers might come back to cities when services recover, but the timeline is unknown,” Wang added.

China’s economic growth has been uneven after the lifting of Covid-19 controls, with a property slump, slowing export growth and depressed business sentiment casting a pall on consumer confidence.

Migrant workers who helped power China’s economic miracle face bleak future

Since the dawn of the century, China’s rapid urbanisation has brought in millions of migrant workers from rural areas to seek job opportunities, who have in turn powered the development of urban regions.

In 2022, China had 295.62 million migrant workers, 3.11 million more than the previous year according to NBS data.

However, they are also the most vulnerable group in the Chinese job market, and are largely overlooked by the country’s unemployment metrics.

The surveyed urban unemployment rate in China has stabilised at around 5 per cent in recent months, but it does not include former rural migrants who have returned to the countryside after losing or quitting their jobs in cities and towns.

Youth unemployment figures were also high until the government stopped releasing age breakdowns in July, when more than one out of every five people aged 16 to 24 were reported as unemployed.

The rise in returns to the farm comes as China’s working-age population is on the wane. Defined as those between the ages of 15 and 64, that demographic has dropped from its peak of 997 million in 2014 to 875.56 million in 2021.

According to the yearbook, those employed in secondary industries – generally understood to be synonymous with manufacturing – accounted for 28.8 per cent of the total employed workforce, while the tertiary sector, services, represented 47.1 per cent. Respectively, the figures for both in 2021 were 29.1 per cent and 48 per cent.

Beijing must harness AI to boost China’s image on the ‘global stage’, party newspaper says

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3247455/beijing-must-harness-ai-boost-chinas-image-global-stage-party-newspaper-says?utm_source=rss_feed

China should leverage AI-generated content for its international messaging and image building and enhance content scrutiny, according to commentary published on Friday by a newspaper of the Central Party School.

In the article in Study Times, bylined Li Chunyan, called for China’s propaganda officials to pay more attention to the output of applications such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and be more cautious about censoring the AI-generated content.

“The growing influence of AI-generated content in public opinion will bring profound changes to the landscape of international communication,” Li wrote.

China unveils new AI rules for scientists, banning use in funding applications

“Scientific understanding and better use of the technologies underpinning applications such as ChatGPT matters significantly to China’s comprehensive strength and discourse right on the global stage.”

China made AI a national priority in 2017, stating its ambition to become “the world’s premier artificial intelligence innovation centre” by 2030.

In 2019, at a meeting with Politburo members, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged political elites to “increase the sense of urgency and mission”, apply AI in news collection, production, distribution and feedback, “harness algorithms with [the party’s] mainstream values” and improve their ability to guide public opinion.

ChatGPT, an AI chatbot developed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI, has captured worldwide attention since it was launched in 2022 for its detailed responses and articulate answers across many domains. Beijing acted quickly to catch up by pooling national resources and encouraging domestic technology firms to develop large language models (LLMs).

Large language models are deep-learning AI algorithms that can recognise, summarise, translate, predict and generate content using very large data sets.

Beijing also moved swiftly to regulate the generative artificial intelligence industry, introducing rules to require content moderation, security assessment, and algorithmic transparency, stressing that content should embody “socialist core values”.

China should be more vigilant towards “foreign media, which are good at leading international discourse by taking advantage of AI technology”, Li wrote in the article.

Chinese media should learn to grasp the new technologies, use them to precisely position its international audience, and improve its messaging and image building globally, Li added.

“Making better use of applications like ChatGPT can help us tell China stories well, recognise ideological issues and guide specific international discourse more effectively,” the author wrote.

China is on track to be world AI leader by 2030, with Hong Kong’s help

Li also said editors and reporters in Chinese media should be ready to strengthen scrutiny over their content “to compensate for the shortcomings of AI-generated content value defects”.

ChatGPT is not officially available in mainland China, but users can skirt internet restrictions to set up accounts via a VPN. Chinese companies have developed more than 200 LLMs, and the first batch of AI Chatbots for public roll-out were approved in September.

When asked politically related questions by the Post, several of the domestically made chatbots avoided such questions or sent them for a security review.

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Family in China pushes daughter to marry man who raped her even offering to cut bride price but court jails him

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3246467/family-china-pushes-daughter-marry-man-who-raped-her-even-offering-cut-bride-price-court-jails-him?utm_source=rss_feed

A court in China has sentenced a man to three years in jail for rape after he forced his fiancée to have sex with him.

The Yanggao People’s Court in northwestern China’s Shanxi province reached the verdict on December 25 when it also revealed new details about the case.

One shocking revelation was that of the reaction of the victim’s family when they learned of the violent crime – they tried to force the woman to marry her rapist.

They even agreed to postpone full payment of the traditional betrothal gift, or bride price, to hurry the wedding along because he would not legally be considered a rapist if the couple were married.

The man, surnamed Xi, and the woman, whose name the court did not reveal, met on a blind date in January last year and got engaged a few months later in May.

An engagement ceremony was held by the man’s family, during which they handed over about half of the 188,000 yuan (US$26,000) bride price and a ring.

The next day, following an engagement feast hosted by the woman’s family, Xi invited his fiancée to his flat. There, he forced her to have sex despite her firmly saying no to premarital sex more than once.

Film from a surveillance camera showed that the distraught woman had managed to escape and run to the floor below, but Xi was seen chasing after her and dragging her back.

He also took her phone away and only returned it to her when her mother called.

The woman reported the rape to the police that same evening, and they documented several bruises on her arms and wrists.

The court sentenced Xi to three years in prison for rape, despite the victim’s family suggesting a compromise which was never agreed upon by all parties.

According to the court’s official announcement on its website, rapists in China can expect to serve three to 10 years in jail.

Xi received the minimum sentence because he was in a romantic relationship with his victim and cooperated with police during their investigation.

The court said that Chinese law protects “rights and obligations” between legally married couples, and that engagement is not recognised as an official union by the law.

“If this is what he does to her when they are engaged, imagine what he would be capable of if they were married,” one online observer wrote.

“The woman’s family pushed their daughter into marrying her rapist to protect her chastity. I cannot imagine how much pressure she faced to uphold her rights,” said another.

“A person should never force their partner to have sex, even if they are married,” a third commenter said.

Beijing has ‘a lot of legal weapons’ to challenge Manila’s claims in South China Sea, international law expert says

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3247436/beijing-has-lot-legal-weapons-challenge-manilas-claims-south-china-sea-says-international-law-expert?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing still has plenty of countermeasures it could use against Manila if tensions between the two countries continue to escalate in the South China Sea, according to a seasoned legal expert who specialises in the region.

“[China has] a lot of legal weapons and has not used them yet,” said Fu Kuncheng, a specially appointed research fellow with the Belt and Road Institute at Xiamen University in southeast China. He previously served as dean of the university’s South China Sea Institute – the first research organisation at a university in mainland China to focus on the region.

Traditional fishing rights could be one option in Beijing’s legal toolkit against Manila, he said during a speech on Thursday at the Beijing-based think tank Grandview Institution.

“Within the archipelagic waters of the Philippines, not only in the Sulu Sea but in many other areas, Chinese fishermen have the right to fish,” said Fu, who has served as an arbitrator in various arbitration tribunals in mainland China, Taiwan and Russia.

Will Manila’s plans to build in South China Sea escalate tensions with Beijing?

Beijing could also challenge the Philippines’ claim to the Kalayaan group of islands, over which Manila began asserting its sovereignty in the 1970s, said the international law expert.

Fu said Beijing could target Manila’s archipelagic baselines, the imaginary lines drawn around an island group that define its national boundaries and help establish its territorial waters and exclusive economic zones. He noted that more than 3 per cent of the Philippines’ baselines exceed 125 nautical miles, violating regulations set by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).

He added that China could demand Manila to open transit passages for Chinese aircraft and ships through the Philippines archipelago to comply with its obligations under Unclos.

The South China Sea is the site of multiple overlapping territorial claims by several countries, and the risk of military conflict in the region has grown since last year.

The vital waterway carries one-third of global shipping and is home to vast mineral, oil and gas resources. Some observers have said the South China Sea could be a more explosive flashpoint for a US-China crisis than the Taiwan Strait.

Beijing and Manila, a key ally of Washington in the region, have been locked in tensions over disputed reefs in recent months, especially the Second Thomas Shoal, known as Renai Jiao in China and Ayungin Shoal in the Philippines.

The Second Thomas Shoal is located within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. But China claims sovereignty over the reef as well as the entire Spratly Islands, which it calls the Nansha Islands.

The Chinese claim over the area was declared invalid by an international arbitration court at The Hague in 2016 in a case brought by the Philippines, but Beijing rejects the decision as “null and void”.

Stronger defence ties between the US and the Philippines have also drawn China’s ire.

Philippines’ US ties risk more than links with China, expert warns

Tensions between the two neighbours have continued to stew in the new year as the People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theatre Command held patrols in the South China Sea this week, coinciding with two days of joint US-Philippines military drills in the same area.

Beijing said that “muscle-flexing, provocative military activities” by Manila and Washington were not conducive to managing the situation or handling maritime disputes.

“China will continue to firmly safeguard our territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press conference on Thursday.

China unveils new artificial intelligence guidelines for scientists and bans use in funding applications

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3247420/china-unveils-new-artificial-intelligence-guidelines-scientists-and-bans-use-funding-applications?utm_source=rss_feed

China has published new guidelines on the use of generative artificial intelligence in scientific research, including a ban on the “direct” use of the technology when applying for research funding and approval.

The Guidelines For Responsible Research Conduct were released by the Ministry of Science and Technology on December 21, with the aim of promoting the “healthy development” of scientific research.

The guidelines cover various aspects of the research process, including topic selection and peer review, with ethics, safety and transparency the main considerations.

The rules apply to individual researchers and institutions, including universities and medical and health centres.

The guidelines set out a general framework for the use of AI, but do not provide detailed rules for specific situations.

One of the main concerns is the use of AI-generated content, which cannot be listed as a co-author under the new rules.

AI has helped researchers around the world make discoveries such as new antibiotics that may help fight drug-resistant superbugs and a Chinese team’s AI-generated catalysts that could help produce oxygen on Mars.

Some scientists have also listed AI tools such as ChatGPT as co-authors – a practice many journals have already stopped.

However, this has prompted discussions about whether AI should be credited if it discovers new materials or drugs – and even a broader philosophical debate about whether it should be considered equal to humans in the pursuit of knowledge.

ChatGPT-aided ransomware in China results in four arrests

Under the guidelines, generative AI can still be used in research, but any content or findings that use the technology must be clearly labelled as such.

Wen Shaoqing, an associate professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, said the effect of the regulations was likely to be “limited”, at least in his field of scientific archaeology, because generative AI “tends to produce poor-quality project application proposals” and few people will use it.

A biologist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who asked not to be named, also said she never uses AI to help her write proposals because these language models produce “beautiful but essentially meaningless words”.

However, another researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said the widespread use of generative AI “is an irreversible trend” and it is unrealistic and unreasonable to ban it across the board.

The scientist, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said researchers will continue to use it in research and grant applications if they think it will help them and it is more important to figure out “how to allow researchers to use it in an appropriate way and to … keep up with international trends”.

The rapid development of AI technology has “promoted profound changes in scientific research paradigms”, according to a document from the science ministry explaining the new rules.

However, it continued that the guidelines were needed because the technology has created problems around authorship, intellectual property and data processing.

According to the ministry, the guidelines draw on “useful foreign experiences and reflect international practices.”

It said the guidelines were based on a “broad consensus” in scientific circles, and will be updated and adjusted based on further technological developments.

Regulating the use of AI became a major focus for Beijing last year, both domestically and internationally.

Beijing launches AI platform to meet country’s rising demand for computing power

In April a meeting of the Politburo said it attached “great importance” to developing AI but highlighted the importance of risk prevention.

In August the country’s first regulations – the Interim Measures for the Management of Generative AI Services – came into effect with the aim of promoting “socialist values” and the “healthy” development of publicly available AI content.

These measures do not apply to scientific research institutes as long as they do not provide generative AI services to the Chinese public, according to the Cyberspace Administration of China.

At the start of November, China along with 27 other countries, including the United States, and the European Union, met in Britain to sign the Bletchley Declaration, an international pact on regulating the potentially “catastrophic” risks that could arise from rapidly developing AI.

China’s new scientific guidelines expand upon the interim measures. Apart from the ban on the direct use of AI when writing applications, the rules also say that AI-generated content and results must be labelled within the text “especially when it involves key content such as facts and opinions”.

AI-generated content should also be identified in the footnotes, methods section or appendices of research papers, along with explanations of how it was created and what software was used.

Any content that is marked as being generated by AI should not be treated as original literature, and if other authors want to cite this content “an explanation should be given”, the guidelines say.

They also state that any references generated by AI cannot be used unless they are verified first. A library guide from University College London has previously warned that generative AI may fabricate references and quotes.

A scientist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences working in organic chemistry said restrictions on AI-generated content are necessary because many graduate students now use it to write their theses, and he fears “it will ruin these students”.

The scientist, who asked not to be named, believes that such tools can make students lazier and makes it harder for them to develop original thinking skills.

Hong Kong test for minibus drivers from mainland China tricky because of different road rules, lack of local knowledge, trade chiefs say

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3247382/hong-kong-test-minibus-drivers-mainland-china-tricky-because-different-road-rules-lack-local?utm_source=rss_feed

A lack of local knowledge and different rules could have made it harder for some mainland Chinese minibus drivers to pass the road test in Hong Kong, industry representatives said on Friday, warning operators’ costs to keep them in the city might rise as a result.

According to the Transport Department, about 50 minibus drivers have arrived in Hong Kong from mainland China as part of a scheme to ease labour shortages, but only two of the six who took the road test to get a licence passed.

“Cars in Hong Kong and on the mainland are steered on different sides, which means that we drive differently, even turns are different,” So Sai-hung, chairman of the GMB Maxicab Operators General Association, said on Friday.

Hong Kong minibus passengers and operators hit out at tunnels’ toll increases

So also attributed the low pass rate to the difference in the level of local transport knowledge among mainland drivers compared with their Hong Kong counterparts.

He said that with passenger safety a priority, the new drivers would first have to go through relevant training before they could start working locally, stressing they were held to the same standards as those in Hong Kong.

So said that from an employer’s perspective drivers should pass the test on their first or second attempt. If drivers required three or four attempts, it might indicate issues with their skills.

He said employers would have to arrange accommodation for drivers when they arrived in Hong Kong for training and pay for the tests, but added that there might be room for negotiation with them on splitting costs if too many attempts were required.

Each minibus driving test could cost an employer several thousand Hong Kong dollars.

Hong Kong transport operators prepare for first batch of mainland Chinese drivers

The government had approved about 400 spaces for mainland residents to become minibus drivers in Hong Kong and all of them were expected to arrive in the city by March, So said.

Chau Kwok-keung, chairman of the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association, said the low pass rate was not a cause for concern and that more training could be given to drivers from the mainland to help tackle it.

He said one of the reasons for the mainland drivers’ failure to pass the test could be their existing habits as they were all experienced. It might also take time to get used to the way driving was examined in Hong Kong, Chau added.

“Another reason is nerves and stress during the test,” Chau said.

“The drivers may be fine when we show them the routes or when we get them to do the practice rounds. But when it came to the test, they got nervous and did not perform as well, which I believe can be solved with more training.”

He agreed that drivers needing to take multiple tests could put financial strain on employers, but noted it was never planned to be a long-term arrangement.

The pass rate for the light bus driving test stood at 16 per cent as of May 2023.

The Transport Department said the figures concerning mainland drivers so far should not be considered valid statistics for the time being given the tests have just started.

Hong Kong minibus drivers cry foul over higher cross-harbour tolls from next month

Bringing in mainland drivers is part of a government plan rolled out last year to import 20,000 workers to ease the labour crunch in the construction, aviation and transport industries.

Under the labour importation scheme, authorities have approved 969 quota slots for the transport sector, with 461 for minibus drivers. The other slots are for coach drivers.

People hired under the scheme must be paid a monthly rate no lower than the median in the sector, which is HK$14,300 (US$1,830) for minibus drivers.

The construction sector will be allowed to import a maximum of 12,000 workers from the mainland, while Hong Kong International Airport can bring in 6,300 to fill vacancies for cleaners and other frontline roles.

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‘Overjoyed despite fear’: China couple hold wedding amid ruins of deadly earthquake, give thanks for help of nation

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/environment/article/3246458/overjoyed-despite-fear-china-couple-hold-wedding-amid-ruins-deadly-earthquake-give-thanks-help?utm_source=rss_feed

The joy of newlyweds who celebrated their wedding amid the ruins of China’s deadliest earthquake for years, has deeply moved many people on mainland social media.

A 6.2 magnitude quake hit Gansu province in the northwest of the country around midnight on December 18, the convulsion also affected the neighbouring province of Qinghai.

Within 12 hours more than 100 people in Gansu were dead and at least 155,000 homes were destroyed or damaged, while in Qinghai the death toll continued to mount.

In the midst of the devastating tragedy emerged the heartwarming story of a couple, bride Biao Xianggui and groom Yuan Shilong both from Jishishan county, who went ahead with their vows despite the obvious challenges.

An online video shows the groom as they walk towards a simply constructed stage on December 24. The happy couple are surrounded by family and friends who shower them with flowers and set off fireworks.

But Biao and Yuan had faced many hurdles before they could finally celebrate their special day.

The groom revealed they had been together for more than four years and had initially planned to marry last year, but postponed the event.

With just a week to go before their rescheduled nuptials, the earthquake struck, disrupting their wedding plans and throwing their lives into disarray.

This time, they were determined to overcome the challenges they faced and happily succeeded in going ahead with the ceremony.

In a clip, the bride shares her complex feelings with Star Video: “Despite the fear, we also felt immense excitement. It was a perfect ending.”

The groom also conveys his delight: “I’m overjoyed and thrilled to have married the woman I love. Despite the difficulties, we were committed to holding our wedding as planned.”

Following the earthquake, there was an immense support from businesses, social organisations and individuals who pulled together to provide essential supplies and psychological help.

Yuan sent a message to those affected by the disaster and to those helping in the recovery.

“I hope the people affected can bravely overcome this disaster and move forward. I also want to thank people from all over the country for their contributions to aid our recovery,” he said.

Online observers were moved by the wedding video and blessings poured in from the online community near and far.

“What collapsed was their house, not their home,” one contributor said.

“They celebrate love among the ruins and embrace new life amid despair,” said another.

“Being alive is a blessing, and marrying after such adversity is precious. May joy overshadow the grief,” a third said.

“Having faced life and death, they can now begin their marriage with happiness. May they always find joy,” added another online observer.

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Shop till you drop: trips to mainland Chinese bulk retailers a hit with young Hongkongers

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3247318/shop-till-you-drop-trips-mainland-chinese-bulk-retailers-hit-young-hongkongers?utm_source=rss_feed

Travel tours with itineraries focused on shopping in popular supermarkets in nearby Shenzhen and other mainland Chinese cities have become a hit with young Hongkongers after agencies launched new packages to cater to a growing appetite for splashing the cash across the border.

City tour operators said on Thursday the number of Hongkongers who had joined their trips to the mainland had surged after the coronavirus pandemic.

They added the tours were especially popular with younger people who wanted to explore and shop for bargains, as well as for items only available on the mainland.

About 10 travel agencies have launched such tour packages, sparked by a trend towards people shopping in popular over-the-border destinations like the members-only bulk retailer Sam’s Club, Timothy Chui Ting-pong, the executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Association, said.

“We have seen more people join our tours to the mainland after the coronavirus pandemic,” Steve Huen Kwok-chuen, the executive director of EGL Tours, said.

He added that the number of people travelling to the mainland was three times higher than before the pandemic.

“There were more older tourists to the mainland before the pandemic but, after the pandemic, many young people have heard that there are many places to visit in Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area, and the prices, transportation, public security and sanitation are all good there,” Huen said.

The Post has found that at least four travel agencies launched two- or three-day tours to Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

All of them include a shopping session at Sam’s Club plus a one-year membership for two people worth 260 yuan (US$37) at the warehouse-style store.

Each of the agencies have more than 10 tour groups scheduled in January, to be made up of about 20 to 40 people each, with some of them already fully booked.

The tours charge from HK$299 (US$38) to HK$659 a head. In addition to shopping, the tours also involve quality dining and entertainment.

Hongkongers cross border for National Day long weekend, eyeing good deals and food

EGL Tours gives each group a karaoke room and two mahjong tables at the hotel and Wing On Travel settles tourists into a five-star hotel and provides feasts of chicken and fish.

Miramar Travel features a beef hotpot, a seafood barbecue buffet, and self-pay late-night braised chicken.

EGL Tours launched a new two-day tour to Shenzhen and Dongguan in Guangdong last Saturday.

The first day of the itinerary will cover Songhu Yanyu, one of the main attractions of Songshan Lake in Dongguan. Tourists also enjoy the scenery at the Xixi Ancient Village in Dongguan before being taken to Sam’s Club, owned by US supermarket giant Walmart, in Shenzhen for shopping.

The tour charges between HK$459 and HK$559 a head depending on the days involved. The cost covers transport, food, hotel accommodation as well as a membership card for two at Sam’s Club.

Huen said the company added the new element of shopping at the store, in addition to its traditional tours of mainland cities, in response to demand.

Hongkongers go bargain hunting in Shenzhen for National Day long weekend

He added the shopping tour had proven popular as all of the January departures, made up of two groups a day with 40 people each, were already fully booked. The first group leaves on Saturday.

Huen said the agency on Wednesday launched another two-day tour to Huizhou, also one of the mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area – the Chinese government’s scheme to link nine cities of Guangdong as well as Hong Kong and Macau into an integrated economic and business hub – because of the response.

He added the Huizhou trip, which charges HK$429 to HK$529 and covers scenic spots on the first day, with the second dedicated to shopping at a Sam’s Club, had already attracted about 100 people in just one day.

Miramar Travel has also launched a two-day Dongguan-Shenzhen tour, designed to cover attractions like Dongguan Botanical Garden, dining, hotel accommodation, and shopping in Sam’s Club in Shenzhen.

The tour charges between HK$379 and HK$449 a head.

Large numbers of city residents resumed travel across the border to Shenzhen for dining and shopping at weekends and on holidays after cross-border restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic were lifted.

Clever or con? Young China merchant sells 70,000 virtual ‘Einstein brains’ online to university students seeking advice, ‘spiritual nourishment’

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3246366/clever-or-con-young-china-merchant-sells-70000-virtual-einstein-brains-online-university-students?utm_source=rss_feed

A 22-year-old man in China, whose virtual service has sold about 70,000 units on Taobao e-commerce platform this year, has caused much intrigue on mainland social media.

Zhang Jiangxi, from Hebei province in northern China, has created a resource called “Einstein’s Brain” where he answers people’s questions and provides “emotional comfort and spiritual nourishment” for 0.5 yuan (7 US cents) a time.

Entrepreneur Zhang, who has been selling items on Taobao since he was 17, was looking for a way to create a regular stream of income, when a friend jokingly said he was short of intelligence.

That is when he had his light bulb moment and created “Einstein’s Brain”.

He launched the virtual product on Taobao at the beginning of this year and used an image of the historical genius’s brain along with an intriguing caption that read: “This is Einstein’s Brain. It will grow on your brain as soon as you buy it,” Zhang wrote.

Taobao is operated by Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post.

After customers have completed an online payment, they are invited to chat with Zhang. The service is mainly accessed by young people.

In a video clip, Zhang is seen sitting at his computer, replying to messages from customers. His chat box is packed with contact lists and chat histories.

“They are mainly college and secondary school students,” Zhang says in the video.

Some are also from top educational establishments, including Peking University, so subjects discussed tend to be about studies, exams and plans for the future.

“They may also be seeking spiritual nourishment,” Zhang added.

He said many of his customers are clever with fascinating ideas, so they in turn educate and motivate him, which he enjoys.

“We talk about a lot of interesting things,” Zhang said.

“I want to bring joy to as many people as possible, chatting with them also makes me happy,” he added.

Selling the 70,000 units has earned Zhang 35,000 yuan (US$4,900).

In addition to “Einstein’s Brain”, he offers other virtual chatting services, which include “Say No to Love” and “Happiness”.

The story has divided opinion on mainland social media. Some praise Zhang’s entrepreneurship while others view it as a con.

“It’s a very interesting idea. He is a genius,” one person said.

“I want to buy one,” said another.

“Isn’t this a fraud?” asked a sceptical online observer.

“These buyers do need brains, but not Einstein’s Brain,” quipped another.

It’s not Beijing that’s turning Hong Kong into just another Chinese city

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3247033/its-not-beijing-thats-turning-hong-kong-just-another-chinese-city?utm_source=rss_feed

Has Hong Kong become just another Chinese city or will it very soon, having lost its “unique advantages”? The signs hardly augur well.

Late last year, a married couple – eminent thought leaders in Hong Kong – embarked on a month-long trip to Canada and the United States, where they visited relatives and friends with extensive knowledge of this part of the world or who have lived in Hong Kong or on the mainland. The universal reaction was that Hong Kong has become just another Chinese city, or will be very soon.

“The rhetoric hastens the demise of our high degree of autonomy in real and perceptual terms,” one of the pair told me recently. What they experienced was not unique. Overseas perceptions of Hong Kong’s future are very pessimistic.

Perhaps more ominously, more mainlanders believe Hong Kong is fading fast, with a recent acid comment gaining traction on social media, calling Central’s Exchange Square, which houses the stock bourse, a relic of history.

The response from Hong Kong officials has been weak, blaming outsiders for spreading misconceptions while doing a poor job of explaining how different Hong Kong is under “one country, two systems”.

Beijing’s forceful imposition of a national security law in June 2020 hardened the perception that it had intended to make Hong Kong just another Chinese city all along.

But that is where the biggest misconception about Hong Kong lies. While Beijing has very good reasons to keep Hong Kong separate as a capitalist city, it is Hong Kong’s political elite who are, consciously or subconsciously, hastening its mainlandisation.

The Chinese leadership’s guideline for Hong Kong has remained unchanged: “long-term planning and full utilisation”. Under that policy, the People’s Liberation Army was ordered to stop advancing at the Lo Wu border in 1949 and radical leftists in Hong Kong were discouraged from fanning Cultural-Revolution-style riots in 1967. The distinctively capitalist city has proven invaluable to the mainland, from the Korean war in the 1950s to China’s opening up in the 1980s.

Even as Beijing asserts its “comprehensive jurisdiction” over Hong Kong, President Xi Jinping has vowed that it “must maintain Hong Kong’s unique status and strengths”, including its common law system.

From Beijing’s point of view, keeping Hong Kong’s role as a “superconnector” should be the most optimal arrangement.

Over the past two years, however, there have been more signs that Hong Kong’s political elite are driving an increasing mainlandisation of the city, chipping away at its distinctive status and advantages.

One of the most jarring and blatant examples is that they are embracing mainland-style practices of formality for formality’s sake, bureaucracy and extravagance – even as the central government cracks down on those practices on the mainland.

Ironically, Chinese officials, who are strictly regulated over wining and dining as well as attending public events on the mainland, don’t appear to be bound by any rule when in Hong Kong. Such activities of extravagance, even hedonism, have poisoned Hong Kong’s long-cherished system of clean governance and rule of law.

Eager to be politically correct, the city’s elite and politicians have wasted no time copying mainland-style high-profile ceremonies and seminars to study the remarks of top Chinese leaders and pledge allegiance.

In another worrying example of what former chief executive Leung Chun-ying denounced as “ostentatious and extravagant” practices by pro-Beijing establishment figures, a district councillor attended an August bash celebrating his departure to Beijing for a study tour. More than 500 people, including senior officials, lawmakers and other pro-Beijing figures, showed up.

Senior Hong Kong officials are believed to attend four or five public functions every day in peak season, lawmakers even more, making one wonder how much time is left for their real jobs.

With the national security law and electoral overhaul, legislators and district councillors should be showing how they are carrying out their duties to provide checks and balances and keep government officials on their toes. Instead, they are seen wining and dining together.

Over the past few years, both mainland and Hong Kong officials have urged the city to better integrate into China’s overall development, the Greater Bay Area in particular, and dovetail with national development strategies. There’s nothing wrong with this rhetoric, but it creates the perception that the city is being passively led.

As Beijing vows to assert its comprehensive jurisdiction over Hong Kong, another perception is that Hong Kong’s civil servants are awaiting instructions on how to move forward, as they send multiple study tours to Beijing.

Both perceptions are ominous for Hong Kong. Since China’s opening up in the late 1970s, Beijing has intended for Hong Kong to provide not only investments but also technical know-how, from legal services to urban management, so “more Hong Kongs” could be created on the mainland, in Deng Xiaoping’s words.

Moreover, the mainland mandarins have zero idea about how to run a capitalist city. Turning to them for clues is the worst option.

What Hong Kong should have done is use its superconnector role to influence Beijing’s policymaking so its decisions are more conducive to foreign investment and trade. Unfortunately, there is little sign of that.

Hong Kong’s only recipe for success is to be a truly international city

Ironically, after Hong Kong decided to expand its talent attraction schemes to stem an outflow of professionals, tens of thousands of mainlanders have applied to settle, precisely because of its capitalist system.

The perception that Hong Kong is becoming just another Chinese city has made them uneasy. As several recently lamented to me: what is the point of coming if Hong Kong is turning itself into just another mainland city?

In many ways and for many people, perception is reality.

China steps up efforts to adapt as US-led ‘reshoring’ campaign seems set in stone

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3247294/china-steps-efforts-adapt-us-led-reshoring-campaign-seems-set-stone?utm_source=rss_feed

Despite vociferous disagreement on most other issues, politicians in both major parties appear poised to continue the United States’ campaign to redirect manufacturing out of China – a sweeping change that even in its early stages has already done much to reshape the global economy.

Robert Lighthizer, the US Trade Representative during the Donald Trump administration, has taken credit for the extensive regime of tariffs imposed during his tenure which permanently altered the bilateral trade relationship.

In No Trade Is Free, published last year as an overview of his time as a policymaker, the China hawk described the action he initiated under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 – import taxes and other restrictions the subsequent Joe Biden administration has maintained and built upon – as a “historic success”.

Despite a shared interest in reorienting the US economy away from China, the two administrations have employed different rhetoric to describe their deeds. While Lighthizer refers to a process of “strategic decoupling” in his book, Biden and his officials have said the US is “de-risking”. Regardless, the results have been similar: stricter controls on China accessing hi-tech components and know-how.

Alongside the game plan dubbed “small yard high fence” – where certain decisive sectors are given stringent protection as economic relations are maintained – the US is pushing for a diversification of supply chains led by itself and its allies. Though these efforts go by several names, including “friendshoring”, “reshoring” and “near-shoring”, the Chinese government regards all as forms of decoupling.

With China policy almost certain to be a marquee issue in November’s presidential election, and bipartisan consensus on the need for containment unlikely to wane in the near future, analysts are urging Beijing to adapt to the situation by opening itself wider.

“Geopolitical conflicts will not stop in the short term,” said Qiu Dongxiao, head of the economics department at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. He added unemployment is the main driver for Washington’s reindustrialization, and warned the present trend could last more than 10 years.

“Reindustrialization, once it starts, is hard to reverse because it is cost effective. [It] involves a lot of investment which has been sunk.”

US manufacturing investment in 2022 rose 10.5 per cent from the year before, reaching US$670.5 billion according to Chinese data provider Wind – up 54 per cent compared to a decade earlier.

Where are China’s exports going? Less and less to the US – at least directly

The Reshoring Initiative, a US-based private think tank, has projected nearly two million manufacturing jobs have been brought back to the country since 2010, and this trend is only accelerating.

“It took 11 years to return the first million jobs and only 3 years to return the second,” it said in a report on data from the first half of 2023.

The US added 364,000 manufacturing jobs in 2022, up 53 per cent from the year prior. About half were created in the chip and electric vehicle industries, while appliances, chemicals and electrical equipment and chemicals also saw a strong influx.

China, meanwhile, reported a 10.3 per cent fall of direct investment from the US the same year. Mexico has also replaced it as the US’ largest trading partner, moving ahead in early 2023.

Ye Yu, assistant director of the Institute for World Economy Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said US curbs could still end up backfiring, citing the example of Huawei Technologies.

The Chinese tech giant unexpectedly unveiled its Mate 60 handset last September during US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s visit to China, a breakthrough in indigenous chip design made despite restrictions on access to cutting-edge components.

“The service sector is a strength of the US, but it’s hard for them to build a comprehensive supply chain for innovative industries within America. Just look at the strike of their automobile workers, you’ll see the impact,” Ye said.

“Another issue will be whether robots can be developed to replace human workers, but there are a lot of uncertainties,” she explained. “That’s why manufacturers will move to Mexico and Vietnam.”

The Reshoring Initiative tracked 807 announcements of reshoring and foreign direct investment in the first half of 2023, with an estimated 182,000 jobs related to those shifts. However, only 9 per cent would be coming back from China, compared to 17 per cent from South Korea, 15 per cent from the UK and 11 per cent from Germany.

US firms seek factory ‘backups’ to China as zero-Covid accelerates reshoring

Chinese investors have made their own adaptations, increasing their positions in up-and-coming manufacturing centres like Mexico and Vietnam to access the American market.

Wang Zichen, research fellow at the Beijing-based Centre for China and Globalisation (CCG) think tank, has argued reindustrialization in the West and industrialisation in late-coming economies such as India may not be a “zero-sum game” for China’s development.

“Beijing has indicated its openness to China’s manufacturers’ ventures overseas, something aligning with established patterns of industrial evolution,” he said.

The world’s second-largest economy has taken steps to enhancing its own resilience, attempting to leverage its status as the world’s largest consumer goods market in several arenas, including at an inaugural supply chain expo in November.

He Weiwen, a senior fellow at CCG, said restrictive economic policies from the US would not be “sufficient” to block globalisation, and China will still achieve numerous technological breakthroughs in the next decade as part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

“More important is that China insists on opening its door broad and wide as a way to counter restrictions and containment,” he said, noting a big part of the supply chain shift is in technology.

Qiu at Lingnan University said other countries, including US allies, are likely to have “similar responses”, as the “causes of reindustrialization found in the US can also be found in other countries”.

“This may provide opportunities for China to become less reliant on other countries by developing its domestic market and making more investments in innovation,” he added.

Xi Jinping and China face another tough year | China

https://www.economist.com/china/2024/01/02/xi-jinping-and-china-face-another-tough-year

EVERY YEAR on December 31st a glimpse of an impenetrable world is revealed. On Chinese state television, Xi Jinping delivers his New Year address to the nation (pictured). China’s netizens pore over the footage. On no other occasion do they get to see their leader sitting at what purports to be his desk. They swap analysis of Mr Xi’s collection of photographs, displayed on bookshelves behind him. And they parse his ponderously delivered words. “Along the way, we are bound to encounter headwinds,” he said this year. Many will see that as an understatement of China’s woes.

Just over a year ago, Mr Xi abandoned his strict “zero-covid” measures, which had been in force for nearly three years and had led to ever more frequent lockdowns. But the country did not experience what Mr Xi described in his speech as a “smooth transition”. China’s under-vaccinated population was ill-prepared: according to some estimates, well over 1m people died of the disease as the country staggered back to normality (officials covered up the actual death toll). The economy failed to gather momentum. Youth unemployment soared, the property market continued to slump and foreign investors grew more nervous. The headwinds were fierce. The coming year looks hardly less troubled.

Mr Xi will try to put on a brave face. He will send an unusually large delegation to schmooze with plutocrats at the World Economic Forum in mid-January, an annual gathering of the rich and powerful in Davos, Switzerland. Reuters, a news agency, says the team will be led by China’s prime minister, Li Qiang—the highest-ranking Chinese official to attend in person since Mr Xi himself showed up in 2017. Mr Li, a protégé of Mr Xi, got the job in March 2023 after serving as Communist Party leader in Shanghai. He impressed foreigners there with his business-friendly ways.

He will find that much harder in Davos. When Mr Xi went there, it was different. Many officials and firms in the West were shuddering at the prospect of Donald Trump’s presidency (he was about to be sworn in) and the impact that his threatened trade war with China would have on global growth. They were enraptured by Mr Xi’s efforts to portray himself as a champion of free trade. Now many of them see China as a source of risk, whether caused by the country’s faltering economy, strategic rivalry with America or Mr Xi’s own West-loathing politics, with their growing emphasis in all domains on the need to protect national and regime security.

In Western capitals and boardrooms the new year begins with much China-related worry. On January 13th a presidential election in Taiwan could whip up cross-strait tensions if the front-runner, William Lai of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, wins. China sees him as a diehard separatist.

By the normal political calendar, the party’s Central Committee—a body comprising more than 370 members of the political, military and business elite—should have convened its “third plenum” late in 2023. In the party’s five-yearly cycle of gatherings, third plenums attract much attention because of their usual focus on economic reform. That no such meeting has yet been held in the current cycle has caused much speculation about disharmony among the elite over how to tackle China’s long-term economic difficulties, such as an ageing population, shrinking workforce and high levels of debt. Senior officials did manage to hold an annual conference in December to discuss more immediate economic problems. Nothing that emerged from the gathering suggested any bold new measures to rev up growth.

On December 25th Caixin, a magazine in Beijing, published a pro-reform editorial, noting that during the Cultural Revolution “the national economy was on the brink of collapse, yet the authorities insisted that the situation was ‘very good’ and ‘getting better and better’.” The article was quickly deleted from Caixin’s website.

In 2024 Mr Xi will be in no mood for dissent. A few days before the zero-covid policy was scrapped, he saw one of the most powerful displays of discontent with the government since the Tiananmen Square unrest of 1989. The protests, though brief and small, broke out in several big cities. Ostensibly they were against covid-related lockdowns, but they also had a political hue. People held up sheets of white paper to symbolise opposition to censorship. As their counterparts did in Tiananmen, they sang the communist anthem, the “Internationale”—loved by protesters in China not for its ideological message, but for its language of revolt. In Shanghai some even shouted “Communist Party step down” and “Xi Jinping step down”. In a country so saturated with surveillance technology, it was an extraordinary moment of bravery. Mr Xi will remain haunted by it.

Throughout 2023 police tracked down participants, warning many and detaining some. Fear has taken hold again. A young resident of Beijing describes how the government ordered many of his friends to leave the city because of their roles in the protests. “They’ve had to pay a huge price,” he says. At a meeting on December 23rd to discuss their priorities in 2024, police chiefs around the country were ordered by their bosses in Beijing to “tighten the strings of political security” and step up “proactive” efforts to protect China’s political system and its ideological sanctity.

In Hong Kong security will be a prominent theme of the political year, too. The territory is planning to adopt new laws in 2024 relating to crimes such as treason, secession, sedition and subversion. This is required by article 23 of China’s mini-constitution for Hong Kong, the Basic Law, but previous efforts to enact such legislation have been frustrated by strong public opposition. Since an eruption of anti-government unrest in Hong Kong in 2019, China’s sweeping clampdown on dissent in the territory has cleared the way for these laws to be passed. Few observers believe that residents would dare to organise any large protests. In the coming months verdicts will be reached in juryless trials of dozens of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy activists. The outcomes could cast an even deeper chill over Hong Kong’s shrinking space for free speech.

Turbulence at the top

Among China’s leaders, the purges that have been an ever-present feature of Mr Xi’s rule will continue apace. The past year saw a dramatic display of these, with the ousting of a foreign minister, Qin Gang, and a defence minister, General Li Shangfu—both of whom had been in the job for just a few months. No reasons have been given for the dismissals, but it is believed that Mr Qin’s related at least in part to an extramarital affair and General Li’s to corruption. Mr Qin was replaced by his predecessor, Wang Yi. After months without a defence minister, China named a new one on December 29th: Admiral Dong Jun, a former chief of the navy. On the same day, nine military officials were purged from the legislature, without explanation.

It is sometimes difficult to tell what motivates these shake-ups. Mr Xi is waging a relentless war on corruption as well as a campaign to enforce loyalty to his rule; there may be hidden political reasons why certain people are targeted for graft. But in the financial industry, fighting corruption appears to be the main reason for a sweeping clean-up in the past year. State media say that in 2023 more than 100 financial officials, mostly bankers, were rounded up for graft. The campaign is “expected to be ratcheted up” in 2024, says Jiemian, a Shanghai-based business-news portal.

So is Mr Xi’s control of financial affairs generally. In March 2023 he announced the setting up of a new party-led agency, the Central Financial Commission, to take charge of all financial matters. Its duties include oversight of watchdogs such as the People’s Bank of China, the central bank, and the newly established National Administration for Financial Regulation. He also re-established a long-disbanded body—the Central Financial Work Commission—to enforce party discipline. Far from reinvigorating pro-market reforms, the third plenum, whenever it is held, will probably stress the party’s—and Mr Xi’s—leadership of everything. The glumness that has settled over China’s private sector is unlikely to be dispelled in 2024.

Mr Xi may hope that China’s troubles will be offset by malaise in the West, such as divisions over support for Ukraine and Israel’s war in Gaza, and political strife in America as a presidential election looms. But the West’s anxieties about China will not abate—whoever wins America’s election, China will remain a bugbear in Washington. America will keep trying to handicap the development of cutting-edge technology in China with restrictions on investment and trade. Economic friction between China and the West will grow, not least as governments in Europe struggle to protect their car industries from a deluge of cheap electric vehicles (EVs) made in China. The European Commission is investigating whether Chinese EVs receive subsidies that violate trade rules. Punitive tariffs could ensue.

Mr Xi will exploit such moves to portray his country as a victim, hoping to nurture nationalist sentiment. Celebrations in October of China’s 75th anniversary as a communist state will be milked for the same purpose. (A new law on patriotic education, which took effect on January 1st, will hammer home the point that sharing this sentiment is not optional.) But nationalism is not entirely effective as a bulwark against the party’s critics: the protests in 2022 showed that. Murmurings about Mr Xi’s rule, fanned by the country’s troubles since then, will probably remain mostly private. But they are unlikely to subside in the upcoming year of the dragon. ■

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More than 100 mainland Chinese pupils allowed to sit Hong Kong DSE exams as candidates of their schools for first time will still need to travel to city

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3247317/more-100-mainland-chinese-pupils-allowed-sit-hong-kong-dse-exams-candidates-their-schools-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed

More than 100 mainland Chinese secondary school pupils taking part in Hong Kong’s university entrance exams this year will still need to do the tests in the city after education authorities said setting up assessment centres across the border would need more discussions.

The authority explained the transport of exam papers, security, invigilating staff training and on-site support would all have to be thrashed out before Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams could be held outside the city.

“We will identify suitable local examination venues and arrange for candidates from the two schools to take the examinations,” an authority spokeswoman said.

She added all mainland candidates would get their admission form and details of their Hong Kong examination centres early next month.

The announcement means private candidates and pupils from other mainland schools will also have to travel to Hong Kong if they want to sit the exams, as they have in the past.

The news came after the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) on Thursday announced 110 Secondary Six pupils from the two mainland-based schools that offer DSE exams would sit the tests this year for the first time as part of their schools rather than as private candidates.

This means they would be assessed with school candidates in Hong Kong on the same scale. More than 43,000 youngsters took the tests last year.

About 250 private candidates signed up for the test last year using identity documents other than Hong Kong identity cards, but it is not clear if all were from the mainland.

Pupils on mainland expected to sit Hong Kong DSE exams without crossing border

The announcement that mainland institutions could present their pupils as school candidates, rather than as individuals, from this year came around four months after Shenzhen Hong Kong Pui Kiu College Longhua Xinyi School and the Affiliated School of Jinan University for Hong Kong and Macau’s Students, were approved as DSE “participating schools”.

Hong Kong schools are usually used as exam centres for mainland candidates.

The two mainland schools from which the DSE candidates will be put forward have been checked by the examination authorities to see if they were suitable to be the test centres.

Hong Kong mock DSE candidates in mainland schools get mixed results

Lighting, ventilation and the provision of adequate storerooms for test papers were among the factors considered.

The authority highlighted that DSE exams had always been held in the city, but that could change if suitable arrangements could be made.

“We will continue to follow up and negotiate with the relevant departments and institutions in both places on the proposal to open diploma examination centres in mainland cities and maintain communication with the taking part schools,” the spokeswoman said.

The heads of the two mainland schools have been asked for comment.

Donald Trump reaped US$5.5 million from China and its state entities during presidency: US House report

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3247325/donald-trump-during-presidency-reaped-us55-million-china-and-state-entities-house-report?utm_source=rss_feed

Businesses tied to former US president Donald Trump accepted over US$5.5 million from China’s government and its state-owned entities during his time in office, according to a congressional Democratic staff report released on Thursday.

The sweeping 156-page report from the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability named the Chinese embassy in Washington as one of the entities that spent money at a Trump-owned property from 2017 to 2020. It also named Hainan Airlines, a Chinese state-owned airline, as well as the state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

All three entities spent money at Trump-owned properties, namely Trump Tower in New York and Trump International hotels in Washington DC and Las Vegas, Nevada.

China far and away led countries in making such payments, with the total from foreign entities tied to 20 countries reaching US$7.8 million, according to the report.

“It is true that US$7.8 million is almost certainly only a fraction of Trump’s harvest of unlawful foreign state money, but this figure in itself is a scandal and a decisive spur to action,” wrote Jamie Raskin, Democratic congressman of Maryland and the oversight committee’s ranking member, in the report’s foreword.

The former Republican president violated the US Constitution when his businesses accepted these payments without the consent of Congress, the report stated, citing the emoluments clause of the Constitution.

Some of the biggest contributors apart from China were India, Kuwait, Malaysia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

“These countries spent – often lavishly – on apartments and hotel stays at Donald Trump’s properties – personally enriching President Trump while he made foreign policy decisions connected to their policy agendas with far-reaching ramifications for the United States,” the report said.

Ballot power: 2024 elections could steer global relations for years to come

It accused Trump of failing to disclose such payments to Congress as other presidents have done, and actively preventing Congress from obtaining information about them.

A businessman before his election to the White House in 2016, Trump broke with American precedent and neither divested from his businesses nor put them into a blind trust after becoming president.

Following the 2016 election, Congress started looking into Trump’s possible conflicts of interests and his potential constitutional violations.

The investigation led to a court dispute that ended in a settlement in 2022. Soon thereafter, Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars, began producing the requested documents that formed the basis of Thursday’s report.

Democrats on the oversight committee also accused the former president of warming up to Chinese President Xi Jinping in bilateral meetings and claimed that the ability of the Trump family business to secure trademarks in China improved “markedly and rapidly” after he entered office.

In findings that identify spending by foreign governments and entities at Trump-owned properties “all in violation of the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause”, the report documents conduct that Republicans now accuse President Joe Biden of in their impeachment inquiry.

The report further recommended that Congress toughen requirements for a US president to notify the body of emoluments.

The committee’s Republican chairman, James Comer of Kentucky, dismissed the report’s findings.

“It’s beyond parody that Democrats continue their obsession with former President Trump,” Comer said in a statement to Reuters. “Former President Trump has legitimate businesses but the Bidens do not.”

Trump leads polling in the 2024 Republican nomination race and appears likely to face off against Biden in a rematch of the 2020 election.

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China is on track to be world AI leader by 2030, with Hong Kong’s help

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3247052/china-track-be-world-ai-leader-2030-hong-kongs-help?utm_source=rss_feed

If we are in the midst of a global race for artificial intelligence (AI) breakthroughs, China is definitely a key player. While 2023 has been a year of AI hype – especially for generative AI, amid the popularity of ChatGPT – the industry has been of interest to most countries for years and will only become more important.

According to the 2023 AI Index Report by the Stanford Institute for Human-Centred Artificial Intelligence, global investment in AI has significantly increased over the last decade. By 2022, private investment in AI had grown to 18 times greater than in 2013.

Back in 2017, China made AI a national priority, stating its ambition to become “the world’s premier artificial intelligence innovation centre” by 2030.

According to the State Council’s 2017 guidelines, AI should be used to promote China’s technology, economy and social welfare, maintain national security and contribute to the world. The guidelines also said: “AI should be applied in the public service and social management to build a safer, more comfortable and convenient society.”

Why are nations racing to achieve AI dominance? One reason is that AI is a foundational technology with the capacity to increase productivity, boost competitiveness and help solve social challenges.

So what does the AI industry in China look like? According to a recent Nikkei study, “China is the undisputed champion in artificial intelligence research papers … far surpassing the US in both quantity and quality”.

China’s AI market is projected to reach US$38.89 billion this year, and will grow by a compound annual rate of 18 per cent to reach US$104.7 billion by 2030. This is less than the US market, the world’s largest at a projected US$106.5 billion this year.

In addition, China has more than 4,300 AI enterprises and at least 238 large language models (LLMs) – deep-learning AI algorithms based on very large data sets – with tech giants such as Baidu, Alibaba (owner of the South China Morning Post) Tencent, Meituan and iFlyTek all venturing into the field.

It is fair to say China can indeed become a world leader in AI by 2030. This is especially given its number of AI companies, number of people working in them, advanced AI infrastructure and supportive policies.

Furthermore, China has 975 million smartphone users, by far the highest in any country, meaning it generates a vast amount of digital information – and data plays a paramount role in developing AI.

From a regulatory perspective, China has taken a further step towards digitalisation and innovation. At the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, President Xi Jinping proposed the Global AI Governance Initiative for countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The initiative calls for a “people-centred” approach to AI (i.e., developing AI for the good of humanity and its progress), more inclusiveness and fairness in AI development so countries can benefit regardless of their political or economic situation, testing and assessment systems based on AI risk levels, and regulation reform to protect privacy and data security.

Even though Global AI Governance Initiative is not the first multilateral forum on AI, it is undoubtedly one of the bigger ones, with potential implications for the AI regulatory scene across the globe.

How Hong Kong can play a role in preventing AI Armageddon

Meanwhile, Hong Kong has a key role to play in China’s AI development. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po has said the city can contribute by providing talent and funding.

At the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai in July, Chan said Hong Kong had advantages when it came to attracting talent in the current geopolitical landscape: “Our universities have brought together scientific researchers from the mainland and around the world, and the Hong Kong government has given a lot of policy and financial support in the past few years.”

Moreover, Chan added, the Greater Bay Area has formed “the whole industrial chain of AI from research to market application”.

To sum up, China will probably become the global AI leader and Hong Kong has a role to play in this. China’s AI industry is powerful and will keep on growing. While it is still too early to say if the Global AI Governance Initiative will be a success, it is relevant that China starts leveraging the Belt and Road Initiative.

US lawmakers ask Joe Biden administration to bar investments in Chinese tech firm Quectel

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3247332/us-lawmakers-ask-joe-biden-administration-bar-investments-chinese-tech-firm-quectel?utm_source=rss_feed

The US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party has asked President Joe Biden’s administration to bar US investments in the Chinese tech giant Quectel by designating it as a military entity.

Quectel “should be listed as a PRC military company restricted from accessing US capital”, said a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin released on Thursday by the House panel.

Signed by Representative Mike Gallagher, a Republican and the committee’s chairman, and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the panel’s ranking Democrat, the letter said there was “significant evidence” suggesting the firm “may contribute to the defense industrial base”.

Quectel describes itself as a global supplier of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions. IoT is physical objects like vehicles and appliances that communicate with computing systems using sensors and other wireless technologies over the internet.

The letter warned that the Quectel was “gaining market share in the US” and “with tens of millions of Quectel modules in smart devices across the country”, its status as a contributor to Chinese military was “highly relevant”.

The company called the claims “false accusations” and said there was “no basis to add Quectel to any US government restricted list”.

“Our products are designed only for civil use cases and do not pose any threat to the national security of the United States,” Norbert Muhrer, Quectel’s president, told Reuters.

Keep China influence probes ‘free from bias’: leading House Democrats

In September, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel asked the Pentagon to consider declaring that Quectel posed an unacceptable national security risk.

She said the FCC was open to cooperating in jointly addressing the threat and adding Quectel to the agency’s Covered List, which prohibits the use of federal funds to buy equipment from sanctioned companies.

Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi had earlier raised concerns about China remotely taking control of devices that were embedded with Chinese-made connectivity modules.

In linking Quectel with the Chinese military, lawmakers said the company was supplying its technology to Beidou, a navigation satellite system, which China “views as critical to its military operations”.

They added that Quectel was a major supplier to Huawei Technologies and that it had “designed modules to integrate into Huawei’s platforms”. The US has banned sale of new equipment by Huawei, the Chinese telecoms giant, in 2022 over national security concerns.

The panel’s letter said that Chinese media had “touted Huawei’s use of Quectel modules as reducing Huawei’s reliance on Western companies and thus lessening Huawei’s vulnerabilities to US export controls and sanctions”.

In 2021, an executive order by Biden listed 59 companies as linked to the Chinese military in order to prevent American investors from supporting Beijing’s military-industrial complex.

Fallout from Taiwan elections risks creating further mistrust in US-China relations, analyst warns

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3247272/fallout-taiwan-elections-risks-creating-further-mistrust-us-china-relations-analyst-warns?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing’s likely response to a victory for the independence-leaning William Lai Ching-te in Taiwan’s presidential election may trigger a chain of events that risks further undermining trust between China and the United States, a mainland academic has warned.

Shao Yuqun, director of the Institute for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said the presidential and legislative elections this month may be one of the five biggest challenges the two countries face in stabilising relations.

In an opinion piece published on Wednesday on the China-US Focus website, run by the Hong Kong-based non-profit China-United States Exchange Foundation, Shao said Beijing may choose to react strongly in the event of a victory for Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party in the hope of deterring what it sees as pro-independence forces.

Lai had been leading the two other candidates in opinion polls published before a ban on publishing their findings came into force on Wednesday.

However, Washington may view such a response from that mainland as Beijing “coercing Taiwan’s democratically elected leaders”, prompting demands for the White House to take a tougher line and increased support in Congress for Taiwan.

“China and the United States are thus caught in an ‘action-reaction’ cycle … with the possibility of both sides misinterpreting and misjudging each other’s policy signals,” she said.

Meanwhile, other factors – including an upsurge in tensions between China and the Philippines over their long-running dispute in the South China Sea – are also weighing on relations between the two superpowers.

Who is running in Taiwan’s presidential race and what does it mean for Beijing?

Both China and the Philippines have accused each other of provocation, with Manila moving to strengthen its military ties with Washington and stepping up the number of joint exercises.

Manila has also accused Beijing of coercive behaviour after a series of clashes, including the use of water cannons against Philippine ships supplying troops stationed on a disputed reef.

But Beijing has accused Washington of encouraging Manila in the dispute, and urged the Philippines to “act with caution” and not “collude with external forces”.

Citing the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Gaza war, Shao said the US would try to portray China as a “challenger or disrupter of the global and regional order”.

“This will imperil strategic mutual trust, which is already in deficit,” she warned.

Shao also argued the US presidential election in November would put the relationship under strain.

Citing the recent court decision to ban Donald Trump from the ballot in Colorado because of his role in the attempt to overturn the 2020 election result, she said the “chaos of the election” would undermine confidence in the US system and increase the American strategic community’s anxiety about the “institutional challenge” from China.

When Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met in San Francisco late last year they made progress in some areas, such as agreeing to work to tackle the US fentanyl crisis and resume military communications, which China had frozen in protest at then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in 2022.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China that must be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary. Like most countries, Washington does not officially recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but is opposed to any change in the cross-strait status quo by force and is legally bound to help the island defend itself.

TikTok teams up with fact checkers to stop election disinformation on site

In late December, the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles “CQ” Brown, spoke with his Chinese counterpart General Liu Zhenli via video link in the first talks of their kind in more than a year.

“If visible results can be achieved in the fentanyl crisis, this could lead to a [positive] change in US public opinion towards China to a certain extent, which is particularly important for Sino-US relations as we enter the US election year,” Shao wrote.