• US and China officials to meet in Beijing this week, furthering economy talks
• EU rebuffs European solar industry’s plea for emergency help to fight cheap China imports
• Comments on Weibo giraffe post bemoan state of Chinese economy
• ‘All is not well’ in China’s economy, Rhodium Group report warns, slamming Beijing’s lack of structural reform
• Israel-Gaza war: China should boost Middle East ties to push peace process, tackle ‘great power’ rivalry, ex-envoy says
• China jails rights activist Li Qiaochu for more than 3 years for subversion
• Huawei reclaims top spot in China’s smartphone sales ranking, its first time back since company was added to US blacklist
• China releases footage of Fujian aircraft carrier
• China’s cross-border trips during Lunar New Year to hit pre-pandemic levels, authorities project
• ‘Must save the patient’: online praise for China medics who calmly complete brain surgery as operating theatre rocked by powerful earthquake
• Alibaba’s DingTalk, miHoYo’s Honkai: Star Rail among Chinese apps launching on Apple Vision Pro headset
• With Boeing 737 Max orders set for late arrival in Asia, will Airbus and China’s Comac benefit?
• China’s top prosecutors promise financial crime crackdown is about to ramp up
• Beware China’s ‘false promise’ with Papua New Guinea security deal, US official warns
• China delivers suspended death sentence to writer Yang Jun for spying; Australia declares it ‘harrowing news’ for family
• Snow business: China villagers make, sell mini snowmen as car decorations for US$2.8 each to capitalise on rare wintry weather
• Global Impact: China warns of infringing on its sovereignty, Philippines plans first submarine as South China Sea tensions continue
• Malaysia halves Najib’s sentence, Hong Kong’s car-free village, China’s Picasso: 6 weekend reads you may have missed
• Australia appalled at China’s suspended death sentence for writer Yang Hengjun
• China hands Australian writer suspended death sentence in spy case
• Australian academic Yang Hengjun given suspended death sentence by Chinese court
• [World] Yang Hengjun: Australian writer given suspended sentence in China
• China’s services activity expands at slower pace in January amid soft start to 2024
• [World] Xiang Yang Hong 3: Chinese ship's port call flares India tension
• Chinese ships near Diaoyu Islands stoke Japan’s fears of Beijing vs Manila South China Sea-style clash
• China Blossoms Shanghai star urges designers to make clothes for ‘normal’ people not just skinny ones, says it is not logical
• [Business] China can now monitor government-funded projects 24/7
• Drone 007: Chinese military plans to replace human agents with machines in special operations overseas

US and China officials to meet in Beijing this week, furthering economy talks

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3251042/us-and-china-officials-meet-beijing-week-furthering-economy-talks?utm_source=rss_feed

US and Chinese officials will hold talks on economic issues in Beijing this week, in the latest round of re-engagement between the world’s two largest economies.

A five-person delegation from the US Treasury will meet Chinese counterparts, according to a Treasury official who asked not to be named.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plans another China trip for 2024

The discussions mark another round of the “economic working group” established last year, and will cover topics including the macroeconomic outlook, the two countries’ investment-screening regimes and coordination on debt and climate change, the official said.

The talks are part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to maintain channels of communication with its key geopolitical rival, especially on shared challenges, while also pursuing policies to protect its national security.

US-China relations improved in the second half of 2023 after a rocky start to the year, with Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping meeting in November in an effort to stabilise ties. However, the question of Taiwan, the actions of mainland China and the US in the South China Sea, and issues including trade and export controls remain as major areas of contention.

Beware China’s ‘false promise’ with PNG security deal, US official warns

Yellen met her counterpart Vice-Premier He Lifeng in San Francisco in November, ahead of the presidential summit, and said she plans to visit China again this year. She has argued that it is crucial to engage in ways that could prevent a wide range of potential crises – from diplomatic to financial.

This week’s Treasury delegation, which will be led by Undersecretary for International Affairs Jay Schambaugh, plans to have frank conversations around China’s use of non-market economic practices and industrial overcapacity, the Treasury official said.

The planned talks were previously reported by The New York Times. They follow the gathering of a separate working group on financial issues in the Chinese capital last month.

EU rebuffs European solar industry’s plea for emergency help to fight cheap China imports

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3251047/eu-rebuffs-european-solar-industrys-plea-emergency-help-fight-cheap-china-imports?utm_source=rss_feed

Brussels has rebuffed the European solar industry’s request for emergency measures to combat a surge in cheap imports from China.

Any use of trade weapons must be “weighed against” the European Union’s lofty climate goals, a senior commission official said on Monday, days after an industry group warned solar-panel manufacturers would go bankrupt without urgent support.

“The EU needs to have access to affordable solar panels to fuel the green transition and unlock the economic opportunities,” Mairead McGuinness, the European commissioner for financial services, told a debate in the European Parliament.

“Given that we currently rely to a very important degree on imports to reach EU solar-deployment targets, any potential measure needs to be weighed against the objectives we have set ourselves when it comes to the energy transition,” the Irish official said.

Like other parts of the West, Europe is wrangling with the challenge of weaning itself off dependence on China for solar panels while also boosting green-energy production.

Currently, more than 97 per cent of the solar panels deployed in Europe are imported, mostly from China, McGuinness said.

Low-cost Chinese competition has led to cries for help from within the European solar industry.

Last Thursday, a group representing “nearly the entire European photovoltaic manufacturing industry” called for “emergency measures” to safeguard the EU supply chain amid “significant oversupply” from China.

EV restrictions from US, EU could throw a wrench into China’s recovery plans

These included a buying up of European-made panels that are “languishing” in warehouses, more EU project funding, and emergency curbs on access to the EU market for Chinese imports.

McGuinness said the “surge in imports” – having driven solar prices down by “over 40 per cent” – was an “opportunity for citizens and solar panel installers”, but “clearly a challenge to EU solar panels producers”.

Yet no urgent support appears to be forthcoming. The use of trade measures should only be used “when that is in the overall union interest”, McGuinness said.

It is understood that some powerful member states, including Germany, are reluctant to open a new trade front with China.

Rather than emergency measures, McGuinness rhymed off a list of actions the commission had already taken and focused on future legislation that could help support the industry.

These include a forced-labour ban, which could target panels made or containing parts made in China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, where Beijing is accused of operating a system of forced labour. The ban could be complete this year.

The bloc’s Net-Zero Industry Act could be concluded by negotiators from the parliament and member states on Tuesday, McGuinness said.

This would mandate that around one-third of solar panels used in the bloc are made there, and penalise firms from countries with monopolies on “specific net-zero technology” such as solar during EU procurement processes.

But the finance chief warned that dependence on China could become more acute.

As China contemplates more trade probes, EU emphasises need to ‘follow rules’

“On the one hand, global solar-panel deployment is expected to further accelerate,” she said. “On the other hand, the deployment of massive expansion of production is also in the making, mainly in China. This situation might remain.”

Members of the European Parliament urged the commission to move more quickly to support the industry.

“I’m not that happy with your speech because I’m convinced that you know about a serious situation we’re facing … it’s about unfair Chinese competition,” said Engin Eroglu, a centrist member from Germany.

Green lawmaker Ciaran Cuffe cited the industry’s deep ties to Xinjiang, where “Uygur people are systemically persecuted”.

“We need to ensure that we’re not dependent on China and we need to make a choice. Will the solar revolution be red or fully green? That is the choice we need to make,” said the Irish member.

EU slows China de-risking plans in face of member state resistance

Beijing has vehemently denied that any human rights abuses are taking place in Xinjiang.

Meanwhile, the European industry itself is divided on what measures should be taken.

One lobbying group, Solar Power Europe, where Chinese companies account for 12.6 per cent of revenue and hold 14 per cent of total voting rights, has called for financial support but no trade barriers.

Nonetheless, this group too was underwhelmed by McGuinness’ statement. Walburga Hemetsberger, Solar Power Europe’s CEO, said “manufacturers are going bankrupt”.

“More support, and better access to support, is critically needed,” she added, while praising the commission’s apparent opposition to trade measures.

“History has shown that trade defence measures did not bring back the reshoring of solar manufacturing and coincided with deep declines in solar deployment,” said Hemetsberger.

Comments on Weibo giraffe post bemoan state of Chinese economy

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/05/comments-on-weibo-giraffe-post-bemoan-state-of-chinese-economy

A social media post about giraffe conservation has become the latest place for people in China who are unhappy about the economy to vent their frustration, as the Chinese government increasingly cracks down on negative commentary.

On 2 February, the US embassy in China posted an update on its Weibo account about tracking giraffes in Namibia using GPS technology. As of Monday afternoon local time, the post had received approximately 166,000 comments, many of them about China’s economic pains.

“Who can help me? I’ve been unemployed for a long time,” wrote one commenter. “I’ve seen a few comments about stocks, will they be deleted?” wrote another.

Other comments, reported by Bloomberg, included: “If criticisms are not allowed, then praises are meaningless” and negative references to China’s stock market.

Weibo, which has 593 million monthly active users, moderates comments that are posted on the platform.

Threads beneath posts by foreign organisations, such as the US embassy, are a slightly more permissive environment for commenters than those below posts by Chinese state agencies, which often take it upon themselves to ensure that discussions stay within government’s red lines.

Many of the comments on the US embassy’s post appeared to have been scrubbed from the platform as of Monday, or drowned out by comments saying variations on “I love China”.

Chinese authorities are increasingly concerned about gloomy commentary as the economy struggles to rebuild momentum after the lifting of the country’s harsh “zero-Covid” pandemic restrictions. In December, social media influencers were warned against making public comments that would “bad-mouth the economy”.

The restrictions on negative comments have failed to mask the fact that China’s stock market is flailing. The CSI 300 index, which tracks the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses, tumbled nearly 5% last week to a a five-year low. On Sunday, the Chinese securities regulatory commission said it would step up market stabilisation measures.

The popularity of the US embassy’s post about giraffes prompted giraffe-related comments elsewhere on Weibo. In one since deleted comment, a user wrote: “The giraffe has reached a new high. Even though many comments have been deleted and many likes have been deleted, it has still reached a new high! Weibo administrators and your editors, thank you for your hard work. The holidays keep you so busy.”

‘All is not well’ in China’s economy, Rhodium Group report warns, slamming Beijing’s lack of structural reform

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3251009/all-not-well-chinas-economy-rhodium-group-report-warns-slamming-beijings-lack-structural-reform?utm_source=rss_feed

The annual growth of China’s economy could slow to just 3 to 4 per cent in the coming years unless the nation addresses structural problems, warns a fault-finding report by the US-based Rhodium Group that meanwhile viewed the beleaguered property sector in a more positive light, expecting it to be relatively stable this year.

China’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic was largely uneven in 2023, and its economic performance was particularly weighed down by some underlying problems resulting from years of large-scale credit and investment expansions.

Moreover, China is facing growing export controls in some sectors and weak domestic demand that have raised questions over its position as the world’s leading manufacturing destination for foreign firms.

“Policymakers did next to nothing to tackle real structural problems,” the US-based research firm said in the report released on Monday, adding that “structural problems require structural reforms”.

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

Last year, China’s economy grew by a higher-than-expected 5.2 per cent, and Beijing is again expected to set a gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of around 5 per cent for 2024.

“Though we expect the severity of 2022-23 declines to set China up for a modest cyclical rebound in 2024, long-term growth potential will disappoint until fundamentals are addressed,” the report said.

It also said that Beijing’s boasting of GDP growth above 5 per cent came “despite a running battle to roll out extraordinary support measures, including lifelines for property developers, midyear expansion of the fiscal deficit ceiling, monetary policy easing and other steps”.

“As 2024 gets under way, new emergency steps to prop up stock markets are being added to the mix – yet another sign that all is not well,” the authors wrote.

What’s more, the report said the results of China’s efforts to turn into a “market-based” economy were mixed in terms of building a modern innovation system; encouraging equal competition between state firms and private companies; and increasing its appeal for portfolio investment.

China made “meaningful” progress in attracting foreign investment, but it did not address structural problems that brought about mounting local-government debt, the report added.

And its openness to trade contracted in the second half of last year, marked by increased controls on raw materials amid trade tensions with the United States.

But the firm also pointed to a “reasonable” likelihood that China’s policymakers would try to get more reforms back on track, including in the real estate sector.

“In the quarters to come, property will shift from a massive drag to a modest boost to GDP growth, though from a much lower base,” it said. “We expect this stabilisation due to the three years of destocking that have already taken place, bringing the real estate industry near a long-term equilibrium level of activity.”

EV restrictions from US, EU could throw a wrench into China’s recovery plans

While Beijing has yet to announce a date for its third plenum – the traditional twice-a-decade gathering of the top leadership in Beijing, at which decisions on China’s economic and reform agenda are usually made – Rhodium said it’s “reasonable” to expect it will take place in the first half of 2024.

“While cyclical conditions will stabilise this year, Beijing must soon acknowledge that slower growth, in the 3 per cent or 4 per cent range, is here to stay,” the report said.

It also warned that a lower growth rate could affect foreign firms in industries that rely on China as an importer.

“Some foreign firms will be edged out by lower-priced Chinese competition as Beijing boosts domestic manufacturing, like in lithium-ion batteries and other renewable energy products,” the authors wrote.

Israel-Gaza war: China should boost Middle East ties to push peace process, tackle ‘great power’ rivalry, ex-envoy says

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3251027/israel-gaza-war-china-should-boost-middle-east-ties-push-peace-process-tackle-great-power-rivalry-ex?utm_source=rss_feed

China should nurture its friendly ties with countries in the Middle East as tensions spike around them, a former Chinese envoy to the region has said, while asserting the need to “advance the peace process”.

Wu Sike, Beijing’s special envoy for Middle East affairs from 2009 to 2014, said spillovers of the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas were posing a serious threat to regional security.

Strengthening China’s “long-standing friendly relationships” with Middle Eastern nations at this point in time would also help it to tackle the “great power” rivalries over the resource-rich region, Wu told a forum in Beijing on Monday.

The Middle East had always been a hotly contested spot for big power influence due to its “unique strategic location and resource endowment”, Wu said in a virtual address to the event organised by the Chongyang Insititute for Financial Studies think tank at Renmin University.

“The Middle East can be a strategic support for China to cope with the game of great powers and [that] is where we have strategic partners for our national rejuvenation,” he said, referring to a catchphrase frequently used by Beijing.

“We need to elaborately strategise [in the region] and actively participate in advancing the peace process in the Middle East.”

Wu’s comments come as Israel’s military assault in and around the Gaza Strip continues in retaliation for a deadly cross-border raid on October 7 by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controlled the area.

There are growing fears that the war could widen into a wider conflict and worsen the humanitarian disaster for Palestinians, as more countries and militia groups in the region target each other over the Israeli response.

Meanwhile, the United States – a steadfast supporter of Israel – has ramped up its military presence in the neighbourhood.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Sunday said the US would take “more steps”, after three of its soldiers were killed when an Iran-backed group carried out a drone attack on an American base near Jordan’s border with Syria on January 28.

US forces launched military strikes on 85 targets in Iraq and Syria on Friday in response to the assault.

The US, Britain and six other allies on Saturday also announced that they had hit 36 Houthi targets in Yemen, in a fresh round of air strikes to deter the Iran-backed Yemeni rebels from continuing to attack cargo ships transiting the Red Sea.

The crisis in the key global trade gateway leading to the Suez Canal has also affected China, with freight costs to Europe soaring as shipping companies choose longer routes around Africa. This is weighing on export growth for the world’s No 2 economy, pushing Chinese companies to seek emergency plans to fortify supply chains before the Lunar New Year break this month.

Chinese FM Wang Yi opens Africa tour with jab at US-led strikes on Houthi

Chinese foreign vice-minister Deng Li met his Yemeni counterpart Mansour Ali Saeed Bajash in Beijing last Tuesday, when he asserted China’s support for Yemen’s legitimate government, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Bajash said Yemen expected China to “play a greater role in promoting peace and stability in the Middle East”, according to the Chinese readout of the meeting.

The Chinese foreign ministry last week reiterated Beijing’s call for a peaceful solution. “We advocate an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, protection of civilians, alleviation of the humanitarian situation, implementation of the two-state solution, and joint international efforts to keep the shipping lanes in the Red Sea safe,” spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday.

The Middle East is a critical component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a multinational infrastructure and trade plan.

Beijing’s interest in the region also goes beyond the merely commercial, especially as geopolitical tensions increase with rival power Washington. It appears to be pursuing a bigger role in the region as US influence wanes, most notably by brokering a diplomatic rapprochement between long-time enemies Saudi Arabia and Iran last year.

China jails rights activist Li Qiaochu for more than 3 years for subversion

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3251020/china-jails-rights-activist-li-qiaochu-more-3-years-subversion?utm_source=rss_feed

Chinese women’s and labour rights activist Li Qiaochu has been jailed for more than 3½ years for aiding in the publication of “a large amount of subversive articles”.

In a verdict handed down on Monday, Linshu County People’s Court in Linshu, Shandong province, said the case related to articles posted on the blog of partner and fellow activist Xu Zhiyong, who is serving a 14-year sentence for subversion.

Li, 33, has already been in custody for three years. The court ordered her to serve three years and eight months, and deprived her of her political rights – such as the right to publish – for two years. Her family has appealed against the decision.

Her trial was heard behind closed doors because, according to a copy of the court’s verdict, the evidence and electronic data related to the case were regarded as “state secrets”.

The verdict said that at Xu’s request, Li helped him build a website for his personal blog in September 2019 and upload an archive of 273 articles Xu had written.

A friend overseas helped Xu to publish new articles on the website.

The verdict said Li’s actions of “publishing subversive articles” helped to “spread Xu’s advocacy” and amounted to an offence.

It quoted a witness describing Xu’s articles as advocating subversion through “non-violent” ways, but did not give details of the content.

Friends of the activist said Li’s parents saw their daughter in court on Monday for the first time since her arrest in 2021. They said she had gained an abnormal amount of weight and “looked totally different” after having been given inappropriate medication.

China arrests girlfriend of detained legal activist on subversion charge

Li’s mother has repeatedly applied for bail for Li and permission to see her daughter but none has been granted, according to the friends.

The friends also said Li had complained of a series of health problems, including hallucinations.

The European Union Delegation to China demanded Li’s “immediate and unconditional release on medical grounds”, adding that she had worked for the rights of migrant workers and women.

Li’s partner Xu was detained in the southern city of Guangzhou in February 2020, two months after he attended a gathering of activists in Xiamen, in the southeastern province of Fujian, and went into hiding.

He was sentenced last year along with rights activist Ding Jiaxi, who was ordered to serve 12 years in prison.

Four other activists, including Ding, were detained soon after attending the gathering and not given access to lawyers.

Before Xu was found and arrested, the police detained Li for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” – a widely criticised “pocket crime” often used to muzzle dissent.

Li was released after 24 hours and posted online about being handcuffed and questioned repeatedly.

After Xu and Ding were arrested, she continued to post updates on the men and their mistreatment in custody.

She was repeatedly questioned by the police and placed under residential surveillance – a form of detention at a secret location without access to family or a lawyer – for 120 days in 2020, according to her close friends.

In March 2021, Li was formally charged with “inciting subversion of state power” at more than a month in detention.

Huawei reclaims top spot in China’s smartphone sales ranking, its first time back since company was added to US blacklist

https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3251007/huawei-reclaims-top-spot-chinas-smartphone-sales-ranking-its-first-time-back-company-was-added-us?utm_source=rss_feed

Huawei Technologies climbed back to the No 1 spot of China’s smartphone market in the initial two weeks of this year, according to a report by research firm Counterpoint, putting more pressure on 2023 industry leader Apple and major mainland rivals in the world’s largest handset market.

This marks the first time Huawei reclaimed the top smartphone sales ranking on the mainland since Washington imposed sanctions on the Shenzhen-based company when it was added to the US trade blacklist in May 2019, which crippled the firm’s once-lucrative handset business, according to the report on Sunday by Counterpoint research analysts Ivan Lam and Zhang Mengmeng.

That resurgence was jump-started by Huawei’s surprise release last August of its Mate 60 Pro 5G smartphone – powered by its advanced Kirin 9000S processor, which was locally developed in spite of US tech sanctions – as well as the firm’s Android replacement mobile platform HarmonyOS, the report said. It also pointed out that brand loyalty among Chinese consumers greatly contributed to the popularity of Huawei’s new 5G handsets.

The Counterpoint report, however, indicated that Huawei still faced cutthroat competition on the mainland against Apple and major domestic handset vendors that include Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, which continue to launch high-end smartphone models.

Robust domestic demand for Huawei’s new 5G smartphone models, years after its release of the Mate 40 series in October 2020, reflect improved consumer appetite for handset upgrades amid Beijing’s efforts to ease mounting pressure from debt, deflation and weak confidence.

China’s smartphone industry showed signs of recovery in 2023, when shipments grew 6.5 per cent year on year to 289 million units, according to data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. Domestic brands made up 231 million units, or around 80 per cent, of total shipments.

The mainland’s high-end handset segment sales also grew 37 per cent last year, despite overall weakness in the global smartphone industry, Counterpoint data showed. While Apple led that market segment in the country in the first half of last year, the iPhone maker’s sales started to get squeezed in the third quarter amid a strong push by Chinese vendors led by Huawei

The rise of Huawei smartphone sales on the mainland early this year, followed a decline in iPhone sales in the fourth quarter.

China’s smartphone market recovers in 2023 amid Huawei’s 5G handset comeback

Apple, however, still ranked as mainland China’s leading smartphone vendor in the fourth quarter and the whole of last year, according to a report by tech research firm IDC.

Last week, Apple reported a nearly 13 per cent drop in revenue from its Greater China region – covering the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan – in the December quarter, while sales rose in its other operating regions.

Apple’s weekly smartphone shipments in China have declined by 30 to 40 per cent in recent weeks, according to a recent research note by Kuo Ming-chi, a TF International Securities analyst known for his accurate assessment of Apple’s business. Kuo expected this downward trend to continue this year.

“The main reason for the decline is the return of Huawei and the fact that foldable phones have gradually become the first choice for high-end users in the Chinese market,” Kuo wrote in the note.

Apple leads premium smartphone market in 2023, but Huawei gains ground with new 5G handsets

The global premium smartphone market, where handsets are priced from US$600, saw Apple remain the “undisputed leader” last year with a dominant 71 per cent share, according to a Counterpoint report last month.

Still, Apple’s share in that segment was down from 75 per cent in 2022 amid the resurgence of Huawei on the mainland and the gains made by Samsung Electronics, the report said.

In a rare move, Apple last month offered Chinese consumers discounts of up to 800 yuan (US$113) on a range of products, from iPhones to MacBooks, ahead of the Lunar New Year to fend off competition from the likes of Xiaomi and Honor, which also cut their handset prices.

Huawei, however, did not pursue a similar strategy, as it faced a supply shortage of its Mate 60 Pro owing to production constraints.

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China releases footage of Fujian aircraft carrier

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3251025/china-releases-footage-fujian-aircraft-carrier?utm_source=rss_feed

China has released more footage of its most advanced aircraft carrier.

A video released by state broadcaster CCTV showed the carrier’s electromagnetic catapult launch system.

Leading scientist crucial to China’s space efforts to be expelled from top body

Cao Weidong, a military analyst, told the broadcaster that the ship’s mooring tests went “completely normally”.

The Fujian, launched in 2022 June, is the country’s third carrier and China’s first carrier equipped with electromagnetic catapults and arresting devices, which allow planes to be launched more frequently.

It is not known when the Fujian will start sea trials to test her systems and components, but Captain Yin Hongxin said last month that the goal is to establish “combat capabilities” as soon as possible.

The USS Gerald R Ford is the only other aircraft carrier in the world equipped with electromagnetic catapults.

Launched in 2013, it took four years before the US ship was commissioned, and another five years to depart for her first deployment in 2022 after years of trials. Its Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System suffered a failure during her testing period in 2020.

Noting that the Gerald R Ford is nuclear powered while Fujian is conventionally powered, Cao said, “now [China] dares to conduct public tests, it shows that it is very successful.”

Footage posted online suggests the People’s Liberation Army Navy has been testing how to place fighters on the deck.

“This is a carrier-based aircraft model with folded wings. It is not intended to catapult the aircraft, but to test how many carrier-based aircraft can be parked on the elevator at one time,” Cao said.

Shi Hong, a military analyst, told Shenzhen TV the footage offered more details about the carrier, including its electromagnetic catapult tracks.

He added that the ship has more operational space on deck than the country’s other two aircraft carriers, the Shandong and Liaoning.

The footage also showed the Fujian away from its usual berthing position at Shanghai’s Jiangnan shipyard but it was not clear where.

PLA watches as US warship sails through Taiwan Strait in ‘provocative’ move

Taiwan’s defence ministry has warned that Fujian would pose a “substantial threat” to the island in the event of a cross-strait conflict.

China plans to have six aircraft carrier groups by 2035.

China’s cross-border trips during Lunar New Year to hit pre-pandemic levels, authorities project

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3251005/chinas-cross-border-trips-during-lunar-new-year-hit-pre-pandemic-levels-authorities-project?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s immigration authorities are forecasting cross-border travel during the Lunar New Year holiday to rebound to pre-pandemic levels, with the number of such trips increasing threefold compared to the same travel period last year. The travel surge is expected despite what forecasters called “complex” winter weather over the holiday.

The National Immigration Administration (NIA) predicted that an average of 1.8 million inbound and outbound trips will be made in China during the eight-day holiday period starting on Saturday – a day longer than last year’s holiday.

Major international airports were expected to experience peak passenger flows from Thursday through Sunday, as well as during the closing weekend. Shanghai will see a total daily average of 830,000 arrivals and departures at Pudong Airport, while Guangzhou’s Baiyun airport is predicted to have 390,000 transits, and Beijing Capital airport with 360,000 each day.

The country’s weather administration has warned that transport could be impacted by “complex” winter weather across the country, including in snowstorm-prone northern China and the northeastern provinces of Jilin and Liaoning, and the far western Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which were hit by a blizzard last week.

Blizzards and extreme weather could disrupt China’s Lunar New Year travel

The China Meteorological Administration also issued an for freezing rain – the second-highest warning in its three-tier system – which remained in effect over the weekend for central and eastern parts of the country.

In southern regions, the Greater Bay Area will also see a travel surge on land, with the Gongbei Port between Zhuhai and Macau expecting about 305,000 daily transits, and Luohu Port – the busiest border checkpoint for people passing between Hong Kong and Shenzhen – expecting 198,000 daily passengers. The neighbouring Futian port was expected to see 157,000 passengers daily.

Residents and tourists from Hong Kong and mainland were expected to make a total of across the border over the festive period. The Shenzhen Bay border crossing will operate around the clock, while the Lo Wu checkpoint will extend its operating hours.

More Chinese expected to travel abroad for Lunar New Year

The official holiday falls in the middle of a 40-day festive travel period, which this year began on January 26 and ends on March 5. Also known as chun yun, during the season, hundreds of millions of Chinese return home or journey overseas to celebrate the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival.

On the first day of the travel season, 189 million passenger trips were recorded, a rise of almost 20 per cent over the same period last year, according to a report from state news agency Xinhua.

Observers said that post-pandemic enthusiasm, as well as the extended holiday, have prompted the surge in trips. This time last year, China had just emerged from its years-long zero-Covid policy, with travel sentiment only starting to recover.

Beijing has also signed comprehensive mutual visa exemption agreements with 23 countries, including popular warmer hubs Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, as well as France, Germany and Italy.

China and Singapore’s agreement will take effect on Friday, on the eve of the Spring Festival, allowing citizens from both sides to visit the other for tourism, family visits, and business or other private matters, and stay up to 30 days without a visa.

Vendors at Hong Kong’s largest Lunar New Year fair optimistic over festive sales

The Maldives, Thailand and Singapore have been the top overseas destinations for Chinese tourists this year, a poll conducted by state-owned newspaper Global Times has found, with Russia, Japan and New Zealand also among the most popular countries.

The NIA said it had taken measures to cope with the travel surge, including having “sufficient personnel” deployed to keep wait times at customs checkpoints under 30 minutes, extend customs clearance hours, provide passenger assistance and provide traffic support during peak hours.

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‘Must save the patient’: online praise for China medics who calmly complete brain surgery as operating theatre rocked by powerful earthquake

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3249881/must-save-patient-online-praise-china-medics-who-calmly-complete-brain-surgery-operating-theatre?utm_source=rss_feed

A surgeon and his staff in China have been praised for completing brain surgery on a patient despite the threat of aftershocks from a powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake.

An Shufang, a neurosurgeon in western China, was in the middle of a craniotomy when a powerful earthquake hit the country’s Xinjiang autonomous region at 2am on January 23.

Together with his team, An completed the surgery despite the quake, The People’s Daily reported.

Three people died during the trembler in Uchturpan county, and officials say the sparse population contributed to the relatively low death toll for an earthquake of such magnitude.

A surveillance video shows An next to the operating table when the earthquake struck, rocking the room.

“Earthquake, earthquake!” An unidentified medical worker can be heard shouting.

The medics paused their work as the shocks rattled the medical devices all around them.

“Stay calm, stay calm,” An tells the group.

As the tremors became more severe, An held on to the operating table and urged his team not to panic.

“Will the room collapse?” Another unnamed male medic asked, as another exclaims: “Oh my god!”

When the shaking began to subside, An told his team: “I must save the patient, so I have to stay here despite the earthquake.”

The surgeon and his team then continued despite the risk of aftershocks and managed to complete the procedure.

When reporters asked An if he was scared, the surgeon said all he was thinking about was saving the patient.

“As doctors, we make sure that we put our patients first,” An told The People’s Daily.

At the time of writing, the video had attracted 2.3 million views and 70,000 comments on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, with most of the comments praising the doctor and his team.

“This is so touching,” said one person.

“Let’s salute our great medical workers,” said another.

A third person wrote: “Running away from danger is natural, but staying shows responsibility. We must learn from them.”

Stories about doctors making a positive impact often gain popularity in China.

In January, a 64-year-old doctor in central China fainted after blowing air into a toddler’s lungs in a bid to keep the young patient’s blood oxygen levels balanced during surgery.

In August 2023, a doctor in eastern China saved the life of a stranger because they noticed the symptoms of a brain tumour in a woman eating at the same restaurant.

In late December 2023, a less powerful earthquake in Gansu province in north-central China killed more than 120 people.

It also forced thousands of people to spend the night outside in temperatures that plunged to -15 degrees Celsius.

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Alibaba’s DingTalk, miHoYo’s Honkai: Star Rail among Chinese apps launching on Apple Vision Pro headset

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3250997/alibabas-dingtalk-mihoyos-honkai-star-rail-among-chinese-apps-launching-apple-vision-pro-headset?utm_source=rss_feed

DingTalk, the work collaboration platform run by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, has launched a native app for Apple’s newly released Vision Pro headset, allowing users to send messages and hold video meetings in a three-dimensional virtual environment.

DingTalk is among hundreds of apps and mobile games that have become available on the visionOS store since Apple debuted its US$3,499 device in the US on Friday, the Chinese platform announced in a blog post on Sunday.

The Vision Pro version of DingTalk is equipped with special features, including options to display multiple windows and draw on the screen using hand gestures, according to the app. Alibaba is the owner of the South China Morning Post.

DingTalk on visionOS also supports Persona, a Vision Pro feature that lets users create realistic avatars of themselves by scanning their faces, to be used in video calls. These avatars are designed to be digital representations of the users, recreating their facial expressions by tracking their movements in real time.

DingTalk joins several Chinese apps that have announced support for Apple’s new headset, which is currently available only in the US, although the Californian giant reportedly has plans to introduce the device to other markets later, including China.

said in a post on X on Friday that the global hit game developed by Chinese studio miHoYo will become available on the Vision Pro from February 6.

The role-playing anime title was the third-highest grossing Chinese mobile game in the international market last year, behind Genshin Impact – another miHoYo game – and Tencent Holdings’ PUBG Mobile, according to app analytics platform Sensor Tower.

Shanghai-based online travel service provider Trip.com – which also operates Ctrip, Qunar and Skyscanner – is also launching an app for the Vision Pro, which lets users watch panoramic videos featuring various travel destinations, including Mount Everest, Maldives, Antarctica and the Sahara.

Ahead of the Vision Pro’s release, some merchants in China last week were offering to ship the highly-anticipated gadget to buyers in the country willing to pay double the original price.

DingTalk said last month it reached 700 million users by the end of 2023, including 120,000 paying enterprises. The platform recently added an artificial intelligence (AI) agent function that aims to help users customise their workflow, as other Chinese Big Tech firms also rush to integrate AI functions into new and existing products.

DingTalk’s mixed-reality app will face competition from a flurry of productivity apps available on the Apple headset. The US tech giant said last week that more than one million apps will eventually be compatible with the Vision Pro, 600 of them built specifically to take advantage of the device’s unique spatial experience.

With Boeing 737 Max orders set for late arrival in Asia, will Airbus and China’s Comac benefit?

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3250970/boeing-737-max-orders-set-late-arrival-asia-will-airbus-and-chinas-comac-benefit?utm_source=rss_feed

As aviation giant Boeing races to address defects plaguing its 737 model following a mid-air blowout in the US, expected delays in deliveries to its Asian clients could consolidate rival Airbus’ lead and open a window of opportunity for Chinese planemaker Comac, analysts said.

An Alaska Airlines flight carrying 177 people made an emergency landing on January 6 shortly after taking off from Portland, Oregon, when part of the Boeing aircraft blew open and left a gaping hole on the side of the cabin wall.

Following the blowout of the door plug, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive that required all 737 Max 9 aircraft to undergo further inspection, a process that is still ongoing.

While Boeing had few orders of the 737 Max 9 series from Asia-Pacific carriers, the incident was sowing uncertainty over the deliveries of related versions such as the Max 8 series, which would likely have to go through more stringent tests in the coming weeks, according to Mayur Patel, head of Asia at OAG Aviation.

As of this year, there were some three dozen firms in the region operating 211 Boeing 737 Max aircraft, with most of them flying a version of the Max 8 series, he told This Week in Asia. Twenty-one of the operators were in Northeast Asia, while there were six in Southeast Asia, four in South Asia and three in the Southwest Pacific.

Airbus had a 55.4 per cent market share in the Asia-Pacific and Boeing had 31.6 per cent, according to Patel. “If you look at the current split, it’s very obvious that Airbus takes the lead,” he said.

Boeing CEO admits Alaska Airlines incident ‘our mistake’

Following the blowout, Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation grounded the country’s Lion Air Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, but the airline passed mandatory inspections and was cleared to fly its three aircraft on January 19.

Lion Air has mid-cabin emergency exits on its aircraft as opposed to Alaska’s plug door which is towards the back door, Patel said.

United Airlines inspections on the 737 Max 9 series last month found that several loose bolts were used to hold the door plug of the aircraft, raising concerns about Boeing’s quality control system.

Boeing has increased the frequency of quality checks during the manufacturing process and made other changes to its Quality Management System.

India’s newest airline, Akasa Air, announced last month it was buying 150 Boeing 737 Max aircraft in the first major order for the troubled planemaker since the dramatic Alaska Airlines incident.

Akasa placed orders for the 737 Max 10 and 737 Max 8-200 versions, but not Max 9 planes, which have been grounded by US regulators since the in-flight blowout. Boeing said Akasa Air’s order was finalised in December.

The first delivery of the planes is due in three years amid supply-chain issues that have bogged aircraft-makers since Covid-19 broke out five years ago. The Boeing 737 Max 10 model is still under certification and has not been rolled out yet, Patel said.

“Airlines in Asia, as well as those globally who have Boeing 737 orders, are likely to be impacted” because of production curbs, said Shantanu Gangakhedkar, a senior consultant in aerospace and defence at Frost & Sullivan.

US grounded Boeing 737 MAX jets, what airlines, regulators followed suit?

Rob Morris, global head of consultancy Cirium Asced, said the firm may have to revise its forecast of Boeing delivering 690 commercial aircraft by 2025, depending on the duration of output curbs on the 737 Max.

The aircraft-maker had been expected to raise its monthly production from 38 per month currently to 48 by end-2024, he said.

Another analyst, however, said Asian carriers were less likely to feel an impact than their US or European counterparts.

“Asian carriers are unlikely to be badly affected as many operate the 737 Max 8 variant, not the 737-9 type that’s been in the limelight for the past few weeks,” said Shukor Yusof, founder and analyst at Endau Analytics.

Boeing’s door plug incident may kindle interest in Chinese planemaker Comac’s jets, but the opportunity is likely to be over the long term because aircraft orders are placed years in advance, Patel said.

“The one to watch out for is Comac,” Patel said. “The thing with the industry is it’s a 20- to 30-year cycle. So you never know. Comac may emerge as a player in that period.”

The planemaker would have to overcome a couple of hurdles, including attaining international certification instead of being only certified in China, while a number of its parts such as the engine and avionics are imported from the West, Patel said.

On the other hand, Morris said there would be little opportunity for either Comac or Airbus to capitalise on the Boeing incident.

“The production gap created by this issue is likely to be short term,” he said, explaining that large aircraft manufacturing required lead times of up to 18 months for single-aisle planes.

“The C919 order book is almost exclusively for customers in China. The export market remains wary of the C919 [and ARJ21] at present,” Morris said. He added that the airline’s customer support services and aircraft performance were also unproven.

As of this month, Comac has delivered four C919 aircraft to its first customer, China Eastern Airlines. Three of them have been deployed to service routes from Shanghai to the southwestern metropolis of Chengdu in Sichuan province, after its maiden commercial flight in late May.

The domestically developed C919 airliner is designed to carry between 140 and 210 passengers, and aims to directly compete with Boeing’s 737 and Airbus’ A320.

Additional reporting by Su-Lin Tan

China’s top prosecutors promise financial crime crackdown is about to ramp up

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3250937/chinas-top-prosecutors-promise-financial-crime-crackdown-about-ramp?utm_source=rss_feed

A senior prosecutor with the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) has vowed to ramp up a crackdown on financial crimes in the year ahead, as Beijing pledges strengthened supervision of transactions to prevent and resolve risks.

Zhang Xiaojin, head of the Fourth Procuratorial Office, which is in charge of economic crimes, said efforts will be made to “provide strong rule-of-law guarantees to serve and safeguard high quality financial development”.

In an interview published on Sunday, Zhang said targets would include illegal fundraising, loan fraud, money laundering, proscribed foreign exchange trading, as well as crimes related to the use of virtual currencies to transfer assets abroad.

Prosecutors will also target crimes that damage the order of the capital market and the interests of listed companies, he told the SPP’s affiliated media in the interview that appeared a week before Lunar New Year, which begins on Saturday.

Zhang pledged that the crackdown would “provide strong support for accelerating the construction of a standardised, transparent, open, dynamic and resilient capital market”.

Xi urges loyalty from courts, law enforcers to ‘defuse’ social, financial risks

Crimes in the field of securities and futures “seriously undermine the basis for the operation of the capital market, infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of investors, and endanger economic and financial security”, he said.

According to Zhang, financial fraud, misappropriation of listed companies’ assets, insider trading and market manipulation will all be on prosecutors’ list of targets.

Last year, the party became the country’s top financial regulator, with the establishment of the Central Finance Commission, as part of Beijing’s emphasis on the need to strengthen supervision of the sector.

President Xi Jinping also stressed the importance of preventing systemic financial risk during a high-level meeting last month at the Central Party School in Beijing, attended by dozens of provincial leaders.

Xi said that “financial regulation must have teeth” and pledged further moves against corruption, noting that “in the process of risk management, corruption must be resolutely punished and moral hazard must be strictly prevented.”

At the central finance work conference in late October – the twice-a-decade policymaking gathering presided over by the president – Xi said that preventing and resolving financial risks must be an “eternal theme” for the Chinese government.

The who, what and how of China’s new financial watchdog

The country must “comprehensively strengthen financial supervision and bring all financial activities under control in accordance with the law”, he said.

The SPP issued a guideline in December that noted its duties when it comes to tacking and preventing financial crimes.

China is also dealing with an ailing stock market, prompting Premier Li Qiang to convene a cabinet meeting last month to discuss ways of reviving sentiment and entice long-term capital to put a floor under plunging share prices.

“More vigorous and effective measures should be taken to stabilise the market and confidence,” the cabinet agreed, according to a statement released after the meeting.

Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng last week urged a nationwide teleconference of party officials from all regions to support listed firms, calling them a critical “microeconomic bedrock”.

He said confidence, capital market stability and economic development must be promoted, and stressed the importance of high-quality development in the economy.

Beware China’s ‘false promise’ with Papua New Guinea security deal, US official warns

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3250941/beware-chinas-false-promise-papua-new-guinea-security-deal-us-official-warns?utm_source=rss_feed

A senior US state department official has urged Papua New Guinea to turn down China’s offer of a potential security pact, warning the Pacific nation that any security guarantee with Beijing comes with consequences and costs.

“We’ve seen that the Chinese commitment in defence or investment comes with a high cost. That’s what we’d say to PNG,” US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma told The Sydney Morning Herald in an interview published on Monday.

PNG Foreign Minister Justin Tkachenko said last week that the country’s was in early talks with China on a potential security deal. China has offered to assist PNG’s police force with training, equipment and surveillance technology, Tkachenko said.

The United States and ally Australia have for decades seen the Pacific as their sphere of influence, and are seeking to deter the island nations from forming security ties with China, after Beijing signed a security pact with Solomon Islands in 2022.

Verma, in Australia last week after visiting the South Pacific, said it was a competition for influence in the resource-rich region, and that “we have to compete aggressively”.

His comments came ahead of an address by PNG Prime Minister James Marape to the Australian parliament later this week. PNG has previously said Australia and the US were its security partners, while China was an important economic partner.

China, Papua New Guinea in talks on policing, security cooperation after riots

“We would like to see people choose security arrangement or investment opportunities or advanced connectivity with countries that play by the rules, that live up to the international standards,” Verma said.

“China has shown that it is not doing that. China has shown that it’s not interested in the modern rules-based order.”

He warned about the “false promise of authoritarian regimes” and said countries in investment arrangements with China have found that it can be a “debt trap”.

“There are other options out there,” Verma said.

China delivers suspended death sentence to writer Yang Jun for spying; Australia declares it ‘harrowing news’ for family

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3250949/china-delivers-suspended-death-sentence-writer-yang-jun-spying-australia-declares-it-harrowing-news?utm_source=rss_feed

Australian writer Yang Jun has been given a suspended death sentence for espionage in China, according to the Australian government.

It is one of the harshest sentences Beijing is known to have handed down for spying charges in recent years.

“This is harrowing news for Dr Yang, his family and all who have supported him,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement on Monday.

“The Australian Government will be communicating our response in the strongest terms,” she said.

Australian writer Yang Hengjun charged with espionage in China

Yang Jun, also known as Yang Hengjun, is a Chinese-born Australian citizen. He was arrested in China in 2019 on espionage charges, but Chinese authorities have not announced a verdict or released details of the case.

Under China’s criminal justice system, if Yang does not commit a more serious crime while imprisoned during the two-year suspended sentence, he will be given a life sentence rather than the death penalty.

Reports since 2022 have said Yang’s health had deteriorated in prison.

A former diplomat, Yang became an active blogger and frequent commentator on Chinese political and social events.

Yang’s wife Yuan Xiaoliang, an Australian permanent resident, has also been banned from leaving China, according to reports.

Ahead of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Beijing in November, Yang’s sons published an open letter in the Australian media urging Albanese to “do all in your power to save our father’s life”.

Canberra has also repeatedly called on Beijing to release Yang.

Improved China ties helped bring home detained journalist: Australian minister

Yang’s sentence is expected to affect Australia-China relations, which recently saw signs of improvements after Albanese’s Labor government was elected.

Australian journalist Cheng Lei was released in China in October and returned to Australia after spending three years in prison in China on national security charges.

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Snow business: China villagers make, sell mini snowmen as car decorations for US$2.8 each to capitalise on rare wintry weather

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/environment/article/3249870/snow-business-china-villagers-make-sell-mini-snowmen-car-decorations-us28-each-capitalise-rare?utm_source=rss_feed

Villagers in China have grasped a business opportunity thanks to the unpredictable weather, delighting mainland internet users.

On January 22, residents of Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province in southwestern China were excited when it snowed heavily, a rarity in the region.

Locals near the rural area of Longquan Mountain decided to make cute little snowmen and sell them for 20 yuan (US$2.8) each.

As soon as they started selling them on the streets, business boomed, according to news outlet thecover.cn.

People drove up to 30km from downtown Chengdu to enjoy the dramatic snowy scenery. Before returning home, many bought snowmen and placed them on the bonnets of their cars, a viral video showed.

“There seemed to be a snowman on every car. Some drivers drove slowly so they would not slide off the bonnet,” one male pedestrian said.

“The snowman is cute. What’s more, rare things are valuable. We rarely see snow,” a female resident said.

“I’ve never seen snowmen sold on the street. It’s fun. These snowmen are so adorable, I’d like to buy one and put it on my desk at home,” another local woman said.

The video also showed a cyclist who had put a snowman on the back of his bike.

Snow-related businesses are popular among people from the southern part of the country where it does not snow every year.

Some residents in northeastern China, the coldest part of the country where the temperature can drop to minus 20 degrees in winter, offer an unusual service.

They draw a heart in a snowfield and write the names of loving couples inside, then send a photo to them for 10-20 yuan (US$1.4-$2.8).

In recent weeks, some live-streamers on mainland social media platforms filmed themselves grabbing handfuls of snow and eating it, while others put snow in a bowl and added jam or drinks.

Global Impact: China warns of infringing on its sovereignty, Philippines plans first submarine as South China Sea tensions continue

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3250921/global-impact-china-warns-infringing-its-sovereignty-philippines-plans-first-submarine-south-china?utm_source=rss_feed

Global Impact is a weekly curated newsletter featuring a news topic originating in China with a significant macro impact for our newsreaders around the world. Sign up

Tensions in the South China Sea show no signs of abating, with the Philippine navy expressing alarm this week over the growing presence of Chinese warships and maritime militia boats around Mischief Reef in the disputed waterway.

Navy spokesman Roy Vincent Trinidad said about 200 vessels, including coastguard fleets, were swarming the outcrop about 37km (23 miles) away from the Second Thomas Shoal, referred to by the Chinese as Renai Jiao.

Apart from upgrading all of the territorial features – islands, shoals and reefs – that the Philippines occupies in the region, President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr made it clear that his country would purchase its first submarine to defend its maritime sovereignty.

China’s coastguard, on the other hand, said it had “driven off” four Filipinos from a disputed shoal, alleging that the latter had “illegally intruded into” the Scarborough Shoal.

These developments occurred just days after Beijing and Manila agreed to further improve maritime communication and “properly manage their differences through consultation” during their bilateral consultative mechanism meeting held in Shanghai.

Earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned the Philippines to “act with caution” in the South China Sea dispute, pointing out that relations between Beijing and Manila relations are at a crossroads.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning minced no words when she warned that China would “respond resolutely” if the Philippines built a permanent structure in the Spratly Islands, known in China as the Nansha Islands, arguing that this would amount to “a significant move” that would “seriously infringe” on China’s sovereignty.

Separately, the People’s Liberation Army Southern Theatre Command held a new military exercise involving the navy and air force in the South China Sea, following the end of a two-day joint patrol by the United States and the Philippines.

Beijing also honoured one of its most advanced guided-missile destroyers – the Nanchang – as a “role model of the times” for a series of missions, including exercises around disputed regions in the South China Sea.

Ominously, a seasoned Chinese legal expert warned that China still has plenty of countermeasures – “a lot of legal weapons” – it could use against Manila if tensions between the two countries continue to escalate.

With months of naval skirmishes with China still fresh in its minds, the Philippines this week signed a coastguard-cooperation pact with Vietnam, pledging to share information, set up a communication hotline, and work on a joint coastguard committee.

Manila also plans to build on its partnership with Washington – US Navy fuel was recently shipped from the American base at Hawaii to Subic Bay in the west of Luzon – while expanding ties with other allies and “like-minded countries” including Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Beijing uses pinyin terms to double down on its claims over South China Sea

As a gesture of goodwill by a fellow Southeast Asian country, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Manila and Jakarta should boost security ties “through concrete steps”, and even suggested that the Philippines purchase anti-submarine aircraft from Indonesia.

With more countries expressing anxieties over tensions in the South China Sea, China stated in no uncertain terms that outside interference is uncalled for, when it accused German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock of “making unwarranted accusations” about China’s actions during its recent confrontations with Philippine vessels.

But that has not deterred France from discussing with Manila ways to strengthen military cooperation, including negotiations on allowing troops into the other’s territory for joint exercises.

Not to be outdone, the Italian Navy is also expected to send its flagship aircraft carrier Cavour, along with its battle group, to the region this year.

60-Second Catch-up

Philippines alarmed by 200 Chinese vessels at Mischief Reef, Marcos urges dialogue

Video: Why the South China Sea dispute remains one of the region’s most pressing issues

Opinion: If pushed, would Beijing build a naval outpost on Second Thomas Shoal too?

Beijing flexes maritime muscles as Manila’s ‘assertive transparency’ puts it on the defensive

Video: Philippines accuses China of using water cannons to obstruct its vessels in South China Sea

China’s envoy to Philippines lodges protest over weekend clashes

Beijing steps up military patrols as US and the Philippines conduct more drills in disputed waterway

Opinion: Asean, Beijing must address cyber threats in South China Sea talks

Beijing, Asean claimant states risk pushing beyond ‘grey zone between peace and war’ in 2024

Deep dives

Taiwan’s fate as a potential flashpoint in Beijing’s relations with Washington appears sealed after the island chose William Lai Ching-te to be its next president.

Beijing had long advised against a victory for Lai, from Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and cast Saturday’s election as a choice between war and peace. If it now chooses to step up pressure on Taiwan, the United States might be prompted to make a tougher response, according to observers.

Read more

Beijing likely views Manila’s plan to upgrade its South China Sea outposts as a provocation, but it appears to be taking a “wait and see” approach rather than reacting swiftly, according to analysts.

Observers said Beijing would likely succeed in disrupting Manila’s project – if it indeed goes ahead – but any US involvement in helping the Philippines would complicate China’s available options.

Read more

One of the world’s lengthiest diplomatic sagas – the decades-long marathon between Beijing and Asean to agree a code of conduct in the South China Sea – is back in the spotlight, with a recent surge in tensions in the disputed waters.

China, which has been accused of dragging its feet for about a quarter of a century, has taken a number of recent opportunities to show its support for an early resolution to the regional debate.

Read more

Beijing risks damaging its ties in the region if it continues efforts to assert control in the disputed South China Sea, analysts said ahead of the annual Asean gathering.

They said recent developments in the resource-rich waterway served as a “warning” to regional governments, which would increasingly gravitate towards the United States and its Western allies.

Read more

The recent trading of barbs between China and the Philippines over ideological differences highlights the “perennial mistrust” between the two neighbours, experts say, noting that their disparate approaches to democracy and authoritarianism are likely to further escalate tensions in the South China Sea.

After Taiwan’s ruling-party candidate Lai Ching-te emerged victorious in the island’s presidential election earlier this month, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr congratulated Lai, referring to the latter as president.

Read more

Manila’s approval of funding to build a “permanent structure” on a disputed reef is unlikely to lead to a “full-scale escalation” in the South China Sea, but Beijing has “many plans” to respond if the Philippines goes along with US provocations in the region, analysts said.

Tensions between Beijing and Manila over the Second Thomas Shoal were renewed last month after the Philippine congress allocated an undisclosed amount of money to build a permanent facility on the disputed reef, prompting strong condemnation from Beijing.

Read more

Philippine coastguards have escorted boats to the South China Sea to resupply its military base on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal seven times in the past four months.

Each time, they have complained about China’s coastguards and maritime militia obstructing their journey to the disputed reef in the South China Sea or making dangerously close passes.

Read more

The Philippines is the odd one out in Asean in its total, welcoming embrace of the United States’ Indo-Pacific strategy, while other member states have viewed Washington with caution and concern, according to speakers at a conference in Manila on South China Sea maritime security.

“The Indo-Pacific concept [by the US] is a trigger for South China Sea tensions,” Dr Supartono, director of Hang Tuah University in Surabaya, Indonesia, told the Maritime Security Conference in Metro Manila, held on November 22 by Singapore’s Asia Collective and the Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation founded by security analyst Chester Cabalza.

Read more

Global Impact is a weekly curated newsletter featuring a news topic originating in China with a significant macro impact for our newsreaders around the world.

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Malaysia halves Najib’s sentence, Hong Kong’s car-free village, China’s Picasso: 6 weekend reads you may have missed

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3250940/malaysia-halves-najibs-sentence-hong-kongs-car-free-village-chinas-picasso-6-weekend-reads-you-may?utm_source=rss_feed

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

Australia appalled at China’s suspended death sentence for writer Yang Hengjun

https://apnews.com/article/china-australia-yang-hengjun-sentence-b20bd2b0a5704b10fcff16cdfdd699edFILE - This undated, file photo released by Chongyi Feng shows Yang Hengjun and his wife Yuan Xiaoliang. Australia says it is appalled at China’s suspended death sentence for Chinese Australian writer and democracy blogger Yang Hengjun. (Chongyi Feng via AP, File)

2024-02-05T03:33:29Z

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia said Monday it was appalled at China’s suspended death sentence for writer and democracy blogger Yang Hengjun.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement it was “harrowing news for Dr Yang, his family and all who have supported him.”

Yang has been detained in China since Jan. 19, 2019, when he arrived in Guangzhou from New York with his wife and teenage stepdaughter.

He received a closed-door trial on an espionage charge in Beijing in May 2021 and was awaiting a verdict. The details of his case have not been disclosed.

Yang has denied he has worked as a spy for Australia or the United States.

The Chinese court did not immediately announce the sentence. In China, suspended sentences are generally commuted to life sentences after a certain length of time.

Yang was born in China and was a diplomat and state security agent before moving to the private sector in Hong Kong and later to Australia. He became an Australian citizen in 2002. China does not recognize dual nationalities.

In Australia, he became known as a writer of spy novels, blogger and political commentator. In January 2019, he was detained by Chinese authorities upon landing in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou.

He was initially held under a form of detention known as “residential surveillance at a designated location,” during which he was denied access to his family and lawyers. Yang was later moved to a Beijing detention center.

In a letter to his sons in August last year, Yang said he hadn’t experienced direct sunlight in more than four years. He told his family he feared he would die in detention after being diagnosed with a kidney cyst, prompting supporters to demand his release for medical treatment.

Wong said Australia “will be communicating our response in the strongest terms” and will continue to press for Dr Yang’s interests and wellbeing, including appropriate medical care.

In October last year, Australian journalist Cheng Lei was freed after more than three years in detention in China for breaking an embargo with a television broadcast on a state-run TV network.

The plights of Yang and Cheng had frequently been on the agendas of high-level meetings between the countries in recent years.

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China hands Australian writer suspended death sentence in spy case

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/02/05/yang-hengjun-china-suspended-death-sentence/2024-02-05T03:23:46.951Z

Chinese authorities ordered a suspended death sentence for Australian writer Yang Hengjun, detained in China for more than five years on espionage charges, in a case that underlines the opacity of China’s justice system and threatens a fragile rapprochement between China and Australia.

Yang, a former employee of China’s state security services turned author of spy novels and pro-democracy blogger, was given a suspended death sentence on Monday that can be commuted to life imprisonment after two years, according to a friend who was told the news by Yang’s wife.

The sentencing by a Beijing court comes after a closed-door trial in May 2021 where details of Yang’s charges were never released. He has denied all charges.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her government was “appalled” at the sentence.

“This is harrowing news for Dr. Yang, his family and all who have supported him,” Wong wrote in a statement. “All Australians want to see Dr. Yang reunited with his family. We will not relent in our advocacy.”

Yang was detained at Guangzhou Airport in January 2019 while visiting China with his family. He was formally charged with spying on China for another government, but authorities have not disclosed which country.

Yang’s wife and an official from the Australian Embassy were at the hearing, which lasted 30 minutes, according to Chongyi Feng, an associate professor at the University of Technology in Sydney who is a friend of Yang’s.

Feng said Yang’s wife, Yuan Ruijian, said she was able to make eye contact with Yang briefly before he was taken away. “He looked very thin and fragile,” Feng said.

Feng condemned the sentencing of his friend and called on the international community, especially the Australian government, to maintain pressure on Beijing.

“He’s [being] punished for his publications advocating universal values like democracy, rule of law, human rights, and he also criticized the government for human rights abuses in China,” he said.

Yang’s sentence comes less than four months after the release of Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who had been detained in China for three years. The contrast between the two cases underlines the limits of new efforts to repair strained relations between Canberra and Beijing.

Cheng’s release followed lengthy negotiations between the two countries. Like Yang, Cheng, an anchor for an English-language state broadcaster, was found guilty on charges of espionage during a trial held behind closed doors.

And while her release appeared to reflect the recent stabilization of relations between the two countries after years of discord, Yang’s severe sentence will inject the relationship with renewed tension, experts said.

“This just shows you the limits of stabilization,” said James Curran, a history professor at the University of Sydney who recently wrote a book on relations between Beijing and Canberra. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has tried to improve the relationship without making concessions to China, culminating in a trip to Beijing in November, he said. But Yang’s sentence will be a setback.

“We’re dealing with an Australian citizen on a suspended death sentence, facing life imprisonment,” Curran said. “This will undoubtedly cast a dark shadow, a pall, over the management of the relationship going forward. It won’t derail it, but it will certainly inject a real gloom over the Australia-China relationship over the next six or 12 months.”

The sentence was at the extreme end of what was expected, and showed that at least part of the Chinese government was “indifferent to its impact on bilateral ties with Australia,” said Richard McGregor, senior fellow for East Asia at the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank.

Above all, the sentence seemed to be aimed at pro-democracy activists like Yang, he added.

“The inescapable conclusion is that he’s going to die in prison,” McGregor said. “So somebody somewhere is trying to send a message to people like Dr. Yang.”

Both experts said the Australian government had few options for how to respond. Australian media reported that the Albanese administration had summoned the Chinese ambassador for talks in a sign of its displeasure with the sentence.

“Lately we’ve seen Australia and China put a floor under the relationship,” McGregor said. “This is a reminder that there is a ceiling, and at times it’s very low.”

Australian academic Yang Hengjun given suspended death sentence by Chinese court

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/05/australian-academic-yang-hengjun-given-suspended-death-sentence-by-chinese-court-writer-wong

Australian academic Yang Hengjun has been given a suspended death sentence by a Chinese court, after five years in detention on espionage charges.

Yang was arrested in 2019 at Guangzhou airport, accused of spying for an undisclosed foreign country. The pro-democracy blogger is an Australian citizen who was born in China.

Penny Wong, Australia’s foreign minister, said on Monday the government was “appalled by this decision”, and said they had called in the Chinese ambassador to lodge Canberra’s objection. Yang’s detention in China has been a key point of friction between the Chinese and Australian governments.

Wong said the Australian government had advocated for him consistently and “at the highest levels”.

“Australia will not relent in our advocacy for Dr Yang’s interests and wellbeing,” Wong said. “All Australians want to see Dr Yang reunited with his family.”

The sentence revealed on Monday is formally described as a death sentence with a two year reprieve. It is a relatively common sentence which allows death sentences to be commuted to 25 years, or life in prison after two years of “good behaviour”.

Associate Prof Chongyi Feng, Yang’s PhD supervisor in Australia, said Yang’s sentence would be converted to life in prison. He said his former student’s sentence was an “outrageous political persecution”.

“Dr Yang did not commit any crime of espionage. He is [being] punished by the Chinese government for his criticism of human rights abuses in China and his advocacy for universal values such as human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.”

Feng said Yang’s detention, trial and sentence had been a grave injustice, “but Dr Yang won’t be able to appeal due to poor health”.

“Five years of arbitrary detention and torture have taken a heavy toll on his health. He is now critically ill.”

He urged Australia to press for Yang’s return to Australia immediately, potentially on medical parole, so he could access treatment.

[World] Yang Hengjun: Australian writer given suspended sentence in China

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-68201475?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

China’s services activity expands at slower pace in January amid soft start to 2024

https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3250923/chinas-services-activity-expands-slower-pace-january-amid-soft-start-2024?utm_source=rss_feed

China’s services activity expanded at a slightly slower pace in January as new orders fell, a private-sector survey showed on Monday, suggesting a soft start for the world’s second-largest economy amid tepid demand and a property slump.

The Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) edged down to 52.7 from 52.9 in December, but remained above the 50-mark that separates expansion from contraction for the 13th consecutive month.

The figure comes after official data last week showed factory activity contracted again, offering a snapshot of the state of the economy at the start of the year.

China’s economy is struggling to regain momentum, facing multiple challenges including persistent deflationary pressures, a prolonged housing downturn and mounting local government debt.

The government is drawing on a well-used playbook of using government debt to fund infrastructure to help lift the economy as consumers are wary of spending amid uncertainty on income.

In January, new orders expanded at a slower pace with the index falling to 51.5 from 53.7 in December. Companies, hence, marginally increased headcount for the second consecutive month, said the survey.

The prices charged subindex fell for the first time since April 2022. The survey attributed that a number of monitored firms cut their fees to attract new customers and to boost sales.

“The economy contends with significant challenges marked by numerous uncertainties and adverse factors,” said Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group.

“This status quo has yet to experience a fundamental reversal.”

Service sector business confidence for the year ahead was the lowest in three months.

The Caixin/S&P’s composite PMI dipped to 52.5 last month from 52.6 in December.

“Given that there is still room for further adjustments in fiscal and monetary policies, policy measures need to be strengthened,” said Wang.

“Crucially, policies should facilitate effective communication and positive interaction with the market.”

The country would maintain fiscal expansion this year to spur an economic recovery, vice-finance minister Wang Dongwei said last week, reinforcing market views that public spending will be the government’s main tool to lift growth.

[World] Xiang Yang Hong 3: Chinese ship's port call flares India tension

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-68163343?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Chinese ships near Diaoyu Islands stoke Japan’s fears of Beijing vs Manila South China Sea-style clash

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3250789/chinese-ships-near-diaoyu-islands-stoke-japans-fears-beijing-vs-manila-south-china-sea-style-clash?utm_source=rss_feed

Japan is increasingly alarmed by the constant presence of Chinese vessels near the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea amid concerns that the row over the area could escalate and mirror recent maritime altercations between Beijing and Manila in the South China Sea.

Chinese warships have been spotted in the area and near the boundaries of Japan’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ), the Japanese defence ministry said on Wednesday without specifying a period of their presence, according to a report by the Yomiuri newspaper.

In response, Japan deployed an airborne early warning and control system aircraft, a patrol plane and a helicopter to the area, located near Okinawa, along with at least one marine destroyer.

In 2013, China unilaterally declared an ADIZ in the East China Sea, covering an area that overlaps with the long-established Japanese ADIZ.

As Beijing continues to ramp up its claims to land, sea and airspace in the East China Sea, Japan is bracing for confrontations similar to those faced by the Philippines in the South China Sea, analysts said. Among the incidents, Philippine supply vessels were hit by the Chinese coastguard’s water cannons while Filipino fishing boats were also harassed in recent months.

China unlikely to apply ‘economic coercion’ against Japan amid slowdown

Analysts believe that China’s ultimate goal is to weaken the international perception of Japanese sovereignty over the Diaoyus, which Japan calls the Senkaku Islands, and seize them eventually. The uninhabited archipelago to the north of Okinawa has been controlled by Japan since 1972.

The islands fall within China’s self-proclaimed ADIZ, which has increasingly been patrolled by Chinese warships. Photos published in the Yomiuri newspaper on January 28 show a Jiangkai II-class guided missile frigate in waters near the islands.

While Japan is better equipped to resist Chinese aggression than the Philippines, Tokyo is “extremely concerned” over the possibility of things escalating to the point that water cannons or other weapons could be used, according to an analyst with the National Institute of Defence Studies (NIDS).

“Recently, Chinese coastguard vessels have been frequently chasing Japanese fishing boats in waters around the Senkakus,” said Masafumi Iida, a China expert at NIDS. “That is just one of the escalatory actions that China has been taking as it attempts to assume jurisdiction.

“Japan cannot accept that claim against its waters and this is a clear violation of Japanese territoriality over the Senkakus,” he told This Week in Asia.

Beijing has, for more than a decade, been stepping up its claims of sovereignty over the islands. It has undertaken actions such as repeated coastguard intrusions into the waters around the islands as well as drone flights. China’s air and maritime presence in the area is becoming larger and more frequent, Iida said.

On Monday, a Japanese coastguard vessel discovered a large Chinese buoy drifting inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea. The buoy, around 5 metres in diameter, bore the words “China ocean observation” and was found 170km north of the disputed islands.

In July last year, a larger Chinese buoy was discovered tethered some 80km northwest of the islands, prompting a diplomatic protest from China. The Japanese coastguard has warned shipping lines to be aware of additional buoys and the government has requested that they be removed by China but Beijing has yet to respond, the Yomiuri reported.

Most Japanese do not have ‘friendly feelings’ towards China, poll shows

Stephen Nagy, a professor of international relations at Tokyo’s International Christian University, said China’s actions around the islands were partly in response to Japan’s outreach efforts involving other Asian countries.

“Japan has been coordinating more on planning over the Taiwan Strait, providing aid to nations in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, and China’s tactic is to amplify and increase the pressure around the Senkakus to make Japan rethink where its priorities should lie,” said Nagy.

Pointing to comments by Chinese President Xi Jinping in his January 1 address that Chinese ships would be in the waters around the islands every day over the coming year, Nagy said Beijing is trying to put pressure on Japan to “step back” over the Taiwan issue

While the Chinese-declared ADIZ issue poses a significant challenge for Tokyo, Japanese and American civilian planes will continue to fly through the area in the same way as how the US conducts “freedom of navigation” operations through the South China Sea, Nagy said.

But if airlines from other Asian nations were to contact Chinese air traffic controllers before they enter the ADIZ, it would be a further sign that Japan is not exercising administrative control over its airspace, according to Nagy.

China’s incremental moves in the East China Sea are likely to escalate and could be similar to its actions against Philippine vessels in the South China Sea in recent months, Nagy said, noting that Beijing declared in 2021 that its coastguard vessels had the right to use force in what it considers as its domestic waters.

“We would be veering very much into escalation at that point,” Nagy said. “If Japan’s Self-Defence Forces were used to push back against the Chinese coastguard, it would be viewed in Beijing as an escalation and we could very easily move into a tit-for-tat conflict.”

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China Blossoms Shanghai star urges designers to make clothes for ‘normal’ people not just skinny ones, says it is not logical

https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3249854/china-blossoms-shanghai-star-urges-designers-make-clothes-normal-people-not-just-skinny-ones-says-it?utm_source=rss_feed

A star of China’s hit TV series, Blossoms Shanghai, has called on fashion designers to produce more “normal size” clothes, bucking the skinny stereotype in show business.

Wang Ju, 31, complained that she could not fit into the dresses allocated to her for a fashion event.

In a video clip on Weibo on January 22, Wang revealed that she had tried on about seven ball gowns and could not zip most of them up, and those she managed to squeeze into were unbearably uncomfortable, Bailu Video reported.

“I could not fit into any of them. OK, I will accept this is my fate,” the star of the hit television series Blossoms Shanghai said.

“Logically, clothes are made to be worn by people. We have different body shapes, so that should be the priority when they are being designed. When you cannot fit into those beautiful dresses it’s like being gaslighted. It does not make sense,” she said.

Wang said it is not just a problem for her, but for many other actresses.

“I don’t think beauty comes in only one form. The existence of people of various body shapes means there are diverse forms of beauty,” Wang said.

“I hope designers will create more clothes targeting people who are normal sizes, instead of only catering for those with slender figures.”

Wang, a native of Shanghai, is a popular singer and actress, who is probably best known for her role in the television show Blossoms Shanghai.

Her comments trended on mainland social media, putting body shape stereotypes for women centre stage.

“What Wang Ju said is exactly what I think in my heart. Are fat people not entitled to wear beautiful clothes?” one online observer asked on Weibo.

“She is thinner than most ordinary people. If she cannot fit into those clothes, it’s really not her problem. Is every female star expected to weigh less than 40kg?” another person said.

Recently, another Chinese actress, Huang Yi, attracted public attention for tightly wrapping her waist in 10 layers of cling film so she could squeeze herself into a ball gown.

The day before Huang wore the dress for a fashion show, she wrote on Weibo that she could not fit into any of the dresses selected for her and anxiously sought online advice about how she could lose weight in 24 hours.

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[Business] China can now monitor government-funded projects 24/7

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68027592?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Drone 007: Chinese military plans to replace human agents with machines in special operations overseas

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3249831/drone-007-chinese-military-plans-replace-human-agents-machines-special-operations-overseas?utm_source=rss_feed

It is a perilous assignment: slip in unseen, strike hard and slip away again – all without a trace. Such special forces missions are the stuff of James Bond movies, but in the real world they are considerably more challenging to execute.

No matter how exceptional real agents are, they struggle to achieve the invincibility portrayed by 007. And should they fall into enemy hands, it could spell trouble for military planners.

That is why, in the bustling city of Chengdu in southwest China, a unit of the People’s Liberation Army said it has been working closely with a team of scientists to develop drones that will be able to replace humans in complex overseas missions within the next 10 years.

Their unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can fly vast distances, dive deep underwater and lie in wait for long periods of time. At a command, it can spring from the water, race towards its target and then return unseen beneath the waves after delivering its fatal blow.

The Chinese government has always been vocal about its policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, and the Chinese military is notoriously secretive about its operations overseas.

But in a recent paper published in the Fire Control & Command Control journal, the PLA’s 78092 unit, which is involved in this project, revealed some details about a future hypothetical overseas special operations plan.

They argued that disclosing this theoretical plan would help Chinese companies, engineers and scientists who are researching and developing new UAVs to better understand the military’s needs and strategic goals.

The operation was set in the year 2035, when a small-scale conflict erupts between China and a neighbouring country. To keep costs down and avoid escalating the conflict, both sides agree to limit their equipment to small arms, including small boats, drones and anti-aircraft guns.

The paper does not name the other country, but it does mention a river that runs along the border between the two, with an average depth of 30 metres (98 feet) and a maximum depth of 40 metres. China shares many such rivers with its neighbours, including the vast and deep Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River, which flows from Tibet into India.

In the scenario, the Chinese military is tasked with a special mission: to strike swiftly and silently at key enemy installations deep behind the lines. Their target, a critical command and supply hub for the opposing forces, lies hidden along a river, some 40km from the front.

For this operation, the Chinese military chooses to employ only drones, but they have some tall demands, according to the researchers.

These drones, purpose-built for special operations, must be capable of operating both alone and in coordinated swarms. They must be able to navigate the river’s depths, avoiding detection while launching torpedoes at enemy patrol boats.

To remain unseen, they must stay close to the riverbed, staying submerged for long periods and navigating obstacles such as reefs with ease. Once they surface, they must be able to fly at extremely low altitudes, making quick, evasive manoeuvres to avoid enemy fire.

And as they approach their targets, these drones must be able to engage beyond visual range, striking with precision and then disengaging without further human intervention.

Their advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems must allow them to hover over the battlefield after the initial attack, assessing the damage and determining whether further action is required.

If enemy forces attempt to flee, these drones must be capable of pursuing and eliminating them, ensuring a complete victory before returning to Chinese territory.

The PLA team said that the development model for this new UAV drew inspiration from the US military’s approach. China has the world’s largest and most technologically advanced civilian UAV factories, but unlike the US, most Chinese civilian UAV suppliers have not entered the military market.

The Chinese military is embarking on an ambitious plan to initiate an arms race in the UAV domain, aiming to overwhelm competitors with vast numerical superiority, cutting-edge technology and cost advantages, thus pushing them into financial crises.

According to the 78092 unit, the special ops drone project has already landed, and more innovative equipment is on the horizon as China races to meet its growing defence needs.

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