• China is watching US drama over arming Ukraine: Nato chief
• US, China launch working group to address opioid crisis
• South China Sea: Chinese coastguard allows Philippines to deliver supplies to disputed Second Thomas Shoal
• China, Thailand to allow visa-free entry to each other’s citizens in permanent deal from March 1
• Chinese regulators seek to restore calm in stock markets, bar investors from lending securities during restricted periods
• Private China club insists men sign anti-sexual harassment agreement before entering venue in wake of ‘outrageous’ incidents
• South Korean League of Legends esports league faces challenges in mainland China after Taiwan controversy, halted broadcast
• China, North Korea vow to deepen ties ‘at all levels’, no let-up in missile tests by Pyongyang
• Chinese scientists build ultra-precise clock they hope will help redefine the second
• Hong Kong’s first Chinese medicine hospital likely to charge outpatients similarly to public clinics, health official says
• More Chinese expected to travel abroad for Lunar New Year
• How China’s ‘stadium diplomacy’ is looking to make its mark at the Africa Cup of Nations
• Chinese courts to rule on Hong Kong commercial disputes under new law
• Newly discovered gaps in Great Wall of China create more mysteries about why it was built
• Great power lite? Why China is reluctant to wade into the Red Sea crisis and join US-led attacks on Houthis
• As the China’s markets suffer, what alternatives do investors have? | Finance & economics
• ‘My food is covered in pee’: China customer accuses delivery man of urinating on her meal, surveillance footage shows dog is culprit
• Biden aide urges Bejing to press Iran over Houthi attacks. China warns US over Taiwan independence
• Did Chinese explorers land on Australia’s shores almost 200 years before Europeans?

China is watching US drama over arming Ukraine: Nato chief

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3250089/china-watching-us-drama-over-arming-ukraine-nato-chief?utm_source=rss_feed

US military funding for Ukraine carries a key deterrent message for China, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg argued on Sunday at the start of a Washington visit aimed at lobbying Congress to continue funding the war against Russia.

After billions in US aid have been sent to Ukraine since the invasion nearly two years ago, many Republican lawmakers have grown reluctant to keep supporting Kyiv, saying it lacks a clear end game as the fighting against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces grinds on.

US President Joe Biden has asked Congress to approve US$61 billion in new aid to Ukraine. But the talks have bogged down as Republican lawmakers – furious over record illegal flows over the US border with Mexico – demand major changes in US immigration and border control policy in exchange for approving more money for Ukraine.

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Stoltenberg plans to make the case in Washington this week for continued aid to Ukraine.

“What matters is that Ukraine gets continued support, because we need to realise that this is closely watched in Beijing,” Stoltenberg said on Fox News.

Analysts say Beijing, which sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary, is watching to see if once-strong Western support for Ukraine is now petering out.

If Ukraine were abandoned by the US and its allies, mainland China might be tempted to take military action to seize control of Taiwan, these analysts warn.

“So it’s not only making Europe more vulnerable, but all of us, also the United States, more vulnerable, if Putin gets what he wants in Ukraine,” Stoltenberg added.

ICJ says Israel must prevent genocidal acts in Gaza, fails to order ceasefire

He said the agreement being negotiated in the US Congress is “a good deal”. US aid to Ukraine, Stoltenberg said, has been just a fraction of the Pentagon budget, and yet “we have been able to destroy and degrade the Russian army substantially”.

“And therefore we should continue to do so,” he said.

US aid to Ukraine also helps American workers, because the money is used to buy weapons made in the United States, the Nato secretary general said.

Stoltenberg is expected to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday.

On Tuesday he is expected to meet Republican and Democratic lawmakers involved in the Ukraine aid debate.

Former US president Donald Trump, the almost certain Republican candidate in the November presidential election, and who has often spoken fondly of Putin, is urging Republican lawmakers to reject the immigration accord being negotiated in Congress – which would also torpedo aid for Ukraine.

US, China launch working group to address opioid crisis

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3250084/us-china-launch-working-group-address-opioid-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed

Senior officials from the US and China will meet in Beijing on Tuesday to launch what is described as a high-level working group to resume formal bilateral cooperation on counternarcotics almost two years after Beijing suspended all assistance on the issue in 2022.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Joe Biden agreed during their November summit in San Francisco that the two rival global powers should work jointly to rein in a deadly opioid crisis in the US.

The American delegation to the Chinese capital will be led by White House Deputy Homeland Security Adviser Jen Daskal and include officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration, as well as departments of justice, state, treasury and homeland security.

China cracks down on fentanyl, resumes drug control talks with US

A senior Biden administration official told reporters on Sunday that a “big goal” of the meeting was “continued pressure, continued dialogue” to encourage joint law enforcement actions and improve communication on illicit financing and new chemicals.

US officials have claimed that Beijing has acted against suppliers of chemicals and precursors in China to curb the flow of opioids since the Xi-Biden bilateral.

“We saw a company shut down. We saw international payment accounts blocked”, a senior Biden administration official said on Sunday, citing “reductions” in precursor chemicals seized at some US airports originating from China.

Overdoses involving opioids killed over 80,000 people in the US in 2021, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly 88 per cent of those deaths involved low-cost and highly potent synthetic opioids such as fentanyl or similar drugs.

More people in the US between the ages of 18 and 49 die from fentanyl than any other cause.

According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, China is a “primary source” of ingredients used in manufacturing fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances illegally brought into the US largely by Mexican cartels.

US officials on Sunday said that China had initiated “some conversations” with Mexico, adding “this is going to have to be an issue that goes beyond just the US, China and Mexico, Canada” since many countries were battling illicit opioids.

South China Sea: Chinese coastguard allows Philippines to deliver supplies to disputed Second Thomas Shoal

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3250078/south-china-sea-chinese-coastguard-allows-philippines-deliver-supplies-disputed-second-thomas-shoal?utm_source=rss_feed

The Chinese coastguard said it had made “temporary special arrangements” to allow the Philippines to deliver supplies to troops at a grounded World War II-era vessel at a disputed reef.

China’s coastguard has previously deployed vessels to block missions by the Philippines to supply troops on the transport ship, which has become a military outpost at the Second Thomas Shoal. Known as Renai Reef in China and Ayungin Shoal in the Philippines, the feature lies about 190km (118 miles) off the Philippine island of Palawan.

In a statement on its official WeChat account late on Saturday, the Chinese coastguard said it had allowed necessary supplies, but also that it would resolutely defend China’s sovereignty and maritime rights and interests at the Second Thomas Shoal and its adjacent waters.

“On January 21, a small aircraft from the Philippines airdropped supplies to the illegally beached warship,” the WeChat statement said.

“The Chinese coastguard has followed up and monitored the situation in real time, controlled and dealt with it in accordance with laws and regulations, and made temporary special arrangements for the Philippines to replenish necessary daily supplies,” it added.

Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea citing what it calls its historical “nine-dash line”, which cuts into the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

China has repeatedly called on the Philippines to tow away the ship on the basis of a promise it says Manila made, but Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has denied.

Saturday’s WeChat message said the “relevant parties” in the Philippines had deliberately misled international opinion and ignored the facts, and that was not conducive to easing tensions in the South China Sea.

China, Thailand to allow visa-free entry to each other’s citizens in permanent deal from March 1

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3250069/china-thailand-allow-visa-free-entry-each-others-citizens-permanent-deal-march-1?utm_source=rss_feed

China and Thailand sealed a permanent mutual visa-free deal in Bangkok on Sunday to help revive travel between the two countries.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Thai counterpart Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara ratified the agreement which will waive visa requirements for citizens on either side from March, for stays of up to 30 days.

The total stay in any 180-day period should not exceed 90 days, according to the Thai foreign ministry.

“This visa-free era will bring people-to-people exchanges to a new height,” Wang said after the signing.

The Thai ministry said the agreement is “among the first of many more activities to come in marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Thailand and China in 2025”.

Wang also said China was working with Thailand to tackle transnational crimes and scam syndicates.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had announced plans for the visa exemptions on January 2, saying they would “upgrade the relationship between the two countries”.

His government is aiming to bring back tourists from China – Thailand’s largest source of tourism before the pandemic. It has set the goal of 8 million Chinese visitors this year, short of the 11 million before the pandemic but more than double the 3½ million last year.

In September, the heavily tourism dependent country waived entry requirements for Chinese travellers under a scheme expiring on February 29.

Thailand is the third Southeast Asian country that China has signed visa-free deals with since December, after similar agreements with Malaysia and Singapore.

China has been keen to step up exchanges with neighbours as it seeks to expand economic cooperation in the region while ties with the West remain fractious.

The ratification of the visa agreement was part of a four-day trip to Thailand by Wang that began on Friday.

His first two days in the Thai capital were dominated by talks with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

The two officials confirmed plans for Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Joe Biden to speak on the phone in the coming months, a senior White House official said.

The White House was expecting the call to “take place this spring”, the official said, adding: “This leader-level channel is absolutely critical to maintaining direction in the relationship.”

While Beijing has not confirmed the plans, it has pledged to “maintain frequent contact between the two state leaders”, such that they could guide strategies for relations between the rival countries.

The Chinese foreign ministry said both sides were committed to “boost exchanges at all levels” and use existing communication channels and mechanisms.

The White House official also said the two sides discussed “important global and regional security issues, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Middle East including the Red Sea”, as well as North Korea, the South China Sea and Myanmar.

“On the Red Sea, we certainly underscored that Iran continues to take irresponsible actions that exacerbate regional tensions and instability, including by supporting the Houthis’ attacks against civilian ships in the Red Sea,” the official said.

“Mr Sullivan raised the importance of Beijing using its substantial leverage with Iran to call for an end and bring an end to these dangerous attacks.”

Additional reporting by Reuters

Chinese regulators seek to restore calm in stock markets, bar investors from lending securities during restricted periods

https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3250063/chinese-regulators-seek-restore-calm-stock-markets-bar-investors-lending-securities-during?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese regulators on Sunday barred strategic investors from lending securities during restricted periods, a move signalling that policymakers are serious about stabilising the country’s stock markets amid volatility.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said that starting on Monday, there will be a “complete suspension of the lending of restricted stocks”, and it will also limit the “efficiency of securities lending” starting March 18.

The initiatives are being rolled out to “implement the investor-oriented regulatory concept and [to] strengthen the supervision of the lending of restricted stocks”.

The announcement comes after mainland China’s stock markets recorded sharp drops this year. The Shanghai Composite Index, for example, closed trading at 2,756.34 on January 22, about 7.5 per cent lower than when it started the year at 2,962.28. On Friday, the index closed at 2,910.22.

China’s stock market rout hurts more than fiction of Blossoms Shanghai

The long-term picture, however, remains dire, with Shanghai-listed stocks losing US$1.45 trillion of value since a market peak in December 2021. The country’s equity market has shrunk by US$4.2 trillion over the same period, according to market data.

Meanwhile, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange fell 9.8 per cent on January 22, when it ended the trading day at 8,479.55, compared with 9,401.35 at the start of the year. It closed Friday trading at 8,762.33.

Private China club insists men sign anti-sexual harassment agreement before entering venue in wake of ‘outrageous’ incidents

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3248869/private-china-club-insists-men-sign-anti-sexual-harassment-agreement-entering-venue-wake-outrageous?utm_source=rss_feed

A club in China has demanded all male guests sign an agreement that they will not sexually harass female guests.

Dark Palace, a private venue in Guangdong province, southeastern China, is taking measures to protect women who patronise the premises, it has announced on WeChat.

The club’s management said it has created a healthy underground music community and did not want to impose unnecessary restrictions on guests, but was aware that some women had suffered sexual harassment.

One recent incident at the club, described as “outrageous” – which it would not reveal details about – had finally prompted management to make the decision to ensure women felt safe while enjoying themselves.

“In the future all males who want to enter Dark Palace should sign the letter of agreement regarding anti-sexual harassment ,” it announced.

The letter makes it clear that all behaviour inside the club should be based on respect for females and other guests.

Not only does it remind male guests to refrain from sexual harassment towards female guests, it also suggests that male and female strangers should avoid physical contact and verbal harassment.

Any male guest who does not adhere to the new rules will be blacklisted from the club and the police might be called.

“If you’re the kind of people who love music, equality and fraternity, you will find it cool to sign this,” the letter of agreement said.

It also pointed out that men who feel uncomfortable with the arrangement are not their target guests.

“We don’t welcome you. No admittance,” it said.

The story kicked off a heated discussion on mainland social media with many people opposing the move.

“That’s so good. I support the club,” one person said.

“A responsible club,” said another.

“It’s useless. Just because they sign a letter of agreement doesn’t mean they won’t violate the rule, right?,” a third person said.

“The anti-harassment agreement should be applied to female guests too,” another online observer said.

At present, China has no specific law or regulation about sexual harassment, but the Women’s Protection Law clearly defines what constitutes sexual harassment and encourages women to report incidents to the police.

Some local governments on the mainland have taken steps to deal with the issue.

In March 2021, Shenzhen, in the southern province of Guangdong, released its first-ever guidelines for schools, universities and workplaces, outlining what sexual harassment is and requiring organisations to listen to complaints and carry out internal investigations.

South Korean League of Legends esports league faces challenges in mainland China after Taiwan controversy, halted broadcast

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3249970/south-korean-league-legends-esports-league-faces-challenges-china-after-taiwan-controversy-halted?utm_source=rss_feed

League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), South Korea’s top-tier esports league, is expected to grapple with publicity and financial challenges despite its success in the Asian Games and World Championship last year, according to industry officials on Thursday.

For South Korea, 2023 marked a big win for its esports industry, especially for Riot Games’ League of Legends (LoL), one of the world’s biggest esports titles. Korea bagged two of the seven gold medals for esports, including one for LoL, at the Asian Games in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.

T1, the LCK team backed by SK Telecom, beat China’s Weibo Gaming in November to win the annual championship of the LoL world tournament.

While the win was regarded as strong proof of Korea’s status as a global esports powerhouse, LCK league seems to be getting off on the wrong foot in 2024.

Chinese teams dominate in esports matches at Asian Games despite Beijing’s harsh policies

As LCK kicked off its spring season last week, Huya, a video game streaming platform in China backed by Tencent Holdings, which also owns Riot Games, has stopped the official Chinese-language broadcasts of the new season. That marked the first time that LCK broadcasts have been halted in mainland China since 2018, when Huya became an exclusive streaming partner with Riot Games for the regional tournament.

Riot Games Korea told local media that the suspension was due to the lack of a broadcast rights holder in the country. While the company did not give any further explanation, some industry insiders said the issue is related to the recent controversy around Generation Gaming (Gen.G), one of the top esports clubs in Korea.

In December, Gen.G caused online fury in China after referring to Taiwan as a country in a Facebook post. It made the matter worse after issuing an apology that “reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to respecting and upholding China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”, and then retracted it, saying it remained neutral on political views, which led to widespread criticism among both Chinese and Korean fans.

Ke “957” Changyu, a professional gamer-turned-commentator for LPL, the LoL pro league in China, said earlier this month on his personal streaming channel that the halted broadcast was due to the recent issues with Gen.G.

A source working in China’s esports industry also confirmed with The Korea Times on condition of anonymity that Gen.G was a major reason for the suspension.

Both Riot Games and Huya did not respond to requests for comment on the broadcasting issue.

South Korea, with strong government support for esports-related policies and infrastructure, is at a critical point for the global esports industry. The country has established an extensive talent pool across the world’s major esports titles, including Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, the legendary League of Legends player. The professional teams are backed by some of the largest business conglomerates in Korea, including SK Telecom, KT and Samsung.

The move came as a surprise for many Chinese esports fans, who had taken to social media to express their disappointment following the incident.

Wang Ruiwen, a 22-year-old LCK fan in Shanghai, said she was “super sad” when she opened the Huya channel and found it was just replaying previous matches last year instead of streaming the new season. Instead, she has to turn to the English-language streaming channel for LCK on YouTube, which is not accessible under China’s Great Firewall unless through a virtual private network (VPN) service.

“It’s a pity that the move by a sole team had screwed the access of the entire Chinese fan group to the tournament,” said Wang.

The suspension would undoubtedly deal a blow to LCK’s profitability through the loss of licensing fee revenue, as the regional league has already landed itself in hot water over its inability to secure revenue growth.

On January 17, the opening day of the LCK Spring season, a group of teams affiliated with the league released a joint statement to voice their concerns of financial sustainability under Riot Games Korea.

“The league’s viewership, performance and fandom have continued to grow. However, despite this continued growth, the LCK League Corporation has not been able to grow the league’s business value over the past three years,” the teams said in the statement, which was originally written in Korean.

The financial dilemma is a headache not just for LCK, but also the whole global esports industry. “The profitability of esports events is often limited to sponsorships by game studios and hardware makers, and has a weak relation to companies with other product categories,” said Zhang Shule, an analyst with CBJ Think Tank. “Possibilities outside the competitions have also been barely explored.”

Amid the difficulties, Dylan Jadeja, CEO of Riot Games, announced on Monday that the US-based developer is going to eliminate 11 per cent of its workforce, or about 530 jobs, as the company trims less-profitable businesses and focuses on core titles.

“We’re changing some of the bets we’ve made and shifting how we work across the company to create focus and move us toward a more sustainable future,” Jadeja said in a letter published on the company’s website. It was yet unclear how the Korean unit will be affected, but for sure, the new battle is just beginning.

A previous version of this story was first published by The Korea Times in partnership with the South China Morning Post.

China, North Korea vow to deepen ties ‘at all levels’, no let-up in missile tests by Pyongyang

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3250068/china-north-korea-vow-deepen-ties-all-levels-no-let-missile-tests-pyongyang?utm_source=rss_feed

China and North Korea have vowed to “strengthen strategic communication at all levels” amid renewed tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Days after the pledge with its traditional ally, the North reportedly carried out its second missile test within a week – in a further show of defiance against the United States and its regional allies, particularly South Korea.

North Korea fired several cruise missiles from its east coast on Sunday, Seoul-based news agency Yonhap reported, citing the South Korean military.

This came after Pyongyang test-fired a number of strategic cruise missiles on Wednesday, amid a flurry of weapons launches in the new year and belligerent rhetoric against the South.

While China has remained low key in its response to North Korea’s latest weapons developments and its growing alignment with Russia, Bejing’s ties with both allies are under close international scrutiny.

The North’s latest tests came two days after Chinese foreign vice-minister Sun Weidong met his North Korean counterpart Pak Myong-ho in Pyongyang, in what was their second meeting in just over a month.

The two countries agreed to “deepen their traditional friendship and practical cooperation”, the Chinese foreign ministry said following Friday’s talks.

The two sides also agreed to “strengthen multilateral coordination and cooperation, and push forward the sustained development of relations”.

The discussions covered “bilateral relations, international and regional situations, and other issues of mutual interest and concern”, with both sides reaffirming their “unswerving” aim “to maintain, consolidate and develop bilateral relations”, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

The commitments echoed an exchange in Beijing a week earlier between Liu Jianchao, the diplomatic chief of China’s ruling Communist Party, and North Korean envoy Ri Ryong-nam.

Look out for Russian moves to ‘muddy waters’ at China’s doorstep, analyst warns

During their talks on January 19, Li said China would increase strategic communications and jointly safeguard regional peace with North Korea.

Sun and Pak had also pledged to boost “strategic communication and coordination” when they met in Beijing on December 15, ahead of this year’s 75th anniversary of bilateral ties.

On Friday, the two leaders “agreed on the arrangements for major activities of the China-DPRK Friendship Year”, the Chinese ministry said, referring to the North’s Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. It did not offer details.

Pyongyang’s other arms tests this month have included what it called an “underwater nuclear weapon system” and a solid-fuelled hypersonic ballistic missile. In December, it claimed to have tested its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile, which has the potential to reach the US.

Days before the Liu-Ri meeting, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called the South its “principal enemy” and vowed to “completely occupy” it in the event of war. In December, he said his country was no longer aiming for reunification with the South.

North Korea’s increased exchanges with Russia have also sparked speculation that the two internationally isolated nations are providing each other military support as tensions flare in Ukraine and on the Korean peninsula.

On January 11, the US said it had imposed sanctions on “one individual and three entities” it said were involved in the transfer and testing of North Korea’s ballistic missiles for Russia’s use against Ukraine.

Days later, North Korean foreign minister Choe Son-hui visited Moscow, where she was received by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin said the two sides agreed to develop relations in “all areas”, including “sensitive” ones, while the North’s official media said Putin was willing to visit at an early date.

Chinese scientists build ultra-precise clock they hope will help redefine the second

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3249985/chinese-scientists-build-ultra-precise-clock-they-hope-will-help-redefine-second?utm_source=rss_feed

A Chinese team has developed an extremely precise optical clock that loses or gains one second every 7 billion years, bringing scientists a step closer to redefining the second as a basic unit of time.

Using ultra-cold strontium atoms and powerful laser beams, the team at the University of Science and Technology of China created a clock with stability and uncertainty under 5 quintillionths.

The achievement makes China only the second country in the world after the US to achieve such precise timekeeping.

It also lays an important foundation for the establishment of a global optical clock network, the team, led by physicist Pan Jianwei, wrote in the peer-reviewed journal Metrologia earlier this month.

In addition, they said it opened up new pathways to test fundamental physics theories, detect gravitational waves and search for dark matter.

The current record holder for the most precise strontium-based optical clock is hosted at the University of Colorado in Boulder, developed by a group led by Chinese-American physicist Jun Ye. It remains slightly more accurate than its Chinese competitor and its operation is more stable.

Other players in the race include the University of Tokyo and the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research in Japan, and the National Metrology Institute of Germany.

Optical clocks hold great potential for applications in critical infrastructure in the future. They could significantly enhance the precision of global navigation satellite systems, and help build highly secure communication networks based on quantum key distribution.

They could also improve the synchronisation and efficiency of power grids, and even play a vital role in national defence and security.

Today, the definition of a second is based on the microwave fountain clock, a type of atomic clock. It works by releasing cesium atoms upwards, which then fall under gravity in a fountain-like motion while they are excited with microwave pulses. Their electrons then absorb and emit light particles to jump between different energy levels.

By counting such cycles as “ticks” that mark fractions of a second, scientists can achieve high-precision timekeeping with stabilities of several quadrillionths.

But the precision of a microwave clock is limited by the microwave frequency standard. In recent years, researchers have built optical clocks which use laser light to drive electronic transitions and achieve performance that is two orders of magnitude better than their microwave counterparts.

However, if microwave clocks are to be replaced by optical ones for the future definition of time, at least three laboratories in the world will need to have an optical clock with stability below 5 quintillionths and uncertainty below 2 quintillionths.

They are the two key parameters for the performance and reliability of an optical clock. Instability measures how much the clock’s frequency fluctuates over time, while uncertainty represents the degree of confidence in the frequency measured by the clock.

The race against time to build the world’s most precise clock

In their work, the Chinese team led by Pan – who has been dubbed the “father of quantum” – first cooled down strontium-87 atoms to a temperature of a few micro-Kelvin, and trapped them in a one-dimensional lattice created with intersecting laser beams.

They then used an ultra-stable laser to interact with the trapped strontium-87 atoms and trigger the so-called clock transition, which is highly stable and precise.

The researchers also made frequency comparison measurements between two independent clocks to reveal that an individual clock’s stability was about 2.2 quintillionths.

The whole-system uncertainty was 4.4 quintillionths – equivalent to the deviation of one second every 7.2 billion years, the team concluded.

“Such performances showed that our clock has partially met the requirement for participating in the redefinition of the second,” they wrote in the paper.

The team plans to carry out comparisons between optical clocks built with different atom species, such as strontium-87 and ytterbium-171.

Their research was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology and Anhui province, along with other funding agencies, and built on previous work on the quantum simulation of ultra-cold atoms.

Hong Kong’s first Chinese medicine hospital likely to charge outpatients similarly to public clinics, health official says

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3250052/hong-kongs-first-chinese-medicine-hospital-likely-charge-outpatients-similarly-public-clinics-health?utm_source=rss_feed

Hongkongers are likely to pay a similar amount for an outpatient consultation at the city’s first Chinese medicine hospital as they do when attending a public clinic, a health official has said.

Cheung Wai-lun, the project director at the Health Bureau’s Chinese Medicine Hospital Project Office, on Sunday said he expected the government-funded facility to charge at a level close to the HK$120 (US$15) outpatient attendance fee levied at public Chinese medicine clinics.

He said the hospital would also work with the private sector to build a strong healthcare network which connected all stakeholders to promote the development of traditional Chinese medicine in the city.

First Hong Kong Chinese medicine hospital to showcase Western, TCM collaboration

“We wish that what we develop at the hospital can be transferred to the private sector … Not only can private practitioners provide services at the hospital, but also they can bring the knowledge and skills they acquire here to the private market,” he said.

The hospital, which began construction at its Tseung Kwan O site in 2021, is set to open in late 2025 and provide outpatient treatment in the first year, with inpatient services added the next year.

Under a public-private partnership model, 65 per cent of the services will be subsidised by the government, and the other 35 per cent will be provided by the private sector.

Cheung said that engaging the private sector was important because it provided 95 per cent of the Chinese medicine services in the city.

Patients seeking private services would be able to choose their practitioners and enjoy customised services, with the rates decided by the market, he said.

Subsidised outpatient services were likely to be charged at a similar level to the Chinese medicine clinics operated by the Hospital Authority, but fees for inpatient services were expected to be higher, according to Cheung.

Hong Kong’s public Chinese medicine clinics stop providing herb amid poisoning fears

Cheung said the public clinics would become “satellite clinics” after the hospital came into service.

Practitioners at clinics would be able to directly refer patients to the hospital if the case was complicated or required certain treatments. After being discharged, patients would receive follow-up consultations at the community clinics.

Public clinic practitioners would also work at the hospital on a rotation system to add to their expertise and get familiar with available treatments.

“We hope this integration model will also extend to the private sector … we are to build a strong platform to push for the development of Chinese medicine together.”

Hong Kong scientists get rare US approval for trials of constipation drug

Another key focus of the hospital is the use of its Chinese medicine inpatient wards, a first for Hong Kong.

Cheung said patients would be admitted based on the severity of symptoms, their self-care abilities, treatment intensity and their monitoring needs.

“For example, those suffering from a herniated disc are often in deep pain, and they can hardly leave their bed or walk on their own – these cases could be hospitalised because they can hardly take care of themselves,” he said. “But if they are just feeling unwell, they can just seek outpatient services.”

Cheung added that the hospital would provide a range of services, except for accident and emergency, surgery under general anaesthesia and childbirth.

More Chinese expected to travel abroad for Lunar New Year

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3250053/more-chinese-expected-travel-abroad-lunar-new-year?utm_source=rss_feed

More Chinese travellers are expected to head overseas during the Lunar New Year next month but the exodus will still be below pre-pandemic levels amid a weaker economic outlook and changing consumer preferences, analysts said.

Official figures released so far point to significant growth in passenger traffic during this year’s , the 40-day festive travel period when millions of Chinese return home or go overseas to celebrate the Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival.

On Friday, the first day of the travel season, 189 million passenger trips were made, up 19.7 per cent over the same period last year, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing figures from various government departments including the ministries of transport and public security, as well as China State Railway Group.

‘Severely punish’: China bosses warned over holding up migrant workers’ wages

The desire to leave the house was reflected in a forecast compiled by Chinese tech company Baidu, which said “travelling to celebrate the Spring Festival” may have become the “new” trend, driven by family tours as well as sightseeing in other provinces.

“Among the popular destination cities for air travel, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou rank in the top four, and Harbin surpasses traditional popular tourist cities such as Hangzhou, Kunming, Haikou, and Sanya to rank sixth [after Chengdu],” the Baidu report said.

Demand for international travel in China is also expected to rise following a flurry of visa-free agreements with Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore as well as France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.

Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand remain a favourite destination for Chinese tourists preferring warmer climates, the Baidu report said.

Chinese travellers to Thailand will be able to enter the country without a visa from March 1, following the signing of a mutual agreement on Sunday.

Visa-free agreements and reasonably priced airfares have increased the appeal – particularly among younger Chinese – of long-distance destinations such as Egypt, Morocco, Kenya and other African countries, according to the Baidu report.

This year’s Spring Festival is the second since China abandoned its tough Covid-19 restrictions in late 2022, but outbound flight capacity is likely to be 30 per cent below 2019 levels in the first quarter of this year, according to OAG, a Britain-based provider of global travel data.

OAG chief analyst John Grant said this was largely because of the patchy recovery of flights between Northeast Asia, Europe and Southeast Asia.

“Ultimately, it’s about the economy. If the economy isn’t right, people aren’t in a position where they can travel, it doesn’t matter if you are in China or you are in the US,” Grant said on Wednesday.

With Lunar New Year boon a stopgap, China’s economy has other 2024 priorities

Bank of America Securities said in a report on Tuesday that younger millennials and Gen Z had been the biggest drivers of the tourism rebound, making up two-thirds of total travellers during the New Year holidays.

The report said younger travellers were more interested in local experiences and outdoor activities and were more influenced by social media compared to their parents.

“In our view, both domestic and international travel will continue to rebound further this year and will remain a bright spot for the economy,” it said.

“For local governments, domestic or international, potential tactics could include promotion of unique local culture via social media, organisation of concerts and festivals, and improving accessibility for travellers could all be effective.”

How China’s ‘stadium diplomacy’ is looking to make its mark at the Africa Cup of Nations

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3250037/how-chinas-stadium-diplomacy-looking-make-its-mark-africa-cup-nations?utm_source=rss_feed

China may have left the Asian Cup early after its men’s football team was eliminated in the first round, but is making its presence felt on another continent – at the 34th Africa Cup of Nations.

The recent visit to Ivory Coast by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi coincided with the early stages of the football tournament also known as Afcon, being held in the West African country with three Chinese-built stadiums among the six venues.

These include the 60,000-seat Alassane Ouattara Stadium north of Abidjan, also known as the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpé.

It is Ivory Coast’s largest stadium and was financed by US$40.6 million from the China International Development Cooperation Agency or China Aid – Beijing’s official foreign aid and global development agency.

There is also the US$107.5 million Laurent Pokou Stadium in San Pedro, funded by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Building stadiums is part of a wider long-term plan by China to boost ties with African countries by funding large-scale infrastructure projects such as diplomatic and military education facilities, presidential palaces, parliament buildings, hospitals and foreign ministry headquarters.

According to China’s nationalist tabloid Global Times, the country has built more than 100 stadiums across Africa.

“All of this is part of a long-term policy of ‘stadium diplomacy’ which China has been deploying across the continent,” Simon Chadwick, a professor of sport and geopolitical economy at SKEMA Business School in France, and Chris Toronyi, a PhD candidate and lecturer at Loughborough University in Britain, wrote in news and commentary site The Conversation.

“Linked to the Belt and Road Initiative, which is intended to promote trade and foster interdependence between China and other nations, stadiums have frequently been gifted to African nations [or else paid for using relatively cheap loans],” they wrote in the January 2 article.

Paul Nantulya, a China specialist at the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies in Washington, said this was a useful way to build influence.

“It is a cost-effective way of generating political influence with different elites,” Nantulya said.

However, he noted that most of the buildings, including diplomatic and military facilities, were “always included” as a “by-product” of larger construction and energy projects negotiated between Chinese entities and African governments.

“China is essentially benefiting from those economies of scale,” Nantulya said.

Meeting President Alassane Ouattara in the economic capital Abidjan on January 17, Wang said the hosting of Afcon was “not only a grand event for the African people, but also the pride of Ivory Coast”.

“The main stadium built with China’s assistance for Ivory Coast was delivered on time and with high quality … and has become a symbol of mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Ivory Coast and a symbol of China-Africa friendship,” Wang said.

Chinese-backed AIIB seeks to boost Ivory Coast’s trade links to Asia

The Alassane Ouattara Stadium hosted Ivory Coast’s three group matches, which included a win and two losses.

Meanwhile, Beijing is also trying to expand its soft influence beyond steel and concrete.

In Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, Chinese instructors not only regularly teach at military colleges Beijing has bankrolled and built, but also play a role in developing the curriculum.

In Tunisia, where Beijing has financed and built the Tunis International Diplomatic Academy, Chinese instructors are expected to work with local officials on diplomatic engagements and policy.

“It also comes with training, which I call the software aspect of it and that’s where really the influence comes in,” Nantulya said.

Chinese courts to rule on Hong Kong commercial disputes under new law

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/28/chinese-courts-to-rule-on-hong-kong-commercial-disputes-under-new-law

A new law giving Chinese courts the authority to enforce rulings in commercial disputes in Hong Kong comes into effect on Monday, further reducing the barriers between the Hong Kong and Chinese legal systems.

The law puts into effect an agreement signed between China’s supreme people’s court and the government of Hong Kong in 2019 and is designed to reduce the need for re-litigation in civil and commercial disputes, in cases where there is a connection to mainland China.

However, concerns have been raised that the law will tarnish Hong Kong’s reputation as a global business hub. International companies have traditionally chosen to base themselves in Hong Kong in part because the territory provides access to mainland China while ensuring robust rule of law protection in commercial disputes as a result of Hong Kong’s independent legal system, which is based on English common law.

The ordinance “further erodes the differences between the legal systems of Hong Kong and the mainland,” said Andrew Collier, managing director at Orient Capital Research, a financial research firm.

In 2019, a proposed extradition bill, which would have allowed people wanted by the police in mainland China to be deported from Hong Kong, sparked huge protests as millions of Hongkongers decried the erosion of the legal and political barriers between Hong Kong and China.

Those protests evolved into a mass pro-democracy movement, which resulted in more than 10,000 people being arrested. The protests were eventually crushed by a harsh national security law, which Beijing said was necessary to restore stability to the city, but which critics and foreign governments say has been used to criminalise dissent.

Some of the fears about the extradition bill stem from the fact that criminal proceedings in China are influenced by the ruling Chinese Communist party, and criminal courts have a conviction rate of 99%. In civil and commercial matters, however, China’s performance on rule-of-law rankings has improved on international measures in the past 20 years. The World Bank ranks China as being in the top 50% of countries in terms of overall rule-of-law performance. Compared with Hong Kong, commercial disputes in mainland China are dealt with more quickly and at lower cost.

“The reality is that for the most part, it’s not like the mainland civil and commercial courts are completely awful,” said Kevin Yam, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Asian Law and former commercial litigator in Hong Kong. But, Yam added, the developments related to the national security law since 2020 have created a backdrop of uncertainty for businesses and wealthy individuals alike. Yam himself is wanted by the Hong Kong police because of his criticism of the national security law and support for the pro-democracy movement.

There is concern that the new ordinance will damage Hong Kong’s reputation as a global wealth management hub. Asset managers may no longer be able to advise wealthy clients with total confidence that their investments would be protected in Hong Kong. “Wealthy Chinese and foreigners alike have been concerned about their personal safety and the security of their assets in Hong Kong, and these judgments will convince many more to move to Asian or western destinations,” Collier said.

The managed assets in Hong Kong amounted to $3,912bn in 2022, down 14% on 2021, according to the Securities and Futures Commission. Many wealthy people, including Chinese citizens, no longer see Hong Kong as being a destination that is out of reach from arbitrary confiscation from mainland authorities.

Nick Chan, the chair of the legal committee of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, said law-abiding and contract-abiding business people had nothing to worry about: “People who commit financial crime in China … have a lot to lose because they managed to move their assets here under one country, two systems. Under the old arrangement, there wasn’t anything that could be done lawfully to get these potentially stolen assets.”

The ordinance covers civil and commercial matters, with certain exclusions, and also allows for judgments reached in Hong Kong to be enforced in the mainland.

Newly discovered gaps in Great Wall of China create more mysteries about why it was built

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3249033/newly-discovered-gaps-great-wall-china-create-more-mysteries-about-why-it-was-built?utm_source=rss_feed

Archaeologists investigating the Great Wall of China’s “Mongolian Arc” have discovered large gaps in the wall were not the result of destruction, degradation or erosion, but were never built in the first place.

One explanation scientists have come up with for the missing sections is that the Chinese builders were working in haste, amid concerns about the threat posed by the rise to power of Ghengis Khan, according to a study published in the Journal of Field Archaeology in late December.

The Mongolian Arc – which stretches from northern China into Mongolia –was built sometime between the 11th and 13th centuries, far earlier than the most famous segments constructed during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), and is believed to have been used by the Jin dynasty (1115–1234), but that has not been proven conclusively.

The stretch of wall, and why it was built, is an enduring mystery.

Its structure is far less impressive than the Ming-era wall, with the researchers suggesting that, in some parts, the trench was the more formidable part of the structure and the “wall” was often piles of rammed, excavated dirt.

Historical documents from the time – around 1200, just before the 1211 invasion of the Jin empire by Genghis Khan – discuss the quick construction of a “defensive wall section”.

Archaeologists believe this was referencing a different segment of the Great Wall of China but could also be applied to the Mongolian Arc.

The idea that the Mongolian Arc was built hastily to defend against Mongol armies was first floated by the Chinese historian Wang Guowei more than 100 years ago, and the team’s research could represent the first archaeological evidence to support this theory.

However, Gideon Shelach-Lavi, a study author and professor at the Hebrew University Department of Asian Studies in Jerusalem, Israel, told the Post that when the archaeologists visited the site they discovered that it would have been a poor defensive structure.

“As we conclude in the paper, it is more likely that the wall was built not to stop armies, such as those of Genghis Khan, but rather to stop small-scale invasions from local tribes as well as to monitor and control their movement and the movements of local nomadic people,” said Shelach-Lavi.

According to the authors, an important piece of evidence in support of this theory is that the walls did not have “very extensive visual command over their environment”.

“While these structures are not located at a great distance from each other, most of them cannot see or be seen from neighboring structures,” the authors wrote.

However, they acknowledge that the wall could have been a flawed better-than-nothing structure limited by time, cost and convenience.

Shelach-Lavi said the research sheds light on the complex relationship between China and its pastoral-nomadic neighbours.

It also suggests that the interactions were “much more complex and multi-sided than have been portrayed in the past”.

“[Our research] will help to clarify the history of North China and Mongolia during the very crucial period just before and during the rise of Genghis Khan. We still do not clearly understand how and why he was so successful and our research can shed light on this,” he said.

One misconception about the Great Wall of China is that it is one long uninterrupted structure.

In reality, it is a series of sections built across nearly two thousand years, with some strategic areas overlapping and others featuring large gaps.

Also, the wall was not solely used to defend China against invading armies, but served a variety of purposes, such as solidifying newly acquired territory or acting as a border boundary.

For example, the Mongolian Arc may have been part of a “border zone” and used to help control the movement of people, although it would not have been a strict line of demarcation like we see in modern walls such as the one along the US-Mexico border.

Great power lite? Why China is reluctant to wade into the Red Sea crisis and join US-led attacks on Houthis

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3250014/great-power-lite-why-china-reluctant-wade-red-sea-crisis-and-join-us-led-attacks-houthis?utm_source=rss_feed

For about two months, Iran-backed, Yemen-based Houthis have been attacking merchant ships in the lower Red Sea with drones and missiles.

The rebel group says the action is in response to the Israel-Gaza war and it is only targeting Israeli-linked vessels or those heading to Israel.

But ships with no such links have been attacked, prompting major transport companies, including Chinese state-owned giant Cosco, to reroute at considerable expense.

In response, a US-led coalition of more than 20 countries ranging from Britain to Bahrain has banded together to safeguard commercial traffic in the Red Sea, including launching air strikes against the Houthis.

But not China.

Instead, Beijing’s approach has been to call for an end to the attacks on the ships and express concern over the escalating situation.

Observers say China’s cautious response is consistent with its general approach to Middle East crises and is unlikely to change unless the attacks dent its trade and commercial interests.

But, they say, the caution also reflects a lack of leadership and capacity in a country seeking to establish itself as a world power.

“It certainly does not show any appetite for acting as a major responsible power,” said Ori Sela, an associate professor at Tel Aviv University.

“While China maintains a clear rhetoric on maintaining peace and stability, in practice, so far, it seems as though China has little capability to deliver either in terms of military power or in terms of diplomacy.”

One contributing factor, according to David Arase, resident professor of international politics with the Hopkins-Nanjing Centre for Chinese and American Studies, is that Chinese vessels have not been attacked by the Houthis, meaning China has little interest in taking on a bigger responsibility in the conflict.

Even when Chinese imports and exports carried by non-Chinese ships have diverted their routes resulting in higher costs of goods, Beijing would rather absorb these costs than “align with the US … or assume costly security commitments in that volatile region”, Arase added.

As a result, China had no commitment to ensure stability in the Red Sea or to defend international navigation rights – and it was not eager to assume one.

This left Washington with the burden of protecting freedom of navigation and Beijing with a “free ride”, he said.

US national security adviser, top China diplomat to meet in Thailand

Despite continued strikes on Houthi targets, the attacks on shipping persist, a situation that China is using to reflect the failure of the US-led world order and show its own efforts in a better light, according to Sela.

“China sees an opportunity here to use this ‘failure narrative’ in order to demonstrate later on that China’s ‘world order’ is superior to the US,” he said.

However, the Red Sea conflict had instead shown the “volatility and fragility” of China’s successes in the region, in particular, the deal it brokered between Iran and Saudi Arabia, he said.

The Financial Times reported last week that the US asked China to use its leverage over Iran to rein in the Houthis as there were little indications of Beijing doing so.

Sela said countries had low expectations of Beijing stepping up as a leader but they would “expect a little more diplomatic engagement from China”, especially with Iran.

The continued attacks by the Tehran-backed Houthis “undermine the whole Chinese narrative” of the impact of the deal.

“The situation in the Red Sea has exposed China in its real size: economically very significant in the region yet a very far stretch from actually being a world power,” Sela added.

“Laying low at this point might help China get away with it,” he said.

US national security adviser holds ‘constructive’ talks with Chinese foreign minister

Jeremy Chan, a senior analyst at Eurasia Group, similarly suggested that China’s muted response stemmed from its view that the Red Sea attacks were a “direct outcome” of a failure to achieve a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, a failure that it pinned on the United States.

Under these circumstances, Beijing would not support Washington, be it condemning the Houthis or conducting joint naval patrols in the Red Sea – a move that would work in the short term but not in the bigger picture.

“My assessment is that this a savvy move from the narrow perspective of Chinese interests but a silly move for a country that has designs on being a global leader,” Chan said.

According to Andrew Scobell, distinguished fellow for China at the US Institute of Peace, China has mostly performed as a “great power lite” in the Middle East, where in spite of being an economic heavyweight, it remained a “diplomatic lightweight and a military featherweight”.

“With a few notable exceptions, Beijing has made modest largely pro forma gestures at diplomacy albeit with principled calls for dialogue and peace while militarily China has employed a ‘soft’ footprint in the Middle East,” he said.

“It has learned how to talk the great power talk but is still learning how to walk the great power walk.”

But Wang Yiwei, an international relations professor at Renmin University, said China’s position was not just about taking a side – it had to support the rights and interests of all parties, particularly developing countries.

“It’s not simply about condemning and supporting one side. China’s position must be about continuity and consistency,” he said.

Developing nations would want China to adopt a “fair stance” and “speak for the Arab world”.

Alvin Camba, assistant professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, said China’s response showed that it was “tiptoeing between being a global leader … and forwarding its geopolitical interests”.

A world leader would ensure safety of all commercial vessels regardless of their political stance, he said, but only Chinese and Russian vessels had reportedly been assured safety by the Houthis.

“China is trying to have it both ways, doing little in the process yet achieving the desired outcomes of both,” he said.

Camba added that China’s leadership could be hurt as it portrayed itself to be a “less responsible” leader.

“It sends a message that if you do something to harm the West and you don’t do anything against us, we will not do anything to harm you.”

Arase suggested that Beijing would look to gain some “leadership points” such as by calling for a wider regional discussion but that would seem like China was advancing its diplomatic agendas “at no material cost”.

William Figueroa, an assistant professor at the University of Groningen, said Beijing did not want to be seen as supporting a group that threatened the stability of the international shipping system and it did not want its own regional projects to be hampered by a wider regional conflict.

At the same time, it was aware of the relationship between the Houthis and Iran, as well as its limitations in influencing either party.

“This is, I think, consistent with China’s long-term approach,” said Figueroa, who has researched China’s relationship with Middle Eastern countries.

“It’s the only position that makes sense because what else can China do? China has very little power projection capability in the Gulf and certainly isn’t willing to get embroiled in a larger conflict.”

China would likely maintain its existing position longer than many expected, particularly as its vessels had not been thoroughly affected, Chan said.

And as long as Gulf Arab states – with which China’s key commercial interests lie – maintained a similar stance, Beijing would “most certainly stay on the current course”.

But there could be growing pressures for China to do more if the Red Sea attacks continued. Arase said investments and partnerships in China’s Belt and Road Initiative could be damaged.

But he also noted that these projects were typically enduring and long term, and would likely outlast the crisis.

Would China play a bigger role? Likely not, according to the analysts.

While China could do more, such as put greater pressure on Iran, Beijing was often hesitant to do things that did not guarantee success, Sela said.

Pressure on the Chinese government would grow, however, if Chinese businesses suffered from the outcomes of the Red Sea conflict. That, Sela said, would be the “only reason” that could get Beijing to change course.

“Although China’s economy faces uneasy challenges, it seems China can endure a few more months. Perhaps China believes that as the summer approaches it could use the Arctic routes more, thereby mitigating the effects of the Red Sea issues,” he said.

“In any case, it seems China assumes that since many other countries suffer from the Red Sea attacks, they will solve it somehow.”

As the China’s markets suffer, what alternatives do investors have? | Finance & economics

https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2024/01/22/how-to-replace-china-in-your-portfolio

Some foreign investors in China are most worried by the country’s souring relations with the West. Others fret about the unprecedented slump in its property market. Many are simply tired of losing money. Rumours that officials are considering steps to stabilise the country’s markets may have brought respite in recent days, but over the past year the CSI 300 index of Chinese shares has fallen by 22% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index by 30%.

As such, optimism about China Inc is an increasingly distant memory. Just five years ago, though, investors clamoured for exposure to the country’s growth miracle and sought diversification from rich-world markets, which often move in sync. Providers of the world’s big stock indices were making adjustments accordingly. Between 2018 and 2020 Chinese stocks listed onshore, known as A-shares, were added to the benchmark emerging-markets index.

Yet these various alternatives have flaws of their own. Unlike China’s offerings, Indian stocks are expensive. They have higher price-to-earnings ratios than those in other big emerging markets. Although Japan’s stocks look relatively cheap, they make an odd choice for investors seeking rapid income growth. Likewise, Taiwanese and South Korean stocks are included among emerging markets because of the relative illiquidity and inaccessibility of their exchanges, but both economies are mature high-income ones.

Size is a problem, too. Many places benefiting as supply chains move away from China are home to puny public markets. Even after fast growth, India’s total market capitalisation is just $4trn—not even a third of Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen combined. When MSCI released its emerging-market index in 1988, Malaysia accounted for a third of its stocks by value. It now represents less than 2%. Brazil, Chile and Mexico together made up another third; today they make up less than 10%.

And whereas returns on Chinese investments tend to follow their own logic, smaller economies are more exposed to the vagaries of the dollar and American interest rates. According to research by UBS Asset Management, Chinese stocks had a correlation of 0.56 with those in the rich world between December 2008 and July 2023 (a score of one suggests the stocks rise and fall in tandem; zero suggests no correlation). By contrast, stocks from emerging markets excluding China had a correlation of 0.84 with rich-world equities.

The emergence and growth of funds that pledge to cut out China will make life easier for investors who wish to avoid the world’s second-largest stockmarket. Without a turnaround in the country’s economic fortunes, or a sustained cooling of tensions between Beijing and Washington, interest in such strategies will grow. They will not, however, evoke the sort of enthusiasm investors once felt about China. ■

Editor’s note (January 23rd 2024): This article has been updated for market moves.

For more expert analysis of the biggest stories in economics, finance and markets, sign up to Money Talks, our weekly subscriber-only newsletter.

‘My food is covered in pee’: China customer accuses delivery man of urinating on her meal, surveillance footage shows dog is culprit

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3248862/my-food-covered-pee-china-customer-accuses-delivery-man-urinating-her-meal-surveillance-footage?utm_source=rss_feed

A traveller in China was shocked to find her takeaway meal was covered in urine and angrily blamed the delivery man.

She was staying at a guest house in the northern province of Hebei when she made the unwelcome discovery.

However, surveillance footage revealed that the real culprit was of the four-legged variety.

The footage shows a delivery man placing the food on the floor by the door outside the room the customer is staying in. A minute later, a dog can be seen walking towards the bag of food.

As soon as the woman received the delivery notification on her mobile, she opened the door to pick up the food and immediately noticed it was covered in urine.

Assuming the delivery man was responsible, she sent him a photo of the food along with an indignant text message.

“My food is covered in pee. This is so rude,” the customer wrote.

“Why am I rude?” the confused driver replied.

The furious customer then called the driver.

“Why don’t you just admit it? We are the only two people who have touched the bag of food, and I’m hardly likely to pee on my own food, am I?” she said.

No matter how many times the driver protested his innocence, the customer would not believe him, so he suggested she check the security footage.

The woman contacted the owner of the guest house they watched the surveillance film together and that is when they spotted the next door neighbour’s dog doing what he should not have been doing.

The customer felt so guilty and she immediately called the delivery man to apologise.

Many people on mainland social media found the story highly amusing.

“Hahaha, what a naughty dog,” one person said.

“The dog played a prank,” another quipped.

“The dog must have smelled the appetising food,” said a third.

Stories about food delivery drivers often trend in China.

In December last year, a snooty woman in southwestern China who tried to get a food delivery worker ejected from a Starbucks coffee shop because she thought he was inferior, caused outrage.

In July last year, online observers slammed two well-dressed women on a riverbank picnic in southern China who made a food delivery driver’s life hell with their vague directions and arrogant attitude.

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Biden aide urges Bejing to press Iran over Houthi attacks. China warns US over Taiwan independence

https://apnews.com/article/china-us-wang-yi-sullivan-thailand-ae1eaf491387ed6560e1500e2f84ba45FILE - This combination of photos shows U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, left, in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 16, 2024 and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, on Jan. 9, 2024. China sent more than 30 warplanes and a group of navy ships toward Taiwan, the island’s defense ministry said Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. The military pressure comes on the heels of an announcement that senior American and Chinese representatives were expected to meet in the Thai capital as the two countries seek to cool tensions. (AP Photo, File)

2024-01-27T15:01:08Z

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan pressed Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during talks in Thailand to use China’s influence with Iran to ease tensions in the Middle East. The officials also agreed to work toward arranging a call between President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The meetings Friday and Saturday in Bangkok, which followed up on the presidents’ discussions in November in California, took place after a ruling-party candidate opposed by Beijing won Taiwan’s recent presidential election and U.S. and Chinese military officials resumed a once-frozen dialogue. They played out as attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen continue to threaten global shipping in the Red Sea.

A senior U.S. official said Sullivan cited China’s extensive economic leverage over Iran and emphasized that the destabilizing effect of the Houthi attacks on international commerce. The official noted that China has publicly called for lower tensions, but said it was too soon to tell whether Beijing was using its diplomatic muscle to press Tehran on the matter. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss the private conversations between Sullivan and Wang and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Wang said Washington should stand by a commitment not to support independence for Taiwan. Wang said Taiwan’s election, won by Lai Ching-te, the current vice president, did not alter the Chinese position that the island is part of China and that the biggest challenge in U.S.-China relations is the issue of “Taiwan independence,” according to a statement from the ministry.

Biden has said he does not support independence, but U.S. law requires a credible defense for Taiwan and for the U.S. to treat all threats to the island as matters of “grave concern.”

The U.S. official said it was not clear when the next Biden-Xi conversation would happen, but that the officials hoped it would take place in the coming months.

Wang and Sullivan previously met on the Mediterranean island nation of Malta and in Vienna last year before the Biden-Xi meeting in California.

In November, both sides showcased modest agreements to combat illegal fentanyl and reestablish military communications, keeping the relationship from growing any worse. The U.S.-China Counternarcotics Working Group is set to hold its first meeting on Tuesday. American officials say fentanyl and its precursors are largely manufactured in China.

China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and in recent years has shown its displeasure at political activities in Taiwan by sending military planes and ships. Earlier Saturday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said China had sent more than 30 warplanes and a group of navy ships toward the island during a 24-hour period, including 13 warplanes that crossed the midline of the Taiwan Strait — an unofficial boundary that’s considered a buffer between its territory and the mainland.

Wang also said China and the U.S. should use the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries this year as an opportunity to reflect on past experiences and treat each other as equals, rather than adopting a condescending attitude.

The countries should “be committed to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation, building a correct way for China and the U.S. to interact,” the statement quoted Wang as saying.

Taiwan has said six Chinese balloons either flew over the island or through airspace just north of it, days after the self-governing island held its election. Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party largely campaigned on self-determination, social justice and a rejection of China’s threats.

Apart from cross-strait issues, Sullivan and Wang also discussed Russia’s war against Ukraine, the Middle East, North Korea, the South China Sea, and Myanmar, the White House said. Sullivan and Wang talked about progress toward holding a dialog this spring between U.S. and Chinese officials on artificial intelligence.

Sullivan highlighted that although Washington and Beijing are in competition, both sides have to “prevent it from veering into conflict or confrontation,” according to a White House summary of the meeting.

Did Chinese explorers land on Australia’s shores almost 200 years before Europeans?

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3249878/did-chinese-explorers-land-australias-shores-almost-200-years-europeans?utm_source=rss_feed

This is the second in a on the voyages of the Chinese in the pre-Columbian era. Here, Victoria Bela examines the possibility that explorers from the East travelled to Australia and other parts of the world.

While Chinese marine voyages in the early 15th century are known to have been massive undertakings, most scholars believe these journeys only took the explorers to countries bordering the Indian Ocean.

But what if that was not the boundary of their charted exploration and they reached as far as the Americas, Africa, and even Australia and New Zealand before European explorers did?

That is what author Sheng-Wei Wang has investigated in her book, Chinese Global Exploration in the Pre-Columbian Era: Evidence from an Ancient World Map, published last year.

Wang’s conclusions are based on her analysis of the first Chinese-language world map, the Kunyu Wanguo Quantu (KWQ), which was published in 1602 by Italian priest Matteo Ricci while he lived in China.

After comparing the KWQ with four major European maps of the 16th century, Wang concluded that the KWQ was not a map of European origin, but rather sourced from Chinese maps drawn by Ming dynasty (1368-1644) explorers – the massive “Treasure Fleet” led by admiral Zheng He.

“Although the extent of his expeditions is still under debate, most scholars agree that his mariners reached Africa during their fifth to seventh voyages,” Wang wrote.

Wang’s analysis led her to conclude that Chinese explorers had reached the Americas before Christopher Columbus.

Academic explains China child slavery trap created by 17th century farming style

But how would the Chinese mariners have reached the American continent?

By rounding the southern tip of Africa, Wang told the Post. Once you round the continent, “currents will bring you to America”.

While this theory is not supported by most historians, there are others who have come to similar conclusions in the past, such as British submarine commander Gavin Menzies who in 2002 published the book, 1421: The Year China Discovered the World, in which he wrote that the Chinese had reached the Americas in 1421.

In Wang’s book, she presents an alternative retelling of history that outlines both a timeline and path the Ming mariners could have taken to beat European explorers in reaching much of the globe.

Based on her timeline, the Chinese mariners rounded the southern tip of Africa by 1433 during the seventh Ming voyage, more than half a century before Bartolomeu Dias, who was the first European explorer to achieve this feat in 1488.

This path during the seventh journey brought their ships to Canada, but Wang said it was likely that they also sailed this way during the sixth voyage, which brought them to the Gulf of Mexico.

For Portuguese mariner Dias, rounding the southern tip of Africa led to the discovery that this route would give the Europeans sea access to Asia.

But for the Chinese mariners, rounding the southern tip may have allowed them to sail across the Atlantic Ocean and explore the new world before Christopher Columbus was even born.

In the fourth chapter of the book, Wang dated the African portion of the KWQ to 1433, based on political information such as country names and territories present on the map.

With this dating, an interesting feature of the map became apparent.

Before the Europeans sailed around the southern tip of Africa, they believed that the southernmost end of the continent was the Cape of Good Hope. Their maps continued to depict this in the 16th century.

However, the southernmost tip of Africa is actually Cape Agulhas. The KWQ depicts this correctly – despite this portion of the map being dated by Wang to 1433. Wang therefore determined that Ricci must have drawn this part of the KWQ using Chinese source maps.

This is further supported by the fact that parts of Africa’s internal landscape appear on the KWQ, such as Lake Victoria and mountains in the sub-Saharan region. These were depicted “close to reality”, Wang wrote.

Meanwhile, 16th century European maps had limited geographical annotations about the interior of sub-Saharan Africa; 11 annotations that were on the KWQ were completely absent from these maps.

But according to Wang’s book, the extent of Chinese exploration did not end in the Americas.

There is another part of the world that the Ming mariners could have reached around 200 years before Europeans – Oceania.

In the second chapter of the book, Wang examines the depiction of the Oceania region on the KWQ. Much like the European maps of the 16th century that she examined, the KWQ depicts Australia and Antarctica as a massive connected continent, or the “unknown southern land”.

It was this depiction of a large connected continent taking up the entire bottom section of the map that puzzled Wang.

Although Europeans liked to illustrate the unexplored land in the south this way, Chinese cartographers had never done so.

However, when Wang began to examine the KWQ more closely, she began to see evidence of a “Chinese origin”.

The first was that the actual outline of northern Australia appeared to be somewhat reflected in the stretched out coastline of the large continental mass.

The second was that the map included a few islands off of the eastern side – islands that Wang thought could represent New Zealand.

The first documented landing of Europeans in Australia was by Dutch explorers in 1606, which was after the KWQ was published.

And yet Wang found annotations on the KWQ that had mountains and bird names that lined up with the geography of Australia.

The Europeans also “did not know the existence of New Zealand in the 16th century”, only landing on the islands in the mid-17th century, she wrote.

If the Europeans had not reached this land yet, and their maps did not show it accurately, what source could Ricci have referred to to create the KWQ?

Wang suggested that he used maps created by the Chinese mariners around their fifth voyage.

The KWQ provides evidence that by the 1420s, Chinese mariners had explored Australia, New Zealand and even Antarctica, long before European explorers, Wang wrote.

She also said she believed that, while Ricci referred to Chinese source maps to help annotate Oceania, he still used the European concept of a large southern continent while creating the map.

To provide further evidence for Chinese exploration of New Zealand in the early 15th century, Wang included the findings of British surveyor T.C. Bell within her analysis.

In the early-2000s, due to landscape changes brought about by a tsunami, Bell discovered what appeared to be two crushed ships embedded upside down in a hill on New Zealand’s South Island.

In them, he found signs of a “Chinese imprint” – pieces of concrete used to strengthen the ships were glued together using sticky rice adhesive, which was a powerful glue that was also used in parts of the Great Wall, Wang said.

She said this rice adhesive was tested and confirmed in a lab. Bell also found evidence of Chinese lettering imprinted into the concrete.

This evidence is “direct [hard] evidence of Chinese junks and Chinese presence in New Zealand”, Wang wrote.

As to why the ships had come to be buried within a hill in the first place, Wang said a meteorite was believed to have crashed in the Tasman Sea around this time. It may have occurred during the seventh voyage, affecting some of the fleet that were in the area at the time.

Bell found even more evidence like art, house foundations and city gateways that suggested the Chinese could have reached New Zealand even earlier than the Ming voyages – perhaps 4,000 years ago.

But why might the Chinese mariners have tried to round Africa in the first place? Wang said it have been to bypass taxes.

Chinese ships travelling from the Indian Ocean had to pass through the Red Sea canal, sailing above Africa to enter Europe. While it made sense for trading ships to pay the taxes, it made less sense for explorers to do so.

In fact, a massive number of vessels like the Treasure Fleet would probably not have been able to pass through these seasonal canals that were “not suitable for ocean-going ships”, Wang wrote.

If Wang’s analysis of the map and the true reach of Zheng He’s voyages is true, how could this have been lost from history?

After the seventh and final voyage, China decided to “withdraw completely from the world stage”. This included banning voyages and imposing a “sea ban”, burning the Treasure Fleet and destroying equipment like maps, Wang wrote.

Even after the ban was partially lifted in the mid-16th century, no large Chinese ships built for exploration were sent out around the world.

Wang said that the Chinese source maps that Ricci possibly used to draw the KWQ may have been lost because, at the time, the Chinese did not “treasure their maps”.

But evidence of these lost maps may be reflected in the KWQ, depicting a lost account of Chinese exploration that suggests that these voyages – which are already known to be “unmatched” in history – could have had an even larger reach than previously thought.

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