• China’s human rights record criticised at UN as it faces rare scrutiny of policies
• China’s United Nations human rights review puts global divide on display
• China’s demand for LNG imports may double over next decade: largest US exporter Cheniere Energy
• [Technology] China appears to U-turn on 'obsessive' gaming crackdown
• South China Sea: Filipino fisherman tells Chinese ship ‘go away’ from disputed shoal, `this is not your territory’
• China’s slow response to economic turbulence leaves market bewildered: ‘Where do we go from here’ as policy changes remain elusive?
• Why China would be wise to analyse its Lunar New Year travel data
• China’s smartphone market recovers in 2023 amid increased competition, Huawei’s strong comeback in 5G handset segment
• China assures Pakistan of closer economic ties, support on efforts to defend ‘territorial integrity’
• China claims ‘biggest corruption in statistical sphere’ amid fake data crackdown
• ‘China strikes hard at terrorism’: Beijing’s new white paper praises its tough measures in Hong Kong and Xinjiang
• Chinese leader Xi Jinping signs order for revision to the rules on military legislation
• Apple Daily encouraged support for radical Hong Kong protesters, spread anti-Chinese Communist Party beliefs at Jimmy Lai’s request, court hears
• Chinese scientists create new porous ceramic that could be used in hypersonic aircraft
• Uganda asks China to go further in opening up its market for African products
• ‘Baby face’ Chinese man, 45, still single after more than 100 dates in 10 years says entitled to ‘tall, pretty wife’ as he looks young
• As Chinese property ownership in South Korea triples, locals ‘struggle to buy a home’, politician says
• Famous China actress, known for big, bubbly personality, slashes weight in half for new movie, reignites body-image debate
• China’s Guangdong to ‘shoulder major responsibility’ to aid 2024 economic growth, makes Greater Bay Area top priority
• Are the EU and China hurtling towards a trade war?
• ‘LV visage’: China cosmetic surgery clinic fined for urging women to get ‘luxurious face’ if they want a rich husband
• China’s premier Li Qiang orders authorities to attract long-term capital to stabilise stock market
• Chinese car dealer Guangdong Yongao’s collapse signals another bruising year for stagnating market
• Harsh but true? Chinese blogger hits a liberal arts nerve in a tough job market
• [World] China: At least 11 dead, dozens missing in Yunnan landslide
• Strong magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes remote western China, state media say
• China shames struggling transport bureau over fake traffic ticket scam
• Powerful earthquake hits China-Kyrgyzstan border
• New US duties on Chinese tin mill steel are opposed by American business group
• What happens at China’s ‘X-Institute’ for gifted scientists of the future
• Major 7.0 earthquake hits China-Kyrgyzstan border

China’s human rights record criticised at UN as it faces rare scrutiny of policies

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/23/china-human-rights-record-criticised-un-faces-rare-scrutiny-of-policies

The UK, the US and several other countries criticised China’s human rights record on Tuesday as the country was subjected to rare scrutiny of its policies at the United Nations.

The UK called on China to “cease the persecution and arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and Tibetans and allow genuine freedom of religion or belief and cultural expression without fear of surveillance, torture, forced labour or sexual violence”, while the US said China should “release all arbitrarily detained individuals” and cease the operation of “forcible assimilation policies including boarding schools in Tibet and Xinjiang”.

The UK also recommended that the national security law in Hong Kong be repealed and specifically called for the prosecution of the pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai to be dropped.

The recommendations were made as part of the UN Human Rights Council’s universal periodic review, a mechanism by which the 193 UN member states review each others’ human rights records every five years.

Each country at the UN headquarters in Geneva was given 45 seconds to make recommendations based on China’s human rights records since 2018. In that period, huge protests against the tightening grip of the Chinese Communist party (CCP) in Hong Kong prompted the imposition of a national security law that critics say criminalises dissent, and there has been increased international scrutiny of the human rights situation in Xinjiang, as well as growing concern about transnational repression as activists in the US, the UK and other countries have been targeted by Chinese authorities or agents.

Responding to the recommendations, China’s UN ambassador, Chen Xu, said concerns were caused by “misunderstanding or misinformation”.

Chen said: “A few countries groundlessly accuse and smear China, based not on facts but on ideological bias and unfounded rumours and lies.”

Tuesday’s meeting was the first time China has been through the review process since the UN’s report on Xinjiang was published in August 2022. The long-delayed report, which was written by the outgoing human rights commissioner Michelle Bachelet, found China was committing “serious human rights violations” against Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Beijing described it as “disinformation”.

Several countries brought up China’s policies in Xinjiang during Tuesday’s meeting. The region, along with Tibet, has become a byword for Beijing’s repressive human rights policies, particularly towards religious and ethnic minorities.

Human rights activists said that the fact that several countries mentioned Tibet in this year’s review bucked a recent trend of the region not being spoken about on the international stage.

Many smaller countries, or countries that are economically dependent on China, praised China’s rights record, in particular its success at lifting tens of millions of people out of poverty since 2018.

Ethiopia said it “applauds China for improving the criminal litigation system”, while Iran said: “We appreciate the economic programmes implemented by the government of China with the aim of promoting social, cultural and economic rights.”

Bhutan, a small, landlocked country between India and China that has recently been warming its relationship with Beijing, said: “We commend the significant progress in poverty alleviation and the achievement of the poverty reduction target of the 2030 agenda ahead of schedule.”

Speaking after the UN session, Sophie Richardson, a former China director for Human Rights Watch, said: “We increasingly hear Chinese government rhetoric in the recommendations made by governments, I think indicating a level of control over the process or influence over the process, and that’s problematic.”

Zumretay Arkin, the spokesperson for the World Uyghur Conference, criticised central Asian countries for failing to speak out against the abuse of Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other minorities in Xinjiang and said: “Muslim-majority countries have failed the Uyghurs.”

China’s foreign ministry has been approached for comment.

China’s United Nations human rights review puts global divide on display

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3249538/chinas-united-nations-human-rights-review-puts-global-divide-display?utm_source=rss_feed

The battle lines were drawn in Geneva on Tuesday, as China faced a twice-a-decade United Nations public grilling over its human rights record.

On one side was a group of mostly Western countries that roundly lambasted Beijing’s “serious human rights violations” in Xinjiang and Tibet, and urged it to repeal the national security law it had imposed on Hong Kong.

On the other were most Global South nations, many of which praised China’s poverty alleviation policies, and Beijing’s long-standing partners, including Russia, Belarus and Vietnam, which encouraged the Chinese government to stick to its guns.

Each UN member state undergoes a peer review of its rights record roughly every 5 years, conducted under the auspices of the UN’s Human Rights Council. This universal periodic review (UPR) was China’s first since 2018, with the country’s rights record becoming a major Western news story in the intervening period, alongside a soaring superpower rivalry with the United States.

The review embodied a schism over global geopolitics which has deepened at the UN in recent years, amid fierce and divisive conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and suggests that China’s outreach efforts to the developing world are bearing fruit.

“We regret to note a few countries grossly accused and smeared China based not on facts, but on ideological bias and unfounded rumours and lies,” Chen Xu, Beijing’s envoy to the UN in Geneva, said after the review, which ran more than three hours, concluded.

Earlier in the day, a foreign ministry spokesman batted away questions concerning a Reuters report that said China had prepared speaking notes for some non-Western countries.

As it was, more than 50 nations raised concerns on issues ranging from LGBTQ rights to the jailing of human rights defenders. Critics, including the US, crammed more than half a dozen condemnations and recommendations into 45-second speaking slots; 163 countries took the floor, in some cases abandoning formal niceties to squeeze in as many points as possible.

National security law put city ‘back on track’, Hong Kong No 2 official tells UN

“We condemn the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and transnational repression to silence individuals abroad,” said US envoy Michèle Taylor, in a breathless intervention that also called for China to repeal “vague national security counter-espionage, counterterrorism and sedition laws, including the national security law in Hong Kong”.

Britain called on Beijing to “cease prosecutions” related to the national security law, “including Jimmy Lai”, founder of the Apple Daily newspaper. On the eve of the UPR, four UN rapporteurs called for Hong Kong authorities to “drop all charges” against Lai, now on trial and facing a life sentence for collusion with foreign forces, saying the law is “not in line with international legal obligations”.

The European Union’s united front on China’s human rights record was breached by Hungary, Beijing’s closest partner within the bloc, which said the review “shouldn’t be used for instrumentalisation of human rights issues.”

“Hungary is pleased China has ratified or acceded to several human rights instruments since its last UPR. We appreciate the government’s efforts to uphold the US-centred international system,” Budapest’s envoy said.

By comparison, Germany remained “highly concerned about serious human rights violations, especially Xinjiang and Tibet”. Austria urged China to “cease destruction of Uygur cultural heritage” and to catalogue what “demolition or damaging of religious sites” or “Uygur, Kazakh or Kyrgyz Unesco-listed cultural items” had already taken place.

Emerging powers were more balanced in their statements. India’s envoy took note of “the progress made by China” since its last review and made only soft recommendations, including for Beijing to “continue to play a constructive role in the realisation of aspirations of developing countries”.

Indonesia asked Beijing to “strengthen the protection of freedom of religion or belief for all people”, without elaborating. Mexico and Argentina urged China to be more open with UN inspectors and eliminate “repressive restrictions” on NGOs.

Perhaps reflecting the geopolitical divisions at play, Israel condemned China for its treatment of ethnic Muslims in Xinjiang while the Palestinian envoy, along with other majority Muslim countries in the Middle East, did not.

Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uygur Congress rights group, said it was “shameful to see Muslim countries applaud China for their ongoing development efforts without a mention of religious and cultural persecution of Uygurs”.

Despite its close ties with the EU and the US, Ukraine was taciturn in its remarks. Perhaps mindful of China’s potentially influence over Russia, Kyiv has not voted with the West on UN resolutions over Xinjiang.

China, the only permanent Asian member of the UNSC, wants it to stay that way

“We commend China’s commitment to the promotion of humanity’s common values which embrace universal and inalienable human rights,” the Ukrainian envoy said, recommending that Beijing “strengthen democracy” and “expand people’s participation in political affairs”.

Russia praised China’s “impressive progress in the field of social economic development”, which helps it “effectively uphold human rights”.

In contrast to the Western calls for a policy shift on Xinjiang, Moscow called on Beijing to “consistently improve the understanding and capacity of citizens to use standard and spoken and written Chinese” in the region.

Rights groups hailed an uptick in support for their causes. There was a twofold “rise in governments raising Tibet … since China’s last UPR in 2018 and almost five-fold since China’s first UPR in 2009”, according to the International Tibet Network.

The UN’s UPR Working Group, comprising Albania, Malawi and the United Arab Emirates, is scheduled to adopt recommendations made to China by other countries on Friday.

---

China’s demand for LNG imports may double over next decade: largest US exporter Cheniere Energy

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3249541/chinas-demand-lng-imports-may-double-over-next-decade-largest-us-exporter-cheniere-energy?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s demand for liquefied natural gas imports may double over the next decade, an official from America’s largest exporter of the commodity said on Tuesday, as the Asian country faces pressure to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

“Everything is in place and heading towards a 130-to-140 million-tonnes market in China alone, as we get towards the mid-30s-to-2040 time frame. Then we actually think it plateaus,” said Anatol Feygin, Cheniere Energy’s executive vice-president and chief commercial officer.

In 2023, China’s total LNG import volume reached 71.3 million tonnes, increasing by 12.6 per cent from a year earlier, according to Chinese customs data.

However, that was still lower than the record level of 78.9 million tonnes in 2021, as the country has struggled economically after the coronavirus pandemic, seeing diminished energy consumption amid Beijing’s efforts to boost domestic gas production.

The world’s second-largest economy views natural gas as a transitional energy source while it shifts from traditional fossil fuels to renewables. Beijing has pledged to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

Natural gas emits almost 50 per cent less carbon dioxide than coal, the major primary energy fuel used in China.

“We’re proud to be part of that solution,” Feygin said on Tuesday during an online event organised by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.

Feygin voiced confidence that China would meet its climate objectives and remain one of the major pillars of global LNG demand growth in the medium-to-longer term, along with South Asia and Southeast Asia.

China’s voluntary carbon market reboots in ‘milestone’ for emissions goals

Currently, the country has more than 40 gigawatts of gas-fired power generation under construction, along with growing industry and residential commercial demand, suggesting rising opportunities for US exporters, he added.

“So we think that in those economics everybody wins.”

The United States has surpassed Russia to become the world’s largest exporter of LNG after the latter was mired in Western sanctions on its energy products following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

China, meanwhile, is the world’s top buyer of LNG. Chinese energy firms have signed a record number of long-term contracts over the past few years, mostly with American and Qatari suppliers.

China’s new energy, automation sectors show big gains in job demand: report

In November, China’s Foran Energy Group and Cheniere entered a long-term contract of purchasing around 0.9 million tonnes per annum of LNG for 20 years.

The largest LNG exporter in America also has signed contracts for 20 years or more in the past two years with state-owned PetroChina and private firm ENN Natural Gas, supplying 1.8 million tonnes per annum with deliveries starting in 2026.

China has been increasingly reselling some of the super-chilled fuel to other Asian buyers to seek profit from price volatility, thanks to steady supplies from long-term contracts and its extensive terminal capacity.

Australia was China’s biggest LNG supplier in 2023, followed by Qatar and Russia, according to Chinese customs data.

The US ranked sixth by supplying 3.1 million tonnes of the fuel to the country, as its major flow of spot LNG has been redirected to Europe after the Ukraine war.

[Technology] China appears to U-turn on 'obsessive' gaming crackdown

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-68068440?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

South China Sea: Filipino fisherman tells Chinese ship ‘go away’ from disputed shoal, `this is not your territory’

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3249518/south-china-sea-filipino-fisherman-tells-chinese-ship-go-away-disputed-shoal-not-your-territory?utm_source=rss_feed

A Filipino fishing boat captain protested on Tuesday the Chinese coastguard’s aggression in the disputed South China Sea, where he said Chinese officers drove him and his men away from a disputed shoal and ordered them to dump their catch back to sea.

The face-to-face confrontation on January 12, which Filipino fisherman Joely Saligan and his men reported belatedly to Manila’s coastguard after returning from the sea voyage, is testing efforts by China and Philippines to de-escalate tensions in a potential Asian flashpoint.

At a January 17 meeting in Shanghai, Beijing and Manila agreed to take steps to ease tensions after a year of high-seas territorial face-offs between their ships in the sea passage, one of the world’s busiest.

The hostilities have sparked fears of a major armed conflict that could involve Washington, Manila’s long-time treaty ally.

The fishermen, led by Saligan, reported to the Philippine coastguard that Chinese coastguard personnel drove them away from the disputed Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines on January 12 and ordered them to dump their catch of fish and seashells back to the sea.

Philippines Marcos does not endorse Taiwan independence, seeks to avoid conflict

The confrontation happened on a coral outcrop, which juts out of the high seas like an islet at low tide. Saligan and his men took a dinghy from their mother boat and went to collect seashells and fish for food during their sea voyage.

However, five Chinese coastguard personnel, three of them armed with steel batons, followed by boat, alighted on the islet and ordered the fishermen to leave.

One Chinese officer tried to confiscate the cellphone of a Filipino fisherman, who resisted by pushing away the officer’s hand. Both sides were documenting the confrontation, either with video cameras or cellphones, Saligan said.

“This is Philippine territory. Go away,” Saligan said he told the Chinese coastguard personnel, who he said insisted that they leave the shoal immediately. The Chinese did not speak and used hand gestures, he said.

“They looked angry. They wanted us to return our catch to the sea,” Saligan told a small group of journalists, including from Associated Press, in Manila.

“That’s inhuman because that was food which people should not be deprived of.”

Saligan said he decided to dump some of their seashells and fish back in the sea and returned by boat to his mother boat, the F/V Vhrayle, to prevent the dispute from escalating.

Chinese officials did not immediately comment on Saligan’s statements. In past disputes over the Scarborough Shoal, however, Beijing has asserted China’s sovereignty and the right to defend the rich fishing atoll from encroachments.

Philippine coastguard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said the written statements and video submitted by Saligan and his men have been validated as accurate by the coastguard.

Philippines to ramp up military ties amid China’s ‘gutter-level talk’: minister

A report would be submitted to a multi-agency government group dealing with the long-simmering territorial disputes for possible actions, including the filing of a new diplomatic protest against China.

“Those actions were really illegal and the harassment that they did to our Filipino fishermen were unacceptable,” Tarriela said in a news briefing.

The Philippine coastguard remained confident, however, that the agreement by China and the Philippines to lower tensions would “have a positive impact” and foster a peaceful resolution of the long-seething disputes, Tarriela said.

Chinese and Philippine coastguard ships engaged in a series of alarmingly tense hostilities last year mostly off the Second Thomas Shoal, another hotly contested area in the South China Sea.

The Philippine government repeatedly protested the Chinese coastguard’s use of water cannon, a military-grade laser and dangerous blocking manoeuvres that had caused minor collisions off the Philippine-occupied shoal.

The United States has warned that it is obliged to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

China has repeatedly warned of unspecified circumstances if the US and its allies continue to meddle in the disputes.

China’s slow response to economic turbulence leaves market bewildered: ‘Where do we go from here’ as policy changes remain elusive?

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3249523/chinas-slow-response-economic-turbulence-leaves-market-bewildered-where-do-we-go-here-policy-changes?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing’s response to what has been a worrisome raft of economic headwinds – including a widely watched stock market slump that has slammed investor confidence – highlights what analysts say is a failure to manage market expectations at a time when doing so is a critical step toward getting China’s economy back on solid footing.

To stem the tide of negative sentiment and ward off financial peril, observers warn that Chinese leadership is being hard-pressed to change tactics by employing substantial stimulus measures or more impactful policy reforms.

“It’s largely an issue of confidence,” said He Jun, a senior analyst with Beijing-based public policy consultancy Anbound, pointing to the plunge in China’s capital markets this week. “There are lots of economic issues in China.

“But governments tend to react only after shocks have been generated.”

In the meantime, critical questions remain unanswered, such as how China can ensure sustainable economic growth – perhaps another 5 per cent in 2024 – in the face of colossal debt piles, a property sector crisis, and worries among consumers who cannot find work or are more inclined to hoard money rather than boost consumption.

China’s three-legged race to fend off the 4 D’s of an economic apocalypse

“As far as the policy implications, [policymakers] are caught between a rock and a hard place,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner of SPI Asset Management in Bangkok.

A particular X factor, he said, is whether Donald Trump wins a second term as US president in November and heaps additional pressure on Chinese exports as he did in his first term.

China’s leadership pledged at their central economic work conference in December to orchestrate a variety of pro-growth policies and ramp up their coordination, including that of non-economic departments, to deliver much-needed economic stability in a time of considerable uncertainties and headwinds.

“In response to the weakness, investors expected new stimulus to support the shaky economy,” said Harry Murphy Cruise, an economist with Moody’s Analytics, referring to hesitant household spending, a long bout of deflation, and a “retreat” in the property sector.

“That [stimulus] hasn’t come, and investors are now pulling funds to put into safer bets.”

Over the past few decades, China has relied on debt-fuelled infrastructure spending by local governments to achieve rapid economic growth, but analysts contend that such a development model is looking less sustainable.

The Communist Party, meanwhile, has tightened its control over economic management, as well as the financial sector, in a bid to ensure that funds are being channelled to support the “real” economy.

“From 1994 to now, local government financial difficulties have become common, and the problem persists every year. The root cause lies in the boundary between the government and the markets,” Luo Zhiheng, chief macroeconomic analyst with the Yuekai Securities Research Institute, said last week at an event arranged by a Shanghai-based think tank, the China Chief Economist Forum. His comments were published to his personal blog on Tuesday.

“Therefore, for 2024, the fiscal balance and expenditure situation is far from straight forward, and it will still test the government’s financial-management capabilities” Luo said.

China claims ‘biggest corruption in statistical sphere’ amid fake data crackdown

Luo added that authorities need to manage expectations more proactively, and that measures must be introduced “promptly and decisively”. But he also acknowledged that Beijing’s fiscal measures may be “less than what the market expects”, despite its pro-growth stance.

China’s gross domestic product (GDP) target for 2024, together with the fiscal deficit ratio, local bond quota and unemployment control target, will be officially approved and released in March at the annual gathering of the national legislature, the National People’s Congress.

Markets will closely watch the event to discern whether any strong measures will be taken, as China has struggled in its post-Covid recovery, with increasing economic volatility.

Some analysts expect that the fiscal deficit ratio – meaning total money spent in excess of income – will be set at 3.5-3.8 per cent of GDP, around the same as 2023’s.

Yu Yongding, former adviser to the People’s Bank of China, has said China needs to expand its fiscal and monetary policy amid the rising risks of low inflation, adding that China should consider lifting its fiscal deficit target to 4 or 5 per cent.

“Faced with a low-inflation environment that has lasted for more than 10 years, China must implement more expansionary fiscal and monetary policies, especially expansionary fiscal policies,” Yu said earlier this month in an interview with the China Finance 40 Forum, a Beijing-based think tank. “Only in this way can China reverse the continued decline in economic growth and low market confidence.”

Chinese Premier Li Qiang ordered authorities this week to find ways of attracting long-term investors to the country’s capital markets. Li’s comments came as the clearest sign of the government’s attempt at putting a floor on plunging stock markets on the mainland and in Hong Kong.

Government officials have let stock markets go so far because they are focused more on the macroeconomy, said Song Seng Wun, an economic adviser at CGS-CIMB Securities in Singapore.

Tweaks to the markets would help relatively few people compared with economic reforms that create jobs and save entire companies, Song said.

“The bottom line is social stability,” he said, suggesting that China’s leaders agree on this priority. “When you look at it from a bigger, broader perspective of economic policy, [stock market fixes] may not be as important.”

And Innes at SPI Asset Management said other patchwork measures, such as the lowering of interest rates and adding of liquidity, also might not help.

“It’s just a vicious circle,” he said. “Where do we go from here?”

Why China would be wise to analyse its Lunar New Year travel data

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3249376/why-china-would-be-wise-analyse-its-lunar-new-year-travel-data?utm_source=rss_feed

In the next few weeks, we will again witness what has been called the world’s largest annual human migration – China’s Lunar New Year holiday travel. Compared to a decade ago, the traffic radiating from China’s megacities is expected to diminish, replaced by denser intra-provincial traffic.

Nearly two-thirds of China’s population live in cities today. With the nation now on the final lap of its urbanisation journey, it is vital for officials to rigorously fine-tune regional planning using detailed analytics.

Shaped by different forces, populations in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen have peaked. Young people are leaving the biggest cities in search of affordable housing and a more balanced lifestyle – if they are not “lying flat”. As more youth become freelancers, those who are engaged in live-streaming e-commerce or social media may still stay in large cities but not necessarily the biggest ones. Amid China’s ageing population, some retirees are also moving out of the biggest cities.

Inland cities, from Wuhan to Chengdu, are on the rise while Dongguan and Foshan have become more complementary to Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Interconnected infrastructure means the Greater Bay Area’s municipalities are now more integrated.

On the surface, the trend may appear to mirror the dispersion of knowledge workers in the US from the coasts to inland cities. Post pandemic, there has been a global shift towards remote working and lower city densities, with tier-2 and tier-3 cities growing at the expense of tier-1 cities. But while affordability and lifestyle choices may be common forces in both the US and China, a unique set of factors is at play in China.

First, China’s superb infrastructure has enabled the emergence of interconnected urban systems, such as the Greater Bay Area, which knit together urban clusters and satellite cities into cohesive metro areas.

In parallel, more people are moving away from China’s megacities. Inland cities such as Chengdu have emerged as attractive alternatives to Shanghai. Yet, in a uniquely Chinese context, such dispersion is less a foray into new territory than a homecoming.

Migrant workers who once congregated in the bustling Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta areas are returning to their home regions. But, rather than going back to their rural villages, they more often than not settle in the burgeoning urban centres near their hometowns. This is why the rural population continued to decline last year while the number of urban residents climbed by 12 million.

China’s pool of almost 300 million migrant workers is ageing, with an average age of 42.3 in 2022. Without full access to social services in the cities where they work, their stay can only be temporary.

China’s migrants return to farm, drastically changing workforce dynamics

The share of residents with local hukou (household registration) ranges from 33 per cent in Shenzhen to 64 per cent in Beijing. Even graduates from Tsinghua University would find it tough to settle as permanent residents in Beijing. China’s megacities do not welcome migrant workers who overstay their sojourns as guest workers.

But while the barriers to settling in the largest metropolises may be insurmountably high, there are expanding options in smaller cities (often quite large by world standards), which are competing for talent. In recent years, China has gradually relaxed its hukou policies, giving people more options on where to settle, including in urban centres near their hometowns.

Hukou policies aside, the property crisis that left many pre-sold flats unfinished has held back the trend. People who once dreamed of settling in more affordable cities now find themselves paying mortgages for properties whose completion, already long delayed, remains uncertain. In this construction-fuelled urbanisation, buyers should not find themselves paying the price of property developers’ expansionary excesses.

In China, regional competition is not without central coordination. In response to the unbalanced growth unleashed by Deng Xiaoping’s special economic zones, Beijing has been trying for more than a decade to close the development gaps, using regional strategy as its key policy lever. Its efforts to coordinate regional development – from the Yangtze economic zone to the Greater Bay Area – have met with mixed success.

Beyond vision from the top, China could make better use of the science of big data. People movements during the Lunar New Year will reflect changing urbanisation trends. As such, they offer an unparalleled lens to decipher the patterns of urban reconfiguration.

The data harvested from the traffic patterns would provide a rich vein of insights for policymakers, allowing for a nuanced understanding of the multidirectional dynamics of migration. The emerging patterns could validate the steady progress towards a more balanced urbanisation and highlight gaps in development.

This data-driven approach to analysing the Lunar New Year travel patterns could inform future urban planning and regional policy. Analysing the push and pull factors that shape people movements would enable Beijing to optimise its regional development strategy beyond a top-down vision and align it with emerging bottom-up patterns. By acknowledging the complexities in the ebbs and flows of migration, China can tailor its policies to meet the shifting needs of a population in flux.

The spread of China’s urbanisation is a tale unfolding every year, written in the journeys of millions of people during the Spring Festival. It is a tale that holds the key to understanding the intricate dance between going and returning. With their fingers on the pulse of China’s massive population, policymakers will be able to guide the nation’s regional development with strategies that are grounded in the experiences of its citizens.

China’s smartphone market recovers in 2023 amid increased competition, Huawei’s strong comeback in 5G handset segment

https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3249501/chinas-smartphone-market-recovers-2023-amid-increased-competition-huaweis-strong-comeback-5g-handset?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s smartphone industry showed signs of recovery in 2023 with 6.5 per cent shipment growth from the previous year, according to official data, as the world’s largest handset market endured the country’s shaky economic recovery and saw domestic competition intensify amid Huawei Technologies’ strong comeback in the 5G segment.

Domestic smartphone shipments totalled 289 million units last year, compared with 272 million in 2022, according to the latest report published on Monday by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), a scientific research institute under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

That increase was in stark contrast with the 22.6 per cent year-on-year decline recorded in 2022. Last year’s shipment volume remained behind the 351 million units shipped in 2021.

The domestic smartphone industry’s performance in 2023 marked its first year-on-year growth since 2021, reflecting improved consumer appetite for handset upgrades amid Beijing’s efforts to ease mounting pressure from debt, deflation and weak confidence.

The positive 2023 China smartphone unit shipment figure from CAICT was also in contrast to market research firm IDC’s earlier forecast of a 3.6 per cent decline in domestic handset shipments last year to 276 million.

Domestic brands made up 231 million units, or around 80 per cent, of China’s total smartphone shipments last year, advancing slightly by 1.1 per cent from 2022, according to CAICT data.

Shipments of 5G smartphones also grew 11.9 per cent year on year to 240 million units last year. By contrast, 2022 5G handset shipments on the mainland fell 19.6 per cent from the previous year.

“The Chinese smartphone market is expected to see full-year growth in 2024”, despite lingering macroeconomic headwinds, Singapore-based IDC analyst Will Wong said in a report by the South China Morning Post earlier this month.

Tech war takes a new turn as Huawei pushes 5G smartphones with mystery chip

China’s revived smartphone growth would represent a bright spot in the global industry that has struggled with macroeconomic headwinds. Global smartphone shipments declined 3.2 per cent to 1.17 billion units last year, which marked the lowest full-year volume in a decade, according to an IDC report last week.

US-sanctioned Huawei returned to the premium segment of the smartphone market last year with the launch last August of the Mate 60 Pro 5G handset, powered by an advanced home-grown processor that defied US tech restrictions.

The Shenzhen-based company’s new 5G smartphone and its advanced chip were hailed as symbolic of China’s ability to overcome tough US sanctions, fanning strong patriotic fervour that translated into robust domestic sales.

Huawei’s 5G comeback also reignited its rivalry with Apple, and the US tech titan has recently entered China’s smartphone price wars with widening iPhone discounts in the market. Major Chinese smartphone vendors, including Xiaomi and Honor, have also knocked down prices on their various Android models, although Huawei has not followed this strategy.

China assures Pakistan of closer economic ties, support on efforts to defend ‘territorial integrity’

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3249513/china-assures-pakistan-closer-economic-ties-support-efforts-defend-territorial-integrity?utm_source=rss_feed

China seeks stronger economic ties with Pakistan under the Belt and Road Initiative, and supports its efforts to defend “territorial integrity”, a senior Chinese diplomat has said.

Foreign vice-minister Sun Weidong made the pledge during a visit to Pakistan days after it engaged in deadly tit-for-tat air strikes along the border with Iran.

Sun arrived in Islamabad on Saturday to attend a working group meeting on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a centrepiece of Beijing’s belt and road cooperation with the neighbouring country.

His three-day trip also included a series of talks with top Pakistani leaders and military chiefs, including President Arif Alvi, caretaker prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar and caretaker foreign minister Jalil Abbas Jilani. Pakistan is scheduled to hold general elections early next month.

Meeting Alvi on Monday, Sun said Beijing supported Islamabad in its defence of “sovereignty, independence, and territory integrity”, in what was a clear reference to the cross-border military assaults last week.

What’s at stake for China as border tensions flare between Iran and Pakistan?

Later the same day, Sun told army chief General Syed Asim Munir that he acknowledged Pakistan’s efforts to promote regional peace and stability. He also travelled to Rawalpindi for talks with General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, chairman of Pakistan’s joint chiefs of staff committee.

The Pakistani army said the talks covered bilateral security, defence cooperation, and the “regional and international security environment”.

Pakistan on Thursday carried out missile strikes in Iran’s border areas, two days after Tehran staged its own cross-border air raid. Both sides said they were targeting separatist militant groups. The deadly attacks sparked fears of a wider spillover of the conflict in the Middle East and sparked a diplomatic stand-off between the neighbours.

But tensions have since eased, with full diplomatic ties resuming on Monday. Tehran also said Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian would visit Pakistan next week at Islamabad’s invitation.

Ma Zhaoxu, another Chinese foreign vice-minister, held a phone call with Iranian deputy foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani on Sunday. They exchanged “views on bilateral relations, and regional and international issues of mutual interest and concern”, a statement from Beijing said, but did not reveal details.

Asked whether Beijing was playing mediator – given Ma’s phone call and Sun’s Pakistan trip – Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Monday said China maintained “close connections” with both countries, and was willing to continue to play a “positive and constructive role in improving the relationship” between them.

As China’s “iron brother”, a term indicative of their “all-weather strategic partnership”, Pakistan shares a close military connection with its more powerful neighbour and is the largest buyer of Chinese weapons.

During talks with Alvi, Sun also voiced support for Pakistan in promoting “stability, development and prosperity”, while pledging to create an “upgraded version” of the CPEC, according to the Chinese ministry.

The more than US$50 billion flagship corridor is part of Beijing’s efforts to connect its landlocked western Xinjiang region to the Arabian Sea through Pakistan’s Gwadar port in Balochistan province – targeted by Iran in its January 16 raid.

The most high-profile belt and road plans in Pakistan revolve around the CPEC, which involves dozens of infrastructure projects, including Gwadar.

On Sunday, Sun co-chaired the fourth round of a high-profile meeting to review the CPEC, alongside the foreign secretary of Pakistan, Mohammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi. Previous meetings of the CPEC Joint Working Group on International Cooperation and Coordination were held in 2019, 2020 and 2022.

Sun and Qazi pledged to focus on information technology, science and technology, and agriculture for future development of the CPEC, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.

The two countries also “rejected the disinformation campaigns and distorted reporting” on the CPEC, and pledged to “counter fallacious narratives and misinformation”.

Gwadar port is one of many CPEC projects in Pakistan’s largest but poorest region of Balochistan, bordering Afghanistan and Iran. The ethnic minority Baloch there have protested against China’s infrastructure plans and carried out deadly attacks against Chinese projects and personnel.

With the CPEC project at the centre of Islamabad’s conflict with Baloch separatists, Beijing has become increasingly worried about the security situation there.

Last year, China reportedly cited security concerns in turning down Pakistan’s call to invest in new CPEC projects related to energy, climate change, electricity transmission lines and tourism.

Calling on caretaker foreign minister Jilani in Islamabad on Monday, Sun emphasised Pakistan’s role as an “iron brother and reliable friend”, and an important part of China’s foreign policy.

Jilani emphasised the significance of the CPEC for Pakistan and thanked China for its support, while pledging that Pakistan would continue to strive to realise the corridor’s full potential for shared benefits.

China claims ‘biggest corruption in statistical sphere’ amid fake data crackdown

https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3249502/china-claims-biggest-corruption-statistical-sphere-amid-fake-data-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed

China has sent one of its strongest warnings against falsifying data, calling the practice “the biggest corruption in the statistical sphere” after it became a violation of Communist Party discipline.

Data fabrication was written into a revision of the party’s disciplinary regulations last month, which “greatly strengthened” the constraints to prevent and curb statistical fraud, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.

Severely harmful fraudulent statistics “interfere with and mislead macro decision-making” and “damage the credibility of the party and government”, the bureau added.

People involved in faking data, or those who neglect their supervisory duties, would receive punishments ranging from a warning to expulsion from the party, according to last month’s amendment.

The warning on Monday came amid market scepticism over China’s upbeat 5.2 per cent year-on-year growth in 2023.

China’s economic recovery momentum seemed to have slowed again in the fourth quarter compared with the previous three months, while local governments are under pressure to seek a strong start this year.

Beijing is still facing a daunting task to ensure a sustained and robust economic growth this year by resolving a property market crisis, finding new robust growth engines and alleviating job pressure.

All eyes will be on the growth target that Premier Li Qiang is set to unveil on March 5 when delivering the government work report to the National People’s Congress, and how Beijing is going to achieve it via multiple policies.

It is widely anticipated that Beijing is likely to set a target of 5 per cent economic growth for 2024.

China’s economic data again under the microscope, warnings over fake stats

The accuracy of China’s economic data has long been questioned, as many feel there is a gap between reality on the ground and the official figures, and Beijing has intensified efforts to crack down on data fraud in recent years amid efforts to dispel doubts.

A series of data fabrication cases have been revealed over the years, as local officials have tried to inflate figures to meet economic growth targets or boost their promotion prospects.

The NBS said last month that during an inspection of six provinces in July and August, several cities and county governments were found to have falsified data or intervened in its gathering.

Chen Qiufa, the governor of the northeastern province of Liaoning province, also admitted during his government work report in 2017, following a probe by the central government, that economic data had been fabricated for four years between 2011 and 2014.

The province had once thrived as a base of heavy industry, but had lost its advantage and suffered a severe loss of talent amid China’s economic transformation.

The emphasis came as a twice-a-decade national economic census is under way, which is hoped would provide an insight into how the coronavirus pandemic influenced businesses and households, and show how they have been coping since China’s reopening at the start of 2023.

Local officials and workers should “tightly hold on to the lifeline of statistical quality”, NBS director Kang Yi urged at a work conference on the census late last month.

‘China strikes hard at terrorism’: Beijing’s new white paper praises its tough measures in Hong Kong and Xinjiang

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3249503/china-strikes-hard-terrorism-beijings-new-white-paper-praises-its-tough-measures-hong-kong-and?utm_source=rss_feed

Beijing has hailed Hong Kong’s national security law and anti-terrorism measures in Xinjiang as improvements to China’s legal system over the past decade, according to the latest white paper.

The document titled “China’s Legal Framework and Measures for Counterterrorism” was released by the Information Office of the State Council, China’s cabinet, on Tuesday morning.

It said China had long faced the “real threat” of terrorism but had “found a path of law-based counterterrorism that conformed to its realities by establishing a sound legal framework”.

The five-part white paper described how Beijing had confronted terrorism by revising existing laws and regulations and enacting a specialised anti-terrorism law.

Among “other relevant laws”, the white paper said, the Hong Kong national security law “contains provisions on combating crimes of terrorism in the region and defines the relevant penalties”.

China’s legislature passed the sweeping law in 2020 to ban acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. It stoked fears of greater restrictions on civil freedoms and led to US sanctions against some senior officials from both Hong Kong and the central government.

The white paper said several regions in China, including Beijing and Shanghai, had enacted their own counterterrorism rules.

It highlighted deradicalisation regulations in the western Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The regulations in Xinjiang – which were passed in 2017 and revised in 2018 – listed behaviours deemed to be extremism by the authorities, including growing an “abnormal” beard and wearing a veil.

Beijing has repeatedly denied allegations of human rights abuses and forced labour in Xinjiang.

EU envoy slams China’s ‘national security obsession’, questions growth rebound

The white paper said China’s counterterrorism measures had guaranteed human rights – including personal freedom, the right to a defence and the right to stand trial in the languages of ethic minority groups – citing three unnamed cases in Xinjiang as evidence.

In the document, the State Council accused “some countries” – without naming them – of interfering in the internal affairs of other countries “under the pretext of defending the rule of law and human rights” which it said “severely hampered the global effort to fight against terrorism”.

It said China was “striking hard at unlawful and criminal terrorist activities” and had attached greater importance to the “education and rehabilitation of victims of extremist teachings who have committed only minor offences”, which it said could eliminate the “ideological basis” of terrorism.

The white paper was issued as Beijing continued efforts to bolster its toolkit to fight terrorism and crimes, despite the risk of attracting further criticism.

The municipal government of Beijing rolled out its own regulations under the national anti-terrorism law last year. It stated that city authorities would also inspect and strengthen risk monitoring of “new technologies” and “new industries”.

China’s legislature has proposed amendments to a public security rule that would further empower police by giving them a legal basis to collect biological information in cases involving minor offences, vastly expanding a controversial practice currently used only in investigations related to terrorism, drugs and other serious crimes.

China started drafting anti-terrorism legislation in April 2014, a month after an attack on Kunming railway station in which 31 people were killed, according to the white paper.

The anti-terrorism law was then passed in December 2015 and amended in 2018.

China ramps up national security studies amid ‘unprecedented’ external threats

The white paper praised China’s legal system for its clear definitions and penalties for terrorist activities, adding that Beijing’s law enforcement agencies were overseen by the legislature, political advisory bodies and society.

China has strengthened its border controls to stop the flow of terrorists and “effectively curb the spread of terrorism”, measures the white paper said contributed to global security and stability.

The white paper also pledged that Beijing would support counterterrorism technologies to meet the challenges of artificial intelligence, encrypted communication and virtual currency.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping signs order for revision to the rules on military legislation

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3249505/chinese-leader-xi-jinping-signs-order-revision-rules-military-legislation?utm_source=rss_feed

A revision to the regulations on China’s military legislation will be rolled out from March 1, state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday.

It said President Xi Jinping – who also heads the military’s top decision-making and command body, the Central Military Commission – had signed an order for the revised regulations to be implemented.

The revised regulations aim to standardise the working systems of the country’s military legislation and are part of efforts to promote Xi’s strategy of “running the military in accordance with the law”, according to the report. It said they were significant for strengthening military governance.

The full text of the revised regulations has yet to be released.

The Xinhua report said the revision sets out basic principles, legislative authorities and specific legislative procedures.

It said the revised regulations “implement Xi Jinping Thought on strengthening the military” – referring to the Chinese leader’s political doctrine. They also establish “comprehensive and systematic” rules on the legislative work system and mechanisms within the military, based on the Legislation Law, which was revised in March last year.

Regulations on military legislation are drawn up by the Central Military Commission, according to the existing regulations introduced in 2017. The five theatre commands of the People’s Liberation Army, as well as its services and branches, can also devise their own military rules in line with the overarching regulations.

It comes as China has been tightening military legislation in recent years in the face of a more complex geopolitical environment, especially its rivalry with the United States.

Tensions are rising in the South China and East China seas, and also the Taiwan Strait. In self-ruled Taiwan, the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party was re-elected earlier this month after Beijing had warned that a DPP win could increase the risk of conflict across the strait.

In Taiwan election wake, PLA resumes regular military activities near island

New regulations on military transport and force projection took effect on January 1, aimed at promoting the “modernisation” of the PLA.

That came after revised rules on the recruitment of soldiers – including for the first time on wartime recruitment – were introduced in April. Another resolution passed in February last year gave the military the power to change how it applies the Criminal Procedure Law during wartime.

In June, Xi also signed an order for new guidelines on “non-war military activities” to be implemented. Its text was not made public, prompting speculation about the purpose.

Beijing-based military law expert Xie Dan said the revision to regulations on military legislation was essential in the context of the past decade of reform as well as for war readiness.

Xie said legislation related to the military needed to be strengthened given the current geopolitical context. “The technical work [on military legislation] needs to be improved urgently, and it will be necessary to improve the relevant rules and systems,” Xie said.

Apple Daily encouraged support for radical Hong Kong protesters, spread anti-Chinese Communist Party beliefs at Jimmy Lai’s request, court hears

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3249477/apple-daily-encouraged-support-radical-hong-kong-protesters-spread-anti-chinese-communist-party?utm_source=rss_feed

Hong Kong’s now-defunct Apple Daily tabloid newspaper encouraged support for radical protesters and spread anti-Chinese Communist Party beliefs at the request of founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying during the 2019 social unrest, a court heard on Tuesday.

Prosecutors sought to prove Lai’s alleged seditious intent by asking ex-publisher Cheung Kim-hung to explain the tycoon’s instructions to run news and commentary articles, which they said put a negative slant on local and mainland Chinese authorities.

One article they cited, published on September 30, 2019, highlighted “crazed police violence” that reportedly resulted in 100 people suffering injuries following mass demonstrations on Hong Kong Island the day before.

Apple Daily turned ‘radical’ after Jimmy Lai met US officials, Hong Kong court hears

Another story dated November 15, 2019, turned the focus to a “marginalised” group of radical protesters who urged Hongkongers to become “valiant” and support a citywide strike that began days earlier.

Cheung, a defendant turned prosecution witness, said the articles were consistent with Lai’s instructions to promote unity among protesters by blurring the lines between peaceful and radical participants.

“That means we need both peaceful and brave protesters to resist together in order for the movement to be successful. Division among ourselves may isolate the more radical ones,” Cheung told West Kowloon Court on the 14th day of the national security trial, paraphrasing what he said were Lai’s thoughts “at the time”.

He noted the tycoon was supportive of protesters even if they decided to “stage a riot” or “come out to smash shops”.

“He didn’t consider it as anything noteworthy. He only felt the youngsters were very brave and dedicated to the movement,” he said.

Lai, 76, has denied two conspiracy charges of collusion with foreign forces under the Beijing-decreed national security law, and a third count of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications under colonial-era legislation.

Cheung and five Apple Daily senior executives are awaiting sentencing behind bars after pleading guilty to a conspiracy charge of foreign collusion. He and two others have agreed to help the prosecution in exchange for shorter sentences.

Prosecutors argued Lai was the mastermind of an anti-China conspiracy linked to Apple Daily, where he had complete control over its editorial policies.

They drew the court’s attention to Apple Daily’s “reading assistance scheme”, launched in 2019 to encourage readers to sponsor student subscriptions of the newspaper’s paid digital content.

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai told staff to run ‘pro-resistance’ stories: trial

Cheung said Lai had hoped to enable teenagers to follow Apple Daily online without having to pay.

“He praised [the teenagers] for their sacrifices made to protect their homeland, and hoped that they could continue to read [Apple Daily] news stories,” the ex-publisher said.

Cheung said his former boss had also asked him in April 2020 to approach Canada-based writer Ngan Shun-kau, who later agreed to write commentary pieces for Apple Daily under the pseudonym Fong Yuen, comprising Chinese characters which mean square and round.

Lai lauded Ngan for his critiques of the Chinese Communist Party and his anti-government stance, the witness said.

Cheung added the articles written by the newspaper’s two editorial writers, Fung Wai-kong and Yeung Ching-kee, also carried an anti-China tone.

Hong Kong court rejects bid by Jimmy Lai to block witness’ ‘irrelevant’ evidence

In an article celebrating Apple Daily’s 25th anniversary in May 2020, Lai floated the idea that a new English-language edition would provide the newspaper with “political protection” against Beijing “closing in” on Hong Kong, the court heard.

The tycoon also claimed it was “not difficult” for the content of the Alibaba-owned South China Morning Post, the city’s major English newspaper, “to be controlled by the Chinese Communist Party”.

Lai also made an ironic response to Beijing’s accusation that foreign powers had pulled the strings behind the city’s largest demonstrations in 2019.

“The [Chinese Communist Party] is bold and confident, but they are also bold and confident when they lie. In short, they are always right. Yes, we do not have [the support of] any foreign power, but now there is no choice, it has to be [about] foreign power!” he wrote.

“The more support we have from foreigners, governments and politicians, the more support we have from worldwide public discourse and diplomatic attention, the more [we are likely to] preserve the freedom of the rule of law in Hong Kong. Long live foreign powers!”

Chinese scientists create new porous ceramic that could be used in hypersonic aircraft

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3249474/chinese-scientists-create-new-porous-ceramic-could-be-used-hypersonic-aircraft?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese scientists say they have developed a porous ceramic material with the high mechanical strength and thermal insulation needed for aerospace applications.

The ceramic could even play a key role as a thermal insulation material in the next generation of hypersonic aircraft, Chu Yanhui, from the South China University of Technology, told state-run China Science Daily.

Porous ceramic materials are increasingly sought after for thermal insulation given their combination of being lightweight, chemically inert and having low thermal conductivity – meaning they are good insulators.

But achieving both high mechanical strength and thermal insulation in porous ceramics is challenging. That is because when more pores are introduced to the material to increase thermal insulation, it typically results in significantly reduced mechanical strength.

There can also be shrinkage and degradation of strength when conventional porous materials are put under high temperatures, meaning they would be no good for aerospace applications.

China invents most powerful detonation engine for hypersonic flight

But the new ceramic, developed by a team at the Guangzhou university’s School of Materials Science and Engineering, has a multiscale structural design they say overcomes these limitations. They reported their study in peer-reviewed journal Advanced Materials on January 2.

“The ceramic, named 9PHEB, shows exceptional dimension and strength retention up to 2,000 degrees Celsius [3,600 Fahrenheit], making it suitable for use in extreme conditions,” Chu, who led the study, wrote in the paper.

It is based on the high-entropy concept, which involves mixing five or more elements. In the case of 9PHEB – or 9-cation porous high-entropy diboride – there are nine components.

All of them are cationic, meaning they are positively charged ions.

In the paper, Chu noted the significant research interest in high-entropy design since it was first applied to ceramic materials in 2015, because of the potential for developing a unique microstructure and tunable properties.

He said 9PHEB had about 50 per cent porosity, yet its compressive strength was ultra-high at about 337 million pascals (MPa) at room temperature – significantly stronger than previously reported porous ceramics.

The ceramic also performed well on insulation and thermal stability tests, retaining 98.5 per cent of room temperature strength even at 1,500 degrees, according to the paper.

Chinese tech could break barrier to crucial defence and aerospace material

And unlike some traditional ceramics that tend to brittle fracture at high temperatures, 9HPEB exhibited plastic deformation when compressed at 2,000 degrees.

When the material was deformed at high temperature it was subjected to a strain of 49 per cent. That took its strength to 690 MPa – more than twice where it started.

Importantly, the high heat did not have any significant impact on the material’s volume or dimensions – it had shrunk by about 2.4 per cent after being annealed at 2,000 degrees.

Chu attributed the mechanical and thermal properties to the ceramic’s “multiscale” design.

“[The design features] ultrafine pores at the microscale, high-quality interfaces at the nanoscale, and severe lattice distortion at the atomic scale,” he said.

The microstructures of the ceramic’s pores, in terms of both size and their distribution, are significant to the design. About 92 per cent of the pores are ultrafine – measuring just 0.8 to 1.2 micrometres – which the scientists say makes them unmatched for their thermal insulation properties.

At the nanoscale, the ceramic has strong, defect-free connections that boost mechanical strength.

And at the atomic scale, the lattice distortion from its high-entropy design improves stiffness and reduces thermal conductivity.

Together, these characteristics increase the material’s mechanical strength and thermal insulation, making it suitable for use in extreme conditions, the researchers concluded.

Zhuang Lei, an associate professor at the materials science and engineering school and a co-corresponding author, told China Science Daily that the material could have broad applications in industries such as aerospace, energy and chemical engineering.

Uganda asks China to go further in opening up its market for African products

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3249459/uganda-asks-china-go-further-opening-its-market-african-products?utm_source=rss_feed

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has praised his country’s long-standing relationship with China, while asking the Asian economic giant to open up more of its huge market to goods from Africa.

In a meeting on the sidelines of last week’s Non-Aligned Movement summit in Kampala, Museveni told Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Guozhong that greater market access for African products would benefit Africa and China.

Museveni pointed to China’s decades of support for Uganda, saying “we are happy both with their actions and how they conduct themselves”, according to a Ugandan readout of last week’s meeting released at the weekend.

“Now, what we need to emphasise is market access. China should open its market to African products, which will benefit Africa and result in a win-win situation for both parties, given that Africa already imports a lot from China,” Museveni said.

He stressed that by buying each other’s goods, nations can foster prosperity and strengthen their economic ties for mutual benefit.

“If you support what I produce, you are supporting my prosperity and when I buy what you produce, I am supporting your prosperity. So China should open their markets to African products, it is a very easy way to help one another for mutual benefit.”

China-Africa trade recovers from Covid slump to hit record US$282 billion

In his response, Liu said that China’s efforts to foster greater trade collaboration had led to 98 per cent of taxable items from the East African country being subject to zero tariffs in China.

“We are very happy to see that more Ugandan products are entering the Chinese market and during my visit here, I have seen that there are many potentials that can be tapped based on Uganda’s natural conditions,” Liu said.

According to the readout, Liu also addressed concerns that China has been promoting an unhealthy trade balance by exporting finished products to the continent in exchange for mostly raw materials.

“I think with our joint efforts, we can open our markets bigger and in international trade, China never literally seeks trade surplus; meaning we just don’t sell without buying from others,” he said.

Museveni has made several requests for China to open up its market to more than Africa’s raw materials, including at a meeting in November with a delegation from the National People’s Congress, led by Standing Committee deputy chairman Luosang Jiangcun.

With US making ‘game changing’ moves, China steps up African economic ties

“I would like to encourage China to open their market more for processed coffee and other products, not only raw materials,” Museveni said in November.

“When I last checked, China had opened up its market for 400 products to enter their country without tax or limit. That is very important because somebody buying what you produce is actual support,” he said.

“One of the problems in Africa has been the export of raw materials, because … the income is not only much lower, but you also lose jobs. It is important for China and Africa to trade in finished products more.”

China has been addressing the issue, with about two dozen African nations benefiting over the past two years from Beijing’s decision to allow Least Developed Countries in Africa to export some of their products duty-free.

China on course for Africa trade boost, as duty-free access list grows

On the sidelines of the Brics summit in Johannesburg in August, President Xi Jinping promised to help African countries produce more food products and set up industries to process them as part of efforts to reverse the trade imbalance.

And in 2021, at the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation in the Senegalese capital Dakar, XI promised to open “green lanes” for African agricultural exports, expand the range of products covered by zero-tariff treatment and speed up border processing.

As Uganda’s relations with the West, especially the US, have deteriorated, Kampala is increasingly relying on China and other countries for trade and as a source of capital to fund infrastructure.

After Uganda last year passed its controversial Anti-Homosexuality Act – imposing harsher penalties, including death, for same-sex conduct – the US imposed sanctions on some Ugandan officials.

Uganda chases China after human rights issues see Western lenders leave

Washington also struck Uganda from its African Growth and Opportunity Act, the programme that allows many of the continent’s countries to export certain commodities to the US duty-free.

In his meeting with Museveni, Liu said Beijing would support Uganda’s national development and continue to provide medical aid and other assistance, from cultural exchanges and youth programmes, to educational opportunities in China for Ugandan students.

According to the readout, Museveni recalled China’s support during the continent’s anti-colonial struggle and highlighted its crucial role in bolstering Africa’s economic development since the early days of independence.

“We have been together in the anti-colonial struggle. China supported us when we were fighting for independence, it also supported the freedom fighting groups in Southern Africa – Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa – then the ones who were in political struggles.”

Museveni also praised China’s economic support for Africa in the 1960s and 1970s, in particular when it stepped in after the West declined to fund an ambitious plan to link Zambia’s copper belt and the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean.

The 1,860km (1,155 miles) Tazara railway cost about a billion yuan – billions of US dollars in today’s money – and remains China’s biggest overseas project. But at the time, the Chinese economy was still small and China was facing its own financial difficulties, Museveni noted.

“Since then, China has grown economically [and] has helped Africa even more. We are therefore very happy with China and we don’t agree with the shallow-minded views,” he said.

Liu responded that China was still a very poor country in 1949 when the People’s Republic was founded, “but the Chinese leaders made a very important decision” to develop relations with Africa through “supporting African people in fighting for national independence, liberation and their efforts to fight imperialism”.

‘Baby face’ Chinese man, 45, still single after more than 100 dates in 10 years says entitled to ‘tall, pretty wife’ as he looks young

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3248437/baby-face-chinese-man-45-still-single-after-more-100-dates-10-years-says-entitled-tall-pretty-wife?utm_source=rss_feed

A 45-year-old man in China who says he deserves to have a “tall and pretty wife” because he looks young, remains single after more than 100 blind dates, and is facing ridicule on mainland social media.

Wang Zhihui, a 70-year-old famously successful matchmaker in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, eastern China, has arranged scores of blind dates for the man over the past decade.

She said the man, surnamed Feng, thinks very highly of himself and is extremely selective about the candidate he is considering as his future wife.

Feng insists the woman must have been born after the 1990s, is good-looking, no shorter than 160cm, and must be an “authentic” Hangzhou local who was born there.

Fussy Feng, who is 172cm tall, said he would not accept women 159cm or below because he “needs to consider the next generation”, implying that he is thinking about what any future children might look like.

He told Wang he was entitled to be choosy because he has “a baby face and look young”.

Wang said Feng expects too much. She said that although he is a Hangzhou local and an engineer at a public institution, which are usually considered advantages in the matchmaking market, he is not young and he has a speech impediment.

However, Wang said Feng’s biggest problem is being too stingy. She said he does not even buy a drink for his date despite Wang hinting that he should several times.

“It is probably best that he stays single,” said one person on Douyin.

“A baby face would not be a factor that women consider,” said another.

Wang told Feng’s story as a warning to young people seeking a husband or wife, advising them to ensure they have “greater self-awareness” than Feng.

Despite the number of marriages in China dropping for nine consecutive years since 2014 and hitting a record low of 6.83 million in 2022, matchmaking is thriving in the country and has become one of the most sought-after ways to find a future partner.

According to research by the Chinese consulting firm BDR, the online matchmaking market more than doubled from 3.1 billion yuan (US$431 million) in 2015 to 7.2 billion yuan in 2021.

There has also been an increase in matchmaking areas in several cities in China where people advertise their jobs, educational background, and household status on posters for prospective partners to read.

This practice is usually the work of parents trying to find a spouse for their children.

Stories about people who tried but failed to marry via matchmaking sometimes hit the headlines in China.

In 2019, a 28-year-old man from northern China had a hair transplant because he believed his baldness was the reason he had not attracted anyone after 30 dates.

---

As Chinese property ownership in South Korea triples, locals ‘struggle to buy a home’, politician says

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3249504/chinese-property-ownership-south-korea-triples-locals-struggle-buy-home-politician-says?utm_source=rss_feed

The amount of land owned by Chinese nationals in South Korea has more than tripled since 2016 – the latest in a series of statistics on Chinese nationals’ buying property amid growing concerns over housing prices.

Citing data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Tuesday, Hong Suk-joon of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) said 181,391 lots of land nationwide were owned by foreign nationals as of last June.

A lot is a unit of land that is available for building a house or other forms of residence, with varying size depending on regions, population density and other real estate-related conditions.

South Korea’s alcohol culture under scrutiny after spate of drinking incidents

Some 72,180 of the 181,391 properties belonged to Chinese nationals, up from 24,035 in 2016.

The total combined size of the real estate increased to 20.81 million square meters from 16.09 million square meters over the cited period.

The value of the properties also increased to 3.69 trillion won (US$2.77 billion) from 2.84 trillion won.

“The data adds to concerns over a housing crisis as it shows Chinese nationals can increasingly go on a property shopping spree while many Koreans are struggling to buy a home,” the lawmaker said.

He said South Korea does not restrict Chinese nationals from owning land or housing here, while regulations restrain Korean citizens from doing so in China in the name of preventing speculative investments.

The lawmaker pointed out that by not allowing Korean nationals to own land there, China goes against the principle of reciprocity in international relations.

“I am afraid that a Chinese buying spree can put upward pressure on housing prices, and that Koreans living in our own land may end up as tenants of housing owned by Chinese nationals,” Hong said.

Separate data from the land ministry showed that Chinese nationals possessed more than half of all housing held by foreign nationals as of June 2023.

Foreign nationals owned a combined 87,223 homes, accounting for 0.46 per cent of all housing in the country.

Of the 87,223 homes, Chinese nationals owned about 54.3 per cent, more than double that of US citizens, who were in second, and accounted for 23.5 per cent.

Data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) showed the outstanding balance of housing mortgage loans for foreigners offered by the four major commercial banks – KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana and Woori – amounted to 2.3 trillion won in the first half of 2023.

Korean first lady likened to Marie Antoinette over taking Dior bag from pastor

The amount was up 3.3 per cent from a year earlier, amid a steady increase in foreign nationals’ total housing loan balance.

It was 2.05 trillion won at the end of 2019 but rose to 2.23 trillion won at the end of 2020, and then to 2.29 trillion won at the end of 2021.

The outstanding balance for Chinese nationals in the January-June period of 2023 accounted for 1.33 trillion won, or 57.9 per cent of the total.

The 1.33 trillion won represented a 24.4 per cent increase from 1.07 trillion won at the end of 2019.

Famous China actress, known for big, bubbly personality, slashes weight in half for new movie, reignites body-image debate

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3248245/famous-china-actress-known-big-bubbly-personality-slashes-weight-half-new-movie-reignites-body-image?utm_source=rss_feed

A famous actress and director in China who has slashed her weight in half for a new film has trended on mainland social media.

Actress and movie maker, Jia Ling, has slimmed down from 100kg to 50kg for the new movie, Re La Gun Tang, or Yolo in English, which she directed and in which she plays the lead role.

The film hits the big screen on Lunar New Year’s Day, February 10, the Qianjiang Evening News reported.

This is her second film after the hugely successful of Hi, Mom, which was released during the Lunar New Year holiday period in 2021 and made her the world’s highest grossing female movie director, according to Variety Magazine.

Jia, 41, is a popular comic actress on the mainland and renowned for her ample figure and upbeat personality.

She has not shared any photographs of her latest appearance on mainland social media.

“I know if I meet the public in person, it will be a good opportunity to promote my film. But I hate doing that,” said Jia.

“I don’t want to spoil the surprise this film will give to the public. I also don’t want to mislead you to think this is a film about weight loss,” she added.

According to a brief synopsis of the movie on baidu.com, it tells the story of a woman, Yueying, played by Jia, who is jobless and isolated from society for years and takes up boxing to “battle against life”.

“The film is not related to weight loss and even has very little connection with boxing. It tells how a kind person finds herself and learns to love herself,” Jia said.

“I was really hungry and tired in 2023. The past year has felt like a whole life for me. If you meet me at the film’s roadshows and have the chance to hug me on the stage, you will find that I am ‘hard’ now,” she added.

Jia’s social media post has attracted applause and support on mainland social media.

“You are the best! I hope I can be as persistent as you,” said one online observer.

“I will take my whole family to watch this movie,” said another.

However, a third person expressed concern: “Don’t you know that a dramatic drop in weight is not beneficial for your health?”

Actresses in China face huge pressure to conform to weight stereotypes.

Another star, Huang Yi, caused controversy earlier this month after she wrapped 10 layers of cling film around her waist so that she could squeeze into a ball gown to appear at a fashion show.

China’s Guangdong to ‘shoulder major responsibility’ to aid 2024 economic growth, makes Greater Bay Area top priority

https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3249453/chinas-guangdong-shoulder-major-responsibility-aid-2024-economic-growth-makes-greater-bay-area-top?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s southern powerhouse of Guangdong province has pledged to exhaust all efforts to boost the Greater Bay Area as a top priority in 2024, as it seeks to shoulder a greater role for economic growth.

Governor Wang Weizhong also told a provincial parliament meeting on Tuesday that Guangdong would aim to grow its economy by 5 per cent this year, having achieved 4.8 per cent year-on-year growth in 2023.

Guangdong’s target is in line with goals already set by other regional economic powerhouses.

Despite China’s debt and population woes, top cities aim for over 5% GDP growth

“We will pace up construction of a world-class bay area, turn it into the best developed bay area and better play a role to lead and support the overall economic development,” said Wang.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Greater Bay Area, which is one of President Xi Jinping’s three major strategies for regional integration, to rival the world’s major bay areas such as Tokyo and San Francisco.

The plan connects the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau and nine mainland Chinese cities in Guangdong, including the provincial capital of Guangzhou and also Shenzhen, into an integrated economic and business hub.

Wang said the province would “join hands with Hong Kong and Macau” to ensure integration into China’s economy and also ensure modern economic development.

Efforts would also be focused on increasing regional transport links and cultivating a strong talent pool in the chip sector, while boosting production of industrial software.

Guangdong would also support the private sector, seen as the backbone for its economy, and create more job opportunities this year to “shoulder the major responsibility” to aid the sputtering economy, Wang added at the meeting.

More to follow …

Are the EU and China hurtling towards a trade war?

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3249388/are-eu-and-china-hurtling-towards-trade-war?utm_source=rss_feed

Mounting frustration in Brussels and political intransigence in Beijing are nudging the European Union and China closer to a trade war, senior European officials fear.

Last week, Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Europe, painting China as a bastion of open markets and multilateralism during a keynote speech at the World Economic Forum global elite gathering at Davos.

Then on a trip to Dublin, he reopened the Chinese market to Irish beef products after they were suspended following an atypical case of BSE last year, and added Ireland to the list of EU countries granted visa-free access to China.

But in Brussels, the promises are seen through the lens of a combative and defensive China behind closed doors that is unwilling to yield on major issues, including at last month’s EU-China summit in Beijing.

A sense is fomenting among senior sources that China is trying to buy time ahead of a crunch election year for Western democracies that could, potentially, weaken the Western alliance on issues ranging from China to Ukraine.

They see Beijing’s dangling of market access for its individual member states as attempts to dilute support for tougher measures on Beijing being cooked up by the European Commission. A series of working groups that the Chinese government has requested to discuss EU trade concerns, meanwhile, is also seen by some as a way for China to kick the can down the road.

“We see them in the year ahead being in ‘drag-it-out mode’,” said a senior official. “After we were pretty explicit about the problems, they can expect one or two more actions if they don’t deliver.”

Last month, the bloc’s top leaders laid out swathes of economic grievances, from a gaping bilateral trade deficit, which they said was artificially turbo-boosted by Beijing, to manufacturing overcapacity in China, which they blamed on industrial subsidies and said would see cheaper Chinese products flooding the European market.

On individual sectors, they challenged China to change course, otherwise Brussels would be forced to take more defensive trade actions to rebalance the relationship.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li that the EU was prepared to “use its toolkit” of trade weapons and that Brussels was “ready to go” with action against Chinese access to Europe’s medical device sector, which was not reciprocated – EU companies do not have access to the Chinese market.

There was some surprise when Xi and Li engaged with each of the EU’s complaints in detail. However, the nature of the responses did not inspire hope in those present that matters would improve.

On the trade deficit, Xi told the EU to learn from former US president Donald Trump, who also tried to rebalance bilateral trade with China and failed. Should Europe choose to fight the same fight it would face the same fate, Xi warned von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel.

EU envoy slams China’s ‘national security obsession’, questions growth rebound

When the EU leadership relayed a series of data-based complaints about China’s manufacturing overcapacity, they were presented with an alternative set of facts and figures that argued the contrary. China’s manufacturing success was not built on subsidies, but on Chinese efficiency and competitiveness, Xi said.

And when they warned him that a failure to act would result in new trade measures from Brussels against China, the Europeans were told in no uncertain terms that Beijing would retaliate in kind.

“This is a recipe for a trade war,” said a second senior EU official familiar with the discussions, pointing to the frustration in Europe over China’s unwillingness to budge on substantive issues.

China’s first responses have already been observed. An anti-dumping probe into French brandy launched on January 5 is seen as retaliation against the EU’s investigation into subsidies in China’s electric vehicle sector.

New data released by China’s customs authority over the weekend, meanwhile, shows China tightening shipments of critical minerals to the West. In 2023, exports of gallium plunged by two-thirds while germanium exports were down 8 per cent. In December, only one export of unwrought gallium – totalling US$19,828 to Germany – was recorded.

Beijing introduced new licensing rules for the two minerals, which are vital to making semiconductors, last summer following US efforts to choke China off from accessing advanced chips and the equipment for making them.

Meanwhile, China’s scramble to shore up its own chipmaking base continued in December, with a 950 per cent surge in equipment from the Netherlands, the home of market leader ASML, the data shows.

Amid this spiralling tussle, senior EU figures observe that rather than opening up its economy, China is asserting more control.

“We thought that opening up and lifting the controls of the pandemic would allow for less control and people would feel freer. Well, it has not come,” said the EU’s ambassador in Beijing, Jorge Toledo, during an online event last week.

“The increased obsession with national security can be seen everywhere, cameras everywhere with facial recognition. The need, and this is quite recent, for state and party cadres, officials, to get clearance for meeting foreign diplomats – that was not happening a few years ago,” he added.

Asked how much time the EU would give Beijing to make some concessions following the summit, Eva Valle Lagares, the EU’s top trade official for China, said they needed to “manage expectations”.

“We have had a flurry of engagement last year, but in each and every point of time our leaders have passed the message that engagement for the sake of engagement actually backfires,” she said.

“We would like China to be more responsive and we have a fair deal of frustration seeing that our asks are not immediately acted upon … it takes two to build trust to take steps that help and rebalance the relationship … but the ball is in China’s hands.”

On Wednesday, the commission will unveil more detail on its economic security strategy, the cornerstone of von der Leyen’s efforts to de-risk trade ties with China.

Across four papers, it will make recommendations on screening outbound investments in hi-tech sectors and push for a “Europeanisation” of export controls amid fears that more individual member states could be forced to comply with long-arm US controls.

Trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis told the Financial Times on Sunday that the bloc must prevent sensitive technologies and assets from “ending up in the wrong hands”.

But the package will not propose any legally binding changes to EU rules, a reflection of the reluctance of some member states to hand more powers to Brussels and open new fronts with China with the spectre of Trump’s return looming large.

Businesses, too, would be pleased to see a coordinated European approach to export controls, but argue that if these tools are functioning properly, there should be no need to screen private companies’ investments into China.

“We do not really understand the need for this. If we have a functioning export controls regime, that should be enough to stop the transfer of technology for military purposes. Why then would we need outbound screening on top of that? In any case as this is national security you would need first to have a legal framework at member state level,” said Luisa Santos, deputy director general at Business Europe, a lobby group.

China looks to boost EU imports, urges bloc to ease hi-tech export controls

For some capitals, however, the potential return of Trump to the White House hastens the need for a stronger European approach, a point made by French President Emmanuel Macron twice last week.

“I think 2024-2025 will be the years where European countries and the EU as an entity will be in a situation to decide if we want to be sovereign or not,” Macron told the World Economic Forum.

A day earlier, he told reporters in Paris that only a geopolitical EU “capable of defending itself” could handle another Trump term “without depending on it” for its sovereignty.

“The United States is an important ally … it’s a democracy that’s going through a crisis in which it itself is the first priority and the second priority is China’s power. All of us Europeans need to be lucid about that,” Macron said.

---

‘LV visage’: China cosmetic surgery clinic fined for urging women to get ‘luxurious face’ if they want a rich husband

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3248210/lv-visage-china-cosmetic-surgery-clinic-fined-urging-women-get-luxurious-face-if-they-want-rich?utm_source=rss_feed

A plastic surgery clinic in China notorious for pushing women to have cosmetic surgery by using advertising which suggests it will boost their chances of “marrying rich” has been fined for creating “appearance anxiety”.

The fine was also imposed for violating healthy social values and its imposition has reignited discussions about women leveraging their appearance and the use of marriage as a vehicle for upward social mobility.

The company involved is the Shanghai-based Gene Beauty Biogenetic Engineering Co Ltd.

Since 2021, it has been promoting its “Reborn Beauty” cosmetic surgery procedure on social media platforms.

The procedure, which reportedly includes patented technology, has been marketed as a safe anti-ageing solution.

Marketing strategies used by the firm linked the outcomes of cosmetic surgery to achieving a luxurious appearance and marrying into wealth.

One of their advertisements explicitly states: “A ‘Reborn Beauty’ face matches a Louis Vuitton bag and to marry a rich person, you need a luxurious face.”

Another campaign video even went as far as saying: “If you’re going to marry, marry rich. If you’re going to be beautiful, be extravagantly beautiful.”

According to the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, the Shanghai Pudong New Area Market Supervision Administration fined the company 30,000 yuan (US$4,200) for a breach of advertising laws, disrupting public order and violating social ethics.

The authority said the advertisement created “appearance anxiety” by inappropriately linking beauty with international luxury brands and marrying for wealth.

The punishment was applauded widely on mainland social media.

One online observer said: “This is vulgar, training women to be playthings.”

Another commented: “A fine of only 30,000 yuan isn’t enough for such unethical advertising.”

The company’s marketing tactics reflect a broader social trend in which women’s beauty is monetised and marriage is seen as a means of elevating social status.

This has even led some influencers to sell courses on the subject to attract traffic and boost sales.

One such influencer, Qu Qu Da Nvren, advocated that women should “marry upwards” and taught them how to package themselves attractively, identify wealthy men, and secure their money and resources.

Her courses reportedly earned her more than 100 million yuan (US$14 million) in profits, according to sales data.

While some criticised such influencers for endorsing harmful values and dubbed them as “gold diggers,” others viewed their strategies as practical solutions for women aiming for social advancement.

In December 2023, the social media account of Qu Qu Da Nvren was banned for “repeatedly promoting incorrect relationship values and conveying harmful societal values to attract attention and seek private gain.”

China’s premier Li Qiang orders authorities to attract long-term capital to stabilise stock market

https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3249414/chinas-premier-li-qiang-orders-authorities-attract-long-term-capital-stabilise-stock-market?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s premier Li Qiang ordered authorities to find ways to attract long-term investors into the country’s capital markets, after the stock indices in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong plumbed fresh lows.

The State Council, as China’s cabinet is called, was briefed on the operations of the country’s capital markets, according to a report by Xinhua news agency.

The meeting emphasised the need to further improve the basic system of the capital market, pay more attention to the dynamic balance of investment and financing, vigorously improve the quality and investment value of listed companies, increase the entry of medium and long-term funds into the market, and enhance the inherent stability of the market, according to Xinhua’s report.

The meeting chaired by Li was the clearest sign of the government’s attempt at putting a floor on plunging stock markets on the mainland and Hong Kong, which have lost more than US$1 trillion in combined capitalisation so far this year, according to Bloomberg’s data.

Hang Seng slips below 15,000 towards 15-month low as AIA, Tencent pace losses

The Hang Seng Index slid 2.3 per cent to 14,961.18 on Monday, a psychological threshold seen during the October 2022 slump, before China abandoned its zero-Covid policy the following month. The Hang Seng Tech Index sank 3 per cent.

All but three out of the 82 index members dropped. Tencent tumbled 3.3 per cent to HK$262.20, Meituan lost 4.7 per cent to HK$65.40 and Baidu dropped 3.6 per cent to HK$95.60, leading steep declines among Chinese tech leaders yesterday. China Resources Land crashed 11 per cent to HK$20.50, and peer Longfor retreated 10 per cent to HK$7.92 in Hong Kong.

On the mainland’s bourses, the declines were sharper on Monday. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.7 per cent to a level not seen since April 2020, while the all-share Shenzhen Composite Index plunged 4.5 per cent.

Chinese car dealer Guangdong Yongao’s collapse signals another bruising year for stagnating market

https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3249415/chinese-car-dealer-guangdong-yongaos-collapse-signals-another-bruising-year-stagnating-market?utm_source=rss_feed

A Chinese car dealership that operated as many as 80 stores across the southern province of Guangdong went bankrupt last week, in a sign the intense competition that has roiled the world’s biggest car market may extend into another year.

Salespeople from Guangdong Yongao Investment Group notified customers on January 17 that the company had collapsed and orders are suspended, while employees are waiting to be paid outstanding wages, Chinese media outlets including National Business Daily newspaper reported. The dealership sold about half a dozen marques, including Honda Motor, Volvo Car and Guangzhou Automobile Group’s electric-vehicle brand Aion.

Photos shared on social media showed about 20 yellow tow trucks set to be dispatched last Wednesday, with users saying that they had been sent by banks to repossess vehicles. Bloomberg News was not able to verify the images.

Yongao’s ordeal shows how dealers are being squeezed on multiple fronts. High sales targets set by carmakers are pressuring them to get cars out the door while a slowing Chinese economy has seen many customers delay purchases in the hope of deeper discounts. Just over a third of the country’s car distributors were able to achieve their sales targets last year, according to the China Automobile Dealer Association.

The company said on Friday three years of Covid curbs, changes in the car market and insufficient risk controls had tipped it into a crisis, media outlet Netease News reported, citing a statement. Yongao has set up a management task force and will try to ensure car deliveries to customers, and pay outstanding wages. Some dealerships are closed and some vehicles have been moved as part of a contingency plan, according to the report.

There were signs of distress at Yongao as early as April last year, when employees lodged complaints with the Dongguan government about the company withholding wages, NBD newspaper reported.

Calls to Yongao by Bloomberg News were not answered.

China’s car sales have stagnated since 2017, when they reached a peak of 24 million vehicles. Deliveries for last year came to 21.7 million, according to the China Automotive Technology and Research Center.

Yongao customers have been left with little information about what is going to happen to their cars. Tan, who lives in the city of Dongguan and asked to be identified only by his surname because of privacy concerns, said he has not been contacted beyond a notification on January 17 that Yongao had gone bankrupt and paperwork for his car would be suspended.

He bought, and drove home, a Lynk 03 sedan in December but has been chasing up the dealership for weeks to finish the registration paperwork and pay a 14,000 yuan (US$1,945) vehicle-purchase tax. That has complicated plans to drive back to his hometown for Lunar New Year next month, and he now needs to renew the temporary licence plate that is due to expire on January 28 to keep the car on the road.

Tan said he has been told to wait and see what possible government intervention can achieve. “I feel angry and helpless,” he said.

State broadcaster CCTV reported on Friday that the Dongguan government has set up and dispatched a task force to Yongao’s offices to collect information. It will also follow up on vehicle delivery status and prioritise protecting the rights of consumers who have fully paid for their cars, it said.

EV maker Aion said its distribution and sales departments are actively responding to the issue at Yongao and an initial assessment showed a relatively minimal impact to the brand. Aion will work with the dealer to protect consumer rights, according to a company representative.

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which controls Volvo and Lynk brands, and Dongfeng Motor Group, which operates a joint venture with Honda, did not respond to requests for comments.

Harsh but true? Chinese blogger hits a liberal arts nerve in a tough job market

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3249347/harsh-true-chinese-blogger-hits-liberal-arts-nerve-tough-job-market?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese education blogger Zhang Xuefeng was direct and damning when a woman asked him during a live stream whether her son should choose to study liberal arts at university.

Zhang, who has more than 24 million followers on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, is a regular source of advice for education and the job market.

“All liberal arts graduates are joining the service industries! And all they need is grovelling,” he said during the event last month.

To many viewers – and arts graduates and students – the comments were offensive – not just for the choice of language but for suggesting their degrees were worthless in today’s economy.

Zhang later apologised – only for thousands of liberal arts students to say the comments struck a chord with them.

In a highly competitive job market weighted heavily in favour of people with STEM skills, the blogger’s forthright assessment may have been harsh, but it wasn’t wrong, they said.

Academics and researchers say the controversy over the remarks reflects long-standing problems in Chinese higher education.

Liberal arts studies include humanities majors such as history and literature, social sciences such as economics, journalism and law, and some majors in business schools.

Zhang did not specify which liberal arts majors he was criticising, but the thousands of social media users who echoed his comments on social media platforms ranged from literature and journalism students to finance graduates.

An anthropology graduate from a leading university in Shanghai said his teachers told students at the beginning of the school year to be “mentally prepared” for not being able to find a job.

In 2023, some 11.58 million people graduated from China’s universities, 820,000 more than the previous year.

How are China’s young graduates and universities coping with high unemployment?

A survey by online recruitment firm Zhilian Zhaopin found that only 41.3 per cent of humanities majors in the class of 2023 received a job offer before graduation, the lowest ranking among all five major categories. Business majors fared better, it was a lower percentage than engineering.

Zhilian Zhaopin’s report said: “Liberal arts graduates lack relevant skills and knowledge that meet market needs, so they have limited job opportunities and few employment options”.

Competition in the job market has led some students to turn to graduate school and the civil service, both of which also require highly competitive exams and have attracted millions of applicants in recent years.

But the Zhilian Zhaopin report showed that postgraduate studies for humanities and social science students are of limited help in finding a job.

Some of Zhang’s recommendations on education overlap with the priorities of Beijing, which seeks to outcompete the US on technological fronts and sees little use in supporting liberal arts majors, which faces heavier ideological control from Beijing.

President Xi Jinping has repeatedly called on China to further strengthen its STEM education, and a number of senior officials with STEM backgrounds have been appointed to key positions.

Xi said that China should “dynamically adjust and optimise higher education disciplines according to the development of science and technology”.

Among majors liberal arts students could choose, law and finance were once considered popular and its graduates easily employable. But the former has raised questions about its real employment rate after decades of expansion. And the financial sector has faced pay cuts under Beijing’s drive to exert more direct control by the Communist Party.

Yuan Changgeng, an anthropologist at Yunnan University, said liberal arts education has failed to provide students with “solid employment skills or academic abilities”.

“When they say that Zhang’s words are reasonable, they are not opposing a certain kind of knowledge, but rather examining the discrepancy between social reality and what liberal arts education claims to be,” Yuan said.

Students in humanities disciplines such as literature and anthropology have long known that employment would be difficult, Yuan added. But for practical disciplines such as law and journalism, “in the past, society didn’t think it was a bad subject for employment”.

A young lecturer who teaches constitutional law at a leading liberal arts university said her students were busy every day preparing for postgraduate and civil service exams. She worried that the pressure on students to find jobs would further squeeze the “independent thinking” that liberal arts was supposed to foster.

Xiong Bingqi, director of the Beijing-based 21st Century Education Research Institute, said China’s universities needed to rethink “to improve the quality of university education”.

Why more Chinese students are looking to Europe – not the US or UK – for study

“Universities are expanding too fast without regard to the quality of education,” Xiong said. “Some local universities focus too much on postgraduate studies and may not provide students with a complete undergraduate education.”

An education researcher at a leading university in Beijing who requested anonymity said “the debate over the use of liberal arts is a global trend”.

But he said that in China’s liberal arts education, “core skills such as writing and critical thinking are not well trained”.

---

[World] China: At least 11 dead, dozens missing in Yunnan landslide

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-68065197?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Strong magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes remote western China, state media say

https://apnews.com/article/china-quake-xinjiang-kyrgyzstan-kazakhstan-48338716e604279d088a807f9770878ePeople gather in a street as they left their flats in apartment buildings after the earthquake in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. The earthquake in Almaty was measured 6.7 on the scale, Kazakhstan's Emergency Situations Department said, Trend reports. The epicenter was 121 km west of the Chinese county Aksu and 270 km southeast of Kazakhstan's Almaty, with a depth of 9 km. (Vladimir Tretyakov/NUR.KZ via AP)

2024-01-22T19:42:53Z

BEIJING (AP) — A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck a remote part of China’s western Xinjiang region early Tuesday, downing power lines, destroying at least two homes and prompting authorities to suspend trains, state media reported.

Xinhua News Agency cited the China Earthquake Networks Center as saying the quake rocked Uchturpan county (Wushi county in Mandarin) in Aksu prefecture shortly after 2 a.m. local time.

Two houses collapsed, Aksu authorities said, and around 200 emergency rescuers were dispatched to the quake’s epicenter, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The Xinjiang railway authority suspended dozens of trains in the region and sealed off the affected sections, CCTV reported. The quake downed power lines but electricity was quickly restored to the region, Aksu authorities reported.

There were no immediate reports of fatalities.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake occurred in the Tian Shan mountain range, “a seismically active region, though earthquakes of this size occur somewhat infrequently.” It said the largest quake in the area in the past century was a 7.1-magnitude one in 1978 about 200 kilometers to the north of one early Tuesday.

State broadcaster CCTV said there were 14 aftershocks since the main quake, with two registering above 5 magnitude.

The earthquake struck in a rural area populated mostly by Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnicity that is predominantly Muslim and has been the target of a state campaign of forced assimilation and mass detention in recent years.

Uchturpan county at the quake’s epicenter is recording temperatures well below zero, with lows of up to negative 18 degrees C (just below zero F) forecast by the China Meteorological Administration this week. Parts of northern and central China have shivered under frigid cold snaps this winter, with authorities closing schools and highways several times due to snowstorms.

The tremors were felt hundreds of kilometers (miles) away. Ma Shengyi, a 30-year-old pet shop owner living in Tacheng, 600 kilometers (373 miles) from the epicenter, said her dogs started barking before she felt her apartment building shudder. The quake was so strong her neighbors ran downstairs. Ma rushed to her bathroom and started to cry.

“There’s no point in running away if it’s a big earthquake,” Ma said. “I was scared to death.”

Chandeliers swung, buildings were evacuated and a media office building near the epicenter shook for a full minute, Xinhua reported. A video posted by a Chinese internet user on Weibo showed residents standing outside on the streets bundled in winter jackets, and a photo posted by CCTV showed a cracked wall with chunks fallen off.

Tremors were felt across the Xinjiang region and as far away as the neighboring countries Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. In the Kazakh capital of Almaty, people left their homes, the Russian news agency Tass reported.

Videos posted on the social messaging platform Telegram showed people in Almaty running down the stairs of apartment blocks and standing outside in the street after they felt strong tremors. Some people appeared to have left their homes quickly and were pictured standing outside in freezing temperatures in shorts.

An earthquake shook China’s northwestern Gansu province in December, killing 151 people. It was the deadliest earthquake in China in nine years.

Most of China’s earthquakes strike in the western part of the country, including Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, as well as the Xinjiang region and Tibet.

---

China shames struggling transport bureau over fake traffic ticket scam

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3249360/china-shames-struggling-transport-bureau-over-fake-traffic-ticket-scam?utm_source=rss_feed

A cash-strapped local government in northern China was named and shamed for arbitrarily fining road users and faking their signatures, the latest example of a struggling authority using unorthodox revenue schemes to plug holes in the books.

The State Council, China’s cabinet, singled out the transport bureau of She county in Hebei province on Friday, accusing it of faking signatures on over 93 per cent of the traffic tickets it issued last year.

Traffic police are required by law to get the signatures and fingerprints of the alleged offenders but She county’s officers did not do so in hundreds of cases.

It said a provincial government investigation found that details were faked on 1,964 of the 2,099 traffic tickets the department issued over the period.

Some of the alleged traffic incidents were so minor as not to warrant any punishment, the council said.

Provincial authorities launched their investigation after a truck driver complained about being fined 500 yuan (US$70) for “polluting the road during transport” but never receiving official notification of the penalty.

Four traffic officers were suspended and five senior bureau officials, including its Communist Party secretary and bureau director, were punished, it said, without specifying what penalties were.

Local authorities, which rely heavily on land use transactions to fund their budgets, are under growing fiscal pressure as the real estate industry crisis shows no sign of abating.

The private sector is also yet to recover from the pandemic, taking a heavy toll on the tax base.

Some authorities have sought to offset this by imposing a range of fees and fines on businesses and individuals.

In December 2021, the State Council took the government of Bazhou, another city in Hebei province, to task for imposing about 67.18 million yuan in indiscriminate charges on 2,547 local businesses in roughly two months.

The financial ill health of local governments is seen as one of the major risks for the Chinese economy as it struggles to cast off the effects of three years of stringent health control measures.

There are no official estimates of how big the pile of hidden debt is, but various estimates indicate it could be between 30 trillion and 50 trillion yuan. China’s gross domestic product for 2023 was around 126 trillion yuan, according to latest figures.

In late October, China’s central financial work conference stressed the importance of setting up a long-term mechanism to manage local debt risks, while also optimising both central and local government debt structures.

Powerful earthquake hits China-Kyrgyzstan border

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/22/powerful-earthquake-hits-china-kyrgyzstan-border

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake has struck along the China-Kyrgyzstan border, as authorities warned of potentially widespread damage.

The China Earthquake Networks Center said the quake hit Wushu county shortly after 2am local time, according to the state-run Xinhua press agency. There were no immediate reports of damage or fatalities.

State broadcaster CCTV said there were several aftershocks since the main quake, registering up to 4.5 magnitude.

The earthquake struck in a rural area populated mostly by Uyghurs, who have been the target of a state campaign of forced assimilation and mass detention in recent years.

China’s National Fire and Rescue Administration posted a video on social media showing firefighters driving to the quake’s epicentre. A video posted by a Weibo user showed residents standing outside on the streets bundled in winter jackets, and a photo posted by state broadcaster CCTV showed a cracked wall with chunks fallen off.

Tremors were felt as far away as the neighbouring countries Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. In the Kazakhstan city of Almaty, people left their homes to seek refuge in the street after the quake caused walls to shake and furniture to shift.

Local TV channels in the Indian capital New Delhi reported strong tremors in the city, about 1,400km (870 miles) away.

The US Geological Survey said casualties were possible, though none were immediately reported in the mountainous, rural area where the earthquake struck.

“Significant damage is likely and the disaster is potentially widespread,” its report said.

Wushu county at the quake’s epicentre is recording temperatures well below zero. Parts of northern and central China have shivered under frigid cold snaps this winter, with authorities closing schools and highways several times due to snowstorms.

Tuesday’s earthquake came the day after a landslide buried dozens of people and killed at least eight in the south-west of China.

A December quake in the north-west of the country killed 148 people and displaced thousands in Gansu province.

That earthquake was China’s deadliest since 2014, when more than 600 people were killed in southwestern Yunnan province.

In the December earthquake, subzero temperatures made the aid operation launched in response even more challenging, with survivors huddled around outdoor fires to keep warm.

---

New US duties on Chinese tin mill steel are opposed by American business group

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3249407/new-us-duties-chinese-tin-mill-steel-are-opposed-american-business-group?utm_source=rss_feed

A leading US business group is seeking the elimination of duties on tin mill products from China and three other countries, warning that the extra costs would raise consumer prices and might also lead to domestic job losses.

Tin mill steel is used to make containers for canned goods like beans, soups and sodas, as well as products like hairsprays.

“The concern from a can-maker’s perspective is that if you make a finished can, for example, in Mexico – perhaps using Japanese steel, or Chinese steel or somebody else’s steel – and then import the finished empty can to the US, it’s not subject to the same tariffs,” Tom Madrecki, a vice-president at the Consumer Brands Association, contended.

“It imperils US manufacturing jobs in the end,” he added.

This month, the US Commerce Department said that after a year-long investigation it was imposing anti-dumping duties of 122.5 per cent on tin mill steel imported from China. In addition, all Chinese steelmakers were also asked to pay more than 300 per cent in anti-subsidy duties.

Producers from South Korea, Canada and Germany were also assessed levies, but at much lower rates: 2.69 per cent, 5.27 per cent and 6.88 per cent, respectively.

The US International Trade Commission, an independent federal agency, will have the final word on the duties, by deciding whether American steel manufacturers suffered material loss because of the dumping of tin mill products. The vote is scheduled for February 6.

If the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy penalties are permitted, they will be in addition to the 25 per cent tariffs already in place for steel imports, initially imposed by then-president Donald Trump in 2018. US President Joe Biden has maintained most of these tariffs to boost US steel manufacturing.

US extends tariff exclusions on some Chinese goods till May

Lael Brainard, the director of the White House’s National Economic Council, claimed on Monday that research indicated a “wave of cheap, subsidised imports from China wiped out nearly one million manufacturing jobs” in industrial communities in the US.

Brainard, who called steel as an important part of national security considerations, hailed Washington’s efforts to diversify critical supply chains away from China.

On January 4, Cleveland-Cliffs, an American flat-rolled steel producer that, along with the United Steelworkers, had sought the tin mill duties along with the United Steelworkers, welcomed the Commerce Department’s announcement.

The firm’s chief executive, Lourenco Goncalves, said that the department’s investigation and decision were “evidence that domestic companies and workers in the domestic tin mill industry have been subject to unfair, illegal trade practices”.

US tariffs on Chinese imports might increase in 2024, analysts say

Madrecki, though, argued that US companies import tin mill products from foreign manufacturers not because of artificially lower prices. Rather, he said, it was because US tin steelmakers did not meet “quality” and other requirements.

“Cleveland-Cliffs has not been able to make – and has refused to make – the type of steel that’s required by can makers to meet the consumer packaged goods companies’ specifications,” he contended.

Madrecki said the US domestic steel industry only has capacity to supply “at most” 50 per cent of the total demand, citing a survey his association had conducted suggesting that the average US consumer uses packaged goods 42 times a day.

What happens at China’s ‘X-Institute’ for gifted scientists of the future

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3248872/what-happens-chinas-x-institute-gifted-scientists-future?utm_source=rss_feed

A science academy in Shenzhen is connecting talented students with top scientists, offering the researchers of tomorrow a rare learning opportunity outside China’s traditional education system.

Known simply as the X-Institute, it encourages students to be inquisitive and to research what they are most interested in, with teachers at the school helping them along the way.

Students as young as 14 are challenged with questions, such as what should humans do on Mars, and encouraged to innovate as they seek answers.

With guidance from scientist mentors at the last summer school, they undertook all manner of scientific study – proposing new ways to build unmanned aircraft, rovers and robots as well as soil sampling tools, constructing Mars bases using 3D printers, and creating food, energy and construction materials from microorganisms.

“Our summer school is an eye-opener for young people to discover new ways of learning in a few weeks. Secondary school students enthusiastically spent days and nights looking into new ideas for Mars exploration, an advanced topic usually tackled by established researchers,” X-Institute founding president Zheng Quanshui said.

Students at the academy are also challenged with research areas such as designing new robotic grippers, developing games that operate on biological processes, and looking into the nanoscale detail when solids and liquids meet.

“We are creating an unprecedented learning experience. The short-term summer and winter school programmes show that innovative education can be very enjoyable,” Zheng said.

An academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences specialising in solid and micro-nano mechanics, Zheng set up the innovation-based academy funded by the Shenzhen government in 2021. He drew from his experience leading a pilot programme in talent development for undergraduate students as a professor at Tsinghua University.

The X-Institute’s student-oriented model aims to help students find their passion, use local or overseas scientists to mentor them on their scientific quests and then tap into their skills to help solve global problems.

Aerodynamicist Qian Xuesen, also known as Tsien Hsue-shen, who is widely known as the father of China’s space and missile programmes, famously asked the question, “Why do our schools often fail to nurture outstanding talent?”

The Tsien Excellence in Engineering programme, named after him, aimed to address that question when it was launched at Tsinghua University, a month before Qian died at the age of 98 in 2009. It was one of several honour classes under the Experimental Programme for the Cultivation of Top Talents in Basic Sciences that were put forward by the Ministry of Education as a way to develop future scientists.

Yuan Bo, a graduate of the Tsien Elite Class of 2016 who is now an associate professor at Beihang University in Beijing, said her undergraduate studies laid the foundation and become a booster for her research on liquid metal.

Last year, the then-postdoctoral fellow in the department of biomedical engineering at Tsinghua published a study as a lead author on an innovative process to turn origami or paper into wearable devices and soft robotics by coating it with liquid metal.

“The course focused on cultivating students’ sensitivity in scientific research from the very start. We got to attend talks on cutting-edge technologies and be mentored one-on-one by university researchers,” she said.

“While we gained basic scientific knowledge, the school encouraged us to go to labs for hands-on training. The practice primed us for our research during the PhD stage.”

She said the Tsien programme’s curriculum was more challenging than regular undergraduate classes and provided a more intimate learning environment.

“Classes are smaller in the programme – teachers are more aware of our progress and we have better relationships among classmates. There is also more support for studying abroad, including global connections from mentors and alumni.”

In the fourth year of her studies, Yuan conducted research at the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering for her senior undergraduate research fellowship.

Along with other graduates from the Tsien class, Yuan now helps mentor students at the X-Institute as a visiting scientist.

“We have gradually grown as scientists and now can start to help nurture the next generation,” she said.

“The institute enjoys more freedom compared to a programme within a university where there might be certain restrictions.

“Being able to cultivate talent from a younger pool is ideal before their development takes a strong shape.”

Xi Jinping targets education in China’s drive for tech self-reliance

The Chinese education system has understood the value of identifying talented students early in their learning journey for some time.

In 1978, at the beginning of higher education reform after the Cultural Revolution, the University of Science and Technology of China started the School of the Gifted Young.

The initiative cultivates science and technology talents who are ready for higher education at a younger age compared to others enrolling on the regular university curriculum.

As for secondary education, Beijing has run an “experimental class for gifted children” in the capital city since 1985. The course focuses on cultivating students with potential in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Students recruited at around the age of 10 would finish their secondary education four years earlier than their peers, and then start university at the age of 14 or 15.

And in May 2023, President Xi Jinping said the country should upgrade its education system to achieve greater science and tech self-reliance, as China has already made nurturing science and technology talent a major policy.

For higher education, Xi said the priority should be to speed up the development of world-class universities. This involved shaping strong basic emerging disciplines and fostering cross-discipline research, “aiming at the frontiers of the world’s science and technology and major national strategic needs”.

The X-Institute model is focused on doing just that. At the Shenzhen academy, teachers are transforming classrooms to personalise education for students.

“In conventional education, a teacher leads a big group of students who learn whatever is taught. It satisfies teachers instead of students who would come across many irrelevant topics,” Zheng said.

“But here, students are at the centre of learning for them to grow as top-tier innovative talent who will be capable of tackling major global challenges. Students actively look for teachers who can guide them in exploring issues that they are interested in and might involve different disciplines of science.

“Our teachers encourage students to explore the unknown and raise questions so that they develop critical thinking skills and go further on their scientific journey,” he said, adding that students had access to university researchers, entrepreneurs and academicians as mentors in projects as well as Nobel Prize-winning scientists as speakers at forums.

He said students might start researching with a solid foundation of core scientific knowledge, rather than trying to acquire a broad range of knowledge beforehand, and pick up more expertise on certain topics as they advanced in their research.

“Cultivating knowledge should be like growing a tree. When students progress in research to extend their branches further, their passion to learn more about the knowledge behind it will see them grow deeper roots. There is no need for 100-metre-deep roots before a tree grows.”

Why China’s army of young graduates are assets, not liabilities

Students recommended by their schoolteachers or parents are assessed based on five traits – motivation, openness, leadership, grit and wisdom – during the application process, which involves an interview with professors, psychologists and entrepreneurs.

The institute looks for students who “are passionate about scientific and technological innovation, willing to study science in the long run, and determined to change the world and benefit humanity through science and technology”.

After a three-month programme, half the students typically stay on to continue their studies with the institute. For secondary schools and universities that are part of the institute’s alliance, including Harbin Institute of Technology, Tsinghua University, University of Science and Technology of China, Xian Jiaotong University and Zhejiang University, students can transfer credit for studies from the institute to their schools.

Students have access to modern laboratories with study areas including micro-nano technology, life sciences, big data, mechanical assembly, electronics and sustainable development. Classes are run in Chinese and English and led by Chinese and international scientists.

Being based in Shenzhen, it is in the hub of China’s tech giants and also has the ideal soil for innovation education, according to Zheng. The city is also close to the South China Sea for marine research and Hong Kong for collaborations.

“Many people with creativity, vision and passion have moved to the city to launch businesses. Parents here are more open to new models of education and are happy to allow their children more freedom to choose their paths,” he said.

But, he added, he hopes to spread the innovative education model across the country and attract international talent.

Major 7.0 earthquake hits China-Kyrgyzstan border

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3249406/major-70-earthquake-hits-china-kyrgyzstan-border?utm_source=rss_feed

A major 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck along the China-Kyrgyzstan border on Tuesday, the United States Geological Survey said, warning of potentially widespread damage though no casualties have been reported.

The earthquake was registered just after 2am local time at a depth of 13km in China’s Xinjiang region, some 140km (85 miles) west of the city of Aksu, where Chinese media reported heavy tremors were felt.

One resident told state news agency Xinhua that people rushed outside for safety amid the shaking, despite the frigid early morning temperatures hovering around -10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit).

People also fled their homes to seek refuge in the street in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek, according to an Agence France-Presse reporter, after the earthquake caused walls to shake and furniture to shift.

Local television channels in the Indian capital New Delhi reported strong tremors in the city, about 1,400km away.

The epicentre of the earthquake was in Wushi County, Xinhua reported.

In the following hours, a slew of earthquakes followed in the area, with magnitudes as high as 5.5.

The USGS said casualties were possible, though none were immediately reported in the mountainous, rural area where the earthquake struck.

“Extensive damage is probable,” its report said.

Authorities in Kazakhstan also reported tremors, though without any casualties or major destruction confirmed so far.

In Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, citizens streamed outside following the earthquake, according to images posted on social media and by local news outlets.

‘Completely crazy’: Japanese hit out at Ukraine aid as quake death toll rises

Tuesday’s earthquake came the day after a landslide buried dozens of people and killed at least eight in the southwest of China.

A December earthquake in the northwest of the country killed 148 people and displaced thousands in Gansu province.

That earthquake was China’s deadliest since 2014, when more than 600 people were killed in southwestern Yunnan province.

In the December earthquake, sub-zero temperatures made the aid operation launched in response even more challenging, with survivors huddled around outdoor fires to keep warm.